CHAPTER SEVEN
At eight o'clock the next morning Doc Al Robbins sat in his office dictating his preliminary autopsy findings of Martina Rogers when he heard a knock and looked up to see Brass standing there. The pathologist's eyebrows rose above his wire-rimmed glasses slightly in surprise. "Greetings, Jim, strange to see you here."
"The morgue's not for me, Al, I don't go for touching dead bodies," Brass confirmed with a slightly queasy look.
"So what brings you down to my level of the dungeon?" asked Doc Robbins pointedly.
"Iris is on her way down from trace where she's been working the Rogers' case so we can both hear your findings," Brass replied as he took a seat across from Doc Robbins. "She should be here soon."
"How's the victim's baby doing and am I hearing right through the grapevine that the little mite is named after you?" asked an amused Doc Robbins.
"It's stranger than fiction as they say but yeah the scuttlebutt's is true and I've had my share of ribbing from it," Brass replied with a cocked eyebrow.
Just then Iris came striding in looking a bit harried holding a manila envelope as Doc Robbins gestured toward the other vacant seat. Iris pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose and let a soft "whew" go before handing the envelope to Brass.
"Iris, I keep telling you to abandon your career as a CSI and go back to doing path transcription. The bunch they have doing the autopsy reports don't hold a candle to the work you'd done for me in a pinch," Doc Robbins complained in a sulking tone.
"I like getting out in the field, Al, it keeps me on my toes but never say never," Iris said to placate him.
Brass was looking over the contents of the folder that Iris had given him. He couldn't help it as a large grin broke his craggy features. "I gotta give Wendy a pat on the back with an atta girl. This is good news! Oh, Al, Tawanda sends her regards."
"Tawanda? How'd you hear that name?" asked a startled Doc Robbins.
"Dr. Conklin, aka Tawanda, was Martina's obstetrician and knew you'd probably do the autopsy, so how do you know her?" countered Jim as Iris watched their exchange neutrally.
"Ahem, all I will admit to is dancing with the doctor in question at a convention and that I did have a little too much to drink. In the course of a mean hustle, a misstep with my cane caused us to trip and fall. I landed on top of her in a classic missionary position. I gave her the nickname of "Tawanda" for her personality like in 'Fried Green Tomatoes' and she embraced the nickname thereafter," replied Doc Robbins with a bit of a chastened expression. "Mrs. Robbins was there to witness the whole incident but was cracking up so hard along with the rest of the conventioneers that I remained in good graces."
"I would've paid to see that event," chuckled Brass. "Anywho, Vincent "Dice" DiCenzo isn't the baby's father so neither he or any of his family have a custodial claim to the infant," Brass said. "I finally get to interview him today and Iris will sit in during our evidence presentation. He lawyered up at the time of being charged with sexual assault and battery to which will be added manslaughter but he doesn't know that yet and I can't wait to see his face when it's upgraded."
"Should be a Kodak moment," Iris agreed.
"Okay, kids, here's the long and short of my findings on Martina. She suffered a fractured skull but it was not a lethal injury. There were numerous bruises and contusions about the face and other parts of the body including three irregular but unique lacerations on the left cheek. X-rays showed old fractures of the collarbone, left wrist and elbow. Cause of death was due to traumatic hemorrhaging secondary to placenta previa but I've deduced from the sonogram pictures provided by Dr. Conklin that the placenta was still intact at the time the victim was in the ambulance and when she arrived at Desert Palm. The previa had to have resulted from the premature labor brought on by the brutality of the double rape. She also had anal and oropharyngeal trauma secondary to that depraved excuse for a human being," Doc Robbins concluded as he finished scanning his notes. He gave the autopsy photos to Iris too look over.
"If I get my way, that clown won't be seeing daylight for a long time and he'll have a bruiser of a cell mate named Bubba," Brass growled literally.
As Iris scanned over the photos she grimaced with a sorrowed look before cocking her head at one set of photos. "Jim?"
"Yeah."
"When you arrested Dice, was he wearing a ring?"
"I think so but I can check right quick with booking for his personal effects inventory sheet."
"Would you please and if they could be specific about the ring?"
"Sure."
Brass borrowed Doc Robbins' desk phone and had a quick conversation with an officer in processing. "Dice had a gold ring with a hexagon-shaped gold center stone worn on the left middle finger."
"Ask them to have the ring sent to Wendy in the lab. I want the ring checked for any blood and tissue embedded in the setting and a sample submitted for DNA with a rush order and digital photos taken. I knew that creep had backhanded her."
Brass conveyed Iris' request. "They'll get it down to her right away."
"Well, on a lighter note, Iris, who's your SA?" asked Doc Robbins with a sly wink.
Iris gulped as she gave the pathologist a roll of her eyes. "Don't tell me this is lab-wide now!"
"Your SA?" asked Brass with a side glance at Iris who kept her gaze fixed on Doc Robbins.
"Jim, you didn't hear? What rock you been under? Iris here got a dozen roses with an anonymous card declaring she had a secret admirer! It's got the usual tongues wagging," Doc Robbins chuckled.
"I'll find out who's the culprit although I'm sure the only intention is for me to have a good day," Iris replied coolly.
Brass glanced at his clock and stifled an oath under his breath as he got to his feet. "Jeez, I gotta go meet with the social worker about when the grandparents get here tomorrow."
"I need to get back up to trace as well," Iris agreed as she got up too.
"Have a fun day, kids," Doc Robbins instructed as turned to resume his report dictation.
As Iris kept up with Brass' broad strides up the hallway, he couldn't resist as he said, "Secret admirer, eh? You got any suspects?"
"Sure, every single guy in the lab's been standing in line to take yours truly out," Iris snorted. "Honestly, not yet but I will get my man."
"I'm sure you will," Brass chuckled dryly.
As they headed up the hallway going by Grissom's office, they heard him call out, "Iris, got a minute?"
Brass followed her in to Grissom's desk as he glanced over his glasses at them as he was on the phone but gestured for them to take a seat. He hung up the phone without a word, stood up to walk to a nearby cabinet that he opened to retrieve what he needed and returned to his desk. Iris thought her eyes were going to pop out of their sockets at what he held. Grissom gave her an enigmatic smile as he handed her the vase of steel gray to lavender colored roses. Another card was attached to a small magnifying glass this time. "Trudy asked me to get these since you weren't available. Did your secret admirer strike again?"
"So it would seem," Iris said with a perplexed expression.
"What's the card say?" asked Brass curiously.
"Allow me," Grissom said as he took the card from Iris. "You will question and wonder why, for that is your nature true; you will seek and ever try, but your answer is in plain view."
"I am so going to see the florist and get to the bottom of this. I'll fingerprint the cards if I have to," Iris grumbled.
"Hey, you're my alibi so I'm off the suspect list," Brass joked with hands up in a surrender posture as Iris merely rolled her eyes at him.
"Iris, your secret admirer has good taste if you're the object of their affection," Grissom insisted.
"Griss, I could do without the subterfuge, just wish they'd tell me who they were," Iris said with a frown.
"I guess they like remaining unknown for now so let 'em have their fun," Brass said.
"Back to the case at hand, so what's next in the Rogers' case?" Grissom asked to refocus them.
"The parents are due here tomorrow to finalize the arrangements to take Martina back to their home town for burial. We'll meet with them with the case worker to make sure the details of their taking baby James home with them as the grandparents are in order. Iris and I are finally going to be able to interrogate Dice Dice baby with his legal counsel to go over charges and his arraignment date," Jim summarized.
"Maybe the parents will gain some measure of closure but at least they have a grandson and therefore an extension of their daughter to return home with," Grissom said hopefully.
"Come on, Iris, we got places to go and people to see," Brass wisecracked as he stood up to depart.
Iris silently took the vase of flowers and the small magnifying glass with the card from Grissom. She shrugged wordlessly at him and he knew her mind was racing to try and figure out who was doing this and why. Brass waited expectantly at the door for her to follow as they continued on. Grissom sat back with his fingers laced behind his head, thinking this should be a routine case for his newest CSI although he had to admit it seemed like Iris had been with them for much longer. She fit well into the chemistry of his team as a solid member who'd never given him even a moment's pause at his decision to accept her transfer from Dallas. Given the fact that she and Brass worked well together, he knew the two would be thorough in the investigation of the case. He slowly eased forward in his chair to go through another case file.
As Jim and Iris got by the trace room, she turned to walk in when Brass took her arm. She looked up at him puzzled. "Jim?"
"Don't let that secret admirer stuff get to you, Iris," Brass tried to encourage.
"Well, I'm sure it's all going to be just good fun when the person owns up to it. At the very least, I'm getting to stop and smell the roses," Iris quipped as she gave him a slight smile. "See you later, gator."
"After while, crocodile," Jim gave the traditional reply before he departed.
That evening, since Grissom had approved her working the next day instead of night shift with the suspect being questioned by Brass, she'd opted to stop by and check on baby James. To her surprise, Jim was already there with the nurse named Jasmine.
"Evening," Iris said pleasantly.
"Hey, Iris, I just dropped by to check on little James here before I went home," Our little man's grip seems stronger than ever," Brass observed proudly.
"He's doing fairly well all considered. His lung capacity is still compromised due to his prematurity. His heart function has been of concern as well, but he's a fighter and fast becoming one of our favorites," Jasmine indicated as she checked on the monitors and IVs in place. "Would you like to hold him?"
"Can we? I mean he's got all those tubes and wires and stuff," asked a concerned Brass.
"You can briefly and I'll show you how. It's good for the baby to have this contact and since you're the closest he has to family I whole-heartedly encourage it," instructed Jasmine as she carefully removed the infant from his NICU crib.
"Iris, you do the honors, I might break him," Brass insisted, afraid to hold the baby.
"No, sir, I get this all the time when I work in our church nursery, so I think you more than earned it. You've done this before albeit a few years. Just like riding a bicycle, you know," Iris refused quietly as Brass reluctantly took a seat in a rocking chair and Jasmine carefully placed the baby in his arms. The baby protested briefly with a mewling cry before Jim's slow rocking quieted him. The infant gazed up at Brass with his dark blue eyes. Brass' craggy features softened with a surprisingly tender lopsided smile as he gazed down at his namesake.
"He's got your eyes," Iris teased.
"He's got your nose," Brass countered.
"He's definitely got your hair," Iris shot back as she patted his bald spot.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't mess with the hair," Brass replied testily, his Jersey accent thick, as Iris only wrinkled her nose in reply.
All too soon Jim had to relinquish baby James back to Jasmine to be placed back in the crib. "Good night, tiger," Jim said to the infant who soon fell asleep.
"Come on, papa, we got a big day tomorrow," Iris tugged on his sleeve.
"Yeah, I know. I just hope it all goes in our little guy's favor," Brass remarked as they headed to the elevators.
