A/N: Hi again!

I'm posting this chapter now because in about an hour, I'm leaving for our condo in North Conway (Not happy... ;-;) where there is no internet. It's a long weekend, so we're going to be back on Monday around noon. Too long to wait to update.

I'd like to note something about the two OCs in this chapter. Cassandra Rosary (Casey/Rose) is inspired by CSI's very own Wendy Simms, aka actress Liz Vassey. Like I said, most of this story is inspired by excessive amounts of CSI. And Richard Rosary (Ricky) is inspired by Glee's very own Kurt Hummel, aka actor Chris Colfer. Favorite character! ^-^

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Death Note or any of its characters. I only own Cassandra Rosary (Casey/Rose) and Richard Rosary (Ricky).

NOTE: I made some edits to the last chapter. It makes more sense now, and looks a LOT better! ^^ I also like the way I edited this chapter. Tip: Editing helps DRASTICALLY. :D Yay editing!

Read and Review! ;D

Missing

Near was a nine-year-old boy with the IQ of almost 175. He had the appearance of a young albino with empty gray eyes. He always wore plain white pajamas, for he rarely went outside. He was number one at Wammy's House in Winchester, England, as well as L's number one successor.

And now, on September 3rd, 1999, at 3:30 PM, L was reading the boy's files, which were marked "MISSING".

And the detective already had a good idea of what happened to his successor.

But all I can say is you will regret turning me down, detective.

He was already regretting it.

"He was kidnapped," L dropped the files onto the coffee table beside him. He and Watari had arrived in England that morning. As of now, they were sitting in Roger's office, who appeared very tense due to the situation.

"But how? He never goes outside. How would anyone even know of his existence if they've never seen him?"

"There must have been a leak of some kind," L hopped out of his chair, biting his thumb nail and slouching over. "But the more important matter is how did they get away with it? If Near never goes outside, and there's been no breaking and entering, how did the kidnappers manage to take him?"

Roger and Watari remained silent. They knew L had the answer.

"Because someone from the inside lead him out." L finished. "Someone in Wammy's House must have convinced him to go outside. If he were close enough to the gate, waiting accomplices would be able to take him without being noticed."

"But who would do something like that?" Roger asked.

"I don't believe it was a student," L explained, "A student wouldn't be able to convince him unless they dragged him out. Dragging him out would have attracted attention. There were no witnesses, so that obviously isn't the case. It must have been a superior. A staff member. There's a 82% chance."

Both Roger and Watari nodded. Although Roger believed in his staff and trusted them, he couldn't doubt L. He was usually right about these things. "Would you like to interrogate the staff?" He asked.

L shook his head. "Not yet." He said. "First, I want to see Mello."

Roger was surprised at this. "What does Mello have to do with this? Do you think he-?"

"Of course not. He definitely isn't responsible." L clarified. "But I do believe that since Near is involved, he may be as well. I have two likely successors, Roger. If the kidnappers were to go through all this trouble just to take one, then they wouldn't hesitate to take the other."

Mello was a ten-year-old boy with the IQ of almost 160. His hair was blond, and rather long for a boy. His bob cut was often mistaken for female hair, which, of course, did not please him. Although he was very intelligent, he had quite a temper. He was number two at Wammy's House in Winchester, England, as well as L's second place successor.

And now, on September 3rd, 1999, at 4:00 PM, L was sitting across from the boy in Roger's office while dropping countless amounts of sugar cubes into his own tea cup.

Mello was surprised to hear of Near's kidnapping. He had always wished the little albino twit would just turn up missing one day. He thought hearing the news would have given him joy. But hearing he was kidnapped felt different. It frightened him in a way.

"So... what does this have to do with me?" Mello asked. He hoped it didn't have anything to do with him.

L didn't answer right away. He stopped after dropping about eight sugar cubes into his tea cup, then lifted the cup and took a small sip. "Mmmm..." He seemed satisfied. He picked up the tea kettle by the handle with two fingers and held it out to Mello. "Care for some?"

Mello shook his head. "No thanks. I don't really drink tea..."

"Suit yourself," L set the kettle down onto the desk, placing the tea cup down along with it. He finally spoke. "I'm not going to lie to you, Mello. I believe, in this situation, Near isn't the only one in danger here."

It took Mello a second to realize what his mentor was implying. He gulped. "You think I...?"

"Just listen carefully, Mello," L instructed. "I can't trust any of the teachers or supervisors here at the moment, not even Roger. One of them, or maybe a few of them, may have something to do with Near's kidnapping. If any of the staff asks you any suspicious questions or asks you to go anywhere with them, come straight here to see me. Do you understand?"

Mello nodded quickly. He tried to appear confident, but really he was uncomfortable. It was bad enough that Near had somehow been taken, but knowing he was a target as well only increased his nerves. No boy his age would be comfortable in that situation. "What about Near...?" He asked. It seemed out of character of him to ask, but some part of him wanted to know.

"In a matter of time, with the right leads, I'm sure we'll be able to retrieve him sooner or later." L assured him. "You should head on back to class. Remember, report anything suspicious to me. Oh, and if I'm not in this office, then I'll be at the snack table in the common room. Alright?"

"Alright..." Mello slowly hopped out of his chair, a little uneasy. He wasn't sure he wanted to leave. He didn't feel very safe. But, following orders, he exited the office and headed off to class.

Right when the door closed, L snatched his cell phone off the desk.

"Watari, I need you to get in touch with the FBI. Tell them I need an agent. Have them send me all the agents' files. Yes. Have them send that agent here as fast as they can. Make sure they're free. Because I can't do this case alone."

It was Tuesday, September 1st, 8:00 AM. Cassandra Rosary made the common, but also fatal, mistake of forgetting to set her alarm for 6:00.

When she woke up to the sunlight shining directly in her eyes, she knew she was too late. There was no time. Almost immediately, she threw the covers off to the side, grabbed her robe, and bolted for the hall way. She busted through her son, Ricky's, bedroom door, just as she finished typing the cloth that held her robe in place. Ricky was still sound asleep, even after the huge crash Casey had made while in such a rush. She quickly grabbed his covers and yanked them off the sleeping teenager.

"Ricky, get up! We're both late!" She shouted. Ricky groaned and buried his head under his pillow. He had stayed up too late last night, and refused to get out of bed for anything.

"Richard Rosary, you get out of bed and get some clothes on before I yank that mattress right out from under you!" Casey scolded him. "It's the first day of school for you and a very important work day for mum, so get off your lazy butt and get ready!"

Ricky knew he couldn't argue with his mother. She was a very persuasive woman. He groggily threw the pillow off his head and sat up. He yawned. "What time is it?" He asked, rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand.

"Eight! Now get up!" Casey rushed out of the room, down the hall, and entered her own room once again. She rummaged through the closet for her work clothes. When she found them, she threw them on, not bothering to pick up the small night down she had tossed onto the carpet floor. After brushing her teeth and hair at top speed, applying a small amount of makeup, and grabbing her bag, she was in the kitchen frantically searching every corner for a quick breakfast. She grabbed two pieces of bread and stuffed them in her mouth. It was good enough. She grabbed two for Ricky and ran back for the stairs.

"RICKY!" She yelled. "HURRY UP!"

"GIVE ME A MINUTE!" Ricky shouted back from the bathroom. Casey tapped her foot impatiently as she waited. Finally, at 8:25 AM, both Casey and Ricky were buckled up in the cherry red Ferrari parked outside of the Rosary household. Casey backed out and bolted down the road, careful not to top the speed limit or cut off other cars.

Ricky held on as tight as he could to the door. He never liked going so fast. Especially in the Ferrari, which always made movement feel faster. His gaze turned to his mother. "I don't think it's going to be much different here, Mom." He told her.

Casey sighed. "Honey, all you have to do is be yourself. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah, the last time I did that, I was pelted with chick peas," Ricky folded his arms, remembering his old school in Oregon. The worst years of his life.

"LA is full of different people," Casey explained as she veered into the high school parking lot. She stopped by the entrance. "There are a bunch of people like you in this town. Low lives have no reason to make fun of you."

Ricky didn't respond. He just grabbed his bag and exited the car, racing for the front door. Casey didn't have time to feel sorry for her son. She quickly sped out of the school parking lot and headed in the direction of the city.

It was 8:50 AM when she reached her new work building. She finally parked the car and rushed through the doors. She slowed her pace once she was inside. She stepped onto the elevator and hit the button labeled "Floor 23". She waited as a small jingle played from the speakers.

Ding.

The doors opened, and the next thing she knew, she was entering her new work environment.

Casey was a very intelligent woman with a strong dedication to her work, so she normally approached everything with a serious complexion. But the sight of the crime lab baffled her. Not only was it almost a million times larger than the one she worked at in Oregon, but it was so bright. Sunlight practically flooded the place through the large windows covering the entire wall. You could clearly see everything. She deadpanned at the sight.

"Excuse me?" Casey nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice interrupt her thoughts. She spun around. A tall, tan, dark haired man approached her. His expression was so welcoming, it almost made Casey smile. It spooked her a bit. Most of the workers back in Oregon were bitter and serious, which had ever so slightly rubbed off on her. "You must be the new detective from Oregon, Cassandra Rosary. My name is William Foster. I'm the chief." He reached his hand out for Casey to take. She took it.

"While working, it's just Rose," Casey said. "I'm sorry I'm late, sir. I had some trouble with my alarm clock this morning, and I had to drop my son off at school. It won't happen again."

"It's not a problem at all. It happens to everyone." William assured her. "Why don't I show you to your new work station."

Casey nodded. She followed William towards the corridors of the crime lab.

Little did Casey know, at that moment, her personal file had just finished processing through L's computer in England. L was curiously scanning the information on the woman. When he was finished, he saved the file.

"Cassandra Rosary. She will definitely be of great help."

A/N: I didn't really leave much of a cliff hanger cause I'll be gone a while. I hope your happy with Cassandra, because she's gonna be sticking around for a looooong time. ^-^ And YAYS for Mello! XD

Also, a big thanks to Ms. Bright, who was the very first to ever review (and the only one so far XD) and was awesome enough to leave such an amazing one! You're the best! :D

Hope you enjoyed! Leave a review to show me you did! I'll post the next chapter right when I get back. I'm actually on chapter five at the moment, so you don't need to worry about late updates! :)

Have an awesome weekend! (And for those of you with a long weekend as well, have an awesome LONG weekend! :D)

~Mima Roses