a/n- Again thanks for all the reviews. I am glad I am keeping you all in suspense. Things start to get pretty intense in this chapter.
They were frustrated that their one solid suspect was not talking. They had really hoped she would give them something more to go on, but it was not happening. They knew her partner was out there somewhere and was still capable of continuing the crimes.
Catherine sat at the conference table opposite Greg, going over everything again, hoping they had missed something.
"Did we find out if Jessica Myers was left handed or right handed," Greg asked her.
"Hmm, good question." Catherine paged through her paperwork and found her sheet on Jessica Myers.
"Looks like Jessica is our lefty," she said to Greg.
Greg looked over the photos of the bodies so far. "By what Doc Robbins said, all the female victims necks were slashed by the left handed person, making Jessica look even more guilty."
"Yeah I am thinking we are set with her as one of the killers. Now it is finding her accomplice."
Greg had just sat down to eat a sandwich for his break when Catherine paged him. She said for him to meet her in her office.
He re-bagged his sandwich, grumbling while he placed it back in the fridge. He kept his cup of coffee with him as he went to her office.
Catherine was putting on her lightweight jacket as he came in her office. "What's up," he asked sheepishly.
"We have another scene slightly different from the last so I hear. Probably because the partner in crime is in lockup. On the North side of city again. Only one body. Brass is meeting us there.
"This one was found earlier than the last three too. It's only 3 am. Who called it in?" Greg asked her.
Catherine shook her head. "Jim did not say. Get your stuff and meet me by the Denali."
The Dusty Winds Motel had only 10 rooms. Greg looked at the place and thought someone would really have to be hard up and desperate to spend a night, let alone a few minutes in the rooms there.
The room smelled heavily of stale cigarettes and that metallic smell of blood mixed together. The drapes were a brown and yellow plaid pattern to match with the dirty yellow walls. The blood splatter was minimal on the walls and floors this time, which was one of the differences on this scene from the others. It was mostly centered on the bed area where the male body laid. The lacerations and COD were all pretty much the same as the last male victims.
David Phillips was examining the body. "Seems TOD was only about 2 hours ago." He was closely looking at the lacerations. "These are done sloppier than on the previous victims. Looks like more of a rush job."
Catherine leaned down next to Dave to get a closer look herself. "Hmm, I think you are right. Perhaps he is pissed off that his partner is in lock up, so he just does not take as much time and enjoyment in the act as he did with her around."
Greg came in from the bathroom area. He overheard what they said. "The person also did not take as much time cleaning up after himself or herself. There are some blood spots on the vinyl floor in the bathroom. Maybe Jessica was the one who did all the cleaning up."
"So he or she is angry when they find out Jessica was caught. This person still wants to continue with the act minus their partner, they just do not take as much time in the act of torturing the victim. Perhaps that was more of Jessica's thing. This person just did the task more quickly this time around but still leaves the signature scene so we know one is still out there and willing to go on killing without Jessica." Catherine felt that this remaining person would be more erratic in their behavior.
"They don't need to stick to the exact schedule they were on before. This person is more of a loose cannon, I think."
Greg frowned. "Great, so now we have the more erratic person still on the loose."
Catherine gave him a knowing look as she got up to take come more photos of the body before Dave took him away.
Capt. Brass came in a few minutes after Dave left in the County Coroner van. "Hey Catherine, can you take over talking to the motel manager and desk clerk. I got another scene to check out. Everything under control here?" He glanced at Greg, then back to Catherine for acknowledgement.
"Yeah, we are fine here. We will meet you back at the lab later." She went back to finishing collecting the few hairs and fibers left on the bed sheets. She then bagged them and turned to Greg, who was still photographing blood splatters on the floor and wall near the bed.
"Greg, I am going to go now and question the motel people. I'll be back as soon as I can to help you finish with the rest of this mess." She grinned at him. He smirked back at her.
"Thanks." She left him in the room alone to continue collecting evidence.
Greg went back to searching the dirty carpeting and taking swabs from any blood
on it, just in case the suspect cut himself at all.
He was on his hands and knees on the floor and saw something underneath the bed. It looked like an earring. He knew with a motel room that was as dirty as it was, it could have been left behind from previous guests, but it could be from this victim or suspect.
He reached under the bed and grabbed the earring. He looked at it closely with his flashlight. It was a diamond stud earring. Greg smiled when he noticed some residue left on the post. Having his years of DNA experience, he knew it was possibly epithelial left on it. He grabbed for a small plastic evidence bag out of his CSI vest and placed the earring in it.
Suddenly he sensed the presence of someone behind him. He thought that maybe Catherine had come back, but realized she would have announced herself.
He quickly turned around in just enough time to see a man about to stick him with a syringe. He threw his arm up and knocked the needle out of the man's hand. The large, bald headed man grabbed for Greg's throat and shoved him back down to the ground and started choking him. Greg tried breaking free of the man's powerful grip around his neck but was not having much luck. His air supply was slowing being cut off. Greg had to do something quick before he lost consciousness. Greg rose up his knee hard into the man's groin.
The large man howled out in pain, letting go of his grip on Greg. Greg took a moment to catch his breath, then managed to get to his feet and started scrambling to the door, which was now closed.
His attacker saw him make a break for the door and even though he was in pain, he ran after him. He could not let him escape. It would ruin his plans.
He had waited patiently from across the street, hidden behind some bushes, after calling from a pay phone down the road for the cops to arrive on the scene. He was watching the cops and CSI's go in and out of the room. He had waited until he counted that only one person was left in the room. He was glad they made it easy for him to enter the room by leaving the door open to it. He was hoping the woman would have been the one left behind, but it was the young guy instead. He had sized him up and figured he would probably be easy to overtake, but now he was pissed off and the young CSI was about to get away. He was glad he was able to close the door quietly enough without the young CSI hearing him before. It would slow him down some.
Greg got to the door and grabbed the handle to open it, only to suddenly feel something sharp strike him in his upper right back area. Incredibly sharp pain started radiating down his right side. His mind fogged up from the excruciating pain in his shoulder. He knew he had to keep going to get out of the room, but he was grabbed from behind and thrown against the door.
Then he felt the cause of his shoulder pain ripped out of his back, causing him to feel lightheaded from the new pain it caused. He fell to his knees. His attacker grabbed him and started punching him where the wound was. The pain he was in was clouding his mind and judgment. He felt like he had when he was getting beaten by the gang of youths about a year prior.
His attacker was happy seeing as he regained control of the situation before the CSI had opened the door. Seeing that his victim was subdued from his pain, he stopped punching his shoulder and dragged him away by his right arm.
Greg could not help but cry out in pain when he was dragged across the room, to the far corner. The bald man glared down at him as Greg tried to reach over with his left arm to stop the bleeding from the knife wound in his shoulder. Greg's pained eyes looked up at his attacker to get a better look at him.
He wore blue jeans and a black t-shirt with skull and crossbones on it. He was about 6'4" tall and had a dark goatee and a shaved head. He looked about 250 pounds. His cold grey eyes stared down at Greg. He played with the large, bloody hunting knife in his hands.
Greg closed his eyes a moment, suddenly realizing the situation he was in. He could see the bodies from the previous crime scenes and how they had been cut and slashed. He felt his blood run cold at the thought of the same thing happening to him. He had to get out of this.
He remembered Catherine would be returning soon. She had her gun on her, but he might be dead with one slash to his neck before she got back.
"Sanders, is that your name," his attacker asked him. Greg opened his eyes and looked up at the man.
"Yeah-Colonial Sanders from KFC! And I suppose your name is Psycho." Greg smirked. He did not know why he felt like being a smart ass at a time like this, but he knew he would end up paying for it.
The man's eyes bore into Greg. "Don't you be smart with me, boy," he growled as he waved his knife at him.
"You are just lucky I need you alive for awhile so I can use you to get my Jessie back."
Well now he confirmed it for sure that he was Jessica Myers accomplice. "So what's your plan, my life in exchange for hers?" Greg knew he was gambling with his length of life just by asking but it was helping him stay focused on the situation and not the pain he was in.
"Yeah that is the plan."
"Doesn't seem like much of a plan to me. Are you sure you have thought this through?"
The killer bent down right in front of Greg, holding his knife against Greg's throat. Greg knew he pushed a bit too far now and hoped he lived to regret it.
"Sanders, you got a mouth on you I do not like. I can just as easily take pleasure in killing you now and get a new plan."
Greg held his eyes even with those of this brutal killer as much as he could through his fear and pain.
The killer just grunted seeing as Greg had no response. "I thought so. Not so tough with a knife to your throat, but I still do not trust you." He reached behind his back and pulled out some cable ties. He roughly grabbed Greg's right wrist, causing Greg to grimace in pain and then tied a cable tie around it. He linked another one through it then grabbed Greg's left wrist and bonded them together.
"Oh and you can just call me Ty, if you need to beg for your life at some point."
Greg glared at him but was thankful his hands were bound in front of him and not behind his back.
Suddenly they both heard a female voice saying Greg's name. Greg was just about to yell out when Ty pushed the knife against his neck and pulled Greg up to his feet, positioning him so that he was holding Greg in front of him as a shield, with the knife right to his throat.
In Greg's weakened condition, he hardly had a chance to react to being taken at knifepoint.
"Keep your mouth shut. I will not hesitate to slice open your throat right here and now."
Greg had seen his work and knew he was not kidding, so he stayed still and quiet, hoping Catherine knew something was going on.