As Rossi and Morgan sat reviewing their notes, there was a knock at the conference room door. After Morgan had called out "Come In", the door opened to reveal an attractive young woman with dark hair and eyes, wearing a white lab coat over a pair of jeans and checkered shirt. She looked at them questioningly as she walked into the room.
"Cynthia Newton?" Rossi questioned.
"Yes?" the woman looked at him.
"Agent Rossi of the FBI," Rossi told her. He gestured toward Morgan, "And, this is Agent Morgan."
"FBI?" the woman questioned with a worried look. "Is something wrong?"
"Not really," Morgan treated her to his megawatt smile. "We are just following up on some unusual occurrences in the area."
"The UFO sightings," Cynthia assumed. "Unfortunately, if you are looking for an eye witness, it's not me. I would have loved to have seen them, but I guess I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"So, you do think that the UFO sightings are for real?" Rossi questioned.
"I'm not sure. That's why I would have liked to have seen them myself," was the reply. "I know the odds are that there are other intelligent life forms out there somewhere, and I would welcome the chance to check it out personally."
"Unfortunately, what we are checking on is a little closer to earth," Morgan explained. "We are looking into the murder of Dr. Snow's wife."
"That poor woman!" Cynthia ejaculated. "I hadn't had an opportunity to meet her yet, but everyone said she was really nice."
"We are just doing some routine background checks," Rossi told her. "And, we need to verify where Dr. Snow was that afternoon."
"He was in the far field," was the quick response. "Where we are growing black nightshade."
"Were you with him?" Rossi questioned kindly.
"No – Not that day," the tech remembered. "Dr. Snow had some measurements he wanted me to confirm, so I stayed behind in the lab."
"Do you remember anything unusual about Dr. Snow's demeanor that day?" Rossi continued with the questions.
"Not really," was the reply. "Of course, I had left for the day when he came back to the lab. Apparently, he stayed out there later than usual. I do remember that there was dirt in the lab sink the next day. So, I would guess he washed up there afterwards."
"Is it alright if we see your lab?" Morgan asked.
"Just curious," he added. "I've never visited a plant scientist before." He favored the tech with another of his smiles.
"Well," the lab tech hesitated. "Most people who are allowed into the labs here have signed a 'Confidentiality Agreement' first."
"Can you get us the form?" Rossi offered. "That shouldn't be any problem."
"And, by the way," Morgan asked as an apparent afterthought. "Can you tell us where Dr. Snow is today?"
"He's out of the lab, making arrangements for his wife's burial," was the reply.