�Yeah, that�s me.�
�My name is Gil Grissom. I�m with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I need to ask you a few questions.�
�Sure.�
�Mr. Cane, did you know a guy by the name of Vincent Newby?�
�Yeah, he went to school with me, why?�
�What was your relationship to him? Were the two of you friends?�
�No, we weren�t. In fact, I really didn�t like him that much. Me and my buddies used to threaten to beat him up if he came near us.�
His honesty got Catherine�s attention. �When was the last time you talked to him?�
�Um, I would say about a month ago. He sometimes would come in and buy some comic books.�
�Were you mean to him then?� Catherine asked.
�No, I can�t be mean while I�m working. It�s bad for business, besides Vincent used to buy a lot of comics here. So I kinda backed off.�
�So, you haven�t spoken to him or seen him in a month?� Replied Grissom.
�I said I haven�t talked to him in about a month but I saw him last week.�
�Where?�
�At the mall. My friends and I were hanging out and we saw him.�
Warrick, who had remained silent through all this, spoke up. �Would your friends happen to be Damon Miller and Wesley Clark?�
�Yeah. We�ve been best friends since grade school. Why are you asking me about them?�
Warrick answered. �Vincent Newby was found dead at a club late last night. The girl who was dancing with him gave us your names. She told us that you didn�t get along with him.�
�I�m not following. How does that have anything to do with me?�
�Vincent Newby was murdered.�
Shock filled Eric�s face and he sat down.
Grissom noticed his shock. �Do you have any idea how this might have happened?�
Eric started rocking back and forth and began mumbling to himself. �I thought they were just playing around.�
�What do you mean Eric?�
�We were at the mall when�.� Flashback.
Eric, Damon, and Wesley were sitting at one of the tables at the food court. �No way, Neve is a lot hotter than Denise.� Damon was saying. They continued their argument until they saw Vincent walk by.
Wesley smiled at the others. �Look here boys, they finally let freaks come to the mall.�
The others laughed at his joke. Vincent glared at Wesley. �I guess that�s why you all are in here.�
With that Wesley jumped up and grabbed Vincent by the shirt. �Look freak, I can come in here anytime I feel like it. You on the other hand, should be put in a dark room where no one can see you.�
Damon pushed Wesley off of Vincent. �Hey man, leave him alone. We don�t want to get banned from here.�
Vincent tried to walk off but Damon stopped him. �Wait, I�m not done with you. Just cause I stopped him from breaking your face doesn�t mean you�re getting off easy.�
�Come guys, I haven�t done anything to any of you. Just leave me alone.�
Damon laughed. �You were born, that�s enough for me.�
Vincent did something that none of them would ever thought he would do. He turned and grabbed the hot coffee sitting on the table beside him and threw it in Damon�s face.
Damon yelled as loud as he could. Wesley turned around to face Vincent when Vincent�s fist slammed right into his face. Wesley went down hard. Vincent then turned around and headed into the crowded mall. Before he could get out hearing range he heard Damon yell �I�m gonna kill you Newby!!!!!�
Damon wiped the coffee of his face and sat back down at the table. He looked from Wesley to Eric. �He�s dead meat. Next time I see him, I�ll kill him.�
Wesley gave him a high five and said. �Yeah, death to the freak.� End Flashback.
Grissom looked at Eric. �So you basically stayed quiet the entire time your friends were arguing with him.�
Eric continued his rocking. �Yeah, I don�t like Newby. I wanted to beat him up then but I didn�t want to get kicked out of the mall either.�
Warrick didn�t think that Eric was telling the entire truth. �So, you�re telling me that your buddies let you sit by while they were getting beat up?�
�Hey man, I wanted to go after Vincent. Just cause Damon and Wesley called him a bunch of names didn�t give Vincent the right to do what he did.�
Catherine spoke up. �It sounded to me like he was defending himself. I think I would have done the same thing.�
Eric stopped rocking. �Look here�s the deal. I didn�t kill Vincent. I didn�t know he was dead until you just told me. You can arrest me for harassment but that�s it. I can�t speak for the others though.�
Grissom gave him a nod. �Okay, but we might need to talk with you again. Will you be here?�
�Yeah, I work a lot. I need the money.�
Grissom told him good-bye and he, Catherine, and Warrick headed off to speak with Damon Miller.