Once again, I apologize for the horrible amount of time it took me to update. I have an excuse though! I just got back from a three-day backpacking trip... so yeah... anyways, have fun guys!

Chapter 10

He had to call Sara. He'd almost forgotten about that. "Hey Cath, I've got to go make a call," he said, putting down the scope. "I'll be right back,"

She nodded, not looking up from her autopsy of the little doll. With a start, he remembered the doll was a tiny version of Greg. Disturbed, he stepped outside of the room, closed the door and pressed speed dial 1.

"Hey," Sara answered after only one ring.

"Hi Sara,"

"Are you coming home soon?"

He sighed and looked at his watch. "Sar', I don't think we're going to be done for a while."

"What are you working on?"

He sighed. He knew this question was going to crop up eventually. "I can't tell you that," he answered.

She was silent for a moment. "Gil, you haven't hidden anything from me for a long time."

"I know. I'm sorry, but I still can't say anything,"

There was another pause. "So when are you coming home?"

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "I'll call later."

"Okay," another pause. "I love you,"

He smiled. "I love you too, Sar'"

When he got back, Catherine was waiting for him. "Look at this," she said, pointing to something.

Grissom moved to stand next to her and looked at the little body. The inside was foam, but it was soaked with what looked like blood. "In all the other murder scenes," Grissom started slowly. "The cause of death has always been in the model. Maybe that's the reason for the blood. Let's run a sample through tox."

"I thought we already agreed that he died of bleach poisoning?" Catherine asked. "And besides, how are we going to do that? Greg's here, and he's going to wonder why we didn't give the sample to him. He's not doing anything."

Grissom looked out across the hall. "He's talking to Archie. Let's run it now."

They both sat anxiously in Greg's lab and Catherine's fingers tapped a sharp staccato on the countertop as they waited. Grissom couldn't help but be annoyed, but he didn't say anything. The case was beginning to get on his nerves. He wanted to keep Greg safe, but the killer was preventing them from telling anyone, and Grissom didn't want to take a chance with Greg's life.

It finally printed, and Catherine took the print out, reeling off a list of elements. When she'd finished, she looked at Grissom questioningly.

"It's a type of sedative," said a voice before Grissom could reply.

They both whirled around to see Greg standing in the doorway. There was a moment of awkward silence as both Grissom and Catherine tried to calm their rapidly beating hearts. Grissom saved her from answering. "A sedative?"

Greg nodded. "When I was in the lab, I saw it in only a handful of cases. It's easy to come by, but hard to mix up."

"Easy to come by?" Grissom questioned.

"The right ingredients are found in everyday cleaning supplies," Greg answered. "Dishwasher soap, Lysol, bleach…"

Grissom exchanged a glance with Catherine. "Sounds deadly," she commented.

Greg shrugged. "Sometimes it is. It depends on what kind of a dose you get."

"It's not consumed, is it?"

"No," Greg answered. "Injected. Few people know about it; I read about it in a forensics journal: one tiny article on the very back page. Last month's edition, actually. It's probably still in the break room."

Grissom looked at the young man closely. Before, Greg had appeared hassled, tense and even jumpy. Something had definitely happened, but now he appeared more normal. Grissom guessed it was the lab. Greg probably felt he was safe in the lab. Grissom clearly saw the irony in this, but did not comment.

"Thanks, Greg," Grissom said.

"No problem, I guess I can't hope for you telling me what you're working on?" Greg asked, stepping inside.

Grissom smiled. "No, I'm sorry,"

Greg raised his eyebrows. "Okay, keep your secrets."

Grissom and Catherine returned to their evidence room, Catherine sighing with relief. "That's two times he's come close to our evidence," Catherine said.

Grissom nodded.

"What do you think this means?" Catherine asked.

Grissom shook his head. "I guess it means that Greg is going to be sedated, but none of this makes sense."

"What kind of evidence would we have?" She said, pointing at the little evidence room. "This suggests that we already have a crime scene to work with, but in this model, we haven't found his… the body."

Grissom nodded again. "So between now and then, we'll have another case that's somehow connected?"

Catherine sighed and looked down at her watch. "Oh my goodness, Gil. I'm late picking up Lindsey and I didn't call her."

Grissom nodded. "You should go. I think we've done almost everything we can with this model for now. We need time to think. What do you say we put it away for a week?"

Catherine nodded, distracted. "I'll see you later today," she said.

Grissom waved goodbye and took out his phone to call Sara. It had been a long day of work, but he knew that they had not yet unraveled all of the killer's clues. Something didn't fit right, and the killer always had perfect puzzles.