Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to CSI.
Chapter 10
Getting rest and staring at the ceiling were two different things. That is what Grissom decided as he laid in bed trying to sleep. After 45 minutes without success, he rose from bed and went for a drink of water. Upon seeing Hank he thought about going for another walk, but opted for going in the back yard for a game of catch.
Perhaps the mindless recreation would clear Grissom's head.
Hank was ready to quit before Grissom. "What's up, boy? Need a break?" Grissom asked he sole companion. Looking into his eyes, Grissom could almost wonder what the dog was thinking. Jeez, man, the sun's hot out here. Let's go inside. Get some sleep.
Grissom laughed at the thought. He realized the dog was probably more centered than his master.
When Grissom opened the sliding glass door, Hank walked to the water bowl. Grissom followed him to the kitchen and just watched his dog. When Hank was finished, the pooch went to his bed in the corner, let out a sigh and laid down. He was asleep in no time.
It was just that easy.
Grissom stretched and yawned. He walked back to the bedroom, took off his shoes, socks and pants and laid down once again. He sighed and closed his eyes.
It was just that easy.
Grissom opened his eyes and looked at the clock. It was 4:05 p.m. He had been out for 10 minutes.
That dog is one lucky son-of-a-bitch, Grissom thought, and he turned to grab his cell phone off the nightstand. Still lying down, he tried one more tactic to clear his head.
"Hey. I know you're not in range. Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to say, … 'I'm sorry.' … ahh… I hope you're doing well. Love you."
Grissom ended the call, placed the cellular back on the night stand and then closed his eyes.
He opened them again at 6 p.m. Almost two hours of sleep.
Better than nothing.
--
The sun still hadn't completely set in Vegas, and Gil Grissom was out again. After calling KTNV, he discovered the trio of Tony Fiffer, Dana Mendez and Josh Link were covering an assignment about area businesses breaking water restrictions. Grissom parked his Denali next to the news van, which was near one of the accused businesses.
He stood by his Denali while they completed the report. Once they finished the feed, Josh Link got the camera back in the van and Grissom passed him as he approached Tony and Dana.
"Hey," Josh said to Grissom as they passed one another.
"Evening," Grissom replied and he moved towards the other two news people. "Excuse me? Dana Mendez and Tony Fiffer? I'm Gil Grissom from the Las Vegas Crime Lab."
"Is there a problem?" Dana asked.
"I was hoping you might help with an investigation. Did you have a request from a fellow reporter about your Garrison Thompson report?" Grissom asked.
Tony quickly answered. "That was some story I did, huh? Did you see it?"
"Yes, I did. I was wondering if another reporter asked about it?"
"I tell you what, Grissom … you know, you look familiar. Have I seen you at news conferences?"
"Perhaps," Grissom said, sporting a patient smile. "Again, I was wondering if another reporter asked for that report?"
"That was a Sunday morning feel-good report. Got us a chance to get off Sundays and into homes doing dinnertime reports. I think it got the attention of a lot of colleagues," Tony said without answering the question.
"My God, Tony, get over yourself," Dana said. "There was a freelancer who asked about the report. He came to the station that Monday morning. Very charming. Irish name … his first name was Seamus."
"Seamus Flemming?" Grissom asked.
"Yes. He told me he was doing research for a story on prison ministry and faith-based movements and wanted the report," Dana said. "But you seem to know that already."
Josh Link was out of the news van again with his camera and called out to his colleagues. "Yo, Tony! You want to do that promo for the 11 o'clock segment?"
"Yeah, be right there," Tony yelled back. "Excuse me. Duty calls."
Neither Grissom nor Dana gave him a reply. "So are you investigating that Flemming guy or Thompson?" Dana asked.
"Both," Grissom said. "What exactly did Flemming ask about?"
"He was interested in Thompson. How we came across to others. How he treated people. How I felt about him. How we found out about the story."
"How did you find out about the story?"
"We were approached by Thompson's prison minister, Malcolm Banscomb. He was on the interview. I went ahead and gave Flemming Banscomb's contact info. If you're interested …"
"Yes, I would be interested in contacting him."
Dana gave Grissom a long look before speaking. "He works at the New Haven Youth Center on Cunningham. He usually is there until 10 or 11." Dana got the info from her electronic organizer and wrote down Banscomb's information on the back of one of her business cards.
"Thank you," Grissom said. "Flemming asked you how you felt about Thompson?"
"Yes, unusual question, I thought."
"You don't seem as enthusiastic about the story as Mr. Fiffer."
Dana laughed. "Call me cynical, but it's hard enough to have faith in ministers within a church. Add prison in the mix, and you question the magical way a person might find their spiritual gift behind bars. I'm not saying it's impossible, but there was something about Thompson — too much con man, not enough humility."
"Did you do a background check on Thompson before the report?" Grissom asked.
"I did, yes," Dana said. "He had no prior record. He moved about the country a bit, but from what we could see, he spent a good portion of time in North Carolina. But no arrests. No warrants. He either kept his nose clean till he got to Vegas, or he just never got caught before."
"So, you think his spiritual renewal is an act?" Grissom asked.
"It was more than that. Tony got in there for the interview, Thompson was on with the 'Yes, sir' and 'No, sir,' and Tony soaked it up like biscuits and gravy. But mind you, I was invisible. When I fixed Thompson's mic or tried to get information for the fill-in narrative, Thompson looked at me and treated me like I was piece of meat. Creepy. And definitely not something 'Jesus would do,'" Dana said, adding sarcasm. "And there were his four horsemen who were always around him."
"Excuse me?"
Dana called over to Josh, who was getting flustered with the 14th take Tony wanted for the promo. "Hey, Josh, come here!"
Josh ran over, camera still in grasp.
"Thank God. Tony's out of control. He wants to know if he should put emphasis on the 'to' or the 'be' or the 'water' or 'Tony' or 'Fiffer.' Dana, you know you have to tell that shit ahead of time 'cause the dickhead is driving me fuckin…," Josh said.
"Josh, calm the hell down."
"Oh," Josh said, looking at Grissom. "Sorry, bud. I'm Josh. What's up?"
Grissom nodded to Josh. "Gil Grissom, Las Vegas Crime Lab."
Josh smiled. "Cool."
"Josh, you remember the Garrison Thompson story out of Corlin?" Dana asked, and Josh nodded. "Remember how Thompson had that posse?"
"Yeah, that dude had some hard-core cons acting like his entourage," Josh said. "They didn't say a freakin' word, but you knew. Someone messes with Thompson, they have hell to pay."
"I don't suppose you got those guys on tape?" Grissom asked.
"We'd have to look at the unedited tape. But… yeah… I think I remember seeing them when I did some pan shots," Josh said. "Hey, if you're going to talk to 'Prison Jesus,' make sure you don't piss him off."
"I'll be sure to remember that, Josh. Thank you," Grissom said. "Is there any way I could get a copy of the unedited tape?"
"Come down to the station. I'll hook you up," Josh said.
"Mr. Grissom, we've been cooperative, so any chance you can let us know what's going on?" Dana asked.
"This is still an ongoing investigation so I can't say," Grissom said.
Dana gauged the man's answer. He was a tough nut to crack. "Well, you have my information."
"Yes, I do. Thank you. Could I follow you to the station now?"
Josh Link processed a DVD with the raw footage of the Thompson interview in no time. He showed Grissom where the men were on the tape, writing down the time stamp and location (right, center, left) for each "BD."
"Bad dude, man," Josh told Grissom. "These are bad dudes."
TBC
A/N: The reviews have been very kind. Thank your for them. I hope you enjoy this.
