Pictures, Pleas and Pieces
Pictures, Pleas and Pieces
Grissom had Greg and Frankie come back inside and sit down in his office and Greg could tell by the tone in his voice that whatever he was about to tell them was not any good. Please don't let it be a body, anything but that, thought Greg.
"We believe whoever kidnapped Katie may have made contact with us. They asked for a ransom."
"So she's alive, oh thank god," said Frankie. "Well what do want?"
"They want ten million dollars in the three days." Greg found himself beyond words and Frankie's jaw dropped.
"Ten million dollars…Griss, even if Jenna were to sell all the bakeries she had here in Vegas, we sold the house, cleaned out our retirement fund and both our checking and saving accounts that we could maybe get a couple million, but not ten million and not in three days!" said Greg.
"What about what she has in New York with Jonathan?" asked Frankie. Greg shook his head.
"They agreed that anything dealing with New York Jonathan would have final say, Jenna has final say on what happens here in Vegas. She could sell out here without Jonathan's approval, but not New York and than again, not in three days and I still don't think we could get that much for it considering the market right now! No one would pay them what it's really worth!"
"I'll talk to my mother, she could sell her house and I think she still has some money set aside from when my dad died. I'll talk to Karen; we have a couple grand saved for the kids to go to school and we could take a loan out on the house…I just want my niece back in one piece."
"How do we know they'll give her back Grissom? That nut job who kidnapped Nick blew himself after getting the money. He killed himself and he didn't give Nick back or tell us where to find him." Frankie looked at Greg in shock.
"If you have a better idea than I'm all ears!"
"I'm just saying that we should think before we blindly hand than ten million dollars and they don't give us Katie back," snapped Greg. Frankie turned around and glared at him.
"Yeah and while you think about giving them what they want and something happens to Katie and we do nothings it's your fault!" Frankie stood up and stormed out of the office. Grissom looked at Greg who looked defeated.
"Why would they even assume that you and Jenna have that sort of money?" asked Grissom.
"I don't know. She told me that if the higher ups liked what they saw at the opening party at the Eclipse she would have a ten year contract with them for about a million a year. But all of that goes right into the business and it's over the next ten years not a lump sum. I don't know it doesn't make sense…can I go back to the hospital, Jenna was still out of it when we left and she could be awake now."
Grissom nodded and Greg got up and left the office. Grissom got out of his chair and headed over to the AV lab. Right now Grissom wanted to listen to the conversation Archie had managed to tape between Catherine and whoever had Katie. Ten million dollars…why would they even think that they have that kind of money. Jenna does own her own business that is starting to become very popular, but not that popular and Greg is a county employee and we are not paid what people think we're paid.
"Hey Grissom, I have the tape ready," said Archie and he brought the file up for his boss to listen. Grissom took it in piece by piece and started to think, first off they were taunting them. Asking them if they wanted her back and telling them that she was a cute when she was sleeping, putting the blame on them should anything happen to Katie.
Next and this worried Grissom a great deal was how Katie sounded. She either had been sleeping, drugged or both. She was a very energetic baby and with all of Vegas looking for her who ever took her wouldn't want to draw attention to themselves with a baby. Whoever took her would have to keep her subdued. God depending on what she's being knocked out with and how much they given her, she could be dead by the time we get to her. Grissom frowned and asked Archie to cue back to where Catherine had asked for proof of Katie still alive.
"Can you cancel out some of the back ground noise?" asked Grissom. Archie nodded and a few key strokes later the background noise was gone and Grissom heard a new voice, it was subtle but it was there.
"Wake her up!"
"They're two of them?" asked Archie shocked.
"Not surprising, one who planned and one who did the actually work. Wendy is still working the DNA from the hotel room, but I bet we'll only find one other person in that room. He's the one who attacked Jenna and took Katie." Archie glared at the computer.
"I wish I could have got a trace on them, than you would have something more to work with."
"Not your fault Archie. I need you to look into Jenna's financial situation, any loans she took out; paid off, money into her business, any thing that had to do with her and money I want in my hands. I'm going to see if DNA has anything yet." Archie nodded and went to work. Grissom walked over to Wendy's lab and saw her fighting with Hodges.
"They have a right to know!" he hissed at her.
"I'm still double checking the results…I mean they can't be right. This isn't something you just throw at people out of nowhere. Stop being such an ass!" snapped Wendy
"If you don't tell them by end of day I will!" said Hodges.
"Tell who what?" asked Grissom. Both techs turned around and both were flustered.
"Well that's my cue to go," Hodges walked out the lab and it looked like Wendy wanted to throw a test tube at him.
"Wendy what are you going to me?" asked Grissom.
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Greg and Frankie walked out of the lab and waited for Nick who was getting his car to take them back to the hospital. Nick was going to stay with them at there so when Jenna woke up he could question her. Greg sat down on a bench and Frankie sighed.
"I just want Katie back," said Frankie.
"I do too, but I…I just want to be sure that we'll get her back. Trust me I'm seriously thinking about bank robbing right now," said Greg. A man sat down on the bench next to him and looked at Greg.
"Excuse me Mr. Sanders?"
"What?"
"I know this is a really bad time, my name is David Waldon, and I'm with the Vegas Globe. I was hoping to speak to you Mr. Sanders about the kidnapping of your daughter. We wanted to know a little more about her and her mother that way we could make the story more personal and hopeful get some more leads, help bring your daughter home." Greg couldn't believe the nerve of this bastard to come up at the lab and ask him about Katie and Jenna so he could make his story more personal for the readers.
"You want to make the story more personal!" He pulled out his wallet and started to tear through it until he found the photo he wanted and he shoved it in the reporter's face. "There how's that for personal. This was taken last Christmas; her mother wanted her to meet Santa since it was her first Christmas." Greg wanted to punch the bastard and tell him about how excited Jenna had been for that Christmas with their daughter and her future in laws. You want personal I'll give you personal you low life.
December 2007
Greg got off shift by ten in the morning and headed by the daycare to pick Katie up. He was happy to be going home on time for a change and since he wasn't that tired yet he decided to pick her up early and bring her home with him. Since Warrick just got off being suspended the last few small cases had gone to him. Greg felt a little bad dumping the paperwork on him, but Warrick insisted that he go.
"Your baby girl is having her first Christmas in a few days, go spend time with her." Greg didn't need telling twice. If would be nice to have a bit of normal after dealing with people who were stealing bull sperm. He parked his car and went inside the little daycare center. He signed in and went into the room that had the babies six months to a year old. The teacher Miss. Tosh greeted him.
"Hello Mr. Sanders. I guess you're here to pick up Katie. She's going to be crushed." He looked over to where Katie was playing with some other little girl, they were playing in the indoor sandbox and between the two of them had some sort of pile of sand going on.
"I'll just bribe her with a cookie like normal." He walked over to the sand box and got down on his knees behind her.
"Katie-monster!" She turned and looked at him shocked.
"Ah!" she told him and she started doing her famous 'pick me up' dance. He picked her up and put her on his hip.
"Oh hi baby. You wanna go home and play with me." She gave him a huge grin and motioned to the sandbox. He took the shovel out of her hand and put it back in the sand box. "Not today sweetie, lets' go home and play with kitty instead." She gave him a look and waved back at the sandbox.
"Next time sunshine, I promise." She made a face and started to babble at the girl in the sandbox and the girl let out a little shriek.
"Come on, say bye-bye." Katie made a little fist and she opened and closed it a few times. "Close enough." She sighed and Greg took her out of the room and got her into the car.
"I know I'm a mean daddy." They drove home and Katie sat in her car seat chattering at herself and playing with a toy Greg handed her. Greg turned on the radio and was greeted by a radio announcer telling him that Christmas was only a few days away.
"Hey Katie monster guess who's coming to see you in a few days? Your Nana and Papa Sanders are coming and so are Papa and Nana Olaf and they are going to be so happy to see you." Katie gave him a smile from her car seat and she started banging her toy on the seat. "Yeah I'm excited too." He parked in the drive way and took her out of the car and into the house. He was surprised to see Jenna was already home and that she had a real Christmas tree up and was untangling the lights.
"Oh your home early!" she cried.
"Actually I got off on time," he sat Katie down and she started crawling towards the big green object in the living room. Jenna picked her up and sat her in her lap before she could get to the tree. "I see you started without me."
"I wanted it to be a surprise, since this is the Katie-monster's first Christmas I felt the need to go all out! Real tree and everything. Besides this is the first Christmas I really get to spend with your family. Remember I was sick last year and we didn't do anything. I want her first Christmas to be really good."
Greg laid down on the floor and took Katie from Jenna and started to play the game where he would put her on his chest and than lifting her up in the air.
"It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's SUPER BABY!!" Katie started to scream-laugh at him and Jenna grinned at them.
"So how energetic are you?" asked Jenna.
"Depends what you want?" asked Greg giving her a lazy grin.
"Get your mind out of the gutter she's awake. I wanna take her to Santa so we can get her picture taken with him."
"You wanna go to the mall and deal with crowds and the noise so she can have her picture taken with a fat man in a red suit?"
"Yeah!"
"It doesn't matter what I say we're going anyway," said Greg. Jenna took Katie back from him.
"And people say your daddy is slow."
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Greg eyed the crowd of parents and children in front of them and wondered what he could have said to talk Jenna out of coming to the mall.
"You know I could pay someone at the lab to dress up in a red suit and we could have gotten her picture taken with them."
"I wanna good picture Greg. Besides you haven't gotten your parents or grandparents anything yet and this could be one of their presents and someone needs to meet Santa," sang Jenna looking down a Katie in the stroller. Katie was swinging her little legs back and forth and she looked up at Greg and it clearly said to him. What have you gotten me into? Greg reached down and took her out of the stroller, she looked around at the other crying kids and her forehead wrinkled and she frowned at him.
"Oh don't worry it's only a little mad house. Mommy belongs here though because she's a little crazy."
"I'm not crazy…besides look how cute she is." Greg had to admit that Katie did look adorable. They had changed her from her play outfit to a dress with a long green skirt and a short sleeve white top with a green bow on the front. Jenna had put her hair in little bows. She had also taken off Katie's shoes and her feet were clad in little white tights.
"Oh she's always a little cutie." Katie looked up at him, recognizing the excited tone in his voice. She gave him a huge smile and started to babble at him.
"Dada dada!" She started to bounce up and down in his arms and he grinned back at her.
"Someone is a perky little bunny." She decided to play shy with him and she put her head on his chest and held on to his shirt. The line started to move forward and Jenna put Katie's shoes back on. A teenager dressed like an elf came over to them and asked what sort of photos they wanted. They asked for a package that had a couple of 8x10, a couple of 5x7 and two sheets of wallet sizes. The elf took Katie from them and handed her over to Santa.
"Ho ho ho and who is this pretty little angel?" asked the Santa. Jenna smiled and took Katie's little hand.
"This is Katie." The mall Santa tapped Katie on her nose and smiled at her.
"And has Katie been a good girl this year?"
"She's been a very good girl," said Greg. They stepped off to the side so that the elf could take the photo. Katie was looking up at the mall Santa with a hint of curiosity and she tugged on his jacket and babbled at him.
"Ah bah bah dada dada!"
"Little chatter box aren't you?" asked the mall Santa.
"Hey over here," called the elf waving a stuffed reindeer. Katie ignored her and went to tug on Santa's beard.
"Katie-monster over here!" called Jenna. Katie turned her head and looked over at her parents.
"Come on sunshine, smile," said Greg. They waved at her and she gave them an ear to ear smile and the girl running the camera took the picture. Jenna went up and took Katie back from Santa.
"She's very friendly and cute too," he told Jenna.
"Thank you." Katie looked up at her mother and waved her little arms up at her mother.
"Mama mama!"
"Oh you say mama so good," Jenna kissed the baby's forehead, Katie knew the excited tone in her mother's voice and she tugged on Jenna's hair and put her head down on her shoulder. Greg paid for the photos and they headed back to the car and drove home. Katie fell asleep on the car ride home and Jenna got her undressed and put her down in her crib in just a tee shirt and a diaper. Greg opened the photos in the living room and Jenna grinned at him.
"See I told you it would be worth it." Katie looked adorable, her little green and white dress offset nicely against the red of the Santa suit and she had the world's biggest grin on her face. She wrapped her arms around Greg and put her head on his.
"We can send one to Sara if you want." Greg nodded, he and Sara had been writing back and forth for awhile and she had asked him in her last letter if he had any new pictures of Katie.
"I think she would like that," said Greg looking up at her. Jenna kissed him on the top of the head and went into the kitchen to make some lunch when Greg wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the back of her neck.
"She's sleeping." She turned around to face him.
"Don't you want to work on your book than?" Greg made a face at her and gave her a kiss.
"I have tonight off to do that." Jenna gave him a sly grin back.
"You always knew how to sweet talk a girl Sanders."
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"Oh she looks so cute," said Kari unwrapping her present that had the photo of Katie with Santa.
"She looks like her mommy," said Noah.
"Expect she a white girl," said Jenna holding Katie on her lap. It was Christmas morning and his parents and grandparents were sitting around the living room opening their gifts. They had fun watching Katie trying to unwrap her presents, she seemed horribly confused by the fact that she had been told no every other time she went for the boxes on the floor and now they were telling her to go at them. Jenna sat Katie on her lap and her and Greg helped Katie open her presents.
"She made out pretty well for her first Christmas." His parents had gotten her a walker that had attached toys and played music, Papa and Nana Olaf got her a Sleeping Beauty tea set. Jenna and Greg had gotten Katie a new thing of blankets and sheets for her crib and some clothes. The girls who worked with Jenna all chipped in and gave her a gift card to Targets and Ofilia and Jonathan had gotten her some new pajamas.
Greg was surprised that when he left the lab last night he got ambushed by several lab rats and team members on his way out. Hodges was the first one to stop him and handed him a box wrapped in pink.
"My mother did it I don't know why, I told I would wrap it myself," snapped the Trace tech. Greg shook it and Hodges glared at him. "Don't shake the box!"
"Why is it a bomb?" asked Greg.
"If you must know it's a Mickey Mouse talking thing…I saw it and thought. This is loud and makes noise and it will drive Sanders up the wall! Merry Christmas."
"Why Hodges one would get the impression that you like me."
"I have a certain amount of pity for your offspring and her mother, I don't like you. Now go before I unwrap it and put in the Toys for Tots bin." Hodges turned back to his scope and Greg left the Trace lab and he went to see if Archie would let him keep the box in AV until he left when he got there he saw Mandy and Archie chatting.
"Oh for me, you shouldn't have," said Mandy taking in the box.
"Hahaha…it's from Hodges to Katie."
"Sure it's not bomb," said Archie.
"He did tell me not to shake it; can I leave it here until I get off shift?" Mandy handed him a green envelope and shrugged.
"You can add it to the pile. It's from me, Archie, Henry, Wendy and our morgue monkeys. Babies R Us must love you guys," said Mandy.
"Gee guys I didn't think you guys would be getting Katie Christmas presents." Archie shrugged.
"She's our little lab rat mascot we have to spoil her rotten and than let you and Jenna deal with what we've created," said Mandy.
"Thanks, I'm gonna leave this here," Greg sat the box down and left. Later on that night, Nick gave him a card for him and Jenna with a gift card for dinner at Ruth Chris and little bag of teething rings for Katie. Catherine and Warrick went in on a gift together and they got Katie a very large stuffed Hello Kitty, and the final shock of Greg's night came when he was walking out and put the stuff in the trunk when Grissom came up to him in the parking lot.
"Oh good I didn't miss you, I wanted to give you Katie's Christmas present."
"You didn't need to get her anything," was becoming Greg's refrain of the night. Grissom frowned at him.
"I'm her god father so yes I did." Grissom went across the parking lot and pulled the box of the car. "I'm sorry I didn't wrap it…Sara…she used to wrap stuff." Greg took the box from him and laughed.
"Jenna's gonna get a kick out of this." It was a bouncing horse, but it was shaped like a bee instead.
"I hope Katie likes it. You have a good Christmas Greg." He started to head to his car and Greg called out to him.
"Hey Grissom, if your not doing anything for dinner, you can come over. I'm sure that Jenna wouldn't even mind if you brought Hank." The older CSI looked at him and gave him a small smile.
"I'll think about it."
Jenna was finishing cleaning up the mess from unwrapping presents when the door bell rang. She tossed Greg the trash bag and answered the door and smiled. Grissom had Hank on a leash and he was holding a bag of brown and serve rolls.
"I figure it was rude to come to dinner without bring something to share."
"Nah, come in." Gabriel eyed the Boxer and took up a position close to Katie when they came in. Katie let out a huge shriek and lighting crawled over to Grissom and the dog. Hank flopped down on his belly and licked the baby. Grissom picked Katie up and looked down at Hank.
"We don't lick other people's babies."
"Could be worse," said Greg. "He could have tried to sneak her a demo of a board game he's working on for ages eight and younger."
"Hodges?" asked Grissom.
"He should have just given me a bomb."
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Nick was pulling him away the reporter that he had cornered on the bench and Greg couldn't stop yelling at him.
"You want personal asshole, my baby is missing and I have no clue where she is, or if she's ok. I know she's probably scared out of her mind right now and I can't do a damn thing about it!"
"Easy Greg, come on now. He's not worth you getting fired over. I suggest you leave now, this is government property and you're harassing a victim's family." The reporter took the hint and ran to his car and Frankie watched him go and he debated following him and kicking his ass, after all they couldn't fire him. Greg turned and glared at Nick.
"Why did you…"
"Because it wouldn't help anything G. Come on, let's get back to the hospital." Greg got in the front seat and slammed the door. Frankie went to get in the back seat and he looked at Nick.
"It wouldn't have helped anything, but I bet it would have made him feel better." He slammed the door and Nick understood, he felt a whole lot better when he punched that little punk in the alley after Greg had been attacked, but when he thought back on it he realized that he had gone to their level and he wasn't about to let anyone else he knew sink that low.
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"I got upset while waiting for a comparison sample on the pajamas for Katie and decided to run them in our system because I knew that if they belonged to Katie she would match Greg and she did…but something else popped up, read them," said Wendy. Grissom looked through the results and his jaw dropped.
"Could the evidence have been compromised?" asked Grissom.
"I thought that too, so I tested the blood on the pajamas and it belonged to Jenna and it also matches." Grissom shook his head and walked out of DNA and went to sit in his office just to be alone and to think. He hoped to have five minutes alone when his door opened and the person he needed to talk to came in and started badgering him for information about the case. This is not going to go well at all.
Tie in-Bull
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