Chapter 2:
Nick returned to the lab to go over what little evidence they had. He headed down to the morgue to check with Doc Robbins on the body of Lisa Martin. He walked in to find the Doc and David in quiet discussion of their findings. Both looked up as Nick entered the room and Doc Robbins motioned him to come over.
"Nick, you're here about the Martin case?" Doc asked as Nick made his way over to stand next to David.
"Yeah, got anything for me?" Nick replied with a question of his own.
"Cause of death of course was the gunshot to the back of the head, looks like a .38, sent the bullet to Bobby. SART kit shows that she was raped repeatedly just before death, collected DNA and sent it to the lab. No fibers or hair were found." Doc Robbins finished his review and looked up expectantly at Nick.
"Alright, thanks Doc, hopefully CODIS will have this guy and we can nail him. Brass called next of kin and the sister will be in to id the body." Nick answered in a soft tone. He then made his way out of the morgue and went in search of Warrick and Greg.
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"Mrs. Hall, I am sorry for your loss. Would you mind telling me about Lisa? Was she dating anyone? Did she mention anyone giving her hard time at work perhaps?" Brass asked of the distraught woman in front of him.
"She worked at an advertising firm, she was well liked, and she had a lot of friends. She hadn't been seeing anyone, not since she broke up with Brad last year. If someone had a problem with her she didn't tell me, oh God, poor Lisa!" Mrs. Hall moaned as she sobbed on her husband's shoulder.
"What about you Mr. Hall, did Lisa mention anything?" Questioned Brass.
"No, she didn't, I just don't know who would want to do this to her, she was such a sweet person." Mr. Hall answered sadly.
"Mrs. Hall, you mentioned a Brad, can you tell me his last name? Where he lives or works?" Asked Brass as he readied his notepad to take down the information.
"Yes, its Brad Henderson, he worked for the same company Lisa worked for." Mrs. Hall answered while wiping away tears.
"Do you know why Brad and Lisa broke up?" Chimed in Warrick who was standing in the corner.
"Yes, Brad wanted Lisa to marry him and move to Chicago with him. She wasn't ready and he had a job opportunity open with a firm in Chicago. Lisa loved Brad, but she didn't want to leave Las Vegas and her job and her friends. In the end Brad went to Chicago and he Lisa remained friendly, but they went their separate ways. Why do you ask about Brad, you don't think he has anything to do with this do you?" Mrs. Hall questioned both men in alarm.
"Mr. and Mrs. Hall, we're just trying to piece together a picture of Lisa, who she knew, who she worked with, so that we can get a better idea of who did this to her. As soon as we know more we'll be in touch. Warrick can show you out Mr. and Mrs. Hall, and here's my card if you think of anything. I am sorry for your loss Mrs. Hall." Brass soothed Mrs. Hall while pulling out a business card for the couple.
Warrick moved from his corner in the room and escorted the couple out. He gave them his condolences and turned back to find Brass.
"So, we track down Brad and verify that he's in Chicago?" Warrick asked of the Detective as he watched the couple leave.
"Yeah, also I'll send Vega over to the advertising firm where she worked and have him talk to her co-workers in the morning." Brass replied as he pulled out his cell to give Vega a call.
"Tell him I'll meet him there, okay?" Warrick asked of Brass as he turned to leave to the parking lot. On his way out he found Greg and told him what he was doing.
"Hey, where's Nick?" He asked Greg as they left.
"He went to see Doc Robbins and then he headed to DNA, do you want me to give him a call?" Greg asked as they got in Warrick's truck.
"Yeah, let him know what we're doing and see if he wants to go with us." Warrick started the truck and pulled out of the driveway and headed back to the lab.
Brass returned to his office to begin his paperwork, going over his interview notes with Mrs. Winslow and tracking down what information he could about Lisa Martin. Two hours later he had Lisa's work address and next of kin. He sighed deeply as he began to dial the number of Lisa's older sister. Telling the family was always difficult and not something he enjoyed. He spoke briefly with the woman and set a time for her to come to the morgue, quietly hanging up as the woman sobbed on the other end after thanking him. It was going to be a long day Brass thought to himself.
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Nick waited patiently for the DNA results after talking to Greg. Hoping that CODIS would turn something up, there wasn't a lot of evidence to work with in this case and DNA could be their last chance at catching the rapist.
"Nick, come and take a look at this." Jenna instructed as she moved over so that Nick could see.
"What do you have?" He asked as he moved over to stand next to her.
"Well, it's definitely a male. The DNA also matches a cold case in, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lubbock, Texas, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and New Orleans, Louisiana. Unfortunately, it didn't turn anyone up in CODIS, looks like your guy has been doing this for some time and he's smart enough not to get caught. Sorry Nick." Jenna said with a shake of head.
"Damn." Nick muttered as he grabbed up his results and made his way out, stopping he turned in the doorway. "Thanks Jenna." He said as he made his way out of the DNA lab. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Brass, getting voicemail he left a quick message for Brass to give him a call and asked if he could pull up records on the cold cases Jenna told him about.
Sighing he made his way to one of the darkened rooms and began to process the victim's clothes, hoping to find something that would lead them to their rapist.
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Warrick and Greg were running a check of Lisa's credit card activity for the past few months, looking for any hint that may lead them to their killer. Nick came in and sighed heavily.
"I take it the clothes gave us nothing?" Warrick asked Nick as he scrolled through the records on the computer.
"Nothing. No semen, no hair or fibers from the perp, nothing to lead us to a suspect. This guy is clean." Nick as he flopped down on a stool next to Greg.
"Same here, nothing out of the ordinary in her bank statements." Greg took the last sip of his coffee and yawned.
"Well, I don't think we're going to get anywhere with tonight, why don't we call it a night and meet up in the morning to talk to her co-workers." Warrick stood up and stretched and looked to the two men for confirmation.
"Yeah, let's meet at 9, sound good?" Asked Nick as he too stood up and stretched.
"Got my vote!" Greg bounded from his stool and made his way to the locker room, leaving Nick and Warrick quietly chuckling behind him.