Out Of Control
Kaitlynn grabbed a couple pairs of jeans and tank tops from her closet and stacked them in a black and white duffle bag, which also held a couple pairs of pajamas and hiking boots. A smile crossed her lips as a feeling of excitement stirred inside at the thought of her camping getaway with Vincent. She grabbed a journal and a few pens from her desk drawer and shoved them in the duffle before zipping it up and slinging the strap over her shoulder.
She locked her apartment door and as she turned to leave, bumped into her neighbor, a woman in her 40's who had two young children. "Going somewhere fun?" she asked, looking at the bag over the detective's shoulder. "Romantic?"
Kaitlynn nodded, tightening her ponytail. "I hope." she muttered, brushing some hair from her face. "Fun, not...not romantic really. We'll see." She chuckled nervously. "Would you mind checking my mail while I'm gone, Molly?"
"No, of course not." the woman known as Molly replied with a nod.
"Does Miss Kaitlynn have a boyfriend?" asked the young girl with long, brown hair.
"No." Kaitlynn shook her head, noticing the costumes the two children were holding. "Got their Halloween costumes already?"
"Yeah, we did. They're super excited." Molly answered with a chuckle. "Jasmine's gonna be Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Josh's gonna be a Ninja Turtle."
The young detective nodded her head, "Very cool." she smiled at the kids, who showed her their costumes.
"Have fun this weekend Kait." the dark haired woman unlocked her apartment and smiled at her neighbor.
"Thank you." the brunette replied, returning the smile. She ruffled the children's hair as she passed them.
Kaitlynn stepped out of her car, tightening her ponytail and shrugging on her blue leather jacket. "Good morning." she greeted her partner with a smile.
Kimberly rolled her eyes, flipping a portion of her ebony locks off her shoulder, "Handbook Chapter 3: try to not look giddy when approaching a murder scene." she reminded, joining her friend by the body in the grass.
Kaitlynn quirked her brow, slipping on a pair of latex gloves, "I seriously doubt I look giddy." she rebuffed.
"We'll get back to that." KC stood beside her partner as she knelt by the body. "Frat party, couple sneaks out to make out in the bushes and finds a cut-up fraternity brother." she motioned to the dead male at their feet.
The younger detective pursed her lips together, "How long's he been here?" she asked.
"They're doing a prelim." KC answered, jotting down her crime-scene notes. "Speaking of hot brothers..." she added, her lips curling into a grin, making her friend look at her with a raised eyebrow, "...the firefighters' calendar launch party's tonight."
"You did not seriously just use that as a segue, did you?" Kaitlynn questioned, resting her arm over her knee.
KC held up two fingers, "Two tickets to the party." she added, her grin widening. "You and me, and a bar full of hot firefighters."
Kaitlynn shook her head, continuing her assessment of the crime scene, "Sorry." she apologized. "I have plans already."
The older, African-American detective nodded, "Yeah, and they're called Mr. July and Mr. October." she stated in a 'matter-of-fact' tone of voice. "Give me one good reason besides 'I have to run an errand'. Or do you want me to start asking the tough questions about your elusive life these days?" she placed her hand on her hip and arched her brow, staring down at her young partner.
Kaitlynn sighed heavily and stood up, "It's just a casual thing, right?" she questioned. "I'll be back before nightfall."
"Hopefully not alone." Kimberly chuckled, giving a suggestive look.
"Fine." Kaitlynn caved, ripping off her gloves. "Wingman invite accepted."
"Making out in the bushes just isn't what it used to be." Evan joked as he joined the two detectives. "Vic is Derek Moore. Narrowed down the time of death between midnight and 1:00 a.m. I found a short trail of blood on the sidewalk that veers up into the lawn." He walked with Kaitlynn down the sidewalk, indicating the direction their victim came from before he collapsed on the lawn.
Kaitlynn glanced around the campus, slipping her hands into her jean pockets, "He managed to make it this far after the attack before he died?" she questioned in a low voice, biting her bottom lip, her ponytail draping over her shoulder.
"Yeah, but thanks to the extremely efficient sprinkler system, the true crime scene's gonna be next to impossible to find." Evan noted. "Blood trail's been washed away."
At the old warehouse, J.T. walked up to the loft and saw a pile of bloody clothes on the floor by Vincent's bed. The sound of the shower turning off caught his attention and he turned and saw Vincent stepping out, zipping up his jeans and his shaggy hair still damp. "I blacked out again." Vincent informed, obviously upset about the blood on his clothes and his lack of memory of how it got there in the first place.
In order to try and determine the cause of the blackouts, J.T. hooked up some leads to Vincent's head and monitored his brain activity. "Frontal cortex has maintained a steady algorithm over the last hour." the professor noted. "No sign of hypotension."
Vincent sighed heavily, "I don't get it, it's like I'm sleepwalking or something. And I know it's not due to low blood sugar, so what is triggering it?"
"The trigger's unclear. Everything seems normal-ish, but..." J.T. shrugged. "...you're showing signs of dissociative amnesia. You don't remember what you're doing, and..." he glanced to the pile of bloody clothes, "...you're clearly doing something."
"Okay, I don't think you should be around me." Vincent admitted. "If I don't know what I'm doing, and then-"
"You're not gonna hurt me." J.T. cut him off, sitting down in front of his laptop. "But just in case, I have backup." he reached over and pulled out a tranquilizer gun, loading up three small darts. "Stings a little but, it's the best night's sleep you'll ever have."
"Good." Vincent nodded, licking his lips. "But you're not the only one I'm worried about." His mind went to Kaitlynn and the thought of her being hurt because of him was enough to make him feel a twinge of guilt.
J.T. looked at his friend, "I think it's safe to say you'll need an indefinite rain check on your camping weekend, but we can't tell Kaitlynn." he stated bluntly.
"I can't keep another secret from her." Vincent argued.
"Just until we know what we're dealing with." J.T. added. "I know you don't want to believe this, but..." he took a deep breath and exhaled, "...if Kaitlynn thinks you're too dangerous, too out of control, she's gonna reach a point where she has to turn you in."
"She wouldn't do that, okay?" Vincent sighed. "We have to tell her."
J.T. held his hands up in surrender, "Let's not forget that we have a much bigger problem on our hands." he noted. "If that wasn't your blood, whose was it?"
Vincent looked down at the floor, "I don't know." he admitted after a few minutes of silence. "All I remember is that I was walking past Northam Campus on my way to Kaitlynn's, must have been just after midnight." he recalled. "And all of a sudden, I started to feel light-headed and then..." his eyes fluttered for a moment, "...and then I don't remember." the machine the leads were hooked up to started to beep as Vincent's eyes drifted closed.
J.T. looked over the numbers before looking back to Vincent, who suddenly awoke in his Beast state. He let out a growl, which made J.T. stumble back and grab the tranquillizer gun. "Vincent?" the professor questioned.
In his trance-like state, Vincent shoved J.T. across the loft and knocked over the table they were just sitting at. J.T. quickly got to his feet and held the tranqu gun ready to fire, his hands shaking. "Vincent." he called out to his friend, who just continued to stalk towards him, letting out another growl. Seeing no other choice, the professor fired the tranquilizer dart, which struck Vincent in the leg. The next instant he collapsed on the floor, letting out a low growl before falling unconscious.
As J.T. approached his unconscious roommate, there was a knock at the door. "Hey, is everything okay?" Kaitlynn's voice asked on the other side. "I heard a crash."
"You've got to be kidding me." J.T. muttered harshly. Kaitlynn knocked again, calling out J.T.'s name. "Be right there." he called back, moving a cart in front of Vincent to block him from view of the door.
The door to the loft opened enough for Kaitlynn to see J.T. standing on the other side, "Is everything okay?" the detective asked.
"Yes." the professor answered with a smile, resting one hand against the doorframe and hiding the tranqu gun behind his back. "He's not here."
Kaitlynn quirked her brow, "Well then, where is he?" she questioned. "It's the middle of the day."
J.T. shrugged, "Probably on a rooftop somewhere, I don't know." he chuckled. "You know Vincent."
The detective just nodded her head, "Okay, I've gotta head back to the precinct and work on this case from Northam." she informed. "Could you just let him know that I got roped into something by my partner tonight, so I'm gonna have to push our trip to tomorrow."
"N-Northam?" J.T. repeated, "Did something happen on campus?"
"Yeah, a murder. Fraternity brother." Kaitlynn clarified. "Pretty gruesome actually."
"What time?" the glasses-wearing male pressed.
Again, Kaitlynn arched her eyebrow, "Just after midnight. Why?" she narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering why J.T. was so interested in her new case.
The professor chuckled dryly, "I have colleagues there." he covered. "Just, curious. Busy night for murders?"
"Nope." Kaitlynn shook her head, "Just this and a gang hit in the Bowery." she licked her lips, "J.T., is everything okay?"
"Yeah, just the campus thing, hits close to home. Always wonder when it's gonna be you." J.T. replied, putting on a smile, "Anyway, I'll tell Vincent you stopped by." he promised.
"Thanks." Kaitlynn took a couple steps back. "See ya, I guess." She spun on her heels and walked down the stairs.
"Good seeing you, Kait!" J.T. called after her in a forced-cheery tone. When he made sure she was gone, he dropped the act and shut the door, looking back over his shoulder at Vincent, who was still out-cold on the loft's floor.
Kaitlynn passed by a young blonde, collage-aged student on her way towards the break room and knocked on the open door, where Kimberly was sitting on the table looking over a couple papers, "Hey, any luck tracking down Derek's grudge list?" she asked.
The older detective shook her head, "No enemies have surfaced yet." she answered, walking out and joining her partner in the hallway, "I just talked with his girlfriend. She didn't do it." KC informed, the two detectives walking down the stairs leading to the bullpen, "She has an alibi- study group, Chem 102."
Kaitlynn shook her head, "And that's why I decided to become a writer instead of a scientist like my mother." she noted
"And how's that working out for you?" KC arched her brow.
Kaitlynn cracked a small smile, "The money from book sales is amazing and I'm thinking about buying a villa in France." she giggled, "Lab results should be in by now so I'm gonna head to the morgue."
Kimberly glanced towards the bullpen's entrance and saw Evan walk in, "Looks like the morgue found you." she corrected, giving her friend a wink before walking off.
Kaitlynn shook her head and looked towards Evan, catching sight of a younger male in a suit jacket carrying files following him. "Is it 'Bring Your Buddy to Work Day' and I forgot or didn't get the memo?" the brunette joked standing behind her desk, catching sight of a small box sitting in the center, with another card signed from her 'secret admirer', which made her roll her eyes.
"Kait, Peter. Peter, Kait." Evan introduced. "Intern program, Criminology grad student." the young detective quirked her brow in slight confusion, "Don't look at me, it wasn't my choice. Joe signed off on it."
"Kait, is it?" the student replied, holding out his hand. "Peter Hollingsworth." he introduced formally, shaking the detective's hand.
"The Third." the medical examiner added.
"Kaitlynn Chandler." the detective replied, releasing the student's hand and giving him a welcoming smile. "I was just about to come down and see you about the lab results." she turned her eyes back to Evan
"Well, what a coincidence, because I wanted to show you something on Derek's body." Evan replied, glancing to his intern, "Peter, you know what would be really helpful? If you could go and get the report from the first investigators on the scene and see if it mentions anything about the postmortem stain."
"They put that in the report?" Peter questioned excitedly. "That is so cool." He left to do as instructed, a wide grin on his face.
"Feel free to take your time." Evan called after him.
Kaitlynn shook her head and opened her gift, which was a large, metal cuff with a large calligraphic 'K' in the center decorated with small sapphires. She sighed heavily and put the box in her desk drawer. "Looks like you've got yourself a fan boy there, Evan." she chuckled, nudging his arm as she moved to stand beside him.
"Ha-ha." the British male mock-laughed, nudging the detective back.
Down in the morgue, Evan handed Kaitlynn his autopsy notes, "Cause of death: excessive bleeding from multiple lacerations." he told her. "Now, we're going to run his clothes to see if we find any DNA other than Derek's. And I found splinters embedded in the palm of his hand."
"Maybe he was defending himself with something?" Kaitlynn questioned, setting the clipboard on another lab table.
Peter walked in wearing a lab coat and reading over a file, "You were so right. Postmortem stain." he said to Evan. "You really pegged it. Rad."
"Totally rad." Evan repeated, dryly, as he pulled the sheet up over the victim's legs, "Kaitlynn, this is what I thought you'd find interesting." he showed her a shallow, jagged wound on Derek's ankle, "At first, I was inclined to write it off as a cut. Maybe he snagged his ankle on a rock or something, but-"
"It looks like a check mark to me." Kaitlynn finished, bracing her hands on her knees as she bent down to get a closer look, the sleeve of her jacket brushing against Evan's lab coat.
"It is." Evan confirmed, turning his face to meet hers, their eyes locking and noses nearly touching. "And I've seen one like it before."
Noticing how close they were made Kaitlynn stand up and take a couple steps away, flipping her ponytail off her shoulder. "Carved into another body?" Peter questioned, looking to the medical examiner.
Evan nodded, "I haven't been able to remember where, but I've started to pull old files." he added.
"Well, Derek was in a fraternity." Kaitlynn reminded, resting her hands on her hips, "Maybe it was an initiation or a hazing. I'll grab KC and we'll interview some of the fraternity kids, maybe they'll know something about it. Thanks Ev." She pecked his cheek and gave him a smile before walking out, taking a deep breath and exhaled.
Kimberly and Kaitlynn stood in a large study of the fraternity house, speaking with one of the members. "Maybe a hazing ritual went wrong." Kaitlynn explained, sliding her hands into her back pockets. "It wouldn't be the first time."
KC nodded in agreement, "Wanna tell us about initiation?" she questioned, folding her arms over her chest.
"We don't really make that kind of thing public." the student answered, sitting on the large desk in front of the window. "We all take an oath here."
"Did Derek have any enemies?" Kaitlynn continued her questioning. "Maybe someone from a rival house?"
The boy shook his head, "Derek was a leader, a pledge master. The guys here all looked up to him." he replied. "He was one of my best bros."
"You seem pretty mellow for a guy whose best bro just got killed." KC noted, arching her eyebrow.
The young male scoffed, "I smoked a bowl this morning." he informed, earning a slightly shocked look from the two detectives. "You want to arrest me, go ahead. My dad's a partner at Lange and Wallace." He hopped off the desk, "I'm late for class." he glanced between the two females and left.
"Well that was helpful." Kaitlynn muttered, shaking her head. Both her and KC turned to leave, when they noticed another member of the fraternity watching them from the living room. When he saw he'd been spotted, he quickly looked away and tried to leave,
"Hey!" Kimberly called after him. "Any reason you're playing I Spy?" The two detectives cornered the young student.
"Look, we could use some help in trying to find whoever did this." Kaitlynn added in a softer tone. "He was your brother. That's got to matter to somebody."
"It does." the younger male replied. "But I'm new here, and I took an oath..."
"Okay, enough with the frickin' oath." KC interrupted with a scoff.
"We're not asking you for your secret handshake, alright?" Kaitlynn followed. "But if you could point us to somebody who might have had a bone to pick with Derek."
The student looked down for a few seconds before shifting his eyes towards a blackboard that was hanging on the wall to his left. Kimberly glanced to the board before looking to the fraternity kid, "Care to explain?" she asked.
"It's all the pledges." the student answered. "When we accept a bid, we sign our names. It's tradition."
Kaitlynn looked from the board to the student, "And the names that get crossed out?"
"Dropouts." the fraternity member answered. "Guys who couldn't hack it. But, I'd rather go through with initiation than deal with the fallout of bailing. It can get kind of brutal."
Kimberly rolled her eyes, "Oh, public disgrace and humiliation. Joys of male bonding." she scoffed.
"Any idea where Bradley is?" Kaitlynn asked, seeing that was the only name that was crossed off the board.
"No one's seen him around campus since he left the house." the student replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
Hours had passed before Vincent finally awoke after being hit with the tranquilizer dart. His eyes opened and everything slowly came back into focus. He glanced up, seeing J.T. standing over him with the tranqu gun aimed and prepped to fire. "You don't need it." he told his friend, still groggy from the drugs leaving his system.
"Tell that to my vertebrae and the concrete wall that realigned them." J.T. remarked. "You didn't know what you were doing, so no guilt, but, I mean, toss me across the room like a sack of flour once, shame on you."
"I am so sorry." Vincent apologized, getting to his feet. "Are you okay?"
"I'll live." J.T. noted. "But these new Terminator episodes take things to a whole new level."
Vincent sighed, grabbing a grey t-shirt that laid on his bed and threw it on, "Okay, I cannot leave this building until we figure out how to control it." he stated. "What did you find?"
"It's not pretty." J.T. stated bluntly, grabbing the scans and data he recorded earlier that day, handing the pages to Vincent, who sat down at the table and went over them. "So, basically, when you're in Terminator trance, it looks like your frontal lobe is repressed." the professor continued. "Like the functions that would normally give you control over your emotions, compassion, all that touchy-feely stuff."
"Okay, what else?" Vincent asked, catching a hesitant look in his best friend's eyes. "J.T., what is it?"
The glasses-wearing male sighed heavily, leaning against the cart full of medical equipment. "Uh...you have anything against frat guys?" he questioned.
"No. Why?" Vincent answered, confused by the questioned.
"Well..." J.T. scratched the back of his neck, "Kaitlynn is investigating a murder that happened right when you were blacked out." he informed. "Same part of town, same hour. Died of multiple lacerations. Kind of like...claws."
Hearing the details made Vincent wonder of he was the one responsible for the death on campus, and his next though was how he was going to confess this to Kaitlynn, and feared what her reaction might be to the information.
That night, Kimberly dragged Kaitlynn to the FDNY calendar party, a wide grin across her face as she stared at all the attractive firefighters. The two girls were dressed in tight tank tops and jeans with their leather jackets.
"If you can't find Mr. Right here, you've reached the point of no return." the dark-skinned woman whispered to her best friend. Her eyes landed on one she walked on over, "Hey. March, right?" KC greeted, twisting some of her curled, ebony hair around her finger in a flirtatious way as she leaned against the bar. "Big fan of your work."
"She means your charity work." Kaitlynn added, smoothing out her dark blue top. "It's a great cause."
"Abs aren't bad, either." KC winked, the hem of her Army green top riding up, exposing her midriff.
"Kim." the younger detective shot her friend a look and cleared her throat.
"Hey, we're female cops who get objectified all the time." the older female reminded, turning her attention back to the fireman she was flirting with. "Besides, you don't mind, do you?" The firefighter just shook his head and smiled.
"Okay." Kaitlynn blinked. "I'm gonna go check out the buffet."
"'kay." Kimberly muttered, not watching as her partner left.
Kaitlynn nervously made her way through the crowd and chatted with some of the firemen who posed for the calendar. After doing that for an hour or two, she stood by herself at the bar and ordered another bottle of beer, tapping her nails on the calendar beside her.
One of the firefighters walked up to her and signed her calendar, "Mike Strickland." he introduced, "I'm September."
"Thanks." Kaitlynn smiled, taking a swig of her beer. "How do they decide the months, anyway?" she asked, leaning against the bar. "Do they look at you and go, 'You look like fall, but not like late fall?'"
Mike looked over Kaitlynn, feeling a sense of familiarity, "Weren't you on the beat in the 98th a few years back?" he questioned. "You were first on the scene of that tour bus."
"Right." Kaitlynn nodded, a smile crossing her lips. "You saved that kid with glasses who was trapped."
"He's in the sixth grade now, he still sends me letters." Mike nodded. The two laughed and small sparks seemed to fly. "Well, um, good memory." he chuckled, "I'm gonna go and work the room, or whatever I'm supposed to be doing."
"Okay." Kaitlynn waved as he walked off. She sighed heavily and took another swig of beer, checking the September page on her calendar and saw that Mike had also wrote down his phone number.
The next morning, Kaitlynn and Kimberly interviewed Bradley Wilson, the collage student who dropped out of the fraternity. "I wasn't hiding or anything, ma'am." Bradly defended. "I was at my parents."
"Ma'am?" Kaitlynn arched her eyebrow, exchanging a glance with her partner. "You realize we don't like that till we're, like, 50, right?"
"Sorry. I don't really know how to talk to, uh..." the young male apologized. "...lady cops."
"Can you tell us why you dropped out of the Delts?" Kaitlynn asked. "You obviously pledged for a reason, but you're the only one who dropped. Couldn't handle the pressure?"
"Look, Derek had this coming." Bradley replied. "But I didn't do it. I was playing Deathwatch PvP." seeing the confused looks on the detective's faces, he clarified, "Player versus player, with graphical interface."
"What did you mean by, 'Derek had it coming to him'?" Kaitlynn cut off, getting back on topic of the case.
"He's a complete sadist." Bradley's eyes narrowed slightly. "I mean, I know initiation is supposed to be about jackass, old-school bonding stuff, but Derek would literally beat me with a paddle."
The two detectives sat at a station of multiple computers with Bradley as they listened to a voicemail left by Derek on his phone the night of the murder. "You should have run when you had a chance. I'm gonna teach you what it means to be a brother. You're gonna beg for fucking mercy. Like Walton Bell Tower never saw."
"Who's Walton?" the young brunette tucked some hair behind her ear, looking to the collage kid.
"The Walton Bell Tower on campus." Bradley clarified.
"Were all the hazing rituals done there?" KC asked, leaning back in her chair.
Remy from the I.T. department, pulled up photographs of the campus location. Kaitlynn looked to her partner, "Actual crime scene?" she muttered, "Derek wasn't attacked where he was found."
"I finished triangulating the call." Remy informed. "It came from a quadrant of campus midway between the frat party from two nights ago and the bell tower." He pushed his chair back and cast a lingering glance in Kaitlynn's direction.
"Why would you leave a party alone in the middle of the night and go halfway across campus?" Kaitlynn muttered, crossing her legs as she sat on the desk, not noticing Remy looking at her.
"And head to a hazing tower." KC added, tapping her fingers on her knee. "It sounded like he thought he was meeting you there." she glanced to Bradley, "Maybe someone said you'd reconsidered. That you were coming back to the house."
"I say we check out that tower, see what we can find." Kaitlynn voted, jumping off the desk.
"Read my mind, partner." KC got to her feet and grabbed her leather jacket from the back of the chair, following Kaitlynn out of the precinct.
The two detectives walked around the interior of the tower and found a small pool of blood, "Looks like we found the actual scene of attack." Kaitlynn noted.
Kimberly shone her flashlight and saw an old record album, a pair of shoes and an inflatable beach ball. "A saddle shoe? I didn't know those came back into style." she noted, lowering her flashlight. "I'll call our location in."
"Okay, I'll keep looking around, see if I find anything else." Kaitlynn glanced to her partner, watching her leave, before continuing her search. She walked around and when she glanced up, she saw someone in the shadows across from her, "Vincent?" she gasped, as he came into the light. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a low whisper.
"Sorry." Vincent apologized, ducking under one of the wooden beams, standing a few inches from Kaitlynn. "I followed you."
She chuckled softly, "I thought we were going to meet tonight?" she reminded, licking her lips.
Vincent swallowed the lump in his throat, "Uh, tonight can't happen." he replied. "Sorry. I really wanted to get away from all of this with you, but, things have changed."
"Oh." Kaitlynn blinked, brushing some hair from her face. "I understand."
"No, I don't think you do." Vincent rebuffed. "I need to tell you something." he took a step closer towards her, "The killer that you're after, he might be me." Kaitlynn's eyes widened slightly and she quirked her brow.
After finishing up at the bell-tower, Kaitlynn drove to the warehouse with a small sample of the blood for J.T. to analyze to know for sure if Vincent was the one who killed Derek. Kaitlynn however, remained optimistic that the killer was someone else closer to the campus.
"In a minute we'll know if the blood from the tower matches what Vincent tracked in." J.T. informed, looking at the blood under his microscope.
Kaitlynn sat at the table, going over the case file, Vincent taking the seat beside her. "I'm so sorry about this weekend." he apologized again.
"That doesn't matter right now. You didn't ask for this." Kaitlynn assured, placing her hand over Vincent's. "Vincent, you did not murder Derek. Even when you're not yourself, you do the right thing." she gently wrapped her hand around his and gave it a small squeeze.
"I kill people, too, and you know it." Vincent reminded. "I wish that I could tell you that normally, this wasn't my life, but..."
"I'm not going anywhere." Kaitlynn reassured, smiling. "I'm a homicide cop in New York City, nothing really scares me." she added, her eyes meeting his. They kept their eyes locked for a couple minutes, before Kait shook herself out of the daze. "Okay." she sighed, tapping the case file, "Derek was on his way across campus. We think that he was sent there by someone at the party."
"One of his fraternity brothers?" Vincent questioned.
"Or at least one of the pledges." Kaitlynn added. "Derek was brutal during hazings. KC's running all their profiles."
"Good, because one of them is your perp." J.T. interjected. "Most likely. The blood samples don't match. Vincent didn't do it."
Kaitlynn glanced from J.T. back to Vincent, "Told you so." she chuckled, quirking her brow and flashing a smile.
"But I had someone's blood on me." Vincent reminded.
Kaitlynn sat in her car outside the coffee shop, talking with Evan over a video call, who was surveying the bell tower crime scene, "Our killer left that check mark as a calling card, so there's probably other clues." he told her over the phone. "What did you make of that ball?" Evan turned his phone to show Kaitlynn what he was talking about.
"Well, from what I could tell, it seemed like some kind of throwback ritual that was part of initiation tradition." Kaitlynn analyzed. "The fraternity brothers didn't give us much."
"It looks as if the scene's been staged for some reason." Evan noted. "I had seen that check mark before. I think our killer made a practice run several months ago."
"Practice run?" Kaitlynn repeated with a quirked brow.
"On a cadaver here on campus." Evan added. "I put a call in to get a roster..." He was cut off when someone came up from behind and hit him in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.
"Evan?" Kaitlynn questioned, and a few seconds later the line went dead. "Evan!" She dropped her cell in the cup holder and threw the gear shift into drive and sped towards the precinct.
"Whoever this son-of-a-bitch was, he was bold enough to kidnap one of our own." Joe addressed his officers, who were all gathered in the bullpen after hearing the news Evan was abducted by the killer. "We're in a race against the clock." Standing near him was Catherine.
"I found Evan's phone in the bell tower." Kaitlynn informed, standing up at the front with her boss. "From what he told me, we're looking for someone who was planning this murder for a while now."
"We think the cadaver was a trial run." Kimberly added, leaning against her desk.
"Remy got into Evan's computers." Kaitlynn continued, the aforementioned I.T. guy sitting in the chair next to her. He punched a few keys on the keyboard and pulled up the last files the medical examiner had viewed. "This picture was the last window that was opened." the brunette detective pointed to the image of a dead female body on a flight of stairs. "It appears our perp did a test on a cadaver from the campus anatomy lab ten months ago."
"So, you believe he took the plunge and made his first real kill with this fraternity kid?" the Lieutenant questioned.
Kaitlynn nodded in confirmation, handing out copies of a list with potential suspects to her co-workers. "This is a list of students who had access to the Northam Cadaver Lab the semester of the first incident." she informed. "Evan had requested it before he was kidnapped. We pulled it from his emails."
"If our perp sticks close to campus, why take Evan?" asked one of the detectives. "What's this psycho's MO?"
"We don't have motive for Derek's attack, but for Evan, it seemed pretty simple." Kimberly answered, her hands on her hips. "He was getting too close."
"Close to what?" scoffed the male detective. "The guy's stuck in a morgue."
"But he was taken from the crime scene on campus." Kaitlynn noted, going over the list she held, one of the names catching her eye. "Peter Hollingsworth the third." she muttered. "Son of a bitch." the brunette cursed, slamming the paper down on her desk.
"That's why he knew Evan was onto him." KC nodded in agreement.
"You really think he'd have the balls to come to a precinct, into our own lab that's investigating the murders he committed?" Joe questioned.
"What better way for a criminology student to follow his first kill all the way through the whole process?" Kaitlynn arched her brow, her hand on her hip as she flipped her hair off her shoulder.
"He asked for an internship in the precinct where he knew Derek's body would end up." Kimberly added, following her partner's train of thought.
"Alright, I'll put out an APB." Joe declared, all the officers getting to their feet. "Let's get this bastard."
Kaitlynn and Kimberly nodded at eachother as they grabbed their leather jackets from the backs of their chairs. "Be careful, Katie." Catherine whispered, grabbing her sister's arm.
"Yeah." Kait nodded and gave her sister a smile before rushing out of the precinct after her partner.
Kimberly and Kaitlynn kicked down the door to Peter's apartment, their guns drawn. They carefully walked through, eventually ending up in the living room that also doubled as a bedroom. Kaitlynn examined the corner bookshelf, taking note of the various titles she saw, "These remind me of my collage days, reading them for my psych classes."
"What the hell?" Kimberly questioned, lifting up the mattress, revealing a bunch of newspaper clippings taped underneath. "Something tells me this isn't for a dissertation." She glanced to her best friend, who stood by her side.
"It's like a shrine or something." Kait sighed, pulling her phone out to take some pictures.
As Kimberly took a closer look at all the news clippings, a familiar one catching her eye, "Jazz album, saddle shoe, beach ball." she noted, seeing an old murder from the forties. "Derek's murder is an exact replica, except for when he tried to crawl away for help."
"Peter's copying famous murders in the city." Kaitlynn observed, snapping more pictures with her phone.
The African-American detective rolled her eyes, "Great, nothing better than one freak mimicking a bunch of other freaks." she scoffed, her voice full of sarcasm.
"I'm gonna send these to the precinct, see if they can get any information on the original cases that might help us figure out where he took Evan." Kaitlynn attached all the pictures she took to an e-mail and sent it to Joe, before pocketing her cell phone.
"But if he was gonna try to kill Evan, why not just do it in the bell tower?" KC questioned, arching her brow as she looked to her partner.
Kaitlynn licked her lips, meeting her partner's eyes, "These crimes are all about precision and control." she informed, her ponytail falling over her shoulder. "So if he's recreating famous New York murders, he's not going to just kill Evan randomly."
Kimberly turned her attention back to the news clippings, "So, the question is: which one of these is he going to recreate with Evan?" she questioned. "We can rule out the ones he already committed, and the ones that are too far away."
"It's broad daylight." Kaitlynn added, using her knowledge of psychology to use and trying to get into the killer's mind. "He's going to want to go somewhere dark, somewhere out of the way." As Kaitlynn studied the board, she saw a clipping about the maulings in the subway, and her mind flashed back to the night Vincent saved her almost a month ago. "The subway tracks." she breathed out.
"But the closest subway station's over a mile from the bell tower." Kimberly reminded, brushing some of her hair from her face.
"Manhattan Main Line." Kaitlynn pointed out. "It used to connect to that old City Hall Line back in the '20s. Problem is, that rail line goes on for miles."
"Well then, let's go." Kimberly voted, digging her phone from her pocket and calling the precinct. Kaitlynn's eyes drifted back to the article on the subway mauling and knew she needed Vincent's help if she was going to find Evan in time.
Vincent and J.T. were going over different police files to determine who's blood Vincent had on him the previous night when Kaitlynn practically stormed into the loft. "Vincent, I need you." she blurted out.
"You forgot to turn on the security?" J.T looked to his roommate. "What's the point?" he shook his head and leaned back in the chair as Vincent got to his feet and stood neat Kait.
"Someone took Evan." the brunette detective added.
"The guy from her birthday?" J.T. questioned. "The one you kissed?"
Kaitlynn arched her brow and glanced towards him, "I was drunk, okay?" she defended. "Either of you ever get drunk and do something stupid?" she glanced between the two males.
The professor held his hands up in surrender, "Just clarifying."
Kaitlynn sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, before turning her attention back to Vincent. "He was taken by the killer, possibly to the the tunnels under the campus."
"The abandoned rail line." Vincent noted, leaning against the table. "Why there?"
"He's recreating old killings." Kaitlynn elaborated, biting her lip. "Vincent, he's recreating yours, from the night you saved me in the subway." She placed her hands on her hips. "You know the underbelly of this city better than anyone. You're my only hope of finding Evan before it's too late."
The pair stood in silence for a few minutes, before Vincent cast a glance to J.T. The glasses-wearing male stood up and sighed, "Why am I always outnumbered?" he rolled his eyes, moving to grab the tranquillizer gun and loaded the darts. "If you're going to go into the dark tunnels with this guy alone..." he looked to Vincent for a quick second before he turned to Kait and handed her the tranqu gun. "...you're gonna need this."
Kaitlynn quirked her brow as she looked down at the gun, before Vincent took it from his friend and slipped it in the waistband of his jeans.
Vincent and Kaitlynn searched the old subway tunnels, the young detective holding her flashlight to illuminate the path ahead. "Anything?" she asked, glancing to Vincent.
"Other than bad memories from the last time we were down here?" Vincent questioned, shaking his head. "No."
"Vincent, I'm alive because of you." Kaitlynn reminded, keeping her eyes on the older man beside her.
"And I would do it again." Vincent stated, turning his head in Kait's direction. "It just doesn't make taking a life any easier, that's all."
The young detective sighed, "I know, taking a life is never easy. Believe me, I've shot and killed in the line of duty a couple of times. But, what helps me get through it..." She moved to stand in front of Vincent, placing her hand on his chest, "...is focusing on the lives I saved. Not the lives I've taken." Her eyes locked with his and she swallowed the lump in her throat when she realized how close they were. "Remember, Catherine and I would be dead if not for you."
"And I said I would do the same thing I did before." Vincent repeated, staring down into her eyes. "I will always be here for you, no matter what." he promised.
Kaitlynn nodded and stepped to the side, and the pair continued on. Ten more minutes passed when Vincent suddenly stumbled, feeling lightheaded and dizzy. "Kaitlynn, I think it's happening." he breathed out, reaching for the tranqulizer gun and handing it to Kaitlynn, "Take it." he panted, fighting the dizziness, "Please. Protect yourself. You know what to do."
Seeing the pained look in Vincent's eyes as he was fighting to stay conscious, Kaitlynn pursed her lips together and shook her head, "No, I won't." she let out a shuddering breath. "Vincent, I trust you. You won't hurt me."
Vincent hunched over, letting out a pained grunt. When he looked up, his eyes were glowing, "Take it." he told her again, this time his voice deeper. A low growl escaped him as he collapsed on the ground, the tranqu gun landing in front of him.
"Vincent." Kaitlynn gasped, kneeling down next to his body. She heard another growl come from him and quickly grabbed the tranqu and held it ready, as Vincent slowly rose to his feet his features shifting to a more animal like appearance. All Kait could make out were his glowing, gold eyes as she aimed the gun, her hands shaking. "I'm sorry." she sighed softly, lowering the weapon.
Vincent stalked towards her, but Kaitlynn never showed any fear. A pained scream echoed through the tunnel, and Vincent bolted in that direction, leaving Kaitlynn to run after him.
Yards down the tunnel, Peter had Evan tied to a support pillar and held a knife to his throat, when suddenly he caught movement in the shadows and stepped forward to get a better look. Peter's eyes went wide and suddenly Vincent leaped forward and tore into him, causing the young male to scream. Evan heard the entire attack, the sounds of flesh being ripped apart and the low, animalistic growls from whatever was attacking Peter.
Just as Vincent moved closer towards Evan, he stopped suddenly when he heard the sound of a gunshot. His body turned around and there stood Kaitlynn, holding her service weapon with her finger on the trigger. He moved towards her, their eyes locking. Kaitlynn stood firm and fired another warning shot. With another growl, Vincent ran off, his jacket brushing against Kaitlynn's sleeve as he did so.
The young detective holstered her weapon and let out a sigh of relief that Evan was alive. She gently touched his shoulder and he jerked, "It's okay. It's me." Kaitlynn said calmly, untying the ropes.
"Kait." Evan sighed, wrapping his arms around her as soon as they were free. "Kaitlynn, what the hell just happened?"
"It's okay." Kaitlynn soothed, returning the embrace before pulling back. They both looked down at what remained of Peter and Evan's eyes went wide.
Back at her apartment, Kaitlynn stepped out of her shower and stared at her reflection in her half steamed up mirror. She changed an oversized grey t-shirt with the Yankees logo in the center and a pair of navy blue sweatpants. Her phone buzzed on her nightstand with J.T.'s name popping up on the caller ID. "Finally." Kait answered on the third ring.
"He's here." J.T. replied calmly.
"Oh, thank God." Kaitlynn sighed, running her hand over her damp hair. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah." J.T. answered. "We've got it under control."
Kaitlynn nodded, grabbing her NYPD sweatshirt, "I'm on my way." she went to grab her keys.
"No." J.T. replied sharply. "I mean...I don't think now is a good time."
Kaitlynn took a shuddering breath, "J.T., I don't know how we cover this one up." she admitted with a shaky voice. "Evan heard the whole attack." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
"Be normal." the professor advised. "No one needs to know you have anything to do with us. Don't give anyone a chance to wonder what's going on."
Kaitlynn exhaled another breath, nodding her head slightly as her eyes opened, "Okay." she agreed. "Tell Vincent..." she bit her lip, "...just let him know I'm glad he's okay. I'll see you guys later." She hung up and let out a shaky sigh, sitting down on the edge of her bed and folding her hands on her lap.
The next morning, Kaitlynn walked down to the morgue, seeing Evan sitting at his desk, going over files on his computer. A small smile crossed her lips as she leaned against the open door, softly knocking a couple times before walking in, "I wasn't sure you'd be in today." she said as she sat on the edge of the desk.
"You know us Brits; we keep it all inside." Evan replied, putting on a smile, which Kaitlynn saw right through. "Did you get a psych eval?" the brunette detective asked, her brown eyes meeting his blue ones.
Again, Evan flashed her a smile, "Charming little chat over tea." he answered.
Kait's shoulders sank, "Evan..." she sighed.
"I'm alive. That's what I'm focusing on." the medical examiner cut her off, "That and how I could have been so moronic to have this guy under my wing and not even see it."
"You didn't ask for him; he came to you." Kaitlynn reminded, placing her hand on top of his. "I wouldn't be so hard on yourself, and you figured it out...mostly." she lightly chuckled, giving his hand a light squeeze.
Evan sighed heavily, interlocking his fingers with Kaitlynn's, "I'm used to seeing the aftermath of these kind of guys, but to be face to face with one..." he shook his head, "...to see that he had no remorse, no emotion."
"Do you remember any of what happened?" Kaitlynn asked, arching her eyebrow. "To him? Peter."
"I don't think I'll ever forget." Evan admitted, shaking his head and squeezing Kait's hand. "All I know is that whatever killed Peter, it wasn't entirely human."
The young detective licked her lips, flipping her hair off her shoulder, "What do you mean?" she questioned.
"I think you know." Evan looked up and met her eyes, his thumb caressing the back of her hand. "To a degree. What you went through with your mum in the woods."
Kaitlynn exhaled a forced, shaky laugh as she looked down. "Yeah." she muttered, meeting his eyes again, "And after years of couch surfing with a dozen therapists, I realized it was all in my head." she admitted, licking her lips again. "I went through this horrific experience and my mind tried to make sense of it."
"I heard flesh ripping." Evan reminded. "Not just being severed, but ripped apart, Kaitlynn. I swear, it was some kind of..."
"Evan." Kaitlynn interjected, leaning closer to him and squeezing his hand again. "I'm not questioning what you went through. I just..." she took a breath and exhaled, "I know how easy it is to see the beast when there is none." She squeezed his hand tighter, "You're okay now. You're safe. That's what matters."
She gave him a sincere, genuine smile and leaned forward, placing her lips on his forehead, pulling back a few seconds later. Kaitlynn squeezed Evan's hand one more time before jumping off the desk and making her way back to the bullpen, not noticing that Evan was watching her leave, or the fact that Remy had seen their conversation and their close body language.
"Morning KC." Kaitlynn greeted her partner as she slid behind her desk.
"Morning." KC replied, leaning forward. "So, you know those firefighters I was talking to at the party the other night?"
Kaitlynn glanced up from the files on her desk, seeing the grin on her best friend's face. "This ends badly for me, doesn't it?" the brunette sighed.
"Strickland, the cute one, is into you." the ebony haired woman informed. "And the only way he'll go out is if he has his wingman, the hot one with the arm tattoo."
"That's a lot of math." the olive-skinned female noted.
"Double date on them." KC simplified, still smiling.
Kaitlynn sighed heavily, "This is entrapment."
"This is fun, something you're in desperate need of." Kimberly retorted. Kaitlynn just shook her head in response and went back to the paperwork on her desk. "Okay, you're distracted. Who is he?" KC asked, quirking her eyebrow.
Seeing the look in her partner's eye, Kaitlynn sighed again. "Okay, there, there was this guy that I was kind of into, but it doesn't matter." she shrugged her shoulders and tucked some hair behind her ear, Vincent coming to the forefront of her mind.
"Okay, well, the best way to get over an "it doesn't matter" guy is to find a new one." KC noted, leaning back in her chair, "Preferably one who looks good bare-chested in red suspenders." She chuckled, glancing up as Joe walked over and stood between the two desks. "That is not the face of someone who's happy we solved the case."
Kaitlynn glanced up when she felt a hand on her shoulder, seeing it was Catherine. "Just, seeing what was left of our perp last night." Joe sighed, shaking his head. "Brutal."
"Well, the psycho deserved it. Off the record." Kimberly scoffed.
"Now, that is for the courts to decide." Joe rebuffed, setting two copies of a file on each of their desks. "Our vigilante stepped way across the line. He's out of control and he just jumped to the top of our most wanted list."
Kaitlynn glanced at the file, her heart sinking in her chest when she read over the memo. "Every precinct is on this." Catherine added, gently squeezing Kaitlynn's shoulder. "They've been told to keep a lookout for cases that match his MO."
"It looks like there's been attacks all over town." Joe added. "Somebody out there knows something and is just not talking. Eight incidents in the past month."
Kaitlynn glanced down and pursed her lips together, wondering what she was going to do to keep Vincent safe now that every cop in the city is searching for him. She felt Catherine squeeze her shoulder again and glanced up, seeing the sympathetic look in her sister's eyes, knowing she was sorry this was happening.
That night, Kaitlynn tried to be normal and went out on that double date with Kimberly and the two firefighters. She dressed for the occasion, wearing a light blue, off shoulder top and tight fitting jeans with a pair of wedges and her hair styled in a low ponytail. However, the entire time she was faking a laugh or a smile, she was thinking about Vincent, worrying about him.
After the 'date', Kait drove to the warehouse and headed for the loft, knocking twice on the door. J.T. opened it with a less-than-enthusiastic expression. "How is he?" the brunette asked.
"Been better." the professor answered, stepping aside so she could walk in. "Just out of curiosity..." J.T. wondered, closing the door before focusing on Kaitlynn, "...when you were armed with a loaded tranq gun that would have prevented exactly what happened in the tunnel, why not use it?"
"Look, Vincent was my only hope of saving Evan." Kaitlynn admitted. "I took a chance."
"You may have saved Evan, but you didn't think about the price Vincent would pay." J.T. pointed out, walking over to the old freight elevator and opened the doors.
When the doors opened and Kaitlynn saw the bars, and Vincent was sitting on the other side of them, her heart constricted in her chest. "He put himself in there." J.T. clarified, folding his arms over his chest. "We got it ready years ago in case he ever needed containment."
Kaitlynn ran over and knelt down so she was eye level with Vincent. "You can't keep him in that." she directed the statement towards J.T. before looking back to Vincent.
"He's dangerous." J.T. stated, bluntly. "If he's not in control of himself, somebody needs to be."
Vincent looked into Kaitlynn's eyes, "You shouldn't be here." he told her.
Kaitlynn's eyes welled with moisture as she slipped her hand through the bars to grasp Vincent's. "We are going to figure out a way to fix this." she promised, squeezing his hand. "I am getting you out of here." she looked up at J.T. "Give me the key."
"That might be a little harder than it seems." the professor replied.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" the detective snapped.
"We retraced Vincent's steps and looked at what's triggering his blackouts." J.T. informed. "The night he was going to dinner, where he was headed near that campus, who he heard coming up the stairs when he blacked out in here yesterday."
Kaitlynn blinked, shifting her eyes from J.T. to Vincent, their eyes locking with one another's. "It's you." Vincent clarified, pulling his hand away from Kaitlynn's and looking down at his feet. Kait let out a shaky breath, her hand still between the bars, and she bit her lip as a tear fell from her eye and down her cheek.
A/N: So sorry that it took a little longer to post this chapter. I've been a little busy with working on other chapters for other stories, as well as starting work on an original chapter for this story that I hope to have out on Halloween. Anyway, I hope ya'll like this chapter and the growing relationship between Kaitlynn and Vincent. As always, I look forward to reading your reviews and seeing what ya guys think.
XOXO~Cyber
Next chapter: Trapped