I Am Death

Sixty-eight

Hunter and Garcia’s first stop after leaving Mathew Hade’s apartment was the LAPD Scientific Investigation Division’s Criminalistics Lab in El Sereno, East Los Angeles. On their way there, Hunter called Doctor Brian Snyder, the lead forensics agent who had attended Sharon Barnard’s crime scene in Venice. He had just come back from a double homicide scene in Westlake.

Doctor Snyder came out to meet the detectives at the lab’s reception lobby.

‘Detectives,’ he said, shaking their hands. ‘Nice seeing you again. How can I help?’

Hunter gave him a quick summary of everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, before handing him the evidence bags he had with him.

Doctor Snyder studied them for a short moment, his eyes lingering over the book of matches for a little longer than they did the other items.

‘Midazolam,’ he read out loud, his voice full of concern.

‘Do you know what that is?’ Garcia asked.

Doctor Snyder nodded. ‘Yes. Midazolam is a Benzodiazepine-based anesthetic with hypnotic properties.’

Garcia blinked twice.

‘There are three Benzodiazepines in common anesthetic use today,’ he explained. ‘Diazepam, Lorazepam and, especially, Midazolam. It is the most lipid-soluble of the three, which means that it’s the fastest to be absorbed by the body and, therefore, also the quickest acting. Its main properties are sedation, relatively little respiratory and cardiac depression, anti-panic, anti-anxiety, anti-convulsant, and it’s also a very strong, centrally acting muscle relaxant. It will induce unconsciousness, or a hypnotic state, in under thirty seconds, producing a very reliable level of amnesia very similar to the “black hole amnesia” caused by Rohypnol, the rape drug. The patient, or victim, will remember nothing.’

‘So, in short,’ Garcia commented, ‘it’s the perfect drug to quickly immobilize a victim.’

Doctor Snyder agreed with a nod. ‘Or, depending on the dosage, to pacify them enough so they would offer no resistance. A person under a mild dosage of Midazolam would act as if he or she were drunk — very drunk, actually. To a passer-by, a perpetrator dragging a victim in that state would just look like somebody helping a drunken friend. That’s all.’ His gaze returned to the book of matches for an instant. ‘But the dosage described here — two point five milligrams — is more than enough to completely subdue a subject as tall and as heavy as any of us.’

‘How difficult is it to obtain?’ Hunter asked.

‘Not very. Especially with the clandestine sites you find on the net today. If you know where to search, it won’t take long.’

‘Perfect,’ Garcia said.

‘How long do you think it will take to process those, Doc?’ Hunter asked.

The face Doctor Snyder made didn’t fill them with confidence.

‘I can put them through right now with an “urgent” request,’ he told them. ‘And I promise that I’ll do all I can to move them as close to the top of the pile as possible. If I get lucky, I can probably have the result of the handwriting analysis back to you by tomorrow, or the day after.’ He reflexively checked his watch as he mentioned the time frame. ‘As for the rest, I’m really not sure. Maybe two days... maybe more.’

Hunter and Garcia knew that there was nothing more they, or Doctor Snyder, could do. The Criminalistics Laboratory was part of the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center at the LA Regional Crime Lab and the whole facility was shared jointly by five different organizations, all of them wanting results back by yesterday. Their technicians had more work than they could possibly handle. An urgent request by one of their own sure was an advantage, but not a guarantee. For now, all they could do was wait.