Lex Talionis
Chapter 36
Quickly switching his phone to silent, Grissom placed it back down on the floor beside him and watched as it began to vibrate with another incoming call almost straight away. He ignored it as he heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up at the side of the barn.
Murphy's barking became louder and more menacing as the car's engine was turned off; from the sound it, the dog was circling the Subaru and Grissom smiled to himself at the thought of Tate trapped in his own vehicle. He strained to hear anything over the noise of both the dog and the rain that was still falling. Gil only just managed to pick up the hum of a window going down.
"Clare!" Tate's strident yell was meant to be heard from the house and Grissom flinched at the sound. He reached down for the pistol and flicked the safety off as he held it ready in his right hand.
"Clare!" Tate tried again. "If you don't get out here now and tie this fucking dog up I swear it'll never bark at anything again."
"You touch my dog and it'll be the last time you bark too." Clare promised as she rounded the corner, umbrella in one hand and a short rope in the other. "And you can lose the attitude while you're at it. I'm sure you're upset about what's happened at the house but don't think you can turn up here and take it out on me!"
Looking suitably chastened, Tate sat back in his seat and let his sister get on with it.
"Come here, Murph." Clare called as the dog passed by the rear bumper. To her surprise Murphy ignored her and continued up the side of the car until she positioned herself between the Subaru and the side door of the barn. Turning to face the vehicle, Murphy sat and glared at Sean as she stopped her barking and started up with a low, ominous growl.
"What the hell is wrong with that thing?" Tate asked as he kept an eye on the dog. "It doesn't normally ignore you."
"She doesn't like you, Sean." Clare stated evenly as she walked up to the driver's door. "I thought you'd have worked that out by now." Reaching over towards the dog, she took hold of her collar. "I've got a mare in the barn that's about to foal; I guess Murphy sees you as a threat."
Pulling the animal away, Clare finally managed to slip the rope through the collar and tied her to a nearby fencepost, hoping Sean wouldn't notice how loose the knot was. Since Murphy obviously knew where Grissom was and intended protecting him, Clare had no intention of stopping her. With some luck, she'd be able to get Sean into the house before the dog pulled free.
Hearing the Subaru's door slam shut, Clare turned to face her brother.
"You've been to the house?" Clare asked as he approached.
"Yeah, the bastard destroyed almost everything." Sean came to a stop, making sure he was well clear of Murphy. "What did he say to you when he was here?"
"Nothing really." Clare's voice was remarkably calm. "He asked if I knew where you were and when I told him I didn't have a clue, he gave me a business card and asked me to get in touch if I heard from you."
"Describe him" Tate demanded.
"Fiftyish, graying hair, oh, and he was on crutches; looked like he'd been in an accident recently." Clare told him. "Look, are you even sure it was him? The condition that guy was in, I can't really see him breaking into someone's house and vandalizing it."
"Oh, it was him alright." Sean replied. "And believe me; he'll pay for it, one way or another."
Clare felt a shiver run through her as she saw the intense hatred in her brother's eyes. He didn't fail to notice it.
"Are you cold?"
"A little." She responded as she pulled her jacket tighter around herself. "The card he left is inside somewhere; come in and I'll get it for you."
"No, I don't have time for that." Sean's agitation was growing. "I have to get back and sort out the house and then I have to head south again. Do you remember what he was driving?"
Clare ignored him. "Sean, I'm eight months pregnant; there is no way I am standing out here in the rain while you play twenty questions. If you want to know anything else you're going to have to come into the house cause that's where I'm going."
She turned and started making her way to the back door, pleased when she heard her brother following along behind. Pulling open the door, she allowed him to pass her before she threw one last look at the barn and then, as planned, she slammed the door forcibly behind her, hoping that Grissom would hear it above the sound of the rain.
"Dammit!" Sara exclaimed as she dialed again. Holding the phone to her ear she listened as it just rang. "He's not answering."
"What did he say?" Catherine asked.
"That Tate was there and he had to go then he hung up on me." She tried calling again. "It's just ringing."
"Okay." Jim stood up. "If you want, I can give the sheriff up there a call and have him send someone out."
Sara held up a hand. "Hang on; let me try something else first." Getting up, she moved to the dining table and began searching through the paperwork that still littered one end of it. "God, where's that damn number?"
Warrick left the kitchen and joined her at the table.
"If you'd calm down a little you'd probably have more luck." He advised as he pulled some of the paperwork closer. "If you tell me whose number you're searching for, I'll give you a hand."
"Clare Ashton's." Sara told him. "I know it's in here somewhere."
Hearing the door slam, Grissom placed the gun back down. Clare may have doubted herself earlier but she had definitely come through, as had Murphy. Shifting position, he eased the side door open and looked outside.
The Subaru was parked six feet away directly opposite the doorway and Gil smiled at the sight; Tate couldn't have parked in a better spot.
Carefully getting onto his knees, he tried moving forward only to be stopped by the stab of pain that shot through his thigh. He'd learned from his internet research that, had it not been for his ankle, Gary Morgan would have had him up and walking on the pinned femur already and had hoped it would have been able to take his weight by now but that was obviously not going to be the case.
Weighing up his options, Grissom realized that there was only one other way to do it.
Keeping his left leg up off the ground as much as possible, Gil shifted until he was clear of the door then turned and lay down on his back. Reaching back, he grabbed hold of the frame of the Subaru and pulled himself underneath the vehicle. He shifted down until he was nearer the back wheel then turned his head and looked towards the house, pleased that there was no sign of movement visible at the kitchen window.
Removing the transmitter from his pocket, he slipped it out of its plastic bag and turned it on; a small red light blinked into life. Pleased that everything was going to plan, Grissom was looking for the best place to attach it when he felt his leg being pushed roughly to one side.
Dropping the device, he grabbed hold of the chassis again in an automatic attempt to pull himself fully under the car and away from danger when he realized what was happening.
"Murphy!" He gasped in relief as the large dog tried desperately to jam her body under the vehicle beside him. Wriggling madly, she finally managed it and lay, happily wagging her tail as Gil reached down to pat her. "You trying to give me a heart attack, girl?"
He felt round until he located the abandoned transmitter and then, reaching up, positioned it behind the rear suspension. Giving it an experimental tug to check the magnet's strength, he was confident that it was both securely attached and out of sight.
Grabbing hold of the bottom sill of the car, he began working his way back out from under the Subaru, encouraging the dog to follow him as he went. Knowing he had taken longer than expected, Gil quickly pulled himself across the gap between the car and the barn.
Delighted at this new game, Murphy quickly pushed past him and sat inside waiting to see what came next; she was disappointed when her collar was grabbed and she was pushed forcibly back outside with the door closing firmly behind her.
Leaning back against the wall, Grissom listened to the dog's whining as he tried to regain his breath.
Hustling Sean through the kitchen and into the living room, Clare urged him to take a seat on the couch while she hurried to get him a drink.
"What's wrong with sitting in the kitchen?" He called as she quickly poured him a coffee.
"My back can't take the chairs at the moment." She replied as she entered the room. Putting his cup down on the coffee table, she handed him the business card that Grissom had given her earlier. "You will be in town for the birth, won't you? You're the only family I have around here now that Brian's gone."
"I don't know, Clare." She was gratified to see that he actually looked uncomfortable at the mention of his brother-in-law's name. "I've got to get this business finished, I told you that before."
"Well, can't you at least put it off for a couple of weeks? I could really do with some help around here."
He slipped Grissom's card into his shirt pocket. "No. I'm going to check around town first but if this guy's left already then I have to head back today."
"You just drove seven hours non-stop getting here; you need to rest before you go back." Clare said as she sat opposite him.
"Forget it, Clare." Sean snapped. "This has got to be finished now; it's gone on too long already."
Ever since they were children, Clare had been able to either bully or cajole her brother into doing pretty much anything she wanted but the look on his face now made her realize just how careful she was going to have to be; it was obviously not going to take much to push him further than she really wanted him to go.
"Well, at least get a couple of hours sleep before you go; you'll be an accident waiting to happen otherwise." She frowned as the phone rang. "Hang on a second." Picking up the cordless handset, Clare answered it.
"Hello."
"Is this Clare Ashton?"
"Yes." Clare answered cautiously. "Who's this?"
"My name is Sara Sidle." Came the reply. "I'm trying to get hold of Gil Grissom; I believe he's staying with you."
Clare could see that Sean was paying attention. "Um... yes, that's right."
"Thank God. Look, it's really important that I speak to him."
"I'm sorry; that's impossible at the moment."
"But..."
"No, I really can't help you just now. Sorry." Clare hung up and shrugged at her brother. "Telemarketer; they won't take no for an answer, will they?"
"I can't sit around here any longer." Sean put his cup down and grabbed his car keys. "I need to find this bastard. Now, what kind of car is he driving?"
Clare thought a moment before answering. "Um... it was a green sedan; Ford, I think."
He stared at her incredulously. "That's the best you can do? I though you knew cars?"
"Sean, the guy turned up out of the blue, asked a couple of questions and then went away again; if I'd known what was going to happen, I would have paid more attention. I was busy at the time so count yourself lucky that I noticed the car at all, alright?"
"What about where he was staying? Did he mention that?"
"No." She answered somewhat patronizingly. "I imagine he booked into one of the motels in town though." She took a breath. ""So, if you're going to be leaving again; what do you want me to do about the house? I could clean it all up and handle the police report for you if you'd like."
"No! Stay out of the house; I don't want you anywhere near it." Sean stated emphatically. "And I don't want the police involved at all; I'll handle this myself."
"You know, if he really was the person that broke in, you can't let him get away with it." Clare decided to risk just a little more pushing. "Just because he works in law enforcement down in Vegas doesn't mean he can come up here and vandalize someone's property. Why is he doing this anyway?"
"It doesn't matter; just forget about it." Sean said as he started towards the kitchen. "Besides, he's not going to get away with anything, believe me. You're sure about the car he was driving?"
"Yes, it was definitely a green Ford sedan." Checking her watch, Clare hoped she'd managed to give Grissom enough time. Moving past Sean, she headed for the kitchen window and looked out. Checking the barn, she could see nothing out of the ordinary. Switching her view to the fence post, she grinned as she saw that the dog was missing. She turned back to her brother.
"The dog's loose again." She told him as she shrugged into her jacket. "Give me a couple of minutes and I'll make sure it's safe for you to come out."
Standing by the back door, Clare waited until Sean had reluctantly taken a seat at the table before closing it behind her and going down the steps. Pleased with herself, she couldn't help but smile as she made her way over to the barn.
Sara slammed her phone down on the table.
"If one more damn person hangs up on me today, I'll-"
"What did she say?" Brass asked cutting her off.
"She didn't say a damn thing." Sara started to pace. "She admitted that he's staying there but then she tells me she can't help me at the moment and hangs up. What help? I didn't ask for her help; I wanted to speak to Grissom."
"Sound like she was covering to me." Warrick offered. Sara stopped her pacing to glare at him. "Her brother's there at the moment, right? For all we know, he was standing right beside her when she took your call."
"Warrick's right, Sara." Jim said as she took a seat next to him. "From what I've heard, Gil trusts her; maybe we should too."
"So what? We just wait until this is over?" Sara shook her head. "I don't think I can do that, Jim."
"I can still make that call to the sheriff if you want." He offered.
"He's come this far, Sara." The more she thought about it, them more Catherine wondered if they were panicking prematurely. "If it wasn't for Gil, we'd still probably be stumbling around not knowing who we were looking for. The official investigation was going nowhere then, in less than a week, Grissom gets us a name and a motive. The only thing that's left now is finding out where Tate is and from the sound of things, he's been working on that too. You've got to believe that he knows what he's doing."
Seeing that Sara was thinking about it, Catherine pressed her point.
"If we call the sheriff in and it turns out that wasn't any real reason to do it, not only is Grissom going to be angry but Conrad's sure to find out about it and the last thing we want to do is hand him even more ammunition. Besides, Gil's not about to allow a pregnant woman take any risks so I think it's fair to say that he won't put himself in any unnecessary danger either. Be as mad at him as you like Sara but you've got to admit his methods have worked so far."
Sara sat still, head bowed as she considered what had just been said. Finally she looked up and sighed deeply. "Alright; ten more minutes; that's all I'm willing to wait. If he hasn't been in touch before then I'll try calling him again; if he still doesn't answer, we call the sheriff. Agreed?"
Catherine smiled at her as she nodded. "Agreed."
As expected, Clare found Murphy, once again, standing guard at the side door. Now that the rain had gone off, the drag marks in the mud going between the building and the Subaru were obvious and Clare quickly swept her foot over the area, successfully obliterating the only evidence of Grissom's recent trip.
Picking up the rope still attached to the dog's collar, Clare praised the animal then stood upright again. She never noticed Murphy start to tense as she moved closer to the door and rapped her knuckles against it.
"It's almost over." She said, keeping her voice as low as possible. "I'll be back in five minutes, okay?"
She jumped at the voice that came from directly behind her.
"Who the hell are you talking to?"
TBC
A/N: I'm sorry. I tried to restrain myself with that ending, I really did but that last bit was just begging to be written and, apparently, I have absolutely no self-control.
Thanks for reading and a special thanks to my reviewers; I really do appreciate you all.