Authors Note ;Please see chapter one for disclaimer and the legal stuff
EIGHTEEN
Sara stood by the smoking, charred remains of the structure, a single tear streaking down her cheek. She was desperately trying to hold back the dam that was building behind her eyes. A gentle arm slipped about her shoulders. Grissom stood next to her,a grim line set across his mouth.
'Fire Chief has okayed us to go in and examine the scene as long as we wear hard hats.'
'Sure.' Sara sniffed loudly.
'Warrick thinks they're still alive, at least probably Catherine might be.'
'What about Brass?'
'No-one's too sure about Jim,especially in light of us finding his windbreaker. We know for sure he was in there.'
'At some point,' corrected Sara defensively. 'We know he was in there at some point!' Grissom looked mildly suprised until Sara added, 'So the cranky ass has grown on me.....a little.....' The dam began to crack and the flow began as a trickle down both cheeks.
'I told the guys I can bring in dayshift.'
'These are OUR people Gil, I don't want anyone but us touching them when we find them.' Grissom managed more of a grimace than a smile.
'That's what Nick and Warrick said too.' He handed her a construction workers hard hat as his lips brushed her forehead and the arm tightened about her shoulders.
***************************************************
'Man this is gonna be the hardest crime scene I'm ever gonna have to process,' said Nick pulling on his blue overalls.
'Think positive Nicky, they're alive,' said Warrick strapping his utility around his slim waist.
'Catherine maybe, but Brass.........'Nick's words trailed off and the lump in his throat suddenly got much bigger.
'Just because we found his jacket doesn't mean.....'
'His car's still here War. We found his jacket, that doesn't bode well.'
A firefighter came striding over to them, his clothing and apparatus covered in black, foul smelling smokey dust. In his thick gloved hand he carried two plastic bags.
'Excuse me Sir,' he said handing the bags out for Nick to take, 'We found these under what was left of the altar. Seemed kinda outta place in the context of the building.' The two CSI's looked at each other. Warrick sought out a pair of latex gloves and snapped them on with great expertise. Nick opened the first bag. Warrick extracted the melted remnants of a cell phone. Turning it in his hands, Warrick shook his head.
'Can't get a make on it, casing too messed up from the fire.' He replaced it and the bag was sealed. 'Maybe Archie can get something off it and tell us who it belongs to.' He removed the dogeared, burnt lump from the second bag.
'Looks like a wallet,' said Nick eyes narrowing as he attempted to make out what it really was. Warrick flipped it open. It was indeed a wallet. They were looking at a charred twenty dollar note in the pocket and an old photograph of a young girl with light coloured hair and a big smile hugging tightly a man somehwhere in his mid-thirties, with short hair and a floppy fringe. The man in the picture was younger but the face was familiar. Nick let out a loud groan of dispair. 'Oh hell. Man, that's Brass and his daughter.' The plastic credit card partly melted to the leather confirmed the worst. It belonged to Mr J Brass.
Warrick dropped it back into the bag and sealed it as Sara and Grissom came to stand by them. Grissom frowned as he saw the tears begin to well up in Nick's eyes. Sara shook her head in denial as it dawned on her what Warrick held in his hand.
'It belongs to Brass,'said Warrick in between coughs and chewing nervously on his bottom lip.
'That makes this is a body hunt,' said Grissom in depressed tones walking away trying to hide his own emotion that was threatening to release itself from his eyes.
tbc.......................
EIGHTEEN
Sara stood by the smoking, charred remains of the structure, a single tear streaking down her cheek. She was desperately trying to hold back the dam that was building behind her eyes. A gentle arm slipped about her shoulders. Grissom stood next to her,a grim line set across his mouth.
'Fire Chief has okayed us to go in and examine the scene as long as we wear hard hats.'
'Sure.' Sara sniffed loudly.
'Warrick thinks they're still alive, at least probably Catherine might be.'
'What about Brass?'
'No-one's too sure about Jim,especially in light of us finding his windbreaker. We know for sure he was in there.'
'At some point,' corrected Sara defensively. 'We know he was in there at some point!' Grissom looked mildly suprised until Sara added, 'So the cranky ass has grown on me.....a little.....' The dam began to crack and the flow began as a trickle down both cheeks.
'I told the guys I can bring in dayshift.'
'These are OUR people Gil, I don't want anyone but us touching them when we find them.' Grissom managed more of a grimace than a smile.
'That's what Nick and Warrick said too.' He handed her a construction workers hard hat as his lips brushed her forehead and the arm tightened about her shoulders.
***************************************************
'Man this is gonna be the hardest crime scene I'm ever gonna have to process,' said Nick pulling on his blue overalls.
'Think positive Nicky, they're alive,' said Warrick strapping his utility around his slim waist.
'Catherine maybe, but Brass.........'Nick's words trailed off and the lump in his throat suddenly got much bigger.
'Just because we found his jacket doesn't mean.....'
'His car's still here War. We found his jacket, that doesn't bode well.'
A firefighter came striding over to them, his clothing and apparatus covered in black, foul smelling smokey dust. In his thick gloved hand he carried two plastic bags.
'Excuse me Sir,' he said handing the bags out for Nick to take, 'We found these under what was left of the altar. Seemed kinda outta place in the context of the building.' The two CSI's looked at each other. Warrick sought out a pair of latex gloves and snapped them on with great expertise. Nick opened the first bag. Warrick extracted the melted remnants of a cell phone. Turning it in his hands, Warrick shook his head.
'Can't get a make on it, casing too messed up from the fire.' He replaced it and the bag was sealed. 'Maybe Archie can get something off it and tell us who it belongs to.' He removed the dogeared, burnt lump from the second bag.
'Looks like a wallet,' said Nick eyes narrowing as he attempted to make out what it really was. Warrick flipped it open. It was indeed a wallet. They were looking at a charred twenty dollar note in the pocket and an old photograph of a young girl with light coloured hair and a big smile hugging tightly a man somehwhere in his mid-thirties, with short hair and a floppy fringe. The man in the picture was younger but the face was familiar. Nick let out a loud groan of dispair. 'Oh hell. Man, that's Brass and his daughter.' The plastic credit card partly melted to the leather confirmed the worst. It belonged to Mr J Brass.
Warrick dropped it back into the bag and sealed it as Sara and Grissom came to stand by them. Grissom frowned as he saw the tears begin to well up in Nick's eyes. Sara shook her head in denial as it dawned on her what Warrick held in his hand.
'It belongs to Brass,'said Warrick in between coughs and chewing nervously on his bottom lip.
'That makes this is a body hunt,' said Grissom in depressed tones walking away trying to hide his own emotion that was threatening to release itself from his eyes.
tbc.......................
