The characters of Lewis, Hathaway, Dr. Hobson and Superintendent Innocent belong to Colin Dexter and/or ITV. I merely borrow them so they can solve another crime. All other appearing characters are my creation and completely fictional. Similarities to any existent persons are not intended.
This story was written to 10 prompts I was given at the livejournal community 10_random for the fandom Lewis with the characters of Lewis and Hathaway. I'm using the prompts as titles for the chapters.
Detective Inspector Lewis put his half-empty wine glass down on the table and reached for his ringing mobile. Only one person was likely to call at this odd hour so he didn't bother to look at the display and just pressed the button to accept the call.
"What is it, Hathaway?"
"You'd never guess, Sir. A body."
"Yeah, I never would have guessed that." He sighed. "Where?"
"Balliol College, the great assembly hall. You can't miss it."
Lewis quickly went through the colleges in his mind to come up with a location for the place before another thought struck him.
"If you need me there, have someone pick me up. I've had wine with dinner, I'm not getting behind the wheel any more today."
Hathaway hesitated for a moment. "If you're not up to it..."
"I'm not drunk. I just don't want to risk driving any more, OK? Just have someone pick me up."
"Yes, Sir."
Lewis ended the call, emptied his wine glass and grabbed his tie from where he had dropped it over the back of his couch.
Ten minutes later a young PC rang his doorbell and a police car waited at the curb outside Lewis' place. The young man delivered Lewis to the college in record time as traffic was light this late in the evening.
Detective Sergeant Hathaway was waiting for him outside the building, or maybe he had just come out to smoke, Lewis mused..
"What have you got?" Lewis asked instead of a greeting as Hathaway ground out his cigarette and led the Inspector into the hall. They had only parted ways a couple of hours earlier so they both skipped formalities like greetings.
"Vicky Martin, 28 years old, Ph. D. student of Psychological Science here at Balliol College. She got dizzy, staggered around for a bit and finally fell, hitting her head badly on the corner of a table. She was dead before the paramedics arrived."
Lewis looked at him quizzically. "You called me out for an accident?"
"It's suspicious. Miss Martin was seen repeatedly taking pills throughout the evening, the last time shortly before the accident."
Lewis nodded as he scanned the big hall. A buffet was on one side, there were long rows of tables as well as a small stage and what looked like a space left free as a dance floor. "And just what was going on here?"
"Fund rising ball for the college. Food, drinks, music and dancing as well as the presentation of some very promising students to show off the quality of the college. Alumni and other possible sponsors were attending."
Lewis gaze fell on several groups of people standing or sitting together, talking quietly. Others, admittedly mostly women, sat with an expression of shock on their faces, staring into the distance.
There was a big gap in the middle of the tables where the uniformed colleagues had cordoned off the area of the accident. He could make out the head of Dr. Hobson in the middle of the area and strode over to greet her. She looked up when she caught the movement out of the corner of her eye.
"Evening, Inspector."
Lewis noticed she was wearing make-up and he could make out a pearl necklace in the collar of her overall. He nodded at her in greeting. "Did they make you dress up to be allowed in here?"
She ignored his bad joke. "She died from the head injury sustained when she bashed her head on the corner of that table." She pointed at a table close by that indeed had a bloody edge. "However, she is said to have taken some pills before and I found these in her handbag." She held up a small pill box in a clear plastic bag. "She told the ladies over there they're antihistamines, but there's no pack for them in her bag so I'll take them along and check them out. I can tell you more tomorrow."
"Antihistamines and drinking? Not the best combination, is it?"
"No, but the reaction she's described to have been showing is a bit over the top for an antihistamines/alcohol mix."
Lewis nodded slowly. "With all these people around I suppose I won't need you to tell me the time of death."
Hathaway had been standing behind his superior, listening in. "You don't. She died at 21:53."
Lewis turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "That's the most exact time of death I've heard in a long time."
"There is a medical student here who tried to save her. However there was nothing he could do but state her death and note the time. Her injury was too severe."
"I'd like to speak to him anyway."
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