A/N: THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE GREAT REVIEWS, I APPRECIATE IT MORE THAN YOU KNOW. ANYWAY, THIS STORY HAS ONLY TWO OR THREE MORE CHAPTERS, AND AS MUCH AS I WANT TO, I CAN'T USE ALL OF THE CSI CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY, JUST A CHOICE FEW(IT IS A CJ FIC AFTERALL). SO PLEASE REVIEW WITH ANY COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS. THANKS! CJ, LAS VEGAS, CSI AND ELVIS PRESLEY ENTERPRISES DO NOT, IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM, BELONG TO ME.
CHAPTER 9: SUSPICIOUS MINDS
"Gil Grissom Las Vegas CSI, nice to meet the two of you.", he stated graciously. "My associates should be here shortly. Have either of you seen the medical examiner?", he questioned, looking around the room. Jordan and Woody just shrugged. "Catherine, over here.", Gil called out from across the room. "Catherine Willows, Det. Woody Hoyt and Dr. Jordan Hoyt. They're from Boston.", he introduced. "Nice to meet you.", Woody greeted with a handshake. She reciprocated and nodded to Jordan.
"Fill me in.", Catherine said to Gil. "Well from what the good detective and doctor have told me; this is Joseph Tonoli, 37, no apparent signs of struggle, been dead about twenty to forty minutes.", Gil explained. "Well then, it looks like Elvis has just left the building.", Catherine replied with a slight smirk. "Who's the M.E. in charge?", she asked. "Haven't seen one.…until now, that is.", Gil answered with a nod toward the door.
"You've got to be joking.", Catherine gasped. "Who's that?", Jordan asked in regards to the bald, elderly man who had just stepped into the chapel. "That would be Dr. Raymond Pickler, Las Vegas'…no, probably the worlds oldest medical examiner. He's eighty-seven.", Gil chuckled. Jordan looked at Woody and shook her head. "Where's Robbins?", Catherine interjected. "Vacation. Paulson and Martino are at a convention.", Gil replied. Catherine just sighed and folded her arms, it was going to be a very long day. The four were getting acquainted and Dr. Pickler was just starting to asses the body when there was a commotion right outside of the room.
"Ma'am….Ma'am please, you can't go in there right now.", the young rookie cop said from the doorway. "Let me go. I have to see him.", she screamed as she broke free. "Joey…..Joey!", she sobbed, laying her body on his. "And this I presume, is Priscilla.", Gil whispered to the others. Woody chuckled, Jordan swatted at his head, just as Catherine elbowed Gil in the ribs. "Lady, would you kindly get off of my victim.", Dr. Pickler groaned as the detective in charge helped her to her feet. "Your victim is my husband.", she stated rather dramatically.
"Yeah, well your little show of affection has just contaminated our crime scene.", Gil said sarcastically. " Looks like natural causes. Let's get my body to the morgue.", Dr. Pickler said to his assistants. "Take her to Deline's office. I need to ask her a few questions.", the detective ordered two uniformed officers. "Det. Hoyt, why don't you come with me.", he offered. Woody gave Jordan a quick kiss and left with Det. Rice. "The room's all yours Grissom.", Rice added with a backward waive.
"All he did was take a liver temp. and check the eyes. What kind of assessment is that?", Jordan inquired to Gil. "That's how he works. He's rather old school. Likes to lift fingerprints manually.", Grissom explained as he and Catherine went about their business. "I probably got more information out of what you and your husband told me, in the first thirty seconds of our meeting, than I will get in Pickler's report.", Gil sighed. "And how could he say it was natural causes. Not many relatively healthy looking thirty-seven year olds die of natural causes.", Jordan argued.
"I agree Dr. Hoyt, but unless we find evidence that proves otherwise, or something jumps out and bites Pickler on the ass, he'll most likely rule c.o.d., as natural causes.", Gil explained. "This is crazy, that man died a few yards away and within minutes of us arriving, to a dining room where our family and friends were supposed to be having a farewell breakfast. No, he was murdered, and we need to find out by whom.", Jordan huffed as she turned on her heel and walked out of the chapel. "Quite the dynamic duo, wouldn't you say?", Catherine asked Gil, commenting on Jordan and Woody. He answered with just a smile and a nod.
Inside Ed Deline's office, Det. Rice was questioning Gina Tonoli on her whereabouts, the previous night. "Mrs. Tonoli, where you by your mother's house or your sister's?", Det. Rice asked impatiently, pacing the room and fidgeting with his cigarette lighter. "I already told you three times, I went to my sister's frist, then I spent the night at my mother's house.", Gina sobbed. "But no one was there to verify that, right?", Rice shouted, his hands hitting hard on the conference table. "No, she's in New Jersey for her uncle's funeral. I was keeping an eye on the house while she's gone. I didn't get home until after ten...and the police were there...", Gina explained through her tears. Det. Rice turned and rolled his eyes at Woody. They were getting no where with their hysterical widow.
Just as Rice was about to light up another cigarette, his phone rang. Woody took this oppotunity to ask a few of his own questions. "Mrs. Tonoli, I'm very sorry for your loss, but if there is anything you'd like to tell us...Did your husband have any problems, enemies?", Woody prodded in that sweet farmboy way. "Thank you detective, and it's Gina. No, everyone loves Joey, he's...was a great man. Sure we had some...problems, but nothing we couldn't handle.", she said, breaking into sobs again. "My cousins husband heard Joey arguing on the phone last night, about money. Where you twohaving money problems?", Woody asked, looking into her eyes. She suddenly looked away, as if he had hit a nerve.
Right when Woody was about to get Gina to talk, Rice returned with another uniformed officer and had the young widow arrested. "Well looks like we got our man or woman, if you prefer.", Rice said with a smug smile. "Dr. Pickler said Tonoli tested positive for heroin, the Tonoli's bank accounts were rapidly being depleted, and the CSI team found traces of leather fibers at the crime scene, near the body.", he added, placing Gina's leather gloves into an evidence bag. "I'm not so sure. I think she was about to tell me something.", Woody told Rice. "She was probably playin' ya Hoyt. She's as guilty as sin.", Rice said lighting up his sixth cigarette. "Thanks for the help, Hoyt. See ya around.", he added, following the last officer out. "I need to find Jordan.", Woody mumbled to himself as he sat in the now empty room.
