Leila walked into her and Greg's apartment, tossing her keys on the table and kicking off her shoes. She had had to testify in court earlier that day for one of her cases from a few months ago. Grissom had allowed her to go home to shower and change before coming back to finish out her shift. She hadn't seen Greg so she figured he was at the police station or out at another scene. They had been keeping busy but hadn't forgotten Leila's case. They kept looking over everything they had, thinking and hoping they had missed something but they hadn't. Jack and Donald were nowhere to be found, like they just disappeared off the face of the earth. All any of them could do was wait, which they hated more than anything. It was hard on them whenever one of them was in danger and all they could do was just sit by and wait, wait until they got the evidence they needed or until it was too late to save them, which they all hoped and prayed would never happen but in their line of work it was hard to tell. They pissed off a lot of people each day, without even trying to most of the time. But it made them feel good to get criminals off the streets and make them a little safer. That was the perks of the job, that and they worked with such a great team and had an amazing group of friends.
Leila walked into bedroom, grabbed a shirt and pair of jeans out of her dresser than headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually had a good, long hot shower, what with the hours that she and the others could work sometimes. There were more often then not hectic and long hours that they worked. They would sometimes be pulling a double shift, if needed. Those were the nights they usually hated cause it usually meant more work and less sleep.
As she let the hot water run over her body, Leila couldn't help but think back along the years since she had met the team. Grissom she had known her whole life, being that he was her godfather and a childhood friend of her mother's. The two of them got along pretty well but there were times when Leila wanted to shove one of his bug collections down his throat. But there were also times when she was glad she had someone like him to turn to. He looked out for her the best he could, even though she was an adult now and could make her own decisions. When he had first found out about her and Greg seeing each other, he was just being a protective father figure when he told her to stop seeing him. After finding out that they were still seeing each other behind his back and had been keeping it from him for weeks, he stopped speaking to either of them for a few days, which had deeply hurt her but she refused to choose between him and Greg. Eventually, Grissom apologized for his behavior and told her she was capable of making her own decisions, that he would support her no matter what. He even gave Greg his blessing when his former lab tech told him that he wanted to ask Leila to marry him. Grissom was the one to walk her down the aisle at the wedding and, surprisingly, he even cried a little. Even more surprising was he didn't give them anything to do with bugs for a wedding gift but they were grateful. He and Sara both had them a china set, which was never used anyway cause they were hardly home.
Catherine had become a mother figure for her over the years since her mom died when she was a child. Catherine was always there whenever she needed her, ready to give advice on anything that she could. She was even there to scold her every now and then when she needed to be. Leila knew she did have a temper and not a lot of people knew how to get her under control or were too afraid of what she could do to them if they tried. Catherine wasn't afraid of her and knew how to get her to calm down. She was one of the people nearby when her and Greg admitted their feeling for each other, and even caught them making out in her car after doing so. She looked out for Leila the way any mother would. She even helped her out with her wedding and gave her advice for the wedding and after, which Leila used most of. Catherine knew she couldn't replace Leila's mom and didn't try but that didn't stop her from acting like a mother toward Leila, especially when she knew Leila needed one.
Sara was like a sister to Leila. They both got along great and liked to hang out a lot. They would often go out together, when they could, and just have a girls night. She had told Leila about how Greg used to have a huge crush on her and would constantly flirt with her, which had actually amused her and she teased him about later. Her and Sara would often team up on Greg and tease him, which he hated but knew he could little to retaliate. Sara and Leila have a lot in common and understand each other better than most people, especially those who don't know them. Both have a troubled past; an abusive father but whereas Sara's mom killed her dad, Leila's mom was murdered by her father and her and her sister were tormented and abused by him for years afterwards. Both of them were loners for a while when they first joined the team(Sara having joined years before Leila) but quickly became close friends with the team, although Leila had a hard time getting close to Greg, mainly because she afraid that something bad might happen to him if she did. Sara is often there for Leila, especially when comes to abuse and/or rape cases since it tends to bring back a lot of bad memories for her, which she usually doesn't handle well, especially if Greg isn't around.
Nick and Warrick were both like brothers to Leila. They had become very protective of her, which it showed whenever a suspect or random person threatened her or try to hurt her. Whenever one or both on working on a case with her, they tend to not let her get too close to a suspect. Both often flirt and tease her, the flirting mainly done whenever Greg is around to get under his skin and it usually works but he's learned to ignore it(most of the time). The teasing they do mostly to help her feel more like a part of the team and their little family in their way. Most of the time they regret the teasing since Leila is good at getting them back. Whenever the whole team goes out somewhere, usually a club, they would constantly steal Leila away from Greg or, if they're at a diner, they would make Leila sit between them and, occasionally, they would put an arm around her to get a rise out of Greg.
She even had a close relationship with the lab techs, even Hodges who she usually just found irritating. Bobby Dawson had once asked her out on a date when she had first arrived and only been there a few days. She had just gotten with Greg at the time but accepted Bobby's invitation, which made Greg jealous and a little angry but Leila had explained that it was harmless and that she believed if a guy had the courage to ask a girl out on a date, that girl should at least go out with them once, even if it went nowhere and that made Greg feel a little better. Archie was another of the guys she considered a brother and who looked out for her. They hung out as often as they could and he would teach her a little about computers and stuff. Wendy was like another sister to her and they had grown close over the years. Whenever she needed advice and couldn't get it from anyone else, she knew she could go to Wendy. When Leila, Catherine and Sara would have a girls night out, Wendy would often tag along, as would Ronnie from swing shift who was trained by Sara. Her and Ronnie were good friends but didn't see each other often enough to become too close of friends but Leila would often give her advice when needed.
Leila knew that she wouldn't trade any of them for anything in the world. They were her family and she loved each of them. They were all and everything she could ask for. They had become her whole life now and she didn't know if she would be able to live without any of them.
Leila exited the shower awhile later, dried off than grabbed her bathrobe and headed into the bedroom to get dressed quickly knowing she needed to head back to the lab before anyone started wondering where she was or got too worried. They would probably send a search party after her. This thought made her laugh and wouldn't surprise her at all.
Just then, she heard the front door open. She headed out of the bedroom, still clad in her robe, and into the living room to see that it was Greg.
"Hey, what're you doing home?" she asked even though she was happy to see him.
"Grissom said he sent you home so you could change, I'd figured I'd stop by and check on you." said Greg, walking over to give her a kiss.
"Yeah, I bet. You guys don't have to keep checking on me every five minutes you know, not that I mind it much anymore. I've grown too used to it." said Leila.
Greg just smiled but said nothing. Instead he just took her in his arms, claiming her lips with his own. They didn't many chances to have time alone anymore and he planned on taking complete advantage of this now.
"Well, where you two been?" asked Grissom as he spotted his two youngest CSI's walking down the hall through the lobby. His tone said he expected an answer but his expression said that he already knew.
"Trust me Gil, you don't wanna know." said Leila.
Grissom smiled but didn't answer. Instead he held up a couple assignment slips.
"Leila, you got two dead bodies at the Rivera hotel. And guess what? You get to work with Sara on this one. She's waiting for you." said Grissom, handing her the piece of paper.
"Awesome, it's been awhile since I've gotten to work on a case with her." said Leila.
"Greg, guess what? You're with me. Suspicious circs out in Henderson." said Grissom, handing the slip to his former DNA tech turned CSI.
"Great." said Greg, not really sounding very thrilled about it and Leila could sort of understand why.
"Have fun you two, and please try to play nice." said Leila as she turned to head to meet up with Sara, leaving her godfather and her boyfriend to head out to their own scene.
Leila climbed out of her Denali and grabbed her kit, heading inside to find Sara waiting in the lobby for her with Sofia.
"Hey, guess you get to be my wingman, or wingwoman rather tonight." said Sara.
"Yep. So exciting isn't it?" said Leila.
Sara just smiled and shook her head slightly at her friend.
"So what are we looking at?" asked Leila, getting serious.
"Couple who just got married and were getting ready to head out on their honeymoon. Amanda and Jacob Nicholsen, both in their mid-twenties. Maid found them about an hour ago, paramedics pronounced. David's up with the bodies now. No signs of forced entry and no one saw or heard anything out of the ordinary." said Sofia.
"Do they ever?" asked Leila sarcastically.
"If only we got that lucky. I'm gonna see if I can track down next of kin." said Sofia.
"Okay, thanks Sofia." said Sara than she turned to Leila. "Shall we?" she asked.
"Well why not, let's." said Leila in her smartass way than her and Sara headed up to the couples room where they found David just finishing up with the bodies.
"Hey David." said Sara as the two of them entered the room.
"Hey Sara, hey Leila. Both vics were stabbed multiple times. Female took two to the abdomen before her throat was slashed. Guy took all three to the chest, bled out. Woman died first, about ten to twelve minutes before her husband. They've been dead at least a few hours." said David.
"Doesn't appear like there was any sort of struggle. You think they would have fought back." said Leila.
"There are a couple champagne glasses. They could have been drugged." said Sara.
"I'll send some samples to tox." said David.
"Thanks Dav." said Sara, walking over to examine the bodies, kneeling next to the guy who was on the floor next to the bed, sitting up against it.
Leila walked over to the woman who was lying on the bed, her legs bent over the edge as though she had been sitting on the edge of the bed before she was killed. Her eyes were open and staring up at the ceiling. Even though she was used to this by now, she still found it a little creepy. She carefully examined the woman's arms and hands, looking for any defensive wounds but there were none. Not even anything under her nails.
"This poor girl didn't even try to fight back. It's like she just let her attacker sit there and stab her." she said, looking up at Sara.
"Same with this guy. Not one single defensive wound. This doesn't make any sense. Why would they just sit there and let someone do this to them?" asked Sara.
"Think maybe it was an assisted suicide? If they wanted to die, why get married than start packing for the honeymoon?" asked Leila.
"Maybe they didn't want anyone onto what they were actually up to. I don't know. All I know is this case doesn't make sense." said Sara.
Leila stood up and started photographing the woman's body. Then she turned her attention to the room, photographing the blood spatter on the wall. Then she noticed a glint of something under the bed. She knelt down, photographed it than pulled it out. It was a knife, covered in blood.
"What do you think? Think it's the murder weapon?" asked Leila rhetorically.
Sara grabbed an evidence bag and Leila placed it inside. She than turned back to the room. She noticed a piece of paper lying on the table nearby and walked over to it, taking a picture of it than picking it up to read it. What it said gave her chills. Sara noticed this.
"Leila? What is it?" she asked.
"'Good to see you again. Miss us yet? Signed Jack and Donald'" Leila said, reading the note out loud, turning to look at Sara as she finished, a small glint of fear in her eyes.
Sara wasn't sure what to say.
"I'll call Grissom." she finally said after a minute, taking out her phone and dialing his number.
Leila didn't even bother to argue. She knew that as her supervisor he should know but because she knew how he would react as her godfather, and how Greg would react when he found out, she didn't want either of them to know. She suddenly felt like a child again, constantly having people watching her and checking on her to make sure she was alright.
"Do you think that this couple was having any problems in their relationship but got married anyway?" asked Sofia.
"Probably. That's the kind of people these guys have been preying on. Jack said so in the first video he made when he had me." said Leila. She was standing in the lobby of the hotel with Sofia while Sara was finishing the scene. She had thought it best if she left the room for awhile, just long enough to pull herself together, and wait for Grissom and Greg to show up since she knew they would so that they could see for themselves that she was okay.
"Alright, well I'll talk to their friends and family members, see what I can find out. You gonna be okay?" asked Sofia.
"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine. I just need a minute." said Leila.
"Alright. Call me if you need anything." said Sofia than she headed out to get what information she could.
As Sofia was walking out, Leila saw Greg and Grissom walk in. After he spotted her, he quickly walked over to her and they threw their arms around each other.
"You alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing bad happened." said Leila as they pulled back.
"So what's going on?" asked Grissom, joining the two.
"They're back, Jack and Donald are back. They left this." said Leila, hand Grissom the evidence bag containing the letter she had found.
Grissom read it silently before handing it to Greg for him to read.
"Looks like they made it from clippings from a newspaper or magazine so it couldn't be traced." said Grissom.
"Yeah." said Leila.
"How are you holding up?" asked Grissom.
"I'm fine Gil, really. I was just...caught off guard but I'm fine. I can handle this." said Leila, a little frustrated.
"Where's Sara?" asked Grissom.
"Up in the room still, finishing up the scene." said Leila.
Grissom nodded than headed up to the room while Leila stayed with Greg in the lobby. Greg looked deeply concerned but wasn't sure he should express it or not. He knew that she was already under enough stress as it was. Leila noticed this.
"Go ahead and say it Greg. I know you're going to sooner or later so you might as well get it out now." she said, not meaning to sound snappy.
"I just...are you sure you can handle this?" he asked.
"Yes, I said I was fine. Now please, don't start this right now." said Leila, her voice rising unintentionally. She quickly took a deep breath and calmed down.
"Sorry, I'm just worried about you. I just wanna know that you're safe." said Greg.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I'm just a little frustrated right now." said Leila, putting arms around him and pulling herself close to him, closing her eyes as she rested her head on his chest.
"It's okay, I understand." said Greg, placing his own arms around her and holding her close to him, just glad that she was safe.
Right then, they were interrupted by the sound of Leila's phone ringing. She took it out and looked at the caller id.
"It's Sofia." she said before answering.
"Hey, I found out something very interesting on your couple. Are you ready for this? Apparently Amanda had cheated on him a few months ago with an old boyfriend that she hadn't seen in awhile. Here's the kicker. He didn't find out himself, she called him and told him. He quit talking to her for awhile so she goes out and gets engaged to the guy. She ended up getting cold feet at the wedding and running back to Jacob. She tells him she loves him, that whole nine yards, he forgives her and they get married. And guess where they were going for their honeymoon? California. Apparently Jacob had family down there and they had a beach house he was taking his new wife to." said Sofia.
"You got anything on this old boyfriend?" asked Leila.
"You doubt my abilities? Of course I do. Anthony Resh. Lives in Mesquite." said Sophia.
"Alright, I'll meet you there." said Leila. She listened as Sophia gave her the address than she hung up. She looked back at Greg, who was looking at her expectantly. "I'll explain on the way." she told him as they headed out of the hotel and walked to her Denali.
Leila pulled up outside the address where she found Sophia waiting. Her and Greg got out and joined her. The three of them than walked up to the front door and Sofia knocked.
"Las Vegas police!" she yelled.
A few minutes later and the door was opened by a man who looked to be in at least his mid-thirties.
"Anthony Resh?" asked Sophia.
"Yes." he said.
"I'm Detective Curtis, this is Greg Sanders and Leila Tompkins with the crime lab. May we come in?" asked Sophia.
Mr. Resh appeared a bit confused as to why the cops were at his front door but he moved back and allowed them to enter.
The outside looked better than the inside. There were a few pizza boxes as well as beer and soda cans lying around. If you asked her, Leila would say that this guy was in serious and dior need of a housekeeper.
"Sorry about the mess, I had a little bit of a party last night. Just some close friends wanting to have fun, and it was legal." said Mr. Resh.
"Don't worry, that's not why we're here." said Sofia. "Do you know Amanda Freeman?" she asked.
"Yes, we actually dated some time back and ended up having an affair a few months ago. We're just good friends now. Why?" asked Mr. Resh.
Sofia, Leila and Greg looked at each other, none of them wanting to have to give the bad news.
"Mr. Resh, we're sorry to have to tell you this but Miss Freeman was found dead some time ago." said Leila, deciding it was best she tell him since she was there and saw her.
"What? Oh my God, how...how did this happen?" asked Mr. Resh.
"We're still currently investigating but we believe she was murdered." said Leila.
"Murdered?" asked Mr. Resh.
"Can you think or know anyone who might want to hurt her?" asked Greg.
"No, no Amanda was one of those people who is...was so well liked. She was friends with everyone she came across, she'd been that way since high school. Everyone loved her." said Mr. Resh. He paused for a minute. "Does her family know?"
"We've been unable to reach them so far." said Sofia.
"I'll tell them. I should be the one to tell them. We grew up together." said Mr. Resh.
"Of course. If you think of anything that might help our investigation, please contact us." said Sofia.
Mr. Resh just nodded as Leila, Sofia and Greg turned and headed out.
"You buy what he said?" asked Sofia once they were outside.
"I don't know. He seemed pretty sincere." said Leila.
"So why kill this girl? She seemed like a decent human being. Why go after her?" asked Sofia.
"It may not have been just about her, or him for that matter." said Greg.
"What do you mean?" asked Sofia.
"Well, if Jack and Donald did kill this couple, it wasn't just about them. It was about us as well. This couple had the same problem me and Greg had in our relationship awhile ago. The only small difference is was that Greg and I were married at the time, these two weren't. And if this was done the same as the other two couples from our earlier case, neither Jack or Donald actually killed either of these two themselves. They had the husband kill his wife than waited for him to practically beg for death, a mercy killing sort of, since he killed the one person that meant more to him than anything." said Leila.
"It's still murder." said Sofia.
"I know. It's sick and twisted but these guys are smart. They leave little to no evidence behind that can be traced to them." said Leila.
"They've eventually gotta screw up somewhere, they always do." said Greg, looking over at her and she looked at him but only for a moment.
"So what do we do?" asked Sofia.
"Only thing we can do. Use what evidence we have. There has to be a way that they're tracking down these people. They're specific about the type of couple they want and what relationship problems they're having. Compare backgrounds between all three couples, see if there's anyone they have in common." said Leila.
"But if we already know who these guys are..." Sofia became but Leila cut her off.
"'Cause I doubt that Jack is his real name and even if it was, you know how many Jack's there are, just in Vegas alone? And Donald wanted us to know who he was for a reason. He and Jack are too smart to get caught until they say otherwise. We can just use what we've got to catch them." said Leila.
"Alright, I'm on it." said Sofia, turning and heading to her car.
Leila and Greg climbed in their own, Leila letting Greg drive this time.
"So what are we gonna do? I know you have something up your sleeve." said Greg.
"Yes I do and I hate to ask, but do you think that maybe Marla and Aaron James could help us?" asked Leila, regretting it as soon as the question left her mouth as she saw the saddened look in his eyes.
"I was afraid you were going to say that." said Greg, trying to laugh it off but it came out more as a harsh laugh and he quickly looked away from Leila and out the window.
"I'm really sorry, you know I wouldn't ask if I thought we had any other options but we don't." said Leila, seeing the pain he was in and it hurt her deeply to see him like this. It was never easy to take another person's life, that she had learned a few times.
"I know, I just don't wanna dig up those wounds again. I mean, you didn't see the look in her eyes whenever she looked at me, the man who took her son's life, and almost sent the other one to jail." said Greg, turning to look at her and she saw the pain in his eyes.
Leila took his hand in hers and placed the other on his shoulder.
"Hey, you did the right thing. You saved an innocent man's life." she said, trying her best to comfort him.
"But I took another's." said Greg.
"It was an accident. Besides, he shouldn't have been going around beating people up. No, I'm not saying that he deserved to die but neither did the dishwasher. And do you know how many lives you saved that night, how many possible victims didn't have to worry about becoming the next target? Sometimes we do things in our lives that we could regret later but you have to stop and think about the positive things that come from those actions. I mean, if I hadn't killed my father, we probably wouldn't be together right now." said Leila.
"That's different Leila." said Greg, turning to look away from her.
"Not that different." said Leila, taking his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her. "He died by my hands Greg. I never wanted to kill him, I just wanted him to pay for the things he had done. But if I hadn't done what I did, you or maybe even I wouldn't be here right now. I'm not proud of what I did, but I stopped regretting it a long time ago. Because every time I look at you, I'm glad that I know that there is nothing else he can do to hurt us. I feel safer knowing that he is no longer here and that we can be together without worrying about him coming after us. It was because of him that I was afraid to love you and to be with you, but I'm not afraid anymore and that's why I don't regret what I did. And if anything, even if I don't know all the facts or every little detail, I am proud of you for what you did. You did what any normal person would have done in that situation." she said, letting a few tears roll down her cheeks. It wasn't because of what she had done but because she was in pain knowing that he was, knowing that he regretted and was haunted by what he did.
Greg didn't know what to say. He had never seen Leila like this before. It was the first time that she had talked about her father since his death. And it hurt him to see that she was crying, because of him, because he was hurting for what he had done to the James family that night. He slowly lifted a hand and gently wiped away her tears, watching her lean into his touch as he did so.
"I'm sorry. You're right." he said. It was all he needed to say.
"It's alright. I just don't like seeing you like this. It hurts me to see that you're hurting." said Leila.
"I know and I am so sorry." said Greg, feeling his own tears forming.
"Don't be, it isn't your fault." said Leila, quickly wiping them away before they could fall. She than smiled warmly and lovingly at him.
Greg couldn't help but smile back, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers. This wasn't easy on him and he was glad that she understood that. He had tried to put it all behind him but it seemed that each time he did, it came back to bite him on the ass. He was just grateful that Leila was there with him and to have her support. It meant everything to him. And he knew that he didn't need to tell her that, that she could see it his eyes and she already knew.
Greg pulled up to the James' house and stopped, putting the vehicle in park and shutting it off. Him and Leila sat in silence for a moment as he stared up at the house where Marla lived with her remaining son, Aaron. He felt Leila place her hand on his and turned to look at her.
"You sure you just don't want me to handle this?" asked Leila, clearly concerned that this could upset him more.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I can do this, but just so long as you're there with me." said Greg.
"Don't worry, I'll be with you every step." said Leila, not able to keep the smile off her face.
After taking a deep breath, Greg reluctantly let go of Leila's hand and climbed out of the denali with Leila following him. She quickly joined his side and retook his hand in hers and together they headed up the drive to the front door. Leila let Greg knock on the door and a few seconds later, it was answered by Marla James, and she did not look pleased to see them.
"Oh what the hell do you want now? Come to try to put my son in jail again?" asked Mrs. James angrily.
"Mrs. James, we're not here to cause any problems for you or Aaron but we need your help." said Greg.
Mrs. James laughed bitterly, not believing him.
"Mrs. James, please. We're not here as cops." said Leila, trying her hand at the swaying the woman.
Mrs. James' expression softened as she looked at Leila.
"What's this about?" she asked.
"Donald James." said Leila. "Please, we really need your help."
Mrs. James said nothing, she simply stepped back and allowed them to enter before shutting the door behind them.
"What about Donald? What's he done now?" she asked.
"I take it that Donald has been in trouble before?" asked Greg.
"Are you kidding? That boy can't stay out of trouble. Got a record a mile long. If there's anyone you should throw in jail, it's him." said Mrs. James.
Greg and Leila looked at each other. They hadn't thought to look up Donald's record, figuring it would send up a red flag since he was related to Demetrius and Aaron.
"You still haven't told me what this is about." said Mrs. James.
"Mrs. James, we think that Donald has helped commit a series of murders, and even helped with a kidnapping." said Greg.
"Kidnapping? Who did he kidnap?" asked Mrs. James.
"Me." said Leila flatly.
Mrs. James looked at her with a look of sympathy.
"You're lucky to be alive." she said.
"What do you mean?" asked Greg.
"Donald has been known to have quite the temper. He took one girl captive a few years ago. When they found her, she had been beaten and raped pretty badly, barely alive. Donald was nowhere to be found, he just disappeared. You should consider yourself lucky that he didn't do the same to you." said Mrs. James.
"We don't think luck had anything to do with it. We believe it was planned. He's been working with another man whose idea we don't know yet." said Leila.
"So why do you need my help?" asked Mrs. James.
"We were hoping you might know how we could track him down. Like places he likes to hang out or where he might go to hide out." said Greg.
"I barely know him let alone where he hangs out. But Aaron might be able to help you, he's hung out with him a couple of times." said Mrs. James.
"May we speak to him?" asked Leila.
Mrs. James led them down the hall to one the bedrooms, presumably Aaron's. The door was shut and when Mrs. James opened the door, the room was empty and the window was wide open.