Gil woke up to the sound of thunder and for a few moments was disoriented and confused about where he was –and why he was facedown in the sand underneath a car. But soon enough the memories came back and as lightning flashed, he recalled Natalie's eyes as she walked away and left him to die out here.
He grunted and shifted backwards – well, he tried to, but his right arm was completely pinned, and he had lost all feeling below the elbow. He doubted that Natalie had left anything in the wreckage that he could use for leverage, but he knew that as dawn approached, he needed to find a way out from underneath this car. The daytime temperature in the desert would be hot enough without being baked like a chicken in a broiler oven if he stayed in his current position.
There was a deafening clap of thunder directly overhead and he started at the sound. As a child, the sheer noise and ferocity of storms overwhelmed his sensitive ears because he had grown up in such a quiet household since his mother had gone completely deaf by the time Gil was five. His father had bought him a giant pair of noise cancelling headphones that he wore when the storms were too loud. His mother had teased him, but he had just signed back and said she had the advantage because she couldn't hear anything – and then he wished he could take it back because she looked so sad and hurt and wouldn't speak to him for a day or two. Gil had a hard time understanding her hearing loss until he himself had nearly lost his own hearing a few years ago – an event that had brought him closer to his mother as well as Sara.
Sara.
He knew from the beginning that there was something special about her – she captivated him in a way that no other woman ever had – when they were together it was as if on one else existed. He felt like a young man of thirty instead of the graying, older entomologist pushing – well, he was a bit older than Sara. But when he was with her, none of that mattered, because when he looked at her, and she looked at him, he knew that she saw him for who he really was – and she loved him completely. Of course, he had hidden his own feelings for her for years, due to silly fears about silly things, mostly, until Sara had grown tired of waiting for him to make the first move.
Two years ago
He closed the door to Cassie's hospital room and met Sara's eyes as she stood up from the chair where she had been waiting for him.
"You didn't need to stick around-"
She shrugged. "I wanted to. How is she?"
His shoulders slumped. "She's alive, Sara."
She came close and rested a hand on his shoulder. "You knew she was-"
"No, I -I hoped she was."
"What?" she frowned. "This whole time – you've been telling us – shouting at us-"
His mouth twisted in a rueful smile. "I wanted her to be alive – but Nick was right – I had no proof – it was just a gut feeling – until the gum wrappers started showing up. Then I knew Cassie was leaving us clues. But until then-"
Sara laughed softly. "Don't tell the guys – they already think you're crazy."
He pulled her into a hug, and she wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for waiting – I needed a friend. This case was-"
She pulled back. "Bloody awful?"
He shook his head at her. "A bit too on the nose, Sara."
"But you found Cassie in time – something good came out of it. And I have a feeling that the kid's a survivor – she'll make it."
"Even though she's lost everything?"
"I lost everything once and I survived."
"Sara-"
Suddenly her lips covered his, and the feelings he had long buried came bubbling to the surface as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him, letting her feel how much she affected him. When she pulled back a few moments later, both of them were breathing heavily, their eyes wide and cheeks rosy.
"What was that for?"
"You looked like you needed it."
A smile flitted across his lips. "I looked like I needed a kiss?"
"Very much so."
"Well, Miss Sidle, I think you need another kiss-"
"Whatever are you waiting for then, Dr. Grissom?"
A flash of lightning split the sky, bringing Gil back to the present. Finding Cassie alive had been nothing short of miraculous and he knew that finding him under a car in the middle of the desert would take another miracle. He was a lapsed Catholic, not even attending Mass on Christmas or Easter, and he knew that Sara didn't really believe in a higher power at all, preferring to put her faith in scientific method. Gil put his faith in both, knowing it would take believing in miracles and following the evidence to get him out of here.
He frowned as he realized that he hadn't heard or felt any raindrops on his skin, only thunder and lightning. If this storm was one of the phenomena known as a 'dry thunderstorm' – where the precipitation evaporated before it reached the ground – it made his situation even more dire. He didn't know if the gas tank in this car was empty – if lightning struck the wreck, it could very well catch fire and explode. If there was enough cacti or other brush close enough to catch fire, it could spread to the car, and then he could catch on fire.
Gil needed to get out of here – sooner rather than later. He couldn't afford to wait for the search and rescue teams. He needed to try and do this himself.
"Where is she?"
"She's not here," Sofia steered Sara out of Natalie's apartment, into the dimly lit hallway. "We've got a warrant out for her arrest and we managed to capture her license plate on one of our LVPD cameras – so we're searching for her car as well-"
"I'm sure she's ditched it by now. She's smarter than that-"
"There's a good chance that she's not thinking clearly now that she's obtained her objective. She's most likely over-confident, thinking that she's gotten away with it, thinking that Grissom's going to die-"
"He's not going to die!"
"Of course not – I'm just saying what she's thinking. Why don't you go back to the station and see if you and Brass can get anything more out of Mitch?"
"He's lawyer-ed up – he's still waiting for his PDA."
"Well, talk to him – tell him Natalie has taken Grissom – ask him about his childhood with her – see if he remembers anything-"
"Don't tell me how to do my job, Sofia – and don't 'handle' me – I'm not a child."
"No, you're not. You're Grissom's-" Sofia cleared her throat. "Look, I know that he's important to you and vice versa – but all you're doing here is getting underfoot and the longer I spend out here talking to you, the more time I'm wasting-"
"Well, go on then! Get back to processing! I can show myself out!"
"Sara, wait – that's not-"
Sara spun on a heel and fought the tears that seemed to constantly be just below the surface ever since Gil had been taken. She didn't like feeling this way – she felt out of control – like she couldn't focus on her job. All she could think of was Gil – pinned underneath a car somewhere in the desert sands. On the way over here, she had heard a weather forecaster say that dry thunderstorms were predicted overnight for Vegas and the surrounding desert regions. Everyone was being warned to stay close to home and away from any nature parks as lightning could spark wildfires – which was the last thing Sara wanted to hear about right now. Granted, flash floods would be worse, but wildfires were just as deadly, and the idea of Gil being trapped and unable to escape the path of an oncoming fire-
Sara shuddered at the thought but then came to a halt as she turned the corner and came face to face with a woman wearing jeans and a faded hoodie. She didn't waste any time as she drew her service weapon and pointed it at the stranger.
"Freeze! Las Vegas Police! Put your hands up, Natalie!"
For a moment, the stranger didn't move but then as the sound of approaching footsteps came from behind Sara, hands came up to push back the hood, and Natalie's eyes stared back at the CSI.
"Hello, Sara. Dr. Grissom says hello."
Her hand tightened on the grip as Sofia and Nick flanked her, Nick remaining by her side as Sofia went forward, gun trained on Natalie. "Natalie Davis, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent-" She went on to read Natalie the rest of her rights.
Nick placed his hand over Sara's on her gun. "Put it down, Sara. We got her."
She shook her head as she engaged the safety, lowering her gun. "But she still has Gil."
"Absolutely not."
"Brass-"
"No, Sara. You're too close to this and you know it. Doctors aren't allowed to operate on family members. The same principle applies here: CSIs aren't allowed to question suspects involved in their loved ones' cases."
"Jim, please."
"Listen to me," Jim placed his hands on her shoulders. "I love him too – he's been my friend for years. He's been happier with you than I've ever seen him – you think I'm going to let some little miniature building psychopath take him away from us now?"
"Can I watch the interrogation?"
He groaned and dropped his hands. "I shouldn't – but knowing you, you'd just sneak into the viewing room after I go inside anyway-"
Catherine stepped up beside Sara. "I'll keep an eye on her."
Brass pointed a finger at both Sara and then Catherine. "Stay in the viewing room – do not come inside no matter what Natalie says, understand?"
They both nodded and he scrubbed a hand down his face.
"Why do I already regret this decision?"
"Natalie, I'm Captain Jim Brass with the Las Vegas Police Department and this is Nick Stokes, from the Crime Lab. I understand that you've been read your rights and you have waived your right to counsel, is that correct?"
Natalie sat on the other side of the table in the interrogation room, facing the two-way mirror, a small smile on her face, her eyes staring straight ahead and slightly unfocused.
Brass and Nick exchanged looks and waited a minute for a response before Nick spoke.
"Natalie, do you understand why you've been arrested?"
Silence.
Nick took out photos of her miniatures and pushed them across the table.
"Did you build these? I have to admit – I'm impressed. I built some ships in a bottle and a few model cars as a kid, but this is on a completely different level."
Natalie focused on Nick's face and her smile widened. "I like to build things – my father and I made them together."
"Did your father know these were crime scenes?"
She shook her head. "Not until later – he was mad when he found out. He asked me to stop."
"Stop what?"
"Stop hurting people."
"And did you?"
Her eyes widened. "Of course – I'm his special girl."
On the other side of the glass, Catherine snorted. "Her elevator definitely doesn't go all the way to the top floor, does it?"
Sara shook her head. "No, but we already knew that – she's not giving us any new information."
"They have to tread lightly, Sara- the girl is certifiably crazy."
Sara crossed her arms and stared hard through the glass.
"Natalie, where's Dr. Grissom?"
A cloud passed over Natalie's face. "It's all about him, isn't it? You don't really care about me – you're not fans of my work – you just want to find your precious Dr. Grissom!"
Brass held up a hand. "Now, now, that's not true. We are fascinated by-"
"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Natalie screamed as she began to rock back and forth. "You know what happens to liars – they get their tongues cut out!"
Nick frowned. "We don't – no one's going to hurt you, Natalie. We just want to know-"
"He's all you care about! What about my father? No one cared about him! No one was sad when Dr. Grissom killed him!"
Brass and Nick were shocked at the anger radiating off the young woman as well as the bombshell she had just dropped. It took them a minute before Brass was able to speak. "No one killed Ernie – he shot himself-"
"No! No – that's not true – you take that back!" Natalie lunged across the table, her hands reaching for Brass, her nails digging into his arms.
Nick stood up and grabbed her around the waist, wrestling her back into her chair, just as the door flew open and Sara came in.
"Sara! I thought I told you-"
Sara ignored Brass and went around the table to stand beside Natalie's chair.
"Hello, Sara," Natalie sing-songed her name.
"How do you know me?"
Natalie smirked. "I know all about you – I know that you and Dr. Grissom are in love. I know you two live together. I know-"
"That's enough, Natalie," Brass barked.
"Where is Grissom?" Sara asked, her voice low and dangerous.
Silence.
Catherine was standing in the doorway, desperately trying to get Sara's attention and Brass was pointing to the door. Nick was looking at the floor, not wanting to meet Sara's eyes, embarrassed by the whole display of emotion from his co-worker.
"Grissom had nothing to do with your father's death, Natalie. In fact, he watched as Ernie-"
"Sara!" Brass hissed her name. "This isn't getting us anywhere – why don't you take a break."
Without lifting her gaze from the table, Natalie spoke in a monotone. "Do they know you're pregnant? It will be so sad for your baby to grow up without a father."
Sara lunged at Natalie, but Nick grabbed her arms and physically dragged her from the room as Catherine slammed the door behind them.
"What the hell, Sara? I thought you promised Brass you'd sit out-"
She shrugged out of his hold. "Yeah, well, when have you ever known me to do that? Gil's missing, Nick! I can't just stand on the sidelines, wringing my hands and let you guys do all the work-"
"I'm not asking you to stay out of it – just stay away from Natalie, ok? Let me handle the interrogation. I promise to share any and all information I get out of her."
Sara gave a reluctant nod.
"Thank you – hey, by the way – is she right? Are you pregnant?"
"Not now, Nicky."
"So, that's a yes."
"No, that's a discussion for another time. We need to focus on finding Gil – and not have this conversation in a public area where our bosses can overhear."
"Roger that."
Greg called Sara as she was driving back to the lab and told her that Natalie's car had been delivered to the garage. She arrived back to find him processing it.
"Have you found anything yet?"
"Some – I gave Hodges plant and dirt samples about half an hour ago – hopefully he can pull some plant DNA and narrow the search grid for the rescue crews."
"That would be something – anything else?"
"No blood, but I did find a few strands of hair in the trunk – not Natalie's hair color – so fingers crossed that it comes back matching Grissom's DNA."
"There's no blood?"
Greg shook his head. "I found the hairs in the trunk, plant spores/leaves and dirt on the tires and undercarriage, and one set of broken zip ties on the floor in the back seat – hey, wait a minute. What's this?" Greg lifted up the floor mat on the passenger side in the back seat and something small was lying underneath. He snapped a quick photo to document its position before picking it up in a gloved hand and showing it to Sara. "Recognize this?"
She swallowed hard. "That's Gil's pocketknife – I gave it to him for his birthday last year. I told him that he needed a small multi-tool off the job – never know when it might come in handy-"Greg passed it to her in a plastic bag and she caressed the small, monogrammed knife. "See – his initials are on it: GMG."
"What does the 'M' stand for?"
She smiled faintly. "Morris – he hates it. Says it makes him sound like a cat."
"Gilbert Morris Grissom," Greg said slowly, trying it out and then laughed. "He's right."
She cuffed him on the shoulder and Greg feigned injury as Hodges jogged into the garage. "Great news! The dirt and plant DNA Greg found on Natalie's car came back matching plants from the Red Rocks Canyon-"
Sara groaned. "Hodges – that wildlife area is huge! We're still looking for a needle in a haystack."
Hodges shared a look with Greg. "Yeah, but we at least have a direction and a general search area now instead of telling search and rescue 'he's in the desert somewhere'! I mean, all of Nevada is a desert, am I right? So, any way we can narrow this down is good in my opinion."
"You're right – it is something – and maybe I can work with this information. Thanks, Hodges." Sara handed the evidence bag back to Greg and ran down the hallway.
This was going to hurt no matter how he did it.
It had taken a bit of time – not that there was anything else to do out here – but Gil had managed to roll onto his side, which freed his other arm. After waiting for the pins and needles to stop and for feeling to return to his limb, he slowly rotated his body so that his feet were against the side of the car that his other arm was pinned beneath. He had already looked over his shoulder and seen that though the car was upside down, it wasn't as flat on the opposite side. So, if he could just get his arm free, he should be able to wiggle and worm his way out the other side.
But he was going to have to push against the side of the car with his legs while simultaneously yanking his arm back, scraping it on metal and quite possibly breaking a bone or two in the process. He set his teeth and closed his eyes, focusing on Sara's smile and the moment she told him she was pregnant with their child. He had to get out of here – he had to get home to her. To his family. It was now or never.
A blood curling scream split the night as he pushed on the car and yanked his arm back, succeeding in retracting the limb an inch. He relaxed, and lay panting on the sand, as another clap of thunder sounded overhead.
This was going to be long night.