"Hey Pez, time to see the Doctor."
"Danny, for the last time I will not play doctor with you. That's what your girlfriend is for." This was rewarded by an outburst of laughter from the guys in the bullpen.
"Funny Pez. It's time to go see Doc Reuben down at the morgue about our DB. Scooch your butt, girl. You don't look too happy to go visit your first Mr. Stiffy." Danny motioned Sara toward the back stairwell to the morgue.
"Hey, Pez, you're not afraid of a little stiffy are you? Cuz my stiffy isn't little!" Which detective added this comment couldn't be discerned, but it got a round of hoots from the rest of the crowd.
"That's not what I heard. The girls down in lockup said that they needed a magnifying glass to see your stiffy!" She shot back without missing a beat.
A collective "OOO" was heard from the crowd as Sara headed down the stairs.
"Thanks Danny for helping me get to know the guys so well. I am learning so much from you." Sarcasm dripped from her lips like honey.
"No problem." Danny turned back, gave her a big smile and held open the door to the morgue. The smell of formaldehyde and other chemicals hit her like a wet cloth.
***
Doctor Reubens was not what Sara expected, not at all.
"Welcome to my world. You must be Sara Pezzini. I've been hearing things about you." Doc Reubens extended his large coffee colored hand to Sara. She however was enchanted by his southern accent. In her book, Reubens did not equate with a tall, attractive black man in his early 40's from the Deep South. Not that she complained as he bent over and placed a mock kiss near the back of her hand.
"Well I hope that whatever you've been hearing hasn't been too bad." She shot Danny a death glare.
"It was all quite complimentary, to be sure. Is this your first visit to the morgue? Would you like a tour? If you haven't been informed by your partner here, I give all of the detectives an open invitation to watch any autopsy, as long as you don't try to interfere." Doc seemed quite eager to introduce her to his realm.
"Perhaps a tour at a later time and I'll get back to you about watching an autopsy." Death glare number two shot Danny's way.
"Well then, lets move over to my desk and I'll give you all the information that we've gathered so far from Mr. John Doe."
"Mr. John Doe is actually Mr. Garry Whiteman from Fishkill. We used his fingerprints to identify him. He was a civil servant – mailman. He was 42 years old." Doc flipped over several pages in a file showing fingerprint match and a copy of Mr. Whiteman's driver's license.
"As you may have deduced at the scene, this was large caliber ammunition, normally used for hunting. The entrance wound was in the back of the skull and the exit wound was, well, very evident. No powder burns or residue were detected near the entrance wound. In fact, no powder residue was found on the body." He showed the detectives several pages showing the results of tests to determine the caliber of the bullet. Also reviewed were pages of testing showing the lack of gunpowder residue.
"It appears that Mr. Whiteman was unconscious when he was shot."
"How did you determine that Doc," asked Danny.
"Bruising on the left temple of a different age that that caused by the gunshot. He was hit probably a few hours before he was shot and probably never regained conscience following the blow."
"Were you able to detect the size or shape of the object that hit him?" Sara leaned in slightly as she asked the question.
"No, other than it was approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches in width."
"What else did you find?" Danny asked looking up from the small notebook he used to take notes.
"Just that he was not killed where you found him. That much you probably guessed from the lack of blood and other tissues found at the scene. We are still running tests on the fibers that we removed from his clothes. I should have the results in a few days."
Doc Reubens looked over at Sara whose mouth was partially open and her pen raised in the air.
"Well that takes care of my last question." Sara slowly lowered her pen and gave him a half smile.
"Thanks Doc. If you could send up copies of all your findings when they are complete." Danny stood and Sara followed suite. Doc Reubens turned to them and looked as though he wanted to say more. He paused for a moment and then added
"I know this looks very cut and dry, but there is something off about this case that is bugging me. I haven't figured it out yet, but I will." He looked at them, puzzled.
"Great, where are Mulder and Scully when you need them?" She asked under her breath to no one in particular.
Danny shot her a glance as they walked out of the morgue door. "Anyone ever told you that you are a smart ass, Pez?" His look almost conveyed annoyance.
"Nope, never." She replied with a grin.
***
The trip to Fishkill was long and taxing. The former Mrs. Whiteman was inconsolable when told of her former husband's death. Their three teenagers were still at school while Sara and Danny broke the news to their mother. She asked that they stay with her until the children came home from school. Gently they questioned her about the habits and acquaintances of her former husband. Mrs. Whiteman could not think of anyone who would do her former husband harm.
The drive back to the City was full of silence and frustration. The lack of leads eating at both Danny and Sara. Sara was the first to break the silence.
"So what do we do now?"
"We check with his work colleagues, we check with his neighbors. Then we look at his credit history, his phone records and his mail. We search his apartment and we talk with his friends. Out of those, hopefully, we will get some ideas on where to look next."
"Are they always this…difficult?" Danny knew that Sara's question meant more.
Yes. I always hate breaking the news to the family. Especially when kids are involved. I hate probing into peoples private lives to determine who might want to cause them harm. I get discouraged when there is little to no evidence to go on. Murder cases are always this difficult. Death is difficult. Our job is trying to wade through the bad stuff, help the survivors and bring the bad guys to justice. Unfortunately, often we can't accomplish everything."
"Damn" was all Sara replied. She turned to the window and watched the scenery fly by.