Criminal Case: Grimsborough

Chapter 10: Under the Knife-Part 1

After looking around the city for a while, they finally found Curtis Newman in a bar and they told him about Alan's death which brought a shock to his face. Marie then explained to him, "Your barber saw you arguing with him yesterday and judging by the bandages on your hands, it seems you had a full-blown fight."

The man then smirked while rubbing his hands and said, "I hit a wall instead of his face. It helps me avoid lawsuits that way. But it wasn't the best of moves cause I broke my left hand and since I'm left-handed, I won't be able to play in next week's golf tournament." And after he said that Jones and Marie took a note in their minds that Curtis is left-handed and he plays golf hoping it would be helpful for later.

Suddenly, Marie's phone rang and she stepped outside to take the call. While she was doing that, Jones looked at Curtis and asked him, "Listen man, I want some advice. I missed my friend's birthday a couple weeks ago and I want to know what would you do if you ever did that?"

Curtis then took a swig of his drink and said to him, "I would by them a bouquet of flowers as an apology and give them their present with them. That's my advice to you."

Marie then walked back into the bar, approached Jones and told him that Alex was done analyzing the passport and the two of them left the bar and headed back to the station. Once they got back, Jones and Marie headed to the tech lab to see Alex. When they were in front of him, Alex explained that their victim was a plastic surgeon, he had no criminal record and his address is 21 Alistair Street. Alex then suggested that they go and talk to Alan's widow Sarah and they thanked him for his help.

Soon, they left the station and headed out to Alistair Street to speak with Sarah Cardwell. When they got to the Cardwell residence and told the Sarah about her husbands death, she looked down sadly and said, "Alan and I have been married for 15 years. He wasn't exactly the perfect husband, but still!"

Jones then looked at her sadly and told her, "We're sorry for your loss Mrs. Cardwell. Do you know if your husband had any enemies?"

The woman began thinking and she then told them that Alan got a letter the other day, but he refused to take it seriously. Once she gave it to them, Marie and Jones were shocked that the letter was signed Anonymous. After they received the letter and headed back to the station, the two officers read it over and over again and what they read was actually the killer warning Alan about his demise. Marie then took a close look at the letter and took a sample off of it and then she sent it to Grace to get it analyzed.

Meanwhile, Jones was pacing around the men's room grumbling in thought. He was thinking about what he should do to make it up to Marie for forgetting her birthday. Suddenly, Ramirez walked in and he asked Jones curiously, "What's wrong Jones? Got love troubles?"

Jones then looked at Ramirez and the scratched the back of his neck while blushing and said, "Kind of. I trying to make it up to Marie by thinking about what I should do for missing her birthday a couple weeks ago."

Ramirez then placed a hand on his shoulder and told him that he should just apologize and give Marie her present. Just be the David Jones that she already knows. Jones then let out a sigh, thanked Ramirez and stepped out of the restroom to rejoin his partner. After Jones left, Ramirez put a small smile on his face and thought, everyone in the station knows of your feelings to her. I wish you would just say them Jones.

Awhile later, Grace was done analyzing the sample Marie hot off the letter and the two of then joined Grace to hear the results. Grace began explaining to them that the sample Marie found is from ordinary coffee, but the letters glued on the letter are on top of the stain. It was then that Marie and Jones found out that the killer likes to drink coffee and put that note in their minds. As soon as they were done with Grace, Nathan called them to tell them the results of the autopsy.

Once Jones and Marie were in front of Nathan, he explained to them that the bruises on the victim indicated he died fighting the cause of death is from a punctured liver; he can only determine that instrument was sharp and long. Nathan also extracted glass fragments from the cuts in the victim's hands. Nathan then told them that he analyzed the glass and he concluded that the glass was from a pair of glasses.

Marie then knew what Nathan was talking about. The glass from the glasses must've been broken during the fight and since Alan didn't wear them it's probably the killer who does. Nathan then told the two officers that the killer also stuffed a ball of paper deep inside Alan's throats after he was killed. Nathan then handed Marie a glass dish that had torn pieces of paper inside and she thanked him for his explanations. Soon, Marie and Jones were back at their desks and Marie started putting the pieces of paper back together.

Once the pieces were put together, Jones and Marie saw the paper was actually a photo of a beautiful woman with long black hair and she donned a pair of glasses on her face. Jones thought that this woman is the kind men would kill for. Marie then looked at the writing on the back and saw that the woman's name was Samantha Warner. Jones then suggested, "Let's go pay Ms. Warner a visit and see if this little birdie can sing."

"We should also examine this photo more closely and see if there's anymore clues on it," Marie also put in and Jones agreed to the idea.

Soon, Marie began examining the photo for a sample. Afterwards, she took a substance sample off the photo and sent it to Grace to get analyzed. Once the sample was dropped off, Jones and Marie left the station to talk to Samantha Warner. Once they reached the singer's workplace and told her about Alan's death, Marie asked her if she knew him and she answered, "Is that a trick question?! Of course I knew Alan! He was my surgeon, but I can't believe he's dead!"

Jones then showed a Samantha the picture of her and said, "We found this photo in his throat. The killer obviously had a message to give and it concerned you Ms. Warner."

She then asked curiously that Alan was because of her she then began thinking and as she walked away she'll let them know what her thoughts are. After Samantha left, Jones said to Marie, "I don't intend to just stick around until she thinks about it." And soon they left the bar and headed back to the station.

Once they got back, Grace called them to the lab to tell them the results of the substance. Grace explained to them that the substance that was taken off the photo is a match to polishing paste and that type of paste is commonly used for polishing golf clubs. Jones then thought in his head, so our killer plays golf. That's posh!

As they were leaving the lab, Grace called out to Marie and Marie stopped when she did that. Grace soon sidled up to her and asked, "So, are you going to tell him that you knew already?"

"I'll keep on pretending for a little while longer. He may be my best friend, but I knew he would forget my birthday," Marie said with a little smile in her voice and the two women giggled.

Grace then asked Marie, "When do you think David is going to tell his feelings for you? I mean you already know your feelings for him, but for Jones..."

"He'll tell me someday. Right now he's playing the shy high school boy who keeps his distance until he's ready. So, I'm just playing along with him," Marie said with a little smile and Grace stood there with a surprised look on her face and she thought, our girl sure is analytical when comes to killers and feelings. And soon Marie left the lab to rejoin with her partner.