FIC: White Shroud (11/20) T
Title: White Shroud, Chapter 11
Author: Zelda Ophelia (zeldaophelia)
Fandom/Character: CSI:NY; Stella, Angell, Flack
General info: Not mine; T.
Content: Some chapters include discussion of sexual violence.
Notes:Written for the csi_bigbang challenge. Big thanks to eternal_sadist for the beta. This fic can be considered a sequel to Titania Falling
Summary: When the flu bug hits the NYPD, the detectives and CSIs work to cover the caseload. Angell, Stella, and Lindsay confront the mystery behind a body in Union Square Park. Meanwhile, Flack, Mac, and Hawkes try to determine what happened at a Rangers game and Danny deals with a case of karma. Previous parts here.
It was early the next morning when they were finally able to all meet in the precinct conference room. They brought their casefiles from both cases and spread them out on the table, along with several notepads and mugs of coffee.
"So," Stella asked quietly, "what have we got? Lindsay, have you finished with the Norton evidence?"
"Kendall and I finished with the last of it yesterday evening," Lindsay said. "The DNA from the gum was too degraded to be useful, and the mud was consistent with the park he was found in. Nothing helpful there, I'm afraid."
"Okay." Stella brushed her hair out of her face, trying to not get frustrated by the potential leads drying up even before they could get started. "What about the victims?"
"Matthew - or Matt - Tarleton," Maka said as she set out his photo. "Graduate student in biology at NYU. Died a week ago in his sleep. His body was found during a wellness check--he hadn't been to class or work for several days. After an intensive toxicology screening, Sid determined the cause of death to be selenium poisoning."
"Tripp Norton was an NYU student, too," Angell said, passing his photo over to Maka. "Undergraduate, junior in biology, pre-med. He lived in NYU dorms near the park where he was found and is a regular at the bodega on the corner. The owner recognized him, but didn't seem to like him much; apparently Tripp had a 'thing' with his daughter. He could be worth looking into further."
"Do we have any idea if they knew each other?" Lindsay asked as she started flipping through one of the files. The other three detectives grabbed files to start going through as well, while she continued. "NYU is a pretty large school, so even if they were in the same department, that doesn't necessarily mean they knew each other."
"Not to mention that it's rare for undergrads and graduate students to interact," Angell pointed out. "How many grad students did you hang out with in college?"
"What lab was Tarleton working in?" Stella asked Maka. "That might be the connection."
"Dr. Kyung Rhee," Maka said, reaching for her coffee. "Dr. Rhee said that Matt was an exceptional student, one of his best researchers. He was nearly finished with his PhD, and they were discussing him staying on to do a Post-Doc."
"So we have two smart biology students who have died of selenium poisoning. They couldn't have been randomly targeted; there's got to be more to it than that," Lindsay said with a sigh.
"I think there is." Angell leaned over the file she was reading. "It says here that Dr. Rhee's lab was participating in the university mini-grant program. Was Matt on that team?"
"I think so." Maka flipped through her file. "Yes, he was one of the principal investigators. Their proposal didn't make it into the final round, but it was one of the original ten."
"Tripp was a PI as well," Stella said as she leaned back in her chair.
"I think it's safe to say they knew each other," Maka said, "or at least knew of each other. The schedule for the mini-grant competition includes several large informational meetings that everyone involved was required to attend. They would have at least seen each other there."
"Not just that," Stella said. "Who else in the mini-grant competition knew them? We have two people from two different groups who have been poisoned in the same manner."
"Someone didn't want their proposals to win the grant," Lindsay surmised.
"No, they didn't," Stella said. "I think we just found our motive along with our connection."
"I can look into the grant proposals," Lindsay said, making notes on her pad of paper. "See who else was involved in the project and what their proposals were."
"We didn't consider a connection to the grants when we first opened the case," Maka said. "We should go back and talk with the rest of Matt's project team again."
"I'll go with you," Angell said, frowning slightly. She shook her head and continued, "We should speak with Tripp's group as well."
"I'm going to see if I can figure out how long the poisoning has been going on. Sid didn't have that, but selenium poisoning is a slow method. They were both probably getting it for quite a while," Stella said.
"If we can figure out when it started, we can get a better idea of who and why," Angell said.
Stella pushed away from the table and stood. "I'm going to go get started now--this isn't a short analysis. That way, we may have answers by this afternoon."
Maka glanced over at Angell, then turned back to the CSIs. "We'll meet you back at the lab after we talk to the grant proposal groups."
"Good idea," Lindsay said. "That'll give me time to go through the proposals."
"And," Stella said, "we'll be able to find out who else was trying to kill Tripp Norton."
::
Dr. Ben Stoddard's lab was on the fifth floor of Brown Building, tucked away in an inside corner in the middle of the building. The many corridors were like a maze, leaving both detectives relieved that they didn't work there. Following the instructions they had been given, they found their way to a mostly empty corridor - save a refrigerator labeled “no chemicals” outside the door to the lab they were looking for. Angell rapped lightly on the door, which was opened by a tall man with dark hair.
"Yes?" he asked, frowning at them.
Angell stepped back quickly, her eyes wide as she glanced at Maka. He caught her reaction, quickly covering his mouth and looking embarrassed.
"Oh, sorry," he said, blushing bright red. "We had garlic hummus today, but neither of us thought to bring gum."
"It's my fault," came a soft voice from inside the lab. "I had some chickpeas and garlic that needed to be used up. I didn't really realize just how much garlic it was until we started eating it."
“It's not your fault," he called back over his shoulder. "And it was delicious." He turned back to Angell and Maka, who dug through her pockets to offer both of them breath mints. "We were told the police were coming to ask about Tripp?"
"That'd be us," Angell said, holding up her shield for him to see. "You are?"
"Marcas Mahoney." He stepped back as he answered, motioning for them to enter. "I thought that you caught the guy who killed Tripp."
"We're just following up on a few things," Angell said.
"Why?" asked the young woman who had spoken earlier. She was sitting forlornly on a stool further inside the lab, arms crossed in front of her and wrapping her lab coat around herself tightly.
"It just comes with the job," Maka explained. "We have to prove we've exhausted all options."
"Oh," Mahoney said. "That reasonable doubt thing."
They both nodded, and Angell said, "We're sorry if it's an inconvenience, but it's something we have to do."
"Of course," Mahoney said as he took a seat on the stool next to the young woman. "Ivy and I are happy to help."
"Thank you," Maka said, pulling out her notebook. "If you don't mind, can we go over the introductions again? You said you're Marcas Mahoney-"
"I'm Dr. Stoddard's research assistant. I'm also the manager for this lab."
"I'm Ivy Adcock," the woman said. "I'm a graduate student, currently working on my Ph.D."
"We understood that there was a third person we were supposed to meet?"
"Jacob Plank," Mahoney said with a shake of his head. "We're not certain where he is."
"He and Tripp were very close," Ivy said. "I think Tripp's death hit him hard--harder than the rest of us." She turned and looked at Mahoney, adding, "I told you he called in sick this morning before you arrived, remember?"
"Oh." He seemed surprised but shook his head. "It must have slipped my mind."
"We'll check in with him when he's feeling better," Maka said. "What can you tell us about the grant process here at NYU?"
"It's very competitive," Mahoney said. "especially in this economic climate. The provost has cut back on the number of grants offered as well as the amount of money given. Last year there were several grants awarded; this year there will only be one."
"Do you work much with the different groups involved in the process?" Angell asked.
"We attend meetings with them," Ivy said, playing with one of the buttons on her lab coat. "Everyone seems rather nice. We all went out to celebrate after the announcement of the finalists--even the groups that didn't make it."
"Everyone went out?"
"Mostly everyone," Mahoney clarified for her. "I think most of the professors involved went to celebrate in their own ways, but the rest of us-"
"The younger generation," Maka offered.
"Yeah. We went to a club after we got the news."
"And everyone seemed to get along while they were there?"
"Yeah, there was some science talk for a while, then after we'd all had a few…" He shrugged. "I didn't stay the entire time, but I heard it was a rather wild night."
"When was the announcement made?" Angell asked.
"About a month ago; it was a Friday," Mahoney said.
"Uh-huh," Maka made note of that. "What can you tell us about the projects that were in the competition?"
"Well, our project is related to cancer therapy and nutrition. We're looking at synthesizing the chemical compound miraculin-"
"We already know about the miracle fruit and its applications," Angell said. "How about the other projects involved?"
Ivy paused, giving them both an annoyed look at the interruption. "The other finalist grant proposal is related to the phytoremediation of selenium-contaminated soils using transgenic plants."
Angell blinked, then added that to her notebook. "How about the others?"
"I don't know anything about the others," she said. "Marcas?"
"There was a grant proposal for a project that had something to do with GIS, and another that had something to do with organ transplants. I'm not certain about the rest. There were ten total in the beginning, and now we're down to two."
"But you're still in the competition, right?" Maka asked. "You're not planning to pull out?"
"Of course. While we miss our colleague greatly, the science must go on. How would we honor Tripp by pulling out? Better to continue our research in his name."
Ivy looked away as Mahoney spoke, shoving her hand down in her pocket to grip something tightly. Angell could see the tendons in her arm stand out as she clenched her fist. Marcas continued, patting Ivy on the shoulder as he spoke.
"Tripp was a great student and an innovative researcher. He spent far more time assisting on this project than necessary, one of the reasons he was listed as a PI on the grant proposal. I've long suspected he had a family member who underwent chemotherapy, he had such a vested interest in our results."
"Yes, well," Angell said, glancing down at her notes, "thank you for your time."
"Of course. If there is anything else, we'll be happy to help," Mahoney said as he stood and shook their hands. "We want to see Tripp's killer brought to justice."
"So do we."
::
"Vested interest?" Angell scoffed as they stepped out of the building and onto the sidewalk. "The only thing Tripp Norton had a vested interest in was who he could rape next. That's why he was working overtime on the project--he saw the golden opportunity."
"Don't look at me, I wasn't the one singing his praises."
"True." They fell silent for a time as they walked.
"Okay, so why didn't we tell them the truth up there?" Maka finally asked as they crossed the parking lot to their car.
"I just said we were following up; you're the one who took it further."
Maka snorted next to her.
"Okay, and neither of us corrected Mahoney," Angell said, stretching and wishing she'd gotten a little more sleep the night before. She was about ready to start flashing her shield at her neighbors to see if that would shut them up. She sighed when Maka raised an eyebrow, giving her an unconvinced look. "You really believe that this is just about grant money?"
"Hey, I hear some of those competitions are pretty cutthroat," Maka said, then shook her head. "No, I'm not entirely convinced."
"If this was about the grant money, Matt Tarleton would have died before the announcement of the finalists a month ago, not after."
"Something about this doesn't add up," Maka added in agreement, "and until it does, everyone who knew Tripp and Matt is a suspect."
Previous || Master Post || Next
Author: Zelda Ophelia (zeldaophelia)
Fandom/Character: CSI:NY; Stella, Angell, Flack
General info: Not mine; T.
Content: Some chapters include discussion of sexual violence.
Notes:Written for the csi_bigbang challenge. Big thanks to eternal_sadist for the beta. This fic can be considered a sequel to Titania Falling
Summary: When the flu bug hits the NYPD, the detectives and CSIs work to cover the caseload. Angell, Stella, and Lindsay confront the mystery behind a body in Union Square Park. Meanwhile, Flack, Mac, and Hawkes try to determine what happened at a Rangers game and Danny deals with a case of karma. Previous parts here.
It was early the next morning when they were finally able to all meet in the precinct conference room. They brought their casefiles from both cases and spread them out on the table, along with several notepads and mugs of coffee.
"So," Stella asked quietly, "what have we got? Lindsay, have you finished with the Norton evidence?"
"Kendall and I finished with the last of it yesterday evening," Lindsay said. "The DNA from the gum was too degraded to be useful, and the mud was consistent with the park he was found in. Nothing helpful there, I'm afraid."
"Okay." Stella brushed her hair out of her face, trying to not get frustrated by the potential leads drying up even before they could get started. "What about the victims?"
"Matthew - or Matt - Tarleton," Maka said as she set out his photo. "Graduate student in biology at NYU. Died a week ago in his sleep. His body was found during a wellness check--he hadn't been to class or work for several days. After an intensive toxicology screening, Sid determined the cause of death to be selenium poisoning."
"Tripp Norton was an NYU student, too," Angell said, passing his photo over to Maka. "Undergraduate, junior in biology, pre-med. He lived in NYU dorms near the park where he was found and is a regular at the bodega on the corner. The owner recognized him, but didn't seem to like him much; apparently Tripp had a 'thing' with his daughter. He could be worth looking into further."
"Do we have any idea if they knew each other?" Lindsay asked as she started flipping through one of the files. The other three detectives grabbed files to start going through as well, while she continued. "NYU is a pretty large school, so even if they were in the same department, that doesn't necessarily mean they knew each other."
"Not to mention that it's rare for undergrads and graduate students to interact," Angell pointed out. "How many grad students did you hang out with in college?"
"What lab was Tarleton working in?" Stella asked Maka. "That might be the connection."
"Dr. Kyung Rhee," Maka said, reaching for her coffee. "Dr. Rhee said that Matt was an exceptional student, one of his best researchers. He was nearly finished with his PhD, and they were discussing him staying on to do a Post-Doc."
"So we have two smart biology students who have died of selenium poisoning. They couldn't have been randomly targeted; there's got to be more to it than that," Lindsay said with a sigh.
"I think there is." Angell leaned over the file she was reading. "It says here that Dr. Rhee's lab was participating in the university mini-grant program. Was Matt on that team?"
"I think so." Maka flipped through her file. "Yes, he was one of the principal investigators. Their proposal didn't make it into the final round, but it was one of the original ten."
"Tripp was a PI as well," Stella said as she leaned back in her chair.
"I think it's safe to say they knew each other," Maka said, "or at least knew of each other. The schedule for the mini-grant competition includes several large informational meetings that everyone involved was required to attend. They would have at least seen each other there."
"Not just that," Stella said. "Who else in the mini-grant competition knew them? We have two people from two different groups who have been poisoned in the same manner."
"Someone didn't want their proposals to win the grant," Lindsay surmised.
"No, they didn't," Stella said. "I think we just found our motive along with our connection."
"I can look into the grant proposals," Lindsay said, making notes on her pad of paper. "See who else was involved in the project and what their proposals were."
"We didn't consider a connection to the grants when we first opened the case," Maka said. "We should go back and talk with the rest of Matt's project team again."
"I'll go with you," Angell said, frowning slightly. She shook her head and continued, "We should speak with Tripp's group as well."
"I'm going to see if I can figure out how long the poisoning has been going on. Sid didn't have that, but selenium poisoning is a slow method. They were both probably getting it for quite a while," Stella said.
"If we can figure out when it started, we can get a better idea of who and why," Angell said.
Stella pushed away from the table and stood. "I'm going to go get started now--this isn't a short analysis. That way, we may have answers by this afternoon."
Maka glanced over at Angell, then turned back to the CSIs. "We'll meet you back at the lab after we talk to the grant proposal groups."
"Good idea," Lindsay said. "That'll give me time to go through the proposals."
"And," Stella said, "we'll be able to find out who else was trying to kill Tripp Norton."
::
Dr. Ben Stoddard's lab was on the fifth floor of Brown Building, tucked away in an inside corner in the middle of the building. The many corridors were like a maze, leaving both detectives relieved that they didn't work there. Following the instructions they had been given, they found their way to a mostly empty corridor - save a refrigerator labeled “no chemicals” outside the door to the lab they were looking for. Angell rapped lightly on the door, which was opened by a tall man with dark hair.
"Yes?" he asked, frowning at them.
Angell stepped back quickly, her eyes wide as she glanced at Maka. He caught her reaction, quickly covering his mouth and looking embarrassed.
"Oh, sorry," he said, blushing bright red. "We had garlic hummus today, but neither of us thought to bring gum."
"It's my fault," came a soft voice from inside the lab. "I had some chickpeas and garlic that needed to be used up. I didn't really realize just how much garlic it was until we started eating it."
“It's not your fault," he called back over his shoulder. "And it was delicious." He turned back to Angell and Maka, who dug through her pockets to offer both of them breath mints. "We were told the police were coming to ask about Tripp?"
"That'd be us," Angell said, holding up her shield for him to see. "You are?"
"Marcas Mahoney." He stepped back as he answered, motioning for them to enter. "I thought that you caught the guy who killed Tripp."
"We're just following up on a few things," Angell said.
"Why?" asked the young woman who had spoken earlier. She was sitting forlornly on a stool further inside the lab, arms crossed in front of her and wrapping her lab coat around herself tightly.
"It just comes with the job," Maka explained. "We have to prove we've exhausted all options."
"Oh," Mahoney said. "That reasonable doubt thing."
They both nodded, and Angell said, "We're sorry if it's an inconvenience, but it's something we have to do."
"Of course," Mahoney said as he took a seat on the stool next to the young woman. "Ivy and I are happy to help."
"Thank you," Maka said, pulling out her notebook. "If you don't mind, can we go over the introductions again? You said you're Marcas Mahoney-"
"I'm Dr. Stoddard's research assistant. I'm also the manager for this lab."
"I'm Ivy Adcock," the woman said. "I'm a graduate student, currently working on my Ph.D."
"We understood that there was a third person we were supposed to meet?"
"Jacob Plank," Mahoney said with a shake of his head. "We're not certain where he is."
"He and Tripp were very close," Ivy said. "I think Tripp's death hit him hard--harder than the rest of us." She turned and looked at Mahoney, adding, "I told you he called in sick this morning before you arrived, remember?"
"Oh." He seemed surprised but shook his head. "It must have slipped my mind."
"We'll check in with him when he's feeling better," Maka said. "What can you tell us about the grant process here at NYU?"
"It's very competitive," Mahoney said. "especially in this economic climate. The provost has cut back on the number of grants offered as well as the amount of money given. Last year there were several grants awarded; this year there will only be one."
"Do you work much with the different groups involved in the process?" Angell asked.
"We attend meetings with them," Ivy said, playing with one of the buttons on her lab coat. "Everyone seems rather nice. We all went out to celebrate after the announcement of the finalists--even the groups that didn't make it."
"Everyone went out?"
"Mostly everyone," Mahoney clarified for her. "I think most of the professors involved went to celebrate in their own ways, but the rest of us-"
"The younger generation," Maka offered.
"Yeah. We went to a club after we got the news."
"And everyone seemed to get along while they were there?"
"Yeah, there was some science talk for a while, then after we'd all had a few…" He shrugged. "I didn't stay the entire time, but I heard it was a rather wild night."
"When was the announcement made?" Angell asked.
"About a month ago; it was a Friday," Mahoney said.
"Uh-huh," Maka made note of that. "What can you tell us about the projects that were in the competition?"
"Well, our project is related to cancer therapy and nutrition. We're looking at synthesizing the chemical compound miraculin-"
"We already know about the miracle fruit and its applications," Angell said. "How about the other projects involved?"
Ivy paused, giving them both an annoyed look at the interruption. "The other finalist grant proposal is related to the phytoremediation of selenium-contaminated soils using transgenic plants."
Angell blinked, then added that to her notebook. "How about the others?"
"I don't know anything about the others," she said. "Marcas?"
"There was a grant proposal for a project that had something to do with GIS, and another that had something to do with organ transplants. I'm not certain about the rest. There were ten total in the beginning, and now we're down to two."
"But you're still in the competition, right?" Maka asked. "You're not planning to pull out?"
"Of course. While we miss our colleague greatly, the science must go on. How would we honor Tripp by pulling out? Better to continue our research in his name."
Ivy looked away as Mahoney spoke, shoving her hand down in her pocket to grip something tightly. Angell could see the tendons in her arm stand out as she clenched her fist. Marcas continued, patting Ivy on the shoulder as he spoke.
"Tripp was a great student and an innovative researcher. He spent far more time assisting on this project than necessary, one of the reasons he was listed as a PI on the grant proposal. I've long suspected he had a family member who underwent chemotherapy, he had such a vested interest in our results."
"Yes, well," Angell said, glancing down at her notes, "thank you for your time."
"Of course. If there is anything else, we'll be happy to help," Mahoney said as he stood and shook their hands. "We want to see Tripp's killer brought to justice."
"So do we."
::
"Vested interest?" Angell scoffed as they stepped out of the building and onto the sidewalk. "The only thing Tripp Norton had a vested interest in was who he could rape next. That's why he was working overtime on the project--he saw the golden opportunity."
"Don't look at me, I wasn't the one singing his praises."
"True." They fell silent for a time as they walked.
"Okay, so why didn't we tell them the truth up there?" Maka finally asked as they crossed the parking lot to their car.
"I just said we were following up; you're the one who took it further."
Maka snorted next to her.
"Okay, and neither of us corrected Mahoney," Angell said, stretching and wishing she'd gotten a little more sleep the night before. She was about ready to start flashing her shield at her neighbors to see if that would shut them up. She sighed when Maka raised an eyebrow, giving her an unconvinced look. "You really believe that this is just about grant money?"
"Hey, I hear some of those competitions are pretty cutthroat," Maka said, then shook her head. "No, I'm not entirely convinced."
"If this was about the grant money, Matt Tarleton would have died before the announcement of the finalists a month ago, not after."
"Something about this doesn't add up," Maka added in agreement, "and until it does, everyone who knew Tripp and Matt is a suspect."
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