The Aftermath of Callie and Arizona

A Day In The Life

Arizona's POV:

"Charley! Quit torturing us and tell us what you know!" Callie laughed after she said that during our phone call with Charley, but I could tell she really wanted to hear the news. I was quiet, but felt the same way as Callie must have felt. We'd both been on pins and needles the last few weeks since the tire slashing happened.

"Okay Callie, fair enough, here goes... After we last talked, Rick waited for the forensics to come back, but he also started talking to people and reviewing security video footage. With his leads and more importantly, the forensics, he was able to learn that the serrated kitchen knife he found behind the dumpster, was a match to the slash marks on your tires."

"Were there fingerprints on the knife?" Callie had a very serious look on her face as she spoke, even for her. Since we were cuddled into each other, I held her a little tighter when I saw the concern in her expression.

"How much "CSI," and "Dateline," crime shows have you been watching, Callie?" Charley laughed as she talked, "Unfortunately in the real world, things never come together as easily as they seem to on TV. So, while there were no fingerprints, the slash marks are the next best thing."

"Charley, sorry to interrupt, but how are slash marks the next best thing?" I started rubbing Callie's shoulders in order to keep my hands occupied while we listened to Charley's response to my question.

"Well, since the knife was brand new, the marks it made were pristine and undeniably identifiable, I saw the photos myself."

"So, Charley, back to my question, how does that help us?" I shifted my weight as I spoke so I could grab a pillow and prop the phone up, as this was turning out to be a longer call than I anticipated and my arm was starting to fatigue.

"As Rick analyzed everything, he figured the simplest explanation was probably the most plausible and thought maybe the perp purchased the knife somewhere around the hospital. So, he started looking at the retailers around the hospital to see what items they carried."

"And...?" Callie was becoming impatient for Charley to cut to the chase, which made Charley and I giggle and her anxiousness.

"Is my drawn out explanation starting to wear you out, Callie?"

"Charley, yes!" Callie nervously laughed out loud at herself, but I also felt her calm down just a bit after finding humor in her own impatience for Charley to connect the dots.

"What else do you expect from an attorney, Torres? Words are my medium. In a world that generally makes no sense, words give me the ability to create a construct that makes logical, sense. All you surgeons want to do is talk less and cut more, sheesh. And ya think I'd be used to you characters after all my years of defending your surgical asses..."

All three of us shared a laugh just then at the truth behind the common differences between us 'surgeons,' and attorneys.

"Okay then, for you Dr. Torres, I will fast track my explanation. Rick was able to locate a convenience store less than a block from the hospital that sold the exact, same, serrated, kitchen knife. He and his team are scouring over video footage from the convenience store and are getting the receipts pulled from transactions the morning of the incident."

"Charley, my gawd, that's huge! How in the world did Rick narrow things down and so efficiently? It sounds like it's a matter of time till the perpetrator is now caught! I didn't think in a million years we would even stand a chance of finding the person, let alone maybe making an arrest!" I was so thrilled with Charley's news, that I started hugging Callie even tighter as a byproduct of my enthusiasm after talking.

"I told you Arizona, Rick is outstanding at what he does and I must say, as your friend, you are lucky to have me. If I hadn't had the quick mental aptitude to hire Rick, just think, your case would still be buried on a cop's desk somewhere inside the Seattle police department."