Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Chapter 7—Not-So-Distant Memories
Horatio had his head down, in deep thought as he walked through the blue hallway. Ryan met him outside of Trace. "Horatio."
"Mr. Wolfe. Any news on Officer O'Brien?"
Ryan shook his head. "Shift Captain says O'Brien, or whoever the guy is, hasn't shown up for duty in two days. Nobody's answering his phone. Tripp did a welfare check on his apartment. Nothing. Got a BOLO out on him."
"Anything else?"
"Valera ran a DNA on that blood we swabbed around Blizzard's mouth. Came back unknown male." Ryan stepped back into the lab. Horatio followed him to the lighted layout table, his eyes on the switches, wires, chamois cloths, a scalpel, and a syringe. "Are these items you got from Walter Mullinax's apartment?"
"Yeah." With his gloved hand Ryan picked up a black box the size of two quarters. Black and red wires stuck out of the sides like rabbit ears on a television. Horatio's time with the bomb squad told him he'd better take a closer look, so he donned his own gloves and held them to the light.
"GPS tracking devices. You can get these in any electronics store. Missing their chips."
These were the only two we found in the apartment." Ryan took the black top off of one. "Somebody's been using the chips to track…." It then occurred to him. "Hey, Blizzard….." He motioned to his ear. "Delko and I examined her this morning. I felt kind of a lump in the base of her ear. Like somebody might have put something in there. But a cat's ear?"
Horatio looked at one GPS unit and then the other. "Mr. Wolfe, in some of these devices, the chips are small enough that they could fit into a cat's ear. It's possible somebody's got a GPS tracker on that cat." He handed the boxes to Ryan again. "Get those boxes to Tyler or Cooper. They should be able to find where the GPS chips are and who's tracking them. Were you able to find any prints on these?"
"Nothing. Must have worn gloves or wiped them down."
"Where's Blizzard?"
"Stetler's babysitting her while we wait for Animal Control to pick her up."
Horatio opened his cell phone. "I'll talk to Stetler. But I think someone's tracking that cat, and we have to find out why."
The petite woman had long, wavy hair that was tied back into a relaxed ponytail that rested on the back of her blouse. She wore gold-rimmed glasses. She had brown eyes and a stocky build. She looked like someone who could be comfortable getting inside a cat's mind. She looked up at Horatio and shook hands confidently.
"Lieutenant Caine. Dr. Wendy Reese. I understand you have a cat that was part of a crime scene?"
Horatio smiled as he gently shook hands with her. "Ma'am. We did. We have evidence of a white cat that had been living with a Walter Mullinax. Homicide, execution style. When we processed the scene, one of our CSI's found traces of white feline fur at the scene and on the vic. DNA was an exact match to a cat that showed up at another officer's back door that same night. We think the cat might have witnessed something."
Dr. Reese nodded understandingly. "In the State of Florida, the reactions of a companion animal can be considered admissible evidence. Why don't we take a look at the cat?"
Rick Stetler sat tiredly at the metal table in the lab, his head down, his blue paisley tie rumpled. Blizzard looked at him hopefully through the door of the carrier, but Rick wouldn't have any of it. He stood up slowly as the lab door opened.
"Rick. I'd like you to meet Dr. Wendy Reese. She's the veterinarian and animal behavior specialist. Did you bring Blizzard?"
The IAB agent grunted as he turned the carrier to face the lady. Blizzard glanced up for a moment and then went back to casually washing her forepaws. "Right here!"
The doctor smiled as she looked down at the carrier. "Well, hello…."
"Blizzard!" Rick snorted. "She trashed my office!"
Dr. Reese raised her eyebrows as she opened the carrier and gently pulled out the white cat. "Well, let's take a look at you, Blizzard. What did she destroy?"
The IAB agent smoothed his rumpled tie and tightened his lips. It now occurred to him that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to let Horatio know that a cat destroyed Rick Stetler's office. Somebody might use it against him later. "Nothing, really. She just chewed up my coffee cup."
The veterinarian raised her eyebrows and then reached in, taking Blizzard out slowly and holding her against her blouse. She and Blizzard seemed to be completely comfortable with one another. "So your name is Blizzard? What a beautiful white cat." She then set the cat down on the table and glanced into her eyes and ears. "She looks pretty healthy. Nice, pink color in her ears. Her hearing seems fine. About seventy percent of blue-eyed white cats are deaf, but she's following my cues. Eyes are clear. No cataracts or scratched cornea that I usually see in ferals. She's definitely been someone's pet. Let's have a look at those teeth, shall we?" Dr. Reese gently raised the cat's lip while bracing her head. "Teeth and gums look pretty healthy." With her hands she then kneaded the cat's ribs. "She's been well fed."
Rick sniffed. "She's well fed, all right. That cat put away two packages of lunch meat."
The cat closed her eyes and gently swayed her white tail in the air, enjoying having her ribs massaged. But then Dr. Reese put one hand on Blizzard's back and another on her large abdomen and kneaded it with her fingers. She lowered her head. "Hmm."
"What is it, Ma'am?" Horatio wanted to know.
She hesitated. "I'd have to take Blizzard back to my lab and give her a full physical and psychological exam. Sergeant Stetler I understand she's been with you for a couple of days?"
"Yeah. She also killed a mouse and put it in my bed."
Dr. Reese smiled and looked down at Blizzard. "Well, somebody was just showing her respect for you."
"What about her ears, Dr. Reese?" Horatio wanted to know. "Can you find any evidence of a chip?"
With her fingers, the veterinarian felt Blizzard's left ear. The cat waited patiently. "I can't imagine a vet putting an implant in a cat's ear. But yeah, there does seem to be a lump of some kind in here. Feels like it could be. I'll do an MRI on her."
"One of our CSI's found an injection site inside her ear."
"Well, let's see." Clicking on her black penlight, she looked into Blizzard's left ear. "You're right. Somebody knew what they were doing, too. Either way I'll need to give her a full workup to determine whether she can be considered a credible witness. That's very tricky business."
"Now could we show her crime scene photos? Mugshots?" Rick wanted to know.
Dr. Reese smiled at his naivety. "Cats can't see two-dimensional images. Also, sight is probably the least used of their senses." She tipped her head up. "No, cats are more likely to remember voices, scents…. Those are the two most important. When I'm considering an animal as a witness, I'll gauge their reaction to a voice, a scent, a particular sound. Blizzard is obviously a companion animal. If she bonded to Walter Mullinax, then she could pick up on his thoughts and feelings. It's well documented that when their owners feel fear, pets feel fear as well. Now Sergeant Stetler, did you say that Blizzard showed up at your door that night?"
Rick began to forget his indignance and sat forward to remember. "Yeah. I live down the street from the crime scene. I actually stopped by to do an annual evaluation of the CSI's on the job. Blizzard came scratching at my door that night. When I opened the door, she ran into my house and hid under something."
Dr. Reese nodded. "It's likely Blizzard was traumatized by her owner's murder. She recognized Sergeant Stetler's scent, and, since he lives just a few doors down, Blizzard ran to the only thing in the neighborhood that was familiar to her. How has Blizzard been acting around you, Sergeant Stetler?"
"Like I can't get rid of her! She follows me around. Just today I had to hold her while two CSI's swabbed her for DNA."
"Cats can smell all of the human emotions-fear, anger, sadness, love. Both Walter Mullinax and his killer gave off distinct scents at the time of his murder. Blizzard will react to that memory. I'd like to take her back to my office and give her a workup. I should be able to give you a report tomorrow."
Rick breathed deeply as Dr. Reese carefully nudged Blizzard back into her carrier and closed the door. "And then what?"
"Animal Control will keep her in protective custody, Rick" Horatio said.
Those blue eyes looked at him sadly through the cage doors. He took a deep breath and got up. "Fine. Let me know if I can do anything else."
In the silence of his house, Rick attempted to reassemble the pages that Blizzard had torn up. "Stupid cat. Puked up a hairball on my chair!"
Those blue eyes. That soft, white fur. That cute little voice. Rick swallowed and looked at the muddy paw prints on his living room carpet. "You made a mess" he insisted to himself. "Scratched me up, shed fur all over my furniture."
It was no use. It was too quiet in there. Rick sighed deeply and resigned himself to the fact that he would probably never see Blizzard again. He'd never get to pet her soft, white fur again. She'd never roll over on her back and purr just for him again. In the middle of his lonely, thankless life as the Head of Internal Affairs, Blizzard didn't judge him. He didn't have to compete with Horatio for her affection. No, he just had to feed her, pet her, talk to her, and let her out.
While he was deep in thought, Rick spotted a stray white hair on his red sleeve. He plucked it out and looked at it. He thought he could still hear her purring. "I'm gonna miss you" he finally whispered to himself as he tossed the hair aside.
His cell phone vibrated on his coffee table, rattling it. He picked it up and checked the caller ID. Horatio. "What is it, Horatio?" he said bitterly.
"Rick, I need you to get out to Dr. Reese's office. Now!"
Rick tipped his head up. "What's going on?" His heart skipped as he felt himself bolt to his feet. "What happened?"
"Rick? I'll explain later. Just get out here!"
