"Hi! Anything new?" Warrick entered Gris' office with a fresh coffe. He still looked a bit shaken but it was obvious the young man had gotten a grip again.
"Warrick." Gil greeted his protégé, "Of course none of the Joneses admitted to have been with Marcus. We managed to sneak away some pieces we can use as DNA-samples, though."
"You… how did you do that?" Warrick had an idea, but he wanted to hear it.
"Oh, Nicky's a pretty boy, good to talk to." Gris grinned.
"Oh man! But I bet you didn't leave empty handed as well. I mean, if you keep the bugs out of sight, you're attractive." Warrick laughed.
"Thanks for the compliment. Indeed, I snatched two or three items. Greg is already doing the scans." Gil couldn't help but smile. Warrick left to see if he could speed up Greg somehow.
+++
"Nick, bro! Heard you have a new obsession?" Warrick strolled casually into the break-room to get another coffe before he would scan the personal belongings of Marcus once more.
"What?" Nick looked up from a magazine.
"Yesterday. You. Gris said you guys went cruising?" Warrick made it sound as if he was completely incredulous.
"Oh man! Don't remind me! I can still feel their stares and greedy hands on me."
"The curse of being attractive, Nick." Warrick laughed.
"You know, it made me think of women. I mean, we treat them a lot like that. I felt like a chunk of meat yesterday." Nick was honestly thoughtful, "I should really keep this in mind."
"Well then, keep your back to the wall, man." Warrick amicably slapped Nick's back and headed for the lab.
+++
"Hey!" Warrick was indeed a little bit nervous. He had decided to try and keep the thing on a professional basis at work. No need to give them a reason for gossip before even he himself knew whether things would work out with Cath or not. He first wanted to become more stable. He believed that, for a working relationship he had to get rid of his addiction. He had seen too often addictions ruining everything, hurting people and destroying trust. It was not what he wanted and Cath and Linds sure deserved better than that..
"Hi. How are you?" Cath was already buried in work.
"Better. Your visit helped a lot, for several reasons."
"Glad to hear." Cath had decided to keep their date under covers. Not only was there no need to start gossip, but she wanted to be certain before she would present a lover to Lindsay. The kid needed stability, not a bunch of changing lovers coming and going. OK, to be honest, there had been none. And she would not start confronting the kid with several guys. Lindsay would meet Mr. Right when it was certain. She hoped Warrick would understand this.
"So, you found anything?" Warrick put on the gloves.
"Nope." Catherine sighed, "probably they didn't even had physical contact."
"Yeah. Man, there must be something! Did we find the books?"
"Nothing." Cath shook her head.
"Why would he carry an empty school-bag around?"
"So the assailant took the books away."
"Why?" Warrick said.
"Imagine you stalk that kid. You throw stones until Marcus collapses. If you're a fag-hater, you'd be content by now, right?"
"Right." The tall man winced.
"If you were really bold, you'd search for money, right?"
"Unless I get interrupted, probably."
"So you search Marcus. You search his bag. Maybe you find money. Why do you pick up the books you scattered around earlier?"
"I'm afraid I left fingerprints." Warrick stated the obvious, "But why then did I not take the bag as well? Would make sense. On the other hand: If I had left fingerprints on my search, I would have left some on his bag or his clothes. But there are none."
"So the books were not taken away because of fingerprints." Cath said.
"No. What did you have in your school-bag? I mean, there are not only books, right?"
"Phew. Standard stuff: make-up, pens, books, lunch, my notes –"
"Notes! His notes, Cath, that's it!" Warrick was excited, "OK, I knew my victim, probably have rented him earlier. For some reason we start arguing. Things get physical, somehow I stone him. I'm afraid he might have notes on me, so I grab all his books and stuff. Skimming onsite would take too much time, so I take it all with me."
"You'd make a good criminal" Cath smiled
"Thank you so much! Problem: still no prints." Warrick frowned.
"Yeah."
They kept looking for several moments. Then Catherine checked the empty school-bag once more. Her hands accidentally slipped into the bag's inner lining. It was broken at that spot! Catherine took a closer look.
"Bingo!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Warrick was at her side in no time, leaning over her shoulder so follow the beam of light. Two crumpled, folded sheets covered with hand-written notes.
"Take a picture, Warrick!"
The man complied, then Catherine pulled out the paper, unfolded it and started to read. It was covered with notes and dates, observations on a Jones who obviously had bought Marcus' service several times.
"OK, now we can go back and try to find this Mr. Caruthers at that bar."
"What are you waiting for?" Warrick held open the door.
"Warrick." Gil greeted his protégé, "Of course none of the Joneses admitted to have been with Marcus. We managed to sneak away some pieces we can use as DNA-samples, though."
"You… how did you do that?" Warrick had an idea, but he wanted to hear it.
"Oh, Nicky's a pretty boy, good to talk to." Gris grinned.
"Oh man! But I bet you didn't leave empty handed as well. I mean, if you keep the bugs out of sight, you're attractive." Warrick laughed.
"Thanks for the compliment. Indeed, I snatched two or three items. Greg is already doing the scans." Gil couldn't help but smile. Warrick left to see if he could speed up Greg somehow.
+++
"Nick, bro! Heard you have a new obsession?" Warrick strolled casually into the break-room to get another coffe before he would scan the personal belongings of Marcus once more.
"What?" Nick looked up from a magazine.
"Yesterday. You. Gris said you guys went cruising?" Warrick made it sound as if he was completely incredulous.
"Oh man! Don't remind me! I can still feel their stares and greedy hands on me."
"The curse of being attractive, Nick." Warrick laughed.
"You know, it made me think of women. I mean, we treat them a lot like that. I felt like a chunk of meat yesterday." Nick was honestly thoughtful, "I should really keep this in mind."
"Well then, keep your back to the wall, man." Warrick amicably slapped Nick's back and headed for the lab.
+++
"Hey!" Warrick was indeed a little bit nervous. He had decided to try and keep the thing on a professional basis at work. No need to give them a reason for gossip before even he himself knew whether things would work out with Cath or not. He first wanted to become more stable. He believed that, for a working relationship he had to get rid of his addiction. He had seen too often addictions ruining everything, hurting people and destroying trust. It was not what he wanted and Cath and Linds sure deserved better than that..
"Hi. How are you?" Cath was already buried in work.
"Better. Your visit helped a lot, for several reasons."
"Glad to hear." Cath had decided to keep their date under covers. Not only was there no need to start gossip, but she wanted to be certain before she would present a lover to Lindsay. The kid needed stability, not a bunch of changing lovers coming and going. OK, to be honest, there had been none. And she would not start confronting the kid with several guys. Lindsay would meet Mr. Right when it was certain. She hoped Warrick would understand this.
"So, you found anything?" Warrick put on the gloves.
"Nope." Catherine sighed, "probably they didn't even had physical contact."
"Yeah. Man, there must be something! Did we find the books?"
"Nothing." Cath shook her head.
"Why would he carry an empty school-bag around?"
"So the assailant took the books away."
"Why?" Warrick said.
"Imagine you stalk that kid. You throw stones until Marcus collapses. If you're a fag-hater, you'd be content by now, right?"
"Right." The tall man winced.
"If you were really bold, you'd search for money, right?"
"Unless I get interrupted, probably."
"So you search Marcus. You search his bag. Maybe you find money. Why do you pick up the books you scattered around earlier?"
"I'm afraid I left fingerprints." Warrick stated the obvious, "But why then did I not take the bag as well? Would make sense. On the other hand: If I had left fingerprints on my search, I would have left some on his bag or his clothes. But there are none."
"So the books were not taken away because of fingerprints." Cath said.
"No. What did you have in your school-bag? I mean, there are not only books, right?"
"Phew. Standard stuff: make-up, pens, books, lunch, my notes –"
"Notes! His notes, Cath, that's it!" Warrick was excited, "OK, I knew my victim, probably have rented him earlier. For some reason we start arguing. Things get physical, somehow I stone him. I'm afraid he might have notes on me, so I grab all his books and stuff. Skimming onsite would take too much time, so I take it all with me."
"You'd make a good criminal" Cath smiled
"Thank you so much! Problem: still no prints." Warrick frowned.
"Yeah."
They kept looking for several moments. Then Catherine checked the empty school-bag once more. Her hands accidentally slipped into the bag's inner lining. It was broken at that spot! Catherine took a closer look.
"Bingo!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Warrick was at her side in no time, leaning over her shoulder so follow the beam of light. Two crumpled, folded sheets covered with hand-written notes.
"Take a picture, Warrick!"
The man complied, then Catherine pulled out the paper, unfolded it and started to read. It was covered with notes and dates, observations on a Jones who obviously had bought Marcus' service several times.
"OK, now we can go back and try to find this Mr. Caruthers at that bar."
"What are you waiting for?" Warrick held open the door.
