She was caught in the current, tumbling and rolling through the water. This time was different; she seemed to be swimming easily through the currents. Her head was soon above water and suddenly he pulled her into his boat. His smile was genuine and his boat was fast. She wouldn't wash up on shore this time. He had saved her. The skies were clearing.
"I need you"
"How can I help?"
Grissom and Khulani arrived at the heavily guarded townhouse. The room was much as his mother had left it. Her little touches everywhere. He was thirsty so he went to grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Grissom opened the door to heaven. One of his mother's many talents was baking and she had taken advantage of his absence. Inside were brownies, fudge, and a fresh pan of baked ziti. A smile formed on his lips as he closed the door.
"Why do you smile that way?"
"My mother has been staying here. And if she made baked ziti then she made-"
His voice broke off as he discovered the large plastic container on top of the fridge. When he opened it, it was, as he knew it would be. The biggest, caramel apples he had ever seen, complete with extra caramel and cashews. There was one however that did not have nuts. A note wrapped around the stick. He picked it up, and then looked at a smiling Khulani when he finished.
For your guest, He doesn't like cashews. He's the very image of her. Talk to him Gil. He's a good boy.
Love, Mom
"Her baking is legendary in Santa Monica."
Grissom didn't know why or how fast it happened but he lunged at Khulani. His hands gripped the collar of his shirt.
"You better start talking. This is my family. Tell me how you know my mother or I take you back to the station!"
"Take your hands off of me, Grissom. It isn't hard for me to disappear. You're angry and frustrated with the lack of evidence on her case. But why don't you think scientifically rather than barbarically?"
All the anger drained from him and Grissom realized his anger was misdirected. He let go but didn't step back.
"I'm sorry you're right, I'm being attacked from every angle and every day I lose another clue."
"Let me help you. I promise once we find this guy, I will tell you everything. This isn't about you and I; this is about her. I've been watching Dr. Lurie very carefully and I'm almost certain I know where he is."
"You know where he is?"
"Yes, I feel fairly confident given his patterns. But I need to find him alone. He trusts me but he doesn't know who I am."
"All right I'll let you go but only on one condition. I want you to work with Nick Stokes on this. Lurie never met Nick and he can also stay behind the scenes."
"I do not have a choice do I?"
"No, but Nick is a good guy and he'll help you without being in the way. I have to do some investigations of my own."
"You're judgments are clouded but I will do as you ask. Please go to the hospital and see her. I will not return there any longer."
"Why?" Grissom said a bit alarmed
"I have yet to prove my worth to her, but I will. I ask that you not say anything to her when she awakens."
The mysticism of the boy was hard for Grissom to accept. He hadn't ever met someone that young who was so detached from emotion or need. There was something in this boy that he recognized but it wasn't about Sara this time.
"I will respect your wishes to introduce yourself, but know that Sara loves very passionately and has been hurt many times. I wish I could say that I wasn't the reason for most of that, but I'd be lying. I'll have Nick meet you here. Will you promise to wait for him?"
"You have my word."
Grissom wrote his cell number down, handed him the spare key from his wallet and left.
Grissom checked his watch it was nearly 2pm. He had a lot to do before he met up with Disco. Pulling out his cell phone he dialed Catherine.
"So you didn't fall off the planet. I tell ya Griss you got it all backwards, you don't give a girl the most passionate dance of her life and then leave her."
"I'm sorry I just couldn't lay there so far away from Sara and be comfortable. But you're never going to believe this."
"After this last month I'll believe anything."
"Yeah well Sara has a son, he's 21, his name is-"
"Khulani."
"What the hell? You know him too? Am I the only one in the dark here?" He could feel his temper rising.
"Tom told me the other night when you were talking to Laura. It seems that Sara may have found out about Khulani though he didn't know how. Apparently six months ago Khulani showed up at the inn not knowing he'd been born in that region. Tom knew who he was because he bares a striking resemblance to Sara."
"Why didn't you tell me that? Geez Catherine, I feel like I'm living in an alternate reality."
"I was going to tell you on the flight back but you left. I really needed time to tell you, Sara having a child isn't an easy thing for you to hear."
"Why because you think I'll leave her?"
"No, because it's a major milestone in a relationship that's had tons of obstacles already."
"Well he's here staying with me. He's her son no question of that. I have to call Nick and get them together. Khulani's been playing detective with Dr. Lurie. I'm going to meet Disco at 8. Wait a second are you still in California?"
"Yeah you catch on fast. That cop from the SFPD called me said he had some information on Sara's case. Listen to this, Cavallo who was head of the department at the time made it clear that only he and a Detective Lansing worked the case. I got in touch with Jonas Klinker who was the DNA lab tech at the time. He distinctly remembered another print coming into the lab; it didn't match the others on Sara's nightstand. A small trace of semen was also collected in her SART kit. Cavallo himself picked up the results from the lab. The print and the semen came from the same guy. A week later Cavallo ruled the evidence contaminated and filed it as unsolved."
"What? Something isn't right about any of that."
"It gets better, Jonas wasn't certain that the evidence was contaminated so he managed to document his findings. Cavallo found out and fired him a week later. Two weeks after that Lansing was found hung in his garage. The coroner ruled it a suicide upon Cavallo's investigation."
"Why would Cavallo investigate this? A dead cop is Internal Affairs."
"That's just it, Cavallo was running IA at the time because the rightful head of IA was under investigation for embezzlement."
"A nice little web, so what are you saying Catherine? Cavallo raped Sara, and tried to kill me?"
"No he's been in Vegas campaigning for mayor. But the coincidence of him working in Vegas, and all of this other evidence points us to him protecting someone."
"Great work Catherine. When are you coming back?"
"I was hoping tonight but with this stuff unraveling here, I need to stay. Sara's mother is letting me stay here at the inn but she wants to see her daughter."
"I'm headed there now. Hey I'm sending company your way. Keep me updated."
He hung up the phone and dialed Nick.
"Nicky my boy, I need you to do some detective work for me. How much do you remember about Dr. James Lurie?"