Possible murder-suicide at the Sahara, his old stomping grounds.
"Woo, this brings back memories." Warrick said as they entered the lobby.
"Yeah?" Greg asked.
"Yeah, I used to be bell captain here." He told him.
"No way?"
"No lie." They approached Brass who was talking to the concierge.
"Okay, thanks." Brass told the concierge. "You're free to go." Brass turned to them. "Hey. The room server heard gunshots, around 1:15am. Ran to the room, 2083, didn't see anybody leaving. Called 911. The concierge said the room was booked to an Ezekiel Royce from Beaumont, California."
"Coroner pronounce yet?" Warrick asked.
"Uh, not yet. He's up there waiting on you guys."
"Alright, thanks."
In the elevator Greg decided to strike up a conversation. "So, what's it like being married?"
"What?"
"What is it like to be married?"
"Are we seriously having this conversation in an elevator?"
"Yes. An inquiring mind wants to know. Is it like hot sex every morning you walk in the door? You know like On Demand TV, you get it whenever you want, no need for the whole song and dance just for some nookie?"
"No."
"So, tell me. What's the reality of being tied to the ole ball n' chain?"
Why did I have to get stuck with Sanders tonight? He asked himself. "Why, you plannin' on signing up?"
"Well, you never know, Sara could fall for me any day now. You know we got pretty close over the past year. I'm wearing her down, slowly but surely."
"Yeah, imagine that." He hoped he could cover the look of ridicule he felt forming. "I guess like any relationship it's all about compromise. You have to learn to communicate, not just what you want, but you have to adapt to what she wants too. For example, if she has friends that you don't really like, you have to learn to like them for her sake. You might have to learn to pick up after her if she's disorganised. You start to do a lot of things that'll probably go unnoticed but you do it because you have to. Everything's different. It's hard man, you know. You have to make a lot of changes."
"It shouldn't be though, right? I mean I always thought that if you found the right one it would be paradise, absolute bliss. Like you wouldn't have to change that much for them. If she fell in love with you it would be because she loved you for being yourself."
"Can't argue with that."
"So, does she have friends you don't like?" Greg asked.
"Yeah. She's a defense attorney, so she has a lot of political ties and some dodgy ones."
"Ouch. That's sleeping with the enemy man."
Warrick chuckled. "Never thought about it that way."
"She try to get you to see the other side of the case?"
"Sometimes."
"You know I used to go out with this one girl, she worked as a paralegal for a defense attorney, she was always preaching about 'the defendant has the right to a speedy trial' and how everyone is 'innocent until proven guilty'. I would always tell her I knew if they were guilty or not before they did." Greg paused.
Warrick didn't know if it was for effect or if he was genuinely thinking about that girl.
"Now that I think about it," Greg continued, "that's probably why we broke up. She was always trying to change my point of view, telling me what I should and shouldn't think about the criminal system. It got old real fast. She started to encroach on my other preferences, if you know what I mean." Greg nudged Warrick.
Leave it to Greg to find a light moment after serious contemplation.
"Yeah." Was all Warrick said.
For all his silliness, Greg had a point. Tina was always trying to reform him, class him up, constantly taking him from one swanky soirée to another for her firm. Showing him that not all people who work for the defense are bottom-feeders or spoiled little rich kids. She hadn't been that effective though and it started to become a sore point between them. He had a lot to think about since his last encounter with Sara and good ole Greg had added to his contemplation.