Sara felt amazingly refreshed after her shower. She meandered back down to
the break room where Grissom and Catherine had joined Nick and Warrick.
Grissom was in the middle of briefing them all about what had happened at
Doug Singleton's home. Sara spoke as she entered, "So, if Doug Singleton's
not a viable suspect, then where does that leave us?" She walked over
grabbed a cup and filled it with coffee as Grissom answered.
"Back to the evidence, Sara." Grissom raised an eyebrow as if stating the obvious.
Warrick interjected, "What do we know for sure at this point?"
Catherine answered, "Well our vic wasn't a regular bus rider. So he paid cash."
"Yeah, we found his prints on one of the bills in the fare box." Nick added.
"Yeah, but why did he sit at the back of the bus?" Sara wondered aloud.
"What was that, Sara?" Grissom asked surprised.
She looked up and then around at the rest of the group before she continued. "Why did he sit at the back of the bus. Well dressed professional, first time on the bus, why did he sit at the back. I mean it was full, but not too crowded. When I lived in San Francisco, I took the bus now and then and you could always tell who the infrequent riders were by where they sat. You don't sit in the back if you aren't sure where you're getting off, you sit in the front."
Nick just smiled with a Texas sized grin, "Yeah, who did he know on the bus. That would be the only way he'd sit back there. I mean we could see from the video tape that there was room near the front of the bus. I think he knew whoever sat in the back seat of that bus."
Catherine spoke up, "I think we need to talk to Rhonda Stone again. She might be able to give us information on who her husband knew on that bus."
Grissom considered this for a minute, "Nick and Sara, I want you to go with Catherine to go see Rhonda Stone. Bring the stills from the bus video and see if she recognizes anyone. Warrick, I want you to go back over the rest of the evidence and with a fresh set of eyes. We have less 24 hours until the morning commute. I assume you all realize we're working a double shift."
The team just smiled in response to this, they hadn't even considered going home.
"What are you going to do, Grissom?" Catherine queried.
"I've got a meeting with Mobely." He said in reply.
Warrick headed off down the hall towards one of the layout rooms to see if he could put a new spin on the evidence they had gathered. Grissom left to meet with Mobley to brief him on what they had so far. Catherine, Nick, and Sara headed out to talk to Rhonda Stone, with Catherine behind the wheel of the Tahoe.
As the trio settled into the SUV, Catherine asked, "Didn't I hear that one of the sets of prints you identified belonged to the vic's older son?"
Sara responded from the backseat, "Yeah, but it was on the same bill our vic's prints were found on. We found prints of several other children, you know how the school districts do those fingerprint drives. Most of the prints we found were either too smudged or not in AFIS."
Catherine looked over at Nick who had a very contemplative look on his face, "What is it, Nick?"
Nick looked over at Catherine and then back at Sara, "Just a theory."
Catherine replied, "Feel like sharing?"
Grinning back he replied, "Not just yet."
Shortly, they pulled into the driveway of Rhonda Stone. They made their way to the door and Catherine knocked. Rhonda Stone opened the door, "Catherine, Mr. Stokes."
Nick took the lead, "Mrs. Stone, this is Sara Sidle who works with us at the Crime Lab. We wondered if we could come in and ask you some more questions."
Rhonda Stone opened the door wide, "Of course, come in." She showed them into the living room where the morning sunlight was streaming in.
Sara spoke first, "Mrs. Stone, we've been doing video analysis on the tape we collected from the surveillance camera on the bus. Mr. Stokes and I have put together still photos from the video of each of the people on the bus. We were hoping that you could take a look at these and see if you recognize anyone."
Rhonda Stone looked up with tears at the corner of her eyes, "Of course, Ms. Sidle." Sara handed her the still photos. Rhonda Stone looked at them one by one, setting them down on the coffee table when she had finished. She had three left when she paused to examine one of them more closely. She looked up wit a bewildered expression on her face.
"What is it, Mrs. Stone?" Catherine asked.
"This looks like Robby. This looks like his hat" She handed the photo over to Catherine pointing the baseball cap in the photo.
"Does your son ride the bus?" Nick queried looking over at the photo, which showed a young man with a baseball cap with the logo of a local high school.
"Yeah, he does, he's got a job at a pet store near the mall and we thought it would be good for him to ride the bus until he could afford his own car." She answered.
"Does your son have an LV Transit card?" Sara asked.
Rhonda Stone looked at her and answered, "No, he gets rides with some of his friends and sometimes his boss gives him a ride, he only rides the bus when he can't get a ride."
"Are you sure this is your son, Mrs. Stone?" Nick asked gently.
"Yes, I mean, I know that is his hat, his baseball team made the district playoffs and they all got special hats. He never leaves home without it." She replied.
Sara interjected, "Where is your son now, Mrs. Stone?"
"He's at work, they have a staff meeting once a week and sometimes he goes in early to help with inventory. I think he just likes it because it's a pet store and we would never allow him to have one because of Mike and Ryan's allergies." She answered.
Catherine added, "Mrs. Stone, we're going to want to talk to Robby, and see if he saw anything on the bus that day. Could you give me a call when he gets home."
"Of course, he should be home about 3:00." Rhonda Stone answered.
"Mrs. Stone, thank you for your time." Nick finished for them. The trio got up and headed to the front door where Rhonda Stone showed them out.
As they settled themselves into the Tahoe, Nick turned and looked at Catherine and Sara, "Hey, you two I'm thinking about adopting a pet, want to help me pick out a cat?"
Catherine gave him a quizzical look, "Nick, we're in the middle of a murder investigation."
Sara caught on quicker, "How much is that doggie in the window?"
Nick flashed her a huge smile, "Exactly."
Catherine laughed, "Ok, Nicky, let's go to the mall."
"Back to the evidence, Sara." Grissom raised an eyebrow as if stating the obvious.
Warrick interjected, "What do we know for sure at this point?"
Catherine answered, "Well our vic wasn't a regular bus rider. So he paid cash."
"Yeah, we found his prints on one of the bills in the fare box." Nick added.
"Yeah, but why did he sit at the back of the bus?" Sara wondered aloud.
"What was that, Sara?" Grissom asked surprised.
She looked up and then around at the rest of the group before she continued. "Why did he sit at the back of the bus. Well dressed professional, first time on the bus, why did he sit at the back. I mean it was full, but not too crowded. When I lived in San Francisco, I took the bus now and then and you could always tell who the infrequent riders were by where they sat. You don't sit in the back if you aren't sure where you're getting off, you sit in the front."
Nick just smiled with a Texas sized grin, "Yeah, who did he know on the bus. That would be the only way he'd sit back there. I mean we could see from the video tape that there was room near the front of the bus. I think he knew whoever sat in the back seat of that bus."
Catherine spoke up, "I think we need to talk to Rhonda Stone again. She might be able to give us information on who her husband knew on that bus."
Grissom considered this for a minute, "Nick and Sara, I want you to go with Catherine to go see Rhonda Stone. Bring the stills from the bus video and see if she recognizes anyone. Warrick, I want you to go back over the rest of the evidence and with a fresh set of eyes. We have less 24 hours until the morning commute. I assume you all realize we're working a double shift."
The team just smiled in response to this, they hadn't even considered going home.
"What are you going to do, Grissom?" Catherine queried.
"I've got a meeting with Mobely." He said in reply.
Warrick headed off down the hall towards one of the layout rooms to see if he could put a new spin on the evidence they had gathered. Grissom left to meet with Mobley to brief him on what they had so far. Catherine, Nick, and Sara headed out to talk to Rhonda Stone, with Catherine behind the wheel of the Tahoe.
As the trio settled into the SUV, Catherine asked, "Didn't I hear that one of the sets of prints you identified belonged to the vic's older son?"
Sara responded from the backseat, "Yeah, but it was on the same bill our vic's prints were found on. We found prints of several other children, you know how the school districts do those fingerprint drives. Most of the prints we found were either too smudged or not in AFIS."
Catherine looked over at Nick who had a very contemplative look on his face, "What is it, Nick?"
Nick looked over at Catherine and then back at Sara, "Just a theory."
Catherine replied, "Feel like sharing?"
Grinning back he replied, "Not just yet."
Shortly, they pulled into the driveway of Rhonda Stone. They made their way to the door and Catherine knocked. Rhonda Stone opened the door, "Catherine, Mr. Stokes."
Nick took the lead, "Mrs. Stone, this is Sara Sidle who works with us at the Crime Lab. We wondered if we could come in and ask you some more questions."
Rhonda Stone opened the door wide, "Of course, come in." She showed them into the living room where the morning sunlight was streaming in.
Sara spoke first, "Mrs. Stone, we've been doing video analysis on the tape we collected from the surveillance camera on the bus. Mr. Stokes and I have put together still photos from the video of each of the people on the bus. We were hoping that you could take a look at these and see if you recognize anyone."
Rhonda Stone looked up with tears at the corner of her eyes, "Of course, Ms. Sidle." Sara handed her the still photos. Rhonda Stone looked at them one by one, setting them down on the coffee table when she had finished. She had three left when she paused to examine one of them more closely. She looked up wit a bewildered expression on her face.
"What is it, Mrs. Stone?" Catherine asked.
"This looks like Robby. This looks like his hat" She handed the photo over to Catherine pointing the baseball cap in the photo.
"Does your son ride the bus?" Nick queried looking over at the photo, which showed a young man with a baseball cap with the logo of a local high school.
"Yeah, he does, he's got a job at a pet store near the mall and we thought it would be good for him to ride the bus until he could afford his own car." She answered.
"Does your son have an LV Transit card?" Sara asked.
Rhonda Stone looked at her and answered, "No, he gets rides with some of his friends and sometimes his boss gives him a ride, he only rides the bus when he can't get a ride."
"Are you sure this is your son, Mrs. Stone?" Nick asked gently.
"Yes, I mean, I know that is his hat, his baseball team made the district playoffs and they all got special hats. He never leaves home without it." She replied.
Sara interjected, "Where is your son now, Mrs. Stone?"
"He's at work, they have a staff meeting once a week and sometimes he goes in early to help with inventory. I think he just likes it because it's a pet store and we would never allow him to have one because of Mike and Ryan's allergies." She answered.
Catherine added, "Mrs. Stone, we're going to want to talk to Robby, and see if he saw anything on the bus that day. Could you give me a call when he gets home."
"Of course, he should be home about 3:00." Rhonda Stone answered.
"Mrs. Stone, thank you for your time." Nick finished for them. The trio got up and headed to the front door where Rhonda Stone showed them out.
As they settled themselves into the Tahoe, Nick turned and looked at Catherine and Sara, "Hey, you two I'm thinking about adopting a pet, want to help me pick out a cat?"
Catherine gave him a quizzical look, "Nick, we're in the middle of a murder investigation."
Sara caught on quicker, "How much is that doggie in the window?"
Nick flashed her a huge smile, "Exactly."
Catherine laughed, "Ok, Nicky, let's go to the mall."