Just a little word of warning,I have a description of a crime scene in here.I tried to not go into graphic detail or anything butI just thought I'd give a mini warning here.
Eric sat on one of the couches in the break room, his kit at his feet, his hands clasped as he stared off into a distance. It was still all a little surreal, meeting Tim's sister. He remembered conversations he and Tim had had about family. He had told Tim about his three sisters, his parents but whenever Eric had asked him about his family he had skimmed or avoided the question by telling him next to nothing or just plain nothing at all. Eric had always wondered about his reluctance to discuss his family. Did it mean something or was Tim just not comfortable talking about his family with anyone?
Eric knew that Tim had been an extremely private person. However for as long as he had known Tim he had assumed that the two had become best friends. Or at least something close to it. Had that all been in Eric's mind? His own interpretation of their relationship? He just didn't know anymore. Suddenly he felt like he had been plunged down the rabbit hole headfirst without a flashlight. Then there was Sami herself.
She reminded him of Tim just enough to be slightly disturbing. At the same time though… She was exactly the type of girl that Eric would find himself attracted to. Beautiful, sure of herself despite the obvious awkwardness of the situation, intelligent, all immediate traits he picked up just in her presence. Her smile was bright enough, but the brightness seemed forced. You wouldn't pick up on that unless you really looked into her eyes. A constant look of sadness was there, but he didn't think it was all just about Tim's death. More and more questions flashed through his mind, questions he wasn't sure he had the right to ask…not yet anyway.
He jumped at a sudden gentle grip on his shoulder and he looked up. Surprised he saw Sami looking down at him with a concerned look on her face. Her hand still on his shoulder she smiled at him slightly and gave him a soft shake before letting go.
"You okay? You looked like you were in another country or something. Hope I didn't disturb a really good daydream cause those are ones you don't want to lose hold of for nothing."
He smiled briefly back at her, "No, nothing like that just…thinking, that's all." He stood up and picked up his kit.
"You going to be okay working with me? I know you were good friends with Tim," a look of anxiety and concern light up across her face. "I'm sure Horatio would understand…"
Eric shook his head and smiled at her again, "No it's okay really. It's just a little sudden that's all. We're cool, just ignore my brief lapses from reality every now and again." That comment gained Eric a small smile chasing away the anxiety and concern. "You all set to get started?"
"Yup, got my stuff and I'm ready to rock and roll."
Several minutes later they were in a Hummer, Eric behind the wheel and Sami sitting next to him. Her chin resting in the palm of one hand as she stared out the passenger side window at the Miami landscape. She felt a slight ache in her chest as a wave of homesickness overcame her. She missed New York already and would definitely feel homesick around the winter months. She started to wonder again for the billionth time what she was doing here. Sami felt like she had made the already delicate situation of her brother's death worse just by being here.
Eric glanced over at her as he drove toward the crime scene. He could only see the profile of her face but he felt a stab of concern for her at what he could see of her expression. He tried to think of something to say to break the silence but couldn't. They passed the rest of the way in silence as Eric drove the Hummer towards one of the richer neighborhoods of Coconut Grove.
The two-story house that was their crime scene was part of a row of houses that sat next to the beach. Carefully manicured lawns, clean sidewalks, expensive cars parked in driveways, even a few boats. Two police patrol cars, the coroners transport van, and an unmarked police vehicle all sat in front of the house. Eric steered them as close to the house as possible then parked.
Sami was out of the car faster than Eric, her energy seemed to pick up as soon as they came in sight of the house. He popped open the back of the Hummer and handed her her kit then grabbed his own and followed her up the lawn and towards the house. As they approached the front door Detective Yelina Salas walked out and smiled at their approach.
"Good afternoon to you Eric," she gave him a slight nod then glanced at Sami frowning a little at the unfamiliar face. "This the new recruit?"
"That's right, Yelina this is Detective Sami Speedle, Sami this is Detective Yelina Salas. She's one of our regulars."
Yelina looked slightly surprised at the last name, but to her credit it was the only emotion shown and it disappeared quickly. She gave Sami a warm smile and shook her hand when Sami offered it.
"Well, it's good to see another woman on the team," Yelina nodded towards the house and was suddenly all business. "Inside we have a husband/wife murder scene. Sarah and James Milton just moved into this house about three months ago. Sarah Milton is in the living room and James Milton is in the garage behind the wheel of his SUV."
Eric's eyes widened, "The James Milton?"
Yelina nodded and Sami looked confused, "Who's James Milton? I'm guessing a sort of important personality around here?"
"Sort of," Eric said slowly. "He's a defense attorney and well known at least among the cops. I've had to testify at a couple of his cases and the guy is pretty ruthless, not to mention knowledgeable."
"I see," Sami felt lost again, that sinking feeling in her stomach returning. Back home she had known everything and everyone there was to knowthat was important to the New York scene. She had grown up there and despite all her traveling she hadn't really left it. She started to feel like a rookie then mentally shook herself. She was not going to feel this way, she would not start to feel sorry for herself. She was going to feel confident and assured herself that all it would take is time to get used to this new city. It just meant she'd have to pay close attention.
"A 911 call was made about twenty minutes ago. A patrol car was sent out to check out the nature of the call, to see if it wasn't a prank or something. They walked into that," she gestured again at the house.
"Any eyewitnesses come forward yet? That is if they can bring themselves to," Sami glanced at the crowd at the edge of the line of police cars. Yelina shook her head.
"Not yet, I'm going to go do a neighborhood canvas then look into family and friends backgrounds."
"Any of their family members been contacted yet?" Eric asked.
Yelina glanced down at her notepad, "Not yet but Sarah Milton has a sister who lives in downtown Miami and James Milton's parents live in Fort Lauderdale. After the canvas I was going to head over to the sister's house and if you guys want to come along you're more than welcome." She gave them both a nod then headed towards the crowd of people and a small group of officers.
Eric pulled out a pair of latex gloves from his kit and handed Sami a pair of his before she had a chance to open her own kit. She smiled at him and took the gloves slipping them on quickly. Eric watched her a moment and his brain couldn't help but note how sweetly pretty her features became when she smiled. Sami looked up at him and gave him a look.
"What?" She noticed him watching her. Eric shook his head slightly.
"It's nothing. You ready to get your hands dirty?"
Sami gave one of the gloves a small snap, "I was born ready."
The two of them walked in and the smell of blood and decomp hit them immediately. Sami wrinkled her nose, the only sign of her discomfort at the smell, and looked around. In front of them was a carpeted staircase leading to the upstairs. To their left the white tiled floor led to a large living room. To their right was an archway opening out into a small family room. Sami led the way carefully to the archway where they saw Alexx kneeling in front of a cream colored couch. At the sounds of their footsteps she looked up.
"Hey, I was just getting her ready for you guys," she looked at Sami, the ghost of a smile crossed her features. "You must be Samira."
"That's right," Sami sounded a little surprised.
"Horatio told me about you this morning. Kinda as a warning since he planned to drop you straight into work as soon as you showed. Great way to get your feet wet."
"Yup, plunge in head first. The only way to start the day," Sami glanced around the room as Eric reached into his kit and pulled out his camera.
Lying on top of the couch was the body of a woman in mid twenties. Her dark blonde hair spread out across a small pillow. Her eyes were shut and specks of blood dotted the skin of her face. As Eric documented the scene Sami made her way carefully over to Alexx looking out for signs of evidence on the floor. She noticed a blood trail and began marking it with numbered evidence cones. Sami set her kit down after noting the direction of the blood trail and marking it for Eric to photograph. She knelt down next to Alexx.
"Liver temp indicates that she was killed three hours ago. I just finished checking out the husband. His liver temp shows that he was killed an hour ago. He's still in the SUV, I thought I'd leave him there for you guys to check it out first then I'll have my guys move out the bodies."
Sami gave the woman a once over. There appeared to be two gunshot wounds, both to the abdomen. Sarah Milton looked as if she had been posed. She lay across the couch, her hands lying atop each other just above the entry wounds. Posed to look as if she had just lain down to take a nap. She was dressed in a T-shirt and jean shorts, her feet bare. Her skin though….
"She looks awfully pale, and she hasn't been dead for that long but she's almost white. Also her clothes are almost soaked with blood but the couch however doesn't have all the much blood on it. Not as much as is indicated with the amount of blood on her clothes."
Alexx nodded a slightly saddened expression on her face, "She died from her wounds, but only because she bled to death from them."
"The smell," Sami let out a breath and it hit her again. Eric had finished photographing the scene and he came over to stand just behind them.
"She was killed elsewhere wasn't she?" He asked softly. Alexx nodded and gestured towards a doorway that led out to what looked like a hall. Careful of the blood trail Eric followed her gesture. He stopped in the hallway having turned left. He seemed frozen in his tracks, his face expressionless. Sami frowned and stood up walking over to him. She put a hand on his arm and leaned around him to see what he was seeing.
The doorway led to a short hallway and to the left it opened out onto a medium sized kitchen that flowed seamlessly into a dining room about the same size. Like what they had seen of the rest of the house everything was decorated in tones, of whites, creams, and browns. The same tile floor in the hallway reached into this area as well. The difference was the blood on the floor. It pooled in front of the island in the middle of the kitchen, then melded with a trail to another larger pool in the dining room. The smell was coming from this and this time Sami couldn't help it. She put a hand to her mouth feeling herself gag as she swallowed hard.
Eric sensed her discomfort and reached over and steadied her by placing his hand on her back. Sami felt his touch, warm and assuring, and felt comforted by it. She leaned into it a moment then stood back up straight a determined look on her face, the energy in her eyes again. She walked back over to the other room as Alexx was finishing up.
"Just let me know when you're ready to have them taken out all right?" Alexx said softly then headed down the hall that Sami had just come from going towards the garage.
Sami glanced at the body then looked around the room. There was an end table against the wall opposite the couch. It had been knocked over and a broken vase of roses had spilled onto the couch mingling with the blood trail. Just left and above of the end table was a bullet hole surrounded by blood splatter. The blood trail began there starting from a small pool of blood. Sami guessed that this was where the husband was shot first.
Leaving the kitchen and dining room to Eric she followed Alexx down the hall and into the garage. As she did though she marked several footprints in the blood photographing them as she did. In the garage sat two vehicles. There was a brand new Mercedes and a Ford Explorer that looked to be a couple of years old. The door to the Explorer was open and Sami immediately saw the body of James Milton. He was slumped over in the drivers seat his arms hanging limply at his sides.
Sami walked over to him and looked inside as best she could. She took pictures as she made her approach and as she looked over the body. She then made her way over to the passenger side and opened the door. She took several more photographs particularly of the keys that were still in the ignition. They were covered in blood, which might indicate that he had tried to start the car after he had been shot the first time. She stared at him a moment her eyes glazing over a bit. She heard footsteps behind her and glanced over her shoulder to find Alexx standing there a look of concern on her face.
"You all right honey?" Alexx's voice was soft. Sami nodded and swallowed again.
"I'm fine, it's just such a waste."
"It always is, no matter who the victim is. A human life is still a human life, and no one deserves a violent death."
Sami didn't say anything only stood there in quiet reflection. A moment later she broke the silence, "I should have someone tow the cars back to the garage at HQ. Unless Eric wants a look, I'm done with the bodies."
"I'll send the victims clothes along with any other trace evidence I find your way," Alexx made her way out of the garage and back into the house. Sami watched the body a moment later then processed the rest of the garage then headed outside to walk the perimeter of the house.