Skeletons

Chapter 2:

Kim watched as Calleigh spoke to Horatio, relaying the new information they had discovered. Her mind was racing with possibilities. Could the father be the killer? Or was it just a coincidence? She knew there was still a lot of work to be done, but this was a new lead they couldn't ignore.

Horatio was in the morgue, showing Alexx the tox results. "Alexx, run an HCG please."

"Sure, Horatio." Alexx performed a rapid HCG test on Maren's blood and the results confirmed the team's findings. "She was pregnant."

"How far along?" Horatio asked.

"I'd say ten, maybe twelve weeks."

Horatio's expression darkened. "That means there's a chance the killer knew and targeted her specifically. We must find him, Alexx."

"I'll retrieve the fetal tissue and send it to DNA." Alexx observed the determination on his face as he spoke. He was always focused on bringing justice to the victims, and the fact that Maren was pregnant only intensified his resolve. He knew that they had to act quickly to find the killer, before he had a chance to strike again.

As the team continued to gather evidence and follow leads, Kim's mind kept going back to the possibility that the father could be responsible. She wondered if they had any leads on who the father might be, and if they could bring him in for questioning.

She continued to examine Maren's clothing and looking at the buttons, she thought, 'I'll send these to Eric. Maybe he can work his magic on them to get some prints.' She cut the buttons off the shirt and put them in a small evidence bag and had someone run them to Eric for her while she finished with the shirt. Stuck in the fibers, there was a white powder. She took it to Speed to analyze it.

Speed got to work on analyzing the powder and watched as the results spit out of the machine. "Magnesium carbonate." He revealed.

"That's chalk." Kim said. "Why would there be chalk on her shirt?"

"Athletes use it to absorb moisture and reduce friction. Rock climbers, weight lifters…"

"Or gymnasts." Kim added. "Do we know if she was into any sports?"

"Let me check her background information." Speed said, pulling up a page on the computer. "It says here that she was a gymnast in her hometown in Denmark. She moved here at age fifteen to continue her training before she became a coach last year. Her last job was at a local gymnastics school, Schmidt Gymnastics Academy."

"I know that place! That could be a connection." Kim said, her mind racing with new possibilities.

"How do you know it?" He asked in confusion.

"I used to train there."

"That could definitely be a lead." Speed agreed.

"I'll see if I can find any connections between Maren and someone from the gym."

Kim felt a sense of urgency to find the killer before anyone else was hurt. The closer they got to solving the case, the more determined she became. She was sure that they were close to uncovering something big, and she was willing to do whatever it took to bring justice to Maren and her unborn child.

Kim couldn't shake the thought that the father could still be involved somehow, but the gymnastics angle needed to be considered as well. She made a mental note to bring it up to Horatio, convinced that it could be a crucial piece of the puzzle. She called Horatio's number. "H, I have some new information about Maren. She was a former gymnast and her last job was at Schmidt Gymnastics Academy. Maybe we should look into anyone from the gym who might have a motive."

Horatio nodded. "Good work, Kim. I'll take Tripp and check it out. And keep an eye out for any connections to the father as well."

"Okay." She replied. She wanted to go with Horatio to interview the coaches and students, but she knew it would be viewed as a conflict of interest. Instead, she decided to do some digging of her own, starting with the gym's website.

She browsed through the pages, looking for any clues or connections to Maren's death. She found personal pages, something like a private social network for the gymnastics school members and saw a picture of Maren, smiling brightly with her students. Kim couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness as she looked at it.

As she scrolled through the site, something caught her eye. There was a page for a young girl named Gia Anderson, who had been recruited to the gym from out of state. Kim read her bio and saw that Gia was only sixteen, but had already won several national competitions. She clicked on the photos of her and froze when she saw a picture of Gia with Maren, taken just a few weeks ago.

In the photo, Maren was standing behind Gia with her hands on her shoulders, both of them smiling. This could be another lead in their investigation, one that could potentially lead them to the killer.

She grabbed her phone, dialing Horatio's number. "H, you need to talk to Gia Anderson. She may be able to provide more information to help us." She said, sending him a copy of the picture.

Horatio and Detective Frank Tripp quickly spotted Gia by a vaulting table, going over a routine with another girl her age and went to talk to her.

They observed Gia's body language as they questioned her. After several minutes of conversation, Gia looked visibly upset and started to cry. Horatio put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and he knew that they had uncovered something significant. They walked out of the gym with Gia in tow so they could get a statement from her at the station.

"What did she say?" Kim asked anxiously as Horatio returned. "Do you think she's involved somehow?"

"No, I don't. She seems genuinely broken up and she has nothing to gain from her friend's death. But she mentioned that Maren had a boyfriend by the name of Michael Barclay. See what you can find out about him."

"I will, Horatio."

Kim felt a new sense of purpose as she dove into the investigation of Michael Barclay. She searched public records and any other source she could think of to gather as much information as possible. She found that Barclay worked at a metal works company and was on parole after serving four years of a six year sentence for the vehicular manslaughter of a man while he had been intoxicated with alcohol and marijuana."

Kim had a gut feeling that Barclay was involved somehow, but she couldn't find any evidence to support her theory. She decided to take a different approach and look into his relationships.

She started digging through his personal life, looking for any potential connections to Maren. It didn't take long for her to find a picture of Barclay and Maren together, smiling at a restaurant. Kim's heart raced as she guessed that Barclay was the father of Maren's unborn child.

With this piece of information, Kim and the team had a new lead to follow. But they needed more proof. She went to the fingerprint lab to find Eric processing the buttons she'd given him.

"Eric, do you have any results on those buttons?"

Eric nodded, holding up a small piece of paper. "I was able to get a partial print off of one of them. It matches Michael Barclay's ten card from when he was arrested for the vehicular manslaughter."

Kim's heart jumped at the news. "His DNA is a match with Maren's baby too. I just heard from Valera. That's enough evidence to bring him in for questioning. Thank you!"

"Anytime!"

"Michael Barclay, we need to ask you some questions about the death of Maren Sullivan." Horatio said, looking him straight in the eye as he fidgeted in the chair on the interrogation room.

Michael's face paled, but he quickly composed himself. "I don't know anything about that. I haven't seen Maren in weeks."

"We have evidence that puts you at the scene of the crime." Kim said, brandishing the button with Michael's fingerprint on it.

Michael's eyes darted between the detectives, his feet shuffling nervously. "Okay, fine. I came home from work and found her lying there. Her shirt was unbuttoned, and her bra was, and her pants and underwear had been pulled down to her ankles. I felt sick seeing her like that. How could someone kill her and leave her that way? It's degrading!"

Horatio raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't think to call the police immediately?"

"I panicked, okay? I had been drinking and smoking, and I'm on probation. I couldn't get in trouble again."

Kim stepped forward. "And what about the baby, Michael? Did you know that Maren was pregnant with your child?"

Michael looked at Kim, shock and guilt etched on his face. "Yes, I found out two nights before she died. We went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant and she showed me an ultrasound picture and told me she was pregnant," he whispered. "I freaked at first, but when I finally calmed down, I apologized to her and told her I would be there to support her. I would never hurt her or our baby. I loved them!"

Kim excused herself to her boss and stepped out of the room. She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. Something wasn't right about this picture. It didn't make sense. 'I don't think he did it.' She thought. She took a moment to clear her head before heading back in.

"Michael, we know that you and Maren had a history of arguing and fighting. Can you tell us about that?" Horatio asked.

Michael hesitated before answering. "We had our disagreements, sure. But we loved each other. And we were going to have a baby together. I'll say it again. I would never hurt her."

Kim decided to take a different approach. "We're not accusing you, Michael. We just want to know everything so we can find out who did this to Maren and your baby."

Michael looked down at his hands, his voice shaking. "We argued a lot about money. I was struggling to support us, despite Maren and I both having jobs. Plus, I had a substance abuse problem that I'm trying very hard to kick. But we never got physical. I swear it."

Horatio nodded. "Okay, we'll look into it. Thank you for your cooperation, Michael. In the meantime, you did violate your parole based on your admission of drug and alcohol use."

With that, Kim stepped out of the room again and checked something on her phone.

As they left the room, Kim turned to Horatio. "I don't think he did it. He seemed genuinely upset about Maren's death and the baby. And this crime is too sophisticated for him. He's not organized enough to pull it off."

Horatio nodded in agreement. "I agree." He replied as Michael was escorted from the interrogation room by a uniformed officer to answer for his parole violation.

Then Horatio's phone started to ring and he picked up. "We have another victim." He informed.

Fear and dread filled Kim's face as she said in a grave tone, "Looks like we have a serial killer on our hands."