SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 23 out, this is Chapter 24 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny which, unfortunately, is still alive and kicking.

Chapter 24: Up in Smoke

"Check out that mold." Nick remarked, he and Dr. Philips were standing in front of the open chimney looking at the burned body. "It's just eating away at the flesh."

"That much mold would suggest he was burned at least a few days ago." Dr. Philips concluded.

"He?" Nick echoed.

"I measured the pelvic bone: sub-pubic angle's less than ninety degrees." Dr. Philips nodded. "He's male. Any suggestions on how to proceed?"

"Wrap and roll." Nick instructed.

"Great." Dr. Philips muttered, picking up a sheet and handed it to Nick. He then spread a second sheet out on the attic floor as Nick wrapped his sheet around the body.

"Okay, you get the head." Nick stated.

"Okay." Dr. Philips nodded.

"On three..." Nick trailed.

"Yeah." Dr. Philips nodded.

"One, two..." Nick started the countdown. Three." At that, they removed the body from the chimney.

"Mm!" Dr. Philips mused. "He's lighter than I expected."

"Most of the muscle and flesh have burned away." Nick noted. "He's pretty well drained of fluids. He probably weighed twice as much when he was alive."

"Well, that would explain how the killer was able to carry him up to the roof and then foist him down the chimney." Dr. Philips remarked.

"Yeah." Nick nodded. "Get him to the morgue."

In the autopsy lab, Dr. Philips was going over the body, taking various swab samples. He lifted a plastic credit card-shaped item out of the victim's shirt pocket and placed it in a metal bin.

"Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside?" Nick joked, entering the autopsy lab.

"Crispy though and through." Dr. Philips corrected. "Based on the melted fibers, he was probably wearing a polyester shirt."

"Well, synthetics are just plastic polymers." Nick pointed out. "They melt instead of burn. What's that?" he spotted the burnt plastic.

"Oh, some sort of plastic." Dr. Philips replied. "I found it where his shirt pocket would've been. I'm thinking maybe a credit card."

"Good, good." Nick nodded. "I'll work it up; try to get an ID."

"Let me guess: He burned to death." Nick stated.

"Don't jump the gun yet, Nicky." Adeline stated.

"I can't confirm COD." Dr. Robbins admitted.

"Come on, Docs, this isn't a hard one." Nick scolded.

"His bones are fractured; check out the femur." Adeline pointed to the thigh bone with a pen.

"It's not uncommon to find bone fractures in fire victims." Nick remarked. "The body produces heat, causing the long bones to contract and fracture."

"Well, that's right, but check out the chips in the skull." Dr. Robbins said.

"Bone chipping is also a symptom of extreme heat." Nick stated.

"Very good." Dr. Robbins nodded. "So, if we didn't know better, fire could be the cause of death."

"Key word being could." Adeline added.

"What are you getting at?" Nick frowned.

"You see the blood spot on the interior of the forehead?" Adeline asked, showing Nick the upper half of the victim's skull.

"Yeah..." Nick nodded.

"As far as I know, fire can't explain a subdural hematoma." Dr. Robbins stated.

"No. No, it can't." Nick shook his head.

"In other words, our victim suffered blunt force trauma, before he went up in flames." Adeline concluded.

"One thing's for sure: Caroline certainly did not go gently." Adeline stated, reporting her findings to Catherine after she and Sara found Caroline Fitzgibbons' body inside the Sidley chimney.

"Defensive marks?" Catherine prompted.

"Ten on her right forearm." Adeline pointed to the marks. "Another three on the left, and several more on the palms. Catherine, there are tears on her labia and hymen." She added. "While too much time had passed to check for semen, but she's certainly been raped."

"We found a potential blood pool in the living room and another much more substantial one in the attic." Catherine remarked. "Is that consistent with your findings?"

"Definitely." Adeline nodded. "Caroline was stabbed four times: twice to the abdomen, one to the spleen, one to the intercostal artery. Since no vital organs were penetrated, this means she would have bled to death slowly."

"Probably stabbed in the living room and then moved to the attic where she continued to bleed until she died." Catherine concluded as Grissom walked in.

"Is the chimney guy still in your drawer?" Grissom asked.

"Yup, right over there." Adeline thumbed to the metal drawer to her right.

"What's going on?" Catherine asked as Grissom opened the drawer.

"Tad Sidley is alive." Grissom revealed. "We assumed that this guy was Tad, based on a gym membership card we found on his body: we were wrong. This guy is now a John Doe."

"Does his father know?" Catherine asked.

"Not yet." Grissom replied.

"Well, I'm on my way to the PD to meet up with him and his lawyer." Catherine shrugged. "I'll give him the good news."

"You know Archie," Adeline sighed, the couple was cuddling on her couch in her apartment. "It's because of cases like these that I have regretting taking on this job."

"Tough case?" Archie looked at the dark-haired female on his shoulder.

"Caroline Fitzgibbons." Adeline replied, Archie's eyes widening slightly as he recalled the missing person case from a year back. "We finally found her; bricked up in the Sidley's chimney, raped and left for dead after being stabbed four times. I thought I've learnt to distance myself… shut off my emotions whenever I come across a rape victim…" she snorted. "Guess I was too naïve."

"But that's what makes you human." Archie soothed, nuzzling her neck. "Here." He poured out the lavender tea from the glass tea pot and handed the cup to her.

"What would I do without you?" Adeline chuckled, taking a sip from the flower tea.

"Be so stressed that you'll have to undergo therapy because you failed your psych evaluation." Archie pointed out mirthlessly.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, love." Adeline smacked her lover on the arm.

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.