Conclusive
Nick's phone rang, interrupting him from studying the dirt from Patterson's shoes. He whipped the phone out, noticing it was Vega.
"Stokes," he answered.
"Nick, it's Detective Vega," the man said. "I've been interviewing Patterson's coworkers, but I'm not turning up anything."
"Nothing fishy?" Nick asked. "What about Paige Landry?"
"She's well-liked, but everyone says she's only been here for a few months," Vega said. "Inter-office gossip points to some tension between the two, but more competitive than romantic."
Nick frowned. It really wasn't much of a lead for motive, but at this point, evidence kept pointing to Landry anyway.
"Can you talk to her, and ask her where she went to dinner?" Nick asked.
"Yeah. I'll pull security tapes and verify her story," Vega said. He hung up, and Nick looked back at the microscope.
"Or invalidate it," Nick said to himself. He leaned back over the scope and studied the dirt. Various minerals were evident, but nothing that stood out too much. Nick separated a sample for Greg to process.
He glanced at his watch. It was almost midnight, and he was beat. Pulling a double wasn't very fun, but he was close to completing a triple shift. The rest of the team seemed just as occupied.
Nick left the lab and drove home. He barely remembered finding his bed before he fell asleep.
Paige Landry walked purposefully to Christian Patterson's office. He was on the phone, and merely waved Paige in.
She closed the door behind her and moved in. She kept the knife at her side. Christian never saw it.
The first stab was clean but a miss for what her goal was. She quickly withdrew the knife as Christian turned, shocked at what she just did. She merely smiled, that controlling and eerily calm expression that drove fear in the hearts of intelligent men. She lunged forward, stabbing him again, this time in a vital area.
Her eyes stared into his pained one, and suddenly she jerked her wrist to the right, twisting the knife as she violently pulled it out.
Christian never made a sound beyond gurgles of blood and agony. Paige gave him a slight push, so he fell backwards.
She smiled again, pocketed the knife, and started to leave.
Nick sat up quickly, gasping as he did.
He hated it when he dreamt of cases. They were living nightmares most of the time, and now they were invading his sleep. He brought his hands to his face, wiping the images from his mind. A tired sigh escaped his lips, but Nick got up anyway.
He evidently never changed before falling asleep. Nick pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes.
Just a quick glass of water, and I'm going back to sleep.
He guzzled the water and put the glass on his counter. His eyes fell on the microwave's digital clock.
It was late. Well, relatively. It was 4 p.m. He had to get something done today. He decided to abandon sleep and threw off the rest of his clothes to jump in his shower.
He was on his way to work when Vega called.
"Nick," Vega began immediately. "Paige Landry's story doesn't check out. The restaurant surveillance cameras don't show her at all."
"Are you sure?"
"Definitely. None of the waiters remember seeing her either," Vega added. Part of Nick was fueled by that, but yet he wasn't sure.
Evidence, Nick. "Can you get a warrant?"
"Already got it," Vega said. Nick smiled.
"I'll meet you there."
Paige Landry seemed completely unconcerned at their arrival. She merely stepped aside and let the men in. Vega nodded for Nick to start, while he kept Landry busy. Normally they had an extra officer to unofficially "guard" the resident, but being short-handed, and moving on the dime, Vega got the job.
That was fine by Nick. He had work to do, and it would be a lot easier without Paige Landry eyeing him as he searched.
Nick started with the kitchen—specifically, the knives. He sprayed luminol on all of them. Not surprisingly, a few lit up. Nick swabbed them next, then dabbed the sample on a DNA test strip.
But none of the blood came back as human.
She could have thrown the knife away. Nick dug through the kitchen trash, which never was pleasant. But still, nothing. He moved on to the bedrooms.
Paige Landry's home was elegant. It wasn't huge—just a simple 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home—but her décor was distinctly feminine and classy at that.
However, her bedroom was a bit unkempt. Various clothes and a bag lie around. It looked like Paige—Miss Landry—had thrown clothes from her closet to the bag, and missed nearly every time.
"Going somewhere?" Nick said aloud to himself. He started to rifle through the bag, his fingers digging through the soft and colorful fabrics. Suddenly he felt something hard.
Nick split the sea of clothing and saw the handle of a knife. Slowly, he pulled it out, careful not to smudge the handle and the prints he knew were on it.
The blade was clean, but it lit up with the luminol. He tested the blood.
"Human," he said aloud as he studied the DNA strip. He quickly dusted the handle and lifted a full print.
Nick bagged the knife with a smirk, and went to the foyer where Vega and Landry were.
Paige stared at him when he came back. Her eyes focused intently on his, which struck Nick as odd and freaky considering he was holding what he suspected was the murder weapon.
Vega immediately focused on the knife.
"I think you should come with us," he said, taking her by the elbow. Paige Landry flashed her eyes to Nick and back at Vega.
"Sure."
"If you have a lawyer, it might be wise to invite him to join us," Nick added. Paige just smiled sweetly at him.
Nick shook his head as she calmly left with Vega.
Nick quickly stopped at the lab, dropping off the knife.
"Greg," he called out, startling the young man from his latest magazine. Nick didn't bother to look at the cover. He handed Greg the knife. "Process, quickly. I need to know if it matches Patterson's blood."
Greg raised an eyebrow. "Patterson's blood or the mysterious donor?" Nick frowned.
"What?"
Greg pulled off a sheet of paper from his desk, and handed it to Nick.
"Your swabs from the stab wounds show two different DNAs," Greg said. Nick opened his mouth to ask the question. "No, he's not a chimera. The second DNA isn't even familial. But I double checked Patterson's DNA with a sample from Al, which is how I know who's Patterson, and who is not."
Nick felt himself sit down as he studied the DNA results. How are there two DNA strands?
"Does the second DNA match Paige Landry?" Nick asked. Greg just shook his head, and Nick felt his body just slump back to the chair.
He glanced at his watch, and went for the door.
"Call me as soon as you know about the blood on the knife," Nick said.
Nick was surprised that it was just Vega and Paige Landry in the interrogation room when he arrived. He looked to Vega, asking the question with his eyes.
"Miss Landry has declined legal counsel," Vega filled in. That almost frightened Nick.
What does she know that I don't?
"Sorry I'm late," Nick said. He took a seat across from Paige Landry, and pulled out a sheet of paper, an ink pad, and the print he lifted off the knife. "Miss Landry—"
"Paige, Mr. Stokes," she said, with a coy smile. Nick glanced at Vega, who didn't bother to hide the amused look on his face.
"Miss Landry," Nick started again, hardening his features, "would you please give me your right thumb print?" He pushed the ink pad and paper to her.
She didn't move, but just stared at him, that coy smile never faltering.
"Miss Landry," Nick said again. Suddenly she sat forward in her seat, and Nick had to fight not to jump back in his own.
"I'm here without a lawyer, so I'd appreciate a little leeway," she said. Nick narrowed his eyes at her, but nodded for her to continue. "Two things. I want you to call me Paige. And I only want to talk with you."
Crap. Nothing about that idea sounded wise to Nick.
"Paige," he said, accentuating her name, "I don't think that's a good idea."
Paige's smile disappeared. She folded her slender but sculpted arms across her chest. "I won't talk at all unless it's with you alone."
Nick looked sharply from the woman to Vega. The detective shrugged, and nodded at the mirrored glass behind them. He left the room, and Nick instantly felt vulnerable.
He cleared his throat and nodded at the ink pad. Paige quickly pressed her thumb to the ink and rolled the finger evenly over the paper. Nick took the paper from her, and pulled out the print he lifted from the knife. He studied each one closely, but it only took seconds to declare it a match.
When he looked up, Paige was staring at him, her eyes abnormally expressionless. Nick tried to ignore it.
"You asked the other day about your hair," Nick said. "Let me tell you about it now."
"Please do so," Paige said, with a gratuitous wave of her hand. Her dark eyes revealed another coy look. Nick cleared his throat again.
"We found your hair on Christian Patterson's body," Nick said. "That alone wouldn't prove much, especially since you worked with him. But you also lied about your dinner. You were never at that restaurant."
He waited for a reaction.
"You're right," Paige said simply. Nick waited for more, but she didn't say another syllable.
Nick's jaw clenched tight. He glanced at his phone on his hip, hoping it would ring with Greg's results.
"Here's what I think happened," Nick said. "You went back to work just before midnight. Patterson was there, working late. You went in his office, and before he could react, you stabbed him twice.
"The first stab was a sucker punch. It wasn't anything major. But the second was all business," Nick said. "You stabbed him in the stomach, and left him to die. And for some reason, you turned down the temperature in the office."
She started to grin at that, throwing Nick off again.
"Is this amusing?" Nick asked with a tone. "You murdered a man."
Paige shrugged. "That remains to be seen, Mr. Stokes."
Suddenly Nick's phone rang, breaking the challenging spell. Nick quickly answered it.
"Yeah," he answered. He listened, and heard exactly what he expected. "Thanks, Greg."
He ended the call, and stared back at Paige Landry.
"The knife I found in your home," Nick continued, "You used it to kill Patterson. His blood is on the knife."
His mind suddenly blanked, and filled with the two DNA strands in the blood he'd swabbed. Who is the other donor?
Donor?
Blood donor? He shook his head. Unless the transfusion was very recent, there wouldn't still be two DNA strands.
"Mr. Stokes?"
He snapped his head from his thoughts, and found Paige studying him intriguingly.
"I just have a few questions," he said. She raised an eyebrow, but nodded her consent. "Was Patterson the only one you killed that night?"
For once, she seemed taken aback. She blinked rapidly a few times before answering.
"I don't think you've proven that I've killed one person, much less two," she answered. Nick wanted to argue that, but let it go.
"Why?" he asked. "Why would you want to kill Patterson?"
And suddenly she smiled, but this time there was no coyness. There was no flirting and definitely no meekness. It was almost menacing.
"My reasons for anything I do are my own, Mr. Stokes," she said. "I doubt you could understand them."
Nick got the distinct impression that she was talking over him now, but he didn't let his gaze falter. The woman before him, as beautiful and intriguing as she continued to be, was dangerous.
And no matter what she said, the evidence said she was guilty. Nick turned around in his seat and looked at the mirrored glass. He gave a short nod to Vega, who he knew was watching everything.
Seconds later, the detective entered the interrogation room.
"Miss Landry, you're under arrest for the murder of Christian Patterson," Vega declared. Nick just watched as Vega continued, and led the woman out of the room. Before she could disappear from view completely, Paige glanced back at Nick.
Their eyes met. She wasn't challenging him anymore, but there was still such confidence.
Does she think she'll not be found guilty?
Nick didn't know what to think.