WHO:Joan Watson & Liv Moore WHEN: (backdated) Mid Feb WHERE: The Morgue WHAT: Covering case details WARNINGS: Low; references to murder, dead body. STATUS: Complete
For the most part, Joan was working primarily with the Agency and their research of occult instances in Orange County, it was a relatively safe development in her current vein of interest. And since Laura, Joan was focused on not letting that happen again. No matter what it took.
But she was still taking the odd case through her consulting, and the Dayton Meyers case had stalled from the very start. While the police had taken any avenue that had presented itself, they hadnât been able to come up with a suspect pool. It was unusual that a case was dead before it really started, but the evidence at the scene had been minimal, which was why Joan was called in to offer whatever help she could.
âI come with gifts,â arriving at the coroner's office, with the paintbrushes sheâd found for Liv with her new interest, Joan had the available case files in her side bag too. Anything that might help solve the stabbing victimâs murder.
Dayton Meyerâs was not one of the brains she had consumed. She tried to just focus on one at a time so the personality changes werenât too overwhelming. Besides Leon was the only one who took her to the crime scenes and let her help with the investigation beyond the regular ME stuff. Which meant, Liv basically just stuck to brains from cases Leon was on and he wasnât on the Meyerâs case. However, if Joan needed a little extra help sheâd at least consider it.
âWell then come on in,â Liv said with a smile, her face brightening as she laid eyes on the paintbrushes. She had mostly been joking when she mentioned it to Joan, not expecting to actually get them, but she wasnât about to turn it down. âIâll pay you with an autopsy report?â she offered.
Joan was very much the type of person who wouldnât really care if the comment was made in jest, sheâd still very much provide what was requested, even if it was something that might not get use. There was always the chance it would. If Liv ever thought to take up painting on her own, sheâd have some stuff there to use.
âThatâs a form of payment most people wouldnât call appropriate.â But Joan wasnât most people, and it was something she was looking for after all. There was only so much that a person could do with basic police reports, getting a look into the autopsy report usually yielded something else for her purely because of Sherlockâs methods and her own medical background.
âThanks for doing this, Iâm sure looking over stabbing victims as a favour when all you see are dead bodies isnât the best use of your time.â
âBut you arenât most people,â Liv pointed out as she took the brushes from Joan admiring them for a brief moment before setting them aside. Time to get down to business.
âItâs no problem,â Liv said grabbing a copy of Dayton Meyerâs autopsy report for Joan to look over. âHe was stabbed eight times,â Liv commented. âAll in the chest. Best guess is that it was personal.â It wasnât exactly her job to guess these things. But since helping with investigations more than just the autopsy she had been getting better at making observations and assumptions. âYou want to take a look at the body as well?â
Joan learned through Sherlock that having a good relationship with a medical examiner was a good idea, it was all about being able to help one another, and honestly, Joan had little trouble forging an easy and beneficial friendship with Liv. She was glad that the woman was willing to help all the same.
Scanning over the autopsy report, noting the level of violence but the limit in defensive wounds, it would match up with Livâs guess of it being personal. âNo defensive wounds to the hands or arms, so he didnât really put up a struggle.â Looking at the body would help Joan work out the bruise patterns too, potentially lead to a murder weapon.
âPlease,â she nodded, scanning the rest of the file, âWas there a tox panel done? Any alcohol or drugs that would limit reactions?â
Liv walked over to the cold chambers pulling out the unit Mr. Meyers was stored in to Joan could take a look. âThere was alcohol in his system,â Liv informed Joan. âBut itâs difficult to tell the BAC post modem.â Although she was sure Joan already knew that fact. Ex surgeon and all. âIt is possible that it was enough to impair his judgement and reaction times.â
BAC levels couldnât always be reliable too, and Joan was aware that Meyers hadnât been found until the morning, having died the previous night. It allowed time for the alcohol to break down regardless. âSo, itâs possible it was a blitz attack, or he was in company he knew and was blitzed afterwards.â It wouldnât be the first time a relatively normal evening turned violent.
Giving a look over the body, checking his hands and along the palms, âThey found a chalky residue at the scene, crushed powder, concrete dust and salt. Itâs what some musicians use to dust string instruments, but he doesnât seem to have any calluses to indicate he plays.â And theyâd not found any musical instruments at the apartment.
âPotential lead.â Which they were severely lacking right then.
Liv nodded in agreement. It was difficult to tell just how well the Meyers knew his murderer. âHave you looked into his acquaintances at all?â Liv questioned. She hadnât done too much with this victim other than the autopsy report. It wasnât one of the ones she was fixated on. Sometimes Liv could have a one track mind when it came to the murder of the victimâs brains she consumed. âAnything to indicate he would be around musicians?â
The list of acquaintances was incomplete at best, Joan would say that much, she understood that sometimes the work on finding the connections was tedious and time consuming, but Joan didnât mind it so much. âAt current no, but he was a college student, graduating this year as well.â It was a pity, life cut short and all that. âIâll have to go through some of his social media, find out who his friends were.â They werenât able to get into his phone at the moment, because of an encryption, but the tech department had that for working on.
âIâll check in with his mother, find out if he was prone to drinking alone or not, if she knew any friends or troubles.â Joan would be spending some time sifting through Meyersâ life it seemed.
âHow did people solve crime before social media?â Liv quipped. It did sound quite tedious. She was glad she didnât have that job. But really it was probably the best way to get information. She didnât know how much a college student would share with his mother. âAnything else I can help you with?â she just wanted to double check before she shut the drawer for Dayton Meyers.
âGood old fashioned footwork, I guess.â Joan was sure that Sherlock wouldâve had a long and drawn out history dating back to the first crime solved by investigation and deduction, but she hadnât immersed herself quite that much for it just yet. But Joan didnât mind it too much, sitting with some tea, she had Clyde now to talk at without feeling utterly insane, and dig through life.
âNot currently, but thanks for this, itâs a big help.â It was a starting point, somewhere to leap forward from, which she had been missing before. âBut, you have to let me take you out some time, maybe not for lunch,â because the brain thing⌠âBut at least for some drinks, we need to catch up.â
âDefinitely. Maybe when you solve the case. You can tell me all about it.â Because Liv did like hearing these things. âAnd if you need any more help from me, donât hesitate.â It was the least she could do. Giving back made her feel somewhat better about the fact that she lived off of brains.