Disclaimer: Don't own them. Didn't create them. Don't profit from them.
Etc.
A/N: Thanks, Brianna, for reviewing my ideas and the works in progress. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews my stories, maybe someday I'll write a real book.
Halloween:
It was an interesting idea for a Halloween Party. A Mafia murder mystery dinner set during Prohibition. The hostess, Brenda Sutton, a wealthy Las Vegas socialite, had spent several months putting the party together. Each guest had been instructed to dress up as a particular character. Those who were part of the play acting had rehearsed their parts so the evening would go along smoothly. She expected fifty guests and as each one arrived, they were in character and dressed to the nines.
The party was in full swing when members of the cast began to be killed off. As part of the script, several would be killed off during the course of the evening and it was up to the remaining guests to figure out who the killer was.
It was almost eleven o'clock when another member was shot. Only this time, Brenda Sutton reacted in horror. The bullets were real.
The Investigation:
Homicide Detective Jim Brass was standing outside the Sutton home when Gil Grissom and the rest of the night shift CSI crew pulled up in a pair of dark blue Denalis.
As Grissom and Catherine Willows approached Brass, the gruff detective gestured toward the house with the small notebook he held in his hand. "One deceased, fifty eyewitnesses."
Grissom glanced over at Catherine with his mouth slightly agape.
She just shook her head and raised a palm. "Don't even say it, with that many people, we're all doing interviews. I don't care if you're not good with people."
"Actually, Catherine, the uniforms have that covered." Brass responded. "Murder mystery dinner party, apparently, one of the guns was loaded with real bullets and no one knows who pulled the trigger."
Grissom's eyebrows shot up. "Murder at a murder mystery party?"
"My money's on the butler." Brass responded dryly.
Warrick Brown sauntered up to get in on the briefing.
Grissom glanced around and raised an eyebrow. "Where are Nick and Sara?"
Warrick gestured toward the second Denali where Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle appeared to having a somewhat heated discussion.
Grissom turned back toward Warrick. "What's going on?" He gestured toward the pair of younger CSIs.
Warrick shrugged. "Not really sure, but they've been arguing since we left the lab."
Catherine looked curious. "What about?"
Warrick shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Grissom looked annoyed. "Tell them to get over here; we have a crime scene to process."
Warrick nodded and headed back over to where Nick and Sara stood.
Sara had an exasperated expression on her face. "Nick, we have a crime scene to process, I don't want to talk about this right now."
Nick just shook his head in disbelief. "That because you don't want to talk about it all, isn't it? C'mon, Sara, you're going to have to talk about this sometime."
Sara glared at Nick as Warrick walked up.
Warrick cleared his throat. "I don't want to interrupt this Kodak moment, but we have a crime scene to process and Grissom's starting to get a little annoyed."
Sara glanced at Warrick before shooting Nick another glare. "He's not the only one." She stormed off toward Grissom and Catherine.
Warrick looked at Nick with a curious expression. "What did you do to piss her off so much?"
Nick glared at Warrick. "What makes you think that I did something?"
"Because she's pissed off at you." Warrick replied a bit amused.
Nick just shook his head and walked over to join the rest of the team without saying another word.
The team had been processing the Sutton home for several hours. The uniformed officers had interviewed all the guests and had cleared most of them. Only a few remained to be taken down to the station for further questioning. So many people had tracked through the house during the course of the party that lifting shoe prints was useless. The killer had been in costume, just as the rest of guests had, but no one seemed to remember who it was. Physical descriptions ranged from a blond woman in a flapper costume to a man in a pin striped double breasted suit wearing spats. All that served to do was identify who was in the closest proximity of the gun when it went off.
As they packed up the evidence they had gathered, it was apparent that Nick and Sara were still angry.
Grissom had been observing the young CSIs while they'd processed the crime scene. He approached Catherine. "Cath, can you take this back to the lab?"
She nodded her head. "Sure."
"Take Nick and Warrick with you." Grissom added, knowing that Catherine had a way of getting Nick to talk.
Nick glanced over at Sara for a moment. She was doing her best to ignore him. Nick helped Catherine and Warrick put the evidence in one of the Denalis before they climbed in and headed back to the lab.
Grissom studied Sara for a moment before speaking. "Sara, I think we're done here, let's head back to the lab."
She stood up without a word and headed to Grissom's Denali.
As they climbed in, Grissom glanced over at her. "Sara, what's going on with you and Nick?"
She shot him a glare. "Nothing."
Grissom restrained a smile. "Then why are you both so angry?"
Sara leveled her gaze at Grissom. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. I did a damn fine job tonight, so if you don't mind, let's drop it."
Grissom wordlessly drove back to the lab. He parked the Denali and climbed out, heading into the building in search of Nick.
Sara slowly followed, her face set in a scowl. Even Greg Sanders dressed up as Elvis for Halloween couldn't make her smile tonight.
Warrick was trying to get Nick to tell him what was going on with Sara that had left them both so angry.
"Look, I'm not going to discuss this with you, man." Nick was even angrier than he was before. Even Catherine had not been able to get him to talk about what was going on.
Grissom walked into the locker room after hearing the commotion in the hallway. Warrick and Nick glared at each other. Grissom raised an eyebrow and looked at Nick over the rim of his glasses. "Nick, my office, now."
Nick clenched his jaw and made his way to Grissom's office. He saw Sara walk into the building as he turned into the office and sat down in the chair across from Grissom's desk.
She glared at him as she passed by and headed toward the break room.
Grissom came into his office and shut the door. He studied Nick for a moment. "Nick, what's going on?"
Nick glanced up at the night shift supervisor. "I really don't want to talk about it."
Grissom let out a deep breath. "Ok, but whether you and Sara realize it, whatever is going on is affecting the rest of the team. I want you to take the rest of the night off and go home and cool down."
Nick glanced up at Grissom with a flash of hurt in his eyes. He muttered a curse word under his breath before he pulled himself up from the chair and headed to the locker room to stow his gear and get his jacket. He left the lab with a black cloud over his head.
Grissom headed down the hallway toward the break room where Sara had poured herself a cup of coffee. Grissom raised an eyebrow. "Sara, I want you to take the rest of the night off."
She glanced up and a defensive expression crossed her face and her voice had an edge to it. "What the hell for?"
Grissom had a firm tone in his voice. "That wasn't a suggestion."
Sara angrily poured her coffee out and tossed the paper cup in the garbage before turning and storming out of the building, climbing into her vehicle, and heading toward her apartment.
Catherine stood at the entrance to the break room. "I see you did about as well as I did."
"And you're good with people." Grissom looked at her with a perplexed expression on his face. "What in the world is going on with the two of them?"
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Catherine responded wryly.
A/N: Thanks, Brianna, for reviewing my ideas and the works in progress. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews my stories, maybe someday I'll write a real book.
Halloween:
It was an interesting idea for a Halloween Party. A Mafia murder mystery dinner set during Prohibition. The hostess, Brenda Sutton, a wealthy Las Vegas socialite, had spent several months putting the party together. Each guest had been instructed to dress up as a particular character. Those who were part of the play acting had rehearsed their parts so the evening would go along smoothly. She expected fifty guests and as each one arrived, they were in character and dressed to the nines.
The party was in full swing when members of the cast began to be killed off. As part of the script, several would be killed off during the course of the evening and it was up to the remaining guests to figure out who the killer was.
It was almost eleven o'clock when another member was shot. Only this time, Brenda Sutton reacted in horror. The bullets were real.
The Investigation:
Homicide Detective Jim Brass was standing outside the Sutton home when Gil Grissom and the rest of the night shift CSI crew pulled up in a pair of dark blue Denalis.
As Grissom and Catherine Willows approached Brass, the gruff detective gestured toward the house with the small notebook he held in his hand. "One deceased, fifty eyewitnesses."
Grissom glanced over at Catherine with his mouth slightly agape.
She just shook her head and raised a palm. "Don't even say it, with that many people, we're all doing interviews. I don't care if you're not good with people."
"Actually, Catherine, the uniforms have that covered." Brass responded. "Murder mystery dinner party, apparently, one of the guns was loaded with real bullets and no one knows who pulled the trigger."
Grissom's eyebrows shot up. "Murder at a murder mystery party?"
"My money's on the butler." Brass responded dryly.
Warrick Brown sauntered up to get in on the briefing.
Grissom glanced around and raised an eyebrow. "Where are Nick and Sara?"
Warrick gestured toward the second Denali where Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle appeared to having a somewhat heated discussion.
Grissom turned back toward Warrick. "What's going on?" He gestured toward the pair of younger CSIs.
Warrick shrugged. "Not really sure, but they've been arguing since we left the lab."
Catherine looked curious. "What about?"
Warrick shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Grissom looked annoyed. "Tell them to get over here; we have a crime scene to process."
Warrick nodded and headed back over to where Nick and Sara stood.
Sara had an exasperated expression on her face. "Nick, we have a crime scene to process, I don't want to talk about this right now."
Nick just shook his head in disbelief. "That because you don't want to talk about it all, isn't it? C'mon, Sara, you're going to have to talk about this sometime."
Sara glared at Nick as Warrick walked up.
Warrick cleared his throat. "I don't want to interrupt this Kodak moment, but we have a crime scene to process and Grissom's starting to get a little annoyed."
Sara glanced at Warrick before shooting Nick another glare. "He's not the only one." She stormed off toward Grissom and Catherine.
Warrick looked at Nick with a curious expression. "What did you do to piss her off so much?"
Nick glared at Warrick. "What makes you think that I did something?"
"Because she's pissed off at you." Warrick replied a bit amused.
Nick just shook his head and walked over to join the rest of the team without saying another word.
The team had been processing the Sutton home for several hours. The uniformed officers had interviewed all the guests and had cleared most of them. Only a few remained to be taken down to the station for further questioning. So many people had tracked through the house during the course of the party that lifting shoe prints was useless. The killer had been in costume, just as the rest of guests had, but no one seemed to remember who it was. Physical descriptions ranged from a blond woman in a flapper costume to a man in a pin striped double breasted suit wearing spats. All that served to do was identify who was in the closest proximity of the gun when it went off.
As they packed up the evidence they had gathered, it was apparent that Nick and Sara were still angry.
Grissom had been observing the young CSIs while they'd processed the crime scene. He approached Catherine. "Cath, can you take this back to the lab?"
She nodded her head. "Sure."
"Take Nick and Warrick with you." Grissom added, knowing that Catherine had a way of getting Nick to talk.
Nick glanced over at Sara for a moment. She was doing her best to ignore him. Nick helped Catherine and Warrick put the evidence in one of the Denalis before they climbed in and headed back to the lab.
Grissom studied Sara for a moment before speaking. "Sara, I think we're done here, let's head back to the lab."
She stood up without a word and headed to Grissom's Denali.
As they climbed in, Grissom glanced over at her. "Sara, what's going on with you and Nick?"
She shot him a glare. "Nothing."
Grissom restrained a smile. "Then why are you both so angry?"
Sara leveled her gaze at Grissom. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. I did a damn fine job tonight, so if you don't mind, let's drop it."
Grissom wordlessly drove back to the lab. He parked the Denali and climbed out, heading into the building in search of Nick.
Sara slowly followed, her face set in a scowl. Even Greg Sanders dressed up as Elvis for Halloween couldn't make her smile tonight.
Warrick was trying to get Nick to tell him what was going on with Sara that had left them both so angry.
"Look, I'm not going to discuss this with you, man." Nick was even angrier than he was before. Even Catherine had not been able to get him to talk about what was going on.
Grissom walked into the locker room after hearing the commotion in the hallway. Warrick and Nick glared at each other. Grissom raised an eyebrow and looked at Nick over the rim of his glasses. "Nick, my office, now."
Nick clenched his jaw and made his way to Grissom's office. He saw Sara walk into the building as he turned into the office and sat down in the chair across from Grissom's desk.
She glared at him as she passed by and headed toward the break room.
Grissom came into his office and shut the door. He studied Nick for a moment. "Nick, what's going on?"
Nick glanced up at the night shift supervisor. "I really don't want to talk about it."
Grissom let out a deep breath. "Ok, but whether you and Sara realize it, whatever is going on is affecting the rest of the team. I want you to take the rest of the night off and go home and cool down."
Nick glanced up at Grissom with a flash of hurt in his eyes. He muttered a curse word under his breath before he pulled himself up from the chair and headed to the locker room to stow his gear and get his jacket. He left the lab with a black cloud over his head.
Grissom headed down the hallway toward the break room where Sara had poured herself a cup of coffee. Grissom raised an eyebrow. "Sara, I want you to take the rest of the night off."
She glanced up and a defensive expression crossed her face and her voice had an edge to it. "What the hell for?"
Grissom had a firm tone in his voice. "That wasn't a suggestion."
Sara angrily poured her coffee out and tossed the paper cup in the garbage before turning and storming out of the building, climbing into her vehicle, and heading toward her apartment.
Catherine stood at the entrance to the break room. "I see you did about as well as I did."
"And you're good with people." Grissom looked at her with a perplexed expression on his face. "What in the world is going on with the two of them?"
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Catherine responded wryly.
