A/N: Away from home for the weekend, back with another Chapter on Sunday (read this one slowly!!) Thanks for all the comments, reviews, emails, thanks, thanks!!
Hope and Justice Chapter 13
Catherine took pills to sleep and pills to wake. She yelled at Lindsey and ignored her mother. She went about her work with a vengeance that made everyone but Greg dodge her in the hallways. He followed her around, agreed to take assignments with her, made her eat, and took her to Grissom's house to talk about Warrick. Occasionally, Brass showed up at the same time.
The three were eating early one morning at a diner when a familiar face walked in, saw the three, and made his way to their booth. Without waiting for an invitation, one he was sure would not come, he sat across from Catherine. Adam Novak grinned a crooked smile as he ordered coffee.
"Hey, CSIs and Captain Brass."
Because they needed someone else in their conversation, because they could each dislike the man sitting with them, because none of them had the energy to tell him to leave, Adam Novak stayed at their table and talked, asked questions, and looked at the red-rimmed eyes of the pretty blonde trying to muster courage to ask her out. On this morning, he did not.
A few days later, he found Greg alone in the same diner and asked enough questions to find his own answers about Catherine. He asked Greg if he could get Catherine back to the diner again and the next morning both had ordered breakfast when the lawyer casually walked in for the third time in a week. Smarter than most people gave him credit for, Greg ate quickly and left to walk Grissom's dog.
That night, Greg noticed a subtle change in Catherine and he suppressed a grin and any questions he had. A week later, Catherine left work early.
Greg asked, "What's up with you?"
"Meeting someone for breakfast—not at the diner." She smiled as she applied lip gloss, then combed her hair.
"Anyone I know?" Greg thought he knew. Catherine flicked his chin, gave him a wink, and left.
Adam Novak turned out to be a charismatic charmer when alone with Catherine. He took her to a quiet restaurant that served an excellent meal and where employees left patrons alone to talk. Quietly over several days, with a gentle persuasion Catherine would not have expected, he brought her back from her isolation of grief. She found herself laughing at his antics and his stories.
Her mother noticed a change but kept quiet. Her daughter continued to ignore her mother but was secretly happy to see a difference. Greg did not ask questions. He had also noticed a similar change in Nick but had no clue as to why.
Every Sunday afternoon while their supervisor was gone, his team met in his house. Files were pulled from a box and read, re-read, notes made, with nothing new being added. The third Sunday, Catherine called saying she would be late, but wanted to bring someone who 'might help'—by this time the others knew they were getting nowhere, and all three thought her 'someone' would be her mother.
Nick and Greg had their own surprise hidden in Grissom's garage—Warrick's car scheduled for the impound lot had been diverted to another lot then moved to the enclosed garage. By now, interest in the car had waned and no one gave a second glance when paperwork changed and no car appeared. The two had no idea what they might find; they just wanted to examine the car.
Brass was happy to get together with this team knowing that their concentration on a problem would eventually result in its solution. When he saw the car in the garage, he knew who had managed this job. Greg and Nick were busy with lights and print dust; both knowing too much time had passed to get any real evidence. At least they were busy.
Then Catherine arrived with Adam Novak. The three men watched in silence as the couple walked into the garage. Catherine smiled a little as she circled the car.
"Should I ask how this got here? Or just ignore it?" She asked. Adam leaned against the garage wall with Brass.
"Ignore it," was Nick's suggestion. He was not sure what to think about Novak's arrival.
They spread photographs across cabinets and tabletops showing these to Adam. He asked questions, talked about the money found in the car—everyone in the courthouse knew general details of Warrick's death and the over-riding suspicion that Warrick was taking money for evidence and information. He concurred with Brass and Grissom that someone high on the ladder was involved. While the others looked at evidence, the lawyer worked a list of names in his PDA.
"Catherine, divide up Warrick's cases by name—who signed off on closed cases." Adam said as he scrolled down names.
"Not all are closed." Nick said as he handed files to Catherine. "Several are still open, a couple are cold, several are still being processed." They knew the lead investigator, the undersheriff, or the sheriff had responsibility for designating status of all cases but often other people actually signed off.
"Closed first, then we will do the others." Catherine was placing cases in three stacks. "Tell what you told me yesterday, Adam."
"I have no evidence," he said. "Just a hunch."
They all stopped what they were doing. Brass was the first to say one name. He and Novak met eyes across the table. "I hope this place isn't bugged."
Nick held up a small palm sized device. "Checked this morning." He grinned. "Besides, with Greg's music, who can hear anything?"
The group talked about the named person. Catherine looked at the signature on the open, pending, and cold cases left on the table. The open and pending cases had the same signature, but the name would be found on a third or more of all investigated cases in the county.
"What makes you think it's him?" asked Greg. They had heard every Sunday why Brass thought the undersheriff was taking payoffs—probably not the shooter—but a general distaste for how he worked was the only reason Brass could give. Greg did not like the man.
Catherine passed everyone a drink while Adam Novak began his explanation of the politician; nothing specific, just years of courthouse gossip and seeing McKean around prisoners and defendants and trials make him question certain aspects of the undersheriff's conduct. "Nothing I can specifically put my finger on, nothing I can say 'he's guilty of this', but the man's not squeaky clean."
Greg was bouncing around the room like a puppy. "Wouldn't it be great if we cornered this guy before Grissom returned!" He was laughing as he checked a calendar. "We have nearly a week, guys. How can we do it?"
Novak glanced at the young man, then at the others. "Follow the money."
The others laughed with him, all shaking their heads. "Not likely," Catherine chuckled at Greg's enthusiasm. Adam had not only been charming, he had also listened as she talked about Warrick. She had discovered that she liked the guy.
As the group parted, Brass reminded each one not to talk about any of this at work or where they were likely to be overheard. Nick announced he had a date, then refused to provide a name as Catherine and Greg listed people at work. Leaving, he agreed to tell them more if the 'date went well.' By the end of the week, they expected Grissom and Sara to be at home.
A/N: Okay--you got this far so leave us a review!! Thanks.