Title: Barely Existing
Author: Cindy Ryan
catagory: angst, Xover
pairings: Jack/Sam, Grissom/Sara
Summary: After 'Play with fire' Sara vanishes, Grissom calls in a favor
Notes: See part one. Thanks for the feedback. :)
Warrick angrily stalked over to the chair and sat down. "I came into some money."
Vivian walked around the table and sat down across from him. "Let me guess a dead uncle?"
Danny sat on the corner of the table on the right side. "Nah, this was just a back room poker game, right Warrick?"
Warrick's eyes narrowed sharply. "No. I don't gamble any more."
"Sure you don't."Danny replied. "Just like you didn't gamble when Holly Gribbs was shot to death."
A shadow of sadness crossed over Brown's face. "I'll regret her death for the rest of my life but I was a different person then."
Vivian leaned forward. "Leopards don't change their spots. I understand that Sara was brought in to investigate your gambling. Maybe she found out you were back to your old habits. Tried to talk you out of it. But it was too late and the wrong people followed you and grabbed her until you pay up."
Warrick shook his head. "That's very creative but wrong. I'll only say this one more time then I'm leaving. If I knew where Sara was I'd tell you. I haven't gambled in two years. I don't owe any loan sharks money. I paid off my student loan from an inheritance from my Uncle Harold who died at age ninety from lung cancer.
Now if you'll excuse me I have a crime scene to process."
Danny winced as the door slammed shut behind Brown. He turned to face his colleague. "Think he's telling the truth?"
Vivian nodded. "A dead uncle is easy enough to check out. I don't think he's hiding anything. Compulsive gamblers do anything to keep their habit going. He shows no sign of that."
Danny slammed the manilla folder he was holding against the table in frustration. "So we're back to square one."
Vivian nodded sadly. "Unless Martin and Sam can shake something lose from the paramedic's story."
*********
27 hours missing
(3 am)
"So where are we?"Jack asked as the team regrouped in the interrogation room.
"Brown's story checks."Vivian stated as she leaned against the table. "At least as far as the dead uncle. Took me awhile to find him because he wasn't a blood relative. Brown's mother died when he was seven his father has never been in the picture so he was raised by his maternal grandmother. The grandmother had a long time neighbor who died a few weeks ago.....Harold Brenner age ninety. No family, split his inheritance between Warrick and his grandmother. I confirmed it with the grandmother and Brown's bank."
Jack sighed. "Okay that rules out the gambling/loan shark angle. What about the ex-boyfriend?"
Sam shook her head. "Albi checks out there too. Peddigew and his current girlfriend Elaine Alcott were locked up in a suite at the Paris hotel. Room service records confirm that along with security tapes and the front desk. They never left the room until they checked out this morning."
"What's our clock?"Danny asked wearily. "She disappeared after midnight yesterday....and it's now....."
"Three a.m."Jack replied. "We're at twenty-seven hours. We need something to go on. Our two best leads just tanked."
"It gets worse."Martin added as he picked up a piece of paper from the table and scanned it. "There were no unknown prints in the apartment."
"Does that include the front door?"Vivian asked.
Martin looked back down at the paper and nodded. "Yeah."
"So our guy had gloves on."Danny surmised as he leaned back in his chair.
"Or she never made it to her apartment at all."Martin replied quietly."We're assuming she was standing at her front door when she was grabbed."
"But if she was grabbed as she was walking up to the apartment building."Danny countered. "Brown would've seen something."
Jack shook his head. "Not necessarily. She could've decided to go for a walk around the block before going in."
Danny rubbed a hand along the back of his neck as he stood and walked to the white board. He flipped it over and picked up a marker. "Okay, let's start back at the beginning....."
"Before we do that let's canvas the block again."Jack ordered as he stood."Somebody had to have seen something. Viv, Danny go knock on some doors. Maybe if we deprive people of sleep their memories will return. Martin pull up the report on Sidle's computer and find her phone records. I want to look at those again."
"Sorry to interupt."Catherine apologized as she knocked on the open doorway.
Jack looked toward her. "You're not."
"Can I talk to you a moment in private?"Catherine asked as Danny and Vivian stepped past her into the hallway.
Jack stood. "Sure."
********
Catherine led Jack down the hallway to an empty unused office. "You don't have any leads do you?"
Jack blinked. "We have a few things we're working on."
"Like waking people up at three a.m.?"
"Catherine....."
"I'm sorry."Catherine apologized as she leaned against the wall. "Grissom's spoke highly of your team. I know you're doing everything you can."
"But she's still your friend and you want to be out there searching."Jack acknowledged softly. "We are doing everything we can to bring Sara home."
Catherine nodded. "I didn't come over here to bash your investigative skills. But now that I'm here I don't think it's my place to tell you this."
"Let me be the judge of that."Jack replied quietly. "Did you remember something about Sara's actions the last few days?"
Catherine shook her head as she met the FBI agent's gaze. "No, this is about her and Grissom."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Do they have a personal relationship?"
Catherine folded her arms against her chest as she paced a few steps. "They have a history but I don't think it ever went as far as a relationship. She asked him out the day of the lab explosion and he turned her down."
"Was she hurt by this?"Jack asked.
Catherine shrugged. "I'm sure she was. But Sara often kept things to herself."
Author: Cindy Ryan
catagory: angst, Xover
pairings: Jack/Sam, Grissom/Sara
Summary: After 'Play with fire' Sara vanishes, Grissom calls in a favor
Notes: See part one. Thanks for the feedback. :)
Warrick angrily stalked over to the chair and sat down. "I came into some money."
Vivian walked around the table and sat down across from him. "Let me guess a dead uncle?"
Danny sat on the corner of the table on the right side. "Nah, this was just a back room poker game, right Warrick?"
Warrick's eyes narrowed sharply. "No. I don't gamble any more."
"Sure you don't."Danny replied. "Just like you didn't gamble when Holly Gribbs was shot to death."
A shadow of sadness crossed over Brown's face. "I'll regret her death for the rest of my life but I was a different person then."
Vivian leaned forward. "Leopards don't change their spots. I understand that Sara was brought in to investigate your gambling. Maybe she found out you were back to your old habits. Tried to talk you out of it. But it was too late and the wrong people followed you and grabbed her until you pay up."
Warrick shook his head. "That's very creative but wrong. I'll only say this one more time then I'm leaving. If I knew where Sara was I'd tell you. I haven't gambled in two years. I don't owe any loan sharks money. I paid off my student loan from an inheritance from my Uncle Harold who died at age ninety from lung cancer.
Now if you'll excuse me I have a crime scene to process."
Danny winced as the door slammed shut behind Brown. He turned to face his colleague. "Think he's telling the truth?"
Vivian nodded. "A dead uncle is easy enough to check out. I don't think he's hiding anything. Compulsive gamblers do anything to keep their habit going. He shows no sign of that."
Danny slammed the manilla folder he was holding against the table in frustration. "So we're back to square one."
Vivian nodded sadly. "Unless Martin and Sam can shake something lose from the paramedic's story."
*********
27 hours missing
(3 am)
"So where are we?"Jack asked as the team regrouped in the interrogation room.
"Brown's story checks."Vivian stated as she leaned against the table. "At least as far as the dead uncle. Took me awhile to find him because he wasn't a blood relative. Brown's mother died when he was seven his father has never been in the picture so he was raised by his maternal grandmother. The grandmother had a long time neighbor who died a few weeks ago.....Harold Brenner age ninety. No family, split his inheritance between Warrick and his grandmother. I confirmed it with the grandmother and Brown's bank."
Jack sighed. "Okay that rules out the gambling/loan shark angle. What about the ex-boyfriend?"
Sam shook her head. "Albi checks out there too. Peddigew and his current girlfriend Elaine Alcott were locked up in a suite at the Paris hotel. Room service records confirm that along with security tapes and the front desk. They never left the room until they checked out this morning."
"What's our clock?"Danny asked wearily. "She disappeared after midnight yesterday....and it's now....."
"Three a.m."Jack replied. "We're at twenty-seven hours. We need something to go on. Our two best leads just tanked."
"It gets worse."Martin added as he picked up a piece of paper from the table and scanned it. "There were no unknown prints in the apartment."
"Does that include the front door?"Vivian asked.
Martin looked back down at the paper and nodded. "Yeah."
"So our guy had gloves on."Danny surmised as he leaned back in his chair.
"Or she never made it to her apartment at all."Martin replied quietly."We're assuming she was standing at her front door when she was grabbed."
"But if she was grabbed as she was walking up to the apartment building."Danny countered. "Brown would've seen something."
Jack shook his head. "Not necessarily. She could've decided to go for a walk around the block before going in."
Danny rubbed a hand along the back of his neck as he stood and walked to the white board. He flipped it over and picked up a marker. "Okay, let's start back at the beginning....."
"Before we do that let's canvas the block again."Jack ordered as he stood."Somebody had to have seen something. Viv, Danny go knock on some doors. Maybe if we deprive people of sleep their memories will return. Martin pull up the report on Sidle's computer and find her phone records. I want to look at those again."
"Sorry to interupt."Catherine apologized as she knocked on the open doorway.
Jack looked toward her. "You're not."
"Can I talk to you a moment in private?"Catherine asked as Danny and Vivian stepped past her into the hallway.
Jack stood. "Sure."
********
Catherine led Jack down the hallway to an empty unused office. "You don't have any leads do you?"
Jack blinked. "We have a few things we're working on."
"Like waking people up at three a.m.?"
"Catherine....."
"I'm sorry."Catherine apologized as she leaned against the wall. "Grissom's spoke highly of your team. I know you're doing everything you can."
"But she's still your friend and you want to be out there searching."Jack acknowledged softly. "We are doing everything we can to bring Sara home."
Catherine nodded. "I didn't come over here to bash your investigative skills. But now that I'm here I don't think it's my place to tell you this."
"Let me be the judge of that."Jack replied quietly. "Did you remember something about Sara's actions the last few days?"
Catherine shook her head as she met the FBI agent's gaze. "No, this is about her and Grissom."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Do they have a personal relationship?"
Catherine folded her arms against her chest as she paced a few steps. "They have a history but I don't think it ever went as far as a relationship. She asked him out the day of the lab explosion and he turned her down."
"Was she hurt by this?"Jack asked.
Catherine shrugged. "I'm sure she was. But Sara often kept things to herself."