Chapter 3: Contamination

"You might want to finish eating that omelet before you look at these photos, Mac. It's not a pretty sight." New York Ambassador Henry Towler warned him as he passed a stuffed manila folder across Dani's glass coffee table.

"No problem, Henry, but just so you know, I have a very strong constitution."

Mac chugged the last of his orange juice, then swallowed the final bite of his ham and eggs and wiped his mouth. He brought his dishes toward Dani's sink and quickly washed them before she could complain. He glanced at the clock, it was after nine and Crystal still hadn't arrived.

'Not only is she a little sloppy, she's tardy.' He thought wryly. 'We'll have to work on that.'

Mac returned to Dani's couch and sat forward. Just as he opened the envelope, Dani's elevator rang and Crystalyn breezed off and hurried to his side.

"Sorry I'm late. Traffic was rough, morning rush hour, ya know?" She smiled fleetingly at Dani, Henry and the doctor. Mac eyed her sweet smelling and still-damp hair and forced himself not to shake his head. Traffic, and a long run-in with a shampoo bottle were more like it.

"I'll fill you in later. You're just in time for the unveiling. Gentleman…ladies."

Mac opened the envelope and spread the pictures across the table grimly. His brow furrowed in confusion and anger as he examined each one. Dani peeked over his shoulder and gasped with a hand to her mouth. There were six facial portraits of the women covered with the mysterious acne and pock scars. Clipped to the tops of the files were their 'before' pictures, wallet-sized headshots obtained from the modeling studio they had a previous contract with. Crystalyn resisted a shudder and found herself tracing her fingers along the contours of her smooth face.

"What the heck happened to these girls? They were so gorgeous, all of them. It looks like a vicious disease." She asked the doctor.

Stanley wrung his hands and shook his head dismayed. "We are still not sure what in the world causes contamination of the skin like that, and we've sent out their tox screens to some of the best hospitals in the nation for further study. I'm still waiting on a few."

Mac gazed at Dani. The photographer had backed away from the table as far as she could and refused to look further. Whatever this was implied a direct assault on the modeling business and he could sense that she felt like a big target. He also knew that it dredged up frightening memories of Eric Ducane, a psychotic occult worshiper who went after models and nearly killed Dani, 'the queen who made them all.' After a trap they set went a little awry, Mac intervened to save Dani with threats of shooting Ducane, and literally brought the crazed man to a groveling, fetal position on the ground.

"And what about the police? They have no evidence of how or where this happened?" Mac demanded.

"Not quite. The girls were found this way in their own homes by friends or relatives. Two survived a few days in the hospital, but they couldn't understand it either, much less move their mouths to answer questions. As far as I know, the police are still looking into it, but coming up empty."

"Figures." Mac grumbled. He stood up and came alongside Dani. He put a comforting hand on her arm and she turned around abruptly, tears stinging her green eyes.

"I want this maniac caught! Those could have been any one of my girls! This isn't a disease, it's outright murder!"

She put her head on Mac's shoulder and he drew her close for a hug. Crystalyn watched the display curiously, but said nothing.

Dani pulled away and dabbed her eyes. "I'm sorry, but these things get to me, you know?"

"We understand, Danielle, and this is why I took a particular interest in this when Stanley called me. I own him a lot for his help on tough cases in the past." Henry said.

"In most cases, the dead have no secrets that we can't uncover, but right now, we're stuck." Stanley admitted.

Crystalyn stood up and buttoned her blazer. "I think we need to hit the modeling studio where they worked. Mac and I can go in as…well, I'm a make-up artist, and Mac can do what he does best, modeling. That way we can talk to all their co-workers and start narrowing down this list of suspects, because right now, the whole city is suspect."

"That's a good idea, Crystal. Henry, can you set this up for us?" Mac asked.

"Of course."

"Wait a minute. What if Mac and I go in on this? I'm a well-known photographer, it would be a snap for me to get him through the door, no questions asked."

Crystalyn tried to avoid glaring at Dani and smiled tightly. "It's obvious this case has hit some personal notes with you, Mrs. Reynolds. That may not be the best thing for you to deal with right now. Besides, since you have an 'in' I think you can move around the fashion circles from where you stand now, try and find out the latest buzz, anything that can connect to this case."

Dani cocked her head and smiled back. "It's really no problem, Crystal. I was just having a moment, you can ask Mac. I get a little shaken, but then I'm ready for action. Mac and I work perfectly fine together, don't we?"

Mac pursed his lips and crossed his arms, afraid to take sides in the growing tension between the two women. It was going to be very hard to claim neutrality.

"Well, uh, of course we do, Dani, um…what do you think, Henry?" He rocked on his heels, and stared at him wide-eyed, hoping the ambassador didn't plead the fifth.

"Dani, Crystal's right. However, you can still be their representatives. Mac's going to need to show them his portfolio if you can get it together, and as for you, Crystal?

Crystal waved her hand. "I'm on top of that one. I have friends who did mock photo sessions with me and let me do their make-up. I should be okay. Dani could vouch for my talents, right?"

Dani put a hand on her hip, unable to hide her disappointment in being shoved out of the assignment. "I don't know, Crystal. I've never seen your work except for the make-up you wear on your face, which isn't very much."

Crystalyn's defenses rose and her cheeks reddened. "Well, I don't need a full color palette on my face to enhance my looks, Mrs. Reynolds. Most make-up artists barely have time to do their own make-up. It's not practical in my line of work anyway, unless I'm on a cover." She turned to Henry. "Thanks for settling this. I'll go get my things together. Mac, what do you need to do?"

"Well first I need to change into something a little more spiffy, and get the portfolio in order."

Dani went into her closet and proceeded to pull out a large black portfolio and placed it in his hands. "I'm on top of things around here too, Mac. This is all of you and a few shots with the girls."

"Oooh, 'The best of Mac Harper: The Definitive Collection. I can't wait to see what you got in here."

"Me too. I never did see all those modeling poses." Crystalyn chimed in.

"I'm sure you and any agent would approve of these shots, Mac. I even put the original shot of you in the fatigues from the army ad. They'll eat it up, especially if you tell them you worked for me. They'll recognize you."

Stanley and Henry edged toward her elevator. "Well, we'll be sure to keep in touch once we find out more information on this, I really thank you for the help. You can imagine how depressing it is on my end to see these girls rolled into my lab so disfigured." Stanley shook their hands.

"Not to mention, dead in the prime of life." Crystal added glumly.

"Oh, of course not, but if you've been in the work as long as I have, death becomes formality. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Mac hurried over and stopped the doctor before he boarded the elevator. "One more thing, Dr. Greenbaum. You said something a few minutes ago, that you didn't know what could cause a contamination of the skin like this?"

"Yes?"

"Well maybe that's the key word here–contamination. What if…what if it was something they used, like a product maybe, a product that someone obviously tampered with when he singled them out for an attack?" Mac said, the wheels turning in his mind.

"That's a very good assumption! We'll definitely look into that one."

"Yes, you could have the detectives go back to their homes and test for anything that may be tainted with unusual compounds." Henry suggested. "We'll get that started, Mac. In the meantime, you have the diamond case to work on for today. Get yourself ready for this one though, because by tomorrow morning, you and Crystal will be going to the Jezebel Modeling Agency for a meeting. Dani, you know what to do with that, right?"

"I'll get on the phone with them now."

Crystal tugged Mac's arm. "I think we need to get going too. We still have to work out our plan to catch these smugglers. We need to move in on them tonight."

"Uh, ya know what, Crystal? Why don't you head out to the museum ahead of me and start scouting the place. I'll be there soon. I still have to talk to Dani."

Crystalyn went onto the elevator when it returned up to the studio. She glanced back a last time, hoping he'd come with her. Mac and Dani were stooped over Dani's drafting table, going over the autopsy files again and talking in low tones.

"Okay, Mac, um…I'll see you when I see you."