This story is based on characters created by Anthony E. Zuiker for the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Ghost (Part 16/26)
by Cheers
Monday Morning 10:18 AM
Warrick pulled the Tahoe into a parking space in front of the Las Vegas Criminalistics building. Nick was opening the passenger side door to get out when his beeper went off. So did Warrick's. Both men looked at their messages.
"Pow wow," said Nick, placing his beeper back in its belt holster.
"Ditto," Warrick said, looking at his own page information.
Entering the building, the CSIs could sense that the mood inside the Crime Lab had changed. Something had happened. They looked at each other and picked up their pace, moving rapidly down the hall toward the evidence room.
They arrived to find Sara, Catherine, Jim Brass, and Greg waiting for them. The assembled group looked up as Nick and Warrick entered.
Nick set the evidence bag that held the samples they collected down on the table. He addressed Catherine. "What's up?"
Catherine got right down to it. "We know who the handprint belongs to," she told them.
This WAS news to Nick and Warrick.
"Who?" Warrick asked immediately.
Jim Brass spoke up. "Paul Stankowski from Moorpark, California. He was convicted in 1979 of second degree murder. Grissom testified at his trial."
Warrick and Nick looked at each other in surprise. This was a solid piece of information. Nick knew this was good news but approached it with cautious optimism. Knowing who a suspected attacker was didn't immediately help them find Grissom. "Do we know where this guy is?"
Jim shook his head. "We have a detail trying to determine Mr. Stankowski's whereabouts right now."
"We do know that he drove the Toyota," Sara offered. "Prints on the steering wheel and door handles match the handprint from Grissom's front door."
"There's more," Jim continued. "Arizona State Police report finding an abandoned vehicle at a rest stop outside Riordan. Turns out the vehicle was stolen. The vehicle was registered in California. Prints in the car match our suspect."
Warrick mind was racing. "Riordan. That's on I-40."
Jim nodded. "Just outside Flagstaff."
"Where the Toyota was stolen from," Sara said.
Nick was putting it together. "So our suspect steals a car in California and drives to Arizona where he dumps it. He steals new wheels in Flagstaff and comes to Vegas to hunt down Gris."
"Who," Sara pickup up the ball, "he attacks and transports in the back of the stolen Toyota to … where?"
Greg Sanders nervously fidgeted with the report he held. "The blood and hairs Nick found in the backseat of the Toyota belong to Grissom. There's no doubt he was in the car."
This wasn't new information for Nick but he swallowed hard at hearing it anyway. "What about the bits of glass on the driver's floorboard?"
Greg nodded at the file he held. "Yeah, it turns out it's not glass but a siliceous crystal called perlite."
"Perlite?" Brass asked. "Is that helpful?"
Nick ignored the question for the moment. A bell was ringing dully in his memory. "Can I see that report, Greg?" He took the file Greg offered him. "Thanks, man."
"Wasn't Trace working on those samples?" Warrick asked Greg.
Greg shrugged his shoulders. "It was taking too long, so I decided to lend a hand."
After a quick scan of the file, Nick began to tap the report and answered the question. "I think that this can lead us somewhere helpful."
"Really?" Greg asked, surprised.
Catherine could see the wheels turning inside Nick's head. "What do you know that we don't know, Nick?"
Nick looked up from the report. "I'm not sure. Let me do some checking." With his head buried in the report again, he headed out of the room.
Catherine followed Nick out of the room with her eyes before turning back to the others still in the room. "Okay, what do we have that's outstanding?"
"I've got the court records from Stankowski's trial coming from California. I've also put through a request for the case notes from the LA County Coroner's office. I'll go through everything when it arrives. Should be anytime," Sara said. "They put a rush on it."
"I've got some shoe leather to burn," Jim told Catherine.
"Do you think this creep is still in Vegas?" Greg asked the detective.
Jim put his hands in his pockets. "What I think doesn't matter. My experience tells me that this guy isn't going anywhere until he's sure he's finished what he came here for. Whether or not he's done that …." He shrugged and left the thought unfinished. Jim nodded to Catherine and headed out the door as well. There was a lot of ground to cover in the search for their suspect.
Warrick pointed to the brown bag filled with the samples he and Nick had collected in the stairwell of Grissom's building. "I've got this to go through as well. It may be nothing, but if any of this stuff turns out to be …."
"Perlite," Greg added.
"Yeah, perlite," Warrick picked up again, "then whatever Nick's got cooking might prove to be a real break for us."
Catherine nodded. "Okay. I think it's time to update the Sheriff again. I'll give you a hand when I get back."
"Thanks," Warrick said. Everyone headed their separate directions. The clock was still ticking and everyone knew that with the time went the possibility for a good outcome to the case.
Monday Morning 10:38 AM
The Crime Lab reference library was extensive and included texts on just about every scientific discipline, manuals on field techniques and laboratory procedures, and several forensic journal series. It wasn't hard to locate a text on geology.
Finding what he was looking for took a little research. Once Nick did unearth the information he needed, he compared that to the report Greg had given him.
The report contained the elemental breakdown of a sample from the Toyota:
ELEMENTIAL ANALYSIS (PERLITE, CRUDE)
Silicon 33.8
Aluminum 7.2
Potassium 3.5
Sodium 3.4
Iron 0.6
Calcium 0.6
Magnesium 0.2
Trace 0.2
Oxygen (by difference)47.5
Net Total97.0
Bound Water 3.0
Total100
"Crude perlite, huh," Nick said to himself. What he found confirmed his hunch. Now all he needed to do was discover if his hunch led him closer to Grissom.
Nick dropped his pen in the crease of the open book in front of him and rubbed his eyes. He felt hungry and tired. The next order of business should be some sort of food. He'd think better.
Almost immediately he felt guilty about that. When was the last time Grissom ate anything? Could he even eat?
"Damn," Nick whispered.
"You're right."
Nick looked up and found Grissom standing on the other side of the table. His arms were crossed and his face held that knowing smile that Nick was so used to seeing.
"About what?" Nick asked his boss.
"You'd think better if you had something to eat," Grissom told him.
Nick swallowed hard. "I've got to try and figure this out." He glanced back down at the book. "It could be nothing but …."
"You're good at your job, Nick," Grissom said softly. "Trust your instincts."
Surprised, Nick's head snapped up. Grissom was gone.