2019-07-09 - Mrs. Seymour's Autopsy

It no doubt confuses the desk personnel to have Alexander allowed down here, but hey, it looks like he got permission, so here he is, and he's even got an escort. Captain de la Vega, which means the disbelieving looks were kept to a minimum in public. Still dressed like a hobo, still looking like he needs either to get off the drugs or get a solid week's worth of sleep. He is muttering to Ruiz as they enter, "While I appreciate the ride, Captain, it was not necessary to have me ride in the back. I am not a criminal."

His grumpy expression softens when he sees Penny, though. "Dr. Faust. Are you well?" He starts to slink towards the table to see what's cooking. Metaphorically speaking.

Ruiz doesn't seem particularly deterred by Alexander's complaining, and nor does it appear likely to change the fact that the man's getting a ride in the backseat on the return trip as well. "Protocol, Clayton. Lo siento." He's not sorry. Not really. The bulkier cop paces alongside the man doing his best impression of a hobo, a stark contrast in his dark, crisp suit and tie. ID is affixed to his belt, near where his gun is holstered, and Penny is given a polite greeting of, "Dr. Faust," as they push through the doors of her lab. His eyes skim the pictures briefly, but don't linger as he makes to approach the table.

"You know if you listen to us and act nice you'll get to come along more on stuff, Mister Clayton." Penny looks up as she gives them a smile. "Captain. Thank you both for coming." she dips her head to that. Then she swats Alexander's hand, "No touching." she whispers.

"I still don't speak Spanish," Alexander says, tonelessly. Just in case Ruiz might have forgotten. "And protocol is foolish." He gives Penny a look that could best be described as 'wounded'. "I am always nice. And I listen when there is a point to listening." He moves his hand out of the way of the swat, but looks more exasperated than twitchy. There's even a smile. "We know how Mrs. Seymour died. There's no need for me to touch her. I don't just...grope bodies at random."

"It means that I am sorry," Ruiz helpfully clarifies. "Lo siento. I'm sorry." Like he's just done the man a service by teaching him a solitary phrase in Spanish. No comment, though on protocol and whether it's foolish; his hands are slid into his pants pockets as he approaches, and watches the proceedings from a professional distance. He's mostly here, for now, in an observational capacity. And to keep an eye on Clayton, of course.

Alexander gives Ruiz a thoughtful look. "Lo siento. I'm sorry. I'll remember that. It's good to be able to apologize in many languages. Mea culpa," he adds, with a quick smile. On the table, of course, the woman is laid out, opened and examined fairly thoroughly. As the doctor does...coroner-y things, Alexander studies the corpse for a bit, then turns his attention back to Ruiz. "How did you end up with your roommates? They don't seem," a long pause, "like the ones I might have guessed. Particularly not Alexandria. She's a bit wild."

The presence of a corpse in some state of excavation and examination seems to bother the captain not one whit. He'd probably be munching on a donut right now, if one were available. Alexander's smile is answered in kind with one that's slight, but appears to hold genuine amusement. Then apropos of nothing, the man is asking about his living arrangements, and the Mexican's look turns more circumspect. "Questionable life choices, Mr. Clayton," seems to sum that up. He runs his tonguetip along the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. "How did you and Alexandria meet?" ale-HAN-dria.

Penny gives a look over the two men and then there's a look to the corpse. "Sorry, not going to be my best formal self tonight." she tells them. "Miss Seymour is in her forties." she states as she changes out gloves. Then she moves down to show them her liver, "She's got signs of liver damage. Then her mouth and skin hold damage from occasional meth use." she explains in a stoic tone. "We know that she was homeless for a long while and her nutrition...or lack there of show in her body." she tells them. "Her cause of death was ultimately heart failure." she points to the womans chest and then shakes her head. "Her heart valves tore open and by the strain that I see around the other muscles I can guess that the heart was forced to pump much faster. It couldn't sustain it so it...gave up." she explains.

"She was skipping school. She thought I was 'cool'." Alexander shakes his head. "She hung around, and it was nice. Having someone to talk to occasionally, even if it was an adolescent delinquent." His attention turns to Penny as she finishes prep, and his expression brightens. Murder! Always fun. "Interesting. No use asking if she had a history of heart incidents, I suppose." He frowns. "She didn't like doctors, so I don't know that she would have gone to any unless she was forced." He glances towards Ruiz, for more pertinent, police investigation type questions.

Ruiz observes the other man with a slightly raised brow, like he's revising what he knows about him based on this new information. Rather than comment on it, he paces in a bit closer to the table where Penny's trying to get work done, and slips a notepad and pen out of an inner pocket of his suit. A few things are scribbled down as she speaks, and unlike Alexander, he doesn't seem to be drawing any immediate conclusions. "Her heart valves tore open. How? Are you able to tell whether there was prior damage to her heart?"

Penny shakes her head, "No, no prior signs of damage to the heart." she tells Ruiz. "There was some sort of designer drug in her system though." she frowns. "There's a lot of stimulant in it. Like...way above normal. Something that looks almost like pure adrenaline, but with a chemical structure that has made our lab techs scratch their heads." she explains to them.

Alexander raises his eyebrows. He doesn't interrupt - his knowledge of narcotics is not at all extensive, but he does frown. "I do think she used," he says, quietly, "but most of the people on the Boardwalk do, at least occasionally. Self-medicating, trying to forget. But mostly she drank, I think." He shrugs. "She didn't talk to me much. She might have talked to others."

Ruiz scribbles something else down when Penny mentions designer drugs. His brows stoop in a slight frown. "Might be a phenethylamine or NDRI like MDPV. I'd be surprised to find the latter here in Gray Harbour though." He pauses to consider the body on the table for a few moments, then resumes his notetaking. "Do you have the x-ray and body cavity imagery available, Dr. Faust? Also, any clues from the facial bruising? Methamphetamines can cause it, but it seems very.. localized?" He pauses, as if uncertain that's the right word.

"The bruising is actually pre-mortem." Penny frowns at that. "There's also defensive marks from where she was in some sort of altercation prior to death." she tells them. "Someone taller and larger than her. I'm thinking someone might have given her the drug against her will or she didn't know what was in it." she explains. "I do have the x-rays and body cavity files if you'd like to look over them, Captain." she offers.

"Some sort of altercation." Alexander frowns. "Pumping someone full of a drug without their consent would be...unpleasant." He glances at Ruiz. "Maybe testing it? But usually you don't want your designer drugs to kill people. Usually."

"It could have been unintentional." The killing part, he means. But the captain doesn't look so sure about that. There's a moment where he seems to consider his next words quite carefully. And then, with a flick of dark eyes to Penny, "I would like to see her belongings. In case there is something we have missed there." His pen and notepad are tucked away, and the man steps closer. Circles the corpse on the table like a vulture, studying her from various angles as he moves.

Penny gives a nod to Ruiz, "Sure, I can get those." she tells them. She goes to get the bag of items that belonged to Mrs Seymour and she brings them over to the table, "If you want to go through them here you can." she smiles. "Or if you need to take them we can check them out and all that." she states.

"I would hope so." About the killing being unintentional. "But in a way, that's just as bad." He looks from one to the other. "If they don't mean to kill their clients, but some of them just explode into violence then die? Could be a problem." He steps out of the way when Ruiz starts to circle the table, and his eyebrows go up when he feels that bit of something /special/ flow from the Captain to the body. He doesn't say anything, just watches with interest.

Ruiz nods slightly to the coroner, without taking his eyes off the body on the table. His pace slows and stops, then he resumes his prowl again. And at one point steps in quite close, hands on the table, tie nearly brushing the remains of the poor woman's arm as he leans in like he wants to kiss her. Far, far too close, and then his ear is turned to the corpse's cheek, and his lashes drift low. And for about half a minute he remains like that, until at last there's a shudder and an audible intake of breath, and he straightens. Swallows slightly. "Thank you." That's to Penny, as she returns with the woman's belongings. He reaches for the bag, and looks to Alexander. "I'll see what I can find out about any new designer drugs that might be circulating in town," he promises.

Penny looks exhausted and there's a smile to them, "If I find anything else on my end, I will let you know, Captain." she tells him. Then there's a look between Ruiz and Alexander, "You sure you don't want to go get a degree in CSI and work here, Mister Clayton?" she chuckles to that.

"I might be able to help, if you wanted to question some of her associates on the Boardwalk, Captain," Alexander offers, softly. "If someone's approaching the homeless to be, what, test subjects?" A glance towards Penny as if she might confirm or deny, "Then Mrs. Reynolds might not be the only one."

"Can't pass the psych eval," Alexander says, with a shrug. Is that a flash of wistfulness on his face? If it is, then it passes quickly, leaving only his usual impassive expression. "And I notice you don't slap /his/ hand," he adds, but it's more fond than grumpy. He looks at her closely. "You seem tired. Should we leave you be?"

Ruiz nods once more to the coroner, and then begins pulling items out of the bag one at a time. It's perhaps unclear what he's hoping to accomplish with this, though Alexander might detect a whiff of glimmer again; like ozone after a flash rain. When passing psych evals is mentioned, his brows furrow ever so slightly. But with his back to the pair, his expression is impossible to discern. "Yes," he tells the other man. "Please. Set it up."

Penny gives a smile to Alexander, "I just need a good nights sleep and for things to quit falling apart so much." she chuckles. "If we need anything else I'll let you know. But for now this is all we got." she frowns.

Alexander's eyebrows go up. "You said please," he tells Ruiz, with obvious surprise. "I'll do it." His attention turns to Penny. "Dr. Faust...is there anything I can do to help?"

Ruiz pauses with a handful of food wrappers he's currently sifting through. A glance over his shoulder to Alexander, look circumspect. With a little flare of his nostrils, he turns away and resumes his examination of the woman's belongings while the pair converse.