Disclaimer: Please refer to the first chapter. I can't think of something new to say with each chapter. I'm just not that creative...
A/N - I'm still away, but I managed to get to the phone again to make another update. It's utterly amazing how traveling to BFE makes you miss the comforts of home like internet at the touch of your fingers rather than eleven miles away. At least I have electricity and running water.
But, please, don't get me wrong – I'm enjoying myself. It's one of the small pleasures in my otherwise boring life, actually. My favorite part this trip is that I finally had a chance to hang the tire swing that's been sitting around for years. Everyone should have a tire swing. It's so cathartic... Seriously.
I see that I've gotten a lot of reviews, but at the rate I'm paying for internet service ($0.55 a minute), I can't afford to read them until I get home. Thank you, guys! I can't wait to get home and read them. Hope you're enjoying.
Experiment
"There's no way those bodies were stuffed in the trunk like that while they were alive. They had to've been capped beforehand," Greg stated firmly.
"Capped, Greg?" Sara eyed him curiously. "Too much rap music for you. Someone needs to cut you off."
Greg merely shrugged. He continued looking at the trunk of the car. Warrick watched from the doorway as Greg and Sara discussed the placement of the bodies and Grissom watched their banter with interest.
"Sara," Warrick finally spoke, "The female victim was about your size. Get in and prove that it was possible."
To her credit, Sara refrained from making a face that was too sour at the concept. She did frown slightly at the thought of being shut in the trunk, however. At least the bodies had been wrapped in plastic and had not been dead more than a few hours. So, the thought of getting into the trunk after it had already been cleared for evidence was not as daunting as it could have been. Deep in thought, Sara considered the prospect of actually testing the theory.
"I can't prove it alone..." Sara continued to deliberate if it really mattered.
"I'll do it!" Greg nearly shouted at them, overly pleased at the prospect of being that close to Sara.
Sara crossed her arms protectively across her chest while speaking slowly and clearly. "Greg... I think you're dreaming if you believe it's even possible I'd consider getting in the trunk of a BMW with you. That's an incredibly small trunk." She shook her head for emphasis. "Even for the sake of science, there's no way in Hell I'm getting in there... Nope."
"Sara," Grissom started, "It's just an experiment... I'm sure Greg would be the perfect gentlemen."
Her jaw dropped in utter shock. After she closed it, Sara's mouth still worked itself open and shut a few times trying to make sense of the accusations and refusals running rampant through her mind. Her narrowed gaze at Grissom almost caused him to flinch.
"You're not seriously expecting me to hop in the trunk of that car with Greg." She spun around to face Greg finally. "No offense, Greg. I really don't mean to be mean... but... really, you're the king of inappropriate innuendo. I don't really think I want to be the butt of your office rumors after a compromising situation like that could be misconstrued."
"Using dummies is out," Warrick offered, "They don't move like people. Too many moveable parts." His grin not faltering for a second.
"You guys figure it out. I'm going to check on those fibers we dropped off in Trace. When I get back, someone better have something for me." Grissom walked out leaving them speculating.
"No, no, no," Sara reiterated. "Get Catherine."
"Two reasons we can't do that," Warrick reminded her. "One: You're about the same size as the vic while Catherine's too short. Two: There's no way Catherine would ever find herself in the truck of a car."
"Maybe just a back seat..." Sara mumbled, dropping her arms to her sides in defeat. Receiving a hearty laugh from both of the men in the room with her, Sara felt a twitch of a smile cross her face.
The three of them stood at the trunk of the car, staring at it. It was almost as if they expected the trunk to tell them what to do. They each knew it might help them slightly to know if the victims were killed in the trunk or killed elsewhere and shoved in the trunk. If they needed to locate the actual crime scene, time was of the essence.
"Come to think of it..." Greg replied dejectedly, "I'm not the same size as the male victim. So, me getting in there won't really help."
"It might be probative to the investigation to at least have a definitive answer to whether it was even possible for them to get situated in the trunk like that," Grissom answered the young CSI from the door.
They all jumped at the reappearance of Grissom. They had all been immersed in their thoughts and had not heard him enter the room again. Grissom walked in further, looking into the trunk himself. No one wanted to be the one to say it, but it had to be said. They needed to find someone more suiting to the male victim's size, no matter what Grissom said.
"Gris, are you claustrophobic?" Warrick hesitantly asked of his boss.
"Oh, no...!" Sara replied defiantly, crossing her arms defensively, "No!" Her face became stricken with fear.
In true Grissom fashion, he turned with a poker face and stared Warrick down for a few very tense seconds. His lips involuntarily pursed in anticipation, mulling over his choice of words. Grissom's gaze flickered embarrassedly towards Sara.
"I... I think we should not entertain that thought," he replied evenly.
All four of them were apprehensive at how out of hand the situation had gotten and how potentially worse it could get. They all had felt the tension between Grissom and Sara over the years, but no one would admit to it. The two had been getting along well over the previous months, and this could quite possibly set them back. It was a touchy situation to say the least, but one that had to be broached for the sake of the case.
"I'm not getting in the trunk," Sara stated, clearly showing her non-cooperation at the situation. If she had been a three year-old, Sara knew she would have been stomping her feet on the floor and waving her arms at her sides. She felt like doing it anyway. Maybe then they would ignore her and move on to other avenues of figuring out this puzzle.
She was all for the sake of reenacting the crime, but this was pushing the limits of her dedication. If she were to get in the trunk alone, there would have been no hesitation at all, but being in there with another member of the team was disconcerting. On top of that, she could not look pleased with the prospect that it would be Grissom rather than Greg or people would immediately think something was amiss.
"My offer is still on the table, Sara." Greg winked at her.
Grissom was still hesitant, but gave in reluctantly. Someone had to do it, and he really had not wanted it to be Greg. After much deliberation, they all decided it would be for the best, and Sara laid down the ground rule. No one would ever talk about it again. What happened in the garage was staying in the garage.
"Okay, the female was in the back part near the seats. Ladies first," Grissom stated with a smirk and a wave of his hand, indicating Sara should get in first.
She cleared her throat overly loud and approached. She curled her lip and put her hands on the lip of the trunk opening. Turning to look at the other CSIs one last time, she saw the group of three shaking their heads. They knew she was considering backing out at the last minute.
After she was settled, Grissom approached the trunk. One corner of his mouth twitched into a smile as he stared down at her. Slowly, his smile turned into a sadistic grin as he stepped into the trunk. Sara shrunk as far away from his as she could in the confined space. It was awkward being this close to Grissom at work with people watching.
Greg and Warrick watched with rapt curiosity as the pair made their first contact as Grissom lowered himself fully into the trunk. It was explosive tension as they fitted together. They were hesitant to touch each other, trying to find a place to put their hands.
"Sara," Grissom breathed, "I think we're going to have to... uh, touch each other."
She shifted nervously to allow him more room and to press his body up against her. "They were facing each other? Right?" she asked, her breath hitching in her throat.
"Yes. And, their legs were intertwined, I believe," Grissom responded.
Warrick held up the photos from the scene for both of them to look at from their position in the trunk. Grissom moved one leg in between Sara's and gently placed the other one on top. They molded into the same position as the bodies in the photographs.
"Close the trunk," Grissom ordered softly.
"What!" Sara shrieked.
Grissom swallowed hard. "We have to see if we can move around in here... That's the only way to truly know if there's a possibility that they got themselves into this position or not."
Sara shrunk visibly in resignation to that statement. Her resolve was slipping at being able to remain detached at the situation and not hold him differently. It was wearing on every nerve in her body to think of how to act uninvolved with Grissom. She feared that any move she made would give them away, that Warrick or Greg would realize that her actions were that of a lover and not an unrequited love.
Luckily, it was the latter that the two outside of the car believed they were seeing in the tension between the two that were in the trunk. Grissom watched Sara's frightened eyes as the trunk lid was clicked shut and darkness overtook them. His own eyes were slightly nervous, but only because he was unsure how much of this was going to be spread through the rumor mill, even after Sara's earlier threats.
"I can't believe we're doing this. I'm a nervous wreck. I don't know how to touch you," she murmured barely loud enough for Grissom to hear her.
Grissom heaved a small laugh in response as he began shifting around in the trunk. The car bounced on its shocks with their movements in the small space. He found it actually quite easy to roll over, and Sara joined in a few seconds later. It was by no means comfortable, but it was enough for them to be able to move around together. So, it was entirely possible that the pair of bodies they found were placed in there prior to their deaths.
"Okay," Grissom called out to the other CSIs, "Open the trunk. We're through in here."
"Um, Gris, I think we might have a problem," Warrick answered him.
"What's that?" Sara found herself asking, knowing just what the answer was.
"Grissom, where's the key?" Greg asked with a panicky giggle. "We all arrived after you had the trunk already open."
"I don't know where the keys are. It was open when I arrived. Find them or get Auto Detail or a detective or someone to pop the lock," Grissom ordered through the thin metal of the trunk.
"Make it fast. I don't want to die in here," Sara added through clenched teeth, "And, keep the exposure of this little incident to a minimum."
Ironically, it was Sofia they found first. She followed them dutifully along, carrying the piece of equipment to force open the lock on the trunk of the offending vehicle. Her movements were fluid and fast, making quick work of the job at hand. The metallic pop told them that the lock was opened, leaving the trunk lid ajar.
After the trunk was unlocked, Warrick placed his hand on the trunk, holding it shut. Sofia backed away, but did not leave. She watched and waited for someone to open the trunk to curb her curiosity. Even though no one said why they needed it open, she knew there had to be a story behind it because Auto Detail would have reopened the trunk if needed after it was hauled into the garage to finish the processing. Hands on hips, she stood defiantly until Warrick slid his hand to the side and pulled the trunk lid up.
Sofia audibly gasped as Sara and Grissom popped their heads up out of the trunk, but made no moved to extricate themselves from each other or the confines of the enclosure they were placed precariously in. They breathed deeply as the fresh air filled their lungs.
Grissom sighed and began to move out of the trunk. He spied Sofia and averted his gaze quickly. Sara followed quickly behind, holding Grissom's hands. He steadied her as she rose from the trunk and regained her footing. Sara, unlike Grissom, stared Sofia down, willing her to make a sarcastic comment.
"Well," Grissom broke the silence, "I believe we at least have our answer. It was entirely possible they were both alive at the time they were placed in the trunk."
"It wasn't comfortable," Sara added, "but, completely plausible. The position of their bodies in relation to how a killer or captor would've placed them in there leads me to believe they died in the trunk."
"Great. So, that leaves us with...?" Greg asked.
"Still debating how they died, but not as much where," Sara responded automatically, still thinking about the trunk.
Sofia added, "They both died of a drug overdose. While you were out here playing pretend, I was following a few leads, and I stopped in to get the Toxicology report."
Much unlike anyone would have expected, Sara and Grissom were completely contented with each other after the trunk encounter. They were carrying on a normal conversation about the case, and standing at ease beside each other. Even Sofia seemed unnerved when her jab went unanswered.
To Be Continued...