Chapter 11
It had been a little over two hours since Gil and Catherine began to intricately scan every article in the newspapers. Half of the papers were laying on the bed, next to Catherine. The other half were sitting on top of the desk that Grissom was leaning on. The room had long been engulfed in intense silence, except for slight mumbles of frustration.
Grissom was the first to speak coherently. Even then, the words came out as a yawn. "Anything yet?" Standing from his position at the small desk, Grissom paced the room, raising his arms above his head and stretching his back as he walked.
"Uh huh. I think so." At hearing her affirmative words, Grissom stopped his pacing and whipped his head in her direction. She wasn't looking up, her eyes still plastered to the papers in front of her. As he walked closer to the bed, he noticed that she had folded several pages into smaller pieces along side her, each one focusing on a particular article. It wasn't until she felt his knees hit the side of the bed, and sensed his body hovering over her, that she looked up.
"Whatcha got?" He brought his body up, so that it was completely on the bed now. Fighting to keep his balance on his knees, his body's momentum send his hands splaying outward, coming to rest on Catherine's waist.
She shivered lightly when his mouth came dangerously close to her ear, releasing an apology. She was sure that she trembled even more when his hands left her body, opting to reach for one of the articles on the bed.
Scanning the article, he relaxed a bit upon the bed, resting his body next to hers. Catherine watched him intently, his blue eyes flipping back and forth, taking in the words in front of him. When his eyes stopped and focused, she knew that he had found the same words that had intriqued her...
"John Powell..second victim..Democrat?"
"They all were." She handed him another article.
"The sheriff's a democrat." Grissom looked at her with a raised eyebrow, silently asking her to continue with what she had deduced from the articles.
"Yes, he was. And from what I can tell, most, if not all, of the victims worked with him during his campaign." She watched him as he processed this information. His tongue slipped from his lips, and he bit it lightly in concentration.
"If anything, I was expecting the victims to be part of the sheriff-elect's campaign...not his own. This is twisting in every direction. So, are we assuming that he killed them because he lost his attempt to get re- elected?" He pulled his glasses off and attempted to rub the strain from his eyes.
"That would make for a good motive.." She watched as he nodded his head in agreement, before finishing her statement. "...if two of the victims weren't murdered the week before the election took place."
"Before, huh? God Cath, can this get more complicated? Everything we have on the sheriff is either pure speculation on our parts, or circumstantial evidence..and there's no way in hell we're going to get a conviction on either."
"I know that, Gil. We need more...a lot more. But, what if he kills again? If we can't even figure out the reasons behind the first murders, how are we going to know which direction he may head next?"
He was silent for a few minutes--his mind thinking of every plausible senerio. One potential situation was persistantly forming over and over in his head.. "Cath, I think you were right."
"I didn't say anything, Grissom." She stared at him, wondering what he was talking about.
"This morning...when you asked why he wouldn't have went for the one person who hindered his re-election--"
"Sheriff-elect Stevens..."
"Right. Well, what if that's his plan? To, in essence, 'save the best for last'... Stevens could be a potential target." Grissom sat up on the bed. He stared absent-mindedly at the articles on the bed, as if he was waiting for an answer to leap out at him.
"Tonight..." Catherine said it do quickly that she almost scared herself. Grissom's eyes jumped to hers in question. "The party..Stevens' party...the one we read about in the paper this morning..it's tonight. What if Jones plans to kill him then?"
"It's very possible." Attempting to supress the migrane that he feared was coming, he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.
"You okay?" She placed the back of her hand on his cheek and rubbed gently, watching as his eyes snapped open from the contact.
"Yes...well, no. Shit, Cath, I just don't know what to do now. Personally, I feel we should warn this man that his life may be in danger. But, by doing that, we could potentially hinder the entire investigation. We don't even know for sure that Sheldon Jones killed those people. That's the only lead we have right now, and I plan to see it until the end...no matter what the outcome. If we announce a potential suspect, our whole cover here is blown. The whole damn town will scramble, leaving us with even less than we started with. We've at least got 'something' now, I'm just not so sure I'm ready to let go of that just yet. But I, certainly, don't want another man dead simply because I want a case solved. I'm torn as to what to do."
"Call Brass.." She raised herself onto her feet and picked up a few of the newspapers that had gotten scattered about the floor. "...tell him what's going on, let him know that we may need federal assistance--soon. Don't forget to ask if Greg has anything for us. Then, get ready. I'll change while you're on the phone."
Grissom stayed put on the bed, staring at her dumbfoundedly. "Get ready for what? Why are you changing?"
"We, Mr. Grissom, have a party to attend..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I really do hate ties." Tugging at the knot around his neck until he had loosened it to his satisfaction, he turned to see Catherine smiling at him. They were halfway up the stone walkway, leading to the sheriff-elect's mansion, when he stopped and grabbed her hand, effectively spinning her around to face him. "Why are you grinning?"
She immediately hid her smile and attempted the guise of a neutral face. "I'm not."
He could still see the mischiveous sparkle in her eyes. "You were. You look like you're up to no good."
She shook her head furiously, trying to supress her laughter. "I just think that you look handsome tonight." Her hands raised to his tie, fingers working deftly to straighten it. When she was satisfied with his appearance, she tugged at his collar once more, allowing her fingers to linger on his neck for a moment. "There... Even more dashing with a little help..."
"Thanks." He blushed at her compliment and racked his brain to find the perfect words to describe to her how stunning she looked also. "You look nice, too." He winced as the cliched words fell from his lips.
"Thank you, Gil." She laced her fingers through his and led him in the direction of the front door. "You ready?"
"Don't you think that someone's bound to be suspicious? No one knows who we are."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's just hope that they're all too drunk by now to notice." She tapped lightly on the heavy wooden door. After no answer, she knocked a bit louder. Finally, a few moments later, she opened the door a bit, and they were immediately assulted by the boisterous music. They entered, shut the door behind them, and continued down the foyer, hand in hand, until they reached the main room. Small crowds were gathered in every corner. Idle chit-chat emitting from every group, fused together with the music to form an incoherent pandemonium of sound.
Gil's eyes searched the room, stopping when a familiar face came into his view. "Jones is here." He whispered into her ear and stepped behind her, putting his arms around her waist. He was hesitant, but left his hands on her body long enough to turn her, so she was facing the direction the sheriff was in.
When he attempted to pull his hands away, she grabbed them and held them tightly to her, leaning back into his chest. "I see him. He doesn't look very threatening does he?"
"Looks can be deceiving..." He closed his eyes, momentarily allowing himself to forget everything surrounding him...his focus was on the woman standing ever-so-close to him; touching him, stroking his hands within her own. He inhaled deeply, letting her scent seep into his being. What he wouldn't give to have the courage to kiss her...to become one with her...just to love her..
"Am I interupting anything?" Gil's eyes shot open and he jumped back from Catherine. The man who was speaking approached them, extending his hand out to Grissom. "I'm sorry. I don't believe we've met. Daniel Stevens."
"Gil Grissom."
"And you are?" The sheriff-elect gestured to Catherine.
"I'm Catherine."
Stevens noticed that he was being waved to the other side of the room. He nodded and held up a finger, signaling that he would be over in a moment. "Well, it looks as if I'm being beckoned. Maybe I'll catch up with the two of you later...and we can discuss exactly why we've never met. Until then.."
"That was close." Both Grissom and Catherine let out sighs of relief as he walked away. Catherine looked to her side and when she was sure that no one was watching, she signaled to Grissom and began to head down a corridor. She stopped momentarily, but when she saw him following around the corner, she continued walking.
"Where are you going?"
"To look for evidence. It's possible that Stevens has been threatened or may have something that he doesn't know could be significant in furthering the investigation." She continued to mumble her thoughts, while opening doors and peeking in. When she looked in the last door down the hallway, she pushed it open fully and pulled Grissom in with her. "Looks like his bedroom, maybe..."
"Catherine. We do not have a warrant. We shouldn't be in here." "We were invited, Gil. Technically, if we find something while at this party, it's fair game, as far as evidence goes.." She pulled a pair of gloves out of her purse, smiled and walked over to the dresser, pulling out the top drawer and rifling through several pairs of socks. "Nothing here."
"Catherine, I think that you might be bending those rules just a tad. Don't you think?" He walked up to beside her, leaning against the wall next to the dresser.
"No. And don't tell me that if you had been smart enough to bring yourself a pair of gloves, that you wouldn't be helping me too."
"Catherine, I will never admit to that." He grinned as he watched her open the next drawer.
"You don't have to---." She suddenly turned to face the door, as she backed her body closer to his. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear wha--?"
"Shhhhh. I think someone's coming. Shit!" She tore the gloves off of her hands and shoved them back into her purse. Knowing that it was futile, she still chose to look about the room for a way to escape...or hide...or...at least attempt an explanation to give as to what they were doing in a stranger's bedroom..
"Grissom, just---" Suddenly the voices in the hall became distinct. People were out there--they were close.
"What?" She could see him tensing up. He was just as nervous as she was, if not more. This whole time, breaking their cover was the thing he was most worried about..that was the one thing that could ruin any chance of there being completion to the case. She had to think of something...
"Grissom..kiss me."
He stood, mouth gaping open, wondering if he had heard her correctly. When she began to loosen his tie, and quickly untucked his shirt from his pants, he started to realize that she had, indeed, told him to kiss her. "Cath--"
He silenced himself when he felt her push him against the wall. Her right hand was wound in his hair, and her left was snaking from his chest around to his back. He could feel her hot breath on his skin, and he felt his own body shudder as her lips made contact with the light stubble on his jaw.
When she felt him tense, she moved her mouth to his ear, preparing a quick explanation as to why, exactly, she had manuvered him into this intimate position. The feel of his hands suddenly clutching her hips, pulling her closer to him, forced her to abandon all logical thoughts. She, instead, planted a soft kiss on his earlobe. When he, in turn, hesitantly kissed the side of her neck, she sucked his lobe into her mouth, biting gently. A growl emerged from deep within Grissom's throat, and he surprised both himself and Catherine, when he swiftly reversed their positions, pinning her between the wall and himself. He met her eyes and, upon seeing no discernible regret there, leaned his head closer to hers. She met him halfway, allowing her lips to graze his tenderly. Catherine closed her eyes, relishing in the slight electrical touch. Sensing the immediate loss as Grissom began to pull away, she quickly latched her hands to his head, pulling him to her again. Their lips captured each other again, this time lingering longer than before. She clutched her hands into the back of his shirt, as his tongue sought access to her mouth. Her lips parted, allowing their tongues to collide violently with one another. She raised her leg to the outside of his hip, again drawing his body closer to her own. He lowered his hand to her leg, holding it in place, as he kissed her with more fervor. She gasped into his mouth, relishing in the intimate contact. Hearing her audible gasp, he stopped his actions abruptly, pulling his lips from her own and releasing his hold on her leg. Her hands tighted on his shoulders, her forehead coming to rest on his. They stood silently for a few long, awkward moments, their breathing the only sounds filling the room.
"I...uh...don't think anyone noticed we were in here." His chest was heaving, body still reacting from the long-desired intimate contact. He pulled away slightly, hastily striving to tuck his shirt back in.
"No. They...must not have been coming in here." She watched him bite his lip, as he pushed the last wrinkled bit of dress shirt back into his slacks. When he finished, he kept his head down, eyes focusing on the floor. "Grissom?"
"Hmm?" He still didn't look up.
"I'm sorry about that...just now, I mean. I just thought that if someone came in, it would...well...divert attention from what we were actually doing. "
"I know."
"Okay." It made her nervous that he wouldn't meet her eyes. As much as she loved feeling his lips on hers, she would take it all back if she thought it would make him look at her... She took a hesitant step forward, reaching out to touch her fingers against his cheek. "I'm sorry." It came out as more of a question than a statement. She wanted nothing more than for him to tell her that everything was okay...that he didn't regret it...that she had nothing to be sorry for...
His head tilted upward, blue eyes tentatively meeting hers. "Cath--"
His next words were cut off by the booming sounds of two gunshots...
TBC.. Hey, it's me again! ; ) That was a fun chapter for me...well, the end was. Rough, though--it's been awhile! I hope you guys like it. Sorry, it was so late--I've been working on it in little bits for the last few days. Again, I appreciate your wonderful reviews--they keep me going. Thanks a bunch!
It had been a little over two hours since Gil and Catherine began to intricately scan every article in the newspapers. Half of the papers were laying on the bed, next to Catherine. The other half were sitting on top of the desk that Grissom was leaning on. The room had long been engulfed in intense silence, except for slight mumbles of frustration.
Grissom was the first to speak coherently. Even then, the words came out as a yawn. "Anything yet?" Standing from his position at the small desk, Grissom paced the room, raising his arms above his head and stretching his back as he walked.
"Uh huh. I think so." At hearing her affirmative words, Grissom stopped his pacing and whipped his head in her direction. She wasn't looking up, her eyes still plastered to the papers in front of her. As he walked closer to the bed, he noticed that she had folded several pages into smaller pieces along side her, each one focusing on a particular article. It wasn't until she felt his knees hit the side of the bed, and sensed his body hovering over her, that she looked up.
"Whatcha got?" He brought his body up, so that it was completely on the bed now. Fighting to keep his balance on his knees, his body's momentum send his hands splaying outward, coming to rest on Catherine's waist.
She shivered lightly when his mouth came dangerously close to her ear, releasing an apology. She was sure that she trembled even more when his hands left her body, opting to reach for one of the articles on the bed.
Scanning the article, he relaxed a bit upon the bed, resting his body next to hers. Catherine watched him intently, his blue eyes flipping back and forth, taking in the words in front of him. When his eyes stopped and focused, she knew that he had found the same words that had intriqued her...
"John Powell..second victim..Democrat?"
"They all were." She handed him another article.
"The sheriff's a democrat." Grissom looked at her with a raised eyebrow, silently asking her to continue with what she had deduced from the articles.
"Yes, he was. And from what I can tell, most, if not all, of the victims worked with him during his campaign." She watched him as he processed this information. His tongue slipped from his lips, and he bit it lightly in concentration.
"If anything, I was expecting the victims to be part of the sheriff-elect's campaign...not his own. This is twisting in every direction. So, are we assuming that he killed them because he lost his attempt to get re- elected?" He pulled his glasses off and attempted to rub the strain from his eyes.
"That would make for a good motive.." She watched as he nodded his head in agreement, before finishing her statement. "...if two of the victims weren't murdered the week before the election took place."
"Before, huh? God Cath, can this get more complicated? Everything we have on the sheriff is either pure speculation on our parts, or circumstantial evidence..and there's no way in hell we're going to get a conviction on either."
"I know that, Gil. We need more...a lot more. But, what if he kills again? If we can't even figure out the reasons behind the first murders, how are we going to know which direction he may head next?"
He was silent for a few minutes--his mind thinking of every plausible senerio. One potential situation was persistantly forming over and over in his head.. "Cath, I think you were right."
"I didn't say anything, Grissom." She stared at him, wondering what he was talking about.
"This morning...when you asked why he wouldn't have went for the one person who hindered his re-election--"
"Sheriff-elect Stevens..."
"Right. Well, what if that's his plan? To, in essence, 'save the best for last'... Stevens could be a potential target." Grissom sat up on the bed. He stared absent-mindedly at the articles on the bed, as if he was waiting for an answer to leap out at him.
"Tonight..." Catherine said it do quickly that she almost scared herself. Grissom's eyes jumped to hers in question. "The party..Stevens' party...the one we read about in the paper this morning..it's tonight. What if Jones plans to kill him then?"
"It's very possible." Attempting to supress the migrane that he feared was coming, he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.
"You okay?" She placed the back of her hand on his cheek and rubbed gently, watching as his eyes snapped open from the contact.
"Yes...well, no. Shit, Cath, I just don't know what to do now. Personally, I feel we should warn this man that his life may be in danger. But, by doing that, we could potentially hinder the entire investigation. We don't even know for sure that Sheldon Jones killed those people. That's the only lead we have right now, and I plan to see it until the end...no matter what the outcome. If we announce a potential suspect, our whole cover here is blown. The whole damn town will scramble, leaving us with even less than we started with. We've at least got 'something' now, I'm just not so sure I'm ready to let go of that just yet. But I, certainly, don't want another man dead simply because I want a case solved. I'm torn as to what to do."
"Call Brass.." She raised herself onto her feet and picked up a few of the newspapers that had gotten scattered about the floor. "...tell him what's going on, let him know that we may need federal assistance--soon. Don't forget to ask if Greg has anything for us. Then, get ready. I'll change while you're on the phone."
Grissom stayed put on the bed, staring at her dumbfoundedly. "Get ready for what? Why are you changing?"
"We, Mr. Grissom, have a party to attend..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I really do hate ties." Tugging at the knot around his neck until he had loosened it to his satisfaction, he turned to see Catherine smiling at him. They were halfway up the stone walkway, leading to the sheriff-elect's mansion, when he stopped and grabbed her hand, effectively spinning her around to face him. "Why are you grinning?"
She immediately hid her smile and attempted the guise of a neutral face. "I'm not."
He could still see the mischiveous sparkle in her eyes. "You were. You look like you're up to no good."
She shook her head furiously, trying to supress her laughter. "I just think that you look handsome tonight." Her hands raised to his tie, fingers working deftly to straighten it. When she was satisfied with his appearance, she tugged at his collar once more, allowing her fingers to linger on his neck for a moment. "There... Even more dashing with a little help..."
"Thanks." He blushed at her compliment and racked his brain to find the perfect words to describe to her how stunning she looked also. "You look nice, too." He winced as the cliched words fell from his lips.
"Thank you, Gil." She laced her fingers through his and led him in the direction of the front door. "You ready?"
"Don't you think that someone's bound to be suspicious? No one knows who we are."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Let's just hope that they're all too drunk by now to notice." She tapped lightly on the heavy wooden door. After no answer, she knocked a bit louder. Finally, a few moments later, she opened the door a bit, and they were immediately assulted by the boisterous music. They entered, shut the door behind them, and continued down the foyer, hand in hand, until they reached the main room. Small crowds were gathered in every corner. Idle chit-chat emitting from every group, fused together with the music to form an incoherent pandemonium of sound.
Gil's eyes searched the room, stopping when a familiar face came into his view. "Jones is here." He whispered into her ear and stepped behind her, putting his arms around her waist. He was hesitant, but left his hands on her body long enough to turn her, so she was facing the direction the sheriff was in.
When he attempted to pull his hands away, she grabbed them and held them tightly to her, leaning back into his chest. "I see him. He doesn't look very threatening does he?"
"Looks can be deceiving..." He closed his eyes, momentarily allowing himself to forget everything surrounding him...his focus was on the woman standing ever-so-close to him; touching him, stroking his hands within her own. He inhaled deeply, letting her scent seep into his being. What he wouldn't give to have the courage to kiss her...to become one with her...just to love her..
"Am I interupting anything?" Gil's eyes shot open and he jumped back from Catherine. The man who was speaking approached them, extending his hand out to Grissom. "I'm sorry. I don't believe we've met. Daniel Stevens."
"Gil Grissom."
"And you are?" The sheriff-elect gestured to Catherine.
"I'm Catherine."
Stevens noticed that he was being waved to the other side of the room. He nodded and held up a finger, signaling that he would be over in a moment. "Well, it looks as if I'm being beckoned. Maybe I'll catch up with the two of you later...and we can discuss exactly why we've never met. Until then.."
"That was close." Both Grissom and Catherine let out sighs of relief as he walked away. Catherine looked to her side and when she was sure that no one was watching, she signaled to Grissom and began to head down a corridor. She stopped momentarily, but when she saw him following around the corner, she continued walking.
"Where are you going?"
"To look for evidence. It's possible that Stevens has been threatened or may have something that he doesn't know could be significant in furthering the investigation." She continued to mumble her thoughts, while opening doors and peeking in. When she looked in the last door down the hallway, she pushed it open fully and pulled Grissom in with her. "Looks like his bedroom, maybe..."
"Catherine. We do not have a warrant. We shouldn't be in here." "We were invited, Gil. Technically, if we find something while at this party, it's fair game, as far as evidence goes.." She pulled a pair of gloves out of her purse, smiled and walked over to the dresser, pulling out the top drawer and rifling through several pairs of socks. "Nothing here."
"Catherine, I think that you might be bending those rules just a tad. Don't you think?" He walked up to beside her, leaning against the wall next to the dresser.
"No. And don't tell me that if you had been smart enough to bring yourself a pair of gloves, that you wouldn't be helping me too."
"Catherine, I will never admit to that." He grinned as he watched her open the next drawer.
"You don't have to---." She suddenly turned to face the door, as she backed her body closer to his. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear wha--?"
"Shhhhh. I think someone's coming. Shit!" She tore the gloves off of her hands and shoved them back into her purse. Knowing that it was futile, she still chose to look about the room for a way to escape...or hide...or...at least attempt an explanation to give as to what they were doing in a stranger's bedroom..
"Grissom, just---" Suddenly the voices in the hall became distinct. People were out there--they were close.
"What?" She could see him tensing up. He was just as nervous as she was, if not more. This whole time, breaking their cover was the thing he was most worried about..that was the one thing that could ruin any chance of there being completion to the case. She had to think of something...
"Grissom..kiss me."
He stood, mouth gaping open, wondering if he had heard her correctly. When she began to loosen his tie, and quickly untucked his shirt from his pants, he started to realize that she had, indeed, told him to kiss her. "Cath--"
He silenced himself when he felt her push him against the wall. Her right hand was wound in his hair, and her left was snaking from his chest around to his back. He could feel her hot breath on his skin, and he felt his own body shudder as her lips made contact with the light stubble on his jaw.
When she felt him tense, she moved her mouth to his ear, preparing a quick explanation as to why, exactly, she had manuvered him into this intimate position. The feel of his hands suddenly clutching her hips, pulling her closer to him, forced her to abandon all logical thoughts. She, instead, planted a soft kiss on his earlobe. When he, in turn, hesitantly kissed the side of her neck, she sucked his lobe into her mouth, biting gently. A growl emerged from deep within Grissom's throat, and he surprised both himself and Catherine, when he swiftly reversed their positions, pinning her between the wall and himself. He met her eyes and, upon seeing no discernible regret there, leaned his head closer to hers. She met him halfway, allowing her lips to graze his tenderly. Catherine closed her eyes, relishing in the slight electrical touch. Sensing the immediate loss as Grissom began to pull away, she quickly latched her hands to his head, pulling him to her again. Their lips captured each other again, this time lingering longer than before. She clutched her hands into the back of his shirt, as his tongue sought access to her mouth. Her lips parted, allowing their tongues to collide violently with one another. She raised her leg to the outside of his hip, again drawing his body closer to her own. He lowered his hand to her leg, holding it in place, as he kissed her with more fervor. She gasped into his mouth, relishing in the intimate contact. Hearing her audible gasp, he stopped his actions abruptly, pulling his lips from her own and releasing his hold on her leg. Her hands tighted on his shoulders, her forehead coming to rest on his. They stood silently for a few long, awkward moments, their breathing the only sounds filling the room.
"I...uh...don't think anyone noticed we were in here." His chest was heaving, body still reacting from the long-desired intimate contact. He pulled away slightly, hastily striving to tuck his shirt back in.
"No. They...must not have been coming in here." She watched him bite his lip, as he pushed the last wrinkled bit of dress shirt back into his slacks. When he finished, he kept his head down, eyes focusing on the floor. "Grissom?"
"Hmm?" He still didn't look up.
"I'm sorry about that...just now, I mean. I just thought that if someone came in, it would...well...divert attention from what we were actually doing. "
"I know."
"Okay." It made her nervous that he wouldn't meet her eyes. As much as she loved feeling his lips on hers, she would take it all back if she thought it would make him look at her... She took a hesitant step forward, reaching out to touch her fingers against his cheek. "I'm sorry." It came out as more of a question than a statement. She wanted nothing more than for him to tell her that everything was okay...that he didn't regret it...that she had nothing to be sorry for...
His head tilted upward, blue eyes tentatively meeting hers. "Cath--"
His next words were cut off by the booming sounds of two gunshots...
TBC.. Hey, it's me again! ; ) That was a fun chapter for me...well, the end was. Rough, though--it's been awhile! I hope you guys like it. Sorry, it was so late--I've been working on it in little bits for the last few days. Again, I appreciate your wonderful reviews--they keep me going. Thanks a bunch!