SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 54 out, this is Chapter 55 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?
Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny which, unfortunately, is still alive and kicking.
Chapter 55: Leapin' Lizards
"MREs, automatic weapons, ammo, water…" Brass listed, entering the hallway of Conners' residence. "This guy Connors was ready for the end of days."
"Which, in his case, was today." Nick snorted. "Bomb squad find any booby traps?"
"No, he liked it mano a mano." Brass replied.
"Any sign of Chyna De Vere?" Nick asked.
"Not yet." Brass replied.
"You know, there's some food, you just shouldn't see where it comes from." Warrick remarked as he and Grissom rounded to the backyard.
"Did you know that pigs are very intelligent animals, right behind chimps, dolphins and elephants?" Grissom asked.
"Ahead of dogs?" Warrick wondered.
"And certain politicians." Grissom quipped, causing Warrick to chuckle.
"I don't see Connors' truck anywhere." Warrick remarked.
"Let's look in the barn." Grissom suggested.
"There's the truck." Warrick stated, steeping up to the area where the blue truck was parked. "If this is Chyna De Vere's blood, we're getting warmer." He added, spotting bloodstains in the bed and took the chance to snap photos. "Looks like he had a hobby: stuffed animals." He stopped near the table and looked at the items on it while Grissom continued toward the other side of the barn.
"Hey, Warrick." Grissom called, from his side of the barn.
"Yeah?" Warrick answered back.
"I feel like Marco Polo." Grissom replied and Warrick headed over towards him.
"Why's that?" Warrick asked.
"I just discovered Chyna." Grissom nodded towards the head that was mounted up on the wall.
"This is a career first." Dr. Philips remarked, looking at the head on the wall.
"A little tip for you: The new Mrs. Phillips doesn't need to hear about this." Warrick remarked from the table beside the medical examiner.
"Are you kidding me?" Dr. Philips replied. "She'll want to hear every detail. Why do you think I married her?"
"Look what he used on the incision." Dr. Robbins nodded at the head after he and Dr. Philips removed it from the mounting board.
"Duct tape?" Grissom echoed some time later.
"Yeah, he used it to close up the laceration from a sharp force perimortem wound." Dr. Robbins replied. "Corresponds to the indentation in the skull."
"Could that be the fatal wound?" Grissom asked when Dr. Robbins showed him the wound.
"Give me the rest of the body and I can tell you." Dr. Robbins answered.
"Nick's working on it." Grissom supplied. "Almost three inches, smooth-edge blade; you know, Catherine found…" he trailed
"Yeah, I heard." Dr. Robbins cut in, peeling off the duct tape. "A sword - everyone's talking about this one. Why would anybody want to taxidermy a human head?" he looked over at Hank Conner's body behind him.
"I'm still working on the 'how'." Grissom replied.
"That, I can tell you." Dr. Robbins remarked. "Mounted one myself. A deer- Dad was a hunter. First, our guy had to separate the head from the body. For that, he used a serrated-edge knife." Showing Grissom the pattern on the bottom of the skin, he continued. "Dad used a carving knife, same one we used at Thanksgiving. When mom found out, she almost killed him with it."
"Heart-warming." Grissom muttered.
"Yeah, so then... he had to flesh the skin away from the underlying muscle." Dr. Robbins continued. "Next, he would've stretched the skin out on a board, rubbed it with rock salt, then waited two days. Then he tanned the skin to preserve it, hydrated it with a borax and water solution to keep the bugs off. Next, he cleaned the skull, filled the imperfections with clay, sawdust, anything at hand. Popped in two glass eyes, and then..."
"And he's got the best-looking wall mount in the neighbourhood." Grissom finished, nodding. "We're going to need to process that tool-mark."
"Yeah, I'll get it over to CSI." Dr. Robbins noted.
"According to the Palermo, Shannon Turner joined the Player's Club last month." Archie was reviewing the Palermo security tape with Sara. "Whenever a player uses a club card at a table game, the floor man writes down what game you played, where you sat, what time you started, time you quit. Then they estimate your average bet, win-loss ratios..."
"No wonder she believed in conspiracies." Sara noted.
"Well, this is the first time Shannon used her card." Archie stated, fast-forwarding the video and stopped on Shannon at Chyna's table.
"And the dealer is Chyna." Sara added.
"A week later." Archie remarked, putting in a different video. "By now, she's a regular."
"Looks like they're best friends." Sara noted.
"Two weeks ago." Archie brought out another video.
"Table's full." Sara noticed. "She's waiting for a seat."
"Shannon only gambled at Chyna's table." Archie stated.
"Maybe Chyna was her lucky charm." Sara guessed.
"That depends on how you define luck." Archie remarked, putting up Shannon's tally sheet showing losses every week.
"She never walked away a winner." Sara gaped.
"Maybe she blamed Chyna for her losses." Archie suggested.
"She's too friendly." Sara objected. "I think she was gaining her trust. Stalking her."
"Hey, Warrick, I got something." Archie called out to Warrick who was passing by. "I was scanning the casino footage from the day Chyna disappeared. And she had a visitor: her husband."
"She doesn't look so happy to see him." Warrick noted, watching the arguing couple on the screen. "Well, we don't need words to get that." He added, seeing Preston over the ring.
"'Give me your ring. I really, really hate you. Our marriage is over.'" Archie translated.
"Well, that means she was killed before she had a chance to change her clothes." Warrick remarked, seeing Chyna slip both rings into her pocket. "That would explain why we found both rings in the ashes. But it doesn't explain what happened to him. And speaking of marriage, when are you and Adeline getting married?"
"Somewhere this autumn or winter." Archie replied, smiling. "We haven't set a definite date yet."
"The future Mrs. Johnson doesn't like the heat, does she?" Warrick grinned.
"Well, winter is her favourite season." Archie quipped.
"Doc Rob found it embedded in this." Adeline showed Warrick the bullet that was extracted. "T-9 vertebra."
"But that means the bullet had to pass through at least one vital organ." Warrick noted.
"Yup," Adeline nodded. "The heart, the lung, and then the dome of the liver. And that's your COD."
"And you're sure these are Chyna De Vere's bones." Warrick pressed.
"Positive." Adeline nodded. "The pelvis is female. No duplicate bones. The femur's the same length as the one the pigs were snacking on. That's her."
"Okay." Warrick took the bindle Adeline had dropped the bullet in. "Well, we'll run this against Connors' guns."
"And just when you think our cases couldn't get any weirder, this pops up." Archie shook his head.
"What?" Adeline rolled her eyes. "Shape-shifting reptile-like aliens using their offspring to conquer the human race? This whole 'Drago Conspiracy' is just a conspiracy, Arch. Heck they even listed 3 US presidents, most members of Congress, and the entire British royal family as reptilian shape-shifters."
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.
