I forgot to put in that pictures were taken when the blood was found in chapter 5. It's essential to take pictures of a crime scene for future reference and for use in court trials. Bah, anyway...suspicion is drawn upon Adam, but where did that blood really come from? Was it really Cherryl's?
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The two CSIs searched the rest of the house, taking a few pairs of Adam's shoes to match against the shoeprint found at the dumpsite, but didn't find much else that caught their attention. They left through the front door and nodded to the family.
"We're all set here," Sara explained, "But...we do need to discuss something with you two." She stopped and glanced at little Heather. "And I don't think it's something we should talk about in front of Heather."
The child looked up at the two criminalists, then at her fathers who nodded at her. With a wide, rather adorable smile, she quickly skipped back inside the house, humming a tune as she went.
"What is it you want to talk about?" Adam asked nervously as he watched his daughter disappear into the house. "Wh-what, did you find something?" He suddenly appeared nervous and avoided looking at the two directly.
"Well, actually..." Beth started, "We found a lot of blood in the master bathroom. We don't know who's it is just yet, but I can safely say it seems to have been enough to either kill or leave a person close to death."
Adam quickly glanced at Dischord a moment, then snapped his attention back to the two CSIs, his face a bit pale. "W-wait, you think that..." he quickly said with realization.
"No! I promise you, that blood is not my sister!"
"We'll see when the results come back from the lab." Beth said. "But for the moment, unfortunately, we have to consider you a major suspect."
"For what? For blood you haven't identified yet? I told you, it's not-"
"You also told us that you didn't see your sister at all that night, but a hair we found on your sister matches your DNA from the epithelial cells we swabbed earlier." Sara interrupted quickly. "You lied then, what's to say you're not doing it again?"
Adam's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide.
"Adam?"
The boy looked over at his lover, who stared at Adam with concern and confusion. "Look, lying to them isn't going to help clear you from the crime." He said, his eyes showed much unease.
Adam sighed heavily and nervously. "A-all right...yeah, I saw Cherryl that night. I accidentally bumped into her when I was on my walk. We talked for a little bit, then we went our separate ways."
"Was she with anyone?" Beth asked.
"Er...no...she uh...told me she was going to meet up with Cyndie." He told her, taking this time to stare at her feet.
The boy was a horrible Liar.
Or maybe he was just bad at covering his tracks.
Either way, suspicion was definitely not weakening in his favor.
"Well, we'll check back on you after we get the results back from the lab." Sara said with a small smile.
Dischord nodded, but Adam remained silent. "Sure. I think I should talk to Adam for a bit, anyway."
"There's nothing to talk about." The boy retorted and retreated quickly back inside the house. He left behind one hell of a confused lover, and two concerned criminalists.
Beth looked at Dischord. "What's your take on this? All that blood..."
Dischord shrugged and shook his head. "He's not the type to murder, that much I'm confident in. But that blood...I won't know until the results come back, will I?" His face showed growing worry. "But I'll admit...I have a bad feeling, and an equally bad theory..."
Beth nodded. "We'll call you when the results come in. Good news or bad news, you'll be the first to know."
"Hey, Sara?"
The CSI looked at her partner out of the corner of her eye from behind the steering wheel as the two drove back to headquarters.
"Yeah?"
Beth paused a moment in thought. "There was something...odd about that blood." She explained, turning her head to look out her window. "I mean, if he did shoot his sister, wouldn't the blood look more like a splatter? The blood we found..." She closed her eyes and her face twisted in thought. "...it was more like it was dripped from somewhere above the sink."
Sara thought about that a moment. "You know, you're right. That blood might actually be from another source. Do you think we might have another case on our hands?"
"I don't know...this while family is messed up! The sister's being hostile, the brother's got blood in his bathroom, and we don't know a damned thing about the husband!" Beth sighed with heavy annoyance and pushed her glasses to the bridge of her nose.
Sara shrugged and parked the car at CSI headquarters. "For now, the husband's not a suspect. There's not evidence linking him to the crime scene."
The two headed back to the DNA lab, where Greg and Emily were practicing their lip-wrestling.
Beth froze and winced at the sight, but Sara just rolled her eyes and knocked on the doorframe. "What ever happened to your tall blonde with beautiful DNA?" She asked Greg while Beth handed the blood sample to her sister, a grossed out look on her face.
Greg grinned at Sara. "Sheis tall compared to her sister..."
Beth scowled and glared at Greg.
"And she does have beautiful DNA."
"And I'm a dirty blonde." Emily said.
Beth shook her head. "Em, your hair's brown. Dark brown. Nowhere near blonde."
Greg shrugged. "Tastes change when it comes to hair color. I don't need a blonde, I got someone much better."
Emily beamed.
"I'm going to be sick...Anyway, we need you tow to compare the DNA of that blood sample to our victim...or just find a match to it at least." Beth said. "And please, next time you feel the urge to make out, wait until your break or I'm telling Grissom..." She told her sister, and turned to head out of the lab, but was blocked.
Adam stood in the doorway, a nervous look on his face. Beth was curious as to why he wasn't with his boyfriend this time.
"Can I talk to you guys?" He asked in a low voice. "It's...uh...it's really important."
Beth glanced at her sister. "How long will those results take?"
"Few minutes."
Beth looked back at Adam. "Sure, Adam." She said with a smile and headed out into the hall with him. "Hey...why isn't Dischord with you?"
"I...kinda don't want him to hear what I have to say." Adam replied, looking away, the nervousness in his voice growing. "I don't want him freaking out.
Beth raised an eyebrow. "Adam, what exactly is this about?" She asked him, leaning against the wall behind her. "Is this about the blood?"
The boy nodded. "First things first, though, I just want you to know that it was not my sister's blood you found. I didn't kill anyone"
Beth nodded. "We'll let the evidence clear you, but honestly? I believe you. So you mind explaining the blood?"
"..."
"Your silence isn't very reassuring, kid..."
"I-I know...look, you need to understand that I...I would never..." He sighed heavily, "I'm sorry...this is something I've kept to myself for a long time."
"Adam..."
The boy started to rub his hands together. "You're going to find out eventually..." he said grabbing the edges of his sleeves.
Beth reached over and gently patted Adam on the shoulder. "If it's going to help clear you, wouldn't it be best to tell the truth?"
Adam quickly stared at the floor. "Y-yeah, I know...but I'm ashamed to admit that I have a problem.
"What kind of problem?"
Beth and Adam both looked over to see Dischord standing in the hall near them.
"Dischord?"
"What...what kind of problem?" The man asked again.
Adam's eye went a bit wide with surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't find you at home, so I figured you must've come here."
The boy smiled a bit. "You really know me too well, Dischord." He said quietly.
"I don't know anything about this problem you have." He admitted. "You mind telling me about it?"
Adam's smile faded, then he sighed again. "A-all right...as long as it'll put my sister's case back on track." He said and as he began to roll back his sleeves, Beth's attention was drawn to Sara who walked out of the lab.
"He was telling the truth about the blood not being his sister's..." She said, handing Beth the results. "But wait until you find out where the blood did come from."
Beth's eyes widened after she read the results. "No...fucking...way..." She said and looked over at Adam. Dischord was also staring at the boy in shock.
"That time it wouldn't stop...it actually almost...killed me..." Adam said, showing everyone his wrists which were covered in scars.