Chapter 4: The Gun
"Is it just me, or does H seem really caught up in this case?" Wolfe asked as he sifted through ashes at the crimescene.
"No more than usual," Delko replied. "I think he's just frustrated that we're not getting anywhere. There hasn't been a single missing person's report filed since the murder."
"Well, it's only been a little over twenty-four hours." Ryan uncovered a shriveled chunk of plastic in the cinders. "I think I found a...credit card or something. I can't make out any words on it."
"We might be able to get something off the magnetic strip back at the lab." He suddenly sat back.
"You find something good?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah. Calleigh will be happy: 9-mil handgun. This could be our murder weapon."
Boa Vista caught up with Horatio in the hall outside the trace lab. "Hey. We got the tox report back on Jane Doe Number Two. Gamma hydroxybutyrate."
"GHB. Dangerous stuff. An overdose can induce a coma."
"And it's easy to manufacture. No way to find where it came from."
"This explains why Jane Doe Number Two had no defensive wounds."
"Her SAE kit came back clean. No sign of any recent sexual activity. Her only injuries were from blunt force trauma."
"But who would drug someone just to beat them, I wonder?"
She shook her head. "And why? It doesn't make sense. If he wanted to kill her, there were definitely easier ways. And if it was just about rage, he probably would have wanted her awake and screaming."
"It's something to think about. Was there anything else in her tox report?"
"She didn't have any alcohol in her system, which is how GHB is usually delivered. From traces in her vomit, it looks like her last meal consisted of coffee and a chocolate pastry. Doesn't exactly narrow it down. Was there anything on her clothes that could help identify her?"
"Not that we've found yet. We still have three blanks on who our victims might be."
Calleigh's melodious voice intruded on their conversation. "Did someone say 'blanks'? Because that's not what I've been shooting."
Horatio turned to her with raised eyebrows. "The gun found at the crimescene? You got a hit off the bullets?"
"Not the bullets, the gun. It was registered."
"To whom?"
She smiled teasingly. "I know the Jane Does' prints didn't get a hit in AFIS, but did you think to run them through the law enforcement database?"
"The state database, but not nationally. One of our victims is a cop?"
"Even better: a CSI." She handed him a photo. "Is this our Jane Doe Number One?"
Horatio took the photo. A smile bent his lips. "Jane Doe no longer. Sara Sidle, Las Vegas Crime Lab."