I down own CSI. If I did, this wouldn't' be on a fan fiction site, it would be on tv...
The night was about as calm as any night could be in Vegas. Nothing could be done about all the late-night gamblers, but tonight they seemed to be at a relative minimum. The sky was crystal clear, and if not for the gallons of the light pollution of countless neon casino signs and lamps killing nature's natural light, it would have given in to a diamond-encrusted blanket above the heavens. In truth, the only illumination from Mother Nature was the full moon, shining like it's own neon sign and practically daring everything else to outshine it. But try as they might, they just couldn't surpass the moon's god-like shine.
Though it was still late, (nearing midnight) it was still at an hour where Vegas tourists found it to be too early to sleep. At least for gamblers and the night owls, they found it to be too early to rest.
But that's just how it is in Vegas. For some people it's just never late enough, and they figure 'what could one more hour hurt'? Then before they know it, morning has risen and the next day has arrived.
Then we have Vegas lovers who, though they too like to stay up late drinking and having a good time with their partners, at least manage to find time to go to bed. Though, what they do between getting in to bed and actually sleeping is a mystery even the #2 crime lab in America would need…or even want…to solve.
Of course, we can't forget the intensely libido-driven 'let's have sex wherever and whenever we feel the urge' lovers. The ones that find unoccupied, dark places to get as freaky as their heart's desire, like the young couple who snuck their way into an empty playground with sex being the one and only things on their minds.
The two quickly sprinted across the park, through the darkness, until hey reached a bench that would typically be used by adults watching their children frolic through the park. Tonight however, it would be used in a different way. They began lip locking before they even managed to sit themselves down.
When they finally pulled away for some air, the brunette woman giggled quietly in her boyfriend's ear. She whispered something dirty to him, like there was anyone nearby who could've heard her.
It was just one of those quiet setting where you feel obligated to whisper.
He grinned back at her and began kissing her neck; trying to set an already heightened mood while gently letting his hands explore her thin, curvaceous body.
The mood was set, the lighting was perfect, and there wasn't a soul nearby to ruin the moment. The only thing missing was romantic music, but neither of them was complaining.
Still, something must've been wrong in the woman's perspective, since she slowly pulled her lover's hands away and held them still for a while. She could've sworn she had seen…
"Wait…Derek, hold on a moment…" she said quietly to him, eyes fixed on something at a small distance behind him. She paused a moment, not moving or saying anything to make sure she was really seeing what she thought she was seeing, and not a paranoid hallucination. "Baby…I think someone's here with us." She tilted her whole body to the left as she spoke up again to get a better view as Derek turned to get a good look for himself.
Over on the swing set, silhouetted by the neon lights and full moon, was what looked to be a woman sitting limply on the swing, her head leaning against one of the metal chains holding the swing up.
The couple rose from the bench and began to slowly approach the woman. Upon closer inspection she seemed to be asleep, with her smooth, wavy hair covering most of her gentle-looking face and her eyes--though closed and mostly shielded by hair--were framed by wire, oval shaped glasses. Her hands where placed neatly on her lap, and she seemed to be having a nice, peaceful sleep. Still, there was a strange aura surrounding her…something was amiss.
"Is she homeless?" The brunette asked walking behind Derek and peering over his shoulder every once in a while. "She must be…it's a strange place for a person to be sleeping here otherwise…"
Once they reached a few feet from the figure at the swings, Derek paused a moment to observe her before reaching out to touch her shoulder and gently shake her awake. But instead of what he thought would happen, she ended up falling on her back right off the swings and lay completely still.
Derek's eyes suddenly widened upon getting a better look at her face and, without looking away, yelled to his girlfriend, "Shit! Melissa! Call the 911!" He looked pale, and his voice shook as he spoke.
But instead of following her lover's demands right away, Melissa found herself peeking over Derek's shoulder again, both curious and concerned. She then let out an ear-piercing, terror-filled scream.
That 'sleeping woman' had a bloody bullet hole in the middle of her forehead.
There truly wasn't another soul in the park that night…
Just a corpse.
Gil Grissom paced back and fourth a bit in the busy parking lot where several police cars, and an ambulance was parked. The playground where children would usually have a fun time was closed off, since it was now a crime scene.
The man had a handsome, constantly serious face that went along with his dry sense of humor, and a scruffy beard that covered a small bit of his face. His outfit consisted of a black jacket and pants, with a blue t-shirt under his jacket.
Dead body. Found by a couple of hormone-crazy teenagers on their night of attempted passion. For what he had gathered from interviewing the couple, the cause of death seemed to be a single bullet to the head.
The crime scene was currently untouched and unobserved by the CSI supervisor's eyes. His partner on the case, a woman who had moved to the fieldwork when her sister replaced her in the lab, had yet to arrive to the scene and he was waiting for her before processing. It was her first case and he didn't want her to miss out on her first day out in the field but since it would be nearing sunrise, and going to be another hot day, he needed to get to the crime scene and body before the elements did. If she didn't arrive soon he was going to have to end up starting without her, and the last thing he wanted was to get a new recruit starting partway on their first case.
He turned around as he heard a car pull up in the parking lot somewhere behind him. It was Jim Brass' car, parking next to a police vehicle. After shutting the car down, the cop got out of his vehicle, along with a woman coming out of the passenger's side. She brushed some of her hair behind an ear and, upon spotting Grissom, smiled and walked quickly over to him.
Beth Aror stood at about 5'6" with slightly messy dark blonde to light brown hair that reached about an inch or so below her shoulders. Her hazel eyes were framed by purple plastic framed glasses that hung loosely on her face, forcing the woman to constantly push them up to the bridge of her nose. She was wearing a navy blue jacket over a white tank top with a matching blue knee-long skirt and black boots, and as she approached her boss, she adjusted her ID badge clipped the left breast pocket on her jacket.
With a wide, eager smile she stood tall and proud. "Best day of my life, boss! My sister gets admitted to the lab and I get out on the field! Greg's probably pretty jealous..." her smile faded, "But um...sorry I'm late."
Grissom grinned a bit, and then nodded towards the park. "You missed questioning the couple that found the body, but the crime scene is waiting for us to get started. It's our playground now."
Beth flashed another smile at Grissom while holding her evidence case with both her hands. "Can't wait." She said as she and her supervisor made their way to the crime scene. Even with the grim atmosphere of murder, she just couldn't help but feel excited about her first day at fieldwork.
"Do we have an ID on her?" Beth asked as the two approached the body sprawled on the ground by the swing set.
"Not yet," Grissom answered, "no wallet or anything on her." He crouched by the body as Beth remained standing, observing the scene from a standing point of view. "The couple that found her said she was sitting on the swings when they found her. They thought she was sleeping, so they tried to wake her up, but..."
"She wasn't asleep." Beth finished, and made a quick motion with her hands. Grissom raised an eyebrow at her with interest.
"Did you just do what I think you just did?" He asked her while pausing a moment as he was about to put on a pair of latex gloves.
Looking at her hands Beth said, "Hm...? Oh yeah..." she smiled at herself, "I took a few American Sign Language classes in High school. Loved it so much...and sometimes I sign what I'm thinking with out realizing it. It even happens when I'm talking." She explained, realizing that she had earlier made the sign for 'dead'. "How'd you know what I did?"
Grissom explained to her, "My mother was deaf. I learned sign language from her." He signed this sentence, as well as spoke it to her.
The two exchanged grins, then went back to observe the dead body.
The woman looked to be in her late twenties, with wavy teal hair. She was tall, probably about 5'11" at least, and was clothed in a dark pink dress and high heeled shoes of a similar, if not darker shade. Her appearance was very gentle and delicate, with soft features all over her face. A very attractive woman, curvy and quite appealing, Beth caught herself wondering if this was one of those 'everybody loved her' victims. She definitely looked that way, at least.
Still, as is the case with every murder, someone must've not liked her that much according to the through and through bullet wound on her face.
"Hey, Grissom? I think this was a dump site." Beth pointed out. "There's not nearly enough blood here for it to be the major crime scene." Except for the bullet wound, there was no blood at all to be found here.
Grissom nodded, pulling out his tweezers and taking a few samples of hair on the victim's clothes. He found at least three different hairs, and bagged each one separately. He also took a sample of fibers in the woman's hair as well.
The two remained quiet, and Beth took the opportunity to see if she could find anything else in the entire park that might help. She found several toys lying around, nothing out of the ordinary there. There were paper cups scattered by several trashcans but again, that didn't prove much of anything except that people liked to visit this location.
With a heavy sigh, she returned to the swing set. The sun was starting to rise, and in the light, Beth caught a glimmer of something in the sand under the other swing. After some digging she found that the glimmer was glass, a beer bottle. There was the strong possibility that it was just garbage, nothing useful to the case, but it was Beth's gut that told her to bag it. Perhaps there was something useful to be found from it.
After he was satisfied with the evidence collected, Grissom stood up and brushed sand off of his pants. "I think we have everything we need at this point, don't you? I'll get the coroners to collect the body and we can continue on the next shift tonight."
For a moment, Beth went quiet while observing the ground for anything she might've missed...like the footprints leading away from the body.