Chapter 4

"Now Mrs. Burke…"

"Please, call me Lola. Mrs. Burke is what my mother was referred to."

Nick cleared his throat as the elderly lady gave him a smile sitting across from him. He was considering the possibility that he had drawn the short straw when it came to questioning the witnesses. Still the upside was that they all wanted to cooperate in this investigation. "Alright… Lola… um when the Homicide Society was meeting, was there anything unusual?"

"We read and solve crimes young man. Everything is unusual."

Nick tried not to make a face at that. "Right. What I meant was did anyone see someone that maybe didn't belong before everything went down?"

"No it was like how it usually went." Lola Burke paused and it appeared that she was eyeing Nick speculatively. "Mae was acting a little bit strangely though but then again she always gets that way when she has a surprise like a reenactment or something like that. She always liked to keep up the suspense with the meeting."

"So it could be that she had someone waiting to play your suspect or whoever they were going to play waiting?"

"Yes and she came in," Lola replied. At the look Nick was giving her, she had to explain, "Murder at Ravenhearst, the main suspect was the youngest daughter Helen. Everyone suspects her since she is the only one without an alibi. We were just at the part where the dashing Nicholas Stevedore…"

Nick did his best to be polite as he listened to Lola talk about where the actress was supposed to help. It didn't help that the woman was giving him the speculative eye when she mentioned one of the characters. At least he was grateful he was doing this interview solo or he would have never heard the end of it.

"And I think he's sexy though you could fit the bill too. Anyway Stevedore was going over the possible scenario and that was when the girl was supposed to come out pretending to be Helen. She came out and did her thing and that was when the other came in."

"The other?"

"Yes skinny, dressed in black. He had a gun and he was pointing it at Candy. He started saying a bunch of nonsense that we were posers. Mae tried to resolve the situation but he hit her. Candy and Liz, Elizabeth, got hit too for trying to stop it…" Lola reached for the tissue that had come out of her purse. She blew her nose.

So there were two people in that house that were not regulars. Nick thought about what Lola had been telling him and took down notes. He searched for the right words to say without making the witness into a leaky faucet of tears. "Lola, after the three ladies got hit by the gun, can you recall what happened then"

"I may be old sonny but my mind is still sharp," Lola barked at Nick with the warning that came out partially watery and partially playful. She cleared her throat and continued, "He was screaming and the girl… she pulled out a gun and started shouting at the other one. It was like they knew each other. The other grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger. Mae was in the way and…"

"Okay," Nick said when he realized that Lola was going to cry. "So they knew each other. What about Gerald? Did he come in when they fighting?"

Lola thought about it some more and said, "Yes. He came in. Mae always leaves the front unlocked. He asked if everything was all right. The hooded man fired at Gerald but Lucy's book got in the way. Gerald tripped trying to get out but was caught and he struggled. Gerald was hit with the gun I think. I heard him grunt. He must have gotten away but then there was another shot."

Nick could visually see it as Lola was giving him the story. Some of it was making some sense now. There would have to be discussions on the timeline of events but it looked like Lola Burke's account was very informative. "So you didn't see if he hit Gerald or anyone else?"

"No. But he came back in and the girl started screaming at him. He shouted back at her and she shouted back."

"Okay, Lola. You gave me what happened. Now while they were arguing, didn't anyone try to get out of there or even try to defend themselves?" Nick studied the look on Lola's face. It appeared she wasn't sure how to answer that. "I mean Dana Turner is an Army reservist. She would know how to disarm somebody."

"Dana is a mother, young man."

"I know but when you're trained and even if you go back to a civilian life, that kind of thing doesn't go away," Nick pointed out. "Was there difficulty or something getting out?"

Lola looked at Nick. The tears were gone now and in place was a hard mask. It would have been intimidating for someone not used to hard ass interrogations. She said in a firm voice, "We all have families young man and we would defend them but knowing when to fight or to run… you go with what is best. Besides you've been in the room. There was only one way in and we would have been seen and cut off and someone nailed the door shut. Now if you have any other questions, I think I am finished."

Nick watched as Lola folded her arms. Normally he would have thanked the witness and let them go and told them to stay in town and the usual spiel. Instead he replied, "I understand that. We are just trying to make sense of what happened and the only thing aside from the physical evidence we collect is what you can tell us; what you say, anything that might help."

"We didn't escape because we were told that if we tried, all of us would die like the posers we were," Lola replied after scrutinizing Nick for a moment. "Have you ever been in a hostage situation young man?" She watched as Nick blinked his response before continuing, "It is enough for anyone to do as they are told."

Nick could relate to that. Even though it had been nearly a year since he had a gun held to his face, he didn't forget it. He remembered how it felt, that sense of vulnerability. The saying getting caught with your pants down was funny in most respects but it was almost literal in the sense that he never saw it coming and he almost had his life flash before his eyes. Since then he tried not to think about it but occasionally it did creep up. He could understand where Lola was coming from.

Looking at Lola he nodded, "I understand Lola and you gave us a good start. Thank you."

"No thank you young man. The neighborhood may not look like much but it's home and the people look out for one another. We are like a big family," Lola replied.

Nick nodded and indicated that she was free to go and if they had any more questions, they would contact her. There was one more lady to talk to and it was Lucy Freemont, 30, and is a cashier at the Tropicana. She was the one whose book stopped the first shot but not the second shot that killed Gerald Butler. The interview wasn't going to take too long since she seemed to be one more inclined to space out. He had noticed that when he was doing his perimeter walkthrough and the unis were trying to make sense with the initial statements.

He was right in that it didn't take too long to ask Lucy Freemont what she knew. As it turned out she tended to space out a bit but he did get out some important pieces that were helpful but not much. He was waiting outside as Sara finished with Dana Turner. Once the woman left, he asked, "What do you think?"

"I think we need to write it out," Sara replied. "According to what I got, the suspect hit them and called them posers."

"I got that too. Lola though said that there was a girl reenacting a scene for them," Nick added.

"So there were two other people in that house," Sara declared as she looked at Nick while they were walking down the hall.

"And two weapons, one which we have and we haven't even interviewed the kids that were friends with Gerald."

"But what gets me is that the guy called them posers and they were critiquing crime novels." It had been a sticking point for Sara since it didn't make sense. "Unless he was thinking that they thought they were real detectives or something."

"I think we should leave the profiling to Parker," Nick countered with a slight grin. "With our luck, whatever she found will just fill in another hole we've had since we started."


"You know I don't think Grissom's going to reimburse you for those." Greg gave a kind of sleepy expression as he said it.

Sage looked at the pile of books that she had stacked on the conference room table. There weren't a whole lot but it was a start. At the moment she was looking at Murder at Ravenhearst and Coyote's Run. She replied, "Oh I'll find some use for them when I'm finished. It's not like there is a shortage of people who read these… myself included."

Greg grinned a bit. "You know considering the stuff we've gotten into since you came here, I never would have once pegged you to be into crime/mystery novels."

"Well we all got to have our quirks, Greggo," Sage replied as she read through Coyote's Run. Her finger held her place and she ran through the pages. She turned the page in less than a second.

"Whoa. Do you even know what you're reading?"

"I read this before I came out here. I know the general plot. I am just trying to find the exact… spot. There." Sage found the page she had been looking for and tapped it. She began writing a few notes and then picked up the evidence bag of the worry dolls and looked at them.

"I take it you found something."

"Just something that might help make sense of a few things. How's my swab from the gun?" Sage looked up and adjusted her glasses. She gave a knowing smile at Greg.

"Well just so you know trying to separate four blood samples is never easy," Greg replied trying to be a bit sarcastic about it. "But you would know about that anyway. It's kind of like reorganizing the lab refrigerators." He looked at Sage with a pointed look mingled in with a teasing smile.

"I say kudos to the one who decided to organize. Looks like the other techs caught on," Sage replied as she went back to making notations. She picked up Ravenhearst and opened it and looked for the spot where the book club was going to discuss.

"Come on Sage. You and I both know that you did that."

Sage looked at Greg through her glasses. They were better now that she had put eye drops in them. It looked like she was getting a case of dry eye. She would just have to keep an eye on it so it didn't get worse. She raised her brow and asked, "Do you have any evidence to support your conclusion?"

"Aside from the fact that I know you?"

Sage nodded expectantly at Greg. She knew about his desire to get into the field. It was no secret that he tried to help out on cases. She had heard about the scuba diving thing and then his knowledge on liquid latex. The others always gave him a strange look at the depth of his knowledge but in her view, knowledge truly was power. The more they knew about something, even if appeared random, in the long run it eventually helped.

Greg looked at Sage as she stared at him. It was no wonder there was the rumor that she and Grissom might be twins in some of the things that they did. He knew better or at least he thought he did since he spent time outside of work hanging out with her though lately it seemed that she was not too much into doing stuff. They still had their Sanders-Parker night once a week but the spontaneous stuff at the end of the day, it had lessened a bit. It was no big deal on his end and only hinted that she found something she was interested in outside of work.

At this point thought an answer was expected of Greg and the look she was giving him was strongly hinting that maybe she might not have messed with Grissom's experiments especially since she was asking for evidence. He stammered slightly, "Um… none?"

"Then I suggest you find proof before making assumptions," Sage replied with a gentle smile. "It is unavoidable to make assumptions; we do it all the time. The trick is to just remember that if you want to prove something…"

"You got to back it up," Greg finished. "This is one of your CSI encouragement things isn't it?"

"Well you are interested in going out in the field aren't you?"

"I thought about it." Greg tried not to let it be too obvious. He was interested in the job the CSIs had out in the field. "I mean going out to a scene and… and I did help Nick with the scuba tank."

Sage pursed her lips in a telling smile as she went back to reading. "Baby steps Greggo and plenty of practice in reasoning and deduction." She looked up and added, "I may know something about the experiments being moved from the community fridge to the lab fridges."

Greg grinned like a little school boy. "Okay so I guess we'll have to wait and see if the bandit strikes again."

"Well it's not always to have a serial since it is another crime and another innocent victim is affected," Sage replied in part seriousness. She didn't mean to be a wet blanket about things but this was a learning experience for Greg if he was serious about getting into the field. "Of course repeat pranks are just as fun."

"As long as you don't get caught right?"

"That and it could be considered an attempt at teaching a lesson… like one that might happen to DNA if the results aren't being monitored for." Sage gave a mischievous glance at Greg. She wasn't really going to do anything but the threat of it was always fun to allude to and she did show that she could do something but she wasn't copping to it.

Greg raised his hands in surrender, "Alright, alright. I get it. Back to the grindstone and make way for baggy eyes."

"Don't be a drama princess," Sage replied, "We all get those and we don't complain." She was actually chuckling as Greg was giving her a look. "Don't tell me you need a hug now."

Greg narrowed his eyes playfully. "You are evil, Sage." He pointed a warning finger at her. "I'll go back to my dungeon since what I do there is obviously so important to you." He left the room but poked his head back in. "By the way, you got a boyfriend or something?"

"What?"

"Well you don't hang out much like we used to but we still have our night. You don't bother to collect on Nick's debts and you rain check…"

"And that would be in the realm of none of your business."

"Whoa and a defensive wall like Sara." Greg made a face and turned around to head back to his lab. "No wonder you two get along so well."

Sage frowned in puzzlement at that comment but it saved from having to explain herself. She went back to reading through the two books and making notes. She ran her fingers along the page and searched what she was looking for.

In the meantime Greg went back to his lab to work on the samples. He knew that Sage wasn't upset with him but it still was a bit unusual. Like everyone else, he was curious about what was going on. She seemed happy and yet a bit uncertain about a few things. She didn't talk to him but figured she would have talked to at least someone.

It was no big deal in the end since she would tell if and when she was ready. As it were they all had their work to do. He had some swabs to run from the gun and he also had the earring collected. Time to make some money. He clapped his hands together and started on his work. He reached over and turned on his CD player to play some Black Flag and loosen things up while remembering to turn it down so it wouldn't cause too much ruckus.


"I got a question for you: why do you always work yourself to the bone?"

Sage looked up from her lunch and glanced at Brass while the detective was chewing on the piece of chicken he was eating. She finished the bite of the chicken salad she had ordered and replied, "I'm a workaholic Jim. Plus I'm working a case just like you."

Brass gave a slight chuckle. "Yeah and it seems that I may have something for you."

"So that is why you offered to buy me lunch? Bribery? Now that is a serious offense Captain Brass," Sage replied with a smile as she deliberately stressed her accent.

"It's not bribery when it's a lunch between two colleagues in the law enforcement profession," Brass countered with a slight smile. He took another bite of his chicken.

"Ah so it is a collaboration between beating shoe leather and science." Sage raised her finger as if in an ah-ha moment. She couldn't help but chuckle at that as she reached for her glass of water. "So what have ya got on our case?"

Brass was chuckling along with Sage and paused to reply, "Well aside from your crew questioning the ladies, I checked on the property itself." He fished out some paper from the inside of his jacket. "According to the property records, the house was partially owned by Rita Mae Whittenbower. The other owner was Ellen Sue Taylor."

"Any relation?" Sage took the proffered sheet and examined the property.

"Yeah. Miss Taylor is actually the younger sister of Rita Mae Taylor. The house belonged to their parents before they died in a car accident. They died and the house went to both."

Sage chewed on a piece of grilled chicken as she scanned the document. "Any known disputes?"

"Nothing on record and if I were to suggest that it's possible that maybe Ellen Sue got tired of the family home being a gathering place for ladies who like to play detective…" Brass made a gesture with his hands.

"I'd ask where's your evidence," Sage replied as she finished reading. "Is there any to support that?"

"I'm still looking into that. I even started looking out for the sister. You never know." Brass picked up the cup of coffee that he ordered and took a sip. It was a vast contrast to the salad and water Sage ordered.

"Oh so now you're thinking a hit?" Sage chuckled at that. She speared another bunch of greens and put them in her mouth. "Cause from what Nick and Sara reported, the main suspect called the women posers. So it might be thin but at this point we need something like a really good description of the suspect."

"What about the interviews with the ladies of the book club? Surely you have something to work with?"

Sage couldn't help but snicker as she drank her water. "You know the thing about eyewitnesses Jim. You could have twenty people see the same event and they all have something different to say. It's about perception and oftentimes they don't always agree. Still we're looking into everything. There were a few consistent descriptions. I can say for certain that I'm actually glad that these ladies were so into crime novels. They were observant."

Brass nodded a bit. He did have to admit that the ladies within the group were pretty observant. They gave more details than most witnesses could give given the circumstances. "Well the kids weren't too good but they did give good witnesses accounts about Gerald Butler getting hit after being chased. Other than that, the show is on you Parker."

"And in Vegas lights." Sage sighed as she toyed with the last of her salad. "Still like reminding me I drew the short straw huh?"

"Would it make you feel better if I said that I requested from Grissom that you be the one to take point on this one?"

"Not really Jim," Sage replied laughing, "But I do have to say that the fringe benefit is lunch on the captain."

Brass laughed with her. He fished out his wallet. "You know I hate eating with you CSIs. You never miss a thing." He smiled as he said it since he didn't mean it. Even though he was a cop and sometimes they didn't see eye to eye on things, he respected their ability to find the evidence and eventually solve the case.

Sage pulled out her wallet and started pulling out cash. "Aww you love us Jim. Where would you be if you didn't have us to tell you that we follow the evidence? Well at least having Grissom remind you every other case."

Brass waved for Sage to put away her wallet. "I got it Parker. I meant what I said that lunch was on me."

Sage was going to be insistent on paying for her lunch but stopped. She put her wallet back into her pocket. "Don't make it a habit. It'll make me feel bad."

"We wouldn't want that now," Brass replied as he put the cash down for the bill. He watched as Sage took a sip of her water. "So how are things going Parker?"

"It's the job, Jim. Do what I can," Sage replied. She put her hands on the table and folded her hands together. She tapped her fingers gently on the table. "Of course you like others are curious as to why I stopped my wild nights for a time."

"You got me. I'm curious… the whole department is curious."

"Well I might tell ya," Sage replied, "but only because I respect ya. That and you are a good man."

"Alright. Hit me."

Sage was about to go into details but her phone rang. She answered it, "Parker." The voice at the other end had her eyes widen slightly. She barely registered Brass' phone ringing as she heard the voice at the other end. She caught Brass' eye and nodded, "Yeah. We'll be there."


A/N: Nick has an interview and discusses with Sara while Sage does her own thing and talks over it with Brass. Wonder what the call was about? Stay tuned for more True Crime Kills...