Whoops... if this story were to be taken in literal time, Danny would be in a coma for over a month now. Hehe... my apologies. I've been busy with my mid-term exams and I couldn't get my muse working. Here's the new chapter.

Chapter Six

Wednesday, 8.08 am
Flack got out of the car and slammed the door shut. On the passenger side, Stella did the same thing. They were outside the state jail, hoping they were chasing the right lead.

Stella cast a sideways glance at Flack. Dark shadows around his eyes gave his normally energetic face an uncharacteristically tired look. Like her, the night's rest did not do him any good.

Instead of getting a much needed night's sleep, Stella jolted awake in hourly intervals to the sound of gun shots and flashes of Danny falling to the floor, his empty sapphire eyes staring up at her, seeing nothing. Stella would then get up to the kitchen, gulp down some water and climb back into bed, reassuring herself that Danny was still alive. She closes her eyes and the moment she lets her guard down, the images come back and she has to get up again.

But Stella remained strong on the outside, seeing that she's the one of the older, more experienced members of the team. Or maybe it was just her nature, because of how she grew up, having no parents or siblings to be strong for her so she learnt to be strong for herself. Inside however, she felt that she will crumble any moment with the fear of losing Danny, the little brother she never had.

"Tell me again, why are we here?" Flack asked. Last night, Stella had just told him to meet her at the jail without giving much detail as to why.

"IBIS finally got a hit off the bullets that hit Danny." Stella answered as they made their way to the front door.

Flack raised an eyebrow, "You mean the same gun was used in another crime before?"

"Yep, a double homicide back in 2004. Max Jones was sentenced to life, no parole for shooting his two best friends over a business partnership that had gone bad. Convicted in 2005, he's been in jail since. Striations from the two bullets from Danny matched the bullets that were used to kill the two men. The gun was never recovered."

Flack nodded, "So that 50-year-old dude somehow managed to get the gun and shot Danny with it…"

Stella said, "Here's the kicker… Danny worked that case."

Flack's eyes widened, fully awake now.

"He worked solo on that case. I reviewed his notes and the evidence this morning. It was very much an air-tight case, even without the murder weapon. Max Jones' prints were all over the crime scene, partnership documents saying that Max Jones got dropped by his pals, costing him a fortune on investments. Plus, a full confession from Jones himself. Danny testified in court against him. Jones was convicted, been in jail ever since."

"Woah… it's like Shane Casey all over again." Flack muttered, referring to the revenge seeking Greek mythology killer they faced a few months earlier.

"Right, that's what I'm thinking. Max Jones might have gotten that man to shoot Danny for revenge."

Flack nodded, "Something tells me we need to give ol' Max a good talking to…"

Stella smiled slightly, "You got that right."

9.05 am

Not surprisingly, getting Max Jones out of his cell and into the mini interrogation room in the jail took nearly an hour. Flack and Stella signed paper after paper and explained their intentions to what seemed like every officer in the building and waited in the interrogation room for a full 15 minutes before a tall, dark-haired, unshaven man entered the room, hand-cuffed and led by one of the officers.

As the officer undid his hand-cuffs, Max Jones asked smoothly, "So, what does New York's boys…" He cast a glance at Stella and added, "… and girls in blue want with me?"

"Information," Stella said, opening the police file she had with her.

Max shrugged, "Can't imagine what kind of information you want from me, but hey, I got nothing better to do, so ask away."

Stella took out a picture of the man who shot Danny. Mac had met up with a sketch artist yesterday and given a full description. "Do you know this man?"

Flack had been on the force long enough to read and interpret facial expressions. And boy, Max Jones' face had 'I-know-this-guy-but-should-I-say-so?' all over it.

Flack's fingers tapped the surface of the worn metal table softly, waiting for Max Jones' response. C'mon… come up with some B.S so I can shove you against the wall… His emotions were already at its' peak, and Flack didn't know how much longer he could keep his anger in control. Someone's gonna pay for what happened to Danny. I'll make sure of it…

"Yeah, I know him… he's my dad." Max Jones answered, "Why?" he asked, wide-eyed, when he saw Stella and Flack's surprised expressions, "Did something happen to him?"

Flack didn't answer his question, "Your dad… he got a name?"
"Howard… Howard Jones. Why?"

Stella said, "We have reason to believe your father was involved in the shooting of a NYPD officer."

Max paused for a moment, then let out a laugh, "Him? Are you kidding me?"

Flack said, "He was using your old gun, Max, nothing funny about that."

Max's smile slid off his face and he stuttered, "I-I haven't seen him in years. I d-don't know how he got- got hold of it…"

Stella said, "The gun you mean? We never recovered it when we arrested you. Where was it?"

Max remained silent.

Flack leaned towards him, "Look, pal. The officer your old man shot? He was the CSI working your case, alright? He gave the testimony that helped you get convicted. That, gives you motive, my friend. The gun was yours and your dad used it… that makes you accessory to the crime. If you don't want this life sentence to be cut short into the death penalty, you best start talking, buddy."

Max held out his palms, "Wait… slow down… my dad shot that detective dude? The one with the glasses? Um… Detective Besser… or something, right?"

"It's Messer, and yes. What happened, Max? You got mad at him for sending you off to prison, so you got daddy dearest to shoot him for you?"

"No! No! I didn't ask him to do anything! I told you, I haven't seen him in ages!" Max leaned back into his seat with a deep sigh, "Look, I won't lie to you, I did shoot my friends. They cut me out of the deal when I put so much effort into it. I lost a fortune. I was mad, I shot them. I don't deny that. But, I DON'T hold a grudge against Messer, ok? You think I wanna make things worse for myself? I already got a life sentence! What is there to be gained by killing the cop?"

Stella said, "Well, if that's so, that means your dad did this on his own. Where did he get the gun?"

Max stayed quiet for a long time. But he faltered under Flack and Stella's glares, "Fine… after the shooting, I went to my dad. I gave him the gun. I told him to help me out, to keep it safe. We haven't had contact for years before that, so I figured no one will think the gun was with him… how was I to know he'll go shooting people with it?"

Flack and Stella exchanged glances. Stella shut the file and muttered, "We're done here."

As they got up to leave, Max Jones called out, "Wait… so this means my dad was willing to kill a guy, for me?"

Flack whirled around and got so close to Max that he could see every bit of scruff on his face, "Hey. This isn't about you. This is about the cop your dad shot. Detective Messer is in a coma now thanks to your father. You're not the only one in the world who has a father, ok? Detective Messer has a father too. And a mother. If he dies, they will wonder why their son was killed for doing his job, for helping remove a piece of scum like you off the streets. Keep that in mind."

With that, Flack turned back to Stella and they walked back to the car. Stella felt a grim satisfaction. They were that much closer to finding the shooter. Not bad for 24 hours…

TBC