By Any Other Name

by Ladykestrel

This is a prequel of the events leading up to the arrival of Iris King to Grissom's CSI team in Las Vegas see Second Chances. A serial killer is on the prowl in Dallas, Texas. Matching wits with the murderer is a level one CSI anxious to thwart the kill

5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Angie and Iris went over the master board summarizing the victims of the FTD killer.

Victim One: Daisy Haggerty. Age 25. Name branded above left breast. Letter received day of victim's disappearance by Chief of Police Kunkel. Sprigs of heather were found on and about the body. Raped. Strangled.

Victim Two: Heather Morris. Age 31. Letter received again by COP Kunkel day of disappearance. Name of victim branded above left breast as with first victim.

Flower petals identified to be African violet found at crime scene. Raped. Suffocated.

Victim Three: Violet Tanner. Age 22. African-American. Same MO of letter sent to COP. Name branded above left breast. Jasmine flower petals found on and around body. Raped. Strangled.

Victim Four: Jasmine Ontiveros. Age 27. Letter to COP. Name branded above left breast. Bluebell flowers found on and around victim. Raped. Suffocated.

Victim Five: Bluebell Sanders. Age 34. Letter to COP. Name branded above left breast. Rose petals found on and around victim. Letter to COP. Raped. Strangled.

Victim Six: Rosa Jimenez. Age 19. Letter to COP. Name branded above left breast. Lily petals found on and about victim. Raped. Suffocated.

"Damn him, he's too consistent," Angie cried, looking at the map of Dallas with stickpins denoting the location of each victim. Again, the only apparent pattern was the women had been found in the northwest, north and northeast areas of Dallas bordered by the major highways of I-635, Dallas North Tollway, and I-35.

"From the overall time of deaths, we can tell he's going after these women at night and either stopping them on the highway or in a parking lot. The cars are found abandoned. None of the women apparently had a suspicion about him. The bodies bore little evidence of defense wounds, just broken nails and the ligature marks where you could tell the victim was struggling to free herself. Toxicology has shown halothane being used at some point, perhaps after he gets them in his car. The women are always bound with some sort of rope-like restraint as the ligature marks are pronounced as from a rough material like nylon. He must use the halothane after getting them into the car so as not to attract attention." Iris surmised.

"Hun, you're not gonna be a CSI one very long, you're too bright!" Angie grinned at her. "You finally agreed to go out with Max, eh?"

"Just to shut him up and it's strictly as friends. I know, I know, you see this glorious life for us and I'm being too dense to see the forest for the trees. It's just I don't see him that way and David…" Iris was continuing when Angie interrupted.

"Has been gone nearly 10 years. Iris, honey, you need to get your life going again. You're too wrapped up in work. Your co-workers are your family outside of your family back in Indianapolis and your church, of course. I respect your sense of duty to David but he's gone. Max is here and now. Good heavens, he's built and easy on the eyes." Angie urged in a coaxing voice.

"Something inside just says no to more than that with Max, Angie. My life's not dull by any means. I fence, dance, horseback ride and have church. If I'm meant to marry again and perhaps even have a family, I will welcome that with open arms believe me." Iris insisted, hugging Angie for emphasis.