3.
So I went to hit "control I" last night to italicize a word when 'poof' it all disappeared and recovery doc wouldn't work. But finally I found it and whew, what a relief as chapter 2 returned. If you like B&B that's great but they will not be in the story much and there's literally thousands of stories that are. The 'different' I was referring to was this story being based around a Cam/Sweets partnership. I also thought it would be interesting to write a FF based on a real crime. This is based off one from 1948, still unsolved to this day, the victim's identity was never found.. I've kept most of the original facts but had to adjust the setting and a few minor things.
Recap: Cam & Sweets are curious why the FBI & Jeffersonian are pulled in to investigate what first appears to be a very routine case. However they continue their work routinely until strange facts begin to emerge, for one the man's fingerprints do not match any database but he's also had dental work done -unnecessary dental work, leaving the dentals without an ability to match. Sweets receives a strange phone call from a "Genevieve" only to find a statue in the background of one of the photos to a French General of the same name. Sweets arrives at the Jeffersonian where Cam & Aristo explain that the man's clothes - all of high quality - have no tags, they have been removed. For a warm evening, the man was dressed in several layers, buttoned up. One of his cufflinks is missing, one with the initial "S" on it. Hodgins returns from trying to retrieve it but the area where the body was found is already being resodded. Hodgins wants to scream conspiracy but Cam & Sweets are keeping a level head. The cigarettes found on the man are unique to the UK.
"For having a bunch of clues we sure aren't getting very far." Sweets said eying the table full of bus tickets, plane tickets, unique cigarettes, matches and other assorted things.
"I had Angela run these bus and plane vouchers. The bus voucher was used from Arlington to here but they're not required to register a passenger with a voucher like this. The plane ticket is another voucher, to be registered once the person arrived at the airport, so we have no way to trace him there either." Cam said as the afternoon sun began to set in the windows outside. It was now just her and Sweets there while Aristo was sorting thru some fragments in the bone room for Dr. Brennan's case.
"What about the autopsy?" Sweets asked and Cam snapped her fingers at remembering the important facts.
"Yes, that's well, it's not going to help much." Cam said opening the file and handing it to Sweets who read thru a lot of mumbo jumbo and hoped Cam would just give him the highlights while he pretended to read it. "I found no cause of death."
"Really?" Sweets asked surprised.
"The autopsy revealed the man's last meal was a pastry he ate about three to four hours before he died. I asked Dr. Hodgins to run tests but he said he found no foreign substance in the body. The heart was normal, nothing strange in the brain suggesting a heart attack or stroke. There was congestion of the pharynx, and the gullet was covered with whitening of superficial layers of the mucosa with a patch of ulceration in the middle of it. The stomach was deeply congested with congestion in the 2nd half of the duodenum. There was blood mixed with the food in the stomach. Both kidneys were congested, and the liver contained a great excess of blood in its vessels. One last strange thing, his spleen was striking large, about three times the normal size. There was destruction of the center of the liver lobules which revealed under the microscope, acute gastritis hemorrhage, extensive congestion of the liver and spleen, and the congestion to the brain."
"And if I didn't have a degree in pathology that would mean…"
"He was overall healthy and he didn't die of natural causes." Cam condensed.
Sweets muttered under his breath while he flipped thru the pages without reading them, "seems like that would have been easier to say to begin with."
Cam grinned at the younger man. "I spent a lot of time in classes Dr. Sweets, I like the longer versions." Sweets smiled and nodded. "Besides Dr. Sweets, I've never know your to be short winded on your psychological explanations."
"Touché Dr. Soroyan." Sweets said setting down the file he didn't care to look at anyway -blah blah blah Latin words was what Sweets got out of it.
"So there was no poison in his system?" Sweets said looking over the evidence.
"Not necessarily." Cam said. "I am quite convinced the death could not have been natural. The blood in the stomach and liver would suggest poison, though I can't find traces of one."
"Your tone suggests there's more." Sweets said.
"Indeed Dr. Sweets." Cam motioned to a photo of the victim as he was in a different room. "This man is in his late forties and yet he has the legs of an athlete. His calf muscles are high and well developed. Yet his toes are oddly wedge shaped."
"Is that a physical anomaly?"
"If I had to put forth an assumption, I'd say this man was in the habit of wearing high heeled and pointed shoes."
"Cross dresser?" Sweets said curiously. "Again? That swim coach was a cross dresser just a few weeks ago."
"I see no efforts to mimic feminity in any other way. He could be a ballet dancer."
"A forty year old ballet dancer who smokes?" Sweets wasn't able to see the best profile forming on that one.
"I don't know, there may be other explanations?" Cam said though she felt doubt in her voice.
Sweets rubbed his eyes. "I've never seen a case with this much evidence that makes absolutely no sense."
"There are two poisons that Dr. Vaziri and I could come up with, ones that would dissolve quickly in the system and leave no trace, Digitalis and Strophanthin." Cam suggested.
"Should I know those?" Sweets asked with crinkled eyebrows.
"Your education has not failed you Dr. Sweets. If I had to go with either of the poisons, I'd say the later. Strophanthin is a rare glycoside derived from the seeds of some African plants. Historically, it was used by a little-known Somali tribe to poison arrows."
"So I'm guessing that's not being dealt on the street." Sweets said sarcastically when a though occurred to him. "Who issues a rare and generally untraceable poison to a man with no known identity in a public park in Washington D.C.?"
Cam was about to agree that the case was going nowhere fast, despite the piles of evidence when Aristo approached. "Cam, are you ready?"
"Just one moment Ari…Dr. Vaziri we are working still." Cam said changing her name selection.
"Cam you do realize that I know and that I'm not going to tell anyone." Sweets said looking over the evidence once more.
"I shouldn't impose that on anyone I know but…"
"Cam, I don't work for the Jeffersonian." Sweets reminded her and smiled. "And you are a friend and I'm glad you're happy."
Cam smiled at Sweets, she wondered if she would call Sweets her friend, naturally he was but this was really the first time they had worked so closely together and she hated to realize that it wasn't as bad as she thought. She felt bad for thinking it would be bad at all. She also thought of what Sweets had said and felt bad that things had ended poorly for him not only with Daisy but also with Jessica. Sweets looked up at her with a smile.
"And no reason to keep working." Sweets said gathering the files. "It's late and you two obviously have plans. I doubt our victim is going to grow an identity tonight but I'll look over the files anyway."
Sweets put the files under his arm while Cam & Aristo shared a sad sort of look. "Would you like to join us Dr. Sweets?" Aristo asked having read Cam's expression.
Sweets smiled at the couple who wasn't going out for a burger, it was a more intimate dinner and in no way wanted pity. "Thank you but no."
"Are you sure? It's really quite casual." Aristo said while trying to nonchalantly make sure he got his tie shoved in his pocket to produce an air of casualness.
"Thank you, but I have plans tonight." Sweets said turning to leave and added shouting over his shoulder. "Maybe we'll have a big break tonight!"
Sweets big plans for the evening may have been a little exaggerated he knew as he ate the last piece of pizza. Oh I should stop, but it's so good he said to himself eating the last piece. Ah well now I'm miserable he said to himself knowing he should have stopped eating a while ago. He lay on his couch, bare feet from his long legs extending over the end of the sofa in some casual sweatpants. He was glad he was wearing those since he was so full – not that his lean frame would show the results of the entire pizza he had just consumed. He flicked a crumb off his black tee and tried to take an interest in the crime drama that was on TV.
"That's not how it works!" Sweets commentated to the screen. "Geez people don't know you anything about forensics!" He turned the volume down but it was too early for bed and yet nothing else was on. He was feeling lazy and in a sort of mood so he decided what better way than to nurse a piss poor attitude than to read on the victim of a crime.
"John Doe." Sweets said flipping open the file. "How do you not have a name?" He mused as he read over all the evidence again. Generally he could pull a profile from someone's past but there was no past, not much more short of the few hours between when he died and when he was found. Not much history for a guy who just showed up one day Sweets thought as the television light flickered in the dark room.
With his usual eye for detail Sweets went over each fact one by one until he soon dozed off, the papers dropping to the floor. The crime show revealed the whodunit about the time Sweets started to lightly snore. Snoring took precedence in decibel levels over the sounds emerging from the kitchen…a creek, a crack, the soft footsteps on the floor.
Maybe Sweets wouldn't have been such a sound sleeper if it hadn't been such a long day or his stomach hadn't been so full but waking up to the sensation of a tight grip around his neck brought him to very quickly. His eyes fluttered open in the darkness, the TV had been turned off and the figure before him was entirely cased in black, including a mask. Sweets tried to reach for the attacker's eyes but it was almost as though there were none, most likely from a mask but Sweets was more concerned about the lack of oxygen available to him.
He continued to struggle but the figure was large and imposing and had the jump on him, pinning him to the couch as it continued to strangle him. It loosened its grip and brought its face towards Sweets.
"You and your partner need to drop this case." The figure said in a husky and deep voice. Sweets noted a hint of an accent in it. "Drop it now or next time you won't be so lucky."
The figure let go of Sweets neck which Sweets instinctively began to rub to encourage oxygen to flow thru. Thinking of his attacker he quickly got to his feet but before he could go anywhere he was delivered a swift and heavy kick to the stomach causing him to double over.
"Don't press your luck." The voice said close to Sweets ear as he clutched his stomach in pain. Sweets heart was pounding so hard it was filing his ears with the echo but he could still make out the sound of the figure walking across the floor. Sweets groped in the darkness for the end table's lamp and flipped it on. He was in the room alone and found all the files were gone. His too full stomach turned on itself and soon the full meal was coming back up. Sweets grabbed for the empty pizza box and replaced the food in it though far less desirable than it was the first time.
He slowly stood up and walked towards the bedroom where his gun was but he had to pass the kitchen first. He saw the window at the end was open, the warm evening's air coming in by the fire escape. He went for his gun anyway though he felt certain the apartment was empty now. Holding his stomach in one hand and gun in the other he tried to piece together the shock of what just happened. One thing stuck out in his mind…partner, he said partner...oh shit Cam! Sweets was still a little unsteady on his feet but he was concerned now for Cam. As he got close to his phone the screen lit up in the still dimly lit room, oh no Sweets thought as he came closer, it was Cam's number.
"Cam!" Sweets answered with great concern. "Be careful, a guy.."
"He just left." Cam said breathless. "I was calling to warn you."
Sweets could tell the tone of Cam's voice was not her normal resigned self, she was quite shaken.
"Are you okay?" Sweets asked with great concern. "Yes, Aristo, he's okay he just…"
Sweets grabbed his keys and ran for the door. He didn't even realize until his foot pressed on the gas that he wasn't wearing any shoes.
"Cam I'm fine!" Aristo said in a tone that suggested it wasn't the first time he had said it. It was the first thing Sweets heard when he walked to Cam's door, open and guarded by a police officer. The female officer eyed the barefoot Sweets who bore stinky vomit breath.
"Sir, you can't come in here." She said.
"I know Dr. Soroyan…" Sweets said but Cam came to the doorway and nodded that she did indeed know Sweets and the officer let him pass.
"Are you okay?" Sweets asked again with great concern. Cam did not appear to be hurt in any way but she was still shaken.
"Yeah, I'm fine…wait what's on your neck?" Cam asked reaching her cold with nerves fingers to Sweets neck. "Oh my God, I didn't put it all together, did he come to your place too?"
"Yeah, I was asleep on the couch." Sweets said. "You said something about Aristo is he okay?" Sweets asked looking around.
Cam pulled Sweets over to the couch were Aristo sat, a paramedic tending to a gash on his head. Cam placed Sweets next to Aristo as though he were next in line to be examined. When she pushed Sweets to sit he winced at the ache in his stomach.
"What's wrong?" It was now Cam's turn to be concerned.
"Nothing it's fine." Sweets said looking at Aristo who gave a 'I know right?' look to Sweets but Cam was still nervous.
"What happened?" Sweets asked.
"I heard a noise." Aristo explained. "I'm a light sleeper, Cam, she snored – loud."
Cam blushed as her eyes widened. Sweets tried not to smile.
Aristo continued. "Anyway, I was on my way to the front and someone clocked me on the head. Next thing I know I see Cam coming towards me and a guy grabs her says that her and her partner need to lay off the case or else. He tossed Cam at me and by the time we both stood up he was gone."
"What about you, you said you were napping?" Cam asked.
"Yeah I woke up and the guy had his hand around my neck, strangling me. It was dark and I couldn't see a thing." Sweets explained as the paramedic took a look at the red marks and light bruising around his neck. Sweets figured the bruise wouldn't be there long and that a button down shirt would cover it and he wouldn't need to answer questions about it tomorrow.
"You look hurt." Cam said trying to lift Sweets tee shirt up, she saw him wince when he sat. Sweets wasn't used to Cam's distress towards his well-being, of course he was pretty sure she hadn't been thru something like this before.
"I guess he thought I was going after him, when he let go I stood up and he got me in the stomach." Sweets explained.
"That explains the breath." Cam said trying to give him a smile.
"Yeah, I'm turned off pizza for a while." Sweets said trying to cover his mouth but the paramedic offered a Tic Tac.
"So wait, it you were on the way to call Cam, when did this happen?" Aristo asked glad that the paramedic was done tending to his forehead.
Cam & Sweets considered the question. "Well it seems like this happened at the same time."
"Which would make sense so we couldn't call the other one to warn them." Sweets considered. "Which means there were two people."
"What about this case?" Cam said considering the threat.
"Something a little more serious than we thought is definitely going on here." Sweets suggested.
"The detectives looked around, no prints, nothing." Aristo added. "These guys were in and out."
"Don't give me that look Aristo Vaziri." Cam warned him as Sweets sat awkwardly between the two of them.
"What?" Aristo asked like an innocent child.
"You're going to tell me to quit this case."
"I am not!" He said miffed in defense.
"Oh, you're not?" Cam asked surprised.
Sweets continued to stare into the paramedic's light as he between the Bickersons.
"Cam, I left my country because of tactics like these!" Aristo reminded her. "I do not want to be terrorized for finding the truth about a crime."
"Maybe we should get some help, call Booth." Cam suggested. The suggestion however fell on Sweets ears like nails down a chalkboard. He recalled the conversation the day earlier with Booth who was all too happy to imply that Sweets couldn't do this on his own.
"No!" He said shaking his head and waving the paramedic off. The most useful thing he found about the man was his Tic Tac. "No, Booth and Dr. Brennan are busy. We can solve this on our own. We just maybe need to come up with a few more locks on the doors or something."
"Maybe we should stay someplace else while we investigate." Aristo suggested.
Cam nodded and turned to Sweets. "Dr. Sweets are you sure, are we up to this?" She asked wanting some direction.
"We can do this." Sweets reassured her. He damn well hoped he was right.