V - VENTING
"So, what we need to find out from you Mr. Powers, is how many ways this hotel is accessible from the roof," Grissom looked at the night maintenance manager intently, his sharp blue gaze making the man squirm uncomfortably.
"I'm not sure that I understand what you mean, Mr. Grissom," the man replied, "We've got the normal fire exits leading to the roof, but unless you had a master key you couldn't get from the roof into the building."
"Why not?"
"Key card locks - and there's only three key cards in the entire building that will work. I have one, the day manager has one, and our head of security has one. If someone needs to go to the roof, they need to go up with one of us, and the log needs to be signed. When I took your associate in the window cage earlier, he had to sign the log for access."
"What's to prevent someone from tampering with the code, and breaking the lock?"
"Well, nothing, I suppose. But we change the code every 12 hours, and have to recode the masters. It would take some doing."
Warrick looked askance at Grissom, "What about air vents? Could someone repel down a vent and get into the hotel that way?"
"This hotel was designed with the security of our clients in mind. We have a lot of VIPs who stay here. We have no air vents on the roof," Powers was shaking his head, "the only way to get in is from the roof, the only way to do that is with a key. Anyone tries to break in, we have alarms. We also have security cameras on all the doorways, so I don't see how it could happen."
"You have to have vents somewhere. If they're not on the roof, where are they?" Grissom asked.
Powers smiled, "Well, that's the beauty of our design. Each floor has its own separate air exchange system. All the vents are hidden within the façade of the building, and they're all on the side of the building - out back, between floors. Hardly noticeable from the street unless you knew what you were looking for."
"Where're the vents for the penthouse?"
"We have them hidden in the maintenance room for the floor, near the service elevator," Powers responded. "I can show you if you like."
Warrick stepped out of the way, indicating with a sweeping arm for the maintenance manager to lead the way. Following Powers to the back of the penthouse where the service elevator was located, Grissom smiled at Warrick. "I have a bad feeling one of us is going to be crawling through air vents soon."
Powers had come to halt in front of the well-hidden maintenance room, sliding his key card through the lock. "Neither of you will be crawling through the air vents here, at least not without squeezing." He flicked on the light as he stepped into the room, still talking to the men behind him. "The vent is -"
"Right in the corner. I can see it. And the grid is lying on the floor," Grissom interrupted, turning to Warrick and smiling, "Well, we know how our guy got in and out."
"It's a start," Warrick agreed.
* * * * *
Catherine knocked on the half open door to Brass' office before walking in, smiling as she noticed one of the coffees Brass had grabbed earlier was now loosely held in Willem van der Brucke's right hand.
"Hey Catherine," Brass greeted, before he turned to O'Reilly. "Can you take the information that Mr. van der Brucke gave us on his insurance policies and start calling them for us? Thanks."
Catherine slid easily into the empty chair O'Reilly had just vacated, "I can see you've started without me." She smiled at Brass easily, before turning to Mr. van der Brucke. He seemed a little calmer than he had earlier, and Catherine was unsure whether it was disbelief settling in or the effects of shock. Either way, for the time being it would make him easier to deal with.
"Cath, I've spoken with Willem about the insurance policies and security measures he took when he transported the diamonds and jewelry, including the policies on his wife's personal assets. I thought I would wait for you to return before we got into more - personal - matters."
"Listen Mr. van der Brucke - Willem - we do need to talk," Catherine's voice was gentle as she looked at the older man across from Brass. "We need to ask you questions - personal questions about your wife and your relationship."
Van der Brucke sighed, "I imagine that's standard."
"Unfortunately, it is," Catherine agreed. "What can you tell us about your relationship with your wife."
Willem sighed, "She's my world. I didn't kill her. I didn't hire anyone to kill her. I didn't hire someone to steal my diamonds."
"Did you have any enemies? Did she?"
"No, everyone loved Audra," van der Brucke's voice was desolate. "She is - was - just a wonderful woman. I adored her."
"You're quite a bit older than her, aren't you Mr. van der Brucke?" Brass interjected, "How long have you been married?"
"Audra was 26 years younger than me - I know, it's a large age gap. People noticed, and I noticed it a lot at first as well. But for her, it was never an issue. We got married 2 years ago - when she was 24. Her parents weren't happy - I'm the same age as her father - but they've gotten over it."
"Do you have any reason to believe that your wife may have been having an affair?" Brass' voice was neutral, but his expression regretful as he asked van der Brucke this painful question.
Willem merely shook his head, "Audra was the sweetest woman in the world, and I have no doubt that she loved me as much as I loved her. I would sooner believe black is white than believe she would ever do anything that would hurt me in any way."
Catherine watched the older man closely, trying to read his face. She was unable to see any deception, any prevarication of fact. Putting aside her normal cynicism, she believed that Willem van der Brucke had loved his young wife beyond reason. She hoped they would find nothing to indicate that she had not loved him the same way.
"Mr. van der Brucke - Willem -" her voice was gentle, "I know these are hard questions; insensitive to your loss. I am sorry we have to ask them -"
"And I understand why you do," he responded gracefully, his face sadder than any mans' should ever be, "I just want you to find who killed my wife. Find him. I don't care about anything else - diamonds can be replaced, but my wife -" suddenly he was crying, "my lovely Audra -"
Brass shifted in his seat, uncomfortable at this sudden display of emotion, and Catherine had a hard time fighting back her own sudden tears, "Why don't you let me take you back to the hotel, Willem. If we need you for anything else, we can talk later."
Van der Brucke shook his head in abject misery, "I cannot go back to the hotel room my wife was murdered in."
Brass stood, "Of course not. Let me take you to the Palms. If you want to come back later in the day, we'll let you know what we're doing. I'm sure once you've had time to think, you might have some more information for us as well."
Catherine stood with van der Brucke, her face sympathetic. Resting a gentle hand on his arm, she squeezed it softly, "We'll find the person who did this; I swear it."
* * * * *
"Right. Got that, Grissom - we'll be there as soon as Cath is finished," Nick looked at his watch, grimacing when he realized it was 6:30 in the morning. "Sara and I need to find the maintenance guy and go down the side of the building in the window cage anyway, see if we can find something we missed."
"Bring Greg with you to collect the samples we have here - some fibers, some finger prints. I'm authorizing doubles for everyone. Obviously, Mr. van der Brucke is still there?" At Nick's affirmative grunt, Grissom sighed, "If he's up to it, I wouldn't mind talking to him."
"Okay. Listen, Grissom - I see Cath and Brass now. Van der Brucke's with them - let me catch up, tell Cath what's going and snag Greg. We'll be there soon - shall we bring coffee?"
"Extra large, you know the way I like it. Extra large for Warrick too. It's been a long shift - and it's only getting longer."
Nick smiled grimly at this, "Sleep is way overrated anyway. See you soon."
* * * * *
"So - this is the Tahoe!" Greg's voice was gleeful as he slid into the back of the CSI vehicle, not attempting to hide his excitement at being called to the crime scene.
"You've been in it before, Greg," Sara's tone was dry, and she grinned at Nick in amusement as they pulled out of the parking lot. Behind them, Catherine was driving with Mr. van der Brucke beside her. Brass had gone to hunt down O'Reilly and find out if he had managed to confirm the insurance information van der Brucke had provided.
"I've been in it, sure - but never to go to a crime scene. I feel like I'm playing detective or something."
"Not detective - CSI, Greg. Get the terminology right, man," Nick teased as he flipped on the radio.
"Nick - c'mon! Play along, okay? I don't get out of the lab much, so humor me. You can be Briscoe from Law and Order, and I'll be Curtis. Sara - you can be Claire, the sexy DA."
Sara laughed, "I think I'll be Sara, Nick will be Nick - and since you're in the back, you can be the insane guy we just arrested for disturbing the peace. How does that grab you?"
"Fine. Piss on my parade," Greg grinned back. "And don't talk about grabbing me unless you mean it!"
* * * * *
Grissom and Warrick were waiting in the lobby when the rest of his team arrived. Catherine trailed in well behind the others, talking softly to Mr. van der Brucke. Grissom noted the older man's pallor. Even from 30 feet away, the man looked weighed down by grief. He appeared to have aged 20 years from the time Grissom last saw him, mere hours ago.
"Yo, Griss! What's up, man?" Greg's exuberant voice caught Grissom's attention, and he looked at the younger man and tried not to smile.
"Greg, can you tone it down a little?" he questioned dryly. "Cath is right behind you with the vics husband - show a little courtesy. I don't think he's as happy to be here as you are."
Greg had the grace to look chagrined, and he turned to look over his shoulder. Sure enough, Catherine and Mr. van der Brucke were not that far behind. Nick clapped him on the shoulder in sympathy as he shifted uncomfortably to the side, hunching his shoulders in embarrassment. He smiled at Nick weakly, before looking miserably at his shoes.
"Mr. van der Brucke, thanks for coming back," Grissom's tone was solicitous. "Let me just talk to my team here for a minute, and then we can talk. Is that okay with you?"
Van der Brucke nodded mutely, "I'll go and check with the front desk, see if there are any messages for me - or for Audra."
Grissom turned back to his team, nodding his thanks as Nick handed him a steaming coffee, "Okay guys. Warrick and I managed to pull some fibers and prints, and we've also found what we believe to be the entrance into the penthouse. Nick filled me in on our cat-burglar - still no hits on the prints?" At the negative shake of Nick's head, Grissom sighed, "Okay then, so we still don't know who our cat-burglar is."
"But we do know he was shot by the same gun that shot Mrs. van der Brucke," Sara interrupted, "Robbie called on the cell on our way over. The bullets match."
Grissom cocked an eyebrow, "Well, that's good news, I suppose. Greg, stop looking so forlorn - he didn't hear you. So, Nick - you're going back up in the window cage, right?"
Nick nodded at this, "Sar and I think the guy was shoot on the side of the building. We're both going up - two eyes being better than one, and all."
Grissom frowned slightly, and turned to face Sara, "Wouldn't you rather -"
Sara interrupted him, "Rather what? Crawl through an enclosed air vent? I think I'll chose heights over claustrophobia. Besides which, Nicky will catch me if I fall, right Nicky?" She shot a gap-toothed grin in his direction, and Grissom tried not to scowl.
"Fine - take the headsets, and leave one for me - I want you guys on Frequency One. Warrick and I are both too wide to fit through the vents - so Cath, how do you feel about it?"
Catherine shrugged, "Horizontal right? No garbage thrown into it? I can deal, Grissom. Warrick and I have practice working in tight spaces, and I brought my jumpsuit." She grinned when she said this, blue eyes darting to Warrick. The younger man shot her an amused look, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Okay then - did any one ever manage to get hold of Mrs. van der Brucke's friend? Marta, right?"
"Brass was going to go to her place with O'Reilly after they run the insurance information and see if they can find her. She hasn't returned any phone calls," Catherine muttered. "I left my field kit in the car, so I better go get it. Walk with me Warrick, and tell me about this vent. Frequency 2 on the headsets, right Griss?"
"And what do you want me to do, Grissom?" Greg asked nonchalantly, looking at the older man as if he wasn't mentally begging to be given something to do on site. Grissom looked at him intently for a few moments, before sighing.
"I have some fiber samples for you to take back to the lab, and some prints we pulled from inside the safe," he tried not to smile at Greg's crestfallen expression before continuing, "but, since you're already here, you may as well stick around. Go with Sara and Nick, and see if you can find anything. Look at this as a training experience - and don't fall out of the cage."
Greg smiled hugely at Grissom, "Thanks, Griss. You won't regret it!"
Grissom watched the young man head towards the concierge with Sara and Nick, shaking his head. "I better not," he muttered before turning to look for Mr. van der Brucke.
"So, what we need to find out from you Mr. Powers, is how many ways this hotel is accessible from the roof," Grissom looked at the night maintenance manager intently, his sharp blue gaze making the man squirm uncomfortably.
"I'm not sure that I understand what you mean, Mr. Grissom," the man replied, "We've got the normal fire exits leading to the roof, but unless you had a master key you couldn't get from the roof into the building."
"Why not?"
"Key card locks - and there's only three key cards in the entire building that will work. I have one, the day manager has one, and our head of security has one. If someone needs to go to the roof, they need to go up with one of us, and the log needs to be signed. When I took your associate in the window cage earlier, he had to sign the log for access."
"What's to prevent someone from tampering with the code, and breaking the lock?"
"Well, nothing, I suppose. But we change the code every 12 hours, and have to recode the masters. It would take some doing."
Warrick looked askance at Grissom, "What about air vents? Could someone repel down a vent and get into the hotel that way?"
"This hotel was designed with the security of our clients in mind. We have a lot of VIPs who stay here. We have no air vents on the roof," Powers was shaking his head, "the only way to get in is from the roof, the only way to do that is with a key. Anyone tries to break in, we have alarms. We also have security cameras on all the doorways, so I don't see how it could happen."
"You have to have vents somewhere. If they're not on the roof, where are they?" Grissom asked.
Powers smiled, "Well, that's the beauty of our design. Each floor has its own separate air exchange system. All the vents are hidden within the façade of the building, and they're all on the side of the building - out back, between floors. Hardly noticeable from the street unless you knew what you were looking for."
"Where're the vents for the penthouse?"
"We have them hidden in the maintenance room for the floor, near the service elevator," Powers responded. "I can show you if you like."
Warrick stepped out of the way, indicating with a sweeping arm for the maintenance manager to lead the way. Following Powers to the back of the penthouse where the service elevator was located, Grissom smiled at Warrick. "I have a bad feeling one of us is going to be crawling through air vents soon."
Powers had come to halt in front of the well-hidden maintenance room, sliding his key card through the lock. "Neither of you will be crawling through the air vents here, at least not without squeezing." He flicked on the light as he stepped into the room, still talking to the men behind him. "The vent is -"
"Right in the corner. I can see it. And the grid is lying on the floor," Grissom interrupted, turning to Warrick and smiling, "Well, we know how our guy got in and out."
"It's a start," Warrick agreed.
* * * * *
Catherine knocked on the half open door to Brass' office before walking in, smiling as she noticed one of the coffees Brass had grabbed earlier was now loosely held in Willem van der Brucke's right hand.
"Hey Catherine," Brass greeted, before he turned to O'Reilly. "Can you take the information that Mr. van der Brucke gave us on his insurance policies and start calling them for us? Thanks."
Catherine slid easily into the empty chair O'Reilly had just vacated, "I can see you've started without me." She smiled at Brass easily, before turning to Mr. van der Brucke. He seemed a little calmer than he had earlier, and Catherine was unsure whether it was disbelief settling in or the effects of shock. Either way, for the time being it would make him easier to deal with.
"Cath, I've spoken with Willem about the insurance policies and security measures he took when he transported the diamonds and jewelry, including the policies on his wife's personal assets. I thought I would wait for you to return before we got into more - personal - matters."
"Listen Mr. van der Brucke - Willem - we do need to talk," Catherine's voice was gentle as she looked at the older man across from Brass. "We need to ask you questions - personal questions about your wife and your relationship."
Van der Brucke sighed, "I imagine that's standard."
"Unfortunately, it is," Catherine agreed. "What can you tell us about your relationship with your wife."
Willem sighed, "She's my world. I didn't kill her. I didn't hire anyone to kill her. I didn't hire someone to steal my diamonds."
"Did you have any enemies? Did she?"
"No, everyone loved Audra," van der Brucke's voice was desolate. "She is - was - just a wonderful woman. I adored her."
"You're quite a bit older than her, aren't you Mr. van der Brucke?" Brass interjected, "How long have you been married?"
"Audra was 26 years younger than me - I know, it's a large age gap. People noticed, and I noticed it a lot at first as well. But for her, it was never an issue. We got married 2 years ago - when she was 24. Her parents weren't happy - I'm the same age as her father - but they've gotten over it."
"Do you have any reason to believe that your wife may have been having an affair?" Brass' voice was neutral, but his expression regretful as he asked van der Brucke this painful question.
Willem merely shook his head, "Audra was the sweetest woman in the world, and I have no doubt that she loved me as much as I loved her. I would sooner believe black is white than believe she would ever do anything that would hurt me in any way."
Catherine watched the older man closely, trying to read his face. She was unable to see any deception, any prevarication of fact. Putting aside her normal cynicism, she believed that Willem van der Brucke had loved his young wife beyond reason. She hoped they would find nothing to indicate that she had not loved him the same way.
"Mr. van der Brucke - Willem -" her voice was gentle, "I know these are hard questions; insensitive to your loss. I am sorry we have to ask them -"
"And I understand why you do," he responded gracefully, his face sadder than any mans' should ever be, "I just want you to find who killed my wife. Find him. I don't care about anything else - diamonds can be replaced, but my wife -" suddenly he was crying, "my lovely Audra -"
Brass shifted in his seat, uncomfortable at this sudden display of emotion, and Catherine had a hard time fighting back her own sudden tears, "Why don't you let me take you back to the hotel, Willem. If we need you for anything else, we can talk later."
Van der Brucke shook his head in abject misery, "I cannot go back to the hotel room my wife was murdered in."
Brass stood, "Of course not. Let me take you to the Palms. If you want to come back later in the day, we'll let you know what we're doing. I'm sure once you've had time to think, you might have some more information for us as well."
Catherine stood with van der Brucke, her face sympathetic. Resting a gentle hand on his arm, she squeezed it softly, "We'll find the person who did this; I swear it."
* * * * *
"Right. Got that, Grissom - we'll be there as soon as Cath is finished," Nick looked at his watch, grimacing when he realized it was 6:30 in the morning. "Sara and I need to find the maintenance guy and go down the side of the building in the window cage anyway, see if we can find something we missed."
"Bring Greg with you to collect the samples we have here - some fibers, some finger prints. I'm authorizing doubles for everyone. Obviously, Mr. van der Brucke is still there?" At Nick's affirmative grunt, Grissom sighed, "If he's up to it, I wouldn't mind talking to him."
"Okay. Listen, Grissom - I see Cath and Brass now. Van der Brucke's with them - let me catch up, tell Cath what's going and snag Greg. We'll be there soon - shall we bring coffee?"
"Extra large, you know the way I like it. Extra large for Warrick too. It's been a long shift - and it's only getting longer."
Nick smiled grimly at this, "Sleep is way overrated anyway. See you soon."
* * * * *
"So - this is the Tahoe!" Greg's voice was gleeful as he slid into the back of the CSI vehicle, not attempting to hide his excitement at being called to the crime scene.
"You've been in it before, Greg," Sara's tone was dry, and she grinned at Nick in amusement as they pulled out of the parking lot. Behind them, Catherine was driving with Mr. van der Brucke beside her. Brass had gone to hunt down O'Reilly and find out if he had managed to confirm the insurance information van der Brucke had provided.
"I've been in it, sure - but never to go to a crime scene. I feel like I'm playing detective or something."
"Not detective - CSI, Greg. Get the terminology right, man," Nick teased as he flipped on the radio.
"Nick - c'mon! Play along, okay? I don't get out of the lab much, so humor me. You can be Briscoe from Law and Order, and I'll be Curtis. Sara - you can be Claire, the sexy DA."
Sara laughed, "I think I'll be Sara, Nick will be Nick - and since you're in the back, you can be the insane guy we just arrested for disturbing the peace. How does that grab you?"
"Fine. Piss on my parade," Greg grinned back. "And don't talk about grabbing me unless you mean it!"
* * * * *
Grissom and Warrick were waiting in the lobby when the rest of his team arrived. Catherine trailed in well behind the others, talking softly to Mr. van der Brucke. Grissom noted the older man's pallor. Even from 30 feet away, the man looked weighed down by grief. He appeared to have aged 20 years from the time Grissom last saw him, mere hours ago.
"Yo, Griss! What's up, man?" Greg's exuberant voice caught Grissom's attention, and he looked at the younger man and tried not to smile.
"Greg, can you tone it down a little?" he questioned dryly. "Cath is right behind you with the vics husband - show a little courtesy. I don't think he's as happy to be here as you are."
Greg had the grace to look chagrined, and he turned to look over his shoulder. Sure enough, Catherine and Mr. van der Brucke were not that far behind. Nick clapped him on the shoulder in sympathy as he shifted uncomfortably to the side, hunching his shoulders in embarrassment. He smiled at Nick weakly, before looking miserably at his shoes.
"Mr. van der Brucke, thanks for coming back," Grissom's tone was solicitous. "Let me just talk to my team here for a minute, and then we can talk. Is that okay with you?"
Van der Brucke nodded mutely, "I'll go and check with the front desk, see if there are any messages for me - or for Audra."
Grissom turned back to his team, nodding his thanks as Nick handed him a steaming coffee, "Okay guys. Warrick and I managed to pull some fibers and prints, and we've also found what we believe to be the entrance into the penthouse. Nick filled me in on our cat-burglar - still no hits on the prints?" At the negative shake of Nick's head, Grissom sighed, "Okay then, so we still don't know who our cat-burglar is."
"But we do know he was shot by the same gun that shot Mrs. van der Brucke," Sara interrupted, "Robbie called on the cell on our way over. The bullets match."
Grissom cocked an eyebrow, "Well, that's good news, I suppose. Greg, stop looking so forlorn - he didn't hear you. So, Nick - you're going back up in the window cage, right?"
Nick nodded at this, "Sar and I think the guy was shoot on the side of the building. We're both going up - two eyes being better than one, and all."
Grissom frowned slightly, and turned to face Sara, "Wouldn't you rather -"
Sara interrupted him, "Rather what? Crawl through an enclosed air vent? I think I'll chose heights over claustrophobia. Besides which, Nicky will catch me if I fall, right Nicky?" She shot a gap-toothed grin in his direction, and Grissom tried not to scowl.
"Fine - take the headsets, and leave one for me - I want you guys on Frequency One. Warrick and I are both too wide to fit through the vents - so Cath, how do you feel about it?"
Catherine shrugged, "Horizontal right? No garbage thrown into it? I can deal, Grissom. Warrick and I have practice working in tight spaces, and I brought my jumpsuit." She grinned when she said this, blue eyes darting to Warrick. The younger man shot her an amused look, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Okay then - did any one ever manage to get hold of Mrs. van der Brucke's friend? Marta, right?"
"Brass was going to go to her place with O'Reilly after they run the insurance information and see if they can find her. She hasn't returned any phone calls," Catherine muttered. "I left my field kit in the car, so I better go get it. Walk with me Warrick, and tell me about this vent. Frequency 2 on the headsets, right Griss?"
"And what do you want me to do, Grissom?" Greg asked nonchalantly, looking at the older man as if he wasn't mentally begging to be given something to do on site. Grissom looked at him intently for a few moments, before sighing.
"I have some fiber samples for you to take back to the lab, and some prints we pulled from inside the safe," he tried not to smile at Greg's crestfallen expression before continuing, "but, since you're already here, you may as well stick around. Go with Sara and Nick, and see if you can find anything. Look at this as a training experience - and don't fall out of the cage."
Greg smiled hugely at Grissom, "Thanks, Griss. You won't regret it!"
Grissom watched the young man head towards the concierge with Sara and Nick, shaking his head. "I better not," he muttered before turning to look for Mr. van der Brucke.