The Verrazano Effect

Knock, knock.

"Professor?"

"Yes Sarndra?"

"The case you assigned me, the Messer Case? Um, I'd like an extension on it please?"

"The assignments are designed to be two week analysis examples only."

"I know sir … its just … I don't agree with the findings sir."

"And what don't you agree with?"

"The case summary indicates he may have fallen from the Verrazano? But the bruises don't support that. And it doesn't make sense sir. Everything keeps circling back to the bridge."

"How exactly does it circle back?"

"Forensics is about the evidence and a large part of that is defined by human behaviour. But the findings in this case don't take into account human behaviour. They seem to be based on a straight geographical line. I think the case isn't about the five days Detective Messer was missing. It's about something that happened on the bridge and he was collateral damage. The report said he pulled a woman, a diplomat's daughter, from her car after it was involved in a 21 car pile up on the bridge. It said she sent him back to the vehicle to retrieve something she'd left behind. Then a car exploded and distracted her and she didn't see him after that. What I don't get is why? Why would she send him to retrieve the thing when there was obvious danger in hanging round the vehicles? What could be that important? Then the evidence says he went to the car more than once. That would make sense. He went there once to pull her out, then again to get what she wanted and, if he found his badge missing, back again to find it. But she says she didn't see him again so he can't have reached her after he retrieved the item. So where is it? What was it? And why haven't they reported its disappearance? And that still doesn't explain how he ended up in the water? Or why, when he did reach dry land, he headed away from the bridge when the flashing lights and sirens would have told him he could get help back at the accident scene? Amnesia or not natural instinct would have sent him back towards the lights."

"So how did he end up going the other way?"

"Exactly! I've gone over this several times sir and I keep ending up with more questions than answers."

He tapped the side of his temple.

"Let me make some phone calls and then I'll give you my decision."

"Thank you professor." She left the office with a troubled look in her eyes.

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"You're not going to like this Mac." Flack ran his fingers through his hair and flicked open his notebook. Mac reached into the back of the car for his kit.

"Not going to like what?"

"Professor Timothy Suttercliffe. Teaches forensic science at NYU. Passerby noticed the body about an hour ago." He led the way through the park to the body sprawled on the bank of the river. Mac's eyes widened. He lifted the man's arm and turned it slightly.

"Distinctive bruising … under but not over, multiple bruises over the ribs, ankles and hands. More bruises on the insides of the knees and thighs."

"Sound familiar?"

"Too familiar! So, if he came out here where did he go in?"

"The Williamsburg?"

"Too close. The currents would have landed him at FDR and 34th. To beach here he'd have to have entered around the Manhattan." He stood up and looked across at the bridges. "The question is; did he fall or was he pushed?"

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Sarndra took in a deep breath and dialed the number.

"Hello! I'm calling in answer to a request for assistance from the New York University Student Union. The caller left the name Jorgenia and this number. Is it possible to speak to her at this time?"

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"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" Stella poked her head around the office door.

"What's the bad news?" Mac closed the file he'd been reading and looked up. Stella hesitated as she saw the name on the front of it.

"Professor Suttercliffe lived in Tribeca and worked at NYU so there was no reason for him to be near the Manhattan."

"And the good news is?"

"We know how he died. He drowned. You re-opening Danny's file?"

Mac rubbed the back of his neck.

"We have two cases. Both victims have distinctive bruises in the same locations. Both tested positive for bacteria found in the Lower Bay and East River. Danny was seen on the Verrazano on the 11th of September and reappeared, with amnesia, on the 13th. The professor's car was located on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between the Williamsburg and the Manhattan three hours before the body was found washed up in the East River Park. Danny is a forensic scientist and the professor taught forensic science…"

"And," Lindsay added over Stella's shoulder, "Danny's case was included in the study curriculum in the professor's class at NYU." She handed a list to Mac. "This is his student roll for the last semester. And don't ask what I had to do to get it!"

Mac looked at the column of names.

"Someone on this list knows more than we do."

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The car had the appearance of an official vehicle and looking closely Sarndra could see the attachments that would normally bear small flags of particular nations. She jammed the last of her notes in the carryall and climbed out the window dropping into the open rubbish skip. She reached up and threaded the nylon cord around the hinges tying the loose ends first to her ankles and then to her wrists pulling the knots tight with her teeth and then waited. The rubbish was due to be emptied at 5pm and she prayed the knots would hold. The alternative was to be compacted with the trash and dumped where-ever they dump it. She didn't want to think about that.

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Mac listed everything he knew about Danny's disappearance on the top sheet of the notepad and then listed everything he knew about the professor's death on the following page. He knew there had to be a link but he couldn't find it. He went back to the first page. Danny was traveling from Staten Island to work via the Verrazano Bridge. The diplomat's daughter, Jorgenia, was traveling in an embassy vehicle from Staten Island via the Verrazano. There was a crash. The embassy car was involved. Danny's cab stopped and he left it to assist the crash victims. He pulled the girl out of the car and onto the sidewalk. She sent him back to the car to get something she'd left behind. A car exploded into flames and she didn't see Danny again. He flipped the page. Jorgenia was a student at NYU where the professor taught but she didn't take any of his classes. He closed the notepad and went to get a coffee.

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Stella hid a smile as Flack got up from the chair and stretched.

"How many more of these we gotta do?"

She consulted the list.

"Twelve. The next name is Lisa Mathers."

He went to the door and looked into the hallway.

"Lisa Mathers?" A pretty little redhead rose and approached.

"I don't see how I can help?"

"You're in Professor Suttercliffe's class?"

"Yes."

"You took the case studies workgroup?"

"Yes."

"What case did you pick?"

"We don't pick the cases. The professor does. I got the Joanne Mccarthy case."

"Joanne McCarthy?"

"She was a New Zealand woman who was murdered by a man called Travis Burns. The case was almost identical to another New Zealand murder, Tania Furlan, only the man arrested for that was Christopher Lewis. He committed suicide in prison before he could be tried for the murder. And Travis Burns was the police informant who dobbed Lewis in. Right up to his death Lewis maintained that it was Burns who killed Furlan and McCarthy was murdered a year after Lewis died."

Stella smiled.

"I bet you're having fun with that one."

Lisa giggled.

"Not as much fun as Sarndra. Professor Suttercliffe gave the hardest one to her. He likes to challenge her 'cause she always thinks outside the box."

"What case did he give her?"

"The Messer case. A cop went missing for five days and he can't remember what he did or where he went. The evidence suggested he fell off a bridge but Sarndra didn't believe that. She said the bruises looked more like he was thrown off the bridge. She asked for an extension on the assignment the day before the professor died. I don't know if he granted it. I haven't seen her since yesterday."

Stella looked at Flack.

"Could you ask her to come in?"

"She's not out there. Her dorm room is next to mine. She hasn't been there since yesterday. No-one has. Not since those two national security jokers left. And she wasn't with them either. They seemed pretty pissed that they missed her. Can I go now? I've got a lecture in like ten minutes."

Flack nodded. Stella circled Sarndra's name on the list.

"We need to find this girl."

"I'll pull her file."

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"You okay Mac?" He looked up to find Danny standing over him.

"Yes, Why?"

"I've never known you to leave your office without your cell before." Mac's hand automatically went to his empty pocket.

"Damn!"

"It's okay. Stell called me when she couldn't reach you. She and Flack have a lead on the student. Her name is Sarndra Edwards and she's missing. They're going over to her dorm room now." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "You think we should start checking bridges?"

Mac had no answer for him.

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"Her laptop is gone. And her notes. She always keeps a hard copy of everything on her laptop just in case it crashes or something. I should do the same but I keep putting it off. I'd flunk my degree if I lost it all."

Flack looked up from the doorway.

"How many of the students keep their notes on their laptops?"

"Just about all of us. If you don't have your own the uni will loan you one for the duration of your course. We take them everywhere even parties. You can download your digital stills and e-mail them instantly, anywhere."

Flack thanked the room-mate and he and Stella headed for their car.

"You think the diplomat's daughter got her laptop back?"

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Mac leaned against the window frame looking out over the city.

"And this is definitive?" The black suited man waved the report in Mac's direction.

"Yes sir. The lab found the worm in the e-mail program. It's designed to copy pass-codes and data pathways between systems. We believe the intention was to use the student's e-mails to her father as a gateway into the UN mainframe to access classified information with a view to selling it to the highest bidder."

"But you still haven't identified the main players?"

"No sir. We know they are connected with the Ambassador's office, but we have no names as yet."

"And you have yet to find the girl?"

Mac kept silent. The man folded the report and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

"We'll have to notify the UN. But the most we can request is that they recall the staff associated with the office. We can't expect them to revoke their immunity if we can't name them." He looked up at Mac. "Find the girl. Your interest in the laptop is over as of now."

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Lindsay looked up from the screen as Mac entered the lab.

"You don't look happy?"

"We can't use the laptop or anything associated with it. Orders from upstairs."

Lindsay looked across at the computer tech Trey. Mac sighed.

"If I'm going to be fired I may as well know what for?"

"We printed the memory expansion card …"

"It's where the worm originated …"

"We got two clear prints and a partial …"

"Off the surface of the card …"

"So we're running them through immigration's database."

"Because?"

"The worm was programmed into the card. All they needed was two minutes to swap it with the original and the program would automatically load onto the pc's system. The worm records the required information on the card and then they swap it back at a later date."

Just then the screen beeped. Lindsay turned back to it.

"We've got a name. The partial belongs to Alexander Peyton. He's listed as UN administrative support staff."

"International organization support staff aren't covered by diplomatic immunity."

"But the print is on the card which is part of the laptop we aren't allowed to touch."

"Was the card removed from the laptop today?"

"No, we pulled it yesterday."

"Is the card back in the laptop?"

"No, it's still here in the lab. What are you getting at Mac?"

"The order to release the laptop came down today, so we release the laptop. If the card isn't back in it we don't have to put it back, unless they can prove it was part of the laptop, then we'll have to hand it over. But until then …"

"It's still ours. Mac Taylor you are a sneaky thinker."

"Keep running the prints." Mac left the lab with Lindsay's words playing on his mind.

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Stella threw her gloves at her kit in frustration.

"We've been over this room three times and the only trace we've got is some small orange fibres."

"There's no sign of a struggle. No evidence she left against her will. But no-one saw her leave."

Mac walked across to the window.

"You tell your professor you have concerns about your assignment. A couple of days later he is murdered. Then UN Embassy people come to your dorm looking for you. How do you leave?"

Flack walked to the door, picking up on Mac's train of thought.

"You can't take the lift because they'll be coming up that way. But they could be on the stairs too. And the fire escape is at the other end of the hall. The only other way is the window."

Mac looked down.

"The rubbish skip is directly below this window. She could have used it to break her fall."

They made their way down to the alley. Flack tapped the side of the skip. It echoed hollowly.

"Empty, or just about empty. I'll go find out when the truck comes."

Mac shone his torch along the back of the bin. A glint of orange caught his eye.

"Flack!" He called the tall detective back. "Give us a hand to move this. There's something back here." It took the three of them to move the skip away from the wall. Mac slipped in behind it and frowned. "Since when has the city tied orange nylon ropes on the lid-hinges of their rubbish bins?" He moved around the front of the bin and flipped the lid open. "Sweet Jesus!"

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Danny waited for the doctor to finish talking with Mac before approaching.

"How is she?"

Mac looked back at the still form on the bed.

"Very lucky to be alive. She has two cracked ribs, a hair-line fracture to the left side of her pelvic bone, her left arm is broken in two places, left collar-bone is broken and there is a medium force fracture to her skull."

"Clever girl." Mac raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged, "the knots held." Mac frowned.

"Stay with her. I want you here when she wakes up. She'll trust you."

"If you're going back to the lab you'd better take these." Danny handed him several sheets of paper. "The professor's phone records. I picked them up on the way over here."

"Did you read them too?"

"Yeah," Danny hid a smirk, "but I wouldn't wanna spoil your fun."

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Sarndra opened her eyes slowly. The room was dimly lit.

"I had them turn the lights down so they wouldn't hurt your eyes. You have a skull fracture." She held her breath as the speaker came into view. "Mac … my boss thought you might feel safer with me here."

"Danny Messer." The effort it took to speak sent pain shooting through her head. She closed her eyes and bit her lip.

"I'll get the nurse."

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"According to the phone records, the day before his death, the professor made two calls and received one in return. The first call was to the MTA …"

"Requesting specifics on the railing design of the Verrazano," Stella broke in, "they sent them to his office who forwarded them to us." She put the roll of paper on Mac's desk.

"The second call …" Mac was interrupted again, this time by Flack.

"Was to the UN Embassy. Jorgenia said she spoke to an NYU professor but she couldn't remember his name. He wanted to know what she'd left in the car at the time of the accident. We already know about the laptop."

"Now we know the professor knew about it. What about the incoming call?" Stella turned back to Mac as he consulted the list.

"It originated from the Brooklyn Naval Yard."

"If someone wanted to know how much the professor knew they might schedule a meeting with him. But that doesn't explain why the call came from the Navy Yard?"

"It could be because that's where the Ambassador's support staff are billeted." Lindsay added her report to the growing pile of papers. "Normally they are billeted in the embassy itself but one of the buildings failed its earthquake and fire regulation inspection. They closed it four months ago and moved the staff to a decommissioned UN supply ship moored in the Navy Yard."

"One of those support staff wouldn't happen to be Alexander Peyton?"

"Yes, but according to the official records he was at the embassy itself the night the professor died."

"And no-one at the embassy has seen him since yesterday morning," Flack added, "so we're still no closer to finding him."

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Sarndra traced the outline of the bruises on Danny's arms on the crime scene photos pinned to the board. Stella put the clipboard on the table and came up behind her.

"How's the head?"

"Pretty good. They gave me some strong painkillers." She sighed. "The railings don't match."

"No. But the bruises are consistent with a railing pattern. We just have to figure out where they are."

"I wish I could do more to help."

"You've done a lot already. Before you came along all we had was some bacteria and a few sightings. Now we know about the laptop and the worm program. You've given Danny answers we couldn't." Stella smiled, "You're not native here are you?"

Sarndra giggled.

"I thought I was doing a good job of losing the accent."

"You are. It's just occasionally noticeable. So where is home?"

"New Zealand. I won a two year scholarship to NYU. I guess I just got tired of people asking if New Zealand was part of Australia."

"It's still a long way to come to do a bachelor degree."

"But it makes a change from soil and water testing … maybe I can still help. The case file said there were soil and grass samples. Grass contains microscopic insects and plant spores and my laptop has the DNA templates to profile them. I should be able to narrow the field some more and tell you where they came from."

Stella frowned.

"That software is very expensive."

"Fifteen thousand dollars is the current price but it'll probably drop when DNA machines become more commonplace. And you need access to microscopes to identify the organisms first."

"And two good hands."

Sarndra looked sheepishly at her arm in its cast and sling.

"Sometimes I really hate being left-handed!"

Stella laughed.

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"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?"

Danny looked up.

"Mac! Check it out! There are 1500 microscopic insects and 2400 microscopic spores in New York parks."

"And how many did you attract?"

Sarndra looked up from the laptop.

"170 spores and 135 insects on his shirt and jeans. We're just getting started on his socks."

"Sarndra?" Lindsay frowned, "what's Pfiesteria Pisc…"

"Pfiesteria Piscicida?" Mac moved over to the readout, "is a microbe normally found in rivers and estuaries. It's non-toxic."

"It's actually an estuarine dinoflagellate … a type of algae. And it has 24 morphological forms one of which is toxic to fish, specifically the finned type, and is probably responsible for some reported cases of illness among humans. We just don't have conclusive proof yet."

Danny moved closer.

"But you said probably?"

"The alga produces two toxins, one is water-soluble and the other is fat-soluble. The water-soluble toxin affects the central nervous system of the fish stunning it then the fat-soluble toxin damages the fish's skin causing ulcers and disturbing the internal salt balance. The fish dies and decomposes releasing high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus which the alga then feeds on. But it's also non-pigmentational. It doesn't produce the colour change that usually signifies the presence of an algal bloom in the water so the only time we can prove its active is when dead fish appear. So although people complain of suffering certain symptoms around these incidents we can't prove they're caused by it."

"Like what symptoms?"

"Skin rashes…"

Danny shook his head.

"Nope."

"Eye irritations …"

"Uh-uh."

"Speech problems …"

"Does stammering count?"

"Possibly … but don't quote me on it. Dyspnoea …"

Lindsay looked up.

"That's like air hunger isn't it? It makes you feel like you can't get enough air into your lungs. Like you're suffocating."

Sardnra nodded.

"That's it! We know the answer to the next one. Loss of concentration and memory."

"Oh yeah!"

"And headaches and muscle cramps."

"Which can be explained by the fall and the lump on the back of his head."

"Exactly."

"So what does the information we have so far tell us?"

"That there's a 70 probability that Danny spent time in Dyker Beach Park and …" Sarndra frowned, "the East River Park." She nodded to Lindsay, "Click on help for further confirmation. Yep it's definitive. There was a Pfiesteria bloom recorded off Dyker Beach in our time frame and that exact match of microscopic matter could only have come from those two parks." Sarndra looked across to Stella. "The East River Park has a railing between the path and the river itself ..."

"And we have it in the professor's crime scene photos." The two girls rushed off leaving the others standing there. Danny shrugged and called after them.

"That's okay we'll just find something else to do."

"How 'bout a trip to New Zealand?" Flack waved a teletype in their direction. "They just I.D'd a body in their harbour. It's Peyton's. They wanna know if we wanna handle it personally?"

Danny looked hopefully at Mac who frowned thoughtfully.

"I don't know if the budget will handle three of us going."

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Stella put the clipboard down on the pavement and picked up the twisted spectacle frames.

"They look like Danny's."

Lindsay handed her an evidence bag.

"D.N.A should confirm it."

"If there's any trace left. After all it's been a year since Danny …"

Lindsay shrugged.

"They've lay under this fern for some time and the leaves are quite dense. Plus the path slants towards the river so the rain drains away from this spot not to it … I say it's worth a try."

Stella frowned.

"The lenses are missing …"

"Could have been broken in a struggle?"

"Some of the bruises could account for that." They stood up and looked across at the railing by the river. "They'd have needed a car to get either of them here."

"The evidence shows Danny was reaching inside the embassy car. It doesn't show he was completely inside it."

"So it had to be another vehicle …"

"Which would make sense. The first car was damaged in the crash so they send another to pick up Jorgenia and get her to safety …"

"So whoever drove that may have intercepted Danny on his way back to the bridge and brought him here."

"Now all we have to do is prove it."