The autopsy bay was quiet as Calleigh waited for Alexx. The temperature had never really bothered her before and she rubbed her arms to try to initiate some warmth. One of the bodies from the triple homicide sat on the autopsy table, waiting for Alexx.
It was the first moment she had to be alone since she arrived at work. Horatio delegated tasks during this case, as usual, and assigned her to work the trace with Ryan.
Calleigh waited for Alexx to look over the body. All three victims in the case were women in their thirties of different origins and murdered in a six hour window of each apart but found in the same alley. Because Alexx had determined at the scene they died from the same C.O.D. Horatio was running the case as though it was a triple homicide instead of three separate murders.
"Hi, honey," Alexx greeted. "Here to go over a sexual assault kit with me?"
"I was hoping there might be biologicals we missed at the scene," Calleigh replied.
Alexx stood on the other side of the table and studied Calleigh's face. "Are you okay?"
She nodded and forced a smile. "I'm fine, Alexx."
The ME wasn't buying and gave her a look, Calleigh ventured Alexx's kids got when they were telling tall tales.
"I don't think it's your vacation you're upset about," she said and Calleigh shrugged. "What's bothering you?"
"Oh nothing, just been a long few days," she replied with a smile. "I'll be fine. What have you got?"
Alexx pulled on a pair of gloves and Calleigh walked toward the table. The victim on the table was identified at the scene as Crystal Jackson; 35-years-old, 5'5", African-American and single.
Looking over the woman lying on the table, Calleigh realised if she had run into this woman at a grocery store, she might talk to her. It was obvious identifying with a victim was the kind of thinking that got cops into trouble and Calleigh did her best to push them aside.
"My preliminary examination found Crystal has a dislocated shoulder, a cracked hip and suffered blunt force trauma to the head," Alexx said. "Which is consistent with a fall down the stairs."
"A fall down the stairs or a deliberate push?" Calleigh asked.
Alexx gave her a knowing look. "Deliberate push. But that's not what killed her."
"What killed her?" Calleigh asked.
Alexx turned Crystal Jackson's head to the right. "She was strangled."
"Strangled?" Calleigh repeated, leaning in to see four fingerprint-sized bruises forming.
"I only wish I was there last night for the callout," Alexx said.
"You can't be there for each body in Miami," Calleigh reminded her as she retrieved her camera from her kit by the doors. Calleigh adjusted her camera and took several photographs of the bruises under the skin, with a UV flash. "With these photos we might be able to get a print."
Alexx had her sexual assault kit ready and Calleigh took notes, with her camera on stand by. It was never comfortable to be present during any SART exam but Alexx treated the victims with respect and did her best to give back a little dignity.
Alexx handed Calleigh the swabs she collected and told her she would call when she had completed the autopsies on Crystal Jackson, Maria Gomez and Trina Vu.
Upstairs she left the SART evidence with DNA, Calleigh left to find Ryan. Walking through the halls of the lab she felt as though everyone knew what had happened. The lab was like high school and the more one tried to keep something private, the more people talked about it. Any assurance she had that she and Eric were careful and no one had a clue about what happened between them, then she was sure everyone had known from the beginning.
She was doing her best to move on from what had happened but she realised it didn't just happen that morning. It happened when Tim died and that was the thing she needed to move on from. She needed to find a way to move on from falling in love. Maybe running on her lunch break - if she was able to take one today - would be a good way to take her mind off things.
Ryan was going over the victims' clothing in the layout room. He was studying the high heels Crystal Jackson, hoping to find something to put her in a crime scene, not the alley her body was carelessly dumped in.
When Ryan looked up from the black sling-backs, she felt like he could see it on her the way he could see trace evidence.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi."
Ryan looked at her like she was lying to him. "What's wrong?"
"I really wish everyone would stop asking me that," Calleigh said, crossing her arms. "I'm fine."
He nodded, understanding if Calleigh wanted to talk, she would. "Okay, well what have you got?"
Calleigh handed Ryan the film she took from Crystal Jackson. "I think we might get a print from Crystal Jackson's neck. Strangulation left fingerprints on her neck."
Ryan laid out the pictures next to Crystal's clothing. "So she was strangled. What's next?"
"We need to place Crystal Jackson at an orginal crime scene," she explained and he nodded. "Alexx said she was shoved down a flight of stairs and is going to do the autopsy on Trina Vu and Maria Gomez. Crystal Jackson was definitely sexually assaulted. I took the swabs over to DNA."
Hours in the layout room passed. Going over evidence was not exciting work and Horatio expected his team to be meticulous and precise when testing everything. As Calleigh was taking her final swab to be taken over to trace, she stood up with a groan.
Ryan looked up from Calleigh, sitting adjacent from her at the layout table. "Tired?"
Calleigh used her right, gloved-hand to massage the muscles at the base of her neck. "I'm supposed to be on vacation. I never take it and the trip I finally do plan..." She sighed. "I am putting one hundred and ten per cent into this. I'm just supposed to be on vacation."
Ryan reached across the table and put his hand on hers. He reminded her, "You didn't have to come to the callout. You should have taken the night off."
"Three dead bodies found in an alley, with six hour differential TOD?" Calleigh listed. "You would have returned from the Himalayas."
Ryan looked at her seriously. "Yeah, and?"
Her tense expression broke into a smile and they shared a laugh. She sighed and shook her head. "I needed that."
"Seriously, what's going on?" Ryan asked, his voice full of concern.
Eric walked into the layout room, looking from Calleigh, Ryan's hand on Calleigh's back to Calleigh. "Yeah, what's going on?"
Calleigh pulled her hand from underneath Ryan's and put it on her lap. "What did you and Horatio find?"
"Should I come back?" Eric asked, ignoring her question.
Ryan laughed. "Not unless you're coming back with a masseuse for Calleigh."
Exhausted and on edge, she could feel a fight coming on. Wanting to remain professional, no matter what, she knew if there was a fight, the whole lab would stop to watch. Glass walls and a thorough cleaning service made for careful behaviour.
Calleigh forced a smile and collected her swabs. "I have to take these to the trace lab."
Eric breathed out loudly, putting his hands on his hips. It was something he did when he was frustrated and on edge. He also did that when he wanted her attention.
She stopped at the door and smiled tightly. "Did you have something?"
"The semen Alexx collected from Trina Vu, Maria Gomez matched Crystal Jackson," Eric replied. "Just thought you might be interested to know."
Calleigh ignored his biting tone. "Did you run the samples through CODIS?"
"She's doing that now," he said.
"So you'll get the swabs to Aaron and see if we can place the victims at a crime scene, right?" Ryan spoke up.
"Okay, I'll be with Aaron," she replied and left the layout room.
Eric shook his head and left shortly after her to go back to DNA.