020: Back to Basics

"Shawn Rutgers. Twenty-three years old. White, short brown hair, brown eyes, and six foot one," Vivian rattled off as she entered the bullpen from Jack's office addressing Samantha, Martin, Danny, and Angela. "Last seen leaving for the grocery store on at 8:34 yesterday evening."

"Occupation?" Martin asked.

"Unemployed."

"Family?"

"Grant and Emily Rutgers, both alive and here in New York, and a sister in Atlanta. Angela, here are the numbers of the parents and the sister. Would you mind calling them up?"

"And I'll put the sister on the next flight to New York," she said taking the sheets from Vivian.

Jack came into the bullpen moments later.

"So far I've got that this guy has a roommate named Terry Gray and he hasn't seen Rutgers since last night. He says that he's 'between jobs.'"

"Gray doesn't bring up any immediate red flags," Martin called from his desk as he looked at the computer screen. "And neither does Shawn Rutgers."

"Angela, I want in-depth background reports on those two. Also check into credit card records and phone logs. Danny and Samantha, I want you to check out the apartment building and Terry Gray. Vivian, Martin, we're going to meet the parents and see what information they can give us."

Everyone nodded and went off to their respective places.

---

"So when was the last time you saw Shawn?" Danny asked as he and Samantha stood and questioned Terry Gray in his apartment. They had expected it to be a rather run down and low-scale apartment considering that Shawn was unemployed, but it was actually a very nice place. The furniture seemed new as well as several of the lamps and chairs. Samantha's eyes were already sweeping the place for anything out of place.

"Uh, well, let's see…" Terry Gray said thoughtfully as he sipped a glass of iced water. Terry was at least thirty, probably a good ten years older than Shawn was. He was dressed casually, but it was apparent that this guy had some kind of money source. He seemed rather relaxed and would answer the questions without any direct sign of avoidance. But Danny didn't trust him. "It must have been last night around eight or eight-thirty."

"Was there anything in Shawn's behavior that would suggest that he would go missing?' Samantha asked, going over the routine questions.

"No, not really," he answered, shaking his head mildly. "He seemed perfectly fine."

"And you never noticed anyone hanging around the building… anyone calling asking for Shawn who you didn't know… anything out of the ordinary?"

"Not that I can think of. I mean, Shawn and I have some different friends, but generally we're in the same circle."

"You know, if you don't mind me saying, I find it a little odd that a guy like you would be sharing an apartment with a guy like Shawn," Danny said with his trademark smile that let anyone who knew him know that he really didn't trust this guy.

Terry's eyes flashed for only a spilt second, but then he immediately pulled on a look of serene confusion. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, Shawn's twenty-three. And you're… well, you're not quite that young, are you?"

"I'm not twenty-three if that's what you're saying, Agent Taylor," Terry said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But I don't understand what that has to do with Shawn."

"How did you two meet?" Samantha said, picking up on Danny's vibe.

"At a club. We were both getting drinks, and we got the same one. I've never really met a guy who gets the same drink that I get, so I invited him to sit and drink with me. I guess we just hit it off."

"And then you decided to share an apartment? How does he pay for his share?"

"Ah, I own the apartment. He doesn't have to pay for anything."

Samantha raised her eyebrows. "Why the generous offer?"

Terry shrugged. "He was a nice kid. He needed a little help to get him on his feet in the big city by himself. So I gave him a hand."

"What do you do for a living?"

"I work for a small business called Kidd Inc. We do some manufacturing and shipping of little trinkets. Picture frames and things like that."

"And it doesn't bother you that Shawn doesn't have a job?"

With another shrug, Terry took a small sip from his water glass. "He'll get one eventually. He's a bright kid. Just a little low on street smarts."

---

"The parents weren't much help," Vivian sighed as she walked into the bullpen to see what Angela had found.

"No, they really weren't. They don't have a clue what's going on in Shawn's life. They didn't even know that he was out of a job."

"He hasn't worked a job for over a year now. You think the parents would have known that by now."

"Have you gotten anything on Terry or Shawn out of the backgrounds yet, Angela?" Jack asked as he walked up behind her.

"I was just about to call you," she said with excitement in her voice. "Gray's been charged for running underground gambling twice before, once in Miami and once in Seattle."

"Maybe he's up to it again here," Martin said.

"But then where does Shawn come in?"

"That's what I wondered," Angela said quickly as she turned back to her computer. "Look at this. There was a disappearance of a guy who used to be an "acquaintance" of Gray's in Denver named Zachary Yates. Gray lived there for about three years before he moved to New York last spring. Now according to this report, Yates was involved in a gambling incident right before he went missing. Police thought that Gray might be involved but all of the evidence pointed without a single doubt to Yates."

"So what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that Gray knew that he was going to get caught, and he didn't want to get in trouble again. So he framed it on his buddy Yates and then killed him. It's hard to defend yourself if you're dead."

"What's to say that Yates wasn't in it from the beginning?"

Angela shook her head. "That kid had a clear record. Not even a detention in high school. I don't think he had it in him to come up with something like this. His background is just like Shawn's: comes from a lower-class family without a lot of money and without much street smarts. They both thought that found a real winning deal meeting and befriending this wealthy guy who watched out for him financially."

"Ok, so let's say that Gray is trying to do his gambling rig in New York. He makes a few buddies, and they help him set up the whole deal. He meets Shawn and sees another Zachary Yates. So what does Gray get in return for letting Shawn crash at his place?"

"Maybe he's making Shawn do all of his dirty work. Collecting the money from the gamblers," Vivian suggested. "Maybe something went wrong."

Angela's desk phone rang. The caller ID flashed "Taylor" and she pressed the speaker button.

"What'd you get on Terry Gray, Danny?" she asked.

"Uh, nothing that would help us much," Danny said. "We just left. But I don't like that guy. I think we should tell Jack to put surveillance on him."

"We're going to, Danny," Jack said.

"Whoa, Jack? Oh, speaker phone?"

"Yeah."

"Ah. That could have been awkward," Danny said with a small chuckle. "So what do you want us to do, Jack?"

"Why don't you and Samantha stay and watch Gray and follow him if he takes off. We'll send backup in a few minutes."

"What's the deal with him?"

"We'll explain when we get there. For now just keep your eye on him."

"Alright. We'll do that."

There was a click from the phone as Danny hung up. Jack ushered Martin, Vivian, and Angela out of the bullpen and down to the elevator to accompany Danny and Samantha in the capture of Terry Gray.

A/N: SORRY. EXAMS.

And my internet is being retarded. I'm really sorry guys.

Anyways, I know things are a little odd here, but this is just the set up for the next two (!!!) chapters. Things get intense next chapter. I promise.

I really want to reply to your reviews but I can't yet! Tomorrow's my last day of exams though!

Good luck to everyone who's taking exams or working on papers!

-Laura