Chapter 37
JJ was staring at the scene, she was staring at the body and she was staring all around her. She moved in a slow circle, trying to see things differently, not wanting to notice how much this victim seemed familiar to her. She knew that this wasn't anyone she knew, they had already identified the victim and it was definitely not anyone that either JJ or Nick knew, but that didn't mean that there wasn't something about her that was being used to get to JJ or Nick. She had asked everyone to clear out of the immediate area, including all the CSI's and coroner. She needed to see the scene as if she was the only one there, as if she was the killer that was dumping the body there. Every picture had been taken, and the coroner had already done everything that needed to be done at the scene, except remove the body. JJ was allowed to move the body if necessary, but she had to be careful.
"I know there is something that is here, I can feel it in my gut." JJ murmured to herself as she looked around. She noticed a slight flash of something, almost as if there was a camera lens nearby. She pretended that she hadn't caught the glimpse, and as she turned she noticed a few others and realized what was happening, he was watching the scene. "There is something here that he wants me to find, and he wants to see my reaction to finding it." JJ murmured to herself, making sure she wasn't facing any of the camera lenses and that she kept her voice so low, that there was no way any of the audio could pick it up.
JJ was wondering if it would be best for her to attempt to notify Brass, Grissom, Greg, Sara and Nick to the camera's, but she was sure if they acted suspicious in any way, if she notified them of something before she figured everything she needed to out, then who knew what he had rigged up. She had to make sure that the evidence, the body and everything she needed to find, were safely away from the area before she notified any of them to the fact that there were cameras and she was pretty sure that this creep was watching the scene. She was starting to wonder if he had, had cameras at all of the scenes, if he had watched every single thing they did, at every single scene.
"It might take me a bit, but I am going to find what's here." JJ said, loud enough for any audio equipment he might be using to pick it up. She wasn't sure what it was he wanted, but she was going to have to play along with his little game for a little while, but she was pretty sure that at the end of it all, she was going to come out on top, as soon as she figured out what this was all about and who was behind it all.
Nick could tell there was something that was bothering JJ, he could always tell when something was bothering his wife, but this time it was really bothering him. Rarely had he seen her bite her lower lip, in fact she was biting it so hard that he swore he could see a little bit of blood, and he got that confirmation when she frowned and wiped at her lip with a sigh of frustration. She remembered to use her forearm to wipe at her lip at least, not getting her blood on the latex glove so that she didn't contaminate the scene. He could see that everyone, especially the coroner, were getting anxious and it was very apparent that they were annoyed at being pushed outside of the crime scene area. Nick wasn't sure what it was that his wife, JJ, was hoping to accomplish, but if she didn't accomplish it soon, she was going to be yanked out of there before she had her chance.
"Nick, I am all for having a fresh look without a bunch of people around, but is there a reason that she needs to keep that body there? Until the body moves I can't release some of these officers, and that is really starting to back up the others that are on patrol who have to cover more calls than normal." Brass muttered to Nick as he glared over at his newest detective but didn't dare mess with whatever it was she was trying to see.
"She needs to do things her way, her way works best for her and apparently, from what we know from her old boss, it gets the job done and her cases solved." Grissom spoke up, saving Brass from getting his head bitten off. Grissom could clearly see that Nick was worried about JJ and that worry was manifesting in a way that any statements that could be seen or interpreted as negative towards or about her, were going to set him off right then.
"Fine, but let's hope she gets through some time tonight." Brass said with a sigh as he walked over and started talking to a uniformed patrol officer.
He was laughing as he watched her look around her, she was confused and she was frustrated and he loved watching it. He had seen her biting at her lip, something he knew she only did when she was really thinking hard and trying to get inside someone elses head, he had seen her do that since she was a child actually. He had laughed because she had started doing it when she had seen some of the other girls hitting on Nick and she had been trying to see what it was about them that he liked, what it was about them that made him treat them like girls and her like his good buddy instead of girlfriend material.
He sighed as he remembered the old days, he still couldn't believe they hadn't thought about him, but then again it was possible they didn't think he could be capable of something like this. He knew they had thought he was dumb, probably dumber than dirt, as the old saying goes. But that was only because around her, he felt stupid. She was always the intelligent one, and she was always the one that everyone was wanting to partner with in Chemistry class or during any class projects. It was clear that she had the brains to do anything in life, why she chose police work was something that still bothered him. Many people thought she was going to be a brain surgeon or a tough as nails lawyer that eventually became a judge and then a politician. There had even been rumors that she could be the first female president of the United States.
He remembered wanting to be the one she was married to when she achieved all that success. He had been picturing all the things they could buy with the money she would be making, he even remembered thinking about the kids they would have, the ones that would be super popular and would love their father and want to be just like him when they grew up. But no, she had to ruin all of that by becoming a police officer instead of following the plan he had laid out for her. He remembered the day he had shown her the plans he had made, the plans that included their amazing wedding that they would have, and all the things he would do to help her make it through whichever school she decided to go to, with the eventual of either Medical School or Law School. She had actually looked at him crazy and then sighed, saying she was going to the academy, she was going to be a cop. He remembered how he snapped after that, it was her reaction to his plans that had caused the final shoe to drop, the final straw to break. She had ruined everything and he could no longer hide his feelings or his anger after that.
Warrick was lying back in the bed and looked up in surprise as Catherine came in with Lindsey, her mother and even little Ella. He had told the doctor not to call her, but he had already been informed that she had been called before he made the request. He could see how pale she was, how terrified she was that there was going to be a problem. The doctor had been so concerned, that he had decided not to rely on just the ultrasound and Warrick had gone through a CT scan with the contrast agent. He was now waiting for the results to come back, but he had wanted so badly to get Catherine to come down, he wanted her to be there with him when he learned what was going on with him. The fact that she had come down here, that she had brought not only Lindsey but Nick and JJ's daughter, Ella, as well, meant so much to him.
Warrick looked over and saw that Ella was apparently being shy, she was hiding half behind Lindsey and he could tell that she was holding something for him. He knew that she was trying to decide if he was a good guy or a bad guy, he couldn't blame the poor kid for being afraid of men, after the hell that poor child had been through. He knew that Nick blamed himself every day for not being there for her from day one, even worse, he blamed himself for not knowing that Krisalyn was one of the bad guys and that JJ was the one woman he had always loved and was really Ella's biological mother. He knew that they had some suspicions that Krisalyn may have been harming Ella when she was alone with her at either the hotel or at Nick's house. Something that really hurt Nick deeply.
"Thank you for coming down here." Warrick said, trying to act tough and not show any of the emotion he was really feeling inside.
"Hey, this is where we wanted to be." Catherine said as she smiled at Warrick. "Has he come in and told you anything about the results yet?" She asked softly, losing that smile and allowing the worry to show on her face.
"Not yet, why did you see him in the hallway? Did he say something to you on the phone? Do you know something?" Warrick asked, his need for information overriding everything else at the moment.
"Relax, I don't know anything." Catherine said shaking her head. She sent a gentle smile towards Ella who crept forward slowly. "Ella made you something." Catherine said as she motioned for Ella to hand Warrick what she had made. "I told her that you were her mommy and daddy's friend and that you got hurt working with her daddy on the day she was found."
Warrick frowned at Catherine, hoping she hadn't made the child feel guilty but knowing that Catherine was an amazing mother, so if she had told Ella about where and when he had gotten hurt, than she must have had a really good reason for doing it. "That's right, your daddy and I have been working together for a very long time." He said softly.
"I saw pictures." Ella said softly and then she held out her arm and waited until he took the paper she had been holding. "I drew a picture."
Warrick could tell that she had tried to copy a picture that Nick had in his house of the two of them together. It was when they had first started working together at the crime lab, and he was surprised at how good it was for a toddler. I mean, it was no way close to a professional portrait or anything, but for a toddler it was pretty good. He could tell that Lindsey had been the one to write the words get well soon, as well as his name and then she had apparently made dots for Ella to trace to sign her name, he could see the dots beneath the very crooked lines of the name Ella. "I love it, thank you so much."
Ella smiled with the praise but she wouldn't move any closer to Warrick, in fact she immediately headed back over to Lindsey, and it appeared that Lindsey understood the toddlers fears as well, because she placed a protective arm around her waist and held her close.
JJ was confused, there was something at this scene that she was missing, there was a big piece to this puzzle that she was missing and it was annoying her and driving her crazy. There had to be something there, otherwise he wouldn't have put in those cameras. There had to be something there that meant something to someone. Then she saw it, her eyes went wide as memories came flooding back to her and she started to wonder, if it was at all possible that she had known who the serial killer was the whole entire time?