Here is chapter fourteen.
Disclaimer: I do not own this series, but I do own Law & Order (not!).
Grissom stood peering over the shoulder of Archie, the video technician at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Dozens of windows were up on the computer screen.
"This is the video feed that we received from the Echo center and from the surrounding areas outside and in the parking lot," said Archie. "I searched through most of it, to see if there was anything interesting that happened before or after the attack. I found nothing."
"But did you find the video recording of the actual killings?" Grissom asked.
"Look at this."
He pushed a button and the computer screen jumped to life before Grissom's eyes. In the front room of the center, two people—Dorothea and Elliot Friar—were hard at work at the front desk. At the same time, they looked up at something out of the shot. Then, another person walked into the room from the direction that they were looking in, and in front of the desk. His head was covered with a dark ski mask. The video had no sound, but it was clear to Grissom that the couple was shouting. Then, the masked man rushed up to Dorothea and pushed her down. Elliot rushed at him; the killer swiped his hand upward and across Elliot's face with the knife-like object he held in his hand. Elliot fell down on the ground, causing the masked man to kneel down beside him and start stabbing. When he was done, he got up and went after Dorothea, who was pinned to the ground, and stabbed her, too.
Archie froze the video. "There's our witness."
"Can you freeze a shot of the weapon?" Grissom asked.
The video tech shook his head. "Sorry, but I've already tried. The picture is not clear enough and the killer is frequently in motion." He rewound and paused the video at a spot where the murderer's hand was high in the air, getting ready to strike. The picture was completely blurred; it was impossible to tell what it was.
Grissom pointed his finger at the unrecognizable weapon. "Zoom in."
The tech did what he was told. The pixels grew larger until they filled half the screen.
"They are gold," Grissom commented. "You can't tell what the shape looks like, but you can still see the color. That is definitely gold."
"The Chimera Killer had a gold knife?" Archie scoffed. "Must be loaded."
Grissom turned to stare at him and shook his head in discontent. "What else did you find?"
"I can show you something else." He switched to another screen. It showed the outside plaza that the center was located in. A figure—the masked man—was rushing from the scene and into a nearby car. He quickly turned on the car and sped out of the lot, never taking off the mask that hid his identity.
Grissom looked at Archie, expectantly.
"Well…" The man drew out the word. "There was no license plate on the car; I already checked. However, we can, obviously, tell what type of car it is. That might not be the biggest of help, since there are how many people in Las Vegas but—"
"What type of car is it?"
Yet another window was pulled up. "It is a 2007 Saturn View in silver—not that that narrows it down, but it is a start, right?"
Grissom was already heading towards the door. "He couldn't have driven a Lamborghini…"
***
"What do you think of this?" Catherine asked Sara. The email was still up on the screen.
"Carrey might know what she was saying, but we sure don't," the other woman commented. "Do you think that it would be enough to get a warrant?"
Catherine exited out of the window and pulled out a flash drive. She slipped it into the computer and pulled the entire email box onto the symbol in the corner. Once the information was safely stored, she took it out of the computer and stood up. "Yes, it will—especially since Mr. Carrey had a book of Greek mythology in his office." She waved the camera in her hand. "And the pictures we took will definitely help."
Also, picking up her camera Sara started for the door of Roxanne's office. "I think that we should ask Ms. Wilson some more questions."
"I agree."
The woman was still at the front desk when they came through the hallway. She was staring at a packet with a confused look on her face. Suddenly, the telephone started to ring, and Olivia Wilson snatched it up immediately. By now, she had learned how to operate the phone. Only when the headset was back in the receiver did she glance up.
"Oh my!" She grabbed her chest. "You scared me. I wasn't expecting you two to be standing… right there." She cocked her head to the side. "Can I help you with anything?"
"Yes, actually, you can. May we ask you some questions, Ms. Wilson?"
The brunette paused for a moment before answering. "Sure, I don't see why not."
Catherine flipped through the pictures on her digital camera. She showed the secretary one of the photos. "This is Roxanne's office. Has it always been this way—the layout, I mean?"
She nodded her head, letting her curls bounce around her face. "As long as I've been here, at least."
"And how long have you worked here?" Sara asked.
Ms. Wilson counted on her fingers. "About six months," she said.
The CSIs shared a look—Olivia Wilson had not worked at the company for very long, opposed to Roxanne Theseus, who must have worked there for years. And what a coincidence that Ms. Wilson got a promotion after Roxanne died…
"What," Sara asked, her voice dying off. "What was Roxanne's relationship with her boss, Geoffrey Carrey?"
She straightened up at the mention of Carrey. "They seemed to be on good grounds. Roxanne was the kind of person that seemed to get along with everyone. She would always tell us on our lunch breaks about her daughter…um…" She shook her head. "I cannot remember her name."
"Zoë."
"Yes, that's it," Olivia confirmed. "There always seemed to be a story that she would tell us about her. Roxanne was concerned about how she was quiet and reserved. I can't see how someone as nice and outgoing as Roxanne could have a shy daughter."
The secretary seemed to have avoided the initial question. They were about to ask her more when she declared, "I'm sorry, but I really must go back to work. It is a busy day and I have not yet got the handle of things here." She gave them an uneasy smile and quickly turned her head down at her paper-covered desk.
Walking out of the Geico building, the CSIs traded their thoughts on the workplace.
"Something is going on behind the scenes, there," Catherine said.
"We just got ourselves two more suspects," Sara commented. "This puts our suspect list up to… two."
Catherine had to smile at the comment. Both had to admit that the case was not moving quickly in terms of suspects. Also, with one more piece of the statue left, they would have to find the Chimera Killer before he killed his next victim. The last thing that they wanted was to have another murder on their hands—and on their hearts.
"Did you notice how Olivia Wilson kept away from truly answering the question that we asked her about Roxanne and Geoffrey Carrey?" asked Sara.
"Yes," Catherine agreed. "She doesn't seem to be very…," she paused, looking for the right word, "…good at her job."
"Which makes me wonder why anyone would want Roxanne out of the picture?" Suddenly, Sara reached into her bag and pulled out her vibrating cell phone. She nodded for a few moments and then hung up. "That was Grissom. We need to get to the lab—and quickly."
Catherine sighed. "We're on our way."
To be continued…
This is not the most exciting chapter, but if you read it carefully, you might notice some things. Important information is learned and it will be used later.
R&R