Chapter 2 - Mounting Questions
"Dr. Mallard, would you come look at this please?" Jimmy Palmer stood in autopsy, examining what was left of Lt. Heidi Stanford. The young assistant M.E. seemed disturbed by something, or rather, the lack of something.
"How does her esophagus look to you?" Ducky gave his assistant an odd look, and then directed his gaze towards the area that the young man was pointing to.
"Perfectly healthy and normal, Mr. Palmer. I suppose that rules out bulimia. There were no signs of diet aids or laxatives in her bathroom, were there?"
Jimmy shook his head. "No, Doctor. Tony and Tim said the bathroom was full of vitamin supplements, ladies' toiletries… pretty much what you'd expect to see in a healthy single woman's bathroom. Nothing to indicate an eating disorder. In fact, Ziva also said that the kitchen cupboards were full of pasta, and other high carb items. Doesn't seem to fit the state she's in, does it?"
"Indeed, it doesn't, Mr. Palmer," Ducky said, as he sighed and returned to the autopsy.
"Lt. Heidi Stanford, 28 years old. She was on medical leave from active duty," McGee read from the folder in his hands. "She went on leave 6 weeks ago. She began to lose weight inexplicably, the doctors at Bethesda couldn't find any physical reason so they chalked it up to some kind of eating disorder and left it at that. Told her she needed help from a Navy psychologist."
Tony grunted in disgust at the incompetence of her doctor. "Yeah, sure. We didn't find any signs of an eating disorder, not bulimia anyway... And her kitchen was stocked with healthy food. She just wasn't eating any of it."
"It would appear that she was buying fresh vegetables, at least up until a short time before she died. Perhaps she simply didn't have the energy to cook them," Ziva suggested.
Gibbs nodded, taking in what his agents were telling him. "What else do we know about her, guys," he said, moving along. Tony and McGee exchanged glances, Tim cuing Tony to pick up where he'd left off. Tony read from a folder in his hands.
"She was single, had an active social life, had friends, but it looks like she quit going out when she went on medical leave. She lost contact with a lot of her friends, pretty much cut off contact with them. Her neighbour – the one who reported her missing, said she was a quiet young lady. They weren't well acquainted, but if they saw each other outside, they'd stop and chat for a few minutes. That's the thing, see, the neighbour, Mrs…" he trailed off, checking his folder, "Mrs. Younger, said that Lt. Stanford went out every morning for a run, up until about 2 months ago."
"Did she say anything about how Lt. Stanford seemed right before she stopped seeing her every morning?" Ziva shifted in her spot, crossing her arms and leaning back against the desk, perching on the edge.
Tony looked at McGee – Probie's turn to take the lead. "Mrs. Younger said that towards the end, Heidi, as she called her, seemed more tired, winded, almost, when she'd return from her run. Mrs. Younger is one of those older women who always think that the younger generation needs to take better care of themselves, so of course she noticed when the Lieutenant started to lose weight. She was a bit concerned, but also figured it wasn't her place to say anything. She's also one of those women who prefers to butt out of other people's affairs."
"So sad," Ziva commented with a sigh. "If only she'd stuck her nose in where it didn't belong, maybe Heidi Stanford would be alive right now."
"Maybe not, Ziva," Gibbs pointed out. "We still don't know why she died. It might have been out of Mrs. Younger's hands. Even the doctors at Bethesda didn't know what to make of it."
"Well, I wonder what our Doctor makes of it?" McGee wondered. Gibbs shrugged, and led the way out of the squad room, and down to autopsy.