Disclaimer: The show and the characters belong to CBS and Viacom. They are merely being borrowed for this piece of fan fiction.
Author's Note: I owe so much to the two wonderfully patient ladies who take such wonderful care of me. They encourage and support me. Thanks so much you are the best.
Chapter One – Message In Blood
Steve stood in the doorway to the room surveying the scene in front of him. A slight dark haired figure was squatting by a body. Members of the CSU squad were methodically moving through the room. As his gaze settled on a slightly rumpled, grey haired man an affectionate smile spread across his features. His father stood with his shoulders slightly hunched, his glasses on the end of his nose, and his brow wrinkled in concentration. The object of his interest was a phrase that had been written on the dresser mirror in what they surmised was the victim's blood. Steve walked further into the room and moved to squat beside Amanda.
"Well?" he inquired.
"My preliminary finding would be that he died from a single knife wound to the chest. I won't be able to tell for sure until I open him up but, if I were a betting woman, I would say the heart was penetrated," Amanda responded.
Steve mentally catalogued the deceased. He was in his mid forties, tall probably over 6 feet, brown hair, and had a muscular build. "He looks to be in pretty good shape. Are there any signs of how he might have been subdued?"
"No, there don't appear to be any signs of a struggle."
"Would make you think he knew his killer, wouldn't it," Steve surmised as he slid a hand under Amanda's elbow as they rose to an upright position.
"So, what do you think he has found?" Amanda inquired as she nodded towards Mark.
"With Dad, who knows?" Steve replied with a grin. "He may have already solved the case."
He and Amanda shared a smile as they moved to join Mark. "What have you got, Dad?"
"Well, I'm no handwriting expert but this looks like it was written by a woman," Mark responded. "And the message reads like a woman scorned."
Steve had to agree with his father. The message "If I can't have you, no one will," did have all the appearances of a romantic entanglement. That coupled with no signs of a struggle increased the odds that they were looking for someone the victim knew.
"What's his name?" Mark asked.
Steve flipped open his notebook. "Clifford Jewell, 44, he was a commercial real estate broker."
"Married?" Mark inquired.
Steve's response was interrupted by the body being loaded onto a gurney to be transported to the Pathology Lab, and Amanda's hand on his arm. "I should have the autopsy results for you by early this evening. Are you going to stop by, or do you want me to call you?"
"No, Dad rode in with me, so I'll need to come get him after work. I'll check in with you then. You ready to go to the hospital, Dad?"
"Yes, we can finish talking on the way in," Mark replied.
……………….
Steve and Mark had been riding for sometime in a comfortable silence. Each was processing the crime scene in their own distinctly unique way. Steve concentrated on the obvious clues and facts, while Mark followed the path less taken. His greatest ability was a knack for the obscure clue, the one most people missed.
Mark broke the silence first. "Did he have any family?"
"I don't really know yet. The background check wasn't completed when we left the scene. I looked through his address book, and found a Cathy Jewell but I don't know how she might be related."
"What's next on your agenda today?" Mark asked.
"After I drop you off, I'm going to head over to Commercial Cal, the real estate company he works for. His neighbors didn't seem to know much about him; maybe his co-workers can shed a little more light on who he was."
As they pulled up in front of Community General, Mark paused before exiting the car. "What time should I expect you back?"
"When do you think you'll be done for the day?"
"I should be finished up around six, do you think you'll be free by then?" Mark replied.
"Yeah, did you want to go with me to talk with Amanda?"
"Of course," Mark responded with a grin.
Steve smiled in return. "Ok, Dad, I'll see you at six, and after we get the report from Amanda we can go to Bob's for dinner. Have a good day!"
"You too, Son."
………………..
Steve glanced impatiently at his watch for what seemed like the 100th time in the last fifteen minutes. The owner of the real estate company was in no hurry to see him. He sighed deeply before pushing himself out of the large overstuffed chair he had sunk into and approached the receptionist desk again. The heavily made-up resident of the desk flashed him a brief look. "Ms Gleis, is still busy."
"Ms Gleis, needs to get un-busy. If she would prefer I could call for a couple of marked patrol cars to come to the scene and 'help' me with the interview process. I can make sure they park out front with their lights on. Why don't you get hold of Ms Gleis, and see how that works for her?" Steve asked with a less than friendly grin.
Steve was the recipient of a cold stare from the heavily frosted and mascaraed eyes behind the desk. "I don't think Ms Gleis would like that."
"I'll bet you're right," Steve responded with a completely insincere smile.
"If you'll have a seat I'll contact her again."
"No thanks, I think I'll just stay right here until she sees me," Steve responded in a tone drenched with sweetness.
He once again received a cold stare from the make-up queen as she dialed the extension for her boss. She covered her mouth and the phone with her hand and spoke quietly into the mouthpiece. As she hung up the phone she offered what he assumed was supposed to have been a smile. "Ms Gleis will see you now, the last door on the left at the end of the hallway," she informed him as she gestured towards the hall.
As Steve made his way down the hall, he took note of the awards and certificates that adorned them. There were top seller awards, Chamber of Commerce awards and assorted other accomplishments that were documented. As he neared the end of the hallway, the door opened and the word that came to Steve's mind was Amazon. She was tall, taller than he was and her physique matched her height. Though he was confident in his own abilities, the thought flashed through his mind that she could probably take him in a one on one fight. As he reached the doorway, he extended his right hand and found it grasped firmly in a hand of equal size. "Ms Gleis, I'm sorry to interrupt your day. I'm Lieutenant Steve Sloan, LAPD Homicide. I need to talk with you about one of your employees, Clifford Jewell."
She motioned for Steve to join her in the office as she answered his question. "Cliff? I don't think he's in yet today. Please have a seat," she responded as she gestured towards the seat in front of her desk.
"Yes, I know that, Ms Gleis, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Clifford Jewell was found dead this morning."
Madelyn Gleis stopped abruptly from her descent into her chair. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I'm sorry, Ms Gleis, but Clifford Jewel was found dead at his apartment this morning."
She more collapsed than lowered herself in the chair. She sat with her head bowed and her hands clasped in her lap. When she raised her head to look at him tears glistened in her eyes. "What happened?"
"He was murdered. Do you know if he had any family?" Steve knew he sounded abrupt, but he was not going to be able to give her any information about the crime itself and his goal right now was to try and determine if the man had any family so that they could be notified.
Madelyn Gleis observed him quietly before she responded. "Cliff is…was a very private man, but I do require my employees to provide me with some personal information in case of emergencies, let me check his file." She opened the desk drawer to her left and began thumbing through the files in it. "How was he killed?" she inquired.
"I'm sorry, Ms Gleis, I'm not at liberty to discuss the details of the case."
As she retrieved a folder from the drawer she eyed him intently. "Oh, ok, I guess I understand that. The only relative he has listed is a sister, her name is Cathy Jewell. Do you want her address and phone number?"
Steve figured that the information in Clifford Jewell's address book was probably more accurate but it never hurt to have another source. "Yes, please that would be a big help."
Steve flipped his notebook closed and rose from the chair. "Thank you for your time, Ms Gleis, I can find my way out."
"You're welcome, Lt. Sloan, I'm sorry for the delay in seeing you earlier. I have been having a bit of a squabble with the owner of the Travel Agency next door, and he had threatened to call the police, I thought that's why you were here."
"That's fine, thanks for your time."
………………..
Steve sat in his car in front of the apartment building on Madison Street. He had never gotten used to this aspect of the job. Informing someone that a loved one had died was tough enough, but when you added the fact that they had been murdered, the news was almost always overwhelming to the recipient. He had been slapped, spit on, cursed at, and at times been a source of comfort for the bereaved. Stop putting it off Sloan she has a right to know. He sighed, then opened the car door and stepped out of and around the car to the sidewalk and moved towards the building. He now stood outside apartment 2H. He lifted his finger and rang the buzzer. He could hear noises from inside, and then he heard a muffled, "coming." The door opened as far as the security chain would allow and a dark brown eye peeped out.
"Yes?"
"Ms Cathy Jewel?" At her nodded response, he held his badge up to the crack in the door and continued. "I'm Lieutenant Steve Sloan, with the LAPD. I need to speak with you."
There was a moment's pause before she responded. "Sure." She closed the door and he heard the security chain being removed and then the door reopened and she motioned him in. "What can I do for you?" she inquired.
"Ms Jewell, I'm afraid I have some bad news. Your brother, Clifford, was found dead this morning." He saw her eyes roll back and her knees begin to buckle, he moved quickly and caught her as she fainted. He carefully lifted her into his arms and moved towards the couch where he deposited her gently. He headed down the hall where he assumed he would find a bathroom. With a cold wet washcloth in hand, he made his way back to the collapsed figure on the couch. He knelt down and placed the cloth on her forehead. After a brief moment, her eyelids fluttered, then finally opened. She looked at him with confused eyes before the memory hit her full force. Steve found himself staring into liquid brown pools.
"Is it true?" she sobbed.
"Yes, I'm afraid it is true," Steve replied.
She closed her eyes tightly and began to push herself into a sitting position. Steve slipped a hand under her arm and helped her. "What happened to him?" she asked.
"He was murdered," Steve responded.
Her responding gasp turned into a choked sob as the tears began flowing freely. "I don't understand, who would want to kill Cliff? Who found him?"
"We were hoping maybe you could help us with who, and he was found by his cleaning lady," Steve replied.
"Are you sure it was Cliff? He sometimes has friends stay over, it could have been one of them," was her desperate response.
"Ms Jewell, I'm sorry to say that I am confident that it is your brother, however, I have an officer on the way over to take you to officially identify the body."
She resignedly nodded her head. "How can I help you find who did this?"
"Can you think of anyone who would do this to your brother?" Steve asked as he opened his notebook.
"No, Cliff was a great brother and friend. I don't think he had any enemies."
"Had he ever been married?" Steve asked.
"No, he always said he was a bachelor for life."
"Had he been seeing anyone?"
"Not seriously, his last long term relationship had ended badly a couple of months ago and he told me he was going to take a break. He had been seeing one lady fairly regularly but they were just friends."
"What do you mean it ended badly?"
"Cliff said she was smothering him. If he even looked at another woman, she flew into a jealous rage. The final straw came at dinner one night. His boss, Madelyn Gleis, was having dinner at the same restaurant. Cliff spoke with her and apparently Gwen pitched a huge fit, and they were asked to leave the restaurant. Cliff was mortified she had embarrassed him at a restaurant he frequented, but more importantly she had humiliated him in front of his boss. He broke up with her that night."
"What is Gwen's last name?"
"Sterling, I think I remember Cliff saying she lived on Lotus Street."
"Had he mentioned any problems with anyone else?" Steve inquired.
"No, I can't think of anyone who could do this."
At that moment the doorbell buzzed. Steve closed his notebook and rose to his feet. "I'll get it, Ms Jewell." Steve opened the door and nodded a greeting to the officer on the other side and leaned in close and spoke in a low voice. "Can you escort Ms Jewell to Community General to identify a body and then bring her back here?"
'Sure, Lieutenant Sloan," the officer replied.
"Thanks, come on in while I fill her in," Steve responded as he moved back towards Cathy Jewell. "Ms Jewell this officer will be accompanying you to identify your brother, if you think of anything that might be of help, or if you need anything please feel free to call me," Steve indicated as he extended his hand with a business card in it
As she accepted the card from him their hands touched briefly and Steve felt a tingle at the contact. The expression in the brown eyes of Cathy Jewell indicated that she to had felt the charge. "Thank you, Lieutenant, please find out who murdered my brother."