Such a huge thanks to everyone who's stuck with this story and continued to read, and a special thanks to those who have taken the time to review. :) Your feedback means a lot, and your nice comments make me smile. :)
Not too much left to go now; thanks to Boleyn and Elainhe for sticking with me and putting up with my whining. :)
Chapter 11
It took Lindsay a minute to comprehend what Danny had just said. "You what?" she asked.
"I found the link between the victims. You have to get back here."
Lindsay looked around – she was already on her way home; she'd have to wait until the next stop and get on the returning subway back. "I'll be back in twenty… can you just tell me what the connection is?"
"No, you get your butt back here, and then I'll tell you!"
Lindsay couldn't help but smile as she replied an exasperated "Fine," and snapped her phone shut. A case breakthrough had put her – and Danny – in a far better mood.
Lindsay had barely walked into the office when Danny immediately began to speak, clicking through multiple windows on his computer. Lindsay immediately recognized the phone logs of the three victims in front of him, laid out side-by-side, a few highlighted lines on each. She held her breath.
"The reason we couldn't find a connection is because there wasn't a direct link! Look," he said, pointing to the numbers. "The only vague thing we could find is that a few days before their deaths, all three victims ordered delivery."
Lindsay nodded, remembering that similarity, though she had thought nothing of it.
Danny continued. "It was a complete fluke that I went to Giomo's tonight for dinner, and the manager gave me a brochure – the one I showed you. And when I got back here, I looked up Sin-Yoo's Chinese, and that's where the connection is!"
"Danny, get to the point, you're losing me here," said Lindsay, a small smile on her face as she waited anxiously.
"The delivery service! Both of these restaurants employ a private delivery company to carry out their orders – and I looked up the place that Natalie Dumont called as well – Lucky Chicken - they also use the same delivery service!" Danny looked at her with a triumphant grin on his face, an expression of happiness Lindsay hadn't seen in ages.
"And I take it you have a name and address," said Lindsay, smiling widely.
"RoadRunner Food Delivery, on 5th." Danny stood up, grabbing his jacket and keys. "And I've already got the warrant. Coming?"
Lindsay smiled as she followed Danny out of the office, taking note of the bounce in his step… and the complementary one in her own.
Danny led Lindsay in the front doors of RoadRunner's head office, and strode directly up to a very frazzled-looking receptionist.
"Hey there," he said, holding up his badge. Lindsay did the same. "We have a warrant for your dispatch records for the last two months." He slid the warrant across the counter, staring the receptionist right in the eye.
"I'm sorry, w-what's this about?" she asked, looking quickly between Danny, Lindsay, and her computer screen.
"Homicide investigation. Those records?" said Lindsay, motioning in the direction of the warrant.
"I… um… I don't understand, homicide?" she asked, opening a new search query on her computer.
"Yes—" started Lindsay.
"What's going on here?" asked a man in a suit, jogging towards them.
"NYPD," said Danny, flashing his badge again. "We have a warrant for your dispatch logs. Your receptionist here was just about to get those for us. And you are?"
"Mark Vogt, I'm the head manager," he said, skimming over the warrant.
"As we explained," said Danny, "we're here on a homicide investigation. We need those logs, now."
The receptionist nodded timidly as she ran the query and printed out the results page. "Here, this is everything from the past two months. It has the company we did the run for, the date, the time, the delivery address, the collection amount, and the driver dispatched."
"Thank you," said Danny, immediately running his finger down the address column, and stopping on Emma Mezzolo's address. "Joe Park," he mumbled, pointing at the corresponding driver's name. He continued skimming down the list, stopping on each Michelle and Natalie's addresses, and noting the same name: Joe Park.
"Mr. Vogt, we're not going anywhere. We need to speak to a Joe Park," said Danny, folding up the logs. "Now."
Mark motioned towards his receptionist, who typed something quickly into her computer. "He just went on a run about twenty minutes ago, I have the addresses he's scheduled at, if you want them."
"Please," said Lindsay. She could feel her heart beginning to race – they were going to get this guy. The weeks of frustration and nightmares were close to being over; she could feel her fingertips tingling with anticipation.
It took only a moment for the receptionist to print out the dispatch route, and a moment more for Danny and Lindsay to get into their SUV.
"We have no way to know which of these addresses he's at right now," said Lindsay as Danny started the engine. "If he left twenty minutes ago, he'd have to stop at the restaurants, and then go to the first address with the delivery… which means that he can't be very far into the delivery list, if he's even made it so far."
"How about we go to the second address – we have the apartment number, so we can simply ask if he's been there yet; if he's past us, it won't take us long to catch up."
"Sounds good to me," replied Lindsay as Danny shifted the SUV into drive. "You ready to catch this shit?" he asked, before taking his foot off the brake.
"Absolutely," smiled Lindsay.
Danny reached over and squeezed her hand. "Me too, Montana."
And with that, he released the brake and took off towards their destination.
Ten minutes later, they pulled up in front of a posh apartment building. Its lights lit it up brightly, making it stand out against the indigo of the night sky. Lindsay estimated the building had to be about thirty stories up. She looked around her, a car to her left catching her attention.
"Danny," she said, motioning in its direction. The black car had the unmistakable white RoadRunner logo painted on its doors.
Danny nodded and pulled out his cell phone. "This is Messer, I'm at 5278 Broadway, requesting immediate backup." He clipped his phone shut, slid it into his back pocket, and took his gun out of its holster. Lindsay followed the action.
"You ready?" Danny asked her, glancing inside, then looking back at her.
Lindsay nodded and followed Danny inside, her gun at the ready. She could feel her heart beating strongly against her chest, her insides tight with anxiousness. They were looking for apartment 203.
Danny ascended the stairs quickly but quietly; Lindsay could see his eyes darting to every crevice and corner, searching for any sign of Joe Park. They reached the door to the second floor.
"Stay behind me, Lindsay," said Danny, placing one hand on the door handle. "I'll approach first, try not to spook him, but I need you for cover." Danny holstered his gun, his eyes intense with determination and fear.
"Got it," she said, tightening her grip on her weapon as Danny opened the door and took a few cautious steps into the empty hallway. Lindsay followed a few paces behind him, struggling to pick out which sounds around her were relevant. She could hear laughing in the apartment to her right, the television blaring in the one to her left.
As they neared the corner of the hallway, Lindsay heard something that was almost definitely relevant: A young woman, "thanks, have a great day," followed by a door clicking shut.
Danny peeked around the corner quickly, then turned back to Lindsay. "It's him," he whispered. "You stay here, be ready."
Lindsay nodded and drew a breath as Danny disappeared around the corner. She listened carefully to every sound coming from around the corner; she struggled to control her breathing.
"Joe Park?" she heard Danny ask.
"Yeah?"
"Danny Messer, NYPD. I'm going to need you to come with me—"
The unmistakable sound of shoving ensued, and Lindsay barely had time to react to Danny calling her name as she spun around the corner, and was run over by Park. They both stumbled to the ground; Lindsay could hear Danny's footsteps behind her as she struggled to keep hold of Park's shirt.
"Get off," grunted Park has he jerked his elbow back and connected with Lindsay's nose. She lost hold of his shirt as her eyes immediately began to water, and she could feel a trickle of blood on her lip. She could just make out Danny's form speed past her and she heard two bodies hit the ground.
"Now I can arrest you for assaulting an officer," said Danny as Lindsay wiped the blood from her nose.
"What the hell is going on out here?" yelled a heavyset man from across the hall. Lindsay looked around and noticed many apartment doors had opened, their occupants coming out to see what the ruckus was about.
Both she and Danny held up their badges, Danny keeping a firm grip on Park as he spoke. "NYPD, everything's fine, please just go back into your apartments. Nothing to see."
Lindsay looked around as some people retreated back into their apartments, others hesitating with skeptical looks on their faces. A slim blonde at the end of the hallway caught her attention, the look on her face that of shock and fear.
"Lindsay," came Danny's voice behind her.
"One sec," she said as she walked towards the girl. "Was this man just at your apartment?"
"Yeah, he just delivered the take-out I ordered," she said, her eyes glued to Park. "What's going on?"
Lindsay sighed and she followed the girl's stare; Park was staring back at her, a small cut on his forehead, and pure hatred in his eyes. This was her first good look at him, and he looked as greasy as she had expected – unshaven, loose-fitting, worn shirt, torn jeans. His grin was sleazy, chilling, as if it were all a game. Lindsay was sure he thought it was.
She turned back to the blonde. "You're going to be fine, you have nothing to worry about." She smiled and reached out to squeeze the girl's arm reassuringly. "Enjoy your dinner," she said.
"Yeah, thanks," said the blonde slowly, looking between Lindsay and Park. "Bye, I guess." She retreated back to her apartment. Lindsay watched until she closed the door behind her, then turned and walked towards Danny and Park. "Let's go," she said firmly, staring Park straight in the eye.