A/N: Thanks again to everyone who has stuck with this story and reviewed it. Your kind words are very much appreciated! The chapter is a little shorter, but I hope you all like it.
Chapter 6: A Name
Grissom sat in a chair looking through the one-way glass. Inside the interrogation room, Brass and Catherine were talking to Veronica Wilkinson. The young, dark-haired woman sat behind a table as she repeated the meager information she had given them two nights ago, "I told you people before, I didn't know Kimberly that well. We just worked in the same office. Maybe we went out to lunch once in a while. That's it."
"Yes, Ms. Wilkinson, we remember that," Jim began, keeping his tone friendly and light. "But we're wondering if maybe you could tell us a little more about other friends Kimberly might have had, other people she spent time with."
"There's not much to tell. She was quiet, she kept mostly to herself."
"There must be someone," Catherine insisted. "What about men? Any special men in her life?"
"No one I know of."
"Did she date? Did she ever talk about a guy she was seeing?" Catherine pressed.
"No," was the brief reply.
Catherine was getting annoyed at Veronica's seeming lack of cooperation. Maybe she really didn't know anything helpful, or maybe they just hadn't asked the right questions yet.
"What about work?" Jim asked. "Are there any men in your office?"
"Of course," Veronica told them. "But I don't think Kim was seeing any of them."
"Could you make us a list anyway?" the police captain inquired. "Just in case."
"Sure."
He passed her paper and a pen, and he and Catherine waited for her to finish writing. It didn't take long because it ended up being a very short list. When Veronica handed them back the page, it only contained seven names.
"Thank you, Ms. Wilkinson," Brass said, tucking the list into his jacket pocket.
Catherine slipped two photos out of the file on the table. "Have you ever been to Kim Miller's house, Ms. Wilkinson?" she asked. "I mean, before the other night when you…notified the police?"
Grissom sat up a little straighter and focused his attention into the room. He had been waiting for Catherine to start this line of questioning.
"Yes, I was at Kim's house once before that. She had a housewarming party a couple of weeks ago."
"Do you remember who else was there?"
She thought back. "Mostly people from work."
Catherine finally turned the first picture she was holding around and showed Veronica. "This is a photo of the fireplace mantle in Kimberly's house," she explained. "Do you see that little statue? Do you remember anything about it?" She handed the young woman the other photo, the one of the statue Archie had enlarged.
Veronica studied the images for a long time. Then she suddenly sat up. "Yes, I do. I do remember this statue," she said. "It was a gift. Someone gave this to Kim as a housewarming gift. I remember thinking it was hideous, but Kim seemed to love it."
"Do you remember who gave Kim the statue?" Catherine asked her. She, Brass, and Grissom outside all held their breath as they awaited Veronica's answer, an answer that could be the key to their case.
"I think so," Veronica began after a long pause. "It was a guy… Wait, I just remembered something! There was one person at Kim's party who wasn't from the office. None of us had ever met him before. It was him who gave Kim that statue, this strange guy."
"Do you know his name?" Catherine asked, almost afraid of the response.
"It was…" She searched her memory bank for the elusive piece of information. "It was…Chuck. Yeah, that was it. Kim introduced him as Chuck. Sorry, I don't know his last name. Kim never mentioned it."
"So this Chuck bought the statue for Kimberly. Is that right?" Brass queried.
"Yeah."
"Ms. Wilkinson," Catherine added, "did this statue come in any special packaging? Was there a bag or a box that indicated where Chuck may have purchased it?"
"No, I didn't see anything."
"Okay. Can you describe this Chuck?" the CSI inquired.
"Sure. I only saw him that one time, but…he was tall and thin with brown hair and eyes, probably in his mid-thirties. He was unshaven, dressed casually—jeans and a baggy shirt, I think."
"Thank you very much, Ms. Wilkinson," Catherine said.
"Is that it?"
"For now, yes," Brass replied. "We'll call if we need you again. Thanks for all your help."
"No problem," Veronica offered, as she headed for the door.
Catherine and Brass filed out after her, and went over to Grissom in the observation area.
"Did you hear?" Catherine asked.
"I heard," Grissom replied. He painfully pulled himself out of the chair. "Now all we have to do is find this guy named Chuck in a city of two million. And we don't even know if he's from Vegas."
"Well, I'll go check out the names on this list Veronica gave us," Brass said, walking away. "Just for fun."
"Maybe…" Catherine began, but she was interrupted by the ringing of Grissom's cell phone.
He opened it and put it to his ear. "Grissom." After a few minutes of listening, he folded the phone and turned to Catherine. "That was Sara. Archie found something. Come on."
She took his arm and they returned to the AV lab.
* * * * * * *
Catherine was looking in the small refrigerator in the break room. "Hungry?" she asked, turning toward Grissom, who was sitting at the large center table.
He shook his head.
Going back to her search, she said, "Let's see what we've got." After examining the complete contents of the fridge, she pulled out two containers. "Yogurt, great." She grabbed a couple of spoons and handed him one of the yogurts and a utensil. She also took out two bottles of water. Sara probably had brought in the yogurts, but the rule of the break room was, if you left something in the refrigerator for more than a day it became communal property.
Grissom didn't seem enthusiastic, but he opened the yogurt, stirred it around, and began eating. As he had told Catherine, he really wasn't hungry, but he thought he could us whatever energy the food would provide. It was becoming hard for him to keep his focus; exhaustion was starting to take its toll.
As they ate in silence, Catherine could tell he was fading fast, but fighting it. "You know, they're gonna call, and they're gonna have a name for us," she said, trying to spark his faith that they would solve this case, and that the whole tiring thing would soon be over.
Sara, Warrick, Nick, and Brass were out in the field, chasing down the leads Archie had come up with. He had finally identified the strange little statue as a replica of a very old African artifact. The original carving was in the Metro Art Museum, but copies were sold in several shops throughout Vegas—four to be exact. So Brass and the other CSIs had each taken one store to check out. It was easily decided that Grissom should stay behind. Catherine was chosen to stay at the lab with him, and she had offered no objections.
The others had gone to their respective destinations with subpoenas for the sales records, and hoped to find out who had bought one of the small statues within the last month. Of course, cash purchases wouldn't give them any names, but they still might be able to get descriptions of the buyers from the sales clerks. Since Archie had discovered that the price tag on the statue was relatively high, they all hoped that would mean a credit card purchase…and a name.
Grissom pushed his half-finished yogurt away and stood up slowly. He took a few stooped-over steps and glanced at his watch. He looked like he wanted to pace impatiently through the entire room, but he didn't have the stamina or ease of movement to be able to. He stopped at the end of the table, leaning against it with one hand, and then he limped to a nearby cushioned chair, and lowered himself into it, exhaling deeply. His left hand automatically went to his forehead, as his fingers massaged the area just above his brows.
Catherine went over to him. "Headache?" she asked, her voice soft.
He looked up at her and nodded. "Yeah."
"I think I have some Tylenol in my purse," she told him. She found it, and returned to him with two pills and his bottle of water from the table. "Sorry it's not something stronger."
"Thanks, Cath," he said, swallowing the capsules.
"Sure." She sat down again to eat the rest of her yogurt. Then she decided to finish Grissom's container, too. The CSIs often didn't have time for mid-shift meals, so they grabbed food whenever they could.
The next time she looked over at Grissom, he had fallen asleep. He seemed very uncomfortable—sitting mostly upright with his cheek leaning on his left fist—but she let him be, glad for any rest he might get, even if it was just a quick catnap.
* * * * * * *
When Grissom's phone chirped, he jerked awake, his arm dropping and his head falling forward. He blinked and looked around. It took quite a few rings for him to compose himself and dig the cell out of his jacket pocket. "Yeah, Grissom," he finally growled into the mouthpiece.
"It's Nick," said the voice on the other end.
"What's up?" Grissom replied, still attempting to wake up.
"We found him, boss," came the enthusiastic response. "Name and address on a Charles W. Newton, a.k.a. our mysterious 'Chuck.'"
That snapped Grissom to full awareness. "Excellent, Nicky! Get Brass to write warrants for this Newton's residence and his DNA. Give me the address, and Catherine and I will meet you all there." After he got the needed information from Nick, he closed his phone and turned to Catherine, a satisfied glint in his eye. "We've got him," was all he said to her.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
He managed to get out of the seat on his own, but then Catherine went over to help him make it out to the car.
* * * * * * *