Part 3
The rest of the night had been busy after Grissom returned to the lab.
A woman had shot and killed her husband after learning that his
third paycheck in a row had been lost at the blackjack table. In
spite of Catherine's view that it was justifiable homicide, the woman
was now in custody, charged with murder.
On the other side of town, an ongoing argument between neighbors had
escalated until one man's pit bull was found roaming the local
streets, dragging what appeared to be a human arm, minus the hand.
The arm was in the lab, the dog was being held by animal control, and
the owner was declaring his total innocence to anyone who would
listen. His contentious neighbor was missing.
Grissom sighed and rubbed his eyes as he shut and locked the door.
The sun had just risen and the rest of the world was waking up, fixing
breakfast, preparing to go to work. This morning, sleep was more
appealing than food, so he had declined Sara's invitation to accompany
the group to breakfast.
Although he was not happy to admit it to himself, he had also wanted
to come home in case Heather called. His phone had received only work-
related calls after he left The Dominion. Work had kept his mind off
his unsuccessful attempt to see her, but now that he was home, he was
hoping, though not expecting, that she would call. He removed his
jacket, hung it in the coat closet, and made his way to the bedroom.
Sleep came quickly, once his neighbors had all left for work or school
or the other destinations of the non-nocturnal. In some parts of Las
Vegas, daytime was more quiet than night.
Gil was back at the Dominion now, and Carina was smiling, taking his
hand to lead him up the stairs. He could hear the distinctive sound
of a whip cracking a few rooms away, but otherwise the large dwelling
was quiet. At the top of the stairs, his companion released his hand
and motioned for him to follow her down the hall.
She stopped at the door at the end of the hall, and tapped on it
lightly before entering. Gil hesitated, not sure if he was supposed
to enter the room with her. Carina turned and waved him silently
through the door and into Lady Heather's private suite.
A ringing phone broke the silence of the moment, and he looked around
Heather's sitting room, waiting for someone to answer it. Carina was
gone now and the unseen phone rang again. On the third ring, he
realized it was his phone, ringing on the nightstand where he had
placed it earlier, and he flung his arm out from under the covers to
reach it. By the fourth ring, it was in his hand.
His vision was still blurry from sleep and he could not make out the
name or number on the LED display, but he hit the answer button.
"Grissom," he said, trying to stifle a yawn. He glanced at the clock,
saw that it was only two hours since he had gone to bed, and frowned,
irritated at being awakened so soon.
"You are sleeping," a familiar voice replied. "I will call you
later." He made a fast transition from asleep to awake at the sound
of Lady Heather's voice and propped himself up on one elbow in the
bed.
"No, it is alright. I was just waking up," he lied, determined
to keep her on the phone, for fear that this might be her only attempt
to contact him. "I wanted to, I mean, I am glad you called,"
continued, trying to gather his thoughts quickly. "I need to talk to
you."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the call, and he
wondered if he had responded too late to keep her on the line. "Yes?"
was her only reply. Gil sat upright now, fully alert. She was not
going to make this easy for him.
"I needed to explain my actions, Heather. I know you don't want
apologies, but I hope you will listen this time." He waited for a
response, but none followed, so he continued. "I never believed you
had a part in killing anyone. I believed that the evidence would
prove that, but I had to be sure. I had to be sure that it could not
be questioned. That is why I made the call. I should have explained
that to you then, but I didn't, and for that I am truly sorry." He
stopped and took a deep breath, waiting for her reaction.
"Thank you," Heather replied. "Yes, you should have explained
then. I had trusted you, and it hurt not to have that trust
returned."
"I know, and I hope you will forgive me. I would very much like
to see you again," Grissom responded. "I need to make it up to you."
He could hear the hint of a smile in Heather's voice when she
said "Oh? How do you plan to 'make it up to me,' Mr. Grissom?"
"In exactly that way, Lady Heather," he replied, adopting her
more formal mode of address. "I will make it up to you to decide how I
can prove my sincerity, and my trust in you," he continued, the
beginning of a smile playing at his lips.
"Yes, you will need to convince me, Mr. Grissom. Tomorrow,
perhaps, would be a good time for you to do that. Could you come by
in the afternoon?" Heather had to wait only a second for Gil's
affirmative response to her invitation. "Good, I will plan on seeing
you at 3:00. Call me when you are on your way," she said, preparing
to end their conversation.
Gil agreed to be there at the appointed time, knowing he could
arrange to take the evening off work if necessary. Prior to saying
their goodbyes, he thanked her for allowing him make things right
again. "Oh, yes, I am sure you will earn my forgiveness, Gil, and I
look forward to it," Heather replied.
In spite of his state of physical fatigue, Grissom laid awake
for some time after the conversation ended. He replayed her words in
his head and knew he would do whatever it took to regain her trust.
He rechecked the alarm setting, and settled in for a few more hours of
sleep before returning to work. Tomorrow would be a very long day.
The rest of the night had been busy after Grissom returned to the lab.
A woman had shot and killed her husband after learning that his
third paycheck in a row had been lost at the blackjack table. In
spite of Catherine's view that it was justifiable homicide, the woman
was now in custody, charged with murder.
On the other side of town, an ongoing argument between neighbors had
escalated until one man's pit bull was found roaming the local
streets, dragging what appeared to be a human arm, minus the hand.
The arm was in the lab, the dog was being held by animal control, and
the owner was declaring his total innocence to anyone who would
listen. His contentious neighbor was missing.
Grissom sighed and rubbed his eyes as he shut and locked the door.
The sun had just risen and the rest of the world was waking up, fixing
breakfast, preparing to go to work. This morning, sleep was more
appealing than food, so he had declined Sara's invitation to accompany
the group to breakfast.
Although he was not happy to admit it to himself, he had also wanted
to come home in case Heather called. His phone had received only work-
related calls after he left The Dominion. Work had kept his mind off
his unsuccessful attempt to see her, but now that he was home, he was
hoping, though not expecting, that she would call. He removed his
jacket, hung it in the coat closet, and made his way to the bedroom.
Sleep came quickly, once his neighbors had all left for work or school
or the other destinations of the non-nocturnal. In some parts of Las
Vegas, daytime was more quiet than night.
Gil was back at the Dominion now, and Carina was smiling, taking his
hand to lead him up the stairs. He could hear the distinctive sound
of a whip cracking a few rooms away, but otherwise the large dwelling
was quiet. At the top of the stairs, his companion released his hand
and motioned for him to follow her down the hall.
She stopped at the door at the end of the hall, and tapped on it
lightly before entering. Gil hesitated, not sure if he was supposed
to enter the room with her. Carina turned and waved him silently
through the door and into Lady Heather's private suite.
A ringing phone broke the silence of the moment, and he looked around
Heather's sitting room, waiting for someone to answer it. Carina was
gone now and the unseen phone rang again. On the third ring, he
realized it was his phone, ringing on the nightstand where he had
placed it earlier, and he flung his arm out from under the covers to
reach it. By the fourth ring, it was in his hand.
His vision was still blurry from sleep and he could not make out the
name or number on the LED display, but he hit the answer button.
"Grissom," he said, trying to stifle a yawn. He glanced at the clock,
saw that it was only two hours since he had gone to bed, and frowned,
irritated at being awakened so soon.
"You are sleeping," a familiar voice replied. "I will call you
later." He made a fast transition from asleep to awake at the sound
of Lady Heather's voice and propped himself up on one elbow in the
bed.
"No, it is alright. I was just waking up," he lied, determined
to keep her on the phone, for fear that this might be her only attempt
to contact him. "I wanted to, I mean, I am glad you called,"
continued, trying to gather his thoughts quickly. "I need to talk to
you."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the call, and he
wondered if he had responded too late to keep her on the line. "Yes?"
was her only reply. Gil sat upright now, fully alert. She was not
going to make this easy for him.
"I needed to explain my actions, Heather. I know you don't want
apologies, but I hope you will listen this time." He waited for a
response, but none followed, so he continued. "I never believed you
had a part in killing anyone. I believed that the evidence would
prove that, but I had to be sure. I had to be sure that it could not
be questioned. That is why I made the call. I should have explained
that to you then, but I didn't, and for that I am truly sorry." He
stopped and took a deep breath, waiting for her reaction.
"Thank you," Heather replied. "Yes, you should have explained
then. I had trusted you, and it hurt not to have that trust
returned."
"I know, and I hope you will forgive me. I would very much like
to see you again," Grissom responded. "I need to make it up to you."
He could hear the hint of a smile in Heather's voice when she
said "Oh? How do you plan to 'make it up to me,' Mr. Grissom?"
"In exactly that way, Lady Heather," he replied, adopting her
more formal mode of address. "I will make it up to you to decide how I
can prove my sincerity, and my trust in you," he continued, the
beginning of a smile playing at his lips.
"Yes, you will need to convince me, Mr. Grissom. Tomorrow,
perhaps, would be a good time for you to do that. Could you come by
in the afternoon?" Heather had to wait only a second for Gil's
affirmative response to her invitation. "Good, I will plan on seeing
you at 3:00. Call me when you are on your way," she said, preparing
to end their conversation.
Gil agreed to be there at the appointed time, knowing he could
arrange to take the evening off work if necessary. Prior to saying
their goodbyes, he thanked her for allowing him make things right
again. "Oh, yes, I am sure you will earn my forgiveness, Gil, and I
look forward to it," Heather replied.
In spite of his state of physical fatigue, Grissom laid awake
for some time after the conversation ended. He replayed her words in
his head and knew he would do whatever it took to regain her trust.
He rechecked the alarm setting, and settled in for a few more hours of
sleep before returning to work. Tomorrow would be a very long day.