A/N: As promised, the other half of the scene. Happy 4th of July to all in the States. Sorry if I havn't yet replied to the reviews, I'll get round to it tonight but now, we're off to the beach. I'm taking a deserved break. Enjoy!
Nick had just extracted the second bullet, which he was carefully examining for blood – there only was a trace amount which he swabbed – when he heard Greg curse from under the BMW. He swiftly got out of the SUV, bullet in hand to reach for another evidence bag. As he carefully placed the bullet in the bag, he stooped down next to Greg's feet to peer under the car. "Still no luck?" he inquired.
Nick's comment – although said quietly – made Greg jump and he bumped his head on the undercarriage of the SUV. Wheeling himself out from under there he rubbed his sore head as he said, "On the contrary, Mary."
"What have you got?" Nick said with a shake of his head at Greg's idiocy.
The younger CSI got to his feet with a satisfied smile on his face. "I knew I'd get the little sucker eventually," he smirked, lifting an oily latex-clad hand toward Nick. "Would you take a look at that?" he smiled proudly. "Good old-fashioned crocodile clips clamped onto the fuel line…I almost missed them." He shook his head in disbelief. "This old Beemer petered out of gas. Basic but very effective."
Riley was just coming back from dropping the evidence off when she heard the tail end of his comment. "So the car was definitely tampered with," she said, slipping on a new set of latex gloves. "Well, that definitely takes care of our carjacking theory then. What I don't get though is how the perp knew Grissom would be at the wheel."
Greg arched his brow as he thought about Riley's comment. "Maybe he didn't. Maybe Heather was the target."
"Okay," Riley conceded. "Makes sense, it's her car after all."
"If that's the case," Nick observed, "I'd bet my bottom dollar Griss's abduction is linked to Alison's kidnapping."
"Maybe the abductor got more than he bargained for when he got Grissom instead of Heather," Greg carried on. "There was a struggle…" Greg paused and scrunched his eyes in concentration.
"What are you thinking Greg?" Nick asked.
"Well, we've got to assume he got the better of Griss, right? The evidence's pointing that way. So Griss is incapacitated – most probably unconscious. The attacker could flee the scene – and we'd be none the wiser – and leave Griss behind but he doesn't." He paused to gather his thoughts. "He has a gun; he uses it twice inside the car. He could use it again to finish the job but he chooses not to; there just isn't enough blood to sustain that theory. We agree on that, right?" he asked his colleagues.
Nick and Riley nodded silently in reply.
Greg continued with his reasoning. "What puzzles me though is the fact that our perp then decided to burden himself by taking Grissom with him. Why? What would he gain from that?"
"Maybe Grissom…knew his attacker?" Riley interjected.
Nick shrugged his ambivalence. "That still doesn't explain why he took him instead of killing him, though." He ran his hands over his face and sighed. "But I guess it's a workable theory – for now."
"It's the only theory we got," Greg rightly pointed out.
Nick nodded. "Come on you two," he said as he got back inside the SUV armed with his fingerprint powder, "let's keep at it. Greg, print the crocodile clips, see if there's anything on them."
Suddenly movement at the garage door caught Riley's attention. "Hello, can I help you?" she asked, for the first time noticing the woman silently standing in the doorway.
The tall brunette was still completely mesmerised by the conversation between the CSI's she had just been privy to, her gaze a million miles away as the words echoed in her mind. Her face was a mixture of barely-concealed emotions and her breathing was somewhat shallow – not that she seemed aware of any of it - and her hand was clutching the doorframe as if to prop herself up, her knuckles white.
On hearing she was being spoken to, Sara turned her head toward Riley with a start and stared at her intently even though it looked like she wasn't seeing her at all.
Greg looked up sharply and grinned. "Sara!" he exclaimed putting the crocodile clips on the workbench before striding quickly towards her to envelop her in a tight hug. Sara immediately relaxed a little in Greg's arms and her focus returned. He gingerly backed away from her saying, "Sorry, Sar. I'm covered in grease."
"It's fine, Greg," she assured, squeezing his hand. "Don't worry about it. It's good to see you too."
Greg nodded and peered over Sara's shoulder. "Have you brought Noah with you?"
Sara smiled a little as she nodded. Greg and her son got on like a house on fire. "I...I've put him in Grissom's…hum…in your office, Nick," she said turning toward Nick who had joined them. She leaned across to hug him. "I hope it's okay. He's sound asleep in his car seat and he shouldn't wake up. Judy's keeping an eye on him."
Nick nodded into her shoulder. He pulled away and then said, "I'm so sorry Sara."
Her smile wobbled. "It's okay," she said unconvincingly. "I'm okay."
"You drove?" Greg asked, his tone incredulous as he checked his watch.
"No. I flew." Sara looked beyond Greg and Nick. "I'm sorry. You must be Riley." She smiled. "I'm Sara."
"I know who you are," Riley said with a small friendly wave. She snapped her latex glove off as she moved closer the group and extended her right hand to shake Sara's. "Nice to finally meet you, Sara," she smiled as she shook her head, adding, "These two have no manners."
"Is this Heather's car?" Sara wondered with a nod toward the SUV although she already knew the answer to that.
"Yeah," Riley replied.
Sara closed her eyes for just a second as though giving herself a pep talk and then turned toward Nick and Greg. "So tell me what you got," she said deliberately hiding the fact that she had heard their conversation before they noticed her presence.
Nick and Greg exchanged looks.
"Come on guys; if you don't tell me, I'll get it from Catherine and I'd much rather hear it from the horse's mouth. When he picked me up, Jim said you got the car and that you were still processing it. Was it tampered with?"
"As a matter of fact it was," replied Riley when she noticed her colleagues' hesitation to answer Sara's query. "What makes you ask?"
Sara gave a small shrug. "An educated guess?"
The three CSI's brought Sara up to speed on all their findings so far, sparing her only the most distressing details. Sara absorbed it all stoically, asking pertinent questions, not showing any signs of emotion or distress as though she was back in time just working a normal case. When they had finished their account, they each returned to their individual jobs and Sara kept a watchful eye on the proceedings – a task she had conducted countless times herself in this same garage. She had to trust they were doing a thorough job. Hell, she knew they were doing a thorough job. And surprisingly for all involved – except Riley who didn't know any different - she took a back seat and let them get on.
It's so long ago since I last processed a car, she thought sadly. I used to enjoy it too.
As Nick was finishing dusting for prints the interior of the vehicle, Riley shut the boot and decided to take another last look at the rear of the car. She caught a glimpse of something shimmering under the beam of her flashlight and she bent down, frowning, toward the driver's seat back.
"What's this?" Riley said reaching for her camera to take a quick shot of her finding before gently easing out what looked like an inch of fine gold chain that was sticking out from the gap at the bottom of the seat back. As she pulled the chain out further, a gold wedding band fell out onto the black carpeting and Sara who had come forward to take a look audibly gasped.
"What is it, Sara? Do you recognise this?" Nick asked softly from the front of the car.
Sara nodded, her eyes fixed on the ring as tears began to fill her eyes. The chain had snapped near the clasp and some of the gold links were twisted out of shape.
And all of a sudden the reality of the situation hit her and she couldn't keep pretending anymore. "It's Gil's…it's his wedding…band." A tear escaped and she wiped it off roughly, angry with herself at her emotional display. "He keeps it around his neck when he's in the field or doing experiments," she murmured.
"I swear," Riley said, "it wasn't there when I processed the rear of the car earlier." She turned to Nick, shaking her head. "I wouldn't have missed it. You must have dislodged it when you lay across the front seats before and…"
"It's all right, Riley," Sara said with a smile that never quite reached her eyes as she placed her hand on the young CSI's shoulder. "It doesn't make a difference anyway whether you got it now or two hours ago. We already know there was a struggle and that…someone was injured." She looked down and became quiet for a moment. She reached a trembling hand toward the ring. "Can I have it?"
Riley held it out for Sara to take but Nick said, "You can't, sweetheart. You know we got to process it first."
Nodding her head to show she understood, Sara slowly brought her hand back to her side and smiled a wobbly smile as she fought hard to keep her tears from falling while she watched Riley bag and tag her husband's most prised possession.
She turned away and moved over to the corner of the garage where she remained quiet for a long moment as she let the CSI get on, undisturbed while she attempted to regain some composure.
After a long while spent in fascination at the sight before her, Sara asked, "What's this, Nick? Is this what you and Gil are working on?" Sara kept her gaze on the insects in the terrarium, mesmerised by their incessant activity.
"Yeah," Nick replied softly as he made his way toward her.
Sara turned and smiled at Nick. "I'm simply amazed you chose to continue in Gil's footsteps with this. Did you volunteer or did Catherine put you up to it?" she asked a little playfully.
"It was my choice but don't worry," he winked, "it's cool, I'm not looking for revenge. I won't let them die."
She chuckled. "Gil would hunt you down if you did," she mused with a little sadness.
Suddenly, Debussy's Clair de Lune could be heard floating around the garage. Sara turned her head with a start, anxiously rushed to her purse and quickly rummaged for her cell. Checking the display, her face unexpectedly lit up and she looked up to three expectant faces.
"It's him!" she exclaimed looking happy and relieved but bewildered, "It's Gil!"
She quickly flipped her phone open. "Gil? My God. Are you all right? Where are you? I've been…" Sara's face dropped as she heard a voice she didn't recognise reply.
"Oh!" A slight pause. "Mr Grissom's better half, I presume," said the distorted voice. "Interesting."
Sara's hand started to tremble and Nick and Greg exchanged worried look at the unexpected change in their friend's expression. "Who are you?" Sara demanded to know. "Is Gil…is Grissom all right? What have you done with him? What do you want from us?"
The voice chortled. "You two are as bad as each other. You ask far too many questions. I'm going to make this quick, so please don't interrupt me. I'm afraid I have some bad news. Mr Grissom…Gil," the voice amended snidely, "has had an unfortunate accident which sadly resulted in his death…"
"No," Sara cut in. "I don't believe you. You're lying. Where is he?" Sara asked mustering all her strength in order to keep it together. Although she had tried to keep her voice steady and unwavering, the man had picked up on her distress and openly snickered at her. His mockery cut her like a knife. "Tell me where he is…please," she couldn't help but add pleadingly.
The voice snorted. "Oh, believe me. I do feel your pain. I know what it's like to lose a loved one."
The words cut Sara raw and she realised she was playing right into his hand by showing her grief. Any trace of anxiety disappeared from her voice as she uttered, "I don't believe you. I won't believe this until…"
"You want proof, is that it?" the man interrupted. "I should have known. Two peas in a pod," he remarked more to himself than to Sara. "I can and I will indulge you if it's going to put your mind at rest. Which would you prefer?" There was a short pause, most probably for effect. "A photograph? A body part? Or better still, the whole of him?"
Sara's eyes darkened at the man's contempt. "How did you get this phone?" she spat angrily, her fighting spirit returning with force. "We're going to get you, you hear me? You weren't so smart this time and you left something behind…"
Sara didn't have time to say any more as the call got disconnected on the other end. Shaking, she was unable to keep the tears from silently streaming down her cheeks as she flipped her cell shut. Her rage and pain were over-spilling uncontrollably through her tears. She brought a hand to her face as she slowly brought her haunted look up towards Nick. She didn't need words to explain for him to understand; hearing her side of the communication was enough.
Yet, he had to make sure. "What is it Sara? What did he say?" Nick whispered as he pulled her into his arms.
Sara fought against him, still pent up after the phone call but relented almost straightaway and let herself be enveloped in his strong hold. She sobbed openly, her face burrowed into his shoulder and then when she was spent she pushed herself off him a little, wiping her tear-streaked cheeks. She tried a watery smile. Greg had moved closer too, and standing behind Sara he was gently rubbing his hand over her back, casting Nick some desperate glances.
"Sara?" Greg tried. "We need to know. Talk to us," he coaxed gently.
Sara took a deep breath as she attempted to calm down. "Whoever took Gil has also got his phone." She closed her eyes and swayed on her feet as though she was going to faint. "He used a voice-altering device and he said that he…" her lower lip trembled as she fought a new tide of tears, "he said that he…that he was…dead." The last word was whispered so quietly that Nick thought he had misunderstood.
"This has got to be linked to Alison's kidnapping," Greg muttered totally disregarding Sara's last comment and voicing what they all thought. "Too many coincidences otherwise. And we all know what Grissom think about them."
"Oh, I agree. But this time he's gotten careless," Nick said, "We got plenty of evidence." Turning to Sara, he pursed his lips into a small smile and tilted his head to the side silently asking whether she was going to be okay. When she nodded, he said, "Why don't you take the phone to Archie, see what he can get from it. Greg? You and Riley finish up here while I take all this to Mandy and check with her and Wendy what they got so far."
Greg and Riley nodded. "Don't forget Grissom's…wedding ring," Riley said, holding out said item.
Nick took the evidence bag from her and continued, "After, I'm going to go take a look at the tyre mouldings we got at the scene but I'm pretty sure what vehicle will come up a possible match. But if we want to nail the son of a bitch we're going to have to dot all our I's and cross all our T's."
"Sara?" Nick asked her as they got to the garage door. "You're going to be all right?"
She nodded as she picked up her purse. "I'm fine. Let's nail this bastard," she said, a determined scowl etched on her face.
Tbc.
A/N: I almost cut it at "It's him!" she exclaimed looking happy and relieved but bewildered, "It's Gil!" but I didn't have the heart. You see Robynne, I'm not such a good student after all. And thank you all so much for your support, kind words of encouragement and simply sticking with me through the doubts. You know the drill, if you're enjoying this, please leave me a review, they mean a lot.