Everyone else had left. Only Joanna Jacobs and her two assistants remained in the study.
Joanna Jacobs was in charge of analyzing Damien Valerius's blood sample, while her two assistants cleaned up the area, packing the instruments and equipment into cases.
The three of them were busy with their own tasks, none paying attention to what the others were doing.
Joanna Jacobs finished the standard procedures before the blood analysis, then sat there, clearly out of sorts, her slender fingers tightly intertwined.
Assistant A was coiling up the wires that had been attached to Damien Valerius. The other, Assistant B, came over, gave Assistant A a light nudge, and whispered in a voice only they could hear, "Hey, something's off with Miss Jacobs today."
Assistant A paused. "What do you mean, 'off'?"
Assistant B furrowed her brow. "She's just not herself. She keeps spacing out, and she even made a mistake just now when drawing Mr. Valerius's blood."
