Almost, Maybe, Never?
Summery: -
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI NY
A/N: I can just say, sorry. For anything I might have written down related to the end of the last chapter. Oh and still unbetaed… Maybe I'll just tell you when it has been betaed XP
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Looking up at him and finally releasing her lips from the clutches of her teeth she began to rise up on her tippy toes one last time. Even with her grades in English and her fondness for literature there was no words she could find to answer Flack and if words wouldn't speak then she would let her actions.
Angell stood on her tippy toes looking deep into Flack's blue eyes. They were mere millimetres away from each other, closer than the previous night by far, as they braced them selves for the moment. But she paused, waiting, feeling his warm breath pour over her before finally, using all her will power, she attempted to close the small gap between them, closing in so their lips would touch… except, neither of them would have guessed they would never make it.
A clashing sound of the metallic locker room door made them jump as well as jump away from each other. Quickly trying at act normal, at all costs, they pretended to attended to them selves and rummage through their lockers looking for items they weren't really searching for.
Two male detectives walked pass them not even looking down their aisle. They were talking loudly, as if they wanted to gain attention, about their argument of who between the two was a better shot.
As they past and moved to the far side of the locker room Angell turned back to Flack. His back was to her and she could see his forehead pasted against the locker in front of him. His fists were once again clutched tightly together by his side most likely punishing himself for not making it. Angell wasn't angry at him though, she knew there would be better time and a better place where the memory would last longer. A male reeking, grey coloured locker room wasn't really a place she wanted to remember in 20 years time.
'You alright, Don?' she placed a hand on his shoulder comforting him, making sure he could at least understand that she didn't blame him.
'Yeah, I'm… I'm okay,' he only nodded at her after that but she could see regret written all over his eyes. 'We should…' he pointed towards the open door and Angell nodded, taking his hand in hers, she lead each other out of what would have been an unforgettable moment.
As they walked out and into the blinding lights of the precinct they found Mac, eagerly waiting at Flack's desk, 'Angell, Don – just before I carry on, you two aren't doing anything tonight are you?'
Angell and Flack exchanged glances before looking back at Mac, 'No, why would you think we were doing anything together?' Flack spoke.
They didn't want to establish anything because, truthfully, there was nothing to establish – they had yet to go out on a proper date, they were yet to share a first kiss, nothing about their current status approve them of 'being' in a relationship together.
'I didn't think you two were doing anything together - I was just directly the question generally at both of you,' Mac said rising an eyebrow at Flack's forwardness but carry on thoughtlessly, 'Just, if you're not doing anything why don't you come down to the Jazz club tonight?'
This was something new to Flack and Angell but especially Flack, who had known Mac long enough to know that Mac had never 'invited' anyone to a performance before since he preferred to keep his life, out side a work, private.
'Well, I'm not doing anything. Angell?' Flack looked over at her.
'Hmm,' she answered not really concentrating at first. 'Oh, yeah. Err, I'm free.' Her mind obviously miles away imagining what would have happened moments early. There was almost a wash of guilt that poured over her since she realized it may have been her, that allowed the rude interruption. She paused, she waited, she wanted to savour the moment of being only a breath away from him. Had she of acted faster, urged for the moment more, the whole thing have happened and been over before anyone had entered.
'Good. Just keep it quiet okay,' Mac gave a smile leaving the two detectives pondering over the last few minutes before suddenly turning back towards Angell. 'Jessica, can I speak to you?
Angell nodded leaving Flack alone to carry on his work as she walked over towards Mac, 'Yes?'
'You're apartment,' Mac started but paused to watch Angell's face light up with its mention, 'The case still is unresolved but after processing it over and over we think it's fine for you to carry on staying there from now on. We don't believe you'll be in any danger and I hear from the Captain that you have a uniform following you now?'
Angell dropped her head in slight embarrassment. She was good friends with Mac. He supported her and she looked up to him as a good role model but for him to see her degraded in this way made her feel bad, useless and ultimately powerless, 'Yeah, something happened, it's nothing really.'
Mac nodded in approval, he wasn't going to press on, he could probably figure it out himself what was wrong with her so he didn't push any further but instead handed back her keys and left her standing in the precinct alone.
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Danny exited the elevators and strode purposefully towards Flack's desk. He expected Angell to be hovering over him after how he'd heard the previous night's partying went but instead Flack sat alone, typing eagerly at his computer in the dull, greyness of the precinct.
'Don,' Flack looked up at Danny from his work and gave his a weary smile. 'Where's Angell?'
'Out on call. What can I do for you?
'We had an anonymous tip about half an hour ago. Someone gave us a name of a guy that might have been involved with the shooting of our vic and the break in at Angell's the other day.'
'What? Why wasn't I informed about this?'
'The call went straight to Mac's office. We called the guy in the moment we heard it and he just arrived… We wondered if you wanted to conduct the interview.'
Flack nodded and stood from his chair, 'Who gave the tip?'
Danny shrugged, he didn't know – the call literally went straight to Mac office, not even passing the switch board on it's way so it was a wonder of who knew Mac number.
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One man sat silently at the table with a steaming hot cup of coffee in front of him while he waited for someone to enter the room. Danny and Stella stood behind the tinted glass and watched as Flack enter carrying the traditional brown file and a cup of his own coffee.
'Mr. Thomas, do you know why you're here?' Flack stared reading the man's rap sheet from a brown file while he waited for an answer but the man just nodded at Flack before reaching out to take a sip of his coffee.
'Yeah, it's about that dead girl in the apartment isn't it?'
This time Flack nodded. He took a moment to study Mr. Thomas' movement carefully, trying to place his face along side the few other tenants he'd interview at Angell's apartment. He was a Latino man, early 30s, shaggy hair nothing much for style clothes wise.
'What can you tell me about what happened Wednesday night?'
The guy flinched, eyes darted away from Flack – a sure sign that whatever he was about to say was going to be terribly false, 'All I know is that the moment I came back there was police cars everywhere and people crowded around. I wanted to get back in but they wouldn't allow me. I took a few interviews but I couldn't tell them much I had no idea what had happened. I only found out when one of the other tenants told me.'
'Where were you before you arrived back?'
'At the cinema. It was my day off.'
Flack nodded looking down again on the rap sheet, 'You got any witness that can prove that?'
'I'd give you my cinema ticket but I lost it.'
'Maybe someone at the cinema?'
'I like being discreet,' the man raised an eyebrow towards Flack.
Flack didn't move but concentrated hard on Mr. Thomas. He didn't look scared or worried about what Flack was asking him. He stayed calm, breathing apparently normal, no annoying little gestures that might indicate he was lying. Everything except the fact that he wouldn't make eye contact with Flack showed no signs of having something to hide.
'What can you tell me about the burglary that happened at your apartment the same day?'
'Oh you mean that girl that lives one floor down. Was kindda sad what happened - she was a nice girl. Met her in the laundry room once or twice but never really spoke to her.'
'Did you know the owner of the apartment is a NYPD detective?'
'I knew there was some NYPD person in that apartment but I never guessed it was her.'
'Do you own a gun, Mr. Thomas?'
'Yeah, why?'
'Ever fired it?'
'Besides during a test fire?' he questioned Flack, 'No.'
Flack gave one last nod before getting up and walking out of the interview room. As Stella and Danny stepped out of the viewing room them came face to face with Flack.
'Do you think we can get a warrant for the gun?' Stella asked, curiously at Flack.
'We don't have enough,' Flack shook his head disappointingly. 'Maybe if we dig deeper, see what else we can find on this guy.'
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Lindsay was sat at the CSI coffee room leaning over the brown coloured file frowning. Mac entered and watched Lindsay's concentration for a moment before walking over.
'What's wrong?'
Lindsay looked up startled at Mac and rubbed her eyes, 'I was just handed this case to do and I'm not making any sense out of it.'
'What case is it?' Mac took a seat in the empty stood next to her and pulled the file towards himself.
'It's a cold case from 2 years ago – a murder of a woman. Apparently a bunch of cold case guys were looking through some unsolved and while going through this one, new evidence was found.'
'What's so bad about that?' Mac raised an eyebrow at Lindsay.
'Nothing, I guess… except the bullet found at the scene two years ago has similar characteristics as the bullet we found in Jessica Miller.'
Mac wasn't seeing her point, 'Carry on.'
Lindsay sighed. She'd ran this through her head a hundred of times trying to make sense of it herself so she wasn't sure how much Mac was going to understand if she didn't know what she was talking about, 'Well, that bullet had the same indentations – showing it was probably shot from the same gun or same model at most. But it's not just that, the victim in this – her name was Jessica Jones. She lived alone in Mid-town, she was a kindergarten teacher in a near by school, she was 5' 7 with long brown hair. I hate to say it but this victim and our current one… they have a few things in common.'
'MO of Jessica Jones?'
'Strangulation but she was also starved for up to 48 hours. Autopsy revealed very little stomach contents. She was bounded and gagged, no signs of rape - so in that way it doesn't really relate to our case,' Lindsay looked to Mac for answers. He was leaning against the table thinking hard.
'Anything about the victim's apartment?'
Opening the brown file once again she flicked through the pages before she finally stopped and looked up at Mac, 'It was ransacked but nothing visible was found missing. Everywhere I go, Mac, I end at a dead end. I don't know what to make of all this.'
'Keep looking into this case. Pull up a list of suspects they had, maybe a name might come up in connection with this case.'
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'Stella, Stella, Stella,' Adam came running out of the A/V lab and into the white hallway. 'I think I have something.' Stella had arrived back from the interview between Flack and Mr. Thomas. Danny was running down the phone number that called Mac to see if he could gat anything off of it while Flack built up a more in depth profile of a the possible suspect.
Following Adam into A/V she sat next to him and stared at the multitude of computers displaying several different angels of Angell's apartment's lift lobby.
'I did what you asked and tried to see what I could find by looking through the surveillance and I came up with this,' Adam flicked to the left most screen and played a short clip from one of the camera. The time slot showed 10am after a few seconds of nothing a tall, male dressed in black walked across the screen. He had a black jumper and sweat pants on as well as a baseball cap that covered his face. 'Okay, this guys is entering the apartment at 10 if we fast forward it to 11,' Adam paused for a moment while the pace video speed into halftime he stopped it just as the timer past 11am. 'We can see this guy enter again. But there was no footage of him leaving… See where I'm getting at?'
Stella smiled and nodded at Adam, 'Can you prove it's the same person?'
Adam scoffed at her before turning back to the computer, 'Well, they are wearing the same clothes but yes, I have gone into more detail and using height analysis I have calculated that they are indeed the same height. Can't get anything of facial recognition since he never looks at the camera but still.'
Stella watched Adam type in a few commands into the computer and a measurement of the man's height came up, '5'10 and a bit since this things never a 100% accurate. But I do have something more to show you.'
Stella smiled at him. 'Wow, you've been working hard Adam,' she teased.
'Okay, 12pm and NYPD has started to arrive. There goes Flack, then Mac,' Adam began commentating as the images flew by across the screen. 'Okay here!' he paused the video and they both watched a group of people being held back by a NYPD officer. 'See that guy in the black baseball cap?' Stella looked more carefully, a man was standing in front of a uniform wearing sweatpants, a black baseball cap and a white shirt with a black jumper slung in his arm, 'Look familiar?'
'Well, with a little more height analysis,' he began typing into the computer again and the measurements came back on screen, 'Three 5'10 guys all entering the building wearing a black baseball cap but none of them exited!'
Stella was impressed by Adam. It was true he worked hard and often did more than was asked and he always came out with good results, 'Now how'd they get out?'
Adam opened his mouth to speak but closed it again promptly. He thought for a moment, 'I don't know.'
'Well,' Stella began, 'Angell said she saw the murder fled through the back streets right?' Adam nodded, he'd heard Angell's interview with the Captain about what exactly happened so he was pretty familiar with the case. 'Say he walked around the block and came back in - hence black guy number 2. Angell also mentioned an open window which she swore she always shut. Well, that window leads to a fire escape. If he walked all the way down and entered again through the main entrance it would establish an alibi right?'
'What about mystery man number 1?'
Stella thought for a moment, 'That was how when he first came into the apartment to kill Angell?'
Adam let out a small laugh, before shrugging his shoulders, 'How'd he get into the apartment the first two times, though, if he wasn't a resident?'
'That Adam,' Stella looked over at him, 'is challenge number 2.'
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A/N: Sorry, for the delay… Has still been hectic but 2 more days till Christmas holidays… Not like there will be much relaxing since I'll be studying for my mocks but oh well, there will ALWAYS be a little time left over for writing up new chapters… I hope. Review, fave, subscribe – all the things you guys do best thanks! Oh and let me take this time to promote my two new FA vids on my YouTube. Check them out.. I am working on another one but am waiting for some episodes to download so it might take a few more days. Have fun till then!