CSI: Deal or No Deal
It was around 9 am when Gil Grissom got the call. He had just finished a bowl of Cheerios and had been washing the bowl in the sink when the phone began to ring. Grissom wiped his hands off and answered the phone casually. "There's been a homicide," Jim Brass spoke from the other end of the phone. "You won't believe who it is...get here quickly. It's at the downtown McDonalds parking lot."
As Grissom drove to the crime scene, he began to wonder why Brass had sounded so upset. Maybe the victim was someone close to him. His mother? Maybe. "All will be answered at the crime scene," he muttered to himself. He stopped at a red light and turned on the radio. "And now for your top pick of the week," the broadcaster said. The song began and Grissom gasped. "I love this song!!" He turned up the volume as Troy Bolton belted out the first lines of "Breaking Free".
The light turned green and Grissom continued driving to McDonalds. "Soaring," Grissom sang along, "flying...there's not a star in heaven--" The car swerved and almost hit a mailbox "--that we can't reach!!" At last Grissom had reached McDonalds. He parked the car and stepped out, crossing over the yellow police tape.
Warrick Brown and Sara Sydle had already arrived and were examining some tire marks. As Grissom approached the two, he noticed the dead body sprawled across the cement. He recognized the victim immediately. "No..." Grissom gasped, falling to his knees, "Not...not Howie Mandel!!" He burst into tears and Sara walked over to comfort him. Yes, the famous comedian and host of the popular TV gameshow "Deal or No Deal" lay dead in the parking lot.
Just then Catherine Willows walked into the crime scene. "Where's Nick?" she asked casually. Warrick looked up and shrugged. "I don't know, he was supposed to be here over an hour ago." Catherine glanced at the pitiful sight of her boss weeping and walked over to Warrick. "So what evidence has been found so far?"
"Well," Warrick said, shifting over to the victim and pulling up the sleeve. "There are some markings on his wrists, which suggest a struggle. Warrick's hand moved up to Howie's neck. "And there are some strangle marks that appear deeper on the left side..." They all glanced over at Grissom, who was still sobbing, and waited for instructions.
When at last Grissom had regained his posture and had calmed down, he coughed slightly. "Warrick," he muttered, still sad, "you and Catherine will continue searching for evidence here. Sara and I will check out the gameshow studio." Everyone nodded and continued working.
Suddenly a car pulled up and Greg Sanders stepped out happily, whistling the "Deal or No Deal" themesong. "Hey guys!" he waved. "Did you catch the episode of Deal or No Deal last night? Talk about awesome!" His eyes glanced for a moment at the dead body and his smile quickly faded. "No..." he whispered, falling to his knees. "Not...not Howie Mandel!!" Grissom knew where this was going and said quickly, "Greg, you're with me and Sara. We're going to investigate the gameshow studio."
"Isn't it 'Sara and I' ?" Greg asked. Seeing the look on Grissom's face made him jump. "Okay okay, I'll go with you guys." He stood up and followed them to Grissom's car and made their way to the studio.
Meanwhile, Nick Stokes was still at his apartment, and had just finished a jigsaw puzzle. It was a picture of a kitten in a basket. How cute. His home phone rang suddenly. Nick stood up and walked over to where the phone was plugged in. "Stokes," he said, picking up the phone. A girl's voice echoed quietly through the phone. "Seven days..." Totally freaking out, Nick shrieked like a girl and threw the phone back onto the base, hanging it up hastily. He breathed heavily, trying to calm down.
He glanced back at the picture of the kitten, who seemed to be laughing at him, narrowing it's evil glowing yellow eyes. "Come play with me..." the kitten whispered, half giggling. It twirled it's paw as if it were waiting to snatch it's next meal. Nick's eyes widened. "I'm not crazy!" He shrieked, knocking the puzzle off the table. It broke apart and lay in scattered pieces on the white carpet.
Nick's phone rang suddenly again and Nick trembled as he made his way over to the phone. "Hello?" he asked, shaking with fear. "Stokes," said a familiar voice, "Brass called you an hour ago, why aren't you at the crime scene?" Nick sighed with relief. "You wouldn't believe my excuse if I told you, Warrick...I'll be down there as soon as possible." He hung up and sighed again. He grabbed his coat and turned towards the door to leave.
Meanwhile, Grissom, Sara, and Greg had finally arrived at the studio. "So this is where it all happens," Greg said. His eyes widened with glee almost like a child's. He walked over to the center of the room where the button sat, just waiting to be pressed. Just as he was about to push it down, Grissom said hastily, "Sanders, this is evidence. Don't touch anything without gloves on." Greg frowned and snapped on some gloves that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
Grissom shook his head at Greg, who was now prancing around the audience, then turned to Sara. "Check Howie's dressing room for evidence." Sara nodded and walked off. Grissom watched her walk away, then heard a loud crash. He spun around and gasped. "Greg, what are you doing?" he said in dismay. There, at the top of a piled heap of chairs, sat Greg with a sheepish look on his face. "Heh heh...sorry?" Greg apologized. He immediately got up and fixed the chairs, then before Grissom could yell at him, Greg shouted, "I'll go check the back room!" He ran out, leaving a very confused Grissom in the center of the studio.
"Grissom," said a cold voice behind him suddenly. Grissom screamed and turned around, his hand instinctively reaching for the gun at his side. He sighed as he realized it was just Sara. "I'll pretend that never happened," Sara laughed at his girlish scream. Grissom frowned. "I thought I told you to check the dressing room." Sara nodded quietly and looked at her feet. "I did," she nodded. She glanced towards the door that led to his dressing room. "But there's something I need you to see..."
