Author's Note: So I totally forgot it was Friday today. But I remembered and was luckily off work early so I could come home and work on this new chapter. Thank you for sticking with me, you're all awesome! I hope you enjoy this new one, and return on Tuesday. Have a good weekend everyone!

Here's to chapter ten! Hurrah!

Jim's cell phone rang out with a shrill tone. "Brass," he answered.

"Hey, Jim, it's Catherine. We may have another lead. The Luxor. We're going now."

Brass stood from his desk and dropped what he was doing, already looking around for Sofia. "Are you sure?"

"It is a lead," Catherine said, "but as for it going anywhere, we'll just have to go for it and see."

"Alright. Fifteen minutes, tops."

OoOoOoOoO

After filling in Warrick and leaving Greg and Nick with the miniatures as well as the task of watching Grissom's computer, Catherine and Grissom were standing in the lobby of the Luxor yet again, waiting for Brass and Sofia to arrive. They pulled up, and the two detectives exited the car and went to join the CSIs. Brass strode up to the front desk again, and was met with a young girl, obviously on a different shift than their earlier visit. He held up a picture of Sara and asked, "Have you ever seen her?"

The girl shook her head, and said, "No, I think I would have noticed her come in. She's really beautiful, and the good looking ones tend to be memorable."

Grissom's heart swelled with pride at hearing those words come out of the girl's mouth, rather than the mouth of some grungy kid who thought she'd be a good time.

Brass, believing the young girl, now held up a picture of the man from the video. "Have you seen him before?"

She studied the picture for a bit and then quietly said, "Yeah, that's Max."

Sofia could see that, for some reason, the young girl wasn't happy to give out information. Inclining her head towards the girl, she asked, "Is he in here now?"

She looked around and swiftly searched the sea of faces with an effectiveness that could only come from a fair bit of time in the hospitality industry. "No, he's – wait, there he is. He just walked in."

Grissom spun around quickly, watching as their suspect walked through the spinning doors towards the elevator. Brass spun as well, and headed straight for him, Grissom on his tail. The departure of the detective and the scientist left the three women behind, and Catherine offered the clerk a reassuring smile. "Thank you for all of your help," she said sincerely before nodding at Sofia, who took the lead and headed towards the doors.

"You're welcome," she answered quietly, and then Catherine was gone.

OoOoOoOoO

"Do you know this woman?" Brass asked for the third time that day.

He glanced at the picture. "I might. Who's asking?"

"The LVPD," Grissom answered through clenched teeth.

"LVPD? Well how can I be of service to you?"

"You can start by answering the question," Catherine said coolly.

"Alright. Yes, I know her."

"Where is she?" Sofia asked.

"Do you know a man by the name of Ernie Dell?" Grissom asked, overriding Sofia.

The man's face paled. "Yeah, he was my foster father," he spat out. "Why?"

"Sir, we need to take you down to the station for some questioning."

Smart enough not to fight four law enforcement personnel, he allowed Brass to lead him to the squad cars waiting outside.

OoOoOoOoO

Brass sat in the interrogation room, across from the mysterious man. He sipped a glass of water, seemingly relaxed. After flipping on a small recording device, Brass informed the man of his legal rights and began the interview.

"What's your name?"

"Max Aldwell."

"So, Max. How do you know Sara Sidle?"

"She works here, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she does. I'll ask you again, how do you know her?"

"I'm not really comfortable telling you that."

Brass moved on. "Ernie Dell was your foster father?"

"Yes."

"Did you get along with him?"

"No."

"Where is Sara?"

"I don't know. Shouldn't you people be keeping better track of your employees?"

Grissom tensed in the viewing room, but again, Catherine's reassuring hand was on his arm in hopes of keeping him together. "Don't bother Gil," she said quietly. "He's not worth it."

He turned to her and nodded sadly. "I know."

Sudden movement caught his eye, and he turned back to the two way mirror. Brass was standing up, and letting their suspect go.

"Why the hell are you letting him go?" Grissom exploded, rushing to the hall. "He's the only lead we've got! How are we going to find her now?"

"Gil, stop! Don't you think I know that? He didn't know anything, and he's not saying anything, and we've got nothing to hold him on."

Grissom spewed profanities, causing everyone around him to stare. They had never seen or heard him lose control like that before, and it was a frightening thing to witness. Catherine shook her head at Brass, sympathy in her eyes, before she spun on a heel and trailed after Grissom down the hall.

OoOoOoOoO

Sara tensed as she heard the door opening behind her. She'd retreated to the bed again, finding some solace there. He's back, she thought, trying to curb her panic. I think I'm going to die...

"Sara, I'm back…" She gulped visibly and steadied her breath, saying nothing. He continued and she could hear the grin in his voice. "I just had a nice chat with your boyfriend, and his… well, I guess you could call them his followers."

Sara sat straight up, fear gripping her heart. "Gil? You talked to him? What did he say? What did you say?"

"What? Oh, he just asked if I knew you, and if I knew where you were. Of course, said I had no idea, and that they should keep a closer eye on you. They didn't take too nicely to that comment. You know, your Gil has quite a temper on him, I saw him yelling at a blonde after they released me."

"Let me go!" Sara shouted loudly, an idea forming. Maybe, if she screamed loudly enough, someone would hear her and call for help. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it earlier, but for the moment she chalked it up to fear for her life. She didn't know where she was, except that she was still within the city, but there had to be people around.

As if reading her mind, he descended on her, and placed a hand over her mouth. "Shut up, Sidle, or I'll take special care to ensure that your death is slow and painful."

She quieted, and he removed his hand from her mouth, moving away from her. "I swear, Sara, you make any loud noise, and you will regret it." The malice in his voice and the dead look in his eyes scared her more than anything else had so far.

to be continued...