Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All NY characters belong to the writers of the show.

Mac woke at 5am the next morning, having barely slept. Every time he closed his eyes, images ran through his mind. A car, hitting Lindsay. Lindsay's body in that hospital room. Danny's face. Various memories of Lindsay at the lab and with Danny and Lucy interspersed with images real and imagined of her body after she had been run down. these were interspersed with his own memories - the second plane hitting the South Tower, him screaming Claire's name as the line went dead on her end.

He heaved himself out of bed. In the living room, everyone else was still asleep, slumped on the floor or on his chair and couch. Mac wearily shaved and brushed his teeth, then headed into the kitchen. Christine was there, brewing a large pot of coffee, and just putting strips of bacon into a frying pan.

He walked over and kissed the back of her neck.

'You don't have to do this. There's a diner across the street.'

As the bacon began to sizzle, she turned to him, running her fingers along his freshly shaven jawline in a gesture comforting in it's easy familiarity and intimacy.

'I want to. You're the cop, Mac. You can find out who killed Lindsay, and make them pay. You're their boss, the one they're going to look to for guidance. And more than any of them, even Don, you're going to be the one Danny is going to be looking to for understanding and whatever else he needs. But Lindsay was my friend, too, they all are, and more important, they're your family, and I want to be able to do something for them, just like you did for my family after Stephen was killed. So, breakfast burritos and good strong coffee all around it is. Besides, I know you won't eat unless I make you.'

Mac smiled, and hugged her.

'Thank you,' he said, seriously, 'I really do appreciate this.'

She nodded.

'Why don't you go start getting people woken up? Don snores like a bulldozer, by the way. I don't know how Jaime puts up with it.'

Mac chuckled.

'Talking of Don, how many burritos are you making for everyone?'

'Two each.'

'Better make three for Don, you know how he eats.'

'Right, I'd forgotten. Do you think Danny will want to eat?'

Mac shrugged.

'Probably not, but make two for him anyway.'

'Okay. I have some Count Chocula for Lucy.'

'Why don't I ever get to have Count Chocula when you're over here?'

'Because it's supposed to be for kids, Mac.'

He pulled a face at her.

In this quiet moment, it was almost possible to forget the days that lay ahead of them. Almost. Lindsay's absence still surrounded them, glaring and undeniable. Mac especially hated that he had all to clear an idea of how today would be for Danny. When he first woke up, there'd be those few precious moments when everything would seem normal. Then he'd remember, and his world would shatter around him.

'Thinking about Danny?' Christine asked.

'Yes, I wish...I wish somehow I could make it different. You know what it's going to be like for him.'

'I do. But he has you, and Don, and the others, and he has Lucy. Even more than all of you, it'll be Lucy that gets him through this.'

'I hope so.'

'Me too. Now, out of my kitchen, I have to make breakfast for nine people.'

xxxxxx

Danny emerged from the spare room just as Mac had finished waking everyone up. He heard Jo's sharp intake of breath beside him. She looked shocked, as did everyone else, except for Don, and, Mac suspected, himself. Because neither of them were shocked by the look of raw grief mixed with exhaustion and shock on Danny's face, the utterly defeated slump of not just his shoulders, but his entire body. The look on Don's face was one of sad, knowing recognition, and Mac felt the same. The look on Danny's face was the one he'd seen on Don's after Jess Angell was killed, and the one he'd seen on his own face - not the days after 9/11, but the days after the one when he'd finally been forced to give up on searching for Claire, on any hope of finding her alive.

'You're all here?' Danny managed at last.

'Of course. We wouldn't be anywhere else, Danno,' Don said.

Danny's head dropped, and he wiped at his eyes.

'Thanks, guys,' he said, his voice choked, 'It means a lot.'

There was an awkward silence then until Mac asked, gently,

'How's Lucy?'

'Still sleeping. I...I haven't told her...yet. I just said...that her Mom was hurt and can't be here right now.'

'You have to tell her, Danny,' Hawkes said, and Mac winced at the slightly preachy tone in Hawkes' voice. He knew Sheldon meant well, but that wasn't what Danny needed to hear.

'Yeah, I know that, Sheldon. I'm not fucking stupid.' Danny snapped, glaring at him.

'I just...'

'Well don't 'just'!'

Jo stepped in before Mac had to.

'Danny, why don't you go get cleaned up, and get Lucy up and ready. Then we can all have breakfast, and we can head to the lab and get started on finding the bastard who killed Lindsay. If you want to come along to the lab, you can. Even though you can't work directly on the case, I'm sure Mac will find some way to keep you involved, if that's what you want. He's good at sneaking past rules like that. Or Don can drop you guys home, or someplace else.'

Danny's anger vanished, and he looked at Jo gratefully.

'I think it would do Lucy good to go home. Can I drop by the lab later, Mac? I won't get in the way, I promise. I just...I don't want to be in the apartment all day. Not when...not without Lindsay.'

Mac nodded.

'Of course you can come by, Danny. You'll be kept updated on every single development in the case. I need for you to tell us what you remember about last night, when you're ready. It'll be horrible, I know, but we need your help.'

Danny nodded, and seemed to stand a little straighter now, as though Jo and Mac had given him some kind of purpose, something to focus on.

'I can do that. I'm gonna get cleaned up.'

'Thanks for stepping in there, Jo,' Mac said, once he'd helped Christine serve coffee to everyone.

'No problem. It shouldn't be you who has to be responsible for all of us all the time, Mac. I might have a little word with Sheldon later about thinking before he speaks.'

Mac nodded.

'Yeah, thanks.'

'So what do we do now?'

'Have breakfast, then you, Sid, Adam, and Sheldon head to the lab. I'll wait here with Don until Danny and Lucy are ready to go. Don can drop them off at Danny's place, and I'll come to the lab, and we'll run through what we're going to do to get the bastard who killed Lindsay. Before I get there, can you sort out telling everyone else at the lab what happened, and dealing with any early calls we get from the brass or the press? It's not going to take long for this to hit the news, and I want the bastard who did this to know we're coming for them.'

Jo nodded, and patted his arm.

'I'll do all that. Also, if Danny needs a place to stay, Don and I both have he needs some time away from his apartment, he can come to us as well as here. You and Christine need your alone time.'

Mac smiled at her, incredibly grateful at her simple understanding and the way she'd effortlessly taken some of the burden of looking out for Danny off his shoulders without him even having to ask, and without making him feel bad for wanting some completely private time with Christine.

'Thanks,'

'No problem, Mac. Lord knows the only thing I'm looking forward to right now is spending time with my kids.'

xxxxxxxxx

An hour later, Mac stood at the head of the conference table at the lab. Don, Jo, Adam, Sheldon, and Sid sat at the table, tense and quiet. The two seats usually occupied by Danny and Lindsay were glaringly empty, and Mac made a point of not looking at them.

He cleared his throat.

'Right,' he said, 'We've all been through hell these last few hours. We've lost one of our own, and we need to grieve for her, but right now isn't the time for that. Right now, we need to do what we do best, and that is to solve this case. We're not just doing it for us, we're doing it for Lindsay, Danny, and Lucy. We're doing it to show the city out there that we will not rest until the killer is found, and to show the killer themselves that there is no hope of escaping what they did, that there's no place in the city they can hide, that we will find them and that they will pay.'

Nods around the table as the others sat up straighter, became more focused on Mac.

'All right, this is what we know. Lindsay was hit outside a restaurant where Danny and she went for a meal. Don, I want you and Adam to head out to the scene. Start interviewing witnesses who worked at the businesses on the same street as the restaurant , and collect every single piece of security footage from the area that you can - Don, pull any strings you need to to get warrants for that if necessary. Adam, once you've got the footage, I want you back here, analyzing it. Sheldon, I want you to go to the hospital and talk to the paramedics who responded to the scene, and the ER staff. Get as much information as you can from the paramedics about the scene, anything they noticed, and how the call went down As soon as you have a time scale for what happened, let Adam know so he has a better idea of what time slot to focus on when he's looking at the security footage. Sid, what time is Lindsay's autopsy scheduled?'

'As soon as I'm done here,' Sid said.

'All right. Let me know what you find. Take care of her, Sid.'

Sid nodded.

'Jo, you and I are going to process the scene, see what trace we can find of the perp's car, and we'll split the witness interviews with Adam and Don as well. Our priorities are to identify the vehicle used and find it, and hopefully begin to do the same with our perp. We also need to find out whether this was some kind of horrible accident, and our perp just got scared and ran, or if it was deliberate. Right now, this case is the only one this lab is handling, and all of us in this room are the key team on it. Is that okay with everyone?'

'Got it, boss Let's get the bastard.' Adam said, and the others nodded.

xxxxx

As they drove out to the scene, behind Don's car, Jo said,

'Mac Taylor, you are a wonderful leader. You were...well, awe-inspiring in that conference room. No wonder you've got all those medals from the Marines.'

'I just did my job, what needed to be done.'

'Oh no, it was more than that. You pulled us together, Mac, you gave us some kind of hope. We'd all have followed you through the gates of hell after that, not that we wouldn't normally, of course.'

Mac nodded.

'Thanks, Jo. I just want to get us all through this in one piece, and I want to bring whoever killed Lindsay in as fast as possible. The idea that they're probably wandering around somewhere in the city, free, while she's in the morgue...it makes me...'

He clenched the wheel hard, knuckles whitening, as white hot fury flooded him.

'I know,' Jo said, simply, 'Me too.'

They arrived at the scene, which had been cordoned off. While Don and Adam began heading into the various stores and other businesses on the street, Mac and Jo approached the crime scene tape.

'Detectives,' the young uniform cop greeted them, 'I heard about Detective Messer. I'm real sorry, and I hope you find the shitbag who did it.'

'We will,' Jo said.

'I'll keep the gawkers and the vultures out of your way,' the young cop said, indicating the gaggle of curious civilians and the few reporters gathered around. As Mac and Jo stepped under the tape, the reporters started shouting questions, which they ignored.

Together, they began to process the scene.

'This looks like the place where the car first hit Lindsay,' Jo said, 'See how these tyre marks lead up to it? And there's glass and flecks of paint here.'

She bent and started to gather samples of glass, paint, and rubber. Mac surveyed the scene, forcing himself to focus on the blood not far from where Jo was crouched. Lindsay's. He shut his eyes briefly. There was a lot of it.

'This...this is where she...where she would have landed,' he said, quietly, his voice seeming to catch in his throat before the words actually managed to come out. He swallowed back bile. 'Notice how there's some distance between where she landed and where she was hit. She was thrown some yards. That means the car was probably going rubber trace from the wheels also indicates that the car was going at some speed, though we'll have to wait for witness accounts and the autopsy results to confirm both how fast the vehicle was going and whether it was simply out of control or heading deliberately for Lindsay.'

Jo came to stand beside him.

'Paint flecks are dark red,' she said, 'So we know what colour car we're looking for. Tyre tracks suggest a medium sized vehicle. After the place where the car hit her, the tracks accelerate away down the street, see? North.'

Mac nodded.

'Once we've ID'd the vehicle, we'll get further security footage from the businesses down that way, find out where it went afterwards. I suspect our perp dumped it, so hopefully it will turn up.'

Jo nodded.

They finished processing the scene over the next hour, and then headed into the restaurant where Danny and Lindsay had eaten.

As well as getting the footage from two cameras out front of the restaurant, they also discovered one of the employees, a young waiter named Federico, had witnessed the entire incident.

'I was in the alley, taking a smoke break,' he said, 'The one down the side of the restaurant? I was facing the street. I saw the two of them come out. I remembered them because they were on one of my tables. They were laughing. The street wasn't too busy. The lady stepped out into the street and held up her hand for a cab. Then, this other car, it came like a bat out of hell, right fucking at her, man, and it hit her, and she went up on the hood and hit the windscreen and then flew off. God, it was horrible. I never want to see anything like that again. God help me.' He crossed himself.

'You say the car came 'right at her', ' Mac said, 'Are you sure?'

'Oh, yeah, man. Like an arrow.' Federico moved his arm in a fast forward gesture, demonstrating.

'Did you think the driver was drunk, or under the influence of drugs? Was the car out of control?'

'No, man. I'd say the driver was stone cold sober. I've seen drunk drivers before, and they're all over the place, but this time, it came straight at this lady, the one who died. God, the sound when it hit her.'

'What colour was the car?'

'Dark red. Tinted windows. A Chevy. Blazer, I think.'

'Did you get a plate number?'

'No, it was going too fast.'

'Did you see where it went afterwards?' Jo asked.

'No, I was on my cell dialing 911.'

'Okay, thanks a lot,' Mac said. 'Call us if you remember anything else, even the tiniest detail, okay? I don't suppose you got a look at the driver?'

The waiter shook his head.

'Nope. Like I said, the windows were tinted, and it was going real fast.'

xxxx

An hour later, Mac and Jo met up with Adam and Don. All the interviews they'd done had turned up similar results - a dark red car, driving fast. There were some discrepancies, but those details were the same.

'Good,we're getting somewhere. Adam, get back to the lab and start processing the footage, can you? Don, can you and Jaime start working up a profile on the vehicle we're looking for? See if you can turn up any reports of dark red Chevys being stolen over the last week or so. I hate to say it, but right now it sounds like this was deliberate, which probably means our perp didn't use their own vehicle. Get some unis out looking for any dumped cars matching the basic description we have. Adam, contact Don the second you have any further details on the car, okay?'

'Got it, Mac,' Don said.

'On it, boss,' said Adam, taking the security video discs Mac and Jo had gathered from their interviews and heading with Don for his vehicle.

'Let's get back to the lab,' Mac said, 'Can you start processing the evidence from the scene?'

'Sure. What are you going to do?'

Mac sighed.

'Call Lindsay's dad, Danny asked if I would do it this morning. He can't face doing it himself. He's focusing on how he's going to tell Lucy. I'm also going to start working on a possible list of suspects. I'm thinking it's someone with a particular grudge against Lindsay, or Danny. That this was personal.'

xxx

Mac sat in his office and closed his eyes as the ringing of the phone sounded in his ear.

It was picked up at the other end.

'Robert Monroe here,' a gruff voice said.

'Mr Monroe...it's Mac Taylor. Lindsay's boss.'

'Oh, God. Oh, no. What happened? What's wrong with Lindsay? Is she okay? Or is it Lucy?'

Mac swallowed.

'Mr Monroe...Robert. I...I'm sorry to tell you, Lindsay...died last night.'

He expected anger, or denials, but Robert Monroe asked, his voice so quiet Mac could barely hear him,

'How? Tell me how.'

'It was a hit and run. Lindsay died on the way to the hospital. I'm afraid we don't have much more information at the moment.'

'Oh, God, no. My little girl. My little Lindsay. Oh, Jesus.'

'We will find who did this, Robert, and they will pay.'

'I know you will. I'm going to come down there, see Lucy. When...um, when will there be a funeral?'

'Our M.E. plans to have Lindsay released as soon as possible,' Mac said.

'That's good. God help me, you're not supposed to live out your kids. Lindsay was supposed to bury me. I already lost her mother, and now...now...I'm sorry, I have to go.'

Monroe was audibly weeping now.

'Of course. Call me if you need anything, Robert. I can't tell you how sorry I am, how much we'll miss her.'

'You don't need to. I know. Thank you, Mac.'

Monroe hung up.

Mac sighed and cursed under his breath. He hatedthese calls, and after Aiden's death he'd hoped he'd never have to make one again. He'd made enough similar notifications in his Marine days, and they never got any easier.

He reached for the phone again, and dialed a second number.

'Stella Bonasera speaking,'

'Stella, it's Mac,'

'Mac! Hi! It's been ages since I heard from you. How is everyone?'

'Stella, Lindsay was killed last night.'

'What? Mac...what?'

He filled her in.

'Oh, Mac, no. How are Danny and Lucy?'

'Danny's a mess, of course. He hasn't told Lucy yet, as far as I know.'

'Oh, god. How's the case going?'

'We're making a little progress, and by the end of today, I'm hoping to have an id on at least the vehicle, then we can start going after the perp.'

'Good. You get back to the case, Mac. Will you let me know when the funeral is? I want to be there.'

'Of course.'

'Take care of the others, Mac. And take care of yourself. Find who killed Lindsay.'

'I will. You take care too, Stella. I'll call you with the funeral arrangements.'

Once he'd hung up, Mac stood and crossed to the board he kept in his office. He began to write down the evidence they had so far, and the names of potential suspects he could recall, those perps from past cases who stood out, to him at least, as having particular grudges against either of the Messers. He drew up brief profiles, including photos, for Sonny Sassone and Michael Elgers. He also included Shane Casey and Daniel Katums. they were both dead, but perhaps a family member or friend held a grudge on their behalf.

About half an hour passed before he heard a knock on his office door. He turned. Sid stood in the doorway, looking every year of his age and time in the M.E.'s office, and then some.

'I just finished with Lindsay,' he said, 'I thought I'd come straight here with the results. I needed some air, and I didn't want to go over the results at the morgue.'

Mac nodded.

'Take a seat, Sid.'

Sid sat on the couch, and Mac sat next to him.

'I'll get my typed report to you later today. I can tell you the results now, though. It's...it's pretty grim, Mac.'

Mac simply nodded.

'Tell me.'

Sid sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

'Lindsay's primary CoD was an open skull fracture, which was unfortunately just part of the massive head injury she suffered, along with multiple head lacerations, and severe internal injury. These injuries, as well as causing massive blood loss, would have caused increasing pressure on her brain, which in turn would have caused her considerable respiratory issues. She would have lost consciousness and stopped breathing very quickly. She also suffered fractures of her tibula and fibula below the knee, pretty horrific ones. But ultimately, it was the open skull fracture and the consequent effects of it that killed her. Sheldon will likely confirm this, but after an injury that severe, there'd have been very little the paramedics or doctors could have done to save her life.'

Mac closed his eyes against the images Sid's words conjured.

'Evidence at the scene, and witness accounts, suggest the car was going fast,' he said.

Sid nodded, and scowled.

'Yes. These kind of injuries are consistent with a vehicle traveling at about 45 to 50 miles per hour. The bruising and her leg injuries suggest that the vehicle hit her fully, not at a glance or a swipe. Her injuries also suggest she was turned slightly facing the car. She saw it coming, Mac. I found traces of windscreen glass and red flecks of paint on her body, hair and clothes. You'll have to confirm all this with other evidence of course, but I think the vehicle was probably heading directly for her, at considerable speed. It hit her, and she would have been thrown up onto the hood and then likely several yards away. Whether she'd have been conscious at all after that, or for how long, I can't tell, but her injuries were horrific, Mac. It's one of the worst hit and run cases I've seen.'

Mac nodded, numbly. Both men sat in silence for a while.

'I hate this world, sometimes, Mac,' Sid said, wearily.

'I know. I do, too.' he replied.

xxx

Later that day, Mac gathered the team in the conference room once more.

'What have we got?' he asked.

'I checked the footage from the security cameras,' Adam said. 'I got an ID on the vehicle. It's a dark red Chevy Blazer, license plate ACX 4561. The footage shows...well, it shows the bastard waiting just down the street from the restaurant, and then heading straight for Lindsay at about 45 miles per hour, There's no doubt that the driver was deliberately gunning for her, it wasn't an accident. I tried to get a look at the bastard, but the windows are tinted.'

'Good work, Adam,' Mac said. 'Don?'

'Once Adam had the plate number, Jaime ran it through the system. Turns out the car was stolen from a parking garage two days ago. Owner is a Francis Meaney. Jaime's tracking him down now, though I doubt he's our perp. He's a financial adviser and only got back into town on the red-eye from Cincinnati yesterday.'

Mac nodded.

'Still, we need to get him officially eliminated. Have we found the car yet?

'No, but I have every uniform I could get my hands on looking for it,'

'Good. Sheldon?'

'I spoke to the paramedics who responded to the scene. Lindsay was unconscious when they reached the scene, but she still had a pulse. They did what they could to stabilize her, and got her into the truck. They were almost at the hospital when she went into full cardiac arrest. They continued working her until they got to the ER, and it was the staff there who made the DOA call. They hated to do it, but the doctor I spoke to said there was nothing they could do. She had an open skull fracture and severe internal head injuries. It was too much. Just too much. Even if it had happened right outside the hospital itself, they'd have had a fight to save her. They were all amazed she was even still alive when the paramedics reached the scene, and that she held on as long as she did on the way to the hospital.'

'She was a fighter,' Jo said, softly.

No one in the room was able to speak. Mac felt a kind of furious helplessness and fresh grief engulf him, and saw it fall over the others, too. The ring of Don's cell phone shattered the devastated silence.

'Flack,' he responded, 'This better be something good.'

His eyes sparked seconds later, and he actually stood up so fast from his chair that it fell to the floor.

'What? Where? You're sure? Bring it straight to the evidence garage. Now.'

He hung up. Everyone was looking at him, but it was Mac's eyes that Don met, to him that he said,

'A couple of unis just found the car, Mac. It's being brought in as we speak.'

xxxx

Note: Okay, guys, so there's Chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.