A/N: A new story set after the CSI finale that involves five unsolved mysteries and cold cases bringing several old friends into their current life. Long time CSI fans will recognize other characters! Enjoy!
Five Unsolved Mysteries
Chapter 1
The air was warm and smelled of salt and tropical sweetness—a sure sign of a slight change in weather. By the calendar, spring had arrived yet the city had almost the same season year-round. No one worried about winter or cold or snow and therein was the charm of this ever-growing city of unique neighborhoods with its gentle, unthreatening weather and proximity to oxygen-rich air. It truly was a wonderful place to be—on the watery edge of the giant land mass of North America—enjoying breakfast on a terrace while watching the pink dawn dissolve into a clear blue sky, walking at mid-day with breaking into a sweat, and wearing a sweater by the time the sun set over the ocean. Life was good, thought the man carrying fresh flowers and a crusty loaf of warm bread.
It was easy to forget the violence of the past, the many deaths of those innocent and guilty faces when each day the palms waved in a gentle breeze, the tide came in and out, occasional clouds brought rain showers and hours were spent with people one loved and who loved in return.
A good place, thought the man walking along a sidewalk edged with houses on one side and a flat, calm canal on the other.
Paying little attention to the pricy real estate he passed, Jim Brass paced himself to slow down and let fresh air flood into his body. In no hurry, he slowed to a leisurely stroll. He had never given much thought to spring time while in Vegas but here—here, he noticed the raked beds and tiny flowers visible amidst the grass. White, yellow, pink, and red ones sprouted from shrubs; boxes and baskets filled with flowers lined porch railings. He had no idea of names of most flowers, especially those that grew in containers but he knew lilacs and had a bundle with him he had purchased in the flower shop.
Birds, he noticed, were busy on the ground, in the air, squabbling over something. Quietly, he chuckled as he came to a private conclusion that he was officially retired if he was watching birds.
The path was an old one, put in place decades ago when the neighborhood was planned and houses were built to front narrow waterways, now bordered with wild growing plants in one place and ordered rows of multi-colored flowers in other places giving the impression of unregulated development which he knew to be untrue. He had made this trip so often in recent weeks that he could trace this explosion of new and colorful growth to spring rains occurring several days apart.
His reverie was broken by the piping sounds of wordless joy from the stroller he was pushing. By her sing-song chatter, he knew she was happy, enjoying the outing as much as he was.
Stretching his arm, he patted the child's head. She looked up, smiling, showing a row of bright white teeth, in the same way her mother did.
"We're almost home," he said.
The little girl pointed to a bridge crossing the canal. "Boats," she said.
Brass chuckled and turned the stroller toward the foot bridge. This little girl had never babbled in the way of most children; she said words clearly and knew what she meant.
"Canoe!" Her voice lifted in excitement as they reached the top of the bridge. Her finger pointed to the canoe resting on the bank. Moving her finger to point at another boat, she said, "Dinghy!" She looked up at Brass, smiling before saying, "My dinghy?"
She could make him laugh more than anyone had in decades; nodding as he answered, amusement in his voice, he said, "It certainly is—your name is written on the side of your dinghy."
When she leaned forward, rising on her toes, he lifted her from the stroller and watched as she gained her footing and ambled in the way of toddlers to the base of the bridge. Collecting several small rocks, she returned to where he stood and dropped the stones into the water one at a time.
Brass waited as the child repeated collecting small rocks and dropping them in the water three times before losing interest. Taking his hand, she said, "Home" and then, with sparkling eyes and an impish grin, added "Cookies, too."
Laughing, Jim agreed, saying, "Yes, a cookie, too. One for you and one for me."
He had learned to multi-task in different ways in the past months so the lilacs went into the stroller which he could maneuver with one hand and he took the small hand in his and the two headed home, slowly, as the child he loved smelled flowers, picked up more small stones and placed them in the stroller, and pointed to bees pollinating jasmine.
He did not think about his life most days, but today, watching the little girl discover and rediscover the signs of spring, his memory went back to another time and another little girl. A blink of his eyes moved his thoughts ahead to the tragedy of his daughter because Ellie would always be his child. Another blink and he was in a more recent place, working for Catherine Willows, until a fiery car bomb had put him in the hospital for a while.
By the time he'd gotten his wits together, Sara Sidle was on a boat, heading into a new chapter with his old buddy, Gil Grissom. He had gotten a short message from her; her voice filled with excited anticipation. At the time, he had thought he might never see either of them again.
Fourteen months ago, he had gotten a phone call which had brought him to the west coast and this place of peaceful tranquility; a unique neighborhood tucked near a popular beach and a beautiful house that had been purchased by Gil Grissom's mother at a time when the neighborhood had been on the verge of demolition. That had not happened.
The house had become home for the dearest, sweetest woman he had ever known and her cantankerous but loveable husband who had asked him to be godfather to their daughter. From that day, Jim Brass has been affectionately involved in the life of their daughter, appropriately named after her grandmother and lovingly called Beth.
A/N: As always, we appreciate hearing from readers! Thank you for your support and encouragement!