Thicker Than Water
By Bec
G/C
Chapter 6
The scene looked like chaos as they arrived. Squad cars sat around the edge of the scene with their lights flashing, policemen had erected barriers and were busy trying to keep curious onlookers out. Catherine had expected Grissom to get straight out of the car when they pulled up but he just sat, unmoving in the passenger seat. She cut the engine and turned to look at him.
"Gil?" she asked softly. She was so concerned for him because she knew he was panicking, and that was something she had never really seen him do. She repeated her question, reaching her hand across to his cheek. He turned his head into her hand before finally looking up. He did not want to get out of the car, because then he'd find out if his fears were true. He wanted to stay inside with Catherine, where she could tell him everything was fine. Eventually, he managed a weak smile and took her hand in his.
"I'm ok," he told her. "I just need a second."
"Take all the time you need. I'll stay here with you." She glanced up to see Nick, Sara, and Warrick approach the scene from the opposite side, only glancing back when she felt him squeeze her hand. "Ready?"
He nodded and the pair grabbed their cases and headed for the deli, joining the other CSI's in giving the place a preliminary glance.
"Not much of a ness," Warrick noted as he walked over to the counter. "I've got blood over here."
"Witnesses reported that one of the abductors had a gun. Said they came in and started talking to the two vics, which turned into an argument, when they told the two men to leave them alone, one pulled the gun and they grabbed them. Struggled a little before two shots were fired." Detective O'Reilly had walked in behind them to fill them in.
"Did they say what he hit?" Sara asked him.
"From what I can gather, the first shot hit one of the vics, the other seemed to miss."
"Then there's a casing somewhere." Nick started to look around him.
"Right," Catherine nodded. "Nicky, go find it." He nodded back and went with O'Reilly to determine where everyone had been stood from the witness statements. "Warrick, I'll let you deal with the blood. Sara, you search for prints. Fingers, shoes, whatever comes up."
She waited for them to go off before she turned to Grissom, his eyes were searching the place for ideas. She could see his mind working overtime.
"Gris, can you see a security camera?"
He looked down at her. "Nothing obvious, but that doesn't mean that it's not there."
"If there is one, we're going to need to see it." She turned to O'Reilly. "Which ones the manager?" She waited until he pointed him out. "Good, can you get me the security tape ready to take back to the lab."
They walked over to a group of people huddled together and aimed specifically at a tall, olive-skinned man in an apron.
"Hi. We're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab," Grissom told him, a mask of professionalism neatly in place. "Can we ask you a few question?"
"Sure," the Italian man replied. "A few more won't hurt."
"Can you describe the two men who came into your shop this evening."
"One of them had brown hair, the other was blonde. They were big men, you know. Over 6 feet tall, and they were wide. Like football players."
Grissom produced a sheet with two pictures on it. "Like these?"
The man recognised them instantly. "Yeah, that's them." The people gathered around him nodded too.
"Have they been in before?"
"A few times, but they're not like my most regular customers, you know."
"Did you ever converse with them, small talk, that sort of thing? Did they have accents?"
"They were from the south. Sounded kinda Texan. I tried to talk with them a couple of times, but they blanked me, so I stopped bothering after that."
Grissom paused in his questioning and took a deep steadying breath. He did not want to ask the next set of questions, but he had no choice. He felt Catherine take a step closer to him, and he got ready to speak.
"The two people they abducted. Can you describe them?"
"Both of them were women, one was older. She had long dark hair, almost black. Very Italian."
"What about the other one?" Catherine asked, not wanting to delay any longer.
"A little shorter than you," he pointed to Catherine. "Brown hair, good blue eyes. She wore glasses too. Came in together, looked like mother and daughter."
Grissom reached into his pocket, rummaged around and pulled out a photograph. Catherine could not see it, but she knew what it had to be. He held it out wordlessly in front of him.
"Yeah, that's them. That's the two they took."
Grissom thanked him and turned away, squeezing his eyes shut to keep in the tears that threatened to fall. Catherine placed a hand on his arm and he looked at her, trying to work out what to do next. It had been the first time his fears had been vocalised, and he did not feel anything now except the numbness that had invaded his whole body.
He strode back into the shop to find Warrick.
"I want you to stay here and process everything you can," he told the younger man. "I'm going back to the lab, I'll take anything you've got."
"Sure Gris." He handed him the blood sample, noticing the tense air around his boss. "Gris, what's going on?"
Grissom looked down to Catherine, who decided he needed her to answer for him.
"We've identified the vics. It's Grace and Maggie."
"What?" Warrick's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure?"
"Grissom spoke to them on the phone, we knew they were here. Witnesses have given positive photo ID."
Warrick shook his head. Cases always got worse when it involved someone you knew, and this information changed everything. They all knew the two, they'd all eaten together, laughed together. He had spent so much time with Maggie, they'd written. Now, it was tough. They were on very limited time, and they all knew it. He stepped forward and briefly patted Grissom's arm.
"We'll find them."
Grissom nodded his reply, and Warrick went back to his job. He did not know how he had made it to the car, but as Catherine drove him back, the reality of it all struck him.
"So what happens now?" she asked.
"We do what we've always done. Wait for the evidence to tell us where to go." He tried to give a statement as emotionally non-committal as possible, but Catherine could hear the doubt in his voice.
"How are you holding up?"
He thought about it for a moment before answering.
"I'm alright. For now." He looked out of his window. He knew how close he was to losing that which he cared about so much, two people who were an integral part of his life, and no one would ever know just what they meant to him. Was it too late now to say?
"Catherine…"
He choked on the words, tears he had been trying to hold back suddenly filled his eyes. Catherine heard it, and she pulled the car over to the side of the road. Stopping, she reached over and pulled him into her arms, whispering gently into his ear, that it was ok, that she would be there for him always, that everything would be alright.
Grace and Maggie were her friends; Maggie had been Lindsey's pen-pal for years. She knew how much they meant to Grissom. To think of what those bastards might be doing to them made her feel sick, and she could only imagine how the man crying in her arms really felt. Just last night all had been perfect, now it had fallen apart.
She kept her arms wrapped around him, tears falling to match his, hoping desperately that they would all soon wake up from this evil dream.
TBC… Keep reviewing guys, I appreciate all input.
