6. Back to the Drawing Board
Rowan rapped smartly on the Vinetti's door for the third time that day, her back ached, her hands ached and her eyes were beginning to hurt.
Their shift had begun at eight that morning, it was now seven in the evening, and for a first day she was going right at her work. She waited a couple more seconds before the door creaked open to reveal a tall robust man of around forty-five to fifty, with black hair turning grey at the sides and piercing hazel eyes. Rowan immediately wished Mrs Vinetti had opened the door instead. This was going to test her.
"Hola Sr Vinetti, mi nombre es Rowan Mortico, yo soy del laboratorio del crimen de NYPD, yo me preguntaba si yo le quizás pregunte algunas preguntas, no tomarán mucho tiempo," she held her breath as she waited for the response, his expression suddenly changed, his face sagged, the muscles loosing their will to go on, his face was sad, and his shoulders slumped as if in defeat.
"¿Esto está acerca de mi hija Ana, no es?" he said in a low, tired voice. Rowan immediately got the impression that Mr Vinetti could never have done this to his daughter, but as a CSI she couldn't assume anything, she ploughed on.
"¿Sí es, puedo entrar yo?" Mr Vinetti stepped aside and ushered her in.
"¿Gracias, y siento mucho para su pérdida, pero para y su hijo puede contestar usted algunas preguntas para mí?" he sighed, nodded and lead her through to the living room where Mrs Vinetti was sitting her hands clasped in her lap, her face tear streaked, Jac was sitting in an armchair with one leg flung over it's arm, staring, unseeing at the TV programme six feet in front of him. Mr Vinetti sat by his wife and slid and arm about her, she immediately slumped against him, putting her hands against his chest.
"Sr y Sra Vinetti, yo me pregunto si usted me quizás diga por qué exactamente usted tuvo aversión a su novia de hija." Mr Vinetti sighed.
"Yo no lo odié, odié su compañía, ellos me enroscaron y mi padre sobre años hace, Ana se trastornó cuando yo la dije, pero yo nunca la dañaría ni su novia, él era un hombre bueno para ella." Rowan blinked, he didn't hate him, just his company, really, and that changes everything.
"Yo no lo quise, él era no bueno para Ana, ninguna razón matelo ni nada, pero él eran no hombre bueno." Vinetti scowled at his son and Rowan frown, folding her arms, not liking this guy one bit.
Alright, father didn't hate fiancée, loved daughter, looks absolutely devastated, wife seems the same, but brother didn't like the guy and doesn't seem half so upset.
"¿Sr y Sra Vinetti, ha sido usted reunir sus afectos de hija todavía, sus pertenencias personales? Si eso es el caso, yo querría verlos." Mrs Vinetti nodded, with a quiet 'sí' she slid from the room, dragging her feet, her hands hanging limp. Jac shot a look at her retreating back, then at Rowan.
After a moment she came back with a silver cardboard box the size of a bedside cabinet, she set it down in front of Rowan, who knelt and began to rummage through it after snapping on a pair of gloves.
After a moment she ceased and stood up.
"¿Una cosa final, puede sonar extraño, pero de usted toma cualquiera cualquier clase de la medicina en todo?" Mrs Vinetti looked surprised at the question but answered steadily enough.
"Realmente, sí, Jac tiene una medicina correctiva para espasmos de músculo, un condidtion despreciable que él obtuvo de trabajar en ese distrito horrible." Rowan nodded slowly.
"Gracias para su tiempo, yo estaré en contacto." She turned to go, but suddenly Mr Vinetti's hand was her arm, she turned to see him giving her a desparate look.
"Encuentre el monstruo que hizo esto a mi nena, el detective, por favor." Rowan blinked astiounded and then nodded. Find this monster…
"Sí, hago, no preocupo."
Back at the lab Danny sighed and lay his head against the table, waiting for the results to print out for the substance sticking the paper together, he needed the results before he could go about separating it, whatever it was it had obliterated half the words.
BEEP
His head snapped up and he snatched up the results…and raised one eyebrow..
Toilet detergent? Had someone thrown the note in the can and then fished it back out, just to them throw in the waste paper basket?
He heard the soft pad of sneakers on tile and looked up to see Rowan walk in looking vaguely smug.
"Bullshit," she said "Jac was talking bullshit, there was no vial, non in the personal affects, non in evidence, he was talking outta his arse, he had to have been there, all we gotta do is prove it in full," Danny held up the results.
"I got an analysis on the stuff on it, now I gotta decipher the writing on it."
"Well, you do that while I have a look at our blood and gunk evidence, I searched earlier, turns out all the components aid with muscle problems," Danny frowned.
"So what does that mean for us?"
"Jacquero has a muscle spasm problem, so let's get to it,"
"Right,"
Twenty minutes later saw them sitting on opposite sides of a workbench, working on their respective cases aspects, the air was silent and still, though the sounds of the rest of the lab poked their way in now and then.
"Hah! Got you motherfucker!" Danny glanced up from the note he was working well on his way to deciphering. Rowan was peering into a microscope, her glasses perched on top of her head. She was examining the shard of broken wine glass, the murder weapon, that had both the two vic's and the brother's blood on it.
"Whuddya get?" Danny asked.
"This blood's mixed with a pale blue substance, like the killer just shot somethin', wha's the bettin' it's that remedy shit Jac's takin' for his spasms," Danny smirked again and passed over the note. Rowan held it under the light.
"This may help prove that theory, look," Rowan squinted at the paper, pulling her glasses off her head and sliding them onto her face.
AnaYou are making a mistake, this man is not right you, he is a a liar and he'll only hurt do something about him I is no idle threat, I mean to stop to his money, he has hurt before, if you stand way it will not help, I will not you and hurt more,
Jac"Oh really?" Rowan raised her eyebrow for the hundredth time that day. If she keeps doing that, that'll be her trademark.
"Apparently her brother had some problem with him 'cos he ripped off their grandfather with his finances, and he wanted to get rid o' that problem," Rowan grinned evilly.
"Father mentioned somethin' about that, apparently he didn't have a problem with hi personally. We got his ass!" Danny grinned back and reached out his hand.
"Here, gimme that so I can clear up the obliterated words," Rowan slid the note across to him and watched him scan it onto a computer and fiddle with the controls until the entire note could be deciphered easily:
AnaYou are making a huge mistake, this man is not right for you, he is a cheater and a liar and he'll only hurt you, if you do not do something about him I will and this is no idle threat, I mean to put a stop to his treachery, he is only after money, he has hurt our family before, if you stand in my way it will not help, I will not let him use you and hurt us any more,
JacAcross the hallway in his office Mac watched the interaction between the two of them, they'd become friendly very quickly and he was pleased, he scribbled a note for Rowan's file, flipped it shut and speed dialled Flack on a case that had just landed on his desk.
"Look Jac, you got no way outta this, we know ya sent ya sister a letter while she was in the hotel with Alejandro, the reason we couldn't read the note right away was because she crewed it up and dumped it in the can soon as she saw it was from you, but she took it out, tried to read it, thought, y'know, brother an' all, then she read it and tossed it again, this time in the trash, but you were watchin' 'em and you saw'er dump it, so you decided tha' was the las' straw, right? You went in, right after you took ya remedy to keep y'self in control and ya killed 'em, him first, then her, for not listenin' to you, but ya cut y'self on that shard, got your blood on it, tha's how y'got that cut on y'wrist, then you dropped the shard down the chute, an' dropped the other half of the murder weapon, which you broke again, in the can, but y'left a blood trail, so we found it anyhow, we tested y'DNA, perfect match, case closed,"
Jac was trembling, angry and upset, he hadn't taken his remedy yet and that was annoying him too, but they had him so he just nodded and looked away, heard them walk to the door, the redhead one who had not said much but thrown photographs at him, made short comments and borne her gaze into him so hard he couldn't keep track in his mind of his own lies. That coupled with the voice and tone of the blonde had rocked his case upside down.
"At least my family is safe from him," he whispered. Danny and Rowan exchanged glances, hook their heads and walked out, pulling the door shut behind them.
"Damn was that one two faced case!" Danny breathed as they headed up to the cafeteria.
"'Scuse me?" Rowan said, humour in her voice and Danny knew without looking that she had raised her eyebrows again.
"Well, y'know, tough on y'head and some heavy evidence to process, but easy to get over and done with," Rowan smiled properly and nodded.
They picked themselves up some soup each and slumped into seats at the same table as Hawkes and Lindsay, whom Rowan had run into earlier in the day.
"So," Hawkes said, twiddling noodles on his fork "how'd the case go?"
"Good, all wrapped up and the killer in custody, not bad work for a first case Rowan," Danny grinned over the rim of his polystyrene cup at the new CSI who grinned and stared down at her own cup. Lindsay nudged Danny's arm.
"How come she gets to be called by her first name already huh Messer?" Danny grinned even more broadly, sipping his soup.
"Dunno, she's cuter than you?" the entire table erupted in laughter; Lindsay smacked Danny's arm and grinned across at Rowan.
Mac and Stella walked in then to see the four of them still laughing.
"New girl's doin' good," Stella commented. Mac nodded thoughtfully but said nothing, though he was smiling at the sight before him. Just the way his lab should be…
"Hey Rowan!" Rowan was sat at the table in the break room drinking the sludge they all called coffee, and reading a tattered looking novel balanced on her crossed legs. She looked up to see Danny walk in and straight to the coffee maker. He grinned at her and came, with his coffee in hand, to sit opposite her. He nodded at her book, taking a sip of his sludge.
"What are you readin'?" he asked. Rowan tipped up the book so he could see the front cover. Danny nodded slowly.
"Ah, The Catcher in the Rye, I read that a coupla years ago, this your first time readin' it?" Rowan shook her head, sipping her own sludge.
"Nah, I've read it nigh on five times maybe, I just love the story,"
"You not think it seems without plot though, just makin' it all up as he goes?" Rowan set down her cup and regarded Danny steadily, adjusting her glasses.
"That's the whole point, Holden is making it up as he goes along, he doesn't know what he's doing, doesn't know where he's going, he just wants a little closure, and he can't find it," Danny nodded as if in realisation.
"Yeah, yeah that's right, all that calling old friends, seeing people who barely remembered him, he wanted comfort, and he didn't find it until the end, at the fairground," Rowan smiled, fiddling with the edge of her page.
"So where are you up to?"
"The part where he's snuck home to see his sister, he's telling her about pretending to be a deaf mute," Danny smiled and leaned back in his chair, taking in the sitting figure in front of him.
Her hair was tied up today, she was wearing a green shirt, open at the neck and blue jeans, same grey trainers, her two tone eyes were trained on the page, her left hand was held loosely around her cup.
Danny sipped his coffee again and reached for a paper someone had left on the chair next to him.
Rowan glanced up, she had barely taken in the blonde bespectacled man she had met and worked with the day before, and who was now apparently becoming a friend.
Dark blonde hair lightly gelled and spiked, pale blue eyes, ringing with darker blue, silver glasses, a light blue shirt, black jeans and brown boots. He let the paper fall lightly against the table, propped on his knee, his hand outstretched, the fingers slightly raised to brush against his own cup, almost as if it were a constant assurance that it was still there.
Turning her attention back to her book, she did not notice Mac come to the door and look in on his two employees. He smiled at the silent sight, the two of them, sat across form each other, reading and drinking coffee, their glasses pushed further down to keep them from having to tilt their heads so much. He hated to disturb them but…
"Messer, Mortico!" They both looked up, Mac was holding a folder, Rowan placed own her book, picked up her coffee and rose to join him at the door.
"Another homicide for you two, I know, two in two days, freaky,"
"You're tellin' me, what happened?" Danny folded his arms.
"Nurse called it in, found a patient out of their room, in an office, head almost cut clean off, thing is, most of the other patients got blood on 'em, and more than half of them were asleep, you got your work cut out for you," Danny sighed.
"A'ight where are we going?"
"It's at the Aurora Sunrise Psychiatric Hospital in Manhattan, Lindsay and Flack are already on their way there, ran into them on the way here. Go on," he handed Danny the folder and they made their way to the elevator.
"Lemme guess, my car again?" Danny, smirk in place, turned to look at Rowan, and his smile faltered, her face was ashen, her eyes were wide, her hands, also deathly white, were shaking. Danny put out an arm to make her stop, she flinched almost but not quite invisibly and turned to look at him, trying to look as though there was no problem, but her breathing was still too shallow for Danny's liking.
"Rowan?" she just blinked mocked an inquisitive expression.
"Rowan? C'mon, talk t'me, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just uh…" her face suddenly contorted "D-Danny, it okay with you if I sit out a while, I don't feel too…too good, couldya tell Mac I'll be back in a few hours, I just, just don't feel too good," with that she blinked at him again, turned and walked a little too briskly in the direction of the locker room, seemingly blind to her supervisor who stood in a doorway halfway down, he strode towards Danny.
"What the hell was that?"
"Uh, she said she wasn't feeling too good, said to tell you she'd be goin' home a few hours, must be sick," Mac glanced at his employees face, his expression was near unreadable, somewhere between, concerned, worried, confused…
"She say when she'd be back?" Danny nodded.
"Later, I gotta scene t'go to, see ya Mac," Mac watched Danny walk to the elevator, turn and lean forwards to the control panel than back against the rear wall.
Rowan sank onto the bench in front of her locker, leaning her head against it, gripping the little orange bottle in her hand, tears pricked her eyes from the back, she slid two into her mouth and dry swallowed them. Sighing, she reached into her locker for her coat and satchel and made her way from the building, walking the five blocks to her apartment building.
Letting herself in she pulled off her coat, dropped her bag and went to the fridge, extracting a water and dropping down in her favourite chair. Taking a deep swig she sighed and leaned her head back.
"It was a long time ago, get a grip, long time ago, not a factor anymore, easy, easy…easy, breathe…easy," Rowan's eyes began to haze with the sudden onset of fatigue and the effect of the pills combined were about to knock her on her ass. She forced herself up and through to her bedroom, she flopped own on top of the covers and rolled onto her back, her eyes sliding shut.
Updates soon!
There is no such hospital; I made it up for fictional purposes.