Nicco found herself again in the breakroom the police station. This time she was staring into a mug of coffee, mindlessly stirring it with a wooden stick. She felt kind of self-conscious because she was wearing almost the exact same outfit that she wore the last time she was here. Only today she was wearing a pair of tennis shoes instead of her cowboy boots and she had completely forgone putting on any makeup. Her emotions had been so out of whack lately that she didn't see the point in wasting time fixing her face up just to have it ruined once she got here. Plus, everyone who worked at the station had seen her bruises enough times that most of them seemed not to react to them anymore.
While she was looking though her duffle bag, she couldn't help but to feel slightly dejected. Sure she had brought more clothes with her than most people would need for a three day trip, but most of them were far from being 'professional' or 'business casual'. Instead they were club wear or something more akin to work-out clothes, included a couple of very revealing bikinis. She hadn't expected to really need anything else because she was quite fine with hitting a buffet or going to a restaurant in her sweats, so she had only packed one polo shirt and a single pair of jeans to take with her. Hopefully, today would be the last day that she would have to worry about that.
"Nicco?"
She turned at the sound of Nick's voice and jumped to her feet. Before he could utter another syllable, she moved towards him hurriedly saying, "Hey Nicky. I know I promised not to leave home, but then Greg got a call from… from… Shit… What's his name in trace about some uniforms picking up Rayburn, so he wanted to come in to be a part of the interrogation so that he could find out more about him stalking me. I tried calling you to let you know about the change in plans, but you didn't answer your pone. I left you a voicemail and I tried texting you but we couldn't wait for your reply, so…"
"Nicco, Nicco," Nick replied as he gently pulled her into a hug. "Hey, take a breath, Baby Girl. I got your messages… all six of them. I was just checking in to see how you're doing."
"Oh, me?" She tried to shrug and feign nonchalance. "I'm fine. How's everything going with you?"
Nick squeezed her into his chest then quietly reprimanded her saying, "Nicco, come on now. I know that isn't the truth. You usually reserve run-on sentences for special occasions."
She let him lead her back to the table, but she was reluctant to let go of him to take a seat. He noticed how she was clinging to him and somehow managed to get them both onto a chair without forcing their bodies too far apart. Once she was seated, Nicco cuddled in close to his side, content just to be held by him. Since no one knew about what had transpired between the two of them, she wasn't worried that anyone would misinterpret what they were seeing since he had already established the precedence of giving her comforting hugs in the lab.
After she had settled in against Nick's side, Nicco quietly said, "The honest truth is that I'm kind of freaking out and that's bugging me."
"Why would that bug you?"
She shrugged and for a split second Nick thought that that was going to be her only reply. Nicco then shrugged again before she nearly whispered, "He's here in this building. That's just weird to me. But the worst part is that I don't know how I feel. Like I don't know that I want to hear about why he's stalking me or how long he's been doing it. But in the next breath, now that he's here how can I not find out the truth? I just… I don't know… I'm just so conflicted, I don't even really know how I feel about any of the anymore."
"Hey, it's okay to be confused right now," Nick replied against her hair. "Nothing about anything you've been dealing with is normal, so don't beat yourself up for it taking some time to process it all."
"I know… and thank you, but it still doesn't change the fact that…"
"That not having a clear grasp of your feelings is bugging you," Nick interrupted as he pulled Nicco impossibly closer into his chest. "I know the feeling. You just take your time. Whatever you need from me, you just tell me and I'll do everything in my power to make it yours."
Nicco shifted slightly in his arms so that she could drape her legs over his lap. He moved his right arm to the small of her back and then down to her buttocks so that she was seated on his thighs much like she had done when she was younger. He wrapped both his arms around her torso as he silently marveled at how tiny she still felt in his arms. It was a familiar feeling to have her tucked in under his chin, but now it felt like she was meant to fit there; like they were two pieces of the same puzzle to make the whole picture.
Once she had her legs draped over his lap, she turned his head and pressed her nose against his neck. Being held in his arms always made her feel safe and protected. He felt the sigh she expelled against his flesh while she let a sense of relief wash over her. Of everything that could and would change in her life, she was glad that this was one thing that hadn't changed, the she still felt safest while being held in her Nicky's arms.
She rolled her head ever so slightly so that she could press a soft kiss against his throat. She knew her movements were so minute that no one would be able to tell what she had done. Sure she really wanted to lean up and press her lips to his, but she didn't want to draw attention to them. She knew that no one would think twice at seeing them cuddling together, but watching them make out in the middle of the break room? Well, that was a whole different story.
She placed another soft kiss against his flesh before she rested her cheek against his chest and whispered, "Can you just hold me, Nicky? Even if it's just for a little while?"
Nick pressed a kiss against her hairline answering, "Of course I can, Baby Girl."
**** Meanwhile in the interrogation room ****
Detective Cavaliere stared across the table at the brown haired, green eyed, clean cut, twenty-something year old male who was on the other side of the table. Although he had already looked through numerous snap shots and surveillance photos of him, the detective still couldn't believe that this man was a cold blooded murderer or a hot blooded one for that matter. No, he looked like a clean-cut college student who had a bright future waiting for him, not a scumbag who would more than likely be ending up on death row in the not so distant future.
Without actually opening the file folder that was laying on the table top, Cavaliere slipped two photos out of it to place them in front of his suspect. The younger male's eyes bugged out slightly, but he managed not to open his mouth. Instead, he raised his eyes to meet the detective's and waited until he was questioned.
Cavaliere was well versed in this game of cat and mouse, so he very confidently asked, "Why don't you tell me about those photos?"
In turned to his right and gave the middle aged man with grey hair cut so short that he almost looked bald a questioning look. The lawyer moved his wire-rimmed glasses further up his nose as he looked the pictures over. They didn't appear to be at all objectionable, so he nodded to let his client know that he was free to answer that question.
Ian let out a soft sigh and moved the photos closer to himself. As he replied, "These are from a much easier time in my life. Why do you want to know about them?'
Cavaliere ignored his suspect's question and instead focused on his previous statement asking, "You said these were from an easier time in your life, why don't you elaborate on that?"
After letting out another sigh, Ian slumped slightly in his spot. "Nothing much to say. It was easier because I didn't have to worry about anything. I was in a Frat, so girls and booze were always on hand. My parents were footing the bill so money wasn't an issue. I partied hard and had fun without a care in the world, so those were much easier times."
"But that isn't true anymore? What changed?"
"I flunked my classes. Like pretty much all of them/ By the time most of my Frat brothers were seniors, I was just barely scraping together enough credits not to be kicked out of school. This photo?" He held up the one of him wearing a cap and gown. "My buddy let me borrow his for a couple of shots so that I could send them to my grandmother. She always said that she wanted to see me graduate from college before she died, this was the closest thing that I could give her in the end."
"Alright, so you didn't graduate from Texas A&M, is that why you left Texas and moved to Las Vegas?"
"Partially," Ian answered with a self-deprecating scoff. "When I didn't graduate, my parents cut me off. That forced me to move back home because I couldn't afford to live on my own out of State."
"Okay. And once you moved home you…?"
Ian silently consulted his lawyer again. The older male just nodded because he wasn't concerned with this line of questioning at all.
"I got a job at Caesar's Palace and have been going to school part-time. Well, a little less than part-time but it's all that I can afford right now."
Cavaliere made a show of jotting down some notes in a handheld notebook. He made sure not to turn his eyes away from his notes when he asked, "And where are you currently enrolled?"
"At UNLV."
A corner of Cavaliere's lips quirked back as he finished writing in his book. After he had set it aside on the tabletop, he turned to make eye contact with his suspect. "No let's go back to your work. What is it that you do at Caesar's Palace?"
"I work in the kitchen mostly, but lately I've been trying to make the move into room service delivery."
"Oh really? So, why have you made the big career move?"
The sarcastic bite in the detective's tone caused his suspect to bristle in his place. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Ian's lawyer placed a firm hand on his forearm to silence him. He then leaned over and spoke very quietly into his client's ear. Detective Cavalier and CSI Sanders watched as the lawyer's words registered with their suspect and he visibly deflated in his seat.
After he was finished speaking to his client, the lawyer sat back and nodded towards the two men on the other side of the table. Ian nodded his understanding of that silent direction and then he took in a slow deep breath.
"I've been told that the tips you get delivering room service is second only to dealing in the casino. I suck at card games, so it's the next best option while I pay for school."
"Alright, so while we're on the topic of your work, why don't you tell us about how it was for you two nights ago?"
Once again Ian looked like he was deflating in his spot as he hung his head and nearly whispered his reply, "I'd really rather not talk about it."
"And why is that?"
The suspect tried to straighten up in his spot and to look the detective in the eye, but he couldn't quite pull it off. Greg could see the slight flinch in the other man's eye and he almost felt bad for him. Almost. But then the CSI reminded himself that the man across from him more than likely had been stalking Nicco and all of the feelings of compassion completely disappeared.
After a couple of silent minutes, Cavalier sat back and crossed his arms over his chest as he asked, "Well, Mr. Rayburn? What is it about your work the other night that has you being so quiet all of the sudden?" He then picked up a file folder and removed the three other photos he had used during his last interview with Nicco. Once they were all laid out on the table he asked, "Would these photos have anything to do with why your night really wasn't all that great?"
"What? No… well…" Ian picked up the photo of him standing outside of Nicco's dorm's building and he laughed softly to himself. As he placed it on the table again he answered, "I guess they kind of do. The other night was rough because I found out my girlfriend has been cheating on me."
Greg tried not to react, but he couldn't help himself. He let out a low, indignant scoff that their suspect responded to immediately. Ian sat up and looked much more confident than he had previously as he angrily asked, "Do you find the fact that my girlfriend is cheating on me funny, Mr. Sanders?"
Cavaliere gave Greg a hard look that he CSI promptly ignored. He knew that he probably should have kept his comments to himself, but he couldn't help it. He was well aware that the man in front of him was probably completely delusional, so arguing with him right then would be futile, but for some reason he had to say something in reply to his insane comment.
"First, I wouldn't say what happened to Nicco could be considered cheating. And second, I'm not sure you can call someone your girlfriend unless she too is aware of the relationship."
"Nicco? Who's Nicco?" Ian questioned sounding genuinely confused.
"Sorry," Greg answered in a tone that was anything but contrite. "You would probably know her better as 'Cole', but her real name is Nicolette, Nicolette Radisson."
Ian gave Greg a blank look before he turned to look at his lawyer. Not knowing any more information than what had been said, Ian's lawyer shrugged and then motioned for Ian to go ahead and say what he knew his client wanted to say. So far this interrogation had been much easier to handle than he had thought it might be, so he couldn't see the harm in offering up some honest information of which law enforcement was not aware.
Ian gave his lawyer a quick nod and then turned back towards Greg to say, "I don't know who this Nicco or Cole person is, but my girlfriend's name is Thea. And trust me Mr. Sanders, she knows that we're together and what she did in that hotel room… well from what I heard she will know that she was cheating on me."
"Thea?" Greg and Cavaliere asked at the same time.
Ian let out another sigh and then said, "Sorry, her real name is Athena…"
"Ericksen. Yes, we've heard of her. Now let's go back to her cheating on you," Cavaliere interrupted. He once again picked up his notebook and this time he actually looked like he was interested in their pending conversation. "Let's revisit that topic before we move on to something else."
This time Ian didn't look over at his lawyer before he spoke. They had already discussed how his lawyer wanted this part of the interrogation to go prior to Ian surrendering himself to authorities. He was to relay his tale to investigators up until a point where his lawyer would stop in to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself during the interview.
"I knew that Thea was going to spend the weekend at the hotel with her roommate because I had used by employee discount when she booked the room. Wait… Cole? That's her roommate at school right? Sorry, she and I haven't actually met, but Thea has mentioned her once or twice. Anyways, I knew where she would be staying and kind of figured that we could hook up while I was on my breaks or something."
"That sounds like a good plan. What happened instead?"
"Well, I had told her that I had the weekend off because I wanted to surprise her…" He let out a sardonic laugh then said to himself. "Yeah, surprise. Only it was me who got the surprise."
Ian startled in his spot when he realized he had been mumbling to himself. He briefly made eye contact with Det. Cavaliere and CSI Sanders and said, "Sorry, got off track for a second. Alright, where was I? Right, so I knew where her room was and would stop on her floor whenever I delivered a meal or picked up the dishes after people were done. On one stop I saw Thea and tried to catch her eye, but she was having a pretty heated discussion with some guy. I almost went over to help her but she suddenly went form looking like she was getting ready to deck him to nearly jumping up and down for joy and… and kissing him, so I hid in an alcove while they went into her room."
"A heated discussion?" Cavaliere plucked out an eight by ten mug shot and placed it on the table in front of her suspect. "Is this the man you saw her arguing with in the hallway?"
Ian picked up the photo and practically sneered at it as he replied, "No, but he was in the room too."
Cavaliere nodded and placed the photo of Eric Johnson back into his file folder. He then pulled out the other mug shot and handed it over to his suspect asking, "How about this guy? Is he the one you saw arguing with Miss Ericksen in the hallway?"
"Y-yeah, th-that's him," Ian stuttered out his reply.
He had tried to maintain is composure, but seeing that face again caused him to unconsciously react. His skin turned an unnaturally white color and he found it hard to swallow, so he scooped up his glass of water and took a long drink from it.
Greg shared a look with Cavaliere because that was much closer to an admission of guilt than they had expected to receive today. But they both tried to play it cool. Cavaliere wanted a confession and he as more than happy to let Rayburn talk himself into a corner before he got it.
"Alright," Cavaliere started in the humblest, most comforting tone that Greg had ever heard him use. "Let's get back to what you were telling us about Thea. What else happened with her that night?"
At first it appeared that Ian wasn't going to answer because he continued to drink from his water glass. Once it was empty he placed it back on the table. As soon as his hands were empty, Ian started rubbing his temples as if he was trying to ward off a headache.
"Because I had anticipated surprising Thea, I had made arrangements with a buddy of mine so that I could do all of the deliveries. We'd still split the top fifty/fifty, but I'd be doing all of the work. I figured that way I could sneak over to Thea's suite and check if she was 'free' or not. And then…"
He paused there again and covered his face with his hands. His lawyer placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned in to whisper something to him. They wanted him to look vulnerable and like a victim to get the Detective into his corner. It was the best way his lawyer knew how to work at negotiating a more lenient sentence. So, while it looked like the lawyer was saying some quiet words of encouragement, he was actually giving his client coaching tips about his acting to help them accomplish their goal.
Cavaliere actually waited until the lawyer sat back before he tried to gently prompt his suspect saying, "And then what, Ian? What happened next?"
Ian let out a soft, dramatic sigh and lifted his face out of his hands. If the detective and CSI didn't know any better, they would say that it looked like he had tears in his eyes when he answered, "And then we got THE order. The one I thought that… well anyway, I thought that Thea had seen me at work and that it was her way of letting me know that she wanted me to visit her."
Cavaliere waited a couple of breaths and when his suspect didn't continue he asked, "And what order was that?"
Ian let out a self-deprecating laugh as he answered, "Fries and gravy. It's the most disgusting combination that I have ever heard of before, but Thea loves it. Anytime she knows that I'm coming to meet her after work, she would ask me to bring her an order of it… every single time."
"That's a pretty specific craving," Cavaliere commented in an understanding voice. "So what happened out of the norm when you delivered her favorite dish to your girlfriend's room?"
Everyone in the room could see that Ian was starting to get visibly upset, so his lawyer leaned over to try to whisper a few words of reason. Greg remained perfectly still because he could see that their suspect only had eyes for the detective. Although he had heard some truly horrible tales from the interrogation room, right now he was more than happy to have this man by his side. Cavaliere was going to break Ian Rayburn and Greg really didn't care how he did it. It was a selfish motivation, but Greg felt that Nick and Nicco had earned that kind of solidarity from them.
The lawyer continued to try to calm his client down while Cavaliere subtly tried to push him over the edge. They both knew that the photos of Ariel's pimp and john had caused the biggest reaction with their suspect, but it was Greg who pushed the file folder closer to the man seated beside him and tapped on it a couple of times to get the detective's attention. Cavaliere turned his head to give Greg an annoyed look, so the younger male lifted an eyebrow and jutted his chin in the direction of the folder.
For a second Cavaliere just stared at Greg until a thought dawned on him. In his defense, he never thought that Greg would have a thought remotely similar to his, let alone the exact same one. Very discreetly, he pulled out the two mug shots and slid them across the table as he asked, "Who opened the door and ruined her perfect surprise for your girlfriend?"
"Him!" Ian replied as he punched the photo of Eric Johnson on the table with the side of his fist.
His lawyer gripped his client's forearm and quietly said, "Ian, you have to calm down, now."
Ian nodded and closed his eyes while he took in a couple of slow, deep breaths. "Sorry," he replied sounding much calmer. "But that was the guy who answered the door and signed for Thea's food while she… well anyways. That guy answered the door."
"Alright," Cavaliere stated as he wrote down a couple of notes. "So you delivered the food, Mr. Johnson signed for it and then you left."
"Not exactly," Ian answered still sounding like he was forcing himself to be calm. "He was still getting dressed, so I carried the tray in and left it on the coffee table for him."
Ian shook his head and fell silent again. Even though he didn't want to reminisce about that night, Ian's brain started replaying what he had heard that night. His hands went up to cover his face as he shook his head almost violently form side to side. It was of little comfort to him that he only heard what was being done to his girlfriend in one of the bedrooms because his imagination ran wild and created its own scene for what might have been going on. Now anytime he closed his eyes, it was all that he could see and think about, even if he didn't want to remember it at all.
"I take it that you saw something unpleasant?" Cavaliere asked in an attempt to prompt his suspect.
Ian started shaking his head as he answered, "No, I just… I got to hear it… and that guy…"
When Ian trailed off, Cavaliere asked, "Mr. Johnson?"
"Yeah, him. He was such a… Anyway, he just shrugged and said that she was energetic," Ian answered as he picked up the john's mug shot once again. "Who says something like that to a perfect stranger?"
"It's Vegas. People let go of their inhibitions," Greg said. "A lot of people say and do things here that they wouldn't at home."
That response caused Ian to smile softly, "That's very true. So, after his distasteful comment, Johnson there just sort of shrugged again like 'what can you do' and continued getting dressed. I… I almost decked him one right then and there, so I just left."
"But that wasn't the last time you went to the room," Greg stated in a calm, firm tone, to Cavaliere's dismay.
Ian shrugged, trying to sound and look nonchalant, but he couldn't quite pull it off. Anyone with a trained eye could see that his features had hardened at whatever thought had come to mind. That meant that his lawyer had noticed the minute changes in his client's demeanor as well. He tried to grab Ian's arm to get his attention, but the younger man pulled away before he could be touched.
Ian then turned his head and nearly hissed out, "Don't try to stop me."
"But Ian…"
"I mean it. If you try to stop me again, you're fired."
Since Henry Rayburn, Ian's father, was one of his biggest clients, the lawyer backed off completely. He knew that he was being paid, and very well at that, to keep his client out of jail, but he couldn't force Ian to keep quiet. He had already stressed to the younger man that the less he said, the better off he would be. He also reminded him more than once that his father was paying him a handsome salary to do the talking, but if the kid wanted to ignore all of his expensive advice, then there wasn't much that he could do. It wouldn't be the first time that he would have to spin a new web of 'truths' to keep the person who signed the checks happy.
The lawyer then threw his hands up in surrender and sat back. There was only so much that he could do to mitigate the stupid of his clients. While Ian started to dig himself into a hole, he would take this time to plan out a strategy to do as much damage control as he could muster.
"Mr. Rayburn?" Cavaliere asked, trying to get his suspect back on track.
"Sorry. And no, CSI Sanders, you're right, it wasn't. When I saw that there was another order to her room, I tried to talk my buddy into doing it for me. Turns out that the allure of getting paid to do nothing is a little too attractive. That meant that I got the honor of delivering food to her room again."
"And what happened then?" Cavaliere asked, finally let some of his eager, anticipation be heard.
Ian shook his head as he replied, "Nothing that I had planned. Again, I expected to trade the food for a signature, but he was on the phone, so I had to carry it in again."
Cavaliere lifted up Lucky's mug shot and asked, "This man?"
Ian refused to look at the photo as he replied, "Yeah, that's the piece of shit who…"
His lawyer coughed into his fist, but he didn't say or do anything else to stop his client. Ian looked over at him with the thought of warning the older man again. But he didn't have to say anything like that because his lawyer had his eyes on his notepad where he was writing something down.
Ian turned back to the investigators and forced himself to cool some of the heat in his veins while he spoke. "Yeah, Detective, that's him."
"Alright, so you try to deliver the food, but Lucky's on the phone, so…?"
"Lucky? Seriously? That's his name?"
Greg wanted to laugh or smile at the surprised and disgusted tone Ian used, but then he reminded himself who the man seated across from him was. Sure he might not be stalking Nicco, but he was still a murderer, so he couldn't allow himself to laugh at his jokes.
"That's his name on the streets," Cavaliere answered dismissively. "But you were saying…?"
"Right, sorry. So look, I get that I'm in the service industry, but some people… It's like they think we're their servants or something. Anyway, so he's on the phone, bragging about how he violated… I mean about his latest conquest. He didn't even have the decency to come to the door fully clothed."
"You mean he was…?"
"Nah, man not like that. He had his pants on, but they weren't like pulled up all the way and his fly was partially undone. I normally don't notice shit like that because… well… I'm not gay or anything, but when I noticed the scratches on his shoulders, I had to divert my eyes."
"Scratches…?" Cavaliere flipped through the pages in his notebook until he got to his notes about the crime scene. "Right, there were three on each of his shoulders. Do you think Thea gave them to him?"
Ian unconsciously scratched at his left shoulder blade as he replied, "She gets handsy when she's really turned on."
They all sort of paused there to let everything sink in. Greg and Cavaliere knew that those scratches hadn't been the result of a woman getting lost in the throes of passion. Instead they knew that they were a woman's desperate attempts to fight off her attacker. Greg was sure that it wasn't long after she had scored his flesh that Lucky had choked Nicco into unconsciousness. The only saving grace of that was that Nicco wasn't actually awake or alert during the most brutal parts of her assault, so that part of the ordeal hadn't plagued her thoughts or dreams.
"So I guess this is the part where I tell you what you want to hear," Ian stated with an oddly detached tone.
"Well I would like to hear the truth, Mr. Rayburn," Cavaliere replied as he once again held his pen at the ready to take notes.
"Truth? Heh… well the truth is that nothing would have happened if he had of just taken his food. But no I had to carry it in and listen to that son of a bitch run his mouth off about what he did to my… to Thea. So, officer here's what happened…
So, douchebag there hangs up the phone and then starts saying shit about how he worked up a huge appetite and I just lost it. I don't really remember what happened next but all of the sudden he's on the ground, I'm sitting on his chest and I have my hands wrapped around his neck. Once I realized what I was doing, I got up and went back to work."
"And when you left the room, what sate was Mr. Rivero in, Mr. Rayburn?"
"Honestly Detective, I don't know. I let go and left so fast that I didn't check, but I take it from what the officers said while I was being arrested that he wasn't breathing. If that's the truth then I can't really say that I'm sorry about that, no after the things he was saying about Thea."
"You're right, Mr. Rayburn, he most likely wasn't breathing when you left the room. Unfortunately, the broken hyoid bone in his neck saw to that." Cavaliere paused there and pulled out a file folder from the pile on the side of the table. He pulled out a pile of photos and laid them out on the table. "Since you have been so open and honest with me, I feel that it is only fair if I do the same. First, I want to assure you that Athena Ericksen was nowhere near that hotel suite two nights ago. The woman you saw arguing with Mr. Rivero is Athena's twin sister, Artemis." He pushed forward 'Ariel's' mug shot before he continued, "What you witnessed in the hallway was more than likely a heated negotiation between an escort and her pimp."
"What?" Ian whispered in disbelief as he picked up the mug shot of the woman who looked exactly like his girlfriend. "I don't… but I heard…"
Greg then pulled out two of the photos Catherine had taken of Nicco in the hotel room and took over the narration. "What you overheard when you were delivering Ms. Ericksen her snack was anything but consensual. After seeing what he did to Ms. Radisson, some people might even call you a hero for putting that sick, sadistic bastard down."
Ian picked up the two photos of Nicco and absentmindedly asked, "Miss Rad… this is Cole? Thea's roommate? And Thea wasn't…? You mean she didn't…?"
"No, Mr. Rayburn, Thea wasn't there at all," Greg clarified. "But…"
"But you are still under arrest for the murder of Lawrence 'Lucky' Rivero. If you would stand and put your hands behind your back, this deputy will escort you to be booked," Cavaliere said over the rest of Greg's statement.
Looking like he was in a daze, Ian stood up and put his hands behind his back. The deputy, who had been standing in the corner of the interrogation room behind the suspect, silently secured a pair of handcuffs around his wrists. Ian's lawyer shook his head in disappointment as he watched his client be led out of the room because it felt like such a waste. He had a carefully planned strategy to make this incident look like it was self-defense, but now he would be lucky if the D.A. even contemplated accepting a temporary insanity plea.
While he watched his client be escorted out of the room, the lawyer stood up and said to the detective, "I assume you will have something for my client to sign?"
"We should have the paperwork done in the next couple of hours."
"Very good. I would like to read them over before you present them to my client."
"Of course. Why don't you come with me and we can go over everything?"
They both then left the room and Greg was left alone, sitting at the table. He was stunned that his first case was now closed. And with a confession form the suspect no less. He had worked in the lab long enough to know that this was far from usual, but then again nothing about this case had been what he had expected. No one, except for his victim, was who the investigators had predicted they would be and never tried to hid who he really was in the world. Not that he thought that Nicco had been hiding who she was, it's more that she wasn't' who you would have assumed she was if you were to take her at face value when you first met her in that hotel room.
Nicco… "Nicco!" Greg quietly exclaimed to himself. "I should go and tell her the good news."
He then hastily got up from the table and rushed into the hallway. Since he hadn't really been paying attention to his surroundings he ended up running into and almost knocking over one of his coworkers. Luckily she had been watching where she was going, so she was able to minimize the damage that their collision could have caused.
Sara let out a nervous laugh as she helped Greg straighten out and asked, "Whoa Greg, where's the fire?"
"Sorry Sara, I was just…" Suddenly Greg realized that he wasn't sure where he was going. He had left Nicco in the break room, but he had no guarantees that she would still be waiting for him there. "Have you seen Nicco or Nick by chance?"
"Yeah, they're in the break room and they look like they're having a pretty serious discussion. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I'm about to deliver some news that I'm sure will lighten both of their moods."
"Wait! Does that mean…?"
"Yep. Got a confession on my first homicide as the lead CSI."
"Really? That's… wow. Congrats, Greg."
"Thanks. But I should catch them before Nick heads back to work on his cold case."
"Right. But we should celebrate later."
"You read my mind Sara," Greg called out as he continued down the hallway. "I'll come find you when I'm done with this."