100 Ways to Solve a Murder-Chapter 115: The Artist III
12 hours later, Jacksons Detective’s Agency
Levi Jackson stood before the whiteboard in his office, wearing a black 3-piece suit, but minus the jacket. He stared at the case board, looking at the facts and evidence written on it. It wasn’t much if he was honest and he has yet to determine a lot of things.
When Davies called him to the case he thought the older gentleman was just being stupid, nothing unusual.
But looking at it closely, it piqued his interest. Was it accidental, suicide or was it homicide? They need to figure it out.
Levi gazed at the center of the board, where a photo of Michael Scott was taped. The man was 38 years old, he had blue eyes and long dark blond hair that reached his shoulders.
Michael Scott was far from a rich man, nor was he considered a successful artist. His personal life was not any better either, he was a single man, no known romantic relationship for the past 6 years. And his only source of regular income was the apartment rent from his tenants, something he inherited from his late parents.
Unfortunately, business had been bad too, since a lot had moved somewhere else and he couldn’t seem to get new ones, because of how outdated the building was.
The background check Joe had done showed that he was behind his bills, and he hasn’t been purchasing anything lead-related online. He had also been receiving complaints from his tenants for a lot of pending repairs. For example some days there’s no hot water, sometimes the pipes and toilets are clogged, or there’s leakage here and there when it rains. But regardless of all these shortcomings, the majority of the tenants are happy staying there for it was cheap.
Levi also noted the fact that people who knew Michael considered him as a nice bloke. But he was also considered to be a loner, he had no notable friends that visited him regularly, and spent most of his time painting in his studio. To say the least, he was living a miserable life, so it made Levi wonder, did he kill himself?
Was this just a classic case of suicide? He had a history of depression, suicide, and self-harm. And like Sam, he too had been misdiagnosed with autistism when he was young.
Not only that, based on his stepmother, he had also been having trouble sleeping. All are consistent with a pattern of suicide cases.
But he didn’t leave a note, and Levi knew all too well that they always leave a note in some way or form.
Or is there something more? Was he murdered? If so, what motive would a killer have?
He did have life insurance, yes, but it wasn’t that big of a pay-out. And the recipient is his younger sister who had been studying in Germany for the past year. Her alibi was airtight, as she was 456 miles away.
Or maybe, just maybe... was it all just an accident, and if it was?
How did he get exposed?
Was it by air, water, food? Was it the paint he used? Did it have a lead on it?
A lot of possible scenarios were playing in the psychologist’s head.
All of which could be answered in due time, he just has to wait. Sam and CID’s forensic scientists are working on it.
....
Lab, Guy’s Hospital
Sam stood in her lab, reviewing the victim’s medical history records. From the data she had gathered, it was approximately 21 hours ago when Michael Scott was found lying prone and unconscious inside his studio by his visiting mother, no, stepmother to be precise, Diana Scott. It was not unusual for the woman to visit her stepson. It was a weekly routine of hers to check on him since she constantly worried about him.
Diana called for an ambulance the moment she found him, and Michael was admitted to the nearest hospital. However, 6 hours later, his brain swelled up and he went into a coma and passed away.
The medical team wasn’t able to determine the cause of death, and it raised alarms. And based on his symptoms, a toxicology test was done to be certain. Results came back a few hours later from the extensive test on his blood and surprisingly his blood contained an unusual amount of lead. 196 mcg/dl, 2 times the lethal level to an adult, with this knowledge, the CID was called and they went to his flat to perform an investigation.
And that was when she was called, she remembered that they placed the apartment building in lockdown, in search of the source.
And since the paint was the common source, the techs tested the walls with a portable x-ray analyzer. But only minor amounts of lead were found on the paint, not unusual for an old building but not nearly enough to kill someone.
Sam joined their investigation and they moved to investigate the water, the air, and the cooking utensils in his abode. Everything in the flat was tested for any trace of lead.
They swept the area in the flat, wiped it with a sterile wipe, and collected the dust, and put it in a sterile container. And it was sent to two other private labs, and another was sent to her lab to be analyzed, to see the dust level of his home.
Sam looked at the box of evidence and she started her examination. After wearing a pair of sterile gloves, she dissolved the sterile wipes in hydrochloric acid. In a process called atomic absorption, she then exposed the solution to a temperature of more than 3000° Fahrenheit.
Hours later, she sighed in both relief and disappointment.
Relief that no abnormal levels were found, and that nothing in the building could produce lead large enough to kill, and that the residents were safe.
And the disappointment that they had yet to figure out how Michael Scott was exposed.
To Sam, this result also meant the possibility that his exposure to lead had happened months before. A hunch that is also supported by his medical history records of which she read just hours previously. It showed that it wasn’t his first admission to the hospital, it was his third in the span of the last 5 months.
It was just 2 weeks ago when he was admitted after getting violently ill while shopping. He recovered and was released, so the physician thought it was probably just a usual case of bad flu. It was flu season after all.
But the only way to definitely know if the exposure had happened before his death was to test it. Or at the least, narrow it down when he was exposed, and go from there.
Sam grabbed her mobile phone and dialed Levi’s number.
His phone rang, and he picked up immediately, "You know I prefer to text." he said, and Sam smiled on the other line. It felt just like old times.
"Texting it would take me ages." Sam replied, "So, what’s the craic?" he asked, leaning against his reclining chair in his office. He expected that she was going to call him soon, she always did work fast.
"We have nothing on the source of exposure, the paint wasn’t enough to kill anyone." she started, earning silence in the other line and so she continued.
"Since the extensive testing provided us no clues on how he was exposed to lead, we have to consider the possibility of intentional poisoning." she proposed, earning a hum of agreement from Levi. He was thinking the same thing, but the result still doesn’t eliminate the chance that it was suicide. However, without a suicide note, the case was leaning more on homicide. But how, and who, and why?
"And how do you suggest we proceed? With nothing to go by, my hunch is just a hunch." Levi said, he has a certain someone in his list of possible suspects that stood out the most.
Thinking it thoroughly, Sam got an idea and her lips cracked into a wide grin. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
"Since lead is a poison, the body goes into great lengths to expel it. Deposits build up in the nails and hair," she said, and she hears an amused chuckle from the other line. He knew what she was planning on doing.
"The average person’s hair grows about half-inch per month, his hair was very long" he replied, looking at the photo of Michael taped on his whiteboard.
"Yes, it may provide us with a wealth of information." she agreed.
"I need his body," she added, and as if on cue, Levi turned towards his office door and saw Davies enter his office.
Levi smiles widely at the man, his mobile still pressed against his right ear.
"I’ll let Davies know right now." the slicked blond said.
....
Next day.
Morgue, Guy’s Hospital
Sam stood before Michael Scott’s body on the examination table, his body was delivered to Guy’s upon her request yesterday. She unzipped the black body bag and looked down at the body, holding the chart in hand.
She scanned Jones’s notes on the medical exam he did. So far so good, she thought.
And so, she proceeded to collect some of his hair.
She made her way to the big lab, where all the huge machines were placed and proceeded to perform her test.
Hours later Levi made his way to Guy’s wanting to get fresh information from the redhead. He fished the key card from his breast pocket and tapped it on the door and stepped in.
Sam turned towards him when he entered, she was sitting on the stool looking at the results she got just minutes ago.
"What’s the craic?" He asked her, instead of answering she opted to hand him the results for him to see for himself. He scanned it, then turned to her for a more thorough explanation. It was her field of expertise after all.
Sam’s eyes turned dark, "This is homicide." she said.
