Page 18 of Jagged

"What's so funny?" I called out, my voice echoing almost obnoxiously in the quiet space.

"I heard you coming forty kilometers away," she said, her statement dry, but the teasing not so much.

I stopped in front of her, my brow narrowed as her gaze flickered in my direction. "Not funny."

"It's a teensie bit funny," she said, though a smile didn't join her statement. "Did you have a swim?"

"Are you seriously teasing me right now?" I huffed and folded my arms over my chest. The leather arms of my bomber jacket squeaked under the wetness, and I scoffed.

"Not at all." She turned on her heel, and waved me to follow her as if nothing happened.

Per usual, I hurried after her, cautiously stepping in a manner that left my footsteps sounding less obnoxious. She perched herself on her typical stool, and I joined her on the adjacent one as always. At this point, I prepared myself for a presentation, drawing in a slow breath as I awaited the cacophony of information rained down on me by the resident genius.

"I've been granted access to all of the cases save for the ones that the FBI owns. That will require special clearance, but it's pending. So far, I've been able to identify genetic linkages across three different unidentified lineages using genome sequences." She pointed to the screen and the images changed again. "But there's more."

"Wait, wait just a hot sec." I held up my hands to her then gestured in a way that urged her to slow down. "I understood about every third word of what you've said. Can you speak to me as if you're lecturing a class of newbies?"

She stared at me, stone-faced and serious. "I just did."

"Okay, but like, can you be lecturing a class of first grade newbies?"

The way she rolled her eyes, coupled with the tilt of her head nearly killed me. I didn't expect it at all, and the motion floored me for a moment until she said, "The victims…came in contact…with the same person." She paused a breath in between each phrase, with clear enunciation of each syllable.

"Cool cool." I nodded then rolled my index finger in a circle. "Caught up. Continue."

"The more part now?" She pointed to the floor between us. "You're ready?"

"Yeah." I couldn't help but stifle a chuckle, despite her overt seriousness and clear irritability with me.

"Back when these cases were filed, there wasn't but trace DNA found and very little could be garnered from it."

"Right…"

"I went ahead and read your files. I have a friend connected with the S.P.D. Anyway, with my specific experience and the technology afforded to me here, I've made a connection that appeared to be overlooked." Again, she pointed to the screen to show me stuff that might as well have been written in Aramaic.

"What's that?"

"Your profile is wrong," she said, demonstrating a bunch of funky shapes and some recognizable rectangles. "The chromosomal structure shows that the potential connection is genetically female or a holder of two X chromosomes, not male or an X-Y holder as indicated in your files."

"So, they all came in contact with the same female, not male, perpetrator?"

"I can't speak to this being a perpetrator as such, but they all came in contact with the same X-X chromosome holder, yes. And remember, not all people who have two X chromosomes identify as female." She lifted a brow at me while her gaze met mine. At that point, I noted how little she looked at me. Even if she did, it was a flickering glance, but never kept for more than a second.

"Right. My bad. I'll own my narrow-minded moment."

"Good." She nodded and looked back to the screen. "So, the trace samples carry the X-X chromosomes, and share some genealogical connections. At this point, I'm running through the software to try and find an identifiable link, and that may be the starting point."

"Thank you for doing all of that."

"Of course." She folded her hands in her lap and shrugged at the same time. Clementine fell quiet after that, and I noted the way she toyed with the ring on the index finger of her right hand. A blueish stone wrapped her finger, possibly lapis lazuli or something of the like, sat cradled in a silver band. She spun it around her finger using her thumb.

"I guess I'll have to start looking at this as a possible X-X chromosome perpetrator thanks to you. The team will appreciate it," I said, hoping to fill the gaps in conversation with something relational.

She glanced at me again and nodded. "I agree. There will be more. I'm still waiting for returns on a few items. The soil samples, fabrics, and the write up of the genetic connections. There will be more results rolling in over the next few days. Right now, I'm trying to plot soil samples relevant to crime scenes and locations locally, nationally, and internationally."

"Thanks." I nodded, sliding from the stool to stand beside her. My hands fell naturally into the back pockets of my jeans. "You've been a big help. I better head out to figure out a way to present this info to the team."

"I've emailed you the first report." She stood with me, and her gaze flickered over me as it has in the past. "The rain seems to like you."

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