Justice Served

Chapter 3

Charlotte and her team entered a cavernous building and it gave theimpression that it was relatively old but well maintained. The walls werepainted off white and had a tinge of gray to it. The inside of the building wascemented and looked very much like its exterior. Upon entering, a door, markedstaircase could be seen clearly to the right. A sudden feeling of claustrophobiawashed over Charlotte as she stepped inside after Agent Moreau, the others stillcoming in after her. 

 The watchman, covering his shifts at the time of murder had beeninterrogated. He claimed to have seen a friend of Samara‟s visit her at exactlyhalf past midnight. He also said that the friend was a frequent visitor and thathe looked nothing like a killer. 

"Yeah we know. They all look innocent." It was Charlotte who spoke in anaggressive tone. 

 The watchman gave them the keys to Samara‟s apartment, wondering ifhe would be in trouble if the friend turned out to be the killer. The team enteredSamara‟s apartment and it looked like it didn‟t fit in with its surroundings. Theapartment was quite exquisite. Although it seemed to contain a lot of files anddocuments, it was still the most beautiful place the team had seen. Everythingwas in perfect order. Not a hair out of place. It seemed to come straight out ofan upper class soap opera. The furniture was contemporary yet the apartment was old in itself. This odd blend of old and new was what made it so attractiveto the eye. The team entered through a pair of double doors straight into a small hall.To the right was the common bathroom. Straight ahead was a spiral woodenstaircase, enveloped in steel framework. To the left was the amazingly largeliving room. 

Cooper and Murphy went upstairs while Benson and Moreausearched the lower level. Cooper and Murphy reached the end of the stairs, atthe same time Benson and Moreau entered the living room and were a little,maybe a lot, shocked. The decoration that they saw in the middle was definitelyruining the place‟s good looks. 

"Wow!" 

 The pool of blood in the middle completely took them off guard. Althoughthey saw crime scenes and even worse all the time, this one was out of place. Theview in front suddenly brought back memories that Charlotte had buriedbeneath the surface. She dealt with murder investigations most of the time yetshe had never felt this bad. It was like everything had disappeared and she wasthere all alone facing her worst nightmares. 

 Nicolas felt the uneasiness radiating from Charlotte and was suddenlyconcerned about her. A fellow agent fainting at the sight of blood andcontaminating the crime scene was the last thing he wanted. Although he wasquite sure that Charlotte was a professional and was capable of handlingherself, he was not so sure anymore. Before Nicolas could question her,Charlotte moved forward and began searching for evidence to the killer‟sidentity. 

 The living room was done in pastel colors. Like the rest of the duplex, theliving also had wooden flooring. As sense began to flow back in Charlotte, shemoved toward the working desk. She saw the empty, rectangular space in themiddle before she could absorb any other details. She searched the drawers andNicolas was near the middle where the murder took place. Cooper and Murphycame back to the main level. 

"It‟s all clear up there," it was Murphy who spoke, "like no one ever lived here." 

"Something‟s not right." Nicolas said examining a piece of paper he found. 

"Nothing seems right when a person is murdered." Charlotte was feeling dizzyagain. 

 A soft music began playing. Charlotte answered her cell phone, "Hey, Nat.Give me some good news." 

"The autopsy report came back." 

 The team went to the morgue for the results of the autopsy. 

"Did you find anything?" Charlotte sounded restless. 

"As a matter of fact, I did. I found a small amount of chlordiazepoxide orLibrium in her bloodstream." 

"Isn‟t that a sedative?" 

"Yes, it is. But in small amount it only causes confusion and drowsiness. Yourgirl was in a state of hypnosis." 

"So in simple words she was hypnotized?" 

"Yes. You see, it‟s a great way of interrogation because the subject focuses solelyon what they are asked and they do not even resist. They can focus on a specificmemory and give you what you want in no time." 

"Then why the duct tape?" 

"That is your job to find out. By the way, the duct tape was on for only a shortwhile." 

"It might be a distraction." Everyone turned to hear Nicolas‟ explanation. 

"I don‟t get it." Cooper was confused. 

"We can deduce there was no kidnapping involved since she knew the guy andthere were no signs of forced entry or struggle. What if the killer wanted tothrow us off track?" Nick ended with a rhetorical question. 

"Oh, now I get it." 

"Yes, Nick‟s right." 

Natasha was accepting Nick‟s theory as well as the greataddition he was to the team by giving him a nickname. But this nickname didnot make Charlotte feel better and she was scowling at Natasha when no onewas looking. After this new discovery, everyone went back to their homes sothey were fresh after some rest before waking up and coming back to the field office.