Chapter 1
Grissom looked down on the four bodies in front of him. Two men, a small girl and a younger boy had been brutally murdered. From the looks of it, the girl was related to the blond man, while the boy was related to the brunet.
He turned to look at his co-workers who were standing beside him. Catherine was next to him, her eyes where wet and she couldn't stop shaking her head. Beside her, he could see Nick, his jaw set so tight you could hear teeth rubbing; his eyes were narrow and almost black. Greg was the last one there, he looked ready to faint. All the blood had gone from his face and his eyes were big and sad. Grissom looked down at the bodies again and sighed, he knew this would be a long night.
The supervisor turned when he heard someone talking at the opening of the alley. The coroner, David Phillips was walking against them. This event made him snap out of his thoughts and start giving out assignments.
"Catherine, process the two bodies on the left, I'll take the two others. Nick and Greg, you take the perimeter; Nick from the bodies and out towards the street. Greg, you've got dumpster-diving. Check out the dumpsters up against the wall at the end and everything between the bodies and there."
They all nodded, not even Greg gave a remark to his job; he had known this would be assigned him from the minute he had seen the scene. He was the youngest, and even though he had made CSI level 2 now, he was still outranked by all his co-workers. Today, he didn't care. As long as he didn't have to process the bodies; he was content.
--
David was on the ground, taking the liver-temp on the blond man. According to his readings the bodies had died at approximately the same time; about four to five hours ago, placing the TOD to around seven pm. The young coroner raised himself and addressed the CSI's.
"As far as I can see; the children were both killed rather quickly. The boy has a knife-wound through his torso, and the girl's throat was slit. The men were probably tortured before they died; you can see multiple shallow slashes over their abdomens and chests. I can't say anything certain before the autopsy; but I believe they died from loss of blood. They have also been beaten pretty badly, and by the looks of it they were restrained; you can see the marks on their hands. Let me know when I can take them to the morgue."
"Thanks David. I'll let you know as soon as we're done with the bodies."
Grissom and Catherine went to work and started photographing the bodies. When they turned the men they found wallets in their back-pockets. They handed their findings to Brass who had joined them. The detective opened them to look for ID's.
"Well, it's not a mugging, that's for sure; there's got to be at least a couple of hundred bucks here. The blond man is named Graham Knox-Johnson, age 34, from San Francisco. The brunet is Steven Knox-Johnson, age 33, also from San Francisco. Hmm, tourists, probably relatives; though they don't look much alike."
Catherine looked closer at the two men; there was nothing that suggested that the men were brothers, but of course one could be adopted.
--
Greg was working in the proximity of the bodies, listening to the voices of David, Grissom and Brass. He had all ready seen what type of crime this was; but he was not surprised that his older co-workers didn't see it. A line had been playing in his head from the moment he saw the bodies; 'Homophobia, the worst disease. You can't love who you want to love in times like these.' Over and over those familiar words went, making him clench his jaw and feel his eyes tear up. He knew he would certainly hate this case, it was way up on his top-ten-hate-list all ready, only topped by the abduction of Nick and his own beating.
He looked at his older friends, wondering if they would figure this out by themselves. When that possibility looked slim; he knew he had to say something. Him talking versus staying quiet could make the difference between solved and unsolved case; especially if it meant they would start in the wrong direction. He walked back towards the bodies; trying hard not to look at them.
"Eh… I don't know how to say this, but I don't think the men are brothers. I think they are married; that's why they have the same last name. And I assume that the children are their children; thus making this into a hate-crime, maybe…"
The ex-tech's voice went quieter, trailing of at the end, as he could feel the others eyes on him. He was a very confident person, but having two men and a woman, twice his age, looking intently on him, made him feel like a kid again. Grissom was the first to respond.
"What makes you think that Greg?"
The Californian swallowed a few times before he talked. He could see that Nick had returned too now, looking at him with a small sad smile.
"Well. What stroked me first; was the way the bodies are positioned. I think that the men were alive when the perp's left, left here to die. You can see how their eyes are locked and their hands are reaching for each other."
He looked at his co-workers, having their full attention.
"My guess is that the children were killed first; just imagine the torment on those poor men having to see their kids being killed. You can see trails of tears on their cheeks, so that kinda back that up. And then when they felt their life run out, they tried to comfort one another; like any lovers would do."
He locked eyes with Nick, trying to get some strength from the Texan, whom in his mind, was the strongest man he knew.
"Further, it's the intensity of the attack. How they have been tortured and beaten and left to die a slow death; it kinda makes me think that there are some powerful feelings behind the crime; like hate. But, yeah well, that's just my thoughts."
After finishing Greg started shifting on the spot. Feeling a little uneasy from the scrutinising eying from his co-workers. Only Nick's eyes revealed trust and pride. The other three looked rather stern actually; he wasn't sure if they believed him or not.
After what felt like an eternity (for Greg), Catherine and Grissom looked closer at the bodies and threw glances at each other. They both started to get the feeling that the youngest CSI was right in his assumptions. Catherine was the first to speak.
"I think you may be right Greg. The type of wounds and the ferocity in the killings sure resembles a hate-crime. Look at this Griss; the stab here; it's different from that other one. I think there's more than one perp."
The red-head had closed in on the brunet body; looking at the wounds on his chest. When Grissom went over to look, Greg felt himself release his breath. He was happy they believed him, even though this whole ordeal made him sad.
The young CSI looked at Nick; he desperately needed some support and strength now. The two men locked eyes, speaking without words. The Texan wanted to give the younger man a hug, but this was neither the time nor place, so he settled with supporting his boyfriend from a distance. He knew this case would be hard on both of them, and hoped the perp's would be caught soon. The two men gave each other a small smile, eyes filled with love, before returning to their tasks.
--
Greg felt like he was covered in garbage by now. There were two big dumpsters in the alley, belonging to the restaurant beside. They were the ones who had found the bodies; a poor buss-boy had gone out to throw some garbage-bags when he had literally stumbled over them. The door to the restaurant was the only one in the alley, and there were no surveillance-cameras here; there had never been any need for that.
Nick was done processing the perimeter up to the street and was now fetching the surveillance-tapes from the front of the restaurant and the shops on the other side of the alley.
'One done; one to go.' The Californian tried to pep himself up while climbing out of the first dumpster. When he opened the other one, he cursed himself for not looking in there before he started. 'Cause there, in plain sight, on top of the garbage-bags were one t-shirt and one short-sleeved button-up shirt, the latter wrapped around something.
The level 2 carefully bagged the t-shirt before lifting the shirt up. He unfolded it and revealed a 6 inch long jagged-bladed hunting knife. He bagged the knife and shirt separately, before climbing into the dumpster.
Thirty minutes later he could state that there was no more evidence in the dumpster, it only contained a couple of garbage-bags filled with food from the restaurant; he was never going to eat there again; ever.
Greg got out of the dumpster, grabbed the evidence-bags and started walking towards the street. He placed the evidence in the back of the Denali he and Nick had drove to the scene, and removed the overall he was wearing. He badly needed a shower and hoped the Texan would hurry up.
Just as that thought left him, his boyfriend came out from the adjoining shop, having retrieved all the surveillance-tapes. He placed it with the other evidence and closed the hood.
"You okay Greggo? Found anything?"
"I'm cool, don't worry. Oh, and I found the knife, and some clothes. Bagged and tagged! Hopefully it's actually from our crime."
"Great work G. Let's get back to the lab, I think you could use with a shower. You kinda smell, babe."
The smirk on Nick's face was wide, while he looked around to see if anyone had noticed the endearment.
"Hahaha. Aren't you a funny guy? Totally laughing my ass out here."
The two men continued their loving bicker until they were safely inside the car. The Texan glanced at the younger man all the way to the lab; he knew this case was getting to him, just like it was getting to himself. When he stopped at a red light, he leaned over and kissed Greg lightly on the lips, he joined their hands together and caressed the Californians hand until they were outside their work place. He parked the car, and turned to face his lover before getting out.
"It's okay to be affected by cases babe. I am for sure affected by this. I think you and I saw the truth when we entered the alley, and this case will get to us. Just remember one thing; I'm here for you babe. Talk to me, don't shut me out."
Greg leaned into the older mans warm embrace.
"I promise, I won't shut you out. I hate this case all ready, and we haven't even started yet. Those poor children; killed because their parents were gay. I can't believe it; how cruel the world can be."
"They weren't killed because they had two dads, hun. They were killed because there are people out there who are scared of what they don't get; of things that are different. Angry people, hating everyone different from themselves."
"Yeah, I guess. I still can't believe it though. It's just too fucked up."
"I know baby, I know."
Nick hardened his grip on the man he loved and kissed him deeply before removing his hands. They kept their foreheads together a while longer, then with one last kiss they exited the car and brought the evidence into the lab.
A/N: Hope you like so far! Reviews are most welcomed! The song on Greg's mind is Homophobia by Chumbawamba.