Author's Note: Another weekend, another update. Every time I try to sit down and write, the cell phone is ringing, requesting my presence at work. So very annoying. But you will be happy to know that I dedicate my free time to you, the readers. So please read....and review if you are so inclined. None of this belongs to me, though if it did I could escape the iron grasp that the pool seems to have on me (sorry, I am in a complaining sort of mood lately).
* * *
"How did anyone survive this?"
The question broke through the stunned silence that surrounded the crash site. The car was mangled beyond recognition. The hood was crumpled as easily as if it were a piece of paper. The center of the hood was buried into a section of a mile-high tree that was now splintered and severed at the point of impact. Crews were being called in to cut down what remained of that tree; for fear that it would come crashing down on some poor unsuspecting motorist. Metal and debris littered the ground and area surrounding the crash site. The miniscule pieces of the car were scattered across an impossibly large circumference. People would be finding remnants of the car for many moths to come.
Upon closer inspection of the car, the nauseating presence of blood made even the most seasoned investigator want to turn and run. The blood seemed so much more devastating when it came from people that they knew. There was blood on the steering wheel, as well as the passenger side dash. The glass of the windshield was splintered and cracked yet it was still miraculously intact. There was only minimal glass inside the car. Thank God for small miracles. Despite the lack of glass, the simple fact remained obvious: the passengers of this car should have died. Yet they hadn't. Maybe there was a higher power at work. Maybe it was just a case of dumb luck. But whatever the reason, the vehicle's precious cargo had survived. Too bad they hadn't survived unscathed.
There was still the matter of piecing together the events of the previous evening, a task that was going to prove to be exceedingly difficult. One of the witnesses was comatose and the other wasn't talking. The evidence was all that they had to go on. And fortunately for them, the evidence was going to be speaking loud and clear. Catherine and Brass surveyed the scene of the accident with a critical eye. Though her question had gone unanswered, it had not been ignored. It was still resonating in both their minds. Setting her jaw, Catherine moved closer to the car.
"God, what a mess" she murmured as she crouched beside the open driver's side door. Brass joined her and sighed.
"Catherine are you sure you're OK to do this? Because if you're not, tell me now and I will get someone else down here."
"No Jim, I'm fine, it's just..."
He interrupted. "No. There can be no 'it's just' here. You are either fully committed or you're not. There is no room for waffling with your emotions. This is a criminal investigation now."
"Greg's not a criminal" she whispered with tears in her voice.
Brass' voice didn't soften. "Yes Catherine, he is. He became a criminal the minute he climbed behind the wheel of this car while intoxicated. And I know that this is hard on you. But there can be no room for emotions now. Greg's future depends on us remaining objective.
Catherine nodded, her eyes still moist. Brass' eyes softened and he looked her square in the face.
"Catherine, I don't want to see him wind up in jail any more than you do. That's why I need you to work with me on this. I need your expertise. We need to find any evidence that would prove that Greg's drinking was not the only factors in this accident. We need to allow for any and all outside circumstances that may have led to this crash. And that begins here, with this car."
She drew in her breath and put on her game face. Her shoulders straightened. "Right. Let's get down to business."
She began to make verbal notes as she assessed the interior of the car.
"There is only one airbag in this car, on the driver's side. It deployed upon impact. The presence of blood is consistent with a crash like this. We know that Greg sustained a head injury, so it is safe to assume that most of this belongs to him. Looks like the blood is smeared across the dash, presumably from Greg trying to get out of the car. He was also likely leaning across to check on Sara."
Brass was busy looking at the windshield. He consulted a file folder in his hands.
"According to the rescue crew, Sara was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of their arrival."
Catherine looked at him, then back at the windshield. "So you're thinking that she should have sustained head injuries as well?"
"I'm thinking she should have gone right through the damn glass. How is it that the glass has such little damage done to it?"
She shuddered involuntarily at the mental picture that his statement procured. "Well she didn't go through, so unless she is a walking definition of a miracle, then she must have been wearing her seatbelt. Greg probably took it off to check on her."
Brass looked irritated. "He shouldn't have touched her. The seatbelt would have kept her immobilized until the rescue crews got there. He shouldn't have done anything."
"There are a lot of things he shouldn't have done" snapped Catherine. "I thought we were trying to be objective here. It sounds to me like you have already made up your mind as to what happened. Why don't you just go arrest Greg right now, since finding evidence is apparently irrelevant."
"Hey I'm pointing out the obvious" he said. "Don't you dare accuse me of compromising my integrity as an investigator. As the lead investigator I might add. Do you have any idea what it took to get me placed on this case? I practically had to sell my soul to do it. And do you know why I did?"
She answered, "Because you want to help Greg."
"That's right. I am willing to entertain the notion that there may have been outside factors that may have resulted in this accident. Any other investigator wouldn't. They would already have Greg in custody, and let me tell you that I am already in hot water for not filing charges immediately. Most people think that this case is open and shut. So please don't act like I am the bad guy here. I am trying to remain objective Catherine, I really am. But the evidence makes that very difficult."
Catherine could see that the vein in his temple was throbbing. She opted to try a more diplomatic tactic.
"Look, the car itself doesn't look like its going to yield any more answers. Let's get the guys to tow it back to the lab so that it can be processed. In the meantime, you and I will finish with the scene and then head over to the bar and get statements from the employee's there."
Brass nodded his consent. He extending a hand to Catherine and helped her up the grassy incline. Once they were firmly on the asphalt, Catherine pulled out her camera. They walked back until they came to the place where the skid marks began. She photographed them and then knelt down for a closer look. She scanned the highway.
"Only one set" she murmured. "Rules out the idea that another vehicle came into the picture."
"So what do you think?" Brass asked. "Maybe an animal came out and he hit the brakes to avoid it?"
She shook her head. "No. There are no animal tracks in the dirt on either side of the highway. Plus, his reaction time would have been hampered by the alcohol. If there had been anything in the road, he would have hit it. It is highly improbable that he could have stopped in time, given his condition."
Brass asked, "Well what was it then? Please tell me that you have some good explanation that I can take to the D.A."
Catherine snapped a few more photos before turning to face him.
"The only explanation I have is that there is nothing to suggest that he hit the brakes in order to avoid something, thus initiating the skid. Rather, based on the treads, the brakes were applied after the car began to careen out of control. It looks as if he totaled the car all on his own."
Brass was beginning to get desperate. "Could it have been the weather? It was raining really hard. Maybe the road was slick."
"Look around Jim! We're on a straight stretch of road. You know as well as I do that the weather didn't have a thing to do with this accident." She put her camera away and hoisted her bag onto her shoulder.
There was finality to her resolve that worried Brass. If Catherine couldn't find external factors that could help reduce the charges against Greg, then no one could. Things looked like they were going to get a lot worse before they got better. Catherine looked at her watch and swore sharply.
"Hey Jim? Mind if we make a quick detour on the way to interview the employees from the bar? Grissom is expecting me at the hospital. It's my turn to go in and see Sara. I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't visit before I went back to work on the case."
Brass smiled. "Of course I don't mind. Let's go."
* * *
Across town, Warrick was listening to the ringing of the phone in his ear. He had been trying to call Greg for the last half hour. The phone just rang and rang and rang.
Because Greg wasn't home to answer it.