A/N: Thanks for reading, and enjoy! (yes, it's another short one, but… ya know!)
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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.
Title: The Rocking Horse: The Conclusion
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"So let me play it for you," Warrick said to Catherine, grabbing them both a cup of coffee from the break room's coffee pot. "Are you ready?" he asked, sitting down at the table, and leaning back in his chair.
I am! Joan eagerly told him, staring down at Catherine and Warrick from her corner perch.
"I'm all ears," Catherine raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of the semi-warm, semi-putrid liquid.
Me, too! Joan wanted to shout. Well… except for the fact that I don't really have ears. Hmm. And how can anyone even be 'all ears?' What a stupid phrase! she thought to herself.
Warrick glanced across the table at Catherine, drumming his fingers on his coffee cup. "Okay, here goes!" he told her, beginning his narrative.
"Samuel Whitaker is a Sophomore computer science major at UNLV. He is shy, quiet, and reserved, and his parents have basically ordered him to 'get out there' and experience the world. Samuel, never one to disobey an order from his parents, decides to pledge a fraternity on campus. What better way to meet people, he figures, than to join a social organization. And besides, his father also pledged a fraternity, when he attended UNLV.
"So Samuel does it. He signs up during Rush week, and is given weekly tasks that he must complete. If he fails to complete one task, he is kicked out of the pledge class. Everything goes well, until Samuel receives this week's challenge: steal a unique mascot, from a local bar: the mechanical bull at the Rocking Horse.
"All week long, Samuel thinks about his task. How does one go about stealing something so large, from such a heavily populated business establishment? With a diversion, of course, Samuel thinks to himself, as he enlists the aide of two members of his pledge class. Signing up for the bull riding competition, Samuel positions his pledge brothers in two separate locations around the Rocking Horse: one of them near the pay phone, and the other at the bar.
"The plan? The pledge brother by the phone is told to make a call to get the manager away from the competition. During that time, Samuel loosens the bull's head from the body. Pledge brother number two is told to play sick, as soon as he sees the manager return to the competition.
"And that is exactly what happens. When everyone turns to see if the sick guy is okay, Samuel rips the head off of the bull, and heads for the nearest door. He hides the bull in the alley, with the intention of coming back for it later!" Warrick concluded his summary.
"And I have the evidence to prove it," he then added with a grin, showing Catherine the fingerprint results from the bull and the door, the DNA results from the vomit, and the connection between the sick guy at the bar and Samuel Whitaker.
"So we only have one more issue, then," Catherine mused. "Where's the bull's head now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It was in the fraternity house," he grinned. "When Brass brought Samuel in, he caved… in under five minutes. It would seem as if Samuel isn't all that cut out to be a criminal…"
"So did he get into the fraternity?" Catherine chuckled, sipping her coffee.
"Uh…when the brothers found out that he turned them in, he was kicked out of the class. For good."
"Well, nicely done, Warrick," Catherine told him, stretching. "Then I guess that means that for us, our night is over. How about I treat you to some breakfast?" she suggested with a smile. "After all, Sherlock, it was your investigation of the peanut shells that got this case solved!"
"Deal!" Warrick smiled at Catherine.
Bravo! One down, two more to go... I wonder how the Excalibur case is going? Joan thought to herself, crawling out of the break room, in order to locate Nick, Greg, or Sofia.
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TO BE CONTINUED