Torn
By: Manigault
Rating: R
Disclaimer: They are not mine.
Lobby of hotel casino
2:00 pm
"I'll wait here while you check out." Sara said to Grissom as they exited the elevator. She watched as he stood in line behind an elderly couple, smiling when the woman struck up a conversation with him. Turning away, Sara walked towards the casino where the sounds drew her attention. Although gambling held no appeal to her, she was curious about the attraction it held for certain individuals. Like Warrick. They had come a long way in their friendship since she had been asked to investigate him, but there was still something missing in her comprehension of why he held an addiction to gambling. Shrugging it off, she chalked it up to the fact that they all held their secrets and she was certainly no exception. She was turning away from the noisy room, when a face caught her eye. A man was sitting at one of the tables, his wavy brown hair framing wide eyes that laughed at the woman next to him. Drawing in a deep breath, Sara found herself walking towards the table, oblivious to anyone that walked into her path. The man looked up, caught her eye, smiled, and stood up.
"Hey! Watch where you're going lady!"
Startled by the gruff voice beside her, Sara saw a middle aged man glaring back at her.
"I'm sorry." She told the man before she turned away from him and back towards the table. "Shit." The man was gone. She spun around, looking for him amidst the throngs of people milling around and playing games. He was not there.
"Sara?"
"He was here, Grissom."
"Who?" Grissom was staring at her with worried eyes.
"Bryant Thompson." Sara looked for the woman that had been speaking with Thompson, or someone who looked eerily like him, and made a beeline towards where she was sitting. The woman was pushing chips across the table, her attention riveted on the cards.
"Excuse me," Sara sat in the chair that was left open by Thompson's departure. A wary expression played over the woman's features as she glanced beside her.
"That man you were talking too a few minutes ago," Sara began, sensing Grissom standing directly behind her as she spoke. "Can you tell me who he is?"
The woman shrugged. "He didn't tell me." She frowned. "Why?"
"I think that I may know him and was curious to see if it was the same man."
"Are you the police?" The nervousness in her voice, alerted Grissom, who listened with interest.
"No, we aren't." Sara forced herself to smile. "Is this the first time that you have seen that man?"
"Yeah," The woman scowled. "I really am trying to play a game here, do you mind? The man was nice. He asked me if I come here often. That's all." She looked at the chips. "He also gave me the rest of his chips."
Sara looked at the table, where several chips lay spread out in front of the woman. She looked over her shoulder at Grissom who was staring at the chips, his eyebrows raised in a quizzical expression. Looking back at the woman she said politely. "If I can take one of these chips, would you mind? I'll pay you for it."
Grissom was shaking his head. "You can't take a chip, Sara. We don't…" He let the sentence go unfinished as Sara stood. "I'll exchange it for another one." She gave him a pleading look.
"Here." The woman waved her hand. "If you will leave me alone you can take it. I don't care."
Several people eyed them with curious expressions as Sara took a napkin, wrapped it around a chip, and then thank the woman and leave.
Once at the Tahoe, Sara reached for the field kit that Grissom always kept in the back, took out a plastic bag and placed the chip in it.
"There will be hundreds of prints on that chip, Sara." Grissom informed her as he leaned against the car and watched her work.
"I know." Sara held on to the plastic bag as she moved around to the front of the car. Grissom closed the back of the Tahoe and followed.
"You plan on running every fingerprint you take off that chip?"
"If that is what it takes." Sara held his look with a defiant one of her own. "I'm not insane, Gris, I saw Bryant Thompson."
"Do you plan on informing Agent Gibbes?"
"Not yet," Sara closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and reached for his hand that gripped the steering wheel. "Do you want me to tell Agent Gibbes that I just happened to be in the lobby of a hotel, with you by the way, and saw him? That would go over nicely."
"Catherine would be happy."
"So would Ecklie."
They stared at each other for several seconds, not speaking, simply processing their options. Grissom shifted his eyes to the steering wheel where her hand lay wrapped around his, and he said softly.
"Run the prints, Sara, if it will reassure you that it was or wasn't Thompson. If it is positive then we will have to make a decision. It may not even be necessary if the search went well this morning."
"Thanks, Gris." Sara said, and then added. "If you will take me to my car then I'll get a move on this."
"Wait until at least five, okay?" Grissom pulled out of the hotel parking lot, onto the street. "That will make your odds of running into Gibbes or her team less likely."
"They are using the lab?" Sara asked, staring at him oddly. Why had Grissom not mentioned that little detail?
"She is." He reached for his sunglasses and found Sara's hand wrapped around them. She handed them to him, asking tersely.
"Using dayshift investigators to help with the evidence?"
"Ecklie." He adjusted the glasses, turned onto the next street, and asked her a question. "I thought that you would have drilled me as to what Gibbes and company wanted to speak with me about in private."
"I thought it was a power play by Gibbes. You were not holding anything back so why should I have asked you about what they wanted?" She was thoughtful. "I did think it odd that Ecklie was there, but then, I figured that was simply another move on the FBI part in showing you that you were out."
"It was." Grissom's lips lifted slightly. "Gibbes wanted to make sure that I knew she was using Ecklie and his team."
They did not speak for the rest of the drive to Sara's apartment, but when she climbed from the Tahoe, Grissom was relieved that she appeared to be back on an even keel.
"I think that I will take a nap and then see you tonight?" Sara smiled from the open door, and he returned her smile.
"Sleep." He repeated with teasing firmness. He drove away still troubled, as Sara entered her apartment.