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Chapter Two
Another piece, another puzzle
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"You're up early," Danny remarked, walking up to Flack, who stood over another body."
Don made a face. "Another day, another body."
"You know, we got to stop meeting like this," Lindsay said with a mischievous smile as she walked up to them, camera in hand.
An amused Flack threw her a glance. "Why? You brought your husband, nothing is going to happen."
"Oh, come on," Danny sighed, as he knelt down by the body of a young woman clad in jacket and slacks.
"What?" Flack asked. Both he and Lindsay walked over to him.
Danny had turned the victim around so that she was lying on her back. Blood was smeared on her shirt, hands and chin, and it also ran from her ears and nose.
"Don't tell me it's another one?" Flack said, afraid he already knew the answer.
"Most likely the same cause of death. The bleedings are almost identical to John Barns," Danny gently turned the victim's head back and forth to indicate the bleedings before looking up at his wife and friend with a grim look on his face. "Yeah, Mac's not going to be happy."
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"What do we have?" Mac asked, walking through the door to the conference room several hours later.
"More questions than answers, I'm afraid," Stella offered.
"When I left, Sid was still working with the body; he said he would join us later," Sheldon said as he leaned over the table to grab a printed picture of the Jane Doe. "But he's almost certain that this woman was murdered with the same poison as the zoo keeper, John Barns.
Hawkes saw the grim looks around the table, and he didn't like it either. The fact that it was the same method made it very possible they could be dealing with a new serial killer. Shaking off the bad feeling, he continued. "However, there is another little detail to this one that we didn't find when processing at Grand Central Station." He nodded at Lindsay who called up a picture of a tranquilizer gun.
"Isn't that something used to tranquilize larger animals at the zoo?" Adam asked curiously.
The former ME nodded, but it was Danny who answered the question. "Actually, Adam, you're right on the spot."
The lab tech beamed proudly, and Danny couldn't help but to shake his head at him as he continued. "As with John Barns we found a needle mark on our DB. This time at the right shoulder blade," he pointed at a picture Sid had taken showing the little mark where a needle had pierced the skin.
"That wasn't the only thing we found this time," Hawkes said, getting up from his chair and walking over to the screen as another picture, courtesy of Lindsay, materialized next to the tranquilizer gun.
He pointed at the screen. "This is a dart, or a ballistic syringe, loaded with an immobilizing agent and a needle, hence the mark on our Jane Doe's skin."
Mac leaned back on his chair and looked at the picture behind Hawkes. "A tranquilizer gun is mainly used to temporarily sedate large animals at the zoo," he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Sheldon nodded, "The agent can be used as a sedative, an anesthetic or a paralytic," he explained.
"Actually," Adam began with a smug look on his face, "This way of immobilizing animals and, to some extent, even humans, has been used for thousands of years. But this type of gun, the modern tranquilizer gun used in zoo's today, was invented in the 1950's."
"Well, sound like someone has been researching," Danny said.
"The gun uses compressed gas to propel the dart away and the little tuft at the back of it is used to stabilize it during flight," Mac explained.
Sheldon turned around to briefly look at the picture of the gun before speaking again, "The small amount of poison that I managed to retrieve from the dart only raises more questions, I'm afraid."
"What do you mean?" Stella asked.
"I ran it through the GC/MS and found none of the tranquilizer normally used in a tranquilizer dart," Sheldon answered.
"What about the military? Do they perform any tests with tranquilizing guns on humans?" Stella wondered.
Mac leaned back in his chair, thinking about it for a moment, "Even if they did, you wouldn't find the types of agents they use at the zoo. Most of the drugs used would kill a human within minutes."
"Unless you deliver the antidote immediately," Sheldon added, looking at Mac.
The head CSI nodded and turned to his partner. "Stella," he said, "Run a DARPA search for military use of tranquilizers, see if they're working on any new poisons."
"Mac, you can't believe they are experimenting with that kind of things," Danny said.
"I intend to find out," Mac replied. "Danny what did you find out at the Zoo?"
"I had a chat with a Mr. Charles Robinson, the head veterinarian at the Central Park Zoo. He said it's not uncommon for this type of tranquilizers to be taken," Danny answered.
"Taken?" Lindsay asked, "Why would you take a thing like that?"
"Beats me," Stella said.
"Maybe the guy had a problem with his dog?" Adam offered.
Mac glared at him, "Not funny, Adam."
"Sorry, Boss," Adam apologized.
"Is there any apparent connection between the two victims?" Mac asked, ignoring the sulking lab tech.
"None that we now of at the moment, the woman is still Jane Doe," Stella replied.
There was knock on the door and Dr. Hammerback walked in. "Sorry I'm late, and I'm sorry I don't have much to offer you."
"No one's come up with the answer yet, Sid," Mac said as the ME took a seat next to him.
"Well, I can tell you that the woman occupying my exam table was executed in the same way as John Barns. A tranquilizing shot was fired, from quite a distance I might add, and hit the victim, in the shoulder."
"Her body was reacting to the toxin in her bloodstream, couldn't have taken much time, and she fell forward, vomiting blood." Sheldon said, trying to imagine the event.
"Not many people walks up to a person vomiting blood and asks how they are doing or if they should call for help, they believe it's some kind of freak show." Danny said angrily, looking at the picture of the woman.
"Then there is the big question of why?" Stella added.
Mac closed the folder in hand and leaned backwards in his chair. "There's an even larger question; do we have a serial killer on the loose?"
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Stella walked out of the elevator in the early morning and spotted Mac Taylor sitting in his office, a hand pinching the bridge of his nose. She headed his way and entered through the previously closed glass door.
"Mac, I hope you haven't been here the whole night."
He couldn't help but hear the underlying concern in her voice, "Saw no point in going home," he replied casually.
"You need to sleep, at least for a couple of hours," she said softly.
Mac glanced up at her for a moment, as she stood opposite his desk. "Stella I am quite capable of taking care of myself," he said wearily.
They stared at each other for a moment. "Fine," she said, annoyed. Then she sighed, "Anything new to the case?"
He handed her a file. "Our Jane Doe's name is Rose McKenzie. She works at a bank in Midtown."
Stella nodded, "At the bank? That explains her expensive clothing," she said.
"She works as a loan officer," Mac replied, handing a red folder to Stella.
Stella picked it up and began to skim through it, frowning. "Maybe someone didn't get a loan and held grudge against her?" She offered.
Mac tilted his head back, scratching the back of his head. "Maybe. I have Danny going to the bank as soon as it opens to talk with her colleagues," he said, rising from the chair. "In the meantime, you and I are going to the zoo."
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Danny yawned as the first rays of light filtered through the windows of the apartment.
"Sleep well?" Lindsay asked, smiling at him as she bent to pick up the dirty laundry from the floor.
"Yeah, are you up all-ready?" He asked glancing at his watch, "Great I'm supposed to be at the lab in 30 minutes."
"Me too, the baby sitter should be here any minute now," she returned.
Danny rubbed his tired eyes and stretched, "Didn't you have the late shift?" He asked.
"I switched with Juliana, figured Mac would want us both there the whole day, and probably night. I am just waiting for the media to get hold of the story about a serial killer," She really didn't want to think about it.
"Sinclair is going to hit the roof," Danny replied as he threw off the bed covers.
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A security guard held out his hand as Mac and Stella walked up to entrance of the Central Park Zoo. "I am sorry but you need to wait. The zoo doesn't open for another hour."
Simultaneously they flashed their badges, "Detectives Taylor and Bonasera, New York Crime Lab. open the gate," Mac said, offering the guard a polite smile.
The guard instantly opened the door for them. "Sorry sir, ma'am, I believe Mr. Mansfield is expecting you."
When they had gotten out of ear shot Stella leaned in to whisper in Mac's ear, "I think you scared him."
"Me? I bet it was you, a woman in high heels with a gun," he teased.
Stella looked ahead to see a man smiling at them.
"Detectives?"
Mac nodded.
"Bonasera and Taylor," Stella replied.
"Allan Mansfield, it's a pleasure to meet you, detectives," he said.
They shook hands as Stella continued, "I take it you are in charge of the personnel, are you also involved in the transfer of different sorts of animals?"
"No, that would be the head veterinarian, he's not in yet," Mansfield said, looking at Mac curiously. "Was there anything I could pass on?"
Mac shook his head, "No, another detective will come by later."
"Mr. Mansfield, we came to talk to you about a Mr. John Barns," Stella said, pulling up a note book and a pen from her pocket.
The personnel manager nodded thoughtfully, "Yes I remember him, a very persistent man but in the end also a very honest man."
Mac frowned, "In the end?" He questioned.
"I am sorry detective," Mansfield apologized, " I didn't mean it that way. We are all very sorry he died, he would have been a great asset to our team here if he had ever decided to move to New York permanently."
"Of what we can understand he was in charge of transporting animals from New Orleans to your park. Was that something that occurred regularly?" Stella asked, looking around at the various animals they passed along the way.
"No, very infrequent I must say, but we ran all business through him that we had with New Orleans and all the zoo parks works in networks in hope to find the right animals and so on, it goes worldwide," Mansfield explained.
"Do you have any idea who might want to see him dead?" Mac asked.
Allan Mansfield stopped and turned around to stand face-to-face with the detectives. "Not anyone around here that's for sure," he replied.
"Thanks," Stella said and tucked away her note book. "Just one more thing; have you found your missing snake?"
"I am afraid not, I am hesitant to call in the cavalry, if the media is to get their hands on this… well you get the idea," he answered sheepishly.
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Flack glanced over at Adam as the lab tech worked frequently on the computer, adjusting the cameras and whatever settings that had to be set for a video conference.
"And I am done, here you go Flack, I have an established link with New Orleans," Adam said, pleased with his work.
Don nodded as a man clad in a coverall with New Orleans Zoo logo on became visible on the screen. "Mr. Samuels?"
"That's right, what can I do for you back in New York?" He asked.
"I am Detective Don Flack; I wanted to talk to you about an employee of yours, a Mr. Barns?"
Samuels shrugged, "Go ahead detective; there isn't much to say about him."
"I understand he has been working for you a couple of years, running business with other Zoo's and relocates animals, taking care of your snakes?" Flack asked.
"You're spot on, he was a decent guy, tried to make a good living for himself and his daughter," Samuels chuckled. "One time he fell asleep on the watch and we had to hunt down an escaped python, caused quite a stir when found at the office."
Flack nodded. "Actually that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about," he admitted.
"Really?" Samuels replied reluctantly, his interest peaking.
"Yes, the personal department wanted him out of the park?" Flack asked.
The New Orleans Zoo keeper nodded. "He got fired on the day, with the explanation that a little child could have gotten hurt if the snake had been found in the park. We could have been looking at a fine of big proportions. Anyway he wasn't gone more than a few weeks," he replied.
Flack frowned, "What happened to the guy, the one who got the job, was he relocated?" He wondered.
"No, he wasn't really well liked around here. It was hard to get to know him, stayed mostly to himself. He had excellent references from abroad working with animals but…" he trailed of and shrugged. "Maybe that's what he should do, sit alone in the jungle and talk to monkeys all day, no humans to bother him there," he finished.
Flack laughed, "Okay, can I have a name and some personal information about the guy?" He asked.
"Called himself Drew Jackson, we don't take prints on the employees when we get references like that, so that's mostly it. I can send you the medical files and personal information about him from when he started working here if anything helps you. However I doubt he would have killed John Barns, no one could hold a grudge against him."
"Thanks for your time Mr. Samuels," Don said.
"No problem Detective Flack, I am sorry I couldn't be of more help to you," Samuels replied.
Flack and Adam looked at each other as the connection was switched off.
"Apparently, our first victim was well liked," Adam offered, looking at Flack with a grimace.
"Well, someone did kill him; the question is, why?" Don sighed hopelessly, and rose from the chair he had been sitting on next to the lab tech. "Tell me, why is it that everywhere we turn with this case, it seem to be a dead end?"
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/To be continued, also I love reviews, it's really helpful to know what I did well and what could be improved. Please push the little button and tell me.