Sequel: CSI: Across the Pond ›
Gerard Way: Crime Scene Investigator
Chapter 2
“I hate these kinds of cases. Kids are too young to be shot,” said Ray as the body was wheeled in.
“Aren’t we all?” Gerard said as he left the room.
“Hey, could you grab me a sandwich? I’m starving,” Ray called after him. Gerard nodded and walked down the hall to the vending machines. Someday, he vowed, he would get Ray his very own sandwich vending machine, especially since he couldn’t cook to save his life. He set the ham and cheese concoction on Ray’s desk. As he passed the front desk, the secretary spoke to him.
“Lieutenant Way?” she called. Gerard stopped and turned in her direction.
“Yes?” he asked. She placed a large cardboard box on the counter.
“This arrived while you were gone.” Gerard thanked her and took it, slowly walking to his own office to open it. He slid a letter opener through the tape on one side of the package and carefully opened it. There was a letter on top, and something heavy in the bottom. He slid a letter opener through the envelope and pulled out the thinly folded letter. He muttered its first few words to himself, and a huge smile crossed his face as he continued to read it.
“Dear Senior Investigator Way,
Congratulations! Your team of crime scene investigators has been named the 2006 Team of the Year by the International Crime Scene Investigators Association. Your team’s award is included, and you will receive a request for an interview within the next few days. I would personally like to congratulate you and your team on your outstanding efforts in this field.
Sincerely,
Hayden B. Baldwin, ICSIA Executive Director. I can’t believe this! We actually got it!” Gerard tossed the letter on the desk and lifted the wooden plaque out of the Styrofoam beads, blowing off some of the excess ones so his fingerprints didn’t ruin the gloss of the metal plate on the front. He held it up to read it better just as Frank entered.
“What’s that?” he asked. Gerard's smile only grew.
“Take a look for yourself,” he said, gently placing it on the desk. Frank smiled as he read it.
“How about that? Not bad for a busload of freaks. Anyway, I got the photos developed. Thought you might want to see them before I handed ’em over to the lab,” he said, tossing the manila envelope on the desk. Gerard thanked him and opened it, clearing off his desk for a better workspace and switching on the lights. It all seemed pretty straightforward, until something in the background of one particular photo caught his eye. The picture was of the city’s skyline with the gray clouds in the background. He smirked in spite of himself. Frank loved taking random shots with that camera.
Gerard scanned the photo into his computer. There was an unusual glint of light coming from a floor about two-thirds of the way up a nearby building. He magnified it several times, and saw the shape of a gun begin to take form. But even with the camera’s advanced lens, the focus hadn’t been on the shooter, and the gun was blurred. He printed the new picture and took the rest of the photos to Mikey.
“More fun stuff for ya, Mike,” he said as he saw his brother remove a small vial from the mass spectrometer. The results printed off a few seconds later, but before Gerard could grab them, Mikey snatched them off the printer tray and glanced at them.
“Let’s play Name That Chemical Compound! Today’s category: Drugs.” He grabbed a marker and began mapping out the Lewis structure of the compound on the Plexiglass board.
“For a scientist, you sure are ridiculous,” said Gerard, reading the compound’s composition aloud as he did so.
“Eleven carbon...fifteen hydrogen...one nitrogen and two oxygen.” He sighed and thought about it for a moment. “If my memory is correct, it’s methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy.” Mikey nodded and finally handed him the results.
“I thought I got you on that one, but I guess not. 200 points for you. Congratulations.” He clapped a few times. Gerard laughed.
"You will never quit. Hey, speaking of congratulations, you’ll never guess what came in the mail today. We won Team of the Year.” Mikey’s jaw dropped.
“Seriously? That’s great! We should go out to lunch.” Gerard crossed his arms and glared sarcastically at his younger brother.
“Michael James Way. You know we can’t all leave at once. We didn’t win that award by not being here to do our jobs.”
“Yeah, I know. But don’t we deserve a break once in a while?” Mikey asked with a shrug. Gerard sighed.
“Tell that to the killers.”
“Aren’t we all?” Gerard said as he left the room.
“Hey, could you grab me a sandwich? I’m starving,” Ray called after him. Gerard nodded and walked down the hall to the vending machines. Someday, he vowed, he would get Ray his very own sandwich vending machine, especially since he couldn’t cook to save his life. He set the ham and cheese concoction on Ray’s desk. As he passed the front desk, the secretary spoke to him.
“Lieutenant Way?” she called. Gerard stopped and turned in her direction.
“Yes?” he asked. She placed a large cardboard box on the counter.
“This arrived while you were gone.” Gerard thanked her and took it, slowly walking to his own office to open it. He slid a letter opener through the tape on one side of the package and carefully opened it. There was a letter on top, and something heavy in the bottom. He slid a letter opener through the envelope and pulled out the thinly folded letter. He muttered its first few words to himself, and a huge smile crossed his face as he continued to read it.
“Dear Senior Investigator Way,
Congratulations! Your team of crime scene investigators has been named the 2006 Team of the Year by the International Crime Scene Investigators Association. Your team’s award is included, and you will receive a request for an interview within the next few days. I would personally like to congratulate you and your team on your outstanding efforts in this field.
Sincerely,
Hayden B. Baldwin, ICSIA Executive Director. I can’t believe this! We actually got it!” Gerard tossed the letter on the desk and lifted the wooden plaque out of the Styrofoam beads, blowing off some of the excess ones so his fingerprints didn’t ruin the gloss of the metal plate on the front. He held it up to read it better just as Frank entered.
“What’s that?” he asked. Gerard's smile only grew.
“Take a look for yourself,” he said, gently placing it on the desk. Frank smiled as he read it.
“How about that? Not bad for a busload of freaks. Anyway, I got the photos developed. Thought you might want to see them before I handed ’em over to the lab,” he said, tossing the manila envelope on the desk. Gerard thanked him and opened it, clearing off his desk for a better workspace and switching on the lights. It all seemed pretty straightforward, until something in the background of one particular photo caught his eye. The picture was of the city’s skyline with the gray clouds in the background. He smirked in spite of himself. Frank loved taking random shots with that camera.
Gerard scanned the photo into his computer. There was an unusual glint of light coming from a floor about two-thirds of the way up a nearby building. He magnified it several times, and saw the shape of a gun begin to take form. But even with the camera’s advanced lens, the focus hadn’t been on the shooter, and the gun was blurred. He printed the new picture and took the rest of the photos to Mikey.
“More fun stuff for ya, Mike,” he said as he saw his brother remove a small vial from the mass spectrometer. The results printed off a few seconds later, but before Gerard could grab them, Mikey snatched them off the printer tray and glanced at them.
“Let’s play Name That Chemical Compound! Today’s category: Drugs.” He grabbed a marker and began mapping out the Lewis structure of the compound on the Plexiglass board.
“For a scientist, you sure are ridiculous,” said Gerard, reading the compound’s composition aloud as he did so.
“Eleven carbon...fifteen hydrogen...one nitrogen and two oxygen.” He sighed and thought about it for a moment. “If my memory is correct, it’s methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy.” Mikey nodded and finally handed him the results.
“I thought I got you on that one, but I guess not. 200 points for you. Congratulations.” He clapped a few times. Gerard laughed.
"You will never quit. Hey, speaking of congratulations, you’ll never guess what came in the mail today. We won Team of the Year.” Mikey’s jaw dropped.
“Seriously? That’s great! We should go out to lunch.” Gerard crossed his arms and glared sarcastically at his younger brother.
“Michael James Way. You know we can’t all leave at once. We didn’t win that award by not being here to do our jobs.”
“Yeah, I know. But don’t we deserve a break once in a while?” Mikey asked with a shrug. Gerard sighed.
“Tell that to the killers.”