17 Taxidermist

Levi stared at the computer monitor inside Sam's Lab, fingerprints flashing one after another. He was waiting for her to finish her monthly meeting in the Conference room of Guy's Hospital with other Department Heads.

How long? He sent a text.

Sam's phone pinged for the 5th time in 10 minutes, it was Levi. She mentally rolled her eyes, he was so impatient, always on the run.

Her Colleagues, a group of 7 men, all in suits, ages between their '40s to late 50's sent her curious looks. They have noticed the continuous beeping of her phone interrupting the meeting every time it sounded. She made the mistake of not putting it on silent after his first text. I shouldn't have underestimated how annoyingly persistent he could be, she mentally sighed.

Her fellow Directors have also noticed the change in her since rumors of her 'closeness' to the infamous private detective a month ago circulated. She was quieter, in a way that loud music was no longer heard in her laboratory as much as before.

"Mr. Jackson?" Dr. Johnson The Head of Oncology whispered to her, which she smiled apologetically at, subtly putting her mobile in Silent. 5 minutes later the meeting was wrapped up, and Sam made a beeline towards her lab, typing as she walked.

On my way, you cad.

When she reached the 8th floor, she could see Levi standing outside of her Lab, holding her red jacket. She grabbed it and they proceeded towards the parking lot.

"What's the rush?" Sam asked the blond psychologist, annoyed. "They have a name. I thought you'd like to witness the arrest after all your hard work." Levi replied, moving ahead of her. She quickened her pace and followed behind him with a smile on her face, excited. After 2 weeks of staying up late with Levi and Marco, to figure out the killer. They have finally found a solid lead. Unfortunately, from another body, found, in the same manner, a week ago, after Sasha VanDerBeek. This time, the killer made a mistake, he/she left a mark, a trace of drugs that could temporarily paralyze the victims, rare paralyzing anesthesia that kept the victims incapable of moving or speaking--yet their minds remained intact. While he took his time terrorizing each victim.

Marco, Levi, and Sam stood watching as Davies cuffed the suspect. It was a brown-haired man named Ryan Sheeran, 45 years old, a taxidermist.

"That's over. Finally." Marco commented dryly, dark bags under his eyes, tired from many sleepless nights. Sam smiled at him, and they fist-bumped, laughing like children after.

The three made their way to Jackson Detectives. Marco peeked in the office, checking if they had any client present, seeing there was none, he collapsed on the chair immediately. While Sam flopped face first on the sofa in the corner, Michael and Alex exchanged grins at the terrible state of them. Levi entered the office seconds after, and unlike the other two, he looked sharp as usual, this time wearing a burgundy suit and black tie.

"Boss, Joe asked me to tell you he'll be on surveillance for the infidelity case," Alex informed Levi, who was grabbing a bottle of water from the corner mini-fridge. He turned to the brunette, loosening his tie "Brown's?" he asked, recalling the last name of the client. A middle-aged wife had suspicions on her husband cheating on her, she wanted proof before she filed for divorce. They had several cases like that.

Moments later Mrs. Whitehall entered the room with a tray of tea and biscuits. "Ooh! Thanks so much Mrs. Whitehall!" Sam said enthused, she was craving for some tea and biscuits. The Levi then shared the details of what transpired with the case to the group, and Mrs. Whitehall was over the moon knowing another crazy fellow is off the streets of London.

Sam felt her mobile rang, she fished it out of her pockets answering the call after reading the name on the screen. A biscuit in her other hand,

"Yep?" Sam asked her assistant on the other line.

A muffled response was heard by the others in the room, followed by Sam's expression changing before their eyes.

"WHAAAT?!" Sam almost shouted, her tone held fear and anxiety, and Levi and Marco took note of it. "Okay--I'll be there." She ended the call and turned to everyone. "Sorry, boys, Mrs. Whitehall. I've got to dash." She said, and then they nodded in response.

"You're not staying for dinner dear?" was Mrs. Whitehall's sad reply, she had been staying for dinner brainstorming with the boys since the VanDerBeek case started. "Sorry, Mrs. Whitehall something came up." Sam apologized, grabbing her jacket and purse.

"Is everything alright?" Marco asked, while Levi opened the door for her. A gesture he only did for Sam, Marco noted. "Yes. Nothing deadly, I HOPE." She dismissed, vaguely.

Levi bent over offering his cheek to her, this was a first for Marco. But he had heard this gesture from Mrs. Whitehall before, something he had a hard time believing. There were only a handful of people the blond Irishman would touch casually, or allowed to be touched by. Other than the routine handshakes.

Sam, gave Levi an apologetic smile and kissed his cheek, saying, "I'll see you soon." And out the door, she went. Levi made his way to the window, and he could see her getting on a cab, a cab that had been waiting for her.

"You offered your cheek to her," Marco commented, something Levi did not appreciate, but Michael and Alex laughed at.

"Feck off, Marco." Levi retorted, wondering the reason for her hurry, it wasn't job related that was certain, she never had difficulty brushing Elle over when it comes to her job. So, it must be personal, family. Levi mused.

"You offered your cheek to her," Marco repeated half an hour later, this time the two were in Levi's flat waiting for dinner. Levi remained silent, thinking of his next move as he played Jenga against Marco.

"Yoohoo!" Mrs. Whitehall walked in with the food.

"She has Italian blood." Levi mused out loud, opting to go to the kitchen, where Mrs. Whitehall served the food. "What does that have to do with it?" Marco asked, confused...both by his statement and how he grabbed a plate, voluntarily.

Marco watched him still in disbelief, as Levi devoured spoon after spoon. Levi shot him an annoyed look, as Marco continued to watch him eat.

"Sorry, I've seen it several times but I still can't believe it!" Marco muttered, in disbelief, giving Mrs. Whitehall a baffled look.

"Oh, Marco--Sam did that as well. She made him a strict diet plan, 3x a day. Constantly changing every week." Mrs. Whitehall bragged, happy to be of assistance. Sam gave Mrs. Whitehall specific instructions in preparing Levi's food, which she was more than willing to be part of. At times, Sam even comes over to help her cook his meals, and the two women would have time to converse. A rarity now due to her busy schedule.

The only routine thing about Sam was their 'Game Night' every Saturday after 7 PM.

"It's for her experiment," Levi responded, earning an eye roll from Mrs. Whitehall. "What experiment?" Marco asked. "Correlation of food in my system. She's challenging my conclusion that food slows down my brain process." Levi explained.

Marco mentally scowled, that was reverse psychology. It was so obvious, she was using his ego by challenging him to do her bidding, she was an even bigger genius than he initially thought!

"What are you grinning about, Marco?" Levi asked annoyed at the man's expression. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing!" Marco said chewing his food, a small smile creeping at his lips. A smile that didn't stay unnoticed by Levi Jackson himself.

After dinner, Levi built tower cards, carefully placing them on top of each other. Using his knowledge of physics and a steady hand.

"You offered your cheek to her," Marco spoke suddenly, causing Levi to flinch at his voice and the tower to collapse, resulting in a peeved Irishman.

"Marco! Stop wasting my time with this senseless conversation!"

"But you let her kiss you. I mean, you hate any form of physical contact." Marco reasoned.

"I do not hate physical Contact." Levi scoffed at his friend's statement. "You're kidding, you avoid it like plague. Yet, you let her get close enough to kiss you. I mean, it's not even Let. Let, means tolerate, you don't tolerate her. Me, you tolerate at times. Mrs. Whitehall...everyone you tolerate. But Sam, no, nosirrree...Sam, you welcome with open arms. I wonder why is that?" Marco asked, insinuating, earning a glare from Levi.

"Shut up, Marco" Levi spat annoyed, collecting his cards.