Chapter Seventeen
1447 Words
“Oh, where are my manners,” Hanna said scolding herself.
“Please, grab a couple of stools and have a seat.” She stood up and went to a small refrigerator. “Am I allowed to offer you both a bottle of water?” she asked turning back to us with a bottle in each hand.
“Sure,” we both answered while grabbing a couple of stools to sit down.
“So how do you know Tiffeny?” Cass questioned.
“That's an easy question to answer. She was my roommate in college, but more importantly is that she is also my cousin,” she smiled. That's why they look similar!
Hanna back at her small desk clears an area so she can eat. The aroma coming from the bag is mouth-watering. Yeah, I know, I just ate and it's still causing me to salivate. Giving Hanna time to unpack her meal, I casually take a glance around the room. Cassidy is just as curious as I am and gets up from the stool to get a closer look at our surroundings.
This lab like the one down at the station has similar equipment. Hanna must have noticed us looking.
“Anything of interest?” she asked taking a fry in hand. I must still look hungry, as she offers me her fries. “Take them, between the burger and all, I'll never finish it.” I gladly take them and begin to crunch them.
“I notice that you use the same type of equipment that is down in our forensics lab,” I muttered.
“Well, biologists are also involved with forensics. It is just applied in a different manner. Data collecting is still data collecting. Your end results are different from ours, however, we do go about getting them in the same way,” she started to ramble on. I knew better, and yet, I still went there. Face-palm.
“So on a rare and off chance situation, say, if one of the forensics' equipment is down, you could process whatever we need here?” I asked, amusing myself in the process.
“Yes, and no,” Hanna quickly stated. “It's a bit of a migraine, to be honest. Between rescheduling the students' labs and then the security needed...”
“Of course, I forgot about that.” Okay, now I don't feel so smart. Cass still looking around found herself in front of a shelf with bottles. Out of curiosity, she stretched her hand out to pick one up.
“Please, don't touch anything,” Hanna politely warned. “We've had a chemical spill yesterday, and I really don't want to clean up another one.”
“Really? What happened?” I asked shocked and genuinely intrigued.
Looking in my direction Hanna asked, “Do you remember the cooler that I had in my trunk?”
“Yeah, the one for your evidence of a Canis Lupus?”
“Yep, that one. I went to lunch with a guy and came back to a corroded melted mess. That yours truly had to clean up.”
“What?!” Cass and I both exclaimed. Cass carefully made her way back to her stool.
“Oh no, that's horrible,” stated Cass sympathetically. “Were you able to do any testing before--” she asked trailing off.
“Actually, I was able to test a small sample,” Hanna replied in between taking bites of her burger.
“So did you find evidence of whatever it was you were sent to find?” Cass asked with interest. I'm curious myself about what she was able to come up with.
“Unfortunately, with the evidence destroyed, I can only say that it's inconclusive at best. Given my memory of each item collected in the process.” Hanna simply stated as if it was no big thing. Inconclusive on finding a werewolf. I can live with that.
“Out of curiosity, did you by chance happen to come across a cellphone around The Roundhouse?” I asked remembering a vital piece of missing evidence from our crime scene.
“No. Sorry. I was too focused on my task,” she apologized. “I nearly ran into you.” She started to play with her necklace, must be her nervous tick.
“That's a pretty necklace,” Cass said admiring the wolf charm while changing the subject.
“Thank you. My Uncle got it for me when I was hired here.”
“When was that?” I asked. Why am I interviewing her like she's a suspect? Okay maybe she's not one for our immediate active case, but for my own personal one.
“About two years ago. Why?” she sounded concerned.
“No reason, just making small talk,” I lied defending myself.
“Is that sterling silver?” inquired Cass.
“No. It's white gold. I'm allergic to silver,” Hanna stated. Cass gave her a weird look of confusion.
“Some people are allergic to gold, while others are allergic to silver,” Hanna explained. “And there are some that are allergic or highly sensitive to other forms of metal, as rare as they come.”
“Are you sure you didn't see anything that looked like a cellphone?” I asked again. I can't seem to let this go. Ugh.
“Positive. Would you like the coordinates where I was originally searching? Perhaps, you may find it's still there?” Hanna offered.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Cass' phone vibrated.
“Peterson,” she answered. “Uh-hum, yeah. Okay, thank you. We'll be right there.”
Turning to me she said, “Forensics found something. We need to get back.” She used her most serious tone. It must be big if Cass is using that tone.
“Don't worry about the stools. I can put them back,” Hanna said understanding the situation. She handed me a slip of paper.
“What's this?” I inquired.
“The coordinates I just mentioned,” she reminded me.
“Right. Thanks,” I said as both Cass and I turned to leave.
“Thank you for lunch,” Hanna yelled out to us as we left.
“You're welcomed,” I hollered back nearing the stairwell.
Okay, so maybe after talking with Hanna, I can appreciate our forensic minions better. I'm curious as to what they have discovered.
From a darkened area of the basement, Professor Bryant makes his way to the science lab. He still has his hang-over look about him. Stumbling into the lab, he sees Hanna finishing up her lunch.
“Hey,” he stated. He seems to look worse now than earlier today.
“Hey,” she gently replied back. “Do you need something?”
“You have something for a hangover?” he asked in an annoyed tone.
“Actually, I do. Have a seat, and I'll fire up a Bunsen burner to warm it on,” she started getting up from the desk. She makes her way into a tiny washroom and grabs a small wooden box out of a cupboard. At a nearby table, she lights the burner and places a small porcelain crucible on the rack using the appropriate tongs. She adds water and the contents from the box. After a few short minutes, the mixture is complete. She gently and carefully removes the crucible from the flame and pours the content into a coffee mug that just happened to be close by. Yes, it was clean. Then hands the smelly drink to the Professor.
“Ugh, thanks,” he mumbled as he quickly turned his nose up at the stench the liquid began to emit. He forces himself to swallow a mouthful. It tastes just as bad as it smells. Eww.
After a couple of minutes, Hanna asks, “Feeling better?”
Surprised that the worse of the symptoms have subsided, Patrick Bryant replied, “Yeah, actually, I do. That stuff works fast. What's in it?”
“Just some beneficial herbs and roots,” she said. “I can contact my former foster father to send you a batch if you would like?”
“Sure. You can have him mail it to the school,” he grumbled. He's obviously back to his old self. He makes his way to the door. “Be sure to send up the papers you've graded before you leave today. And don't forget to clean up the mess that you just made.”
“Yes, Sir. Sure thing,” Hanna replied back as she grabbed the back of her neck with both hands. Ugh!
- Writer
