New York had its quiet moments, unfortunately these quiet moments were the most common times to commit a murder.
Harvey's diner was the place to be, if you were a school girl. After school the place was packed with 16 year old girls, they all came from Waterslade Prep for Girls. Waterslade was the best school New York could offer and they would teach anyone. The girls who couldn't quite afford a big fancy house and a limousine to drop them home came to Harvey's to chill out after school. Harvey knew the girls quite well and he would always give them free drinks. There were 4 girls who would always have a place in Harvey's heart. These girls were the only people left in the diner on the night which ended their lives.
The clock in the diner read 8:56, it was so close to closing time. Paris, Alexa, Bailey and Dylan were occupying booth in the corner of the room. JJ, the waitress, was in the kitchen washing up when she heard the bell on the front door ding. She went out into the main room to see who it was when she saw a flash and a bullet penetrate Paris' forehead. Instinctively, she gasped and the shooter turned to face her. The last thing JJ saw was a young lady pointing a gun at her and a bright white flash. She immediately fell behind the counter when the bullet made contact. The other three girls were in panic. Bailey was towering over Paris' lifeless body, trying to bring her back to life; Dylan was crouched in another booth, searching frantically for her phone; Alexa was edging towards the door, she was so close to escaping but the shooter turned and sent a bullet flying into the side of her head. Alexa fell to her knees then her body collapsed onto the floor. Bailey shrieked,
"Please don't hurt me" she begged
"It's not personal, it's business" was the harsh response.
Bailey clenched her eyes shut but tears still seemed to escape, she was waiting to be shot but was surprised when she heard the gun yet didn't die. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Dylan sprawled on the floor, under the table. She had been shot in the side of the head, the bullet had sliced through her hand and phone before invading her skull.
"You bitch" Bailey screamed
"Sticks and stones, kid" she sashayed to Bailey and pressed her gun to Bailey's head. Gently, she pulled the trigger, and watched the life drown in Bailey's eyes. After several minutes a pool of blood surrounded Bailey's head. The killer wrote a message in the blood.
'It's not personal, it's business'
She took a step back and admired her work. She pulled a photo from her pocket. She had been told to make sure they looked like the shooting in the diner, in Montana, 15 years ago. She held up the photo and made the connection between the two images, a smile cursed her lips as she dropped the photo and walked out.
Danny, Hawkes and Mac passed through the yellow tape surrounding the crime scene. They stood in the entrance of the diner, stopping before they contaminated any evidence that surrounded Alexa's body.
"Danny, Hawkes you take the bodies. I'll process the scene"
Danny nodded
"I'll take the two over by the desk, you take her" he pointed to Alexa "and the one behind the counter"
"Ok"
Both men headed towards their bodies. Danny was ready to put his kit on the table next to him when he glanced at the floor.
"Got a fifth body down here, teenager, probably with the rest of them" Danny hollered.
"Ok, Danny" Mac acknowledged.
"Dan, whoever is done first takes that body?"
"You got it"
Danny put his case on the floor and got his camera in his hand. He read the message in the blood and a memory of him and Sydney came flashing through his brain. He quickly snapped back into reality and took a picture of the message. He continued to process the scene, desperately searching for something that would indicate Sydney was involved in the murder.
Danny and Hawkes were sat in front of two computers. One computer had images from the scene collaged onto it and the other had the photo at the crime scene. They were determining all the similarities and trying to find the differences between the two pictures. Everything, except the victims, were the same; even the colour of the sky was the same.
"Danny. I think we have just found out difference" Hawkes pointed to an area of blood on the screen which was smeared "There's a smear there, but in the other photo the blood is untouched. Do you have a photo of the smear?"
"Yeah, hang on" he swiveled on his chair to the other computer. He browsed through the photos from their crime scene until he came across the one with the message.
"It's not personal, it's business? What kind of message is that?" Hawkes questioned the photo.
Lindsay walked in and heard the last part of Hawkes' question. She was looking at the file in her hand when she walked in and looked at Hawkes when she heard someone else in the room.
"Oh, sorry guys. I thought this room was empty" Lindsay apologized and glanced at the screen "These pictures from your case?" She looked at the screen with the message in the blood on it.
"Yeah, and those two" Danny pointed to the other two computer screens "Screen one is our photos and screen two is a photo we found at the scene. None of us recognise it. You got any ideas?"
"Er yeah, Do you guys have any DNA that needs to be tested? If you do, you need to test it now"
"Monroe? You gonna tell us where the picture is from?"
"I will, but I cant right now"
"Ok, when will you tell us?"
"When you run the DNA. I will tell you when I know the results"
"Montana, haven't you got your own case?"
"Yeah but Stella can handle it for now. This case is more important at the moment. Run the DNA. I mean it guys, you need to run it"
"Ok, we're gonna go run it now"
Lindsay nodded "Page me when you have the results"
"Course we will"
Danny and Hawkes left the room, leaving Lindsay alone with the pictures. She came closer to the picture they found at the scene and zoomed in. She focused on the only face that was clear enough to make a positive ID. She studied the face for a millisecond before gasping loudly. Lindsay felt faint when she realised she was staring at her best friend from 15 years ago.
"Honey..." she whispered.
Tears started to form in her eyes and she felt a lump in her throat. She gasped and her breath hitched when she zoomed out. She was once again staring at her best friends lifeless bodies. The tears began to flow and she turned off the screen.
"I'll get her this time. You hear that girls? I'm gonna get her, for you" At first Lindsay was speaking to the ceiling, confident her friends could hear her, but she ended up cowering on the desk and whispering the last part of her statement. She was crying silent tears and her shoulders were gently shaking.
Danny and Hawkes had been waiting for their DNA results for 10 minutes. When the screen began to flash Danny couldn't believe his eyes.
"Holy shit, Hawkes, check this out" Danny nudged Hawkes "Page Lindsay please"
Hawkes paged Lindsay and she was in the room in minutes.
"Montana, It's your DNA" Danny pleaded.
"No it's not, it's Sydney's" She said
"We need to get you to Mac"
He gripped her arm and led her out of the room.
"Danny, no, give me the result, I'm going to see him alone"
He released her arm "What ? no, you're not, it's our case"
"Okay remember the Sonny Sassone case, I went to you before and I didn't argue when you took the result and went see Mac on you own"
"It's different"
"Look I just need to talk Mac, ok, then you'll can do whatever you want "
"Tell me what?" Mac interrupted as he walked out of the lab.
"This" Danny handed him a print out of the DNA results. Mac studied it for minutes.
"In my office now" Mac said.
They follow him into his office, he closed the door behind them, and sat in his chair, he opened his desk drawer and took a pen, he push a little button on it.
"Mac ? what's going on" Danny asked
"Courtesy of the FBI, it's jamming any radio signals, in case there are wires in the room"
"The FBI ?" Hawkes said confused
"The Monroe case, as they called it, is a special case, you understand why, Lindsay and Sydney have the same DNA, they can be confused, as Lindsay's boss, I have clearance to know things that you're not allowed to know, but what you can know, is that a microship has been injected in Lindsay by the FBI so she can be trace at any moment, and not confused with her sister"
"Seriously ?" Danny asked
"I never been more serious" Mac simply said.
"It was Sydney who did that so." Danny said
"We don't know that yet, it's not because we found a hair from her at the crime scene that she killed them, she could have take a coffee here, or have lunch" Hawkes said
"She a contract killer, so if it's her, we have to find what was the contract ?"
"I'm on it" Hawkes said before leaving the room
"What do I do now ?" Lindsay asked to Mac
"Go home. Anything you do on any case may be compromised. Danny will take over your case. I will let you know as soon as we know anything. Is that Ok with you?"
"Yeah, its not like I have any other choice. See you later Mac"
Lindsay walked away.
Lindsay walked into her apartment and slumped onto her sofa. She reached onto the coffee table and picked up the last picture of her with her friends. She felt tears pricking her cheek, but was surprised when she felt her pocket vibrating. The number was witheld.
"Hello?"
"Hey sis"
"Sydney?"
"Now I am offended, you don't even know my voice on a the phone"
"What do you want?"
"I wanted to know if you got the present?"
"What present?"
"The one I left you earlier, you must have got it"
"Syd, I have no idea what you are on about?"
"You didn't recognise the photo? I know you saw it, else you wouldn't have been sent home"
"So it was you"
"Yep, I hope you liked it. I sure did"
"Why did you do this"
"It's my job honey, so are you proud of me ?"
"Listen to me, you bitch, you have been a plague on my life, you repulse me..."
"I guess not"
Before Lindsay could reply, Sydney hung up; leaving Lindsay with the clicking sound of a disconnected phone. Lindsay took her jacket and left the apartment.
She arrived at the crime lab, twenty minutes after. She went straight to Mac.
"It was her, she called me to confess, the phone has been transfered to the FBI, they taking the case"
"Okay, then" He got up and went near Lindsay "How are you feeling ?"
"I would be better off dead, no wait, if SHE was dead" She replied with a soft smile
"I know what you mean"
"Well I'm gonna be in my office if you need me"
When she reached her desk, an envelope was on it, with a note "It's not business, it's personal" It was a variation of her signature but she knew it was from Sydney.