D: I do not own CSI New York or 'Missing' by Evanescence.
AN: I have to thank doyleshuny for pushing me back into this story and several others that I have been neglecting.
You won't cry for my absence, I know
You forgot me long ago
Am I that unimportant?
Am I so insignificant?
Isn't something missing?
Isn't someone missing me?
JA SB DF SH SH DM LM AR MT
There were no signs of a struggle. His coat was on a chair and his laptop was next to a cell phone charger. Danny took over for possible signs of a break-in while Mac went back to the kitchen. The bottle that Reed had been going for lay on the floor, contents leaking out and creating a mess. He took a couple of pictures before picking up the bottle.
"No tool marks on the edge of the doorframe. I'm going to take in the door knob; it looks like the Sweeper used picks to break in," Danny reported.
"Sweeper was waiting for him in the kitchen. Attacked when he was grabbing a drink" Mac hypothesized. His brain was imagining the attack. "Waited until he was in the kitchen. Attacked from behind." He glanced in a wastepaper basket. Lying on top was a white cloth. He plucked it out of the trash and gave it a careful whiff. "Subdued with chloroform."
"I'll take it back, have Adam try and get epithelials from it."
"Make sure we don't just try for epithelials. The Sweeper more likely wore gloves. Try for trace of leather or latex."
"Got it." Danny walked out of the room with the bagged item in hand.
Mac was about to go to the back door when someone entered the room. "Detective Taylor?" a new voice asked. Mac turned around to see a young female CSI that he barely knew from day shift.
"Can I help you, Detective…"
"Mayes, third class. I'm supposed to be taking over this crime scene," she told him.
"Taking over?"
"Chief Sinclair has assigned day shift over the Sweeper cases." Mac grew angry at this revelation. "I'm guessing he hasn't told you yet."
"No, he damn well hasn't." Flack entered the kitchen and motioned to Mac to join him.
"Don't get angry. Just gives an excuse for Sinclair to keep us off," he whispered. Mac nodded and walked out with Flack at his heels. Danny was already by the car.
"Some guy took over the doorknob. What the hell is going on?" he asked.
"That's what I'd like to know. Let's get back to the lab," Mac professed.
JA SB DF DM LM SH SH AR MT
Chief Sinclair was waiting for him in his office. "I guess you're wondering why I pulled you off this case."
"Sinclair, if we lose any time finding this next victim, I will go to the press and lay it on your head."
"And you will be fired."
"Then the press will write about the guy who had the most experience being taken off. How much bad press do you want?"
"I am worrying about the integrity about this case. You have too close of a connection to the victim."
Mac hated the words that came out of his mouth, but he had to say them to stay on the case. "I do not have a close connection. The victim was a witness to a death at Chelsea University. I gave my number to him after that attack and he must have kept it."
"The fact he was also the victim in the Cabbie Killer case…"
"Was a coincidence."
Sinclair looked out for the lie among his face. Not seeing a way out of this, at least not yet, he went along with it. "Fine, you'll get back control of the case." But I soon as I know more about the two of you, you're off.
Mac didn't answer him. He went off to the AV lab to see what was going on with tracing the site. Stella met him halfway there. "What's happening? Are we back on?"
"Yeah, but we need to solve this soon. Sinclair's going to be looking for a reason to take us back off. I just had to lie to him to get back on."
"Mac, this is Reed. Lying to get back on the case is not the same as lying to keep him out of trouble."
"Stella, if it came to life about Reed, not only would the cases be questioned, but he would be in danger of anyone that would go after me."
"Mac, if need be, we will keep him here and hide him from Sinclair until whatever it is at the time is over. We will work around it as the time comes."
"All right. Get Danny back to the apartment and see if they can't find anything. Has anyone called his parents?"
"Flack tried. Both cell phones are off and the home recording says that they're on their cell phones more often than not. Angell's calling every fifteen minutes."
"Did you get anything off of the last victim?"
"Our serial is a female that has inside information and she picks her victims from Saint Augustine's."
"All of them?"
"Double checked a lot of them. Every single person that was kidnapped by our serial was adopted through Saint Augustine's."
"Find out where the information's being held. See who exactly has access." Stella nodded and walked off.
JA SB DF DM LM SH SH AR MT
It was always in darkness.
She undid the hands first and handcuffed them in the front. His legs were cut free but the gag stayed in place. "Now listen to me," she ordered, grabbing his face to make him look forward. "I'm taking you to another room. This is just the display room. Fight and you won't live to the twelve hour deadline. Do you understand?" He nodded once.
She pulled him up and dragged him down a hallway to a room. He was pushed onto a bed and the tape was removed from his mouth. He hissed, but didn't say anything as she exited the room. "I'm in a dark room with nothing to do. I could always catch up on my sleep," he mumbled to himself. That was before a light on the other side turned on. Illuminated were a toilet and a faucet. "At least she provides that." He got up to take a drink from the faucet.
Sitting down, he took in the slight odor of a bakery. He couldn't hear anything beyond the walls. Soundproofing all around. I didn't hear anything coming down the hall and didn't hear anything in the display room. Now, did she do it so we couldn't hear or so they couldn't?
"You won't be able to give the police any details. There's not enough for a search of buildings, so stop trying."
Just like the candy corn was the only thing I could smell in the cab. Lady, you don't know how much he needs before he'll get you. Only thing is, is it before or after?
JA SB DF DM LM SH SH AR MT
"Adam, what do you got off of the website?" Mac asked as soon as he came in the door.
"I separated the synthesizer from the actual voice. I ran it through a recognition program to try and place it anywhere. Nothing came up, but the file's still on there. I also listened to the background of the video. There's no noise. I mean, absolutely no noise other than her talking and Reed breathing. This is soundproof, but not just normal soundproofing. This is high quality. And there are only a couple of places that sell the stuff to people on the street."
"Anything on the video itself?"
"The only thing lit in the frame is Reed. She made sure of reflective surfaces. And tracing came back to a wifi service at a bakery café called Saint Baguette. All the buildings around there are occupied. One is a business residence. The other two are apartment buildings."
"Let's see if we can use the other videos and see if she wasn't so careful early. If we don't have them, get onto Youtube to find them."
"Yes sir." Adam started pulling up all the videos they had.
Mac went to Danny next. "Anything off of the door handle?"
"Only prints I pulled were Reed's," he started and whispered, "and yours. I heard what Sinclair's trying do to. He ain't going to do anything that would jeopardize the case. He'll wait until we have her before revealing it."
"Leave that with me. What else did you get?"
"Lindsay worked on the chloroform cloth. There was trace of leather on one side and skin cells on the other side. Skin cells match Reed's. The leather came back as normal cow hide. No special treatment, or the particles on the gloves aren't enough for a run."
"Where's Lindsay?"
"Doctor's appointment. Checking up on the baby."
"Anything else you can tell me?"
"Looked through the old stuff on the cases, some of which have been bungled. Our first victim is the worse. Everyone after is forensically clean. No blood, hair, fingerprints. She did a reverse and knew everything to get rid of."
"Do we still have the casefile on the first victim?"
"Yeah."
"Go back over the DNA found at the scene."
"There wouldn't have been any DNA. It was just at the end of ninety-nine and the station figured they found the victim alive they wouldn't need to find the perp. No tests were done."
"Start doing them. I don't like the idea that the perp was able to completely clean up for the rest of the kidnappings."
"You think the perp had help?"
"Or the accomplice took over."
JA SB DF DM LM SH SH AR MT
"Got it." Adam did a small dance around what he found. The first victim video didn't match any of the others. There was no synthesizer used and the voice was male. The video was filmed in an old warehouse. He went through all the old videos he could find. The rest of them had just the victim in a room and the voice was synthesized. "The first victim was entirely different."
He walked out into the hall to spot Mac and went to try his office. He stopped on the way when he heard Sinclair talking to the day shift leader. "I thought we could have the case, Sinclair. You said the latest victim would knock him off."
"I thought so also. Taylor said he doesn't have a connection to the victim. I couldn't argue with what he gave. I have nothing else to place on him to tie him with the victim."
"Nothing with the victim? The guy sat with him after that whole kidnapping episode. That can't be just for the witness statement."
"Unless you've got proof he's closer to this victim than he tells, I can't do anything."
"The DA said we would have more chance of a case against the perp if the victim's dead. And it would also give us more evidence. And one less reporter."
"You want me to hinder an investigation just to give the DA a better case?"
"Yeah, and give me enough creditability and be able to throw Taylor out of here. You switch Taylor because of his close relations, give me the case. I solve it, take over the lab while you dismiss Taylor from the force to not relieving himself of duty whenever this victim came to light on the cases he worked. We all win."
"Find me proof that they're closer than he can make and we go to IAB to throw him off."
Adam's mouth dropped. They want to sacrifice Reed just so they have a better case? And they're trying to get rid of Mac?! Who do I tell about this? He lifted up his head to see Stella walking down the hall. "Stella," he whispered, moving to the other side of him.
"What is it, Adam?"
"I've got some results for Mac, but there's something I need to tell you. I think Sinclair and Seton are up to something."
This was a long time coming.
Yeah, but I am quite the distraction.
You, you're nothing but a…
Don't go there. Can't you two control them?
You can never control him. It's impossible, except for the Doctor.
…
Nothing?
Nope.
Okay. Please review. I'm sorry for making you wait for so long.
