A Double Drouble
Prompt: Student
Word Count: 400 (100 per paragraph)
A/N: This was written in response to a prompt at the LiveJournal community, gsrdrabbles. Thanks go to smacky30 for the beta!
Grissom had given this seminar many times before, illustrating his points with actual cases, changing names to protect the innocent. He liked to begin with a specific one: a man found dead by his wife. She claimed she had found him already dead in the garden, where he had retreated after an argument. The investigators saw a bloody shovel blade and her bloody hands, and immediately arrested her. In autopsy, they discovered a multitude of fire ant stings beneath his pants; COD was anaphylactic shock. Apparently he had disturbed a nest, collapsed from the bites, and landed on the shovel.
Although not a complex case, it combined Grissom's main message, your first impression must change as the evidence changes, with his love of insects. He would move on to more complicated scenes, but he liked to start easy. He wrapped up the case as he had always done, and was preparing to launch into a challenging double homicide, when he heard a low chuckle. He looked up to see her sitting in the front row, brown hair swept into a ponytail, brown eyes sparkling, and wide smile blazing. As he winked at her, he realized this seminar would be different.
Sara had heard he was a boring speaker, but he had a good reputation as a forensic scientist and his seemed the most interesting seminar in the time slot. One of the first to arrive, she took a place in the front row and settled in with her notepad, hoping to learn something from him, dull speaker or not. When he stepped onto stage she was surprised by his youth and intensity, though the first case he outlined did seem dull. Even after the twist was discovered, it was nothing more than investigators jumping the gun, an unfortunately common occurrence.
But when he wrapped up the case, dryly stating, "so death had come to Jerry McCormic," Sara finally realized the significance of the pseudonym, and chuckled quietly. Others in the audience looked at her askance, but he glanced up from his notes and winked, a small smirk lingering around his mouth and his eyes twinkling as he continued with his presentation. She sat up with renewed interest, hoping to catch other hidden gems, and beginning a list of questions to ask after the seminar. If she was lucky, maybe he would help correct her first impression over a pleasant dinner.
A/N 2: The reference to Jerry McCormic is from Robert Frost's poem, Departmental. Full text can be found with a simple Google search, since this site doesn't allow links in stories.