Thursday, March 20, 2008; 12:30 PM PST
Jess rubbed the back of her gloved hand across her forehead, as she stretched her back. Hours of lifting latent prints from construction site pipes had left her eyes tired and her body aching. Thankfully she was almost ready to let AFIS do the rest of the work for her.
AFIS is the acronym for the U.S. national Automated Fingerprint Identification System. With the program's help, CSIs and other law enforcement agents can search for suspects to connect to a crime scene, rather than waiting to find the suspect before attempting to connect them to a crime scene.
As she prepared the computer at her work station to run her latest set of prints, Jess hoped that the results would pop up on the screen sooner, rather than later. Waiting was her least favorite part of her job.
Suddenly the chirping of her cell phone interrupted the quiet of the print lab. Oops! I forgot to mute my phone when I came into the office this morning. Snatching the offending object off of the desk, she answered quickly.
'Hi, this is Jess Mitchell.'
'Jess, it is Charles. The Lieutenant of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab came through for us right away. We have our connection.'
'N…n….no way.' The computer screen in front of Jess went out of focus as a surprised daze came over her.
'Yes way,' Charles teased. 'Any chance you can get away for lunch? I would recommend that we not discuss this while you are in the lab.' Okay, so I am pushing it. Lunch is not really necessary; she could just step outside of the building, but then seeing her would be out of the question.
She hated this feeling; the trapped feeling that came over her every time another person recommended a social outing. No amount of reasoning could slow the now rapid beating of her heart or the shallowness of her breathing. The irony was that her job required personal interactions every single day. But reassurance and encouragement from her mother and her best friend could not even convince Jessica Mitchell that social interaction outside of work was bound to end in pain – her pain.
He is making sure that no more trouble is created for me, she reminded herself. This is a business lunch. This is a business lunch. This became her mantra as she said, 'Ah… ummmm… yes, Charles, that sounds like a great idea. I have prints running through AFIS, so I can definitely get away from the lab for a while. When and where would you like to meet?' Jess took a deep breath, finally.
'Do you know that hole-in-the-wall Mexican place Adalberto's in Point Loma?'
'Uh-huh.'
'Let's meet there in twenty minutes, okay, Jess?'
'Yep. See you then.' Her tone, followed by her quick hang up, left Charles wondering if he would actually see the beautiful detective any time soon.
Grabbing her purse, Jess left the crime lab with a quick wave and cursory explanation to her Lt.
Jacob glanced at his watched. 12:37. From his perch atop the downtown parking garage, he watched his mark, Jessica Mitchell, exit the San Diego Crime Lab. She had her purse with her indicating that she was not headed to a crime scene. And she was cutting across the plaza toward the parking garage.
Fascinating. What is this woman doing now?
After her mystery meeting with Mr. Tall in the café yesterday, Jacob had rapidly changed his surveillance plans. Thus he had discovered the current parking lot rooftop location for observing his prey and the rust bucket Honda he now drove instead of his beloved, yet noticeable, red Mustang. He did not like to be caught off guard and his CSI's behavior was becoming more mysterious by the hour.
Unwilling to risk losing her in downtown lunch-hour traffic, Jacob slid into his car, turned over the engine and slowly started driving down to the third level of the lot, where he had seen her park her car at two minutes until eight this morning. His timing was perfect. She was just slipping the car into reverse as he approached her position, slowed and let her back out in front of him. Maybe this won't be so difficult after all.
Driving her hometown's busy streets was never Jess' dream lunch break, but this was unavoidable. Her most direct route to her dreaded meeting with Charles led her down the busiest streets of the harbor district and she had no desire to be late. Preoccupation limited her focus and, though she was able to drive safely to her destination, observation of her surroundings was a low priority. She failed to notice the beat up car that was quite obviously following her to the restaurant.
All Jess could do was focus on her mantra… this is a business lunch... all the way to her favorite burrito shop.
He knew her destination as soon as they entered the Point Loma area. Why she was there for lunch he could not answer, but she frequented this shabby little shop for dinner on a regular basis. He slowed his car to a crawl, much to the annoyance of the lunch-time travelers behind her.
Examining the parking lot, his eyes lit upon a problem. Mr. Tall was waiting for her at the door. There are only two options, he thought. The first is that they are dating. Ha… not likely, no one would want to be with his mousy prey. The second is that they are working on something hidden, something they did not want their colleagues to see.
Jacob's only choice of reaction was risky. He needed to be inside with them. He needed to hear what exactly they are talking about.
Pulling around to the back of the block, Jacob took a deep breath, put on his hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses, and took the first steps that would change the tone of his pursuit.