Part Three
Police Plaza One
Back at the station, Goren heads for his desk while Eames makes a bee line for the coffee maker. Goren sifts through the pictures of the crime scene. Hoping he'd see something that he missed earlier. Eames returns with two cups of coffee. Seeing that her partner is completely absorbed in the photos; she sets one on her partner's desk. Goren looks up at her, absently starts scratching his head and mumbles a "Thanks." Takes a sip. Then turns his attention back to the photos scattered before him. Then slumps further in his chair. Moments later he regains his posture and places his left hand in front of his mouth and stares at the steaming coffee on his desk. Eames returned to her desk for the second time that morning with a cup of coffee in hand. Only to find her partner intensely looking at the cup of coffee she brought him over. She hesitates whether or not to ask if he's okay. Especially when he looks like he's trying to burn a whole through the cup.
His train of thought broken the beckoning sound of , "Bobby, Bobby?". She never calls me by my first name.
"I guess that Snickers bar this morning didn't cut it, huh?"
"Eames." nothing. Not a single wise-crack came to mind. She outwitted me.
"You know Bobby, I'd wait around all day for you; but I don't think Deakins would be as gracious." She replies as she points in the direction of Captain Deakins office. Damn. She did it again. Goren swirls around only to see Deakins standing in his office doorway impatiently tapping his foot.
Inside Captain James Deakins' Office
Goren shuts the door behind him and waits for Eames to take a seat.
Deakins looks at both of his detectives; "Alright I need a status report." He says sternly.
Goren slouches in his seat, half listening to Eames and at the same time counting the tiles on the ceiling. Deakins waits for Eames to finish, and turn his attention to Goren who is no longer staring at the ceiling but playing with his pants cuff.
"Detective Goren. Do you have anything you'd like to add?"
"Uh, no. Eames pretty much covered it."
Deakins, remained expressionless. He was not moved or surprised by Gorens lack of participation (answer). Hell, it's his usual answer whenever I get his ass in here for a status report, he thought.
"Eames mentioned you don't think the victim - Katie Philips; fell?"
"No, sir. I believe the possibility of her falling down the stairs is remote. The fall was to clean. There's no evidence to support she actually fell down the stairs." Goren bluntly responds.
"Except that fact the vic had a broken neck and is dead." Eames quickly interjects.
"Okay so her neck is broken, but the position her body was in. Is, is - wrong." He opens his brown zipper book and takes out pictures of the victim laying at the bottom the staircase.
"See here and here." Pointing to the victims exposed back and legs. "According to the ME's report there were no abrasions on the body, defensive wounds or signs of contusions forming."
"Maybe she doesn't bruise easily. Drugs?" asks Deakins. Goren shakes his head in disagreement.
"The tox screen came back negative." Replies Eames.
"Pushed?"
"The sergeant canvassed the entire block, questioned neighbors, there were no signs of a B and E. - nothing came up. At this point an accidental death seems the most plausible. " Eames flatly replies.
Deakins who is on the verge of getting sick from watching Goren pace back and forth asks; "So what do YOU think happened?"
Goren who had stopped pacing, suddenly announces; "coffee." And proceeds to dart out and slams the door behind him.
"What the hell..?" Mutters Deakins, confused by what just transpired,
Eames just as uncertain as the captain about her partner's intent; only manages a shrug. Even through the closed door Deakins and Eames hear Goren's booming voice.
"Does anyone know where the cream is?"
"In the mini-fridge." Shouts another detective.
"Thank you."
In between Goren's trips, to and from the captains office, EADA Carver had entered the room. Eames smiles at the EADA. Carver in turn nods and takes the vacant seat next to Eames. Carver looks to Deakin for answers about what Goren is up too. The captain shrugs and takes a seat behind his desk. Two trips later, Goren sets the last cup of coffee on the captain's desk with a pile of photos. Then methodically begins to pin the photos on the bulletin board.
"Juries like visual, detective. But I don't see the validity of the ones here." Fires Carver. As he waves his hands at the posted photos.
"Just look at the pictures." Fires back Goren.
"No ice-cream. A health nut." Observes Eames
"Exactly. The fridge was abstinent of any dairy products."
"Detective that proves, what?"
"I getting to that, CONSELOR. Look. The cup of coffee we found in the Katie Philips kitchen."
Eames abruptly cuts him off, "wasn't black. She had a visitor."
"Detectives, I'm still not seeing the whole picture."
Goren restrains himself from making a comment he'd most likely regret, exhales loudly, and points at the four cups on the desk. "The first cup on your left is regular black, regular with cream, decaf and decaf with cream. The ones with cream, the color changes. And if you let it set long enough the cream starts to collect at the top." Comments Goren.
"The coffee we found definitely had cream or milk in it." Eames replies.
"Do you know definitively that Ms. Philip is indeed lactose intolerant.?" inquires EADA Carver.
"Yes, I contacted Ms. Philips mother who said it runs in the family." Goren replies with an irritated tone.
"Now why would person who is lactose-intolerant be putting cream in their coffee?" asks Deakins in dismay.
"What are you suggesting, detective? Suicide - by cream?"
Goren hands Eames the ME report. She flips through and pauses, "This is interesting, the ME found a half digest chicken leg, green salad and no traces of any disaccharide. Meaning she was probably extremely L-I-T."
"Suicide? No way, even if it was (suicide) by 'cream'... why go to trouble of breaking your neck too??? It was a good 15 feet to the stairs and then another 3 feet going up. Being lactose intolerant, figure in the considerable amount she digested she would have gone into anaphylactic shock immediately in the kitchen. The furthest she could have gotten, I'd estimate - half way down the hallway." Explains Goren.
"I agree with my partner. Suicide isn't the likely cause here. She was as healthy as a horse, no heart disease, low cholesterol, and sodium levels. Either she took a night walk path to death or someone tried awfully hard to make it appear like she fell down the stairs."
"Too hard." Replies Deakins.
"This proves nothing." Argues EADA Carver.
"On the contrary, the theory supports that we're dealing a homicide not a suicide." Deakins firmly states.
"Notify me when you have a case." Carver responds as he gets up from his chair. Goren as agile as he is; reaches the door first. Before opening the door he meets Carver's eyes and softly replies; "You'll be first to know."
Police Plaza One
Back at the station, Goren heads for his desk while Eames makes a bee line for the coffee maker. Goren sifts through the pictures of the crime scene. Hoping he'd see something that he missed earlier. Eames returns with two cups of coffee. Seeing that her partner is completely absorbed in the photos; she sets one on her partner's desk. Goren looks up at her, absently starts scratching his head and mumbles a "Thanks." Takes a sip. Then turns his attention back to the photos scattered before him. Then slumps further in his chair. Moments later he regains his posture and places his left hand in front of his mouth and stares at the steaming coffee on his desk. Eames returned to her desk for the second time that morning with a cup of coffee in hand. Only to find her partner intensely looking at the cup of coffee she brought him over. She hesitates whether or not to ask if he's okay. Especially when he looks like he's trying to burn a whole through the cup.
His train of thought broken the beckoning sound of , "Bobby, Bobby?". She never calls me by my first name.
"I guess that Snickers bar this morning didn't cut it, huh?"
"Eames." nothing. Not a single wise-crack came to mind. She outwitted me.
"You know Bobby, I'd wait around all day for you; but I don't think Deakins would be as gracious." She replies as she points in the direction of Captain Deakins office. Damn. She did it again. Goren swirls around only to see Deakins standing in his office doorway impatiently tapping his foot.
Inside Captain James Deakins' Office
Goren shuts the door behind him and waits for Eames to take a seat.
Deakins looks at both of his detectives; "Alright I need a status report." He says sternly.
Goren slouches in his seat, half listening to Eames and at the same time counting the tiles on the ceiling. Deakins waits for Eames to finish, and turn his attention to Goren who is no longer staring at the ceiling but playing with his pants cuff.
"Detective Goren. Do you have anything you'd like to add?"
"Uh, no. Eames pretty much covered it."
Deakins, remained expressionless. He was not moved or surprised by Gorens lack of participation (answer). Hell, it's his usual answer whenever I get his ass in here for a status report, he thought.
"Eames mentioned you don't think the victim - Katie Philips; fell?"
"No, sir. I believe the possibility of her falling down the stairs is remote. The fall was to clean. There's no evidence to support she actually fell down the stairs." Goren bluntly responds.
"Except that fact the vic had a broken neck and is dead." Eames quickly interjects.
"Okay so her neck is broken, but the position her body was in. Is, is - wrong." He opens his brown zipper book and takes out pictures of the victim laying at the bottom the staircase.
"See here and here." Pointing to the victims exposed back and legs. "According to the ME's report there were no abrasions on the body, defensive wounds or signs of contusions forming."
"Maybe she doesn't bruise easily. Drugs?" asks Deakins. Goren shakes his head in disagreement.
"The tox screen came back negative." Replies Eames.
"Pushed?"
"The sergeant canvassed the entire block, questioned neighbors, there were no signs of a B and E. - nothing came up. At this point an accidental death seems the most plausible. " Eames flatly replies.
Deakins who is on the verge of getting sick from watching Goren pace back and forth asks; "So what do YOU think happened?"
Goren who had stopped pacing, suddenly announces; "coffee." And proceeds to dart out and slams the door behind him.
"What the hell..?" Mutters Deakins, confused by what just transpired,
Eames just as uncertain as the captain about her partner's intent; only manages a shrug. Even through the closed door Deakins and Eames hear Goren's booming voice.
"Does anyone know where the cream is?"
"In the mini-fridge." Shouts another detective.
"Thank you."
In between Goren's trips, to and from the captains office, EADA Carver had entered the room. Eames smiles at the EADA. Carver in turn nods and takes the vacant seat next to Eames. Carver looks to Deakin for answers about what Goren is up too. The captain shrugs and takes a seat behind his desk. Two trips later, Goren sets the last cup of coffee on the captain's desk with a pile of photos. Then methodically begins to pin the photos on the bulletin board.
"Juries like visual, detective. But I don't see the validity of the ones here." Fires Carver. As he waves his hands at the posted photos.
"Just look at the pictures." Fires back Goren.
"No ice-cream. A health nut." Observes Eames
"Exactly. The fridge was abstinent of any dairy products."
"Detective that proves, what?"
"I getting to that, CONSELOR. Look. The cup of coffee we found in the Katie Philips kitchen."
Eames abruptly cuts him off, "wasn't black. She had a visitor."
"Detectives, I'm still not seeing the whole picture."
Goren restrains himself from making a comment he'd most likely regret, exhales loudly, and points at the four cups on the desk. "The first cup on your left is regular black, regular with cream, decaf and decaf with cream. The ones with cream, the color changes. And if you let it set long enough the cream starts to collect at the top." Comments Goren.
"The coffee we found definitely had cream or milk in it." Eames replies.
"Do you know definitively that Ms. Philip is indeed lactose intolerant.?" inquires EADA Carver.
"Yes, I contacted Ms. Philips mother who said it runs in the family." Goren replies with an irritated tone.
"Now why would person who is lactose-intolerant be putting cream in their coffee?" asks Deakins in dismay.
"What are you suggesting, detective? Suicide - by cream?"
Goren hands Eames the ME report. She flips through and pauses, "This is interesting, the ME found a half digest chicken leg, green salad and no traces of any disaccharide. Meaning she was probably extremely L-I-T."
"Suicide? No way, even if it was (suicide) by 'cream'... why go to trouble of breaking your neck too??? It was a good 15 feet to the stairs and then another 3 feet going up. Being lactose intolerant, figure in the considerable amount she digested she would have gone into anaphylactic shock immediately in the kitchen. The furthest she could have gotten, I'd estimate - half way down the hallway." Explains Goren.
"I agree with my partner. Suicide isn't the likely cause here. She was as healthy as a horse, no heart disease, low cholesterol, and sodium levels. Either she took a night walk path to death or someone tried awfully hard to make it appear like she fell down the stairs."
"Too hard." Replies Deakins.
"This proves nothing." Argues EADA Carver.
"On the contrary, the theory supports that we're dealing a homicide not a suicide." Deakins firmly states.
"Notify me when you have a case." Carver responds as he gets up from his chair. Goren as agile as he is; reaches the door first. Before opening the door he meets Carver's eyes and softly replies; "You'll be first to know."
