Chapter 6 – A Saint's Past
Dave and Lincoln spend the better half of the day going over the case files from the previous murder. Dave sat on the leather couch next to Lincoln in the younger man's office and sifted through report after report of the gruesome crime that occurred 2 years ago. They read through the M.E.'s report as well as various statements from co-workers, friends and family members of Gabriel's. The case was strange enough to begin with, but as Dave got caught up on the events, things were becoming stranger by the minute. He occasionally looked at Lincoln, who was intently focused on the task at hand, not letting up on his work or engaging in any small talk. He noticed that Lincoln didn't seem bothered by any of the details they came across in the reports.
Dave cleared his throat and spoke.
"Linc?"
"Yeah Dave?" Lincoln put down his stack of files and turned his body towards the larger agent.
"What kind of cases have you previously worked on here? I mean aren't' you bothered about what's going on with this case?"
"Um..."
"Um what?" Dave asked quizzically.
"I'm not allowed to discuss my past cases with anyone who isn't authorized Dave..."
"But I'm an agent here aren't I? Doesn't that mean I'm authorized?"
"No not really. I mean we're partners and all but you're still on probation and everything. Also even if you weren't you still wouldn't be allowed to receive info on the case unless it is related to what we are currently working on."
"The rules here are fucking strict..." Dave sighed.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Lincoln said agreeing. He continued to read a witness statement when Dave interrupted him again.
"What about you then?"
"What about me Dave?"
"How did... someone like you end up working here? I mean what's your backstory?"
Lincoln hesitated for a brief moment.
"If it's OK with you...I'd rather not talk about it." Lincoln said quietly.
"Oh...OK." Dave said taken aback. He was curious as to why Lincoln didn't want to discuss talking about his beginnings in The Unit, but Dave respected his privacy and continued to work.
Dave hated reading witness statements. They were always full of unnecessary information and almost always were conflicting in some way to the other relating witness statements. After a good while of reading, the two men set the files down and contemplated what they had just learned.
"Well?" Dave asked a quiet Lincoln.
"This is just a mess. These statements really don't tell us anything.
Lincoln stood up and spoke. "We should go re-interview the witnesses and review the crime scene."
"Agreed." Dave said.
Both men got up from the couch, grabbed their coats and headed out the office. They headed upstairs to the parking garage and took Dave's SUV out.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"OK um I'm sorry but excuse me? What did you say?"
"I said can we have a moment of your time please?"
"And...you are again?"
"Ugh...the FBI ma'am. We are FBI agents here to ask you questions about Justin Gabriel."
"Hmm...can I see some identification please?"
Dave rubbed his temples as he became increasingly irritated by the petite brunette woman standing before him. Her name was Melina Perez, a short, but pretty built sassy Latina around 5'6" wearing nothing but a tight tank top and low-cut Daisy Dukes. On the night that Justin Gabriel died she had a dinner date setup with him. They weren't in a relationship but Lincoln and Dave found it prudent to interview her anyways as he may have mentioned something of importance to her prior to the incident.
She lived in a fairly rundown apartment complex on the west side of Los Angeles. She just got back from doing her laundry downstairs in the laundry room when the men approached her. She instantly gave Dave attitude and they got off to a rough start. He wasn't having any of it today.
Lincoln stepped in to defuse the situation that was brewing between her and Dave.
"Here's my identification." He chimed in as he grabbed his 'FBI Consultant' badge from his back pocket and showed it to a cautious Melina.
"I want to see HIS badge..." She said defiantly, staring directly into Dave's eyes and tilting her head to the side in a cocky fashion. He returned the intense stare as she began smacking on her watermelon flavored bubblegum and arrogantly blowing bubbles. She held on tightly to her laundry basket full of recently dried garments and tapped her feet lightly.
Dave grunted and reluctantly pulled out his badge. He practically shoved it into her face, to which she staggered back, her jaw dropping forward nearly causing her to lose her piece of chewing gum. She stared at it for a few moments before rolling her eyes.
"Looks fake but whatever. What do you want?"
Dave rolled his eyes and Lincoln spoke.
"Justin Gabriel. You two were going to go on a date the night of September 29th two years ago right?"
"Yeah I guess. It's been like 2 years so how can I remember something like that?
"Because he died after viciously murdering someone." Dave said curtly and annoyed. Melina rolled her eyes and focused her attention to Lincoln.
"Yes I remember him. He was really hot."
"Where did you two meet?" Dave asked.
"Excuse me but I'm talking to HIM, not YOU!" Melina replied pointing at Lincoln further annoying an already pissed off Dave.
"Fuck this..." Dave mumbled as he walked a few feet away from the 2.
"Please forgive my partner." He heard Lincoln pleading to her to further defuse the tension that had been built up.
'She's the one fucking around! Not me.' Dave thought to himself. He kept his back to them as they continued talking, watching the cars on the nearby street go by.
"Well ANYWAYS Justin and I met at this grocery market just around the corner. He was nice and sweet. He asked me out on a date and I said yes. 2 days later I hear he's dead. I waited like 3 hours at home waiting for him to pick me up but he stood me up!"
"Cause he was dead..." Lincoln replied. He now was beginning to see why Dave found this woman annoying. "Did he say or do anything unusual when you spoke to him?"
"Nope. He was normal as they come, a step up from my current boyfriend. He's such a fucking tool. I hate him."
'Can't imagine that you even HAVE a boyfriend.' Dave thought and snickered at his comment.
"Look I already did an interview like two years ago. Why are you guys here now?"
"The case has been reopened." Lincoln answered quickly.
"Oh. Well I guess I should be lucky he didn't murder me. I dodged a bullet for sure."
"Yeah... Well thank you for your time Ms. Perez. If you think of anything else you think might be helpful, please call us." Lincoln said as he handed Melina his card.
"Whatever." She said as she made her way inside her apartment and quickly slammed the door.
Lincoln signed and walked over to Dave who was shaking his head.
"This is going to be a great day..." He said laughing.
"Hush you." Lincoln replied.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Lincoln and Dave continued to interview several key people over the next few days. Each time, they got the same answers that were provided in the statements each person gave 2 years ago, with slight varying differences. Dave had transferred digital copies of the case files to his laptop and taken it home with him. He'd been re-reading everything over and over again, something he usually did with cases back at the Bureau. He wanted to know the case by heart, every aspect of it to see if he could spot something no one else did or could. He checked in with Lincoln every night to see if he had any ideas to which the psychic replied with a disappointing no.
He sat in his apartment on Thursday night alone and reviewed some of the newer witness statements and compared them to the older ones. He massaged his temples in frustration as he placed his laptop on the coffee table and leaned back into his couch.
"God I need a drink." He said half-heartily. Truth be told he really did need a drink. He was of course sober and didn't want to compromise what he'd worked hard for. He got up and headed to the fridge to get a bottle of V8 to calm his nerves. He poured himself a glass and returned to the couch. He took a hefty sip of the drink and placed the glass on the table.
He signed and scanned his apartment with wandering eyes. Dave was used to being and living alone, it was just who he was. He didn't have many friends and hardly kept in contact with family members. He was a loner. He walked alone. There was one person in Dave's life that he loved to be around, and that was Lincoln.
He began to think about Lincoln and wondered what he was doing at the moment. Lincoln and Dave frequently hung out after work at a small local park a few blocks from the Kelencine building, just contemplating about various things, mostly work. Dave frequently talked about his rehab, at Lincoln's request, and Lincoln was there to listen. He really appreciated the friendship that had developed between the 2 men, He treasured it.
Dave pondered the idea of calling Lincoln to ask him if he wanted to come over but quickly remembered that Lincoln mentioned something about going to the movies with John. Lincoln and John had been together for about 2 years now. Dave wasn't sure if that's how long Lincoln had been at The Unit or perhaps if it's John who join at that time but whatever the case they probably were close as 2 lovers could be. Dave observed various interactions with Lincoln and John and they seemed very elated to see one another on a daily basis; the way that they looked at one another, the way they held each other, the way Lincoln smiled when John made a joke or the way John blushed when Lincoln kissed him on the cheek.
Dave was envious of their relationship. He'd always longed for something like that, but never seemed to obtain it. He'd been in relationships before, with both with men and women, but they would fizzle out fast. The longest relationship Dave has been in lasted about 5 months with a man named Heath Slater. He was a perky and immature redhead who only seemed to be with Dave for sex, something that his colleague John knew all too well. Dave knew how Heath was but thought he could change him, he believed that his love would make Heath see the world differently. Dave seemed to think that he and Heath would be together for a long time, but that all changed after the incident between them a few years ago.
Dave was looking for something more than just a quick fuck. He wanted a lasting, meaningful relationship with someone genuine, someone he could call his soul mate. Seeing John and Lincoln together made him jealous, especially since John was partly to blame for the failed relationship between him and Heath. Ever since the two have had major tension for one another, their recent reunion 3 months ago sparking all the dormant anger that Dave had against John.
He shook himself out of deep thought and reached for his laptop when his phone ranged. He picked up the headset and answered.
"Hello?"
"Dave its Lincoln. I think I got something."
"What is it?" Dave asked as he stood up from the couch and walked over to the window.
"Well I was going over a statement from Gabriel's mother. At first I didn't see it but I noticed the investigator who worked on his case interview his mother and in her previous statement she mentioned something about Justin having sleep issues, like really bad insomnia or something. Then I remembered that one of Margie Hunningbern's co-workers said something about her having insomnia also and was being treated by some sleep specialist. Well then I remembered that Hunningbern's autopsy showed signs of exhaustion from chronic lack of deep sleep. Well anyways long story short I found out that both victims have Insomnia."
"And that's helpful how...?" Dave asked.
"Well they both were receiving treatment for their condition AND they were both being treated by the same Dr."
"Sounds like we got ourselves a connection."
...