A/N: I don't own any of the CSI: NY characters and I am not making any money from writing this.
Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.
Mac is leading the missing boy's mother, Rhonda Lambert, in the morgue. Rhonda is tall and thin Caucasian woman in mid 40's, with long blonde hair and blue, waterly eyes, concern evident in her eyes.
"My husband died in a car accident two years ago", she explains. "Walter is my only child. Basicly the only thing I have left."
"How did he went missing?"
"Well, this morning at seven am, I went to wake him up for school, like every other day, but he wasn't there. I searched the house and the yard, but he was nowhere to be found, so I called the police. They found no traces of breaking and intury or usable shoe prints around, they suggested that he may sneaked out through the window... nothing was missing. They also took his laptop and Iphone, but he had a password for both of those things ans I really don't know what it is..."
"Sorry to ask you this, but where were you night before between eleven pm and one am?"
"In bed, sleeping. Alone."
They walk over to the table on which Jon Doe's body is laying, and look at it in mixture of confusion and horror. Mac takes a deep breath and takes the sheer off the body. As soon as he does so, Rhonda widens her eyes in shock and covers her hand with her mouth, trying not to scream.
Mac gives her a warm, compassionate look.
"Is that him?", he asks.
"Yes", Rhonda mutters. "That is my son. Walter Lambert." She slowly slids her hand off her mouth and looks Mac in the eyes. "What happened to him?", she asks.
"We are hoping to find that out soon. Did he have any enemies?"
"No, he was well-liked and polite... we didn't have a fight the night before or anything" She takes a deep breath, trying not to cry. "I still can't believe that this is happening."
Rhonda bends down her head and buries her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. Mac gently puts his hand on her right shoulder.
#
Seventeen year old teenager, named Thomas Matthews, is sitting at the table in an interrogating room, appearing jumpy and nervous. Soon, Don and Jamie walk in, and they sit at the table, opposite to the Thomas.
"Thomas", Jamie exclaims, "you know that Walter was found dead this morning, right?"
"Yes", Thomas confirms. "It is terrible, really. I still can't believe it. We were friends and everything..."
"We also examined his cellphone and e-mails. We know that you were comunicating a lot lately and that you arranged a meeting in that house last night. And I'm sure we can get a warrant to confiscate your clothes and to search your room, and your computer. Maybe we will find evidences linking you with that house."
"OK, OK!", Thomas cuts them off. "We arranged a meeting. We meant to spend a night here, wait for the next morning, Halloween... make few photographs and later show them to boys and girls at school, showing off, you know... we thought that it would be even copler if we would do that on Halloween night, but we couldn't because I was planning to sneak out and go on a late night party, hosted by a girl... girl I have a crush on. He was supposed to get there half an hour before, at eleven pm. I sneaked out and little after eleven thirty pm, I sneaked through that window wothout a frame... and I found him lying dead on the floor, near the window. I panicked... I started to think that... that maybe those stories saying that house is haunted are true, that I will die also... so I ran away as fast as I could and got back in my room. That's the only thing I did, I swear!"
Jamie's Ipod rings. She picks it up from right pocket of her jeans and answers.
"Hallo? OK, we'll be right there." She ends the call and puts the Ipod back in right pocket of her jeans, then turns to Don. "We need to move to another interrogation room", she says.
#
Ramona is sitting at the table in another interrogation room, looking nervous and frustrated. Don and Jamie walk in that interrogation room, closing the door behind, and sot at the table, opposite to her.
"Can I go now?", Ramona asks, annoyed.
"Hardly", Jamie replies. "We got a search warrant and we searched your house and your car. We found traces of blood in your kitchen sink. It was too derated for any analysis, but we were able to proove that the blood is human."
"Yeah, I cut myself a week ago while making lunch."
"I don't see any cuts on your hands", Don says, glaring at her hands.
"Well, it healed since."
"We also examined your credit card records", Jamie explains. "You purchusaed two axes day before the murder. Both of the same kind as those used to murder your ex boyfriend. We found one in your apartment. Where is the other one?"
Ramona takes a deep breath, then answers. "I don't know. Somebody stole it, I guess."
Don glares at her. "You expect us to believe that somebody stole your axe?"
Ramona gives him a look. "Look, the only reason I bought those axes was for self defense. It's cheaper than the alarm. I also purchusaed another one as a birthday gift."
Jamie gives her a look. "A birthday gift?"
"For my brother. He's works in Central Park. He has a birthday in a week. I had those two axes in trunk of my car. When I arrived home, one was missing. I have no idea how that happened." She sighes and glares at both Don and Jamie. "Do you believe me?"
"You better start wondering will the jury believe you", Don answers.
Ramona bends her head and runs her hand down her face.
#
Don and Jamie are talking with Spencer Rowling, who world as a gas station attended. He is young Caucasian man with short black hair and black eyes, wearing his work clothes and work gloves.
"Steve is dead?", he asks, his eyes widened in shock.
"Unfortunately, he is", Jamie confirms. "And we did find your DNA on the car floor, near the back seat. We believe that killer was hiding there."
"How well do you know him?", Don asks.
"We were friends. Hanging around few times a week, talked... usual stuff."
"How did your DNA end up im his car?", Don asks.
"Uhm... he was giving me a ride few days before. I was sitting on the back seat, holding my Iphone, watching some video. I accidently dropped Iphone on the floor, and then picked it up. Maybe my DNA got transfered from the Iphone on the floor."
"Where were you today at about seven am?", Jamie asks.
"Here, working."
"Do you know did Steve had any enemies?"
"Huh... he recently broke up with his girlfriend, Ramona. It was a rough one. I think he found a new girlfriend soon, but I never met her."
#
Mac and Lindsay are walking down the hallway, talking.
"Sheldon compared fingerprints found on the knife and on the hammer with Michael's fingerprints", she says. "Only his fingerprints are on the hammer. Two types are found on the knife: his and Stephanie's", she says, glaring at Mac compassionately.
Mac's face falls. With this type of evidence presented, it was getting more and more likely that Michael commited those murders. But... he simply can't believe in that. That such a young boy could be capable of murdering three people, let alone people who are his family members.
"But, I also analysed the hair found on the mother's wrist watch. It was a hand hair, and I managed to extract a DNA profile from it. It was male's DNA, by no way related with family. I ran it through CODIS and found a match. DNA belongs to forty year old Anthony Eggers, arrested once due to an involvement in a bar fight. He was also a mother's co-worker."
"OK", he says, "me and Jo will go talk to him."
"OK", Lindsay says, nodding her head before walking away.
#
Mac and Jo are talking with Anthony on his workplace, while he is sitting at his desk. He is Caucasian man, tall and thin, with short brown hair and brown eyes. He is wearing white shirt, black pants and black shoes.
"My hair, on her wrist watch?", Anthony repeats, looking slightly confused.
"Yes", Mac confirms. "Do you have any way to explain that?"
Anthony remains silent for few seconds before answering.
"Well", he says, "day before she dropped some papers and I helped her pick them up. I think she was wearing a watch then. Maybe that's when my hair got there."
"Can anyone confirm that?", Mac asks, sounding slightly suspicious.
"Uhm... we don't have security cameras here, I don't think that many other people were around at that moment. No, I don't think that anyone can. Why? Am I a suspect?"
"Not yet", Mac comments.
"Where were you today between six and seven am?", Jo asks.
"Home, alone. Getting ready for work. Usual stuff."
"Do you know did Tara had any enemies? Did she seemed scared or lately?"
"No, nothing out of the ordinary", Anthony answers after a short thinking. "Is this everything? I really need to finish this paperwork today", he says, glaring at the paperwork on his desk.
"OK, we'll go now", Mac says. "But you better not go too far."
With that, Mac and Jo walk away.
#
Sheldon and Lindsay are standing in front of an autopsy table on which Walter's body is, confused. Sid is standing near by.
"You're telling us that this boy was scared to death?", Lindsay asks."Well, he died from a heart attack, but judging by toxycology tests, it was obviously caused by a great amount of stress.
Sheldon and Lindsay remain silent, still in a state of shock.
"What?", Sid gives them a look. "Ot happens all the time. Little more often in the last twenty years, but it can be due to a higher stress level or due to simply being documented better. Children dying during rides on roller coasters in amusement parks, people dying while being mugged without their muggers even touching them... there was even a case where guy jumped off the roof to commit suicide, but he died from a heart attack on the way down. I also found some residue in his hair. I sent it to Trace."
"Well, if he was scared to death, that means that nobody killed him, right?", Sheldon says.
"Yes, but if a person scared him, that is a manslaughter", Lindsay says.
"If a person scared him...", Sheldon repeats.
#
Lindsay is sitting at the table in her office, studying the crime scene photos from Walter Lambert's case. Sheldon walks in her office and sits at her table, next to her. She notices him, raises her head and smiles.
"You still don't believe in paranormal explanation, huh?", he comments, looking at the crime scene photos.
"With a reason", she explains before showing him one of the photos. "Look and you shall find. Do you see this three inpretions in the line on the floor? Inside the dust? In front of the window without a frame, on the back side of a house?"
"Yes, and..."
"The first one looks like a partial shoe print-not clear enough to be of any is also a partial shoe print, also not clear enough to be of any use. And the one in the middle? It looks like a knee print. Like somebody had bend over, standing up on the left leg, and kneeling with the right leg. And the fourth imprint, few feet behind, on the right? It looks like it was made by a shell casing."
"Yes...", Sheldon notices. "And the window is facing toward another house. Directly toward the window on that house. That is, as showj on this photograph, opened."
"We better inform Don and Jamie."
#
Don and Jamie are in front of the front door of Natalie's house. "Natalie Prentiss lives here", Don says before ringing the doorbell, but nobody answers.
"Natalie Prentiss, open up!", he calls out. "This is NYPD!"
No response. He rings the doorbell again. Still no response.
"We are coming in, mis. Prentiss!", he yells, and with that, he and Jamie pull out their guns, and he presses the door knob. Seeing that the door are locked, they step aside and point their guns at the door, before Don breaks his way in. They run inside the house and soon find Natalie lying dead on the living room floor, in front of the opened window, wearing her work clothes, with a gunshot wound to a middle of a chest. Don and Jamie put their guns back in the holsters, still looking at the body, their eyes widened in shock.