Here's the next story in a continuing series of "A Few Days"---Enjoy!
A Few Days with a Face Chapter 1
"Lucy has a face."
The model sat on the make-shift desk while she talked on the phone and her boss circled the object. The face was one of a delicate featured young woman with brown hair and eyes—the most common colors for the North American female population. Blonde and black wigs remained in the box with the carefully wrapped skull.
"Can you fax a photograph? Is it good?" Gil Grissom sat in Las Vegas wishing he was in San Francisco to see the face of the person speaking to him.
"Yes and yes. It's amazing. We've already given a photograph to the press. Hold on, my boss is here." Sara passed the phone to her boss.
The two men covered the same topic with a similar conversation and more excitement.
"It's amazing," Tom Henry said. "The local television stations promised to air the photograph tonight. I've sent a picture to all the counties who sent us a list of their missing." He laughed at something, adding, "I think we may make Sara a local celebrity."
Sara shook her head. She had no desire to be on television or to be interviewed. She had touched the clay and plaster model a hundred times since pulling it from the packing box.
Her boss continued his phone conversation. "We have a good DNA sample from the feds. Amazing what they can do with teeth today." He and Grissom talked while Sara rearranged hair, pulling it away from the face. She rummaged around in a drawer and brought sunglasses out to place over the eyes.
"Sara has made her baby into a California girl, already found sunshades for her." Tom was laughing. He handed the phone back to Sara and left the room.
"It is exciting. Everyone has been in to look at her. We really appreciate Terri Miller—she is an artist."
She had called Grissom at home as soon as the box arrived, leaving a message, telling him to call about Lucy. He had laughed at her name for the skull they had been handed when visiting a vineyard months ago. It was the beginning of a search for its identity. It had also been at the beginning of their relationship—the second time they had been together.
Grissom said, "Do you have plans for Wednesday and Thursday? I can fly out as soon as I leave work."
Sara knew her schedule. "I'm scheduled to work until Monday. I don't think I can take off."
"Can I come anyway? I'll find something to do—catch up on reading, wait for you."
She frowned. "Okay." He did not hear the hesitation in her voice. "Come. Maybe I can get off early."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I'll see you on Wednesday." They were both at work. Talk was quick and brief, professional more than personal even as they made plans.
Later that night, one local news reporter arrived with a cameraman; the lab director and Sara's boss, Tom, sat before lights and unveiled the model they called Lucy. Sara stood behind the camera and watched, secretly happy to be where she was. The reporter was well known for his crime reporting. The director was happy to be in front of the camera. Sara's supervisor looked uncomfortable as he formed a serious smile for the camera.
They were purposely vague about where the skull had been found and about a head wound, saying it had been recovered north of San Francisco, but location appeared secondary to death. They provided information about approximate age, about hair, eye color, about the anthropologist who had done the reconstruction.
The reporter spoke into the camera. "This woman was someone's sister, mother, daughter, wife. Perhaps she went missing twenty, even thirty years ago, perhaps ten years ago. If you suspect this face belongs to your missing relative, call the station or local police."
The camera and lights cut off. The three men at the desk congratulated each other. Sara held her hands in a tight grasp. She was smiling. Her boss beckoned her to the desk.
"Here's the girl who should be talking."
She was shaking her head. "No, you two did a great job. You radiated knowledge!" She did love her boss, even if he was old and grumpy most of the time. He liked her and when she said she did not want to appear on camera; he asked no questions, but took her place. He had his own thoughts about why she was uncomfortable on television.
"Now we wait." The reporter said as he gathered up his equipment. "We will go with this on the early morning show, followed by noon, and at least once tomorrow night."
"Get ready for the kooks to come out of the woodwork." Sara said.