Disclaimer: I only own Scarlett Monroe!

Chapter 7: Serial Killer

"Danno," Flack said with his signature charming smile as he walked into the crime lab. "I've got nothing on last night's vic. As far as we know, she's still a Jane Doe. Nothing in missing person's."

"Thanks, Flack," Danny Messer answered. "Did you see Scarlett's face at the scene?"

Flack nodded, remembering the hurt in her eyes. He also remembered how calm and safe she looked wrapped up in his arms. "She was freaked out. I don't blame her, I would have been too."

Danny nodded, a smirk on his handsome face. "Bet she needed some late night comfort, eh?"

Flack knew exactly what Danny was talking about but decided that it would be much more amusing to play dumb. "Late night comfort, Messer? What did you have in mind?"

Danny laughed, "I didn't have anything in mind but a little bird told me you spent the night with a certain CSI."

Flack smirked, and finally gave in. "Fine. I may have spent the night with Scarlett. But not in the way that you're thinking."

"Didn't get lucky, eh? I'm disappointed in you, Flack. When Lindsay told me she caught you sneaking out of their apartment, I thought I was gonna have to congratulate you."

"Maybe another time, Messer," Flack said, walking away from Danny, laughing to himself. That guy was a piece of work.

Scarlett arrived at the lab fifteen minutes later. She hurried over to her office, hoping no one would notice that she was late. "Where's the fire, Lett?" she heard Danny Messer call out to her as he saw her sprinting down the hall.

"Shut up, Messer," she called out, taking off her black rain coat and shaking out her hair which was slightly damp from the down pour outside. She hated being late but she just couldn't make it out of her apartment on time. She ran a hand through her wet hair and decided to throw it all up in a bun. She sat down behind her desk, first checking her phone, and then fiddling with a pen before moving the stack of files towards her.

She pushed the files away and instead thought back to last night. She hadn't seen or talked to Flack yet this morning. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel his strong hands caressing her. The thought alone gave her goosebumps.

Twenty minutes later Danny barged into her office, interrupting her day dream. "Scarlett, we've got a crime scene. Another body in Central Park. Mac said it's urgent."

Scarlett looked up at Danny, trying to get the stupid grin off of her face, "Did he request for me to be at the scene?"

Danny nodded, "He told me to drag you out there if I had to."

"Not necessary," she answered, grabbing her coat and following Danny out the door. A crime scene was always more interesting than a stack of paperwork.

"Second body this week in Central Park. Mac said if the deaths are similar in any way we may have a serial on our hands," Danny said to Scarlett as they sped to the scene.

"Let's hope not," she muttered, drumming her fingers on the crime scene kit in her lap. As they drove, Scarlett began to start feeling nervous. What if the body they were going to see had something to do with the body they found last night? She scolded herself mentally for jumping to conclusions. You're a CSI and a damn good detective. You work with evidence. You don't jump to silly conclusions. Even if they were related, it's just another crime scene.

"You okay?" Danny asked her, glancing at her momentarily before looking back at the road.

Scarlett hated that question. "I'm fine, Danny. Why?" she answered coldly, narrowing her eyes and instantly regretting her little moody outburst.

"Nothing, you just look a little, uh, bent outta shape today." Danny wanted to ask her about Flack just to satisfy his curiosity but decided that this probably wasn't the best time. Scarlett was looking a little annoyed and distracted.

She shook her head, and kept her eyes out the passenger window, everything blurrying together because of the heavy rain. Her eyes widened as they approached the scene. "Why is everyone and their mother's here?" Scarlett asked Danny, a confused expression on her face.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Mac said it was urgent. I didn't have time for questions."

Scarlett jumped out of the car and jogged over to Stella while trying, and failing, to shield herself from the rain, "Whats going on here? One body and the whole NYPD and crime lab make their way out to the scene?"

"Mac said that it looks like it could be a possible serial, but we aren't sure yet," Stella said, "Check out the body."

Scarlett turned toward the victim and was surprised to see another familiar face staring back at her. "Oh, no," she muttered to herself. The victim looked a lot like last night's Jane Done. Naturally, she also resembled Scarlett.

"Do we have cause of death on this one? Or last night's?" Scarlett asked, crossing her arms over her chest. The rain was dripping down her face, blurrying her vision slightly.

Hawkes looked up from examining the body, "Last night's Jane Doe died from blunt force trauma to the back of the head. From what I can see here, so did this one. The wounds look nearly identical. There's bruising along her wrists and ankles as well, she must have been tied up before she was killed. I'll have to get her back to the lab before I let you know anymore, Scarlett."

"Thanks, Hawkes," she said, giving him a forced smile. She'd barely heard a word he'd said. All she wanted to know was whether or not the two death's were related.

"Come down to autopsy before you leave for the day and I'll give you my full report."

She nodded and turned to Mac who was calling her over.

"Scarlett, over here," Mac yelled to her from the side, where he stood with Flack who'd just arrived at the scene.

We've got a similar M.O. here so I'm thinking serial," Mac said gravely.

Scarlett noticed Flack's eyes on her but neither of them said anything. Instead they listened to Mac's orders.

"This case is top priority. I don't want you working on any other cases. Two bodies in two days...we really need to get this guy before we find a third."

She nodded and watched Mac walk over to another officer. She stood silently next to Flack, feeling tense and anxious. She let out a deep breath and tried to calm herself. This wasn't going to get any easier but she knew she needed to keep her emotions in check so she could do her work properly. It was difficult to get any work done in the rain so after the processing was finished, the team headed back to the lab.