Disclaimer: The only thing I own here is Melody. And the plot line.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the author of Timeless Sands. Which is a book. Not a fanfic.

No, I didn't drop off the edge of the earth. I'm sorry it took me so long to get this up, my life's been pretty crazy lately. I've got a major case of jet lag and my stomach's adjusting back to good old American food (yay preservatives!!). Hope you like!

By the way, I'm thinking of changing my pen name. Any suggestions?

Chapter Eight, part two: Lookalike

Continued from Chapter Eight, part one:

"I'll try. See you later." Melody grabbed the camera and headed out the door. In a minute or so she had arrived at the evidence lab, where she could see Ryan Wolfe through the glass, processing the victim's clothing and effects. Standing outside the lab, she felt the cold beginnings of nervousness between her shoulder blades. She tried to push it away and failed, instead feeling her eyes drawn to him as he moved with intensity and a certain grace around the lab, his domain.

Why does he affect me like this? she asked herself for the second time that day, ashamed for acting like a little girl with a crush. Come on, she told herself. Get over yourself. Go in there, do what you need to do, and leave. It's not a big deal, just give him the camera and go…

She stepped forward and knocked hesitantly on the closed door. Inside, Ryan flinched, looked up, and then beckoned her inside once he saw who it was.

"Um…hi," he said, brow furrowed in confusion. "Is it my turn already?"

"No, not yet. I'm just passing through," she said flippantly, in an attempt to disguise her minor freak-out. "Eric asked me to drop this off with you on my way to the morgue."

"Are those the prints from the vehicle?" He was all business, and Melody followed the CSI's lead.

"Yeah, just a few partials we found. Looks like they were pretty careful, wiped down the interior and exterior."

"Seems a little too careful for a senior prank, they're all about bragging rights and who's the most daring."

"True, but it's not careful enough for a murder."

"The guy's chest was crushed. What, you think he just happened to be sitting up there and that car just happened to get dropped on his chest?"

"I'll let you know." Melody raised her eyebrows at him, about-faced crisply, and didn't stop walking until she reached the doors of the morgue. An assistant answered her knock and gave her another spare lab coat and a new set of gloves, then let her into the autopsy room, where Alexx was just beginning to examine the body that had been found on the roof.

"Melody, is that you?"
"Hey, Alexx."

"Come on in here, girl. I want to show you something."

Melody was skittish and eyed the body cautiously.

"He's not gonna hurt you, baby. Come here."

Melody approached slowly, fighting visions of Andrew lying pale and cold in this boy's place. She looked down, preferring a caved-in rib cage to her painful memories.

"Look at this bruising," Alexx said, pointing. "This is post-mortem."

"Post-mortem? How?"

"You tell me. Look at these chest x-rays." She produced the documents and clipped them to the light box.
Melody saw it almost immediately. "These fractures don't make sense. This looks like blunt-force trauma."

"You're right on. I'll know for sure once I open up his chest, but right now I can see evidence of multiple blows, probably broke his ribs and sternum and punctured his lungs. But nothing broke the skin, so no one noticed anything."

"So in that case… the roof isn't the primary crime scene. The body must have been moved."

"Correct. There were no signs of struggle on the roof or in the car, but there's bruising on the victim's hands and face."

"Meaning he could have gotten into a fight."

Melody picked up one of the victim's hands. The skin on his fingers had grown over the tips of his bitten-down fingernails, dulling the usual sharp edges that are so helpful for picking up trace evidence of an attacker. "So much for DNA from the fingernails."

"Yeah, I couldn't get anything. But we found some trace in his hair, which might lead us to another location."

"We have to go back?"

"Someone does. But let's wait until after the post before we go searching, maybe we'll see something helpful."

"Wait- we? You want me to help with the post?"

"Oh, no, honey. No offense, but there's no way I'm risking our necks like that. You watch. That's it."

"Can't say I'm too terribly cut up about that. No pun intended."

"You're hilarious."

"Can I help it? A week ago my partner was lying there just like this guy."

"Oh, honey... how are you holding up?"

"I'm, ah... I'm having some trouble sleeping," she admitted reluctantly.

"Nightmares?"

She nodded.

"Oh, honey. I know it's hard."

"Please, Alexx. I can't talk about this. My past can't enter this place. It's the only way I'll be able to make it.

"I understand. I won't push you. But if you want to talk…"

"I know where you'll be."

"Then get outta here and let me do my job."

Melody left the room without a backward glance. Once she had made her way up to the desk that overlooked the autopsy room, she sat and watched the shining silver of Alexx's scalpel as it slid cleanly through the pale, discolored flesh of John Doe's chest. The sight made her unusually nauseous and she redirected her gaze to the young man's face.

Andrew! Her mind screamed. There he was, lying on the sterile metal table, as still and cold as he had been on the hot pavement.

No. It can't be. she spun away from the glass wall, sinking down into the chair. Her breath came hard, her hands trembled. With difficulty she calmed herself and attempted to see the situation objectively.

Stop. This isn't possible. Andrew is dead. Buried. You saw him. Hesitantly she glanced at the monitor that bore the dead man's image. Nothing. The man bore only the slightest resemblance to her deceased partner. She looked harder, searching for the cause of her reaction. Nothing. The face was vaguely the same shape and size as Andrew's, but the features were heavier, the skin was tanned and freckled, and then there was the fact that he was probably ten or twelve years younger than her partner, and he looked like it.

Alexx's voice came over the speaker, voicing Melody's thoughts.

"Poor boy," she said sadly. "He had a lot of life left to live."

" 'Had' being the operative word here," Melody finished.

A few minutes later Alexx spoke again.

"Well, here's your COD," she said.

"What's that, Alexx?"

"Zoom in on his chest, I'll show you."

Hesitantly Melody tapped at the computer until it showed a close-up image of the man's chest cavity.

"His chest showed plenty more bruising, ante-mortem."

"Did you catch a pattern?"

"No, and that's what interested me. It wasn't consistent. I didn't figure it out until I opened him up and I saw the fractures."

"His ribs- they aren't consistent at all with the scene. There's fractures all over the place."

"Baby boy was in a fight."

"A fight to the death- and he lost."

Alexx nodded. "Repeated blows to the chest splintered his ribs, drove them into the lungs. He suffocated. Petechiae in his eyelids confirm it."

"And no one even noticed because nothing broke the skin."

"Blood from the lung stayed inside the chest cavity. Broken ends went in, not out."

"Beatings are crimes of passion... Okay. So you're upset at someone. You go, confront them, throw a few punches. What's the first place you're going to aim at? The face, right?"

"True. But that's not the most painful area by far. If pain is your goal, go for the soft spots- the belly, the groin."

"Yes, but the face- the face is special. It's the first thing you notice about someone. It's generally the first thing you judge someone on. It's very closely associated with a person's identity and personality. Damaging or destroying someone's face is the ultimate victory- you're defiling the very essence of who they are. Why do you think so many serial killers mutilate their victims' faces?"

"So his killer beat him to death... impersonally?"

"So it would appear. Maybe he didn't have any weapon available?"

"Good. So our crime scene is probably outside, or somewhere without a lot of loose objects, like a warehouse."

"Which is consistent with the roof."

"Could be."

"Is it all right if I come down?"

"Why don't you wait 'till I'm done."

"Sure."

For the next hour or so Melody sat and watched Alexx work, not batting an eye as the ME removed his organs or even as she opened his stomach and emptied its contents into a jar. She worked efficiently, and soon everything was stapled and covered up and Alexx beckoned Melody down.

Back by Alexx's side, she stared at the body with a strange look on her face. She breathed in deeply, held it for a moment, then exhaled and turned to her companion.

"Do you smell chlorine?"

"It's more than likely," Alexx responded, confused. "They probably use some sort of chlorine-based cleaner on the equipment."

"I don't think that's it. May I?" she asked, gesturing towards the body.

"Go ahead."

Melody leaned close to the victim and sniffed gingerly. She paused for a moment, then straightened with the dead man's hand in hers. She breathed on it and sniffed again. Gently she laid the appendage down and turned away from the table.

"Anything?"

"Definitely something. This guy practically reeks of chlorine."

"I washed him off; he shouldn't have anything on his skin."

"I know, but chlorine, like any other strong odor, has a way of almost soaking into the skin if you're exposed to it regularly."

"What are you thinking? He worked with bleach? Someone used it to wipe him down?"

"No… I'm thinking chlorine water. A swimmer."

Alexx nodded her approval. "Very well could be. What are you going to do?"

"I… ah…"

"Come on, honey. You can do this. What do you need to know?"

"I need to know… if I'm right?"

"Okay. How are you going to prove your theory?"
Melody thought for a minute, staring off into space with her brow furrowed. "Do you have his stomach contents?"

"Right here," Alexx said, reaching for the container of brownish liquid. What do you need?"
"I want to run them through the mass-spec, see if there's chlorine water in there. A lot of times, swimmers ingest a bunch of water during practice. By the smell coming off this guy, I'd say he hasn't been in the shower since before his last practice."

"Good. Then what?"

"Well, if it's positive I'll start looking at swim teams, starting with the school he was found at. Interview his teammates, coaches, see if anyone might have had motive to kill him."

"And if it's negative?"
"Well, the smell has to have an explanation."

"Okay. Good. Go run these to Ryan. And you can stick with him, I'm done with you."

"All right, Alexx. Thanks so much."
"Any time, hon, any time at all. And go easy on poor Ryan."

"Yes ma'am!" Melody picked up her samples and was about to make her exit when Alexx's voice stopped her.

"Melody?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you call H and let him know what we found?"

"Of course." She left (again), cell phone in hand with Horatio Caine on speed-dial.

"Miss Carver."

"Hey Horatio. I just left Alexx in the morgue. John Doe was already dead when he ended up on that roof. The car didn't kill him. He was beaten to death- COD was suffocation due to a punctured lung."

"So the roof isn't the primary crime scene then?"

"No. But the vic smelled strongly of chlorine, and I'm looking into the possibility that he's a swimmer or something of that nature. I'm on my way to Trace right now with his stomach contents.

"All right. Call me when you find something."
"Yes sir."

She set off through the halls of the crime lab and within a few minutes, found herself staring through the clear glass door of the trace lab for the second time that day.

To Be Continued… again…

To My Reviewers:

JauntyChick: Sorry for the confusion, I probably should have said that it was a flashback kind of thing, but I'm glad you still liked it. I'm glad you liked Aaron, I modeled him after a good friend of mine. He will probably come into play more if I do a prequel.

LSG: Oh, God… I'm really sorry. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose someone like that…

TJ: I know, it was really random. I wrote the whole speech section during a rather nostalgic period and adapted it to fit the rest of the chapter afterwards. I probably should have added a flashback thing and whatever before I posted it. Oops.

Legolasfreak2: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it so far, hope that last chapter didn't confuse you too bad.

Daxy: Sorry to make you wait! Somehow I don't think this chapter was worth it. Maybe the next one…

Luf100: It's good to know that people were still reading that far after an update. I'm thrilled that you liked it and I hope you still do.

To Everyone Else:

Please review! I welcome your questions, comments, suggestions, whatever. Keep bugging me to update, my ADD is not conducive to any sort of continuity.