CSI - Middleton
Chapter 1 - Bring in the Best
6:13pm
Las Vegas, Nevada
Vegas Crime Lab
A black SUV pulled into the parking lot of the crime lab, the door opened and out stepped a 24 year old man with dirty blond hair wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt, on his hip he wore a Glock 17 handgun in a holster and around his neck he wore an ID badge that had a picture of the young man and the words 'Ron Stoppable - CSI Level 2'.
"Shit… late, late…" Ron muttered as he quickly locked his car and jogged towards the entrance while throwing a glance at his watch.
Ron Stoppable had been a Crime Scene Investigator for two years, back when he first graduated high school he never thought he'd end up as a scientist, he had never been good at that kind of stuff, but crime scenes and evidence were different somehow, he understood it. After rushing through security he quickly made his way towards his supervisor's office.
"You're late" a voice said from behind Ron. Ron spun around to see his supervisor Gil Grissom walking out of the DNA lab towards his office, Ron walked alongside him.
"Yeah, sorry Gil, there was an accident of the Strip, blocked traffic" Ron explained.
"I know there was, I put Sarah on the case… you missed assignments" Gil said as he entered his office, sat at his table and put his papers down, Grissom's office always crept Ron out, he had specimen jars filled with bugs, an irradiated fetal pig and several other things that Ron couldn't identify.
"So, what've you got for me?" Ron asked
Grissom pulled a file out of his desk and passed it to Ron.
"Something a little different, you're going on a road trip… missing person, high profile, two days ago a Billionaire's wife goes out for drinks and never comes home… local police investigated and turned up nothing… the husband made a few phone calls looking for the best investigators in the country and was referred to us, he's offered to make a $300.000.000 donation to the justice department in return for our help.
Ron let out a low whistle as he took the file.
"Very high profile… so where am I going?" Ron asked
"California, Middleton…" Grissom answered. This made Ron's head snap up.
"My home town…" Ron said as he flipped open the file and his eyes widened when he saw a photo of a tanned brunette woman, underneath her picture was the name 'Senior, Bonnie'
"… I know this girl" Ron said
"You do?" Grissom asked interested.
"Yeah, Bonnie Rockwaller, I went to school with her, last time I saw her she was dating… ahh, so he's the billionaire… who's going with me?" Ron asked
"Sanders" Grissom answered.
Ron looked confused
"Greg? But… he's a CSI 2 like me, for a case this high profile shouldn't you send a CSI 3 to supervise, Catherine, Nick or Warrick…" Ron said but Grissom shook his head.
"We're tapped out… Sarah's on the collision on the strip that made you late, Nick & Warrick are working on an arson case in a hotel that killed 21 people and me and Catherine have a double homicide, you and Greg are all I can spare, you're supervising on this one, we don't know how advanced the lab in Middleton is so take the mobile lab with you, a local detective will meet you there and will be your liaison with local PD…" Grissom said and tossed Ron a pair of keys
"… Gil, when the sheriff finds out you only sent me and Greg he's gonna tear you a new one, you know that right?" Ron warned with a grin.
"I'll deal with it… besides you're from Middleton, you know the people and you know the city, you'll be able to investigate the case more smoothly…" Grissom answered
Ron nodded and exited the office, as he walked towards the staff room he spotted his spiky brown haired partner, CSI 2 Greg Sanders, he became a CSI around the same time Ron did but before that he spent years working in the DNA lab.
"Hey bro, look like we're going on a road trip…" Greg said with a smile and walked alongside Ron.
"Yeah, we're taking the mobile lab with us… you have more experience working a lab than I do so you're in charge of it…" Ron explained
"No problem man, hey I hear that you know a few things about the girl who went missing" Greg said as he followed Ron to the garage.
"Yeah, when I last saw her, her name was Bonnie Rockwaller, she was the queen bee in high school, top of the food chain and all around bitch… she was dating a man named Senior Senior Junior, son of Senior Senior Senior…" Ron explained, Greg looked at him as if he was crazy.
"You're kidding me with the names right?" Greg asked.
"I wish, writing our reports with those names is gonna be a bitch… to make things easier lets just call the father Senior and the son Junior, ok?" Ron asked, Greg nodded as they reached the Garage and headed towards their lab, it was a large SUV that had the two back seats removed and the back was converted into a fold out lab. Ron climbed into the drivers seat and Greg into the passenger seat.
A few minutes later the SUV was on the streets and headed towards the city limits. The two occupants had been quiet since they left the lab, eventually Greg broke the silence.
"So… you get Assassin's Creed II for Xbox 360?" Greg asked
"Got it the day it came out, already completed it" Ron answered
"Dude, how creepy was the ending seriously? I can't wait for the third one to come out…" Greg said with a grin.
"Yeah, but it probably won't be out for a couple of years… on the bright side Mass Effect II will be out in a couple months…" Ron answered.
This conversation would go on for some time, it would take a few hours to reach Middleton.
Several Hours Later
Middleton, California
Senior Manor
Ron pulled the SUV into the driveway of a large mansion. It was a three floor building right next to the ocean. Several police cars surrounded the large house.
"Ok, lets go" Ron said as he opened his door and climbed out. Ron and Greg walked around the back of the SUV and opened the trunk, immediately they grabbed two silver cases and two black stab vests. They slipped on the vests and zipped them up, on the right breast of the vests was the seal of the Las Vegas Police department with writing underneath 'Crime Scene Investigator' and directly under that in big bold letters their last names 'Stoppable' and 'Sanders'.
While they zipped up their vests they were approached by someone.
"Let me guess, Vegas? I'm Detective Summers, your liaison"
Ron's eyebrow arched when he recognized the voice, he twisted his head around the car door to spot who was speaking, he spotted a black woman dressed in a semi-smart suit with a white shirt and a blazer hanging open, on her right hip was a holstered pistol and hooked in the front f her pants was a detective badge.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Greg Sanders this is…"
"Monique?" Ron asked cutting off Greg.
The Detective looked up from Greg and her eyes widened when she spotted Ron.
"Ron? Is that you?" Monique asked with a smile as she moved forward and gave Ron and quick hug.
"Monique, you're a cop now?" Ron asked as they separated.
"Yeah, joined the academy not long after graduation, passed my Detective exam a few months ago… what about you? You're a cop too?" Monique asked as she eyed the vest and gun on Ron's hip.
"Me? Nah, I'm a Crime Scene Investigator, Forensic Scientist" Ron answered
"Scientist? How did that happen, last I heard you were going to a culinary school in Vegas, I thought you would have owned your own restaurant by now…" Monique said as she started leading the two CSI's into the manor
"Well that was the plan… but things happened and I ended up finding a new calling" Ron explained as he followed his high school friend.
"Congrats… well, Junior's waiting to speak to you… and Ron… I think you should know, Kim's here" Monique revealed and Ron's face faltered.
"Kim? What's she doing here?" Ron asked
"After high school, Kim and Bonnie became friends along with a few of the other girls from the old cheer squad…" Monique revealed.
"Kim Possible and Bonnie Rockwaller? Friends? Now that's a scary thought" Ron joked
"Hold up, Kim Possible?" Greg asked "You know Kim Possible?"
"Yeah, we uh… we dated in high school" Ron admitted "Ok, I'll speak to the husband, you speak to local forensics see what they have so far…" Greg nodded and headed for a van with the words 'Scientific Support' on the side.
"So, what happened? When'd she go missing, is there a ransom note or what?" Ron asked
"No, two days ago around 8pm she went out for drinks with a friend, she hasn't been seen since… forensics found her car two blocks from here, they processed the scene but found nothing…"
After entering the house Monique lead him to the dining room where several people were waiting, Junior was sat at the table wringing his hands together, Senior standing next to Junior with one hand on his cane and the other on Junior's shoulder. The last and most recognizable person was Kim Possible, standing near a group of police officers talking, she turned when they entered the room and her eyes widened when she spotted Ron.
"Ron? What are you doing here?" Kim asked as she walked over to him
"Nice to see you too Kim" Ron drawled
"Sorry… it's been a long couple of days" Kim said with a sad smile
"Don't worry about it… to answer your question I'm here to work… I'm one of the CSIs from Vegas"
"… No seriously Ron what're you doing here, this isn't the time to joke around, Bonnie is missing…" Kim said admonishingly
"Kim… I'm not joking… now if you'll excuse me…" Ron turned from Kim to walk towards Junior, at this point Kim noticed the gun Ron was wearing.
"R-Ron what the hell are you doing carrying a gun!" Kim all but shouted as she reached out to grab the gun, Ron reacted quicker than anybody could follow, he grabbed Kim's wrist before her hand even touched the gun.
"Kim… I am not joking… I really am Crime Scene Investigator, things have changed for me in the past 6 years ok? Now… don't try to touch the gun again" Ron warned before letting go of Kim's wrist and moving towards Junior.
Monique moved towards Kim who was rubbing her wrist.
"Girl, just what were you thinking?" Monique asked with her hands on her hips.
"He should not be carrying a gun!" Kim said sharply
"Kim, what's the big deal, I carry a gun too remember? Hell I've even shot people with it…" Monique pointed out
"That's different, you're a police officer and he's a…"
"He's a CSI… they carry guns for their protection" Monique explained
"But he's not… he… he was… what the hell is going on? He was in a culinary school…" Kim said in confusion.
"You haven't really spoken to him in years Kim… things change…"
Meanwhile Ron approached the Seniors.
"Sir, I'm Ron Stoppable, I'm with the Las Vegas crime lab… I've been assigned to your Wife's case…" Ron said.
Senior looked up from his son and smiled when he recognized Ron.
"Ahh, Mr Stoppable, it has been a long time… we welcome your help" the elder Senior said with a smile.
Junior finally seemed to notice Ron's arrival.
"You, you can help me find my beloved?" Junior asked frantically.
"We'll try our best Junior, can we have your permission to look around your house?" Ron asked.
"Yes, yes of course, look anywhere you want just please find her" Junior answered.
As Ron was about to walk back to Monique when his phone went off. Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone, on it the name 'Greg Sanders' was flashing, Ron flipped the phone open.
"What up Greg?" Ron answered
'I spoke to the Scientists who've been working the case, they found the vic's car a couple blocks from here, they already checked it out but I'm gonna take a look for myself… something's off about these guys man, they didn't even know what 'CSI' stood for'
"Amateurs… ok check out the car, the husband said that she went out for drinks with friends, that's usually means making herself up… I'll check out the bedroom…" Ron said and hung up his phone.
Two Blocks South of Senior Manor
Greg approached a silver Mercedes parked next to a fire hydrant, a parking ticket left on the car made it easy enough to find. After slipping on his latex gloves Greg went to work, he started carefully going over the car with a fine toothed comb, after a few minutes he hit the jackpot, when he shined a UV light on the seat he spotted a few drops of blood on the side of the drivers seat glowing blue.
"Gotcha…" Greg said as he photographed and swabbed the blood.
After packing the swab into an envelope Greg continued searching the car, after a few minutes he found something else interesting, a waxy substance under the dashboard, he photographed and swabbed it. Next he busted out the fingerprint powder, starting with the dashboard and driver's wheel. After only a few minutes Greg knew he had his work cut out for him, there were dozens of fingerprints.
Senior Manor
Master Bedroom
Ron walked into the room and slipped on a pair of latex gloves, he made his way to a large vanity mirror lined with dozens of bottles expensive perfume, the first thing he noticed was a phone with a blank note pad next to it.
"Ok, let's see what you were up to Bon-Bon…" Ron muttered as he picked up the notepad and opened his silver case
"Found anything?" a voice asked from behind him. Ron turned to see Monique standing at the door.
"Maybe…" Ron answered cryptically as he rummaged through his kit, he pulled out a metal jar of something and a sheet of plastic. He placed the notepad on top of the plastic and unscrewed the metal jar.
"What's the big deal? It's just a blank notepad" Monique commented
"True, but pressure from a pen can create indentations on the page beneath the one their writing on… if I do this right then I can found out what was written on the pervious page." Ron explained, he finished unscrewing the jar to reveal a black powder, Ron then sprinkled the powder all over the notepad, after completely covering it Ron tipped it upwards so the excess powder falls off the notepad onto the plastic sheet, the notepad now had black writing thanks to the black powder sticking into the indentations on the paper.
'Meet TS tonight, paperwork issue'
"Hey, it worked" Monique commented.
"Of course it did… TS… mean anything to you?" Ron asked as he photographed the notepad.
"No… is it important?" Monique asked
"Maybe… but there's no way to tell when this was made, it could have been the night she disappeared or it could have a month ago…" Ron explained as he bagged the notepad. Next Ron took out his fingerprint powder and started dusting the phone.
An Hour Later
Outside Senior Manor
Ron walked towards the Mobile Lab and spotted Greg already there unlocking the back.
"Greg, you find anything?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, blood drops on the driver seat, a waxy substance on the passenger seat and dozens of prints all over the car… how'd you do?" Greg asked
"A notepad next to the vic's phone with writing on it and fingerprints, lots of fingerprints" Ron answered.
"Ok, what do we start with?" Greg asked.
"The fingerprints, I have a hunch" Ron answered
Ten minutes later the lab was set up, the back of the SUV unfolded, revealing tables with several different machines, Greg spotted a brown bag with a note attached to it.
'Greg, thought you could use this -Warrick & Nick'
Greg opened the bag and chuckled, inside was an old looking lab coat. after slipping it on the duo went to work processing the fingerprints, 20 minutes later when all fingerprints were entered and being processed Greg turned to Ron.
"So, you gonna tell me what your hunch is?" Greg asked
"… We found both the car and the victims room covered in fingerprints… but the Seniors have around a dozen maids who clean their house daily, if they were doing their jobs properly then there shouldn't be that many fingerprints all over the place, now since the investigation began they have been given some time off, so the house hasn't been cleaned in two days, since then only one kind of person should have been searching the scenes, CSI's…" Ron explained
Greg caught on to what Ron was saying before he could say anything, the computer beeped and printed out several sheets of paper, matches to the fingerprints, Greg took a quick look and let out a sigh before passing the papers to Ron.
Ron quickly read them over and shook his head.
"Dammit… when I called them amateurs earlier I was mistaken… they're just plain incompetent… process the blood and the waxy substance, I'm going to have a little chat with the local forensics" Ron said, with that he left Greg with the lab and walked back towards the Manor.
Ron stormed into the dining room where everyone was waiting.
"Okay, I'm looking for Andrew Binns, Michael Porter, Jake Warren and Luke McNeil" Ron called out while reading the paper sin his hands. Four men stepped forward all wearing the same blue coat with 'Scientific Support' on the backs.
"We're here" one of them answered.
"Ok… get out!" Ron said roughly, Ron's tone of voice gained the attention of everyone in the room including Kim and Monique.
"W-What?" one of the men asked.
"We found fingerprints all over both the master bedroom and the vic's car, they matched you four, which means when you processed the scenes you weren't wearing gloves…" Ron said angrily.
"B-But you can't just…" one of the men argued.
"Shut up!" Ron growled "Thanks to your sloppy forensic work two different scenes have been contaminated, now we have to sift through your mess to try to salvage this investigation… I don't want any of you anywhere near this case… now get lost…" Ron said before turning away.
"Hey!" one of the braver scientists stepped forward. "You can't just kick us out of the investigation! We're the forensic investigators for Middleton, this is our jurisdiction…" he argued.
"Not anymore it isn't, the Vegas Crime lab is taking over so let me make this very clear for you, if I see you anywhere near another one of our crime scenes, I'll have you arrested for interfering in the investigation" with that said Ron turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.
"Woah…" Monique commented.
"I know that things can change over the years… but what the hell happened to turn Ron into that…" Kim asked idly.
Fifteen Minutes Later
Monique exited the house and walked towards the Mobile lab hoping to talk to Ron, when she arrived there she found Greg working on a computer.
"Hey, Sanders right? Is Ron around?" Monique asked
"He's taking a walk around the grounds looking for evidence" Greg answered
"… Hey… tell me something… did something happen to Ron in Vegas? Something that changed him?" Monique asked.
Greg hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Yeah… Ron's been a CSI for two years, when he first joined us he was on the day shift under a supervisor named Conrad Eckley… for Ron's first case Conrad sent him to process a robbery scene solo… a few hours later Ron calls the office asking for help but Conrad refused, said they were too busy and he could take care of it himself" Greg explained while working on his computer.
"… and happened next?" Monique asked
"Well, day shift ended and Ron still hadn't finished processing his scene, so when night shift started our Supervisor, Gil Grissom went to the scene to take over and find out what the hell was taking so long… when he got there he realized that somebody had made a serious mistake…" Greg said grimly
"The initial call was for a robbery… turned out to be a triple homicide… a mother and twin 12 year old daughters, raped and killed… Ron had been there alone all day with the bodies processing the scene"
"Holy shit!" Monique exclaimed
"Yeah… Grissom tried to take over the investigation but Ron wouldn't let him, they worked together through the night and found the killer… the next day Grissom tore Conrad a new one for letting a rookie take a scene like that solo and the following night Ron transferred to night shift… after that Ron became really serious about his work"
Monique was about to ask another question when a beeping came from Greg's computer, a moment later the printer spat out a sheet of paper, Greg picked it up and read it.
"Hmm…" Greg pondered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, he flipped it open and speed dialed Ron.
Ron was around the back of the house, he decided to take a walk to calm down after laying into the local CSI's. As he walked along side the dock and looked out over the ocean, as he did he remembered how he first got into this work.
Five Years Ago
Las Vegas
Ron was working in a small restaurant near the strip, the extra money was handy while he attended classes. Everyday for the past week the same man had been coming in at the same time spending hours going over a file. Ron was always the one to serve him, they got to talking one night and Ron learned his name was Gil Grissom. After a week straight of watching Grissom getting more and more frustrated with whatever he was working on Ron asked about it.
"Gil, you've been coming in here every day for a week going over that stuff… what's wrong?" Ron asked.
Grissom slapped the papers down, took of hi glasses and rubbed his head.
"It's a case I'm working on… I just can't figure it out" Grissom said in a frustrated tone.
"Can I help?" Ron offered
"Not unless you can tell me how a man had a heart attack and ended up in a tree" Grissom said
"Huh?" Ron said
"We found a body, a middle aged man up in a tree outside his home, coroner says he died of a heart attack but what I'm trying to figure out is why was he up in that tree?… We're pretty sure the wife was cheating on him but beyond that nothing suspicious" Grissom explained.
Ron looked down at the map in front of Grissom, it looked like a map of the house and grounds, there was a diagram of the tree and where the body was, while Ron looked at the map something clicked in his mind.
"You said the wife was cheating on him right?" Ron asked
Grissom nodded wondering what Ron had in mind.
"Well take a look at the map, the tree he was found in was right across from the window to the master bedroom" Ron explained.
"… So?" Grissom said with a shrug.
"So… his wife was cheating on him right? He gets suspicious, climbs the tree and looks in his bedroom window, see's his wife doing the nasty with another man…" Ron explained.
"… and has a heart attack" Grissom finished when he realized where Ron was going.
Grissom quickly looked over the photos and smiled.
The next day Grissom returned to the restaurant and told Ron that the case had been closed thanks to his help, then one thing lead to another and with Grissom's recommendations Ron was able to learn about Forensic science and three years later he was a CSI. Although his first case could have gone better.
Ron snapped out of his memories when his phone went off, he reached into his pocket and pulled it out, on the screen the name 'Greg Sanders' was flashing, he was about to answer it when he noticed something. Tied up at the docks were three large boats with the names 'Senior 1' 'Senior 2' 'Senior 4'. There was a boat missing. Ron walked across and looked down to where the boat should have been tied up and spotted drops of blood.
Ron flipped open his phone.
"Greg, you got something?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, I identified the waxy substance I found in the car it's…"
"Let me guess, boat wax?" Ron said
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Greg asked.
"There's a boat missing from the docks and I've found some blood, do you know where Monique is?" Ron asked.
"Yeah she's right here…"
"Put her on" Ron said
"… Ron? What's up?" Monique asked.
"There's a boat missing from the dock behind the house and the wax we found is used on boats, that's where she is! We can find it by searching for the boats GPS tracker, the boat's name is 'Senior 3'!" Ron said urgently as he walked back towards the house.
"I'm on it…" with that Monique hung up.
30 Minutes Later
Ten Miles off the Coast
It took ten minutes to find the boat thanks to the GPS, another five minutes to get a boat from the coast guard and 15 minutes to reach the boat's position. Above them a police helicopter hovered shining a light on the boat. Not too far away a news helicopter was recording everything.
It was adrift, no lights, no sails and no sign of anybody being on board. Greg was holding up a infrared scanner looking at the boat 20 meters from them.
"It's cold… no sign of anybody on board" Greg reported.
"Anybody alive at least" Ron corrected. "Get us closer!" Ron shouted over the din of the helicopter. The pilot got the ship as close as possible, Ron, Greg and Monique climbed onto the boat, immediately Ron and Monique drew their guns while Greg hung back. They made their way to the door leading into the boat, as soon as they opened the door they recoiled, it smelled, bad.
"Shit" Ron cursed, he knew that smell too well. Ron pulled his flashlight from his belt and flicked it on, laying in the middle of the room was a woman wearing a black dress, she had tanned skin and brown hair, her face was badly bruised and covered in blood, Ron placed his fingers against her neck and sighed.
"It's her… she's gone…" Ron said grimly
"Damn it…" Monique commented.
"Our missing person just turned into a Homicide" Ron said as Greg entered the room.
"Ok, lets get started, I'll process the body, Greg you check out the helm see if you can get some prints from the…"
-beep-beep-beep-
A loud beeping sound filled the room, Ron looked up and the color drained from his face when he spotted a digital readout on a desk.
07
06
05
"GET OUT!!!" Ron screamed to Monique and Greg.
Las Vegas Nevada
Vegas Crime Lab
Nick Stokes and Warrick Brown walked into the staff room to see Grissom, Sarah and Catherine watching the TV.
"Hey Gris'… what going on?" Warrick asked.
"Remember the High profile case I sent Ron & Greg on? Seems they've made progress and it's caught the attention of the media." Grissom answered.
"I'm sure they'll both love that" Nick said with a grin as he and Warrick turned to watch the report, it showed a birds eye view of a white boat. A coast guard boat approached the boat and three people boarded, two were easily recognizable.
"Hey, there they are" Sarah said with a smile.
They continued to watch as Ron, Greg and the third person entered the boat and turned on their flashlights. After a few seconds Catherine spoke.
"Think they found her?"
-BOOM!!!- the news camera shook violently before going back into focus. Every CSI in the room were in shock, the boat just exploded. Nick and Warrick stood there with wide eyes, the coffee cup Catherine was holding slipped out of her grasp and shattered on the ground, Sarah's hands went over her mouth.
"Oh god" Sarah muttered
Grissom stood there in shock.
To Be Continued…