Disclaimer: I don't own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.
It was a shard.
The box contained a jagged metal shard.
Chance estimated it was about seven inches long and weighed about half a pound. If not for the metal and the considerable length, it would have passed as a prehistoric biface.
"This was sent to you via mail?", he asked, turning the rather heavy object in his hand. It felt like a dagger.
The woman nodded in confirmation. "I've had it tested after I had received it. All the lab could tell me was that it consisted of the same material the plane had been made of. But that's it. I don't know who delivered it to me or why. All I know is that there's something very fishy about my brother's death."
"I'm not sure if I'll be able to help you", Chance said cautiously. The woman had a haunted look on her face, the look of someone who had spent decades mulling the same questions over and over again. He was not going to let her hopes go up, not before he could be sure he'd really be able to give some answers. Disappointment could have a devastating effect on already desperate people. Nobody wanted another dead body hanging from the wreck's skeleton.
Jeez, Penny Cleves, what did you stumble upon?
… … …
"Abs is a friend", Winston repeated. "She'd do this for us without asking questions."
"Yeah, but my guy is sitting right here, in Miami. We can hand-deliver the thing and he knows better than to lose it, trust me…" Guerrero photographed the shard one more time before he carefully put it back into the box it had been brought to the woman's doorstep so many years ago.
"Abs is one-hundred percent reliable, while you're suggesting someone who's scared of you because you've got dirt on him!"
"He's got a taste for rare exotic animals, that's all." Guerrero connected his camera to one of the computers. "And he's reliable, too. Always pays his monthly fee on time."
"Taste as in taste in the literal sense? You're shielding someone who EATS critically endangered species?" Ilsa sounded a lot more appalled than when she had heard about Ames and the stolen Cezanne.
"Would it help if I donated five percent of the fee to a rainforest trust?" Guerrero replied, shrugging, but somehow he didn't manage to deliver the line as unfazed as usual.
"We're taking Guerrero's guy", Chance decided. "Better not let this too far out of our sight."
"Any idea what this is?" Eyebrows furrowed, Ames watched the image the computer had generated from Guerrero's photos. Just like the physical object, they could turn it to all sides and in every direction. The new computer travel equipment Ilsa had bought on Philippa's advice was really paying off.
"The man's leg was missing, apparently cut off. Why would anyone cut a leg off, but return the rest of the body?"
The others could see that Winston didn't really want anyone to answer that question. He already had a conclusion, was proud of it and wanted to show off his police detective skills. Guerrero, predictably, made a move to speak up. A withering look from Ilsa, however, momentarily stopped him in his tracks.
It would have been interesting to see if Ilsa had actually managed to stop him for good, if he was really willing to let her, well, dominate him like that, but Winston was taking no chances. He quickly continued before anyone could steal his moment.
"It only makes sense if the leg somehow gave something away it wasn't supposed to – maybe the shard was somehow stuck in it? And its removal would have left a suspicious wound, so they decided to take away the complete leg? They probably didn't expect the mortician to note the clean cut…."
"But then what is so important about the shard?" Ames was still turning the shard's image up and down with the help of the computer's touchscreen. This really was a cool feature.
"Hopefully Guerrero's guy at the crime lab will tell us", Chance replied.
"And if not, I'm sure Abs will help."
Chance couldn't help but smile. It was good they had all decided to come down here. There was a lot more to this case than it had seemed at first glance.
It had taken him an awfully long time to come to this realization, but shit of this kind was better not to be faced alone.
… … …
"Whoever sent the shard must have had access to the corpse", he said after the box had been delivered to Guerrero's guy. "Let's check the forensics team, see if something pops up."
Easier said than done. Hours later they at least knew the following: After thirty years, only five members of the originally twelve person team were still alive. None of them was still residing in Florida, they had all moved elsewhere, talking to them would require lots of travelling. Chance quickly decided that Penny should stay in his custody. Ames and Ilsa could help keeping her safe. That left…
"I'm not going with Guerrero again!", Winston complained. "Why do you always pair me up with Guerrero?"
Because Guerrero could scare people into answering when Winston's polite approach wasn't enough, but that explanation would probably not appeal to Winston…
"Whoa, that's strange", Ames just then mumbled. "I've taken a look at the DODs of the dead team members. This one here…" She highlighted a name on the screen "He died two years after the crash. Didn't the sister receive the shard two years after the crash?"
"Could be a coincidence…" Ilsa replied. "Did anyone write down the date on the box' stamp?"
Stupid question, really. Especially after spending years working with the team.
"Same week." Guerrero accessed another photo file and showed them an up-close of the box. "Dude died the same week the sister received the shard."
None of them believed in coincidences of that extent, not even Ilsa.
At this very moment Guerrero's cell signaled. His guy from the lab. Guerrero put him on speaker.
"According to the luminol test the thing at one point must have been covered in blood."
They all nodded. This confirmed Winston's shard-stuck-in-body theory.
"But I've also found something else. The sample you gave me contained phosphor. You said it was from a plane crash? Well, they don't use phosphor for air planes."