Lindsay was stood watching Danny joking around with his family from the other side of the room.
"You must be a Lindsay." A woman came up to her.
"Lindsay Monroe." Lindsay held out her hand.
"Gina Moretti, I'm Danny's aunt's sister."
"Nice to meet you."
"Enjoying the party?" Gina inquired. "These Italian family get-togethers came be a little overwhelming at first."
"This is nothing, when I was growing up in the summer months we used to have big get-togethers with all the other ranches in the area once a month, there were a hundred people there at least. It was great fun."
"Where exactly are you from?" Gina asked.
"Just outside Bozeman, Montana." Lindsay replied.
"Country girl, how do you like the city?"
"It grows on you." Lindsay admitted. "But as much as Danny tries to convince me it will never beat back home."
"Hey Gina." A slight drunken man came over.
"Lindsay this is Vinnie Danny's cousin. Vinnie this is Lindsay." Gina made introductions.
"It's nice to meet you." Lindsay said.
"You too darling."
"Would you mind taking your hand off my butt?" Lindsay requested politely.
"What?"
"Take your hand off my butt." Lindsay repeated.
"You mean this hand." He pinched her butt.
"Please don't do that."
"What are you going to stop me?" Vinnie asked.
"Would you hold this?" Lindsay handed Gina her glass.
Half a second later Lindsay had Vinnie pinned against the wall his arm behind his back and his legs spread.
"I'm a cop and that could be considered assault. But this is a nice party and I'm not going to cause a scene by having some other cops come over in their nice shiny patrol car with the lights flashing. So I'm going to let you go, and you're going to get some coffee because I think you've had too much to drink and you're going to keep your hands to yourself and we'll forget all about this. Okay?"
He didn't say anything.
"Okay?" She repeated.
"Okay." Vinnie agreed.
Lindsay released him.
"Thank you." She took her glass back as Vinnie disappeared.
"Everything okay over here?" Danny came over.
"Gina and I were just getting acquainted." Lindsay replied.
"And Vinnie?"
"Needs to learn to keep his hands to himself, but we worked it out." She paused. "Could you get me some more orange juice?" She handed him her glass.
"Sure."
"I'm sorry about Vinnie." Carrie came over when Danny had gone.
"It's okay I can handle myself despite what Mac and Danny think."
"What?" Carrie asked.
"The only reason I'm allowed to be here is because Danny is. He is technically my police protection."
"Police protection?" Carrie repeated. "Why do you need police protection?"
"Did you see on the news about those decapitated bodies over the weekend?" Lindsay asked.
"Of course." Gina replied.
"The person responsible managed to dose me with Rohypnol so I lost about twenty hours and end up in hospital overnight. Mac and Danny think I need police protection for at least while, so I'm pretty much under house arrest at the moment. I get to go to work and stay in the lab and then go home and stay in my apartment."
"How do they know it was him?" Gina asked.
"I can't say." Lindsay replied. The note that they had received and the fact that Lindsay was dosed was actually information that NYPD was keeping from the press. Especially the note.
"Are you okay?" Carrie inquired.
"Apart from a little cabin fever and a lost day I'm fine." Lindsay replied.
"How awful!" Gina stated.
"It's a hazard of the job."
TBC