A.N. Curse my muse. I have an essay to write. And yet, here I am.
Anyway, here we go again.
* * * * * * *
Sara Sidle made a face. Standing beside her, her supervisor had already gone into crime scene mode, where everything was intensely interesting and held no outward emotional value. Sara shook her head, as Brass made his way over to brief them.
"Isn't this a little out of our jurisdiction?" Sara asked acidly.
As Brass was about to reply, Nick Stokes jumped in ahead of him. "Oh, c'mon Sara, look at all the blood. It's as crime scene as they come."
"That being said, here are your details." Brass finally interjected in his characteristic wry tone. "Night watchman was finishing his rounds when he found the scene. Keepers report that they fed the crocs this morning before opening and cleaned up as per standard procedure. I guess they don't want the public to see what happens during feeding time."
Sara turned a little pale. Beside her, Grissom spoke for the first time. "Well, that croc didn't make the hole in the wall by himself. Nick, go talk to the watchman and then process the hole. Sara, I want you to take as many blood samples as you can. I want to know for sure that all of this belongs to the croc."
Sara stared at him, her disgust and disbelief evident in her face. She opened her mouth to say something that Nick was pretty sure was going to be insulting, so he stepped between her and Grissom and led her off. Grissom, gone back to studying the scene and talking with Brass was oblivious to the whole exchange.
"I can't believe it." Sara fumed, "Does he live on the moon?"
"You'll be fine Sara. Do you want a surgical mask."
The look she shot him had daggers in it, and he held up his hands in apology. She pursed her lips, and set her expression, then headed for the ladder into the enclosure.
Nick got no further information from the watchman. The man had written down a meticulous statement for Brass and when Nick had read the report, he realized that it told him all he needed.
The exhibit was built into a hill. At the top, where a concrete wall and railing separated the visitors from the crocodiles, there was an artificial swamp. At the bottom, where the pond was, the crocs could be viewed from a partially buried observation deck that was behind a glass wall. The glass extended five metres on either side of the pond, and it was through that section that the croc had left.
Nick shone his flashlight along the broken glass. According to the Keeper, the glass was bullet proof, but Nick knew that just about anything could be broken if someone wanted it badly enough. Stopping for a closer look, and reaching for his tweezers and a sample bag, Nick carefully picked up several white fibres off a piece of glass. He swabbed around the glass hoping for some epithelials, and bagged that as well.
"Hey Gris" he shouted, suddenly realizing something
"What" Grissom looked up from his chat with the Keeper.
"There's no glass." He had Grissom's full attention now, "the wall is broken, the croc is gone, and there is no glass."
"At least that means no one gets window duty." Brass commented
Grissom grunted. "How are you coming Sara?"
"I have some two dozen swabs, taken from regular intervals around the enclosure. I kept a record if you want to know the exact location." Grissom missed the bitterness in her voice.
"Right then, we'll head back to the lab and give Greg something to do."
Sara rolled her eyes, and Nick shook his head encouragingly at her. They climbed out of the enclosure, said their good-byes to Brass, and climbed back in the Tahoe for the drive back to the lab.
* * * * * * *
A.N. I think I have an obsessive compulsion. Besides the obvious anyway. I just can't pass up the opportunity to mention the Tahoe at every available opportunity. I am sure there's an explanation.
More soon. (damn muse)
* * * * * * *
Sara Sidle made a face. Standing beside her, her supervisor had already gone into crime scene mode, where everything was intensely interesting and held no outward emotional value. Sara shook her head, as Brass made his way over to brief them.
"Isn't this a little out of our jurisdiction?" Sara asked acidly.
As Brass was about to reply, Nick Stokes jumped in ahead of him. "Oh, c'mon Sara, look at all the blood. It's as crime scene as they come."
"That being said, here are your details." Brass finally interjected in his characteristic wry tone. "Night watchman was finishing his rounds when he found the scene. Keepers report that they fed the crocs this morning before opening and cleaned up as per standard procedure. I guess they don't want the public to see what happens during feeding time."
Sara turned a little pale. Beside her, Grissom spoke for the first time. "Well, that croc didn't make the hole in the wall by himself. Nick, go talk to the watchman and then process the hole. Sara, I want you to take as many blood samples as you can. I want to know for sure that all of this belongs to the croc."
Sara stared at him, her disgust and disbelief evident in her face. She opened her mouth to say something that Nick was pretty sure was going to be insulting, so he stepped between her and Grissom and led her off. Grissom, gone back to studying the scene and talking with Brass was oblivious to the whole exchange.
"I can't believe it." Sara fumed, "Does he live on the moon?"
"You'll be fine Sara. Do you want a surgical mask."
The look she shot him had daggers in it, and he held up his hands in apology. She pursed her lips, and set her expression, then headed for the ladder into the enclosure.
Nick got no further information from the watchman. The man had written down a meticulous statement for Brass and when Nick had read the report, he realized that it told him all he needed.
The exhibit was built into a hill. At the top, where a concrete wall and railing separated the visitors from the crocodiles, there was an artificial swamp. At the bottom, where the pond was, the crocs could be viewed from a partially buried observation deck that was behind a glass wall. The glass extended five metres on either side of the pond, and it was through that section that the croc had left.
Nick shone his flashlight along the broken glass. According to the Keeper, the glass was bullet proof, but Nick knew that just about anything could be broken if someone wanted it badly enough. Stopping for a closer look, and reaching for his tweezers and a sample bag, Nick carefully picked up several white fibres off a piece of glass. He swabbed around the glass hoping for some epithelials, and bagged that as well.
"Hey Gris" he shouted, suddenly realizing something
"What" Grissom looked up from his chat with the Keeper.
"There's no glass." He had Grissom's full attention now, "the wall is broken, the croc is gone, and there is no glass."
"At least that means no one gets window duty." Brass commented
Grissom grunted. "How are you coming Sara?"
"I have some two dozen swabs, taken from regular intervals around the enclosure. I kept a record if you want to know the exact location." Grissom missed the bitterness in her voice.
"Right then, we'll head back to the lab and give Greg something to do."
Sara rolled her eyes, and Nick shook his head encouragingly at her. They climbed out of the enclosure, said their good-byes to Brass, and climbed back in the Tahoe for the drive back to the lab.
* * * * * * *
A.N. I think I have an obsessive compulsion. Besides the obvious anyway. I just can't pass up the opportunity to mention the Tahoe at every available opportunity. I am sure there's an explanation.
More soon. (damn muse)