Not As Easy As it Seems

Chapter Four

Nick had to have been on hundreds of cases by now. Each one becoming more and more grotesque and evil. Vegas starting to get to him. Those were the thoughts that were running through his mind as he took pictures in the kitchen. He needed a vacation.

Six beautiful showgirls were found murdered in their home. Would things like this never end? His heart went out to Sara though. At least he didn't hold one of the girls hands while she died. That must have been awful.

"He used a chair to jam this door," Sara stated, entering through the back door.

"I heard about what happened," Nick said. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," but Nick wasn't convinced. He would be so shaken if something like that had happened to him.

"There's a custom-made label on that wine bottle over there," Nick turned back to the pictures on the bulletin board. Hopefully they would be able to get this case done quickly.

"Cammie said something about wine," Sara announced. "Maybe it had something to do with this bottle. Pour wine?"

"Maybe he forced wine down her throat. Tox with tell us. It was good that you were there for here, Sara," All he got from her was a sad smile. "She didn't have to die alone."

"We usually show up too late to meet the victim," she said.

But unfortunately, cases such as these took much longer to solve. The following day, Lewis was brought in for questioning. He wrote the article on the girls moving into the house, and he was the one who gave them the wine.

"I sent the wine over to stress my gratitude for their cooperation on the article," Lewis spoke.

"How did you get to know the girls?" Nick asked.

"I followed them around for a week as my research, uh they were nice kids. Big hearts." Sounded a bit stalkerish to Nick.

"It's an airhead piece," Sara said, Nick couldn't help but snicker.

"My editor gave me an article, and I ran in, but those girls raise $12,000 for a former showgirl with breast cancer. They organized their own walk-a-thon. Gave out swag bags. Kitchen stuff," Lewis explained.

"What kind of kitchen stuff?" Sara asked.

"Cutting board, juicer, and a kitchen knife. It was ceramic with a purple handle. It had the girl's name on it." Bingo.

"The killer's shoes; there were multiple shoe impressions at the scene that looked just like that," Nick announced.

"Wait, you don't think I did this did you?" Lewis exclaimed.

"Give us your shoes, and we'll see if you're right," Nick slowly got to his feet. Great more time in the lab.

Danika wasn't having a great day either. Midterms were soon starting which meant that the students were busy and stressing about the tests. Some more so than others. The students were going over the latest material with one another, while Danika was checking over papers. They weren't looking good. This midterm was going to be a disaster which was a shame really. Her students were bright.

"Miss. Evans," her head popped up to see Hunter before her desk. "You looked a little out of it right there. Are you felling all right?"

"Not that it's any of your concern, but I'm fine. What do you need?" Danika shut her tablet.

"Um, well-how are you?" he asked, blushing slightly.

"Hunter, I think you should go back to your seat now," Danika insisted. "You didn't do as well as I thought you would have on your paper. Study."

"Okay," he slumped back to his chair. Kayla narrowing her eyes at him the entire way.

"That boy is going to be the death of me," Danika ran her fingers through her messy tresses.

"I do, cherish you for the rest of my life, you don't have to think twice I will love you still, from the depths of my soul It's beyond my control, I've waited so long to say this to you If you're asking do I love you this much, yes I do.."

"Shit," Danika muttered, fumbling through her purse. The students now paying attention to her. "Nick, I thought you had a double?" He sounded horrible. Tired and irritated. "Nick, are you okay?" He was such a liar. He was not okay. "I'm done in about thirty minutes. Yes, I can meet you at Sunrise. Bye."

"Everything all right?" Tyler asked from the front row.

"Yes, everything's fine," Danika sighed. This wasn't going to be good. "Keep working."

Nick was already there when Danika arrived. He was nursing a coffee in the far corner of the shop, running his fingers over the top of his head every few seconds. Something was really bugging him.

"Sorry if I'm a little late." Danika apologized, taking the seat across from him. "Crazy day?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Nick answered.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Danika asked. "It might make you feel better."

"You heard about the showgirl murders right?"

"Of course, they were all over the news. I saw Jim Brass this afternoon talking about the guy who killed them. I'm glad you and your team figured out who did it. That must have been awful."

"I just wanted to get out of there to be honest," Nick said. "I got you a peach iced tea. I hope that's all right."

"You remembered," Danika smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," he continued. "Could we just talk?"

"What about?" she asked.

"Something. Anything. I don't know. I just want to get my mind off of this. Grissom gave me the day off, so what do you want to do?"

"We can talk," Danika bit her lip. "I'm here for you, so whatever you want to get off your chest, go for it." That was just what he needed.