A/N: A ha! Another chapter! So 3 chapters in one week, what's up with that? Lol. Alas, I am back to work tomorrow so I suppose we should make the most of it. I have seriously been enjoying writing, although this story has consumed me so I fear I have neglected Guilt and The Calling a bit. I must work on them and I promise I will. Guilt is nearly finished and so is the next Calling chapter so I'll try hard to get them up soon.
Evil hat is being, well, evil. He's loving it. And the plot is about to get thicker, if that is at all possible.
No beta, so any drivel is totally my fault. Thank you for the reviews, more please!
So let's see if the team are going to get any closer to finding Grissom. I have a feeling they may get a break but will it work out? Hmmm… we will see. The hat is laughing.
Chapter 10
After dropping off the file of photos to Hodges, Sara and Russell entered Ecklie's office and the sheriff closed the door behind him.
"Sit down," he directed and the two CSI's did so. Ecklie sat behind his desk and looked to both of them in turn, his eyes settling on Sara. "Are you holding up?" he asked with care and concern.
Swallowing hard, Sara nodded and crossed her hands tightly over her lap. "I'm doing my best," she responded quietly.
Ecklie held up his hands. "Right now, I have been back in Vegas for two hours. I have the vaguest of details as to what's gone on. So, Russell, please, if you will..."
The supervisor scratched his forehead. "Ronald Basderic was released this morning. Case dropped due to insufficient and or however you want to put it, tainted evidence." You could tell Russell was frustrated; it came out in his tone.
The sheriff exhaled a heavy sigh. "That, I still need to discuss with the DA but what's done is done. Frustrating yes and agonizing I understand." His eyes flicked to Sara. "Do you know about the restraining order?"
Sara shuffled a little uncomfortably but nodded again. "Yes, not that it will do any good." She took a breath, deciding right now, with Ecklie, honesty was the best policy. She needed his support. "We have already crossed paths."
Now the sheriff frowned. "I can't change the fact he is a free man and I have been warned that we tread very carefully with Mr. Basderic. The department can not afford another $2 million lawsuit, Sara."
"Do you think I care about money right now?" she snapped. Leaning forwards she gritted her teeth. "He has taken my husband and..."
Russell shot out a hand to her arm, probably squeezing a little tighter than he should and she silenced, shooting him a very discontented stare.
"Calm down and let me explain things to Conrad before we start throwing punches, okay?" His words were soft but professional.
On another heavy swallow, Sara nodded. "Sorry," she apologized to both her superiors. "I'm just very agitated right now."
"Understandable," Ecklie replied. "But if we are going to get anywhere then you need to control your aggression. I know what you can be like with your temper, so control it."
Sara rolled her eyes but kept quiet.
"Carry on, Russell," the sheriff urged.
"Right," Russell continued. "Sara had an envelope delivered here this morning. Inside was a copy of her divorce paper with an added twist."
"Twist?"
"Till death do you part was stuck on the bottom of the page in big red lettering."
Sara closed her eyes recalling Grissom's scream down the phone.
Ecklie picked up a pencil and began scribbling notes onto a piece of paper. "I don't understand. You're already divorced aren't you?"
Sara's eyes popped open and locked with Ecklie's. "No," she said quietly. "It's wasn't final."
"Oh."
"Right now, that's irrelevant," Russell tried to speed things up conscious of the time they were losing. "Grissom flew into Vegas today."
Now Ecklie looked truly confused.
"We were going to try and work things out," Sara told him, knowing what he was thinking.
Russell continued, "Sara was alarmed by the paper so we went to the airport to meet him but he'd taken an earlier flight. We then received a call from Grissom's cell and..." He stopped, taking a breath.
"And what?" Ecklie continued to write.
"My husband was being tortured," Sara whispered, attempting to hold in the sob that was threatening to escape.
Ecklie looked up sharply.
Sara sucked in a gasp. "We heard it. We have the recording."
Now the sheriff swallowed hard.
"Can we speed this up?" Sara just about begged. "Every second we are sitting here is a second we are not finding Gil."
Ecklie's face softened. "Sara, I need to know where we are if I'm going to help find him. And I also need to know where you are and whether or not it's a good idea for you to be working on this."
Sara did not look happy with that comment and a deep frown furrowed in her brow. "I'm fine," she responded gritting her teeth.
"Honestly I doubt that," Ecklie disagreed.
She looked away from him and folded her arms.
Ecklie held his tongue and went back to Russell. "What else?" he asked.
Russell blew out a breath. "We are going through CCTV. We have someone taking Grissom in the parking deck but no face. The guy was clever, seemed to know where the cameras were. It's possible someone helped him at the airport and Greg is looking into that."
"How was he taken?" Ecklie continued to write as Russell gave him the facts.
"He was given a rental. He was jumped and smothered in the car."
Now Ecklie's eyes narrowed and he looked up from his paper. "Who rented the car?"
Russell looked to Sara and she fidgeted nervously.
"What?" Ecklie questioned noticing the air had suddenly turned thicker.
Leaning forwards, Russell entwined his fingers on Ecklie's desk. "We don't know who rented it. They used a false ID."
"Who's?"
"Mine," Sara cut in saving the hassle.
Ecklie's brow rose. "Yours?"
"That's right," she sighed bitterly. "Mine. Again, he is trying to set me up just like he did before."
"You mean Basderic?" the sheriff questioned.
"Yes," Sara hissed.
Ecklie shook his head. "What makes you so sure it's him?"
"I know it's him," Sara replied firmly. "He wants to ruin me."
"It's possible someone saw him at the rental place," Russell added. "We would like to put him in a line up."
Now Ecklie looked uncomfortable and sat back, "How possible are we talking?"
Russell's nose twitched, "A maybe."
"With our current standing on Mr. Basderic I don't know if a maybe is good enough to bring him in for a line up."
"Please…" Sara just about begged. "This could give us the proof we need. This is Gil we are talking about, you do know that, right?"
Ecklie squirmed a little. He really didn't want another lawsuit. "I need to know every single little detail about this before I can make that decision."
Sara's head bowed in defeat.
"So they used Sara's ID but who actually picked up the car?" Ecklie continued, sidestepping the request for the lineup.
"A woman who looked like Sara," Russell answered.
Ecklie shrugged. "So, who is this woman?"
"We don't know," Sara mumbled.
Ecklie rolled his eyes. "Well have you tried to find out?"
Russell tilted his head, Sara did the same and they looked at each other. It's the one thing they hadn't done. They had been so busy processing the physical evidence they had collected and taking statements, they'd not even begun trying to trace who she could be.
And she could be a vital link.
Clearing his throat, Ecklie tapped his pencil on the desk. "I'll take that as a no."
"No," Russell admitted.
Ecklie shrugged again. "Then what are you waiting for? You find her; you find out who she gave the car to. Sara, why don't you start while I finish talking to Russell? He'll catch up with you and I will let you know about the lineup as soon as I can. I will seriously consider it."
She nodded although she felt a little demoralized. She was however keen to be doing something productive and she was gone before Ecklie could even say another word.
Russell closed the door once Sara had left and sat back down.
"Do you think it's a good idea for her to be working on this?" Ecklie questioned.
Running a hand through his hair, Russell stretched his neck. "I realize its personal but I don't think we could drag her away even if we tried. Would you back away if you were her?"
Ecklie puckered his lips. "There is personal and there's personal. Do you know their history together? Do you know how easily Sara can turn from a kitten to a lion? And with some of the things I've heard so far, she could even be implicated in this."
"That's ridicules and you know it," Russell argued. "She had nothing to do with this and I'm aware of Sara's history, yes. As for her relationship with her husband, I may not be as informed as most but I know she loves him and she will do anything to find him."
"Exactly," Ecklie countered immediately. "Anything and that could be bad."
"Well…" Russell took of his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt, "…better we have her with us then so we can keep an eye on her isn't it?"
Now Ecklie rolled his eyes and sat back. He waved his hand in the air. "Tell me everything I don't know yet…
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Sara found a free room and pulled up a chair to the computer.
She brought up Basderic's file feeling bile rising up her throat as his photo appeared on the screen. Shaking it off, she immediately clicked on the info button and Basderic's history popped up.
Her eyes scanned over the rows and rows of data before her. His place of birth, previous addresses, job history etc etc until her eyes settled upon family. She noticed next to siblings there was the number 1 and she frowned.
She clicked on it and it immediately went into search. What the search brought up caused her heart to pump.
A woman's photo and basic information popped up and she suspected the person looking back at her could be who they were looking for. She read the name - Emily Hicks.
Typing the woman's name into the data search bar she hit enter and waited for the computer to do it's thing. It didn't take long for numerous files to pop up and Sara began reading.
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
About ten minutes later Russell located Sara and found her deep in thought at the computer.
She heard him behind her and looked over her shoulder as he approached. "How did it go?" she asked.
Russell puffed out his cheeks. "He suggested I take you off the case."
"I should have guessed as much." She gave him a weak smile but then it faded. "You're not going to, are you?"
He shook his head, placing his hands on the back of her chair. "Not unless you give me another reason to."
Her smile returned. "What about the line up?"
"He's still thinking about it." Russell sat next to his CSI and looked to the computer. "She looks a bit like you," he commented as the picture of a woman stared back at them. "Who is she?"
"Her name is Emily Hicks and…" Sara took a breath, "…she is Basderic's sister.
"I guess we should have looked into family relations a little sooner." He pointed to the screen. "What info do we have on her?"
"Thirty three years old, lives on a horse ranch on the outskirts of Vegas. Quite a big estate," Sara said.
Russell scratched his chin. "She must be well off then?"
Sara nodded. "She is but not by her own doing."
"What do you mean?"
"According to this she was married to Brian Hicks who was a massive oil tycoon. He made millions. But five years ago Mr. and Mrs. Hicks were victims of a carjacking while they were out of town. The report says Brian tried to fight them and he was shot dead during the struggle. They then proceeded to run Emily over with the vehicle. She suffered major head injuries but survived."
Russell blinked in surprise. "That's heavy," he commented.
"Yeah," Sara mumbled. "I checked her medical history after the accident. The head injury caused some retardation. She has a minder who stays with her at the house although the records don't show she is incapable of looking after herself. It could be because she suffers from severe panic attacks now as well as epilepsy. They can be deadly if you're on your own."
"Well I guess with what her husband left her, she can afford it," Russell surmised.
Sara agreed with a nod.
"She could have been the one at the rental shop…" Russell paused, "…but she just doesn't sound like the kind of person who would willingly help kidnap someone, especially after what happened to her and her husband."
"Why don't we go and find out?" Sara suggested. This was their only really good lead and she, better than most people, knew blood always ran thicker than water. And if it was family, you would do anything. She wasn't about to think Emily wasn't involved just because of the atrocity she had suffered. Right now, anyone with any link to Basderic could be involved.
Russell pondered Sara's request for a moment. "I'm not so sure if it's such a good idea for you to..."
"Please," Sara whispered. "This could be our best lead. I need to help. I promise I won't mess it up."
He continued to think but they were interrupted when Finn entered the room holding up an evidence bag. "I got a result," she announced.
Standing, Russell looked her over. "What is it?"
"It's horse hair," she replied.
Sara pushed herself up. "Basderic's sister lives on a horse ranch," she added knowingly.
Russell nodded quickly, looking to Sara. "Okay. I think we've got what we need for friendly visit."
"What did I miss?" Finn asked.
"Are you done with the car?" he answered with his own question.
Finn scratched her head. "Just about, why? What's happening?"
Russell looked to his watch. "It will be getting dark soon, so I'll explain on the way. You're coming with me. So let's go see if Brass is back."
Sara felt her shoulders slump and she angrily turned away from him, picking up the mouse and throwing it back down in frustration. She slumped back into the chair.
"Go see if you can find Brass and if you do meet me in reception," he directed Finn.
She didn't argue and left.
"Sara..."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," she spat.
He sighed and moved to sit by her again. "This has nothing to do with confidence. This is about going in totally unbiased. And that's something you're not."
She managed to look at him. "From the looks of Emily's report, she has her own issues. But she could be our lead to finding your husband. We have to question her right, especially without a warrant. We scare her off; we may never get anything from her." He placed his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Where you're at right now, I can't see you having the gentle touch, can you?"
Turning away again she pouted.
"If we find something and can get a warrant, then I'll call you to the scene, okay?" He sounded sincere in his offer and she nodded.
"Fine."
He stood and gripped her shoulder. "Help Greg and Morgan, the CCTV is our last thing now apart from the audio."
She nodded again, attempting to hold in the tears that were fighting to fall. She bit down on her tongue as he left.
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Hodges caught Russell just as he was walking towards reception.
"Russell!" he shouted.
The supervisor blew out a breath, recognizing the voice and turned to his worker. "What is it, David? I'm in a hurry."
"I got the results from the handwriting and the stones you found," he informed his boss.
Russell waited as Hodges seemed to pause. "Well go on then…"
"The handwriting isn't Sara's," he said flatly. "It's a good copy though."
"Okay and the rock?"
Hodges slipped his hands into his pants pockets. "I'm sorry if I jumped the gun about Sara. I just..."
"That's very nice, David, but you should be apologizing to her, not me. The rock?"
"Oh…yeah," the younger man sighed. "The rock is red granite. It's a crushed granite suitable for drives and ideal as ground cover. It consists mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar. So it more than likely came from someone's driveway or garden. It's sold throughout the country so tracing the actual store it came from, is probably not going to happen."
"Well we don't need the store," Russell informed him. "We just need the driveway." He smiled to his lab rat. "Thanks."
Hodges watched as Russell walked away. "You're welcome," he responded with his own smile.
"Don't forget your apology! I'll be checking that you gave it…" Russell finished on before he cut into another corridor.
The smile on Hodges face faltered and he looked around. He spotted Sara coming towards him and took a breath. Scrunching his hands together he approached her.
Sara's eyes were downcast and she didn't notice Hodges as he walked towards her.
"Sara?" he said.
She stopped abruptly and looked up, glaring at him. "What do you want?" she spat. "Got another accusation have you?" She held out her arm. "Like to take some blood? Or would that contaminate your lab?"
He nervously fiddled with his ear lobe. "Look, I just wanted to…"
Sara's right brow rose as she waited for him to continue. He seemed to be squirming. That was always an entertaining sight.
"I wanted to apologize, for my attitude and for…"
"Being an ass?" she finished for him.
He rolled his eyes and nodded, "And for being an ass. I just respect Grissom a lot and I get angry when I think about what happened with you and…"
"Stop right there…" she warned, holding up a finger. "You respect my husband but it's been pretty obvious lately you don't respect me." She took a breath. "Yes I've made mistakes and believe me I'm paying for them but you have no right to judge who I am or what I do. You don't know the half of what I've been through but you're so quick to blame me. And what is more irritating is you wouldn't even listen when I tried to explain to you."
"I know," he said. "And I'm sorry."
Sara ruffled her nose. "You know what, I'm not sure if I believe you. This is probably just to get back on Russell's good side, isn't it?"
His mouth opened and he frowned.
"I'll tell you what. You come and apologize to me when you really mean it. Because right now, I don't think you do."
With that said, Sara brushed past him and turned into the AV lab leaving Hodges looking rather stunned in the corridor.
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
The SUV pulled up outside the gate to the ranch. The sun was beginning to set so time was of the essence if they were going to notice anything.
Brass, seated in the passenger seat pointed to the gate. "We are going to have to buzz and ask to be let up, it's a security gate. No way in unless you have a key."
The whole estate was surrounded by a large fence and indeed entry was through an eight foot, solidly closed security gate.
"Must have more than horses up there if they need security like this," Finn commented.
"Maybe not," Russell answered, unclipping his belt. "Emily Hicks was involved in a carjacking and her husband was killed in the incident. She suffered major injuries. I think now, by the looks of it, she likes to feel safe." He opened his door and stepped out of the SUV with the intention of announcing their arrival but the second his boot hit the ground, he stopped as the crunch beneath his feet aroused his attention.
His eyes narrowed as he looked down and then his brow rose. Crouching down he pinched at the stones on the ground, picking one up in-between finger and thumb to inspect it.
"Jim?"
Brass leaned as far forward as he could get and looked through the open window to the senior CSI. "Yeah?"
"Call Ecklie would you and ask him for a warrant to search." He looked the captain in the eye. "And I feel we will be questioning Mrs. Hick's officially. We'll wait until the warrant gets here."
Finn pushed the electrical button for her window and poked her head out. "What are you doing?" she asked, looking at him confused.
He grinned, holding up the red stone, eyeing it closely. "It's not the first piece of the puzzle anymore; the granite has now fallen into place." He looked at her. "I think we have a match..."
A/N: Oooohhh….. Interesting? Have they found something? The next chapter is very Grissom focused and oh, let me see, it's actually ready to go. BAD HAT. I think he's made friends with Basderic. Hehehehehe. I guess it depends if I get enough reviews to be able to post… Do you want it?
Have a great day! xxxx