Disclaimer: Yes I own this, along with my privet jet and collection of
islands off the coast of Spain (note sarcasm).
A/N: Hey. Sorry this took a bit longer then usual. But it's quiet a long chapter to make up for it. I took the national IQ test last night. I'm very proud of my result, because to my shock, it's says that I'm actually above average!!! :o) But knowing me, I'll do something shortly which will prove the test wrong :o( Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed; loco, MissyJane, Moose, PITAchic, ***son, The Madhatter, pdhtgal and shondie. I've said it once, but I'll say it again, YOU GUYS ROCK!!! Please keep them coming. Promise that G/C will get there soon, so just hang on. Well enough of this waffling and on with the next chapter. R&R and ENJOY!!! - Bex
Miss Luis' apartment block left much to be desired. The walls in the corridor were covered in white. Well, at least that was what Catherine guessed it had once been, but now it had turned a mottled colour with age. There was a large water stain down one of them where a pipe obviously needed to be fixed and a going light flickered madly. They found her faded blue door, number 27, near the end of the hall. Brass tapped loudly on it.
"Hold on. Hold on. Be there in a minute," A voice called from inside.
After a couple of minutes, the door opened slightly and a woman with pale skin and long, curly ebony hair stared at them through the crack.
"Yes?" She asked cautiously.
"Miss Luis, I'm Jim Brass and this is Catherine Willows. We're from the Las Vegas crime lab, can we come in?"
"What for?" She inquired giving them a weary look. "This about Ethan Sinclair?"
"We just need to ask you a few questions," Cath told her, spreading her best 'public smile' over her face.
The woman hesitated for a moment.
"Sure," She agreed reluctantly and opened the door wider so they could enter.
She pulled her dressing gown tighter around her slim body, as they walked in. Her dark hazel eyes inspected every step they took. Nervously, she ran a hand through her hair.
"Look, I was late getting up and I'm going to be late for work," She told them quickly.
"Don't worry. We won't keep you too long. We've just got to ask a few questions that's all," Brass assured her.
She didn't look reassured, but gave them a tiny nod.
"Ok. But I need to get ready."
"Sure."
Drusilla then started to pick up her clothes off a chair and walked down the small hall. She walked into her bedroom, leaving the door open so they could talk, but hid herself from view so she could change.
"So what are you here about?" She called to them.
"We need to ask you about Julian Sinclair."
"Oh?" There was caution in her voice.
"Do you know where he was yesterday around 10.30?" Cath asked.
"Yeah. He was here," Dru's reply drifted down the hall after a pause.
Cath wished that she could see her face so she could tell if she was lying or not.
"Are you his girlfriend?" She questioned.
She heard Drusilla let out a bitter laugh, "Hardly. I'm just a decent piece of ass. That's all women are to Julian Sinclair. Can you be a hon and butter that toast for me?"
And as if on cue, a piece of toast popped out of the toaster behind Brass and Catherine. Brass looked mildly shocked, but searched for the butter and spread a thin layer on the toast. Drusilla emerged from her room, now dressed in a short black leather skirt and a red sequinned corset top, which revealed her midriff. She gratefully smiled at Brass and took the toast off him.
"Thanks."
Then she began to look around her messy apartment in search of something. Both Brass and Cath recognised her 'uniform'.
"You work at the Oasis Casino?"
"Yeah. That's why Julian doesn't want this getting out. In return, I get a good bonus and he makes sure that his father doesn't fire me when I'm late. I'm always late," She replied, then frowned. "Now where the hell did I put my shoes?"
Her frown transformed into a smile when she spotted them hidden under her couch.
"There you are," She mumbled happily as she crouched down.
She reached under her couch and fished them out, then stood up. As she did so, she winced in pain and put a hand on her right rib.
"You alright?" Catherine asked in concern.
"I'm fine," Dru replied unconvincingly.
"What happened?"
Drusilla avoided Catherine's questioning stare.
"I just tripped slightly at work and hit my ribs on the side of a slot machine," She laughed nervously, "These heels are a broken neck waiting to happen, but Mr Sinclair's willing to risk ours. What do they say, 'No pain, no gain.'"
Catherine gazed at her, not convinced by her story. She was sure that something else was going on.
"Can you tell us when Julian Sinclair left here?" Brass inquired.
"I think around 11.00. I'm not sure. My clock's broken."
She pointed to a clock which sat on a table. Sure enough, the glass front was smashed and the clock had stopped. She glanced at Brass' watch.
"Oh shit!" She swore. "I'm really late. And Mr Sinclair's been in a fowler mood then usual after he found out about Ethan's death. I've really gotta go."
"Ok," Brass agreed after seeing the pleading in her eyes, "We'll take you if you want?"
"Oh no," She declined firmly. "People will start to ask questions. And questions are something I can't afford."
~*~*~*~*~
All thoughts of Sara disappeared from Nick's head when he spotted Al Robbins. The doctor stood examining a corpse on the slab.
"Hey Doc," Nick greeted.
"Hi Nick," He replied, then walked to his desk and handed Nick a sheet of paper. "Here, the blood tox report shows traces of the same lethal cocktail in the glass was in blood stream. That's what killed Mr Sinclair."
Nick studied the sheet and then followed Al back to the slab.
"You know, I think it's about time I was given a holiday," He heard Al mutter.
"Could he have been forced to drink it?" Nick asked.
"The corpse showed no signs of bruising around the face or upper body. No was there any bruising on the rest of the body for that matter. You would usually expect to find some bruising if he'd been forced," Al answered, as he began to continue his autopsy.
"So what you're saying is that Mr Sinclair had no idea what was in that glass? He drank it willingly? That he trusted the person who gave it to him?"
Al shrugged, "I can only say what the corpse tells me. It's your job to fill in the gaps."
~*~*~*~*~
Warrick was standing once again in the lounge like room connected to Robert Sinclair office. Sara stared around the room, taking it in, whilst Warrick was silent thankful that Tiffany Sinclair wasn't there again. They had rung the Sinclair's house, as instructed, to find that Mr Sinclair had already left for work. Now they were waiting to see him.
The door behind them opened and Warrick recognised the lady who entered. It was Mr Sinclair's sectary, Clair if he remembered correctly. She offered a thin smile.
"Mr Brown," She greeted with a nod. "And this must be Miss Sidle."
"That's right."
"Please follow me. Mr Sinclair will see you now."
They followed her over to the office door and she knocked on it. A gruff voice told them to come in.
"Mr Sinclair, Mr Brown and Miss Sidle from the Las Vegas cr..."
"Alright. Alright. You can go Clair," He barked.
She hurried out. Mr Sinclair took a hard swig of his whiskey and let out a wheezy cough.
"I heard you let Jenny go."
"That's right. We cleared her."
"So you're here to tell me that you've got a new suspect in custody?" He demanded more then asked.
"No. We're here to ask about the painkillers you've been proscribed," Sara informed him.
His brow furrowed.
"Why?"
"We believed that they were used to kill your son."
"What!?" The shock in his voice was reflected in his face.
"Where do you keep you proscription?"
"I have one bottle at home, but none of them have gone missing. I also keep another bottle here encase I need them. But there right... CHRIST!" He exclaimed when he opened a desk draw to find that they were missing.
"When was the last time you saw them?" Warrick asked.
"I guess about a week ago. I haven't needed to take them at work for a while."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! Oh Christ," He whispered.
"Mr Sinclair, how many people have access to your office?" Sara questioned.
"I don't know. I leave it open during my working hours. I mean, Jenny's friend who can't speak was in here a few days ago. She wrote down that she was trying to find Ethan when I asked why she was in here. Oh fuck."
'Brilliant,' Warrick thought dryly, 'Just Brilliant.'
Robert Sinclair drained the last of the whiskey from his glass hurriedly.
"CLAIR!" He yelled, making both of the CSIs jump.
Clair arrived quickly with a scared look covering her face.
"Yes Mr Sinclair?"
"Get me another whiskey."
"Umm...Julian told me not to," She stated timidly.
"I don't give a damn what he said," His voice erupted, "Just fetch me another god damn whiskey."
"What's going on here?" Julian demanded as he entered. "Clair who are these people?"
"They're...they're from the crime lab," Clair replied shakily.
"Great," He sneered glancing at them.
He turned to his father, ignoring the other people in the room.
"What's going on dad?'
"I just want another whiskey. Is that too much to ask? Some bastard stole my painkillers and used them to murder Ethan. To murder my son. My son," His voice trailed off as it turned to tears.
Julian walked over and placed a hand lightly on his father's shoulder.
"It's ok dad," He said without any soothing in his voice.
He then glared at the two CSIs and the nervous sectary.
"I've faxed over my client list. Is that all?" He demanded.
"For now," Warrick answered evenly.
"Then I suggest you leave," Julian ordered. "You too Clair."
Clair all to happily complied with Julian's orders. The CSIs followed her out of the room to find her leaning against a wall, clearly shaken.
"You ok?" Warrick asked gently.
"I will be," She sighed.
"Is he always like this?' Sara inquired, feeling sorry for the young woman.
Clair shook her head, "No. Doesn't usually erupt like that. He's been touchy ever since he learnt about Ethan's death. I understand though, he loved Ethan to bits. He was so proud of him. It's Julian I'm more worried about."
Sara and Warrick exchanged a look, but Clair had left before they could ask any more questions. They both agreed that it was probably was a good idea to do the same.
"Gris is not going to be happy about this," Warrick sighed.
"I know. But did you see Clair's face when she was looking and talking about Julian? She looked terrified."
Warrick nodded, "I saw."
"I wonder why? Why is she so afraid of him?'
They slid into the Tahoe and Warrick started the engine. Both of them were not looking forward to telling Grissom the news.
~*~*~*~*~
Grissom was half way through the autopsy report again when the phone rang. Without any hesitation, his hand shot out and answered it.
"Grissom."
"Ah Mr Grissom. It's Oliver Nickels here, the document expert. I think I've found your forger," The man on the other line replied.
"Oh who?" Grissom asked, thankful for a new lead at least.
"A man called Lou Carpenter. He's been arrested a couple of times for forgery, placed in jail once and there're a number of other cases that we believe involve his work, but haven't been able to trace back to him. Even in an excellent forgery, small traces of the forger's original handwriting are there. You just need to know where to look."
"Do you have an address for him?"
"Yes. I'm faxing it over right now, along with his criminal record and a picture."
"That's great. Thank you Mr Nickels."
"No problems at all. If you need me again, just ring."
They hung up and Grissom watched the documents arriving at his fax machine. He couldn't help but smile as he went over to them. Then the phone sprang into life again.
"Grissom."
"Hey, it's Catherine."
His smile grew.
"Hey Cath. So what do you have for me?"
"Zilch. Miss Luis is confirming Julian's alibi," She sighed.
His smile vanished. But the weight of the paper in his hands reminded him that there was still a lead.
"Well we think we've found our forger. He's called Lou Carpenter. We've got an address too. Do you and Brass mind checking him out?"
"Sure."
He gave her the address and they hung up.
'Come on,' He begged, 'Please say we have a lead somewhere.'
There was a quick tap at his door and Nick entered.
"Well the tox report shows that the same mixture, which was in the glass, ended up in Mr Sinclair's blood stream," He announced and placed down the report onto the desk.
"What else did Al have to say?'
"There was no bruising, so he took it willingly, unless there was a gun to his head or something."
"But if not, that tells us that he trusted the person who gave it to him," Grissom finished.
"Yes. Doesn't really help us leave square one though."
"Neither does what we found out," Warrick commented as he walked in followed by Sara. "A missing pill bottle and hundreds of people who could have taken it."
Sara smile flooded back on to her face when she saw Nick, who returned it, but she quickly hid it before Gris noticed. Not that he would anyway, because right now he was looking at Warrick, sharing his frustrated look.
"Have we got any leads?" Sara asked.
"Miss Luis is confirming Julian Sinclair's alibi, but we managed to find out who the forger might be. Cath and Brass are on their way to see him as we speak."
'And I hope they find him,' Gris added silently. 'Because if they don't, we've reached a dead end.'
A/N: So what do you think? I want your opinions people and I know you itching to give them. So what are you waiting for? Hit that button now! Lol! :o)
A/N: Hey. Sorry this took a bit longer then usual. But it's quiet a long chapter to make up for it. I took the national IQ test last night. I'm very proud of my result, because to my shock, it's says that I'm actually above average!!! :o) But knowing me, I'll do something shortly which will prove the test wrong :o( Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed; loco, MissyJane, Moose, PITAchic, ***son, The Madhatter, pdhtgal and shondie. I've said it once, but I'll say it again, YOU GUYS ROCK!!! Please keep them coming. Promise that G/C will get there soon, so just hang on. Well enough of this waffling and on with the next chapter. R&R and ENJOY!!! - Bex
Miss Luis' apartment block left much to be desired. The walls in the corridor were covered in white. Well, at least that was what Catherine guessed it had once been, but now it had turned a mottled colour with age. There was a large water stain down one of them where a pipe obviously needed to be fixed and a going light flickered madly. They found her faded blue door, number 27, near the end of the hall. Brass tapped loudly on it.
"Hold on. Hold on. Be there in a minute," A voice called from inside.
After a couple of minutes, the door opened slightly and a woman with pale skin and long, curly ebony hair stared at them through the crack.
"Yes?" She asked cautiously.
"Miss Luis, I'm Jim Brass and this is Catherine Willows. We're from the Las Vegas crime lab, can we come in?"
"What for?" She inquired giving them a weary look. "This about Ethan Sinclair?"
"We just need to ask you a few questions," Cath told her, spreading her best 'public smile' over her face.
The woman hesitated for a moment.
"Sure," She agreed reluctantly and opened the door wider so they could enter.
She pulled her dressing gown tighter around her slim body, as they walked in. Her dark hazel eyes inspected every step they took. Nervously, she ran a hand through her hair.
"Look, I was late getting up and I'm going to be late for work," She told them quickly.
"Don't worry. We won't keep you too long. We've just got to ask a few questions that's all," Brass assured her.
She didn't look reassured, but gave them a tiny nod.
"Ok. But I need to get ready."
"Sure."
Drusilla then started to pick up her clothes off a chair and walked down the small hall. She walked into her bedroom, leaving the door open so they could talk, but hid herself from view so she could change.
"So what are you here about?" She called to them.
"We need to ask you about Julian Sinclair."
"Oh?" There was caution in her voice.
"Do you know where he was yesterday around 10.30?" Cath asked.
"Yeah. He was here," Dru's reply drifted down the hall after a pause.
Cath wished that she could see her face so she could tell if she was lying or not.
"Are you his girlfriend?" She questioned.
She heard Drusilla let out a bitter laugh, "Hardly. I'm just a decent piece of ass. That's all women are to Julian Sinclair. Can you be a hon and butter that toast for me?"
And as if on cue, a piece of toast popped out of the toaster behind Brass and Catherine. Brass looked mildly shocked, but searched for the butter and spread a thin layer on the toast. Drusilla emerged from her room, now dressed in a short black leather skirt and a red sequinned corset top, which revealed her midriff. She gratefully smiled at Brass and took the toast off him.
"Thanks."
Then she began to look around her messy apartment in search of something. Both Brass and Cath recognised her 'uniform'.
"You work at the Oasis Casino?"
"Yeah. That's why Julian doesn't want this getting out. In return, I get a good bonus and he makes sure that his father doesn't fire me when I'm late. I'm always late," She replied, then frowned. "Now where the hell did I put my shoes?"
Her frown transformed into a smile when she spotted them hidden under her couch.
"There you are," She mumbled happily as she crouched down.
She reached under her couch and fished them out, then stood up. As she did so, she winced in pain and put a hand on her right rib.
"You alright?" Catherine asked in concern.
"I'm fine," Dru replied unconvincingly.
"What happened?"
Drusilla avoided Catherine's questioning stare.
"I just tripped slightly at work and hit my ribs on the side of a slot machine," She laughed nervously, "These heels are a broken neck waiting to happen, but Mr Sinclair's willing to risk ours. What do they say, 'No pain, no gain.'"
Catherine gazed at her, not convinced by her story. She was sure that something else was going on.
"Can you tell us when Julian Sinclair left here?" Brass inquired.
"I think around 11.00. I'm not sure. My clock's broken."
She pointed to a clock which sat on a table. Sure enough, the glass front was smashed and the clock had stopped. She glanced at Brass' watch.
"Oh shit!" She swore. "I'm really late. And Mr Sinclair's been in a fowler mood then usual after he found out about Ethan's death. I've really gotta go."
"Ok," Brass agreed after seeing the pleading in her eyes, "We'll take you if you want?"
"Oh no," She declined firmly. "People will start to ask questions. And questions are something I can't afford."
~*~*~*~*~
All thoughts of Sara disappeared from Nick's head when he spotted Al Robbins. The doctor stood examining a corpse on the slab.
"Hey Doc," Nick greeted.
"Hi Nick," He replied, then walked to his desk and handed Nick a sheet of paper. "Here, the blood tox report shows traces of the same lethal cocktail in the glass was in blood stream. That's what killed Mr Sinclair."
Nick studied the sheet and then followed Al back to the slab.
"You know, I think it's about time I was given a holiday," He heard Al mutter.
"Could he have been forced to drink it?" Nick asked.
"The corpse showed no signs of bruising around the face or upper body. No was there any bruising on the rest of the body for that matter. You would usually expect to find some bruising if he'd been forced," Al answered, as he began to continue his autopsy.
"So what you're saying is that Mr Sinclair had no idea what was in that glass? He drank it willingly? That he trusted the person who gave it to him?"
Al shrugged, "I can only say what the corpse tells me. It's your job to fill in the gaps."
~*~*~*~*~
Warrick was standing once again in the lounge like room connected to Robert Sinclair office. Sara stared around the room, taking it in, whilst Warrick was silent thankful that Tiffany Sinclair wasn't there again. They had rung the Sinclair's house, as instructed, to find that Mr Sinclair had already left for work. Now they were waiting to see him.
The door behind them opened and Warrick recognised the lady who entered. It was Mr Sinclair's sectary, Clair if he remembered correctly. She offered a thin smile.
"Mr Brown," She greeted with a nod. "And this must be Miss Sidle."
"That's right."
"Please follow me. Mr Sinclair will see you now."
They followed her over to the office door and she knocked on it. A gruff voice told them to come in.
"Mr Sinclair, Mr Brown and Miss Sidle from the Las Vegas cr..."
"Alright. Alright. You can go Clair," He barked.
She hurried out. Mr Sinclair took a hard swig of his whiskey and let out a wheezy cough.
"I heard you let Jenny go."
"That's right. We cleared her."
"So you're here to tell me that you've got a new suspect in custody?" He demanded more then asked.
"No. We're here to ask about the painkillers you've been proscribed," Sara informed him.
His brow furrowed.
"Why?"
"We believed that they were used to kill your son."
"What!?" The shock in his voice was reflected in his face.
"Where do you keep you proscription?"
"I have one bottle at home, but none of them have gone missing. I also keep another bottle here encase I need them. But there right... CHRIST!" He exclaimed when he opened a desk draw to find that they were missing.
"When was the last time you saw them?" Warrick asked.
"I guess about a week ago. I haven't needed to take them at work for a while."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! Oh Christ," He whispered.
"Mr Sinclair, how many people have access to your office?" Sara questioned.
"I don't know. I leave it open during my working hours. I mean, Jenny's friend who can't speak was in here a few days ago. She wrote down that she was trying to find Ethan when I asked why she was in here. Oh fuck."
'Brilliant,' Warrick thought dryly, 'Just Brilliant.'
Robert Sinclair drained the last of the whiskey from his glass hurriedly.
"CLAIR!" He yelled, making both of the CSIs jump.
Clair arrived quickly with a scared look covering her face.
"Yes Mr Sinclair?"
"Get me another whiskey."
"Umm...Julian told me not to," She stated timidly.
"I don't give a damn what he said," His voice erupted, "Just fetch me another god damn whiskey."
"What's going on here?" Julian demanded as he entered. "Clair who are these people?"
"They're...they're from the crime lab," Clair replied shakily.
"Great," He sneered glancing at them.
He turned to his father, ignoring the other people in the room.
"What's going on dad?'
"I just want another whiskey. Is that too much to ask? Some bastard stole my painkillers and used them to murder Ethan. To murder my son. My son," His voice trailed off as it turned to tears.
Julian walked over and placed a hand lightly on his father's shoulder.
"It's ok dad," He said without any soothing in his voice.
He then glared at the two CSIs and the nervous sectary.
"I've faxed over my client list. Is that all?" He demanded.
"For now," Warrick answered evenly.
"Then I suggest you leave," Julian ordered. "You too Clair."
Clair all to happily complied with Julian's orders. The CSIs followed her out of the room to find her leaning against a wall, clearly shaken.
"You ok?" Warrick asked gently.
"I will be," She sighed.
"Is he always like this?' Sara inquired, feeling sorry for the young woman.
Clair shook her head, "No. Doesn't usually erupt like that. He's been touchy ever since he learnt about Ethan's death. I understand though, he loved Ethan to bits. He was so proud of him. It's Julian I'm more worried about."
Sara and Warrick exchanged a look, but Clair had left before they could ask any more questions. They both agreed that it was probably was a good idea to do the same.
"Gris is not going to be happy about this," Warrick sighed.
"I know. But did you see Clair's face when she was looking and talking about Julian? She looked terrified."
Warrick nodded, "I saw."
"I wonder why? Why is she so afraid of him?'
They slid into the Tahoe and Warrick started the engine. Both of them were not looking forward to telling Grissom the news.
~*~*~*~*~
Grissom was half way through the autopsy report again when the phone rang. Without any hesitation, his hand shot out and answered it.
"Grissom."
"Ah Mr Grissom. It's Oliver Nickels here, the document expert. I think I've found your forger," The man on the other line replied.
"Oh who?" Grissom asked, thankful for a new lead at least.
"A man called Lou Carpenter. He's been arrested a couple of times for forgery, placed in jail once and there're a number of other cases that we believe involve his work, but haven't been able to trace back to him. Even in an excellent forgery, small traces of the forger's original handwriting are there. You just need to know where to look."
"Do you have an address for him?"
"Yes. I'm faxing it over right now, along with his criminal record and a picture."
"That's great. Thank you Mr Nickels."
"No problems at all. If you need me again, just ring."
They hung up and Grissom watched the documents arriving at his fax machine. He couldn't help but smile as he went over to them. Then the phone sprang into life again.
"Grissom."
"Hey, it's Catherine."
His smile grew.
"Hey Cath. So what do you have for me?"
"Zilch. Miss Luis is confirming Julian's alibi," She sighed.
His smile vanished. But the weight of the paper in his hands reminded him that there was still a lead.
"Well we think we've found our forger. He's called Lou Carpenter. We've got an address too. Do you and Brass mind checking him out?"
"Sure."
He gave her the address and they hung up.
'Come on,' He begged, 'Please say we have a lead somewhere.'
There was a quick tap at his door and Nick entered.
"Well the tox report shows that the same mixture, which was in the glass, ended up in Mr Sinclair's blood stream," He announced and placed down the report onto the desk.
"What else did Al have to say?'
"There was no bruising, so he took it willingly, unless there was a gun to his head or something."
"But if not, that tells us that he trusted the person who gave it to him," Grissom finished.
"Yes. Doesn't really help us leave square one though."
"Neither does what we found out," Warrick commented as he walked in followed by Sara. "A missing pill bottle and hundreds of people who could have taken it."
Sara smile flooded back on to her face when she saw Nick, who returned it, but she quickly hid it before Gris noticed. Not that he would anyway, because right now he was looking at Warrick, sharing his frustrated look.
"Have we got any leads?" Sara asked.
"Miss Luis is confirming Julian Sinclair's alibi, but we managed to find out who the forger might be. Cath and Brass are on their way to see him as we speak."
'And I hope they find him,' Gris added silently. 'Because if they don't, we've reached a dead end.'
A/N: So what do you think? I want your opinions people and I know you itching to give them. So what are you waiting for? Hit that button now! Lol! :o)