Notes and Disclaimers are at the beginning of Chapter One.
Part Seven - Choices
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*
Grissom was standing at the counter that separated his kitchen area from his living room. His hands were against the counter, bracing his body weight as he leaned forward, staring at the Formica. Margie stood on the other side, arms folded across her chest.
"I swear, Margie, I don't remember what happened. You don't honestly think that I…that I…"
Margie shook her head. "Grissom, this is not about what I think. It's about the evidence. I can't hold off the sheriff or Vega anymore."
Grissom looked up at her, his blue eyes confused and saddened. "They're going to arrest me," he said softly.
Margie nodded.
Grissom seemed to fold in on himself, even though he didn't move. Margie almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
Removing the service weapon from her holster, Margie set it on the counter. Grissom looked at it, then at her. "Margie, what are you doing?"
"Giving you an option."
Grissom shook his head. "No."
"Once they arrest you, your career here is over. What are you going to do then?"
"I have options, Margie. Other than what you're offering. I can teach --"
"Grissom, that's only if you're cleared! If not…you're looking at life in prison. In prison with every perp you've helped put away. How long do you think you'll last?"
"No, Margie. I will not take my own life. If I'm convicted, so be it."
Margie regarded Grissom calmly. She'd known he wouldn't do that. He wasn't the type to take the easy way out of an adverse situation. Still, it would have made her life easier. Picking up her gun, she moved around the counter, aiming at Grissom. He looked up, shocked.
"Margie?"
"You're a man of integrity, Grissom. I admire that. You would have made it easier for me if you had taken your own life, though. Guess I'll just have to be extra careful in staging this crime scene."
Grissom's eyes widened. "You killed that woman."
Margie nodded. "My only regret is that you will never truly know how much it cost Annie to sleep with you, Grissom. She hated you more than I ever could. You took away the one thing she lived for."
He slowly backed away from Margie. "What do you mean?"
"Her husband. My brother. You killed him. Oh, you didn't stick the shank into his chest, but you put him in jail." She cocked her head at Grissom. "You probably don't even remember the case. Andrew Jones."
Grissom nodded. "I remember. He was accused of murdering his co-worker. We had the gun with his fingerprints and he had gunpowder on his shirt. He was arrested and killed while awaiting trial. Five days after his death there was another murder, same circumstances."
"And that killer confessed to the first murder with enough detail to convince you he had done it," Margie snarled. "In the meantime, Andrew died because you wouldn't look beyond your precious evidence to check his alibi, or the logs at the shooting range he visited."
"I'm sorry, Margie," he said quietly. "It was a mistake. One I've regretted."
"Oh yeah, right," she snorted. "You weren't the one who had to watch your brother's spirit die day by day in that place. You didn't have to pick up the pieces after he was killed in jail for a crime he didn't commit. You didn't have to watch Annie slide slowly into a soul-killing depression because she couldn't live without him."
"It was five years ago, Margie." Grissom couldn't believe that Margie had killed her own sister in law just to frame him. He kept slowly retreated, trying to think of a way to get out of Margie's range or get the gun away from her.
"Annie was pregnant when Andrew was killed. She lost the baby in her grief. You know what that did to her? No husband, no baby - nothing left to live for. Andrew was all I had left in the world, too, and I believed that science would clear him. You were one of the top CSIs in the country; there was no way my baby brother would be arrested with you on the case. But you let us down, Grissom. I can't forgive you for that."
"Why kill me? Why not let me be arrested?"
"Because, there is always the chance that someone will discover you were drugged that night. Rohypnol stays in the system for 72 hours."
Grissom nodded, slowly understanding what had happened that night. He remembered going to the bar for a drink. He remembered a woman sitting down next to him, and then he remembered waking up in his bed with her cold, naked corpse next to him. "Annie drugged me at the bar."
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*
Grissom gave a polite smile to the redhead as she sat down next to him. She smiled back. "Come here often?" she asked.
A few minutes later, Grissom turned away when a shout erupted from a group in the corner. The redhead immediately pulled a small white pill out of her purse and dropped it into the brown beer bottle. By the time Grissom turned back to her, she was sipping at her margarita, like nothing had happened.
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*
"In half an hour, when Annie suggested the two of you go someplace quiet, you were more than willing. You didn't even notice that Annie didn't shut the door to your house, allowing me to enter. You were too caught up in Annie's charms."
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*
Two bodies were entwined on the bed, the redhead moving on top of Grissom. Margie waited in the living room, her brown hair ruthlessly pulled back into a bun to prevent stray hairs from escaping. She adjusted the fit of the leather gloves over the latex pair she wore. Leaning down, she retrieved Grissom's service weapon from its holster. A satisfied male groan sounded from the bedroom, and Margie turned her head. Her eyes were cold, emotionless. She hoped Grissom was enjoying Annie, because she was the last woman he would ever have in his bed.
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*
"I don't understand how you could kill your own sister-in-law."
"It was her idea."
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*
Grissom lay dazed on the bed, eyes closed, the drug fully active in his system now. Annie signaled to Margie, who entered the room.
"There's still time, Annie. Time to change your mind."
The woman shook her head. "No. He has to pay for taking everything away from me. I have to take everything away from him. This is the only way, Margie." Annie's eyes were pleading. "I want to see my husband and baby again."
Margie finally nodded. She, too, wanted Grissom to suffer the loss of what he loved the most. His job. She managed to coax him into a sitting position, placing his gun into his right hand. Annie lay on the bed, eyes closed. Margie aimed carefully, knowing that with her hand guiding Grissom's, the trajectory could be off.
"I love you, Annie," she said softly.
Annie opened her eyes and smiled at Margie. "I love you too, sis."
Annie closed her eyes again and Margie pulled the trigger.
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*
"I don't think you ever opened your eyes. You were so out of it, thanks to the drug, that the gunshot didn't even bother you. I let you collapse back on the bed to sleep it off, making sure you kept the gun in your hand." Margie gave Grissom a nasty smile. "You really do need to be more careful with your keys, Grissom. It was way too easy for me to get a hold of yours and make a copy. When I left here, I locked up the house. Nothing to indicate anyone else had ever been here."
Grissom never took his eyes off his colleague, trying to anticipate her next move. "Why are you telling me this, Margie? Why not just kill me?"
"Because I wanted you to know why your life was being ruined. Andrew didn't have that luxury." Margie stopped following Grissom's movements and took careful aim, smiling sadly. "It really was a pleasure to work with you, Gil."
Grissom closed his eyes and turned to duck. He didn't make it before she fired.
*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*