Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews so far, few as there have been. I promise things are going to start to get more angsty!!
Chapter 3: Danny's Unwitting Mistake
"Danny, take Lindsay to this location. We recovered the car belonging to the victim of the carjacking-murder yesterday. We need prints from the steering wheel to match to the suspect we have in custody. Make sure you collect any blood evidence as well." Mac handed Danny a sheet of paper detailing the location of the car.
"And where would Miss Lindsay be?" Danny inquired cheerfully, taking the information from Mac.
"Last time I saw her, she was working at her computer. She's been there all day gathering information for an ongoing case she's been working on."
"What case is that?" asked Danny.
"You'd have to ask her. She wouldn't say much about it and I've learned to let her run with a hunch when she has one." Mac smiled and pointed toward Lindsay's desk. She was flipping through a stack of photos. She stopped on one and studied it intently.
"Montana, you don't need to study my picture. You've got the real thing standing right in front of you," Danny spread his arms wide and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Lindsay looked him up and down unabashedly.
"The real thing? Please, Messer," she smirked, grabbed the keys out of his hand, and strode toward the elevator. Danny shook his head and laughed softly."
"She'll fall for the old Messer charm yet," he thought.
At The Crime Scene
Lindsay handed Danny the tape-life materials from her kit and grabbed a handful of bindles.
"We're going for fingerprints and blood evidence, right?" she asked as Danny moved toward the red Mustang on the side of the road.
"Right. Mac needs to compare them to the suspect he has in custody," Danny confirmed. He went to the driver's side of the car, opened the door, and began dusting the steering wheel for prints. Lindsay opened the passenger side door and began collecting swabs of blood evidence, bagging each bindle. When they had collected all the evidence they could, they packed it all in the truck, confirmed that the car would be towed to the impound lot, and settled in for the drive back to the lab with Danny behind the wheel. As he started to pull away, a police officer tapped on Lindsay's window. Lindsay rolled down the window, an annoyed look on her face.
"Officer, we need to get this evidence to the lab ASAP. What the problem?" she snapped.
"Detective Monroe, I just got called to another scene and someone needs to stay here with the car until the tow truck gets here. Can you do it?"
Lindsay glanced at Danny.
"Don't start processing until I get there. This shouldn't take long and I definitely want in on this."
"Sure, sure. Meet you back at the lab."
On the way back, Danny's cell phone rang. It was Mac, asking him to hurry the evidence back to the lab. The suspect had already been held at the precinct for 48 hours and was due to be released soon unless he was charged in the crime. Danny thought about the promise he mad to Lindsay, telling her he would wait, but then he shrugged. Mac was his boss. He liked his job. Lindsay would understand.
Back At The Lab
Four hours later, Lindsay was finally back at the lab. Danny met up with her as he emerged from Mac's office.
"Montana, the evidence we collected at the scene this morning nailed Mac's suspect. Fantastic, eh?"
"Danny, I thought you were going to wait to process that."
"That was four hours ago. I'm sorry that impounding the car turned into such a hassle, but you know Mac needed that evidence right away."
"Did you tell him the situation?" Lindsay's face and neck were slowly turning red, and her words were clipped and steely. Danny stared at her in disbelief.
"Montana, I did what he told me to. He's the boss, remember? What are you so mad about?"
"Unbelievable. Thanks a lot, Messer." Lindsay wheeled around and stomped back to her desk. Danny Messer thought he was so special. Flirting wildly, stealing important cases out from under her and then acting like he was "just doing his job." Lindsay's eyes fell on the case file she had been studying. Her private investigation of Danny's father, Anthony Messer, was getting interesting, but she was reaching a point where she needed more information than an old case file could give her. She allowed herself a slippery smile as she watched Danny disappear into Stella's office. Payback's a bitch, Messer, and I'm going to get me some.