Lost
By Joan Powers
A/N: This story, started several months ago, was partially inspired by two excellent GSR fanfic stories – "Baby" by Ms.Grits and "When the Dust Clears" by Lasrevinu. They were the first to lead me to see GSR in a slightly different light. Thanks for the insight ladies! I also wrote this story to fill in some of the blanks left by Season 6. While Missing might be a more apt title, I've chosen Lost partially in homage to the TV show. My other reasons will be evident as the story progresses. In order to complete this story in a timely fashion, I plan to post weekly updates. Thanks to PhDelicious, Ms.Grits, and Stichik for putting up with all my nagging questions.
Type: Suspense, G/S angst, G/S romance
Summary: When Sara disappears from a crime scene, the CSI team scrambles to locate her. During the course of their investigation, they are also puzzled by Grissom's behavior
Timeline/Spoilers: Season 6 (up to but NOT including "Daddy's Little Girl" 6.12)
Rating: T/R
Chapter 1 Warrick
Tuesday 6 a.m. The Lab
As a general rule, Warrick's stomach would be growling loudly by now – practically howling for sustenance, especially with the strict dietary regime his well intentioned wife had recently instigated. Not today. In fact, at this particular moment, food was far from his mind. He felt slightly queasy as he once again painstakingly recounted his activities over the past hours to the rest of the team, who were clustered about the conference table.
With the routine hustle and bustle of the evening, over five hours had elapsed since anyone had seen or spoken with Sara. That in itself wasn't entirely unusual. Warrick had been the last person confirmed to have contact with her.
She and Warrick had been working a homicide crime scene in a luxury condominium complex. Around 1 a.m., Warrick had stepped out, mumbling something under his breath about needing to get some additional film for his camera from the Denali. Even Sara had smirked at that feeble excuse, yet she'd nodded with understanding. He needed some privacy so he could call Tina from his cell phone. Like all newlyweds, especially those who married as quickly as they had; spending minimal time getting to know one another first, the first year was a challenging adjustment period
Normally Warrick tried to avoid attending to personal business while he was working. After his experience with Holly Gribbs, he'd learned that lesson the hard way. Yet, just before he'd left for work that evening, he and Tina had gotten into an especially nasty argument which had quickly gotten ugly. The insults had been flying. He'd left abruptly, not saying good bye, and loudly slammed the door on his way out. Like many men, he was skilled at compartmentalizing his thoughts, leaving work for work, and home for home. However, his wife's bitter accusations and his own angry words had continued to taunt him, echoing in his head, distracting him, making it difficult to concentrate on doing his job.
Fully aware that a phone call wouldn't solve their problems, he'd just wanted to touch base with Tina. To tell her that he loved her and acknowledge that they needed to discuss their problems later, rather than simply pretending that the fight had never happened. That technique wasn't working. Although his decision to marry had been hasty, he wasn't one to simply give up when the transition became difficult. He'd made a commitment to this woman and they, rather he needed to figure out how to make their relationship work better.
Besides, everything was under control. Grissom had left over an hour ago with the body, and Sara had already started collecting evidence at the main crime scene where the murder had taken place, in the living room, which was beneath the open master bedroom loft. The scene had been secured by two patrolmen who were zealously guarding the yellow crime scene tape suspended before the front door of the unit. At least four private security men had flocked to the lobby as well. Warrick had grinned when he saw them – cop wanna-bes that couldn't make the grade -- too old, too out of shape, or too unstable. They were chomping at the bit, eager at the prospect of seeing a little action during their otherwise dull job. He'd managed to evade their annoying questions as he swiftly stepped out of the building.
Unfortunately, Tina hadn't been terribly receptive to his overture. Apparently she needed more time to cool down, so his attempt to soothe her had been in vain. Then on his return trip, he was trapped by some unruly neighbors in the complex, primarily motivated by concern for their own safety and privacy. They'd assembled in the posh private lobby, demanding to know what was happening. He and the uniformed officers, along with the equally nosy security detail, had their hands full fielding questions.
Warrick had tried to utilize the opportunity to gain information from the neighbors about any suspicious activity that night, but they were woefully unobservant when it came to matters that didn't directly pertain to them. The security men hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary either. Warrick hadn't been certain about their reliability, even though they were well paid and wore sharp uniforms. One of the security guards had smelled suspiciously of alcohol. When he'd finally returned to the unit, their crime scene, Sara's kit, along with some bagged and tagged samples were neatly lined up in the living room, but she was gone.
Even then, he hadn't been overly concerned. Things came up during the course of an investigation. While he hadn't seen her walking past him in the lobby, with all the excitement, he could've easily missed her. Perhaps she was outside, looking for prints by the broken window on the first floor? Another detective could've stopped by and briefly taken her to assist with another scene. Or, knowing how independent Sara could be, it was possible that she'd had a hunch that she decided to investigate on her own. Since he'd driven them both to the scene, he assumed it was highly likely she was in the vicinity. He didn't think much of it. After checking Sara's notes, he became engrossed in finishing up the scene.
Later, when he'd completed that area, he hadn't been certain if Sara had finished the master bedroom loft so he'd tried contacting her on his cell. Or had he?
What was wrong with him? Why was he having trouble keeping his thoughts straight? He couldn't still be distracted by his fight with Tina. Or was fatigue was playing tricks with his memory?
"What time was it?" Grissom asked sharply.
Then he realized what was throwing him off -- Grissom's attitude. Although it wasn't a pronounced change, the manner in which he spoke differed. This felt more like an inquisition than a simple fact finding session. Thus, Warrick was flustered and felt somewhat defensive. He hadn't done anything wrong, yet Grissom's subtle change in tone seemed to imply otherwise. Since when did his supervisor speak to him in that fashion?
Grissom's unusual behavior was confusing. In all probability, there was a logical explanation for Sara's absence; it wasn't as if this were the first time that a CSI's whereabouts had been unaccounted for over several hours. In the past, those incidents hadn't even warranted a face to face meeting. Typically it resulted from a communication mix-up: a broken cell phone, an emergency had come up and the CSI neglected to notify the supervisor, something as simple as that.
Over the years, his supervisor had been extremely supportive during intense situations; look at that nightmare they'd recently experienced with Nick. Like it or not, Grissom had always been the anchor which supported their group and kept them tightly focused on their jobs, even when it was tough. It wasn't like him to over react (or for that matter, to react) to much of anything; only on rare occasions had Warrick observed any gaps in the man's typically smooth professional exterior.
"I…I don't remember," Warrick replied, feeling like an idiot. He hadn't thought anything was wrong. "Maybe around three? If I tried calling, she didn't pick up. Then I brought the evidence back to the lab and I've been working with it until now."
"Did anyone have any contact with Sara after 1 am?" Grissom sternly inquired.
"I punched her number around three. Wanted to run something by her. But a fight broke out in front of me, so I never completed the call," Greg explained.
Nick reminded them, "Most likely Sara walked out of the building to check something out. Warrick was busy with the neighbors so he didn't see her. Then Sara couldn't get a ride, 'cause her cell was down or maybe she was in an area with bad reception. She's probably hitching a ride with some uniforms as we speak, don't you think?"
That made perfect sense to Warrick, who firmly nodded in agreement. But the grim expression on Grissom's face indicated that he wasn't buying it. Then it occurred to Warrick. "What are you not telling us?"
All eyes focused upon Grissom.
"Do you know who our homicide victim was?" Grissom asked.
"Rex Granger,' Warrick replied.
"I just completed a detailed background check on him. His brother is a former associate of Walter Gordon. They worked as engineers at the same company for years," Grissom grimly stated.
The tension in the room rose subtly at the mention of that name. Nick involuntarily swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on Grissom.
Catherine reminded them. "But what does that matter? Walter Gordon is dead."
Grissom uncomfortably cleared his throat while avoiding Nick's intense gaze. "We have reason to believe he had an accomplice."
"Based on what?" Nick's voice rose.
Uncomfortably Grissom admitted, "Based on new evidence."
Nick's eyes widened but before he could speak, Catherine interceded, "Ok, so our vic had ties to Walter Gordon and it's making you nervous." She looked to Grissom, half expecting him to deny it. She was mildly surprised when he didn't. "That's a normal reaction -- that makes sense. But it doesn't matter Gil, it doesn't fit. Walter Gordon had a specific agenda, to retaliate for the so-called wrongful imprisonment of his daughter Kelly. The MO isn't the same. Nick was lured to a fake crime scene. We received a ransom note. This is an authentic crime, there's a body. Even if Walter Gordon had an accomplice, what purpose would his kidnapping another CSI prove? What reason would this guy have to continue the vendetta? It doesn't make sense."
Grissom appeared to be considering her words as Nick continued to study him.
Strangely enough, Warrick was able to breathe a little easier. The pieces were finally coming together for him. No wonder Grissom was rattled and acting so oddly. He hadn't been accusing him, nor was he disappointed with him. Nick's horrendous ordeal -- of course it would rattle even the man of steel. Even though the connection to the former crime was tenuous at best, Grissom's response had been emotional rather than logical. He was just looking out for his people. That sounded like the Grissom that he'd known for years.
Catherine continued, "The most likely scenario is the one that Nick described. You know that. Have Brass check with his guys. Warrick, you and I can go examine the crime scene again to see if everything checks out, determine if there are any exits we weren't aware off, stuff like that, along with scanning the immediate vicinity to see if Sara's returned. The rest of you can analyze the data we've already collected. If Sara's absence is connected to the crime, the evidence should tell us that part of the story as well."
Greg eagerly volunteered, "I'm willing to stay 'til we confirm Sara's whereabouts. I don't mind working a double." Others murmured in agreement.
"It goes without saying that you can count us all in," Catherine spoke for the group.
Warrick inwardly groaned, for Tina wouldn't be pleased. But this was another obligation he needed and wanted to honor, on the off chance that something might have happened to Sara. Later, on his way home, he'd have to pick up some flowers as a peace offering for his wife.
Catherine rose, "Let's go." They began to file out of the room.
"Excuse me," Nick pushed his way through the crowd to follow Grissom down the hall.
TBC
