Chapter Fifty-Six
Content that his brothers were indeed alright,
Mikey went over to the corner of the room and grabbed a small bag of
blocks. As his parents continued their
conversation with their friends, he quietly began lining the blocks along the
coffee table.
With a hint of a smile on his face, Grissom
turned his attention to his oldest son.
“Weevil, where’s Rusty?”
Mikey looked up quickly, his small fingers
curled around a green wooden block. “In my woom.”
“All by himself?”
Weevil released the block and began to run
towards the hall. “I go git ‘im!”
Grissom grinned as he reached out and carefully
turned one of the blocks forty-five degrees to the left. Sara playfully slapped his arm as he sat back
against the cushions.
“Gil!
That’s just…mean!”
Greg and Jessie chuckled softly as Catherine
whispered an explanation to her daughter.
Hearing the patter of tiny feet rushing back into the
room, all chuckling and whispering ceased.
“Got ‘im!” Weevil shouted happily as he held the plush
toy out for his father to see.
Grissom smiled back at him and nodded. “Was he lonely?”
Mikey nodded absently as his eyes quickly found
the misplaced block. Grasping Rusty
tightly with one hand, he used the other to reposition the block. Greg and Jessie shared another chuckle,
causing Mikey to turn his head towards them.
“Why oo waffin’?”
While the boy wasn’t looking, Grissom quickly
pulled the block on the end a couple of centimetres towards him. Sara rolled her eyes in amusement as she
stifled her laughter.
Jessie smiled at Mikey as she tried to control
her chuckling. “We’re just laughing
about a joke that your daddy told us.”
Mikey tilted his head slightly as he stared at
her. “Da one ‘bout da bug?”
All five adults burst out in laughter, with
Weevil joining in quickly. “Dat’s a fun
one, is it?”
He turned back around, his giggles stopping
abruptly as he noticed the block.
Without another word, he realigned the blocks once more and went back to
the toy corner for something else.
Grissom took the opportunity to
pick up one block, placing it behind his back, and pushing another block
slightly forward.
Catherine snorted as they awaited the young Grissom’s return.
Weevil stopped in front of the table and
dropped the second bag of blocks to the floor. He sighed heavily as he pushed the block back
into place. Narrowing his eyes, he
studied the line of wooden objects.
“Dare’s one not here!”
Sara shot a grin at Jessie as Grissom leaned
forward, his voice soft. “One’s
missing?”
Weevil’s small fingers pointed to the empty
spot. “It was dare. Now is gone!”
Grissom fought to hide his smile. “Where did it go?”
Weevil looked up at his father quickly as his
brow furrowed in annoyance. “Gib it beck, Daddy!”
“Give what back?”
“My bwok!” Oo taked it! Gib it beck!”
“What’s the magic word, son?”
“Peas or now?”
Grissom laughed loudly as he handed the block
back to the boy. “Here you go, Weevil.”
Weevil snatched it from his father’s hand and
put it back in the line. “Tanks Daddy!”
Sara chuckled softly as she laid her hand on
his thigh. “Gil, why
do you feel the need to purposely annoy our son?”
Grissom shrugged as he smiled brightly at
her. “It’s such a…Grissomish…reaction.”
“Grissomish?” Greg shook his head as he laughed. Feeling tiny hands tapping his knee, he
looked down. “What’s up, Weave?”
“Daddy Geel
noys me!”
Greg laughed harder as he scooped the boy
up. “Daddy Gil has that affect on quite
a few people…”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom walked into the lab, automatically
reaching over to turn down the volume on the stereo. Greg looked up and offered his supervisor a
sheepish smile.
“Hey, Grissom…”
“Have you been able to isolate the chemical
compound used to remove the fingerprints from our vic?”
Greg rolled his chair over to the printer and pulled
a piece of paper from the tray. “You
know, you’re a lot more fun to be around when you’re not working…”
Grissom raised an eyebrow and stared at the
young man. Greg cleared his throat and
glanced down at the page.
“H2SO4. More specifically…automotive battery
acid.” He handed the printout to
Grissom, shrugging his shoulders.
“That’s all I can tell you about that…”
Grissom scanned the page carefully. “
“You know what else is interesting?” He waited for Grissom to look at him before
continuing. “The blood sample you gave
me? Traces of the same
acid present.”
Grissom’s eyes widened as he uttered a quick
“Thanks” and rushed out the door. Greg
shook his head as he turned the volume back up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Catherine walked into Grissom’s office to find
him on the phone. He looked up and
motioned for her to take a seat while he continued listening. As he turned his attention to the open folder
in front of him, she reached out and pulled his pen caddy a few millimetres
towards her.
“When was he released?”
Catherine’s smile faded as she heard the
question. She sat back in her chair and
waited. Grissom grabbed a notepad and
scribbled something on the top sheet before thanking the person on the other
end and hanging up.
“What was that about?”
Grissom looked up and sighed lightly. “
Catherine shuddered visibly. “That’s…pleasant.”
“Yeah. And reminiscent of Timothy Sharif.”
Catherine’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Who’s Timothy Sharif?”
Grissom handed her the folder and stood
up. “A little over ten years ago, I
worked this case. A man’s body was
found…partially dismembered…battery acid in the bloodstream. Timothy Sharif was
found guilty of the murder.”
Catherine scanned through the file. “Mentally unstable…sent to a psychiatric
facility…”
“And released last week.”
Catherine stared at him in disbelief. “Where is he now?”
“His brother, Joseph Sharif,
took him in.” He ripped off the top
sheet of the notepad and fished his keys out of his pocket. “I have the address…let’s go.”
Catherine closed the file and placed it on
Grissom’s desk. As Grissom walked around
the side of his desk, he reached out and pushed his pen caddy back a couple of
millimetres.
Grissom made his way up the short footpath,
flanked by Brass and Catherine. He
narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the house.
“No lights…”
Brass shrugged his shoulders as he stepped over
a rock. “Maybe he’s having a romantic
evening…”
Grissom shot him a sideways glance as Catherine
chuckled. “Or he could simply just not
be home.”
“Simply?
Since when have you gone about the simple approach to anything?”
Grissom offered his friend a small smile. “It’s been known to happen…once in a while.”
Catherine snorted as she climbed the steps and
rapped her knuckles against the wooden door.
She tilted her head, listening intently.
“Well, if he is engaged in a romantic evening, it’s very quiet romance.”
Brass pulled his notepad out of his pocket,
flipping it open to the page where he had scribbled down the address Grissom
had given him. “Well, not everyone’s
idea of a romantic evening consists of loud…”
“Shut up, Brass.” Catherine interrupted him quickly, earning a
soft chuckle from Grissom in the process.
“And what are you laughing about?”
Grissom opened his mouth to respond just as the
door opened to reveal a slightly stocky man in his mid-forties. Grissom focused his eyes on him. “Joseph Sharif?”
The man nodded slowly as he stepped onto the
porch. “I’m Joe, what can I do for you?”
Brass spoke up quickly. “Mr. Sharif, I’m Detective Jim Brass,
Homicide. This is Gil Grissom and
Catherine Willows from Criminalistics.
We need to ask you a few questions.”
“Is this about Tim?”
Catherine smiled gently. “Well, we’re kinda hoping you can tell us
that.”
Joe sighed as he stepped back into the house,
motioning for them to enter his home. As
he closed the door, he turned his eyes towards the older investigator. “I’m not sure what I can tell you…I told the
cops everything I knew about his…crimes.
Back when everything came down.”
Grissom studied the man closely. “Mr. Sharif, this isn’t about what happened
before. There have been remains of a
body found…with traces of automotive battery acid in the blood. We need to ask your brother a few questions.”
Joe closed his eyes briefly and took a deep
breath. “Well, we have a small problem
then. I haven’t seen Tim in two days.”
Grissom raised an eyebrow. “Two days?
Have you notified the authorities?”
Joe shook his head slowly as he sank down into
the chair next to the fireplace. “No…I
was going to give him another day. He’s
a completely different person now…I just wanted to give him the benefit of the
doubt.”
Grissom pursed his lips. “Yet, you automatically assumed we were here
about him?”
“A homicide detective and two investigators
show up on your doorstep a week after your brother is released from a criminal
mental institution…your brother was originally convicted on murder charges…what
would you think?” Joe exhaled
slowly. “Even if you know in your heart
that your brother isn’t capable of hurting anyone again…ever…what would you
think?”
Grissom gave him an understanding nod as he
looked around the spacious living room.
“Mr. Sharif, would you mind if we take a look around?”
“If you think it will help you find Tim, go for
it.” Joe gazed into the roaring
fire. “I’m getting really worried about
him.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Catherine followed Grissom’s voice into the
small bedroom at the end of the hallway.
“You bellowed?”
“I didn’t bellow, I called for you to come in
here.” Grissom picked up the open letter
with a gloved hand. “What do you make of
this?”
Catherine scanned the piece of paper. “The state may deem you no longer a threat
to society, but I’m sure that the families of those you murdered in cold blood
would not agree. Watch yourself, times
have changed.”
She looked up slowly. “Was this a threat against Timothy Sharif?”
“That, I’m not sure of. But…”
He pointed towards the bottom right corner of the page. “That looks like blood to me.”
“I’ll bag it and take it to Greg.” She looked around the room cautiously. “Did you find anything else?”
He nodded grimly as he picked up a legal pad
that had been resting on the desk. “The
letter wasn’t signed. I think he was
trying to figure out who had written it.”
Catherine glanced at the pad to see Tim’s
victims’ names written on the page in his unique flowing script. “Any ideas of where he may be?”
“Maybe he went into hiding…”
“Without telling his brother?”
Grissom tilted his head slightly as his eyes
focused on a picture of Tim and Joe.
“Protecting his brother?”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom rounded the corner as Catherine stepped
into the DNA lab, his eyes focused on the piece of paper in his grasp. A hand on his upper arm stopped his
motion. He looked up to find his wife
smiling lovingly at him.
“Hey.”
“Hi…what has you perplexed?”
Grissom smiled as he offered her a quick wink
before getting down to the task at hand.
“Are you busy at the moment?”
“No…not at the moment. Whatcha got?”
“Walk with me…”
Sara turned, walking with her husband down the
hall. “Where are we going?”
“Records.
I have a list of Timothy Sharif’s victims…”
She took the paper that he held out for her. “Where did this come from?”
“Timothy Sharif’s bedroom.” He gave her a half grin as she raised an
eyebrow at him. “Along with a letter
from a ‘concerned citizen’…”
“Threatening?”
“Looks like it…” They stepped into the elevator and he turned
towards her as the doors closed. “Do you
think you can cross-reference the victim list with the current addresses of the
victims’ families for me?”
“Sure, no problem. Anything in particular that I’m looking for?”
He shrugged his shoulders and shook his
head. “I’m not sure…”
Leaning over, he placed a soft, quick kiss on
her lips seconds before the elevator doors re-opened. “Thank you.”
She grinned as she stepped out of the
elevator. “You’re welcome. I’ll let you know what I find out…”
He returned her grin as the doors closed again,
separating them as he rode back up a few floors to the labs.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
As he headed towards Greg’s domain, Catherine
bounded around the corner at a rushed pace, barely avoiding running into her
supervisor.
“Grissom!”
“What’s going on?”
Catherine clutched the report in her left hand
as she ran the fingers of her right hand through her hair. “The substance on the corner of the
letter? It was blood…”
“Okay…”
Grissom drew out the word, clearly showing his confusion on why she had
practically run into him to share this news.
“Timothy Sharif’s blood…”
Grissom’s eyes widened slightly. “Well, that’s interesting…”
“Not as interesting as what else we found.”
“And that would be?”
“Follow me…Greg can explain it better than me.”
“He can?”
Grissom crossed his arms in front of his chest and tilted his head to
the left as he stared at her.
Catherine gave him a half shrug as she turned
back towards the lab. “Well, probably
not…but, he has a presentation for you.”
Grissom sighed heavily. “Great…”
Grissom walked into the DNA lab to find Greg
studying what he presumed to be an analysis printout. Leaning against the table, he let out a heavy
sigh.
“What have you found, Greg?”
Greg spun around with a smile on his face. “Bonjour, Monsieur Grissom…”
Grissom rolled his eyes at Greg’s hideous
semi-French accent. “Hei
Deus…”
Greg waggled his index finger at his
supervisor. “This is a ‘No Latin Zone’,
Grissom.”
“Is it a ‘Work Zone’? I didn’t come in here for a French lesson…”
Greg cleared his throat as Catherine chuckled
softly. Motioning towards the white
board behind him, he smiled sheepishly.
“I wasn’t expecting you this soon. I’m almost finished though…”
Grissom’s eyes darkened. “I’m not interested in the presentation,
Greg! You don’t get extra points for
making the analysis nice to look at.
Just tell me what you found.”
The lab-rat’s face reddened. “The blood found on the piece of paper is a
match to a sample I had been given earlier.”
“Which sample?”
Greg picked up a report from his desk and
handed it to Grissom. “The
one from the ‘Chipper of Doom’.”
Grissom raised an eyebrow. “Anything else?”
“Well, I thought you might ask…so…” Greg’s smile returned as he crossed his arms
over his chest. “I ran ‘em through
CODIS…and got a hit. Mr. Timothy Isiah Sharif.”
“Timothy Sharif? Are you sure?”
“One hundred and ten percent…”
Grissom glanced at Catherine. “I have to go talk to Sara.”
Catherine’s mouth dropped open. “Uh…we really don’t have time for that right
now…”
“About the victims, Catherine!” His mouth twitched in annoyance. “I have her down in Records doing some
cross-reference work for us.”
“Oh…well, uh…I…”
Grissom shook his head as he walked towards the
door. Greg chuckled softly as
Catherine’s face reddened.
“Adieu, Grissom…”
“Vale, Greg.”
Grissom called out as he left the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sara looked up as she heard the familiar
footsteps heading her way. “I was
getting ready to call you.”
“You were?
What did you find?”
“Out of the four victims, only two family
members of two victims still reside within
“So, that’s four people…”
Sara shook her head quickly. “Sorry, that was a bit confusing. Two victims…one family
member each. Two
people.”
Grissom smiled as he placed his hand on her
shoulder. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Do you need any help on this one? I can round up Brass…go question one of them
for you while you and Catherine are questioning the other…”
Grissom thought about it for a moment as his
thumb gently rubbed her shoulder blade.
“It might be a bit more than just questioning. We’ll be looking for evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
“Murder.”
Sara raised an eyebrow. “Do you have an ID on the vic?”
He took a step back as he motioned for her to
follow him. “Timothy Sharif.”
“Sharif? The murderer was murdered?”
“Looks like it.
You still want to help us? I
mean, I’m sure Nick and Warrick would love to have you assist on their decomp…”
“Want me to go talk to Brass about warrants?”
Grissom chuckled as he opened the door for his
wife. “I take it that you don’t want to
help Nick and Warrick…”
“I would like our children to want to play with
me when we get home instead of being told that I smell and need to take a
bath. Besides, I’m sure they’re doing
just fine. What about those warrants?”
Grissom laughed as they stepped into the
elevator. “Sure, go ahead.” He glanced down at the legal pad she was
carrying. “You take Brass and talk
to…what does that say?”
“Jerome McManus and April Bower.”
“Okay, you and Brass go see Ms. Bower…Cath and
I will talk to McManus.” Grissom offered
Sara a grin. “I hope our children take
after me in handwriting skills…”
Sara looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Chicken scratch…”
He backed against the wall of the elevator as
she took a step towards him. Hearing the
bell signalling that they had reached their requested floor, he gave her a
lopsided smile. “No smacking…the doors
are getting ready to open.”
As the elevator doors slid open, Sara walked
out and turned back to look at her husband.
“Who said I was going to smack you?”
As she winked at him, he took a deep breath and
licked his lips. “Off you go…let me know
when we have the warrants?”
“Sure.”
She glanced at his lips quickly before meeting his hard gaze once
more. “I really wasn’t going to hit you,
you know…”
Without another word, she turned and walked
down the hall. Grissom watched her round
the corner with a smile on his face.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Brass gripped the arm rest as Sara made a sharp
right turn. “I, uh…haven’t seen you
much…shit…today.”
She looked over to find him with his eyes
closed, his head leaning back against the headrest. “You okay, Jim?”
“Uh-huh…haven’t ridden with you in a while
either.” He opened one eye and glanced
at her. “You don’t drive like this with
the boys in the car, do you?”
Sara chuckled as she slowed the
He turned his head to face her as his mouth
dropped open in bewilderment. “Sara!”
“I’m just joking, Jim. Actually, I just drive like this when you or
Gil are with me…”
“Uh-huh…”
He groaned in disbelief.
“Ask Nick or Warrick if you don’t believe
me.” She read the house numbers
quickly. “It’s 4238, right?”
“Yeah…”
She slowed to a stop in front of a small brick
home and gave him a bright smile. “We’re
here!”
“Good…”
He sighed as he opened the door and stepped out.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom climbed the stairs to the third floor
apartment rented to Jerome McManus followed closely by Catherine. He stopped suddenly and looked over his
shoulder.
“What?”
Catherine sighed as she looked up at him. “I asked you to tell me what you know about
this McManus guy. Is your hearing acting
up again?”
“No. Just thinking about this case.” He turned and resumed climbing the
stairs. “McManus was
ten years old when Sharif killed his 19 year old brother, Jarrel. He went into therapy for a few years to come
to terms with his brother’s death. By
all accounts, he was a smart kid who refused to apply himself. He’s been in and out of trouble, but nothing
major. A couple of shoplifting charges,
petty theft, public intoxication. His
parents moved to
“Do you think he could’ve jumped from normal
juvenile crimes to murder?”
Grissom shrugged his shoulders and walked down
the hall to apartment number 328. “I’m
waiting to see what the evidence tells me.”
Catherine rolled her eyes as they stopped in
front of the door. “Why am I not
surprised?”
The front door opened to reveal a young man in
his early twenties, who looked as if he just got out of bed. “What can I do for you?”
Sara shot him a half smile. “Is this the residence of April Bower?”
The man ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah…who’re you?”
“I’m Sara Grissom, Las…”
“Romy, who is it?”
The man turned his head as if to look down the
hallway. Sara glanced at Brass and
raised her eyebrow in a silent question.
“I’m finding out, babe…hold
on.” He looked back at Sara and
smiled. “You were saying, sweetie?”
Sara narrowed her eyes. “Sara Grissom,
The man took a step back. “April calls me ‘Romy’…my
name is Jerome.”
Brass cast a quick glance to Sara before
speaking. “Well, Jerome…we need to speak
with April. Mind if we come in and wait
while she gets dressed?”
Jerome shrugged his shoulders. “Come on in…I’ll go get her for you.”
Sara smiled sweetly at the young man. “Thank you, Mr…I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your
last name.”
Jerome blushed lightly. “McManus…but, you can call me Jerome. I’ll be right back…”
Sara pursed her lips as Jerome left the
room. “I need to call Gil…”
Brass nodded.
“Yeah, I think you should…”
She jumped slightly, startled as her phone
began to ring as she pulled it out of her jacket pocket. She flipped it open quickly and put it to her
ear. “Grissom.”
“This is Grissom as well. McManus isn’t here, but Catherine and I have
found a few things that seem kind of suspicious.”
“Uh-huh…”
She glanced down the empty hallway and lowered her voice. “Gil…Jerome McManus is here…at April Bower’s
house.”
“What?”
Grissom snapped his field kit shut and glanced at Catherine. “Is Bower there as well?”
“Yeah…apparently they’re a…uh…couple.”
He stood up quickly, motioning to Catherine
that they needed to leave. “Okay…ask her
a couple of questions, then start searching the house. I’ll be there in 15 minutes.”
“Alright.” Hearing two sets of footsteps coming down the
hall, she whispered quietly. “Gotta go…”
“Be care…”
Grissom sighed as he realized that she had disconnected the call. “Damn!”
Catherine followed the senior investigator as
he quickly made his way out of the apartment and down the stairs. “What’s going on, Grissom?”
“McManus is there.”
“What?”
Her eyes widened in surprise as Grissom jumped into the
“Take the evidence back to the lab…I’m going
over to April Bower’s house. Call me
when you have something definitive.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sara sat down in a chair opposite of the sofa
that April and Jerome were sitting on. “Ms. Bower, does the name Timothy Sharif mean
anything to you?”
“Timothy Sharif?” She glanced at Brass. “He…uh…he killed my uncle.”
Sara noticed Jerome’s fingers gripping the
armrest on the couch. He caught her eye
and loosened his grasp. “And my brother.”
Sara gave the couple an understanding nod. “Sharif was released from custody recently…”
April interrupted her quickly. “I know.
We were both sent notices that he was out.” She took a deep breath and reached over,
lacing her fingers with Jerome’s. “I
can’t say that I was happy about it…but, as long as he keeps his distance from
us…”
Brass leaned forward in his chair, grabbing
April’s attention. “I don’t think that’s
going to be a problem. Timothy Sharif
has been murdered.”
April and Jerome shared a quick glance before
the young woman spoke. “I can’t say that
I’m sad to hear that…but…I’m not sure what that has to do with me.”
Sara tilted her head slightly as she studied
the couple. “Well, Mr. Sharif was sent a
threatening letter a day or so before he died.
We’re just checking up on some loose end type things.” She glanced around the room before
speaking. “Do you care if we have a look
around?”
April narrowed her eyes. “Don’t you need a warrant for that?”
Brass reached into his inside jacket pocket and
pulled out a small packet of papers. “We
have one.”
She shrugged her shoulders and leaned against
her boyfriend. “Then, I guess you
can. Have fun…”
Sara grinned as she stood up. “I find a lot of fun in my job.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Sara glanced at her watch as she felt a
presence enter the room. “It’s been 22
minutes…”
Grissom smiled as he walked up behind her and
looked over her shoulder. “I missed the
turnoff. Have you found anything?”
She handed over a couple of evidence bags and
turned her head to look at him. “Have
you ever seen what acid does to an orange?”
“An orange?” He held up the bag containing what was once a
ripe piece of fruit. “No…but it’ll put
an apple through hell.”
Sara chuckled softly. “I’m not even going to ask, but I do
understand the orange.” She looked into
his eyes, smiling as he arched an eyebrow in a silent request for her to
continue. “The peel of an orange mimics
the resistance of human skin. So, if
you’re practicing something…the best thing to use for practice is a fresh
orange.”
Grissom glanced at the evidence bag again. “Speaking from experience?”
Sara shrugged her shoulders. “I use to have to give myself
injections. The doctor who prescribed
them suggested I use an orange as practice before I actually attempted to inject
myself.”
As Grissom continued to stare at the fruit, his
cell phone began to ring. He grabbed it
quickly as Sara slid a crumpled sheet of paper into a separate bag and then
moved her search to the other side of the room.
As she sifted through some items on the floor, she heard her husband
mutter a quick ‘thanks’ and flip his phone shut.
“What’s up?”
“We found some syringes in the bottom of a
trash can…traces of blood on the needles.”
He smiled lightly as she turned her head in his direction. “We have a match. Want to introduce me to the lovebirds?”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Grissom followed his wife into the living room,
sending a brief nod in Brass’ direction.
Sara smiled knowingly at the couple as she addressed them.
“Would the two of you care to come to the
station? We just want to ask you a few
questions…”
Jerome tightened his grip on April’s hand. “You can ask us here…”
Grissom tilted his head as he stared at the
couple. “I’m Gil Grissom from the Crime
Lab. The questions we need to ask
you…well, you might decide that you want a lawyer, which you’re entitled
to. I would just prefer to talk to you
about a few things where we can get an attorney for you, if needed.”
“No lawyer needed.” Jerome narrowed his eyes slightly as he
studied the older man. “Go ahead…”
Grissom took a seat and leaned forward as he
pursed his lips. “Mr. McManus, a
colleague and I were at your apartment a while ago. We had a warrant to search your premises. We found a few syringes in the
wastebasket…along with traces of blood….”
Jerome nodded quickly. “They’re mine.
That’s why I’m here instead of there.
April is helping me kick a drug addiction.”
Grissom shot the young man a lopsided
smile. “Mr. McManus, would you care to
roll up your sleeves?”
Jerome glanced at April as he pushed the
sleeves of his shirt up. Grissom’s eyes
focused on the exposed skin. “Well, I
don’t see any signs of prior intravenous drug use.”
Jerome huffed.
“Arms aren’t the only place to shoot up, you know.”
Grissom gave him a quick nod. “Yeah, I know. Have you ever had your blood tested?”
“For what?”
“For anything. Because I think there’s a problem. If those syringes were yours…and the blood is
yours…you have a serious, and probably fatal, disease.”
“Fatal?
What are you talking about?”
Grissom removed his glasses and placed them in
his shirt pocket. “Well, I say
‘fatal’…I’m not really sure if it’s fatal or not. I would assume so…I’ve never heard of a
medical case where the patient has survived such a condition.”
Jerome released April’s hand as he sat forward,
sweat beading on his forehead. “What the
hell are you talking about?”
“There was H2SO4 present
in the blood as well as the syringes. H2SO4
is a compound that is normally found in batteries…specifically,
automotive batteries.” Grissom watched
as Jerome’s eyes widened. “The blood
that was found…do you know your blood type?”
“Uh…it’s…uh…A negative.” Jerome stammered.
“Yeah…the blood we found was type O
positive. Not yours. But, we were able to find a match…to Timothy
Sharif.”
April gaped at her boyfriend. “Romy? You killed him?”
Jerome snapped his head towards her. “WHAT?”
Sara smirked as she pulled an evidence bag out
of her field kit. “You didn’t have
anything to do with it, April?”
“Of course not!”
“Well, I think we have another problem.” She held the bag up. “I’m not sure what killed this innocent
orange, but I have a feeling it was the same acid that was found in the
syringes in your boyfriend’s apartment.
The techs will confirm it for me when I drop it off in the lab. And then I’ll stop by QD and ask them to
match this piece of paper with the paper used to write the note that was sent
to Mr. Sharif a couple of days before his murder.”