CSI: Miami "Barely Breathing"

Chapter II

The next day, I walked in to the crime lab with a million eyes staring at me. Wonderful, maybe they think I'm still guilty and will tamper with the evidence.

I ignored most of it, and walked back to my office. No calls had been dished out yet, but I was waiting for a crime to happen. Miami couldn't be that innocent. There were things happening everyday, all day.

Just when I thought that I'd have to resort to paperwork, my assistant, Mya Delow entered and tapped the phone in her hand.

"We have a situation. There's been a shoot-out at one of the bars downtown. We found a dead body in the women's bathroom." Mya looked bored. She hardly ever got to visit the scene unless I was sick, or absent from work. Otherwise, she'd help me process evidence here in the lab by my side.

I smiled, "Thanks, Mya. I'll be sure to give you the first piece of evidence I find."

..

"What is that there?" asked Natalia as she pointed to what appeared to be a blood spatter on the bar top.

"Looks like blood, but who knows. These places are full of unknown substances." We shared a look, and continued looking through everything. When I was over by the countertop, I had seen a rag that looked suspicious in the trash, reaching down, I bumped into Ryan, who also had the same idea. His hand nudged mine, and I snatched the rag before he could.

"Well someone wants to solve a crime." he laughed as I rolled my eyes.

"You know that whoever finds the key piece of evidence is immediately put into that courtroom to justify. I don't have to explain that."

"You want to go to court? Why, do you like being contrary? Arguing with what the accused murderer has to say?" he took his turn to roll his eyes.

I lightly punched him and smiled, "I just like to testify. Is that wrong?"

"No. You like to pitch a fight and win, that's what." he retaliated.

Mouth agape, I tried not to laugh, "Sure, if that's what you think. Gosh, Ryan. I thought you and I were friends."

"Just friends, huh? I thought we were more like acquaintances with benifets." We both looked at one another for a second before spilling out laughing.

"Well, I think I better get this to the lab. I told Mya she could process the first thing I find. Catch up with you later?" I said as I put the cloth into a bag. Ryan nodded, and I began to walk off, but not before Ryan pulled my arm lightly.

"Wait a second, can I ask you for a favor? My family is coming to town,nand I need a place to crash the first night. I can't stand sleeping right next to my cousin Joe. I swear he has more fungi living on him than a corpse." Ryan shook with disgust.

Giving him a quick look, not wanting to say yes, but wanting to be a good person, I nodded. He sighed with relief. "Fine. But no longer than a week. You know, I have a life too besides my work."

Ryan grinned, "I cannot thank you enough. My house and my patience don't have that much room for all my relatives."

We exchanged one last goodbye before I hopped into my car, heading towards the lab, where I would find out just what that silly cloth was doing at our scene.

..

"It's not chloroform, that's what I can tell you right now." Mya looked through a telescope at the rag. I had smelled nothing, but that never meant nothing was there. She found white crystals along the border, and we had run the test a minute ago. The results would shoot out any second now. Still no sign of anything that could kill.

"Hey, you know I never saw a picture of our victim. Have you?" I asked.

Mya seemed to turn pale. "No, of course not. I just get the paperwork. Nothing new. I uh- never mind. You know what? I think this is meth."

Giving her an odd look, because of the way she spoke, I shook my head and breathed out. I'd see the vic soon enough.

But meth, I wonder...?

"You know, that man that messed with the evidence, Carson Raven, he was caught for a meth lab just two months ago. He got off the hook due to his lawyer. Smart ass." I shook my head and went back to sorting through the small amount of evidence I found. I hated to say it, but unless I found the rag with a name right on it, I would be escorting Wolfe to the Courthouse to testify instead of myself.

"You ever feel like you're being crowded with too many things at once?" I asked Mya, tossing her another piece of cloth.

She gave me a look, "No, of course not. Because I totally don't juggle more than three pieces of evidence at a time." She gave me a fake smile.

I laughed dryly, "Funny."

She continued to sort through the things I found as I looked at one particular thing that caught my eye. It appeared to be a little diamond that belonged on a necklace. Strange. It looked just like the one my sister had gotten from our parents two years ago; shiny, clean, and clear. I hadn't talked to my sister in about two days, right after I had wished her good luck with her new job at an office. We looked just alike. Her name was Charlie, and we both had black hair, with hazel eyes that matched.

I'd have to make a mental note of calling her tonight.

"Aw, shit." I hissed under my breath.

Mya held in a snort, "Aw shit, what?"

"Ryan has to stay at my place, his relatives are in town."

"Aw shit, for sure. Don't you live in a two story house? With many windows? Ones that are completely visible through? Ones that will make your neighbors think you've got a 'visitor'?" she tried not to laugh, and ended up snorting.

"Mya! The windows in my house are one-sided. I couldn't see what was going on inside if I had a billion lights on. And you know that Ryan has stayed over before. You were there too, remember?"

She started to blush, remembering the embarrassing moment when she came trotting downstairs in just a night shirt, while Ryan and I ate breakfast. She apparently hadn't gotten the memo that he was under the same roof.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. But don't you think people around here will start to think you're an item? This is not the first time he's been over, after all." she wiggled her eyebrows at me. I shoved her quickly.

"You're gross. We've been friends for a few years, everyone knows that."

Mya shrugged, "Whatever you want to say."

We got back to business before the day ended, and found traces of meth and Cyanide. And when I checked for fingerprints on a glass that was in the victims' hand, apparently, (because I never saw the actual victim, the glass was handed to me by Eric), there was a nice clean pair. I walked in the other lab, and handed it over to Natalia.

"I'll check them right now. If we can find who had the glass before her, we may be able to catch the killer who may have poisoned her. The autopsy is still in session. From what we know now, there is no sign of gunshots in the body, for all we know, she may have been dead long before the shoot-out ever happened."

I nodded, listening to what she had to say.

We waited a little before we finally found a match to the fingerprints.

"And, here they are." Natalia glanced up at the screen, and gasped. I took my eyes off the computer and saw who the match actually was.

"N-no. It can't be..." she trailed off as we saw him.

It was none other than Riley Raven.

Carson Raven's brother.

The one who accused me of murder and wanted revenge no matter what. And I guess this was his way of telling me that the game wasn't over yet, in fact, it had just begun.