Chapter Four
Iris sat at her home computer looking at the email reply. Her two bloodhounds, Durante and Cyrano, lay on the floor asleep. The dogs were retired from the DPD and had been with Iris only a few months. She had used them on a few cases as support when the regular police scent dogs had been unavailable. They now enjoyed the lifestyle of pampered pets, although they showed a distinct preference for men over women. Iris was having them security trained as she lived alone.
To: Spider2Fly
Fr: BugMan4Ever
Hey, Iris, glad to hear from you and that you enjoyed the seminar. Yes, I do remember signing your book. We are proud of our lab facility and its national reputation that we strive hard to keep.
Your question about the best technique to collect blow-flies at a crime scene and the overview of the serial case you're helping investigate I will be happy to elaborate on. I wish more CSI's took the time to appreciate the contribution of insects as an evidence-gathering tool.
Iris read on about Grissom's outline of collecting flies as well as other insects and a generalization of the life cycle of flies and beetles from pupa to adult in particular.
Grissom concluded: If I can be of any additional assistance, please don't hesitate to email me. Also if you're ever back in Vegas, do drop into the crime lab to visit.
All the best,
G. Grissom
Iris typed in a quick reply and emailed Grissom back. She was amazed he had taken the time from his busy schedule to respond to her very generic email. Her memory was clear of the bespectacled, graying, curly-headed world-renowned entomologist as he conducted the seminar. He was handsome, though, she readily admitted to herself. Her email name of Spider2Fly had caused Gil to chuckle at his end when he had received her initial email. He also recalled Iris as being a not very tall woman with short brown hair who wore glasses, whose most telling features were her enormous brown eyes and generous freckles about her nose and cheeks. He had noted she paid strict attention to him during the course of the seminar, appreciating at least one person's true interest in what he was instructing.
The next day Iris headed into the AV lab and met Angie so they could go over the Albertson's store surveillance tapes. As they viewed the grainy footage, Rosa could be seen walking to her car. A dark car suddenly pulled up next to hers and a taller figure stopped her. A flashing metal reflection was seen for a moment and then Rosa willingly got into the car as it drove away.
"What in blazes? You see that?" Iris asked with a sharp intake of breath.
"Yeah, see if we can get a close-up, but it's lousy video to start with," Angie muttered.
Iris was a little more hands-on with the computer and AV equipment than Angie, as she quickly did adjustments and tweaking to enhance the video. The fact that the parking lot was poorly lit did not help her efforts. At last, however, they were able to make out the faint outline of a badge wallet with the accompanying ID although not able to get a clearer image of the wallet's carrier as to identity.
"A cop or security officer?" Angie speculated.
"Definitely not in uniform. Undercover, perhaps?" Iris chimed in.
"Too strange. The car's not an unmarked. Dang it, we can't even get a good enough fix on the license plate to help us identify this bozo," Angie griped.
"Whoever it is was someone she had no trouble trusting let alone getting into the car, that makes me think a cop," Iris said flatly.
"Well, it's too easy these days to get a badge and make a photo ID that looks like the real deal, " Angie considered.
Iris found herself unsettled about the possibility that the killer could be using the guise of a law enforcement officer to seize his victims. "Angie, let's go back to the sequence board, I've got a hunch going."
"Let's go brainstorm then," Angie replied.