XVII - THE LOVE BOAT
Mr. Miles was a nervous man. Of course, he had every right to be. Catherine smiled from behind the one way mirror as she watched him shift uncomfortably in his seat. Lockwood had left him in there with Officer Dugan, a man not known for his ability to look friendly or make people comfortable.
"He looks like he's sitting on tacks," Warrick commented.
"I say we let him stew in there for a little while, really get him going," Catherine replied, "Besides, we never got a chance to eat our dinner. Brass was going to drop of the employee fingerprints at the lab for us - let's eat, run Mr. Miles fingerprints against the fingerprints from inside the venting and see if anyone else found out anything."
"Sounds like a plan," Warrick smiled at Catherine as she headed out into the hallway. She always walked with such purpose, shoulders back, head straight and proud. It was one of the things he admired most about her, truth be told. The woman dripped confidence along with sex appeal, and it was a major turn-on.
The smell of her perfume mingled with the smell of her hair, and her heels made sharp staccato clicks down the hallway. Warrick followed a foot or so behind, enjoying the slight sway of her hips as she glided towards the break room.
* * * * *
Greg smiled happily as he signed the report, whistling under his breath before turning to face Nick. "So, shall we go find Grissom?"
Nick grunted, "He was in the break room, going over some files with Sara, when I came in here. Hopefully, he's still there."
Greg grinned, "If Sara hasn't scared him away yet. She was pissed when you all left her here to go through insurance papers."
"I know, but it's good that Grissom left her here. Means he's feeling uncomfortable," Nick rubbed his hands together gleefully, "Listen, Greg - we have to keep this on the QT, right? This whole tweaking Grissom thing? Sara would kill me if she knew you knew about this at all, and too many cooks spoil the broth - know what I mean?"
Greg nodded, "If that's what you want, Nick. I'll be an innocent bystander with front row tickets. Grissom is gonna have a meltdown - I'm not sure I really want to be all that involved anyway."
Nick clapped him on the shoulder, "It's for his own good."
"You keep telling yourself that, buddy. Let's just hope it doesn't all blow up in your face. There aren't many crime labs in the country as good as this one."
* * * * *
Catherine and Warrick were in the break room when Nick and Greg walked in. Grissom was also there, studying the case file and covertly watching Sara as she laughed with Warrick about something. Nick grinned when he saw her, and quickly made his way over to her, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze as he slid by her towards the fridge.
"Hey Sara. Miss me?"
Sara shot him an amused look, "You were just down in the lab with Greg."
Greg slid into the empty seat to Grissom's left, "Yeah. About that, Sara - can't you keep him on a shorter leash or something? He's a pain in the ass when you're not around."
Nick turned and shot a quick glare at Greg, who ignored him and instead turned to smirk at Grissom, "The guy's like a broken record - 'Sara this' - 'Sara that' - 'Sara, Sara, Sara!'"
Nick moved around the table until he was standing behind Greg and clapped him on the shoulder, squeezing tightly, "No one needs to know about that, Greggo!"
Greg winced but kept going, "C'mon Nick - don't be shy! Why not just admit -"
"You haven't told Catherine about the hair samples yet, Greg. Don't you think it would be better to do that than to keep running off at the mouth?" Nick hissed.
"What? Did you find something?" Catherine quickly swallowed the last of her subway, "Tell me my hunch paid off, Greg."
Greg shrugged, shaking his shoulder free of Nick's death grip, "Well - no. Your hunch per se didn't pay off - however, your hunch got Nick and I looking for the not so obvious - and let's just say, we're good."
"So you keep telling everyone," Catherine smirked, before winking at the younger man teasingly, "C'mon, Greg. What did you find?"
"Well, you know how you told me to compare the dead cat burglar's hair to the blonde masculine hair for similar markers - see if they were related somehow? Well - that was a no-go. So Nick and I got talking about hairs - I had already compared the female hair against our pancake - nothing there. So Nick suggested comparing the masculine hair found in the venting to the female hair found in the venting - and it turns out, they're related - siblings, as a matter of fact."
Warrick cocked an eyebrow at Catherine, "That's interesting."
Grissom nodded, "So, there were three burglars?"
Catherine shook her head, "I don't think so. I think there were two burglars - and an inside accomplice. We need to compare the finger prints - I think we might be needed a warrant for a DNA sample from Mr. Miles."
"Wait a minute -" Nick interrupted, "You really think Miles might be involved?"
Warrick shrugged, "Could be. He tampered with the crime scene - had the grate replaced, fairly quickly. And the only way to remove the grate is from inside the air vent, so the person who did it would have to be built fairly small."
"He's not much taller than I am," Catherine added, "and he's blonde. Also, it strikes me as odd they just happened to have an extra grate lying around - Mr. Powers told us as far as he was aware, no extra grates were ever ordered."
"Add to that the security cam footage of him going up to the penthouse in the service elevator," Nick interrupted, nodding his head and grinning, "looks suspicious."
"He lawyered up before we brought him in here," Warrick muttered. "He's in interview one right now with Dugan. Lawyer's probably there as well. We thought we'd let him sweat a bit before we go talk to him."
"What about the fingerprint comparisons?" Grissom asked.
"Brass was taking them to the lab for us. We should go check that out. Ready Cath?" Warrick slid to his feet, brushing a few crumbs off his pants as he smiled at Catherine and held out a hand, pulling her easily to her feet.
Catherine grinned up at him, "Ready whenever you are, big guy. Wait a minute - you missed a spot." Standing on tiptoe, she grabbed a napkin and gently wiped a small spot of mayonnaise from the corner of Warrick's mouth, touching his face with a familiarity she didn't even stop to think about. Warrick just watched her intently, and ignored everyone else. Crunching the napkin, she tossed it into the garbage before flipping a cheerful wave at the rest of the team as Warrick guided her out of the break room, hand possessively riding the small of her back.
Grissom, Sara, Nick and Greg watched them leave, momentarily speechless, before shooting glances at each other.
"I feel like I'm stuck in some bad episode of 'The Love Boat'," Greg was the first to break the silence, "Only in this case, it's like the Love Lab. Catherine and Warrick - Nick and Sara -" he stopped when the three remaining people in the break room all glared at him. "Right. Shutting up. I think I'll be getting back to the lab - catch you later."
"Not if I catch you first, Gopher!" Nick muttered after him, throwing a quick wink at Sara before turning to look at Grissom. The older man was scowling at Greg's retreating back, and Nick grinned. Maybe Greg's teasing wasn't such a bad thing after all.
"So - Griss? I thought Brass was supposed to be bringing Marta in, not running print samples to the lab for Cath and Warrick. Griss? Earth to Grissom? Who's bringing Marta in?"
Grissom blinked a couple of times, before shrugging. "Must be just O'Reilly. I'll go talk to Brass. You -" he pointed at Nick, "come with me. Sara - you can go observe Warrick and Catherine when they talk to Miles. See if you can pick up anything."
Sara frowned, "Sounds exciting. Maybe I could help you and Nick with Marta instead?"
Grissom shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea, Sara. If you and Nick are - seeing each other - you shouldn't work together on cases. Too distracting."
"Sara doesn't distract me, Griss," Nick protested, "We work well together."
"Not today, you don't," Grissom muttered. "I'll meet you in my office in 10 minutes. Sara - you have your instructions."
Sara scowled at Grissom as he exited the break room, before turning the force of her displeasure on a happy Nick. "I don't think you're idea is working, Nick!" she hissed at him, "and what the hell is going on with Greg?"
Nick's grin got wider, "He just watched too much TV as a child. Listen, Sara - don't sweat it. Grissom is getting jealous - trust me on this. Just keep playing along, and it will all work out according to the master plan."
Nick leaned forward and enveloped Sara in a quick hug, "Just remember - I expect to be best man at your wedding."
Turning on his heel, he headed out into the hallway, humming, "Love - exciting and new - come on board - we're expecting you."
__________________________
Author's Note:
Short chapter - sorry. And sorry for the length between posts - still trying to recover from a nasty computer virus that wiped out several WIPS, including this one - plus, Christmas rush, etc. and so on.. Hope the wait was worth it.I'll try to get the next chapter posted before the end of the week.
Mr. Miles was a nervous man. Of course, he had every right to be. Catherine smiled from behind the one way mirror as she watched him shift uncomfortably in his seat. Lockwood had left him in there with Officer Dugan, a man not known for his ability to look friendly or make people comfortable.
"He looks like he's sitting on tacks," Warrick commented.
"I say we let him stew in there for a little while, really get him going," Catherine replied, "Besides, we never got a chance to eat our dinner. Brass was going to drop of the employee fingerprints at the lab for us - let's eat, run Mr. Miles fingerprints against the fingerprints from inside the venting and see if anyone else found out anything."
"Sounds like a plan," Warrick smiled at Catherine as she headed out into the hallway. She always walked with such purpose, shoulders back, head straight and proud. It was one of the things he admired most about her, truth be told. The woman dripped confidence along with sex appeal, and it was a major turn-on.
The smell of her perfume mingled with the smell of her hair, and her heels made sharp staccato clicks down the hallway. Warrick followed a foot or so behind, enjoying the slight sway of her hips as she glided towards the break room.
* * * * *
Greg smiled happily as he signed the report, whistling under his breath before turning to face Nick. "So, shall we go find Grissom?"
Nick grunted, "He was in the break room, going over some files with Sara, when I came in here. Hopefully, he's still there."
Greg grinned, "If Sara hasn't scared him away yet. She was pissed when you all left her here to go through insurance papers."
"I know, but it's good that Grissom left her here. Means he's feeling uncomfortable," Nick rubbed his hands together gleefully, "Listen, Greg - we have to keep this on the QT, right? This whole tweaking Grissom thing? Sara would kill me if she knew you knew about this at all, and too many cooks spoil the broth - know what I mean?"
Greg nodded, "If that's what you want, Nick. I'll be an innocent bystander with front row tickets. Grissom is gonna have a meltdown - I'm not sure I really want to be all that involved anyway."
Nick clapped him on the shoulder, "It's for his own good."
"You keep telling yourself that, buddy. Let's just hope it doesn't all blow up in your face. There aren't many crime labs in the country as good as this one."
* * * * *
Catherine and Warrick were in the break room when Nick and Greg walked in. Grissom was also there, studying the case file and covertly watching Sara as she laughed with Warrick about something. Nick grinned when he saw her, and quickly made his way over to her, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze as he slid by her towards the fridge.
"Hey Sara. Miss me?"
Sara shot him an amused look, "You were just down in the lab with Greg."
Greg slid into the empty seat to Grissom's left, "Yeah. About that, Sara - can't you keep him on a shorter leash or something? He's a pain in the ass when you're not around."
Nick turned and shot a quick glare at Greg, who ignored him and instead turned to smirk at Grissom, "The guy's like a broken record - 'Sara this' - 'Sara that' - 'Sara, Sara, Sara!'"
Nick moved around the table until he was standing behind Greg and clapped him on the shoulder, squeezing tightly, "No one needs to know about that, Greggo!"
Greg winced but kept going, "C'mon Nick - don't be shy! Why not just admit -"
"You haven't told Catherine about the hair samples yet, Greg. Don't you think it would be better to do that than to keep running off at the mouth?" Nick hissed.
"What? Did you find something?" Catherine quickly swallowed the last of her subway, "Tell me my hunch paid off, Greg."
Greg shrugged, shaking his shoulder free of Nick's death grip, "Well - no. Your hunch per se didn't pay off - however, your hunch got Nick and I looking for the not so obvious - and let's just say, we're good."
"So you keep telling everyone," Catherine smirked, before winking at the younger man teasingly, "C'mon, Greg. What did you find?"
"Well, you know how you told me to compare the dead cat burglar's hair to the blonde masculine hair for similar markers - see if they were related somehow? Well - that was a no-go. So Nick and I got talking about hairs - I had already compared the female hair against our pancake - nothing there. So Nick suggested comparing the masculine hair found in the venting to the female hair found in the venting - and it turns out, they're related - siblings, as a matter of fact."
Warrick cocked an eyebrow at Catherine, "That's interesting."
Grissom nodded, "So, there were three burglars?"
Catherine shook her head, "I don't think so. I think there were two burglars - and an inside accomplice. We need to compare the finger prints - I think we might be needed a warrant for a DNA sample from Mr. Miles."
"Wait a minute -" Nick interrupted, "You really think Miles might be involved?"
Warrick shrugged, "Could be. He tampered with the crime scene - had the grate replaced, fairly quickly. And the only way to remove the grate is from inside the air vent, so the person who did it would have to be built fairly small."
"He's not much taller than I am," Catherine added, "and he's blonde. Also, it strikes me as odd they just happened to have an extra grate lying around - Mr. Powers told us as far as he was aware, no extra grates were ever ordered."
"Add to that the security cam footage of him going up to the penthouse in the service elevator," Nick interrupted, nodding his head and grinning, "looks suspicious."
"He lawyered up before we brought him in here," Warrick muttered. "He's in interview one right now with Dugan. Lawyer's probably there as well. We thought we'd let him sweat a bit before we go talk to him."
"What about the fingerprint comparisons?" Grissom asked.
"Brass was taking them to the lab for us. We should go check that out. Ready Cath?" Warrick slid to his feet, brushing a few crumbs off his pants as he smiled at Catherine and held out a hand, pulling her easily to her feet.
Catherine grinned up at him, "Ready whenever you are, big guy. Wait a minute - you missed a spot." Standing on tiptoe, she grabbed a napkin and gently wiped a small spot of mayonnaise from the corner of Warrick's mouth, touching his face with a familiarity she didn't even stop to think about. Warrick just watched her intently, and ignored everyone else. Crunching the napkin, she tossed it into the garbage before flipping a cheerful wave at the rest of the team as Warrick guided her out of the break room, hand possessively riding the small of her back.
Grissom, Sara, Nick and Greg watched them leave, momentarily speechless, before shooting glances at each other.
"I feel like I'm stuck in some bad episode of 'The Love Boat'," Greg was the first to break the silence, "Only in this case, it's like the Love Lab. Catherine and Warrick - Nick and Sara -" he stopped when the three remaining people in the break room all glared at him. "Right. Shutting up. I think I'll be getting back to the lab - catch you later."
"Not if I catch you first, Gopher!" Nick muttered after him, throwing a quick wink at Sara before turning to look at Grissom. The older man was scowling at Greg's retreating back, and Nick grinned. Maybe Greg's teasing wasn't such a bad thing after all.
"So - Griss? I thought Brass was supposed to be bringing Marta in, not running print samples to the lab for Cath and Warrick. Griss? Earth to Grissom? Who's bringing Marta in?"
Grissom blinked a couple of times, before shrugging. "Must be just O'Reilly. I'll go talk to Brass. You -" he pointed at Nick, "come with me. Sara - you can go observe Warrick and Catherine when they talk to Miles. See if you can pick up anything."
Sara frowned, "Sounds exciting. Maybe I could help you and Nick with Marta instead?"
Grissom shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea, Sara. If you and Nick are - seeing each other - you shouldn't work together on cases. Too distracting."
"Sara doesn't distract me, Griss," Nick protested, "We work well together."
"Not today, you don't," Grissom muttered. "I'll meet you in my office in 10 minutes. Sara - you have your instructions."
Sara scowled at Grissom as he exited the break room, before turning the force of her displeasure on a happy Nick. "I don't think you're idea is working, Nick!" she hissed at him, "and what the hell is going on with Greg?"
Nick's grin got wider, "He just watched too much TV as a child. Listen, Sara - don't sweat it. Grissom is getting jealous - trust me on this. Just keep playing along, and it will all work out according to the master plan."
Nick leaned forward and enveloped Sara in a quick hug, "Just remember - I expect to be best man at your wedding."
Turning on his heel, he headed out into the hallway, humming, "Love - exciting and new - come on board - we're expecting you."
__________________________
Author's Note:
Short chapter - sorry. And sorry for the length between posts - still trying to recover from a nasty computer virus that wiped out several WIPS, including this one - plus, Christmas rush, etc. and so on.. Hope the wait was worth it.I'll try to get the next chapter posted before the end of the week.