Hole In The Head
Stephen stood leant against the wall in the foyer of the Crime Scene Investigation department, nodding in greeting to co-workers that passed. He'd been waiting for Erica to finish an important meeting with John for twenty minutes now. He knew exactly what he'd be telling her – no more working on the case even though she already knew that. Maybe she wouldn't be too disheartened by the prospect of working without Bailey. The two worked wonders together and had done for years now. It wouldn't be long until they were working together again and back solving cases.
The elevator doors on the other side of the lobby slid open and Erica stepped out. She immediately scanned the lobby and smiled as she saw him. He could tell that she was forcing a smile, trying to put on a front for his benefit. Setting off towards her he met her half way.
"How did it go?" Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, Stephen wanted to be there for her. Like a friend would be. He sighed at that thought and tried to stop himself about thinking what if. He wasn't that kind of guy – if he wanted something he went for it. Kind of how he got this job in the first place.
"As well as it could have. I just hope Bailey is fine with this extra workload."
"She can cope lass, don' yeh worry." Stephen squeezed her shoulder lightly. "Now abou' that drink?"
"You still want to go right?"
The amount of worry and self-doubt behind her tone made him worry. He knew she was a strong woman – she wouldn't be in the field if she wasn't – but seeing this side of her made him worry. It also made him want to take her home and protect her. Yeah, he was that kind of guy.
"Ah sure do." His grip around her tightened a little and she looked up towards him. "Where do yeh want to go?"
"The usual?"
"Don't yeh just be sayin' that to please me, lass." The laugh that escaped her was music to his ears. As long as he made her happy and could take her mind off other things, he was doing his job right.
The Blarney Rock pub was traditional Irish and run by an Irish family. That was one of the reasons he loved it. It was a home from home. "It's been a long day, so just shut up."
Erica smiled and threaded her arm through Stephens as they made their way out of the building. It wasn't long before they were in a cab and heading down to Penn Station. It was only a short walk to the lively pub – Stephen wouldn't say anything but he was glad Erica had suggested it. Once settled into a booth with drinks on the table, he wanted to make his move but it didn't feel right. Not with everything Erica was handling at the moment.
"Why did John want to see yeh and Bailey the other day?" Stephen had tried to keep the conversation light, but Erica was still distant with him – something he really wasn't used to. He shuffled closer to Erica in the small booth so he could hear her better.
"He gave us a lovely lecture on why we don't leave crime scenes."
"Yeh left a crime scene?" Stephen was stunned. Erica wasn't one to throw out the rule book.
"It wasn't like there was no one there." Erica gave him a stern look and he debated whether to continue or not.
"Still-"
"I know how it sounds Stephen, and I've already had my telling off."
He shouldn't have continued. Something was going on - further than having the meeting with John - he just wondered if Erica would ever tell him. "Are you sure nothing's going on?"
Erica stared at him for a moment, an answer running around in her head for sure. Whether it would be the truth or not was another matter.
"Yeah, everything is fine." Erica took a sip of her wine and eventually said, "Have you gotten any further with the lipstick killers?"
"Yeh seriously asking me that?" Stephen shook his head in disbelief, shocked that she'd consider asking him.
"I just wondered-"
"Erica, yeh know the protocol." He hated being harsh with her, but this was work and he wasn't about to get both of them reprimanded. "Keep wondering. Yeh no' involved in this case for a reason."
"I know I'm not Stephen, but I still might be able to-"
"No yeh won't, lass." Stephen placed a finger over Ericas lips to kindly shut her up. "Don' yeh even think abou' finishing that sentence."
Erica tugged on his arm to make him pull his hand away. She sighed and looked dejected. Something was on her mind and it wasn't to do with the case she'd just been pulled off. He glanced around the busy pub, the noise of the punters around them making it hard to have a coherent conversation.
"Finish yeh drink, ah'm taking yeh back to yer apartment." Stephen grabbed his beer bottle and downed the last of the contents.
"Why?" Erica rushed up to follow Stephen out of the bar. They'd only been there half an hour but that seemed to be long enough.
"We need to have a serious talk."
Stephen stopped outside of the bar as Erica furiously tugged on his arm. "Stephen this is ridiculous. I promise I won't mention the case again."
"This isn't about the case, Erica." Stephen spoke a little louder than he wanted to - passers-by sending them a cautious glance.
"Then what is this about?" Erica stroked her hand down Stephens arm before taking hold of his hand. A futile attempt to get him to see straight and talk to her. Ironic. He cupped Ericas face with his big hands, all intentions of showing her what this was about.
His phone ringing in his pocket made him close his eyes in frustration. "I have to take this."
"I know you do." Erica stepped back from him with a smile on her face.
Stephen pulled his phone out from his jacket pocket, seeing Johns name flashing at him. He answered but not before giving Erica an apologetic look. "How can ah help yeh?"
"We have Melanie Wright in custody - Aiden James' girlfriend."
"Ah'll be over in a few."
"Great, there's DNA and fingerprints to put through the database."
"Something has come up." Stephen kissed Erica on the top of her head before stepping to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a cab.
"And let me guess, I can't be of any help." Erica was right behind him, arms crossed over her chest.
"Aiden James' girlfriend is in custody." Erica's lips formed a perfect 'o' with the news. "Ah'm meeting Stu at the station for questioning."
A cab swiftly pulled up to the sidewalk and that was the end of their little night out. That was the nature of the job though – anything could happen at any time of the day.
Bailey was already in the lab when Stu arrived, his nostrils flaring in anger when he saw her. The Englishman narrowed his eyes at the brunette as he took in her appearance. Her locks were cascading down her back and she wore a pair of grey pants which flared out from the knee downwards, a black satin string top and a matching grey jacket. Her red rimmed eyes found him from across the lab and she smiled almost serenely at him.
"You were supposed to wait for me." He commented loosely as he approached her, his 6ft 5" frame towering easily over the smaller Detective. Bailey glanced up at him, placing her hands flat down on the glass surface of the work table in front of them.
Her throat bobbed slightly as she swallowed. "I know I was." She told him.
"Are you okay?" Concern suddenly flooded Stu's voice and he reached out, his large fingers curling gently around Bailey's shoulder.
"Fine." Bailey replied, her gaze wandering off to a spot far away in the middle of the lab before she redirected it back to Stu. "I'm okay, really." She added "I'm just tired. I didn't sleep all that well. My head gave me some gip." She lied.
"You're sure?" Stu dipped his head slightly so that he could make eye contact with Bailey.
"Positive." Bailey smiled sweetly at him. "I've got some work to do on the case. I'll let you know if I need any help."
Stu waited by her side for a few moments until he was sure she was alright before he strolled out of the lab, his head held high. Something niggled deep in his gut. Bailey was normally so feisty Getting that apology out of her the previous day had been like pulling teeth out. And now she was acting timid and sweet. There was definitely something not right and Stu had no intentions of stopping until he found out what was wrong with the brunette.
Stephen eyed everyone around the conference table – there was one person missing. Through the big glass windows he could see Erica in the ballistics lab, working on a case with a temp. He had to admit she didn't look as down as she did the night before, but a good night's sleep could do wonders.
"Stephen! Eyes off Erica and focus." John's booming voice shattered Stephens thoughts. He quickly glanced around the room to see all eyes were now on him.
"Sorry boss." Turning his attention to the board of evidence behind John, Stephen tried to focus his thoughts. They had a killer to catch – no time for messing around.
"The first two murders are connected, one led to the other suggesting this was planned." John started, pointing at each of the victims on the evidence board. "Christian Thomas – cause of death was blunt force trauma. No sign of struggle or defence suggests that he knew the killer."
"But the door was kicked in." Bailey pointed out, "So maybe they wanted it to look like they didn't know him."
"The first crime scene led us to Evan Jacobs – Cause of death was a gunshot wound, straight through the heart." John pointed to Stephen then said, "The last call from the phone found at the scene was to Christian Thomas."
"We're still trying to locate his wife – her place of work tells us she was away on business. She hasn't answered any calls and no one can get in touch with her." Bailey cast a glance towards Stephen before continuing, "But she's in the city, she was at the apartment before he died."
"Ports have been alerted Bailey, she's our main suspect." John paced back and forth in the room, glancing between Darren and Bailey. "It's clear these are crimes of passion – all these guys were cheating."
"Carly – the woman sleeping with Evan Jacobs – she said that he was going to call it quits with his wife." Bailey tapped her pen against the table, obviously relaying the meeting with the girlfriend in her mind.
"Maybe he did and she decided death would be a suitable punishment for adultery." Stephen quipped, trying to fathom how a relationship could turn that bad.
Stephens grin dropped as Bailey glared at him. So much for trying to lighten the mood. "These women were working together, they wanted revenge."
"Bailey, I need you to track down Mrs. Jacobs and – we need to do whatever we can to find them." John with all his authority commanded from the top of the conference table.
"The gun we found at Christian Thomas' apartment had different sets of prints, no hits in AFIS. However, the striations on the bullets found in Evan Jacobs and Aiden James both match the gun." Stephen pushed a case file towards John containing the evidence, Erica had worked hard in ballistics before she was taken of the case.
"Nice work, Stephen." John nodded and thumbed through the pictures comparing the bullets.
Stephen once again glanced into the lab opposite the conference room as he said, "Don't thank me, thank Erica."
Bailey's fingers trembled as she pushed the bullets into the magazine of the gun one by one. Her breath was coming in shallow pants and her heart was racing in her chest. Her mind was in a dreadful place, horrible thoughts filling it, images dancing before her eyes. Her mouth was dry and she licked her lips to try and give herself some relief but it was no use. On her second attempt she managed to push the magazine inside her pistol, pulling the hammer back to load the bullets. Flicking the safety off she aimed the pistol at her target; the floating piece of paper wavering in the slight breeze about 30 feet from her.
Closing one eye, she eyed up a spot on the target sheet but she could see her hands shaking, the tip of the gun moving all over the place. Squeezing her hands tighter around the gun she tried to tell herself to focus on the task at hand. She tried to force the awful thoughts from her mind, to concentrate on her job but it was all she could think about. Beads of sweat gathered on her upper lip and forehead, her breathing becoming heavier and shallower in the confined space of the shooting range. There was no air and she was finding it harder to breathe as the seconds ticked past. Opening her mouth, she gasped for air.
"Bailey." A voice whispered from behind her and she jumped, her finger slipping against the trigger as she pulled it and sent a bullet ricocheting off into the shooting range in a random direction.
Looking over her shoulder, Bailey saw Erica standing there, a concerned look on her face. "Are you alright?"
"I missed." Bailey replied pitifully.
"I can see that." Erica told her, her eyes looking to the glass-less shooting window where Bailey had fired the gun. The bullet had lodged in one of the walls; something that would likely come back to bite one of them in the ass later, and Bailey now stood with the gun dangling down by her side. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Bailey practically squeaked, turning to disassemble the gun, her hands shaking slightly as she took the pieces apart. Erica wasn't convinced at all. She knew just by looking at the brunette that something was amiss with her. And she needed to find out what it was.
"Please, Bailey, I can tell something is wrong with you. I just want to help you." Erica practically pleaded with her.
Bailey shrugged after a few moments, her back still to her friend. "Seth's dead." she spoke slowly.
"What? Oh my god, Bailey, what happened?" Erica moved closer to her, her hand instinctively reaching out towards the brunette to comfort her. Bailey was still, as Erica placed her palm on her shoulder, gently moving it back and forth.
"He was shot in the head. Killed instantly. His body is being flown home within the next week."
"Bailey," Erica breathed out. "That's awful. I'm so sorry, I...I don't know what else to say."
"There's nothing to say, Erica." Bailey replied, finally managing to disassemble the gun. She placed each piece back in the black case which she had removed it from and sealed it up.
"What do you mean?" Erica asked as Bailey lifted the case and turned around to face her, tossing her hair back across her shoulder at the same time. "You must be so upset. I can't imagine how you're feeling."
"I'm feeling fine. Everything is fine." Bailey ground out.
Erica put her hand on Bailey's arm. "Talk to me. We're best friends. Surely you know that I'm here for you when bad things happen."
"I don't need comfort, Erica. I'm doing just fine. What I need is for people like you to stop interfering in my life. God, you're almost as bad as Stu!" The brunette snapped, pushing her way past Erica and heading for the door, storming out and letting it slam closed behind her, leaving Erica with her mouth hanging open, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes at both her friend's situation and behaviour.
A/N – Thanks ResplendentAnarchist and ThatGirl54 for the reviews. We know it's quite hard keeping up with what's going on, so we've tried to summarise what's happened a little bit more in this chapter :). Karen & Lou x