It was earlier at the city building that housed CSI's laboratories and offices and Mac Taylor was enjoying the relative quiet. His peace as short lived. A beautiful brunette wearing a light beige designer power suit walked into his office carrying a briefcase. Her dark hair fell in soft curls half way down her back and her three inch Manolo Blahniks showed off her shapely legs. It was an expensive outfit for an A.D.A but then she wasn't just a humble servant of the city of New York, she was also the daughter of one of the wealthiest developers in Manhattan.
"Mac, what have you done with my witnesses!" She demanded, entering his office. He shot her his best rueful smile.
"Good morning to you too, Jessica."
Jessica Astor crossed her arms and glared at the Detective seated before her. She normally really liked Detective Taylor. He was her kind of cop, tenacious, with a thoroughness that was military precise and a tendency to follow the rules. At least, that is how she would have described him to someone two days ago, before two of his CSIs went AWOL.
"Don't you good morning me, Mac. I've got a trial coming up in a few days and my technical experts are gone. What am I suppose to do about that?"
He looked down at his desk, picked up a pen, and started to sign a stack of paperwork that needed his signature.
"You could stall," he said, matter of fact. The A.D.A blinked at him.
"You're afraid that this gambit Riker is trying to finagle is going to succeed aren't you?"
Mac looked up at her.
"Let me put it this way. Both Danny Messer and Lindsay Monroe have been granted vacation time that they requested almost a month ago. I have the paper work right here if you would like to see it. I have no idea where they might have gone but I can guarantee that whenever you choose to put them on the stand they will be back."
Jessica frowned down at him and nodded curtly.
"I'll call you and let you know when I need them to appear and for the record, Mr. Riker will not be getting our evidence thrown out of my court. No matter how many stories he tries to sell."
Mac smiled at her as she sashayed out the door, passing Sheldon Hawkes who had just arrived. The young CSI watched her go, riveted.
"See something interesting," Mac said. He had come up behind the young man and he started in surprise.
"Ah, no…I mean…who is she?"
Mac motioned for his CSI to come and join him in his office. He rounded his desk and sat back down in his chair, but Hawkes remained standing.
"That was Assistant District Attorney Jessica Astor. She is prosecuting the case against Alex Davis and speaking of the case. What have you got?"
Hawkes pulled his mind, with some difficulty, back to the matter at hand and away from the sway of Jessica Astor's hips.
"Stella and I found a secondary crime scene." Mac leaned forward.
"Go on." The CSI rounded the desk and went to stand by his boss so he could place a report in front of him.
"We found out that he may have kept the girls in the basement but he raped them in his bedroom. We didn't find any biological evidence. Mr. Davis is very adept at using bleach, but we did find some interesting fibers. Three of which are consistent with the material used in the uniform skirts worn by the girls at Rachel and Julie's school."
Mac frowned and picked up the report.
"That goes a long way in confirming what Lindsay and Danny found, but only if their evidence stays in. If not then the defense can just claim that since he worked at the school and was in contact with the children, then the stray fibers could have got on his clothes that way. What we need is to find Rachel and Julie's uniforms, preferably in Davis's house."
Hawkes nodded in agreement and pulled out a second report.
"That's not all we found. The headboard like almost everything else in the room had been wiped clean with bleach but he missed the wood underneath the right corner. We found traces of trichloromonofluoromethane and dichlorodifluoromethane, both of which are mixed with albuterol as propellants."
Mac finished the thread.
"In fast acting inhalers. Didn't one of our vics suffer from asthma?" Sheldon smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
"Julie Martinez. Her medical records show that she suffered from mild to moderate asthma. Her records also show that her physician had prescribed an albuterol inhaler to be taken as needed for shortness of breath."
Mac also smiled. "Which can be brought on by new allergens or even adrenaline activity."
"Mr. Davis doesn't have asthma," Hawkes added.
"So there should be no reason to find asthma medication in his bedroom. That's good work, but we still need more."
Hawkes nodded and put the reports back in the manila folder he was carrying.
"Stella and I are going back again today. We are going to see if Davis's might have ditched the girl's belongings the same way he ditched the items he used to cover up his crime."
Mac nodded and leaned back in his desk chair.
"Keep me posted." Hawkes smiled, said he would, and left. Mac drummed his fingers on his desk silently regarding his cell phone. After a moment's contemplation he picked it up and dialed a familiar out of state number.
Detective Taylor. To what do I owe the pleasure?
Mac smiled and stood up so he could pace his office.
"Lieutenant Caine," he paused and added. "How are you Horatio?"
The red haired gentleman on the other end cracked a half smile and turned to watch as his CSI, Eric Delko, strap on his diving gear so that he could fish a cadaver out of the water.
They were parked just off the four lane highway on I-75 known affectionately in Florida as Alligator Alley. It was not just a cute misnomer to draw in tourists; the long stretch of black top that connected the East and West coasts of Florida was a hang out for the leathery reptiles. Motorists have been known to see them just off the road, basking in the Floridian sun and some had even had the misfortune of hitting them.
I've been all right. What can I do for you, Mac?
Mac almost smiled. That was just like Horatio, always strait to the point. It was one of the things he liked about the Lieutenant.
"I need a favor. You mentioned that when you worked here there was a man, a private investigator, who helped you during a high profile murder case. I would like his name."
H shifted his stance and turned to watch the passing cars on the highway. It was still early, so the traffic was lite and it was also summertime. Traffic thinned considerably in South Florida once the snowbirds and tourists fled back up North to get away from the sweltering heat. Not to mention it was the beginning Hurricane season. Miami was not the place to be during Hurricane season.
Horatio was silent for a moment, deliberating. He had agreed to keep the P.I.'s identity a secret due to his connection to the murderer. Mac knew as much and it lead H to deduce that he wouldn't be asking unless it was important.
Now that is a very big request. Can I ask why you need it?
Mac paced over to his desk and leaned one hip against it. He was now staring out the glass partition into the main corridor of the lab. He could see people arriving to start their day.
"I have a man that I need to have investigated and I can't use any of my people."
Mac then briefly outlined the situation surrounding Alex Davis, Carl Riker, and his two CSIs, Danny and Lindsay.
In Florida, Horatio turned back towards the Everglades and watched as Delko slipped into the water.
Say no more. His name is Lewis Whitney. He has an office in Manhattan and his number is 555-8621. Give him my name and he will help you.
Mac pushed off from his desk and grabbed his suit coat off the back of his chair.
"Thanks Lieutenant, I owe you."
H nodded even though Mac couldn't see him and scanned the water for any sign of his CSI. Suddenly and orange buoy rose to the surface. It was Eric's signal that he had found the body.
Good luck, Detective
Neither man said good bye, but there was no need. They both hung up at the same time, one focused completely on the body that his CSI was bringing to the surface, and the other on how to save the careers of the two bright, young Detectives that he had in his keeping.