Well, it's time to put an end to this…..whatever it is. Thanks to all the moosh lovers out there.

The usual applies; I own no one or nothing pertaining to this story.

Chapter 4 You Win Some, You Lose Some

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In the morning, when Clarice didn't answer the door, Crawford didn't know what to think. Finally he had a maid let him into her room, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. No signs of a struggle, in fact, no sign of anything, her luggage was gone and so was she. Crawford was to the point of hysterics when he couldn't find Clarice. He had searched the hotel, with help from the hotel security. He finally composed himself enough to call the Vegas field office and the local P.D.

Within the hour he had the crime scene investigators scouring the room for any evidence of what might have happened to Starling, who had apparently vanished without a trace. Crawford was pleased when he saw Gil Grissom had accompanied the two younger CSI's, Nick and Sara.

"Thanks for coming Mr. Grissom, I'm worried sick about my Agent and it's a comfort knowing I have the best here working on it."

"No thanks are necessary Agent….."

"Crawford, Jack Crawford."

"That right. Didn't we meet a few months ago? A conference I believe. You had a young woman with you?"

"Yes, Agent Starling. That's the Agent who's missing."

"Well Agent Crawford, we'll do our best to get you some answers as quickly as possible. When was the last time you saw Agent Starling?"

"After dinner last night, around 10:00pm. I stayed downstairs gambling. Starling said she was coming up here to pack, we were to leave this morning, back to D.C."

"And what was your business here in Vegas, if I might ask?"

"We received a videotape from Hannibal Lecter and after viewing the tape, Starling believed he was coming here."

"Hannibal….Hannibal….Wasn't that the psychiatrist that murdered and ate his victims?"

"The same."

"Why did she believe he was here?"

"On the tape, he made some kind of a reference to Star Trek and Starling thinks he meant to come here."

"So, do you think he has something to do with this."

"Without a doubt. For some reason Lecter has always had an infatuation with Starling, ever since the first time they met."

"They have met?"

"Long story, but suffice it to say, I'm positive he's involved."

"I'd like to know more about this Lecter. If he is the one that's responsible for Agent Starling's disappearance, I would like all the information I can get."

"Not a problem Mr. Grissom, I'll go get the case file from my room."

Crawford hurried to retrieve the file from his room. When he re-entered Starling's room, he handed Grissom the file.

"This feels more like a novel than a case file."

"Yes, well Lecter has quite a history."

Grissom sat down in a chair and opened the file. He didn't need to go any further than the first page. He stared at the last known photo of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. After a couple of minutes he said to Crawford, "I think you might have a bigger problem than you thought."

"What do you mean Mr. Grissom?"

"When you were here a few months ago, I ran into Agent Starling on the street, I believe she said they were sight seeing."

"They? What do you mean they?"

"There was a gentleman with her, an older man, but I'm pretty sure this was the man she was with." Grissom held up the picture of Lecter and showed it to Crawford.

"Are you sure?"

"Granted, this is an older picture, but I'm fairly certain that that is the man she was with."

"Did she introduce you? Did you get a name?"

"As a matter of fact, he introduced himself. He was very polite. I thought I recognized him at first. He said he was from Baltimore."

Crawford swallowed hard before repeating the question.

"What name did he give you?"

"If I remember correctly, he said his name was Dr. Graham Williams."

Crawford stood motionless, staring at the ceiling. His worst fear had just become reality.

"Oh God Starling, what have you done!"

Just as Crawford was about to sit down, for fear that he was going to pass out, Sara called from the bathroom.

"Grissom, you better have a look at this."

Grissom entered the bathroom with Crawford right behind him.

"Whatta ya got Sara?"

"I found this on the counter, under a towel."

Sara handed Grissom the note, which he read aloud.

~~~~

I'm sorry Jack, but I still don't spook easily.

Just think of it as gambling, you can't win, if you don't play.

Take care of yourself.

C

P.S.

Thank you for the gift, Jack, I will be forever in you debt.

Hannibal

~~~~

By the time Grissom had finished reading the note, Crawford felt as if he was going to be sick. Then Sara handed something else to Grissom. Turning to Crawford, he gave it to him.

Crawford looked at the roll of quarters Grissom had given him. The words 'Good Luck' were written across the roll. With a painful smile on his face he said to Grissom, "You can have them pack it in, Mr. Grissom. There's nothing else to find here."