Grissom sat at his desk, staring blankly at the elaborate miniature of what he could only assume was Sara's current state, the doll's hand groping at the sawdust sand. His mind raced a mile a minute without any direction. A small part of his brain was screaming at him with utter anger Solve the puzzle! Solve the goddamned puzzle! It's like all the others. Solve the puzzle, Gil! Solve the goddamned puzzle! But mostly he sat in agony, his despair carving an endless hole into his chest. His breathing was strained, his brow furrowed in shock, his shoulders heaving with each staggered intake of air.
He stood up, still glaring at the model. His head was now pounding with the onslaught of his migraine. His eyes darted back and forth as his imagination held him in a terrifying chokehold. Horrible images flayed his consciousness, peeling back his rational judgement and sending his mind into a debt of panic. He gripped the edge of his desk, his eyes closed. To an outsider, he'd have seemed composed. On the inside, it was the worst of torture.
A flash of lightning
A muddy hand
Her voice muffled
Murmuring 'Grissom'
Another flash of lightning
Green light
Nick, in a box underground
Cracking glass
A windshield and blood
Her blood in the dirt
'Grissom'
A flash again
Brutal beatings
More blood
Natalie's blank expression
The clawing hand in the mud
The overturned car
'Grissom'
Natalie's face, no emotion
'Grissom'
Sara's face, crying
'Grissom'
Sara's eyes
'Grissom!'
He was jarred out of his thoughts. Archie stood at his open door, closing it before walking into the centre of his office. He stood there with uncertainty.
"Grissom. You needed to see me?"
Grissom seemed lost, but only for a moment. He sat down, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. Archie, aware of the situation, looked troubled but resolved to remain objective. He dismissed Grissom's momentary look of anguish.
"Yes, I called you," Grissom affirmed. "Come look at this."
Grissom turned the miniature towards Archie. Archie's eyes widened only slightly and then said, "I think you have a point. This is a pretty unique formation." He gestured towards the rocks surrounded the tiny car wreck.
"Knowing Natalie's precision, it's likely that these are accurate and to scale."
"Mhm," Archie responded. Grissom looked at him with an earnest expression. He continued, "I know who we could talk to about something like this." Grissom nodded, sucking in a sharp breath of air. "I've used him before to help us track other kidnapping cases, especially with the use of explosives. He can track changes in the ground and land formations up to four hours outside of Vegas."
"Please," Grissom said, unaware of whether or not he was cutting Archie off. "Get him down here. Now. Fast."
"Right away," Archie replied, and he left the office.