Grissom shot a look at his mother. "You needed to hear that, Gil, from
her," his mother signed, "I wouldn't have asked you to come here if I
didn't feel it to be critical. I'm finished being the go-between for the
two of you. You need to face your own pain and help your daughter know that
you care for her."
Grissom sat in silence, far away. He felt one of his migraine's coming on, "Damn, meds are back in Vegas," he remembered. He was replaying her visual expression, her deliberate wording, her emotion. In a moment, he had mentally relived every image she had just conveyed.
Fran got up and headed towards the restroom to see about Maura. Not long after, the waitress returned perfectly balancing the three plates on her left arm. "Vegetable plate?" she said, blankly. " Uh, Miss, I'm terribly sorry for the trouble but could we have these wrapped up? We're going to need to leave right away." "Whatever," she muttered, visibly irritated.
Grissom was still in a funk when his phone went off. It rang and rang until someone came up to him and said, "Hey, aren't you going to answer that?"
"Grissom," said the stupefied investigator.
"Grissom? Is that you?" asked a familiar voice but one he couldn't
quite place. "Grissom. It's me, Marsha. Marsha Kessler. Where are
you?"
"I'm at the Blue Plate Restaurant, you know the one with the plates on
the wall and the contrived southern accents," he replied.
"I know it well. Best fried catfish in the state. Anyway, I'm
calling because of your daughter. She came in this morning for a
statement about the deaf principal case. We've been to the decedent's
house and found something we'd like to ask her about," stated the
Crime Lab supervisor.
"Wha.? Why'd you call me? The detective on the case said he would keep
up with Maura. How'd you get my cell number anyway?"
"Detective Arellano had remembered that I knew you when he was
reporting the case to me and was hoping you could help being that the
suspect is deaf. We would appreciate your expertise to help us figure
out just what happened"
"Suspect? They hadn't said anything about that. Maura was just
giving all the information she had about the situation at the time. It
was preliminary investigation material. Now you're labeling her a
suspect? Besides, don't you think I'd contaminate the evidence being
that your 'suspect' is my only daughter?"
"Grissom, you know as well as I do that we don't rule anyone out until
the evidence has cleared them. Do you think you can get her back here
as soon as possible?"
"Truthfully, Marsha, I think you're going to need to reach her
yourself. Just use the California Relay Service for Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Persons. The number should be in the yellow pages. I don't
think I can help you in this department. At least not right now."
"Oh? Well, at least you know what's going on. Maybe you can at least
let her know that we want to speak with her again. And by the way, I
called the Las Vegas Lab to find out how I could reach you. I spoke
to some gal named Catherine Williams? or was it Willows? She didn't
seem to eager to give your cellular, but when I told her who I was,
she acquiesced. She's a fireball in interrogations, I bet," said the
forensic investigator. "More than you know," thought Grissom.
"Catherine!" thought Grissom, "I was supposed to call her after the identification." Grissom picked up his cell phone and started dialing but then hung up when he saw his mother and daughter walking toward him.
"I think we better go," signed Grissom's mother. "I'll take care of the check. The waitress should be bringing our plates in to-go boxes." He looked at Maura's tear stained face, almost wanting to cry himself. It was as if he were looking right at Corinne after they had had an argument, one that she had won, but one about which he was still being stubborn.
The waitress returned and gave the check and three boxes to Grissom. He excused himself to pay the cashier and get change for a tip for the less- than-friendly service they had received. Grissom walked behind his mother and daughter out of the restaurant.
Outside, they stopped in front of the cars. Grissom waved to get Maura's attention. "I know I haven't done right by you. I deserved for you to say those things to me. I don't expect you to all the sudden forget about the past, I certainly haven't. Everyday, the pain is with me. Everyday I have to work all the harder for every victim's family so that they don't have to live through the hell I have lived in. Not knowing or having any idea whom it was that might have taken away the person whom I loved most in the world. Everyday, I wished it had been me. Everyday, I have hoped for some break in the case that would lead me straight to the one who took her away, who took the son I never knew."
Maura broke in, "I was still alive. I lost my mama, too. Life doesn't happen in a vacuum. You were not alone in your hurt. It was like double hit for me, first, mama is taken from me. Then my dad ran away from me. She'd taught me everything. She gave me literacy and communication. As a 4 year old, she was my life and before I turned five, she was gone and I didn't have the language to understand "dead." All I could figure out was I didn't know where my mom was and that my dad had 'disappeared,' too. "
"You have to know that though I couldn't show it you, I did love you, " he responded. "In some ways, you represented to me all the painful memories because of how much you looked like her and smiled like her, and acted like her. That wasn't fair, I know. I need to work on that. Now that I am here, can we at least make a new start? I'm willing to go as slow as you want, but I would like very much to know you."
"You want to know me because I'm like my mother, but she is gone. You can't get past that. I don't think you will ever know me as long as you see me as the means to an end, namely of being close to mom, true enough. If that's what you are here for, I don't want to talk to you anymore."
Maura turned towards her car as if she would leave. Grissom touched her on the arm, pleading, "Please, don't shut me out. Please. Please hear me, I do love you, Maura Grissom. I loved you the minute I saw you. To me you were perfect. I just lost my way and would like to find it again. Can't we start there? I don't expect it to be sudden thing, but I would like us come to a common ground."
The young woman was silent for a long time. She didn't know how to answer. Part of her wanted to run to him and the other part wanted to tell him to go to hell. Finally, she spoke, "I need to be alone." Fran was pretty good at lip reading herself so she wasn't out of the loop. Maura got into her car and drove away. Grissom turned to his mother and signed, "You-finish- plan we-discuss here today QQ." Fran said nothing, but her son had gotten the message loud and clear. The pair got into the car and headed for the nearest Motel, they were going to be in Fremont a little while longer.
Grissom sat in silence, far away. He felt one of his migraine's coming on, "Damn, meds are back in Vegas," he remembered. He was replaying her visual expression, her deliberate wording, her emotion. In a moment, he had mentally relived every image she had just conveyed.
Fran got up and headed towards the restroom to see about Maura. Not long after, the waitress returned perfectly balancing the three plates on her left arm. "Vegetable plate?" she said, blankly. " Uh, Miss, I'm terribly sorry for the trouble but could we have these wrapped up? We're going to need to leave right away." "Whatever," she muttered, visibly irritated.
Grissom was still in a funk when his phone went off. It rang and rang until someone came up to him and said, "Hey, aren't you going to answer that?"
"Grissom," said the stupefied investigator.
"Grissom? Is that you?" asked a familiar voice but one he couldn't
quite place. "Grissom. It's me, Marsha. Marsha Kessler. Where are
you?"
"I'm at the Blue Plate Restaurant, you know the one with the plates on
the wall and the contrived southern accents," he replied.
"I know it well. Best fried catfish in the state. Anyway, I'm
calling because of your daughter. She came in this morning for a
statement about the deaf principal case. We've been to the decedent's
house and found something we'd like to ask her about," stated the
Crime Lab supervisor.
"Wha.? Why'd you call me? The detective on the case said he would keep
up with Maura. How'd you get my cell number anyway?"
"Detective Arellano had remembered that I knew you when he was
reporting the case to me and was hoping you could help being that the
suspect is deaf. We would appreciate your expertise to help us figure
out just what happened"
"Suspect? They hadn't said anything about that. Maura was just
giving all the information she had about the situation at the time. It
was preliminary investigation material. Now you're labeling her a
suspect? Besides, don't you think I'd contaminate the evidence being
that your 'suspect' is my only daughter?"
"Grissom, you know as well as I do that we don't rule anyone out until
the evidence has cleared them. Do you think you can get her back here
as soon as possible?"
"Truthfully, Marsha, I think you're going to need to reach her
yourself. Just use the California Relay Service for Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Persons. The number should be in the yellow pages. I don't
think I can help you in this department. At least not right now."
"Oh? Well, at least you know what's going on. Maybe you can at least
let her know that we want to speak with her again. And by the way, I
called the Las Vegas Lab to find out how I could reach you. I spoke
to some gal named Catherine Williams? or was it Willows? She didn't
seem to eager to give your cellular, but when I told her who I was,
she acquiesced. She's a fireball in interrogations, I bet," said the
forensic investigator. "More than you know," thought Grissom.
"Catherine!" thought Grissom, "I was supposed to call her after the identification." Grissom picked up his cell phone and started dialing but then hung up when he saw his mother and daughter walking toward him.
"I think we better go," signed Grissom's mother. "I'll take care of the check. The waitress should be bringing our plates in to-go boxes." He looked at Maura's tear stained face, almost wanting to cry himself. It was as if he were looking right at Corinne after they had had an argument, one that she had won, but one about which he was still being stubborn.
The waitress returned and gave the check and three boxes to Grissom. He excused himself to pay the cashier and get change for a tip for the less- than-friendly service they had received. Grissom walked behind his mother and daughter out of the restaurant.
Outside, they stopped in front of the cars. Grissom waved to get Maura's attention. "I know I haven't done right by you. I deserved for you to say those things to me. I don't expect you to all the sudden forget about the past, I certainly haven't. Everyday, the pain is with me. Everyday I have to work all the harder for every victim's family so that they don't have to live through the hell I have lived in. Not knowing or having any idea whom it was that might have taken away the person whom I loved most in the world. Everyday, I wished it had been me. Everyday, I have hoped for some break in the case that would lead me straight to the one who took her away, who took the son I never knew."
Maura broke in, "I was still alive. I lost my mama, too. Life doesn't happen in a vacuum. You were not alone in your hurt. It was like double hit for me, first, mama is taken from me. Then my dad ran away from me. She'd taught me everything. She gave me literacy and communication. As a 4 year old, she was my life and before I turned five, she was gone and I didn't have the language to understand "dead." All I could figure out was I didn't know where my mom was and that my dad had 'disappeared,' too. "
"You have to know that though I couldn't show it you, I did love you, " he responded. "In some ways, you represented to me all the painful memories because of how much you looked like her and smiled like her, and acted like her. That wasn't fair, I know. I need to work on that. Now that I am here, can we at least make a new start? I'm willing to go as slow as you want, but I would like very much to know you."
"You want to know me because I'm like my mother, but she is gone. You can't get past that. I don't think you will ever know me as long as you see me as the means to an end, namely of being close to mom, true enough. If that's what you are here for, I don't want to talk to you anymore."
Maura turned towards her car as if she would leave. Grissom touched her on the arm, pleading, "Please, don't shut me out. Please. Please hear me, I do love you, Maura Grissom. I loved you the minute I saw you. To me you were perfect. I just lost my way and would like to find it again. Can't we start there? I don't expect it to be sudden thing, but I would like us come to a common ground."
The young woman was silent for a long time. She didn't know how to answer. Part of her wanted to run to him and the other part wanted to tell him to go to hell. Finally, she spoke, "I need to be alone." Fran was pretty good at lip reading herself so she wasn't out of the loop. Maura got into her car and drove away. Grissom turned to his mother and signed, "You-finish- plan we-discuss here today QQ." Fran said nothing, but her son had gotten the message loud and clear. The pair got into the car and headed for the nearest Motel, they were going to be in Fremont a little while longer.