Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of "CSI:NY," they belong to Anthony E. Zuiker and CBS.

Author's Note: Up earlier than I expected, so thank iheartcsinewyork. Most likely one more chapter to go. And I used what any good author has-"creative liberty" with this chapter. Nitpick it all you want, but it had to happen this way. Just letting you know. Minor swearing.

CHAPTER NINE

"No."

The boy was looking up at him with scared eyes. "I don't wanna go!" he cried.

Adam's heart was breaking. It sunk to his stomach again in protest. The hand Kendall had on his shoulder wasn't doing enough to comfort him.

"Flack," Adam began. "I mean...h-he can't..."

"Apparently, Lewis used his one phone call to hire one slick sonofabitch lawyer. I don't know how they got around it, Adam. But there's nothing we-"

"Damn it, Flack!" Adam said, untangling himself from Ryan's deathgrip and, doing something very un-Adam like, he grabbed Flack's jacket sleeve and pulled him into the hallway. "How in the hell could this happen? Damn it, Flack, you and I both know if that kid goes with his dad..."

"I know!" Flack said, pulling Adam's hand from his jacket. "I know it! But I can't do anything!"

Adam looked into the taller man's eyes. "Don't make him go," he pleaded. "Don't let them do this."

Flack's face was pained. "Adam...I don't have a choice."

Adam turned back into Mac's office. Ryan was visibly shaking. "That's not good enough evidence?" he demanded. "Flack, that kid is terrified, okay? I know the signs. I lived his life!"

"If we can't get him to say anything...there's no bruises, nothing on the kid."

"Lie! Say he's with the precinct shrink!"

"I'm against the wall, Adam! There's nothing I can do!" Flack yelled. He glared at the tech, and Adam thought for sure he was gonna start throwing punches. The two of them stared at each other. Adam was a few inches shorter than Flack, but he met his gaze.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Danny barked. He and Hawkes had just come from DNA after hearing the commotion.

Both men turned to Danny, faces red-Flack's from frustration...Adam's from defeat.

"Lewis got himself lawyered up," Flack said shortly. "He's on his way up to take the kid home with him."

"What?!" Danny's tone was livid. "Flack, how can-"

"Goddamnit, I don't know!" Flack threw his hands in the air. "I can't do anything," he said. "I want to. God knows I want to hide that kid somewhere up here or down in the morgue with Sid, but..."

"I know," Danny put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know."

The elevator dinged. Jack Lewis stepped off the elevator. "Detectives," he said coolly. "Where is my son?"

They didn't have to answer, as he spotted him through the glass walls in Mac's office. "Ryan!" he called in relief. He dashed down the hall and into Mac's office, sweeping the boy from Kendall's arms and close to his chest in one swift movement. He hugged the boy, whispering in his ear. He walked past Flack, Hawkes, Danny and Adam. "Thank you so much, for taking care of my boy. Please tell me you'll do as good a job finding the person that killed my wife." Without another word, Jack Lewis left the 35th floor, carrying his son with him.

Adam's tone was cold. "Count on it."

Lindsay flashed her badge into the peephole of apartment 10A. "NYPD, I'd like to talk with you," she said.

The chain lock slid back and a nervous-looking, wiry man opened the door. "Benjamin Balent?" Lindsay asked him.

He nodded. "Is there something I can do for you, Detective?" he asked her.

"You mind if I ask you a few questions?"

He stepped back. "No. Please, come in." Lindsay stepped past him and into the apartment. This guy was eerily clean. Briefly, part of her wished this guy hired himself out; her apartment could sure use the help. "Mr. Balent...did you know a Mary Lewis?"

His face fell as he sat down on the couch. "I worked with her. I couldn't believe it when I heard on the news..."

Lindsay was watching him carefully. "Did the two of you ever socialize after work?" she asked him.

"Mary was a friend. We both lived the same direction, so I'd walk her home every now and then," Ben said. "Not safe for a woman to walk home by herself in this city."

"Do you know her husband Jack?"

Ben shivered. "I do."

Lindsay caught the movement. "What's your opinion of him?"

Ben considered the question. "Detective, please don't think any less of me...Jack's about eight times the size of me. He scares me."

"Mr. Balent...do you own a cat?"

To answer her question, there was a soft mew and a longhaired calico jumped onto the arm of the chair Lindsay was sitting in, making her jerk. She took note of the cat's fur. Orange...brown...white. No black.

Ben Balent wasn't their guy. "I'm sorry?" she asked, realizing Ben had been talking to her.

"I said, that's Sinatra right there," Ben explained again. His voice grew soft. "Detective..."

"What?" Lindsay asked him.

"Is Jack being held for questioning?"

"He's a person of interest," Lindsay said. She leaned forward. "Ben...do you know something?"

He opened his mouth. Then he closed it, and shook his head. It was parallel to the movement that Ryan Lewis had done earlier. "No. I was just curious."

"Mr. Balent, I could charge you with impeding the investigation," Lindsay said firmly. "If you know something, it's better for all involved if you say something now."

"Mary used to come to work..." Ben considered his words carefully. "She'd wear long sleeves, even during the summer. Remember that hot spell? Longsleeves. And a lot of makeup. But she'd always shrug it off. Some of the girls-and me-we'd try to get her to report him. She never did."

"So her husband was abusive?"

"She never said anything...but we guessed." Ben sighed. "I kept telling Mary she should leave Jack."

Maybe she tried, Lindsay thought.

Adam held Ryan's fully-charged mp3 player in his hands, twisting the ear bud headphones in his fingertips. That day in the warehouse, he'd sworn he wouldn't let them make him cry. Today, though, tears threatened to fall. Some superhero, he thought miserably. "Lost the innocent, can't stop crying."

"We'll get him, Adam," Kendall said. She, Hawkes and Danny were sitting with him in the break room. "We have tons of results that aren't back yet. His alibi's not that solid. We'll have him back here faster than you can think."

"That might not be fast enough."