Three strands of hair. That was all that she'd left behind her. They must
have fallen out as she'd run her fingers through her hair. Perhaps she'd
been agitated or worried, or maybe just intent on her work. Either way,
she'd pushed her fingers through her hair, and left behind the evidence that
was lying here, on his microscope.
The follicles were smoothed down, evidence she'd brushed it lately, and were
clean and shiny, so she'd washed it recently, maybe even this morning. He
had no doubt if he had Greg to run the requisite tests, he could find the
brand of shampoo, but for now...he sniffed the chair back where her head had
rested.
Peach. He thought so.
Back to the microscope. One hair had a thin oily film on it, near the end,
dark red, almost wine red in colour. It was long, shoulder length hair, so
maybe it had swung in front of her, across her mouth, sweeping across
recently applied lipstick, lifting just a trace of it. Then maybe...he studied
one of the other hairs closely. There, half-way down, where the wind could
have blown it across her face, there was a heavy black dot of some gloopy
substance...mascara.
So, she was fully made up earlier today. And studying the final strand, he
found a tiny sliver of blue silk, wrapped around the end, so tiny she'd
never even have noticed it. The kind of silk you only found in expensive,
totally impractical clothes.
He had his evidence. He knew what she'd done.
********************
"So, how was the date?"
Sara looked up from the water cooler to see Grissom leaning on the wall,
grinning.
"How did you know?" she asked, slightly peeved.
"It's my job to know. How was it?" he asked, bending down to pull a cup out.
"It sucked." She admitted. "It was a double date I went on to do a friend a
favour. Said friend then disappeared out the back of the restaurant with her
date, leaving me alone with the jock from hell for three hours."
"That bad, huh?" he said, sipping his water to hide his satisfied smile.
"I was actually praying for Catherine to turn up with a body part in a jar
this time."
"Well, I'll tell you what, if you ever find yourself on a bad date again,"
he said, leaning forward, ever so slightly, so his breath stirred the hairs
lying on her cheek, "page me and I'll be down there in five minutes flat
with something in a jar that will send him screaming out the door and down
the street so fast he'll leave skid marks."
She stared at him, so close, so close she could see the faint lines in the
cool blue of his iris.
"I might take you up on that." She said, a little huskily, and they didn't
move, for just a second, a breath away from each other, suspended in time.
Then somewhere down the corridor Catherine swore, and Nick laughed, and the
spell was broken. She crumpled her cup up and threw it in the bin. But as
she walked away, she turned, and said to him,
"How did you know I'd been on a date?"
"You left three strands of hair in my lab."
"That's all you need, huh?"
"That's all I need. You can't keep any secrets from me, Sara Sidle."
"Wouldn't want to, Grissom." She called over her shoulder, as she walked
away from him. Grissom watched her go, smiling his own, unreadable smile.
have fallen out as she'd run her fingers through her hair. Perhaps she'd
been agitated or worried, or maybe just intent on her work. Either way,
she'd pushed her fingers through her hair, and left behind the evidence that
was lying here, on his microscope.
The follicles were smoothed down, evidence she'd brushed it lately, and were
clean and shiny, so she'd washed it recently, maybe even this morning. He
had no doubt if he had Greg to run the requisite tests, he could find the
brand of shampoo, but for now...he sniffed the chair back where her head had
rested.
Peach. He thought so.
Back to the microscope. One hair had a thin oily film on it, near the end,
dark red, almost wine red in colour. It was long, shoulder length hair, so
maybe it had swung in front of her, across her mouth, sweeping across
recently applied lipstick, lifting just a trace of it. Then maybe...he studied
one of the other hairs closely. There, half-way down, where the wind could
have blown it across her face, there was a heavy black dot of some gloopy
substance...mascara.
So, she was fully made up earlier today. And studying the final strand, he
found a tiny sliver of blue silk, wrapped around the end, so tiny she'd
never even have noticed it. The kind of silk you only found in expensive,
totally impractical clothes.
He had his evidence. He knew what she'd done.
********************
"So, how was the date?"
Sara looked up from the water cooler to see Grissom leaning on the wall,
grinning.
"How did you know?" she asked, slightly peeved.
"It's my job to know. How was it?" he asked, bending down to pull a cup out.
"It sucked." She admitted. "It was a double date I went on to do a friend a
favour. Said friend then disappeared out the back of the restaurant with her
date, leaving me alone with the jock from hell for three hours."
"That bad, huh?" he said, sipping his water to hide his satisfied smile.
"I was actually praying for Catherine to turn up with a body part in a jar
this time."
"Well, I'll tell you what, if you ever find yourself on a bad date again,"
he said, leaning forward, ever so slightly, so his breath stirred the hairs
lying on her cheek, "page me and I'll be down there in five minutes flat
with something in a jar that will send him screaming out the door and down
the street so fast he'll leave skid marks."
She stared at him, so close, so close she could see the faint lines in the
cool blue of his iris.
"I might take you up on that." She said, a little huskily, and they didn't
move, for just a second, a breath away from each other, suspended in time.
Then somewhere down the corridor Catherine swore, and Nick laughed, and the
spell was broken. She crumpled her cup up and threw it in the bin. But as
she walked away, she turned, and said to him,
"How did you know I'd been on a date?"
"You left three strands of hair in my lab."
"That's all you need, huh?"
"That's all I need. You can't keep any secrets from me, Sara Sidle."
"Wouldn't want to, Grissom." She called over her shoulder, as she walked
away from him. Grissom watched her go, smiling his own, unreadable smile.