Sara made a face. "But I can tell you who did it," he finished, smiling broadly. The three weren't amused. His smile faded. "Right—tough crowd," he murmured.
"So?" Sara still wanted her answer. Dom raised an eyebrow.
"D'you know you ask too many questions?"
"That's her job," Grissom pointed out firmly. Dom closed his eyes, calming himself.
"And my job is to observe and take notes—not to delve into my personal life," he responded slowly, looking down at the table. Grissom glared at him. "But if you like—there will be a question and answer session at the end of this program, so feel free to write down any, and all, inquiries you may have—and I shall do my best to answer them," he finished, condescendingly; there was a glint in his eye. The three remained quiet.
"Right—so without further interruption, I would like to begin," he cleared his throat. "You—me—We are all very busy people—I know—so I will get this over as quick as I can," he told them, picking up a stack of papers. Just then, the door to the lounge opened.
"I don't know man; somethin' doesn't seem right," Nick Stokes commented, walking through the door. He seemed slightly surprised that there were already four people in there—but that didn't stop him from continuing on to the coffeemaker.
"Yea I know," Warrick Brown commented, entering the already crowded lounge. "What's goin' on in he-a?" he asked upon seeing the other three at the table.
Dom leaned towards Sara.
"Who are they?" he asked quite audibly. She pointed to Nick.
"That's—"
"Nick Stokes," Nick called over his shoulder. He grabbed his mug, and then quickly headed over to the table. He set his mug down, and extended his hand towards Dom. Dom shook it.
"Dominic Henley," he answered. "But call me Dom. Here take a seat." Nick nodded, and sat down at the table. "And you are?" Dom asked Warrick, who was still standing in the doorway.
"Warrick Brown," he answered, walking slowly towards Dom, giving him a suspicious look.
"OK, Warrick. I'm Dom, nice to meet you," he shook his hand. "If you could just take a seat."
"Yea," he murmured back, still eyeing him warily. Dom didn't seem to notice, or he didn't care. He returned to the head of the table.
"Ok," he said, clapping his hands together, and looking up at the group before him. "Is this everybody?" They all looked at each other.
"Sure," Nick finally answered, smiling. Dom gave a slight shrug.
"Good enough. Ok—I guess I can begin then," he was more or less talking to himself now. "Right." Grissom checked his watch and sighed loudly.
"Ok, first off," he motioned towards himself. "My name is Dominic Henley—for those of you who have forgotten already-"
"How could we." He ignored that statement.
"And I am a research analyst for a production company out in Hollywood, California." Both Nick and Warrick were slightly surprised by this news. Nick raised his hand. Dom acknowledge him—but continued on his way.
"You may be wondering as to why I am here-" he paused, fingering the stack of papers in front of him.
"Actually—"
"I am here," Dom wasn't about to allow Grissom to finish. "Because it seems that somebody has come up with an idea;" he leaned on the table. "An idea to create a television show—a show—that would be based around crime scene investigation." He looked around, letting that sink in. Sara was looking back down at the table; Grissom looked nonplussed; Catherine was watching Grissom, and Nick and Warrick looked confused—at best.
Nick raised his hand again. Dom motioned for him to put it down.
"I am not talking about those 'Court TV' type shows—where it's all science and whatnot," he explained, waving his hands around. Grissom mumbled something inaudible, but Dom ignored him. "What I am talking about—is a primetime cable network show," he said dramatically. "A show—that would basically be like no other—It would be less of a whodunit, then a howdunit." He smiled at his own ingenuity. 'That was good', he thought happily.
However the group looked—stunned? Nick raised his hand again. Dom sighed.
"Ok; picture this," he motioned with his hands. "Within the first few moments the plot would be set in motion; i.e. you see the crime happen; or a body would be found—ok?" he looked for conformation. At least Sara gave a slight nod. "Then the rest of the hour or so would be devoted to the task of solving 'said crime'," he paused. This time; Catherine raised her hand. Dom glanced at her, dropping his hands down.
"Yes?"
"How come she got called on?!" Nick asked indignantly. Dom shrugged.
"Ladies first?" Nick didn't seem to like that answer; but he left it alone.
"Yea Nick, maybe you'll learn something from him," Cath remarked. Nick made a face, but chose not to rebut. Dom gave a weak smile.
"Ok yea anyways, how is that possible?"
"How is what possible?"
"Say…solving a murder in an hour," Dom smiled and shook his head. "How is that possible?"
"Catherine; you disappoint me," he put his hand over his heart. Both Nick and Warrick found it amusing. "That's what TV's for. It would give you a condensed version; a slim-ed down account of the real thing. Think Law&Order."
"So a misleading interpretation." Dom sighed, looking at Grissom. The older man leaned back in his chair, waiting for his answer. Dom paused, tapping his chest, looking for the right words.
"Some things would be—embellished; yes," Grissom raised an eyebrow. "But it would never stray far from the truth."
"How would this be different than Law&Order?" Sara jumped in. Grissom wasn't too pleased with the interruption. Dom hastily looked over at her.
"Ah—see—Law&Order deals with the 'Law', the police officers; and the 'Order' the district attorneys that prosecute—hence the name," he said with a devilish smile. Sara didn't look amused. He quickly continued. "But see; this new idea; this new show; it would deal with the forensics process. It would show how the evidence left at a scene, is collected, processed and analyzed—and how it leads us to the killer."
"Ah," She leaned back in her chair. Dom smiled in satisfaction. At least something got through. They actually remained quiet this time.
"Ok. Any more questions? Or can I continue?" He looked expectantly around the group.
After a moment, Nick raised his hand. Dom sighed.