Under the radar
chapter 7
Hours later, Nick checked back with Brass regarding the results from the sketch artist.
"So, was the junkie of any good use?" he asked.
"No. says he never saw the man's face. He doesn't remember any distinguishing details either. No tattoo, no physical deformity or birthmark, no nothin. Just that the mystery guy was blonde" Brass scoffed. He knew it would be fruitless.
"I interviewed the receptionists. They said the man who came asking about Mrs. Sanders looked he didn't want to be recognized. He was wearing a tight fitting green hoodie with only just a few strands of his hair sticking out. They said He was a blonde, so that matches Toby's statement. He had sunglasses on that covered his eyes and he wore a medical mask and coughed a few times, claiming he was still recovering from pneumonia.
One of the clerks told me that he felt a bit on edge, so he called Mrs. Sanders and asked her if she was expecting a guest. When she confirmed they let him through. She told them it was her husband." Nick laid out his findings. Just as he finished explaining, a soft knock was heard from outside the door.
"Come in" He announced. Hopefully it was a new update on their current case. To his surprise though, it was Sara.
"Hi Nick". She greeted him dejectedly.
"Hello Sara". His response came back as a flat tone void of any friendly interpretations. He was still livid from what she said earlier, and after a minute of awkward silence he just cut it straight to the chase.
"You got anything for me Sara? If not I'm really busy and I need to get back to work". With both CSI's locked into a staring contest, Brass felt like a bystander watching the silent battle exchanged between the two seasoned criminologists. It was ridiculous that they were arguing at this time in his opinion, but then again maybe they ought to be arguing. Everybody was extremely tensed and the lab felt like a pressure cooker compressing all these emotions that were running on a wild rampage.
Sara on the other hand finally decided to swallow her pride and go straight to the point as well. Their argument can wait for now.
"I need you to update me on what you found so far in the case. I'll do the same after you're done". The way she spoke left no room for discussion. Getting the hint, Nick decided to co-operate. He filled the brunette on everything he found so far, thus giving Sara and Brass the queue to speak. Brass was up first.
"I think James is our guy. The clerk did say Mrs. Sanders informed him about the arrival of her husband."
"Could be Jim. But it can easily just as well be somebody else posing as him" Nick suggested.
"Even if it ain't James, he's one sorry ass I wouldn't be too upset of falsely accusing and tossing in jail" The brash detective publically admitted. This man got away horrendous things he had implicated on a defenseless kid. It was only fair that he rots in a prison cell till the last breath of air leaves his body. Even that is taking it too easy on this scum.
"Then we'd still have a killer on the loose that could hurt someone else. Look, I don't like this anymore than you do Brass. I want the bastard to suffer just as much as you do, but we won't get our hands dirty with the likes of him. Hell has a special place for people like that.
Besides, Greg needs us to do this now. He needs closure. He wants the person who killed his mother behind bars". The Texan sighed. It was really difficult for him to keep his cool, but he cannot afford to be blinded by anger at the moment.
"Sara, what did you find?" He shifted his attention to his other partner.
"I looked at the surveillance cameras. Most of his face was hidden under his hoodie. I made Greg take a look too. He said he couldn't recognize the person on screen. Also you mentioned the clerks and Toby said the suspect was blonde, and Greg's description of James implies that he's a brunette. Greg doesn't remember James being that muscular either, but we can never know for sure."
Nick sighed once again. The case was getting cold real fast. They were currently clutching at straws.
"Nothing from trace?" Sara shook her head no. whoever this guy was, he knew what he was doing.
"The clerks didn't even see him leave the hotel. He must've used the fire escape". Nick added.
Sara was deep in thought. There was a huge gap in this story that she couldn't understand.
"Something is not making any sense here guys". Her statement piqued the interest of both men sitting next to her.
"So at first Toby reserves this room per request from this mystery man. Isn't the room supposed to be for the suspect then? Why was he the one visiting Mrs. Sanders? Wasn't she supposed to be the one visiting him?" Sara wondered. Nick felt like slapping himself. How did he miss that?
"I'd say the killer was one of Mrs. Sander's acquaintances. The logical explanation would be that this person acted under the illusion of hospitality. Something like sending a friend to book a room for her so she wouldn't be hassled with making arrangements. He lured her there and he had her right where he wanted her.
Now another detail worth considering is: if she was expecting her husband, where is he?" Brass thought out loud. Nick and Sara agreed with his train of thoughts at the moment.
"Sara, did we search Mrs. Sanders' phone yet?" Nick suddenly remembered.
"On it" She volunteered for the task and left with a new sense of determination in her eyes.
Sara was surprised to find that one of the calls Mrs. Sanders received was from Toby the junkie. That's what they referred to him in the lab. She listened intently to the conversation, which took place an hour and a half after she called her husband.
"Hello?" Mrs. Sanders picked up.
"Hello ma'am. Is this Mrs. Cassandra Sanders speaking?"
"Yes it is. Who's asking?" She responded curiously.
"My name is Toby Jefferson. My boss is well known business man, you might've heard of him. Does the name Harris Baker ring a bell?"
"I did hear of the Baker family, they're very well known" Cassandra answered.
"Well, Mr. Baker would like to hire a baker. Hahaha"
Toby awkwardly attempted to joke around. When Cassandra didn't laugh, he coughed and tried to regain his composure and get back to the reason behind his phone call.
"Ehem, my deepest apologies. I don't think that was funny. Anyways his wife admires your work, and she's been following your blog. She was thrilled when you posted that you were currently in Vegas, in return she told her husband that she'd like to hire you to cater to their daughter's wedding.
Due to their tight schedule this task has been assigned to me. He also appointed me to take care of your accommodation and all your needs in case you decided to accept our proposition"
There was silence on the line for a few seconds before Cassandra spoke
"I don't' know.. I'd have to take a look at the offer first"
"I understand ma'am. Though I must inform you that a hotel room with your name registered to it as a guest is waiting for you. It's a precaution because I'm guessing that you did not plan on extending your stay so I had it booked for you. It's ready whenever you are. The Baker family likes to be generous with their guests, especially on this wonderful occasion. Whether you take it or leave it, it's entirely up to you.
While you wait there my boss will send you an e-mail with the offer details and his wife will schedule a meeting with you as soon as she can"
"Ok. I will wait at the hotel" Cassandra finally agreed.
"Great! I will have the hotel contact you right now to give you a ride and escort you to your room. Pleasure doing business with you ma'am. Goodbye."
"I suppose that explains how ended up at that room". Sara muttered to herself. The next call on Mrs. Sanders' caller blog indeed was from the hotel regarding her escort, reservation details and arrangements. Sara then checked the messages. Cassandra had told James about the opportunity she received, where she would be staying, and that she'll be waiting for him. All that was left now is reporting everything back to Nick.
"He sure won't like this" She said to no one in particular.
"Toby hasn't mentioned this phone call to us". Nick seethed.
"Bring him back in here". He demanded, clearly pissed off.
"What for Nick?" Sara objected. She didn't see any use of dragging the junkie back into interrogation.
"For obstruction of justice that's why. He hid something from us Sara! He was paid to lure her into that room!"
"But he didn't kill her Nick.." Sara raised her voice.
"HE HELPED!" the CSIs' shouting was heard from outside the halls. Both of their faces were tinted in furious red as anger coursed in their veins.
"Just bring him in here. You have your reasons, and I have mine" Nick demanded again while catching his breath because of all the shouting he'd been doing.
"Suit yourself Nick. But I'm telling you it's a waste of time. It's not getting us any closer to catching our killer" Sara said her piece and left the room.
Acting on Nick's wishes, Toby was summoned again to the interrogation room.
"Boy are you in big trouble" Nick whistled. Toby's eyes became frantic, and Nick could almost sense the tremors going through the man's body.
"you lied to us Tobes" Nick stated, wearing his best fake smile and playing the recorded conversation between Toby and Greg's mother. After the recording stopped, Nick gave Toby a stare that had him visibly trembling right where he sat.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't charge you with obstruction of justice and accessory to murder"
The drug addict cracked and started sobbing. He didn't know what to say for himself. He never imagined that he'd be in a situation like this in his entire life, not even in his wildest dreams.
"I panicked man! When you told me a woman got killed I was already in hot water for making that room reservation. I figured if you knew I called her that you'd pin this whole thing on me! I didn't think anything of it at that time, I just wanted the cash" Toby took a moment to swallow his saliva, his throat suddenly felt very dry.
"For all I know, it could've been a surprise proposal or some romantic scheme. It never occurred to me that I led someone to their death. I swear I wouldn't have been a part of it if I had the slightest clue that this was a set up murder" Toby sniffed.
Nick cursed and realized that Sara was probably right. What was he hoping to find?
"Get out of my sight". Nick aggressively addressed Toby, who wasted no time and scurried out from the room. Sara, who was watching from behind the observation glass, came inside to check on her colleague.
"You ok?" she asked with concern. Nick had both his arms resting on the table, his eyes closed as he was trying to calm himself down.
"It took everything in me to let him go" He confessed to Sara.
"I know. You're just looking for someone to blame and release your anger and frustration on. Think of it this way: if it wasn't Toby, would've been someone else. It could've happened to anybody.
I don't envy him. He's gonna have to live with the fact that he un-intentionally helped murder a person for the rest of his life. I think that's punishment enough". She said, resting her hand on his shoulder in a display of support.
"Yeah.." The Texan agreed. At this moment Sara felt it was an appropriate time to apologize for her previous behavior.
"And Nick?.. Uh, about what happened earlier. Well, I.. I just wanna say I'm sorry" she fidgeted, tugging at her shirt. Nick gave her a sad smile.
"It's ok tree hugger. Just, don't do it again"
"Not planning on it short fuse" She lightly joked, smiling in return. Satisfied that peace has been restored between them, she went back to business.
"So, I'm about to call James now. As Brass mentioned before, it really is suspicious that he hasn't turned up yet". The name James left a bitter taste on everybody's mouth. Sara wasn't at all excited about speaking to him. As if Nick was able to sense her discomfort, he said he'd do it. After fetching a phone and retrieving James' number, Nick dialed and waited for the loathed man to pick up. Which he did after a couple of rings.
"James speaking" Both Nick and Sara could hear him as he was currently put on speaker.
"James you this is a call from LVPD's crime lab and I am C.S.I Nick stokes"
"And? What is this about?" The man rudely interrupted.
"You are currently one of our suspects in an on-going murder investigation" Nick informed him with a tone laced with accusation.
"Whoa Whoa whoa, what the fuck are you talking about?"
Nick shared a look with Sara, trying to make sense of his reaction.
"You heard me. I think it's rather alarming that you just didn't happen to be at the hotel considering that your wife was murdered and she was expecting you"
"Nick!" Sara whispered. Her colleague was giving their suspect a key to manipulate his emotions and he wasn't even realizing it.
"My wife? Murdered?" The man asked, seemingly shocked.
"Save the bullshit to yourself James. We both know you don't give a damn about her. Now where were you between 5:40 to 8:30 this evening?"
"I..I was asleep! I missed my flight.. Oh my god, it's all my fault. If only I wasn't so stupid she'd.. God she'd still be here" Nick then was met with an earful of a crying and grieving man. It made him want to retch, because he knew it wasn't real.
"H-how, how's Greg doing? This must be so hard for him. First losing his father and now his mother.. I bet he's devastated." The man's question was almost taunting. Nick was enraged, and Sara knew this bastard was toying with them.
"Listen to me you sick son of a bitch. If I ever hear you mention Greg's name on your tongue again or if you ever come near by him, I will end you. You hear me? I'LL FUCKING END YOU!" Nick yelled into the phone. How dare he? The nerve of this sadistic scum.
"Are you threatening me?" the man challenged.
"Oh it's not a threat asshole. It's a promise"
"Nick!" Sara signaled for him to stop. It was a mistake letting Nick handle this.
"We'll see about that Mr. Stokes. Now if you're done insulting me, I have a funeral to plan". After that Nick was met with a disconnected line.
"That didn't sound good Nick. I could tell that a funeral is not the only thing he's planning. And are you crazy? He could sue our department because of this!" Sara lectured.
"I'd like to see him try" Nick responded un-phased.
"I don't trust him. Check his alibi. Call all airline companies and see if he checked out at any location. Find out if he recently rented a car or fetched a ride elsewhere too. Unfortunately we can't send the police to his place because we don't have a warrant. This is all we can do at the moment"
Sara doubted this would give them any results, but she tried none the less. As she expected, there weren't any checkpoints that confirmed James had recently boarded a plane. It was also impossible that he'd make it on time of the murder since it was a six hours drive from California to Las Vegas.
"No. NO! My gut is telling me that he's lying!" Nick insisted, ignoring what the evidence was trying to say.
"How are you gonna prove that Nick? Nothing is pointing towards him!" Sara persuaded. Her southern buddy suddenly let himself go limp in his chair, devastated and frustrated.
"What do we do now Sara?" He asked in a defeated manner.
"I don't know Nick" Her equally defeated spirit replied back.
(A/N): I hope this chapter was captivating for you guys. Sorry I have pretty heavy dialogues, I'm just not good with descriptions and surroundings. Note that I'm not qualified to write crime stories, I did the best I could with making the sequence of events realistic and plausible. I also apologize again for the delay. Ya'll are writers, you know what it's like when you suddenly get excited and then you suddenly lose your muse. Enough of my rambling now :p please leave a review, I worked so hard on this chapter! Love ya xoxoxoxo