Spoilers for 2x16: Cool Hunting
By mid-morning, the two CSIs had finished with the scene and had returned back to the lab. Taylor had gone to the morgue with Mac, which was something which she wasn’t entirely sure as to why she was doing. A processed dead body was not on her list of things she liked seeing, but she hadn’t eaten, and she was curious as to what had actually killed her.
“Miss Turner,” Sid smiled in greeting.
“Morning, Sid.”
He cocked his head, considering her. “And what are you doing in this end of the morgue? Dr Pino isn’t at work until this evening.”
Taylor nodded, “I know. I’m just… curious as to what killed Stacie,” she told him, nodding her head in the direction of the body, without actually looking at it.
Sid looked at Mac, who nodded back. “Well, despite the amount of blood you found at the scene, COD was not exsanguination. I found a significant amount of water in her lungs.”
“She drowned?” asked Taylor. She was a little surprised. Her money would have been on the slit wrists being the cause of death: there had been so much blood.
Sid nodded.
“Which means she was alive when she went inside the tower,” said Mac. Sid nodded again. “Difficult to take a live woman up the side of a water tower, unless she’s unconscious,” Mac commented.
Sid smiled. “Exactly.” He pointed to an area just above the Y incision. “An injection mark. There are an endless number of substances which could knock her right out. I sent blood over to tox,” he informed them. “I also found evidence of sexual activity. The semen sample was diluted from the water, but, there’s still a chance you could pull something.” He reached for her hand and began taking a scraping from underneath her fingernails. “Here’s the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”
Taylor smiled. It was one of the first things that had been said in the morgue that she truly understood. “Macbeth.”
Sid smiled back. “Mmmm, hmmm.” Finishing with the scrapings, he picked the wrist up and held it for Mac and Taylor to see, the latter of the two fought back the instinct reaction to gag. “Radial and ulna arteries were both severed.” He turned the hand over. “Superficial wounds to her knuckles and from the tops of her hands. I pulled more glass fragments from her wounds.” He put the hand down and handed over a small container with pieces of glass in it.
Mac frowned and looked at the wounds on the wrist. “Directionality of incisions suggests movement in both distal and proximal directions.”
Taylor stared blankly at him. “And the layman’s translation of that would be?
“A sawing motion.”
Taylor fought back the gag reflex again. She really needed to learn how to control her curiosity, sometimes.
“With the amount of arterial spray from this type of wound, the crime scene must have been a mess,” said Sid.
Mac shook his head. “No. There was nothing to suggest her wrist was slashed inside the tank. No blood trail outside of it. Not a drop. How’s that possible?”
Taylor didn’t stick around to hear the answer. The thought of blood gushing from the wound was enough to make her stomach churn. She quietly made her excuses and left. She made it as far as the door, before she ran into Stacie. Literally. She looked up at her from the floor where she had bounced off her to, completely confused.
“It was him.” Stacie growled. And then she disappeared.
Almost as soon as she had gone, her place was filled by Maddy, and another ghost. “What on earth are you doing down there.”
Taylor pulled a face. “I ran into your other ghost, who you should be keeping a better eye on.”
Maddy frowned. “Taylor, I only have the one charge, today. This guy.”
“Well, there’s another one charging around, asking for my help,” Taylor informed her as she pulled herself to her feet.
Maddy continued to frown. “Be careful, Taylor. This other ghost is nothing to do with me. At least I don’t think so. I’ll check after.”
“Alright,” Taylor sighed, turning her attention to Maddy’s ghost. He looked like he had been in a fight. Whether or not this was what killed him, or it had happened just before he had been killed, Taylor didn’t know. He was also sporting some interesting bruises around his neck – they had an interlocking pattern to them. A chain, perhaps. In his outstretched hand he was holding a dead snake. Taylor stared at it and then at him. “Are you kidding me?”
“Help me.”
Taylor turned to Maddy. “A snake?”
Maddy shrugged. “Hey, I know as much as you,” she paused. “Actually, that’s not completely true. I do know that my eye candy has already been and processed the scene.”
Taylor frowned, “Eye-candy… oh,” she sighed. “I’m not saying anything,” she told her dead friend, shaking her head.
“Miss Turner,” Sid smiled in greeting.
“Morning, Sid.”
He cocked his head, considering her. “And what are you doing in this end of the morgue? Dr Pino isn’t at work until this evening.”
Taylor nodded, “I know. I’m just… curious as to what killed Stacie,” she told him, nodding her head in the direction of the body, without actually looking at it.
Sid looked at Mac, who nodded back. “Well, despite the amount of blood you found at the scene, COD was not exsanguination. I found a significant amount of water in her lungs.”
“She drowned?” asked Taylor. She was a little surprised. Her money would have been on the slit wrists being the cause of death: there had been so much blood.
Sid nodded.
“Which means she was alive when she went inside the tower,” said Mac. Sid nodded again. “Difficult to take a live woman up the side of a water tower, unless she’s unconscious,” Mac commented.
Sid smiled. “Exactly.” He pointed to an area just above the Y incision. “An injection mark. There are an endless number of substances which could knock her right out. I sent blood over to tox,” he informed them. “I also found evidence of sexual activity. The semen sample was diluted from the water, but, there’s still a chance you could pull something.” He reached for her hand and began taking a scraping from underneath her fingernails. “Here’s the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”
Taylor smiled. It was one of the first things that had been said in the morgue that she truly understood. “Macbeth.”
Sid smiled back. “Mmmm, hmmm.” Finishing with the scrapings, he picked the wrist up and held it for Mac and Taylor to see, the latter of the two fought back the instinct reaction to gag. “Radial and ulna arteries were both severed.” He turned the hand over. “Superficial wounds to her knuckles and from the tops of her hands. I pulled more glass fragments from her wounds.” He put the hand down and handed over a small container with pieces of glass in it.
Mac frowned and looked at the wounds on the wrist. “Directionality of incisions suggests movement in both distal and proximal directions.”
Taylor stared blankly at him. “And the layman’s translation of that would be?
“A sawing motion.”
Taylor fought back the gag reflex again. She really needed to learn how to control her curiosity, sometimes.
“With the amount of arterial spray from this type of wound, the crime scene must have been a mess,” said Sid.
Mac shook his head. “No. There was nothing to suggest her wrist was slashed inside the tank. No blood trail outside of it. Not a drop. How’s that possible?”
Taylor didn’t stick around to hear the answer. The thought of blood gushing from the wound was enough to make her stomach churn. She quietly made her excuses and left. She made it as far as the door, before she ran into Stacie. Literally. She looked up at her from the floor where she had bounced off her to, completely confused.
“It was him.” Stacie growled. And then she disappeared.
Almost as soon as she had gone, her place was filled by Maddy, and another ghost. “What on earth are you doing down there.”
Taylor pulled a face. “I ran into your other ghost, who you should be keeping a better eye on.”
Maddy frowned. “Taylor, I only have the one charge, today. This guy.”
“Well, there’s another one charging around, asking for my help,” Taylor informed her as she pulled herself to her feet.
Maddy continued to frown. “Be careful, Taylor. This other ghost is nothing to do with me. At least I don’t think so. I’ll check after.”
“Alright,” Taylor sighed, turning her attention to Maddy’s ghost. He looked like he had been in a fight. Whether or not this was what killed him, or it had happened just before he had been killed, Taylor didn’t know. He was also sporting some interesting bruises around his neck – they had an interlocking pattern to them. A chain, perhaps. In his outstretched hand he was holding a dead snake. Taylor stared at it and then at him. “Are you kidding me?”
“Help me.”
Taylor turned to Maddy. “A snake?”
Maddy shrugged. “Hey, I know as much as you,” she paused. “Actually, that’s not completely true. I do know that my eye candy has already been and processed the scene.”
Taylor frowned, “Eye-candy… oh,” she sighed. “I’m not saying anything,” she told her dead friend, shaking her head.
* * *
The doors to the elevator pinged open and Danny walked in to join her on her way up. “Hey, Danny. What are you doing here?”
Danny grinned, “I work here, unlike some.”
Taylor rolled her eyes. “Ha ha. No, seriously, I thought you would be at the hospital.”
Danny shrugged, “Louie’s with Mom and Dad at the moment. Besides, Stella rang. Said she could do with my help.”
“I assume Stella’s working with Sheldon?”
Danny nodded, “Why? Is that the case you’re helping on?”
Taylor rubbed her forehead. “I’ve been visited by two ghosts. The first was a woman found dead in a water tower. But Maddy said that she wasn’t-”
“Maddy?” Danny asked her, staring intently at her.
Taylor sighed. “Maddy’s on our side. She looks after the spirits until they are able to move on.”
“Taylor, how much sleep have you been getting, recently.”
Taylor glared at him. “Just because I haven’t been getting sleep recently doesn’t mean it’s causing me to see things. Maddy’s been around since her funeral, helping. And I’m sure Marty told you that. So don’t start claiming that I’m losing my mind.”
Danny stared at her, and then, to Taylor’s surprise, nodded. “You’re right, he did say something. And I think I know you well enough by now to know you wouldn’t make something like this up.” Taylor just gaped at him, her mouth flapping open and closed. “You seem surprised I believe you.”
Surprised was an understatement. “I was expecting more of a… I don’t know… you telling me I was crazy.”
Danny laughed. “You are crazy. The amount of time you’ve spent with me in the last month is proof enough of that.”
Taylor pulled a face, and then smiled. In front of them, the door opened and the two of them got out. “How’s Louie?”
“Louie’s fine,” Danny smiled. “He seems to like you.”
“What’s not to like?” Taylor joked.
“And you think I have a big ego?” Danny muttered, rolling his eyes.
“Danny!”
“Hi, Stella,” smiled Danny as the curly haired detective called them from the AV lab. “Sorry I didn’t make it to the scene. Hawkes says I missed some fun at the playground?”
“No worries,” said Stella as Danny and Taylor joined her. “We brought some back, just for you.” She pointed at the screen of the computer in front of her. “These photos were taken from our vic’s camera phone. He was quite the photographer.”
Danny grinned. “I like the subject matter. These girls are fine.”
Taylor swiped at him. “You have been surrounded by too many nurses.”
“Are you kidding me? I pity Louie. He doesn’t have a single good looking nurse to wait on him hand and foot. They’re all old, or men.”
Stella laughed. “Girl,” she corrected. “Not girls.”
Danny nodded. “Oh, alright. I see. These are all the same girl.”
Stella clicked on several photos. “Different hair styles, different clothes.”
“She was quite the chameleon,” commented Taylor.
Stella nodded. “These all look like candid shots, to me. She didn’t even know she was being photographed.”
Danny reached over for a folder lying on the table. Inside was a picture and autopsy report of the ghost who had come to visit Taylor. “Well, maybe our vic,” he glanced down at the folder. “Ben Hatfield, was a stalker.”
Stella clicked on a photo of the girl talking to another guy. “And if this guy here was her boyfriend, maybe he wasn’t too happy about that.”
“It looks like all these shots are taken on the same street,” said Danny as he leant over and scrolled through the photographs. “Let’s look at that bus stop sign back there.” He selected a picture and enhanced the bus stop.
“George Washington Bridge,” Taylor read.
“Washington Heights,” Stella read aloud. She turned to Taylor. “Has your ghost given you anything to go on?”
“A snake.”
“A snake?” Stella repeated.
Taylor shrugged. “A dead snake.”
Stella turned back to the folder. “Well, according to the tox report, his blood workup was clean. He was choked to death, anyway,” she frowned. “A snake?” she repeated.
Taylor nodded. “A dead snake.” She sighed, “I get the feeling it’s the case breaker, but I have no idea what it means.”
Stella frowned. “Well let’s go see if we can find this girl. Maybe she can explain it.”
Danny grinned, “I work here, unlike some.”
Taylor rolled her eyes. “Ha ha. No, seriously, I thought you would be at the hospital.”
Danny shrugged, “Louie’s with Mom and Dad at the moment. Besides, Stella rang. Said she could do with my help.”
“I assume Stella’s working with Sheldon?”
Danny nodded, “Why? Is that the case you’re helping on?”
Taylor rubbed her forehead. “I’ve been visited by two ghosts. The first was a woman found dead in a water tower. But Maddy said that she wasn’t-”
“Maddy?” Danny asked her, staring intently at her.
Taylor sighed. “Maddy’s on our side. She looks after the spirits until they are able to move on.”
“Taylor, how much sleep have you been getting, recently.”
Taylor glared at him. “Just because I haven’t been getting sleep recently doesn’t mean it’s causing me to see things. Maddy’s been around since her funeral, helping. And I’m sure Marty told you that. So don’t start claiming that I’m losing my mind.”
Danny stared at her, and then, to Taylor’s surprise, nodded. “You’re right, he did say something. And I think I know you well enough by now to know you wouldn’t make something like this up.” Taylor just gaped at him, her mouth flapping open and closed. “You seem surprised I believe you.”
Surprised was an understatement. “I was expecting more of a… I don’t know… you telling me I was crazy.”
Danny laughed. “You are crazy. The amount of time you’ve spent with me in the last month is proof enough of that.”
Taylor pulled a face, and then smiled. In front of them, the door opened and the two of them got out. “How’s Louie?”
“Louie’s fine,” Danny smiled. “He seems to like you.”
“What’s not to like?” Taylor joked.
“And you think I have a big ego?” Danny muttered, rolling his eyes.
“Danny!”
“Hi, Stella,” smiled Danny as the curly haired detective called them from the AV lab. “Sorry I didn’t make it to the scene. Hawkes says I missed some fun at the playground?”
“No worries,” said Stella as Danny and Taylor joined her. “We brought some back, just for you.” She pointed at the screen of the computer in front of her. “These photos were taken from our vic’s camera phone. He was quite the photographer.”
Danny grinned. “I like the subject matter. These girls are fine.”
Taylor swiped at him. “You have been surrounded by too many nurses.”
“Are you kidding me? I pity Louie. He doesn’t have a single good looking nurse to wait on him hand and foot. They’re all old, or men.”
Stella laughed. “Girl,” she corrected. “Not girls.”
Danny nodded. “Oh, alright. I see. These are all the same girl.”
Stella clicked on several photos. “Different hair styles, different clothes.”
“She was quite the chameleon,” commented Taylor.
Stella nodded. “These all look like candid shots, to me. She didn’t even know she was being photographed.”
Danny reached over for a folder lying on the table. Inside was a picture and autopsy report of the ghost who had come to visit Taylor. “Well, maybe our vic,” he glanced down at the folder. “Ben Hatfield, was a stalker.”
Stella clicked on a photo of the girl talking to another guy. “And if this guy here was her boyfriend, maybe he wasn’t too happy about that.”
“It looks like all these shots are taken on the same street,” said Danny as he leant over and scrolled through the photographs. “Let’s look at that bus stop sign back there.” He selected a picture and enhanced the bus stop.
“George Washington Bridge,” Taylor read.
“Washington Heights,” Stella read aloud. She turned to Taylor. “Has your ghost given you anything to go on?”
“A snake.”
“A snake?” Stella repeated.
Taylor shrugged. “A dead snake.”
Stella turned back to the folder. “Well, according to the tox report, his blood workup was clean. He was choked to death, anyway,” she frowned. “A snake?” she repeated.
Taylor nodded. “A dead snake.” She sighed, “I get the feeling it’s the case breaker, but I have no idea what it means.”
Stella frowned. “Well let’s go see if we can find this girl. Maybe she can explain it.”
* * *
The girl, Jennifer Rodriquez, wasn’t hard to find. She was sat outside enjoying the sun. Stella, Danny and Taylor approached her, showing her the photographs Ben had taken of her. “What are these?” she asked them.
“I was hoping you could tell me,” Stella told her. “They’re all of you.”
“Ok, somebody’s following me?” she asked, scowling.
“Well, not anymore,” Danny informed her. “The person that took these pictures is dead. His name is Ben Hatfield. You know him?”
Jenny shook her head, turning angry. “No. And I don’t like people I don’t know taking pictures of me.”
“My guess is your boyfriend here doesn’t either,” Stella pointed to one of the pictures. “What’s his name?”
“I don’t know,” Jenny shrugged. “Just some guy who wanted to buy me coffee.”
“No need for names?” Danny asked.
Jenny glared at him. “It was just coffee.”
Stella glared back. “See, this guy here, he could be a murderer.” She pulled out a card and thrust it at her. “So the next time you see him, get a name. And give me a call.”
“Jenny, can I ask you a question?” Taylor asked. Jenny turned her glare from Stella to Taylor. “Do snakes mean anything to you?” Jenny rolled her eyes and stormed off. “Charming,” Taylor muttered.
“Welcome to the world of uncooperative witnesses,” Danny muttered back.
“I was hoping you could tell me,” Stella told her. “They’re all of you.”
“Ok, somebody’s following me?” she asked, scowling.
“Well, not anymore,” Danny informed her. “The person that took these pictures is dead. His name is Ben Hatfield. You know him?”
Jenny shook her head, turning angry. “No. And I don’t like people I don’t know taking pictures of me.”
“My guess is your boyfriend here doesn’t either,” Stella pointed to one of the pictures. “What’s his name?”
“I don’t know,” Jenny shrugged. “Just some guy who wanted to buy me coffee.”
“No need for names?” Danny asked.
Jenny glared at him. “It was just coffee.”
Stella glared back. “See, this guy here, he could be a murderer.” She pulled out a card and thrust it at her. “So the next time you see him, get a name. And give me a call.”
“Jenny, can I ask you a question?” Taylor asked. Jenny turned her glare from Stella to Taylor. “Do snakes mean anything to you?” Jenny rolled her eyes and stormed off. “Charming,” Taylor muttered.
“Welcome to the world of uncooperative witnesses,” Danny muttered back.
Originally posted 03/07/2006