CHAP 4
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or anything from CSI:NY,
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It was late, perhaps around 01:00am, and Don and Amy were sitting in Amy's couch, take away boxes littering the coffee table and empty moving boxes by the door. Just as with the marriage, the sooner Don moved in the better, so after both their shifts ended they started moving Dons things into Amys' guest room. Holly had taken over Dons lease until he would move back in a month.
"We're both gonna' save money this way, gas, the rent and food, food especially if it's take out every night.", Don put down the box containing spring rolls.
"Yeah…I'm stuffed", she through down her chop sticks, "and tired, how about we deal with the last boxes tomorrow?"
"Good idea".
Danny and Hawkes had helped move boxes, as Dons place was so close by so it didn't take too long. They had laughed as they unpacked up his stuff into her apartment, joking about the toaster that now stood in the kitchen still unused. But now, they were alone and reality sank in, here they were; married and living together.
"As a married couple we should know things about each other…", Don suddenly said, "like, middle names and pet peeves."
Amy had closed her eyes and leaned back in the couch, "Sure…you go first then", she said with out opening her eyes.
"Ok, my middle name is William, I guess my pet peeve is people who lie about every little thing. Your turn", he had mimicked Amys position as he took another swig of bear from his half empty bottle.
"Middle name is Noelle, no jokes thank you and my pet peeve would be stupid criminals... What else do you want to know?"
He took another swig of beer before he said anything, "most recent relationship?"
"Well before you my dear husband" she saw him smile from the corner of her eye, "it was a guy named Andrew, it didn't last though, and you?"
"Kimberly, you met her, she came to the lab one day not long after you started working there. But as you know she went back to her ex-boyfriend. Why didn't you and Andrew last?"
"I dumped him after he tried framing me for a crime he committed, one of the reasons I came to New York, it was kind of a scandal and it almost cost me my job" she had said it so matter of factly it took a moment for him to react. He sat up and looked at her, "I didn't know".
"Well that's a good thing then, since the whole point of this sharing game it to find out these little things about each other".
"So I presume he's in jail then?", he was still looking at her, she hadn't noticed.
"Yeah…", she felt her body relaxing and sleep starting to take over, "…rotting away. You sleepy?"
"A bit, you?", he didn't get an answer, he smiled as realized she had fallen asleep right there next to him.
Quietly he put the empty food boxes in the trash and turned to Amy, should he wake her or try and move her into her bed? He figured he could try and move her first. Pulling her arms up and around his shoulders he moved away from the couch hoping she would walk with him. As she started sliding down he grabbed her round her waist and pulled her up. Her head rested against his chest, and he admitted to himself that he could get just to this. Using his left leg he hoisted her up so that he was carrying her completely and headed towards her bedroom, in her sleep she slung her arms around his neck and snuggled closer.
Slowly he laid her down on the bed, carefully pulling out his arms from underneath her. She mumbled something he couldn't hear; as he pulled the covers over her she spoke again, "Andrew's a basterd".
He smiled at her remark, "Yeah, I agree". He stroked the hair from her face and looked at her sleeping face. God this was going to be hard, a whole month with her one room away. He closed her door behind him and went to bed, tomorrow was another work day.
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Over the next week Amy and Don lived together without any major problems, only argument they had was Don being the first one to use the shower in the mornings and leaving no warm water. Other than that everything went smoothly.
But Don couldn't get Stella to lay off his case about Amy, not long after she heard they were moving in together she had cornered him, "What next Don? A baby maybe?"
"Stell, are you saying I'm not capable of keeping it in my pants?", he laughed at the suggestion.
"No, of course not, I'm just wondering how far this is going to go. I see how you look at her and I've noticed she looks back with the same smile. I have a feeling this is going to end badly".
"Oh really? Well I'm not surprised, we've become really close friends, it's the same kind of relationship you get with your room mate in college you know. Don't worry Stell, I won't do anything I'll regret".
Stella eyed him, sighed and feeling the conversation was over for now she said good bye.
He smiled to himself, even though he had promised Stella not to hope Amy would fall madly for him he couldn't help but play with the thought that something could evolve from their present situation. 'She looked at him the same way he looked at her?' That's what Stella had said.
For the rest of the day he had a smile plastered across his face.
At the scene of an arson case Hawkes and Amy were sorting through a number of burnt objects and bagging them. A uniformed officer entered the room they were working in,
"Det. Flack?..Excuse me, Det.Flack?"
Hawkes nudged Amy, "that's you".
"Huh?...oh yeah, sorry. Yes officer?"
"There's a man outside who would want a word".
She thanked the officer as he left, "Still strange to be called 'Flack'?", Hawkes asked as he bagged a badly burned lamp.
"Yeah, but I kind of like it, 'Amy Flack'. Has a nice ring to it", she got up and pulled off her gloves, "I'll just go see what this man wants and I'll be right back, you ok for a while?"
"Sure, this stuff isn't going anywhere".
Outside she took a deep breath of fresh air; it was quite stuffy inside the burnt building.
She then noticed a man, late twenties, standing inside the taped off area fiddling with a piece of paper.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to stand behind the tape", she said as she approached him.
He reached to pull something out of his back pocket, Amy rested her hand on her gun but he merely pulled out his wallet and showed her a NYPD police badge.
"I'm sorry"
"You're CSI right, working this case?", he asked as he pocketed his wallet.
"Yes, one of them"
"My names Joe Martinez, I live in this building, well lived, but I was wondering…on the third floor, first apartment, did you find…anything…any…", he voice was unsteady and he was fiddling even more with the paper in his hand. Amy looked down and saw it actually was a photo of a women, she put two and two together.
"Your wife?"
He smiled, "no, my girlfriend...she was at my place waiting for me…I've checked the hospitals who treated the injured people from the fire, they said no one fitting Angela's description ever came in. Did you find any sign that maybe…perhaps she was...", he was fighting back tears and Amy's heart went out to him.
"I can make a call to see if any of the fatalities match her description if you like?"
He nodded his response.
She stepped away to make the call to the morgue.
"City morgue, Hammerback speaking"
"Hey Sid, it's Amy. Did you get any of the fatalities from our arson case?"
"Yes, both of them. I had expected more considering it was a five story building. You're wondering because?"
"Any of them women?"
"No, two males."
"Thanks Sid, I'll see you later then"
She hung up. Telling Joe his face was a mix of emotion.
"That's good and bad news I guess", he said staring at her photo.
"I think you should file a missing persons report and maybe contact her family and friends, see if she has contacted them." He thanked her and walked away. Amy stood still, was this connected to the fire? There were no human remains inside so if Angela had been in the building she would have been taken to the hospital or could she just have wandered off?
"What did that guy want?", Hawkes came out of the building carrying their evidence.
Amy filled him in on the new information.
"It could be connected or she just wasn't in the building. It could also mean she is a suspect", holding up an evidence bag containing a mutilated soda can, "I found this inside." He said.
"What about it?", she took the bag with the can and took a closer look.
"I found several of them on the second floor in the hall way, found residue of sugar on a few of them and I wouldn't be shocked if trace found amounts of potassium chlorate too."
"Basically classic smoke bombs. But why then start a real fire?", she looked at the different cans Hawkes had bagged, one stood out in a way that it was almost burnt to a crisp.
"This one, this one started to burn, whoever did this didn't use enough sodium bicarbonate to stop it from actually catching fire".
"We'll test it at the lab to confirm. If you're right it could mean the fire was accidental".
"If so what's the reason for the smoke bombs?", she got into the car, "well finding out that is why we get paid" Hawkes smilled as he got into the drivers seat.
