A Little Bit of Texas: Speed
Part Four
As Tim predicted, when the trio walked through the door of Valentino's Restaurant the husband and wife owners swooped on Dayna as the only one of the group they didn't know. While seating them they managed to find out that Dayna was from Texas, single, a homicide detective, and a blood donor.
The conversation flowed easily over dinner. The more the three talked, the more they found to talk about, which was a first for Tim. He generally ran out of things to say fairly early on in any given social situation, which earned him the reputation as a good listener early in a relationship and sullen when that relationship ended. He also was pleased when he realized his normal manner of speaking, which is fairly sarcastic, wasn't received as hostility. That was another social pitfall he had met fairly frequently.
The longer they stayed, the more laughter there was. Over coffee, they were exchanging stories of outrageous cases, realizing the humans taken as a whole were completely insane. It was when he was laughing for so long, and so loudly, that his stomach started to actually hurt that Tim realized how different this was for him. He couldn't remember a time he had felt so comfortable. Comfortable wasn't really the right word for it – he was relaxed. The only obligation he had right now in the whole messed up, violent world was to enjoy the company. He had no one to catch, no one to outthink, no one missing to track down. He didn't feel the need to impress anyone. If he were quiet for more than a few seconds, no one asked him if he was all right. He could say something he thought was amusing, and Dayna would always laugh at the right parts. This is different, he thought to himself, but it's a nice kind of different.
The main difference between working with men and working with women was the hugging, he decided receiving one when they left the restaurant.
"So, how often have you worked with Dayna now?" Eric asked Speed.
"Uh, let's see, over the past two months I've worked with her ... twice with you, twice with H, once with Calleigh, and once when I was solo. So this will make number seven."
Eric grinned, "Funny how you can actually remember all the times you've worked with her, don't you think?" Eric said, pleased to have the chance to give Speedle a hard time.
"Hey, you asked a question, I just answered it," Speed said.
"I just wasn't expecting so precise and prompt an answer."
"So how many times have you worked with her?" Speed asked, piqued at the mild heckling.
"Oh, I don't know, ten maybe."
Speed looked at Eric for a few seconds, which made Eric's grin grow. "Shut up, man," was the only response Speed could come up with. Eric laughed out loud, his victory complete with the lack of usually swift and cutting response.
It was dark as they walked up to the house. Normally they worked the murders found during the day, but overtime beckoned so they volunteered for the case.
The house was large but unkempt. The front lawn was a small jungle with weeds and grass fighting for the land. The trees in the front yard each had several dead limbs hanging down, and one had white moss covering the trunk, giving it a diseased look. The house had peeling paint, and one of the shutters on the upper window was half off its hinges.
Dayna met them at the door, giving them a smile. "What's up Eric? Hiya Speed," she greeted them. "Alexx and company haven't shown up yet. The uniform checked the vic for a pulse, then left on the same path he went in on. I've been in the house, but haven't entered the room yet, waiting on you and Alexx. A neighbor heard hollering, called it in." She was dressed in her usual blue jeans and cotton blouse. Tonight the blouse was light blue and looked more like a T-shirt than anything else. She had on a lightweight jacket, covering the gun worn on her hip.
"Let's take a look," Eric said, walking past Dayna into the dark house. He started shining his flashlight around when the overheads came on. Looking back he saw Speed at the light switch.
"Just because it looks like a haunted house doesn't mean they don't pay the bills. Where's the body?" the question was directed to the detective.
"Upstairs in the game room," she said.
They found the body sprawled on the tiled floor. There was only a thin layer of blood on the stone tiles themselves, more having run into the grout lines between the tiles. In front of the television there was a brown throw rug, which looked to have absorbed the majority of the blood.
"So what do you think?" Dayna asked from her position at the door.
"I think Alexx is going to have a really easy time determining cause of death. This guy's throat has been cut from ear to ear," Eric said.
"That's not the usual method of murder. A gun gives authority to people, and it's easier to kill someone using one. With a knife you usually have someone who wants it really personal, or a professional," she said.
"Or it's a weapon of opportunity," Speed added. "We'll check and see if any knives are missing from the kitchen later."
Alexx showed up a few minutes later, impeccably dressed as usual. "Dayna girl! How goes it?" she greeted the detective, giving her a one-armed hug.
"Hey Alexx, things peachy keen on my end. But why are you out so late?"
"There must be something in the air tonight. I've spent all day on a multiple from downtown, and with Jenson on vacation they needed me to take just one more call. I couldn't turn them down. Why are you out at this time of night?"
"There's some kind of flu bug that's wiped out my department. We're done to a skeleton crew, and the bad guys are having a field day. Or maybe it just feels like that since we're all stretched to our limits," Dayna said.
"I'm sorry, hon. Be sure to take lots of fluids and vitamin C. You don't want to catch what everyone else has," Alexx said as she walked to the body.
Speed wondered again at the way women work together, draw on each other. Alexx had never given him a hug on arriving at a scene, for example. Smiling to himself he kept taking pictures around the room, calling out things to Eric about blood spatter and possible entries and exits. Eric did the same, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
"The whole room is really out of the ordinary, though. A lavish game room in a house that hasn't been painted since the '90s?" He pointed at the pool table on the far side of the room, "That table alone must have cost a couple of grand."
Speed looked at the table, "At least. Probably closer to three. Are there any other rooms that are inconsistent like this one?"
Speed's train of thought was derailed as Aless turned the body over, and Dayna saw the face of the victim for the first time.
"Oh CRAP!"
"What, is this your first slit throat?" Speed asked.
"No, no, that's not it. I know that guy."
"What?" Speed and Eric asked together.
"I mean, I know of him. He's a pusher, under suspicion cutting his drugs with lethal chemicals when he gets paranoid. He's had an undercover cop working on him for months. They were going to arrest him tomorrow. Today was the last day undercover."
"Well, you better call him, his case just went out the window," Speed said.
Dayna was already pulling out her cell phone, walking away from the door.
"So did you have done unto you as you've done unto others, sugar?" Alexx asked the body, waiting for the liver temp to register. "Or are you just another victim in all of this? At least it was fast, but it probably didn't feel that way at the time. Not a nice way to go."
"Valerie, what the hell?" Dayna said.
The first surprise is that the undercover officer was a woman. The second was that she had not taken the time to change before coming to the scene.
"Jason took me out dancing to celebrate closing the case," the woman answered.
Valerie Jackson was dressed in a floor length, deep red ballgown. It was made out of some kind of flowing, lightweight material, and was completed by an intricate hairstyle and shoes with three-inch heels.
"Oh. Well, that was sweet of him." Dayna said.
"Yeah, I think he had the whole evening planned."
"Damn. I'm sorry about this Val. I know you haven't seen much of him since you went under on this case."
Both women were bent over at the waist, looking at the body. The transporters had been asked to wait until Valerie could take a look. They were waiting out in the hall, leaving the two women in the room with Eric and Tim. Valerie confirmed it was Chaz McArthur and the transporters got to work.
"That's okay, really Dayna. This is important. I tend to prefer things a little more spontaneous, anyway." Valerie said.
The women started looking around the room, careful to stay in the 'safe path' outlined by the two CSIs.
"Well, spontaneity is all well and good, but a well planned seduction is really sexy too. It shows that he's spent time thinking about you," Dayna said.
Valerie sighed, then said, "Yeah, I would have to agree."
The women were now on opposite sides of the room, processing the scene mentally while carrying on a personal conversation.
"I'm not really helping, am I? Sorry, Val, this guy's timing really sucks," Dayna said.
"Ladies, could you hurry this up any?" Tim broke in, anxious to get back to processing the room.
In the middle of Speedle's question lights played against the room from headlights through the huge windows in the room. Several cars pulled into the drive of the house.
"What's going on?" Dayna asked the room in general.
Delko walked carefully over to the window, careful not to disturb any evidence. "It looks like the press is here," he said.
"Close the curtains, Delko," Speed said.
While Delko took care of that, both of the female officers walked into the hallway. Speed could hear them through the open door.
"How did they find out about this place?" Valerie asked Dayna.
Dayna shrugged, and said, "Police scanner most likely. It must be a slow news night if they're investigating a no-name code thirty-two," she said, quoting the code for a murder. She got back to the business at hand, "You think it's someone out for revenge? Someone who cared about someone who got dead-boy's special batch?"
"I don't think so. There have been a lot of pusher disappearances lately, with no one claiming responsibility. Chaz here could be the latest," Valerie said.
"I haven't heard anything about this," Dayna said flatly. Speed could tell from her tone she had started to tense up over a potential interdepartmental problem.
"I don't know if it's true or not. On one of his rants Chaz was talking about the bodies piling up, and he might be next. I put it down to one of his paranoid delusions, but now I'm not so sure." Valerie said, trying to soothe Dayna's ruffled feathers.
"I can look into that. In the meantime, me and the boys will find out who stole your collar from you." Dayna said.
"You know, I might actually be in a position to help with that." Valerie said.
Dayna raised her right eyebrow. "You've got to stay under," she made the statement sound like a question.
"Yeah. I've got the cover already in place. I can find out faster than anyone what's going on here." Valerie said.
Speed walked out into the hallway, motioning to the transporters. "Go ahead and get him out of here before more people show up," he told them. "Stay on the path I've outlined on the tile, okay?"
The two men went into the room, and Speed motioned the two women into the next room, a bedroom, which already had the curtains closed. This kept everyone out of the way of the transporters, and kept the two body haulers from overhearing anything they shouldn't. Speed had never regained his trust of body transporters ever since one sold the body of a girl.
"Valerie, the press is out there. I don't know much about undercover work, but I'm guessing getting your picture taken in that outfit won't go a long way towards improving your street cred," Speed said, speaking to the new officer for the first time since the introductions earlier.
Dayna was gnawing on her lower lip. "Sneak out the back?" she suggested.
"I don't know. All it would take is one reporter seeing someone try to sneak away and it's game over. Plus, this dress doesn't exactly blend in. I'll just wait until they're gone," Valerie said.
"If it's a slow enough news day that a simple murder brings the media en masse, who knows how long they're going to stick around. I've got a better idea. Instead of sneaking you out, let's march you out in your cover, as a suspect in cuffs." Dayna said.
"Dayna, Tracy would never even wear a skirt, much less a gown," Valerie said, referring to her undercover persona by name.
"But she'd wear jeans, right?"
Both Speed and Valerie looked at the clothes Dayna was wearing. "You want to switch clothes?" Valerie asked.
"Can you think of a better way of getting out of here with your cover intact?" Dayna asked.
Valerie thought for a moment, then "Let's give it a try."
"Speed, make sure those transporters don't wander in here for a signature, and clue in on what we're doing. I have yet to meet one that can keep his mouth shut with a secret. We might as well keep it quiet from the uniforms wandering around, as well." Dayna said.
Speed closed the door, and leaned his back on it. "If I stand in front of a closed door, it'll look like I'm guarding something. If I'm in here, no one will get suspicious," Speed said.
Dayna grabbed the hem of her shirt and started to raise it, then looked at Speed again. "Speed, man," she said, gesturing at him to turn.
"Yeah, right," Speed said, then turned around and faced away from the disrobing women. As he guarded the door, he told himself it was a complete coincidence he could now see them in the mirror, which hung angled on the wall to the right.
While the two women were approximately the same height, they were not the same shape. Dayna had more curves Speed's mind whispered to him, watching them undress and switch clothes.
Dayna's clothes on Valerie looked baggy and a bit disheveled. That could be in keeping with her character as a druggie and pusher.
Valerie's dress on Dayna, however ... the dress hugged everything on her. Particularly across the breasts. While Dayna's breasts were not large they turned out to be significantly larger than Valerie's. They ended up mounded on top of the gown, not quite indecent, but well past modest. Soft was the word that Speed thought looking at her, which was ironic in a situation where the word 'hard' was rapidly becoming more appropriate. Valerie had looked beautiful in the dress; Dayna looked sensual. Speed closed his eyes trying to get himself under control. He really wanted his mind to stop whispering to him, it was making things harder. And more difficult as well, his inner voice laughed.
Element one: Hydrogen. Element two: Helium. Speed started reciting the elements from the periodic table, desperate for a distraction.
His eyes closed, he heard, "Hey, rub your eyes. That'll smear your mascara," from Dayna.
Element three: Lithium. Element four: BerylliumValerie asked, "Do you have a brush on you?"
"It's in the car. We'll have to go for the tousled look on me. Do you want to use my ponytail holder?"
Element five: Boron. Element six: Carbon. Things were starting to calm down. Deep breathes. Breathing is key.
"You need more make-up. Here, take this and do your eyes," he heard Valerie tell Dayna.
Speed felt it more than heard it when Dayna moved to the mirror. He could smell the perfume she always wore, the scent of honeysuckle. Shit! Shit! Element six: Carbon. Already did that one. Element seven: Nitrogen. Element eight: Oxygen. That's right, idiot, don't forget to breathe while you're at it.
"Speed, we're done. You can open your eyes," Dayna said.
He opened them to see her standing next to him in the reflection, although in the room she was several feet away. Her hair was down, and Speed realized he had never seen her hair when it wasn't pulled back into a ponytail. He met her eyes in the mirror. She had a mascara wand in her right hand, but had paused to talk to him. Her lips were curved into a small smile, probably believing he had kept his eyes closed the whole time.
When she broke eye contact to continue putting on the make-up, Speed's eyes traveled down her back, following the line of her hair until it ended at the bottom of her shoulder blades. His eyes slid down the exposed skin until it came to the zipper on the back of the dress. He noticed it hadn't been pulled up quite all the way. He stepped away from the door, about to go over and touch her skin pull the zipper up the rest of the way.
The knock on the door almost made him jump. "Speed, what's going on? I'm going to walk the transporter out to the wagon. Are you going to get back to the room?" Eric called through the door.
"Yeah. Are the transporter's already downstairs?" Speed called back, turning towards the door, and away from Dayna.
"Yeah," Eric said.
Speed opened the door, and then looked back and told both officers in the room, "I'll let you know when they're completely gone. Then we can all get on with our jobs."
They both nodded at him, distracted. Valerie was getting into her Tracy character. Dayna was putting on the final touches of make-up to complete the illusion she had been pulled in on her night off, a night she had spent ballroom dancing.
"What's going on?" asked Eric. He looked at Speed more closely, "Hey, you look weird."
"Let's get the body out of here. We need to get back to processing the room. Dayna's going to walk Valerie out of here. Don't look surprised," Speed said.
Eric walked in front of the gurney, opening a path to the wagon. Speed stayed on the porch, watching the press swirl around like leaves in the wind. The reporters were shouting questions, not caring who answered. The more experienced ones took note of the names of the transporters, knowing they could be tracked down later, out from under the watchful eyes of the police. With the wagon away, Eric walked back house, refusing to answer any questions. He walked past Tim and into the house. Two of the more enthusiastic reporters started up the steps, but quailed under the scowl Tim gave them. "Crime scene, see the tape? Don't you have celebrity you could be stalking?" Speed asked the group. When he was sure they were going to play by the rules, he turned and went back into the house, closing the door with a bang.
Delko had never made it up the stairs. The women were almost ready to go out, and were at the foot of the stairs. Dayna had put on her badge chain; it looked out of place resting on the dark red fabric of the gown. She was putting cuffs on Valerie's wrists, pulled behind her back.
"You sure you want to do this?" Dayna asked.
Valerie looked at Dayna for a second, then asked her, "If it were you, would you do it?"
"Yes," Dayna said immediately. She wrapped her left hand around Valerie's upper right arm, and told the uniformed officer by the door to go out and start up his unit.
"Ready to go? We'll go in front and clear the way for you," Delko said.
"Let's go," Valerie said.
Delko opened the door; he and Speedle went out first, to the explosive flashing of cameras. When Dayna and Valerie stepped out, the number of flashes at least doubled. The questions, which had been shouted, almost turned into screams at the sight of a woman being led out in cuffs. The men started actually shoving the reporters out of the way.
Valerie, in her persona of Tracy, looked around confused at the media, tears streaming down her face. She had put the hair holder at the base of her neck, so lots of her hair was in her face.
A reporter managed to get in front of her, shouting the question, "Why did you do it?"
Valerie mumbled in the microphone, "I didn't do anything, man. I showed up and he was already dead."
Campbell shoved the reporter back into the mass, and dragged "Tracy" the rest of the way to the police vehicle. Eric had the back door opened for them, and Campbell put in Tracy, hand on the top of her head. Going to her own vehicle was slightly easier, since most of the reporters were now sprinting to their own vehicles, either to report to their editors, or go to the police station to be there for the booking.
Speedle walked Campbell to her vehicle, where they were intercepted by two of the remaining reporters.
"Nice dress, Detective," one said, taking pictures as Campbell got into her car.
"Thank you. Now get out of my way," she said, then closed her door. She started her car and left.
Speed smiled at the receding car, then turned and saw the reporters were still there. "So what's going on? What's with the dress?" the taller two asked.
"Formal investigation," Speedle said, then walked back to the house.
Speed finally got back to the scene of the crime. Eric had returned to looking for trace, and Speed resumed taking the photos and making the sketches.
"So, I know you were in there when I talked to you through the door," Eric said to Speed.
"Yeah. So?" Speed responded.
"So you were in there when they figured out how to keep Valerie undercover," Eric said.
"Yeah," Speed continued to take his photos.
"So, were you in there when they changed clothes?" Eric asked.
"Yeah. So what, man?"
"Nothin'. It's just now I know why you looked weird when you came out of the room," Eric said.