Between Limestone Ruins

Chapter Six

Yelling at Agent Walker had left Hannah drained. But she knew that if Agent Walker was not going to take her seriously then she needed to find someone who would. This guy was still out there. He could still kill. Again, and again. Hannah was confident this guy would kill again. Agent Walker didn't have to believe her if she knew she was right.

Hannah, having just exited the elevator, spun around to read the floor list. Specific agent's offices were listed as well as the lab floor, Level 10. Home to the people who would have analyzed, worked with and stored all the evidence for both sets of murders. Back she went into the elevator and up to level ten this time.

She made it three steps out of the elevator and realized she had no idea where to go and was very much a trespasser at this point.

This floor opened up into a large conference like room, with numerous jumbo screens on wheels that looked straight out of sci-fi novel to display case information electronically. Offices and more specific laboratories bordered the large central room. Hannah remembered from her work in Quebec the names of several of the professionals who had handled evidence back here. The lab floor housed the offices of Dr. James Samson, the lead coroner and lab supervisor; Jennifer Lee, resident tech genius; Dr. Samuel Jade, biochemist; and Nora Vargas, weapons specialist. Most of their work was done in the lab, so this floor was their own, and operated slightly differently from the rest of the RCMP, as it was what worked best for them. Hannah knew bits and pieces from listening to Bev coordinating with the coroner and biochemist here. She knew they all did research work in addition to their contribution to solving crime.

"You lost darlin'?" The gentle male drawl made Hannah jump and spin on her heel, turning to face Dr. Samson.

Dr. Samson was an older southern gentleman, he had communicated a significant amount with Bev and Hannah knew he had a wife and 3 kids probably around Hannah's age. People throughout the RCMP joked he was top-tier weirdo, but no one doubted his kindness. Hannah always thought you'd have to be at least a little weird, or have a very dark sense of humour, to handle dead bodies that had suffered the worst the Canadian criminal scene had to offer.

"Dr. Samson! Hi, I'm Hannah Morris? I helped out on a case a while ago..."

"I know who you are sweetheart, don't you worry," Samson laughed. "Everyone calls me Doc down here though."

Generally, anyone calling her darling or sweetheart caused Hannah to rise right back up onto her shackles, preparing to defend her intelligence and her right to not have sex with an asshole. The older coroner demeanour implied it was simply the way he spoke, and Hannah didn't find herself the least bit offended. Still, she had no idea how this man would know her name already.

"Don't freak out too much," came a giggly voice from over Hannah's shoulder. A slender-faced woman with dark hair and mischievous eyes had poked her head out an office door. "We know everything about everyone down here, makes up for them not bothering to learn our names."

"You're Jennifer Lee," Hannah felt her mouth say on its own.

Jennifer had gotten her job how most tech specialists in the federal level of law enforcement did: breaking enough laws to impress the big guys. Much of her hacking history was classified; covered up to save face for the Canadian government. She was hired at 19 and still working this side of the law at 23. Sort of an urban legend, but Hannah was such a dork about forensic science she knew stats like a kid with a Pokémon card.

"See old man? I'm a legend." Jennifer shot Doc who only rolled his eyes playfully. "You can call me Jenn though, new girl."

"Jennifer shut it before you scare off a real live visitor," another woman spoke as she joined the group.