Here is chapter five.
Disclaimer: CSI own don't I.
Catherine stood still, her face grim. Zoë was standing in front of her. When she had offered to move to another room, she had refused. Standing there was something that she was all right with.
"What do you mean by that? You think that there are other crimes?" Catherine's head was spinning. This was the last thing that they had hoped for—another dead body to find.
"Catherine, you said that there could be other things that the killer left if the statue was not mine," confirmed Zoë "And I think that they are clues."
Catherine looked at Sara. She shrugged and told the girl to explain her thoughts.
Zoë nodded. "The Chimera Killer definitely left those there for us to follow."
"The Chimera Killer." The words ran over her tongue like water on rocks. "Serial killers get names like those. So far he has not killed others." I hope, Catherine added silently. There are still two more pieces of the Chimera to find.
"So, what are these clues?" Catherine asked as she peered at the objects on the table.
Turing toward the objects, Zoë said, "I was thinking that since the Chimera is from Greek mythology, then maybe these are too. I tried to think of anything that relates to the flower and the quote from mythology."
Sara started to put the things into sealed bags. "I am guessing that there are connections."
First was the flower. Its white petals were starting to wilt, but they could not put it in water. It was, after all, evidence. "A narcissus flower." Zoë stared at it with her dark eyes. "I was thinking that if the statue was from Greek mythology, then maybe theses were too…. The story of Narcissus and Echo: Echo was a nymph that loved to talk—a little too much. One day it got on Hera's, queen of the gods, never when they were having a conversation. Hera cursed her so that she could only repeat what other people said, nothing more, and nothing less. Sometime later, she saw a man at a pool of water through the trees, Narcissus. Immediately, she fell in love with him. However, Echo knew that she could never tell him that. Meanwhile, Narcissus leaned over the water and, for the first time in his life, saw himself. He did not know that it was he, though. Narcissus fell in love with himself. For days on end, he would sit there, telling his reflection that he loved him—in the end, he never did leave. Whenever Narcissus said that, Echo could finally tell the man how she felt. Eventually, Narcissus died and a flower came up in his place. Echo faded away until all that was left was her voice, repeating whatever she heard."
Now it was Catherine's turn to nod. "That is how we get a narcissus flower, a narcissistic person, and a person's echo." The Greeks really had made their mark on history. "What about the paper? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The Bible?"
"No… the Graeae, the Gray Sisters. I think that their names are Anger, Wasp, and Tempest, but there are many versions of their names. Anyways, they are sisters that share one eye and one tooth between them. They swap the eye and tooth. Most people confuse them with the Fates, since there are also three of them, too… and because in the movie "Hercules" Disney combined them." She smiled slightly. "Hercules is not even Geek—he's the Roman equivalent. Heracles is Greek." Zoë seemed to catch herself. "Though, that isn't the point."
"So, we are looking for something with one eye or tooth, and is in love with their self?" asked Sara. "That should be easy… but killers never make it easy, do they?"
It will not be that easy, thought Catherine. Obvious, it will not be.
"But," Zoë said suddenly, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. "I could be wrong…. It could have been blown out of proportion." She seemed to be reassuring herself, as if it would come true if she said it aloud. Catherine noticed that she still did not look at the bloodstain that seemed to haunt the floor.
"What do we do?" asked Zoë quietly.
"You do not do anything," Sara answered. "This is our job, not yours."
Zoë closed her eyes and sighed. Her voice came out strained. "Okay, just tell me when you find something."
"Of course."
***
Once again, Grissom was plastered in front of his computer. His eyes were starting to hurt, but that did not matter. There were other important things.
"How goes it?" Catherine asked from the doorway. "Did you find something?"
"Not at all, Cathy." Grissom took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Did you know that a person blinks less when in front of the television or computer screen? That is why your eyes are sore afterwards. Less blinks mean less moisture on the eyes."
Catherine shook her head, a faint smile on her lips. "That's great, Grissom, but it has nothing to do with the Chimera Killer case."
"The Chimera Killer?"
"Zoë named him," Catherine chortled, even though it was a serious subject. "I thought that it was fitting…. There is nothing you have found on the clues left at the scene?"
Not yet, anyway, Grissom thought. "The facts say nothing about Gray Sisters or narcissi in the Las Vegas area or anywhere near here. The facts are hidden and I just have to find them. However, it is harder than it sounds."
"It is always harder than it sounds, Grissom," Catherine said.
"I know. It is our job to catch these people, but sometimes they are able to sneak away from us." Grissom turned away, his back facing the screen.
"We will get him, don't worry," said Catherine. "We always find what the killer left behind. You will understand the Chimera Killer's clues."
"You hold me in high regards."
"I have a reason too."
Just then, Sara came in through the door, a pile of papers in her hands. "Good news—the knife that Catherine found in the washing machine was used to kill Roxanne Theseus. I'm going over to see if the blood on the knife had any traces of the killer's blood." She turned out and started down the hall, toward the DNA section.
"Well, now we have something to work off of," Catherine said. "One step closer." And with that, she too left.
One step closer, and the killer takes two more forward, thought Grissom as he turned back to the computer screen.
***
Greg drummed his hands on the lab tables over and over again, tapping to a beat that was unknown to Sara. He then started to slam his feet on the ground, creating more noise.
"Greg," Sara called.
He kept on drumming, drowning out the sound of her voice.
"Greg!" Sara grabbed him shoulder.
"Ah!" he called and spun around. "Oh, jeez Sara, you scared me half to death."
She smiled. "At least it wasn't Grissom that found you doing… that. Anyways, I'm here for the DNA analysis on the blood that was on the knife from the Theseus case."
Greg wheeled his chair over to a piece of paper that was sticking out of one of the countless machines. "Yeah, it just came in about five minutes ago." His eyes passed over the data that was written out on the sheet. "All of the blood belonged to Roxanne Theseus. Sorry, but the killer did not even nick the blade. And, before you ask, I checked the handle of the blade, too. There were no fingerprints—the killer wore gloves—but I did notice a pattern of the materials. I have found a match, but they are from very common gloves—anyone could own a pair. I even own pair." Greg waved his hands in the air melodramatically. "That is where the Chimera statue comes in. First of all, there are no fingerprints, like the knife, and the only blood was on the bottom of it where it was transferred from the table. That was Roxanne's blood, too. When I looked for more of the material pattern of the gloves, I found it. After much work, I discovered that there is an insignia from the gloves. Oh, and I had easily identify the gloves as leather from the pattern it made. They definitely were not cotton or anything like that. It turns out that they are made from tough faux leather." Greg smiled. "Does that help?"
"Yeah," Sara said slowly. "Keep working on the on the statue."
"Will do." Greg gave a thumbs up.
Even after Sara walked out, she could hear the drumming of hands against metal lab tables.
To be continued…
Okay, Catherine and Sara might know Greek mythology, but I thought it was a nice touch to have Zoë explains what she thought. I love Greek mythology, just like her.
Please tell me your thoughts. Was it good? Bad? Have no opinion at all?
R&R