Stella Bonasera cursed and rubbed her tired eyes. Danny hadn't been kidding when he called Davis a slippery bastard. As far as she could tell he didn't seem to be particularly smart, but he was just one of those criminals where no matter how many times they thought they had him cold, he managed to slip through their fingers. Looking at the files it seemed it was equal parts luck and planning on Davis' part.

Stella met the gaze of her partner, Sheldon Hawkes as he looked up from the file that he had been perusing. He graced her with a sympathetic glance.

She sighed and reached for another folder and started mucking through the miniscule font. The only thing that the files had managed to confirm was that Davis was a real piece of work. It wasn't exactly breaking news.

Stella made a sound of disgust and dropped the file on top of a pile of discard papers.

"We are getting absolutely no where," she groused. Hawkes glanced up again and frowned.

"That's not true we have the fibers and the traces of inhalant medication." She started shaking her head and ran a tired hand through her long, dark curls.

"True but Mac was right. It isn't enough. We need to find another place to look."

Hawkes shifted his eyes back to the file in his hand and tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully. A half formed idea had taken root in the back of his head, but it was a long shot at best. After seeing the frustration etched on his partner's features he decided that maybe it was time to bet on the long shots.

"I might have an idea." Stella glanced up sharply.

"I'm all ears." He grinned and scooted over to her so she could look at the file he was holding.

"This is Davis' psych eval. The psychiatrist that examined him believed that he suffered from mild OCD tendencies."

Stella cut in.

"Obsessive/Compulsive? That would explain the excessive use of bleach at the crime scene." Sheldon smiled and his eyes confirmed that she was correct in her deduction, as per usual.

"It is also explains his reaction to Lindsay finding that bag he discarded. He doesn't leave himself room for mistakes nor is he willing to even admit that he makes them."

Stella stood up and started to pace, her mind working furiously.

"So he is ordered, meticulous, but not necessarily overtly intelligent. Where are you going with this?"

Hakes stood up as well and paced over to where she had stopped.

"Well, it got me thinking about his house. It was like stepping back in time. If I remember correctly he grew up in that house and inherited it from his grandmother. Normally people tend to make their habitats a reflection of themselves, but not Davis."

"And what do you make of that?" She asked, curious. Hawkes pointed to a notation in the file he held.

"It's right here. According to his eval Davis has a driving compulsion to hold on to objects he deems emotionally valuable. He, quite literally, wouldn't have been able to throw away the girls' personal items. He would have been compelled to keep them."

Stella finished his thought.

"Because in his mind he has an emotional attachment to the girls." She tapped one slim finger against her teeth.

"So the questioned becomes, what did he do with their things?"

Hawkes walked over to a pile of folders and started rooting through them. He was looking for the crime scene report that Lindsay had submitted. He made a small noise of triumph when he found it and rejoined Stella.

"This is Lindsay's report, it covers the search and recovery of Davis' house and the surrounding areas, but what is much more important is the area it doesn't cover."

Stella frowned. Her partner was gazing at her knowingly, waiting for her to come to the same conclusion he had. The instant it did a slow smile quirked her lips.

"They didn't search the school where Davis worked. There was no need." He nodded, satisfied.

"The best part is that since the girls went missing right before classes let out for the summer the school has been sealed tight."

Stella nodded, already having come to the same conclusion.

"So anything Davis might have stashed there is still going to be there. So what do you say Hawkes? Want to go to Summer School?"

He smiled and gestured towards the door.

"Lead the way."

There was a skip in Stella's step when she returned to the lab that morning. The school had been a rousing success by anyone's standards. She and Hawkes had met the head custodian there early that morning and he had let them in.

They had almost lost hope when a search of Davis' small office and locker turned up nothing, but they had hit the jackpot in the neatly arranged storage room.

Hawkes had been the one to find the bag in the far corner, hidden inside a break in the wall.

The catch had been a gold mine. They had found the girl's clothes, purses, and more importantly, an inhaler with Julie Martinez's name written on it in permanent black ink. D.N.A. would confirm.

Hawkes was in the lab right now doing the necessary analysis on the items, and Stella had no doubt that they had finally found something that would bury Alex Davis for good.

She was on her way to Mac's office to tell him the good news.

Stella rounded the corner and she could see him through the glass, standing by his desk on the phone. Mac was hard to read at the best of times but in all her years working here she had never seen a look on his face like the one she was seeing now.

A shiver started up her spine and she cautiously poked her head in his door.

"Hey Mac, got a minute?"

He glanced up and waved her in, but didn't speak. She waited patiently as he gave monosyllabic sounds of understanding while he listened to the speaker on the other end.

He hung up a few moments later, his face grim.

"Stel, what can I do for you?" He asked. He didn't go into whatever it was he had just learned and Stella didn't ask, even though she was desperately curious.

"Good news. Hawkes and I found Rachel and Julie's personal affects. Hawkes is in the lab right now going through them."

Instead of being happy about her news Mac's frowned deepened. She blinked in confusion; it was hardly the reaction she had expected.

"This is the part where you tell us we did good work," she prompted. She was half joking.

"That is good work, but I'm afraid it might be wasted," he replied, cryptically. Stella stood up and placed her hand lightly on his forearm.

"All right Mac, out with it. What's going on?" He met her eyes.

"That was Jessica. She got a call earlier this morning from Rikers Island. It seems Alex Davis has escaped."

Stella cursed and Mac's lips twisted into a wan half smile before morphing back to a frown of concern.

"What! How! When!"

Mac shook his head.

"He was taken to the infirmary late last evening, with a nose bleed and what looked like a wound made by a shiv on his arm. It had taken a couple of stitches but it wasn't as deep as it had first appeared to be. The doc in the infirmary now says he thinks it was self inflected. They don't seem to know how he got away from there."

Stella made a low sound of disgust in her throat and asked.

"So what now?"

Mac almost smiled. That was only one of the many things he really liked about Stella; her unwavering belief in him. On the days when he wasn't sure he even knew what he was doing, she would ask him for the plan like it never once occurred to her that he didn't have one.

It was a hell of a thing to inspire that kind of loyalty in people. It was empowering and deeply humbling all at once.

Mac sighed.

"At least now Riker doesn't have a leg to stand on as far as the case goes," he paused, looking thoughtful.

"Let's get Lindsay and Danny back here. They spent the most time on the case and they might be able to help. Jessica has also called in a favor with Major Cases. They are already looking for him."

Stella nodded once and turned to leave.

"I'm going to go and help Hawkes with the evidence. When we get this guy back I want to be able to bury him."

Mac smiled.

"Call Lindsay and Danny while you're at it. Bring them home."

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

That cryptic expression that she both loved and hated came over his features.

"I've got company coming."