Chapter 4 - Scary Possibilities
Abby looked up and smiled as Jimmy walked into the lab, carrying two evidence jars.
"We found this in the blankets she was wrapped in," he said, smiling only briefly in greeting, and handing over one of the jars. "I'm guessing it's from the pod of a wild sweet pea?"
Abby nodded at him, signing the offered clipboard to acknowledge receipt of the evidence. "Looks like you're right, Jimmy. Did you and Ducky find out anything else?" She studied the seed inside the jar as Jimmy paused a moment, and held out the second jar, containing a cotton swab.
"We did find some kind of powdery residue on her hands, this is a sample of it for analyses. She probably didn't even have the energy to get a glass of water, but Dr. Mallard thinks it might be some kind of medication or supplement, so someone was obviously in her house to care for her. What doesn't make sense is, why they didn't even bother to take her to Bethesda, or get her any kind of help at all."
Abby looked up at Jimmy, seeing his eyes darken slightly with anger, at whomever hadn't cared enough for this unfortunate young woman, to properly care for her when she so clearly needed urgent medical attention.
Abby took the second jar and studied it briefly but thoughtfully. "I've started testing on this mountain of pantry and medicine cabinet items. Whatcha doin' for the next week or so, Palmer?" she asked, hopefully.
Jimmy's expression slowly lightened once again, the darkness in his eyes retreating, and after a moment he grinned at her sweetly. "Ask Dr. Mallard. He's the one in charge of my parole," he said, with a small chuckle and a wink.
Abby shook her head and sighed with a dramatic air. "Oh, I see… too busy to help your old friend Abby… I see… yet another man who only sticks around until he gets what he wants."
She fluttered her eyelashes at him sadly, blinking back imaginary tears of sorrow, as he chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sure Tim will be back soon enough. Anyway, I do what I do best in autopsy, not the lab."
They both turned as one of her machines beeped. "Ah, we have a result. Stick around a minute, will ya Jims?" Abby summoned her to follow him with a waggling finger, and he obediently followed her lead towards the mass spectrometer. "Oh… interesting," she said, as she read the results. "Mmmm hmmm…" she continued, absorbed enough in her results that she had become almost completely oblivious to her companion's presence. Jimmy frowned, then leaned over her shoulder to take a peek.
"Damn," he muttered. "Who had access to that?"
"Only the entire staff at the drugstore she bought it at," Abby said with an exasperated sigh. "Not to mention, the warehouse, the factory… and anyone in between, and not even mentioning anyone who would have been in her house, or helped her with her shopping, or cared for her in any way. And who knows if this was a random attack, or specifically targeting her. If it did originate from the inventory in the store, and if it was random, who else could have been poisoned… God, Jimmy… the possibilities are damned scary… "
Jimmy nodded. "My point exactly. The pharmacy will have to pull their entire inventory of that product off their shelves, it'll all have to be brought back here for testing… I guess you'll be giving Gibbs a call right away," Jimmy said, as he waved at her and departed the lab.
"I guess I will be," she muttered to herself, as Jimmy turned, with a solemn and concerned expression on his boyish face.
"If you need a hand with that, let me know. I'm sure that between you and me, and Tim, we can get through all that in a reasonable amount of time. Time seems to have just become a pretty critical factor."
Abby nodded, thinking she really could use a fresh Caf-Pow right about now. "Thanks Jims, I'll keep that in mind, don't be surprised to find yourself back here," she said, as she picked up her phone to summon Gibbs, and fill him in on her findings.