Disclaimers: I OWN NONE OF THE CSI CHARACTERS.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: THANK YOU SOO MUCH TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE REVIEWED! IT MEANS SOO MUCH TO ME!
~*~
The coldness of the wet rain left Sara's face feeling numb. She stood there for a while, watching Nick get into his car and drive off. Part of her wanted to follow him, the other wanted to let it go.
So, what now?
~*~
Their entire conversation raced through Nick's head. One comment after the other. One angry voice after the other.
'What have I done?' Nick asked himself.
~*~
4 months later...
~*~
"Melanie Jacobs. FOund dead in her apartment." Brass said.
"Who called it in?" Nick asked.
"Melanie didn't show up for work. Boss got worried, called the house. When no one responded, he went over there, checked it out. Found her dead,"
"Pretty nice boss, huh?" Nick commented.
"Very nice," Brass commented.
"You think they were having an affair?" Catherine asked.
"It's possible. I'll leave it to you guys to figure that out," Brass said, closing his notepad and walking to join his officers.
Catherine and Nick walked over to the dead girl's body.
"Did they say she was 26?"
"Yea, why?"
"She looks, a lot older than 26," Nick noticed.
"Well, facts are facts, Nicky," Catherine said.
Nick started to walk around the apartment. In one picture, Melanie had her arms wrapped around a stron, muscular man.
"Hey, Catherine...does this look like her brother, or boyfriend?" Nick asked, motioning for Catherine to come over to look.
"Boyfriend. Definitely. The way she's hugging him," Catherine said.
"Hey, Brass," Nick called. "Did she have a boyfriend?"
"We're still working on that. Is that him?" Brass asked, pointing to the man in the picture.
"We think he is," Nick said, handing the picture to Brass.
"I'll give these to the guys," Brass said, before walking away.
~*~
"Boyfriend's name is Tommy Sanders. He lives in Washington," Brass informed the crew.
"D.C.?" Warrick asked.
"Yup."
"Did he ever live in Las Vegas?" Nick asked.
"Yea, for two years. Then he moved,"
"He just, randomnly moved? There wasn't a job transfer or anything?" Catherine asked.
"No, from what his landlord tells me, he just wanted to get out of Las Vegas,"
"But why leave his girlfriend behind? Long distance relationships are hard to work out..." Catherine said.
"Unless she was the reason he was leaving," Grissom concluded. "Nick, why don't you pay Mr. Sanders a visit,"
~*~
Nick pulled the car to a stop at Tommy Sanders apartment, only to find that he had company.
"Excuse me, what's going on?" Nick stopped an officer.
"Do you live here?" The officer asked him.
"No, I..."
"Then I'm afraid you're going to have to step back,"
"I'm with the Las Vegas Crime lab" Nick said, pulling out his badge. "I'm here on a case. Could you please tell me..."
"Las Vegas Crime Lab, huh? What are you here for?"
"I'm here to talk to Tommy Sanders,"
"I'm sorry, but that's not possible," the officer said.
"Why not?"
"Because Tommy Sanders is dead. Forensics are inside right now, checking it out."
"What?"
"Sorry," the oficer shrugged and headed back into the building.
Nick stepped back and pulled out his cell.
"Grissom," the voice at the end answered.
"Grissom, you're not going to believe this. Tommy Sanders is dead,"
"What?"
"I just got here, and there were cops everywhere."
"Killed, or suicide?"
"I think he was killed, Grissom. They wouldn't make it so, big, if it was a suicide,"
"Okay, okay. Work with the D.C. Crime lab, see what they have, report back to us."
"Okay," Nick said, closing his conversation.
"Officer..." Nick called, recognizing the officer was outside again.
"Officer Milton."
"Nick Stokes," he said, shaking his hand. "The death of Tommy Sanders will tie in with my case. Do you know if the superior of the D.C. Crime Lab is here?"
"Actually, he is. I'll go get him," Officer Milton ran inside.
A few minutes later, Officer Milton walked out with a middle-aged man, who couldn't have been older than 40.
"Hello, Mr. Stokes. I'm Matt Wells. How can I help you?"
"I'm with the Las Vegas Crime lab. I came here to talk to Tommy Sanders..." Nick explained. For the next minute or so, Nick went on to explain the death of Melanie Jacobs, and why they needed to see Tommy.
"I would really like to work with your team on this case." Nick offered.
"That's fine. Except, our team isn't really a team. It's just me, and two other agents,"
"Agents?" Nick questioned.
"We're a part of the F.B.I. crime lab," he explained.
"F.B.I? How fascinating. But, why would the F.B.I. be investigating the death of Tommy Sanders?"
"Tommy, Tommy was a part of the Secret Service." Matt sighed.
"Oh, Oh, I'm sorry,"
"That's all right. Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the team" Matt gestured Nick into the building.
"Even though we have a small team," Matt said as they walked, "they're both really good. Kevin Kendall is still young, but a bit old. Sara Sidle, is young and bright."
"Sara Sidle?"
"Yes. We've only had her for a couple months or so, and she's already cracked at least a dozen cases. Do you know her?"
"You could say that..." Nick muttered.
~*~
"Kevin, Sara, meet Nick Stokes, of the Las Vegas Crime Lab," Matt introduced him,
Kevin was about 35, from Nick's approximations, and Nick could see he had a wedding band on his finger. Sara had grown skinnier. Even skinnier than before. The face of Sara's was priceless.
"Hi, Nick, nice to meet you," Kevin stood up and shook his hand.
Sara stood them numb as ever.
"Nick actually came here to talk to Tommy."
"Why?" Sara asked.
"He was a part of a murder we were investigating," Nick told her.
Slowly but quickly, Nick explained the case again.
"Well, Tommy was part of the Secret Service. He protected important men and women of Congress."
"Did he have a girlfriend?" Nick asked.
"Not that we know us. We'd never hear him mention a Melanie Jacobs,"
"You knew him?"
Kevin nodded.
"The Secret Service would stop by F.B.I. headquarters a lot. In D.C., the government sticks with, well, the government,"
Matt returned to the room. "Hey, you guys, we've got a suspect."
"Who?" Kevin asked.
"Jeremey Miller. He was seen going into Tommy's apartment from the hours of 6-7."
"What time did the neighbor call in?"
"About 8:30," Matt told him. "Sara, why don't you and Nick talk to him,"
"Where is he?"
"He's already in headquarters," Sara told him.
"Oh," Nick said stupidly, as he followed Sara outside to her truck.
~*~
"So, you're in D.C., huh? What happened to San Francisco, and...what was his name?" Nick asked, when they got into the car.
"Adam," Sara said, as she pulled out of the driveway.
"Yea, Adam. What happened to him?"
"We realized we weren't right for each other,"
"Is that so?"
"Nick, listen, I know....you're probably still mad about that night. I'm..."
"No, I'm sorry."
"Nick..."
"Don't. Don't apologize."
"Okay," Sara said, smiling slightly. "I'm glad we're still friends,"
"Me too. So, you like Washington?"
"It's great. You remember that time I took a leave of absence?"
"The time you threatened to take a leave of absence, you mean?"
"Yea, that," Sara said, her smile growing wider, "Well, I told Grissom I wanted to work with the FBI. And after Adam and I split, it just seemed, right,"
"I'd say." Nick said.
"How is everyone? I haven't talked to them, in over a year, I think."
"Maybe it's cause they didn't know you relocated to D.C.?" Nick suggested.
"No, no. I told Grissom. I figured he'd tell you guys,"
"Well, he didn't tell me." Nick sat back, confused. Why hadn't Grissom told me Sara had moved?
"Here we are," Sara said, parking the truck.
"Where are we? This isn't the FBI building,"
"Actually, it is. We're going through the back door. It's easier to get to the crime lab,"
"You know, I've always wanted to see the FBI crime lab," Nick said.
"It's so magnificent. They have all these new machines, and the technology is great, and it's so easy to solve a case." Sara said excitedly.
'Who can compare with great machines, technology, and easy-to-solve cases? Not me' Nick thought to himself sadly.
~*~
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi everyone! Thank you SOOO much for the wonderful reviews! I tried to write this one really, really fast, so it might not be as good. but it gets better!
PLEASE R+R! THANKS!!
AUTHOR'S NOTES: THANK YOU SOO MUCH TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE REVIEWED! IT MEANS SOO MUCH TO ME!
~*~
The coldness of the wet rain left Sara's face feeling numb. She stood there for a while, watching Nick get into his car and drive off. Part of her wanted to follow him, the other wanted to let it go.
So, what now?
~*~
Their entire conversation raced through Nick's head. One comment after the other. One angry voice after the other.
'What have I done?' Nick asked himself.
~*~
4 months later...
~*~
"Melanie Jacobs. FOund dead in her apartment." Brass said.
"Who called it in?" Nick asked.
"Melanie didn't show up for work. Boss got worried, called the house. When no one responded, he went over there, checked it out. Found her dead,"
"Pretty nice boss, huh?" Nick commented.
"Very nice," Brass commented.
"You think they were having an affair?" Catherine asked.
"It's possible. I'll leave it to you guys to figure that out," Brass said, closing his notepad and walking to join his officers.
Catherine and Nick walked over to the dead girl's body.
"Did they say she was 26?"
"Yea, why?"
"She looks, a lot older than 26," Nick noticed.
"Well, facts are facts, Nicky," Catherine said.
Nick started to walk around the apartment. In one picture, Melanie had her arms wrapped around a stron, muscular man.
"Hey, Catherine...does this look like her brother, or boyfriend?" Nick asked, motioning for Catherine to come over to look.
"Boyfriend. Definitely. The way she's hugging him," Catherine said.
"Hey, Brass," Nick called. "Did she have a boyfriend?"
"We're still working on that. Is that him?" Brass asked, pointing to the man in the picture.
"We think he is," Nick said, handing the picture to Brass.
"I'll give these to the guys," Brass said, before walking away.
~*~
"Boyfriend's name is Tommy Sanders. He lives in Washington," Brass informed the crew.
"D.C.?" Warrick asked.
"Yup."
"Did he ever live in Las Vegas?" Nick asked.
"Yea, for two years. Then he moved,"
"He just, randomnly moved? There wasn't a job transfer or anything?" Catherine asked.
"No, from what his landlord tells me, he just wanted to get out of Las Vegas,"
"But why leave his girlfriend behind? Long distance relationships are hard to work out..." Catherine said.
"Unless she was the reason he was leaving," Grissom concluded. "Nick, why don't you pay Mr. Sanders a visit,"
~*~
Nick pulled the car to a stop at Tommy Sanders apartment, only to find that he had company.
"Excuse me, what's going on?" Nick stopped an officer.
"Do you live here?" The officer asked him.
"No, I..."
"Then I'm afraid you're going to have to step back,"
"I'm with the Las Vegas Crime lab" Nick said, pulling out his badge. "I'm here on a case. Could you please tell me..."
"Las Vegas Crime Lab, huh? What are you here for?"
"I'm here to talk to Tommy Sanders,"
"I'm sorry, but that's not possible," the officer said.
"Why not?"
"Because Tommy Sanders is dead. Forensics are inside right now, checking it out."
"What?"
"Sorry," the oficer shrugged and headed back into the building.
Nick stepped back and pulled out his cell.
"Grissom," the voice at the end answered.
"Grissom, you're not going to believe this. Tommy Sanders is dead,"
"What?"
"I just got here, and there were cops everywhere."
"Killed, or suicide?"
"I think he was killed, Grissom. They wouldn't make it so, big, if it was a suicide,"
"Okay, okay. Work with the D.C. Crime lab, see what they have, report back to us."
"Okay," Nick said, closing his conversation.
"Officer..." Nick called, recognizing the officer was outside again.
"Officer Milton."
"Nick Stokes," he said, shaking his hand. "The death of Tommy Sanders will tie in with my case. Do you know if the superior of the D.C. Crime Lab is here?"
"Actually, he is. I'll go get him," Officer Milton ran inside.
A few minutes later, Officer Milton walked out with a middle-aged man, who couldn't have been older than 40.
"Hello, Mr. Stokes. I'm Matt Wells. How can I help you?"
"I'm with the Las Vegas Crime lab. I came here to talk to Tommy Sanders..." Nick explained. For the next minute or so, Nick went on to explain the death of Melanie Jacobs, and why they needed to see Tommy.
"I would really like to work with your team on this case." Nick offered.
"That's fine. Except, our team isn't really a team. It's just me, and two other agents,"
"Agents?" Nick questioned.
"We're a part of the F.B.I. crime lab," he explained.
"F.B.I? How fascinating. But, why would the F.B.I. be investigating the death of Tommy Sanders?"
"Tommy, Tommy was a part of the Secret Service." Matt sighed.
"Oh, Oh, I'm sorry,"
"That's all right. Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the team" Matt gestured Nick into the building.
"Even though we have a small team," Matt said as they walked, "they're both really good. Kevin Kendall is still young, but a bit old. Sara Sidle, is young and bright."
"Sara Sidle?"
"Yes. We've only had her for a couple months or so, and she's already cracked at least a dozen cases. Do you know her?"
"You could say that..." Nick muttered.
~*~
"Kevin, Sara, meet Nick Stokes, of the Las Vegas Crime Lab," Matt introduced him,
Kevin was about 35, from Nick's approximations, and Nick could see he had a wedding band on his finger. Sara had grown skinnier. Even skinnier than before. The face of Sara's was priceless.
"Hi, Nick, nice to meet you," Kevin stood up and shook his hand.
Sara stood them numb as ever.
"Nick actually came here to talk to Tommy."
"Why?" Sara asked.
"He was a part of a murder we were investigating," Nick told her.
Slowly but quickly, Nick explained the case again.
"Well, Tommy was part of the Secret Service. He protected important men and women of Congress."
"Did he have a girlfriend?" Nick asked.
"Not that we know us. We'd never hear him mention a Melanie Jacobs,"
"You knew him?"
Kevin nodded.
"The Secret Service would stop by F.B.I. headquarters a lot. In D.C., the government sticks with, well, the government,"
Matt returned to the room. "Hey, you guys, we've got a suspect."
"Who?" Kevin asked.
"Jeremey Miller. He was seen going into Tommy's apartment from the hours of 6-7."
"What time did the neighbor call in?"
"About 8:30," Matt told him. "Sara, why don't you and Nick talk to him,"
"Where is he?"
"He's already in headquarters," Sara told him.
"Oh," Nick said stupidly, as he followed Sara outside to her truck.
~*~
"So, you're in D.C., huh? What happened to San Francisco, and...what was his name?" Nick asked, when they got into the car.
"Adam," Sara said, as she pulled out of the driveway.
"Yea, Adam. What happened to him?"
"We realized we weren't right for each other,"
"Is that so?"
"Nick, listen, I know....you're probably still mad about that night. I'm..."
"No, I'm sorry."
"Nick..."
"Don't. Don't apologize."
"Okay," Sara said, smiling slightly. "I'm glad we're still friends,"
"Me too. So, you like Washington?"
"It's great. You remember that time I took a leave of absence?"
"The time you threatened to take a leave of absence, you mean?"
"Yea, that," Sara said, her smile growing wider, "Well, I told Grissom I wanted to work with the FBI. And after Adam and I split, it just seemed, right,"
"I'd say." Nick said.
"How is everyone? I haven't talked to them, in over a year, I think."
"Maybe it's cause they didn't know you relocated to D.C.?" Nick suggested.
"No, no. I told Grissom. I figured he'd tell you guys,"
"Well, he didn't tell me." Nick sat back, confused. Why hadn't Grissom told me Sara had moved?
"Here we are," Sara said, parking the truck.
"Where are we? This isn't the FBI building,"
"Actually, it is. We're going through the back door. It's easier to get to the crime lab,"
"You know, I've always wanted to see the FBI crime lab," Nick said.
"It's so magnificent. They have all these new machines, and the technology is great, and it's so easy to solve a case." Sara said excitedly.
'Who can compare with great machines, technology, and easy-to-solve cases? Not me' Nick thought to himself sadly.
~*~
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi everyone! Thank you SOOO much for the wonderful reviews! I tried to write this one really, really fast, so it might not be as good. but it gets better!
PLEASE R+R! THANKS!!