AN: I could have sworn I fixed that format on the last chapter! Darn, now I
have to go fix it. Review please! I'll update soon...I swear!
Chapter Seventeen: A Clue
"We've got a print!" Warrick called into the lab. He stepped inside and gave the evidence they had collected to Greg. "It's all you, man."
Greg immediately scanned the fingerprint and set the computer to check it against the employee database from the hotel. Then he set to work on the hair recovered from Blaine's office.
"Find anything?" Nick asked from the doorway.
"Jeez, Nick! It's been five minutes!"
"Fifteen," Nick challenged. "Come on, what about the hair? The thread? The print?"
"Nick, just hang on, okay? These things take time. They aren't ready when you - " Greg was interrupted by the beeping of the computer, and both men rushed over.
"Match!"
"Gris, I seriously doubt - "
Grissom held up his hand for silence. Sara rolled her eyes. They had been searching the hotel for hours, and Catherine, Nick, and Warrick had all left. Grissom was convinced there was something else there - Sara wasn't. Grissom had suggested she go dumpster-diving while he finished the guest rooms, but that wasn't her idea of a good time.
"Grissom," Sara said again, a whine creeping into her voice.
"Shh," Grissom replied, still not looking up. Sara heard a soft crack.
"Find something?" Sara asked. "No? Too bad. I guess we'd better go - "
"Good news or bad news?" Grissom interrupted, in usual Grissom-fashion.
"Bad," Sara replied with a sigh.
"We might be working overtime tonight."
"Really? Are you sure that isn't the good news?"
Grissom turned around. He held a corkscrew in his hand.
"Where did you find that?!" Sara shrieked.
"Under the floor."
Sara's mouth gaped. "You pulled up the floor?"
"There was a spot of blood on the floor. It's a hardwood floor."
"Right."
"You look happy," Nick greeted Sara as she strolled into CSI.
"Yeah, we'll be working overtime tonight."
"You found something?" Nick tried to keep the excitement out of his voice.
"Yeah. Did you get a match on the print?"
"What did you find?!"
"Oh, nothing," Sara said, her eyes gleaming. "Just possible murder weapon."
"You got the corkscrew?! Where is it?"
"Grissom's already in the lab."
Everyone was in the lab.
"The print matched Travis Conner, a security guard at the hotel," Warrick announced.
"So.it's not our killer? I mean, Conner is supposed to be working to fix the wires," Sara said.
"Yes, but there was only one print. If he had been working, there would be a lot more, all over the place. I think someone tried to clean up after themselves and missed a spot."
"Plus," Nick said, "if we could easily tell that the wires had been tampered with, wouldn't Conner notice and fix them?"
"Maybe his print was there before - maybe it's old," Greg suggested from behind the lab equipment.
"I don't know about that," Catherine said slowly.
"I don't think so either," Greg replied. "Just trying to, ya know, keep an open mind." There was a pause as a computer beeped and the printer whirred. Greg snatched the paper.
"Blood on the corkscrew," he announced. "I might be able to get something else, but it will take awhile."
"Which room did you find it in, Grissom? I've got a guest list right here," Catherine said.
"Room 106, first floor."
Catherine checked the list, frowned, and checked it again. "No one was staying in that room. No one's been in that room for a month."
"If it is Conner, he would have unlimited access. Was tehre anything else in the room?" Warrick asked.
"No," Grissom said. "It was clean. Are there any other rooms that have been unoccupied for that long?"
Catherine scanned the list. "104, 101, 109, 122, 113, 114, 130.Almost all the rooms on the first floor."
"You said there were hardwood floors on the first floor?" Nick asked. Grissom nodded. "Well, there was carpet or tile in all the other rooms. Do you think they're remodeling?"
Grissom shrugged. "We can check with Blaine."
"The pink thread you found is just a pink cotton thread. The are a few black fibers stuck on it, but that's all I can give you right now," Greg said.
"What about the hair?" Catherine asked.
"It's male. It was dyed black - some guy just going gray."
"It that your professional opinion?" Grissom asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep. Check it out for yourself," Greg said, gesturing towards his work.
"I trust you. I'm going to go call Blaine about the wood floors."
"Yes, we are remodeling," Blaine said, his voice full of pride. "The old wooden flooring is so difficult to maintain up to our standards. We decided to replace it with tile and carpeting."
"What about the first floor? Is that the only one left unfinished?" Grissom asked over his speakerphone. Everyone had gathered in his office to hear the conversation.
"Why, yes. We have been doing one floor, waiting a month, and doing another. We were supposed to begin the first floor, but we had some shipping difficulties. Several boxes of supplies did not arrive, but the company insists that they did! We are trying to sort it out, but with.recent events.we haven't been working on that."
"When did you think the first floor would be completed?"
"Before everything happened, we had scheduled it to be completed two weeks from now. With the delay of supplies, we thought maybe several months, but now."
"Are the rooms on the first floor still available to guests?"
"Oh, yes. We just don't like to use them. I mean, they are our worst rooms right now, since everything else has just been redone, so we try to keep the new rooms filled first, you see. But we do have some special-needs patrons who have stayed on the first floor recently."
"I see. Thank you, Mr. Blaine."
"Anytime, anytime," Blaine said and Grissom hung up the phone.
"Boxes of supplies." Catherine murmured under her breath.
"What?"
"When I checked the supply closet, there were three large boxes stacked in the far corner."
"So?" Nick asked. "It is a supply closet."
"But they could be the 'missing' boxes," Catherine protested.
"And what if they are just boxes of toilet paper or something?" Nick countered.
"We could at least check," Catherine said, exasperated.
"The dumpsters," Sara said suddenly. "I never checked the dumpsters!"
"Alright," Grissom said, "we're going back. The are three dumpsters in the back, so three of you have dumpster duty."
"Three of us? What about you?" Sara asked.
"There are some benefits of being supervisor," Grissom said with a smile.
"Oh no," Catherine mumbled. They were approaching the hotel and they could see blue lights flashing. "That is not a good sign."
"Let's hope no one ruined our crime scene," Grissom said as his beeper went off. He didn't bother checking it, and they got out of the car.
"Grissom!" Brass called. "That was fast."
"We got light speed installed. What happened?"
"We've got another blonde one."
"Homicide?" Grissom said with a hint of surprise.
"Yeah, but this one's.different. You'll see," Brass said and led them towards the alley behind the hotel.
"Well," Catherine said glumly, "at least no one ruined our crime scene."
"In fact, they gave us a whole new one."
Chapter Seventeen: A Clue
"We've got a print!" Warrick called into the lab. He stepped inside and gave the evidence they had collected to Greg. "It's all you, man."
Greg immediately scanned the fingerprint and set the computer to check it against the employee database from the hotel. Then he set to work on the hair recovered from Blaine's office.
"Find anything?" Nick asked from the doorway.
"Jeez, Nick! It's been five minutes!"
"Fifteen," Nick challenged. "Come on, what about the hair? The thread? The print?"
"Nick, just hang on, okay? These things take time. They aren't ready when you - " Greg was interrupted by the beeping of the computer, and both men rushed over.
"Match!"
"Gris, I seriously doubt - "
Grissom held up his hand for silence. Sara rolled her eyes. They had been searching the hotel for hours, and Catherine, Nick, and Warrick had all left. Grissom was convinced there was something else there - Sara wasn't. Grissom had suggested she go dumpster-diving while he finished the guest rooms, but that wasn't her idea of a good time.
"Grissom," Sara said again, a whine creeping into her voice.
"Shh," Grissom replied, still not looking up. Sara heard a soft crack.
"Find something?" Sara asked. "No? Too bad. I guess we'd better go - "
"Good news or bad news?" Grissom interrupted, in usual Grissom-fashion.
"Bad," Sara replied with a sigh.
"We might be working overtime tonight."
"Really? Are you sure that isn't the good news?"
Grissom turned around. He held a corkscrew in his hand.
"Where did you find that?!" Sara shrieked.
"Under the floor."
Sara's mouth gaped. "You pulled up the floor?"
"There was a spot of blood on the floor. It's a hardwood floor."
"Right."
"You look happy," Nick greeted Sara as she strolled into CSI.
"Yeah, we'll be working overtime tonight."
"You found something?" Nick tried to keep the excitement out of his voice.
"Yeah. Did you get a match on the print?"
"What did you find?!"
"Oh, nothing," Sara said, her eyes gleaming. "Just possible murder weapon."
"You got the corkscrew?! Where is it?"
"Grissom's already in the lab."
Everyone was in the lab.
"The print matched Travis Conner, a security guard at the hotel," Warrick announced.
"So.it's not our killer? I mean, Conner is supposed to be working to fix the wires," Sara said.
"Yes, but there was only one print. If he had been working, there would be a lot more, all over the place. I think someone tried to clean up after themselves and missed a spot."
"Plus," Nick said, "if we could easily tell that the wires had been tampered with, wouldn't Conner notice and fix them?"
"Maybe his print was there before - maybe it's old," Greg suggested from behind the lab equipment.
"I don't know about that," Catherine said slowly.
"I don't think so either," Greg replied. "Just trying to, ya know, keep an open mind." There was a pause as a computer beeped and the printer whirred. Greg snatched the paper.
"Blood on the corkscrew," he announced. "I might be able to get something else, but it will take awhile."
"Which room did you find it in, Grissom? I've got a guest list right here," Catherine said.
"Room 106, first floor."
Catherine checked the list, frowned, and checked it again. "No one was staying in that room. No one's been in that room for a month."
"If it is Conner, he would have unlimited access. Was tehre anything else in the room?" Warrick asked.
"No," Grissom said. "It was clean. Are there any other rooms that have been unoccupied for that long?"
Catherine scanned the list. "104, 101, 109, 122, 113, 114, 130.Almost all the rooms on the first floor."
"You said there were hardwood floors on the first floor?" Nick asked. Grissom nodded. "Well, there was carpet or tile in all the other rooms. Do you think they're remodeling?"
Grissom shrugged. "We can check with Blaine."
"The pink thread you found is just a pink cotton thread. The are a few black fibers stuck on it, but that's all I can give you right now," Greg said.
"What about the hair?" Catherine asked.
"It's male. It was dyed black - some guy just going gray."
"It that your professional opinion?" Grissom asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep. Check it out for yourself," Greg said, gesturing towards his work.
"I trust you. I'm going to go call Blaine about the wood floors."
"Yes, we are remodeling," Blaine said, his voice full of pride. "The old wooden flooring is so difficult to maintain up to our standards. We decided to replace it with tile and carpeting."
"What about the first floor? Is that the only one left unfinished?" Grissom asked over his speakerphone. Everyone had gathered in his office to hear the conversation.
"Why, yes. We have been doing one floor, waiting a month, and doing another. We were supposed to begin the first floor, but we had some shipping difficulties. Several boxes of supplies did not arrive, but the company insists that they did! We are trying to sort it out, but with.recent events.we haven't been working on that."
"When did you think the first floor would be completed?"
"Before everything happened, we had scheduled it to be completed two weeks from now. With the delay of supplies, we thought maybe several months, but now."
"Are the rooms on the first floor still available to guests?"
"Oh, yes. We just don't like to use them. I mean, they are our worst rooms right now, since everything else has just been redone, so we try to keep the new rooms filled first, you see. But we do have some special-needs patrons who have stayed on the first floor recently."
"I see. Thank you, Mr. Blaine."
"Anytime, anytime," Blaine said and Grissom hung up the phone.
"Boxes of supplies." Catherine murmured under her breath.
"What?"
"When I checked the supply closet, there were three large boxes stacked in the far corner."
"So?" Nick asked. "It is a supply closet."
"But they could be the 'missing' boxes," Catherine protested.
"And what if they are just boxes of toilet paper or something?" Nick countered.
"We could at least check," Catherine said, exasperated.
"The dumpsters," Sara said suddenly. "I never checked the dumpsters!"
"Alright," Grissom said, "we're going back. The are three dumpsters in the back, so three of you have dumpster duty."
"Three of us? What about you?" Sara asked.
"There are some benefits of being supervisor," Grissom said with a smile.
"Oh no," Catherine mumbled. They were approaching the hotel and they could see blue lights flashing. "That is not a good sign."
"Let's hope no one ruined our crime scene," Grissom said as his beeper went off. He didn't bother checking it, and they got out of the car.
"Grissom!" Brass called. "That was fast."
"We got light speed installed. What happened?"
"We've got another blonde one."
"Homicide?" Grissom said with a hint of surprise.
"Yeah, but this one's.different. You'll see," Brass said and led them towards the alley behind the hotel.
"Well," Catherine said glumly, "at least no one ruined our crime scene."
"In fact, they gave us a whole new one."