Guide Her

Grasping for Salvation

*District 21: Bullpen*

"Alright, what do we got on the victim?" Hank inquired as he walked in with Ana at his side.

"Richard Dowd, he went by Richie. He was a senior at Lakeside." Jay informed from his desk, handing the older man a picture once he was close enough to recieve it. "Captain of the lacrosse team and winner of the dean's award for academic excellence."

"Any priors?" Ana wondered, looking at the picture of a white male in a red shirt over her husband's shoulder.

"Not unless getting early admission to Yale is a crime these days." The male Detective replied, leaning back in his chair.

"Okay, I'll tell him." Erin nodded, hanging up her desk phone and turning to Hank. "That was Maury down in Ballistics. He says that when the techs turned Dowd over, a bullet fell out of his hoodie."

"Run down, check it out." The older man ordered.

"Maury says he wants to speak to you in person." She explained.

"Right." Hank murmured, sharing a look with his wife. "Run point till we get back."

And with that, the two Voights walked back in the direction came.

*Ballistics Headquarters (or whatever it's called)*

"Hey, Maury." Hank greeted, holding the door open for his wife and closing it behind them.

"Oh, Hank, uh, thanks for coming. I. . ." He trailed off with a sigh, gesturing for them to walk over to his desk while giving Ana a slight nod in acknowledgement.

They'd been around each other enough for Maury to understand the brunette's selective muteness but not enough for her to talk in front of or to him.

"What's up?" The older man wondered once they were close enough.

"Um, uh, first off, your DOA from this morning was killed with the .22 recovered on the scene. Okay. I ran it through IBID, the gun, the wound, the round, they all match up." Maury assured, releasing a breath before continuing. "But here's the thing, it also matches up perfectly to a case that you worked 17 years ago."

"Right, what case?" Hank inquired.

"The Ruffalo murder in Bridgeport." Maury replied, solemnly.

"No, that's impossible." The older man shook his head in disblief while Ana stood there, confused. "We recovered that murder weapon from the shooter's home."

"I went over the report 6 times before I called." Maury retorted. "17 years ago, you recovered a gun that was the same caliber, make and model. But the bullet itself was too disfigured for a conclusive ID. Luckily, microscopy's gotten a little better since then. So I pulled the original slug and I tested it against the one in the killing today. The ballistic markings, they're identical. Six lands with a right hand twist." He explained, using the computer to show him a 3D model of both bullets.

"The guy we put away for the Ruffalo murder is doing life at Stateville." Hank pointed out.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but ballistics don't lie. You had the wrong gun." Maury insisted, firmly.

*Inside SUV*

The couple drove in silence for a while till Ana eventually spoke up.

"How come this is the first I'm hearing of the Ruffalo murder?" Ana inquired, still very confused about everything.

"It happend during one of your longer visits to 51." Hank replied, keeping his eyes on the road. "I was working with Denny Woods at the time."

"Is that who we're going to see?" The brunette wondered as they pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant.