VIII - MYSTERY, GIRL
The slow ascent back to the rooftop had begun. Between the three of them, they had collected several swabs of blood, had taken more than a dozen photos, and had found a bullet. Greg was standing in the middle of the cage, a beatific expression on his face as he surveyed Las Vegas, and Sara knew he was thinking about the bullet he had found.
To her right, Nick was talking to Mr. Powers, the night maintenance manager. His deep Texas drawl was getting carried away in the wind, but she smiled when he clapped Powers on the shoulder in a congenial way, and leaned back comfortably against the cage.
Sara herself was watching the side of the building as they slowly moved upwards, hands shielding her eyes from the sun glaring off the windows. The glass was dark black and shiny, melding almost seamlessly with the black fascia between the floors. The black mesh grates that indicated where the air exchange vents were located were barely visible.
Her eyes narrowed briefly as they slowly passed one at closer range, eyes quickly scanning the mesh and frame. "Stop the cage!" she turned quickly to Nick and Powers, "stop the cage! Nick - come check this out."
Straightening up, Nick took two steps towards her, pulling the brim of his ball cap down as he leaned towards the grating she was pointing at. She grinned at him when he raised an eyebrow at her.
"That's interesting," he muttered. "Greg. Come here - take a look at this, and tell us what you see."
Sara stepped slightly to the right, arms crossed and watched as Greg looked intently at the air shaft.
"It's the venting," he stated the obvious, " black mesh - fairly heavy duty." He looked at Sara and then at Nick, confusion knotting his brows. "What am I missing?"
"It's attached to the inside of the vent."
Greg looked at Nick when he said this, before turning back to the grate. The outer edges were folded in, and screwed into the vent shaft from the inside. "If it's attached to the inside of the vent, how did our cat- burglar manage to detach it last night?"
Nick grinned widely at Greg, before turning to wink at Sara. "Exactly, Greggo. We'll make a CSI of you yet."
* * * * *
Catherine and Warrick were waiting down in the lobby when Nick, Sara and Greg stepped out of the main elevator. Much to Mr. Miles dismay, both of them were sporting their "Forensics" jackets, casually leaning against a large marble pillar right near the main entrance.
"Do you need to wait right here?" he was hissing at them. "Can't you go and sit in the restaurant or something?"
Catherine smiled at him wickedly, enjoying his discomfort, "Mr. Miles, I suggest you relax. Our boss told us to stay here and wait for our team, and that's what we're doing."
Warrick rolled his eyes, mouthing at Catherine overtop the small man's head, "Boss?", and making a mental note to tease her about that later. In all their years of working together, he had never heard Catherine call Grissom that. Catherine just grinned at him.
"Why are you still even here, Mr. Miles? I thought you told us last night you're the night time concierge. Hasn't the day time guy come in yet?" Warrick's tone was cool as he crossed his arms and winked at Catherine.
"I will remain to answer any questions you may have. I believe it's only right, since I was here when the incident occurred," Miles replied huffily, and Catherine's blue eyes snapped at him.
"Incident?" her voice raised slightly at this, "the wife of one of the richest men in the world was murdered by a cat burglar in your penthouse. That's more than an incident!"
"Hey Cath," Nick's voice broke in, and he shot Warrick a grin before turning to Miles, "Mr. Miles! Just the man we needed to talk to."
Miles sighed in agitation and turned to face Nick, scowling, "What now?"
"We were just wondering if there's been any recent maintenance done in the ducts between the penthouse and the floor beneath it."
Miles looked put off for a second, a sudden frown creasing his eyes, "Why does this concern you?"
Nick shrugged, "Leave no stone unturned. It's just so we can eliminate hotel employees who may have a legitimate reason for being in the ducts off our list of suspects."
Catherine looked at Nick curiously for a second, before turning her gaze to Sara. Sara just shrugged, but her eyes and the tight smile on her face told Catherine something was up.
"That's right, Mr. Miles," Catherine inserted, "Warrick and I managed to collect several fiber samples - we need to be able to trace where they came from. It makes our job a whole lot easier when we can narrow our focus to what doesn't belong, if you know what I mean."
"Fine," Miles huffed, "I'm sure Powers told you we keep logs for that type of maintenance. I'll get him to release them to you."
Nick flashed a charming smile, "Why thank you. Powers said you'd do that - he's already gone to get the books for us. As soon as we get them, we'll be on our way."
The promise of the CSIs leaving the building seemed to mollify the man somewhat, and he minced back to the front desk when he saw Powers step behind it and into the main office.
Warrick watched his retreating back with a small frown, "I really dislike that man."
* * * * *
Grissom was sitting in the break room when the rest of his team arrived, going over Dr. Robbins autopsy reports, comparing what he was reading to the crime scene photos he had spread over the table. Sara grimaced when she saw the photo of Audra van der Brucke, semi-nude and lying in a pool of her own blood. Grissom was eating a smoked meat sandwich, munching thoughtfully as he looked from the report to the pictures and back again.
"Great lunchtime reading material, Griss," Greg muttered, paling slightly at the pictures.
Grissom merely raised an eyebrow at him, "There's something here I'm just not getting. Glad you guys are back. Greg - don't you have samples you should be running?"
"All work and no play makes Greg a dull boy," he muttered darkly. "Can I at least pour myself a cup of coffee before I head off to the dungeon?"
Grissom half-smiled, "Actually, you don't need to go right away. You were at the crime scene - sit down with the rest of us."
Greg perked up at this, "Really?"
"Didn't Nick say you found the bullet?"
Greg nodded, and Grissom continued, "Well, then - you can sit down with us. Tell me what you guys have got."
Catherine looked at Warrick, before turning back to Grissom. "We found some fibers in the venting, dark materials - several samples. We've also got hair that was wrapped around a screw head - probably pulled by the roots, so good possibility of epithelials. And we got a missing grate."
Sara smiled at this, "We have several blood swabs, a bullet, and an interesting theory on a missing grate."
"What's the theory?"
"Our cat burglar was helped by someone on the inside - a hotel employee," Sara replied smugly. "The grating on all the air vents can only be removed from inside the actual vent - helps the grates blend seamlessly into the fascia between floors. Assuming our cat burglar went up the side to get in the building, the grate would have to have been removed prior to the break- in."
Nick grinned, "And I've got the maintenance logs from Icarus - any maintenance done in the vents between the penthouse and the floor beneath it will be indicated in the books."
Grissom nodded, "It's a good start."
Warrick suddenly inserted, "Weren't you supposed to be talking to the lady our female vic was supposed to meet for dinner? Marta what's-her-name?"
"She's overwrought," Grissom stated. "Brass has her down in his office - she took a couple of tranquilizers before he brought her in, but they haven't appeared to calm her down. We're going to try talking to her again in a little while."
"Have we cleared Mr. van der Brucke off our suspect list?" Greg asked suddenly.
Grissom shook his head, "Officially? No. But I don't think he did it."
"Neither do I," Catherine offered.
Greg looked from one to the other blankly, "Why not?"
"I hate to say it, but it's just a feeling I have," Grissom admitted. "He loved her."
"But did she love him, or was he just a wallet?" Nick interjected. "I mean, you have to ask - she was a lot younger than him. Maybe she was planning on leaving him - taking him for half of everything - he found out about it, and arranged a little robbery to cloud his involvement?"
"We'll look at that. It's a viable question," Grissom agreed, "but I don't think that's what happened."
"And who cares how much older he was than her? If she loved him, and he loved her, it's irrelevant," Sara added.
Catherine smirked at this, "I agree - age is irrelevant here. Younger women and older men - happens all the time. It's very acceptable nowadays."
"And it doesn't bother you?" Greg teased "If all the older men are chasing around after younger women, who does that leave for you, Cath?"
Catherine smiled as she reached forward and patted his cheek, "Why - the younger men, of course."
Nick grinned, "I have a sudden urge to watch 'The Graduate' now."
"Or, at the very least, listen to some Simon and Garfunkel," Warrick added.
"As long as it's not 'Harold and Maude'. Good movie, but the age difference there is just a lee-tle to much," Greg teased. "Although, Cat Stevens might be a good way to calm down the hormones."
"Can we get back on track, here?" Grissom suddenly broke into the conversation. "Marta should be fine to talk to soon. Sara - you want to come with me?" He looked at his watch, "The rest of you, go home. Greg - you can start processing the DNA this afternoon - I want everyone back here at 4:00."
Nick stood and stretched, "Sure thing, Grissom. But I was Sara's ride in, remember? How's she gonna get home after you talk to Marta?"
"Grissom can drive me - right, Grissom?"
Grissom nodded absently, "Yeah - I'll take you back to your place."
"Her car's at my place."
Grissom looked at Nick in irritation, "Fine - I'll take her to your place."
"Cool," Nick grinned, "maybe we can catch the rest of Manhunter, if you're not too late. I'll keep it in the DVD."
Sara shook her head at him, "The only thing I'll be catching is some zzz's. The movie will keep for another time. We'd barely started it, anyways."
* * * * *
Warrick walked out of the lab with Catherine, enjoying the soft click of her heels as she walked beside him.
"So - I guess I'll catch you later this afternoon then, eh Cath?" She was parked right beside him, and he opened the door to her Tahoe courteously when they reached their vehicles, smiling as she slid into the driver's seat.
"I hate it when Grissom does stuff like this," she muttered as she looked at her watch, "It's 12:00 - am I supposed to go home and sleep when I have to be back here in four hours?" She suddenly grinned up at him. "Want to come to my place for lunch? Lindsey's been asking for you, and she doesn't have any school today. She'd be so happy to see you."
"Your new babysitter working out?"
"Like a dream!" Catherine responded, "It's nice to have someone come to my place, instead of me having to cart Lindsey around. Lindsey's a lot happier. So - you coming?"
Warrick shrugged, "Sure. Why not? I won't get any sleep this late in the day."
Catherine grinned, "Good. So - hop in. I'll bring you back in one piece - if you want me to."
Rolling his eyes, Warrick walked over to the other side of the car and slid in, "You're such a flirt."
"You know you love it," she responded as she pulled out of the parking lot and flipped on her radio.
Warrick laughed, "So, you like younger men?"
"Not younger men," Catherine responded, "a younger man."
Roy Orbison was singing in the background,
~Darkness falls and she will take me by the hand
Take me to some twilight land
Where all but love is grey
Where I can't find my way
Without her as my guide
Night falls I'm cast beneath here spell
Daylight comes our heaven torn to hell
Am I left to burn
And burn eternally
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
In the night of love words tangled in her hair
Words soon to disappear
A love so sharp it cut like a switchblade to my heart
Words tearing me apart
She tears again my bleeding heart
I want to run she's pulling me apart
Fallen angel cries
Then I just melt away
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
Haunted by her side is the darkness in her eyes
That so enslaves me
But if my love is blind then I don't want to see
She's a mystery to me
Night falls I'm cast beneath her spell
Daylight comes our heaven torn to hell
Am I left to burn
And burn eternally
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl ~
Warrick smiled as he listened to the song, reaching out and taking Catherine's free hand in his own.
"Not that much younger," he responded softly, squeezing her hand when she smiled.
________________________
Author's Note; the song is Mystery Girl. Totally love it!
The slow ascent back to the rooftop had begun. Between the three of them, they had collected several swabs of blood, had taken more than a dozen photos, and had found a bullet. Greg was standing in the middle of the cage, a beatific expression on his face as he surveyed Las Vegas, and Sara knew he was thinking about the bullet he had found.
To her right, Nick was talking to Mr. Powers, the night maintenance manager. His deep Texas drawl was getting carried away in the wind, but she smiled when he clapped Powers on the shoulder in a congenial way, and leaned back comfortably against the cage.
Sara herself was watching the side of the building as they slowly moved upwards, hands shielding her eyes from the sun glaring off the windows. The glass was dark black and shiny, melding almost seamlessly with the black fascia between the floors. The black mesh grates that indicated where the air exchange vents were located were barely visible.
Her eyes narrowed briefly as they slowly passed one at closer range, eyes quickly scanning the mesh and frame. "Stop the cage!" she turned quickly to Nick and Powers, "stop the cage! Nick - come check this out."
Straightening up, Nick took two steps towards her, pulling the brim of his ball cap down as he leaned towards the grating she was pointing at. She grinned at him when he raised an eyebrow at her.
"That's interesting," he muttered. "Greg. Come here - take a look at this, and tell us what you see."
Sara stepped slightly to the right, arms crossed and watched as Greg looked intently at the air shaft.
"It's the venting," he stated the obvious, " black mesh - fairly heavy duty." He looked at Sara and then at Nick, confusion knotting his brows. "What am I missing?"
"It's attached to the inside of the vent."
Greg looked at Nick when he said this, before turning back to the grate. The outer edges were folded in, and screwed into the vent shaft from the inside. "If it's attached to the inside of the vent, how did our cat- burglar manage to detach it last night?"
Nick grinned widely at Greg, before turning to wink at Sara. "Exactly, Greggo. We'll make a CSI of you yet."
* * * * *
Catherine and Warrick were waiting down in the lobby when Nick, Sara and Greg stepped out of the main elevator. Much to Mr. Miles dismay, both of them were sporting their "Forensics" jackets, casually leaning against a large marble pillar right near the main entrance.
"Do you need to wait right here?" he was hissing at them. "Can't you go and sit in the restaurant or something?"
Catherine smiled at him wickedly, enjoying his discomfort, "Mr. Miles, I suggest you relax. Our boss told us to stay here and wait for our team, and that's what we're doing."
Warrick rolled his eyes, mouthing at Catherine overtop the small man's head, "Boss?", and making a mental note to tease her about that later. In all their years of working together, he had never heard Catherine call Grissom that. Catherine just grinned at him.
"Why are you still even here, Mr. Miles? I thought you told us last night you're the night time concierge. Hasn't the day time guy come in yet?" Warrick's tone was cool as he crossed his arms and winked at Catherine.
"I will remain to answer any questions you may have. I believe it's only right, since I was here when the incident occurred," Miles replied huffily, and Catherine's blue eyes snapped at him.
"Incident?" her voice raised slightly at this, "the wife of one of the richest men in the world was murdered by a cat burglar in your penthouse. That's more than an incident!"
"Hey Cath," Nick's voice broke in, and he shot Warrick a grin before turning to Miles, "Mr. Miles! Just the man we needed to talk to."
Miles sighed in agitation and turned to face Nick, scowling, "What now?"
"We were just wondering if there's been any recent maintenance done in the ducts between the penthouse and the floor beneath it."
Miles looked put off for a second, a sudden frown creasing his eyes, "Why does this concern you?"
Nick shrugged, "Leave no stone unturned. It's just so we can eliminate hotel employees who may have a legitimate reason for being in the ducts off our list of suspects."
Catherine looked at Nick curiously for a second, before turning her gaze to Sara. Sara just shrugged, but her eyes and the tight smile on her face told Catherine something was up.
"That's right, Mr. Miles," Catherine inserted, "Warrick and I managed to collect several fiber samples - we need to be able to trace where they came from. It makes our job a whole lot easier when we can narrow our focus to what doesn't belong, if you know what I mean."
"Fine," Miles huffed, "I'm sure Powers told you we keep logs for that type of maintenance. I'll get him to release them to you."
Nick flashed a charming smile, "Why thank you. Powers said you'd do that - he's already gone to get the books for us. As soon as we get them, we'll be on our way."
The promise of the CSIs leaving the building seemed to mollify the man somewhat, and he minced back to the front desk when he saw Powers step behind it and into the main office.
Warrick watched his retreating back with a small frown, "I really dislike that man."
* * * * *
Grissom was sitting in the break room when the rest of his team arrived, going over Dr. Robbins autopsy reports, comparing what he was reading to the crime scene photos he had spread over the table. Sara grimaced when she saw the photo of Audra van der Brucke, semi-nude and lying in a pool of her own blood. Grissom was eating a smoked meat sandwich, munching thoughtfully as he looked from the report to the pictures and back again.
"Great lunchtime reading material, Griss," Greg muttered, paling slightly at the pictures.
Grissom merely raised an eyebrow at him, "There's something here I'm just not getting. Glad you guys are back. Greg - don't you have samples you should be running?"
"All work and no play makes Greg a dull boy," he muttered darkly. "Can I at least pour myself a cup of coffee before I head off to the dungeon?"
Grissom half-smiled, "Actually, you don't need to go right away. You were at the crime scene - sit down with the rest of us."
Greg perked up at this, "Really?"
"Didn't Nick say you found the bullet?"
Greg nodded, and Grissom continued, "Well, then - you can sit down with us. Tell me what you guys have got."
Catherine looked at Warrick, before turning back to Grissom. "We found some fibers in the venting, dark materials - several samples. We've also got hair that was wrapped around a screw head - probably pulled by the roots, so good possibility of epithelials. And we got a missing grate."
Sara smiled at this, "We have several blood swabs, a bullet, and an interesting theory on a missing grate."
"What's the theory?"
"Our cat burglar was helped by someone on the inside - a hotel employee," Sara replied smugly. "The grating on all the air vents can only be removed from inside the actual vent - helps the grates blend seamlessly into the fascia between floors. Assuming our cat burglar went up the side to get in the building, the grate would have to have been removed prior to the break- in."
Nick grinned, "And I've got the maintenance logs from Icarus - any maintenance done in the vents between the penthouse and the floor beneath it will be indicated in the books."
Grissom nodded, "It's a good start."
Warrick suddenly inserted, "Weren't you supposed to be talking to the lady our female vic was supposed to meet for dinner? Marta what's-her-name?"
"She's overwrought," Grissom stated. "Brass has her down in his office - she took a couple of tranquilizers before he brought her in, but they haven't appeared to calm her down. We're going to try talking to her again in a little while."
"Have we cleared Mr. van der Brucke off our suspect list?" Greg asked suddenly.
Grissom shook his head, "Officially? No. But I don't think he did it."
"Neither do I," Catherine offered.
Greg looked from one to the other blankly, "Why not?"
"I hate to say it, but it's just a feeling I have," Grissom admitted. "He loved her."
"But did she love him, or was he just a wallet?" Nick interjected. "I mean, you have to ask - she was a lot younger than him. Maybe she was planning on leaving him - taking him for half of everything - he found out about it, and arranged a little robbery to cloud his involvement?"
"We'll look at that. It's a viable question," Grissom agreed, "but I don't think that's what happened."
"And who cares how much older he was than her? If she loved him, and he loved her, it's irrelevant," Sara added.
Catherine smirked at this, "I agree - age is irrelevant here. Younger women and older men - happens all the time. It's very acceptable nowadays."
"And it doesn't bother you?" Greg teased "If all the older men are chasing around after younger women, who does that leave for you, Cath?"
Catherine smiled as she reached forward and patted his cheek, "Why - the younger men, of course."
Nick grinned, "I have a sudden urge to watch 'The Graduate' now."
"Or, at the very least, listen to some Simon and Garfunkel," Warrick added.
"As long as it's not 'Harold and Maude'. Good movie, but the age difference there is just a lee-tle to much," Greg teased. "Although, Cat Stevens might be a good way to calm down the hormones."
"Can we get back on track, here?" Grissom suddenly broke into the conversation. "Marta should be fine to talk to soon. Sara - you want to come with me?" He looked at his watch, "The rest of you, go home. Greg - you can start processing the DNA this afternoon - I want everyone back here at 4:00."
Nick stood and stretched, "Sure thing, Grissom. But I was Sara's ride in, remember? How's she gonna get home after you talk to Marta?"
"Grissom can drive me - right, Grissom?"
Grissom nodded absently, "Yeah - I'll take you back to your place."
"Her car's at my place."
Grissom looked at Nick in irritation, "Fine - I'll take her to your place."
"Cool," Nick grinned, "maybe we can catch the rest of Manhunter, if you're not too late. I'll keep it in the DVD."
Sara shook her head at him, "The only thing I'll be catching is some zzz's. The movie will keep for another time. We'd barely started it, anyways."
* * * * *
Warrick walked out of the lab with Catherine, enjoying the soft click of her heels as she walked beside him.
"So - I guess I'll catch you later this afternoon then, eh Cath?" She was parked right beside him, and he opened the door to her Tahoe courteously when they reached their vehicles, smiling as she slid into the driver's seat.
"I hate it when Grissom does stuff like this," she muttered as she looked at her watch, "It's 12:00 - am I supposed to go home and sleep when I have to be back here in four hours?" She suddenly grinned up at him. "Want to come to my place for lunch? Lindsey's been asking for you, and she doesn't have any school today. She'd be so happy to see you."
"Your new babysitter working out?"
"Like a dream!" Catherine responded, "It's nice to have someone come to my place, instead of me having to cart Lindsey around. Lindsey's a lot happier. So - you coming?"
Warrick shrugged, "Sure. Why not? I won't get any sleep this late in the day."
Catherine grinned, "Good. So - hop in. I'll bring you back in one piece - if you want me to."
Rolling his eyes, Warrick walked over to the other side of the car and slid in, "You're such a flirt."
"You know you love it," she responded as she pulled out of the parking lot and flipped on her radio.
Warrick laughed, "So, you like younger men?"
"Not younger men," Catherine responded, "a younger man."
Roy Orbison was singing in the background,
~Darkness falls and she will take me by the hand
Take me to some twilight land
Where all but love is grey
Where I can't find my way
Without her as my guide
Night falls I'm cast beneath here spell
Daylight comes our heaven torn to hell
Am I left to burn
And burn eternally
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
In the night of love words tangled in her hair
Words soon to disappear
A love so sharp it cut like a switchblade to my heart
Words tearing me apart
She tears again my bleeding heart
I want to run she's pulling me apart
Fallen angel cries
Then I just melt away
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
Haunted by her side is the darkness in her eyes
That so enslaves me
But if my love is blind then I don't want to see
She's a mystery to me
Night falls I'm cast beneath her spell
Daylight comes our heaven torn to hell
Am I left to burn
And burn eternally
She's a mystery to me
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl
She's a mystery girl ~
Warrick smiled as he listened to the song, reaching out and taking Catherine's free hand in his own.
"Not that much younger," he responded softly, squeezing her hand when she smiled.
________________________
Author's Note; the song is Mystery Girl. Totally love it!