CSI: Las Vegas ll General Series ll Genius in a Bottle
Title: Genius in a Bottle
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas
Characters: Gil Grissom, three extra characters.
Prompt: 003. Genius
Word Count: 1,167.
Rating: PG.
Summary: An unexpected witness proves to be useful in solving a case.
Author's Notes: The boy in the story is very, very, very slightly based off of Christopher Boone, the main character in the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon.
"Two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-three, twenty-nine, thirty-one, thirty-seven, forty-one ..." Roger bit his lip, trying to remember the next number in the sequence. "Forty .. forty .." He furrowed his brows, concentrating. He rocked back and forth slightly as he did so. "Forty-three!" he exclaimed, his face lighting up.
"Good job, Roger!" Anita replied, smiling broadly. She was about to continue when she was interrupted by another worker. She turned to them and stood up, rubbing her hands on her thighs a little. "What is it, Ben?"
"There's a Mr. Grissom here to see you," Ben answered quietly. "He says he's from the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and he has questions for you." He glanced towards Roger briefly. "And Roger." He brought his gaze back to Anita, and saw that she seemed a bit confused. "Don't ask me why; that's just what he said." Ben shrugged lightly and walked back to his office. Anita stood there for a few seconds, then looked down to Roger, who was sitting on the floor, talking to a piece of string.
"Roger?" Anita asked, squatting down to his level. "Roger, I need you to come with me, okay?" Roger didn't respond right away; he was too involved in the conversation he was having with the string he found on the floor. "You can bring your friend, too, alright?" Roger looked up at her, smiled quickly, and then looked back down to the floor. She was going to reach out and touch his shoulder, and realized she had to stop herself from doing so. Roger was autistic, one of the many variations, and he didn't like physical contact. "C'mon, it'll be fun," she encouraged. Roger took his string in his hand, and stood up.
They walked over to the door where Grissom was standing. He was looking at paper work in a manila folder, which he quickly closed and tucked at his side when Anita and Roger approached. took his glasses off of his face, folded them up, and provided a faint smile to the both of them.
"Ms. Pryder?" Anita nodded to him. "My name is Gil Grissom, and I'm with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I have a few questions for you, and for your friend Roger." Anita glanced down at the seven-year-old, then looked back to Gil.
"I don't know what he has to do with this. I'm sure I can answer whatever questions--"
"I appreciate that, but I'm really going to need to talk to Roger." Anita was hesitant, and then nodded in defeat. They walked outside so as to be away from everyone else.
"What is this about, Mr. Grissom?" Anita asked, folding her arms across her chest. She looked at him, suspicious and weary.
"I'm afraid that Roger is a key witness to an on-going homicide investigation."
"Roger?" She looked down at him, her eyes wide. Roger was sitting on the sidewalk, talking to himself, still gripping his piece of string from before. She raised her eyes to Gil and scoffed in disbelief. "Unbelievable." Grissom squatted down so he was on Roger's level.
"Roger?" He didn't respond right away. As before, he was involved in his own conversation. "Roger, I need your help with something." At hearing this, he perked up and looked to Grissom.
"I know every prime number up to forty-three," Roger said proudly. Gil couldn't help but smile a bit at this. He paused, taking out a photo from the manila folder. He showed it to Roger.
"Do you know who this person is?" Roger nodded. "Can you tell me what you know about him?"
"His name is Steven Bronyn Murphy." Gil listened to him intently. "He is forty-two and a half. He lives at Rysdale Court, house number seventeen. He is 5'11" and 2/3." While Roger talked, Grissom checked the file that he had on Steven. Everything was accurate to a tea. "He has a wart on his left ring finger, on the knuckle, and he has seventy-nine freckles on his right arm." Grissom smiled faintly again, and then nodded.
"Do you recognize this man?" Grissom asked, pulling out another photo of a scruffy-looking man. Roger nodded again, but the expression wasn't the same. Rather than being happy to help, a look of fear spread across his face and glowed in his eyes. He immediately looked to the ground, and fidgeted with his fingers. "Roger? You okay?"
"That's Mr. Asbury." His voice was quiet and hesitant. "He is forty-five, and lives down the street from Steven Bronyn Murphy on Julie St. at house number four. He is 6'1" and a half." Roger didn't look up from the ground as he spoke. "He has a large gold ring that he wears on his right hand, on his ring finger. It has a big blue stone that sparkles when he's outside."
"Did it look like this?" Grissom asked, pulling out a third photo. Roger glanced to it very quickly, looked away, and nodded. The ring had been the clue that pointed the CSI team to Todd Asbury in the first place.
"I saw him and Mr. Murphy fighting." Roger was frowning.
"What kind of fighting, Roger?" Grissom probed, his voice soft.
"Mr. Asbury said that Mr. Murphy brought his dog to his lawn just to .." Roger trailed off.
"Just to what?"
"He said a bad word." Roger looked at Grissom swiftly before darting his eyes back to the ground, more specifically at his string. "'I don't do things like that!'" Roger imitated, making his voice deep. "'You're crazy! You brought your dog here to spite me!'" he argued with himself, making his voice gruff. Then he fell silent. Grissom perked his brows slightly.
"Roger?" he asked softly. "What happened next?" Anita's interest was beyond peaked at this point. She was sitting next to Roger, looking at him. Roger looked to her, to make sure it was okay to talk anymore.
"It's okay, Roger. Tell Mr. Grissom what happened." Roger let out a sigh, then took a deep breath to prepare himself.
"Then Mr. Asbury clenched his fist, and his knuckles turned white like the clouds. And then he pushed his fist into Mr. Murphy's face seven times. First, he hit his right eye, then his left eye. Then he hit the right side of his jaw three times. Then he punched under his chin two times. There was a cracking sound, like a wishbone breaking, on the fifth time, but Mr. Asbury didn't stop. And then Mr. Murphy was laying on the ground, and he wasn't moving. His right foot twitched once, and then Mr. Asbury walked south. I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore." Grissom gave a faint satisfactory smile.
"Thank you, Roger. You've been very helpful." Roger nodded, then stood up. Anita stood up, as well, a bit dumb-struck.
"Ms. Lyons, can I go back inside now?" She glanced down to him, then nodded slowly. He went inside and closed the door behind him.
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas
Characters: Gil Grissom, three extra characters.
Prompt: 003. Genius
Word Count: 1,167.
Rating: PG.
Summary: An unexpected witness proves to be useful in solving a case.
Author's Notes: The boy in the story is very, very, very slightly based off of Christopher Boone, the main character in the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon.
"Two, three, five, seven, eleven, thirteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-three, twenty-nine, thirty-one, thirty-seven, forty-one ..." Roger bit his lip, trying to remember the next number in the sequence. "Forty .. forty .." He furrowed his brows, concentrating. He rocked back and forth slightly as he did so. "Forty-three!" he exclaimed, his face lighting up.
"Good job, Roger!" Anita replied, smiling broadly. She was about to continue when she was interrupted by another worker. She turned to them and stood up, rubbing her hands on her thighs a little. "What is it, Ben?"
"There's a Mr. Grissom here to see you," Ben answered quietly. "He says he's from the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and he has questions for you." He glanced towards Roger briefly. "And Roger." He brought his gaze back to Anita, and saw that she seemed a bit confused. "Don't ask me why; that's just what he said." Ben shrugged lightly and walked back to his office. Anita stood there for a few seconds, then looked down to Roger, who was sitting on the floor, talking to a piece of string.
"Roger?" Anita asked, squatting down to his level. "Roger, I need you to come with me, okay?" Roger didn't respond right away; he was too involved in the conversation he was having with the string he found on the floor. "You can bring your friend, too, alright?" Roger looked up at her, smiled quickly, and then looked back down to the floor. She was going to reach out and touch his shoulder, and realized she had to stop herself from doing so. Roger was autistic, one of the many variations, and he didn't like physical contact. "C'mon, it'll be fun," she encouraged. Roger took his string in his hand, and stood up.
They walked over to the door where Grissom was standing. He was looking at paper work in a manila folder, which he quickly closed and tucked at his side when Anita and Roger approached. took his glasses off of his face, folded them up, and provided a faint smile to the both of them.
"Ms. Pryder?" Anita nodded to him. "My name is Gil Grissom, and I'm with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I have a few questions for you, and for your friend Roger." Anita glanced down at the seven-year-old, then looked back to Gil.
"I don't know what he has to do with this. I'm sure I can answer whatever questions--"
"I appreciate that, but I'm really going to need to talk to Roger." Anita was hesitant, and then nodded in defeat. They walked outside so as to be away from everyone else.
"What is this about, Mr. Grissom?" Anita asked, folding her arms across her chest. She looked at him, suspicious and weary.
"I'm afraid that Roger is a key witness to an on-going homicide investigation."
"Roger?" She looked down at him, her eyes wide. Roger was sitting on the sidewalk, talking to himself, still gripping his piece of string from before. She raised her eyes to Gil and scoffed in disbelief. "Unbelievable." Grissom squatted down so he was on Roger's level.
"Roger?" He didn't respond right away. As before, he was involved in his own conversation. "Roger, I need your help with something." At hearing this, he perked up and looked to Grissom.
"I know every prime number up to forty-three," Roger said proudly. Gil couldn't help but smile a bit at this. He paused, taking out a photo from the manila folder. He showed it to Roger.
"Do you know who this person is?" Roger nodded. "Can you tell me what you know about him?"
"His name is Steven Bronyn Murphy." Gil listened to him intently. "He is forty-two and a half. He lives at Rysdale Court, house number seventeen. He is 5'11" and 2/3." While Roger talked, Grissom checked the file that he had on Steven. Everything was accurate to a tea. "He has a wart on his left ring finger, on the knuckle, and he has seventy-nine freckles on his right arm." Grissom smiled faintly again, and then nodded.
"Do you recognize this man?" Grissom asked, pulling out another photo of a scruffy-looking man. Roger nodded again, but the expression wasn't the same. Rather than being happy to help, a look of fear spread across his face and glowed in his eyes. He immediately looked to the ground, and fidgeted with his fingers. "Roger? You okay?"
"That's Mr. Asbury." His voice was quiet and hesitant. "He is forty-five, and lives down the street from Steven Bronyn Murphy on Julie St. at house number four. He is 6'1" and a half." Roger didn't look up from the ground as he spoke. "He has a large gold ring that he wears on his right hand, on his ring finger. It has a big blue stone that sparkles when he's outside."
"Did it look like this?" Grissom asked, pulling out a third photo. Roger glanced to it very quickly, looked away, and nodded. The ring had been the clue that pointed the CSI team to Todd Asbury in the first place.
"I saw him and Mr. Murphy fighting." Roger was frowning.
"What kind of fighting, Roger?" Grissom probed, his voice soft.
"Mr. Asbury said that Mr. Murphy brought his dog to his lawn just to .." Roger trailed off.
"Just to what?"
"He said a bad word." Roger looked at Grissom swiftly before darting his eyes back to the ground, more specifically at his string. "'I don't do things like that!'" Roger imitated, making his voice deep. "'You're crazy! You brought your dog here to spite me!'" he argued with himself, making his voice gruff. Then he fell silent. Grissom perked his brows slightly.
"Roger?" he asked softly. "What happened next?" Anita's interest was beyond peaked at this point. She was sitting next to Roger, looking at him. Roger looked to her, to make sure it was okay to talk anymore.
"It's okay, Roger. Tell Mr. Grissom what happened." Roger let out a sigh, then took a deep breath to prepare himself.
"Then Mr. Asbury clenched his fist, and his knuckles turned white like the clouds. And then he pushed his fist into Mr. Murphy's face seven times. First, he hit his right eye, then his left eye. Then he hit the right side of his jaw three times. Then he punched under his chin two times. There was a cracking sound, like a wishbone breaking, on the fifth time, but Mr. Asbury didn't stop. And then Mr. Murphy was laying on the ground, and he wasn't moving. His right foot twitched once, and then Mr. Asbury walked south. I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore." Grissom gave a faint satisfactory smile.
"Thank you, Roger. You've been very helpful." Roger nodded, then stood up. Anita stood up, as well, a bit dumb-struck.
"Ms. Lyons, can I go back inside now?" She glanced down to him, then nodded slowly. He went inside and closed the door behind him.