In Lieu of Retrospection
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Rating: T
Spoiler: Six months after 2.22 (Red Letter)
A/N: Thank you for all the amazing feedback I got on the first chapter. I'm seriously anxious to see what you guys think of the actual case, but I am glad you liked the beginning. Thank you! Also thanks to forthecoast again for betaing this and lil smiles for the prompt.
xxx
Part II
Maybe a few months ago, the sight of Lisbon arriving to a crime scene in the same car as Jane so late at night would have made him do a double take, but as oblivious as he is to most things, there are a few facts Rigsby keeps in the back of his mind. One of them being that at some point this year the relationship dynamic between his boss and their consultant had shifted into something more than just colleagues.
It had probably been a gradual transformation, but since he'd been too caught up in his own personal entanglements, he hadn't paid much attention to it, until Hightower showed up. She definitely shook things up within the department, and once he'd begun to slowly accept his break up with Grace (not that he was over her by any means), Rigsby started noticing how the arrival of the new boss was affecting the rest of the unit.
Cho, always the unflappable force, remained as untouchable as ever, having absolutely no reaction, good or bad, to Madeleine Hightower's arrival. However, she did have an affect on Lisbon, placing a lot of pressure on their boss to control Jane or else, a task Rigsby does not envy.
He thought it would end badly, but surprisingly after Lisbon's temporary suspension months ago, work has been a lot calmer, less complaints pouring into the department because of Jane while their closing record remains the highest in the whole agency.
Rigsby's almost certain Jane did not subdue his antics for Hightower's sake, which led him to noticing how much more at ease his boss and Jane were with each other now. Though, in retrospect Rigsby thinks it's probably more a change in Lisbon's behavior rather than Jane's since the latter never seems weary around the team, especially not around their boss.
He watches them as they approach the crime scene, and the way Lisbon actually allows Jane to hold up the caution tape so she can walk underneath it makes Rigsby smile a little wistfully.
He casts a side glance at Grace, who is leaning over the victim's body and saying something to the coroner, but he doesn't have time to dwell before Lisbon and Jane approach him, already in the middle of being briefed by Cho, who joined them moments earlier.
"So let me get this straight," Lisbon's voice grows louder as the three come to stand next to Rigsby, "the victim is Kyla Cregg, 18 years old, only child of State Assemblyman Jeff Cregg, and she was found here, in this alley?"
She looks a little tired and probably more than a little annoyed. Rigsby surmises that Hightower was vague on the details surrounding this case.
"Yes, coroner estimates time of death at about two hours ago, blunt force trauma to the head. There are what appear to be traces of sediment embedded in the wound, but until forensics can test it, we can't be sure. Though my guess is she was hit with some sort of rock, maybe even a brick from that building," Van Pelt gestures to the dilapidated structure on the opposite side of the alleyway.
Jane, who had in the mean time walked around the group to peer over the body, hums his approval. "Very good deduction, Grace. It looks like she was facing the door, as if ready to go in, so whoever did this probably grabbed the first thing in the vicinity to use as a weapon."
He walks over to the wall of the neighboring building and kicks at some brick remains chipping off the structure, "hence the sediment traces."
Rigsby doesn't need to look at Lisbon to know she's rolling her eyes at the consultant, but he does steal a glance at Grace, who smiles triumphantly at Jane's support.
"Brilliant inference, Mr. CSI, but before we get carried away, can someone please explain to me why she's dressed like all the weeping girls around here?" Lisbon interrupts, gesturing towards the small crowd gathered off to the side.
Most of them are young women and men no older than thirty; dressed in variations of the same sequin undergarments the victim is wearing, all displaying equal looks of horror and disbelief on their faces.
"Oh you're going to like this, boss. When the local PDs were called on the scene, the girl who found the victim out back here, one of the waitresses in the venue, identified her as Kyla Knight, a dancer in the traveling burlesque show, "The Velvet Kittens", which is performing five shows at Club Candor this week. The only reason they found out who she really was is because the original responder recognized her from a missing persons report distributed by the Assemblyman's office to every police station within a 100 mile radius of Sacramento."
It's evident by Lisbon's facial expression that she's anything but happy to hear of this development. The CBI is rarely called in on city homicides unless it's a big deal, and although she knew previously that the assemblyman's daughter was involved, this new bit of information puts a lot more pressure on her shoulders.
She exhales visibly, before crouching over the body, pulling on a pair of latex gloves in the process so she can take a closer look at the girl.
"Her parents had no idea she was here then, I'm assuming." She says with a sigh, eyes raking over the black sequin brassiere and panties then over to the black, patent leather heels encasing the girl's feet.
"I doubt it. Seems like a runaway to me."
From the other side of the body, Jane gives Lisbon a shrug as he speaks, while she fixes him with an exasperated but amused frown. "Oh really?"
To avoid further banter, Van Pelt cuts in, "actually, Jane is probably right. According to Cregg's Chief of Staff, Rebecca Watkins, Kyla disappeared from home last July. They haven't been able to find her since."
Jane flashes Lisbon a brilliant self-assured smile, but Lisbon just looks away from him, focusing on the case instead of her annoyingly astute consultant. "That's almost a year. Very long time, did she have a habit of disappearing?"
"No, not at all actually. In fact, she doesn't fit the profile of a child who would run away. She was a straight A student, on her way to Yale University last fall." Van Pelt answers, scanning the notes she complied from her brief phone call with Ms. Watkins.
"Are we sure she wasn't kidnapped? Do the parents recall if she'd taken anything with her, clothes, accessories, toiletries?"
"I'm not sure about that, boss." Van Pelt says, eyes falling on the body again, "but there was never any ransom called in, and unfortunately as I said, the parents are too upset to speak to the police. They asked for any interviews to wait until morning, to allow for some grieving."
Before Lisbon can ask any further questions, Jane lets out a loud snort, rising up again to scan the crowd of dancers huddled together behind the crime scene tape.
"What now?" Lisbon asks, heaving a sigh to signal her annoyance.
Jane doesn't seem perturbed as he shoots her another smile. "Politicians. They always feel entitled, as though they are above the rules. I'm fairly certain the reason why this girl was murdered has nothing to do with her chosen profession, or anyone whose acquaintance she made as a dancer."
"How do you figure that?"
Cho, who has remained silently observant this whole time, interrupts Jane's observations.
"Well Rigsby said it's a traveling show, which means they don't stay in one place too long, right?"
"Yes, they do shows across California, mostly northern cities and but some LA and San Diego, according to one of the dancers. Tonight was their second one." Rigsby confirms, nodding at Jane.
"Exactly, so it's not at all suspicious to you that she would be killed when they're back in Sacramento?"
Jane fixes Lisbon with a stare, almost willing her to acquiesce, but despite the light banter and friendly conversation between them just an hour ago over dinner, their professional relationship still continues to be remarkably the same. This unfortunately includes Jane being right 99.9% of the time and Lisbon making sure all bases are covered before following up on his hunches.
"We need to figure out why she ran away, that's where the answer will be."
He declares, then slides his hands into his jacket pockets, a customary pose as he looks around the crime scene once more, as if to confirm to himself that he is indeed right in his conjectures.
"I also think the killer did not intend to hurt Kyla. I think she could have been moving away from the killer and he or she panicked. The impromptu choice of weapon and the position of Kyla's body suggest spontaneity."
Lisbon watches him with a skeptical eye, but nonetheless, experience has taught her to keep his words in mind. Besides, from the angle of the victim's body and the traces of sediment, Jane's theory actually has some credibility to it for once.
"Okay, even if you're right, we can't see the family until tomorrow morning, so we need to work this scene first. Van Pelt and Rigsby, finish casing the scene then move on to interviews. See if anyone from the group saw something unusual, and also find out if anyone knows what the victim was doing out here. Maybe one of them will know who she was meeting. Cho, talk to the club manager, find out if they have surveillance cameras that lead out here, maybe we'll get lucky and catch the altercation on tape. If they have security cameras inside, those might be helpful. I'm assuming the dance troupe has a manager or choreographer of some sort?"
"Yeah, the Velvet Kittens are managed by their choreographer Leonard Hughes, he's right over there." Cho confirms, pointing to a man standing off in the distance, flocked by a few teary eyed women in matching black leotards.
"Alright, I'm going to talk to him."
The team disperses after Lisbon hands out instructions, and she almost walks away before realizing that Jane is still standing next to the body, hands clasped behind his back as he appears to be deep in thought.
"See anything else?" she asks in a quiet voice; now that she's given out orders, she loses some of her professional armor. A little twinge of something, perhaps regret seeps in as she scans the body, acknowledging that the girl really was only an adolescent.
A life ended way too early.
"Nothing right now, I think I'm going to have a look around her things, if you don't mind."
"Oh?"
She's standing a few feet in front of him, so she has to look over her shoulder,
"You don't want to talk to the manager with me?"
"Nah," Jane waves her off, "he won't tell you anything useful anyway."
He smiles at her, and even though she should be annoyed, her lip rises up out of its own volition and she nods.
"Alright, then it'll be a short interview. Don't cause trouble," she adds before walking determinedly towards the huddle of dancers.
Jane gazes at her for a moment before heading inside, glad that there are some things, like his working relationship with Lisbon, that remain comfortably the same.
xxx
Kyla Cregg's dressing area consists of a small vanity table and a white, wooden chair with a high back. Both pieces of furniture are cluttered with various knick knacks, including a large make up kit, spare clothing, and a few trinkets here and there. Nothing unusual for an 18 year old girl to have, even one who had run away from home and joined a burlesque dancing troupe.
However, two items immediately stand out to Jane.
He picks up the stuffed toy, at first amused by how out of place it is amidst the bracelets and tubes of various make up scattered on the table. Certainly, from his own experience as a father, he knows girls love their stuffed toys; however, usually it's of the furry animal variety, and not this obnoxious and humorous looking thing.
The way it was propped up against the mirror sets it apart from the organized mess around it, which suggests the victim's attachment to and reverence for the item. He's almost certain that her bedroom at home has at least a few other toys like this.
Alas, due to the single-mindedness of self-important people, he'll have to wait until morning to confirm his theory. He places the item back where he found it, not wanting to piss Lisbon off so late at night by simply taking it, even though his gut tells him it's important in some way.
Hopefully, they can consider it evidence and take it back to CBI; after all, it's not like it'll be missed by anyone.
The thought reminds him of the task at hand, and his eyes return to the vanity table, zeroing in on the second item that caught his attention when he stepped into the room. The photograph is actually a collection of four shots, vertically lined up, the kind distributed at a photo booth at a carnival.
It's sticking out of her purse, which hangs on the back of the chair. Jane picks it up, carefully, holding it by the edge just in case, although he highly doubts there will be any evidence on this keepsake that could be beneficial to the forensics team.
For him on the other hand, the photograph is like the window into the victim's life, a chance to see who this girl was beneath the pounds of make up and barely there dancing outfits. If there's anything he's learned from his years of consulting, it's that one will often learn more about the victim, and subsequently the killer, through observation rather than forensics.
It may sound a little presumptuous, but at least he has the closing record to prove it. A smile tugs on his lips as he looks at the beaming faces of the boy and the girl in the freeze frame.
The pair looks incredibly happy, revealing bright white teeth in their grins and mutual affection in their gazes. It's clear that they appear in love, but that isn't what captures Jane's attention at all.
It's evident from the blond hair and pale skin that the girl in the photograph is Kyla Cregg; however the dark haired, blue eyed boy with a slight five o'clock shadow is unfamiliar. He may be a part of the victim's past, but something tells Jane otherwise. The one thing he is certain of is that the boy wasn't in the crowd of onlookers gathered at the crime scene, and so far Jane hasn't seen him inside the club either.
He's just about to place the photograph back into the purse when he hears approaching footsteps and finds the rest of the CBI unit reconvened in the dressing room.
"Got anything useful out of the bar manager?" Lisbon, who looks a little weary, probably from lack of sleep, addresses Cho.
"There're no cameras leading out back, but he's getting the footage from the camera inside the venue for me now."
"Great, any luck with the dancers? Anything new on the body?"
"The coroner's office is as always backlogged, but they'll try to expedite the autopsy considering the circumstances-."
Jane makes a small sound of disapproval during Van Pelt's explanation, but the only acknowledgement he earns is a side glance from Lisbon before she encourages the redhead to continue.
"The autopsy report should be ready by tomorrow afternoon."
"Couldn't get too much out of the rest of the dancing crew, everyone is practically hysterical over this. I guess Kyla had a lot of friends." Rigsby adds, eyes automatically surveying the dressing room.
"Meh, I doubt any of them actually liked her. It's all for show." The four detectives turn to Jane, who's leaning casually against the dressing table, this time fiddling with a barrette Kyla probably used to pin her hair during performances.
"How's that?" Rigsby asks, folding his arms across his torso as he faces Jane.
"Well by the looks of this place, the backstage is very small, yet Kyla had her own dressing room. That probably means she was a) sleeping with the choreographer, which I doubt because the man is so obviously homosexual, or b) she was the lead dancer, which almost always breeds animosity within a group, especially one consisting of a majority of young women."
"But you said that at the crime scene that whoever killed Kyla was probably connected to her past-."
Rigsby stares at Van Pelt as she cuts in. She tries hard not to acknowledge him, but fails in doing so and a glance, however fleeting, passes between the two ex-lovers.
He can't say things haven't been strained, and they certainly haven't returned back to how it was prior to their brief relationship, but it's nice to know that Van Pelt still has his back at work. Rigsby gives her one more look, this one filled with appreciation, before turning his attention back to Jane.
"I most certainly did, Grace. I still stand by that opinion; I was merely pointing out that the dancers' reactions probably had little to do with genuine feelings of concern for their fallen comrade."
Van Pelt opens her mouth to speak, but Lisbon, who has been silent in this whole exchange, interrupts, "Either way, bring them back to headquarters tomorrow for some follow up questions, give them some time to get over the shock of it all."
She says this with such vainly disguised sarcasm that Jane grins to himself, a little thrilled that on some level she agrees with his perception of the rest of the Velvet Kittens.
"Did you get anything off the choreographer?" He asks, pushing himself off the vanity table.
"You mean besides the fact that he's so 'obviously homosexual'?" Lisbon shoots back, with a glint of amusement in her eye. For a split second it's like they're the only two people in the room, sparring back and forth.
It's been happening a lot lately, and before Jane can share in her smile, he notices Rigsby staring at him with a raised eyebrow and thinly veiled smirk, so he just clears his throat and shrugs.
Lisbon takes it as her cue to speak and addresses the whole team, glancing at her notes periodically.
"Kyla auditioned for Hughes in July of last year in San Francisco, which is consistent with the timeline of her running away. She obviously provided false documentation, but he hadn't caught on. He said she was an excellent dancer and they were short one girl, about to leave on a tour, so he hired her right away and she'd been dancing with them ever since. A couple of weeks ago, he had a financial disagreement with the main dancer, Cindy Campbell, and fired her; Kyla took her place. Campbell is a local here, showed up for her paycheck earlier this evening, but he lost track of her after that."
"Possible motive?" Cho raises the question, and Lisbon nods.
"Yes, but Hughes doesn't think she stayed for the show. She's a single mom."
She pauses for a second, flipping to the second page of her notepad. "Either way, it wouldn't hurt to talk to her, rule her out as a suspect. One of us will talk to her tomorrow morning. In the mean time, Hughes mentioned that the club owner, a guy by the name of Rick Royal, had been a bit suggestive with Kyla yesterday. She'd complained to Hughes. He was going to talk to him tonight, but he wasn't here."
"Doesn't rule him out as a suspect though. He could have still tried to proposition her in the alley."
"Exactly," Lisbon confirms Van Pelt's thoughts, but before she can dispense tasks, Jane interrupts.
"I don't think he did it. There were no bruising or marking of any sort on the victim's body, if he'd been trying to force himself on her-…"
"There would have been physical evidence of it." Lisbon finishes Jane's thought, but his triumph is short lived. "Regardless, we need to have all bases covered, so Cho and Rigsby, before clocking out for the night, have a word with him. Hughes says Royal owns a few other nightclub establishments in the area, the bar manager should have his whereabouts."
"Okay," Rigsby nods.
"Will do, boss. We'll call if we get any information." Cho adds, before following the taller agent out.
"Hughes also mentioned a boyfriend, Seth Beatts-…"
"Aha!" Jane exclaims, catching the women off guard, a self-assured smile on his lips as he presents the photograph he found in Kyla's purse. "Does this boy match the description?"
Lisbon studies it for the moment, and then nods slowly. "Yes, yes it does. Beatts is one of the alternate dancers, travels with the show for back up so to speak."
"I didn't see him in the crowd," Van Pelt notes suspiciously.
"That's because according to Hughes, he split almost as soon they found Kyla's body. No one has seen him since. I need you to dig up as much as you can on this kid. Considering how easily Kyla slipped through the cracks, we can't be sure he gave Hughes any legitimate information, and it seems a bit strange that he would disappear like that. I'll get the locals to put out an APB on him. Hughes says he owns a black Ducati; maybe we'll get lucky with a hit."
"Alright, I'll meet you back at the office then," Van Pelt nods before walking off.
"Give yourself an hour tops, then go home. We don't need burned-out agents." Lisbon calls after her, and as soon as the redhead is out of sight, she stifles a yawn and runs a tired hand through her hair. The thought of delicious leftovers and her bed practically seduces her, but she snaps quickly back into focus as she surveys the room, the untouched messiness on the vanity table reminding her that a murdered girl probably deserves a few more hours of attention.
"You should go home," Jane muses, and his annoying habit of knowing exactly what she's thinking both irritates and amuses Lisbon. "But you won't," he adds.
"No way. We can't talk to the family right now, so I'm going to try to go through as much security footage as I can tonight. Maybe something will pop up." Lisbon explains, tucking her notepad into her jacket pocket.
Jane doesn't say anything for a moment, so her gaze lingers on him. "You can join me if you'd like."
He looks up at her then, expression softened, as he realizes that he's somewhat grateful for her pretense in assuming he has better things to do during the night, especially when they both know he doesn't.
"Only if my new friend can come along," He consents amusingly, lifting the stuffed toy from its place by the mirror.
"A Mr. Potato Head? Really, Jane?" Lisbon quirks an eyebrow at him.
"What?" Jane looks at her in mock disbelief before looking at the toy, "I see that they're quite popular with the teenage demographic these days."
Lisbon expels a heavy sigh, before conceding, "Sure, whatever. I'll just have CSU log it in as evidence, and we'll take it."
"Excellent," Jane exclaims a little too enthusiastically, but Lisbon realizes she's far too exhausted to suspect him of any ulterior motive so late at night.
Instead, she simply walks out of the room, and this time Jane walks behind her. As boring as viewing surveillance footage will surely be, doing that with Lisbon for a few hours seems more appealing than wrestling with the elusive concept of sleep and failing miserably.
TBC…