Chapter 9 – Who are you?

It was Flack's first day back on the job. He and Lindsay had spent the last few weeks getting closer, closer than Flack had planned. She helped the kids in his building and spent nights at his place. He took her to dinners and dates, and spent the night at her place. The night before his first shift back, by his own design he had spent the night alone in his own apartment. The job needed focus and he wanted to be in control. Lindsay understood, she had her rituals too and wasn't hurt by his need to be alone before he started back. But as luck would have it, his first call was across the street from Lindsay's apartment.

Danny, Stella and Mac were all on the scene. Lindsay's shift didn't start for another couple of hours, but she saw the scene from her window and went down to the street with her kit. She was putting on gloves as she heard Flack giving the run down to the team.

"Victim is Dino Frotando. A guest of one of our finer federal establishments until recently."

Lindsay stood. She looked to Flack, the vic, and back again. She put her hands up slightly as if to indicate "I didn't touch him."

"Is Mac here?" her voice a whisper as she asked Stella, who pointed a half a block away talking to some uniforms.

Flack was puzzled by her actions and watched as she approached Mac.

"Mac. I need to talk to you." He turned to face her and said nothing.

"Mac, I could be a suspect in this." His gazed deepened but he still said nothing. "I testified against that man for killing my parents when I was six years old. I put him away for 20 years. I didn't know he was out until Flack just said his name."

"Ok," said Mac thinking.

"And Mac," she half-turned pointing to her building behind Flack. I live over there. Mac's eyes narrowed.

"So what you're telling me Lindsay is that you had motive, opportunity, and a weapon so means."

"Yes." She said, looking at him seriously.

"Ok, let's hand this to the feds and let them process to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Lindsay stand over there," he pointed to a curb away from the scene. "Officer," Mac called a uniform to him. "Officer this CSI's weapon is evidence in this case. She will turn it over to the federal agents when they arrive, just be sure she doesn't touch it in the meantime." He said gesturing towards Lindsay. She knew Mac was trying to establish a witness for her and her weapon but she felt like a suspect. Mac walked over to the scene.

"What's this?" Danny said, pulling something from the vic's pockets as Mac approached. "Plane tickets. Where you been Dino?" Danny carefully unfolded the papers "Huh, Montana? Small world."

"Listen up everyone," Mac interrupted. "This is a federal case now. Wrap up what you're doing, document it, then back off, we're waiting for the feds."

Mac turned to Stella. "Did Lindsay touch this body?"

"No, she put her gloves on then went to look for you." She replied.

"Ok, do me a favor document that in your book." Stella nodded.

Flack was bewildered. Was Lindsay literally making a federal case of them working together? He had seen her point in his direction when talking to Mac.

"Flack, come with me." Mac said. Flack's heart sank, now he felt sure she was.

Mac stopped midway between the scene and where Lindsay was standing with the uniform.

"Listen Flack, I am trying to be discrete." Mac started.

"Mac, I don't know what she told you about us, but its…" Mac cut him off.

"Listen to me. She's a possible suspect in this. If you are close to her, I imagine the feds will want to talk to you too. I am sending everyone else back to the lab, except a couple of uniforms, you and me, and we'll wait for them, but you are not to talk to her."

"A suspect? Why?"

"We'll know more later."

After the feds arrived and took charge of the crime scene, they took Lindsay's gun, and she entered a car with two agents which soon drove off.

Another agent approached Flack.

"Detective Flack. Agent Asher. You went to Montana with Detective Monroe about a month ago?"

"Yes I did to attend her father's funeral."

"And did you or Ms. Monroe meet up with or have any interactions with Mr. Frotando while there?"

"No."

"Did you know if Ms. Monroe's connection with Mr. Frotando?"

"No."

"Have you fired your weapon today?"

"No."

"Do you have any objections if we test you for GSR?"

He looked to Mac who nodded. "No, I have no objection."

"Ok. We won't do it on the street. We'll take you back to our offices."

"I'll drive him there." Mac said.

On the ride, Mac offered nothing more although he had his own theory, he would wait for confirmation.

They were seated in a room they both knew to be an interrogation room. A federal agent and a tech came in.

One tested Flack's hands, jacket and shirt cuffs, and took his gun. The other waited until the procedure was done, and shook both their hands. "Chuck Drude. Nice to meet you." He sat opposite them. "I am with the WPP." Mac nodded, it took Flack an instant to register, Witness Protection Program. "Lindsay Monroe checked in with us when she moved here, we're considering her cover blown now. When I was assigned to her here, I read the case file. It was legend in the program, I didn't honestly think it was true until I read it. "

Flack shifted in his seated, he wasn't sure he liked this guy's tone about Lindsay.

"We're not sure we have the whole story, only pieces." Mac said. Druder nodded.

"Twenty years ago, Dino Frotando, major player, and two of his guys break into their accountant's house in the middle of the night. Thought he was up to something. They know there are three little girls in the house. They go into the master bedroom, silencer's on and ice the parents, two shots each to the head. Old school guys though they probably would have left the girls. Problem was the middle girl was in the bed with the parents. Sick or something. Of course we don't know what went on in that room when they found her, but she ends up with a shot through the stomach. She saw their faces, they left her for dead, five years old."

Flack was leaning forward in his chair, gritting his teeth. He was clenching and unclenching his fists. This was hard to hear.

"Anyway, she crawls to the front door. Probably took hours with the wound, opens it, that's where she collapsed and the neighbors found her. Between getting the door open, and hugging this stuffed cat the whole time, stopping the bleeding, she probably saved her own life. Who knows how long those three girls would have been in the house before someone found them. The older girl went completely catatonic when she went into the parents bedroom in the morning."

Flack could barely sit in his chair, he needed to find her, hold her, take her away from this man and these words.

"It goes on from there. No one, and I mean no one wants anything to do with these girls. They're marked now you know. Dangerous. No one in the family would take them in. There's an attempt on the middle one in the hospital. They end up all three in police custody, the middle one still in a hospital bed with IVs, and nurses tending her. Good thing too the older one didn't eat the whole time until the middle one was with her, telling her to. Anyway, one of ours, Fed on the case, he can't let this go. When she finally can, middle one testifies. Puts two of three away, and the agent on their case gives it all up, became legal guardian and goes into the system himself. They have been in Montana ever since."

"Why would they put a little girl on the stand?" Mac asked.

"They couldn't get enough evidence. They needed her to put them away," Drude answered. Flack knew instantly why she dreamed of being a CSI as a child. She could find the evidence, keep another kid off the stand.

"And today?" Mac asked.

"There Dino turned up, across the street from her apartment, a month after Andy turns up dead."

"Andy?" Flack asked.

"Their father, guardian. That was his old name anyway, Andy Lawrence, aka Christopher Monroe."

"What are the girls old names?" Flack asked, for confirmation.

"Middle was Maria, older was," he opened a file. "Oldest was Nina, youngest was Regina." 'The Nina, the Gina and the Santa Maria' all tended by Christopher.

"What happens now?" Flack asked.

"Assuming she had nothing to do with Dino turning up on the sidewalk. She has the same choice as her sisters. We've already spoken to them. They have elected to be reabsorbed into the program. Get new identities. Lindsay has to decide if she wants to stay Lindsay, take a chance Dino's associates will be looking for her or become someone else, somewhere else. If she stays Lindsay her sisters are dead to her."

"If she becomes someone new?" Flack asked.

"She is dead to us." Mac answered. He knew the weight of his words to Flack. He knew it was more than losing a coworker.

"When does she have to decide?" Flack asked.

"Probably today, again we have to clear her of anything to do with this. She has motive anyone can understand." Drude answered.

Flack stood up and took a step towards the door. Mac grabbed his arm. "You have to let her decide, Don."

"Are we done here?" Mac asked.

"Yes he's been cleared. You can go."

As they stepped into the elevator and turned Flack caught sight of Lindsay. She saw him too and stepped away from the agents she was with to keep eye contact as he stood in the elevator. She mouthed "I'm so sorry."

Flack put his arm out to hold the doors open. He shook his head silently mouthing to her "Its OK." He motioned in her direction with his head, "You OK?"

She nodded. Then she looked around considering the circumstances, gave a small laugh and shrugged. Mac pulled Flack's arm from the elevator door and it closed.