Disclaimers, dedication, etc.: see part 1
Thank you
to everyone who reviewed. It means the world to me if you
like it. I promise some
serious H/C action in the very near future
(next chapter), but please be patient for just a little bit longer…
Oh, well, look who's talking ... I can hardly wait for it myself,
and I'm writing the thing ...
Chapter 4: Closing In
"We've already established that no one noticed anything crassly out of the ordinary. But we have just started out. If you could just tell me exactly what you did last night, it will really help", Calleigh explained to the young woman in the hospital bed.
Horatio had all but hauled her out of headquarters half an hour ago, telling her they'd have to get the victims' statements ASAP. On the way to the hospital, he had filled Calleigh in on the latest developments. She had not been able to suppress a shudder when he had pointed out the possibility of worse scenarios that were yet to come. They had passed the rest of the drive in silence, but Calleigh had secretly watched him while his attention was focused on the street. At least the truth would be found out, and whoever did this would be held responsible. Looking at Horatio with his clenched jaws and his determined chin, the embodiment of silent righteous rage, there could be no doubt about that.
They had split up at the hospital to talk to the victims. Calleigh had already tried, and failed, to question Mendy Barton and Peter Atkins, both of whom were in no shape to be subjected to any interviews yet. Now she was standing next to the bed of Katherine Douglas, a young lab technician and DNA expert with a pale face and dark shadows under her eyes, with trembling hands and tear-streaked cheeks.
She grabbed a chair and pulled it to the side of the bed. "Did you have anything to eat at headquarters?"
Katherine Douglas sighed, shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment. Pressing her fingers to her temples, she gathered all her concentration before answering.
"I checked in and went right to work on a couple of samples that had just come in. We needed to match DNA from different samples, and it was rather complicated," her voice was shaky, constantly threatening to crack.
"How so?"
"I had to get the DNA from a tooth brush. I wasn't even sure whether it would work, whether there'd even be any material on the brush to work with and I couldn't just do automatic PCR because the number of cycles was not sufficient for amplification."
"So what did you do?"
"Reset the Lightcycler and went through the cycles manually."
Calleigh nodded in understanding. "So you were quite wrapped up in your work?"
Katherine pressed her hands against her eyes and gave a short nod. "I wouldn't have noticed anything, if that's what you're getting at." Calleigh could not help but stare at the peeling skin on her hands. How on earth could Katherine not have realized the exact moment of something like this happening?
"And you never left the lab?"
"No, I didn't want to risk ruin the samples. Mendy teased me about it. She said I should let the enzymes do the work and that the Taq-Polymerase wouldn't work any faster with me standing next to it." Tears welled up in her eyes, and Calleigh had to swallow.
"I'm sure Mendy will be alright," she offered weakly. It had not looked that way when she had tried to talk to her, though. The woman had sported angry red bruises on her hands and feet where her skin was peeling off. Her eyes had been red and swollen, and she had been muttering incoherent thoughts. She had never acknowledged Calleigh's presence.
"We were close, you know?" Katherine sobbed, "We would work next to each other in the lab, and talk about our lives, our families, things like that. We never even met outside the lab, but she still is one of the dearest people in my life. It was one of those friendships that form at work and continue to grow, if you know what I mean."
The image of Horatio popped up in Calleigh's head, and she nodded.
Katherine went on, "She would constantly tease me, say that I was fussing about samples, but it's just her way of showing she cares. She brought me coffee every time I got tired and refused to leave my samples alone."
Calleigh's head shot up. "Did she bring you coffee last night?"
"Yes. I was too anxious about the timing of the thermal cycles to go to the break room, so she got me a mug of coffee. I drank it in the hallway right in front of the lab."
"At exactly what time was that?"
Comprehension dawned in Katherine's eyes at the unspoken suspicion. "You're not thinking Mendy had anything to do with this? She would never … never!"
"I still need you to tell me everything about it," Calleigh insisted. Maybe Mendy Barton had not poisoned the coffee. But maybe *someone* had.
~*~
As soon as they left the hospital building, Horatio put on his sunglasses. They had spent most of the day questioning their colleagues, and there was already a hint of dusk in the elongated shadows outside. Still he felt more comfortable with the small glass barrier between him and that hostile world. "Talk to me."
"Well we don't have much. The only one able to answer to me was Katherine Douglas."
"From DNA?"
"Yes. It seems she was on a difficult case and did not leave the lab much. There is something, though."
"That's what I wanted to hear."
"Well, she only left the lab once for about ten minutes to share a break and a cup of coffee with Mendy Barton. She had nothing else to eat or drink all night, so the coffee-"
"- is the only thing she ingested," Horatio finished for her.
"Exactly. And since the symptoms are rather grave I think we can rule out skin-absorbance."
"Good work," he acknowledged. They reached the Hummer and got into the car.
"What about you?" Calleigh demanded.
"Not much either. Florian Stevenson is still in shock."
"He the one who crashed into the glass door?"
"Hmm," he confirmed, "Vera Haskins had a difficult time answering questions, and Ellie Winsgate had nothing much to say either."
"But they all showed the same symptoms?"
"Yes. Peeling skin on hands and feet, burning eyes, dizziness, numbness in the lower limbs, loss of orientation and coordination," Horatio counted them off. "They all had different things to eat or drink while they were at headquarters, but we seem to have something on the coffee."
"They all had coffee last night?"
Horatio placed the key in the ignition and started the car. "Yes."
"So now-"
"-we need to make a call."
~*~
"Still nothing?"
"Not a single cell out of place." Speed stretched and ran a hand through his hair. "It's driving me nuts," he sighed.
Between them, they had dusted, fluoresced and categorized every lab, storage and interrogation room, but to no avail. Now the daylight was fading outside, and they had nothing but a pointless day to look back on.
"Calleigh just called."
"She and H still at the hospital?"
Eric shrugged, "She didn't say. They seem to have a lead, though."
Speed's face fell. "No way!"
"Yes way."
"Now that's just great," Speed commented sarcastically.
"Huh?"
"I've been crawling all over those tiled floors for the last eight hours and have not found so much as a misplaced piece of dust. They get a clue on our crime without even having so much as a glance at the crime scene."
Eric failed to stifle a grin. "That's what distinguishes an average CSI from an extraordinary one, you know?"
"Ha ha!"
Speed said without humor, "Just fill me in."
"They want us to retrieve the evidence night shift collected from the break
room and do a tox screen on the coffee pot and any related parts. Cups that
have not been rinsed yet, used filters, anything."
"That will not help much unless we know what we're looking for."
"Yeah, but Alexx promised to have something a little more specific by tomorrow. H said to wait with the screening until then. He said to finish up here and call it a day."
"Wait a minute," Speed looked confused, "I thought you said it was Calleigh who called."
"Don't ask," Eric answered cryptically. "They had some kind of argument along the call. Calleigh covered the phone, so it was all kind of muffled. Next thing I know, H is on the phone, telling me they would not be checking back in today and he'd see us tomorrow for a status report."
"Weird," Speed commented.
"I'll second that."
To be continued … [not before the weekend, though :)]
