Lex Talionis

Chapter 37

Grissom was still seated on the floor of the barn when Clare spoke to him through the closed door. He was about to answer her when he heard Tate's voice just outside.

Grabbing his cell phone, he shoved it into his back pocket before thrusting the Smith & Wesson 9mm into its holster. With one hand on the wall and the other grasping his crutches, Gil quickly and carefully stood up and positioned himself beside the door. Taking the gun back out, he held it at the ready as he quietly slid the latch until it was only just holding the door closed; with one quick push he could have it wide open at a moment's notice. However, knowing that Clare was standing between him and his target, he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Trying desperately to hide her dismay, Clare turned to face her brother.

"I was talking to the horse." She said, hoping her voice sounded normal. "I already told you, she's about to foal."

"I don't think so." Sean sneered. "Get out of the way; I want to see inside the barn."

Clare shook her head. "No; I am not having you go in there and upset that animal."

"You were not talking to a damn horse, Clare; give me some credit." Tate's tone had taken on a menacing quality that chilled his sister to the bone. "Now, are you going to get out of my way or not?" He started moving closer.

A low growl from Murphy served to remind him of her presence and he stopped where he was. Looking down at the dog, standing protectively in front of her mistress, Sean's face broke into a cold grin. He held out his hand. "Give me the rope, Clare."

"Why?" She quickly put the hand holding Murphy's lead behind her back.

"Because that fucking dog's in the way." He spat as he took another step nearer. "It's got to go."

"I told you earlier what I'd do if you touched her." Clare's fear was beginning to turn to anger. She pulled Murphy closer to her side. "Don't think I didn't mean it."

"What do you think you're going to do to me?" Sean's eyes dropped down until they settled on her belly. "One push and I could have you flat on your back; I'd have sorted that animal out and been in the barn before you even pulled your ass up out of the mud."

"Yeah, that's about your level, isn't it, Sean? Pregnant women and defenseless animals." Clare shook her head in disgust. "I wonder what our parents would think of the man you've turned into. Or how about Debbie Marlin? How would she feel about you now?"

She never even saw Sean move. One minute she was standing talking and the next she was pressed to the barn door with his hand around her throat. She felt Murphy wedged between the back of her legs and the wood of the door and prayed that the frightened dog wouldn't panic; if she managed to force her way out Clare knew that the only thing holding her upright would be her brother's hand.

"Shut the hell up!" Sean snarled as he held her against the door. "I don't give a fuck what anybody thinks of me but if you ever mention Debbie's name again, I'll kill you." He stared directly into Clare's eyes, as he placed his free hand on the mound of her stomach. "And the little bastard that you're carrying."

Hearing the threats Tate made followed by the thump against the door, Grissom knew it was time to intervene. Turning so that he stood directly in front of the door, he shoved the latch fully across and pushed. The door refused to open. Trying again, it shifted less than a quarter inch before quickly shutting again; without the use of both legs, he couldn't get enough of his weight behind him to force the door open.

Frustrated, he jammed the pistol in its holster and was about to start towards the large double doors when he was stopped by the sound of Clare's voice. Her tone had changed and there was now absolutely no sign of fear as she responded to her brother.

"Get... your... hand... off... me!" Clare demanded as she met Sean's icy gaze with one of her own.

He gave a cold laugh. "Or what?"

Clare had felt slight movement in the door behind her and knew Grissom wanted out but she was not about to allow Sean to get away with threatening her child. If he wanted to try and intimidate her, she was more than capable of playing him at his own game.

"Or I'll start asking questions about my husband's disappearance again; only this time I'll demand that they take me seriously when I tell them what I think happened." She felt the pressure on her throat begin to ease and saw the shock register in her brother's eyes. "What? Did you seriously think I didn't suspect you?" She gave a little laugh. "God Sean, there was no way known I was ever going to believe that Brian had run off with someone else. And you were the last person to see him; I can put two and two together you know."

She saw the color drain from his face as he finally let her go. Taking a step backwards, his eyes darted away from hers. "What are you going to do?"

"Get off my property right now and I won't do anything." She ran her hand across her throat, knowing she was going to have bruises. "I want you off my land, I want you out of Mom's house; in fact, I want you out of Fernley altogether. Go play your little games, Sean, go find your friend from Vegas, I don't care anymore. Do whatever the hell you want; just as long as it's nowhere near me or my child."

She held her arms protectively around her stomach. "I'm too tired to deal with revenge just now, but I swear, if I ever see you again then absolutely nothing will stop me. One way or another you will pay for what you've done."

His eyes, burning with anger and defiance, snapped back to meet hers. "I'll go." He spat as he tried to stare her down. "I'll leave the house, I don't need the damn thing anymore anyway but just remember; you still need my signature to sell it and that's one piece of paper I'll never sign. You can rent it out if you like but that still won't pull in the kind of money you need to make this place survive. One way or another, you and your brat will get exactly what you deserve."

Clare stared for a moment longer, and then wearily shook her head. "Get in your car and go." She instructed as she held Murphy by her side.

Keeping his eyes locked on hers, Sean moved to the car and was about to get in when Clare loosened the hold she had on Murphy's rope. Instantly, the dog darted forward and sank her teeth deeply into Tate's calf. His roar of pain was almost drowned out by the excitable barking of the animal as Clare tried to pull her back to heel.

Seated in the car now, Sean clutched at his bleeding leg. "What the fuck did you let it do that for?"

"Let's call it a preview of what will happen to you if you ever turn up here again." Clare reached down to pat the dog. "Besides, I figure Murph deserves some payback for all the abuse you've aimed at her over the years. Now, shut the door, start the car and get the hell off my property."

She watched as the Subaru reversed back and then accelerated down the driveway. Bending down, she undid the rope and let Murphy barrel off after the vehicle, knowing the dog would delight in 'chasing' the car off her land.

With a shuddering sigh, Clare turned towards the door just in time to see it open. Taking a few unsteady steps, she almost fell against Grissom as he came out of the barn. He wrapped one arm around her as he heard her begin to sob. Both of her arms went around his waist and grabbed hold of the back of his shirt.

"It alright now; it's all over." He said as he felt the tremors that ran through her body. Looking around, he could see nowhere they could sit down so settled for just holding her as she cried herself out.

A few minutes later, he could feel her beginning to relax against him as her sobs trailed off. He was about to suggest taking a seat in the barn when he felt the phone in his back pocket begin to vibrate. Pulling it out, he checked the screen and then answered the call.

"Hey, honey."

"Is everything okay?" Sara asked cautiously.

"It's fine." He assured her, watching as Murphy came flying around the corner only to skid to a halt at their feet. He felt one of Clare's hands release his shirt as she put it down to rest on the dog's head. "It's over and everyone's okay. Could I call you back in half an hour or so? I'm standing out here soaking wet and covered in mud and I'd really kill for a shower." He heard Clare laugh softly as she finally let go of him and stepped back. She crouched down to praise the dog as Grissom quickly finished the call.

"You alright?" He asked as he slipped the phone back into his pocket.

With an embarrassed smile, Clare nodded "I'm fine; it just got a bit... intense there for a little while."

"You were brilliant, Clare." Grissom held out his hand and helped to pull her upright. "I thought it was all set to go down here when the threats started but you handled him perfectly."

"I was scared to death right up to the point that he threatened the baby; he wasn't getting away with that." Clare said as they both moved towards the house. Reaching the steps, she slowly made her way up to the door. "You got the transmitter on the car alright?"

"Yep, nice and secure." Grissom followed her into the house. "As soon as I've changed clothes we'll boot up the laptop and make sure it's working."

"It damn well better be after all that." She sank down onto one of the dining chairs. "You go up and have that shower. I'll make us some breakfast; I think we deserve it, don't you?"

Just as he was about to leave the kitchen, Grissom turned back to face her. "No regrets? He is your brother after all."

Clare shook her head. "No, he was my brother. If I learned anything this morning it's that the Sean I knew doesn't exist anymore." She gave him a tired smile. "Now go; you're dripping mud all over the floor."

Everyone watched as Sara put the phone down on the coffee table and let out a huge sigh of relief.

"He's fine, they both are; Tate's gone." For the first time all morning, a smile lit up her face. "He'll call back in half an hour, he wants to have a shower first; God knows what he's been doing but as long as he's safe, I don't care."

Standing beside O'Riley, Warrick leaned towards the ex-detective. "How about we rustle up some coffee for everyone, Ray?"

Keeping an eye on the three people seated on the large sofa, O'Riley nodded towards Sara. "You really think she needs a stimulant after all that?"

Warrick gave a quick laugh. "No, probably not but I do and I imagine Catherine and Brass would appreciate it as well."

As they got to work in the kitchen, Jim excused himself for a bathroom break and Sara turned towards Catherine. "You said earlier that you had video of the attack on Grissom."

"That's right." Catherine eyed the younger woman warily; pretty sure she knew where this was heading.

"I want to see it Catherine; I need to understand what he went through out there."

"No!" She shook her head firmly. "Trust me Sara; I've just spent most of the night watching all four disks that Gil found, and if anything, I'm left with more questions than answers. How anyone could be so twisted that he'd do that to another person..." She shook her head in disbelief. "Not to mention how Grissom managed to survive when the other three didn't. It was a brutal, vicious torture, Sara, that's the only way I can describe it and, I assure you, you do not want to see any of it; Gil wouldn't want you to either."

Approaching from the kitchen, Warrick handed both women their coffees. "How about the brother-in-law, Cath? One of those disks was supposed to be of him, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was." She confirmed. "We pulled his driver's license and made a positive identification from that. I'm fairly sure he was Tate's first kill, or at least the first one he did by himself; there was none of the forward-planning that's evident in the other three recordings. From the look of things, Ashton was dead before Tate even got him to the dump site and there were no marks on the body to indicate he'd been tortured. In fact, we couldn't see any signs of trauma at all; it's only a guess but I'd probably be thinking strangulation for COD."

"Well, at least his wife will know for sure now." Sara commented as she sipped her coffee.

Catherine picked up her own cup. "Hopefully, we can help her out even further. Grissom wants us to try and find the body. I've left Archie going over that recording; he's going to pull out anything in the surrounding area that may be helpful for identification. With some luck, someone up in Fernley will recognize something and we'll have an area to start searching." She paused as Brass painfully made his way back to the couch. "He also wants to file a formal complaint against the sheriff's office up there. Apparently, they didn't take Clare Ashton seriously when she reported her husband missing; she told them that she believed her brother was responsible and they laughed it off."

"I can handle that for you, Cath." Jim told her as he tried to get himself comfortable again. "I'll have a word with our sheriff; it'll carry more weight if the complaint comes from him. Just think; if they'd actually done their jobs properly four months ago, all of this wouldn't have happened. Tate would have been arrested; Lurie and the others would still be alive and Gil would have been spared a whole lot of pain." Moving his leg over slightly, he winced at the pain from his bruised hip. "And I sure as hell could have done without getting a car up the ass!"

Catherine and Sara both smiled at his remark but everyone was well aware of just how easily everything could have been avoided.

So?" Warrick drained the last of his coffee. "What happens now?"

Sara checked her watch. "Grissom should be calling back shortly; we can't really do anything until he does."

Jim nodded in agreement. "Sara's right. There's no point in making any decisions until we know what Gil's been up to and what he has planned. I'm sure Ecklie will have a stroke when he discovers what's going on but, from here on out, Grissom's running the show."

Coming downstairs after his shower, Gil made his way back to the kitchen to find Clare already had the laptop open and the tracking software running. She looked up as he neared and gave him a sheepish smile.

"I hope you don't mind; I couldn't wait any longer."

"Sorry I took so long." He pulled out the chair next to hers and took a seat. "I called Sara back while I was up there."

"Everything alright?"

"She's not too happy about the risks we took but," he gave a quick shrug "I managed to talk her round. I did have to promise to call her once every hour on the trip back to Vegas but I guess that's a small price to pay." He gestured towards the computer. "It's working?"

"The little red dot popped up on the screen the minute I opened the program." She shot Grissom a grin. "He was at the house for a while but he's been driving round town for the past ten minutes."

"He'll be looking for me." Gil commented. "That should keep him busy for a while."

"You didn't tell anyone where you were staying when you were in town yesterday, did you?"

He shook his head. "I went to the pharmacy, the bank and the gas station; that's it. If anyone had asked for an address I would have told them I was staying at one of the motels anyway. Don't worry, he won't find out where I am."

They kept the computer on as they ate breakfast and continued to watch as the red dot tracked up and down each street of downtown Fernley. One thing was certain, Tate was being thorough.

Gil had just gotten up to refill his cup when he heard Clare's relieved sigh.

"I think he's finally given up."

Returning to the table, Grissom bent down to get a clearer view of the screen. The red dot had left the downtown area and was now beginning to move south-east. Zooming in on that particular part of the displayed map, they both watched as the Subaru made a right-hand turn onto US-95.

Delighted that his plan was working, Gil grinned as he watched his target start to head south.

"I think it's time for me to leave."

TBC

A/N: Wow! Look at that; not even a hint of a cliffhanger. I thought we could all do with a little breather and, although it was difficult, I managed to control myself long enough to give you a nice, sedate ending to chapter 37. Thanks for reading.