XXII - SCHEMES
"Hey guys," Greg stuck his head in the A/V room on his way back to his lab, "Grissom wants everyone in the break room in 10 minutes."
Sara looked up from the maintenance logs and nodded absently, and Nick smiled. "How you coming on the hairs, Greggo?"
"Well, I've broken the case wide open - AGAIN," Greg grinned, "or maybe I just confused matters more. I don't know. Two of the hairs are from the same person, and guess what? It's a woman. You guys having any luck?"
"Not me," Sara muttered, "Unless this plan went in motion almost two months ago, I got squat."
"The tapes haven't provided anything yet, either," Nick sighed, "Just the people you'd expect to see. I've got some stills. You'll keep running this for me, right Arch?"
"Has anyone checked with Ronnie in ballistics on the bullet yet?" Greg asked suddenly. "I don't remember Grissom mentioning it earlier."
Nick shook his head, "You're right - he didn't. I'll go talk to him now for a second. Want to come with me, Greg? Seeing as you're the one that spotted it?"
Greg grinned, "Sure. You coming, Sara?"
Sara shook her head absently, "No - I'll go get Catherine and Warrick and meet you guys back in the lounge."
* * * * *
Catherine and Warrick were already in the lounge when Sara walked past it on her way to get them. Turning on her boot heel, she slid into the room and headed to the coffee machine. Some oldies radio station was playing in the background, Elvis' voice crooning away.
"I guess Grissom already told you about the meeting?"
"Yeah. He'll be here soon - he was just finishing something up with Brass. You find anything?" Warrick asked.
Sara shrugged, "Not really - there's been no logged duct work on the air exchange unit for the Penthouse for the past six weeks. How far in advance do you think the van der Brucke's made their reservations?"
"Who knows," Catherine inserted. "We've identified the fibers we found - now all we need to do is find out where they came from, which we can't do until we find our suspect. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Where's Nick?"
"Ballistics. With Greg." Sara quickly doctored her coffee, adding a generous dollop of cream and leaning back against the counter. "Did we ever get all the insurance info. in yet on the diamonds and jewelry? Life insurance on Audra?"
"I think that's what Grissom was going to grab - Brass apparently had a package arrive. I think it was the policies direct from the insurance company involved."
Nick and Greg chose that moment to enter the break room, and Nick grinned at Sara. "Should have known you'd be drinking coffee," he teased as he walked over to the percolator and poured a cup for himself. "Caffeine freak."
Sara grimaced at him good naturedly. "Keeps me calm. I need all the coffee I can get when I'm working with you."
Nick chuckled and leaned past Sara to turn up the radio, before gently removing the coffee mug from her hand and putting it on the counter. Grabbing Sara's hands, he pulled her into the middle to the side of the big break table. "I love this song!" he grinned, "C'mon, Sara - dance with me."
~ Hey hey-ey, Baby,
I wanna know-o-o
If you'll be my girl
Hey hey-ey, Baby,
I wanna know-o-o
If you'll be my girl
When I saw you walking down the street,
I said that's the kind of gal I'd like to meet.
She's so pretty. Lord, she's fine.
I'm gonna make her mine all mine
Hey hey-ey, Baby,
I wanna know-o-o
If you'll be my girl
When you turned and walked away
That's when I wanna say
Come on, Baby, give me a whirl.
I wanna know if you'll be my girl.
Hey hey-ey, Baby,
I wanna know-o-o -~
"When did this place turn into a dance club?" Grissom demanded as he walked into the break room and flipped the radio off. He tried not to sound peevish, but it didn't work.
Nick just grinned at him as he dropped Sara's hands and scooped up his coffee before plopping down into an empty seat. "It was Bruce Chanel, man. It's like an unwritten rule that you have to dance to that song whenever it plays."
Grissom just stared at him, face impassive and eyes icy, "No. It's not. If you want to be Fred Astaire, do it on your own time. Not mine."
Nick winced good naturedly, "Whatever, hoss." He turned to wink at Sara, who was now sitting stoned face beside Greg, eyes glinting angrily at Grissom. "Wanna go dancing with me after shift, Ginger?"
Sara smiled dangerously, "Sounds like it could be fun."
Grissom interrupted, "Pardon me. Work? Remember? What have we found?"
"Nothing," Catherine offered, her gaze lingering a moment longer than absolutely necessary on Grissom. He was being a bear tonight, and she couldn't figure out why. But she would. "Until we can find the clothes our fibers came from, we've got nothing to compare them too."
"And Archie's pulling stills for us, but so far everyone is recognizable. The van der Brucke's, maids, Mr. Miles - a couple of men with Mr. van der Brucke I assume are business acquaintances. We'll have to confirm that though." Nick grinned suddenly, "At least we know the bullet we pulled out of the fascia is a match for the bullets pulled from Audra and or unknown cat-burglar - Ronnie confirmed it for us."
"All I've got is a name," Sara interjected. "T. Price - last person to do any sort of maintenance in the venting."
Grissom sighed in irritation. "Okay. Here's the plan then - Catherine and Warrick, go back to Icarus - talk to Mr. Miles and see if you can track down T. Price. We might need him to come in for questioning."
"And I think I should go back into the venting - dust for prints. I didn't do it the first time around, but now that we know it's an inside job we could get lucky. Maybe whoever loosened the grating didn't wear gloves."
"Fine. Do that," Grissom nodded abruptly.
"Nick - you're with me. We're going to talk to Mr. van der Brucke again."
"And what should I do?" Sara asked. Grissom hadn't looked at her once since he had walked into the lounge and snapped the radio off, and he didn't look at her when he responded.
"You can start going through the insurance papers," he slid a large manila folder towards her. "These just arrived. Greg will help you."
"Goody," Sara's tone was sarcastic, even as she shot Greg a sympathetic look, "sounds scintillating. Why can't I go with you and Nick?"
"Because." Grissom's reply was short, and Sara flushed an angry red.
"Good answer, Grissom. Thanks for the explanation." Standing and grabbing the folder she walked by Nick and touched his shoulder briefly. "Catch you later," she said pointedly, before turning defiantly and stalking out of the room.
Greg shot an amazed look at Nick, who sat there with a large shit-eating grin on his face as he watched Sara leave, before taking off after Sara. Nick turned his grin on Grissom, noting the tight lines bracketing the older man's mouth and the tense set of his eyes.
"My mom would say she's full of piss and vinegar," he chortled. "C'mon, Griss. Let's roll!"
As the two men departed, Warrick turned and looked at Catherine who just sat at the table, a speculative gleam in her eyes.
"What was that all about?" he asked, his tone slightly shocked.
Catherine laughed suddenly, "I think Nick's playing with fire. Go, Nick!"
* * * * *
Nick had to practically jog to keep up with Grissom, who was moving silently down the hallway as fast as his bowed legs would carry him. Smiling and two feet behind, Nick silently congratulated himself on his plan to make Grissom jealous. It was obviously working. He didn't ever remember seeing Grissom this tense about anything before, and he briefly felt sorry for the man.
Grissom, while somewhat of an enigma, had always held a certain fascination for Nick. Sure, talk around the office said that he was emotionless; that he didn't deal with people well, that he was cold and liked bugs better than people. But Nick didn't agree. He had known Grissom for a few years now - not as long as Catherine had, but long enough to know better. Nick remembered what Grissom had been like when he had first started working the night shift, when Nick was still a CSI II. Sure, he had been a little odd, but he hadn't buried his emotions the way he did now. He had been known to crack a smile, or tell a joke, and even laugh at one. And while he had never really allowed himself to get emotionally involved in a case; he had never been emotionless when it came to solving them.
He tried arguing this with Greg once, after Grissom had verbally slapped him down over something that really wasn't Greg's fault. The younger man had been crushed, and had bitterly muttered that just because Grissom was a robot didn't mean everyone else around him was; that other people actually had feelings. Nick had countered that Grissom wasn't an automaton, but Greg had just snorted in disbelief. When Nick had pointed out that Grissom had to care about people in order to do the job he did, Greg had disagreed.
"He doesn't care about the people - the victims. He just cares about the science."
Nick knew better. He had always been observant, and he had always liked puzzles. Grissom was the biggest puzzle going, and so Nick watched him. He saw the way Grissom looked at Sara when he thought no one was looking, the way his face would soften, his eyes wistful. The only time Grissom ever really seemed to smile anymore was when Sara was in the same room with him; a shy half smile that took years off his face.
The Grissom from two years ago would have acted on what was so obviously attraction. And Nick didn't think Sara would have any problem going to see The Wizard of Oz mixed to the tunes of Pink Floyd, or whatever the hell Grissom's last known completed date had consisted of.
Somehow - somewhere - in the last couple of years - Grissom had begun to shut everyone else out. His smile had become rarer, his laughter almost non-existent. Nick supposed part of the change could be attributed to the murder of Holly Gribbs and Grissom's subsequent promotion to Night Shift Supervisor, but that wasn't the sole reason. There was something going on with Grissom - something no one knew, something Grissom was trying to hide. And Nick was determined to figure out what it was; just as he was determined to force Grissom to confront his feelings for Sara head on in whatever way possible. Grissom had saved his life once, and now Nick figured it was time to return the favor. He wanted to give Grissom a life back - a life with Sara.
_________________
Author's Note: Bruce Chanel - Hey Baby - great song. Scheming!Nick - gotta love him. Grissom won't know what hit him. Next Chapter: Grissom and Nick chat about Sara, more case, and the Yobling flirt-fest continues.
"Hey guys," Greg stuck his head in the A/V room on his way back to his lab, "Grissom wants everyone in the break room in 10 minutes."
Sara looked up from the maintenance logs and nodded absently, and Nick smiled. "How you coming on the hairs, Greggo?"
"Well, I've broken the case wide open - AGAIN," Greg grinned, "or maybe I just confused matters more. I don't know. Two of the hairs are from the same person, and guess what? It's a woman. You guys having any luck?"
"Not me," Sara muttered, "Unless this plan went in motion almost two months ago, I got squat."
"The tapes haven't provided anything yet, either," Nick sighed, "Just the people you'd expect to see. I've got some stills. You'll keep running this for me, right Arch?"
"Has anyone checked with Ronnie in ballistics on the bullet yet?" Greg asked suddenly. "I don't remember Grissom mentioning it earlier."
Nick shook his head, "You're right - he didn't. I'll go talk to him now for a second. Want to come with me, Greg? Seeing as you're the one that spotted it?"
Greg grinned, "Sure. You coming, Sara?"
Sara shook her head absently, "No - I'll go get Catherine and Warrick and meet you guys back in the lounge."
* * * * *
Catherine and Warrick were already in the lounge when Sara walked past it on her way to get them. Turning on her boot heel, she slid into the room and headed to the coffee machine. Some oldies radio station was playing in the background, Elvis' voice crooning away.
"I guess Grissom already told you about the meeting?"
"Yeah. He'll be here soon - he was just finishing something up with Brass. You find anything?" Warrick asked.
Sara shrugged, "Not really - there's been no logged duct work on the air exchange unit for the Penthouse for the past six weeks. How far in advance do you think the van der Brucke's made their reservations?"
"Who knows," Catherine inserted. "We've identified the fibers we found - now all we need to do is find out where they came from, which we can't do until we find our suspect. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Where's Nick?"
"Ballistics. With Greg." Sara quickly doctored her coffee, adding a generous dollop of cream and leaning back against the counter. "Did we ever get all the insurance info. in yet on the diamonds and jewelry? Life insurance on Audra?"
"I think that's what Grissom was going to grab - Brass apparently had a package arrive. I think it was the policies direct from the insurance company involved."
Nick and Greg chose that moment to enter the break room, and Nick grinned at Sara. "Should have known you'd be drinking coffee," he teased as he walked over to the percolator and poured a cup for himself. "Caffeine freak."
Sara grimaced at him good naturedly. "Keeps me calm. I need all the coffee I can get when I'm working with you."
Nick chuckled and leaned past Sara to turn up the radio, before gently removing the coffee mug from her hand and putting it on the counter. Grabbing Sara's hands, he pulled her into the middle to the side of the big break table. "I love this song!" he grinned, "C'mon, Sara - dance with me."
~ Hey hey-ey, Baby,
I wanna know-o-o
If you'll be my girl
Hey hey-ey, Baby,
I wanna know-o-o
If you'll be my girl
When I saw you walking down the street,
I said that's the kind of gal I'd like to meet.
She's so pretty. Lord, she's fine.
I'm gonna make her mine all mine
Hey hey-ey, Baby,
I wanna know-o-o
If you'll be my girl
When you turned and walked away
That's when I wanna say
Come on, Baby, give me a whirl.
I wanna know if you'll be my girl.
Hey hey-ey, Baby,
I wanna know-o-o -~
"When did this place turn into a dance club?" Grissom demanded as he walked into the break room and flipped the radio off. He tried not to sound peevish, but it didn't work.
Nick just grinned at him as he dropped Sara's hands and scooped up his coffee before plopping down into an empty seat. "It was Bruce Chanel, man. It's like an unwritten rule that you have to dance to that song whenever it plays."
Grissom just stared at him, face impassive and eyes icy, "No. It's not. If you want to be Fred Astaire, do it on your own time. Not mine."
Nick winced good naturedly, "Whatever, hoss." He turned to wink at Sara, who was now sitting stoned face beside Greg, eyes glinting angrily at Grissom. "Wanna go dancing with me after shift, Ginger?"
Sara smiled dangerously, "Sounds like it could be fun."
Grissom interrupted, "Pardon me. Work? Remember? What have we found?"
"Nothing," Catherine offered, her gaze lingering a moment longer than absolutely necessary on Grissom. He was being a bear tonight, and she couldn't figure out why. But she would. "Until we can find the clothes our fibers came from, we've got nothing to compare them too."
"And Archie's pulling stills for us, but so far everyone is recognizable. The van der Brucke's, maids, Mr. Miles - a couple of men with Mr. van der Brucke I assume are business acquaintances. We'll have to confirm that though." Nick grinned suddenly, "At least we know the bullet we pulled out of the fascia is a match for the bullets pulled from Audra and or unknown cat-burglar - Ronnie confirmed it for us."
"All I've got is a name," Sara interjected. "T. Price - last person to do any sort of maintenance in the venting."
Grissom sighed in irritation. "Okay. Here's the plan then - Catherine and Warrick, go back to Icarus - talk to Mr. Miles and see if you can track down T. Price. We might need him to come in for questioning."
"And I think I should go back into the venting - dust for prints. I didn't do it the first time around, but now that we know it's an inside job we could get lucky. Maybe whoever loosened the grating didn't wear gloves."
"Fine. Do that," Grissom nodded abruptly.
"Nick - you're with me. We're going to talk to Mr. van der Brucke again."
"And what should I do?" Sara asked. Grissom hadn't looked at her once since he had walked into the lounge and snapped the radio off, and he didn't look at her when he responded.
"You can start going through the insurance papers," he slid a large manila folder towards her. "These just arrived. Greg will help you."
"Goody," Sara's tone was sarcastic, even as she shot Greg a sympathetic look, "sounds scintillating. Why can't I go with you and Nick?"
"Because." Grissom's reply was short, and Sara flushed an angry red.
"Good answer, Grissom. Thanks for the explanation." Standing and grabbing the folder she walked by Nick and touched his shoulder briefly. "Catch you later," she said pointedly, before turning defiantly and stalking out of the room.
Greg shot an amazed look at Nick, who sat there with a large shit-eating grin on his face as he watched Sara leave, before taking off after Sara. Nick turned his grin on Grissom, noting the tight lines bracketing the older man's mouth and the tense set of his eyes.
"My mom would say she's full of piss and vinegar," he chortled. "C'mon, Griss. Let's roll!"
As the two men departed, Warrick turned and looked at Catherine who just sat at the table, a speculative gleam in her eyes.
"What was that all about?" he asked, his tone slightly shocked.
Catherine laughed suddenly, "I think Nick's playing with fire. Go, Nick!"
* * * * *
Nick had to practically jog to keep up with Grissom, who was moving silently down the hallway as fast as his bowed legs would carry him. Smiling and two feet behind, Nick silently congratulated himself on his plan to make Grissom jealous. It was obviously working. He didn't ever remember seeing Grissom this tense about anything before, and he briefly felt sorry for the man.
Grissom, while somewhat of an enigma, had always held a certain fascination for Nick. Sure, talk around the office said that he was emotionless; that he didn't deal with people well, that he was cold and liked bugs better than people. But Nick didn't agree. He had known Grissom for a few years now - not as long as Catherine had, but long enough to know better. Nick remembered what Grissom had been like when he had first started working the night shift, when Nick was still a CSI II. Sure, he had been a little odd, but he hadn't buried his emotions the way he did now. He had been known to crack a smile, or tell a joke, and even laugh at one. And while he had never really allowed himself to get emotionally involved in a case; he had never been emotionless when it came to solving them.
He tried arguing this with Greg once, after Grissom had verbally slapped him down over something that really wasn't Greg's fault. The younger man had been crushed, and had bitterly muttered that just because Grissom was a robot didn't mean everyone else around him was; that other people actually had feelings. Nick had countered that Grissom wasn't an automaton, but Greg had just snorted in disbelief. When Nick had pointed out that Grissom had to care about people in order to do the job he did, Greg had disagreed.
"He doesn't care about the people - the victims. He just cares about the science."
Nick knew better. He had always been observant, and he had always liked puzzles. Grissom was the biggest puzzle going, and so Nick watched him. He saw the way Grissom looked at Sara when he thought no one was looking, the way his face would soften, his eyes wistful. The only time Grissom ever really seemed to smile anymore was when Sara was in the same room with him; a shy half smile that took years off his face.
The Grissom from two years ago would have acted on what was so obviously attraction. And Nick didn't think Sara would have any problem going to see The Wizard of Oz mixed to the tunes of Pink Floyd, or whatever the hell Grissom's last known completed date had consisted of.
Somehow - somewhere - in the last couple of years - Grissom had begun to shut everyone else out. His smile had become rarer, his laughter almost non-existent. Nick supposed part of the change could be attributed to the murder of Holly Gribbs and Grissom's subsequent promotion to Night Shift Supervisor, but that wasn't the sole reason. There was something going on with Grissom - something no one knew, something Grissom was trying to hide. And Nick was determined to figure out what it was; just as he was determined to force Grissom to confront his feelings for Sara head on in whatever way possible. Grissom had saved his life once, and now Nick figured it was time to return the favor. He wanted to give Grissom a life back - a life with Sara.
_________________
Author's Note: Bruce Chanel - Hey Baby - great song. Scheming!Nick - gotta love him. Grissom won't know what hit him. Next Chapter: Grissom and Nick chat about Sara, more case, and the Yobling flirt-fest continues.