Chapter 9:
Grissom:
Grissom returned to his hotel room feeling defeated. He knew Sara's departure had nothing to do with him, yet it felt like he'd been rejected. His mind couldn't convince his heart. To make matters worse, he hadn't arranged a time to see her later.
"Follow the evidence," he mumbled repeatedly to himself, "Follow the evidence…" His mind listed the clues, "Fixation on her eyes, her smile, quickening pulse and breathing when she's near, memorizing and replaying our conversations, dwelling on her expressions, on the electricity of her touches, inability to concentrate, limited appetite, dreams…."
"Well Jim," he thought, "You'd be proud of me – I've completely lost control of my emotions…"
He had followed the evidence and it had led him to one incontrovertible truth. He was falling in love. And in just three days he had to return to Las Vegas.
The hotel phone rang.
"Grissom."
He listened and then replied, "Yes, I'd be glad to help." He wrote down an address and then concluded, "I'll be there as soon as I can."
He wiped his eyes and walked to the bathroom to splash water on his face. Maybe this was what he needed a distraction from his…distraction.
Sidle:
Sara took a brief break from bug monitoring to check her work mailbox. In it she found a hand written note which read:
Sara,
We thought you should know what happened after you left class today. Dr. Grissom seemed to age right in front of our eyes. His shoulders dropped, his face turned ashen, he looked confused, and it felt like the life had been drained out of the room. He couldn't keep track of his thoughts. He stumbled along for a few minutes then left abruptly without a word of explanation to anyone. It was weird. Everyone was baffled. Mary and I resisted the temptation to tell them why your unexpected departure caused Dr. Grissom to fall apart…
Your friend, Leanne
"Oh Sara, there you are," said Dr. Collins interrupting her reading, "I've called in another investigator to help with our Jane Doe. He should be here any minute. Would you mind meeting us in the morgue? I think you should be the one to brief him on our findings so far."
Sara sensed the unspoken compliment, "I'd be glad too." She glanced at the note again and smiled.
"Well Gil, I miss you too," she thought to herself. She folded the note, placed it in her pocket, and returned to the exam room in the morgue.
Dr. Collins stopped at the reception desk to wait for his guest.
Sara found waiting for bugs to develop almost as interesting as watching grass grow or dust accumulate. She was leaning against the table, almost dozing, daydreaming about being in Gil's arms again, when she heard the door open behind her.
"My assistant is the one who discovered the bug evidence. She has been monitoring it and recording any changes while we waited for you to arrive. I would prefer for her to brief you on the case," explained Dr. Collins as they walked through the door.
Sara turned to greet them and saw two vivid blue eyes looking in her direction.
"Sara?" Grissom said, surprised.
"Gil?"
"What are you doing here?" they asked simultaneously.
Sara's mind made the quick leap of understanding; he was the bug specialist after all.
"You two know each other?" asked Dr. Collins, then realizing, "Oh, of course, the seminar. It's been a long day; I forgot that you would have met there. Well, good. Then working together shouldn't be a problem."
There was a knock on the door and a man in a blue surgical gown motioned Dr. Collins over. Replaying the recent greeting, Dr. Collins recalled that Sara had addressed Grissom by his first name – with a great deal of emotion. He would have to keep an eye on her. While he talked to his colleague about another case, he turned so that he could observe their interactions.
Grissom walked to Sara's side and placed his hand on her waist. Sara turned to face him, allowing his hand to caress her back as she moved. She placed her hand on his upper arm.
"You never mentioned that you were working here," Grissom began, "Is this why you had to leave early today?
Sara nodded, "Yes, they called me in to handle this case."
"Now I see why you're at the conference."
"Why?" she asked, curious to hear his thoughts.
"You're not satisfied with autopsies. You want to do more to solve the crimes. You want to understand how the criminal mind works so that you can outwit them and put them in prison. Am I close?"
Sara smiled, "Very. How did you put that together?"
Grissom returned her smile, "Easy. I started out as a coroner as well. I was fascinated by figuring out how people had died. But eventually I realized it was not enough. That's when I became a forensic entomologist and an investigator."
Dr. Collins, still standing by the door, observed their body language. They were standing well within the other's personal space, touching. They were not just talking, they were staring directly into each other's eyes – and there was no mistaking that look. He may have a problem after all.
He cleared his throat, causing them to turn to face him. He noted that they did not separate and were still standing side by side. He considered Sara's earlier comment about being up late the night before and decided to set a bit of a trap.
"Dr. Grissom, it seems that you've been keeping my assistant up all night, um, talking." Dr. Collins speculated.
Grissom, confused, looked quickly at Sara for confirmation. Had she told about their relatively innocent encounter the night before? It didn't seem likely, yet how else would her supervisor know? She shrugged, shaking her head, no, indicating he needed to answer carefully. "We did run into each other at Shannon's Bar and Grill. We talked for awhile, I don't recall the exact hour when we left," he offered.
Dr. Collins observed the quick non-verbal exchange; perhaps he should be happy for them.
"No matter," said Dr. Collins, "I trust that there is nothing that will interfere with this case?"
Both Grissom and Sara shook their heads, "No."
"Good, then let's get to work. Sara, please tell us about your discovery."
