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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What do you have?" Sara Sidle asked Captain Jim Brass as she and fellow CSI Nick Stokes descended from the dark blue GMC Denali.
"DB in the crawl space under the house." Brass gestured toward the split level home cordoned off by yellow crime scene tape.
"Who found it?" Nick queried the homicide detective.
Brass glanced at his notepad with a furrowed brow before addressing the pair of CSIs. "Animal control. The homeowner thought that maybe some animal had taken up residence under the house and died."
Nick and Sara exchanged a knowing glance. Both of them had encountered more than their fair share of decomps in their careers, and lately most of them they'd worked together. Nick raised his eyebrow at Sara. "I'll flip you for the lemons."
Sara rolled her eyes, shook her head and chuckled. "I picked them up last time. It's your turn, Nick."
Kits in hand they made their way to the entrance of the crawl space. The stench from the decomposing body was apparent even before they'd knelt down and shone a flashlight into the darkness.
Nick stood up and took a breath of somewhat fresh air, gesturing toward the crawl space. "We're might need more light depending on what we find."
Brass nodded. "Already on the way."
Nick and Sara returned to the Denali to don coveralls, hardhats, and headlamps so they could do a preliminary assessment of the crime scene before they determined if they were going to need that extra lighting.
The body was about twenty-five feet in, underneath what they surmised was the kitchen from the plumbing that snaked through the floor. At first glance, the victim appeared to be young, blond and female. She appeared to have multiple stab wounds, although the flesh had bloated considerably so it was difficult to tell. They photographed the scene and made their way back outside to breathe fresh air until the coroner arrived.
The assistant coroner David arrived to remove the body, and after he left taking the body to the morgue, Nick and Sara went back under the house to continue processing the scene, not really thinking that they were going to need the extra lighting that was on the way. They began to search the scene for any trace evidence the killer might have left behind. As they crawled in a methodical fashion through the crawl space, a loud noise sounded overhead and the house shook.
Sara's head shot up. "What the hell was that?"
Nick continued searching the ground. "Nellis Air Force Base isn't too far from here. Probably a fighter jet out doing maneuvers." He continued on with his task. "It is six o'clock in the morning, military's been up for hours already."
"Do you remember that case that Catherine had a while back where the house collapsed from the vibration from those things?" Sara sounded nervous.
Nick calmly dismissed her remark. "That was a freak accident, Sara. We're perfectly safe."
Still, Sara couldn't shake the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach as she continued the search. Something caught in the light of her headlamp. "Nick, I think I've got something here."
He crawled over to where she was and looked at the small scrap of fabric caught on a nail near where the house met the foundation, and just a few feet beyond where they'd found the body. "Could be the vic's, hard to tell though."
"Could be the killer's." Sara responded, photographing the fabric before using a pair of tweezers to pull it off the nail and slide it into a bindle.
Nick glanced up and noticed a dark stain in the flooring above them. "Sara, what do you make of that?" A wide grin shone on his face.
She pulled out a swab from her kit and rubbed it along the stain, holding it out as Nick put a drop of phenolphthalein on it to test for the presence of blood. As it turned pink, she tossed him a coy expression. "I'd say our primary crime scene is above us."
"Let's finish the rest of this and then go hit the kitchen." Nick was pumped that they'd found something that might not have been readily apparent from above.
They carefully photographed the stain and then continued with their search. As they began to move back toward the crawlspace opening along the foundation wall, they felt a sudden violent lurching of the ground, followed by a violent shaking.
Sara let out a scream as they hunched against the foundation wall. Nick tried to shield her from falling debris as the house began to lurch and the floor above them began to collapse.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What do you have?" Sara Sidle asked Captain Jim Brass as she and fellow CSI Nick Stokes descended from the dark blue GMC Denali.
"DB in the crawl space under the house." Brass gestured toward the split level home cordoned off by yellow crime scene tape.
"Who found it?" Nick queried the homicide detective.
Brass glanced at his notepad with a furrowed brow before addressing the pair of CSIs. "Animal control. The homeowner thought that maybe some animal had taken up residence under the house and died."
Nick and Sara exchanged a knowing glance. Both of them had encountered more than their fair share of decomps in their careers, and lately most of them they'd worked together. Nick raised his eyebrow at Sara. "I'll flip you for the lemons."
Sara rolled her eyes, shook her head and chuckled. "I picked them up last time. It's your turn, Nick."
Kits in hand they made their way to the entrance of the crawl space. The stench from the decomposing body was apparent even before they'd knelt down and shone a flashlight into the darkness.
Nick stood up and took a breath of somewhat fresh air, gesturing toward the crawl space. "We're might need more light depending on what we find."
Brass nodded. "Already on the way."
Nick and Sara returned to the Denali to don coveralls, hardhats, and headlamps so they could do a preliminary assessment of the crime scene before they determined if they were going to need that extra lighting.
The body was about twenty-five feet in, underneath what they surmised was the kitchen from the plumbing that snaked through the floor. At first glance, the victim appeared to be young, blond and female. She appeared to have multiple stab wounds, although the flesh had bloated considerably so it was difficult to tell. They photographed the scene and made their way back outside to breathe fresh air until the coroner arrived.
The assistant coroner David arrived to remove the body, and after he left taking the body to the morgue, Nick and Sara went back under the house to continue processing the scene, not really thinking that they were going to need the extra lighting that was on the way. They began to search the scene for any trace evidence the killer might have left behind. As they crawled in a methodical fashion through the crawl space, a loud noise sounded overhead and the house shook.
Sara's head shot up. "What the hell was that?"
Nick continued searching the ground. "Nellis Air Force Base isn't too far from here. Probably a fighter jet out doing maneuvers." He continued on with his task. "It is six o'clock in the morning, military's been up for hours already."
"Do you remember that case that Catherine had a while back where the house collapsed from the vibration from those things?" Sara sounded nervous.
Nick calmly dismissed her remark. "That was a freak accident, Sara. We're perfectly safe."
Still, Sara couldn't shake the nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach as she continued the search. Something caught in the light of her headlamp. "Nick, I think I've got something here."
He crawled over to where she was and looked at the small scrap of fabric caught on a nail near where the house met the foundation, and just a few feet beyond where they'd found the body. "Could be the vic's, hard to tell though."
"Could be the killer's." Sara responded, photographing the fabric before using a pair of tweezers to pull it off the nail and slide it into a bindle.
Nick glanced up and noticed a dark stain in the flooring above them. "Sara, what do you make of that?" A wide grin shone on his face.
She pulled out a swab from her kit and rubbed it along the stain, holding it out as Nick put a drop of phenolphthalein on it to test for the presence of blood. As it turned pink, she tossed him a coy expression. "I'd say our primary crime scene is above us."
"Let's finish the rest of this and then go hit the kitchen." Nick was pumped that they'd found something that might not have been readily apparent from above.
They carefully photographed the stain and then continued with their search. As they began to move back toward the crawlspace opening along the foundation wall, they felt a sudden violent lurching of the ground, followed by a violent shaking.
Sara let out a scream as they hunched against the foundation wall. Nick tried to shield her from falling debris as the house began to lurch and the floor above them began to collapse.
