Working as a Team
Chapter 6
Daniel and Kate came to a glass door on which PATHOLOGY was etched in block letter. Kate pushed the door open. They came upon a glass cubicle. Inside was a desk with a computer, a thick stack of papers heavily bounded together, a few files and an opened book. But as far as bodies of people, it was empty.
"Hello?" Kate yelled out. It wasn't too long until they heard the sound of footsteps.
A door opened, Zachary Brent appeared and he instantly recognized his visitors, "Ah, Agent Moretti; Daniel," he smiled, although it did not reach his eyes, "I must say, this is a bit soon, isn't it? I just saw you yesterday. I doubt if there's any more I can tell you."
"We'd just have a few things we'd like to talk to you in private, Dr. Brent," Kate stated, "It won't take long."
Daniel and Kate were escorted into Zachary's office. They sat in the two office seats while he sat on his swivel office chair.
Zachary looked at his watch, "I should tell you, I only have ten minutes to spare. It's not that I'm really backlogged, mind you," he said, trying to be pleasant as he gestured towards his messy desk, "but I'm also, in my spare time, writing a mystery fiction."
"Oh? How...very interesting," Kate said, not really knowing how else to comment.
"Yes," he looked quite pleased, "I think the public will consider it quite entertaining, if I can get it published that is. "
"What is the book about?" Kate feigned interest, as she tried to think how to segue this into a conversation about the Wesley Nash case.
Zachary Brent leaned back as if he could comfortably talk about it all day long, "If you must know, it's about a coroner who solves mysteries. Pretty original, eh?"
"Can we get back to Wesley Nash?" Daniel was a little impatient until he saw the slight head shaking from Kate.
"Oh, of course," Zachary looked embarrassed as the smile disappeared from his face.
Kate gave Daniel her familiar look of big-eyed exasperation before turning towards Zachary Brent with an assuring smile.
"Believe me, Dr Brent, " Kate tried to smooth over the situation, "we appreciate any time you could give us regarding the Wesley Nash matter. "
Zachary gave Kate an open expression.
"What is it you want to know, Agent Moretti?" Zachary quietly asked.
"Will you be the one performing the autopsy, Dr. Brent?" Kate was asking.
He nodded, "Yes, I'm the person they go to for a postmortem whenever there's an accidental death."
"Or one under mysterious circumstances," Daniel added quickly.
Zachary didn't react.
"I'm sure this must be difficult for you, " Kate said with empathy "being that Wesley Nash was such a good friend of yours."
"I can keep it professional," Zachary sounded convincing, "and if you must know, I really didn't know Wesley all that well. I played poker with the guys maybe once a month and he just happened to be included in that group."
Then Zachary changed the subject by explaining to Kate about what procedures he will follow during the autopsy.
Meanwhile, all Daniel could hear was low murmurings as his internal mind had clicked in: He saw Sherlock Homes, wearing his requisite cape coat and deerhunter's hat, quietly pacing behind Zachary Brent. Daniel knew not to say anything outloud but his eyes closely followed Holmes' movements. Dangling his pipe in his mouth, Holmes removed it in order to speak.
"He is official and I am unofficial, " Holmes said "he must disclose all or he is hiding something."
Daniel scowled, not knowing exactly what Holmes was getting at.
"You're speaking in riddles," Daniel claimed.
"I assure you I am not!" Zachary rebounded, as Kate looked questionably at Daniel, "Once I split the ribcage of the body and examine the lungs and heart for any abnormalities, I will then examine each organ in the chest cavity individually. How is that a riddle?"
"Sorry," Daniel apologizing, casually putting his elbow on the desk and resting his head on his hand, "I just had an urge to speak out of turn. That urge has now passed...as you were saying?"
Both Zachary and Kate looked baffled before Zachary continued talking about the process.
Daniel's mind clicked internally again: There was a deck of playing cards on Zachary's desk next to the computer, and Sherlock Holmes had stopped pacing and stood in front of the deck of cards and then pointed directly down at them before looking up to give Daniel a meaningful look.
"Take in all details, " Holmes advised Daniel, "whether they are relevant or not."
Daniel continued staring at the playing cards Holmes had fingered and thought about how quickly Zachary Brent had brushed off the discussion regarding the weekly poker game. He turned to look at the other two people. Zachary Brent was in deep discussion with Kate when Daniel just suddenly burst in.
"...you've lost a lot of money in the poker game!" Daniel accusingly shouted seemingly from nowhere.
Zachary furrowed his eyebrows as Kate looked questionably at Daniel.
"Daniel-" Kate began.
Zachary looked perturbed, "Who the hell told you that?"
"It doesn't matter," Daniel declared, "You can't deny it!"
"Well, I may be in a hole a little bit, that's true," admitted Zachary, "but as far as big losers at the card table, that would be President Newsom. He was the really lousy player of the four of us."
"But you've lost too!" Daniel insisted.
Zachary stiffened, "Look, if you want me to begin the autopsy, I really need to get back to work..."
Daniel and Kate were again being directed to leave. Kate pursed her lips, looking none too happy to be shoved out of another office due to Daniel's behavior again.
"Can you at least tell us when you will have time to do the autopsy?" Kate asked Zachary.
"I plan to get to it today,but if not today, tomorrow at the latest," he stated, "Don't want the body hanging around too long."
Kate handed him her business card, "Will you give me a call the minute the autopsy is completed?" She gave him her most winning smile.
He accepted the card, "Of course, Agent Moretti, it'll be my pleasure. Good day," He turned and his smile disappeared when he looked at Daniel, "Daniel."
As they walked outside on the sidewalk, Kate paused, causing Daniel to stop, too.
"You had to do it again, didn't you?" she accused him.
"What?" Daniel looked confused, "What do you mean?"
"Daniel, I need to build a rapport with these people if I am expected to get information from them, and you always seem to knock it down with your insinuations!' her eyes flashed.
"Maybe," Daniel defended himself calmly, "But even with all your let's-be-friends vibe, you wouldn't have been able to get Zachary Brent to admit that he was on the losing end of a weekly poker game, would you?"
Kate couldn't refute that, "Okay I'll give you that...and how DID you know that for a fact, Daniel?"
"Some of the best fictional detectives I know rely on assumptions," Daniel explained.
"Some of the best fictional detectives you know?" Kate was back to teasing, as she looked cynically at him, "You're stating it as if you've met some!"
"I just rely on assumptions too," Daniel chose not to directly comment, "Zachary Brent had mentioned that he only played poker monthly with the boys, but Officer Myers had stated they played weekly. One sign of someone struggling with a of gambling problem is that he will be secretive regarding how often he gambles. So I just assumed..."
His voice had faded. Daniel looked so humble and defensive, Kate couldn't help but soften a bit. She could never figure out why he had that affect on her, why he seemed so appealing.
The noise from the Chicago traffic rushed by as they stood facing one another. At this time of the day, the sidewalk was empty of pedestrians in this part of town. From behind Kate, a skateboarder had just rounded the corner of the hospital building.
It took a split second. The skateboarder hit a deep dip in the sidewalk, momentarily losing control. He attempted to recover, but it was too late. The skateboarder was headed straight for Kate.
"Kate!" Daniel warned, "Look out!"
She turned in time to see the skateboarder, but not fast enough to react. At the same time, Daniel instinctively reacted by pulling her quickly into his arms. He used his own body as a protective cage as he removed her from the path of the skater.
It had been such a close call that Kate could actually feel the shoulder of the skateboarder's brush lightly against her own as the he callously continued on his way, with not a glance backwards.
Kate's first reaction was to yell out to the skater some obscene word until she realized she was in the safe arms of Daniel. Long after the skater had gone, Daniel was still holding her.
She quietly chose to remain huddled against Daniel's solid chest. Kate just could not pull away. Somehow his arms felt so safe and warm, just like she knew it would. She closed her eyes, savoring the contact. She could feel his chest rising and falling in a rhythm much faster than usual.
Daniel was relieved when she didn't pull away and he loved the feel of her body against his. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, that he was not ready for this life of normalcy, but yet...yet, for this brief space of time, she seemed like a perfect fit for him. He could hear the deep thundering of his heart next to hers. Swallowing hard, he now placed one of his hands in the center of her back to comfort her. His body was filled with a sweet warm ache as his breathing became shallow.
Sensations rushed through both of them, and both knew if they continued holding one another like this, what would happen next.
.
.
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Thanks goes to: PerceptionFan, FortheDefense, HappyHere, MinxFan94, JMC, RedHearts, SuperDarkRose, HawkFire28, At Last, Diana W, Sally T, EverydayisFun.
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