Vanessa.J - no, I'm gonna have Quinn and Taylor behave so there shouldn't be problems there - and thank you!

Madison Bellows - Thank you! She's anxious to keep on Mac's happy side, lol, unlike Reed!

sparkyCSI - lol, FF isn't healthy to start with (:P) If the muses play nice, we may well see more!

Trizzy - lol, First, I won't wait that long, I promise! Second, excellent point, and third - another good point. She should be a pedestrian! BTW, did you manage to save the plant in time?

ambercsiny - it was ages ago, wasn't it?! And it was a good idea, so I will be using it!

meadow567 - here ya go!

ninjagurl512 - I'm glad I could make you smile - did you manage to reread the whole thing?!

There are spoilers from 4x17; Like Water For Murder, and there are thanks to my awesome beta!

What The Eyes Can't See

Chapter 219: Yeah I wanna be runnin' When the sand runs out

Taylor sat outside the crime lab, sipping on a bottle of water. She desperately wanted to be in the lab, trying to make sense of the evidence, and put it into context with what she could see from the victim, but the Quinn woman was around. Mac had said he trusted her and she would be damned if she was going to betray that rust.

She took another gulp of the water and stared down at the cracks in the pavement. A pair of Jimmy Choos appeared in front of her. 'What are you doing over here?' Peyton asked her.

Taylor looked up, holding her hand in front of her eyes to block the sun so that she could see the English woman. Peyton moved to the side and sat down beside her. 'Thinking,' she admitted. 'And trying to avoid Quinn Shelby.'

'Ditto,' Peyton admitted.

'Why are you avoiding her?' Taylor asked her.

'Because I want to punch her,' Peyton muttered. 'I'm trying to keep my jealousy under control, because I know I'm overreacting at how friendly the two are,' she looked hopefully at Taylor.

'Sorry, but I haven't really seen them together,' Taylor told her. 'I really have been sitting out here for a while. I haven't seen them together. But it's Mac.'

Peyton sighed and nodded. 'Why are you avoiding her?'

Taylor used her thumb to point over her shoulder, shifting to the left, away from Peyton.

Peyton half turned, catching sight of the publicity of Taylor and Reed on the bench behind them. 'Ah,' was all she muttered.

'I don't want to get Mac or the lab in any more trouble. Mac hates me enough as it is.'

Peyton gave her a puzzled look. 'Mac doesn't hate you, Taylor. He likes you. You know he reads your column, right?'

'Read,' Taylor muttered the past tense. And then she realized what Peyton said. 'He does?' she frowned. 'He's probably checking I'm not giving away insider secrets.'

'You know, I can't say you're often the topic of conversation, but I can tell you, he's proud of you. You've never once published something you shouldn't, and for whatever reason you're always in the crime lab, he lets you stay there. He thinks you've got a knack for forensics.'

Taylor flushed. Admittedly, and Mac wasn't willing to admit it, the so called knack was for listening to clues from the other side. But, there was a compliment in there. She glanced up and stared thoughtfully at the crime lab as Maddy, the shark victim, and a third ghost materialized in front of her. She blinked, hiding her shock from Peyton. 'I have to go,' she apologized abruptly.

She rose to her feet, walking quickly away from the English ME. Waiting until she was a safe distance away, she leant back against the wall and pulled out the brand new iPhone Nancy had supplied her with. She slipped it against her ear and looked over at the three ghosts.

The new ghost, whilst not missing any limbs, was still drenched. Taylor inhaled deeply. 'When she said he wouldn't stop, she meant her killer's actually a serial killer?' she asked Maddy softly.

Maddy looked at the two ghosts with her and nodded gently. 'Yeah,' she admitted.

'You know that there's a woman in the labs checking on their procedures, don't you?' she asked her.

'And?'

Taylor shrugged. 'I'm just saying, it's not going to be easy.' She was so busy pretending to talk into the phone, she jumped when it actually started ringing. 'Hello?'

'I know I'm going to regret asking this, but where are you?'

'Standing outside the precinct, talking to the new ghost,' Taylor informed Flack. 'Why?'

'A new ghost?'

Taylor stared sadly at the new ghost and nodded. 'I think you might be looking for a serial killer.'

'I haven't had anything come through to me about a new body.'

'Yeah, well there is one. And I'm pretty certain she's a victim of the same person.'

'What does she look like?' Flack asked, appearing next to her and making her jump again.

'Do not do that!' Taylor yelped, slapping his arm.

'What does she look like?' Flack repeated, grinning at her.

Taylor rolled her eyes. 'Wet,' she snapped.

---

It didn't take long for dispatch to inform Flack that another body had washed up on the shore, only a mile away from where the first had appeared. He and Taylor headed over to the location and she was loitering around the tape, awaiting the return of the ghosts when Mac appeared.

'Taylor?' he questioned.

Taylor just shrugged at him.

'Just keep it out of the papers until we've informed the family,' he sighed.

Almost changing her mind at the last minute, Taylor ducked him under the tape and hurried after him to where Flack and Grace were discussing their findings.

'Hey Mac,' Flack greeted him. 'This is my new partner, Grace Perry.'

'Hi,' Grace smiled at him, extending her hand.

'Grace, Mac Taylor.'

'I've heard a lot about you and your crime lab,' Grace told him.

Mac nodded and then looked down at the body. 'What have we got?'

'Folks were on the beach, minding their own business when the body rolled in with the tide,' Flack told him.

Grace looked down the beach. 'We're near where the last one was found, right?' she asked, looking back at Flack.

Flack nodded. 'It's less than a mile away.'

Mac crouched down by the body, still wrapped in the blue and yellow tarpaulin. 'Tarp looks familiar, but no lavidity. Petichial hemorrhaging in her eyes.' He turned to Grace. 'What do you see?'

Grace crouched down next to him and gave the body a closer look. 'There's no strangulation marks, so if she suffocated, the killer didn't use anything physical.'

Mac nodded and reached for the victim's closest hand. 'Same abrasions on her hands.'

'So it's the same MO?' Taylor asked.

Mac frowned. 'Possibly.'

Flack bent down and examined the victim's pockets. 'I've found a couple business cards in here that look like her. Louise Perry,' he gave Grace a quick look. 'No relation?'

Grace quickly shook her head.

'She's a real estate agent,' he continued.

Taylor's eyes widened. 'That's it. That's why the first ghost was so familiar looking.'

Grace slowly looked up at her. 'Ghost?'

Taylor froze. 'Ghost?'

Grace nodded. 'You said ghost,' she confirmed.

Taylor quickly pulled a face. 'I don't know where that came from,' she told her, then earning a look off Mac. He, however, didn't say anything. 'I meant body.'

'Why does she look familiar?' Mac asked her.

Taylor glanced over at the ghosts that had appeared, and realized she was right with her memory. 'When my apartment burnt down and we decided to look for somewhere together, we spent hours looking around apartments,' Taylor told them. 'She showed us around quite a few places around here, which were all completely out of our price range.' She frowned. 'Actually, I think she showed me around a few places. Don was working?' she asked him.

Flack nodded. 'I don't recognize her, so quite possibly.'

Mac looked up at Taylor. 'Are you sure?'

Taylor nodded. 'I'm positive.'

Mac returned his attention to the dead woman. 'Two women dead, both with the same MOs, both within a mile of each other, both with the same job.'

'Maybe we're looking at a disgruntled client,' Grace offered. 'Someone who's upset about a sale or a loss of his property?'

'Two bodies within twenty-four hours doesn't play like a coincidence,' said Flack.

'No, it doesn't,' Mac agreed as Flack's phone rang.

He answered it quickly and then returned to the group. 'I have some good news,' he told them. 'But it's got nothing to do with the case.' He looked over at Taylor. 'Patrol found your car.'

Taylor's eyes lit up before quickly dissolving behind a frown. 'Where?'

'Harlem,' Flack responded. 'But it's still in one piece, and it sounds like it's still drivable.'

Taylor's eyes narrowed further. 'And the guy who stole it?'

'Is being treated at Lady of Hope for a concussion and a broken arm, then he's going to be taken to the precinct for me to talk to.' Flack turned to Mac and Grace. 'Can you to handle this?'

Mac nodded. He glanced over at Taylor. 'Go easy on him.'

'Oh, I'll go easy,' Taylor muttered as she headed up the sand.

---

The impound yard of the precinct in Harlem was a few blocks from the hospital and Taylor insisted that they stop there first. To Flack, the damage was minimal. The paint had been scraped off the front, far side panel, and the headlight on the same side was smashed.

To Taylor, it was worse. Her car had a huge gouge running down the side of it, and the smashed in driver's window, the wires handing out under the steering column, was just the final insult. She glowered at the damage. 'That kid is lucky he's already in a hospital,' she growled.

'Taylor, you are going to leave this to me,' Flack told him.

Taylor stared at the damage and finally closed her eyes. She pulled her phone out and dialed her brother's number. 'Paws, the car turned up.'

'How bad is it?' her brother asked her.

'It's a mess,' she told him.

There was a pause. 'If you can get it to the garage I'll get it taken care of with a discount,' he offered, referring to the place he was working. 'If you'll take Cordelia tonight.'

Taylor frowned. 'Of course she can stay, but why?'

'I've got a date,' Chris informed her.

Taylor glanced at her watch. 'You want me to get her from school?'

'Sure. I'll let the school know.'

---

'Yo! Taylor!'

Taylor turned, spotting Reed heading towards her. 'What's up, Reed?'

'Are you here for some information? What do you know about the murder?'

Taylor blinked at him. 'Huh? No. I'm here because some punk-ass kid stole my car and I'm going to go chew him a new one. And then I'm going to run him over with said car.'

This time it was Reed's turn to blink. 'That's… vicious.'

Taylor shook her head. 'What are you doing here?'

Reed held up his notebook. 'Nancy sent me. She thinks that Mac will share certain info with me, that's different to the info he shares with you.'

'Yeah, I don't know anything,' Taylor lied. 'And I have to catch Don up.' Taylor hurried into the building to catch Flack up. She spotted him, a head above just about everyone else, very easily. With her mouth set in a thin line, she joined his side, ready to chew the youth who had stolen her car, a new one. But she stopped when she spotted him.

He was a she. A very pretty, seemingly innocent looking, girl, no older than fourteen or fifteen. Long blonde hair, scraped back into a messy ponytail, bright blue eyes hidden behind too much mascara and eyeliner for a teenager glaring up at Flack, her arms tightly folded under her breasts.

Taylor frowned and looked around. Surely there had been some kind of mistake. The girl looked like one of the kids of Gossip Girl. Okay, that wasn't entirely correct. She was pretty enough to be one, but her clothes were more Wal-Mart than Catherine Walker. And they were torn and dirty.

'How old are you?' she blurted out.

The girl looked up at her and scowled.

'Alright,' Flack said, dipping his hand under the girl's elbow to pull her to her feet. 'Let's get you in an interview room.'

'You can't interview me without my parents present,' the girl snapped at him.

'Or an appropriate adult, and as you're refusing to cooperate, we've got Social Services in.'

The girl glowered at him for a full ten seconds before Flack exhaled in impatience, put his hands on her shoulders, turned her, and ushered her to an interview room. Inside, he pulled a chair out, and pushed her down on it.

'So, have you got a name then,' Flack asked her.

'Screw you,' the girl muttered at him.

'Well your parents had an interesting sense of humor,' Flack told her, dryly.

The girl just rolled her eyes.

'Riley James!'

The girl rolled her eyes as a harassed woman appeared in the doorway; short, several pounds overweight and frizzy grey hair escaping a bun which had probably never really been under control. 'Can't you stay out of trouble for one night?'

'Bite me,' Riley scowled at her.

'So, it's Riley, is it?' Flack asked.

Riley glared at him through her fringe. 'So?'

'Well you can wait here whilst I go run your credentials.' Flack got up, leaving the girl with the social worker. He returned some time later with a hefty file. 'Quite a rap you've got, for a fifteen year old.'

Riley shrugged at him.

Flack flicked open the file and glanced down. 'Disturbing the peace, a couple of drinking offences, driving without a license, theft,' he looked up, 'criminal damage, and now grand theft auto.'

Riley shrugged again. 'So dish the community service and lets get this over with.'

'You don't want to give an explanation? And an apology?'

'Sorry,' she told him, clearly not sounding it.

'What about your parents?'

Riley glared at him. 'What about them?'

'You don't think they'd be a little concerned to know what their daughter was up to?'

'Detective?' the social worker interrupted. 'May I have a word?'

Flack nodded, stood, muttered, 'excuse me,' at Riley, and followed the social worker outside, where he was joined by Taylor. The social worker looked at Taylor with a raised eyebrow. 'She's the owner of the car that was stolen,' Flack explained. 'She's the one who's going to be pushing for Riley to be charged.'

'I'm Irene Stephenson,' she introduced herself. 'Riley's parents are dead. She's not one of my kids, so I'm not able to speak for her, but don't waste your time. I see these kids all the time and frankly, there's no hope for them. I'll head back to the office and get someone to pick her up. She should be out of your hair in a couple of hours.' And then she turned and disappeared.

Taylor blinked. 'Are they allowed to do that?' she asked in disbelief.

Flack sighed. 'They shouldn't, but they do.'

'Drop the charges,' Taylor said.

Flack looked at Taylor as if she'd lost her mind. 'I thought you wanted to run over the "punk" in the 'Stang? And now you want to let her go?'

'Oh, hell no!' Taylor exclaimed. 'She's not getting away with it. However, if she gets dropped in the system, she's never gonna get out of it.'

Flack eyed her suspiciously. 'What are you thinking, Taylor?' he asked her carefully.

'My good friend, Mac Taylor.'

'There's a whole lotta wrong with that sentence when it's said by you,' Flack muttered.

Taylor rolled her eyes at him. 'Whatever,' she told him, using her thumb and forefingers on both hands to make a "W". 'All I am saying is, let Mac dish out her punishment. Hell, I can dish it out if he gives approval. Let the kid clean the windows in the lab. That ought to keep her busy until she graduates!'

Flack stared at her in disbelief. 'You're evil,' he stated.

Taylor shrugged. 'She still stole my car, Don. It might not be death by windshield, but it can be death by window washing.'

Flack just shook his head. 'I'll have a word with Mac.'

Taylor beamed at him. 'Just make sure she's clear that as soon as the damages are paid for, she will be washing the car too.' Her eyes lit up. 'Oh, add the police cars to the list of things to be washed. And maybe the officer's personal cars too,' she added.

Flack held his hands up. 'I'm drawing the line at personal vehicles, Tay. Never mind graduation, the kid will be busy until retirement.'

Sorry for the late update - I've been in London... went to see Ms. Spears at the O2!!