Author's Chapterly Outburst: Wow, I know Robert David Hall is an amazing actor but never knew all that he'd been through. This guy is a real trooper and awesome to boot. I tried including the link, but it didn't work so I guess just go to Yahoo and search their news articles for Robert David Hall…sorry…I tried
Also, in case you haven't noticed, this story does contain spoilers for various episodes…yeah…sorry…better late than never though…
It's also good to see some new names on the review board; thanks for reading, guys
dakFinv: Rocky Horror…nice :)
Charlie: Yeah, I played the whole exchange between Archie and Greg in my head and it just seemed like it would fit the two of them :)
Jnp: I'm glad you like my original character…I was a little wary about taking on a fic that included one as a main part of the story because I know how some people can get upset about upsetting canon…I myself prefer stories that stick to canon…but, anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing :)
Csifan1: Yeah, Greg does deserve to get out of the office…it would also be nice to see him shirtless on a surfboard, lol :)…very nice…and he did tell Nick that one time that he "rips"...but I think that just having them jet off to Cali would kind of upset the flow of the story, y'know…besides, I don't want to take your ideas; you write a story about Greg living it up on the west coast :). I'm sure you'd do well; thanks for reading by the way
Jess: Good to have you on board, and "le sigh"…that was cute, lol…reminded me of Pepe Le Pew…I loved those cartoons…
Jon D: Ich bin ein Viertel Deutsch und ich liebe die Sprache. :) Aber spreche ich nur ein bißchen. Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Und ich danke dich für lesen. :)
BrokeDownRageMachine: Welcome to the story; I'm glad you're liking it :). I hope it continues to live up to everybody's expectations.
Szhismine: Yeah, I was all ready for Eric to be getting more screen time too seeing as his character is supposed to be training to be a CSI; and after seeing the previews for next weeks episode, it looks like they're going to have another episode focusing on Catherine…don't get me wrong, I like her; the show wouldn't be the same without her…but the other characters have lives and backgrounds as well, y'know...
KAPITEL SIEBEN
Catherine Willows pulled on a pair of latex gloves with a snap and proceeded to smooth the size 3X letter jacket out onto the table. She took out a strip of tape and pressed it to the blue 'M' which was embroidered with a small football. She carefully folded over the other side of the tape, preserving the evidence she'd lifted. She knew the 'M' on the jacket stood for McKinley as in McKinley High and President McKinley. Yeah, he wasn't the most famous of presidents, but he was a president nonetheless which meant there'd undoubtedly be a school named after him somewhere down the line in U.S. history. Faraday and Blake both went to McKinley, but, while Brad's brother was a senior, they were sophomores.
She compared the two fiber samples. "A match," she murmured to herself. "Let's see if this jacket's going to do anymore talking."
Catherine noted a small tear in the black pseudo-leather of the right sleeve. Her gloved hands felt around in the left-hand pocket, but when they didn't find anything, they went to the right side pocket.
"And we have a winner," she smirked as she held up a key and a pair of gloves.
"Find something interesting?"
Catherine looked up to the doorway to see her supervisor standing in there.
"Yeah, a key and some gloves," she told him pulling out fingerprint powder and a brush. "And we finally got a match on those blue fibers."
"So, either he borrowed his brother's jacket or—"
"Or his brother was in that house," Catherine finished his thought as she finished printing the key. "Got a beautiful print; we might be able to get a hit from AFIS."
"Alright, I'm going to tell Greg he's back on the case; you get to work on that key. Also, swab the inside of those gloves for epithelials," Grissom said.
"Faraday's off the hook?" Catherine asked already knowing the answer. She just wanted to hear it from Grissom to "make it official."
"She's off the hook; however, Brad and his brother are not."
Grissom turned and left to track down Greg in the DNA lab while Catherine set to work preparing the print to run through AFIS. Grissom passed Nick in the hallway.
"Oh, hey, Nick?" Grissom called turning around.
"Yeah, Boss?" Nick asked spinning around.
"Good pick up about the letter jacket; we got a match."
"Alright," Nick said with a smile before continuing on his way. He always liked it when Grissom took the time to give him credit and praise for a job well done. He sometimes felt inadequate in his line of work, and recognition from his supervisor and peers reassured him that he was, indeed, a good CSI.
Grissom continued on his way to the lab. He saw Greg carefully measuring out chemicals and putting them into different test tubes. He knocked on the doorframe, something he'd never done in the entire time he and Greg had worked together. Grissom was used to barging in, but, this time, he was here on a personal matter of Greg's, not evidence, so he figured he could be polite.
Greg looked up from the test tubes. "Oh, hey, Grissom."
"You're back on the case, Greg."
"Really? My sister's not a part of your investigation anymore?" he asked breaking out into a grin.
"No," the older man answered with a slight smile.
"Alright!" Greg celebrated. "No more being run ragged by Ecklie. It's all Olivia's now. What d'you got for me?"
"Nothing…so why don't you finish what you started for Days."
Greg's face fell. "Ok," he grumbled.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Grissom and Sara sat across the table in the first of several interrogation rooms along the corridor; across from them Brad Peterson sat fidgeting. Next to him, his father sat with a hand on his son's shoulder, trying to reassure him that he had nothing to worry about. In the next room over, his older brother was in a similar setting, sitting across from Nick and Warrick, only he was by himself because he was eighteen and wasn't required to have a guardian present. Mrs. Peterson had stayed home because she wanted no part of this "gross display of injustice."
"Brad, do you ever borrow your brother's jacket?" Grissom asked.
"No, he won't let me."
"Have you ever borrowed it without asking? Like, when he wasn't around?" Sara inquired.
Brad hesitated. "Yeah, a couple times. Whenever he wasn't at the house, and I was going out with friends, I'd wear it."
"Did you wear it to the Abraham's that night?" Brass asked staring the kid down.
"My son told you he has been there in weeks!"
"Mr. Peterson, you're going to have to control yourself," Grissom warned. His attention was drawn away towards the window behind Brad and his father. Catherine was motioning for him to come outside through the blinds. "Excuse me," he said getting up.
"Only fingerprints on the key were from our boy, Brad, in there," Catherine explained.
Grissom nodded and went back into the interrogation room.
"Brad, your fingerprints were found on your key to the Abraham's house, which can be expected considering it is your key, but what was is doing in your brother's jacket?"
"I-I don't know," the boy gestured searching for words. "The last I remember, it was on my keychain, where I always keep it."
Grissom narrowed his eyes and studied Brad for a moment; the boy did seem sincerely befuddled. Of course, he could just be an excellent actor. He wondered how far Nick and Warrick were getting in the next room. He looked up to once again see Catherine gesturing outside of the blinds, but this time she was pointing at Sara. Sara excused herself and met Catherine outside the interrogation room.
"What?" Sara asked.
"I was just thinking, given the witness' account of what the intruder looked like, the evidence you found in the tree house, let's just, for now, assume that Brad's brother is guilty. Did you or Nick ever ask yourselves how the hell he got to Blake up in that tree without being able to fit through opening? And how he got out of it with her?"
Sara's face clouded over with disbelief. "Oh my God, we missed it. We screwed up; we didn't fully check the crime scene."
Catherine felt anger within her. "Sara, you're smarter than this; you can't afford to make mistakes like this!" she hissed not wanting to draw attention to the pair.
"You don't think I feel bad about this?" Sara asked angrily. "And I'm not alone in this; Nick was there too."
"All I have to say is you better get over to the Abraham residence and hope that nothing has gotten to any evidence you missed," Catherine ordered with a tinge of disgust.
Sara stared after her with an open mouth for a moment. Sometimes Catherine grated her nerves like one wouldn't believe; to Sara, Catherine sometimes forgot that she was a peer, and saw herself as above them. Sara almost pointed out that Catherine had blown up the lab and almost killed Greg, but that would have been beyond inappropriate. After getting over the initial shock of Catherine's tirade, Sara turned and left to go to the Abraham's.
"So, David, any idea how your brother's key was in your jacket?" Warrick asked.
"I don't know; he could've borrowed my jacket. I never let him, but, who knows, he probably wears it when I'm not around."
Warrick looked at the stocky senior in front of him. He wasn't particularly attractive with a shaved head, big nose, and a face that seemed to sag. He looked like a teenage Detective Brass, but Warrick would never say that out loud.
"Do you know Blair or Blake Abraham?" Nick inquired.
"I know 'em, yeah. My brother was going out with Blair; I told him he should take advantage of the fact their dad was out of town. Use it "get a little closer to her", if you know what I mean," he explained crudely with a smile.
Nick and Warrick exchanged glances. Both were thinking the same thing; David knew that Mr. Abraham wasn't at home that night Blake was abducted.
"Are you friends with them? Do you hang out with them?"
David snorted. "No. They're twelve and fifteen years old; I don't play that game."
"Right, the game you play is football. Varsity football. Let me ask you something; how did fibers from your jacket get inside that house? I mean, you just told me you don't hang out with them; what's the deal?" Nick questioned.
"I told you my brother borrows it," David maintained gritting his teeth.
"What about the gloves? Yeah, it's October, but it's not really cold enough out for gloves."
"I don't know; they could've been left there from another time. My brother could've used them; who the hell knows."
Nick looked up to see Catherine outside the window. She was beginning to get tired of going back and forth between Trace and DNA and the interrogation room; she felt like a gofer.
"What d'you got?" Nick drawled.
"Greg needs samples to compare with the DNA he lifted from the epithelial cells in the gloves."
Nick nodded and went back into the room. Catherine then went and told Grissom the same thing. While Brad voluntarily let her swab his mouth, David was making them get a warrant. "That's fine," Brass told him. "Won't take but fifteen minutes." Soon Greg had samples from both the boys and was working on the comparison.
"You gotta admit David you're not lookin' too good," Nick stated. "Witness account describes someone matching you're build. What happened? Did you forget there was another person in the house, and you couldn't handle both of them?"
"I want a lawyer," David said crossing his arms over his chest and sitting back in his chair. He looked at them defiantly. Warrick and Nick knew they couldn't question him anymore; he'd requested counsel.
They both looked past the boy to see Catherine gesturing enthusiastically at them. This time Warrick went.
"DNA matches our football player," Catherine said with a grin.
"Alright! Warrant to search his room coming right up," Warrick answered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Nick found himself in what he thought was something out of the movie American History X. In fact, David Peterson's room resembled the teen's from the film in that swastika adorned flags hung on the walls, and a couple of iron crosses hung from nails. Nick felt his eyes widen in shock; how could anyone decorate their room like this?
A computer sat in one corner; Nick would confiscate that at the end of his search and see what he could find. Maybe one or both boys conversed with an accomplice via instant message or e-mail. Nick didn't know exactly what he was looking for, so he decided to start with the boy's desk. All he found were a few homework papers, some pens and pencils, a comic book or two; things that didn't help their case. He moved over to the bookcase and began looking at the titles on the spines.
"Mein Kampf," Nick muttered. "Unbelievable."
Didn't David's parents ever step foot in his room; didn't they monitor what he was reading and putting into his brain? Nick knew what Nazis and Neo-Nazis alike believed; his teachers and professors would go in depth about it when they got to the chapter on World War II in his high school and college history classes. He knew about the anti-Semitism, the hate of people who basically weren't Caucasian, and then he couldn't help but think of one of his best friends, Warrick, and how he was one of the greatest men of character he'd ever had the pleasure to know. How could anyone hate another person just because their skin has a little more pigmentation?, he thought.
He pulled his gaze away from the bookshelf and to the wastebasket. Kids never seemed to be as careful in concealing their crimes as adults were; the CSIs had busted many a teenage criminal from evidence found in the trash. They even had one case where a teenage boy had slaughtered his girlfriend's parents and two brothers and then hidden the clothes, which were drenched in blood, in the garbage in his garage.
Nick stooped down and overturned the small wastebasket. He sifted through more homework papers and a few artwork pieces before finding something that could break the case open a whole lot more than it already was.
"Interesting," he whispered with a smile.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hmm, curiouser and curiouser…what'd Nick find? :) You'll find out soon enough…also, sorry their wasn't much Greg in this chapter; it's just he's in the lab and such…my next fic will have to deal with his CSI field training, I suppose…I thought he was supposed to be doing that this season; I was all happy because that meant Eric would get more screen time which he totally deserves, but they still have him cooped up in the lab…grr…ok, enjoy enjoy; I'm going to go eat some Key Lime Pie yogurt and work on my dramatic monologue for class…yeah, wish me luck with that…