Laws of Motion – Book 3
Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT
Chapter 37
Saturday, November 12, 2005
The Vartann Residence
7:09 pm
"This is going to be thoroughly unpleasant," Brass grumbled as he approached Grissom and Sara. "The Sheriff will be joining us shortly. He was just on his way out to dinner when I called, so you know he'll be good and pissed off he had to come here."
"I didn't really see a choice," Grissom said, feeling caught between a rock and a hard place.
"No, no…you did the right thing." Jim warily eyed Rodgers who was leaning against a squad car looking like he lost his best friend. "What's his story?"
Sara groaned a reply, "The Reverend has been blabbering that he tried to get Amy to accept Jesus Christ as her Savior and stop living a risqué life. Apparently the two of them were acquaintances in the carnal sense before he was incarcerated, which I find interesting since he had told me in Tahoe that he hadn't been with anyone since his wife died. In any case, since he has repented and changed his ways," she inserted an eye roll, "he said he was trying to convince her to do the same."
Grissom added the next nauseating piece, "Rodgers works with a local minister, Reverend Hawkins; they met through the Ely prison outreach program. He said Hawkins helped him develop his approach with Amy and for a while it seemed that she was embracing the Word, she was even participating in an intensive Bible Study program one on one with him."
Brass nodded, "Nick mentioned the ex Mrs. Vartann began attending his church with the Reverend and Mrs. Rodgers. From what I recall, he said she only showed up for a few weeks."
"Because she turned away from the Lord," Sara explained. "Rodgers said Amy became obsessed with having raunchy sex with him during Bible Study, which the Reverend wasn't interested in since he's so very happily married. Feeling uncomfortable, he was forced to end their private sessions, but continued to converse with her on the telephone. Her focus eventually moved from him to getting Tony to divorce Becca and remarry her. He said she had been stalking Tony and he had warned him that Amy was getting a little scary."
"We did witness her harassing Tony and Becca," Grissom said. "Jim, it was that night we were having dinner with the Vartanns and bumped into you. After dinner we went to a bar down the street and she was there. She practically jumped him on the dance floor and verbally sparred with both Tony and Becca."
Watching Mike somberly lean against his patrol car with his head down and hands folded, Sara continued, "Amy called the Reverend for counseling as recently as last night. She was beside herself because Tony served her with a TPO. He feels terrible that he refused to meet her when she begged him, because maybe if he had, she'd be alive today. He didn't go because he assumed she'd plead for sex again, and he was having a very romantic evening with his wife. They had dined at On Top of the World and were snuggled up on the couch watching a movie and drinking champagne when Amy interrupted."
"While waiting for IAB he's praying for Amy's soul," Grissom explained, barely able to maintain a straight face. "According to him she had committed a bevy of sins before her demise, including an abortion, and he's concerned she'll be damned to hell if she didn't have a chance to ask the Lord for forgiveness in her final moments."
"Wow." Brass nodded approvingly. "That's some top notch bullshit."
"My thoughts exactly," Sara and Grissom simultaneously replied.
"That's cute." Brass smiled in spite of his sour mood. "You're so married you're thinking and speaking in sync. Matching Christmas sweaters can't be far away."
Sara emphatically stated, "If we do, please do us a favor and shoot us both."
Chuckling, Jim checked his watch. "Are Mr. and Mrs. Vartann aka 'The Obvious Prime Suspects Who I'm Ninety-Nine Percent Sure Didn't Do It', on their way home?"
Disneyland – Grand California Hotel
7:16 pm
"Do you think Becca killed Amy?" Matt whispered to his father, who was holding an unconscious Becca. Since they were in a secluded area with a three hundred and sixty degree view, he felt comfortable discussing the delicate subject matter. "Quick, before Tony gets back with the smelling salts, what's your take?"
"She really doesn't strike me as the murderous type."
"She had an abortion," Matt pointed out. "If she could kill an innocent baby, what makes you think she wouldn't off a sperm-poisoning bitch like Amy who was hassling her and actively chasing Tony?"
"That's the cop in you talking." Dennis kept gently patting his daughter-in-laws cheeks.
"I think maybe she got tired of Tony not putting his foot down when it came the Ex getting in their faces. I don't blame her for that. I told him he was being far too generous with that bitch and it was gonna come back and bite him in the ass. What the hell was he thinking giving her the time of day anyway? The woman screwed another man in their marital bed. That he tried to help her after that…" Matt's irritation shone through. "If I didn't know better I woulda thought he was trying to keep the Amy option open."
Dennis quickly defended his middle son. "Matt, when you and Tony were kids talking about being cops, you'd always say you wanted the badge to boss people around and nail bad guys, but Tony…he wanted to be a cop to save people. At Christmas you tell everyone about your bust of the year. Tony tells us about his most heroic moment. You're an enforcer, he's a saver and it's a twenty-four seven job for him. He wanted to save his marriage, that's why he stayed in it way too long. He married Becca because she was a needy wreck of a basket case. So, to me it's not a stretch to believe he wanted to save Amy out of obligation…or habit. You and I know there are a lot of people in this world not worth saving, but Tony still holds out a drop of hope for everyone. We think it's a stupid waste of time but," Dennis smoothed his hand over Becca's cheek, "every once in a while Tony gets rewarded for his effort."
"Yeah, with Becca he struck gold…literally."
"No wonder Amy was jealous." Dennis's voice grew cold. "That day she called your mother viciously slandering Becca, I grabbed the phone and blasted her. I won't be shedding one tear over her demise." He glanced up. "I'll go to confession tomorrow, but today I say good riddance, burn in hell, Amy. No one screws with my son's balls and..."
"Dad…" Thinking back to his father's behavior immediately following the phone call, he curiously asked, "Where were you last night between the hours of eleven and eight?"
"I got some!" Tony rushed over and snapped the packet. Waving it in front of his wife's nose, he urged, "Come on, Honey. Wake up." When she moaned, his pulse finally slowed. "You passed out, Sweetheart." Handing his father the smelling salts, he took a seat next to Becca and pulled her in his arms. "Good thing my Dad caught you."
"I was having the weirdest dream," she groggily announced, feeling like Dorothy waking up from an odd fantasy in Kansas while three men loomed over her. "We got a call that Amy was killed in our house. We were the prime suspects and…"
"Honey…" Tony held her tight. "That wasn't a dream, that's why you passed out."
"Oh." She took the cup of water he was offering. "Bummer. Well…not about Amy being dead, about us being the prime suspects."
Dennis, a veteran Homicide Detective, knelt in front of his daughter-in-law. "When you talk like that, Sweetheart, the cops are going to get even more suspicious, so from here on out, if you're asked about Amy's death your reply is 'it's tragic' and nothing more. Got it?"
"Thanks, Coach." Becca took another sip of ice water. "Who do you think killed her?"
"After hearing you left the hotel, Dad and I had our money on you," Matt replied. "Or someone you hired."
"Matt!" Tony barked. "Becca didn't kill Amy." He stroked his trembling wife's hair. "You didn't. Right, Honey? Where did you go last night? You didn't tell me you were going anywhere or that you did."
"No! I didn't kill Amy." Becca couldn't believe he even asked. "I'm not the murdering type."
"You had an abortion," Matt pointed out. "I thought you were a lawyer? The DA will use that to say you are."
"I'm a corporate lawyer!" She looked to Tony. "Seriously?!"
"Honey, they use anything they can in your background to…"
"Oh my God! My background is horrid!"
"Time out." Dennis took command of the questioning. "Tony, just hold your wife and let me do the asking. Becca, we're going to pretend I'm the Detective talking to you in Vegas and from this pretend session we'll be able to judge what we need to do, okay? We'll just worry about the time you were alone."
Becca polished off her water. "Ready."
"Mrs. Vartann…where were you from eleven last night until approximately eight thirty this morning?"
"Uh…I was at the hotel until about eleven thirty and then I drove to my house in San Marino. I was there until eight this morning and then I returned to the Disneyland Hotel for breakfast with my in laws."
"Did anyone go with you to San Marino?"
"No."
"Why wasn't your husband with you? 'Cause it seems kinda odd that you'd leave a family vacation to your house alone. Did you have a fight?"
"No, we I didn't have a fight, I'm madly in love with my husband. I was alone because my husband's brothers took him out for a belated bachelor party and they weren't expected back until noon the next day because they planned to go ATVing at Dumont Dunes."
"Did you meet up with anyone at your house?" Dennis slipped further into cop mode. "C'mon…you're hiding something. Were you meeting an old friend for a little action behind hubby's back? Or arranging a hit on Amy Vartann?"
"Take that back!" She was outraged. "I'd never cheat on Tony!"
Matt muttered, "Notice how she didn't say she'd never arrange a hit?"
"We're pretending, remember?" Dennis patted his daughter-in-law's shoulder. "This is how a detective throws you off balance."
"Well it works!" After a deep breath she calmly answered the question. "No, I was the only one there. I was packing up my winter clothes to bring them to Vegas. I only moved my summer stuff and work clothes. Tony and I were supposed to do it together on Monday, but since I was alone, bored and wired I figured, why waste time on Monday? We could spend more time with his family if I got it done myself."
"Why were you so wired? Were you anxiously awaiting news of Amy Vartann's death?"
"No, Detective." Becca patted her belly. "I was jazzed about taking a pregnancy test in the morning, hoping it was positive since the last one was negative."
"If we were to go to your house in San Marino right now, would I see these boxes you were busy packing?"
"Yep, I left them right where I packed them for Tony to move to the truck when we swing by before heading back to Vegas."
"Is there any chance one of your neighbors saw you come home or leave?"
"I didn't see anyone, but I suppose. It's a real quiet street with lots of big old trees though and I went right into the garage."
"Did you do anything beside pack? Did you make any phone calls?"
"Not at the house, but on the drive." Becca revealed, "I called my friend Hoj."
"Great." Tony hung his head. "Hoj lives in Vegas, and you drive to San Marino on the same road you drive to Vegas. They'll pick up the cell tower and know she was headed in the right direction. If for some reason he doesn't have an alibi for last night it'll look like you were conspiring to commit murder."
The Sanders Home
7:27 pm
"Do you know how to get away with murder?" Daniel asked Greg, who was sitting at the kitchen table outlining a paper while he and Tawny did homework.
"Why?" Greg joked, "Do you want to kill your Algebra professor for making you do all those problems?"
"No." Daniel laughed at the ridiculous assumption and then explained, "When Wade and I were at Starbucks yesterday, these women at the next table were talking about killing a man, the cheating husband of one of the ladies."
The statement caught Tawny's ear. "I hope they were kidding."
"I'm certain they were," Daniel confirmed. "They were laughing and saying really funny ways to do it, but one of them said 'I bet those CSI people on TV would know how to do it and get away with it' and then another one said 'remind me to never marry one of them, because instead of divorcing they probably kill their wives so they don't have to pay alimony', so it got me wondering."
Greg chuckled in Tawny's direction when he saw her tense. "That's wholly untrue. A prime example is Catherine. She divorced her husband even though she hated his guts at the time."
Placing a platter of spring rolls and crab Rangoon on the table Scott remarked, "If he didn't kill his mother after finding out what she had been up to all these years, I think it's safe to say he's not a murderer, Sweetheart. Dinner will be ready in five, dig into the appetizers."
"Thanks, Dad." Tawny swooped in for a spring roll.
"It smells great, thank you." After a lifetime of meat and potatoes, Daniel loved trying the exotic foods his caretaker cooked. "This is delicious."
"Good to hear." Scott smiled thinking how ironic it was after losing two babies with Bev, that he ended up being a father to three in the end. "You kids are gonna love this dinner I'm making."
"No doubt, Greg replied while grabbing a crab Rangoon "To answer your question, Bro…it's totally possible to get away with murder, just ask my father-in-law. As a Criminalist we have to go by what the evidence tells us, we can't rely on gut feelings. The killer could walk up to me and say 'I killed her, but you'll never be able to prove it' but the confession is meaningless, I need evidence to prove he did it. Since it's extremely hard not to leave trace evidence or slip up, to me the best way to get away with murder would be to screw with the evidence you leave the behind, so they're totally confused and can't present a solid theory. Even if they bring it to trial hoping for a break with the jury, if the defense has solid forensic experts they'll be able to tear the CSIs and the evidence to shreds and once that happens, the case is doomed."
"You lost me," Tawny admitted as she grabbed a Rangoon. "What about you, Dan the future CSI man?"
"Yes, he lost me too." Daniel didn't want her to feel bad. "Give us an example."
Scooping brown rice into a serving bowl, Scott loved every minute of watching his son be the big man on campus with the co-eds.
"Take time of death for example. A lot of people think we can pinpoint ToD to the minute." Greg did his best murder mystery voice, "Where were you when the librarian was killed at two-sixteen this morning?!" Returning to his regular voice, he explained, "The best we can do is a range and depending on the elements and when the victim was last seen. Sometimes the range is small, like thirty minutes. Other times it's twelve hours, and in really ugly decomp cases, the window can be huge. If a killer knows how we come up with ToD ranges, then he knows how to screw with the evidence to throw off the ToD."
Placing a large bowl of steaming rice on the table, Scott mandated, "No crime and death talk during family dinner."
Tawny knew exactly what she wanted to discuss instead, "Let's talk babies!"
Drew's House
7:48 pm
"The kids are sacked out," Nick reported when he returned to the family room.
"And the last of the Legos have been put away." Carrie closed the lid and carried the crate to the closet. "Marta can be my sister-in-law any day," she joked. "Have you seen how organized she is with the toys? Every plastic carton is labeled and has a corresponding labeled spot on a shelf."
"I was thinkin' the same thing when I was in the kid's rooms."
"That makes us mutually pathetic for picking a new mate for your brother based on organization skills." Laughing, Carrie walked out of the closet. "All kidding aside, she does fit in with the Stokes clan a lot better than Lissa."
"Yeah." Plopping on the couch, Nick said, "Another observation I made today is that Cassie is a carbon copy of Drew, moving on at light speed. It's only been six weeks and she's already finding a new mommy to replace the old one."
"They don't dwell on stuff that's for sure." She took a seat next to her fiancé and smiled. "I'm really jealous of them for being able to do that."
"Me too."
"Have you been obsessing about our decision since we made it?"
"Only ever other second." He laughed at himself. "Hey, the kids are sound asleep, wanna fool around in the family room?"
"Ha! Fat chance that's ever happening again," she bellowed.
"I had a feeling you'd say that." Nick hurried from the couch. "How about a little trip down memory lane then?" He headed for the well-organized closet. "I saw Scrabble in here."
"Junior Scrabble."
"I know." He grabbed the box. "Unlike the massacre on the weekend of our second date, I may actually stand a chance of winnin'."
Carrie covered her mouth. "I totally forgot about that." When the sexual tension ran high, they had diffused it with a rousing Scrabble game during which she humiliated Nick by winning five hundred and thirty two to one hundred and twelve.
Returning with the box he lectured, "If it had been any other woman, I would have taken my bruised ego home and never called her again."
"This is so surreal after talking on the phone for three weeks." Standing in her Seattle apartment's kitchen, Carrie couldn't take her eyes off her boyfriend, not that she was even sure he technically was one after only one date and a hundred long distance phone calls. "Shiraz or Pinot Grigio…they're my favorites. I have some Merlot and Chardonnay too if you prefer one of those."
Nick flirtatiously answered with a wink, "I'm just a ranch boy from Texas, I'll let the girl who grew up in Wine Country decide."
"Pinot it is then, uh…I have to get to the fridge and…" As he brushed by her, a delicious shiver swept over her body. "Thank you."
Knowing his proximity flustered her, Nick moved to the sink and leaned against the counter. "Back to what you were sayin'…having a second date after a hundred phone calls is really odd for me too, so don't think you're the only one feelin' awkward."
"Yeah, you're used to getting to know a girl's body real well, not her life story." She peeked from behind the fridge door. "I hope that wasn't too…"
"Honest?" He laughed while grabbing the corkscrew off the counter. "Not at all. Here, let me do the honors."
"Sorry if that sounded like I was judging you." Carrie sheepishly handed over the bottle. "I have this blurting issue. It runs in my family actually. When I'm nervous it gets worse and…"
"You're really nervous havin' me in your apartment, aren't you?"
"No, not at all" The pop of the cork made her jump and shriek. "Well maybe a little, because…uh…"
"You think I'm gonna put some big moves on you."
Chuckling, she replied, "No. I know you wouldn't…" Her laughter suddenly ceased. "Are you?"
"I'll confess…I'm dyin' to snuggle up in front of that cozy fireplace you have in the living room…for hours." Grinning, Nick took her hand. "But that's it. I have a hotel room and I fully intend on sleepin' there tonight, Sweetheart. Especially since your Daddy lives right across the hall. I'm sure he's planted in front of the peep hole watchin' to see me leave at a reasonable hour."
"You're probably right about that," Carrie laughed with Nick and let him pull her close. "Snuggling in front of the fireplace for hours sounds really nice." Since her father had been there to meet Nick and verify he was indeed the gentleman she had boasted he was, they had refrained.
Stroking Carrie's cheek with his thumb, Nick softly said, "Even though we've been livin' real different lives, I think from our phone conversations we know we want exactly the same future…a happy marriage, a loving home, a bunch of kids and a family dog. Right?"
"I do," she dreamily replied as if she were practicing for the wedding day she'd dreamt about every night since their first date.
Nick couldn't help but think 'Say it just like that when I ask you to marry me one day'. Glancing over his shoulder, he anxiously stated, "I better get started on that fire, because it's gonna take a while for me to get it goin' and I really want to…"
"Kiss me first," she urged. "It's all I've thought about for weeks and if I have to wait for you to stoke a fire, Stokes, I'll spontaneously combust." A second later his lips were firmly planted on hers and happily ever after felt possible. "It…"
"Wasn't a fluke." Noses touching, his fingers laced in her hair, Nick couldn't believe the electricity. "Talkin' on the phone was nice, but I'm thrilled you're movin' to Vegas on Monday."
"Me too."
"It's crazy," he whispered after a second, more passionate kiss. "But that future we both want…I can see it."
"You're really scaring me." Nerves made her giggle. "This is so fast. I don't do fast relationships."
"We're even then…'cause I've only done fast, not relationships," he laughed. "You're not the only one who's scared here, trust me." After a peck on the cheek he released his future wife and headed for the fireplace. "You miss me already, admit it, you're already wantin' to kiss me again."
"Lots," she eagerly confessed while pouring the wine that was breathing better than her. She held back from blurting that she wanted everything…another kiss, a romantic first night together, a storybook wedding, a house in the burbs, a gaggle of kids and a family dog.
Nick stopped setting up the game. "I just realized that we've literally been talkin' about havin' a family since our second date. We never said it had to be a gaggle of biological children, Sweetheart. Why should anyone think it's crazy for us to want to have a baby in June, a year and a half after knowing each other and marryin' out of love, when all around us people who barely gave kids or marriage a thought and have lived together less than us are havin' babies? Seriously, I'm not knocking them in any way or sayin' it won't work out, but you can't tell me that Becca and Tony havin' a biological child after gettin' married drunk and conceivin' two months later is more right than us dreamin' of a family together since we met and adoptin' a baby fourteen months after our first kiss."
"Nicky, I didn't tell you about Becca's call to convince you…"
"I know you didn't, believe me." He pulled her close. "You told me because you wanted to cry on my shoulder and after the freeze, I'm thrilled you turned to me."
"You didn't just want a break from my brother, did you?" Nick asked Carrie when they reached the park. "What's goin' on? Is it…"
"Becca's pregnant!" she yelled, having had it trapped for the last ten minutes, making her ready to burst.
"What?"
"Becca's phone call…it was to tell me that Tony's infertility had reversed and they conceived without knowing it was possible. She said his ex-wife had been drugging him with Rogaine and Steroids and now that she hadn't been for a while he was okay. After a tirade about her wanting to kill the witch for almost permanently damaging him, she went back to jubilating about the baby. Then she stopped and frantically apologized for being insensitive after the miscarriage. She felt horrible for not thinking of her audience." Try as she might to halt them, tears poured from her eyes. "I'm not angry at her because I know she didn't mean to upset me, and I don't want to be jealous, but I can't help it, Nicky. Literally every girlfriend of mine is pregnant! Most of my bridesmaids will be wearing maternity gowns!" Gulping air she shared, "Before the apology, Becca went on and on about Tony being rewarded with the baby because they conceived on the day he saved a boy from being killed in a gang shoot out. She said it was karma! Where's our karmic baby, Nicky?! You've saved how many people? How many scumbags have you locked away? And okay, all things being equal between you and Tony, Becca's spent most of her life doing the wrong things, while I've busted my ass helping how many kids?! How much straighter of a life could I have led? Hell, I'm even visiting a homeless woman under a bridge once a week bringing her chicken soup! All that and no baby for us! There's no such thing as karma! And there can't be a God!"
"Carrie, don't." When he tried to take her hand she pulled back. "Please…"
"What kind of a God rewards sinners like Becca and Belinda with babies and takes ours away?! Look at what's going on around us! A rapist and murderer is wearing a badge! We see more and more innocent people suffering in this city every day. We could have ten billion dollars for BPAC and not be able to help everyone." Her voice dropping with her spirits, she hopelessly said, "There is no God, and there's no justice in this world. The truth is that life sucks for most people most of the time, and then they die. After death, very few people care or miss them. Do you think anyone besides you ever thought of Kristy Hopkins after she was murdered? It wasn't until Mike's lawyer needed to use her in death that anyone uttered her name since she went into that grave you paid for so she wouldn't have to go to Potter's Field." Hot tears staining her cheeks she confessed, "And it's not just the unloved who get forgotten. I've been so caught up in my own drama, even I don't think about my mother every day anymore. I swore that would never happen and now I...I can't even remember when I started forgetting her."
It was the most heartbreaking moment of Nick's life. Right before his eyes the person he loved the most was losing her faith in everything…hard work, good deeds, God, herself…their future. "I don't know the right thing to say, so I'm just gonna wing it. Life seems to suck right now, I know that, believe me. Sara was bitching to Gris the other day about havin' to give in and buy maternity clothes this weekend and it took all my willpower not to tell her to shut the hell up and be happy her baby is growing healthy enough to make her buy bigger pants. I fully expect Marta to come home from tango lessons pregnant and after that it'll be Mike tellin' me that he and Marlene are expectin' triplets." With his hand extended he pleaded, "You're not alone, Sweetheart, I'm with you."
"It's so unfair, Nicky," she cried.
"Yeah, it is." A deep breath later he said, "But at least we have a home, our health, an extended family that loves us, and most of all each other. Lots of people don't have that, some people will die without ever having any of that. We have to focus on what we have, not on what we've lost in life." Stepping forward, he took the hand she wasn't offering. "I guarantee that people are laughin' at you for bringin' chicken soup to a homeless woman, just like people laughed at me for payin' for Kristy's funeral, but you do it becausethat container of soup and your smile are the only things that woman has to look forward to every week. Really think about how incredibly sad that woman's reality is, Sweetheart. Factor in our childhood abuse, the loved ones we've lost, even our baby, and that woman is a million times worse on the misery scale. When we lost the baby, we lost perspective; we've been whining and moping 'why us' but we need to stop right here, right now. Do you know how many people in this world would trade places with us in a heartbeat? Life is good, Darlin', it's just not perfect. It's never going to be perfect. Becca's pregnant, but she didn't know what it was like to be loved until her thirtieth year. Would you really want to trade places with her?"
"No."
"Sara's pregnant, but she had to watch her mom kill her father and live in foster care for years. And Tawny…"
"No, I wouldn't trade with them either," she sniffled while sinking into his embrace. "You're right, we need to get over wanting perfect."
"Yeah, and, Carr…you may not consciously think of your mom every day, but you honor her daily by bein' a woman she could say she's proud to have as a daughter. That's one reason why you can't stop bein' who you are and helping' others. The other is, well…don't tell my Mama I said this, but…I believe God is a spiritual force, but His power on Earth is limited to the people here doin' His work. He's not sittin' up in Heaven decidin' who gets babies, that theory is great for Sunday School kids, but it's not true. He didn't let your Mom die of cancer because of something you did or didn't do. She died because she was sick and the current technology couldn't save her. You were abused because your swim coach was a pedophile and had opportunity, not because you didn't deserve to be spared." Cupping her face, he drilled home his point, "You're not bein' punished by God, but you're not gonna be rewarded either. It's time to do a little growin' up. You could feed soup to every starvin' kid on the planet and never be able to have a baby, or you could rob a bank tomorrow and get pregnant that night. If there was a divine entity up there makin' decisions, there wouldn't be pregnant crack-addicted gangbangers all over this city and you'd be carryin' quintuplets."
Like a little girl finding out there was no Santa Claus, she cried for her loss of innocence.
"That said, you can't stop doin' good in this world." Cradling Carrie in his arms, Nick softly explained, "Good people have to keep doing the thankless jobs and good deeds because if they didn't the bad guys would have the place to themselves. Right now God's team is gettin' their ass kicked by the evil in this world, I have to look no further than Mike havin' the upper hand to prove my point. You can't throw in the towel, Sweetheart, you're an MVP. You need to stay in the game." Lifting her chin with his fingertips, Nick smiled, "Any better? Or did I make you feel worse?"
"Better." His words brought what had been missing for a long time… peace. "Thank you."
"You don't have to thank me for lovin' you, Darlin', I consider it a privilege."
"That's very smooth Stokes," she tried to nostalgically joke through her tears.
"But very true." Feeling her relax in his arms, Nick's heart soared. "You needed to get all that off your chest."
"And I needed to hear what you said," she sniffled and wiped her eyes.
"I really do feel so much better now." Carrie smiled. "Hearing how happy Mrs. Demcak was helped too. Inviting her to have Thanksgiving with us was a great idea too."
"I thought it would be a good way for everyone to meet her." Leaning over the game board he snatched a kiss. "We're going to adopt that baby and start our happy family and there's not an ounce of doubt in me," Nick confirmed as he opened the Scrabble board. "And since my ass can't wait to be kicked, let's get started."
The Vartanns
8:05 pm
"Here's the plan." IAB Lead Norma Jessup stood on the driveway with her hand picked team. "Robbins, Grissom and Curtis…for now only you and assigned IAB personnel are the ones with clearance into the house. You don't lift a finger unless your shadow is watching you lift it, am I clear?"
The Sheriff promptly added, "Document until you think you can't possibly document better and then document a little more."
"Time is ticking," Grissom reminded the group. "And every minute is making it harder for the victim to tell us her story."
Jessup started for the house. "You're the lead for processing, Grissom. I'm in charge of the investigation. Take us inside and we'll try to be as invisible as possible."
I find that impossible to believe. "Thank you." Even though he hadn't been inside yet that day, Grissom had the layout of the house in his head from previous visits.
"No signs of forced entry on the front door," Sofia stated, well aware that her habit of saying every observation out loud drove Grissom bonkers. "It's freezing in here. No one goes on vacation and leaves their air this cold."
Al couldn't resist Sofia's bad habit, "When money is plentiful who cares how high the electric bill is?"
"True."
"It'll screw with the ToD though."
Ignoring the chatter behind him, Grissom made a left turn down the hall and in seconds he was outside the open doorway of the master bedroom.
"Damn." Sofia covered her mouth with the back of her hand and fought the urge to say 'There's no way in hell the Vartann I know did this'.
"Doc…" Grissom turned to meet his friend's gaze. "We've got a freezing cold house, a body that can't be older than twenty-two hours, and insects that do not belong."
"I was hoping for something a little challenging today," Al remarked in a sunny tone. "I'm goin' in."
Sofia glanced over at Grissom. "Does it ever freak you out that he enjoys his job a little too much?"
Grabbing a pair of tweezers and a bunch of bug collection jars from his kit, Grissom shook his head. "No, it makes me feel less odd."
"What do you want me doing?" Sofia asked, "Besides talking less?"
"Print the thermostat."
"Me and my shadow will get right on that."
Walking carefully around ripped clothing and broken glass, Grissom approached the body.
"Body temp is eighty-six point four," Doc stated while quickly doing that math. "Ten am this morning. Rigor is complete and not reversing."
"Doesn't help, since rigor can complete between ten and thirty-six hours, still puts ToD between ten pm and ten am."
"But it's cold in here, so rigor could have slowed."
"But it's not fifty in here and that's what the thermostat is set at." Grissom's mind raced. "The maid comes in and it's too hot to work, so she bumps down the thermostat, or…someone changes the temperature to screw with the ToD calculations. The latter theory goes well with the misplaced bugs. In any case, that's why I'm having Sofia print it. The hospital is going to call me if the maid regains consciousness too, because she's the only one who can tell us the real answer on the temperature when she entered the house." Since Mike was the last one out of the house he could have easily turned down the temperature and left no print behind. "I'll also have to ask the Vartanns if they knew what they had it set at before leaving."
"Moving on then." Doc tilted the woman's naked body to show the blood had pooled on her back. "Lividity is fixed, so that doesn't affect the window and there's no question that she was killed here, but it is consistent for all intents and purposes."
Grissom continued to scour the body while snatching bugs and maggots. "No signs of struggle on the body."
"The body looks like the only place where struggle didn't take place. Broken liquor bottles all over." Doc pointed to the vic's face. "The eyes were closed, but we have clouding. Clouding isn't influenced by ambient temperature. From the eyes, I'd say it's been at least twelve hours, but you know the story there."
"Experts can't agree, so it never holds weight in court, so we're still looking at ten to ten."
"The neck wound is fatal," Doc quickly surmised. "She bled out from there. A knife didn't do the damage, it literally looks like someone ripped her throat out doesn't it?" He pointed to the bed. "There's a perfectly good chef's knife right there to do the job quick and pretty."
"It's symbolic." Grissom closed the last of his specimen jars. "Like someone wanted to silence her permanently by ripping out her voice box." Pulling out his digital camera, he snapped a photo of the blood drenched TPO for Stalking and Harassment lying on the floor only a few feet from a blood dipped statue of Cupid shooting an arrow. "More symbolism?" He crouched down and focused on the arrow's size. "Or the murder weapon?"
Doc craned his neck. "Death by Cupid? Quite a romantic way to go compared to some of the less glamorous options."
"There are several versions of Cupid in mythology." Gil snapped pictures from every angle under the watchful eye of IAB trying to be invisible in the doorway. "Most often though, he's described as a fickle and perverse boy carrying two arrows…one gilded that inspires love, one lead that brings on hatred."
"There's a fine line between love and hate, Gil, so I think he was wasting his time with the two arrow bit." Doc smiled over the carnage. "I say if you shoot the love inspiring arrow hate will follow in time."
"On the outs with the wife again, Doc?"
"Not this week, no. I actually got lucky last night."
"I hope IAB made a note of that," Grissom remarked with a raised brow. Doc's candor never ceased to amaze him. "If the arrow went straight in deep and then was pulled to the left and out…"
"That would have done the damage."
Grissom nodded. "Death by Cupid it is."
"I got a bunch of prints off the thermostat," Sofia announced from the doorway. "An IAB runner is taking them straight to the lab and they're on notice to process ASAP. What's next?"
"You're in charge of the little pervert." Smirking, Grissom handed over the statue. "Photos are done. Print, bag and tag. Cupid's our murder weapon. He was a few feet from the DB."
"Very convenient."
Grissom nodded. "Too convenient."
Amy Vartann's Townhouse
8:48 pm
With their IAB guard behind them, Brass and Sara stood in Amy's bedroom staring at the ripped wedding dress and photo shreds littering the floor.
Jim glanced over at Sara. "You ever get pissed at a guy and tear up every memory of him?"
"No comment."
"That's a yes," Jim chuckled and then turned to the IAB spy. "She's gonna do the work, I'm just gonna stroll about the room looking important."
"Want me to check the nightstand first?" Sara asked with a smile. "I know that nightstands and lingerie drawers are your favorites."
"Yeah, and that nightstand has huge drawers." He watched her slide open the top one and took a quick inventory over her shoulder. "All the usual goodies…lube, condoms, battery operated love rods. Open the bottom drawer, that's where the hard core stuff always is."
"Bingo." Sara shone her flashlight on the premium collection of bondage supplies. "Vartann said they parted ways due to differing sexual philosophies. I just thought that was a fancy way of saying the wife started sleeping around, but maybe it was the old S&M conundrum…to strike or not to strike."
"Not to speak ill of the dead, but…" Jim lowered his voice to a whisper, "Amy Vartann was a bitch and I can easily see her trying to slap a dog collar on her lover and barking for him to get down and stay. Tony doesn't strike me as the collar wearing type."
"I'll defer to your judgment there since you're dating a dominance expert."
"Hey." Vega walked past the IAB observer and over to Sara and Brass. In a hush he shared the latest disturbing news, "I've got a Randi Watson outside. She lives in the next building and she just came home from working at The Excalibur. She says she's Amy Vartann's best friend. I asked her for the last time she saw Amy. It was last night around eight thirty at The Excalibur. Amy was there playing quarter slots waiting for Randi to finish her shift. They had plans to go out because Amy was really down, but they ended up canceling."
Brass asked the obvious questions, "Why was she down and why did they cancel?"
Vega whispered his reply, "It was Randi's idea to go out after Amy called and said Matt Vartann, Tony's brother, called her cursing her out for poisoning Tony balls. Amy told her that Matt said, quote 'You'll be sorry you ever messed with my brother's balls', you self-centered bitch'."
Sara asked the awkward question. "How do you poison a guy's…"
"Rogaine and Steroids," Vega explained. "Amy told Randi that she had been secretly giving both to Tony when they were married so he'd be sterile and she could lie about trying to get pregnant."
"Why not just take the pill on the sly?" Sara asked.
"Great minds, Sidle. I asked that too." Vega informed the CSI, "Birth Control pills made Amy nauseous and she couldn't tolerate them."
"Ah." Sara nodded. "Okay, so Matt called at what time?"
"She said sevenish." Vega checked his notes. "But by the time Amy showed up at the Excalibur, she was on Cloud Nine because Tony called to apologize for his brother's hot headedness and to ask her if she would meet him to talk if he could sneak away from Becca in California."
"Motive and opportunity." Brass glanced over at Sara. "Cue the suspenseful music."
"He called back around eight thirty and told her he worked out a plan to sneak away." Vega reluctantly said, "I called for her cell phone records and I got confirmation of one incoming call from Matt Vartann at 7:26, three incoming from Tony Vartann at 8:12, 8:21 and 9:33 and five outgoing from Amy's cell to Tony at 9:54, 1:07, 2:13, 3:17 and 4:11 am. The call at 4:11 was a different cell tower, near the Tony Vartann residence. Could have been her calling to ask where he was." Shaking his head, he soberly stated the obvious, "Matt and Tony Vartann just earned 'persons of interest' status, so I hope they have good alibis."
"Damn." Jim grabbed his phone to call Grissom.
"There was one more call I think you'll find interesting." Vega glanced down at his notes. "At 10:46 last night the deceased phoned Mike Rodgers."
The Vartanns
9:08 pm
"Captain Jessup," Grissom tucked his cell in his pocket as he walked into the living room. "I was just informed that one of the officers on the scene, Mike Rodgers, was contacted by the deceased at ten forty-six last night. Since they have a personal connection, I recommend that he be asked to leave the scene ASAP."
"Officer Rodgers already recused himself," she informed the Criminalist while tucking her bobbed auburn hair behind her ears. "He's giving his CO a full accounting of that phone call…among other things."
"Other things?" Grissom waited for details.
"You'll be privy to the report as soon as it's completed." The IAB Captain checked her watch. "Detective Vartann checked in to say that without traffic, he and his wife will be at the Trop Station by one. I've set up two rooms there and have personnel waiting to take statements. The deceased's mother is en route from Phoenix too."
"Grissom!" Sofia hurried through the living room. "I told you I got eleven perfect prints off Cupid?"
"Yes."
"They were rushed to the lab and I have names."
"That was fast."
"It was a no brainer, because they were all in AFIS." Sofia held up the note page where she had jotted the names dictated to her over the phone. "Eleven prints belonging to four people. Amy Vartann, Tony Vartann, Becca Vartann and just when you thought it couldn't get any more confounded…Greg Sanders."
"Sanders?" Jessup quizzed.
Grissom soberly explained, "A CSI on Day Shift Team A under Nick Stokes. He and Becca Vartann are childhood friends. His prints being in the home are not cause for alarm."
"No." Jessup huffed, "But his prints on the murder weapon are." She marched for the front door. "Tell him to get into the station ASAP."
Reaching for his phone, Grissom sighed, "At least Greg will have an alibi during the ToD range. Tawny called Sara earlier today and told her they spent the night and the better part of the day at the Stratosphere having a second honeymoon after renewing their wedding vows at the Chapel in the Clouds."
"Get the room number," Sofia suggested. "I'll have the Stratosphere pull the security tapes for their hallway and the alibi will be airtight."
"Excellent idea, Curtis."
"You sound surprised that I could have one."
"Well…"
"Gris!" Greg's cherry voice shot out from Grissom's cell.
"Hey, Greg, have you spoken to Becca today?"
"Yeah, like four times, actually, Tawny did most of the talking. It's supposed to be a secret, but there's no way Becks will keep her mouth shut, so I'll tell you. She just found out today that she's preggers. She's off the charts happy and full of pregnancy questions."
"So you haven't spoken to her in the last four hours I take it?"
"No, why?"
"A little something happened at the Vartann home while they were away." Grissom watched Sofia on the phone on the other side of the room. "Amy Vartann was murdered in their bedroom."
"Are you kidding me?"
"I'm not much of a kidder, Greg."
"Right."
"Here's the next gem…your prints were found at the crime scene, so you need to get to the Trop Station and give a statement to IAB as to your whereabouts between ten pm last night and ten am this morning. Bring your hotel receipts and Tawny so she can..."
"Uh, Gris."
"I can tell by your tone I'm not going to like this, Greg."
"I kinda don't have an alibi for a small portion of that range."
"How small?"
"Five to seven am. I think it was seven-twenty when I got back to the Statosphere."
"That's not small." Grissom started rubbing his temples.
"I had to run back to my apartment to get the special gift I had for Tawny."
"Two hours?"
"Well, uh…I kinda got sidetracked when I was there. I felt the call of my Xbox and since I knew Tawny would sleep in since we were up late, I…"
In a harsh whisper Grissom yelled into the phone, "You expect IAB to believe that on your second honeymoon you were playing Xbox at your apartment while your sexy wife was in bed at the Stratosphere?"
"That does sound pretty…"
"Pathetic," Grissom snapped.
"But very in character for me!"
"What about Daniel? Where was he?"
"Asleep in the bedroom, he was up late studying and never woke up."
"Get down to the station, Greg," Grissom huffed. "Maybe IAB will believe you're pathetic once they talk to you for a while."
"I'm sure plenty of people will vouch for my pathetic-ness if asked."
"I'm hanging up."
When she saw Grissom was off the phone, Sofia walked over shaking her head. "Becca's cell phone records have her calling Greg at 11:50 last night. The cell tower shows she wasn't near Disneyland."
"Where was it logged?"
"About thirty minutes from Disneyland…as if she was heading back to Vegas." When she saw Grissom's expression, Sofia tensed. "It's gonna get ugly, isn't it?"
Author's Notes:
Yeah, just a little ugly, but kinda fun in a twisted way.
Death by Cupid – remember Becca's nightmare about Amy dying in the bedroom by Cupid's arrow.
The next chappie starts off with Greg's interview and then Tawny's.
Thanks for letting me know there are still readers here on I just got the notices today as alerts have been down. I'm off to reply.
Next Chapter: The heat is on as IAB starts asking questions and Drew and Marta practice the tango (there needed to be a little fluff. There might be some surprise fluff too LOL). Posting: Friday night
Thanks for reading and commenting,
Maggs