"Please, Jack, I'm just trying to scare you. Alexis is probably just in love." Beckett also smiled and "comforted" someone.
"In love?" Cassel breathed a sigh of relief, but the turn that someone expected did not happen.
"So you don't mind Alexis having a relationship before entering college?" Jack asked in surprise.
Cassel's expression was even more surprised than Jack's. "Why should I mind? Isn't it the best experience in life to enjoy a sweet and sour relationship at her age?
When did I become that old-fashioned thing in your eyes? I have always been the coolest dad in the eyes of Alexis' classmates."
Seeing this guy quickly recover his mood and come close to Beckett with a playful smile again, Jack suddenly felt that his happiness was leaving him at a rapid speed.
Stereotypes are indeed not good. There are really dads in this world who don't mind their little cabbage being taken advantage of by pigs.
"Okay, according to the county hospital, Dr. Monroe left work at 6 p.m. last night, which means she was murdered about an hour or two after that.
I plan to go to the hospital later to investigate. I'm hoping her colleagues can tell us where she's been since then."
Beckett had just finished marking the first time on the evidence board when Kevin Ryan, the other half of the clown duo, hurried into the office.
"Hey, guys, Esposito interviewed the funeral director, and he said he found a broken rear window early this morning and called the police, suspecting a break-in.
I checked the call logs, but since nothing was missing from the scene, the patrol officers hadn't even had time to visit before the body was discovered."
"Are there any suspicious fingerprints on the coffin or rear window?" Beckett's eyes lit up.
Kevin put his hands in his pockets, looking a little embarrassed. "Sorry, I struck out."
So what was this guy so excited about just now? Jack, who was browsing the deceased's phone records, looked at him speechlessly.
"But we still have a hitter (there's still a chance)."
Esposito, following Kevin, walked into the office, a smug grin on his face.
"I checked Dr. Monroe's credit card records and found something unusual. For the past six months, she's been buying coffee almost every morning."
"Wow, a doctor buying coffee in the morning? That's truly unusual." Kevin, having just received several eyerolls, seized the opportunity to scorn his partner.
"What if it's at a coffee shop 20 blocks from her house?" Esposito couldn't understand what was wrong with this guy, suddenly jumping out to refute him.
"Is it on her way to work?" Cassell leaned in closer to Jack, trying to understand what he was looking at.
"No, the exact opposite direction," Esposito said, glaring at Kevin, startling him.
"Or maybe she has a boyfriend nearby?" Jack casually suggested, handing Cassell his phone.
"I'm going to check it out right now." Esposito said as he turned and walked away, glaring at Kevin fiercely before leaving.
Kevin quickly followed him, "I'll go with you."
After watching the two clowns leave, Castle, who had the deceased's phone, frowned. "Dr. Monroe used her phone to search for hotels in Katona when she got off work at 6 p.m. last night. Could that be related to the case?"
"Perhaps she had friends or relatives there?" Beckett speculated.
Castle suddenly seemed to realize. "Or was she planning a secret meeting with her lover? Then her current boyfriend found out, and jealousy flared up, leading to an impulsive killing?"
"This is such a cliché," Beckett mercilessly criticized the author. "Lanni only found a small bruise from the back of the head to the neck, and no injuries from the arms to the fingernails. How can this be considered an impulsive killing?"
Castle opened his mouth, but offered no new theories. He was surprisingly silenced.
Just then, Jack's phone rang. It was an unfamiliar landline number, and when he answered, the voice of the medical examiner, Lannie, rang.
"Jack, can you come to my office sometime? Bring Kate (Beckett) and her writer."
—
"I can't believe you called Jack instead of me," Beckett complained to her bestie upon entering the medical examiner's office.
Lanie, busy at a microscope, didn't even glance up from her complaints. "I know this is your case, but could you help me get in line at the CSI lab?"
"Did you find some trace evidence?" Jack understood.
"Gray nylon fiber, I'm guessing it's the kind used in plastic carpets, but the CSI lab has the most comprehensive database to find the manufacturer. The evidence's already been sent over, so I just need someone to make a call."
Lanie finally looked up from the microscope, moving aside to let her friend examine it herself. Cassel, curious, leaned forward.
"What's the cause of death?" Beckett glanced at the dissection table. The body had clearly been disemboweled, but fortunately, Lanie had covered it with a white sheet, making the scene less gruesome.
"That's why I called Jack in. Shaving some of the hair makes the bruises more visible." Lanie lifted the white cloth, revealing only the head, and motioned for the professionals to approach.
"Is this... a knife?" Jack immediately recognized the cause of the bruises and gestured in the air, though he preferred the carotid sinus.
Lanie smiled appreciatively. "Hmm, judging by the size of the palm, the killer is likely a man, but he must have been wearing gloves. I haven't collected any DNA from anyone other than the deceased.
And my previous diagnosis was correct; this wasn't the fatal wound."
She turned the head to the side. "I found an injection needle mark on the other side of her neck. That's the true cause of death."
The deceased, Dr. Valerie Monroe, was a Caucasian woman in her early 30s. Her neck skin was very fair and firm, making the small red needle mark stand out against the light.
"There's no inflammatory reaction. You wouldn't have had time to complete a toxicology analysis in such a short time, but you confirmed the cause of death. So she was injected with air?" Jack guessed instantly.
"Air embolism?" Cassel, who had been unable to get a word in, quickly chimed in.
"Excellent, both of you," Lannie offered them a commendatory wink. "The injection technique was decisive. If I were to ask you, the perpetrator must be at least a fairly experienced medical professional."
(End of chapter)