on.’
Hobson picked up a printed report. Put his glasses back on.
‘First off: alcohol. Zero in both cases.’
Leroy said, ‘Go on.’
‘They found - in both bodies, although as I say slightly more in your guy’s – cocaine freebase, flunitrazepam, and lysegic acid diethylamide.’
Leroy whistled. ‘That’s one cocktail. Cocaine, rohypnol, and LSD. Am I right?’
‘Correct.’
‘So how much did they take? And isn’t one person’s tolerance different from another? These guys look quite fit, young, strong.’
Hobson referred to the printout again. ‘Sam, don’t forget that it’s the reaction of the chemicals which causes seratonin syndrome.’
‘Yes, but surely they snorted more than a row.’
‘As far as the LSD is concerned: as you know, if you or I took say ten thousand micrograms, we’d go to the moon and back and be fine the next day. Kind of. We traced over a hundredth of a gram inside them.’
Leroy looked back at the bodies. ‘Christ. That would cost a fortune.’
‘I wouldn’t know, but I would guess you have a point. Same with the rohypnol and the LSD.’
Leroy said nothing.
‘One other thing,’ continued Hobson. ‘We also carried out trace evidence tests.’
‘Not many personal effects.’
‘No, there weren’t. We just tested their shorts and the bodies themselves.’
‘Powder on the nostrils, that type of thing?’
‘That’s one thing we looked for, yes, but that came up negative. The shorts on one of them - Bill Farmer’s, I think – were soiled, but that’s a common symptom of seratonin syndrome.’
‘What did you find then?’
‘Both bodies were clean; well, for our purposes. Except in both cases, we found trace on their penises.’
‘Cocaine?’
‘No. It was basically female DNA.’
‘So they got laid before death.’
‘Correct.’
‘Any idea how long before they died?’
‘DNA degrades quicker when wet. The fluid dried on them quite fast, so it’s preserved very well. All I can say it, it’s unlikely either of them took a shower between sex and death.’
‘Can’t you tell by checking the testicles?’
‘The level in both sets was low. But as a test, it’s not particularly conclusive, as different people refill at different rates. And the fact that we found a woman’s DNA there suggests to me they had oral sex, otherwise they would have used a condom.’
Leroy nodded thoughtfully. ‘I understand. But why did you say it had to be a crime scene. Couldn’t these two just have been to a party - albeit without alcohol – got stoned, very stoned, got laid, and suffered the cardiac arrest due to the drugs? Accidental death, though we can get the supplier.’
‘On the face of it, that seems possible. But at the end of the day, that’s your job isn’t it?’
Leroy nodded. ‘Yeah. My job. I think missing persons is the best first port of call. See if we can ID any of these guys. Then maybe get their whereabouts.’
‘You going to liaise with Farmer?’ Hobson asked.
‘Guess so. He’s coming over later, you say?’
‘U-huh. When he’s done in court.’
‘Okay. I’ll give him a call in any case.’
‘Right.’
Leroy touched Hobson’s arm. ‘Thanks for that, Russ. Be in touch.’
‘It’s nearly lunchtime. You…?’
‘Some other time, buddy. Best get on with this.’
‘Surely. Take care now.’
‘See you.’
Leroy left the laboratory and made for the elevators. Back in the car, he turned on the engine. Looked though the windshield at the sun, high in the sky. So bright he had to squint. Took out his phone and called Bill Farmer. The phone went directly to voicemail; presumably Farmer was still in court.
Leroy pulled out of the space and, deep in thought, headed slowly for the main road.
TWELVE
As Leroy turned off Butler Avenue at the entry to the parking lot behind Police Headquarters, he recognized the vehicle leaving. ‘Oh shit,’ he muttered as Captain Patterson stopped his car and wound
Hobson picked up a printed report. Put his glasses back on.
‘First off: alcohol. Zero in both cases.’
Leroy said, ‘Go on.’
‘They found - in both bodies, although as I say slightly more in your guy’s – cocaine freebase, flunitrazepam, and lysegic acid diethylamide.’
Leroy whistled. ‘That’s one cocktail. Cocaine, rohypnol, and LSD. Am I right?’
‘Correct.’
‘So how much did they take? And isn’t one person’s tolerance different from another? These guys look quite fit, young, strong.’
Hobson referred to the printout again. ‘Sam, don’t forget that it’s the reaction of the chemicals which causes seratonin syndrome.’
‘Yes, but surely they snorted more than a row.’
‘As far as the LSD is concerned: as you know, if you or I took say ten thousand micrograms, we’d go to the moon and back and be fine the next day. Kind of. We traced over a hundredth of a gram inside them.’
Leroy looked back at the bodies. ‘Christ. That would cost a fortune.’
‘I wouldn’t know, but I would guess you have a point. Same with the rohypnol and the LSD.’
Leroy said nothing.
‘One other thing,’ continued Hobson. ‘We also carried out trace evidence tests.’
‘Not many personal effects.’
‘No, there weren’t. We just tested their shorts and the bodies themselves.’
‘Powder on the nostrils, that type of thing?’
‘That’s one thing we looked for, yes, but that came up negative. The shorts on one of them - Bill Farmer’s, I think – were soiled, but that’s a common symptom of seratonin syndrome.’
‘What did you find then?’
‘Both bodies were clean; well, for our purposes. Except in both cases, we found trace on their penises.’
‘Cocaine?’
‘No. It was basically female DNA.’
‘So they got laid before death.’
‘Correct.’
‘Any idea how long before they died?’
‘DNA degrades quicker when wet. The fluid dried on them quite fast, so it’s preserved very well. All I can say it, it’s unlikely either of them took a shower between sex and death.’
‘Can’t you tell by checking the testicles?’
‘The level in both sets was low. But as a test, it’s not particularly conclusive, as different people refill at different rates. And the fact that we found a woman’s DNA there suggests to me they had oral sex, otherwise they would have used a condom.’
Leroy nodded thoughtfully. ‘I understand. But why did you say it had to be a crime scene. Couldn’t these two just have been to a party - albeit without alcohol – got stoned, very stoned, got laid, and suffered the cardiac arrest due to the drugs? Accidental death, though we can get the supplier.’
‘On the face of it, that seems possible. But at the end of the day, that’s your job isn’t it?’
Leroy nodded. ‘Yeah. My job. I think missing persons is the best first port of call. See if we can ID any of these guys. Then maybe get their whereabouts.’
‘You going to liaise with Farmer?’ Hobson asked.
‘Guess so. He’s coming over later, you say?’
‘U-huh. When he’s done in court.’
‘Okay. I’ll give him a call in any case.’
‘Right.’
Leroy touched Hobson’s arm. ‘Thanks for that, Russ. Be in touch.’
‘It’s nearly lunchtime. You…?’
‘Some other time, buddy. Best get on with this.’
‘Surely. Take care now.’
‘See you.’
Leroy left the laboratory and made for the elevators. Back in the car, he turned on the engine. Looked though the windshield at the sun, high in the sky. So bright he had to squint. Took out his phone and called Bill Farmer. The phone went directly to voicemail; presumably Farmer was still in court.
Leroy pulled out of the space and, deep in thought, headed slowly for the main road.
TWELVE
As Leroy turned off Butler Avenue at the entry to the parking lot behind Police Headquarters, he recognized the vehicle leaving. ‘Oh shit,’ he muttered as Captain Patterson stopped his car and wound
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