'Steve?' Amanda called, gently shaking his shoulder. He was obviously exhausted. His head was slumped forwards onto his chest and autopsy reports were open on his lap, papers spilling on to the floor at his feet. Evidently he had dropped off whilst trying to read through her files.
Remembering what Mark had said that morning she considered letting him sleep, but almost immediately thought better of it. Much as she hated to wake him, she knew that if she left him to sleep all afternoon he'd be mad as hell when he woke up. No doubt he'd insist on working late to make up for lost time and that would certainly veto Mark's plans for a relaxing evening with his son. Besides she'd just hauled a plateful of macaroni cheese all the way from the 3rd floor.
'Come on Steve' she raised her voice, shaking less gently this time.
Opening his eyes Steve grunted in surprise, then realising where he was, looked immediately at his watch.
'Don't worry' Amanda soothed, reading his mind 'You've only been asleep for fifteen minutes tops'. She pushed the tray on the desk towards him and removed the metal cover to reveal a large plate of macaroni cheese. 'Now hand me those files and start eating' she ordered.
Rubbing his eyes, Steve collected up the files and passed them over to Amanda, receiving a fork in exchange. He had little appetite, but knew he had to humour her if he wanted the reports. Holding the fork she'd provided in his left hand he obediently began to attack his food, determined to show willing.
'This tastes great' he said truthfully, surprised to find that once started, he was more than ready to eat.
'Good' she smiled waving a finger at him 'Now you just make sure you keep eating whilst I'm talking' she reminded, reaching for the first file.
Steve smiled, it wasn't often he allowed himself to be bossed around, especially by a woman, but with Amanda it was different. In more private moments he'd tried to analyse his feelings for her. She was definitely attractive, there was no doubt about that – he was a red blooded male and he knew a beautiful woman when he saw one. And yet the attraction he felt for her was not sexual. In a way it was much deeper than that.
Whilst he had never seriously contemplated them as a couple, she was integral to his life and he was honest enough to admit to himself – although not to anyone else, the twinges of jealousy he felt when he saw her with another man.
He was pleased she seemed to have found happiness with Ron Wagner, and he knew Ron was a decent guy, but deep down he found it hard to share her affections. He guessed that a shrink would say it was all tied up with losing his mother, but Steve had little time for psychology, particularly his own. He wrested his attention back to the present and tried to focus upon 'Amanda the medical examiner' as opposed to 'Amanda the woman'.
'Peterson had a pin prick mark on the back of his neck just below his left ear' Amanda was saying authoritatively, having switched fluently into her role as consummate professional. 'The cause was a needle incision made by a hypodermic syringe - part of the needle was still in his neck. I'd place the time of death anywhere between 8 and 10pm. His body contained elevated levels of thyroxin, suggesting a massive increase in thyroid activity'.
'So he was killed by an overactive thyroid?' Steve asked swallowing another forkful of macaroni.
'Indirectly yes' Amanda confirmed. The elevated levels of thyroxin caused an increase in his metabolic rate and his heart couldn't take the pressure. He died from coronary arrest brought on by the thyrotoxicosis'.
'So he was murdered by an injection of thyroxin?' Steve said slowly as he tried to make sense of the information.
She raised her eyebrows 'Possibly.'
'Come on Amanda, don't hedge with me' he complained impatiently, running a hand through his hair in irritation.
'According to his doctor's notes, Peterson had just been diagnosed with an overactive thyroid' she explained 'The symptoms of an overactive thyroid, or Graves disease, as it's called, are similar to those of stress – increased heart rate, shaky hands, inability to tolerate extreme temperatures, headaches, grouchiness'.
'Well' Steve said thoughtfully 'that would certainly fit with the bad moods and the shaking hands that his students described'.
'It's not strange that he had elevated levels of thyroxin' Amanda continued, 'but what is strange is how severe his reaction was'. She frowned 'There was something else in his system that combined with the thyroxin to elevate the attack'.
'And that something was?' Steve prompted
'That's the problem' she shook her head 'I don't know. We found traces of an organic substance in his blood stream, but it's like nothing I've ever seen before'. She let out a breath of frustration 'We're still running tests, but I don't hold out much hope'.
'Some kind of poison?' Steve suggested, forking up the last of his food.
'Most likely, but we have no idea what it is or how it works'. She sighed 'Peterson's thyroid condition makes it harder to isolate the effects of any possible toxin'.
Steve sighed 'So what about Summers?' he prompted hopefully.
'Well he was strangled' she confirmed. 'The burn marks around his neck indicate he was attacked from behind'.
Amanda chewed her lip thoughtfully 'Again it's strange'
'How?' Steve was intrigued.
'He was big guy' she explained, 'but he didn't seem to put up much of a fight'.
'Well if he was taken by surprise' Steve grimaced 'It can be hard to fight when someone has a rope around your neck – believe me I know'.
'I remember' Amanda looked at him sympathetically 'But you did fight back'.
'Barely' Steve shuddered 'And anyway I was attacked by a woman. If it'd been a guy I might not have been so lucky'.
'I guess' she conceded 'But there's still something about his death that bothers me'.
'What?' Steve rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. 'Come on Amanda' he groaned 'I'm not in the mood for twenty questions.'
She paused before continuing 'The fibres from the rope that I picked up on his clothes and around his neck, they're definitely organic, but they're like nothing I've ever seen before'.
'So what are you telling me?' Steve sighed with resignation putting down his fork.
She smiled sheepishly 'That we have two organic substances that I just can't identify'.