Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.

The Ben & Jerry Files

 Chapter 1

The sun's first rays of light were slowly descending upon the sleepless city of Las Vegas when Eric Stanfield peeked out his window. It was barely 6:00, but he was used to having to get up early. He was about to go out and brave the cold to wait for Tom when the old, beat up station wagon pulled up in his driveway.

He climbed into the passengers seat and grunted hello to Tom. They had both worked for the demolition company for nearly a year and a half and today was nothing special. It was an old building, at least 20 years and used to be an old ice cream shop or something. They didn't want to renovate because the building beside wanted to use it for a parking lot. The place had been abandoned for years.

Arriving there, the place appeared deserted except for the wrecking ball and bulldozer. It was always a nuisance when activists wanted to protect an old building. The place was a one-story building with a neon sign that had been taken down long ago, but had still left a clean void in the concrete. He wondered briefly why an ice cream shop would get a neon sign in the first place. Eric hopped out and shook hands with someone he didn't even know. That was never a problem in this business.

"Billy Arva." He introduced himself, "Hey, have you heard the story on this place?"

"No, what is it?" Eric asked.

"Well, the city repossessed it. It seems the owner hasn't paid the taxes in nearly 15 years. But it's been locked ever since. Strange, isn't it? I mean not even vandals can get in." Billy said.

Eric didn't particularly care for stories about the places. He preferred to just do his job and leave the history to those who cared about it. He and Tom headed for the front door. Billy had been right; it was unsurprisingly locked. Once he and Tom had gotten it off its hinges, they gave it a shove and it came collapsing down. It was his and Tom's job to make sure the place was clear before the demolition begins.

His flashlight reflected off a dusty mirror hanging on the wall, but upon closer inspection, he discovered it was a large boarded-up window. The counter at the end of the store was covered in dust just like the rest of the tables and chairs in the joint. Eric frowned. If he had run this place, he would've put them outside not in here. Something was odd about this place. He was about to call to his buddy to comment on that when he spotted something else in the beam of his flashlight. A dark shape on the floor. At first, he thought it was just a dog, but remembered that the place had been abandoned for years. He waited for it to move, but it didn't. He took a few steps closer and realized it was no dog and it wasn't going anywhere. The question as to why no one had come in here before was now answered.

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Sara Sidle clutched the car seat with white knuckles as the black Tahoe pulled up in the parking lot of an abandoned building. The adrenaline pulse faded as she stepped wobbly out of the car. The reckless driver, Warrick Brown hopped down too not seeming to feel what Sara did. He handed her her tool kit with a small grin. She gave a polite one in return, but made a mental note to carpool with Grissom from now on. It may be slow but she didn't feel her heart leap in her throat every time he drove.

The flashing lights and yellow police tape indicated their crime scene and they headed in that direction. Detective Brass was already there waiting for them. His hard look gave away nothing as to the nature of the crime. They hadn't exactly been told what had happened, just that they needed 2 CSIs to collect evidence in an old ice cream store.

"What do we have?" she called to him.

"A double homicide." He said adding, "Get it cleared up quick, the demolition company's getting impatient."

"Fine." Sara muttered ducking under the yellow tape Warrick following behind her. The broken in door was lying outside the building leaving a gaping hole in the wall. She walked in hesitantly flashlight ready. She spotted the corpse almost immediately through the open door. Brass had forgotten to mention just how decayed this corpse was. There was no flesh left, just bones. Some murder that had gone unnoticed for fifteen years.

Warrick was already surveying the place as Sara set to work. He discovered much of what Eric had; the boarded windows, the dust-covered floors and counters and the old tables and chairs, none of which looked to have been used in a very long time. He smiled grimly. Prints would be impossible to recover unless they were very recent.

The register was out of place, hidden behind the counter rather than in plain view. It was also impossible to open, partly because it hadn't been in years. He supposed there was also some sort of lock, but instead of trying to open it there, he chose to send it back to the lab. Also behind the counter was a small phone and a radio, both of which had to have been plugged in at some point. He sent those back too.

Sara worked with the body snapping photos and searching around for anything she could find. The clothing, although hidden under a layer of dust, was untouched. She could tell from the clothes that it was in fact a woman. She had worn a pair of now faded jeans, a baby-blue t-shirt and a matching bandana. But while clearing the bones away, a gold light reflected in her beam. She grabbed a pair of tweezers and picked up a small bullet.

"Probable cause of death." She said to no one in particular as she placed it in a clear evidence bag.

She got to her feet and stretched once she was finished. Moving towards the backroom in search of Warrick, she almost tripped over the second body. This one had been a man judging from the clothing. She reloaded her camera with film and proceeded to take more pictures. This body was different. This one's skull had been completely smashed, probably with the hammer that was lying nearby. Bagging that too, she was careful as she picked up the fragments of the skull.

"What do you think? Crime of passion?" Warrick said behind her making her jump.

"Maybe someone didn't want us to know who this was." Sara suggested sitting back and sighing. This was going to take a while.

Warrick climbed over the body careful not to disturb anything. "Hey Sara," he said frowning, "What are these?" he said pointing to something underneath the pile of smashed bone. He nudged a few pieces aside with his finger revealing a few shiny gold pieces.

Sara frowned and went for a closer look. Shining her flashlight and picking one up with a pair of tweezers. They were irregularly shaped with almost a flat surface. She would have thought them bullet fragments if they weren't so small.

"I think they're fillings. Gold fillings." She said lowering her beam.

"This one's a bullet." Warrick said holding a bigger, rust-coloured one up before bagging it.

Sara nodded. There were about three fillings in all from the pile. So far, they had two bodies; both shot and one smashed apart. Bizarre.

Then, Warrick decided to have a look in the freezer. It didn't come off easily so he had to use a crowbar to pry it off. It gave way with a loud suction noise and he was able to peer in. The smell of rotting flesh was horrible nearly making Warrick gag. He hung his head gasping for air and backed away.

Sara wrinkled her nose, "What is that?" she asked getting up for a look. She blinked a few times wide-eyed at the freezer. Her eyes started to water and she too felt her chest tighten for lack of air. Breathing through her mouth, she choked out, "Warrick? Come take a look at this."

He started to do the same over the initial shock of things and straightened up. He walked over to where Sara was standing. Inside was a disgusting swamp coloured mixture.

"Is that what I think that is?" Warrick asked.

"I think so." Sara said wanting to escape the room.  She bit her lip and retreated a step or two hands in her pockets. It was going to be a long night.