"Anybody out there? 'Cause I don't hear a sound. I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name like a fool at the top of my lungs but it's never enough 'cause my echo is the only voice coming back"
-¿Why don't you just get over it?
-Because you cheated –Warrick answered while he was driving.
-No, I did not –I laughed at the accusation- I told you, I'm good at playing pool.
-I've never met a woman who is good at billiards.
-¿Since when do you have a master's degree at the macho university? –I exclaimed surprised by his comment- That doesn't sound like you at all.
-It is not macho, it is statistical –he looked at me from the corner of his eye and smiled. I knew he was provoking me on purpose- ¿How many female billiards champions do you know?
-Oh my god, I'm so jumping off the car right now.
-No need to –he parked the car- We're here.
We got out of the car and opened the trunk to get the field kits. I already had my own kit, since after I've been with them for a while, Grissom said that it was time for me to go from observation to practice, obviously with supervision. Apparently, this case wasn't very complicated; two girls had run over a boy.
-First of all, ¿do you remember the rule of the Seven S's? –Warrick asked me.
-The first two are in charge of the police; Secure the scene and Separate the witnesses –I looked at the cordoned area and remember the other five- Scan the scene, Seeing the scene, Sketch the scene, Search for evidence and Secure the collected evidence.
The first marker I put was on a bag full of beer cans that I had found on the sidewalk. The next evidence I found was a broken tail light, and after taking the evidence pictures, I bagged it. Warrick was crouched down watching the victim's torso when he called me.
-¿You see it? –he asked me pointing at the boy.
-Two distinct tire treads; one wide and one narrow.
-Given the extensive bruising from the wide trade mark, victim was killed by a larger vehicle, not that compact –he explained- The two girls ran over a corpse.
After collecting the evidence found at the crime scene, I sealed them by writing my initials and the date on each evidence container. The chain of custody is the documentation and preservation of the evidence. If the chain of custody is broken, that means that all the evidence collected it inadmissible in court. Sloppy chain of custody work can mean failing to serve justice and letting a criminal walk free.
While we collected the evidence at the scene, they took the body to the coroner and performed the autopsy so when we got back to the Lab, Warrick checked in the evidence while I went to the morgue with Sara and Grissom.
-Printed your hit-and-run and AFIS found a match –Dr. Albert Robbins explained- Brian Clemonds, 22, born in Vegas and he's deaf.
-¿You can tell he's deaf by his fingerprints? –I asked surprised.
-Actually, yes. He was printed as part of a state aid program but to confirm I examined his ear canal. Normally, the malleus is shaped like a hammer; a long, smooth handle connecting to a blunt head, but Brian's malleus is knotted, both of them, birth defect.
-There's a college for the deaf about a mile from where we found him –Grissom added as a possible connection.
-So, Brian takes a walk, crosses the street, doesn't hear the car, gets creamed.
-The vehicle, probably a truck or an SUV, based on the width of the tire tread , takes off. Later, along comes a compact-thump and runs over a dead body –Sara ends the explanation of what happened.
-Maybe, maybe not –Dr. Robbins lifted up the sheet and showed us the vic's right hand- ¿See the dried blood on his knuckles? No associated wounding. Blood's probably not his.
-The kid was in a fight.
***
Accompanied by an officer, Grissom and I headed to the house where the victim's mother lives. No one had notified her yet, so we had that task left for us. Grissom, who was behind the wheel, parked and before getting out of the car he looked at me.
-¿Have you already notified someone in any case?
-No, I haven't –I denied with my head- I have offered my condolences before, but not as a CSI.
-There's a study that says that 72% of people who have lost a loved one, can perfectly remember the face of the person who gave them the news –Grissom said to me- That means that for many people, you are the living image of the worst day of their lives.
-¿How do you do it..? –I asked a little bit affected by what he said- ¿How do you face that you are one of the worst memories?
-By finding out the truth and hope it will bring them justice and peace.
Grissom took the initiative to get out of the car and I followed him. On our way to the front door of the house, I thought about what he had told me and realized that he was very wise and the right person to look at if I wanted to learn.
-¿Mrs. Clemonds? –Grissom asked as he held up his ID for her to look at- My name is Gil Grissom, this is Laura Serrano. We are with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. ¿May we come in for a minute?
She stepped aside and we walked into the house. As we stepped inside we looked around. I noticed a bell near the floorboards, and she noticed.
-My son is deaf –she explained- The bell is connected to the doorbell.
-The bell sets off vibrations which reverberate on the floorboards so that he knows someone's at the door –Grissom added the information, which it was very curious- Mrs. Clemonds, we are here about your son Brian. There's no easy way to say this.
-Oh, god, please no –she started to cry.
-Brian was killed tonight.
-No, no, no –she slowly sat down on the couch, crying- This is my fault. When I was pregnant, I had the German measles and the virus took away his hearing.
-No, Mrs. Clemonds.. We think he might have been murdered.
-¿Murdered? –she shook her head.
-¿Would you like to talk to a Family Service Counselor?
-Talking is overrated, Mr. Grissom –she laughed weakly- Just find out who did this to my boy, please.
***
Sometimes it happened that a crime was reported when the graveyard shift was about to end and it is difficult to leave a case halfway so that's why we also work day hours, and that's what happened with this case. Turns out that the victim attended the college for the deaf that Grissom mentioned during the autopsy. Sara and I were the ones in charge of talking with the headmistress. Dr. Gilbert was her name, and we thought we'd need to use an interpreter but neither of us had much experience in this area so we didn't fare very well.
-Dr. Gilbert.. –Sara said loudly and she turned around to look at the interpreter who stood behind us- We need your help. Brian Clemonds was murdered.
-¿Was he having any difficulties? –I asked the same way Sara was doing it.
-¿Anyone have a grudge against him? –Sara asked again- We understand you don't want a homicide investigation upsetting your students.
-I'm severely deaf and I can communicate fine -Dr. Gilbert watched us and shook her head- I'd appreciate it if you'd look at me when you speak to me. I wear a hearing aid and I can read lips. You could have asked if I needed an interpreter.
-I'm sorry, we didn't mean to offend you –Sara spoke for both of us- We're just following protocol.. we need to speak with Brian's friends and we'll also need access to his records.
-The crime didn't happen here, it happened out there.
-We are not accusing anybody of anything –I added.
-Neither am I, but there are more of you, ¿right? –she shook her head in a mad way- Send someone else, someone with more understanding of this school and my students.
-Dr. Gilbert, we are here now and evidence is time-sensitive.
-¿How can you solve a crime without understanding the victim? –In a frustrated way, she signed to the interpreter, so we turned back to look at her.
-Um.. She's kicking us out.
We both left the office and when we arrived at the parking lot, we saw Grissom getting out of his car.
-¿How'd it go?
-They're not cooperating –I explained- She kicked us out.
-¿What did you do? –he asked worried.
-¿What did we do? Met the headmistress and asked a few questions –Sara answered indignantly- She was kind of hostile, like it's our fault we can hear.
-All right, let's go –Grissom made his way across the campus and walked into the office- ¿Dr. Gilbert? I'm Gil Grissom, with the Crime Lab. You kicked my people out of your office.
-Well, I'm kicking you out too –she stood up and indicated the door.
-Look, your student is dead. ¿Don't you want to know who is responsible? I do.
Grissom stopped her and signed as he spoke. Sara and I turned to look each other, surprised to learn this new aspect of Grissom.
-Your people can't solve this crime.
-¿Why? ¿'Cause they don't understand the victim? Help them understand.
-When a deaf person meets a hearing person the hearing person so much as says "I'm normal, you're not".
-¿Is that what you think I'm saying? –he kept speaking as he signed- A student is dead and maybe you feel responsible. Maybe you're angry, but don't be angry with us. We want to help you.
-¿If I agree to cooperate you will include me in your investigation?
-Yes, I will –he nodded- I welcome your involvement. Now, ¿may I see Brian Clemond's file, please?
***
Apparently, Brian filed six complaints against his roommate, Paul Arrington. Paul lost his hearing less than a year ago and he hasn't adjusted, so he's angry. Paul didn't read lips or sign, but we needed to communicate with him anyway so Grissom had an idea. Back at the Police Department, all of us working on the case were waiting for Paul to come.
-So, ¿you going to tell us how you learned to sign? –Sara asked.
-No.
-Well, the president of the college is a real whack job.
-Sara, you see deafness as a pathology –he explained- For Dr. Gilbert, her deafness is not her handicap, it's her way of life.
-You know, I think you might be siding with her.
-As long as you see this as us versus them, you're going to have problems on this case.
Luckily, before Sara could respond, Dr. Gilbert and Paul Arrington were walking down the hallway toward us. Grissom went to meet them, and since he was going to be present in the room while they were doing the test, the rest of us were going to be in the observation room.
-¿What was all that about? –Sara closed the door behind us- Grissom signs.
-¿Do you know what Grissom drinks when he goes out at night? –Warrick asked.
-¿He goes out?
-Exactly, ¿who knows anything about that guy? –he nodded as he indicated to look at Grissom, who was putting a head band on Paul's head- Hey, check that out.
-Oh, I've read about this machine, brain printing, they call it a visual polygraph –I said interested in the subject- Very Frankenstein.
-A couple of years ago Grissom and I used one to interview this rapist –Warrick explained- The guy was mute but his brain waves spoke loud and clear.
-So, you show the suspect slides of the crime scene and if he's our guy then the oscillator will give him away.
Paul didn't recollect Brian's murder, in fact, the pictures of the crime scene were upsetting him so we ruled him out of his roommate's murder.
***
Once we were in a dead end and we had run out of suspects, what we had to do was review all the evidence collected and If we had already done it, we would review it again. Sara, Warrick and I met on the Layout Room to go over everything again. Sara was running the tire treads from the body through the database looking for a match while Warrick and I checked the victim's clothes.
-¿Any hits? –Warrick asked Sara about the tire treads.
-Not yet, the database contains 11.033 patterns –she exhaled at the number- Could take a while.
With a magnifying glass, Warrick examined the pants and I examined the sweater. It didn't take long for me to see that there were some little bugs in the sweater. I could get an idea of what they were, but I wasn't sure.
-Whoa.. ¿what are these?
-They look like lice –Warrick said when he checked it- ¿Wasn't our dead guy clean?
-Yes, he was –Sara answered while tucking her hair- Lice adhere to hair follicles. I didn't find any stray hairs on him.
-¿He was in a fight, right? –I looked for an explanation- Maybe his attacker had lice and they crawled off on his sweater.
Grissom walked by the doorway and when he saw us inside, he stopped.
-¿Any luck on the tire treads?
-Computer's still processing but Laura found something pretty interesting.
-¿You know anything about lice? –I asked him.
-Yeah –Grissom stepped into the Layout Room- They make our head itch. And, after head colds, the most common medical problem affecting children.
-Hey, Grissom, ¿can I see you a second? –Greg rushed into the room and when he saw Sara, Greg waved at her- Stat.
-Stay on the tire treads –Grissom told Sara- ¿Warrick? ¿Laura?
-Yeah, right behind you –Warrick and I rushed to get a sample of the lice and then followed Grissom to the DNA Lab.
-I am the man –Greg said proudly.
-¿Why? ¿What did you do? Let me guess.. –Warrick spoke- You ran a DNA profile on the blood from the dead guy's knuckles and you got a match.
-No.
-¿You ran a DNA profile and something very distinctive popped up? –Grissom tried.
-Not quite.
-¿You made it out of bed and you dressed yourself? –I joked, causing a little smile on my coworkers.
-¿What is it, Greg? –Grissom asked tired of guessing.
-Just put your nose down the scope –Greg turned around and pointed to the scope. Grissom put his things down and looked- Pyoverdin, a pigment excreted from pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is a bacteria occasionally found in the bloodstream. Your killer has fluorescent blue dots in his blood.
-So, the guy's a glow-stick –Warrick said without giving it too much importance- ¿How does that help us track him down?
-We have a lead –Sara walked into the lab- I found a partial serial number on the broken taillight. The tire belongs to a Ford Explorer, only one with the same partial serial number is registered in Vegas.
-¿What do you call a guy with blue-dotted blood, lice and keys to a Ford Explorer? –Grissom asked out loud.
-¿A suspect? –I answered and Grissom turned to look at me.
-A killer.
***
The SUV was registered to Adam Walkey, 18 years old and no prior complaints. Sara and Warrick processed the car and they discovered that the taillight was a match and the presence of head lice on the driver's seat. The findings in his car gave us the warrant we wanted; his blood and a scalp search. With a licemeister I combed his hair and the surprise was that Adam Walkey didn't have lice, not even lice eggs and he couldn't get rid of them since the other night because delousing agents take time to kick in and there would have been evidence of the infestation. Still, we had his blood and the results would give us an answer.
-¡Hey Greg! -I greeted him while entering the Lab- ¿Do you have..?
-¡Greg, my boy! –Nick's voice sounded from behind me- Tell me you've got the paternity results.
-Sorry, I was first –Nick stood next to me, so I looked at him and smiled.
-Not in the Crime Lab –he smiled and I understood, he was teasing me.
-I didn't know it was a competition –I turned to stand in front of him and crossed my arms.
-Oh.. You wouldn't like to compete against me –he smiled proudly.
-The other day, when Warrick and I went out for a drink, you had the chance to prove it but you didn't show up –I teased him back- Don't worry, you can ask him who got their ass kicked.
-Warrick has many virtues but playing pool, not one of them –he laughed lightly and came closer- Even Catherine's daughter would kick his ass.
-I'm pretty sure she's do the same with yours.
We were both so focused on joking with each other that we didn't realize that Greg was watching us and clearing his throat to make us listen to him. Like a spell, that moment kept us looking straight into our eyes and unable to avoid smiling. The best think, in my opinion, about liking someone is being able to tease that person and have them return it to you. Honestly, I felt like it was happening between us, as if a flame had been lit during the eye contact.
-¿Am I missing something here? –he asked curiously.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who realized that.
-Walkey's blood sample matches the blood found on Brian's knuckles.
***
-First degree murder –Sergeant O'Riley indicated- That's how we see it.
-In that case, my client is now prepared to make a statement –Adam's lawyer spoke first- Tell them, Adam.
-I may have hit a guy. I remember hitting something, it was dark. I-I just kept driving, didn't look back.
-Adam.. we found lice in the driver's seat of your vehicle but your scalp was clean –Grissom explained- ¿Was there anyone else there? ¿A witness who might support your account?
-Yeah, someone was with me –he looked at his lawyer, and after getting approval, he said the name- Mark Rucker. He can confirm everything I told you.
Dr. Gilbert was with me looking the interrogation through the glass, but suddenly she opened the door and angrily walked into the room. I followed her but I couldn't stop her.
-¿Is that the coward who killed Brian? –she spoke and signed as she walked slowly toward Adam- ¿What happened? ¿He scare you? ¿Talk a little funny? ¿Make a lot of noises? ¿Screamed? You make me sick.
-¡Get away from me! –Adam screamed.
Grissom and I held her and took her out into the hallway.
-You offered to help with my investigation and now you're compromising it.
-You found the killer.
-He has a witness –I added.
-Who will lie for him –she stormed at me.
-The witness can say whatever he wants –Grissom got between us- The important thing is that Adam Walkey was not alone when he killed Brian. His witness is our other suspect.
***
-I just have one question –Grissom sat in front of the suspect, Mark Rucker- ¿Does your head itch?
-¿Do I have to answer that? –he laughed.
-According to Adam Walkey you were with him in his SUV the other night and your head lice.. confirmed his statement. They also tell me you were driving.
-Yeah, yeah, I was with him. And, like he told you, we didn't know we hit a guy.
-¿How do you know what Adam told us? –O'Riley wondered.
-It was around midnight and we were listening to the radio, I changed the station and Adam got pissed. We thought we hit a dog so we kept driving. It's the truth.
-The evidence says otherwise –Grissom refuted- There weren't just lice in the SUV. There were lice on the victim's sweater. ¿Do you know what lice eat? Blood, and I'm pretty sure I can prove that the lice on Brian Clemonds came from your head.
-We got out of the car –he confessed- ¡I didn't want to leave him like that! Adam talked me into it, he had a scholarship to Duke next year, you know. He couldn't risk it.
-Let me tell you what I think happened –Grissom sighed- You and Adam saw Brian walking out of a liquor store carrying a six-pack. You're underage, maybe you wanted him to front you some beer. Brian doesn't respond then you got out of the car. You started taunting him and then everything escalated. The blood on the victim's knuckles led us to Adam and a stray hair left behind lice, which brings us to you. It would have ended there, as you were about to drive away, something in your rearview mirror caught your attention. Brian was screaming, so you ran over him and then took off.
-I want a lawyer.
-Let me tell you something, son.
-Gil, the interrogation is over –O'Riley indicated- He requested counsel.
-No more questions, just this –Grissom slowly got to his feet- ¿You know why Brian Clemonds ran away from you? It was dark, you were shouting at him and he didn't understand what you were saying. Brian Clemonds was deaf.
Mark Rucker looked up at Grissom.
-He was afraid of you, but you were more afraid of him.. ¿weren't you?
Some people are just afraid and that's why they killed Brian Clemonds; because he was different. People get lost in the moment without realizing what that can entail. ¿How many lives have been lost for not stopping to think and instead of acting out of fear, acting out of kindness? ¿When have we become fearful and selfish people? ¿Where is the willingness to understand and help?
***
I hope you enjoyed it! I really like this episode because we know another part of Grissom! And, as you can see, Laura and Nick are getting closer!