Thanks for the reviews and story alerts etc. I really appreciate it :) Hope you like this chapter!
Since Spencer's plea it wasn't possible for Greg to distance himself from the case anymore, so he decided to find out how far Catherine and Russell had come along. Russell advised him to stay away from the case, but Greg was stubborn enough to ignore that advice. He got updated on the case and received rather good news. They found DNA on the murder weapon that didn't belong to Spencer.
"I'm surprised you're even allowed to talk to Spencer about the case," Nick said from the driver's seat.
"I'm not going to tell him anything confidential, but he called and wants to see me. I'm just relieved he will be cleared soon, I want to talk to him. Support him, you know?"
Nick rolled his eyes. "He's not cleared yet. This doesn't mean he wasn't involved in any way."
When they reached Spencer's home, they noticed the door being open.
"That's weird..." Greg opened the door. "Barry?"
Nick had his hand on his gun. Something didn't feel right. "Greg, wait, let me go first."
When they entered the living room, they sure didn't expect to see this.
Both stood there shocked for a moment, but then quickly ran up to Spencer. He was hanging from the ceiling, a rope around his neck. Nick grabbed his legs to pull him up a bit. "Quick, get the rope off!"
Russell walked up to Greg with a cup of coffee, handing it to him.
"Thanks," Greg said in a mellow voice.
Russell sat down next to him. They were waiting for news about Spencer in the hospital.
"Why would he do that? I thought you found foreign DNA on the scarf she was murdered with..."
"We did. But that doesn't mean anything, does it? We can't prove his innocence with this."
Greg turned his head to Russell. "So you think he did it?"
"It doesn't matter what I think. He tried to commit suicide. The question is, if he's innocent, why did he do that?"
"I don't think he was depressed... But I never paid any attention to it, maybe I just didn't see the signs... I don't think I even knew him well enough to notice any signs..."
"It's not your fault."
"But he clearly wanted me to find him... He called me an hour before I found him, the door was open... He wanted to be found. Maybe he didn't want to die, he..."
"Greg." Russell stopped him. "You did find him. You saved his life. Once he's able to talk we can ask questions."
Greg nodded as he sighed.
The doctor came out of Spencer's room. "He's asleep right now, but he'll be fine. I found this note in his pockets." He handed it to Russell.
"Thank you." It was a suicide note. Russell read it out loud. "I can't live with the guilt anymore. I did it. I killed her. Please forgive me."
The surprise was clearly visible in Greg's eyes.
Before Russell was able to comfort Greg, Catherine walked up to them. "I just talked to Sara, she processed Spencer's place. Right now, everything seems to point to suicide."
Russell stood up, him and Catherine walked a few steps away from Greg. "The doctor just found a suicide note in Spencer's pocket." Russell handed it to her.
Taking a brief look at the note, she said, "I know this handwriting... I've seen it somewhere." She opened the case files she carried with her. "Here." She handed Russell a copy of a letter they found in Rita Woodbine's apartment.
"What's this?"
"A love letter, signed with 'C'. I didn't connect it to the case because this letter was sent a year ago, but it's the same handwriting, don't you think?"
"It looks at least similar enough to check it out. We need to process this." They walked away.
"Wait," Greg said really confused. "What's going on?" He wasn't able to listen to what they just discussed.
"You just stay here and wait for Spencer to wake up. When he does, don't talk to him, call me." Russell and Catherine left.
"The only question is... Is Spencer this 'C' or not?" Nick asked. He wasn't working on the case before, but now he did. He wanted to.
"Well, a year ago he was still living in Michigan. It is possible that he came to Vegas, met Rita and sent her letters, but I doubt it." Catherine was still looking at the letter. The lab confirmed that whoever wrote the letter also wrote the suicide note. "But we don't have a handwriting from him to compare it to, yet."
"Did you find any prints on the letter?"
"A partial on the back. Probably Rita's, but not enough to confirm it. The rest were smudges, nothing to work with."
"Did you find any guys with a name starting with the letter 'C' in her address book?"
"There's just a Charles, but that's her uncle. I doubt he wrote the letter, let alone killed her. He lives in a nursing home in Seattle," Russell explained.
"So we might have a new suspect, but don't know anything about him," Nick said rather frustrated.
"Well, personally I think it's safe to say Spencer didn't try to commit suicide. There wasn't a single fingerprint on the suicide note, I doubt he wore gloves when he wrote it."
"A murderer would, though..."
"Hey. How's he doing?" Sara walked up to Greg, he was still waiting in front of Spencer's room.
"He's not awake yet, but the doctor said he'll be fine."
"And you?"
Greg shrugged. "I don't know, I think I still didn't process it. I just can't believe it."
"That's understandable." She gently touched his shoulder. "Can I get you something?"
He shook his head. "I'm fine, thanks."
"You look tired. Why don't you go home and get some sleep? He's in good hands."
Greg declined. "I want to wait here."
"Alright... I'm gonna take some pictures and collect evidence, I'll be back in a moment." She walked in.
Greg was waiting nervously for her to come back. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but he did.
When Sara came back 15 minutes later, she had some news. She sat down next to Greg. "I probably shouldn't tell you before I tell Russell, but... Take a look." She showed him a picture on the camera.
"What's this? ...Is this...?"
"Looks like a stun gun mark, right?"