Fic: Push Me - Chapter 4
Apr. 23rd, 2007 10:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seren_ccdPush Me
Disclaimer: Not mine. Belongs to CBS and all of those people who have a lot more money than I do.
Spoilers: Post-Episode 3.19 A Daze of Wine and Roaches
Summary: Is Lindsay ready to move forward? And what causes a healthy 17 year old to die of a sudden heart attack? DL
AN: Once again, any scientific jargon comes from Google. And no infringement on any of the establishments or products mentioned is meant. And the bit about the gypsies comes straight from my mother.
A huge, huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story. It has been incredibly helpful.
Chapter 4
Lindsay splashed water onto her face and stood over the sink. Her stomach was slowly ceasing to roll and she breathed in and out. She raised her head and looked at her reflection. And cringed. She was pale and had circles under her eyes. She grabbed some paper towels and wiped her face, still looking in the mirror.
“Okay,” she thought. “You’re okay. You got through actually talking to them and that was good. That was okay. So you threw up. Big deal. People throw up all the time. You aren’t weak. You’re fine. And maybe if you keep repeating that to yourself, you’ll believe it.”
Lindsay took another deep breath. Held it. Then let it out slowly. One final look in the mirror and she threw the wadded paper towels in the trash and walked out of the ladies’ room.
“Hopefully, I can get to the breath mints before Danny notices,” she thought entering their office. Luckily, her partner wasn’t at his desk. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out a mint and popped it in her mouth.
“Hey Linds,” Danny said as he entered the office. “How’d it go?”
“Fine, fine,” Lindsay said hurriedly putting the mints back in her drawer. “I mean, they seemed to just be in shock you know. I got the impression they didn’t really keep an extremely close eye on their son. But they agreed to help.”
Danny leaned against her desk and looked down at her.
Avoiding his eyes, Lindsay pulled a notebook her way and started to list things, “The mom mentioned that Matthew may have gone to the movies with a girl friend last night, Flack’s trying to track her down. It was kind of strange though, she kept mentioning Yale. I wonder if they’re the kinds of parents that really push their kids to--”
Lindsay stopped talking when she felt Danny’s finger gently brush a still water-damp strand of hair off her forehead. She stopped breathing when he pushed it carefully behind her ear and softly traced the shell down to the lobe. Lindsay looked up at him.
Danny smiled a little. “Did good Montana,” he said softly. He dropped his hand but stayed propped up against her desk.
Lindsay considered playing dumb. Just dismissing the action and moving on with work. They would keep going with just these little moments here and there and she’d keep everything locked up. Danny didn’t need to know the details and she was fine on her own, she could handle anything. She certainly didn’t need his support.
“I threw up,” she said quickly.
She didn’t need his support, but she sure all damn wanted it.
Danny, to his ever-increasing credit, didn’t look disgusted. He just kept looking at her with that little smile.
“Good,” he said.
“Excuse me?” Lindsay said confused and a little angry. “How is that good? I don’t feel good.”
He raised his eyebrows and leaned closer to her to peer into her eyes. “You sure about that?”
Lindsay opened her mouth to tell him just exactly how not good she was feeling, but stopped. She turned her head forward and looked out the window. She realized that the grey morning had sure enough turned into a greyer afternoon and that it was most likely going to rain before the day was finished and that she actually felt pretty damn good.
“Huh,” was all she said though.
Danny chuckled and moved to his desk. He opened up his email and checked his messages. Five minutes passed and when he looked up he noticed that Lindsay was still looking out the window with a surprised look on her face. Danny chuckled again.
“So,” Danny said. “All we’re waiting on is Sid to get back to us and Flack to get us some names of our vic’s friends?”
“What? Oh! Yes!” Lindsay said. “Um, did you manage to narrow down the gravel suppliers?”
Danny snorted. “Yeah, at least 100 stores in Manhattan sell this stuff. What’s so great about fish anyway? They don’t do nothing; they just float around with their mouths open,” he grumbled. “They’re creepy and their eyes are too big.”
“Aww, Danny,” Lindsay said. “Did someone have a bad experience with a little fishy?”
Danny glared at her and she giggled at the expression. All of a sudden she felt light, like she was filled with helium. When was the last time she felt like this?
“You know the phrase ‘he’s gonna sleep with the fishes’?” Danny asked her.
Lindsay nodded a little surprised. “Sure.”
“Well, I heard that phrase when I was about 4 and it freaked me out,” he said. “The thing that popped in my head was sleepin’ underwater with all these fish lookin’ at me. I asked my pop what it meant and he just sorta looked at me and said it was another way to say someone was dead.”
Danny shrugged, “Never really trusted fish after that.”
Lindsay watched as his face switched from open and sharing to slightly shocked that he had even said anything. Danny cleared his throat and started to shuffle papers on his desk.
“Oh,” Lindsay thought. “This is that communicating thing that wacko Dr. Phil is always going on about.”
“Whenever I misbehaved at home, my mom would always threaten to sell me to the gypsies,” Lindsay said. Danny’s head shot up. She smiled a little. “I’ve always been a little terrified of carnivals and circuses.”
The corner of Danny’s mouth quirked up. “And just how much did you misbehave Miss Monroe?”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said innocently. Her cell phone rang and she went to answer it.
Danny just kept grinning at her as she answered.
“Monroe,” she said ignoring him. “Hey Flack, what do you have?”
She paused and began writing stuff down.
“You found her?... This afternoon?… Well, she is the last person have possibly seen him alive… Do you think we can get into his bedroom?... Good… Yeah, I’ll tell Danny… Yeah, okay… Thanks, Flack,” Lindsay hung up.
“What’s up?” Danny asked.
“Matthew Roberts’ ‘girl friend’, Abby Stephens is coming in to talk to us,” Lindsay said.
She looked over her scribbles. “And Matthew’s parents have said that we can search his room if we have to,” she paused. “They say they just want to know what happened.”
“I thought you got a weird vibe off them,” he said.
“Yeah,” she said cringing. “That could have just been me though.”
“I doubt it,” Danny said. “What seemed off?”
Lindsay schooled her thoughts.
“It was the fixation on schools. Matthew was going to Yale; his friend was going to Sarah Lawrence,” she told him. “And that transcript. This guy was really pushing himself academically. Even if you’re naturally smart, all those classes and clubs take a lot of work.”
“We’ll just have to see what Ms. Stephens can tell us,” Danny said.
Abby Stephens was a petite redhead with dark-rimmed glasses. Her blue eyes were red and bloodshot with what Lindsay could only describe as a deep grief and as the detective looked closer, a little hint of guilt seemed to be present also.
One quick glance with Danny decided that the best approach here was going to be the gentle but direct one. Lindsay sat down next to Detective Flack across from Abby. Danny leaned against the wall in the corner.
“Thank you for coming in Miss Stephens,” Flack began.
“Sure,” Abby said in a voice that was deeper than Lindsay expected. “I really can’t believe Matt’s dead.”
She looked up at the detectives. “I guess everyone always says that huh?”
Lindsay smiled to reassure her. “Abby, what can you tell us? We know Matt went to the movies last night. Did you go with him?”
“Yeah,” Abby sighed. “We went to the Angelika. There was a cool David Lynch film playing. We’re both fans. We get there and go in and we’re sitting in the theatre and, God he just couldn’t sit still.”
She looked up at them.
“I mean, Matt’s normally kind of antsy,” she explained. “But this was off the wall. I asked what was up and he just kept saying he was worried about his Calc II exam.”
“Did he normally get nervous before exams?” Flack asked.
“Yeah, he did,” Abby let out a gust that was part laugh, part sob. “I never understood why though. He always aced them. And this test wasn’t until Friday. He had all week to study. But he kept going on and on about how he needed to study more.”
“What happened next Abby?” Lindsay prompted.
“The trailers had just started and Matt was still all jittery, I figured it was because of all the caffeine,” Abby said. “I swear, it was like he was mainlining Red Bull some days.”
The girl fidgeted in her seat a little and looked uncomfortable. But before Lindsay could say anything she started talking again.
“Matt just kept bouncing around and I told him that if he couldn’t sit still then maybe he just needed to leave,” she said her eyes watering. “And he did. He stood up and yelled that I had no idea what he was going through and that I never understood him and then he just walked out.”
Abby looked up at them. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have just stayed quiet. If I had then he wouldn’t have left.”
Lindsay’s first instinct was to comfort Abby and tell her that Matt’s death wasn’t her fault. Instead she just asked her,
“What did Matt mean about you not understanding what he was going though? Was he having problems at home?”
Abby shook her head and a few tears leaked out. “No and that’s it! I don’t know what he was talking about. He was right; I didn’t know what he was going through.”
She wiped at her face with a shaking hand.
“What happened after he left the theatre Abby?” Danny asked quietly.
“I stayed for a while,” she said in a low voice. “For about 30 minutes or so. I figured he had just gone upstairs to the café and would just wait for me. But he wasn’t anywhere. I waited around a bit to see if he came back and then I just went home.”
“Did you try to get in touch with him after you left?” Lindsay asked.
“No,” Abby whispered. “I was pissed off at him. I just went home. I figured I’d chew him out today at school. But he didn’t show.”
“Abby,” Flack began. “Was Matt on any drugs that you know of?”
Abby shook her head. “No, unless you counted all the caffeine stuff. And the smoking I guess.”
“Caffeine stuff?” Lindsay asked.
“Yeah,” the girl sniffled. “Him and the rest of the elites. They all drank a lot of caffeine drinks and I think they may have taken No-Doz or stuff like it. I never asked.”
“The elites?” Danny asked. “Are they a club?”
Abby let out a sarcastic laugh.
“Yeah, sort of,” she said. “Basically, it’s what we call the guys in our class that are super competitive and get really good grades. They’re all off to Ivy League schools and live to impress teachers.”
“You don’t like them?” Lindsay questioned.
“No, no it’s not like that,” Abby said shaking her head. “They’re okay guys, it’s just. There’s more to life than school you know? But they never seemed to grasp that fact. I was so happy that Matt wanted to go to the movies. He’d really been pushing himself.”
She teared up. “I thought we were just going to chill.”
Flack glanced at Lindsay and Danny. Danny nodded at him.
“Thank you for coming in Miss Stephens,” Flack said handing Abby a notepad. “If you could, do you think write down some of Matt’s friends’ names? Maybe the elites?”
She nodded and reached for the notepad
“One last question Abby,” Lindsay said. “Do you have any idea where Matt may have gone after he left the theatre?”
“I figured he went home to study,” she said. “He could have gone to the library though.”
“Which library?” Flack asked.
“Oh, the school library,” she said. “It stays open late during the week. Until about 10. Only the seniors are allowed to use it.”
She picked up the pen and began to write.
Danny and Lindsay headed towards their office when Danny’s cell rang.
“Yeah, Messer,” he said. “Sid, what you got?”
Danny’s brow furrowed. “Seriously?... Yeah, we’ll be right down.”
He hung up and looked at Lindsay.
“Sid thinks Matthew Roberts died of a heart attack.”
“Hello detectives,” Sid greeted Danny and Lindsay. “I wouldn’t normally call you down this quickly but I understand you don’t have much to go on. And I found this pretty quickly.”
The medical examiner led them to Matthew Roberts’ body. He had already made the first incisions and the chest was open, the heart in plain view.
“I haven’t removed the heart yet to examine it further, but I can tell you that this young man died from sudden cardiac death,” Sid said.
“But,” Lindsay started. “He’s only 17. How does a kid this young die from a heart attack?”
“Look at the heart here, see how this muscle here is slightly enlarged?” Danny and Lindsay peered at the muscle Sid was indicating.
“Normally, there would need to be some damage to heart already present to cause a death like this,” Sid answered her. “And Mr. Roberts here has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.”
“Which is?” Danny asked.
“One of the muscles around the left ventricle is slightly enlarged,” Sid pointed out. “Basically the heart begins to beats faster and due to this irregularity, the flow to the heart is obstructed and the heart stops.”
“There was nothing in his school file either,” Danny said. “How did this go unnoticed? The kid was supposedly healthy.”
“We-ell, I don’t know about healthy,” Sid said his hands going to the victim’s mouth. “If you look here, there is some nicotine staining his teeth and gums. He was definitely a smoker. And people who smoke do have a higher risk for cardiac issues. And there are often no symptoms of this particular cardiomyopathy, it doesn’t always cause high blood pressure.”
Lindsay frowned. “That still doesn’t explain why he died so suddenly.”
“I know,” Sid said. “I’ve already sent off some blood for a tox screen. It probably won’t be ready until tomorrow. I’ll examine the heart further and maybe that will reveal some more of this poor young man’s demise.”
Danny covered up his snort of disbelief at Sid’s speech with a cough. Lindsay just shook her head and asked,
“What about that bruise on the side of his face?”
“Ah yes,” the ME said. “Definitely not a fatal blow, but certainly hard enough to leave an impression, if you’ll pardon the pun.”
“Always do,” Danny muttered. Lindsay elbowed him.
“Look at the shaping of the bruise,” Sid directed them. “See how it’s in the shape of triangle?”
Danny and Lindsay cocked their heads to look at the odd bruising. Danny noticed something.
“Those tiny creases there? In a line?” he pointed out. “What does that look like to you Montana?”
Lindsay squinted.
“I can’t quite tell.” she said. “What’s triangular-shaped that would be used to smack someone’s head?”
Danny shook his head, his forehead crinkled deep in thought.
“Whatever it was,” Sid began. “There wasn’t a whole lot of force behind it, no trace was left behind. It was definitely smooth surface apart from those lines.”
The detectives slowly straightened and stood in thought. Sid wondered if they realized how in sync their movements were. The ME fought a smile.
“I’m sorry I don’t have more detail for you,” he said. “I’ll have a full report for you in the morning including the stomach contents. The tox results should come in before lunch.”
“Thanks Sid,” Danny said. “We’ll be in touch.”
Danny placed his hand on Lindsay lower back to lead her out of the morgue. She stopped suddenly and turned around. Danny’s fingers trailed all the way from her back around her side to drop when he realized they were resting on her stomach. He coughed to distract himself from the movement.
“Hypothetically though,” Lindsay said trying to ignore the heat that had rushed through her body at Danny’s touch. “What would cause this kind of death?”
Sid shrugged and unclipped his glasses. “Any number of things. I’d say an overdose of something for sure, but I’m not seeing any of the usual signs of a serious drug habit. Possibly shock, overexertion, or severe stress. That’s all I can really say without any evidence. Does that help at all?”
“Yeah,” Lindsay said deep in thought. “Thanks Sid.”
The CSI’s once again headed out of the morgue. This time, Danny kept his hands to himself.
Danny and Lindsay were in their office going over the evidence for what felt like millionth time when Mac entered.
“Hey guys,” he said. “Where are you on the DB from this morning?”
“Well, according to Sid, COD is sudden cardiac arrest. Why, we don’t know yet. We know he was at the movies until about 8:30 pm,” Danny informed Mac. “We don’t know his whereabouts after that and him being found this morning.”
“It’s possible he went to the school library to study after he left his friend at the theatre,” Lindsay added. “We’ll go there in the morning. Parents have given us permission to search his room if we have to.”
Mac nodded. “Okay, go to the school. Figure out where he went. Search his bedroom if you have to.”
He glanced at the clock. “It’s 6:00 p.m., go home you two.”
“Mac,” Lindsay started to protest.
“As I recall,” Mac said over her. “You two were called in this morning at 5:30. You both still have too much overtime. Go home. This will still be here tomorrow.”
Lindsay shuffled some papers and Danny looked at his computer.
“It wasn’t a suggestion,” Mac said with a slight smile.
“Yeah, yeah,” Danny said. “We hear ya.”
Mac nodded and left their office.
Lindsay sighed. What was at home? Leftovers and television. And stupid nightmares. Swell. Maybe she needed a pet. She straightened her desk and turned off her computer.
“Need a ride home?” Danny asked her.
She opened her mouth to say no and instead said, “Yeah, that’d be great.”
Danny grinned a little. “I just gotta run to the locker room. Meet you outside?”
“Okay,” she said. Danny got up and headed to the door.
“Danny?” Lindsay called. He stopped and looked at her. She bit her lip and then blurted out, “Would you like to have dinner with me?”
Danny’s face froze. And Lindsay began to regret the question, so she started to babble.
“It’s just I have all this chilli that I made and it’s just going to go bad and I hate wasting food,” Lindsay said. “But if you have plans, I’ll totally understand and it’s really no big deal.”
“I’d love to,” Danny interrupted grinning. “How can I pass up homemade chilli?”
Lindsay stopped. “Oh, okay. Good.” She smiled a little uncertainly.
“See you in a minute,” he said and then he was gone.
Lindsay picked up her bag and then set it down again. And then tried to determine if the rolling in her stomach was happiness or panic.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Belongs to CBS and all of those people who have a lot more money than I do.
Spoilers: Post-Episode 3.19 A Daze of Wine and Roaches
Summary: Is Lindsay ready to move forward? And what causes a healthy 17 year old to die of a sudden heart attack? DL
AN: Once again, any scientific jargon comes from Google. And no infringement on any of the establishments or products mentioned is meant. And the bit about the gypsies comes straight from my mother.
A huge, huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story. It has been incredibly helpful.
Chapter 4
Lindsay splashed water onto her face and stood over the sink. Her stomach was slowly ceasing to roll and she breathed in and out. She raised her head and looked at her reflection. And cringed. She was pale and had circles under her eyes. She grabbed some paper towels and wiped her face, still looking in the mirror.
“Okay,” she thought. “You’re okay. You got through actually talking to them and that was good. That was okay. So you threw up. Big deal. People throw up all the time. You aren’t weak. You’re fine. And maybe if you keep repeating that to yourself, you’ll believe it.”
Lindsay took another deep breath. Held it. Then let it out slowly. One final look in the mirror and she threw the wadded paper towels in the trash and walked out of the ladies’ room.
“Hopefully, I can get to the breath mints before Danny notices,” she thought entering their office. Luckily, her partner wasn’t at his desk. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out a mint and popped it in her mouth.
“Hey Linds,” Danny said as he entered the office. “How’d it go?”
“Fine, fine,” Lindsay said hurriedly putting the mints back in her drawer. “I mean, they seemed to just be in shock you know. I got the impression they didn’t really keep an extremely close eye on their son. But they agreed to help.”
Danny leaned against her desk and looked down at her.
Avoiding his eyes, Lindsay pulled a notebook her way and started to list things, “The mom mentioned that Matthew may have gone to the movies with a girl friend last night, Flack’s trying to track her down. It was kind of strange though, she kept mentioning Yale. I wonder if they’re the kinds of parents that really push their kids to--”
Lindsay stopped talking when she felt Danny’s finger gently brush a still water-damp strand of hair off her forehead. She stopped breathing when he pushed it carefully behind her ear and softly traced the shell down to the lobe. Lindsay looked up at him.
Danny smiled a little. “Did good Montana,” he said softly. He dropped his hand but stayed propped up against her desk.
Lindsay considered playing dumb. Just dismissing the action and moving on with work. They would keep going with just these little moments here and there and she’d keep everything locked up. Danny didn’t need to know the details and she was fine on her own, she could handle anything. She certainly didn’t need his support.
“I threw up,” she said quickly.
She didn’t need his support, but she sure all damn wanted it.
Danny, to his ever-increasing credit, didn’t look disgusted. He just kept looking at her with that little smile.
“Good,” he said.
“Excuse me?” Lindsay said confused and a little angry. “How is that good? I don’t feel good.”
He raised his eyebrows and leaned closer to her to peer into her eyes. “You sure about that?”
Lindsay opened her mouth to tell him just exactly how not good she was feeling, but stopped. She turned her head forward and looked out the window. She realized that the grey morning had sure enough turned into a greyer afternoon and that it was most likely going to rain before the day was finished and that she actually felt pretty damn good.
“Huh,” was all she said though.
Danny chuckled and moved to his desk. He opened up his email and checked his messages. Five minutes passed and when he looked up he noticed that Lindsay was still looking out the window with a surprised look on her face. Danny chuckled again.
“So,” Danny said. “All we’re waiting on is Sid to get back to us and Flack to get us some names of our vic’s friends?”
“What? Oh! Yes!” Lindsay said. “Um, did you manage to narrow down the gravel suppliers?”
Danny snorted. “Yeah, at least 100 stores in Manhattan sell this stuff. What’s so great about fish anyway? They don’t do nothing; they just float around with their mouths open,” he grumbled. “They’re creepy and their eyes are too big.”
“Aww, Danny,” Lindsay said. “Did someone have a bad experience with a little fishy?”
Danny glared at her and she giggled at the expression. All of a sudden she felt light, like she was filled with helium. When was the last time she felt like this?
“You know the phrase ‘he’s gonna sleep with the fishes’?” Danny asked her.
Lindsay nodded a little surprised. “Sure.”
“Well, I heard that phrase when I was about 4 and it freaked me out,” he said. “The thing that popped in my head was sleepin’ underwater with all these fish lookin’ at me. I asked my pop what it meant and he just sorta looked at me and said it was another way to say someone was dead.”
Danny shrugged, “Never really trusted fish after that.”
Lindsay watched as his face switched from open and sharing to slightly shocked that he had even said anything. Danny cleared his throat and started to shuffle papers on his desk.
“Oh,” Lindsay thought. “This is that communicating thing that wacko Dr. Phil is always going on about.”
“Whenever I misbehaved at home, my mom would always threaten to sell me to the gypsies,” Lindsay said. Danny’s head shot up. She smiled a little. “I’ve always been a little terrified of carnivals and circuses.”
The corner of Danny’s mouth quirked up. “And just how much did you misbehave Miss Monroe?”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said innocently. Her cell phone rang and she went to answer it.
Danny just kept grinning at her as she answered.
“Monroe,” she said ignoring him. “Hey Flack, what do you have?”
She paused and began writing stuff down.
“You found her?... This afternoon?… Well, she is the last person have possibly seen him alive… Do you think we can get into his bedroom?... Good… Yeah, I’ll tell Danny… Yeah, okay… Thanks, Flack,” Lindsay hung up.
“What’s up?” Danny asked.
“Matthew Roberts’ ‘girl friend’, Abby Stephens is coming in to talk to us,” Lindsay said.
She looked over her scribbles. “And Matthew’s parents have said that we can search his room if we have to,” she paused. “They say they just want to know what happened.”
“I thought you got a weird vibe off them,” he said.
“Yeah,” she said cringing. “That could have just been me though.”
“I doubt it,” Danny said. “What seemed off?”
Lindsay schooled her thoughts.
“It was the fixation on schools. Matthew was going to Yale; his friend was going to Sarah Lawrence,” she told him. “And that transcript. This guy was really pushing himself academically. Even if you’re naturally smart, all those classes and clubs take a lot of work.”
“We’ll just have to see what Ms. Stephens can tell us,” Danny said.
Abby Stephens was a petite redhead with dark-rimmed glasses. Her blue eyes were red and bloodshot with what Lindsay could only describe as a deep grief and as the detective looked closer, a little hint of guilt seemed to be present also.
One quick glance with Danny decided that the best approach here was going to be the gentle but direct one. Lindsay sat down next to Detective Flack across from Abby. Danny leaned against the wall in the corner.
“Thank you for coming in Miss Stephens,” Flack began.
“Sure,” Abby said in a voice that was deeper than Lindsay expected. “I really can’t believe Matt’s dead.”
She looked up at the detectives. “I guess everyone always says that huh?”
Lindsay smiled to reassure her. “Abby, what can you tell us? We know Matt went to the movies last night. Did you go with him?”
“Yeah,” Abby sighed. “We went to the Angelika. There was a cool David Lynch film playing. We’re both fans. We get there and go in and we’re sitting in the theatre and, God he just couldn’t sit still.”
She looked up at them.
“I mean, Matt’s normally kind of antsy,” she explained. “But this was off the wall. I asked what was up and he just kept saying he was worried about his Calc II exam.”
“Did he normally get nervous before exams?” Flack asked.
“Yeah, he did,” Abby let out a gust that was part laugh, part sob. “I never understood why though. He always aced them. And this test wasn’t until Friday. He had all week to study. But he kept going on and on about how he needed to study more.”
“What happened next Abby?” Lindsay prompted.
“The trailers had just started and Matt was still all jittery, I figured it was because of all the caffeine,” Abby said. “I swear, it was like he was mainlining Red Bull some days.”
The girl fidgeted in her seat a little and looked uncomfortable. But before Lindsay could say anything she started talking again.
“Matt just kept bouncing around and I told him that if he couldn’t sit still then maybe he just needed to leave,” she said her eyes watering. “And he did. He stood up and yelled that I had no idea what he was going through and that I never understood him and then he just walked out.”
Abby looked up at them. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have just stayed quiet. If I had then he wouldn’t have left.”
Lindsay’s first instinct was to comfort Abby and tell her that Matt’s death wasn’t her fault. Instead she just asked her,
“What did Matt mean about you not understanding what he was going though? Was he having problems at home?”
Abby shook her head and a few tears leaked out. “No and that’s it! I don’t know what he was talking about. He was right; I didn’t know what he was going through.”
She wiped at her face with a shaking hand.
“What happened after he left the theatre Abby?” Danny asked quietly.
“I stayed for a while,” she said in a low voice. “For about 30 minutes or so. I figured he had just gone upstairs to the café and would just wait for me. But he wasn’t anywhere. I waited around a bit to see if he came back and then I just went home.”
“Did you try to get in touch with him after you left?” Lindsay asked.
“No,” Abby whispered. “I was pissed off at him. I just went home. I figured I’d chew him out today at school. But he didn’t show.”
“Abby,” Flack began. “Was Matt on any drugs that you know of?”
Abby shook her head. “No, unless you counted all the caffeine stuff. And the smoking I guess.”
“Caffeine stuff?” Lindsay asked.
“Yeah,” the girl sniffled. “Him and the rest of the elites. They all drank a lot of caffeine drinks and I think they may have taken No-Doz or stuff like it. I never asked.”
“The elites?” Danny asked. “Are they a club?”
Abby let out a sarcastic laugh.
“Yeah, sort of,” she said. “Basically, it’s what we call the guys in our class that are super competitive and get really good grades. They’re all off to Ivy League schools and live to impress teachers.”
“You don’t like them?” Lindsay questioned.
“No, no it’s not like that,” Abby said shaking her head. “They’re okay guys, it’s just. There’s more to life than school you know? But they never seemed to grasp that fact. I was so happy that Matt wanted to go to the movies. He’d really been pushing himself.”
She teared up. “I thought we were just going to chill.”
Flack glanced at Lindsay and Danny. Danny nodded at him.
“Thank you for coming in Miss Stephens,” Flack said handing Abby a notepad. “If you could, do you think write down some of Matt’s friends’ names? Maybe the elites?”
She nodded and reached for the notepad
“One last question Abby,” Lindsay said. “Do you have any idea where Matt may have gone after he left the theatre?”
“I figured he went home to study,” she said. “He could have gone to the library though.”
“Which library?” Flack asked.
“Oh, the school library,” she said. “It stays open late during the week. Until about 10. Only the seniors are allowed to use it.”
She picked up the pen and began to write.
Danny and Lindsay headed towards their office when Danny’s cell rang.
“Yeah, Messer,” he said. “Sid, what you got?”
Danny’s brow furrowed. “Seriously?... Yeah, we’ll be right down.”
He hung up and looked at Lindsay.
“Sid thinks Matthew Roberts died of a heart attack.”
“Hello detectives,” Sid greeted Danny and Lindsay. “I wouldn’t normally call you down this quickly but I understand you don’t have much to go on. And I found this pretty quickly.”
The medical examiner led them to Matthew Roberts’ body. He had already made the first incisions and the chest was open, the heart in plain view.
“I haven’t removed the heart yet to examine it further, but I can tell you that this young man died from sudden cardiac death,” Sid said.
“But,” Lindsay started. “He’s only 17. How does a kid this young die from a heart attack?”
“Look at the heart here, see how this muscle here is slightly enlarged?” Danny and Lindsay peered at the muscle Sid was indicating.
“Normally, there would need to be some damage to heart already present to cause a death like this,” Sid answered her. “And Mr. Roberts here has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.”
“Which is?” Danny asked.
“One of the muscles around the left ventricle is slightly enlarged,” Sid pointed out. “Basically the heart begins to beats faster and due to this irregularity, the flow to the heart is obstructed and the heart stops.”
“There was nothing in his school file either,” Danny said. “How did this go unnoticed? The kid was supposedly healthy.”
“We-ell, I don’t know about healthy,” Sid said his hands going to the victim’s mouth. “If you look here, there is some nicotine staining his teeth and gums. He was definitely a smoker. And people who smoke do have a higher risk for cardiac issues. And there are often no symptoms of this particular cardiomyopathy, it doesn’t always cause high blood pressure.”
Lindsay frowned. “That still doesn’t explain why he died so suddenly.”
“I know,” Sid said. “I’ve already sent off some blood for a tox screen. It probably won’t be ready until tomorrow. I’ll examine the heart further and maybe that will reveal some more of this poor young man’s demise.”
Danny covered up his snort of disbelief at Sid’s speech with a cough. Lindsay just shook her head and asked,
“What about that bruise on the side of his face?”
“Ah yes,” the ME said. “Definitely not a fatal blow, but certainly hard enough to leave an impression, if you’ll pardon the pun.”
“Always do,” Danny muttered. Lindsay elbowed him.
“Look at the shaping of the bruise,” Sid directed them. “See how it’s in the shape of triangle?”
Danny and Lindsay cocked their heads to look at the odd bruising. Danny noticed something.
“Those tiny creases there? In a line?” he pointed out. “What does that look like to you Montana?”
Lindsay squinted.
“I can’t quite tell.” she said. “What’s triangular-shaped that would be used to smack someone’s head?”
Danny shook his head, his forehead crinkled deep in thought.
“Whatever it was,” Sid began. “There wasn’t a whole lot of force behind it, no trace was left behind. It was definitely smooth surface apart from those lines.”
The detectives slowly straightened and stood in thought. Sid wondered if they realized how in sync their movements were. The ME fought a smile.
“I’m sorry I don’t have more detail for you,” he said. “I’ll have a full report for you in the morning including the stomach contents. The tox results should come in before lunch.”
“Thanks Sid,” Danny said. “We’ll be in touch.”
Danny placed his hand on Lindsay lower back to lead her out of the morgue. She stopped suddenly and turned around. Danny’s fingers trailed all the way from her back around her side to drop when he realized they were resting on her stomach. He coughed to distract himself from the movement.
“Hypothetically though,” Lindsay said trying to ignore the heat that had rushed through her body at Danny’s touch. “What would cause this kind of death?”
Sid shrugged and unclipped his glasses. “Any number of things. I’d say an overdose of something for sure, but I’m not seeing any of the usual signs of a serious drug habit. Possibly shock, overexertion, or severe stress. That’s all I can really say without any evidence. Does that help at all?”
“Yeah,” Lindsay said deep in thought. “Thanks Sid.”
The CSI’s once again headed out of the morgue. This time, Danny kept his hands to himself.
Danny and Lindsay were in their office going over the evidence for what felt like millionth time when Mac entered.
“Hey guys,” he said. “Where are you on the DB from this morning?”
“Well, according to Sid, COD is sudden cardiac arrest. Why, we don’t know yet. We know he was at the movies until about 8:30 pm,” Danny informed Mac. “We don’t know his whereabouts after that and him being found this morning.”
“It’s possible he went to the school library to study after he left his friend at the theatre,” Lindsay added. “We’ll go there in the morning. Parents have given us permission to search his room if we have to.”
Mac nodded. “Okay, go to the school. Figure out where he went. Search his bedroom if you have to.”
He glanced at the clock. “It’s 6:00 p.m., go home you two.”
“Mac,” Lindsay started to protest.
“As I recall,” Mac said over her. “You two were called in this morning at 5:30. You both still have too much overtime. Go home. This will still be here tomorrow.”
Lindsay shuffled some papers and Danny looked at his computer.
“It wasn’t a suggestion,” Mac said with a slight smile.
“Yeah, yeah,” Danny said. “We hear ya.”
Mac nodded and left their office.
Lindsay sighed. What was at home? Leftovers and television. And stupid nightmares. Swell. Maybe she needed a pet. She straightened her desk and turned off her computer.
“Need a ride home?” Danny asked her.
She opened her mouth to say no and instead said, “Yeah, that’d be great.”
Danny grinned a little. “I just gotta run to the locker room. Meet you outside?”
“Okay,” she said. Danny got up and headed to the door.
“Danny?” Lindsay called. He stopped and looked at her. She bit her lip and then blurted out, “Would you like to have dinner with me?”
Danny’s face froze. And Lindsay began to regret the question, so she started to babble.
“It’s just I have all this chilli that I made and it’s just going to go bad and I hate wasting food,” Lindsay said. “But if you have plans, I’ll totally understand and it’s really no big deal.”
“I’d love to,” Danny interrupted grinning. “How can I pass up homemade chilli?”
Lindsay stopped. “Oh, okay. Good.” She smiled a little uncertainly.
“See you in a minute,” he said and then he was gone.
Lindsay picked up her bag and then set it down again. And then tried to determine if the rolling in her stomach was happiness or panic.
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Date: 2007-04-24 12:38 am (UTC)Excellent scientific jargon, as well! I took a medical terminology class in fall (which I loved, continuing education) so I knew what Sid was saying!
Ah, Lindsay. So brave. I think I might be panicking for her, lol. Great update!
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Date: 2007-04-24 07:53 am (UTC)