Disclaimer: Not mine, never have been but if they go up for auction on ebay they just might be someday!! Hey, one can dream.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Category: Drama, case
Archiving: Graveshift sure, anyone else just ask – I promise to say yes and if you send me Starbucks coffee you don't even have to ask hehe.
Author: Traci traci_ann@yahoo.com
Summary: Catherine and Grissom work a case involving the collision of two trucks – what they find after the fact they aren't prepared for. Meanwhile, Nick, Sara and Warrick are sent to investigate a murder at a clown convention.
Author's notes: This story was started long before I even knew about the upcoming episode dealing with clowns so any similarity is purely coincidental (especially since the ep hasn't aired yet). As for the cases themselves – they are both based loosely on actually events. Cath and Gil's case is a true event in the basics of what happened. The clown convention is a combination of two actually cases. See, the Learning Channel can be fun and educational!
Thanks to Tracy (again) for her beta skills and input.
Consequences"The drivers have been taken to Vegas Medical." Detective Brass sighed and shook his head. "Highway Patrol said one of the semi's was traveling at approximately ninety miles an hour when it collided into the other."
Crime scene investigator Catherine Willows grimaced at the mangled wreckage before her. The impact had melted the two vehicles together. "What are we looking for?"
Gil Grissom, head of the night shift CSI team, answered, "Anything and everything to tell us exactly who and what is responsible."
Once again Catherine looked at the wreck. "I think we know the what," she said before picking up her kit and heading off to one of the trucks.
******************
"I can not believe Grissom gave us this case," Sara Sidle growled while maneuvering her way through the crowd at the MGM casino.
"Aw, did someone have a bad experience at a circus?" teased her partner, Nick Stokes.
Using her height to try and intimidate, she stopped short and turned around. "Do not even go there, Nick!"
The third member of their team, Warrick Brown, came up behind them. "Come on, guys, we've got a murder scene to work on."
Giving Nick one last warning glare, Sara turned back and followed Warrick up to the fifth floor.
******************
Catherine jumped down from the cab of the truck and cracked her neck that ached from being hunched over for more than an hour. Walking over to the other truck, she called up to Grissom. "Hey, how are you doing?" There was no response. "Grissom?"
"Yes?"
She jumped and screamed before turning around to find a grinning man standing behind her. "You live for doing that to me, don't you?"
"As a matter of fact I do," Grissom said. "Are you done?"
"I won't know until my heart starts beating again." Grabbing her evidence kit, she walked with him back to their SUV. "Looks like a typical accident to me," she told him, setting the kit in the back seat then climbing into the passenger seat.
"Nothing is ever typical in Vegas, my dear Catherine," he said, starting the engine.
Catherine stared at him. "How much coffee did you have today?"
Grissom looked at her, confusion clouding his eyes.
"You've just been acting very, well, unlike you tonight." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Gil Grissom, are you dating someone?"
"What? Where'd that come from?"
She shrugged. "You just seem more at ease, more relaxed than normal."
"And you think that insinuates that I am seeing someone?" he asked, stopping at a red light.
"No, but I can't think of any other reason."
He drove through the intersection. "Not that it's any of your business," he began, "But no, I am not seeing anyone. Maybe it's just the full moon." Giving her a sideways smirk, he added, "Maybe it's just being so near you."
"Ha. Ha." Catherine yawned. "Wonder how the murder case is going."
*********************
"A freakin' clown convention?" Sara's eyes narrowed at an approaching clown in the hallway who immediately retreated. "Of all the times and all the places to have a murder, did it really have to be a clown convention?"
"Could be worse," Warrick told her while dusting a chair. "Could be a Star Trek convention."
"Anything would be better than clowns," she mumbled.
Nick looked up from the bed he was examining. "You really hate clowns that much?"
"They're just not… well… you guys can't tell me they don't freak you out."
Warrick and Nick looked at each other then at Sara and shook their heads.
"Never gave them much thought," Warrick said.
They continued to work in silence for a few moments.
"Guys, I think I have something," Nick said.
*************************
Standing in the lab, Catherine leaned over Greg, the resident lab-rat. "Anything?"
"Who can concentrate with someone breathing down their neck?" he mumbled.
Catherine threw her hands up in the air and stepped back, passing an amused glance at Grissom.
"Do we have any reason to believe this was more than reckless driving?" Grissom asked.
"Not as of yet, though the tox screenings aren't my department." Greg told him, looking up from the microscope. "The results won't be back for another fifteen minutes or so and I have other cases…" Turning to Catherine, he added with a smile, "Not that I don't enjoy the company of some people."
"Flattery will get you nowhere tonight, Greg," she grinned.
"A man's gotta keep trying." He turned back to the microscope. "I'll beep you as soon as I know anything but my guess is you are looking at two overly-exhausted drivers."
"Thank you for your input," Grissom said, following Catherine out of the lab.
**********************
Sara wasn't looking where she was going and walked right into Catherine in the hallway. "Sorry," she hissed and continued walking.
Catherine watched the younger woman walk away. "What's with her?"
Grissom shrugged. "Maybe she hates clowns." When her eyes questioned him for further explanation, he added, "The murder case they got? It was a clown at a clown convention."
"You are going to owe all three of them for that one," she chuckled.
"No, I won't. It's all part of our job. If we start to pick and choose our cases…"
"I get it." She yawned. "I've got to go get Lindsey. I'll be back in about an hour to help you work on the trucks."
He smirked.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She followed him into his office. She could be a pit-bull when she wanted to be. "No way, Gil Grissom, you are not getting off the hook that easily. Why did you smirk at me?"
"Well, when most people say they are going to work on trucks it sounds… well… normal."
"And you are saying I don't sound normal?"
"Au contraire, you sound perfectly normal. It's just when you said it a number of our male colleagues turned their heads with quite the envious look towards me."
Taking full advantage of the situation, Catherine leaned forward on his desk. "Are you saying you have a problem with that?"
He gave her a half-smile. "Not in the least. Now go, get Lindsey. I'll see you soon."
"Sometimes you are just no fun," she commented, closing the door behind her.
***********************
"Anything?" Sara asked her colleagues still staring at the file in her hand.
Warrick shook his head. "Nothing. He was shot with a .38. One entrance but no exit." He stood up to stretch. "Greg is still working on the stain Nick found in the bathroom."
Sara sighed and placed the folder on the desk. "Our vics name was James Harrow and was a full-time stock broker when he wasn't, uh, clowning around. The two guys who called it in have nothing to do with the convention. They were just staying in the room down from the hall and heard the shot."
"Greg just paged," Nick shouted as he passed the doorway.
All three entered the lab to find Greg doodling.
"Keeping busy?" Sara noted.
"Just expressing my creativity," he said.
"That's wonderful, Greg." Warrick sat on a nearby chair. "Now, do you think you could extend that same energy into giving us the report?"
"All in due time, my good man," he responded.
"Greg, come on. We're on limited time," Nick growled.
The printer hissed to life and spat out four papers which Greg immediately took and distributed. "Can only work as fast as technology will let me."
Sara rolled her eyes, inwardly amused.
"According to this, your man, or in this case woman, is also part of the clown convention."
Warrick looked up from the paper, his brow creased. "How can you tell that from a DNA report?"
"I can't. But the other report, which will be printing in a moment, showed traces of clown makeup beneath your victim's fingernails. That makeup had specks of flesh that I was able to compile information from and the DNA from the skin matches the unknown blood you found in the bathroom."
With that, the printer buzzed to life once again.
"But how does that prove she's our killer?" Sara asked, comparing both printouts.
"Yeah," Nick agreed. "They could have just been…"
"Don't say it, man," Warrick warned.
He grinned. "Clowning around before the murder occurred."
Sara groaned.
Greg Sanders shrugged. "That's your job to find out. Unless, of course, you would be in need of my assistance."
"Talk to Grissom about it." Nick opened the lab door. "Thanks Greg."
***********************
Grissom circled the melted trucks three times in the silence of the garage. "You're going to get yourself dizzy doing that," he heard the fourth time he came around. A large smile grew on his lips when Catherine walked over to him.
"Now I know why some of the guys kept offering to help," he commented noting her chosen apparel of a tight white-tank top and shorts.
"It's hotter than hell in here," was her response as she struggled to hide the knowing smirk.
"Ah, the mouth of a trucker. This is an appropriate assignment for you," he teased.
"Better watch it or you'll be doing this all by your lonesome." She looked over the tangled mess before them. "Where do we start?" Her nose crinkled. "And what's that horrific smell?"
"We start by separating the trucks. As for the smell…" He sniffed the air and with widened eyes, looked at Catherine. "What do you think it smells like?"
She, too, sniffed. "Gil…"
"I'll call Brass to get in here just in case."
**********************
Sara, Nick and Warrick stood in the doorway of the large convention hall at the MGM.
"Where do we start?" Nick asked.
"Well, the two who called it in gave us some names so let's start with finding them." Warrick walked into the sea of clowns.
Sara and Nick looked at each other then followed him.
"Excuse me," Sara began, walking up to a group of three clowns. "We're trying to find Esther Goodall or Frank Hetherton."
Her response was a flower being squirted near her face. "Look, we're investigating a murder," she hissed.
The three became serious.
"Sorry," one of the women said. "We thought you were part of the entertainment."
"I haven't seen Esther or Frank for nearly two days," the man in the group told her. "I figured after Frank found out Esther had been cheating on him with James that… well…. you know…."
"No, I don't. Fill me in."
The third person, another woman, spoke up. "Frank isn't exactly what you would call a people person. Why he ever got into the clown business is beyond me. Esther met James online prior to this convention. He was everything Frank wasn't. He was successful, honest, kind, respectful… What woman wouldn't have wanted that?"
Sara nodded. "So Frank found out about the affair when?"
"Two nights ago," the first woman responded. "He and Esther had a pretty nasty fight when he dragged her out of James' hotel room. Security had to separate them. I don't know what happened to them after that."
"Do you know what room they were staying in?"
The man laughed. "They had separate rooms. He may not have liked her cheating on him, but that didn't stop him from cheating on her."
**************************
Brass stood outside of the garage watching as Catherine and Grissom carefully worked on separating the two trucks. So far the crash had been listed as an accident but if the two investigators' suspicions were correct that would change.
After four grueling hours they were finally able to separate the large vehicles. Both gagged and Catherine had to leave the room to regain her composure.
Flattened between the two trucks was a silver Volkswagen Jetta. From an initial view, the car appeared to have contained four passengers.
Brass and Catherine returned to the garage.
Grissom looked at Brass. "I'd say this just became homicide depending on your findings."
************************
Warrick had remained in the hall to interview attendees while Nick and Sara went to investigate the rooms of the newest suspects of the case.
While Frank's room had been cleaned and all his belongings were gone, Esther's had not been touched. Her clothes were still in the dresser and the bed unmade.
Nick called the LVPD and placed an APB out on Frank Hetherton.
***********************
Catherine and Grissom worked another two hours on separating the Jetta from the front of one of the trucks while Brass had gone back to his office to look for anymore clues in the accident report.
"How come no one reported the car or the people in it missing in all this time?" Catherine asked, wiping her face with her arm. "Surely someone had to be missing them."
"Maybe not. If this was a whole family then who would be around to report it?" Grissom commented, slowly trying to pry one of the doors opened.
Catherine stopped and stared at him. "That's a sad thought." She knelt beside him to help. "So you're saying the if Lindsey and I were killed in an accident similar to this that would be it? No one would notice?"
He stopped and looked at her. "I'd notice."
She held his gaze.
"But… if this family didn't have any other family or friends…"
"Then let's make sure someone notices," she added quietly.
**********************
Warrick joined his partners in Esther's room. "Didn't find out much more from anyone down there. Apparently no one tried to hide this fight and no one has heard from either of them since then." He looked around as he put on the latex gloves. "Anything here?"
Sara sat back on her heels grateful for a break from crawling along the floor. "Nothing. Nothing at all." She sighed. "The only strange thing is all her stuff is still here."
"He probably killed her somewhere out in the desert and didn't want to come back to get her belongings," Nick added while dusting for prints along the headboard.
"A body hasn't been called in yet." Warrick set to work on looking for fibers along the edge of the rug.
"Oh," Sara added. "We did find her clown makeup so we'll be able to compare it to the sample Greg has."
"That's something at least," Nick mumbled.
They continued in silence for a short time.
"Hey, Sara, I've been meaning to ask you." Warrick stopped what he was doing and looked at her.
"What?"
"Any nightmares?" he asked lightheartedly.
She shot him a look that even made Nick stand back. "I'll walk out of here and make you do it all on your own."
He laughed. "Relax. I was only kidding."
********************************
Grissom returned to the garage holding two cold cans of soda. Handing one to Catherine, they sat on the floor against a wall.
"Thank you," she mumbled in between gulps.
"Brass said the tox reports came back. One was intoxicated and it seems the other, the one that had been hit head on, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The intoxicated driver is being charged with vehicular homicide."
Catherine stared at the wreckage. "Doesn't seem fair to them. Did he say if any missing persons reports came in?"
Grissom shook his head.
She yawned.
"Why don't you go home and get some sleep. We've been at this for…" He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Nearly nine hours."
Smiling, she looked at him. "So have you. Longer if I recall."
He smiled back. "I don't have a daughter."
"No, but last time I checked you are still human and need sleep just like the rest of us."
His gaze fell upon the tiny car.
"Gil, I know what you're feeling, I'm feeling it too but we aren't going to help them if we pass out from exhaustion." She stood up and held out her hands for him to take.
He did.
"We'll go home and sleep for four hours and come back. Is that okay?"
Grissom chuckled. "I think I could actually go for about twelve hours of sleep."
She yawned again. "Me too, but four will suffice for the moment."
"Are you alright to drive home?" he asked, concern etched on his face.
Catherine nodded. "I've done it on less sleep than this before."
"Doesn't make it safe."
"Why Gil Grissom, one might think you actually care by the way you're talking."
But his face remained serious. "I do care, Cath, you know that. Look, why don't you just stay at my place. I'll take the couch…"
"Uh-uh. You need sleep just as much as I do and you can't get that on your couch. I'll be fine, really." She walked out of the room.
Grissom stood still, glanced back at the wreckage and ran out the door, catching up to her in the hallway. He grabbed her arm. "I'm not letting you choose on this one," he whispered.
Pulling her arm away from him, she turned and faced him head on. Anger flared in her eyes. "You're *not* going to let me choose? I don't think that's your call."
He shoulders slumped slightly. "Catherine, I don't… I don't want to have to pull you out of something like that." He pointed in the direction of the garage.
With that, she realized she really did not have a choice. If she went home on her own he wouldn't sleep anyway. He'd keep himself awake worrying over if she had made it home safely – not even a call would help. "Alright. But I get the bed."
He grinned. It wasn't often he won against Catherine Willows but when he did it was a moment to cherish and remember.
*************************
Sara was leaving a note on Grissom's desk when he and Catherine walked in, causing Sara to jump. "I though you two had gone home to get some sleep?"
"We did," he told her. "We're back now. What were you leaving for me?"
"Oh, our case. We have a motive and two possible suspects who are presently missing, one of whom may actually be a victim. We were just trying to figure out where to go from here."
Catherine motioned she was heading back to the garage.
He quickly glanced over the report on his desk. "Looks like you three did everything you could for now." He looked at the brunette. "Have you guys gotten any sleep?"
"Uh, no, probably not."
Grissom smiled. "Tell Nick and Warrick that I'm ordering you three to go get some sleep. You can't do anything more right now anyway."
"Need help with your case?"
"No. The worst of it is over now."
Just then Nick popped his head in. "Hey, Griss."
"Hi, Nick."
"So, what do you think?"
Sara jumped in. "He thinks we should all get some sleep."
"Sounds good to me."
Defeated, Sara finally agreed.
*******************
By the time Grissom arrived at the garage, he found Catherine already working on extracting the bodies from the vehicle. Taking a deep breath, he entered the room.
"It appears the driver was female. I can't be sure, but I think the passenger was also female. I haven't gotten to the back seat yet." She stopped when she felt Grissom's hand on her shoulder.
"It wouldn't have made any difference if we had found them the night of the accident."
"As I was saying," she continued. "It appears there may actually have been three passengers in the back seat…"
He turned her to look at him. "Cath, I don't want to have to take you off this."
"What are you saying?" she hissed.
"I'm not going to watch you tear yourself up over this. I know you. I know what you're thinking when you jump into full professional mode. I know what you're trying to avoid."
"You think you know me so well?" she shouted. "Fine, pull me off."
His eyes followed her as she ripped off her gloves and walked to the door. He knew her well enough to know she wasn't really going to walk out that door. He knew her well enough to know she would realize he was only trying to ground her just as she knew him well enough to the same for him from time to time.
Within a moment, she was slipping a new pair of gloves on and returning to help him extract the remaining victims.
With careful precision, they were able to gain access to the back seat and Catherine had to bite her inner cheek to keep from crying. Two occupied car seats were flattened against each other and beside them was a third child.
"Do you want to take a break?" he asked softly.
"No." She shook her head. "I'm okay." She paused. "Gil?"
His eyes found hers.
"Thank you."
With a small smile, he returned his attention back to extracting DNA from the victims.
**********************
"Get away from me!" shouted Sara.
"Sara!"
"No! I hate you!"
"SARA!"
She sat up, startled. Her eyes finally cleared from a sleepy blur and she saw Nick standing next to her bed. "What… what are you doing here?"
He held up his keys. "I came by to pick you up when I heard you screaming so I let myself in." He sat on the edge of her bed. "Nightmare?"
She was all set to yell at him, believing he was teasing her but the concern reflected in his eyes told her he really was concerned. "Yeah. What time is it?"
"Time to head back to work. Brass called. Our two missing people have been found alive and together. Both have alibis too." He hesitated. "Sara, if this case is bothering you that much…"
"I'm fine." She laughed. "I don't even know why I have this irrational fear of clowns to tell you the truth. It's stupid really."
He smiled. "We all have irrational fears about something. Get dressed and I'll make you something to eat."
***********************
Catherine caught herself before she slid out of the chair in the lab that she had nearly fallen asleep in. Glancing over at Grissom she found he was not doing much better.
"Can't you hurry it up, Greg?" she asked.
"It's almost done."
He pulled the paper from the printer and looked over it then looked at the two sleepy investigators.
Grissom caught his look. "Greg?"
"Two of the children were related to both the driver of the car and the driver of one of the trucks."
Catherine and Grissom looked at each other then lept out of their chairs and ran out of the lab.
"You're welcome," Greg called out.
********************
Sara and Nick found Warrick in one of the conference rooms.
"So who's left?" Nick asked, taking a seat across from Warrick.
"I don't know." He looked over the papers he had spread over the table. "We can go back and talk to the two guys who called it in. Maybe they saw something."
Sara nodded. "They said they'd be at the hotel through next week."
When they reached the hotel, Nick knocked. "It's CSI, we just need to ask you a few more questions."
They heard shuffling but no voices.
The three looked at each other then Nick smelled something. He grinned. "Think we should call the police?"
"Is that what I think it is?" Sara asked.
Warrick nodded. "And my guess is we are the last people they want to talk to right now." He pulled out his cell and called for a few officers.
They stood in the hallway waiting for the police to arrive. The next knock on the door was by the police, demanding entry.
Slowly the door opened and the strong smell of marijuana hit them all like a wall. The police handcuffed the two men while Warrick opened the balcony door to air out the room.
"Hey, man, we didn't do nothing," one of them protested.
"Does doing nothing include not using this?" Nick asked, holding up a .38 with a pencil through the trigger.
The second guy spit at his friend. "I told you it wouldn't work. Cops these days are smarter than we think."
"Why? Why kill him then call the police?" Sara asked.
"Dude, when we heard the fight and that chick screamed out that the guy had more money than her boyfriend could ever dream of… we had to."
"And you knew that there were plenty of people to back up the fight story," Warrick added.
"Yeah, man," the first guy said. "It was like easy money."
Nick walked over to them, handing the gun to one of the officers. "Well, you know what they say, 'easy come, easy go'."
The officers took them away.
"Well, that was a waste of time," Sara commented, beginning to process the room for evidence for the trial.
"I can't believe we overlooked them," Nick added.
"Yeah, but who would think that two druggies would be stupid enough to call the police after they kill someone?" Warrick began a search through the nightstand tables.
As she dusted the table for fingerprints and other evidence, Sara said, "I guess the lesson learned here is don't give people too much credit."
************************
The formally intoxicated truck driver was led into the interrogation room where Catherine, Grissom and Brass all waited.
He sat across from Grissom and Catherine. "Yeah?"
"What happened out there the night of the accident?" Grissom calmly asked.
"I'd had to much to drink and I guess I swerved. Or he did. I don't remember much," he snarled.
Catherine took a deep breath. "How did the car get stuck in between?"
He looked at her, confusion evident. "Car?"
"Little silver Jetta."
His pupils widened.
"You didn't know?" Grissom asked.
The trucker swallowed hard as tears filled his eyes. "I… I…" He buried his face in his hands for a moment then looked at them. "We had just split up the week before. Her idea not mine. I…" He choked on his words. "What have I done?"
With a softer voice, Catherine pushed on. "Tell us what happened that night."
"I went to see Lilli about working out a schedule to see the kids. I… had been drinking a bit too much when I pounded on her door. She basically told me to go to hell and slammed the door in my face."
The room remained silent as they waited for him to continue.
"I sat outside her house waiting. I just really wanted to see my… my kids. She and her friend, Holly, put the kids in the backseat and took off. I know I had had at least three beers just while sitting there. I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to follow them in my truck. I was just so ticked off. She was keeping my kids from me." He let out a sad chuckle. "Said I drank too much." He swallowed hard again. "I followed them onto the interstate. I know she was getting scared because she sped up and Lilli is the most cautious driver I know. I…" He closed his eyes. "I don't remember anything after that other than a loud horn and bright lights." He sobbed softly. "I prayed they had gotten out of the way."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Brass asked.
"I really believed they had not been there. I figured I just blacked out and ran off the road awhile later."
Satisfied with the answer, Brass motioned for them to take the guy back to his cell. "We should be able to get him on murder."
**********************
Grissom slowed down in the precinct parking lot when he realized he was alone. Turning back, he saw Catherine slowly making her way to the SUV. He waited for her then together they walked in silence.
It was only after they had been driving for twenty minutes that Catherine spoke. "Um, Gil, shouldn't we have been back at CSI by now?"
"Probably but I figured if I drove around long enough you'd talk to me."
Her head fell back against the seat and inwardly she smiled when he pulled off onto a tiny overlook and turned the car off waiting for her to talk. "That could have easily been Lindsey and me," she whispered without looking at him.
"I know," he replied.
This time she did look at him. "How?"
"The drinking. The irrational thinking. And Eddie had the drugs too."
"Yeah."
They stared out at the stars.
"I never told you this, Cath, but I was terrified for both of you when you were married to him. Even after the divorce too, but more so when you were still with him."
Smiling, she reached over and placed her hand on top of his. "I was too," she admitted. "I never told you, but he used to do stuff like that right after I told him I was leaving."
Grissom's eyes locked into hers. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I knew you'd want to do something about it and I didn't want you to ruin your life or career over a jerk like him. He stopped once he realized I wasn't going to keep him out of Lindsey's life."
Grissom turned his hand over and interlaced his fingers with hers, softly caressing her hand with his thumb. "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."
She smiled at him. "I wasn't alone. I always knew I could call on you if I really needed to."
"Always."
"What do you say we get back to the office, finish this up and get something to eat?"
"I'd say I like the way you think."
Slowly they separated their hands and he started the car up again.
"And Gil?"
He looked at her before heading back into traffic. "You don't have to thank me," he told her giving her a tiny smile before returning his focus to the road.
Turning away, she watched the neon lights flash by while very thankful that Gil Grissom cared.
The End