DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN CSI:NY OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS OBVIOUSLY. I ONLY OWN SAMANTHA AND THE FLACK KIDS. MARI BELONGS TO THE FANTASTIC HOPE4SALL AND AGAIN, AMANDA BELONGS TO THE LOVELY LAURZZ. THANKS TO BOTH OF THEM FOR LENDING THEIR CHARACTERS TO ME.
A/N: NO CHARACTER DEATH, I PROMISE. A CLIFFIE, BUT NO DEATH I ASSURE YOU
SPECIAL THANKS TO AFROZENHEART412. FOR GIVING ME THE IDEA OF A LITTLE BACKGROUND FOR HAWKES. HOPE SHE RECOGNIZES IT WHEN SHE READS AND IT KNOWS HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE HER SUPPORT!
Self defence
"Don't damn me
When I speak a piece of mind
'Cause silence isn't golden
When I'm holding it inside
'Cause I've been where I have been
And I've seen what I have seen
I put the pen to the paper
'Cause it's all a part of me
Be it a song or a casual conversation
To hold my tongue speaks of quiet reservations
Your words once heard
They can place you in a faction
My words may disturb
But at least there's a reaction
Sometimes I want to kill
Sometimes I want to die
Sometimes I want to destroy
Sometimes I want to cry
Sometimes I could get even
Sometimes I could give up
Sometimes I could give in
It's only for a while
I hope you understand
I never wanted this to happen
Didn't want to be a man
So I hid inside my world
I took what I could find
I cried when I was lonely
I fell down when I was blind."
-Don't Damn Me, Guns 'N Roses
"Good news," Danny announced two hours later, a photograph in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other as he breezed into Mac's office. Where the older man, a scowl on his face and a travel mug of steaming coffee within reach, flipped through mounds of case files behind his desk. In between heading the investigation into Jordan Gates' death, Danny also knew that his boss was up to his ears in a nasty fight with the brass over the crime lab's budget, and what Mac felt was necessary overspending.
"I definitely could use some of that," Mac said with a heavy sigh.
"Flack's hands do not match the perp's," Danny told him, dropping the sheet of paper and the photo in front of his boss. "This here is the composite and measurements of our perp's hands based on the bruises on Jordan's neck," he laid a finger tip on the photo. "This here…" he moved his finger to the paper. "…is a trace I made of Flack's hands. I measured the width of his palm and of his fingers when they're stretched out, and the length of his hand from the top of his wrist to the tip of his middle finger. His hands are three and a quarter inches longer and a full inch wider then our killer's. On top of that, I swabbed the back of his wedding ring and DNA picked up five distinct samples. His own, Sam's, and three unknown females. Peaks at the tenth and twelfth loci indicate that two are familial matches to both Flack and Sam."
"Kellan and Kallison," Mac concluded. "What about the third unknown?"
"It came back to an internal hit. Two internal hits, actually," Danny said.
Mac arched an eyebrow.
"To me and Lindsay," the CSI grinned. "It belongs to M&M."
"So these results just tell us what we already knew," Mac sighed. "Flack didn't kill Jordan."
"Like there was ever a doubt," Danny said. "Flack wouldn't do something like that. Guy gets all torn up when he has to pull the trigger and take a life in order to save his own. He doesn't have it in him to commit cold blooded murder. Acts all big and bad when he's got the badge and gun and vest on. Behind the scenes he's a goddamn gentle giant. A pussy cat."
Mac cleared his throat and stared pointedly at his young charge.
"What?" Danny asked, and then chuckled as he moved to the couch near the door and plopped down onto it. "Okay…so maybe you and I should keep what I just said about him between us, a'right? 'Cause if he ever heard that, he'd put me through a wall or make it so I have to eat all my meals through a straw for a month."
Mac gave a laugh, and reaching for his coffee, took a long sip. "Everything got straightened out at the hospital?"
Danny yawned noisily and nodded. Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on his knees and ran both hands down his face. "Linds and I stuck around until the CPS agent released the baby to Flack and Sam. Once the papers Flack brought with him were verified, they were good to go. We're going to rustle up some of the things we have in storage for them. After the twins grew up of their stuff, Sam and Flack just got rid of it all. We've got tons of baby clothes for a boy and a few things we know for sure Makenna isn't going to use. And I was thinking maybe, if I can get people into the idea, we can have a baby shower for them or something. I know it seems kind of weird considering he's a love child and all…"
"A baby is a baby," Mac said. "Regardless of how he was conceived, he still deserves everything any other baby receives. Let me know when this is happening. You can count me in."
"Thanks…I'll start spreading the news around. Flack was saying that Jordan's lawyer is stopping by the house tomorrow afternoon so Flack can some custodial shit sorted out. I guess after that, Sam can legally adopt him, and they can change his last name and all that."
"There shouldn't be any issue as far as adoption goes on Sam's part. Jordan's dead, and once the papers are all signed, Flack becomes the custodial parent. Sam and him are legally married. It would be simple for her to do. Just the formality of going in front of a judge and signing the proper documents. That's if she wants to adopt him."
"I don't see why she wouldn't," Danny said. "Apparently she took to the kid right away. Couldn't have pried him out of her arms with a crow bar. Her and Lindsay almost got into a scrap 'cause they both wanted to carry him to the car. Can you believe that? The way those two are with babies? They're like addicts. They can't get enough of the tiny feet and hands and the powdery smell and the cute little clothes. It's not right, Mac. It's just not right."
"So things went well? The initial meeting with Hunter?"
"On Sam's part things went great, I guess. Flack told me she just walked into the room and took charge. Used some of her mommy instincts to get him to settle down and have something to eat. Said she spent nearly the whole two hours they were there rocking him and cuddling him. Flack on the other hand…I don't know…he seemed a little…distant with the kid."
"It's not doubt overwhelming for him," Mac said. "He was prepared to man up financially but not prepared to be an active participant in his son's life. And then all of a sudden, we're on his door step telling him that we all know about his secret child and that Jordan's dead and we need to question him about it. That's a lot to process all at once. For anyone."
Danny nodded. "I just…I can't help but wonder what the hell he was ever thinking. I'm not casting any stones 'cause everyone has fucked up huge at least once in their life. Just Flack…it was three months, Mac. Three months. Like what the hell was he thinking? It's not like it was a drunken one night thing. He carried on a thing with someone all that time. While his wife and his kids were sitting at home. He just walked in there and got another woman pregnant. Like what the hell?"
"It's no ones place to judge him or question why," Mac said. "We have a right to our opinion. But to condemn him for something when we don't know the full extent of other extenuating circumstances going on in his life…"
"It's just wrong, Mac. It doesn't matter if it's a one night stand or a long, drawn out thing. Stepping out on someone is just wrong. We've got no right to hurt someone like that. But we still do stupid ass things. We still hurt the ones we love the most. And for what? Self gratification? Sex? Companionship?"
The older man shrugged and leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. "I don't think there's really an answer to that, Danny. I think everyone has personal reasons to why they do the things they do. I think everyone tries to justify their actions in some way, so the find a reason that makes them feel better about what they've done and ease their conscience so they can sleep better at night."
"I don't know…" Danny sighed heavily. "As far as I'm concerned, it's no one's place to say one is worse then the other, or who is the worse screw up. I'm just saying that's it wrong. And instead of making excuses to why we do it, we just shouldn't do it."
"Human beings shouldn't do a lot of things," Mac pointed out. "But we do them anyway."
"True…I just…I know that that baby is going to have a great life. He's going to a wonderful home. Sam and Flack…you've seen what they're like with their girls, Mac. How much they love and adore and cherish Kellan and Kallison. And Hunter's going to fit right in and they're going to love him just as much. Yet at that same time I'd love to slap Flack upside the head for getting himself that deep into things. For doing that to his family. I just…I can't comprehend it sometimes is all."
"Then stop trying so hard to make sense of it," Mac told him. "I know that Flack is your best friend. You two are close. But what goes on in his life Danny, is his business. And I know it's hard to sit back and watch someone you care about completely screw things up, but sometimes for their sake, and yours, it's best to just stay out of it and hope for the best."
"That's easier said then done though. 'Cause Sam and Linds are so tight. And those girls are our goddaughters. And when I think about him doing what he did and nearly losing all of that…"
"Danny…" Mac's voice bore a tone of warning. "Things happened. You can't go back and change them. Sam and Flack went on with their lives. I think it's about time you stopped feeling the need to both condemn him and support him and get on with yours too."
"Maybe you're right," Danny said with a sigh. "I just…I tend to worry about the people I love. Too much. Linds is always telling me it's my downfall. That I get so wound up in things that I forgot about what's going on in my own house. That and she tells me I'm just to goddamn nosy for my own good."
Mac smirked. "It's probably just the cop side of you kicking into high gear."
"Probably," the CSI agreed, and giving another loud yawn, pushed himself off of the couch and stretched until his back cracked noisily. "All I know, is that worrying about Flack and his issues is giving me a massive headache. Makes me appreciate the man more for dealing with all the headaches I've given him over the years."
"You know, Danny…" Mac said, as the younger man headed for the door. "I'm proud of you. The kind of man you've become. A husband and a father. You've really grown up over the years. It's been an experience watching that kind of transition in you."
"Trust me, Mac, it's been an experience being the one going through the transition. But thank you. Hearing that from you…just thank you."
"What really surprises me most is how…what's the word I'm looking for here…deep you've become. With the things you say. "
"Well, I figure. Eight years ago I was the fly by my seat of the pants kind of guy. I didn't have any responsibilities whatsoever. I could pretty well come and go as I wanted, didn't have anyone to please. I didn't have to worry about anyone else suffering emotionally if something happened to me. Since I've become a husband and a dad, I don't know. I guess having those kinds of things to be concerned about has changed me. Changed my outlook on certain things. Eight years is a lot of maturing, Mac."
The older man nodded in agreement.
"I think we've all changed a lot," Danny said. "And it's been for the better. For the most part anyway."
"Well let's just hope it continues on an upward spiral," Mac told him. "Now do me a favour and quit slacking and get back to work. We've got a murderer to catch."
Danny's face broke out in a slow, wide grin. "Music to my ears," he said, and stepped out of the room.
"So what we got, Doc?" Danny asked, pulling on a lab coat as he breezed into the DNA lab where Hawkes was permanently cemented to a stool, his black framed glasses on his face, eyes riveted on the computer screen in front of him.
"Not a whole heck of a lot," Hawkes reluctantly admitted. "The DNA sample that I brought in earlier? Or the saliva mixed with nicotine? Wasn't a large enough specimen to run. Now I'm just hoping that the scrapings from underneath Jordan's fingernails will get us somewhere."
"Don't you just love those crime shows on television?" Danny asked. "The ones that show results coming back in thirty seconds? I always laugh my ass off at stuff like that. Takes longer then thirty seconds to prepare the sample and start the machine never mind get results. What's the average on posts down in autopsy these days even? Something like twelve hours?"
"If you're lucky," Hawkes replied. "I normally don't watch shows like that, but I'll tell you what. Our lives would be a whole lot easier if we could magically hand our samples over to them to analyze. Considering they get instantaneous results and we're…"
"Left standing around scratching our asses until the all mighty man in the machine gives us something to go on," Danny finished.
"Very eloquently put," Hawkes teased. "I wouldn't have used the term standing around scratching our asses…"
"Well what can I say? I'm a colourful character. Did you end up finding anything in Jordan's phone records or financials that points to anyone of interest?"
Hawkes shook his head, and leaning forward, snagged a file folder from a small pile sitting next to him. Passing it over to Danny, he removed his glasses and rubbed at his tired eyes. "Aside from the personal check of Flack's that was deposited at the end of the month and payments from the scattering of clients she was still dealing with during her maternity leave, and some pre-authorized deposits and debits, there hasn't been any activity going into or out of her account that would be considered suspicious."
"What about her PDA?" Danny asked, as he skimmed through the folder in his hands.
"She had several meetings with clients over the past two weeks. Two were scheduled for yesterday. The last one being with a Robert Parker. A small business entrepreneur out of Long Island. He was scheduled to meet Jordan at eleven thirty in the morning at her apartment."
"That's an hour before TOD. Where's this Robert Parker now? We can bring him in and…"
Hawkes shook his head, cutting Danny off before he had the chance to finish his sentence. "Mac already talked to him. Parker cancelled the appointment because of a crisis at work with one of his employees. Both his workers and company surveillance tapes confirm he was in the building from nine in the morning until five thirty pm."
"So that rules him out," Danny concluded with a sigh. "What about the second appointment?"
"Wasn't scheduled until the late afternoon," Hawkes told him. "We had to call him and deliver the news that Jordan was somewhat detained."
"Somewhat," Danny gave a small laugh. "That's one way of putting it. What about the sign in sheets at the front desk? They give us anything?"
"We were able to get two weeks worth of records from the security staff. Jordan had the same clients that came and went like clock work. Always signed in on arriving, always signed out upon exiting. There is one exception to the rule," reaching out, Hawkes lifted the corners of the papers in Danny's hands until he came across the one he was looking for and pulled it out. "Every day for two weeks, the same person has arrived at ten in the morning, and left shortly before midnight. Three separate doorman confirmed to Bernstein that this same guy has been doing this on a near constant basis for the past five months."
"Boyfriend?" Danny wondered aloud.
"Could be. But no one in the building, tenants and doormen alike, ever saw this man and Jordan together. Ever. When Jordan left, she was always alone or in the presence of her doula."
"What the hell's a doula?" the other CSI asked.
"It's a woman that assists during childbirth," Hawkes explained. "Whose experienced in it and who provides physical, emotional, and informational assistance and support to a mother before, during, or after delivery of the child."
"When was the last time this doula or whatever saw Jordan?"
"Three days ago. Bernstein spoke to her earlier. She said that she never saw a boyfriend or even a male friend, or ever heard Jordan talk about any man outside of her baby's father."
Danny smirked. "Yeah…I can just imagine what flattering, glowing things she was saying about her baby daddy."
Hawkes frowned. "Flack wasn't an innocent party in all of this," he reminded his colleague. "He's just as guilty and just as much to blame for the affair as Jordan was. He could have just held true to the vows of marriage he took and remained faithful. He could have just said no."
"And she could have just stayed the hell away from a married man going through tough times at home," Danny retorted.
"I know he's your best friend, but you need to stay…."
"Impartial and professional," Danny finished. "I know. And why are we here slamming either of them? Shit happened. People need to just shut up about it. It's old news now. Why are we debating who the bigger douche bag out of her and Flack are? All that should matter is finding out who killed her. Fuck the past and let's just…focus on what's going on here and now."
Hawkes blinked at the forcefulness in his colleague's voice. He'd underestimate the lengths that Danny would go to in order to defend, and protect Flack, Sam and the girls. Flack's loyalty to Danny was both infamous and well respected. Time and time again the homicide detective had come to Danny's assistance whether the latter wanted it, or appreciated it at the time. Right from the get go, Flack had overlooked Danny's troubled past and his family ties to gangsters. He still shrugged his shoulders whenever it was called to attention, quickly and firmly reminding people that Danny had more then proved himself both professionally and personally.
"I know what side you're on Hawkes," he said quietly, his eyes never leaving the papers in front of him. "Everyone always picks sides in these types of things. Just no one is outspoken and out there with it like you."
"How can there be sides in something like this? How can you honestly defend someone that carried on a secret life? Who made a baby with another woman? I just don't…"
"Do we have to talk about this?" Danny asked irritably. "Why can't this 'situation' just be laid to rest once and for all? I get that you're pissed off at Flack. We all were pissed at what a dumb ass he was. But it's in the past, Doc. Let them just go on with their lives. You want to be on Team Sam? That's fine. It's got a lot of members. But just be on it for valid reasons and not because…"
"Because of what? I am on her side because she's my friend. Nothing more or nothing less. So don't assume there's anything else behind my loyalty."
"No one is assuming anything. I'm just saying that…"
"Look," Hawkes sighed heavily. "I know what it's like to be on opposite sides of the infidelity spectrum. I've never been the cheater, but I had someone cheat on me. Someone that I loved more than life and trusted wholly and completely. It nearly destroyed me. And I also know what it's like to be the 'other person'. Mind you, this was all decades ago when I was in college and people change their thinking and their practices. But I do know how it feels to be betrayed. So yeah…maybe I do have an ulterior motive to why I defend her like I do. But it's not because I have feelings for her like the gossip mill likes to believe. So you can tell whoever starts nonsense like that to either have the guts to come and say it to my face, or just knock it the hell off."
Danny didn't respond. He was stunned by Hawkes' admission. Despite working closely together for years and considering themselves friends, the two men had never opened up about their personal lives. Past or present. They kept conversations about their respective wives and children to the basics. How Mari and Linds were doing, what the kids were up to, how they were excelling in school and extra curricular activities. Hawkes -and other members of the team for that matter save for Flack, Sam and naturally Lindsay- knew nothing about his past mistake with Rikki. Unlike Flack's affair with Jordan, Danny's sole misstep had never become public knowledge. And Danny had no plans, years later, to spill to anyone.
"So what else did this doula say?" he asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room, anxious to get back to business.
"Just that during her pregnancy Jordan had been treated for depression. She expressed remorse over what she had done and stated on more then one occasion that it may be in the best interest of her baby to give him up."
"And this doula never thought of calling someone to check on the kid's well being after he was born?" Danny asked.
"She chalked the moods up to the depression and the way things had turned out in Jordan's life. A lot of women suffer from pre and post partum depression. She was treated and the baby showed no signs of neglect or abuse during visits."
"And no one ever saw Jordan with a boyfriend? Or even a male friend?"
Hawkes shook his head. "But whoever this was, it must have been more then business. If it was business, these visits would have been in her PDA. The way things were handled…seems very personal."
Danny nodded in agreement. "So what's the name of this guy that kept coming and going?" he wondered aloud, and flipped pages over until he came to the copy of the visitor's log supplied to them by the security at the building. Hawkes had gone ahead and highlighted, in bright yellow, the name of the person of interest. "Greg Harrison," Danny read.
"Notice that he didn't sign in or out the day of Jordan's murder. The doorman say him come in, but was so busy with another tenant that he didn't noticed that Harrison didn't sign the log. And he was on a break when Harrison left the building."
"So why don't we find this Harrison character and ask him some questions?" Danny suggested.
"Because Greg Harrison doesn't exist," Hawkes told him. "Well technically he does. I ran the name through every data base imaginable. There's two Greg Harrison's in New York State. One is in Albany and the other is in a nursing home in Jersey City."
"So why the hell would this guy be getting close to Jordan and giving her a fake name?" Danny asked. "It makes no sense."
"And check this out…" Hawkes reached for the papers once again and pulled out a sheet bearing Jordan's cell phone and landline records. "There's only one constant number going in or out on both her home phone and cell. All the others I placed to businesses and clients. But this one? It's been disconnected since yesterday morning. I called the service provider? It was registered to Jordan herself."
"This makes no goddamn sense," Danny declared. "Why would she be calling a number registered to herself?"
"Maybe she purchased the cell phone for our perp," Hawkes suggested. "That's the only logical thing I can think of."
"Nothing ever logical about murder," Danny said. "Or life in general for that matter."
Hawkes couldn't find argument in that. "So the baby…" he started.
Danny sighed and rolled his eyes.
"I was just going to ask how he is," the other man defended himself.
"He's doing good," Danny told him. "He's at his new home now. With a daddy and a mommy that are going to learn to love him to pieces and two sisters that are going to fawn all over him. Can you imagine what Kellan and Kallison's reactions are going to be? I told Flack he better have the camcorder going when he springs that surprise on them. They're going to freak right out. Guaranteed. Wish I could be there to see it. And you just know that he's going to have all these girls wrapped around his baby finger. Babies are more then capable of scheming you know. I just picture him sitting there, sucking on that soother and watching all these ladies and plotting how to charm them all."
Hawkes chuckled. "I only saw him briefly, but from what I did see, he's a cutie."
Danny nodded. "He is. Looks just like Flack. Not that I'm saying my best friend is cute or anything. I mean, I don't think of other guys in that way or anything. But this kid…he's adorable. Lots of black hair, huge blue eyes. Flack's got some strong genes, I'll give him that much."
"Mari will be shocked to find all of this out," Hawkes said. "But she'll be on their doorstep as soon as she does offering her help. If there's anything they need, Mari and I will help. No hesitation."
"I'll let Sam and Flack know that," Danny told him. "I figure we can do something for them. Like a shower. They've got nothing for a baby. Just what Linds and I have stashed away. They've decided not to take anything from Jordan's save for the kid's clothes and some blankets and toys. So I thought that…"
Danny's words were cut off by a loud beep emitting from the computer Hawkes had been running the DNA samples through. Both men glanced over, elated at the sight of the words MATCH CONFIRMED flashing across the screen.
"Let's see who this douche bag is," Danny said, as he and Hawkes both moved to the computer.
"Sal Grecko," Hawkes read off the screen. "In the system for armed robbery in 2000, assault in 2006 and drunk and disorderly in 2008..."
"So much for three strikes and you're out," Danny mused. "And check this out, Hawkes. Attempted murder charge in 2010. Tried to strangle his common law wife with his bare hands. She managed to fight him off and call nine one one."
"Certainly fits considering Jordan's COD," Hawkes said. "And it says here that he was released from Rikers eight months ago. And he hasn't been in contact with his P.O since."
"Probably 'cause he took on this Greg Harrison personna," Danny surmised. "By why would he befriend someone like Jordan only to snap and kill her? Look at that guy. Doesn't seem as if they'd run in the same circles. Why would he bother with her? And never mind that. Why would she bother with him?"
Hawkes shrugged. "They do seem like an unlikely combination."
"Yeah…but maybe…" Danny's eyes suddenly widened and he snapped his fingers noisily. "Rikers!" he exclaimed, tapping a finger against the screen. "Rikers is the connection!"
"To what?" Hawkes asked.
"Jordan. Jordan's ex husband to be exact! He hired Suspect X to kill her, remember! And when that fell apart, maybe he…"
"Looked for someone on the inside to finish off the job," Hawkes finished, nodding slowly as he put the pieces together. "But that was ages ago now, Danny. Why wait this long?"
"Because revenge is a bitch," the other man concluded. "Revenge is a bitch and some people hold grudges for a long, long time. And maybe word had somehow got back to him that Jordan was having a baby, getting on nicely with her life. And if he's sick enough to want to kill her, maybe he's twisted enough to be somewhat obsessed with her too."
"Maybe…but it's a long shot."
"Still a shot," Danny said, as he hurriedly peeled off his lab coat, snatched the information from the printer and rushed to the door. "And it's a straight out connection to someone that had a bone to pick with Jordan in the past. Do me a favour. Call Rikers and find out whatever you can about this Grecko loser and Jordan's husband."
"Where are you going?" Hawkes asked.
"To talk to Mac!" Danny called, and with that, disappeared from the room.
"Whoa…whoa…slow down, Danny," Mac implored, as he watched the younger man pace the width of his office. "Slow down and explain to me exactly what it is you and Hawkes found."
"The connection Mac! The connection to Jordan Gates and her ex husband! This guy here!" Danny leaned over his boss' desk and pounded a finger down onto the photo resting before them. "He's our killer, Mac! He killed Jordan! His DNA was already in the system for all kinds of offences. And he just got out of prison several months ago! Rikers! Which is exactly where they've been holding Jordan's ex husband."
"Rikers is a busy place," Mac reminded him. "There's thousands of inmates that come and go on a daily basis. We don't have any proof that Sal Grecko was commissioned by Jordan's ex to finish what Suspect X couldn't."
"Hawkes is checking all of that out right now. He's calling Rikers and talking to whatever CO he has to and he's going to find a way to link them together," Danny said. "There would be no other reason for this Grecko guy to go after Jordan. No reason at all. There's nothing to suggest they knew each other personally up until five months ago. That's when the doorman said that his visits to the apartment began. So he obviously befriended her in order to kill her."
"We don't know that, Danny. All we know is that he did befriend her. His reasons for doing that could have been perfectly legit. He could have had a genuine interest in Jordan."
"Genuine interest in her? I doubt that Mac. Nothing against the allure of pregnant women or anything like that, but she would have been close to six months based on Hunter's age. I seriously doubt he was into her while she was pregnant with another guy's baby. That just doesn't make my sense in my book."
"Until we have something that suggests he knew her ex, it's all we have Danny. Maybe they met in a coffee shop and hit it off. Maybe they met on the subway and became friendly. Maybe…"
"Maybe he was sent by someone to sneak his way into her life, make a good impression, build her trust and then kill her," Danny suggested.
"You're jumping to a lot of conclusions here," Mac told him. "I understand your desire to get this guy because of your personal interest in what happened between Jordan and Flack…"
Danny shook his head adamantly. "It's got nothing to do with that," he argued. "And everything to do with the fact that this bastard killed an innocent women and left her son without his mother. That's what it has to do with. He used her. He weaseled his way into her life and pounced on her, Mac. The doula Hawkes talked to already said that Jordan was depressed. Maybe he used that against her. Maybe he put on the charm and suckered her. Made her think she could trust him. Maybe he…"
"That's a lot of maybe's, Danny."
"I am telling you Mac, this guy and Jordan's ex are in on this!" the CSI exclaimed. "Who else would want to kill her?"
"Jordan was once the mayor's justice co-ordinator," Mac said. "She could have made a lot of enemies."
"Could have, should have, maybe, I don't know…" Danny sighed heavily. "What I do know and what my gut is telling me is that these two jackasses are in on this together."
"I told you years ago that it was okay to listen to your gut, but to always follow the evidence," Mac reminded him.
"And we have evidence!" Danny insisted. "We have a convicted felon frequenting Jordan's place! Getting acquainted with a woman that normally wouldn't give him the time of day! We have his stats and they match the measurements Kendall was able to compute for his height and weight off the surveillance tapes! We also have his DNA on Jordan's body! And we have a connection between him and…"
"I am not arguing over whether or not he killed her," Mac remained calm and collected. "I'm trying to make it clear to you that there's no proof Jordan's ex was involved."
"Actually, we do," Hawkes interrupted, as he rushed into the office. "I just got off the phone with a the head CO at Rikers. He pulled both Frank Gates' and Sal Grecko's inmate files and confirmed to me that for the eight months prior to Grecko's release, the two men were cell mates."
"BOOM!" Danny exclaimed jubilantly. "There it is! The proof that we need that those two bastards were in on this together!"
"What's our next move?" Hawkes inquired, as Mac pushed his chair away from his desk and snatched his suit coat from the back of his chair.
"Get a hold of Bernstein," Mac ordered. "I want you and Danny and him going to pick up this Grecko guy."
"Chances are he's long gone," Hawkes said.
"Well let's play the odds and assume he wasn't smart enough to skip town," Mac told him. "Take backup. And wear vests. He's a repeat offender. Obviously dangerous. We don't know what he's entirely capable of and we don't want to take any chances. We go into this prepared, understand me?"
Both Hawkes and Danny nodded.
"Where you heading to, boss?" Danny asked, watching as Mac hurried for the door.
"To put the final pieces of the puzzle together," he replied. "At Rikers."
"Look whose made it out of the wood work," Danny chided, as he, Bernstein, Hawkes and a small handful of uniforms, all in Kevlar, huddled on the sidewalk outside of Sid Grecko's rundown slum of an apartment in Brooklyn. "Where you been? On a long siesta or what?"
Maka flashed her million dollar smile as she climbed the curb and joined her colleagues. "Didn't know you'd miss me that much, Messer. Had I known, I would have sent you a postcard from Vegas."
"Lucky bitch…" he teased, giving her a wink. "I wish I was in Vegas right now. Anywhere but here actually. So how's that boyfriend of yours? He still doing good? Still running that lab down there like a well oiled machine?"
"Nick is doing very, very well for himself," Maka said, as she secured the straps on her vest. "He told me to tell you that you and your beautiful wife need to come down and pay him a visit. Do some gambling."
"We'll make a point of it," Danny assured her. "How come you two are still doing that long distance crap? It's been three years since that convention you met at. Aren't you getting tired of racking up all these frequent flier miles?"
"We like things just the way they are," she told him. "It's the perfect relationship. We're madly in love but far enough away from each other that we don't drive one another crazy being around each other all the time."
"So that's the secret," Danny chuckled. "Remind me to ship Linds off to Montana first thing tomorrow morning. And I think Flack would be right behind me buying Sam a one way ticket to Arizona."
"Come on, Messer, don't play that tough guy crap with me," Maka punched his shoulder playfully. "We all know that you two would die miserable and alone without the women in your lives."
Danny nodded in agreement.
"Everyone ready?" Bernstein asked.
The collective group nodded. Some gave thumbs up signs.
"Remember that we don't know what we're going up against," the detective reminded them all. "Let's go into this assuming that Grecko is armed and extremely dangerous. He's killed on person already. Let's not make it two, alright?"
"Way to give a pep talk," Danny joked. "Remind me not to ask you to ever give a motivational speech at one of them department conferences."
Bernstein gave him a long, hard stare.
"Just trying to lighten the mood," the CSI defended himself.
The detective locked and loaded his weapon and glanced up at the building.
Let's roll," he said.
The approached the apartment on the filthy, garbage strewn third floor in single file. Slowly making their way over layers of rubbish. Rats and roaches alike scurried away. As if anticipating the fall out of the strangers' late night visit. Televisions blared in neighbouring apartments. Tenants down the hall argued noisily and tossed things around their unit. Danny's hands trembled as he held his gun tightly in two hands and down at his side. Ever since the shoot out that he'd recklessly engaged in with Little Stevie Alvarez years ago, his nerves had never been the same when he went on raids. He had seen a therapist about it. Countless times in fact. And each time he'd been declared fit for work and sent on his way.
But as the sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down his neck and back and his stomach knotted up and his head hammered in his chest, Danny wondered if maybe, just maybe, his time was running out as far as the job was concerned.
The group paused in the hallway. Bernstein moved to one side of the door as a uniform officer huddled at the other. Time seemed to stand still as they listened for signs of life. A light was on. Its rays trickling out into the hall from the bottom of the door frame. A radio was playing. There was soft scuffling as someone made their way around the apartment.
Bernstein nodded at the young officer, who raised his hand and pounded on the door.
"Sal Grecko!" the detective bellowed. "NYPD! Open up!"
No response came. The uniform hammered on the door once again.
"NYPD!" Bernstein repeated. "Open up or we're coming in!"
Again no answer. The detective took a deep breath. Danny slid in behind the uniform. Taking his position as the second person to head through the door. Better then being first. But not as good as being at the back.
Quit wussing out, Danny scolded himself. You've been through thousands of these things. Pull up your big boy pants for Christsakes.
Bernstein gave another nod and the officer moved directly in front of the door. With one sure, swift kick, the door exploded off of its hinges and the team rushed inside.
Before eyes could be laid on their suspect, a loud boom of a gunshot rang out. Followed by the soul scream of a distraught female.
"DANNY!!!"
And the world as he knew it went black.
I know, I'm just a little evil. But it's the mood I'm in today. It's just been one of them weeks, I guess.
Thanks to all of my readers, friends, supporters, lurkers…Thanks to everyone in general that has come into my life because of my stories. I truly appreciate all of you and look forward to all of your kind words and reviews. I know sometimes I deal with some 'dark' topics. Infidelity, abuse to name just a couple. I know our opinions may differ greatly from each other, but I appreciate that you take into consideriation that we are entitled to different beliefs. And to those who have supported each decision I have made regarding my work, I extend my deepest thanks.
Special thanks to:
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