SLOW BURN
~ Chapter 1 ~
Whoever was responsible for naming this particular stretch of I-515 the Las Vegas Expressway needed to be shot or, at least, that was the overriding thought running through Gil Grissom's head as he pulled the Murano to a complete halt for the fifth time in a little over 8 minutes. They'd had a straight run from Lewis Avenue all the way to Flamingo Road but approaching the apparently never-ending construction zone that ran from Harmon down to Tropicana nowadays had turned what should have been a relatively easy trip south into something that was quickly turning into a stop-and-start nightmare.
With everything around him at a complete and utter standstill, he rolled his eyes in frustration, took a deep, calming breath and glanced over at the woman beside him. "Tired?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," Sara answered truthfully, one hand clasped tightly around an ice-cold bottle of water while the other lay atop the manila folder sitting on her lap. She'd rushed home after a busy shift, hurried her way through a much needed hot shower and then scrambled her way into the car with her husband and Ben to make their early morning appointment only to find when they got there that there would be at least an hour and a half's delay. "But I'm also deliriously happy so that's kind of cancelling it out." Slipping the bottle into one of the Nissan's cup holders, she rubbed briefly at one eye. "It feels like it's been such a long week, I almost have to pinch myself to believe that it's only Tuesday; thank God I don't have to work tonight."
"Well, I'll keep Ben occupied this afternoon while you take a nap and then I thought we could grab an early dinner at that seafood place out on Horizon Ridge that you like." Adjusting his sunglasses, Grissom frowned at the stalled traffic up ahead. "I'll call and book a table for us; after all, we've got to do something to celebrate the day."
"You're right, we do." Sara nodded happily as her fingers tightened around the envelope she hadn't put down since the court clerk had handed it to her. "And grilled shrimp salad with my two favourite guys sounds like the perfect way to do it." A quiet whimper sounded from the back seat and she turned to check on the sleeping boy safely strapped into his car seat. "I still can't believe he's finally mine."
"He's been yours since that day in the park, honey; he knows it, I know it and so does everyone that sees the two of you together," Grissom pointed out as he put the SUV back in gear and began inching forward as the surrounding traffic started to move. "That adoption certificate is just a formality."
"Well, it's a formality I'm delighted to have," she countered with a grin. "Have I said thank you yet?"
"Thank you?" Taking his eyes off the road, Grissom glanced across with a frown of confusion. "What on Earth are you thanking me for?"
"For letting me back into your life," Sara answered simply. "And for loving me enough to allow me into Ben's." With an almost shy smile, she shrugged a little self-consciously. "From the day we decided to give our relationship another chance you've trusted me with your son and that is something I will be eternally grateful for."
"Our son, not just mine." Reaching across he took her hand and squeezed it tight. "His biological mother was nothing but an incubator, she proved that by walking away and relinquishing her rights as quickly and as easily as she did. You are his mother, Sara, even without that certificate and there's no one that could ever say otherwise."
Left grinning in pleasure at the words, Sara pulled her hand free of her husband's as the smile morphed into an unexpected yawn. "Boy, I can't wait to get home."
"Actually, we're going to have to make a slight detour on the way." Glancing away from the still crawling traffic, Grissom offered her a quick, apologetic shrug. "If we're all going out to dinner tonight then I'm under orders from the boss back there…" He cocked his thumb back over his shoulder towards the sleeping toddler. "… to pick up something along the way."
"Sounds intriguing." Her interest was instantly piqued.
"It won't take long," Grissom told her. "In fact, we were going to leave it until your birthday next week but I think it's actually more fitting that you're given it today." He leant as far sideways as his seatbelt would allow and winked at her as he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial level. "Don't tell Ben I mentioned anything about it though, it's supposed to be a surprise."
"I won't say a word," Sara promised with a chuckle. "In fact I won't even come in with you, how's that? If you really aren't going to be long, Ben and I can stay right here in the car and then there's no way of spoiling the surprise."
"Sounds like a plan." Straightening up again, Grissom relaxed into his seat as the road ahead began to clear and he could finally move his foot from the brake to the accelerator and begin to speed up. "One quick stop, ten minutes at the most and then the three of us can finally head home."
Pulling herself up the slight incline that lined the southern edge of Cactus Loop Trail, Catherine Willows squinted into the bright Las Vegas sun and sucked in a deep, cleansing breath of fresh air. She'd clung to the hope that Kay Nicholson would turn up somewhere safe and sound and perhaps a little ashamed at the concern her out-of-character disappearance had caused but that hope had been quashed fifty minutes earlier when she'd received the call from Dispatch that an female DB had been found propped up against a tree.
"It's her, isn't it?" Leaning back against the hood of his department-issue Ford, Detective Kevin Crawford looked up from his notebook just long enough to nod towards the scene. "I mean, I only got a quick glance before you got here but it sure as hell looked like her to me."
"I'd be surprised if it isn't," Catherine replied as she brushed at the dust and dirt that now covered her previously immaculate black pants. "But we can't say for sure until the fingerprints and DNA have been run."
"She's got the smell." He couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the mention.
"Just like the others." Catherine commented more to herself than to him. "Damn it, there was a part of me that was sure that she'd turn up alive."
"Bit optimistic given our line of work," Crawford opined as he slapped his notepad shut and slipped it into his pocket. "I was kind of expecting Sidle to turn up," he shrugged, good naturedly. "She was the one handling the initial missing persons call, wasn't she?"
'Yes, she was," Catherine agreed with a nod. "But she had somewhere she had to be this morning and she's off tonight so you're going to have to settle for me and Greg Sanders." She checked her watch. "I gave him a call when I was on my way down here so he should be pulling in any minute now."
"I can deal with that." Tapping his pen against his teeth, Crawford looked as though he was lost in thought for a moment before he cleared his throat and continued. "She's been looking a little tired lately." He looked up at Catherine with an almost embarrassed smile. "Sidle, I mean; she looks kind of washed out."
"Well, I don't think she'd appreciate that particular description but, trust me, working full time and having a two year old running around the place will do that to you." Unable to help herself, Catherine chuckled. "You know, I never thought I'd say this but Sara Sidle has actually turned out to be a damned good mother." She nodded approvingly. "And a good wife too; she and Grissom have really worked hard to make a go of their marriage."
"That's good, I'm glad things are working out for them." Although still clearly uncomfortable, Crawford managed a smile. "You know, ever since that Basderic debacle I've felt a little awkward around her especially when it comes to her personal life so…"
"That's right!" Catherine nodded triumphantly as the clues fell into place. "You were the lead detective on that, weren't you?" She smiled at the younger man opposite. "You know, if I were you, I wouldn't let that bother me; Sara's a professional and she's really not one to hold a grudge." She looked up as a large white van followed closely by one of the lab's black SUVs turned off the main trail and began heading towards them. "Okay, it's time to get to work but, honestly Kevin, the next time you see Sara treat her like you'd treat anyone else; if she looks tired, then tell her," her lips quirked up further up into a definite grin. "I have absolutely no doubt that you'll piss her off with the comment but, I promise, she's not going to hold that against you anymore than she'd hold it against me, Greg or even the sheriff himself. Now come on…" Reaching across, she clapped him on the shoulder then turned to make her way back towards the scene she'd not long left. "Let's go see what our victim can tell us."
Swinging the Nissan into the Galleria on Sunset's car park, Grissom stopped the SUV for a moment, looked around the half-full lot then steered the vehicle over to what he thought would be the best possible spot for a short term wait; it would mean a longer walk to the mall's entrance for him but the small cluster of trees and bushes in the area would, at least, give a little shade to the remaining occupants of the car.
"You sure you want to stay here?" He left the engine running as he unclipped his seatbelt.
"Positive," Sara told him with a weary smile. "To be honest, I'm really not sure I have the energy to walk around that place right now and I'd hate to disturb Ben when he's sleeping so soundly." She stretched in her seat. "Really, we'll be fine waiting for you here."
"Well, like I said, I'll be ten minutes, fifteen at the most," Grissom told her as he pressed the window controls. "I'll put these down for now but if it starts getting too hot then start her up and put on the A/C okay?"
"I could actually work that out for myself, you know," Sara countered sarcastically as she nodded towards the still closed driver's door. "Now go because the sooner you do, the sooner you'll be back and we can get out of here." She smiled to herself as he climbed from the car and waited until he was about to walk off before speaking again. "And if you happen to be anywhere near Cinnabon while you're in there-"
"I know, I know…" Rolling his eyes as he stepped away from the car, he raised his voice just enough to ensure his wife would hear his departing pledge. "I'll pick one up for you, I promise."
It was much closer to twenty minutes before Grissom stepped back out into the bright Vegas sun, a small paper gift bag in one hand and a Cinnabon box in the other.
Before he made his way back across the car lot, his thoughts focussed almost totally on the best way to hide next month's credit card statement and the almost frightening amount of money that he'd just spent on it.
Before the sound of his now wide awake son's plaintive cries quickened his final steps to the silver Murano that he'd left not long before.
Before he wrenched open the front passenger door to the sight of the crumpled and discarded manila envelope and adoption certificate lying on the seat.
And, before it finally hit home that his wife was nowhere to be seen.
A/N: So, the plan after finishing Oakwood was to buckle down and get the final chapters of Shadow Play out of the way before moving onto this one but, thanks to some artistic differences between one of the main SP characters and myself, it's just not working out that way. I will keep plugging away at it though and as soon as they're ready I'll get those chapters up but, in the meantime, I hope you'll enoy Slow Burn.
My thanks as always go to SylvieT for the beta. :)
