DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the NCIS:LA characters, only my own. The name of the location and the name(s) of the serial killers have been changed. to prevent any legal recourse. All other facts regarding the hotel are true.
Hope you enjoy the story.
"Good Morning Katy. How are you feeling?" Kensi asked when Katy waddled into the bullpen and set her bag down.
"Two months. That's all I've got left." She huffed as she dropped into her chair.
"You sound tired."
"Oh, if you only knew, I'm exhausted all day every day. My back is killing me; my feet and ankles are constantly swollen. I had to take my rings off because my hands are swollen. I feel like a blimp." Katy whined.
"When's your next appointment?" Sam asked.
"This afternoon if we can get away. I can't believe this Gunny's been gone a week and we haven't gotten one lead." Katy said.
"If I can't go with you, go on your own." Callen told her.
"How, I don't fit behind the steering wheel anymore." She laughed.
"I'm sure we can cover for you for an hour, G." Sam told him.
"We'll see." He said.
They all headed up to Ops, Katy bringing up the rear. Callen was standing at the door with the rolling chair when Katy walked up. Immediately, she sat down and he wheeled her to the middle of the room. Nell and Eric were looking at their computer screens, finishing up before they started the morning briefing. Hetty walked in, took one look at Katy and patted her on the back before asking how she was doing. Katy mentioned the Doctors appointment that afternoon and Hetty looked to Callen.
"I think it's time Katy cuts her hours back." She suggested and looked back at Katy.
"You're not going to hear any complaints from me." Katy said.
"How much vacation time do you have on the books?" Hetty asked.
"At least a month, maybe a little more." Katy told her.
"We'll see what happens at your doctor's appointment and go from there." Hetty said.
"I've got some very interesting news for you guys. It appears that Gunnery Sergeant Stevens went home last night. His wife called the command this morning to let them know." Nell told them.
"Where does he claim to have been?" Callen asked.
"He won't say." Nell said. "The command picked him up; he's being charged with UA and is being held in the brig, but they've brought him to the boatshed."
"Sam and I will go talk to him to see if we can figure out where he's been for the last week. Kens, Deeks why don't you two go talk to the wife, see if he told her anything about where he's been?"
Katy sighed. "What do you want me to do?"
Callen thought for a minute. "Sit here and look pretty?"
"Bite me. I'm serious what can I do?" She snapped.
"Go back through his financials, see if he has any accounts his wife doesn't know about." Callen told her.
"Alright." Katy said and wheeled herself to one of the extra vacant computers.
By the time lunch rolled around, Callen and Sam weren't back from the boatshed. Katy was about to attempt to drive herself to her appointment when he came running in Ops. "Oh good, you haven't left yet." He said.
"No, I glad you made it. I wasn't looking forward to having to drive myself." She said spinning around to face him.
"You ready, we'll pick up lunch on our way." He smiled and kissed her as he helped her to her feet.
"So what was Stevens' excuse for being MIA this week?" She asked as they walked out.
"What about the accounts, did you find anything?" He asked.
Katy shook her head. "If he's got another account, I couldn't find it."
"He claims he was away on business, but refuses to say anymore." He laughed.
"Yet his command is ready to charge him UA? Did we ever find out what he's been working on?"
"No we haven't."
"Do you think we should check with the other agencies to see if he by chance works with them?" She asked as they walked into the bullpen.
Callen smiled at her. "Something I haven't thought of. Maybe we should. I'll call up to Ops and Have Nell and Eric check into it."
"Good afternoon Katy, Mr. Callen how are the two of you?" Dr. Wong asked when she walked in the room.
"Hanging in there." Katy told her. "Two more months."
"Katy's back to being really tired, her feet and hands are swelling." Callen mentioned.
"The exhaustion is typical for the last three months of the pregnancy. I noticed that you blood pressure is high. Are you still working five days a week?" she asked.
"Yes I am, but out Operations Manager is suggesting I cut back my hours or start maternity leave early."
"Let's go ahead and start cutting back your hours. Say you work Monday and Tuesday, take Wednesday off and go back Thursday and Friday. Off your feet as much as possible and really watch your salt intake. I'm going to put you on a low dose blood pressure medication as well." She said.
Fifteen minutes later, they walked out of the doctor's office with her new hours and prescription in hand. They stopped and dropped the prescription at the pharmacy before heading back to work. Hetty sat at her desk watching the time until they walked in. She watched them drop their stuff in the bullpen and walk back over to her office.
"So, how did the appointment go?" she asked.
"The doctor would like to see me work four days a week." Katy said handing her the order.
Hetty looked it over and nodded. "Very well, you're off Wednesdays, and the weekends. What did the doctor say about the swelling?"
"I've also been put on a low dose of a blood pressure medication."
"Really, is everything alright?" Hetty asked.
"My blood pressure is high."
Nell walked down the stairs to the landing. "Callen, Katy we've got something."
"Go on, we can finish this conversation later." Hetty said and watched as Callen helped Katy up the stairs.
Callen rolled Katy's chair over for her. "Here you go honey."
"Thank you."
"Okay, I called around to the other agencies and you were right, Katy." Nell said with a smile. "Stevens is CIA. We still have no idea what he was working on, but they will be taking over the case from here."
"Well done, Katy." Hetty said when she walked in. "What gave you the idea to check with the other agencies?"
"Just a gut feeling." Katy smiled. "He has a very clean and concise background, there was absolutely nothing missing. What about his wife, is she CIA too?"
"As a matter of fact, she is." Kensi said when she walked in.
"Really?" Katy laughed. "So reporting him missing was all part of the cover?"
"No, she said she was truly worried about him. She had no idea he was in Virginia meeting with their handler until he got back. The handler was at the house when we got there." Deeks told them.
"Well, good job everyone. Will their handler be divulging their mission to us?" Hetty asked.
"No, we will not be learning anything from either of them. He said their director will be talking with Director Vance." Kensi said.
"Very well." Hetty grumbled as she looked at her watch. "Mr. and Mrs. Callen would you like to finish our conversation now, and then you two can go home."
"Sure." Katy said and heaved herself off the chair.
It was three by the time Katy and Callen walked into the house. Ying and Yang were of course waiting by the door when they walked in. Katy dropped her bag by the door and walked to the couch, the cats followed. Katy lay out on her back and the cats jumped up on the arm of the sofa behind her head. Callen sat on the other end of the couch and began rubbing Katy's aching feet.
"So what do you feel like for dinner tonight?" he asked.
"I have no idea." She sighed. "That feels good, thank you."
"It's the least I could do. That was a good call about the other agencies." He smiled.
"Thank you, just following my gut instinct." She said.
"I can't wait until you're back in the field." He said.
"Well, it's going to be a while. Six weeks after Henry's born, if the doctor clears me." She said. "What are we going to do about daycare for him?"
"I don't know, I haven't even thought that far ahead." He said. "Maybe you can call around to some daycare centers while you're off on Wednesdays."
"That's a thought. I want you to see the facilities too."
"We can check on them at lunch." Callen suggested.
"You'd have to come get me since I can't reach the gas pedal anymore." Katy laughed, rubbing her belly.
"I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem."
"Hey, you know what's on tonight?" Katy asked with a huge smile.
Callen rolled his eyes. "That ghost hunting show you like so much. What's it called; Haunted Investigations?"
"Yes, you don't mind watching it tonight, do you?" she asked.
"Of course not." He smiled. "We still need to figure out what we're doing for dinner."
"I don't feel like cooking."
"I wasn't expecting you to cook." He said tickling the bottom of her foot.
"Want to go see my Dad?" Katy asked.
"Sure. Why don't you go change?"
"Alright baby." She smiled and kissed him after he helped her to her feet.
The new shop was cute and cozy. Ivan was very happy to see them and immediately had coffee and something sweet at the table. He kissed and hugged both of them before he sat with them at the table.
"Dad, what's going on up the street?" Katy asked referring to the droves of spectators in the streets, behind the police lines.
"Oh," he said with a scowl on his face. "Some TV show is taping an episode or investigation at the Cyril Hotel tonight."
"You should be happy about that, lots of customers." Callen said.
"We've been so busy; this is the first time I've sat down all day. It's too bad I have to close tonight. This thing is supposed to go on all night." Ivan said.
"What show is it?" Katy asked.
"Some ghost hunting show."
"Really?" Katy said excitedly.
"You don't believe in all of that stuff, do you?" Ivan asked her.
"I don't know if I necessarily believe it, but I do find it interesting." She said.
"No, Katy completely believes in it." Callen laughed.
Katy gave him a dirty look. "The Cyril Hotel is supposed to be very haunted."
Callen and Ivan both rolled their eyes. Katy pouted, causing both men to laugh at her.
"I'm serious, two serial killers have lived there and there have been at least two murders and several suicides." She said.
"That doesn't make it haunted, Katy." Callen said.
"Why do you always have to be so damned logical about that stuff?" she asked him.
"I can't believe what I can't see." He laughed.
Katy pointed at him. "One of these days you'll see something that's going to scare the crap out of you."
Ivan locked up just after eight while Katy and Callen waited. The three walked in the opposite direction of the commotion and found a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant to have dinner at. The food was better than everyone expected, in fact Katy told Callen that they were definitely coming back. With her belly full and the leftovers placed in take out containers they headed home. Katy soaked in the tub while Callen fed the cats. He helped her out of the tub and to dry off. She fell right to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
"Good morning." Katy said when she walked into the bullpen.
"Wow, you look a thousand times better than you did yesterday. I guess you had a good night's sleep." Kensi laughed.
"We went to my Dad's shop; had some coffee and sweets and then we went to dinner. We found the best little Mexican food restaurant. We're definitely going to have to take you guys there. It's a tiny little hole in the wall, but the food is good." She raved.
"Was it really that good?" Sam asked Callen.
"Actually it was some of the best we've ever had and we've had a lot of Mexican food in the last seven months." He laughed.
Just as Katy and Callen were about to get a cup of coffee, Eric called them up to Ops. When Katy turned around and glared at Eric, he took off running up the stairs. Callen laughed and told her there'd be plenty of time after the briefing to get coffee since she was staying in the office. The glare was then turned on Callen; he tossed his hands in the air and shrugged. Sam suggested he keep his mouth shut and be very thankful Katy wasn't having a girl. He gave Sam an odd look, so Sam explained how Michelle was when she was pregnant with their daughter as opposed to their son.
Eric already had Katy's chair waiting when they got up to Ops, Nell was wondering what she said or did that prompted him to do that. "She now scares me as much if not more than Hetty."
"What happened?" Nell asked.
"I whistled like I usually do and she glared at me." He shuttered. "I think I'm going to have nightmares."
"Calm down, what was she doing when she glared at you?" She asked.
"I think she was getting a cup of coffee." He said.
"Oh." She said as straight-faced as she could.
Once everyone was in Ops and Eric was in a position where he could avoid eye contact with Katy at all costs. She just smiled at Nell, counting down the minutes until she could get a cup of coffee. Nell turned to the group and looked back at Eric before beginning the brief.
"Navy Reservist Lt. Candace Marx was found dead in the basement of the Cyril Hotel last night during the filming of a reality TV show; Haunting Investigations. She replaced one of the original investigators about a year ago when the investigator became pregnant. The Cyril Hotel has a very long history of deaths, as far back as nineteen fifty-four." She said.
Callen immediately looked down at Katy. "How did she die?" He asked.
"No one knows the coroner is going to have to figure that out. There were no visible signs of a struggle, no ligature marks, no gunshot wounds; nothing." Nell said.
"I know the story well." Katy said and everyone including Eric turned to her.
"Care to tell us?" Hetty asked with an amused smile on her face.
"Um, okay." Katy said nervously. "In fifty-four a woman jumped from the seventh floor, landing on the hotel's marquis, in sixty-two another woman jumped from the eighth floor, nine months later another woman fell out a window on the ninth floor after a fight with her estranged husband, and in sixty-four a woman was raped, stabbed and beaten in room fifteen oh one."
"And you know this how?" Sam asked with a laugh.
"I read a book about all of the haunted places in LA." She said and Sam laughed while shaking his head. "I'm not done. Two serial killers called the hotel home for a short time. In eighty-four through eighty-five; Richard Rodriguez also known as the Night Terror killed a nine year old and left the body in the basement. He went on to kill thirteen others. Jack Wantunweger; an Austrian journalist murdered three prostitutes by strangling them with their bra straps in ninety-one. The last reported death was in February of two thousand thirteen when the body of a tourist was found in a water tank on the roof."
"You read all of this in a book?" Kensi asked.
"No, after I finished the book, I was fascinated by it and read everything I could find about it on the internet and archives in the library. I guess you could say I was a little obsessed with it." She laughed.
"What is it about the place that attracts so much death?" Callen asked.
"No one really knows. Some think it's a portal between our world and the other side. When the tourist was found a couple years ago, the media showed the surveillance footage from the hotel. It showed her acting strangely, as a result of that, many people thought she was possessed by something."
"You don't really believe in all of that stuff, so you?" Sam asked.
"I've seen some things, but I don't know what it was and I can't explain it away." She said.
"Alright, since Deeks isn't here today we're going to need you in the field Katy." Callen said.
"No, I'm not going there. That's why the original girl quit the show. Spirits have been known to attach themselves to unborn babies. The last thing we need is something to haunt and torment Henry." She insisted.
"We're two men down, we need you. Just interview the other investigators; you don't even have to go into the hotel." Callen promised.
"I'll sit in the lobby or one of the offices, but I'm not going in the basement or into any of the guest rooms." She said adamantly.
"Mrs. Callen, if you feel anything strange I want you out of that place. Your father's shop is down the street, isn't it?" Hetty asked with a very concerned look.
"Yes it is."
"You will go there if anything happens." Hetty ordered, Katy nodded.
The hotel had an ominous feel to it. It truly felt like something was looming over your shoulder or following you everywhere you went. Katy was uncomfortable as soon as she walked in the gilded doors, but she had to push through. Sam and Callen went down to the basement while Kensi checked with Hotel security to look at the surveillance footage from the previous evening. Upon sitting down with the first investigator, Katy felt even more uncomfortable when he shook his head at her and told her she shouldn't have come there pregnant.
"Where were you when Lt. Marx died, Mr. Johns?" Katy asked.
"Please call me David; I was in room fourteen thirty-seven conducting an EVP session." He said with his icy green eyes.
"That's reported to be Richard Rodriguez's room, correct?" Katy asked.
He smiled. "You know the hotel's history?"
"I was mildly obsessed with it a few years ago." She smiled.
"That's how it starts." He laughed. "After you have the baby, if you'd like to sit in on one of the investigations we'd be happy to have you. Being in law enforcement, you'd be a good addition to the group."
Katy smiled. "As much fun as that sounds, I love my job. Had you been down to the basement at all?"
"I was down there when we did the initial walk through, all of us were there."
"Was Lt. Marx acting strangely?"
"No different than usual. She's always a little off the day of an investigation, she claimed to be sensitive."
"Did you believe her?"
"She gave me no reason not to. In the last year, she was always able to give us information about the various locations we were investigating. Everything was on point; no one ever claimed that she spoke to them before the investigation. Candice never did any research on her own unless it was after the investigation."
"Was she acting more unusual than normal?"
"Something or someone was definitely bothering her. When we went on the initial walk through, she kept shaking her head and telling something to leave her alone." He said looking at his hands.
"Did she mention by chance who it was she was talking to?"
"No, she didn't and that was normal."
"Where was she when this was happening?"
He stopped and thought for a moment. "Actually, we were in the basement."
Katy nodded. "Do you know much about Lt. Marx's personal life?"
"I know she was single. Had a few friends she talked about on a regular basis, but none of us ever met them."
"Did she ever mention having a problem with someone or can you think of someone who would want to hurt her?"
"There were a couple of crazed fans, but all of us have those. You don't think a fan did this?" He asked with a panicked look on his face.
"So what exactly are we looking for?" Sam asked.
"Who knows?" Callen laughed as he looked at a stack of mattresses. "Hey, why do you think this mattress is wrapped in plastic?"
"I don't know that's a good question." He said looking at the stack. "None of the others are wrapped."
"Why keep all of this old furniture?" Callen said looking out at the sea of chair, desks, headboards and other miscellaneous items.
Just then, a breeze blew past the two of them. Callen and Sam looked at one another and gave an awkward smile. At the back of the basement, something crashed to the floor. Both Sam and Callen looked down the aisle. The overhead fluorescent lights flickered as they walked towards the sound. Another rush of wind blew past them. Callen brushed his head with his hand and looked around above him.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked giving him a weird look.
"I could've sworn I walked into a spider web or something, but I don't see one." He said.
At the other end of the basement came another loud crash. Callen and Sam looked at each other again with their usual look, they agreed to separate. Sam headed in the direction of the original sound and Callen went the opposite direction towards the second. Sam pulled a mini mag-light flashlight from his back pocket and turned it on before he proceeded into the darkened part of the basement. With no reason at all, the flashlight flew out of his hand and landed five feet in front of him.
Callen cautiously walked to where he thought the noise had come from and there was nothing. Nothing had been moved and nothing had fallen. In the distance, he heard a faint laugh echoing. He turned to look just as a shadow turned the corner. Without thinking, he instinctively pulled his weapon and followed. Behind the rack that the shadow disappeared was a solid cinderblock wall. Callen stood there for a moment dumb-founded.
Kensi sat in the security office looking over the footage from the previous day. On one lone screen, she could see Sam and Callen in the basement, but at opposite side. Thinking nothing of it, she continued scanning through the footage. In the darkness, at what the camera's time stamp said was just after midnight, an opaque mass walked up the aisle and disappeared into the wall. Kensi stopped and rewound it, playing it again. She pressed pause it and looked closer, it was completely see through. Shaking off the chills she got from it, she moved on. At just after one in the morning; according to the time stamp, a light appeared at the head of the stairs.
Lt. Marx appeared at the threshold to the basement. Cautiously, she stepped forward and back again, covering her ears. After standing there for five minutes, she stepped into the basement again. Suddenly, the camera went to static. Kensi fiddled with the knobs trying to stop and play the footage. She forwarded the footage while playing and saw the camera come back. Lt. Marx was on the floor and three opaque figures looked like they were climbing out of her body. Kensi quickly pushed back from the desk and shuttered, chills running down her spine and goose bumps covered her from head to toe.
Looking at the paused footage, Kensi stood and walked out of the office. She ran down the hall and out to the lobby area. Katy saw her, pale and breathless. She excused herself from the conversation and walked over to her.
"Kensi, are you okay?" Katy asked taking her elbow, leading her through the lobby to the doors.
"Oh my God." She said in a daze.
"What happened?" Katy asked.
"I just saw the craziest thing." She said and wrapped her arms around herself.
"What was it?"
As if looking out into the distance, Kensi told her. "I was watching the footage from the basement. At just before midnight, I saw this thing walk down one of the aisles and disappear into a wall. Then just before one, I saw Lt. Marx walk down the stairs, hesitate then the cameras went to static. When they came back on, I saw these things crawl out of her."
"What?" Katy asked with a laugh. "You saw something crawl out of her, like it was crawling out of a hole in the ground?"
"Yes, exactly like that." Kensi said flabbergasted.
"I've got to get back in to my interview. Take a few minutes and collect yourself. If you need anything, I'm in the lobby." Katy said and turned to walk back into the hotel.
"Thanks Katy."
"Sorry about that." Katy said when she sat back down. "What was your relationship like with Lt. Marx?"
"We were friends I guess. We never really hung out, I mean we travelled together, but we all pretty much kept to ourselves."
"Alright, thank you David. When and where is your next investigation?"
"We can postpone our schedule if you need us to stay in town a few more days." He said.
"That wouldn't be a bad idea." Katy told him with a smile. "Where are you staying and how can I reach you?"
"We're sure as hell not staying here." He laughed. "We haven't had a chance to book a room anywhere else. You can call me on my cell phone."
Once Katy took the number, she shook his hand and thanked him for his time. The other two investigators told pretty much the same story. None of the three of them were with the Lieutenant when she died. One was in room eleven twenty-one; Jack Unterweger's room and the other was in room fifteen oh one. The other three members of the team regrouped when they couldn't raise Lt. Marx on the radio. All three found her lying dead in the basement. Katy collected their voice recorders, video cameras and anything else that Eric and Nell could get information from.
The investigators told Katy to keep all of the footage; none of them wanted any of it made public. They agreed to run a memorial show for Lt. Marx after the investigation ended. Katy assured them that they would get the case wrapped as soon as they could and all of the equipment would be returned to them. She sat there in the lobby going back over her notes. Something was definitely missing and decided to join Kensi in the surveillance office.
"Hey, did you find anything else?" she asked when she walked in.
Kensi was laughing. "I haven't even had a chance to get through any of the tapes from the rest of the hotel, just the basement. Look at these two. They've been running around chasing something for the last hour."
"You didn't see anything on the camera?" Katy asked watching Callen and Sam at the opposite ends of the basement. "I wish these things had audio, I'd love to hear what they're saying."
"Yeah, me too." Kensi laughed. "So did we learn anything?"
Katy told her everything that the other three investigators told her. "Is there any way you could tear yourself away from the comedy show in the basement long enough to look at the lobby or any of the other exits to see if someone snuck in after they were locked in the hotel?"
Kensi stopped and looked at her. "Yeah sure, sorry." She said and cued up the video.
The two watched from the time the staff went home to when they were locked in the hotel and saw no one come or go. At one in the morning according to the time-stamp, both women shot back in their seats. Kensi fumbled to rewind the video. When she replayed it, both she and Katy sat as close as they could to the screen. Just as Lt. Marx entered the stairwell, something shot across the lobby and into the stairwell after her. Quickly, Kensi played the footage from the basement at the same time. The distortion followed Lt. Marx into the basement on veered off to the left. Katy slowed the footage and saw the same figure or distortion follow along the edge of the screen and in front of the camera. Seconds later, the camera went to static.
Knowing that it was the camera's malfunction, they watched the screen instead of forwarding through it. A minute and a half passed before they saw a head and shoulders appear in the static. They looked at one another in disbelief and back at the screen. A face appeared, startled the girls let out a shriek. The head of security; an older man; ran into the room. Kensi rewound the footage and played it for him. As soon as the face appeared, he made the sign of the cross and backed out of the room.
"Anything G?" Sam asked.
"No, why do I get the feeling something is playing with us?" Callen yelled.
"This is crazy." Sam said brushing what felt like a spider web off his forearm.
"I'm about done down here, let's go see what the girls found." He said. "Maybe we can send Kensi and Deeks around here tomorrow."
Sam laughed as he walked towards him. Callen happened to look down the aisle at Sam's feet and saw nothing in the way, yet Sam fell forward. He caught himself before he went face first into the concrete.
"I swear I was just pushed." Sam said pulling himself to his feet. "My back is burning."
"What?" Callen asked rushing over to him, pulling the back of his shirt up. "You've got three scratches down your back."
"What?" Sam asked trying to look, but looked more like a dog chasing its tail.
"Stop, I'll take a picture." Callen said taking out his phone. He took the picture and showed it to Sam.
"What the hell is that?" Sam asked as he looked at it. "That looks like a hand pointing to the scratches."
"That's not my hand." Callen told him and backed away.
A frigidly cold breeze blew past them, then around them. Both Callen and Sam brushed the web feeling away again. 'It was me.' They heard in a whisper.
They looked at each other and then around the aisle. "Ha ha, funny we know you guys are there." Callen said and heard laughter.
Sam pulled out his phone and dialed Katy's number. "Hey, stop messing with us in the basement, it's not funny anymore."
"Sam, we're watching you on the cameras in Surveillance." She told him and pointed to the screen.
"Both of you are there now?"
"Yes, we've been here for at least fifteen minutes. You guys need to come see the stuff Kensi found. It's going to make your hair stand on end." She said.
"Alright, we're on our way up." He said and looked at Callen. "The girls have something in surveillance."
The two of them gave the basement one last look before they headed to the stairs and up to the lobby. Kensi was rewinding the videos when they walked in. The four of them watched the footage in disbelief. None of them spoke through the video. Katy and Kensi braced themselves when the screen went to static and stopped the guys from touching the controls. Sam jumped three feet into the air when the face appeared on the screen.
"This shit is getting weirder and weirder by the minute." Callen said as he watched the three figures climb out of Lt. Marx's body. "Get copies of the camera footage for last night. We'll take it all back to Nell and Eric to see if it's been pieced together. We need to see if Rose has started on the Lieutenant's body yet."
"Dad's shop is just down the street do we want to stop by for lunch really quick?" Katy asked.
"Yeah, let's get out of here." Kensi agreed.
The shop was busy; they waited in line for fifteen minutes before they even got close to the counter. Ivan looked up from the sandwich he was making for just a second, saw Callen smiled and waved. He got the other clerk's attention and told them that their food was free. Everyone in line turned around and glared at them. Katy gave a brief wave at her Dad and told him they'd pay like everyone else. The glares turned into satisfactory smiles.
"My daughter, son-in-law and their friends always eat here free. If the rest of you have problems with that, you can leave." Ivan shouted.
The heads turned from Ivan to Katy and back again. "Dad, really we'll pay or we'll go somewhere else."
"No Katya, you won't go anywhere else. How is little Henry?" He asked over the counter.
Katy rubbed her belly. "He's fine Dad."
They ordered and paid for their sandwiches and waited with the rest of the customers for them. When the lunch rush finally died down, Ivan was able to sit and visit. After they finished their sandwiches, Ivan packed up some goodies for them to take back to the office. He gave Katy a kiss and told her he'd see them later. The other three investigators were walking up to the shop as they were walking out. Katy introduced them to the rest of the team and they asked how the investigation was going. Sam mentioned the three scratches down his back. One of the investigators asked to look at it; Sam turned and lifted his shirt.
"Oh my God Sam." Katy gasped.
"What, are they worse that they were before?" he asked Callen.
"No, they're not."
"You know Demonology too?" The David asked.
"I've seen enough of the paranormal shows to know that that's not a good sign." She told him.
"Demonology?" Callen asked.
"Three scratches like that are typically the mark of something very evil; a demon or a malevolent spirit. Where were you when that happened?" David asked.
"We were down in the basement." Callen told him.
"I wouldn't suggest going back down there." Crystal; one of the other investigators added.
"We've got an investigation to run. We can't play chicken now." Sam told them.
"I understand that and I appreciate you working so diligently to find out who killed our friend, but that place is no joke. It's not something to be taken lightly. There's some serious stuff going on in that hotel. It's seriously evil." David said.
"We will definitely take that into consideration. Thank you for your cooperation, if we need anything further, we'll contact you. You gave your contact information to Katy?" Callen asked.
"Yes, we did. Is she coming back to the hotel?" he asked.
"No, Katy's off tomorrow and one of the other agents should be back to accompany us if we do need to return to the hotel." Callen told him.
"Good, take care of yourselves. You might want to think about having yourselves cleansed since you've been in the building. Particularly Katy since she's pregnant."
"We made sure Katy went nowhere near the affected areas. She stayed in the lobby and in the surveillance room." Callen assured him.
Katy and Kensi headed back to the office to get the surveillance tapes and the crew's recording devices to Eric and Nell. The two stayed in Ops to help go over the footage and listen to the voice recorders. Katy chose to listen to the voice recorders and had to stop every so often to have Nell or Eric enhance bits. Katy could pick out the investigator's voices most of the time, but quite often another voice would be embedded in the recording. Having watched the show religiously, Katy knew them to be EVPs. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end whenever she heard one. She couldn't wait for Callen and Sam to get back so they could hear them.
The last voice recorder she listened to was Lt. Marx's. She'd done EVP sessions in various parts of the hotel, but the most interesting session was in the basement.
"This is Candace Marx, starting an EVP session in the basement of the Cyril Hotel. It is twelve fifty-nine in the morning."
"Leave." A tinny whisper of a voice said.
"Is there anyone here with me who'd like to talk? All you have to do is talk into the red light and we'll hear you. Do you have any messages you want to pass on to anyone?"
"Leave now." It whispered.
"How long have you been here at the Cyril hotel?" she asked and paused, waiting for a replay. "Were you a resident here when you died?"
"Too long." The voice said. "I've always been here."
"Can you tell me something about what happened to you?"
There was no reply. The lieutenant screamed and the recorder fell to the floor with a crash. There was a whoosh and the sound of wind. The lieutenant screamed again. Katy heard the body; mainly her head; hit the ground with an eerie thud. She could hear a gurgling sound from the back of the lieutenant's throat and then laughter. Eerie, bone chilling, make your skin crawl laughter. The recorder recorded for an hour after the lieutenant died until one of the other team members stopped it. Aside from the occasional shuffle in the distance and the sound of the other investigators trying to reach her on the radio, there were no footsteps until the rest of the team came down the stairs looking for her.
Sam and Callen walked into the morgue to find Rose up to her elbows in a cadaver's chest cavity. Neither man wanted to look closely at whatever she was doing, so they stood a safe distance away. Rose greeted them and said she'd be with them in just a second as the pulled what looked like a lung from the corpse and dropped it on the scale next to the table.
"Hey Rose, how are you?" Callen asked trying to keep his lunch from creeping up his throat.
"I'm good, you're here about the body found at the Cyril Hotel?" she asked removing her gloves.
"Yup, have you had a chance to start the autopsy?" Callen asked.
"No, I did some tissue samples and sent them to the lab; I'm hoping to get to her after I'm done with Mr. Richards over there." Rose smiled as she pulled the freezer door open and pulled the body out.
"Is this her?" Sam asked grabbing a pair of gloves from the table. "Did you get a chance to examine the body for marks?"
"I did and didn't find much of anything. There were no visible wounds, but there were a couple puncture wounds." Rose said moving the Lieutenant's head to one side to show the miniscule pin pricks near the artery. "Tox screen show if she was injected with anything."
"When should those be back in?" Callen asked.
"Today's Tuesday, Friday is my best guess. I can send some samples to Abby in Virginia if you want? I also found several injection sites here on her thighs." Rose said pulling the sheet up, exposing her legs and thighs.
"Do you know if she's a diabetic or on any inject able medications?" Sam asked.
"I'm waiting on her medical records. Again, the tox screen should tell us if she was on inject able insulin."
"Alright Rose, thanks. When you find out more, or start the autopsy, let us know." Callen said with a smile.
"I will, how's Katy doing?" Rose asked tossing the sheet back over the lieutenant's legs and head.
"She's doing well. Her blood pressure is a little high and she's only working four days a week now. Two more months to go." He smiled.
"Very good. I can't wait to meet the little guy." Rose smiled as she closed the freezer door.
"Neither can we." Sam laughed.
Kensi, Nell, Eric and Katy sat in Ops watching the hotel's surveillance footage on the big screen. Katy had her arms wrapped tightly around herself when Sam and Callen walked in. Callen placed his hand on Katy's shoulder and she nearly fell out of the rolling chair.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you." He said.
"It's alright, this stuff is…wow." Katy said looking at him for a brief moment before returning her attention to the screen.
"Whose tape is this?" Sam asked.
"This is Lieutenant Marx's video recorder. We're about three minutes away from her going into the basement. The voice recorder stayed on an hour until either the other investigators turned it off." Katy told him.
"Did we manage to get anything off it?" Callen asked.
Katy turned to him and smiled widely. "Talk about some scary stuff. The EVPs will give you the chills."
"Has any of the footage been spliced or is it all one?" Sam asked.
Eric turned around wide eyed, "Oh no, it's all consistent. None of it has been edited."
"Here she goes down into the basement." Kensi said shushing them. "Why do I wish I had popcorn right now?"
"Just play the video." Sam said annoyed.
They all sat quietly watching the video. Marx panned from right to left and back again. In the far right corner of the basement, a figure moved into the shadows. Katy asked them to pause it and replay it in slow motion.
"Look, you can see a head, shoulder and a leg." She said. Wheeling herself to the screen.
"I see it." Sam agreed with a nod.
When they resumed the video, Lt. Marx heard a noise behind her and spun around to see what it was. The camera caught another white, opaque figure. There was a whooshing sound like on the voice recorder, she screamed and fell to the ground. The camera rolled out of her hand and onto the ground on its side. It spun around to face Marx lying on the ground with her eyes rolled back into her head, she was gurgling and convulsing violently. The camera caught another white figure as it looked like it walked past. After several moments, the lieutenant's lifeless body laid there. Kensi reached over and grabbed Katy's arm. Three figures literally climbed out of her chest.
They all stood or sat there in silence as the eerie laughed echoed through the basement. Hetty walked in Ops and looked at each and every one of them before she spoke.
"Are you alright?"
"I can't explain what we just witnessed." Callen said to her in complete and total shock.
"There has to be a logical explanation for it." Sam said pale.
"What do you think you saw?" Hetty asked almost laughing.
"Something just crawled out of her body." Kensi said.
"You all have been working entirely too hard." Hetty laughed.
"Rewind it." Callen told Nell.
Hetty stood with the others mesmerized as the three figures climbed out of her body. She was just as stumped as the rest of them. "That's not altered in any way?"
"No, we've checked everything. We were the first to watch that particular tape." Eric told her.
"There has to be some other logical explanation for this." She said.
"We're just as stumped as you are." Callen told her.
"Have we spoken to the next of kin?"
"No, some one of us were headed out to do talk to her parents while the other goes to her apartment." Callen said.
"Ms. Blye and Mrs. Callen I'd like the two of you to talk to her parents. Mr. Callen and Mr. Hanna her apartment, I don't want Mrs. Callen over exerting herself." She said and walked out.
"Alright." Callen nodded and turned to Nell. "What do we know about her parents?"
"Father died during Desert Storm, mother remarried. Other than that, they're you're average run of the mill suburban family. Address is on your phones." She said.
"Katy, be careful." Callen said and kissed her as she and Kensi walked out of Ops.
Katy put the address in the GPS while Kensi drove out of the lot. It was a fairly short drive to Marx's parent's house. For the most part, it was your typical suburban home with a white picket fence. It had been newly painted and new black shutters added. As the two got out of Kensi's Cadillac, the front door opened and an older woman with graying hair stood there.
"Mrs. Riddell?" Katy asked with a smile.
"Yes, you're here about Candy?"
"Yes Ma'am we are. I'm Special Agent Callen and this is Special Agent Blye. We'd like to ask you a few questions about your daughter if possible?" Katy asked.
"Of course, please come in. Can I get you something to drink?" she asked as they joined her in the entry.
"You have a beautiful home Mrs. Riddell." Kensi added as she looked around.
"Thank you, Candy's father and I bought it just before he deployed and passed away. Please call me Denise."
The three women sat around the table in the eat-in kitchen discussing Lt. Marx's life; past and present. Unfortunately, the lieutenant and her mother had been somewhat estranged over the last two years after her mother disagreed with her ending a very promising long-term relationship. Then her decision to become a paranormal investigator drove them even further apart. Katy mentioned her supposed psychic abilities, her mother nodded and went on to tell them that the lieutenant had been different since her father died. Mrs. Riddell also said that Candace had been in contact with her father several times after his death. Katy and Kensi gave her an odd smile.
Kensi asked about friends that the lieutenant might still be in contact with and Mrs. Riddell was more than happy to pass on the numbers of those she hope her daughter still talked to. They thanked her for her time and headed back to the office. Callen and Sam were telling Hetty what they'd found at the lieutenant's apartment when they walked in. Callen could tell Katy was tired and by the look on her face, they had no more than he and Sam did.
"We're going to have to dig deeper." Hetty said crossing her arms.
"Nell, can you see if by chance any Lt. Marx contacted anyone at these numbers? Her Mom says she may have kept in contact with them." Kensi asked.
"Will do." She said.
Hetty looked at her watch, it was only three. "Well aside from the work left to Ms. Jones and Mr. Beale I guess there's nothing more for the four of you to do until Rose gets the toxicology reports back and starts the autopsy. Unless you want to stick around and help here in Ops, I suggest you head home for the day. Katy, we'll see you Thursday."
"That's right; you're down to four days a week." Nell said.
Katy rubbed her belly causing Henry to kick and roll wildly. "Yeah, I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow. Are you sure I can't just come in and stay here in Ops?"
Hetty laughed. "No doctors orders four days a week."
"Fine, I'll see you guys on Thursday. Good luck tomorrow. Call me if you need anything, please." She said and leaned into Callen.
"Let's get the two of you home." He laughed and rubbed the small of her back.
No sooner did Callen and Katy pull up to the house and they saw Mary running down the street towards them. She was all smiles and arms wide open when she ran up to Callen and gave him a huge hug. Fortunately for Katy she was more gently with her greeting, kissing and hugging her belly before Katy carefully bent over so Mary could kiss her cheek.
"Does your Dad know you're down here?" Katy asked.
Mary smiled shyly. "No, I saw you and wanted to say hi."
"You know better than that." Callen reminded her as he looked back towards her house to find Reggie walking towards them.
"Young Lady, what have you been told about running off like that?" He scolded.
"I'm sorry Daddy; I just wanted to say hi to Katy and Callen. I know I should've asked permission first." She said looking at her feet.
"One more time and you're not going to be able to play in the front." Reggie told her. "Hey, look at you. You're huge."
Katy instinctively rubbed her over grown belly. "Yeah, I know. Down to working four days a week now."
"Really?" Reggie asked. "So you've got a three day weekend now?"
"No, Katy's off tomorrow, then will be back to work on Thursday." Callen told him.
Reggie laughed knowing it wasn't going to last long. "I give it two weeks before Katy goes stark raving mad and sneaks into work."
"Daddy, since we get out of school early tomorrow, can I come down and hang out with Katy?" Mary asked.
"Katy's supposed to be relaxing." Reggie told her.
"I'll take care of her. Anything she wants or needs I'll get it for her. I'll make sure she doesn't do anything after I get here." Mary assured them.
"I don't mind. We've been so busy with work that I haven't been able to spend any quality time with any of the kids. Maybe I can sweet talk my Dad into bringing us something sweet from his shop." Katy smiled.
"Do you mind, Callen?" Reggie asked.
"Of course I don't mind. Now I'm jealous." He smiled and tossed Mary's ponytail into her face.
"What are you two doing for dinner?" Reggie asked.
Callen and Katy looked at one another. "We really hadn't thought about it." He laughed.
"Well, we can solve that one; you're coming to our house. Ana's making her famous lasagna."
"Ooh, that sounds good. Ricotta or cottage cheese?" Katy asked
Reggie gave her a smile, "Ricotta of course."
"Let me get out of these stuffy work clothes and into something a little more comfortable and we'll be down." Katy told them.
"Can I stay here while Katy and Callen change?" Mary asked looking from Katy to Callen to Reggie. Katy and Callen both nodded their approval.
"Alright, see you guys in a few." Reggie said and headed to the house.
Katy changed as quickly as her exhaustion allowed her to. Dressed in a light maternity dress, they headed down to Reggie's. Cassi and Little Reggie greeted them at the door. The kids led Katy to a chair they'd set up in the dining room for her to sit in, got her a glass of iced tea and even set the ottoman from the living room in front of her to put her feet up. Callen thanked them for taking care of Katy like that. The three then pulled a chair out for him and got him a glass of tea as well.
No matter how much Callen tried to help with dinner or the setting of the table, he was turned down. Even after dinner they refused to let him help clean up. Callen and Katy sat back and watched the kids clear the table, Ana rinsed the dishes and Reggie loaded them into the dishwasher. Katy asked if the kids needed to finish any of their homework, but of course it was done. Twenty minutes later, they were all sitting in the living room chatting about what was new with Reggie and Ana's wedding plans. One by one, the kids disappeared into their rooms until it was time for them to bathe for bed. Katy was falling asleep, so they headed home for the night.
Like Callie had done so many times, Ying and Yang were howling at them at the door. They fed the cats and headed to their room for bed. Katy was debating on taking a bath, but knew it would put her right to sleep, but had other plans for the evening. She undressed, putting on a light linen low-cut night gown, got into bed and pulled her hair over her shoulder. Callen walked in, saw her neck exposed and smiled. Instead of doing what he wanted to do, he got in bed kissed her cheek and laid on his back.
"Good night, that's it?" Katy asked mildly perturbed.
"What I don't want to start something we can't finish."
"What do you mean we can't finish?" Katy asked rolling over to face him. "The doctor said nothing about us not having sex."
"I don't want to hurt the baby."
"We've done everything but actually have sex." Katy said putting her head on his chest.
"Believe me; it's not for a lack of want."
"Then why can't we have sex?" She asked putting her hand under his shirt, rubbing his chest.
"Katy, don't start something we can't finish." He said trying to block the sensations her touch invoked.
Katy pulled herself up on her elbow and smiled. The smile was one that would drive Callen to insanity, one that told him exactly how much she wanted him. He was successful in resisting until she leaned down and licked his ear. Callen let out a low groan when she sucked lightly on his earlobe. Quickly, he rolled Katy onto her back and kissed her. She sighed that sigh he loved so much. When the kiss broke, he trailed soft kisses down her neck to her collarbone. Katy wrapped herself around him tightly. It felt so good to be this close to her again, in spite of the baby between them; he could feel the heat and her breasts.
Slowly, he unbuttoned the nightgown and worked his way down to her breasts. Katy arched her back and moaned with the pleasure. Callen rubbed her belly and moved his hand lower. She opened herself more to him and raised her hips begging him for more. God, she just wanted to feel him. Within minutes, their pajamas were strewn on the floor. Callen asked if she was sure it wouldn't hurt the baby.
"Please Callen, please." She begged.
Ever so slowly, he pushed himself deeper and deeper into her until he was completely with her. He started slowly until Katy begged for more. Two hours later they lay tangled and breathless. Katy was cuddled into his side spent and on the verge of sleep. He pulled her close and kissed her head.
"I love you, Katy" he said softly.
"I love you too." She said looking up at him with a tired smile and sleepy eyes. "Thank you."
He kissed her head again. "You're very welcome."