Headliner
Chapter One
The noise level at the Las Vegas Crime Lab was resonating at a dull roar. It was a slow day on the job. A six-car pileup and a pawn shop robbery were not enough to hold the attention of more than a few criminalists. Nick strolled through the halls, hands in his pockets, whistling the tune of a country song. He entered the lobby with a big smile on his face. Judy, the receptionist, was waving him over with her fingers. He loved the sight of this little woman. She was so tiny. He remembered when his youngest sister was that short. It was so long ago. He rested his elbows on the beige counter.
"Here are your messages, Mr. Stokes," she said beaming at him.
He took them from her hand. "Thanks, Judy, and call me Nick."
"Of course, Mr. Stokes."
He laughed and turned to walk off. He felt a slight tap on his shoulder. Looking over it, he saw a young girl, a teenager by the looks of her. She was tall, about five-foot-seven if he had to guess. She had dark brown hair that hung just below her shoulders. She wore a hip-length green t-shirt and faded jeans. She flashed a smile and he was sure it would light up a room. "What can I do for you?" he asked.
She relaxed her arm. "I'm here to see Sara Sidle, please."
"I'm sorry, she's not in right now."
"Okay, I'll wait." She started off toward a chair in the lobby. He took her by the arm.
"Who are you anyway?"
"I'm Alexis, Lexi actually."
Nick tilted his head. "Are you related to Sara?"
"You don't know who I am?" she asked, clearly confused.
"Cousin? Sister? Niece?" She shook her head at each one. "You don't look old enough to be her aunt. What's left?"
She wrinkled her nose. "You really don't know who I am?"
"Sorry, I don't. Should I?"
Her eyes searched the room. "I would think so. I know who you are. Why wouldn't you know about me? I mean, we've never met, but I assumed you all knew who I was." After seeing Nick's lack of realization she added, "My name is Alexis Sidle. I'm Sara's daughter."
At this he burst out laughing. "Cute. Who paid you to come in here and say that? Sara, have a daughter? That's the craziest thing I've heard and in this business, you hear lots of crazy things."
She looked like she was about to cry. "You really don't know me. I can't believe she never told you. You didn't even know I existed. I'm really sorry to have bothered you, Mr. Stokes; I shouldn't have come. Please don't tell my mother I was here." With that she bolted to the door.
Nick watched as the sliding doors shut. A daughter? That was absurd. He'd known Sara for what, six years? She'd never mentioned a daughter. The girl must've been lying. Then again, she'd seemed so shocked at the fact he didn't know her. He almost believed her. Almost. He heard the snapping of heels on the tile and saw Catherine come down the way with a partly eaten apple in her hand. He called out to her. "Hey, Cath! Would you say that you know a lot about Sara?"
She stopped, puzzled by the strange question. "I don't know everything, but I'd say I know the basics. We've worked together for awhile now."
"So you'd know if she was married."
"Trust me, Nick, she's not married."
"Okay, how about if she has a kid."
"Where is this coming from?" she questioned.
He exhaled slowly. "A few minutes ago, this girl taps on my shoulder. She asks for Sara. I tell her she's not here and she starts spewing some story about how she's Sara's daughter."
Catherine laughed. "Nick, April Fool's Day was a month ago."
"Catherine, I'm serious. She was appalled that I didn't know who she was. She stormed out of here and said not to mention to Sara that she came in. At first I thought she was some psycho looking for attention, but now I'm not so sure."
She sobered up. "Alright then, there's only one way to figure this out. If Sara had a kid and told anyone about it, one person's sure to know."
She looked at Nick and simultaneously they said, "Greg."
Nick rushed to the break room. Greg was brewing up some of his signature coffee. Nick was distracted for a moment by the aroma. Catherine came up behind him and gave him a shove. "Greg, has Sara told you anything big lately?"
The young man turned around to face his colleagues. "Like what? That she's madly in love with me and would give anything to spend one night with me?"
"Not exactly what we're going for, Greg," Catherine said.
"Then what do you mean? I have not yet mastered the art of mind reading."
"Has she ever told you about a girl named Alexis?" Nick asked.
Greg scrunched up his face. "Nope. No Alexis has ever been mentioned. Does she have any friends outside the lab? I didn't think so."
"Lexi isn't a friend, Greg; she's Sara's daughter."
Greg dropped his coffee mug. It hit the ground shattering, sending scalding liquid onto his pant leg. He jumped up and down. "Hot! Hot coffee!" Once it had cooled down, he sat in a chair. "Sara's got a kid? Weird."
"No kidding," responded Nick. Just then, Warrick strolled in, looking beat.
"What's with the party?" he inquired.
"Oh we're just talking about Sara's mysterious daughter," Greg piped.
Warrick froze. "Sara has a daughter. Are you kidding me?"
All three shook their heads. Then Catherine spoke. "Well, we're not entirely sure. It could've been a large prank, but Nick thinks she's real. I guess we'll just have to confront Sara and ask her."
"Ask her what?" a voice from the back said. The four people stood still as a statue. How do you ask a woman about a child no one knew anything about? "Hey, Sara, have any kids lately?" Strangely enough, that didn't seem like the best way to go. Greg's eyes began to twinkle. This usually meant he was ready to spill the beans. Nick saw it and grabbed Sara by the shoulder. He led her out of the room.
"So, Sara, someone came by looking for you today."
"Really? Who was it?" She smiled up at him.
"Oh, I don't really know. It was the first time I'd seen her. She really knew you though. Maybe I can describe her and you can tell me who she is."
Sara chuckled, "Okay, Nick, describe away."
"Well, she's about yay high," he said, pointing to her eyebrow, "and has shoulder-length brown hair. She's also got about the deepest brown eyes I've ever seen. Approximately sixteen-years-old, if I'm right."
Sara felt a lump forming in her throat.
"She calls herself Alexis, and, oh yeah, I've left out the most important detail: She says she's your daughter."
Sara bit her lip and faced him square on. "You've met Lexi?"
A/N: What did you think? There's definitely more to come. Feedback is greatly appreciated. :)
