Title: A Crazy Day
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing…believe me when I tell you that things would be different if I did!
Summary: Response to Unbound challenge
Spoilers: None
"Okay, I may be missing something, but what's with the bubble wrap?" Sara asked.
She, Grissom, and Jim Brass had been called out to investigate a DB found after an anonymous 'concerned citizen' had heard noises outside her apartment building. After processing the scene, Sara had noticed a light on in one of the apartments overlooking the alley, and they had gone up to see if the occupant had witnessed anything. Brass's knock on the door had caused it to swing inwards. He had turned to Grissom, raising an eyebrow.
"Las Vegas Police," he had announced. "Anybody home?"
No one had answered, and the three had stepped slowly into the room.
"What the…," began Brass.
The entire apartment was covered in bubble wrap. Floors, walls, even the ceiling. Their entrance had set off a moderately annoying racket as the bubbles under their feet popped.
The three turned to the door quickly at a noise behind them. There stood a small man holding a laundry basket. He was unkempt, with brown stringy hair and rumpled clothes, and wore thick glasses that made his eyes appear even more buggy than they already were.
"Why are you in my house," he screeched. "Thieves! Spies!"
The trio quickly realized that they weren't dealing with a rational individual. Brass's efforts to calm him only seemed to agitate him further. He pushed his way by Sara and Grissom, stepping in a very specific pattern. Grissom had just taken note of the fact that the places where the man stepped had bubble-wrap that was already crushed, and therefore made no noise, when Sara took a step backwards to get out of the way. Her movements caused more of the bubbles to pop, and before either Brass or Grissom could move, the man spun around and caught Sara across the face with a wild punch hard enough to make her stumble back into Grissom.
"Jim!" he yelled, refusing to let Sara go.
"Got him," Brass replied. "Sir, you're under arrest for assaulting an officer."
The man started humming tunelessly, and Brass shot a helpless look at Grissom.
"Maybe Mountainview Behavioral Healthcare would be a better idea," Grissom suggested.
"Good point," Brass replied. "Take care of Sara, then meet me out there…I need to get statements from both of you."
Grissom nodded, then turned to Sara as Brass escorted the still humming man outside. Turning Sara to face him, Grissom winced as he noticed a small trickle of blood down her cheek.
"Looks like he was wearing a ring or something."
"Great," she muttered darkly. "Bad enough the guy hits me, but now I'm bleeding."
"You okay?" he asked. She sighed.
"I'll be fine. He was just creepy, though," she said with a shudder. Reaching up to probe her face, she winced. Grissom reached up and moved her hand away.
"I'm taking you to get this looked at later," he said firmly.
The look on his face told her that arguing with him would be pointless, so instead, she rolled her eyes.
"Whatever," she sighed. Her phone rang.
"Sidle," she answered, then raised her eyebrows. Passing the phone to Grissom, she explained, "Catherine."
"Grissom," he said, taking the phone.
"Jeez, Gil, don't you ever answer your phone! I've been trying to reach you for hours! We need you to meet us at Mountainview Behavioral ASAP!"
Grissom frowned. "We're actually on our way there now…some guy we were talking to attacked Sara."
Catherine was momentarily confused. "So you're taking him there why?" she asked.
"I'll explain later," he said. "What's this about?"
"Sofia," Catherine replied, and then hung up.
Grissom closed the phone and passed it back to Sara. "Damn," he said, rubbing his forehead tiredly.
"What's wrong," Sara asked, resting a hand on his arm.
"For some reason, Catherine needs me at Mountainview…something about Sofia. That's all I know."
"Well," she said, "we'd better get going then."
Sara and Grissom arrived at Mountainview Behavioral Healthcare Associates to find their guy medicated and placed under observation. Brass got their statements, and then they left him to find Catherine. With the help of a few different orderlies, they made it to the correct wing of the facility. As they approached, they saw Catherine and Conrad Ecklie watching someone through an observation portal. Moving closer, they could hear that the occupant of the room was singing.
"Catherine," Grissom said. "Conrad? What's going on?"
Catherine turned to him. "Sophia was down in the layout room when she apparently snapped. Started screaming and throwing things, and then she started singing. The doctors think she's had some kind of stress-induced psychotic break."
The object of their discussion was sitting on the floor of a padded room in s straight-jacket, rocking herself back and forth while singing. As Grissom and Sara watched, she got up and began dancing around the room gleefully, talking to herself in a singsong voice.
"One dark night, in the middle of the day, two dead boys got up to play. Back to back they faced each other, drew their swords and shot each other. A deaf policeman heard the noise, and came and shot the two dead boys. If you don't believe my lies are true, just ask the blind man…he saw it too!"
Sofia ended, giggling, and Grissom raised an eyebrow. She composed herself somewhat, then looked directly at the observation portal and began to sing.
"I love you Conrad…oh yes I do…I love you Conrad…and I'll be true…"
"What the Hell," Sara exclaimed.
"It's from 'Bye, Bye, Birdie'," Grissom said.
Sofia continued. "When you're not near me…I'm blue…"
Ecklie was beet red. Catherine raised her eyebrow as he rushed off.
"Oh Conrad, I LOVE YOU!"
Serenade complete, she laughed as she threw herself to the floor again.