Laws of Motion – Book 3
Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT
Chapter 36
Saturday, November 12, 2005
The Grissoms
5:10 pm
From his position in front of the open fridge, Gil called over to Sara who was reclined on the couch reading a novel, "Since the bedroom is off limits, I've decided to knock your socks off with my cooking."
"Baby G and I can't wait." Engrossed in a book, Sara kept her nose firmly planted its pages. "What are you making?"
"Flash and I did some surfing today to find new recipes. While you were out reluctantly shopping for maternity clothes, I went to the grocery store. We're having Penne Pasta with Cannelini Beans and Escarole. It has 125 of your daily recommended Folate and twelve grams of protein." Grabbing a bottle of wine he smiled, "That's good for you and Baby G. I'll be treating myself to a glass of wine while cooking it, which will be very good for me."
"Did you buy any bread to go with dinner?"
"No." Gil uncorked the wine and boasted, "I'm making Focaccia bread. The dough is already rising in a bowl on the counter."
"Wow." Sara glanced up from her book grinning. "All this even though you know we can't get it on tonight?"
"Yep." Raising his wine glass, Gil suavely replied, "So you know I love you."
Drew's House
5:23 pm
Walking over to his necktie rack, Drew continued to get ready for his first real date with the new love of his life.
"No." Standing in her father's closet, Cassie vehemently shook her head. "Marta's favorite color is blue. That tie doesn't have any blue."
"I have an idea." Drew whisked his daughter into his arms and over to the necktie rack. "How about you pick the one you think she'll like best?"
"Okay!" Thrilled that her father was taking Marta to a nice restaurant, Cassie carefully perused all one hundred and twenty three ties to find the perfect one. "Most of your ties have red."
"Yeah, well…um…" He hadn't purchased a tie in years, because Lissa had insisted on doing all his shopping.
"Mommy's favorite color is red." The enthusiasm left Cassie's voice. "I want all the red ties to go away just like Mommy went away."
While mentally jotting notes to share with Dr. Myers regarding his daughter, Drew hugged Cassie tight. "Are you sad, Honey?" Lissa was already starting to forget to call at the agreed upon times, citing a busy schedule and a new love interest.
"The only time I'm sad is when I think of how sad she made you, Daddy." Sniffling, she asked, "Can you make all the red ties go away and get more blue ones? 'Cause I really want Nanny Marta to be happy, so she'll stay."
The desperation in his daughter's voice broke his heart. "Wait right here, Sugar." Drew set his daughter on the velvet bench in the middle of the room-size closet that now only contained men's clothing. It was where Lissa used to try on shoes with Cassie, and he hoped sitting her there didn't make matters worse.
"Thank you, Daddy." Cassie's smile returned when she saw her father putting all the red-containing ties in a hamper he had just emptied. "Sitting here picking out clothes with you is real fun too."
"I was just thinkin' the same thing." Knowing she was happy, his heart finally stopped aching. "Well now…that doesn't leave us much to pick from." He stared at the thirty or so left on the rack.
"Right there!" Cassie stood on the velvet bench and pointed. "The one that I got you for Christmas last year! It has lots of blue!"
Chuckling, Drew reached for the grizzly bear tie. "This one?"
"Yes!" Cassie clapped. "Marta has a picture of bears just like that in her room! She loves bears! I know 'cause she gave me a storybook about bears from Alaska when she came back from her vacation there and she told me how fun it was to see them catchin' fish in the water! There's a bear catchin' a fish on the tie!"
"You're absolutely right." Grinning, he knotted the tie he had previously only worn to humor his little girl until he got around the corner and stopped the car to change into a more suitable one.
"It's perfect!" Cassie gazed at her Prince Charming Daddy. "That'll make her real happy."
"Thanks for helpin' me." He picked her up with one arm, carrying her out of the closet and out of the room.
"Did you get her flowers? Girls like flowers. Nanny Marta likes daisies, they remind her of the farm where she grew up."
"I'll be sure to stop and get her some daisies then."
"And candy," she urged. "She likes Hershey Kisses, she says they taste like love meltin' on your tongue."
"I'll get some of them too."
"Daddy…" Cassie leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Just in case you wanna kiss her at the door later, I got something for you." She stealthily tucked a tiny tin of peppermints in his inside jacket pocket. "I asked Aunt Carrie for hers 'cause she's always chompin' on one before kissin' Uncle Nicky."
Keeping a straight face, Drew said, "I don't know…kissin' a girl is a big deal, and it's only our first date."
"Don't be scared," the all knowing Kindergartner counseled. "Just pucker up and close your eyes. If she likes you, she'll kiss you back. I saw how she was smilin' at you when you were dancin'." Cassie winked, "I think she really, really likes you."
"That's good to hear, because I really, really like her." When they rounded the corner, Drew saw Marta dressed to the nines in a blue chiffon dress. "Wow!"
"Check out my Daddy's tie!" Cassie yelled, unable to contain her anticipation. "It's bears! You love bears, Nanny Marta! He wore it special for you!"
Nick glanced up from helping Matt fix a T-Rex jigsaw puzzle and gave a thumbs up. "Nice touch, Super Stud."
"You look beautiful," Drew took Marta's hand for a princess-worthy kiss he knew his daughter would love. "Shall we?"
"Bye! Don't worry about us kids! Stay out real late!" Cassie assured them, "Aunt Carrie and Uncle Nicky can watch us just fine and cook us dinner."
Disney's Grand California Hotel…Where Becca Had Made Reservations at Storyteller's Café for Tony's Family Birthday Party
5:33 pm
Strolling hand in hand with his wife through the hotel, Tony's baby-induced bliss quickly faded as he thought of sitting with his brothers after the morning's disturbing events. "Becca…"
When she glanced over, Becca was stunned to see her husband's ecstatic expression had been replaced by nausea. "What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, I can't do this dinner."
"Oh no, are you sick?"
"No, I just…I…I don't want to." He realized it sounded ridiculous as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
"Excuse me?" Baffled by the statement, she probed, "It's your birthday and you just found out we're having a baby, why aren't you in the mood to celebrate? I went all out, we have a special table, decorations, a cake, and…"
"Come here." Taking her hand, Tony pulled her into a corner. "I swore I wouldn't tell, but it's tearing me up and you're my wife and I trust you."
"Well you definitely have my attention." She waited with baited breath.
"If I tell you what happened though, you can't say anything to Matt or Reg…or look at them funny, or..."
"I promise." Squeezing his hand, she whispered, "What happened?"
"This morning, when I got the bill at Sheri's Ranch…"
"Excuse me…this is more than you quoted me over the phone." Tony showed the bill to the Madam "I don't understand why you charged my card forty five hundred dollars. You said it would be three thousand for the deluxe bachelor party package in the bungalow because it was last minute and..."
"Yes, three thousand for the bachelor party and bungalow, the rest is for the additional party requested." Madam Charlene stepped away from the window to call Nessa to the office via the intercom.
"But I didn't request any…"
"One of your guests wanted a private party."
"No, you must have billed someone else's stuff to my card."
"Here comes Nessa…she was the girl who did the party, you can ask her yourself."
"Watcha need, Charlene?" Nessa, a petite blonde twenty-two year old wearing a hot pink bikini and clear plastic stilettos, asked.
"This is the bachelor party boy from the Safari Bungalow. He's questioning the charges to his card. Give him the details."
"He better not be complaining," Nessa laughed. "I love firefighters and Reggie's a hottie, so I gave him a bargain."
Tony tensed when he heard his brother's name, but he held out hope that the girl was going to say the fifteen hundred was for playing cards with him naked or some equally implausible scenario.
"A thousand dollars for two hours, I don't do freaky stuff or back door sex." Smiling, she recalled the details, "I gave him my hard-up special…strip show, standard foreplay, three positions, and a Jacuzzi bath afterwards. I really liked him, so I threw in a nice massage when we got out of the tub. That's when he asked if we could make love with real kissing. I explained that I reserve kissing on the mouth for real life, but when he got teary telling me about his wife cutting him off for the last ten months, I felt really sorry for him. Since I'm not in a relationship at the moment and he was a real nice, clean guy, I agreed and he tipped me five hundred for obliging him."
"So that's why you and Matt were acting so weird when you bumped into each other outside of Pirates of the Caribbean! I wondered what was going on." Gripping her hair, Becca said, "Okay…hmm…this is really complicated for me. After spending the morning with Gina and finding out she locks him out of the house if he's late…I don't know…I know how much it sucks to be cheated on, but…I'm kinda not really too mad at him if it was just a one time thing and he was desperate for affection, because I know what it's like to be desperate for affection and it can make you do crazy things, so yeah…I'm not going to hate him over what happened, but I'm not sure if that's right or not."
"How do you think I feel? I paid the bill for my brother's infidelity and Gina was the person whose shoulder I cried on after I found Amy cheating on me. It's so messed up, Becks. Now can you understand why I don't want to go in there and have dinner with them?"
"We have to go to your birthday dinner! We're already late! Don't you think they'll be more suspicious if we don't show?" Forcing herself to calm down, Becca said, "Honestly, it's not our problem. It's for Reggie and Gina to work out."
"He's not going to tell her," Tony laughed out of nervousness. "She'd sue for full custody citing that Reggie has hooker germs and would give the baby a disease if he breathed on her." Shaking his head, he said, "And Matt's certainly not going to tell her. He hates her for treating Reggie like she does."
"Then she'll never find out, because we won't tell and she won't see your credit card bill, right?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "He had to use a condom, so disease isn't a concern, right?"
"Right."
"And since he's not going to ask for a divorce now, there's no point in us telling her because it would just hurt her and cause Sierra to grow up without her parents married, right? It's best if they can stay married and Reg works it out in his mind"
"Right."
"So, I guess we shouldn't dwell on this if it was a one time 'he was drunk off his ass, and desperate', 'life gets crazy sometimes' thing." Breathing out, he decided to move on. "Okay, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Hopefully I can look at her without her seeing the guilt in my eyes."
"Pretend like you're at work and have to hide your emotions." She tugged him toward the restaurant and when they were in sight of the entrance she pointed, "Look, Birthday Boy! They're all waiting with gifts!"
When Tony glanced over, he saw Reggie avert his eyes. "Work mode, work mode," he muttered.
"Welllllllll…am I going to be a grandma again?" Marge rushed over and cupped her favorite daughter-in-law's cheeks. "You told us you were dipping the stick when Tony returned from ATVing. It's taken all my willpower not to stalk you and find out."
Since she had promised Tony to keep the baby a secret, Becca replied, "Hero sex worked!"
"Becca!" Tony gaped at his wife. "What happened to keeping it a secret until we see a heartbeat?!"
As her mother-in-law squeezed the breath from her lungs, Becca squeaked, "My inner-child wanted your Mommy to love me. See…it's working."
"Way to go!" Dennis grabbed his boy and assaulted him with a hug.
While Dennis and Matt were crushing Tony with bear hugs, Gina noticed her husband wasn't budging, "Why aren't you saying anything to your brother? Oh my God…" She whispered, "Are you jealous that it worked for them and we needed to spend a fortune on infertility treatment because of me? I know it's totally unfair that she's done drugs, had sex with strangers, and had an abortion, but yet she's rewarded with a baby as soon as she goes off the pill." Taking his hand she gave it a squeeze, "But we can't let that get in the way of being happy for them. They're family."
"You're right." Reggie pushed past his fear and hurried to join his brother and father, so he wouldn't raise suspicions. "Congratulations, Tone!"
"Thanks, Reg." Tony accepted the hug and when his father and Matt moved over to Becca, he whispered, "Life can get crazy sometimes. What happened in Pahrump, stays in Pahrump, okay? She'll never know unless you do something again, in which case I tell her and rearrange your anatomy. Understood?"
"Thank you." Reggie tightened his grip. "I swear it'll never happen again."
When it was Janey's turn to hug her sister in law she said, "Oh well, I guess this means the cruise is off for next summer, since you'll be due in July. Our kid would only be five months old, so it probably wouldn't have been fun anyway. Maybe some other year."
"July? Ooh! I can't believe I didn't even think about a timeframe!"
Luzzer Residence
5:43 pm
"Mr. Luzzer, I need a few minutes of your time. Detective Vega, LVPD." He showed his badge to the resident. "Officer Darla Myron, who was first on the scene, informed me that you called 911."
Parker bristled at the common mistake, "It's Luzz, rhymes with Fuzz. Luzzer, not looooooser, thanks."
"Sorry." Vega nodded and continued his line of questioning, "You told Officer Myron that you came out of your house to finish washing your car, and saw a woman lying in the street. You approached her sayin 'Ma'am, are you okay?' and when you arrived at her side you saw that she was bleeding from the head, and immediately phoned 911."
"That's right."
"What made you stop washing your car?"
"I wanted another beer."
"Why didn't you wait until after you dried the car?" Vega pointed to the Mercedes. "You got water spots. Most guys would wait until after they dried the car, so that wouldn't happen."
"Like I told the officer, I was thirsty, and only planned on it taking thirty seconds. The spots happened because I stopped to play Good Samaritan. I walked out of the house ready to drink my beer and dry my car. Instead, I saw the woman in the street. I ran to check on her and when I saw her bleeding, I freaked out, dropped my beer and called 911." Parker pointed to the street. "You can see where I dropped the bottle, there's broken glass and brew everywhere." He thought the broken glass would be a convincing touch.
The odor of bullshit growing stronger, Vega said, "When the EMTs got here, they estimated the vic had been bleeding for about twenty minutes."
"They took their sweet time getting here. Ask the cop. She was pissed it was taking so long too. And who's to say she got hurt here, I think she was thrown from a car, don't you?"
"The ambulance that was on the way here was hit by a water delivery truck, the unit that ended up here was a second dispatch and their time from the initial 911 call until reporting in at the scene was ten minutes and eleven seconds. That said, Officer Myron's notes indicate that after you told him your story of going inside for a beer and finding the woman when you came back, that he immediately checked your Mercedes and it was bone dry with water spots. Officer Myron was only three blocks away writing up a report from a domestic disturbance call when she was dispatched here. Three blocks in a quiet neighborhood is one minute tops. Thirty seconds, plus one minute is ninety seconds, let's throw in another two minutes for good measure and your story is still bullshit."
"Excuse me?!" Parker took great offense at the truthful statement, "This is the thanks I get for trying to save some Mexican's life who probably doesn't belong in this country anyway?"
"What makes you think she's an illegal?" Vega did his best clueless Columbo impression, "Oh…oh…right…right…because there's no such thing as legal, hardworking Mexicans, they're all a bunch of lazy slobs who just breed and eat tacos."
That's when Parker realized the detective was indeed Mexican. "Uh…sorry, it's just I've had some bad experiences with…bad Mexicans, not good, hard working Mexicans like yourself, Detective. I figured she was illegal because she was wearing ugly clothes and smelled sweaty."
"Would you like to change some or all of your story, Mr. Loser? Because if that woman dies, I can assure you that from what I have so far, I'll be naming you as a person of serious interest in the homicide investigation."
"It's embarrassing, okay!" Parker spoke as he thought. "I went in for a beer and I saw one of my porn magazines on the couch. I…I'm divorced…and in between girlfriends. I…you know…" He lowered his voice, "I grabbed the beer and drank it on a date with a centerfold. After that, I got a fresh beer and went outside. You can understand why I didn't want to tell that part to a female cop, right?"
"Did you wash your hands after the 'date'?"
"Of course."
"Okay, how about we go inside and you show me the magazine and the empty beer? Vega explained, "When the forensic guys get here, they'll be able to verify your story by swabbing for semen on your underwear, the couch, the faucet, wherever you think there will be a fresh sample. They can tell how old the soldiers are and your story will be corroborated."
Dammit! Parker shook his head. "I don't have to do that, right?"
Vega returned the head shake. "No, but you either cooperate with me or I read you your rights and take you down to the station for formal questioning at which time you can exercise your right not to say anything. Either way, you're not free to go when a woman is found dying outside your home and your story doesn't check out."
"Shit!"
"Take a minute to make a decision while I talk to the Forensics team." Vega waved to Grissom and Sara, who were approaching the crime tape. "Officer Myron! You're babysitting Mr. Loser. I wasn't expecting the Master and his masterful CSI wife. To what do I owe the honor?"
"Everyone else being swamped and our names on top of the back up list," Gil greeted while pointing across the street. "Hey, did you know that's Vartann's house down the block a bit."
"Are you serious? How do you know?"
"We've been there a couple of times."
Vega eyed the beautiful home with envy. "We're not in the same social circle, so he's never had me over. That new wife really is loaded if she can afford this neighborhood. They must be out or he'd be down here snooping."
"They're away for a long weekend," Sara commented after popping a stick of gum in her mouth. "California, for a family reunion." He had told her all about the trip when they worked together in Boulder City the previous week.
"Foster!" Vega barked his orders, "I want you to head over there and check that house. It belongs to one of our own. Look for signs of foul play." He shrugged at Gil. "Just to be sure."
Sara motioned with her head, "Who's the guy pacing and muttering?"
"He found the woman. No ID on her. My gut tells me Mr. Luzzer over there didn't assault her, but he's definitely hiding something."
Storytellers Café
5:55 pm
"Surprise!" Gina excitedly handed over the gift she had been dying to give her favorite brother-in-law. "I know you have enough money to buy anything you need, so I decided to make you something that I hope you'll think is very, very special." Hugging him, she welled up. "I'm so happy for you, Tony. You'll be able to show this gift to your child one day."
Becca could hear her husband's Catholic guilt growing stronger. "Hurry, open it!"
Tony avoided eye contact by focusing on unwrapping the package.
"Birthdays with my Brothers," Becca read the embroidered title off the book's cover.
Gina proudly said, "I asked your mom and Matt for photos to fill in for the ones I couldn't copy from Reggie's albums, and made a little scrapbook…a page for every birthday…well the ones we had pictures of anyway."
"I'm…" Tony flipped through the pages getting sicker by the minute. "I'm blown away by this, Gina. This had to take a really long time. Thank you."
"I didn't know you were working on that," Reggie commented to his teary wife while choking on guilt-induced stomach acid.
"I wanted everyone to be surprised." Gina was thrilled to see how moved her brother-in-law was and told Becca, "If you need help getting a baby book started when the time comes, I'll help you. I know I've been a little over the top this weekend, but I promise to chill…or at least to try." Squeezing Reggie's hand, she said, "I'm even hoping that you and Tony will want an opportunity to practice parenting so I can spend some quality time with Reggie after dinner."
"That would be great," Becca nodded while her stomach churned. Apparently Catholic Guilt is contagious, she thought while watching her weepy sister law return to her seat. "I'd love the scrapbook help and yeah…we'd love to babysit, right, Tony?"
"Of course. I'm sure Reggie will be thrilled to have you all to himself." His anger returning, Tony passed the scrapbook to Reggie. "Take a look. You're a lucky man to have such a thoughtful wife."
The Luzzer Residence
6:01 pm
"Thanks, Honey," Gil accidentally uttered the term of endearment when Sara handed him an evidence bag.
"Affection on the job?" She razzed him, "Good thing no one heard you."
Not owning up to the transgression, he stuck to business, "Would you rather stay here, or go to the hospital to see the victim?"
Sara weighed the options out loud, "Germy hospital, fresh air on a quiet suburban street…have a nice drive, Honey."
"Did you just call your husband, Honey on the job?" Vega shook his head. "Very unprofessional, Sidle."
Gil savored the irritation on his wife's face, deciding it was the next best thing to sex.
Vega pointed to Vartann's house. "Officer Foster just radioed from the back yard. All doors and windows are fine, no sign of foul play…other than a bikini bottom left by the Jacuzzi. No wonder Vartann's been so damn happy lately. A sports car, that gorgeous house and he's getting lucky in the great outdoors."
"So nothing odd over there." Sara stood and glanced around the neighborhood.
"Well, they have a three car garage, but Foster saw a car in the driveway. Do you know if Tony or his wife keep a beater Toyota Corolla?"
"Are you kidding?" Sara shook her head. "They have a Ferrari Spider. You don't have a beater and a Spider, and even if they did have one, they wouldn't keep it in view in this neighborhood."
Gil stood and removed his gloves. "Maybe the Spider was the target? Arrive in a beater, leave in a Spider. Have him check the garage."
Vega radioed, "Foster, look in the garage for a Ferrari Spider."
"Sorry, Sir, I can't," the rookie replied, "There are no exterior windows and the door is locked."
Sara's wheels turned while she walked to the center of the road, "What if the woman was in the way when the Spider was flying down the street?" She glanced over at Luzzer who was sitting on his front steps still trying to figure out if he was cooperating or going to the station. "Maybe Mr. Loser is a reluctant witness? Failure to render aid maybe?"
Vega nodded, "He does fit the MO for 'afraid to be sued'."
Gil suddenly looked at the property with fresh perspective. "Sara…do you see something odd over there?" He walked toward the grass.
"Matted pattern in the blades." As soon as Sara crouched down next to her husband her overactive pregnancy nose smelled something fishy. "Bleach? In the grass? He wouldn't have been bleaching the new Mercedes."
The Grissoms simultaneously glanced at Luzzer who looked twice as panicky all of a sudden.
Sara whispered, "What if the Spider hits the woman and sent her flying onto his property."
"He's afraid of being sued, so he puts her in the street."
"Explains the lack of spatter on the curb." Sara stared at the grass. "I bet the spatter was here and he bleached it."
Gil grabbed his phone to call Vartann. "I'll call Tony and ask if we can enter the house or force open the garage to check for the Spider."
"Ask him about the Corolla too." Vega held up his radio, "I'll have Foster run the plates in the mean time."
Drew's House
6:09 pm
"Master Stokes, please bring your plate to the sink before you run off to play with your sister." Nick directed the boy back to the table. "I know you know better, thank you."
"Sorry, Uncle Nicky." The boy trudged his plate to the counter and then raced out of the room.
Plucking little Claire from her high chair, Carrie said, "It's bath time for you, Sweetie. You're covered in ketchup and cupcake frosting." At risk of messing up her shirt, Carrie snuggled the child, "Nicky, do you want bath time or kitchen duty?"
Glancing up from wiping the table, he saw his future wife nuzzling the toddler and quietly replied, "I want to adopt Kyle's baby."
Carrie's heart skipped a beat. "What did you just say?"
"I want to do it, Carr."
"What made you change your mind?"
"Today, takin' the kids to breakfast and the Shark Reef…watchin' the A&M game as a family…makin' cupcakes with Cassie." Tossing the sponge on the table, he walked over and placed his hand on fiancée's back. "Darlin', I'm ready for my Saturday nights to be about Tater Tots, bath time, and readin' stories. I think I'll be even more ready six months from now, after our wedding and when we're surrounded by our friends' babies. I'll be honest, I thought you wanted to do it for the wrong reasons, but after a day playin' house with you, I realize you want it for the same reason I do now…we're ready, the baby needs a loving home, and Mrs. Demcak needs an adoptive couple she can trust. No one loses in the scenario, and in my gut it just feels right when I think of us with a baby in June." While Carrie welled up, he asked the nineteen month old, "What do you think, Claire? Should Uncle Nicky and Aunt Carrie adopt a baby? Yes?" He nodded to coerce her.
"Yesssss," the little girl replied on cue.
"You're leading the witness," The teary lawyer joked while snuggling Claire tighter. "But I'm not going to object. I'm having a great time playing house with you, and you're right, by June, after our beautiful wedding and when we're surrounded by our friends and their babies, the urge to play Mommy will be ten times stronger."
"So…" His lips raced into a smile. "Sounds like two confident yes votes to me."
Shaking with excitement, Carrie held out the little girl, "If you take Claire, I'll call Mrs. Demcak right now." She knew the woman would be just as relieved as her.
"Bath time!" Nick snatched the little girl. "Do you want bubbles in the tub Peanut?"
Storyteller's Café
6:15 pm
"Remember, no peanuts near Mary, she's real allergic," Janey warned as her sister-in-law was ordering. "But if you want something with peanuts, just move to the other end of the table."
"Please don't order peanuts, Aunt Becca," the four year old, dressed head to toe in the princess wear her aunt purchased for her after breakfast this morning, pleaded. "I wanna sit next to you, 'cause you buy me fun stuff and you smell good."
"Why thank you, Mary." Enjoying her superhero status with the four year old, Becca said, "I'll have the salmon, no peanuts in that, right?"
"No," confirmed the waitress.
"Don't have the salmon!" Gina heatedly directed.
"Who's allergic to salmon?" Becca queried, still getting used to her new family's quirks.
"No, fish is full of toxins if it's not raised organically. Toxins can harm the baby. The menu doesn't say the salmon is raised organically."
"Oh." Since she had already handed over her menu, Becca glanced over at her husband's. "I'll have the filet then."
"Even worse, because they pump cows full of chemicals," Gina educated her naïve pregnant sister-in-law.
Just like that, Becca was back to not hating Reggie for cheating on his controlling wife.
"For Christ's sake," Janey laughed, "I don't give up fish and beef when I'm pregnant. Stay away from soft cheeses and sushi, other than that you can go ahead and order what you want, Becks."
Gina mumbled under her breath, "Maybe that's why your kids all have ADHD."
"What?! My kids don't have ADHD, they're just boys! Boys are hyper."
The ring of Tony's cell phone interrupted the squabble. "It's Grissom," he informed his wife. Happy for an excuse to leave the table, he jumped to his feet. "Sorry, it's work related, I won't be long." On the way out he said, "Hey, Gil…just give me a sec to get to a quiet spot."
Once he stepped outside of the building, Tony said, "What's up?"
"A 421 with suspicious circs came in from Parker Luzzer, the owner of the house across the street from yours. Vega sent an officer to your place and everything checked out except there's an old Toyota Corolla in the driveway and no one answered the door."
"That's the maid's car," he clarified while people watching. "Marcella, you met her when you came to my house before picking up Lissa Stokes. Becca called her earlier today to clean the house before we returned because we packed in a mad rush. She wears headphones to listen to Tejano music while she cleans, she wouldn't hear the doorbell. I almost gave her a heart attack one day when she didn't hear me come in through the garage. She won't answer the house phone if I call her, so…" "
"Hmm…our injured woman was described as Hispanic, wearing old clothes, and the EMTs estimated her age to be late-thirties/early forties. From what I recall, that fits Marcella."
"Seriously?" Tony's concern grew.
"She could have walked in on a robbery."
"But the alarm was on and Marcella is the only person who knows the code besides Becca and me." Tony didn't think it was possible to be tenser than he already was over the Reggie debacle. "How bad is the woman hurt?"
"I don't have that information. Wait…hold on."
Tony paced the sidewalk hoping it wasn't the maid because she was sweet and had kids. With Becca was pregnant, he prayed there hadn't been a robbery that would cause her unplanned stress.
"Okay, I have some new information."
"Gil! I just remembered that I have Marcella's cell phone number programmed on my phone. She puts hers on vibrate, so if she's in the house with the music on, she'll answer."
"I don't think she will," Gil somberly replied. "The Corolla came back in Marcella's name. When Vega radioed, there was a patrol car around the corner from the house linked to the registration. That officer went to the door and spoke to Marcella's daughter. The girl remembered her mother was wearing a t-shirt with cats on it when she left to clean a house. We have an officer here who remembers the injured woman had a pink t-shirt with white cats on it."
"Dammit!"
"Does she usually go for a walk in the middle of cleaning? You know…to get some air or…"
"No!" His nausea intensifying, Tony gripped the phone. "Sorry, I don't mean to yell, it's been a stressful day."
"Maybe someone followed her to the house. Does she have any domestic problems?"
"I don't really spend a lot of time discussing her personal life, but she seemed happy."
"Maybe someone was watching the house and waited until she deactivated the alarm. Who knew you were going out of town?"
Tony stopped dead in his tracks. "Amy."
"Your ex-wife?"
Holding his head, Tony shared, "Yesterday afternoon I cashed in a few favors over at the Justice Court and got my request for a Temporary Order of Protection for Harassment and Stalking to fly through. For obvious reasons, I wanted to minimize public exposure, so I exercised my right to use a private server. He went to her house around at ten fifteen last night and when he reported back, he said Amy flipped out."
On the way to the Haunted Mansion, Tony's cell rang. "Hey, Becks…I need to step away and take this call. How about you grab me a bottle of water and whatever you want, and wait on that bench over there? Make that two bottles, I need to hydrate before I drink tonight."
"You bet, Bachelor Boy."
After a kiss, he watched Becca happily trot off and then took the call he was dreading. "Vartann."
"You son of a bitch! You tricked me! You wanted me home to get served, not to hook up with me!"
"Yeah, because I didn't want you to get served in front of anyone," he calmly replied, knowing she wouldn't see the thoughtfulness behind his trickery. "I was trying to save you some embarrassment."
"I was supposed to go out with Randi tonight, but when you called to say you were sneaking away to meet me at home, I cancelled and told her we were getting back together. It's gonna be pretty damn embarrassing to tell her I got a court order instead of a reunion! You fucking liar! You said you had a change of heart!"
"I did have a change of heart." He found a quiet spot down by the river and spoke freely. "It took about an hour after your confession at the pharmacy today for the truth to sink in, but when it did, I realized you had been poisoning me, Amy."
"You act like I was feeding you arsenic! It was Rogaine and Steroids! And I only did it because I wasn't ready to have a baby and you kept pushing for one!"
"Bullshit!" He flashed to anger. "You're not going play the 'I was too controlling' card here! You did it to trick me into thinking you were actively trying to have a baby with me while you were spreading your legs for guys behind my back! If you didn't want a baby and still needed to screw other guys, then why the hell didn't you tell me the truth?! The answer is that you enjoyed making a fool out of me! You are Rodgers laughing your asses off at me while I was doing your bidding."
"No, I faked you out because you said you were done with the parties!" Amy retorted. "I thought my plan was genius…it was allowing me to finish sowing my wild oats and make you happy! When I finally got enough I was going to stop drugging you and really try for a kid. See! I was trying to save our marriage!"
"Marriage is between two people, not you, me and the guys you liked to screw for kicks!" Anger flashed to rage. "It's over! The TPO sends a clear message, I don't want you anywhere near me or Becca. You're already violating its terms by calling me. Don't ever try to talk to me again, do you hear me?! It's over!"
"It's not over."
"It's been over since the night you took me to that first party without telling me what kind of party it was. Right there, Amy! It died right there in that living room when I saw you walk away to screw another guy! So, don't blame me for things not working out!" After a gulp of California night air, he steadied, "I contributed to the downfall, but you…you obliterated our marriage that night, there was no hope after that. I was kidding myself there ever could be and I realize now that's why I was so blind to your deception. I'm not good at failing, I didn't want to accept it."
"Okay, okay…in hindsight, that wasn't a good way of breaking the news that I wanted to swing. I'm sorry, okay? And I'm really, really sorry about the Rogaine and Steroids. I know you're angry right now, but this is good, Baby, real good. We're communicating. My therapist said that was the problem in our marriage, we didn't know how to express ourselves effectively. I know you're still totally pissed off, but once we get past this bump in the road, we'll finally be able to move forward."
"Bump in the road?!" Tony couldn't believe she still thought there was a chance at him ever giving her the time of day, not to mention reconciliation. "You made me infertile, you crazy bitch! I went to the doctor today and found out the damage wasn't permanent. That's the only reason you got a TPO instead of a bullet to the head! I detest you! If you were the last woman on Earth I'd screw guys! If I happened upon you bleeding in the street I'd spit on you as I walked by. You're dead to me! Is that clear enough for you?"
"You'll be sorry for talking to me like that. I'm gonna make your life a living hell! Is that clear enough for you?! Do you hear me?! You and that prissy bitch of a wife will be sorry!"
Tony spoke quietly into the phone, "Gil…normally, Amy's all talk, but last night…what if…oh my God…what if she came to the house, got rid of Marcella and is still in there waiting to kill me and Becca when we get home? She was so jealous on the call…and she said 'I'll never let you have your happy ending'."
Valentini's Lounge…Where Marta Was Thoroughly Enjoying Her First Mature Date and Getting More Confident That Her Happiness with Drew Existed Beyond the Stone Walls of their Fairytale Castle and That She Could Hold onto Her Man Even When They Ventured Out to Where the Gold Digging Barbie Dolls Lived, Many of Whom Were in the Lounge and Eyeing Drew Like Prey
6:27 pm
"I'll call home while you powder your nos, Darlin'." Minding his manners, Drew stood when Marta rose from her seat.
"I half expect to see your clothes ripped to shreds when I return." Marta whispered, "That woman who has been staring at you from the bar is getting ready to pounce."
"Well then…let's show her it's not worth her time." Drew leaned over and bestowed a tender kiss before loudly saying, "I love you, Snookums. I know we only have enough money for one dress up date a year, but I sure do wish we could be fancy like this more often. Hopefully when I get promoted to Head Janitor we'll be able to go out twice a year!"
When the buxom blonde at the posh bar grabbed her designer bag and bolted, Marta's mouth hung open. "Unbelievable."
"I'm a magician!" Drew chuckled. "My newest trick is making gold digging bitches disappear. I wish I perfected it years ago, but better late than never." He pecked her cheek. "The 'I love you part' was true though."
Swooning, Marta curiously asked, "When are you going to tell me what you have planned for tonight?"
"I'll give you a hint," Drew teased. "It takes two and it's not the horizontal mambo."
Marta pondered the riddle. "Geeeez, a million things take two. Movies don't and…"
"Here's another clue." He grabbed a rose from the bud vase on the table and placed it in his mouth.
"It's takes two to tango!"
"Ding." Drew winked. "Since we know the waltz, we're takin' tango lessons, because it's a steamy dance and…" He nibbled her earlobe. "We both know how good you are at steamy."
Flight 217…On Which Catherine and Warrick Were Reluctantly Returning to Vegas after Seven Steamy Nights and Eight Sun-Filled Days in Beautiful Bermuda
6:34 pm
As the plane descended, Catherine groaned, "I wonder how backlogged our desks are gonna be when we show up at work tomorrow?"
"Shhhhhhh." Warrick kept his eyes clamped shut and replied, "I refuse to leave my happy place until I have to go to work tomorrow and it better be a quiet day 'cause we're gonna be jet-lagged and beat."
The Vartanns
6:36 pm
"Apparently the city is freakin' full of crazies tonight," Vega griped to Gil, who was secure behind a patrol car with him as cops were moving into positions around the Vartann house. "We're so swamped, we're lucky we got backup."
"Hopefully there's no one in there anyway," Gil checked his watch and called Sara, who he had banished to the Denali. "They're knocking right now. Rodgers is part of the entry team."
"Naturally," Sara groaned. "I'm sure he'll find a way to save the day."
"LVPD, open up!" Captain Kramb waited the obligatory seconds and then had his crew ram the door. "LVPD! Come out with your hands in the air!" When no one showed, he gave the next order, "Move out." One by one, the officers hurried to check the rooms with weapons drawn.
"Sir! In the master bedroom!" Officer Swanson yelled before covering his mouth and gagging. The stench and the sight of flies swarming bloody flesh sent him running for air.
"Swanson?!" From the dining room Mike raced with his pistol ready and when he reached the bedroom he screamed, "Amy! Oh my God!"
"You know her?" Captain Kramb grabbed his radio.
Turning away from the horrific scene, Mike gripped the door frame and choked out, "It's Vartann's ex-wife." His hand moved to his hair, where he gripped it tight, "She…she wanted him back. I warned her to stay away from him."
Kramb studied the room. The woman's naked body was splayed on the bed with her throat ripped open and bugs were everywhere, which struck him as odd considering the freshness of the body. He couldn't believe how thoroughly the bedroom had been ransacked. Shredded clothing and smashed glass littered every inch of the place. Liquid stains streaked the walls and feces was splattered on the bathroom door. "Jesus, this is…" His eyes gravitated to the bed. Lingerie scraps were strewn over the stabbed comforter and a knife handle was sticking out of a downy pillow. Next his gaze fell to the bloody floor below the deceased's soaked blonde hair. There was a wedding photo dotted with knife pokes and spatter next to what appeared to be a Temporary Order of Protection. "You're sure this is Vartann's ex?"
"All clear!" an officer shouted from the kitchen. One by one the team members checked in over the radio with the same findings.
"Yeah." Mike stepped closer and as a single tear slipped down his cheek he whispered, "Yeah, that's Amy Vartann." Whispering, he reported, "Swanson left before he cleared the room." He readied his pistol. "I thought I just heard something in the closet."
"You check the closet, I'll check the bathroom and under the bed."
Mike carefully weaved his way through the destruction.
"All clear," Kramb quickly declared.
"Same here…literally." Mike lowered his weapon. "Every hanger has been stripped."
Kramb spoke into his radio, "We got a 419, positively ID'd as the homeowner's ex-wife. It's a blood bath in here and the place is trashed."
Outside, behind the patrol car, Gil grabbed Vega's radio before the detective had a chance to reply. "I want everybody out now! Stick to the outside edge of the flooring and don't touch a thing!"
"What the hell, Gil?" Vega snatched back his radio.
"Call in the IAB," Gil ordered. Although he usually had no use for the smug Internal Affairs bastards, he didn't see a choice. With Rodgers around and Vartann's ex-wife dead, he wasn't about to give Mike's attorney more fuel for more favoritism accusations, or give Rodgers a chance to frame Tony. Becca's ties to Greg popped into his head and Nick's friendship with Tony, plus Becca working for BPAC, an organization with ties to both the Grissom and Stokes name. "We have no choice, Vega." Gil swore he saw a smirk on Mike's face when he emerged from the home. "Vartann and the deceased are both LVPD. Tony has friends working this scene…maybe he has an enemy working here too. Let's not take chances."
Vega nodded and grabbed a bullhorn from the patrol car. "I want all personnel on the street awaiting further instructions."
Disneyland - Grand California Hotel
6:58 pm
Tony had Becca's hand in a vice grip as he stood in a remote spot of the hotel's property with her, his father and Matt. "That's as much as I know right now. Gil said he'll call me back as soon as they canvass the house. They had to wait for backup." Shaking his head, he lamented, "I can't believe she's ruining this trip for me …for all of us. We've been looking forward to this for weeks."
"Hey…hey, you don't know Amy's involved yet, Son," Dennis pointed out, trying to keep everyone calm. "Your imagination is running wild. For all you know, the maid has a crazy husband or was in the middle of a drug deal."
"Don't rain on my parade, Dad." Matt snickered, "I'm hoping she's in there and she'll lunge at a trigger-happy rookie. The night will get substantially better if we get news the Wicked Witch of the West is dead."
"I'm with you, Matt." Becca snuggled into Tony's arms. "I'm tired of that bitch stalking and harassing us. Obviously the Protection Order isn't going to stop her, the first thing she did last night was call to harass and threaten Tony and me. I hope she's there and they shoot her dead."
Tony's cell ended the group's banter.
Matt held up crossed fingers. "Here's to good news."
Her stomach in knots, Becca watched her husband answer the call with a shaky hand and voice; an uncharacteristic display for him.
"Vartann."
"It's Gil. We found Amy inside the house."
Tony fumbled back to sit on a nearby bench. "What did she say when you caught her?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing? I don't…"
"She's dead, Tony."
"Amy's dead? In my house? I was just talking to her last night." He glanced up and saw his brother smiling. "How uh…how'd she kill herself?"
Gil gave the only tip he could, "I'm not at liberty to discuss the details of a possible homicide."
"Possible homicide."
"Oh my God!" Becca shrieked just as her father-in-law pulled her into his arms.
"IAB is on their way." Gil copped an all-business tone, "You need to get back here ASAP. As you can imagine, with the TPO last night and the heated argument you told me you had with her last night…"
"Yeah…o…okay…yeah." Tony's eyes focused on Becca trembling in his eerily calm father's arms. "Tell IAB I'm on my way." He clicked off the phone and spoke like a zombie, "I can't believe it."
"Obviously she was alive when the TPO was served, so thank Christ you have an alibi from then until now, Tony." Dennis smoothed his palm over his daughter's back. "Your brothers were with you the whole time, right?"
Tony watched Matt calmly sip from a water bottle.
"He was never out of my sight, Dad," Matt affirmed.
"Good." Dennis couldn't help falling into cop mode. "You'll be at the top of the list too, Becca, but don't worry, you weren't alone except for last night after Tony went out with his brothers, right? LVPD can get the hotel to do a security print of the room's key card and get a copy of the surveillance tape for your hallway. So, you'll be cleared right away, Sweetheart."
"Good thinking, Dad." Tony wanted to take over holding his wife but his legs were too weak to stand on.
Terror seizing her, Becca blurted, "There's something you should know."
"What's that, Honey?" Tony asked in a distant voice, still trying to get his head around the situation.
"I'm really scared." Shaking uncontrollably, Becca confessed, "Last night…about twenty minutes after you went out with your brothers, I…I left the hotel and I…I didn't return until breakfast this morning. They're going to find that out, right? They'll know I…"
Luckily Dennis was holding his daughter-in-law when she fainted.
Author's Notes:
I hadn't heard from anyone in so long that I stopped taking the extra step of posting the story here after putting it up on my website, and intended on just putting it out here a few chapters at a time. I recently got a post, so I'll keep it current now that I know someone is reading it here.
Thanks to KJT for plotting and editing the evilness.
Next Chapter: It's time to find out what happened to Amy and in between that I'll sprinkle some sweetness. Posting: Holiday delay I'm sorry to say, but I must cook and eat Turkey, go Christmas shopping on Friday, and then it's my daughter's b-day on Saturday. For her party we're taking the family and her friends to see Happy Feet (I hear it's very funny!) and going out to The Elephant Bar (Yummmm) and then it's torture…errr sleepover party! That'll exhaust me LOL Sooooooo…I'll try for Tuesday!
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts,
Maggs