Melinda Warner sat in her office with a cup of hot coffee. She'd been waiting almost five hours for the results of the DNA tests on the tissue she'd found under Marina Vasquez's fingernails. 'Waiting for the results of the second round of tests,' she corrected herself. The findings from the first round of analysis had been highly suspect. Or highly significant. She wouldn't know until the data was confirmed.
Checking her watch, she found that it was almost 10:30. She'd told the SVU detectives she'd have answers for them around 8. She was surprised they hadn't called looking for them yet. Sighing, she decided it was a testament to their faith in her; they knew she would call as soon as she had something conclusive for them. It was nice to be appreciated like that. Some of the detectives from other units treated her like some sort of machine present only to do their bidding, as cold and unfeeling as the bodies she autopsied.
Warner had decided long ago that the consideration the SVU detectives paid her was a direct result of their constant contact with living victims. They saw enough death-in-life to tell the difference between the walking corpses and the walking among corpses. Or maybe they'd just been distracted by something else.
Someone cleared his throat immediately in front of her desk, causing Warner to jump. She looked up to see who had come in without knocking. "Davis, what are you still doing here?"
Her assistant smiled sheepishly. "Well, I came in late today because of the snow, so I thought I'd just make it up now."
"Oh, I thought maybe you were in detention."
He stared studiously at the floor, not responding. She allowed him to avoid her gaze. His transgression wasn't a heinous one, just a result of miscommunication. One of the lab techs at the scene had spotted a wallet, which had ended up being Vasquez's, next to Davis and asked him to pick it up. Which he had. Without gloves. Warner had held firm that, despite her assistant's obvious error, the tech shouldn't have been asking someone else, someone from a different lab, no less, to do her job.
"I will have to write you up for mishandling evidence, but, if it makes you feel better, the print lab sent the results to me – the only hits they got on the fingerprints on the wallet itself were Marina Vasquez's and yours. They also told me that the grain and dampness of the leather made even these matches fairly unreliable. You got lucky this time, Davis, but next time think before you touch."
His sigh of relief was audible as he relaxed, sliding into the chair across from her. "I really appreciate this, Doc. I know this could be grounds for dismissal."
"If you ever do anything like it again, you will be fired with no questions asked." She hoped she wouldn't ever have to follow through on her threat. She didn't like the thought of losing one of her most capable assistants over a stupid mistake. She continued, "Now, we've discussed this, we can forget about it. Do you know if the DNA results are ready yet?"
"I can run down the hall and check, if you want."
"Please do. And I wouldn't object if you brought me a fresh cup of coffee on your way back." She leaned back in her chair as Davis went to complete his mission, glad she'd been able to smooth things over. It was his first year in the ME's office and, as far as she was concerned, he deserved one free pass if it didn't involve a critical piece of evidence.
He returned five minutes later with her coffee, saying, "They're transferring the gels to film now. They should be ready in a half-hour at most."
"Thanks, Davis. You can head home now if you want."
"Are the SVU detectives going to be stopping by?"
"Yeah, I'm just about to call them."
"I think I'll stick around then. I want to explain to them why their evidence is contaminated myself." Warner was impressed by his willingness to take responsibility. She flipped through her Rolodex and found the number for the 1-6.
Twenty minutes later, a knock sounded on her office door. "So what'ddya got for us, Doc?" Olivia Benson asked with a tired smile.
"You guys are right on time. I got the results of the second round of testing not two minutes ago. How's the rest of the investigation going?"
"Ugh, we just spent the past few hours getting in touch with all the owners of blue Jeep Grand Wagoneers in the area. It's been a long day."
"I know how you feel." Warner picked up the file of films from her desk and followed Olivia back into the lab, wondering if she really had any idea of how Olivia felt. Fin Tutuola and the Marshal she'd met the previous day were already waiting, chatting with Davis.
Fin greeted Warner and said, "We were just askin' Davis if we should be considerin' him a suspect, since his prints were all over Marina Vasquez's wallet."
Davis was staring at the floor again. Olivia smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "Hey, Craig was a man about it, at least. He just explained what happened to us without trying to shift the blame." She turned to Warner. "Which is more than I can say for Petersen in the print lab. You might want to have a word with him about this." She pulled a piece of paper from her coat pocket, handing it to Warner. "It was attached to the report he faxed over to us."
Warner sighed and pocketed the memo. Knowing what Petersen was likely to have written, she didn't want Davis to be around when she read it. Stepping away from the small group, she flipped the switch to turn on some of the back-lit panels on the wall, giving the detectives a run-down of the autopsy as she waited for the lights to warm up. "The autopsy results were pretty much identical to the last one – died from exsanguination, bruises ranging from a few days ago to just before death, you saw the cuts and the scarf at the scene…" She trailed off as she clipped four films to the panels. "The only real new information is in the DNA. Fluids were all from one person – Paige – but we found something interesting when we ran the DNA I found under the victim's fingernails. There were two samples present, one from Paige and one from another man."
"A man?" Olivia sounded unsure.
The Marshal – Eckerson, Warner suddenly recalled – replied, "Liv, that nut vendor was full of shit. You saw the video. It was impossible to tell if it was a woman or a man who made the drop. Now I think this DNA proves that it was a man."
"Yeah, well if he was right about it being a woman this," she pointed emphatically at the film Warner had designated, "Means we might be looking for a third perp."
Eckerson looked as if he were about to say something further, but remained silent as he and Olivia engaged in a staring contest. Warner saw Fin roll his eyes and cleared her throat, ready to drop a bombshell. "We haven't found any evidence of a woman being involved, but there are a few things you need to know about the DNA we did find." Indicating the first and second films, she said, "This is Paige's DNA from the database. This is the semen. They match, so no surprises there, but…" Stepping to the side, she pointed to the third and fourth, saying, "These are the two samples from under the fingernails. Notice anything about them?"
"Yeah, they match. They all match. But I thought you said you had two different samples."
Eckerson's incredulity was familiar; she had felt the same way when she'd first seen the results. She pointed to the fourth film. "This one is the unique one. It's just very similar to Paige's."
"So…we're lookin' for a family member? Brother, cousin, somethin'?" Fin asked.
"Not just a male family member. Whoever left this sample got 75 of their DNA from the same person." She continued, wanting to present all of her evidence before explaining it fully. "Now the Y chromosome is identical, so we know they're related on the father's side, but what was really interesting was this." She put up two more radiographs and waited for jaws to drop.
"Uh…more stuff that's the same?"
"Yes. This is the mitochondrial DNA. Do you see the problem yet?"
Eckerson continued staring blankly at the screen. Olivia seemed to be catching on. "I thought mitochondrial DNA only comes from the mother..."
"Yeah. Mitochondrial DNA isn't passed down through the nucleus like regular DNA, but transferred through the cytoplasm. It's impossible for the father to transmit mitochondrial DNA because sperm don't contain cytoplasm, and therefore can't support organelles." Warner paused a moment, caught up in the science. "It's actually quite a fascinating method for tracing matriarchal lines. A molecular biologist at Oxford managed to link everyone in Europe back to seven women using mitochondrial DNA and…"
Eckerson waved his hand for her to stop. "Doc, why don't you just tell us what all this means."
She sighed. "Well, I guess we don't really have time to teach a man to fish right now. Okay, 75 of the DNA came from one person, the mitochondrial DNA is identical and the Y chromosome is identical. When you're born, you get 50 of your nuclear DNA from each parent, mitochondrial DNA only from your mother and a Y chromosome, if you have one, only from your father. Based on this evidence, the simplest explanation tells us you're looking for a son that Paige conceived with his mother."
Warner finally got the dropped jaws she'd been expecting. She knew she'd had a similar expression when she'd seen the original test results.
Olivia was the first to speak. "We knew Paige claimed he was sexually abused as a child, but we had no idea…" Seeing Olivia's expression, Warner immediately felt a little guilty for building the suspense as she had.
Fin shook his head, saying, "We'll be at the station if anything comes up. I think we're gonna be pretty busy doin' our homework on Mama Paige."
Warner watched as the detectives and Marshal left, looking a little more downcast than they had when they'd arrived. She sighed, wishing she'd been able to offer them something less grim, but still glad she'd at least been able to give them a clear direction in which to look.
Going into her office to collect her coat and finally head home, she found Davis waiting for her. "Can I help you with something?"
He smiled awkwardly. "I feel a little funny asking, but I just figure since you know her better and all that you might be able to tell me, uh, well, I know she's probably out of my league, but, uh, do you know if Det. Benson is seeing anyone?"
She suddenly understood the real reason he had been hanging around so late. "Davis, this is the morgue, not a dating service."
A hint of desperation crept into his voice. "Doc, do you have any idea how hard it is for me to get dates? Second dates, I mean? No one wants a pathologist for a boyfriend."
"No one but a sex crimes detective?"
"Well, that's what I'm hoping."
Thinking about the brief but heated argument and stare Olivia had shared with Eckerson, Warner didn't feel like Davis had a chance. "Don't hope too hard. And have a good night."
As soon as he had left, she remembered the note Olivia had handed her and pulled it from her pocket. She skimmed the lines, 'To the SVU – For contamination of the evidence in your case, I recommend you charge Craig Davis of the ME's office with obstruction. I will be happy to testify against him. Steven Petersen.'
Warner tucked the note into the top drawer of her desk, disgusted. As she shut off lights and locked doors on her way out, she wondered when everyone in the crime lab would realize they were not rivals, but all working for the same side.