This story is based on characters created by Anthony E. Zuiker for the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Remuneration, Part 17
by Cheers
By 7:00 am, Catherine had been joined in the observation room by Warrick and Sara. They had been watching Grissom answer the allegations that he might be a murderer. The goings-on in the interrogation room was making Sara angry. What the hell kind of loyalty was this? Grissom worked his ass off for the citizens of Las Vegas and this police department only to be hauled in on the barest of circumstantial evidence and questioned like a career criminal? This whole situation was just too bizarre for words.
"Doesn't the night shift have important evidence in cases under their own purview to process?"
The three night shift CSIs looked to the doorway to find Conrad Ecklie and Nick Stokes standing just outside the observation room. It was Ecklie who had spoken.
Warrick took a small step toward the day shift supervisor. "Night shift's over. We're on our own time here," he told Ecklie, "and that's not just our boss in there."
There was a dangerous undercurrent in Warrick's tone. Ignoring it, Ecklie leaned in toward Warrick. "Well I guess that's the reason the Sheriff felt it necessary to place me in charge of this case."
This time it was Sara who stepped forward. Pointing her finger at the center of Ecklie's chest, she hissed through stiff lips, "No, you're on this case because you can't stand the id…."
"Sara!" "Sara …."
Both Nick and Catherine interrupted her. Nick stepped around Ecklie to intercede and took a firm hold of Sara's shoulders, turning her away from Ecklie and back into the observation room. Sara was about to make a monumental mistake by telling Ecklie exactly what they all thought of him. Although it might have made all of them feel better, it would do nothing to help Grissom and it would very likely damage her career.
"Confrontations aren't going to help Grissom," Catherine told the rest of the night shift team. She didn't do much to hide the distain in her voice, though. "He's just trying to do his job, aren't you Conrad?"
Conrad stood with hands on hips and determination in his face. "That's right. Look, the best chance Grissom has of beating this rap …"
"Beating the rap?" Warrick interrupted, disbelief and anger on his face.
"Warrick," Catherine said gently.
Ecklie paused to give Warrick a warning glance. "Of beating the rap," he picked up again, "is if the evidence in the case clears him. The more time we spend standing around arguing about who's running this investigation and why, the longer he stays a suspect."
"Then I guess you better get to it," Catherine said with a mirthless smile.
Giving them all a hard look for another long moment, Ecklie tried to convey how serious he was about his position. Grissom's underlings were more like cult members than employees. "Nick," he said firmly, calling the junior CSI.
"Yeah," Nick acknowledged. He gave Sara a gentle squeeze to her shoulder before heading back out into the hall to follow Ecklie, who was already moving away.
"Bring it home, Nicky," Warrick told his friend as he left.
Nick looked back at them and nodded. If it was within his power to bring the truth home for Gris, he sure the hell would.
Gil Grissom continued to sit with an almost placid expression on his face as Carl Paulson and Jim Brass continued to question him. Brass had joined the questioning as a captain in the Homicide division, not as Gil's friend. The younger detective had been getting a very valuable lesson in interrogation techniques from the veteran cop. Grissom would have been entertained by the situation if it hadn't been for the serious nature of his current circumstances. With every moment they wasted sitting there, questioning an innocent man, the real killer was at liberty to find another child to victimize. The sexual predator responsible for killing Shelly Danbridge wasn't going to stop at just one victim. He wasn't going to stop until he was made to stop.
That truth didn't do a whole lot to help Grissom at this moment in time. His innocence was in question. When you're innocent, you keep your mouth shut and let the evidence do the talking. Right now, the evidence was pointing a cursory finger at Gil.
"How long were you at the We-Store-It?" Carl Paulson wanted to know.
Gil sighed. The detective had to know that he had signed in and out of the crime scene and that the log was on file with the police department. Before Grissom could answer the question, the door to the interrogation room opened to admit Conrad Ecklie and Nick Stokes. Grissom glanced first at Nick, giving him what he hoped was a reassuring look. Nodding to both men he said, "Good morning, Conrad. Nick."
"Sir," Nick responded, taking up a position just inside the door against the wall. When Gil looked at him, Nick nodded slightly toward the mirror on the opposite wall of the interrogation room, letting Grissom know that a least one member of his night shift team was in the observation room watching.
Conrad moved to stand behind Brass and Paulson. He didn't acknowledge Grissom's greeting. Instead, he produced some paperwork from the inside pocket of his sport coat and handed them to Brass.
"What do we have here?" Brass asked, taking a look at two reports. He took a minute and read through both quickly. His expression flattened to unreadable.
Without saying anything, Brass passed the reports to Carl Paulson. Paulson glanced at them briefly and then turned both reports around on the table and pushed them forward for Grissom to see.
Both reports listed the dimensions in centimeters and the known brand of an inspected trash bag. One of the bags had come from a box found in Grissom's Tahoe. The other had recently held the dead body of Shelly Danbridge. The size and brand of both bags matched. Both reports were signed by the CSI who had done the comparison, Nick Stokes.
Looking up from the reports, Grissom made a point of not glancing at Nick. The results of the comparison had been made carefully and, Gil was sure, accurately. The last thing he wanted to do was make Nick feel guilty for doing his job. Gil waited for one of the three men directly in front of him to say something.
"Well?" Carl Paulson finally asked.
Grissom didn't say anything. There hadn't been a true question asked.
Paulson looked over at Brass and Ecklie. It was Ecklie who spoke next. "How do you explain these reports, Gil?"
"Coincidence," Grissom replied, ignoring the inappropriate use of his given name.
"Coincidence?" Paulson asked, frustrated with Grissom's cool demeanor. "These reports state that the garbage bag used to dump the victim's body is an exact match to the bags found in the back of your SUV."
In the observation room, Sara, Warrick, and Catherine exchanged looks.
"What does that prove?" Sara asked.
"Just what Grissom said it did," Catherine replied. "Coincidence."
"Yeah. But I bet Ecklie's not likely to accept that explanation," Warrick said.
"Bastard," Sara muttered.
Grissom looked at the young detective with something that resembled sympathy. "No," he informed Paulson, "they don't."
"They don't?" Paulson responded angrily, taking back the reports and looking at them again. He glanced back at Grissom. "Then what do these reports tell you?" Carl challenged.
Gil took a deep breath before replying. "The reports say that both trash bags have the same dimensions and manufacturer."
"That's what I said," Paulson told the CSI.
"No," Grissom corrected him. "What you said was that the bags matched exactly. That's not what the reports reveal."
A small smile began to spread across Catherine's face as she watched. "Smart, Grissom."
"Smart?" Sara asked, turning to look at Catherine.
"He's telling Nicky what to do next," Catherine said.
Warrick began to nod his understanding.
Sara was catching on as well, "Right."
Jim Brass fought to hide a grin. Gil Grissom was one smart cookie.
Conrad Ecklie wasn't happy with the way the tables had been turned on the young detective. He decided to jump back in. "But they are consistent," Ecklie told Grissom.
Looking up at Ecklie, Grissom allowed himself the barest hint of a grin. "That's what I've always liked about you, Conrad," Gil told the other CSI supervisor. "You understand the principal truth."
Before he could think better of it, Conrad asked, "Oh yeah, and what's that?"
More for the benefit of the members of his team who could hear him than for Ecklie, Gil didn't hesitate. "The evidence never lies."
