Hey! Sorry it took me so long to update the story, I am currently going through the last few weeks of the semester and I have a load of work to do, so it might be a while before I make another update.
While the head of the Crime Scene Unit got the prints off the table, Eric and Chase were given the task to tail Connolly to see if he would lead them to Kelsey Strayer. Eric and Chase quietly made their way back to Eric's car which was two spots behind Connolly's car. The chilly autumn day turned into a spooky October night as they tailed Connolly all over town. Eric was just glad that Connolly made a stop at Wendy's since he hadn't eaten anything all day. He got a double cheeseburger and large fries while Chase got a baconator and dunked his fries in his frosty. As they drove to Connolly's house, the juicy bacon from Chase's burger dripped onto the beige carpet of Eric's car. Chase's face froze since he knew how obsessive Eric is about his car. He decides to ignore it and maybe Eric will not notice since he is busy digging out the last few crumbs in his fry box and sucking the crumbs off his fingers. Chase goes back to consuming the rest of his greasy and delicious burger.
"You're gonna clean that up." Eric said still digging crumbs out. Chase looked up at him surprised.
"How did you even see that?"
"You should know better, I have eagle eyes." Eric said in a you know better than that tone of voice. Chase looked at him out of the corner of his eye and tried to brush the grease of Eric's floor.
"What are you doing?" Eric asked mildly panicked.
"Cleaning up!"
"Were you raised in a barn? You're supposed to dab stains, not wipe them."
"Okay, never mind the stain." Chase said throwing the napkin in the paper food bag.
"What's our guest of honor up to?" Eric asked as he tried to slurp out more Dr. Pepper out of his soda cup. Chase pulled out his pair of binoculars and cleared his throat.
"It looks like he's getting ready for the apocalypse."
"What?"
"Well look at him, he's got enough guns to take out an army." Chase said. Eric got confused and worried. He sighs and says,
"What the hell are you up to?"
Back at the station Danny and Cassie are watching the print run through the Database. Cassie is getting impatient and sighs as she slouches her back against the long desk behind her. Danny is standing close to the screen crossing his arms determined to get a match. They both perked up when the computer screen dinged with a result.
"We got it! Captain, we got it!" Cassie yelled.
"What's he hiding?" the Captain asked.
"Oh my God!" Cassie said in disbelief.
"Who is it?" Danny asked.
"What?" Dalton asked impatiently.
"He's hiding his identity. I can not believe we didn't recognize him, it's Tobias Lowell. I arrested him six years ago when I was in uniform on a rape/murder charge."
"That explains why he knew we're cops."
"He's insanely dangerous, we need to get over and give Silas and Archer backup now!" She said running to get her things.
Back at the stakeout, Chase thought the car was getting hot so he rolled down the window to let the chilly air cool him down. He watches as who he thinks is Connolly go back into his town home.
"This stakeout is worse than last week's." Chase said as he laid his head on the head rest.
"You want me to sing a song?"
"Do you want me to punch you in the head?"Chase asked. Eric looked at Chase doubtingly then back at the house. "Do you think he went to bed?"
"Freaks don't sleep, they fantasize." Eric said. Unbeknownst to the two detectives, Lowell had caught onto to their tail and had a plan in mind. He snuck out his back patio with a glock in hand. He managed to get behind Eric's car and Tobias snuck up behind them and pointed his gun at Chase's shoulder. Chase was focusing on the house, so he did not even notice which was bad. Without a warning, Chase felt a burning sensation on the back of his shoulder so he put his hand on it and saw blood. Blood is pouring out of the back of his shoulder and he started wincing in pain which got Eric's attention.
"Are you re-enacting Custer's last stand? I appreciate the entertainment, but I'm not really into history." Eric said.
"Eric!" Chase said with pain in his voice. Eric looked back at him and saw the blood pooling in the seat.
"Whoa! What the hell happened?" he asked in shock as he reached over to hold pressure against the wound.
"I happened." Lowell said standing in front of the car aiming the glock at Eric. Eric ducked and drove the car out of their spot and to the hospital as fast as he could. He opened the glove box and threw some napkins to Chase to try and stop the bleeding, but the blood was spilling out fast. Chase is starting to get light headed. Eric keeps looking at his rearview mirror because Lowell is following them on his motorcycle. Just as they turned onto the street with the hospital, Eric finally bumped his sirens on and pulled his phone out to call his team.
"Danny! Connolly just shot Chase, we're on our way to the hospital."
"His name isn't Connolly, it's Tobias Lowell. Cass arrested him six years ago for rape and murder of a fourteen year old. Is Chase okay?"
"Why is he out of jail?" Eric yelled.
"He escaped from prison two years ago."
"I'll talk to you in a minute!" Eric said as screeched up to the Emergency entrance of the hospital and got out of the car as soon as he stopped it. He ran over to the other side of the car and helped Chase out. He grabbed his elbow covered in Chase's warm, thin blood and Chase put his arm around Eric's neck and Eric drug him through the doors of the chaotic Emergency Room.
"Hello? I need some help over here!" Eric yelled. A nurse runs away from a bed where a man large in stature is drunk and has a gash on his hand, presumably from the jagged glass of a beer bottle.
"Hey lady, where the hell do you think you are?" the large man badgered. She took her messy blue gloves off as she runs over to a bloodied Chase and Eric. She can not tell who is actually the one injured since both of the two are covered in blood.
"What's the problem?"
"He was shot on the job."
"You two are cops?" she asked. Eric quickly fished his badge out of his back pocket and showed the nurse. "Doctor!"
A doctor came running up to them a few moments later and in the same amount of time it took for Eric to blink his eye, Chase was being wheeled away to the Operating Room. Eric sighed and put his bloodied hand on his head distressed and turned around to see the rest of the team looking concerned.
"How bad?" Danny asked in a low tone. Eric held his bloodied hand on his head and sighed.
"I don't know. He lost a lot of blood."
"We got Lowell." Cassie said. Eric perked up at the good news and looked at her.
"How?"
"He crashed his motorcycle into a cop car."
"Moron. Sounds like his luck is running out."
"So is yours." a voice said behind them. The team turned and were shocked to see Mara Jasper in the hospital doorway.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Captain Dalton, your detectives have been relentlessly harassing my client. He was simply acting in self-defense to make the harassment stop." Jasper said in a snide remarking manner. Eric walks up to her to stare into her cold eyes.
"My partner was not a threat to him and neither was I."
"Mr. Connolly thinks different."
Eric looked at the team who were smirking and raising their eyebrows at Jasper.
"He didn't tell you did he?" Eric asked in amusement.
"Tell me what?"
"I arrested Tobias Lowell six years ago for the rape and murder of a fourteen year old girl."
"What does that have to do with my client?"
"Tobias Lowell is your client. Ms. Jasper. He escaped from prison two years ago. Ms. Jasper." Danny said. Jasper's face dropped from cocky to a hopeless expression. She knew that she was screwed since she has no standing argument against the department. She does not say anything, she just walks out to go back to the police station. Eric still with his arms crossed smiles at her and turns back to his team.
"Look guys I know we all want to be with Archer, but we still have to nail Lowell on these charges too. Mota, Leland, get back over to the house, I'll go with you." Captain Dalton said.
"And me?" Eric asked.
"Stay here keep us updated on Archer." Dalton said. Cassie follows Danny out to the car.
"Do you think maybe Lowell didn't do this?" Cassie asked.
"What do you mean? This guy is a psychopath!"
"I agree, but we've been fixated on him from the start." Cassie said as she gets in the car.
"You think we're getting tunnel vision." Danny says as he starts the car.
"What if we are?"
"Then what else do Riley Bayne and Kelsey Strayer have in common? They go to different schools, different friend circles, volleyball is the only thing connecting them." Danny said. Cassie thinks hard for a minute then her face lights up.
"They both live in the same school district!" she says excitedly.
"Meaning what?"
"They could share a bus driver." Cassie said. Danny realizes she could be right.
"You know if my memory serves me right, Riley Bayne lived on the middle of 37th."
"That could put her either in Glover Park or Georgetown."
"That maybe why we didn't see an initial connection."
"And because parent's don't usually know who their kid rides the bus with. I'll check it out when we get back to the station." Cassie said.
"No I'll do it. I bet you probably want a run at your old friend."
She smiled and said,
"You know me all to well"
Danny smiled at her. Once they are back at the station house, Danny checks out the possibility that they maybe looking at the wrong guy while Cassie chats with her old friend. She looks over the old file for a few minutes before walking into the interrogation room.
"So who's Logan Connolly? I'm sure you didn't think up that name on your own." Cassie said tauntingly. She is trying to make him mad, just as she did before six years ago. He gives her an angry look.
"My client was not given proper medical attention due to the accident."
"Your client was medically cleared now answer the question." Cassie said. Lowell rubbed his shoulder and glared at her.
"I heard that you have a new suspect. Why don't you go talk to him instead?"
"Oh come on Tobias, don't you want to chat?"
"I didn't kidnap anyone." he said as he is slumped over in his chair.
"Alright listen, you're already going back to prison, so why don't you just give it up." Cassie said. Jasper brushed her brown bangs back and sat up in her chair.
"If he says he didn't do it, then he didn't do it."
"You clearly have never been a cop. You really want me to just take his word?"
Cassie asked looking her in the eye. Their apparent staring contest is interrupted by a knock on the window. Cassie's waist lifted her upper body off the the table as she walked out of the room and slammed the heavy door to the viewing room where Danny was waiting.
"What's up?"
"They have the same bus driver! His name is Foster Knowles." Danny said excitedly.
"What do you got on him?"
"His juvy record has him on a couple of underage drinking charges and an assault. He was dishonorably discharged from the Marines two years ago for Disorderly Conduct. He punched his Commanding Officer when he decided to defy orders."
"He sounds like he has some trouble with authority." Cassie said.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go pick him up." Danny said in a hurry.
"What are we going to do with Mister Dumb Ass in there?"
"Send him to Sussex and let's go!"
"Where are you two going?" Dalton asked as they gathered their badge and gun to go out.
"Chase down a new lead."
"Fill me in first."
"Foster Knowles, he was dishonorably discharged from the Marines two years ago."
"He's Riley and Kelsey's bus driver." Danny said as he handed Dalton the file. Dalton shook his head as he read the file.
"Gives him plenty of access to young girls."
"Exactly, we're going to go pick him up."
"You really think he's going to be home if he is our guy?"
"It's worth a shot."
"I'm going to call NCIS and get a full background on this guy." Dalton said as he walked into his office.
