The Dying Breath: A Forensic Mystery

sunshine bursting. “Why, isn’t that something! Flowers for me. It’s been years . . . but you shouldn’t be spending your money on such things. It’s an extravagance, especially roses. Never do such a thing again.” From her grandmother’s expression Cameryn knew she didn’t mean it. Wearing a red jogging suit that zipped up to her chin, Mammaw moved lightly in her slippers. From a cupboard beneath the sink she produced two vases, a clear one and one that looked like green marble. “Which would you like, Cammie?” she asked.
    “The clear.”
    “Perfect. I prefer the green.” Immediately Mammaw began to snip the bottoms of the stems with kitchen shears. Justin was watching her closely. When her back was turned he swooped down and gave Cameryn a kiss on her mouth.
    His skin was still cool from being outside, but his lips were warm against hers. She wanted him to linger but he pulled away, whispering “Later” so softly she was sure Mammaw couldn’t hear. The second bundle, which had been thrust behind his back, suddenly reappeared, and Cameryn could tell right away they were the expensive kind. A thick rose fragrance emanated from every bloom, and, wrapped in cellophane sprinkled with pink hearts, this bundle was twice as big as the one he’d given Mammaw. He dropped into the kitchen chair next to her. “It’s a lucky break that Valentine’s Day is a Saturday this year, because I’m off duty. And I’ve made plans.” His eyes looked green in the morning light.
    “Thank you so much for these,” Cameryn replied, drinking in the fragrance. “But—what kind of plans? I’m supposed to stay in the house. I was only let out yesterday because I was with my dad.”
    “Let’s just say I got clearance. Nice jammies, by the way. Penguins?” One dark eyebrow rose on his forehead.
    “I like penguins,” Cameryn answered, suddenly aware of how non-Valentine she looked in her blue flannel bottoms and knit top. “Lyric gave these to me for Christmas. And if you would have called first I would have taken a shower and gotten myself pulled together. You drop by, this is what you get.”
    “I wasn’t complaining.” He was out of uniform, in jeans and a Broncos sweatshirt, and he seemed both amused and happy. “You wear penguins better than anyone. And I like your hair down like that. It’s so long, almost like a waterfall.” Reaching out, he touched her hair, but her grandmother looked over her shoulder and Justin quickly withdrew his hand.
    “Thanks. That was a very Valentiney thing to say,” Cameryn whispered.
    “I would like to say more,” he whispered back. “Alone.”
    “Did you say you wanted coffee, Justin?” asked Mammaw.
    “Yes, thanks. Anyway, before I get too off track, I want to tell you how amazed everyone is with Cammie’s mind.” Clasping his hands together, he placed them behind his neck and leaned back, balancing on the chair’s back legs, something she was never allowed to do. But if her grandmother noticed she didn’t say a word as she set a red mug filled with coffee onto the heart-shaped place mat before she bustled back to the sink and her roses.
    “Amber says Cameryn is a savant and Jacobs wants you to ditch forensics and go into law.”
    Cameryn felt herself beam. “So they got a match!”
    “Yep. The gas chromatograph results came back a total hit. Looks like Leather Ed did a bit of business in Telluride, which is where Safer and Stein must have scored their bags. It’s already been on the news, so hopefully users will toss their drugs. Who knows how many of those things were tainted?”
    “Gas chroma—what?” her grandmother asked. Turning from the counter with a rose poised in her hand, she waved it like a baton. “I have to confess I’m still not clear at all on what happened last night. Patrick tried to explain before he left, but I’m not sure even he understands. So please, speak slow and use small words.”
    Justin glanced at Cameryn, his eyes twinkling. “Basically, your granddaughter looked at the pictures of the crime scene and put the pieces together.”
    “Part of the credit goes to you, Mammaw,” Cameryn interrupted. “I remembered how you put those polymer crystals in the soil, you know, so the dirt would hold on to the water longer. You used them in your flower boxes.”
    “Yes, those crystals are quite the thing,” her grandmother agreed. The rose now wagged in her hand, the bloom bouncing like the head of a doll on a spring. “The