Gerri stood on the front porch with Grissom as he knocked forcefully on the front door. The rain had begun to pick up again, causing Gerri to shiver. No one came to answer the door, even after Grissom had rung the bell and knocked repeatedly. The two of them stood on the porch, silhouetted by the dim porchlight. One final knock and Grissom began to step off the porch. Gerri had other ideas. She slipped her hand inside her jacket sleeve and reached for the doorknob. Grissom saw what she was doing and was about to reprimand her when the door slipped open.

Gerri stared at in surprise, momentarily stepping back. "I didn't do it." she assured Grissom as she stepped into the house.

"We aren't supposed to do this." Grissom reminded her as he followed her into the foyer. No light except that of the streetlamp outside illuminated the interior. The air felt heavy to Gerri as they moved through the house. Grissom had turned on his flashlight and was looking around the living room. He used the beam to illuminate the askew rug in front of the couch.

"There's been a struggle here." he walked carefully into the living room, eyeing the rug. Gerri followed, her flashlight beam sweeping over the furniture. Something tickled her throat and she coughed, shaking her head. Something compelled her to shine the light up the stairs that overlooked the living room. Smoke hung ominously in the hallway.

"Hey, Gil, I think there's a fire." he looked at her and followed her beam.

"Great." he muttered. "Miss Blake? Hello? We're criminalists and want to ask you a few questions. Miss Blake?"

No answer came to Grissom's calls. Gerri had gone into the kitchen and returned with a fire extinguisher. Gil glanced at it and they headed up the stairs. Gil calling all the way. They reached the bedroom where the smoke was originating. Gil checked the door for heat, and feeling none, carefully opened the door. The curtains covering the sliding glass door were aflame. Gerri immediately attacked the flames with the extinguisher. Grissom went over to the bed, spotting a body there. He stopped a few feet short as he saw the wounds that covered the woman's chest and abdomen.

"Fire's out." Gerri coughed from the smoke and looked over to Grissom. She carefully set the extinguisher on the carpet and came to stand next to him. "Uhhh…"

"I think Miss McKnight had a visitor."

*****

Crime scene tape cordoned the driveway and lights from police cruisers reflected from house windows. Sara ducked under the tape, carrying her tool case with her. She stepped in the front door and headed up the stairs. She found Gerri snapping away with the camera as she entered the room.

"Two dead bodies in one night. You're on a roll." Sara commented setting her case on the floor and pulling out a pair of gloves. "Where's Grissom?"

"Downstairs." replied Gerri as she tripped the shutter. "He's checking out the living room. We found signs of a struggle when we came in." she lowered the camera, looking at the body and frowning. "I think whoever killed Jeffrey killed her too."

"Well, that rules out the passion motive, unless Jeffrey swings that way." The charred curtains had caught Sara's eye. "Fire?"

"Yeah. I put them out with the extinguisher there." she pointed, letting the camera hang by her side on its strap. "I think it was ignited by the votive candle."

"Makes sense." Sara looked at the open sliding door and peered at the handle. "Hey look at this." Gerri came over and looked where Sara indicated.

"Blood." barely visible on the dark wood. Gerri brought the camera up and took a picture. "He probably knocked the candle over when he opened the door."

"Blood would be hers then, and there might be prints."

"Try pulling them. If we can't get any, maybe the lab can find latents." Gerri stepped through the open door out onto the deck. Rain sat in little beaded droplets from the waterproofing that had been applied to the wood. She looked around the yard from the high vantage point, her gaze finally coming to rest on the vacant lot behind the rear fence. Something besides the damp made her skin shiver as she stood there.

*****

He crouched in the overgrown brush of the vacant lot, watching the house. It was very exciting, almost being caught. He hadn't been able to watch them work when they found Jeffrey's body. So many things had gone wrong tonight with Christine. The least of which was the fire. Shouldn't have put the candle so close to the drapes, he chided himself. His eyes grew wide as he watched a woman step through the sliding glass door and onto the deck. She was lovely, even through the rain and darkness. Not very tall, only about five three, slight build, and wonderful posture. He stopped breathing for a moment as her gaze swept across the backyard. She stared at the fenceline, her body backlit from the lights in the bedroom. She was perfect. He felt his stomach twist as she shivered and turned to go down the stairs. He watched her descend, elegant, poised- even in the middle of a murder investigation. Something she saw in her flashlight beam drew her across the concrete pad to the edge of the grass. Panic seized him as she knelt down, fingering the wet grass with her gloved hand. she called out for someone, and lifted the camera to her eye. He had forgotten about the footprints. He didn't think as he dropped the knife in the weeds and ran. Even as he ran, he knew he had to see her again.

*****

"Hey, Sara!" Gerri called as she shone her light across the wet grass. She could see indentations trailing across the yard. She looked up as Sara leaned over the deck railing with Grissom by her side. "I have footprints." she called upward, shining her light on the prints closest to her.

"Well, now we know which way he went." Grissom replied as he and Sara trotted down the stairs.

"Yeah," Gerri half muttered, she had knelt back down and was leaning over, unrolling a tape measure next to the print. "Finally, I'm thankful for the rain." She snapped another set of photos and stood, brushing her damp knees. She illuminated the yard with her light and walked across it, next to the footprints. They stopped at the back fence. Sara shone her light on the rough wood, and reached out to indicate indents in it.

"He went over." she noted as Gerri took another photograph. She holstered the light and grinned at Gerri. "Help me?"

"Sure. Be careful." she replied as crouched and interlaced her fingers to give Sara a boost over the fence. Grissom watched them, shaking his head.

"You always have to do things the hard way, don't you?" Grissom asked as Sara scrambled over the top of the fence.

"Which one of us?" Gerri asked, peering through a knothole as Sara dropped to the ground.

"Both of you." came the reply, Grissom was looking over the fence and shining his light down on Sara. "Five and half foot fence. Easy to go over if your trying to escape."

Sara had her light back on and was looking through the brush as Grissom played his beam across the rest of the lot. Gerri was stuck with her limited view through the knothole, as she couldn't see over the fence without jumping. She saw something glint below her as Grissom swept his beam along the fence.

"Sara, here." Gerri dangled her flashlight over the fence and onto the spot where she'd just seen the glint of metal. Sara came over and carefully removed a long serrated knife from the brush. Its bright stainless steel blade was covered with blood.

"Whoa, murder weapon." Sara said, standing and passing it to Grissom over the fence. Grissom watched as Sara boosted herself on a cross-member for the fence and pulled herself over, dropping neatly next to Gerri.

Grissom shone his beam on the knife examine it. Gerri looked at it, and grimaced.

"Now all we need is the killer."

*****