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The swing shift was slowly trying to find out what went down in that diner. So far, all they had were Astin's fingerprints on Nick's gun. Astin's lawyer claimed that he wanted to secure the gun and grabbed it while putting it away from Nick. They usually kicked it away, though, instead of touching it, but Astin claimed he wasn't thinking straight when he did it.
Astin came up with an explanation for the upward shooting angle from Nick's gun, claiming Nick was crouching down while shooting.
So far, they couldn't put the blame on either one of them. They weren't able to track down the mysterious man inside Nick's hospital room, either.
"Greg, I need your report now." Russell walked into the A/V lab with an annoyed look on his face. A report on one of Greg's cases was due yesterday.
"I'm sorry." Greg rubbed his tired eyes. "But I've got three other cases waiting for my attention, five other reports I should've done two days ago and three hours worth of security camera footage I need to watch now." While the two were talking, Greg was already taking a look at the footage he just mentioned.
"Well did you even start the report?"
"Kinda." Greg sighed. "With Nick in the hospital, I just didn't get much time to work on it. And there was enough other stuff that needed to be done. I'm sorry. You'll get it by the end of the shift."
"Alright..." Russell sighed. He knew Greg wasn't lazy, he really didn't have the time to do it.
One of the guys on swing shift, Doug Pyle, was doing a background check on both the diner owner and Astin on the lab's computer. Pyle was doing overtime, so Greg was already on the clock when he walked into the room. "...Hey Pyle," he said while trying to take a peek at the computer.
"Hey Sanders," he replied without looking away from the screen. He just found some interesting stuff.
"So... how's the case going?"
Pyle was quite a straight-forward, but also very stuck-up guy. "I can't tell you, you know that."
"Come on, I think you owe me."
"...What?" He finally looked up from the screen. "How come?"
"Remember when your brother was a suspect in a drug dealing? I let you take a look over my shoulder every now and then."
Pyle gave him a look. "He was just selling some weed... Everybody knew he did it. Murder's a little different."
Greg looked surprised. "Murder? Nick's not a suspect in the diner shooting! ...Is he?"
"No, of course not. Bad phrasing, sorry."
"Come on, man. Nick's my friend, I need to know how you guys are doing!"
Pyle sighed annoyed. "I actually just came across some information that could help Nick."
"Yeah?" Greg had a big smile on his face. "What is it?" He sat down next to Pyle.
"...Alright, now, that's way too close. I can't show you. I shouldn't even tell you."
"...But you will tell me, anyway?"
Pyle sighed as he looked around. "Don't you dare get me in trouble for this... So I just checked Astin's and the owner of the diner's background. Astin was involved in two shootings. He received some critizism because one of the perps he shot was a 17 year old. Witnesses claim they didn't see a gun on him, but Astin won the case. The crime scene pictures showed a gun next to the victim and all. The owner of the diner has a rap sheet."
"...Really?"
"Yeah, but the last offense was 30 years ago when he was in high school. He was dealing with drugs."
"...And that's it? Nothing else?"
Pyle shrugged. "It's something."
"...I'm not sure about that." Greg rolled his eyes as he got off his seat. "But thanks, anyway."
Sara and Greg were called to a new scene with a dead body lying near a construction side. David was already processing the body when the two arrived. Greg was taking a look around the premises while Sara took a look at the body. They were working on that case for three straight days when Greg first took a look at pictures of the body. "It just seems like a weird way to kill someone. I mean it all looked like it was premeditated, and yet the suspect didn't manage to bring a gun or knife?" Sara asked as the two were walking through the lab's halls.
Greg stopped for a moment as he looked at the picture of the dead body.
"...What's wrong?"
He quickly closed the file. "Nothing."
"Is there something off about the body?"
Greg thought about pretending he hadn't seen the picture of the body, but he knew it wouldn't have been a very good idea. "I think that's the guy who tried to kill Nick in the hospital room."
"Did you find out anything about that murder?" Russell asked as he was sitting in his chair inside his office.
Sara was sitting opposite him. "All we have are some foot prints we don't know who they belong to."
"That's it?"
"The murderer was suffocating the victim with his hand, there's not much he could've left behind," Greg chimed in, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Did he fight back?"
"He was drugged up. We believe he was passed out by the drugs already."
Russell looked surprised. "Is there a chance he was on drugs when you saw him in the hospital?"
Greg shook his head. "Didn't look like it. But it's sometimes hard to tell."
"But it is weird. He was shooting up heroin shortly before his death, but David didn't find anything that suggests he did it before. We're still waiting for the hair test, though," Sara explained.
Russell nodded. "You two can't work on that case anymore."
"I know." Sara sighed. "I was just about to talk to the victim's brother, so... whoever takes over should probably start there."
Since the man who attempted to murder Nick was dead, Nick felt confident enough to leave the hospital. Since he knew Greg would again try to convince him to stay a little longer, he didn't tell his friend. Instead, Greg had to find out when he came to visit Nick. A few hours after Nick had arrived home, he heard a knock on the door. "Greg, I was expecting you." He smiled.
Greg gave him a look. "Why didn't you say something? I went to visit you after work only to find you checked out. Can you imagine how shocked I was to see another guy lying in your bed?"
Nick chuckled. "I'm sorry, but it was necessary. Come in."
Both walked into the living room. Greg noticed how slow Nick was walking. "Are you sure you're okay on your own?"
"I just couldn't stay there any longer."
"No, I mean... I could move in with you until you feel better." Greg sat down on the couch. "You'll need some help."
"I'll be fine, but thanks." Nick smiled. He was stubborn enough to believe his words.
Greg sighed. "Well then... At least let me help you out somehow. I could drive you to the grocery store for example."
"Why did we never get married?" Nick laughed. "I said I'll be fine. I'll ask for help if I need it."
Again, Nick received a look by Greg. "Now that would be a first. But whatever, your decision."