The Real Estate Giveaway

Disclaimer: I do not own in any capacity any part of CSI or the characters much to my dismay. If I did, Grissom would be shacking up with Sara every night. I do admit to having an active imagination…

CHAPTER 3

Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes looked tired. They'd been called in early to help Days out the last couple of days as the flu had hit that shift hard, and they were beginning to show wear. Nick was polishing off a large coffee from a nearby convenience store, while Warrick took the last draw from a Mountain Dew.

The Nevada heat was already a warm 93F, though it was only nine o'clock. Warrick savored one last moment of air conditioning before killing the engine and opening the door into the oppressive heat. He and Nick collected their kits and approached the lead officer.

Detective Taylor Gordon was relatively new to them, though he had been working days for a couple of years.

"It's a mess. Real estate agent got here to show the house and was greeted at the door by a bunch of flies and bad stink. Bet he lost a sale. There's a body in the living room – doesn't appear to be natural to any of us. Coroner is on the way."

"Where is the agent?" Warrick asked.

"Over there," Gordon pointed to the man sitting on the curb in what little shade a small tree offered. "He's pretty rattled."

"Who was here to view the house?"

Gordon checked his notes. "Couple named Grissom. They're out back by the pool."

The coroner's van pulled up and two guys from Days shift hopped out and began to ask similar questions. Nick and Warrick moved to the right..

"It will be a few minutes before we can get at the evidence. Why don't you take the agent over there and I'll talk with the happy couple in the back?"

Nick nodded his head in agreement and started for the agent.

"I'm Nick Stokes from the Crime Lab. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Uh…. No." Jeff rose to his feet. "Not sure I'll be much help. Don't really know anything…."

"Relax and just tell me about coming here."

"Uh, I set up the appointment with the listing agent on Wednesday. George McGuire – talked to him on his cell phone. He said the house was empty and that I could show it anytime."

"I came here about 20 minutes before my appointment. The Grissoms were already here. I opened the door and…"

The agent turned a bad shade of green. Nick looked up and took a step back, just in case Jeff tossed his breakfast. But the agent only heaved and Nick assumed that he'd already emptied his stomach.

"Okay, let's go back a bit and let me ask a few questions. You said the couple was already here. Where were they and what were they doing?"

Jeff by then had gathered himself. "They were standing right over there by the fence looking through it."

"Did you ask them how long they'd been here?"

"Yes – at first I thought I was running late. Mr. Grissom said they'd been here about five minutes."

"Okay. Tell me about the Grissoms. Have you met them before?"

"No, she called me several days ago and gave me a list of things they were looking at in a house."

"What do you know about them?"

"They are a white couple. He's a bit taller and has some gray. She's thin with brown hair. I'm not sure about anything else – it all happened so fast."

"Did she ask you specifically to show you this house?"

"No, based on the things they were looking for, this was one of four I was showing them today, the first on the list. That's why we met here."

"Was the door open when you arrived or was it locked?"

"It was locked. I used my lockbox key to get the key out of the box."

"Did you touch anything other than the door, like the doorbell?"

"There's a doorbell? I looked all around for one, but didn't see one. I did knock on the door – I think I did anyway. That's standard for showing a house even if you know it is empty."

"I'll need some information about the listing agent. Do you have that name handy?"

Jeff shared the name and the phone numbers he had.

"Back to the Grissoms. Do you know anything else about them?"

"Well, they must have been looking for a while or at least talking about houses. She knew a lot about what they were looking for – size of house, location, price range. But she didn't need references for mortgage companies. She did ask about inspectors though. I don't know what they do or anything – or even if they live in Vegas. She has a local number."

"I'll be needing that number. I know this has not been a fun morning and you're probably going to think of more things. I may have more questions too. Here's my card." Nick handed the man a card. "Call me if you think of anything else."

Jeff took the card and handed Nick a piece of notepaper, the name Grissom written on it and a phone number.

"Thanks. Can I go now? Can I call the listing agent?"

"Sure."

Jeff wandered off, leaving Nick to finish up his notes when suddenly a startled expression crossed his face. That number looked familiar.