By mid-afternoon, Stevie was caught up on the Boston arsenic poisonings. "Want to grab some lunch?" she asked Jordan.
"Yeah. By the way, where are you staying?"
"Macy put me up at some hotel. I guess I need to go check in."
"Why don't you stay with me?"
"Come on Jordan. I saw the way Woody was looking at you today. The last thing he wants is me at your apartment."
"Well....he still has his own apartment and absence makes the heart grow fonder and I haven't seen you in nearly five years. I honestly don't think he'd mind for a week."
"Jor, I'll be honest. I don't think this case is going to take just a week. It's going to take much longer. And I don't think he would want me there for that long. So I'll stay a couple of nights and then check in the hotel."
Jordan looked at her friend. "How long do you think it's going to take?"
Stevie sighed. She knew from past experience with these cases it could take weeks at the very least or even a year at the very most, to put the whole thing together. "I honestly don't know. It depends on a lot of variables. We're probably going to have to exhume the bodies. It may get really messy before it gets really better. Want to invite Nigel to go to lunch with us?"
"Nigel? Sure," Jordan said absent-mindedly. She was still digesting the information that Stevie was feeding her. "Hey, you don't have a thing for him, do you?"
"What?" Stevie laughed. "You bouncing between two men now?"
"No! It's just . . . Nigel?"
"No, I don't have a 'thing' for Dr. Townsend. However, he is one of the most intelligent men I have met concerning his computer know-how with cases. I'd like to clone him and take him back with me to North Carolina."
"Well, if it's going to be a working lunch, we'd better invite Woody and Garrett, too."
"Sounds like a winner. Where do we want to eat? B&C still open?"
"Nah, they closed three years ago. But I happen to know this great little bar...."
================================================================
A short while later, the entire group found themselves seated at the Pogue eating lunch. As they were scarfing down sandwiches and fries, Garrett asked Stevie, "So what do you logically think is the time-line for these cases?"
"Well, given my experience in the field, I think the next step is to get court orders to exhume all the bodies and do a side by side comparison. That's going to be one way to link them. The next is to find out who is the one person that all five victims have in common. Where do we stand with that?" Stevie asked, turning to Woody.
"So far, we can't link them to one person. But we've just started. I'm sure we'll find someone before long."
"Hmmmm. That's going to break the case. Find the person, you find the motive."
"So just how many arsenic cases have you worked on Dr. Murphy?" Nigel asked.
"Well, let's see....three cases that covered nine victims within the last 10 years. In all the cases the murderer was a woman and she poisoned men. In all the cases, the women were seeking revenge for some real or perceived wrong the men had done them. And call me Stevie, please"
"All in North Carolina?" Woody asked incredulously
"All in the same state. We're the arsenic poisoning capital of the US."
"And they train you for that in NC?" asked Jordan.
Stevie smiled. She had attended Tufts with Jordan on a full academic scholarship. And as much as she appreciated the historical and literary significance of Boston and Massachusetts, she had missed her warm, southern roots. In the south, snow had been a treat. Here, it was a dreary, everyday occurrence. She had often joked that Boston only had two days of summer – the Fourth of July and the day after. "Well, they do at Duke," she replied.
"You went to Duke," Garrett said.
"Yeah. Did graduate work there and my residency."
"In post-mortem?"
"Uh-huh. Unlike my roommate, I always knew I wanted to be a medical examiner from the start," said Stevie, rolling her eyes at Jordan.
"Duke's rather vigorous in their training, aren't they?" Garrett asked.
"Yes. That and their basketball..."
"So dumb blonde jokes don't apply to you?" asked Nigel.
"No more than dumb brunette jokes apply to you."
=============================================================
"Come on Woody, it's only for a couple of nights," Jordan said.
"You heard Stevie. She said it could take weeks to make this case."
"Yeah, but she's only staying a couple of nights with me. I haven't seen her in five years. We need girl-time...time to catch up."
Woody sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay....but how am I supposed to sleep without you?" he asked, pulling Jordan into his arms.
"I'm sure you'll manage...and just imagine how much fun we'll have making up for lost time in a few days...."
Woody grinned and kissed Jordan. "Well, since you do understand when Cal comes to visit...."
Jordan smiled against Woody's lips. "Kiss me again, quick." Woody was happy to oblige until there was a knock at Jordan's apartment door and a discreet cough in the kitchen. "Sorry guys, the door was open...didn't mean to interrupt. I can go out and come back in later....." Stevie looked at Woody, slightly embarrassed.
"No...that's okay, really," said Woody. I have to get back to work. He straightened his tie and picked up his coat.
"Ummmm....I promise I won't stay more than two nights, Woody, honest," Stevie replied, grinning broadly. "Can you handle it that long?" She had a feeling she wasn't Woody's favorite person right now.
Woody groaned. "Yeah," was all he replied. He had a feeling a couple of days would be all he could handle being without Jordan to hold at night.
"Yeah. By the way, where are you staying?"
"Macy put me up at some hotel. I guess I need to go check in."
"Why don't you stay with me?"
"Come on Jordan. I saw the way Woody was looking at you today. The last thing he wants is me at your apartment."
"Well....he still has his own apartment and absence makes the heart grow fonder and I haven't seen you in nearly five years. I honestly don't think he'd mind for a week."
"Jor, I'll be honest. I don't think this case is going to take just a week. It's going to take much longer. And I don't think he would want me there for that long. So I'll stay a couple of nights and then check in the hotel."
Jordan looked at her friend. "How long do you think it's going to take?"
Stevie sighed. She knew from past experience with these cases it could take weeks at the very least or even a year at the very most, to put the whole thing together. "I honestly don't know. It depends on a lot of variables. We're probably going to have to exhume the bodies. It may get really messy before it gets really better. Want to invite Nigel to go to lunch with us?"
"Nigel? Sure," Jordan said absent-mindedly. She was still digesting the information that Stevie was feeding her. "Hey, you don't have a thing for him, do you?"
"What?" Stevie laughed. "You bouncing between two men now?"
"No! It's just . . . Nigel?"
"No, I don't have a 'thing' for Dr. Townsend. However, he is one of the most intelligent men I have met concerning his computer know-how with cases. I'd like to clone him and take him back with me to North Carolina."
"Well, if it's going to be a working lunch, we'd better invite Woody and Garrett, too."
"Sounds like a winner. Where do we want to eat? B&C still open?"
"Nah, they closed three years ago. But I happen to know this great little bar...."
================================================================
A short while later, the entire group found themselves seated at the Pogue eating lunch. As they were scarfing down sandwiches and fries, Garrett asked Stevie, "So what do you logically think is the time-line for these cases?"
"Well, given my experience in the field, I think the next step is to get court orders to exhume all the bodies and do a side by side comparison. That's going to be one way to link them. The next is to find out who is the one person that all five victims have in common. Where do we stand with that?" Stevie asked, turning to Woody.
"So far, we can't link them to one person. But we've just started. I'm sure we'll find someone before long."
"Hmmmm. That's going to break the case. Find the person, you find the motive."
"So just how many arsenic cases have you worked on Dr. Murphy?" Nigel asked.
"Well, let's see....three cases that covered nine victims within the last 10 years. In all the cases the murderer was a woman and she poisoned men. In all the cases, the women were seeking revenge for some real or perceived wrong the men had done them. And call me Stevie, please"
"All in North Carolina?" Woody asked incredulously
"All in the same state. We're the arsenic poisoning capital of the US."
"And they train you for that in NC?" asked Jordan.
Stevie smiled. She had attended Tufts with Jordan on a full academic scholarship. And as much as she appreciated the historical and literary significance of Boston and Massachusetts, she had missed her warm, southern roots. In the south, snow had been a treat. Here, it was a dreary, everyday occurrence. She had often joked that Boston only had two days of summer – the Fourth of July and the day after. "Well, they do at Duke," she replied.
"You went to Duke," Garrett said.
"Yeah. Did graduate work there and my residency."
"In post-mortem?"
"Uh-huh. Unlike my roommate, I always knew I wanted to be a medical examiner from the start," said Stevie, rolling her eyes at Jordan.
"Duke's rather vigorous in their training, aren't they?" Garrett asked.
"Yes. That and their basketball..."
"So dumb blonde jokes don't apply to you?" asked Nigel.
"No more than dumb brunette jokes apply to you."
=============================================================
"Come on Woody, it's only for a couple of nights," Jordan said.
"You heard Stevie. She said it could take weeks to make this case."
"Yeah, but she's only staying a couple of nights with me. I haven't seen her in five years. We need girl-time...time to catch up."
Woody sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay....but how am I supposed to sleep without you?" he asked, pulling Jordan into his arms.
"I'm sure you'll manage...and just imagine how much fun we'll have making up for lost time in a few days...."
Woody grinned and kissed Jordan. "Well, since you do understand when Cal comes to visit...."
Jordan smiled against Woody's lips. "Kiss me again, quick." Woody was happy to oblige until there was a knock at Jordan's apartment door and a discreet cough in the kitchen. "Sorry guys, the door was open...didn't mean to interrupt. I can go out and come back in later....." Stevie looked at Woody, slightly embarrassed.
"No...that's okay, really," said Woody. I have to get back to work. He straightened his tie and picked up his coat.
"Ummmm....I promise I won't stay more than two nights, Woody, honest," Stevie replied, grinning broadly. "Can you handle it that long?" She had a feeling she wasn't Woody's favorite person right now.
Woody groaned. "Yeah," was all he replied. He had a feeling a couple of days would be all he could handle being without Jordan to hold at night.