A/N: Sorry for the wait. Real life just got in the way... Don't you hate it when that happens? Anyway, there's a bit of E/C in here. I hope you all enjoy =D
"H!" Eric called out as he stepped out of the elevator and onto the crime lab floor. His boss, only a few feet away, turned at his voice and waited for him to approach him.
"What have you got for me, Eric?" He asked him, eyeing the small, clear evidence bag in his hand that held a swab case in it and the manila folder with it.
"I just got up from autopsy. The water must have washed away most of the evidence, but," Pausing, he shook the bag in his hands briefly to indicate it. "Tara did find some kind of clear substance on the victim's hand. I'm about to head to trace and give it in."
"Have we got an ID of our victim yet?" Horatio prompted, walking with the younger man as they approached the required labs.
"Just a name." Eric replied, turning to the folder. "Daniel Sullivan. Ryan's running the name through the database to see if we can get anymore information about him."
"And the weapon?"
"Still a no show." He sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. It was well past 3 in the afternoon now, making it over 8 hours since he had woken up. Included in that time was a 4 hour session in the murky waters of the Everglades, a job he really did love until it left him frustrated. "But Ryan's gotten the two bullets from the water, and the third from the body, down to ballistics and I'm about to go process the shoes."
"Ok." Horatio commented, knowing full well that any thing that could be seen as evidence needed to be examined closely right then, including the pair of sneakers that Eric had managed to find in the Everglades. Although many people did tend to throw the oddest things into the water, the fact that these looked pretty new and expensive had brought suspicion onto them. "That's good work, Eric. Let me know what you find."
"Will do, H."
...
"Hey, Maxine. Have you managed to get anything on the blood sample yet?" Calleigh asked as she breezed through the glass doors, coming to a stop besides the DNA analyst's work stations to hope to learn more about her victim from the blood that they had collected from the car park.
"The one from Natalia?" She asked to make sure; carried on when the blonde woman nodded her confirmation. "Yeah, I'm just running it through the system right now."
"Thanks."
"I have something else for you, too." Valera added as Calleigh raised an eyebrow in interest, taking the print out that as handed to her. "There was saliva mixed in with the blood."
"Victim's own." She concluded while nodding. "Makes sense. Tara did say there was bruising around his jaw. He must have been beaten, or at least punched, before being strangled."
"Why would you hit someone if you're just going to strangle them to death anyway?"
"I dunno, actually." Calleigh shrugged, remembering the same question popping into her own head when she had gotten the autopsy results from the medical examiner. "He didn't have any defensive marks on him, so I doubt it was a fight."
"Maybe the killer found it easier to strangle him if he was out of it?" She suggested, hoping to help out. "If I had to strangle someone, I don't think I'd want to look into their eyes and have them fight back as I did so."
"I'll keep that in mind in case you ever do so." The CSI laughed, making the analyst turn away from her as she fought a small tint of pink from colouring her cheeks.
"So…" Valera began, keeping her eyes trained onto the computer in front of her even as her mouth kicked up into a smirk. "Did you hear about Nat's date this weekend?"
"Yes, I did." Calleigh replied, her own lips curling into a smile as she recalled the conversation the two of them had had on their way back from the crime scene. "Sounded like a good one."
"He sounds like a good one." Valera commented, shooting Calleigh a sly look that caused her to laugh lightly. "The only down side is that he's a lawyer."
"What's wrong with that?" She questioned, making the analyst twist and face her with a thoughtful look.
"I don't know. I've just never found a good reason to date a lawyer. I mean, they're paid to lie most of the time." She shrugged before sighing. "Although, at least he's not a defence lawyer. Now that would have been a conflict of interest."
"Even if he was, they could probably make it work. A job is just a job, when you think about it." Calleigh said softly, trying to wean them off of the subject of her friend's personal life. It wasn't that she wasn't happy for Natalia, but talking about someone else's private things without them there always made her feel bad. "Anyway, as long as she's happy, it's all good."
"What's all good?" A male voice interrupted their conversation, making the other two both look over at the entrance to the lab.
"We were just talking about Natalia's new boyfriend." Valera explained nonchalantly as Ryan came to a stop next to Calleigh.
"Oh, the lawyer?" He queried, earning himself a nod from the lab tech and a quiet roll of the eyes from the CSI next to him. She knew that gossip was the main start up for a conversation in the crime labs, and with the close friendship between them and the CSIs, it didn't take long for the information to spread further. Of course, just hearing that the detail had reached Ryan, who she assumed hadn't been told himself by Natalia, begged her to wonder how much the technicians did talk. And even worse; if they were this actively talking about the new relationship, Calleigh shuddered to think what they must say about her and Eric. "Alright. Have you gotten anything on Daniel Sullivan yet?"
"Sorry, not yet." Valera apologized, turning back to her computer to see if any new information had popped out.
"How is it possible for a man, in this day and age, to not have a driver's licence or any form of a police record?" Ryan grumbled and adding a groan as he leant heavily against the table in front of him.
"I don't have a police record." Valera argued with a subtle tone of pride to her voice that was only emphasised by the smile touching her lips lightly.
"Neither do I." Calleigh added with her ever cheerful mood softening her words.
"Yeah, but you both have licences. And Calleigh, if you weren't a cop, you'd have a record. You drive like a crazy person." Ryan commented matter-of-factly, turning to the blonde in time to see her mouth drop slightly in shock even as the smile never left her face.
"I do not!" She scoffed before clearing her throat and changing the subject back onto their work. "Anyway, have you tried medical records?"
"Nothing." He shook his head, slipping back into professionalism as quickly as he had slipped out of it.
"Maybe he was from out of state." Calleigh supplied.
"I'm going to look for that now." Valera spoke up once again, having followed their conversation but stayed quiet as they discussed a case. The other two nodded at her as she turned back to her computer to widen the search parameters.
"How do you know his name if you don't know anything else?" Calleigh asked him, tilting her head slightly to the side with her words.
"He had his name sewed into his suit. Designer suit, might I add." Ryan replied; fake awe lining his words as a smirk shone on his face.
"If he's rich, then there must be someone missing him." Valera interrupted. She paused as the other two looked over at her, correctly getting the sign to carry on. "I'm just saying. He must have had a job or a family or even a few friends from a country club or something."
"That's a good theory actually." His tone was borderline on intrigued and excitement, tapping the desk in front of him with his fingers before pushing himself away. "I might search the local country clubs, and see if his name pops up. Thanks."
"Anytime." She called out after him when he left the room in a small hurry. Exchanging an amused look with the other lady in her lab, neither one got to say a word on it before the computer beeped to indicate a new found result. "Looks like you're luckier than Ryan today. We've got a match."
"Edward Jones." Calleigh read off the screen as she rounded the desk to get a better look at the screen.
"He's in the system because of a shop lifting incident as a minor?" Valera questioned with scepticism.
"It's a permanent file." She shrugged in explanation. "And we have an address. Could be the primary crime scene. Thanks, Maxine."
"No problems." She said, words sounding genuine even as her tired stance made her seem sarcastic. "Just doing my job."
"And I don't know what we'd do without you!" Calleigh joked, catching the DNA analyst's laughter as she made her way out of the lab and back to the job at hand; finding the killer of Edward Jones.
...
Eric wasn't sure how long it had been since he had started going over the shoes that he had found in the Everglades. They were off white, most probably due to their stay in the water, pretty simple and a common type of sneakers, which had made trying to find the owners from purchase records a lost cause. Instead, he was forced to do what was normally a routine part of his job; scour every inch of it with the closest eye for the detail that he could get.
Unfortunately for him though, as they were fished out of the waters earlier that afternoon, there was a lot less chance of finding what he needed. He had already swabbed the sole and the inside of the shoe; hoping for some residue of sweat that could possibly give them a hit. He had also made an impression of the bottom of the shoe in case it matched any of the shoeprints that they had found at the scene of the crime. So far, however, he had heard nothing.
Heaving a sigh, Eric straightened up to release the tension from his back after having leant over the light box table for the past hour and a half, or so that was what his watch said. Unless they got a lead to follow anytime soon, another hour and he would be free to go home. It was a thought that both made him want to get back to work, in hope to pass the time quicker, and not, in hope that he wouldn't find anything to give them a reason to stay longer.
The thought had him frowning almost as soon as it had passed through his head. If they found a lead, Eric knew that he wouldn't be moaning, even if it meant another few hours work. Getting closer to finding out who had killed poor Daniel Sullivan was much more important than him getting to relax, especially when they didn't know if the killer might have the intention to kill someone else.
With that in mind, he went back to examining the articles in front of him once again. He had just pulled over the magnifier and light to possibly look for something that was not visible to the human eye when he heard the familiar clacking sounds of heels against the lab's tiled floor. It was getting closer to where he was, and it was only a few seconds later that the door to the room he was in opened.
"Hey. You look like you're having fun." A soft, accented voice teased him.
"Immense fun." Eric replied sarcastically, looking over to her briefly to see her leaning against the door jamb with her bright smile in place. "'Sup?"
"You haven't seen Natalia anywhere lately by any chance, have you?" Calleigh asked him. Although her tone had dropped to a more professional one as they talked about work, there was an undeniable undertone of sweetness that made him have to get a grip of himself before he did something against the rules of the department.
"Why? Have you misplaced her?" He joked. Although he had turned back to his work, he was pretty sure that she could still see, or least hear, the smirk on his face. Not waiting for her to reply, with something that would no doubt have been smart and witty, he carried on, this time with earnest. "Have you rang her cell?"
"Now, why didn't I think of that?" She remarked. The dry tone made him glance up at her, finally noticing the phone in her hand. "I can't seem to get a hold of her on her cell."
"It is ringing out or busy?" Eric asked, concern tinting his words as he stood up straight and turned to face her. With the job that they had, cell phones became something of a must to them. If it wasn't on them, then it would never be too far away. At least not for long.
"Busy." Calleigh assured him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. A CSI's cell phone ringing out for as long as Natalia's had would have sent her into a state of worry already.
"Oh. Well…" He began, watching as the blonde pressed the redial button on her phone before bringing it up to her ear. The smirk was back onto his face as he turned back to his work. "Three guesses why."
"Does the whole lab really know about that?" She questioned him incredulously. The volume of her voice had dropped as if she was discussing something that wasn't deemed suitable for work or for others to hear., even if it did seem they all knew already.
"Of course. Why wouldn't they?" Eric chuckled. Calleigh sighed audibly as she hung up once again and decided to simply leave Natalia be for then.
"I just thought…" She trailed off with a small shrugged, pocketing her cell phone and crossing her arms loosely.
"Just thought that in a close environment like ours, filled with CSIs and analysts, with glass walls that allows everyone to see everything, there'd be a thing called privacy?" He carried on her sentence, finishing it off in a way that made her stand up straighter in the doorway as his words penetrated into her mind. There was a smile threatening to break through at the sight of his boyish grin that he was keeping well hidden in the pretence of examining the evidence that was in his hands.
"Yes." She merely replied.
"I know you're not that naïve, Cal." Eric teased, averting his eyes up to her just in time to see her roll her eyes and shake her head lightly. "Trust me, there are probably at least two pairs of eyes on us right now waiting for something else to talk about."
"Well, I guess I better get going then." Calleigh retorted, pushing herself off of the door jamb and using a hand to keep the door open instead.
"That wasn't a hint to go, you know."
"I still have a job to do, Eric." She insisted. In fact, she was surprised herself, and she knew that the man in front of her was too, that she had stayed around to chat for longer than had been necessary. "Could you let Natalia know that I was looking for her if you see her?"
"Sure. Anything I can help with?" He asked, resting his forearms on the table as he leant against it and looked up at her, glad for the small break.
"Just a follow up. Never mind. I'll take Tripp." Calleigh brushed off with a wave of the hand, her tone cheerful as ever. "Thanks."
"Hey! Don't forget about-" He began to call after her as she turned to leave.
"I haven't and I won't." She quickly cut him off with a laugh. "Don't worry. I'll see you later."
"Bye." Eric replied, turning all of his attention back to the job at hand as her footsteps retreated away and the door closed with a soft click.
Inhaling deeply, he urged himself to focus on the items in front of him. He could feel a headache coming on, knowing that the cause of it was both because of staring at the same things for the past hour and because of the light behind it. However, just as he thought about taking a break and attempt to find something else to examine, his eyes caught something that he was pretty sure shouldn't be there.
Tilting the shoe underneath the magnifying glass, Eric sighed with relief as he saw the dark red drops stand out against the white. It was on the side of the shoe, where the sole of the shoe met the top. The fact that it was in the crease of the joint gave reason to believe why it had survived being submerged in the Everglades for hours.
Grabbing a few swabs, he took a sample of each drop after making sure to capture them on film. There were only 3, but it was better than none. A smile kicked up on his lips as he took the final one; labelling them all correctly and making sure they were ready to be transported to DNA as soon as he was done.
The frustration from earlier was now gone and a weight had seemingly been lifted off his shoulder. He knew that fresh eyes was usually the best way to find new evidence on something that had been searched over more than a few times, but for him, it seemed as if simply having a light conversation and bantering with Calleigh had worked just as well. He stashed that piece of information in a place at the back of his mind, along with the thought to repay her if what he had found gave them any leads.