Chapter one:
Detective Brass pulled up to the lab, arriving back from his crime scene. Work had been so over bearing, and very stressful these last whew days. It was in the middle of October, so the air was starting to get a little chilly during the day time, so no one particularly liked working outdoor crime scenes. Jim sighed. Another long day of work, and I get to go home to an empty house, he thought to himself, as he shut off his car. He sat there for a moment, running a hand over his head. For the last month, they'd all been working on one case, both graveyard and day shift. The killer was notorious, and called himself The Grim Reaper. Of all names, Brass thought to himself. He let out a huff, before un buckling, and getting out of the car.
As he walked into the lab, he let the case run through his mind, yet again. Ten women had been found murdered. They would, as if, vanish off the face of the earth, and two weeks later, would re-appear, badly tortured and beaten. He would already have his next victim, before they ever found the bodies. Every time they did find a body, a letter was found with it, as if a little riddle on who the next victim might be, or where she was, but by the time they could get the riddle solved, it was too late. It disgusted Jim, that people could so easily take a life, without one care in the world. Everyone had their fall outs, Grissom's being when the crime evolved children, Sara's battered women, but Jim, he hated them all, especially young women, around his daughter Ellie's age. The thought never left Brass's mind for a moment. Ellie could be next, was the thought that could torture him in his sleep. Or even thinking about Sara, or Catherine, any woman that hew knew, could be next. Whether or not a case would bother him, most of the time he wouldn't allow it to get to him, but, somehow, this case was different. It just seemed very eerie. The murderer was nothing but sheer evil, an evil that shared no respect, whatever with others, and it chilled down to Brass's core.
Brass walked into the break room, to get a cup of the horrible tasting coffee. Everyone was working their third shift now. Although they usually preferred fresh eyes, it didn't seem to matter whether they had fresh rested eyes, or not, this guy left them with nothing, except silly riddles, as if he were writing a map, and it was everyone else's job to find where 'X' was on that map.
Jim brought the cup up to this lips as he took a sip of the dark, bitter liquid. He felt it slide down his throat and leaving a burning trail behind, he was so tired, he didn't care.
Nick stood up from the break table, anger written on his face. This case was taking it's toll on all of them.
"Damn, damn him, he's playing with us, like a cat with a string!" Nick hissed, kicking the trash can. Catherine jumped a bit, at Nick's loud bark of a voice. She had to admit, she was more then ready to go home. Lindsay was staying at her grandma's house, and after cases like this, all Catherine wanted to do, was go home and spend time with her daughter.
"We're going to get this guy, Nick, he's human, he has to make a mistake along the line somewhere," Sara said, as she was looking over their latest riddle to solve. she kept telling herself that they were going to get this guy, but by each passing minute, she was starting to doubt it herself as well.
"No, he's not human, he's sick, he's pure evil!" Nick said, pacing around the room. Greg looked down into his coffee cup, before looking back up at the others, studying their faces. Each of them looked tired and drawn out. He let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sara, read the riddle again, would you?" Warrick asked, hoping that maybe this time, something would jump out at them, although nothing had the last five times.
Sara sighed, as she read it, aloud, once again.
"No where to hide, no where to run,
you want to give up, but the games just begun.
Try hard, try long, you poor CSI's,
she's waiting for you near the"
Sara finished, sighing. Every time she heard it, it made her feel sick to her stomach.
"So, we need something that rhymes with "I's'." Warrick said, as he chewed his bottom lip.
"We need to think quickly," Grissom said from the door way, "with each victim, he's gaining more confidence, each killing, he's craving more. The more he kills, the more he needs to kill. No only does the killing pleasure him, but the fact that so far he's been able to out smart us as well. Chances are, the girl linked to this riddle is already dead, and he's working on his next victim right now. I've called in a friend, from Montana, she'll be here sometime tomorrow. She's an excellent criminalist, who went from forensics to law enforcement, she's an ex CSI, now detective, and she's agreed to help us with this case. Now I know we don't always like working with new people, but she's good at what she does, and she's willing to help us find this creep." Grissom said, changing stances.
"I think we can all agree we need all the help we can get right now," Brass said, pouring his, now cold, coffee into the sink.
"All right, so, let's focus, what would rhyme with 'I's'?" Catherine asked, sitting up. Sara looked up at Grissom for a moment, then back at the riddle.
"Ties, buys, eyes, flies, lies" Sara shrugged rattling off anything that she could think about.
Grissom frowned a bit, "I don't think it will be buys or flies, but ties, lies, and eyes are good selections. Let's go over some of the older riddles, and see where they've led to."
"Folders over there on the counter," Greg said, pointing his index finger where too. Jim looked behind him, before grabbing it, and taking it over to the table, before taking a seat on the couch.
Catherine grabbed the folder, and opened it up, "Okay the very first riddle we got was," Catherine started, picking up the note.
"You better not pout, you better not cry
you want to find out, well I'll tell you why.
I'm the grim reaper, I take who I please.
My eyes are like poison, my grin a disease.
My riddles hide answers, and indeed will tell,
you'll find your next victim near the skeletons "
Catherine read, "Later, we found out, that the missing word was 'hell' and Skeletons hell is a haunted house just outside parump."
Sara frowned a bit, "Wait a sec.. okay, the first body was found near Skeletons hell, Cath read the second riddle.."
Brass frowned a bit, sitting up as well, listening carefully, he could tell by Sara's face, she had something.
Catherine lifted the second riddle they'd received.
"The sound of music, the laughter of children,
these things I hate, will soon be ridden.
you still haven't found me, and you never will,
your next body is waiting by the dead man's"
Sara sat up a bit, "We later figured out it was Dead Man's Hill, yet another haunted house. He's dumping the body near haunted houses in Vegas."
"Who would've thought Vegas could have so many of them," Warrick stated.
"Hey it's the city of sin, one of the best places to have a haunted house is where sin never sleeps," Brass said, as he stood up.
"So, if it's haunted houses, we need to look up all the haunted houses in Vegas, and fine the ones that rhyme with I's'." Sara said. Grissom smiled for the first time since this case started. That's my girl, he thought to himself.
"Greg, get up a map, see if you can pin point all of Vegas's haunted houses." Grissom ordered.
"I'm on it boss," Greg said, before getting up.
"Sara, look up haunted houses in the local phone book, see if there are any that rhymes with I's." Grissom said gently. Sara nodded, before getting up, and jogging out of the room, to get started. One piece at a time, this puzzle was coming together. There was just so many pieces, and so little time.
"Now what do we do?" Catherine asked, as she and Warrick stood, Brass quickly doing the same.
"The only thing we can do, wait." Grissom said, before turning on his heel, and walking back to his office.
