**Just wanted to mention real quick about something I wrote in chapter ten. For the use of the electronic dust-print lifter, I used a novel by Max Allan Collins called "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation--Double Dealer" as my resource. Enjoy chapter eleven!**
Chapter Eleven: Pieces of the Puzzle
Back in the lab…
"Hey, take a look at this," Speed caught Calleigh's attention as she walked into the room.
"You find a match for that silk fiber?"
"Not exactly, but I did take a closer look at how it was weaved together, then compared it to the weaving of the cotton fibers from whatever was used as the gun silencer. Since the cotton was put together sort of sloppily, it backs up my idea that it was a simple dish towel. But then when I checked out the weaving patterns of the silk, it turns out that it was woven together much more carefully--this is high quality stuff, here," Speed said, holding the thread up for Calleigh to see.
She smirked and nodded, "Glad to see how passionate you are about your fabrics! What else can you tell me?"
He chuckled, "Actually, I did a few searches and found out that it's called Atlas silk. Folklore says that an entire yard of this stuff could be strung through a tiny ring to show how fine it is. And, of course, things with a story like this always have a pretty good price to them as well."
"Ooo! Someone likes to shop in luxury, huh?" Calleigh said playfully.
"Yeah, says that this silk was mostly used on either formal or bridal wear," Speed finished.
"So did it match to any of the blouses or clothes in the victim's house?" she asked.
"Unfortunately, no. On the other hand, I checked around for bridal shops that either sell or have sold certain clothing made from Atlas, and it led me to a bridal shop in Delray Beach called Alfred Angelo."
"Great! So we've just got one location?"
"Hold on a sec, I'm one step ahead of you. I made a call to the shop, and found out that they discontinued the line of Atlas dresses about two years ago. I guess that it was getting too expensive to use."
"Okay, and I'm guessing that you didn't by any chance get a list of customers…"
"We're on our own from here," Speed said, sitting back in the chair.
"Alright," Calleigh said, "Thanks for checking those out for me, Speed. You did a great job…but now we still need to work on the DNA that was found on Jennifer's dress."
"About that--turns out that we've already had a fairly good comparison. As soon as H and Robin get back from the morgue, I can show you what I mean."
"Horatio? When was he here?" Calleigh asked, slightly surprised.
"About an hour and a half ago. Said he'd talk to Alexx and get a sample from the cosmetics."
She looked at him doubtingly, "I don't know if it would have taken that long. You think, maybe, something came up?"
Speed shrugged, picking up his cell phone, "Dunno…guess I can call and see what's up."
The phone remained silent for a fraction of a second before letting out the first ring…and a second…then he heard Horatio's voice.
"Yeah?" Horatio was still kneeling on the ground, pressing down yet another Mylar sheet, with the phone wedged between his shoulder and his ear.
"Horatio? Where are you?"
"I'm back at the Hallandale Apartments with Robin. I wanted to get there as soon as possible before anything outside of the room was cleaned," he said before nodding to Robin, indicating that she could attach the alligator clip to one edge of the sheet.
"Outside of the room?"
"Latent prints--the place to find them. At first I thought it might not work out since so many people walk through the hallways, until I remembered how clean it had looked the first time I was there. Turns out there were a lot of prints--but as soon as we get rid of the prints made by CSIs and police…"
Speed smiled, "…put the remaining prints into SLIP and we've got ourselves a few more suspects. What about that possible DNA sample from the victim's foundation makeup?"
"Not to worry, Speed. I gave Alexx a call on my way here."
"Great, I'll go check it out."
Horatio caught him before hanging up, "Before you go, there's one more thing that could help you out a little more."
"Sure, what is it?" Speed asked.
"Why don't you try Cyanoacrylate fuming on the body? Might be able to actually pick up some prints off of the makeup as well."
"The super-glue method? Think I should try it out on the dress after getting another sample?"
"Do everything you can…we don't want anything left unexamined. This guy isn't gunna slip out of our hands," he said sternly.
"Right, I'll see what I can do," Speed pressed the glowing 'end' button on his cell, beginning to feel overwhelmed again.
Calleigh was still standing where she had been before, her arms folded in front of her, "So…?"
Speed inhaled deeply, "We've gotta fume the body--pick up any loose prints. I'm gunna get another DNA sample from the dress, then do the same. Hopefully we can pull something good and get it to Erik."
"Yeah," Calleigh agreed, "I'm sure he's itching for more to do!"
Speed walked over to a table where the bagged garment was awaiting him. He slipped it out of the package, setting it carefully on top of it's plastic cover. There were a few linen strips nearby, which he moistened with water and set over the now dark blood stain. Once they soaked up some of the remaining blood, Speed set it out to air dry.
"Okay, let's get Erik and then give Alexx a little visit."
Calleigh raised her eyebrows, showing him a small smile before heading out.
* * * * *
Alexx was standing beside the laid-out body, which was placed inside a soon-to-be airtight tank, and was accompanied by a small heater. She looked down at the corpse with her kind eyes, saying in a mothering voice, "Don't worry sweetie…you could be the final piece of the puzzle if this works out."
Calleigh stepped beside her, putting a few small drops of liquid super glue into a container, then setting it on top of the heater. The tank was sealed and the heater triggered.
As the glue was boiling, Erik explained what was going on, "Alright, to get the latent fingerprints, we needed something that could make them more visible. Since the methylcyanoacrylate--superglue--reacts to amino acids, fatty acids, and proteins from the fingerprints, the familiar sticky, white substance will form around the ridges and details of the prints. The little fan just needs to keep the inside air circulating."
Once heated to the proper temperature, the glue would then evaporate into it's newly formed atmosphere. They all stood around the tank for several minutes, monitoring the progress.
"Guys, this could take up to a couple hours," Erik started. "If you wanna get any other work done, feel free--I'll keep an eye out for the prints."
"Thanks, man. That sounds great, I'll check back with ya in a while," Speed said gratefully, glad that he had some extra time to work with the other evidence. By the time Horatio would get back, most of the evidence would be examined and they could start fresh from whatever new was found.
* * * * *
Calleigh and Speed were walking silently side-by-side through the maze of entangled hallways. All of a sudden, Calleigh brought up a surprising topic, "So, you really think that Horatio likes this girl?"
Speed looked at her, his face nearly screamed 'I told you so!'. Instead, he broke it to her lightly, "I thought you said it was childish to jump to those kind of conclusions."
She rolled her eyes, smile spreading even larger as she said in a sing-song tone, "Well, don't you think it's kinda fun? I mean, Horatio is usually that strong, grounded figure that we all look up to. And now…we've found his soft side!"
Speed chuckled at her wording, "Sounds like you're at an interview for the 'Horatio Caine' biography."
She stared at him accusingly, giving his arm a playful tap, "Joke all you want…but you were the one who told me about it in the first place!"
He sighed jokingly, "Yep, blame it aalll on Timothy Speedle…"
**Rock on! I've been able to crank out the chapters like crazy this week! Not much to say on this chapter, so I'll do my best to keep up the speedy writing! One quick note, BlackRaven was the one to help me out on most of the fiber analysis, and then I used cbs.com (the CSI:Miami website) for additional info. Thanks again!**