Laws of Motion – Book 3
Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT
Chapter 28
Wednesday - October 5, 2005
Grissom's Office
10:45 am
"Are you sure I look conservative enough?" Tawny asked Gil as she fretted about the job interview he had arranged for her. "Maybe I should have sprung for a suit."
"You look fine, please don't worry." Rounding his desk, he gave a supportive smile. "Did you tell Greg about this?"
"No, I wanted it to be a surprise. Assuming I get the job of course."
To allay her fears, Gil confidently said, "You meet all the minimum requirements for the Office Clerk position by having a GED and general office experience. On top of that, you have a wonderful personality that Lisa Cabot, the Manager of Questioned Documents will love." He opened the door and led the way. "She's a good role model for you too, because she started off with a GED and obtained her college degrees by going to night school while raising her son as a single parent. I just found out her son is in pre-med at UCLA right now."
"Wow."
"When I passed your resume to her I gave you a glowing recommendation, but you'll still have to impress her during the interview."
"Thanks, I promise to do my best." Feeling calmer, Tawny clutched her purse and followed Gil down the hall. "I really hope I get it, because even though Greg said he trusts me and wouldn't have a problem with me returning to BPAC, I know he really doesn't want me spending a lot of quality time with Drew."
Drew's House
10:47 am
"Thank you, Ron." Drew nodded at BPAC's biggest supporter. "I think the golf tournament will be an even bigger success now that you kicked in a cruise for two as a Hole in One prize."
"You're very welcome." After setting his coffee mug on the home office's small conference table, Ron Grissom reached for Drew's copy of The Wall Street Journal. "How's the market treating you?"
"I took some serious hits last week and I was already havin' a shit year. What about you?"
"I've been lucky lately. Do you have any ComWright shares?"
"Can't say that I do." Drew leaned back in his fine leather chair and casually asked, "Are you thinkin' I should?"
Ron winked, "My motto is, don't put off 'til tomorrow what you could do today."
"I appreciate the tip, but I'm a single parent now, I can't afford to go to jail." Curious about the company, Drew pulled up ComWright's history on his computer. "I've come way too close for comfort a couple of times already."
"Me too, but I have better lawyers than Martha Stewart. Don't worry, I'm not tied to ComWright. If they can't link me they can't link us. Besides, I'm just following a hunch, I don't have any definitive information, if that's what you're worried about."
"Alrighty then. How much do you think I should play with?"
"That depends on your outlook for the future," Ron chuckled. "You're forty now, Cowboy. It's time to start building a legacy. You need to seriously ask yourself…do I want to end up with enough money to send my kids to A&M, or would I rather the university name a building after me when I'm gone?"
Drew laughed. "A building would piss off Nicky real good."
"Just make sure you have a nice pre-nup in place before you marry again."
"It won't be necessary. The next time is forever."
"That's what I said too," Ron sighed. "And I lost a bundle. Trust me, Son…the second word gets out that you're on the market, the gold diggers will be beating down the front door of your castle. It's sad, but when you're rich or famous it's impossible to trust the women you date." Thinking of Lina, he smiled, "That's why I eventually stopped looking outside my front door for a soulmate and focused on the woman who had been living inside my home for years."
Typing fast and furious Drew said, "Hey, if you have some time…as soon as I get done making millions here, I'd love to talk about the pros and cons of falling head over heels for the help. Like this money, your advice may come in handy in the future and I'd appreciate it."
Bright Futures Learning Center
11:01 am
"I appreciate you taking the time to speak with us, Mrs. Lewis." Vartann took a seat in the tutoring company's conference room while Sara studied the vic's student file. "So, you tutored Kyle in math four times a week? What kind of student was he?"
"A very hard worker. My goodness, that poor boy tried so hard," the sixty year old woman sighed. "If grades were based on effort, not accuracy, he would have been an A plus student, but unfortunately they're not. On all our practice tests, he barely received a D, no less the B his father was hoping for. No B's no bases." Lifting the wad of tissues she had from when the detective first broke the news, she cried, "I'll miss him."
"I know this is upsetting for you, Mrs. Lewis, but if you could just stick with me for a few more minutes." Vartann grabbed the tissue box and pulled out a few more for the hysterical woman. "Did he ever share with you that he was having personal problems…any enemies?"
'No. He was…a very sweet boy, I can't imagine anyone…hating him."
"Did you correspond with Mrs. Connelly, Kyle's math teacher?" Sara quizzed upon looking up from the student file. She had been so engrossed in reading the information, she hadn't noticed the woman was sobbing. Whoa, I've lived with my husband long enough to turn into him.
"Yes, she's his Algebra teacher." Mrs. Lewis blew hard into the new tissues the detective gave her. "At Trinity Christian."
Sara held up a photocopy of a letter to Mrs. Connelly. "You asked for special treatment for Kyle?"
"No, not special treatment." Dabbing her eyes, the veteran teacher said, "I wrote to her as an experienced educator, asking her to give Kyle a chance to improve his grades by doing extra projects that I could assist him with during our tutoring sessions. She phoned me stating that since he wasn't a Special Ed student he didn't have an IEP, that's an Individualized Education Plan, and therefore she wasn't required to make adjustments in the curriculum for him. Her exact words were…'Give it up, Mrs. Lewis, not everyone is meant to go to college. Kyle will make a great landscaper'."
"Nice." Sara rolled her eyes.
Vartann informed the tutor, "Kyle's girlfriend just told us that he received an A on the mid-term exam he brought home yesterday. She said he phoned them in Vancouver to share the news. They were happy all the tutoring finally paid off. "
"Are you sure? An A?" Mrs. Lewis sat stunned. "I can't imagine how he would. When we did a practice mid-term a week ago, he got a D."
"Have you ever met Mrs. Connelly?" Vartann queried.
"Yes, at a math conference here in town a few months ago."
"How old would say she is and what does she look like?"
"Um…thirty at most. Tall…thin…real freckly with long red hair."
Vartann glanced over at Sara. "Maybe Mrs. Connelly gave Kyle an extra credit assignment after all. No B's no bases…maybe he was that desperate."
Sara winced. "I have to call Nick."
The Demcak Residence
11:23 am
When he noticed Nick had been staring at Kyle's baseball trophies for a while, Greg said, "Did you find something good?"
"Huh?"
"You're just standing there staring at the sports trophies, Jocko."
"The way he has this trophy shelf arranged reminds me of mine when I was his age."
"Swap out the sports trophies for Science Fair ones and this room still looks nothing like mine did." On his fortieth print, Greg said, "My room was a lot cleaner too. We had a housekeeper come in three times a week and my mom wouldn't let me throw stuff on the floor or shove stuff in the closets."
"Same here, except the housekeeper didn't touch the kid rooms once we turned twelve, then we had to do our own." Nick lifted the first trophy and looked for prints. "Inspection was Friday afternoon and if you failed, you lost an activity on the weekend, usually the one you were lookin' forward to the most."
"Did your mother wear a white glove and check for dust?"
"No, she didn't take it that far," Nick laughed. "I'll tell you what though, it used to piss me off when I'd go to a friend's house and the place would be a typical teenager mess. I vowed as soon as the roof over my head was mine, I'd live like a pig."
"Did you?"
"I tried for a week." Nick smiled. "Bugged the crap out of me that I was tripping on stuff and couldn't find anything. It was too late. The damage was done, I was hardwired for neatness."
"Not me, I was a slob."
"That's because you didn't do the cleaning yourself during the formative years." Picking up the next trophy he quoted his mother, "You play house when you're a kid so you can run a real one of your own some day."
Drew's House
11:41 am
With Claire busy on the floor with her Little People Sweet Sounds Home and her four year old brother playing with his Castle, Marta sat at the family's computer and typed 'Aggie Football' into the search box. "Who's attacking the castle today, Matt?" It appeared that he was staging an elaborate battle.
"Grandma."
Marta looked up from the screen and saw he had a female Fisher Price character knocking over plastic knights. "Why Grandma?"
"'Cause I heard her playin' it with Daddy. She said 'I'm gonna take the babies and this ridiculous castle if you start bringin' sluts around!' What's a slut?"
Stunned by the question, the nanny stammered, "It's…well…it's a type of weapon, kind of like a sword. When did you hear your grandma say that stuff?"
"When I was gettin' my T-Rex downstairs."
Remembering what she was doing, Marta checked the computer screen. 'When the Aggies score, you score.' What?! He thinks we're going to have sex just because his team wins?! Before she marched off to tell Drew she would not be taking the place of his sluts, she read the next part. Whenever the team scores, you get to kiss your date. "Aww!" He was telling me he hoped we get to kiss. That's so sweet. Totally against what we said we were going to do, but so incredibly sweet.
"What are y'all up to in here?" Drew enthused when he strolled into the room holding two Starbucks Venti cups.
"Oh!" Marta jumped when she realized he was standing behind her.
"Daddy!" Matt ran across the room. "Are we gonna play football like you promised?"
"Absolutely." Drew nodded at his son. "Just give me a few minutes to chat with Nanny Marta first, okay?"
"You should know that the Quarterback in Training hasn't had lunch yet." Afraid she would be busted for researching Aggie traditions, Marta nonchalantly clicked out of AOL and remained calm in the presence of the man who had made her toes curl less than twelve hours ago. "We're having a little quiet play time in the family room while the housekeeper finishes the kitchen floor. As soon as she's done, I plan on fixin lunch."
"Nanny Marta, could I interest you in a steaming cup of caffeine while we chat in the next room?" Drew extended a mug with a smile. "I'm feelin' a little sluggish today and thought you might be too."
"Stay right where you are, kids." Grinning, she stood and accepted the cup, "Thank you."
He chose the same words he had spoken to her after making her toes curl, "You're very welcome, it was my pleasure." And when she blushed from hearing them, he knew she caught his intention. "Ladies first," he said while holding open the door to the Game Room for her. "This isn't a ploy to kiss you, if you're worried. I really do need to chat with you about somethin' for the kids." After closing the door halfway, he whispered, "I was wantin' to get Matt a dog, but then I realized the burden of a dog would fall to you when I'm not around, so I wanted to see how you felt. Not a puppy, it'll be grown, so…"
"I love dogs! Ooh, Matt will be soooo thrilled! Will he get to keep it in the house?" Lissa had forbid any non-caged animals in the house. "I know it's not my place, but with his mother moving out, I really think it might be a good idea, not that Lissa could be replaced by a dog, what I meant was…"
"Hey now…if it's a real mangy, manipulative dog who lies all the time, bashes nannies, robs kids of their self-esteem, and treats its husband like dirt even though he feeds it real well and buys it expensive diamond leashes and a castle to live in, then yeah…it would be a good replacement for Lissa." When he saw Marta's hand over her mouth he said, "There's the bitter divorcee part I was talkin' about this mornin'. I'll try to keep that stuff to a minimum and embrace the positive aspects of my life like you suggested."
"I said that?"
"Yes, ma'am. So, uh…" He pointed to the giant A&M logo on the Game Room's wall. "Are you gonna be my date for the game or not?"
No, no way, getting involved with you is a terrible idea that can only end in disaster. "I have a maroon shirt, so why not?"
Grinning he asked, "Would your answer have anything to do with you Googling just now and learnin' that you kiss your date when the Aggie's score?"
"Ooh." She chewed her bottom lip. "I really thought I closed the page fast enough."
"No, ma'am, you didn't." He winked.
"What am I doing?!" Forcing herself out of giddy girl mode, Marta asked, "Why are you asking me on a date with potential kisses after we mutually agreed that it's not wise for us to start something? Your divorce isn't even final. No, it's wrong, so wrong…on so many levels."
"You've obviously put some kind of spell on me, that's why." After chuckling with her, he sobered. "I know I just filed for divorce yesterday, but I've been unmarried a long time. You're right though. You're absolutely right. This is crazy. We shouldn't date."
"We're serious this time, right?" Simultaneously disappointed and relieved, Marta said, "Promise me you're not going to change your mind in an hour."
"I promise. It's the smart thing to do." Drew took two steps toward the door and then remembered his conversation with Ron. "You know what…no, I think it's stupid for us not to date each other."
"What?! You just promised you wouldn't change your mind!"
"No, I promised I wouldn't change my mind in one hour, it's only been four seconds." Snapping into business mode, he made the most important sales pitch of his life, "When a single father wants to start dating, his number one concern is his kids. Will he find someone they can love? Will she love his kids like they were her own?" He pointed at Marta. "The same goes for a woman if she decides to date a divorced guy with kids. She needs to know if she could love his kids and feel like a genuine part of the family. We already know the answer to those important questions. Hell, my mother even loves you! The only thing we don't know yet is whether or not we love each other. We don't know if we're compatible, and yeah, that's nothing we can force, or settle for, it has to be real. Right now, we don't know if last night felt perfect because I was depressed and you were lonely. Or maybe it was the Cristal or seein' poor Jack freeze to death savin' Rose that made us so into each other. Who knows? We don't know, Marta, and we'll never know if we don't take a chance." Taking her hand, he urged, "Take a chance on me. Please. I don't want to spend years datin' the wrong women, when the perfect one may already be livin' under my roof. Maybe I'm your Alaska…hard work to get there but worth the trip. Why don't you let making me a better man be your next great accomplishment."
"Wow," she swooned. "You had me at hello."
"Jerry Maguire, right?" When she nodded, he chuckled and played along, "Complete me, Marta!" He opened his arms. "I'm right here waitin' to be completed and you have the inside track. Go for it, Honey! I'm outrageously rich and funny as hell." Swooping in he whispered in her ear, "We've already established I can make your toes curl, but trust me, you haven't seen anything yet in that department. There are so many ways to have fun in bed, Sweetheart and if you give me a chance, I will be more than happy to very slowly and patiently expose you to all of them."
"Drew!" Blushing, she batted him away. "I can't believe you!"
"C'mon, don't be Shallow, Marta…don't turn me away because I have ugly feet."
"You do have very odd feet," she giggled.
"But they're very, very big and last night you saw there is indeed a direct correlation between shoe and package size." Wiggling his brows, Drew joked, "You want the package, you know you do." Laughing harder, he reached for his belt. "I get it, you're a savvy shopper. You want to inspect the merchandise one more time before you make a decision. Caveat Emptor, it was dark last night and you were drunk, so…"
"Stop! The kids are in the next room for goodness sake!" Laughing so hard, tears fell out of her eyes, she finally succumbed, "Okay, okay! Yes! Against all better judgment, yes."
Trinity Christian – Dean's Office
12:15 pm
"Thank you," Tony said as he accepted a large Styrofoam cup of water.
"The Dean will be here with Belinda Connelly in just a minute." After a polite smile the secretary left the room to gossip about the police showing up at the school asking to speak to one of the teachers.
Reaching into his pocket, Tony pulled out a small bottle of Excedrin. "Cases with dead kids give me tension headaches," he remarked to Nick who had insisted on swapping spots with Sara when he heard her suspicion about the teacher.
Nick held out his palm. "Can you spot me two and some of that water?"
Tony handed over two pills, downed his and handed over the cup joking, "Sorry about the backwash, Buddy."
"Nice." Nick swallowed the aspirin and waited impatiently. Luckily only a couple of minutes more was all it took. "Here we go."
"Detective Vartann…" Dean Whitman entered the room with her hand extended. "My secretary said she had no idea what this visit is about. What's going on?"
Staring at the red head, Nick watched for a reaction while Vartann shared the sad news just like they had prearranged.
"I'm here with Nick Stokes from the Las Vegas Crime Lab to discuss one of your students, Kyle Demcak. Mrs. Connelly, we asked for you too because you're Kyle's Algebra teacher, correct?"
Nick smiled at the jittery woman, but said nothing. Oh yeah, look at you tense up just at the mention of the boy's name.
"Y…yes, Kyle is in my um…fifth period class, so I haven't seen him yet today."
In a voice devoid of emotion, Tony said, "Kyle had difficulty with math and his parents hired a tutor for him. I spoke with his tutor before coming here. He had a D average all year and then miraculously he received an A on the midterm he took on Friday. Can you explain how he managed that, Mrs. Connelly?"
"Uh…" With trembling hands, the twenty-nine year old set down the paper and quietly said, "Actually…and Dean Whitman, I haven't told you this yet, I believe Kyle cheated. I don't have any proof, and without proof I couldn't accuse him, so…I had to let the grade stand."
"You think he cheated?" Nick snipped before pulling up a chair next to the teacher. "Do you always recognize cheaters by celebrating their A's in front of the class? Because Kyle's girlfriend said you made a big deal out of the A yesterday. His friends knew he needed to make a B to play baseball in the Spring and they knew he had been struggling. Krista said you even gave out Tootsie Rolls to celebrate his success. Why would you do that if you thought he cheated?"
"Um…" Belinda anxiously cleared her throat. "To see if the guilt would result in a confession."
"Have you ever been to Kyle's house, Mrs. Connelly?" Tony asked to give Nick a chance to collect his thoughts. "To speak to his parents perhaps?"
"No, never. I spoke to them at school during conferences, and over the telephone."
"So you've never been to Kyle's house."
"I just said no."
"Gentlemen…" The Dean curtly asked, "What is this about exactly?"
While Nick watched the teacher, Tony calmly informed the Dean, "Kyle didn't show up for school today because he's dead."
"Dead?" Dean Whitman's hand flew to her mouth. "Dear God, how? Was there an accident on the way to school?
"No, he was murdered. Beyond that, I can't go into the details of a pending investigation."
With his eyes drilling into the teacher, Nick reached into his pocket for a swab. "We found a long red hair in Kyle's room that looks just like yours. We also found a couple other forms of a woman's DNA. Since you knew Kyle and a witness saw you having a heated argument over his grades with him as recently as last month, it would be best if we could rule you out real quick. We don't need your fingerprints 'cause they're already in the database from when you got your background check done to be a certified teacher." Nick opened the swab. "A saliva sample will do, thanks."
When she saw the Dean gaping at her, Belinda nervously agreed, "Sure, no problem."
"Open up, please." Nick inserted the swab, quickly collecting the specimen and said, "Since you said you've never even been to his house it couldn't possibly be your DNA we found in Kyle's bedroom, right?" Locking eyes with the trembling woman he said, "Unless of course…you want to change your story." Closing the swab, he stood to label it. "Do you have an alibi for last night, Mrs. Connelly?"
"You think I killed Kyle?" she cried.
"You wanna know what I think?" Nick got in the frantic woman's face. "No Bs no bases! You knew he was desperate, didn't you?! You told him he was gonna get a D and when he broke down you gave him another option. Didn't you?!"
"Stokes…." Vartann said as a warning.
"Admit it!" Nick blasted. "You used your position to get Kyle in any position you wanted him."
"But I didn't kill him!" Sobbing she said, "And I didn't force him, he wanted it too."
"No, no he didn't. I found a notebook in his bedroom that had sketches of a woman dying seventeen different ways. At first glance I thought he might be a psycho, but now I realize the woman was you." Twitching with anger, Nick spat, "He didn't want it. He had a sweet girlfriend and an uncomplicated life. He didn't want it. That's just what you told yourself to make it okay."
"I had nothing to do with his death, I swear." The room spinning and her breathing erratic, Belinda grabbed the plastic wastebasket from the corner of the room just in time to vomit.
When the teacher was done emptying her gut, Nick grabbed the wastebasket. "Dean Whitman, do you mind if I take this with me?"
Feeling nauseous herself, the Dean shook her head. "Be my guest."
Crime Lab
2:37 pm
When she handed over her LVPD Guest Badge for her new Employee Badge, Tawny had beamed with pride. Gil had been right; although he had given her a glowing recommendation, Lisa Cabbot had grilled her during the interview and made her complete several accuracy and typing tests. For the first time ever, she earned a job based on her skills, instead of her looks or because someone felt sorry for her. It felt fantastic.
"That looks great on you," Gil enthused when he saw Tawny in the doorway.
"I feel like a mouse in a maze in this place."
"You'll learn your way around in no time."
"I start tomorrow!"
Removing his glasses, Gil asked, "How are you going to tell Greg?"
"I called and asked him out to dinner, my treat."
"I plan on treating Sara to a nice dinner at home tonight."
"Special occasion?"
"She's been working on a case all day with Mike Rodgers guarding the crime tape."
"And you're here?!" Tawny covered her mouth. "Didn't mean to yell, but how could you stay here when you know she's fifty yards away from that murdering psycho?"
"Because we know that's what he wants. He wants to see her fall apart and have me rush there." Returning his glasses to his face, Gil readied to get back to work. "You can't appease a psycho."
Laughing, she answered, "Trust me, I know that from watching Greg and Becca interact."
BPAC
2:45 pm
"Hey, Baby," Becca greeted her husband when she answered the phone at her desk. "It must be a tough day, because you haven't returned any of my calls."
"Yeah, I'm just about to head into an interrogation, so I only have a minute."
"This will cheer you up!" Grabbing her Disneyland file she said, "All reservations for the Happiest Place on Earth are set. I even have Goofy lined up to make you a big birthday cake. I emailed your brother like you asked me, and he replied that they're good to go. I talked to Gina an hour ago and Reggie got that weekend off too."
"Thanks, Baby. I talked to my Dad this morning and he has it on the calendar. I'll be late tonight. Nick's calling Carrie right next to me saying the same thing."
Glancing into the office across the way, Becca saw her co-worker on her cell phone. "Carrie and I have plans this afternoon to go dress shopping for the LVPD Formal. I'll see if she wants to extend into dinner and movie."
"Have fun, Honey. I'll call you later."
"Love you."
"Love you too."
Demcak Residence
2:51 pm
Slipping a love note from Krista into an evidence bag, Greg asked Sara, "Do you remember the first love note you ever got?"
"Wow, I haven't thought about it for ages, but yeah." Stopping for a second Sara whimsically replied, "Sophomore year of college. I was sitting in class and my professor was passing out term papers. When he got to me, he said, 'Sidle, pay attention to my notes'. I saw this piece of paper attached and when I opened it, it said 'Can't take my eyes off you. Let's grab a coffee after we get out of here today.' What about you?"
"Senior year of college for me." Greg continued bagging and tagging the contents of Kyle's desk. "I'm sitting in the lab working an experiment when suddenly this perfectly aerodynamic airplane lands in front of me. When I looked up though, no one was there. When I opened up the airplane, all it said was 'yes, I'd love to go out with you. I think you're super sweet and really smart.' That morning I had finally worked up the nerve to ask this girl, Blossom, out. Instead of saying 'yes' or 'no' she ran off, she was really shy. When I looked up the second time she was standing there. The airplane was from her. She was my first girlfriend, and I was her first boyfriend."
"Aww."
"She died of a brain tumor within a year."
Sara stiffened. "Greg! You could have prepared me for that. I was enjoying the sweet story and then BAM she's dead." Shaking her head, she returned to her work. "You suck as a storyteller."
"How did it end with your professor?" he huffed. "At least I tied up loose ends."
"He got hit by a bus leaving campus one day and bled out in the street."
"Seriously?!"
Grinning she answered, "No, that's how the lying, cheating bastard died in my dreams."
"Used condom."
"You dream about used condoms?"
"Found one hidden in the desk. It was wrapped in a Ziploc baggie in this bottom drawer. See this compartment. It was in there under this notebook." Greg snapped a few photos of the evidence, and then reached for a bag.
"Trophy condom? Saving his first?"
"Or maybe he was afraid his mommy would find it in the trash." Greg bagged and tagged it. "It's not that old."
"Neither was he," Sara vacantly stated as she stared at the space where Kyle's body used to be.
"Sara…" Greg looked up from the notebook. "Check it out."
Crime Lab – Interrogation Room
2:57 pm
"When was the last time you saw Kyle Demcak?" Vartann asked Belinda Connelly, who was now sitting with her lawyer.
"Yesterday," Belinda sniffled into tissues. "We had a date."
Sitting at the end of the table, Nick bristled at the term. "When was your first 'date'? Who arranged it? What were the details?"
"Kyle followed me home from school one day and confronted me. He accused me of hating him. I told him that wasn't true, I liked him very much. One thing led to another and we ended up in my house tearing each other's clothes off."
"Where was your husband at the time?" Vartann queried.
"Where he always is when he isn't working security at The Mandalay Bay…at Gold's Gym. He's obsessed. Working out is more important to him than anything. He's so chock full of steroids he can't even have sex." Wiping her eyes, Belinda said, "That's why I was so vulnerable when Kyle made a move on me."
Before Nick could ask his next question, he felt his phone vibrate. "Please excuse the interruption, I need to step out and take a call."
Happy Endings No-Kill Animal Shelter
3:01 pm
"Sorry." Drew grabbed his cell phone while Marta, Claire and Matt got acquainted with the lovable mutt they would be taking home as soon as the paperwork was finished. "Hey, Mama, how was Cassie's day at school?"
"Her teacher said she had a much better day."
"Enjoy your special afternoon together and tell her when she gets home there's gonna be a surprise."
"Andrew, the child doesn't need another surprise at home. What is it?"
"I'm at the shelter with the rest of the family adopting a dog."
"Wonderful," Jillian deadpanned, "because your life didn't have enough complications as it was."
"You're such a pessimist, Mama," he laughed, "You and Nicky both."
Crime Lab – Interrogation Room
3:19 pm
When Nick returned to the table, he felt optimistic that Belinda Connelly would be changing her story. "I know Kyle was a terrible math student, but do you know what he was really good at?" Nick placed a file folder on the table. "Record keeping. He had fantastic record keeping skills. "
Vartann stared at his co-worker, wondering what was going on.
Unable to hide his excitement, Nick asked the teacher, "How many times were you together with Kyle?"
"Uh…"
"How about I jog your memory?" Nick opened the file, which contained photos of the notebook pages Greg had taken, uploaded and sent. "As of last week, Kyle kept track of every 'date', what you asked him to do with you and what he'd be getting in return. He kept the used condoms in little Ziploc baggies taped in a notebook too." Seething, he said, "He had a brilliant future as a CSI." His blood boiling, Nick snarled at the teacher, "You threatened to go to his parents and lie about him if he didn't stick with the extra-curricular activity schedule you had agreed upon. Kyle was building the evidence against you and when his parents returned from Vancouver this Saturday, he planned on presenting his case."
"Don't say anything," the defense attorney advised her client once she saw motive for murder on the table. "We're done talking."
"I had a feeling you would be," Nick took his file. "Vartann…we have a search warrant for Mrs. Connelly's house waitin' on us."