DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the CSI characters, they are the property of CBS and the shows writers. All original characters are mine!
Part Four : Spidersense
From deep within its leafy domain, the tarantula stirred and stretched a long leg lazily into the artificial heat. Slowly, it ascended to the upper most level of the rock pile and bristled against the Perspex.
"She's lonely." A voice broke the silence in the office. Grissom looked across from the spot on the far wall he'd been studying for the past ten minutes and towards the young woman seated across from him, calm and collected and in control. Exactly the opposite of what he felt.
"I'm sorry?" he stammered. The girl ran her finger down the length of the habitation absently, as she spoke in authoritative tones.
"Most spiders are highly independent – once they leave the nest they never see their parents again, but the Brazilian Leaf Spider is the opposite. They stay together in tightly formed colonies and remain with the same group for many years. The fur on the back of her neck here is a pale yellowy colour showing an emotional response to something. Since there is no evidence of injury it can be assumed that the problem is emotional. Humans like to believe that spiders are emotionless creatures, it makes them easier to swash with newspapers and flush down drains – when in fact they are highly sensitive to change."
Grissom regarded her with unashamed astonishment. "How do you know so much about insects?" he asked. The girl crossed her legs and smiled.
"Only spiders. I don't trust anything with more than eight legs, seems greedy to me. I was the only child in second grade to have a pet spider…my mother was not pleased."
In spite of the situation, Grissom caught her eye and smiled.
"I remember Julie was terrified of spiders." He commented. The girl nodded, then glanced away, her eyes misting for a second. Grissom felt his social inadequacies rising.
"How did she die?" he asked finally, curiosity overwhelming the situations need for diplomacy. This, he mused as the young woman fixed her icy gaze upon him once more, is the reason Catherine always talks to the press.
"Heart attack" she replied simply. She took a sip from the water Grissom had provided and placed the bottle in front of him. Rising, she leant forward, bringing her face parallel with his.
"Some claim that a spider's sense of genetics is so strong that it can recognise a relative by their scent even if they have never met before. Humans have a lot of catching up to do." She tapped the water bottle, "There should be enough DNA on there for you to run a comparison and prove I'm your daughter. I don't want anything from you, I just needed to see the reason my mother always smiled when a beetle came inside."
Grissom was still left speechless when the door closed behind her and her footsteps had faded. He looked down at his spider, still bristling against the top of the habitat and sighed.
"And people wonder why I prefer bugs."
Maggot Boy, who turned out to be a bus-boy by the name of Craig Elson, was not a popular guy with the females of Vegas. In his distraught mothers eyes he'd been the perfect son, although she hadn't seen or spoken to him in almost three years, but to everyone else he was a narcissistic, immature bully who preyed on emotionally unstable women, draining them of self esteem then finally discarding them in favour of the next big thing. Nick grinned as he recalled the string of profanity that had erupted from one of Elsons colleagues when he inadvertently mentioned that's Elson had been seen with the other bus-boys girlfriend several times. The interview had produced some pertinent information though, it appeared that a few weeks before his death he had been seeing a blond girl, who's name no-one could remember, but who had the distinction of being the only female strong enough to cut Elson loose when she discovered him in bed with a waitress for the Tangiers. The waitress had been a curly haired brunette with expensive tastes, whom Elson had dropped three days before his body was found in the lab. Armed with this new information, Nick brought the SUV to a halt beside the back entrance to the CSI building and jumped out. He'd taken only three steps when he collided with an attractive blond girl who was hurrying from the building, head down, obviously distraught. Nick reached out instinctively and caught her before she fell, crushing her small body against his.
"Hey," he asked with concern, "You ok?"
The girl looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, sorry. Guess my mind was somewhere else. Thanks." She added. Nick grinned and extended his hand.
"Nick Stokes…I work here but I haven't seen you around before."
"Alicia Jaynt" the girl said with a wider smile, taking his hand lightly in hers. Nick looked into her bright blue eyes and felt his stomach contract. He hadn't been on a date in a while and was starting to doubt his ability to meet normal women, considering his last girlfriend had been a suspect and the one before that a prostitute who ended up dead only hours after they'd spent the night together.
"I don't work here." Alicia clarified. "I'm a waitress…highly unglamorous but pays some of the bills." She shook her head. Nick grinned again.
"Hey sometimes I would give anything for a job that doesn't involve blood and dead people." He pulled a face and was gratified when she laughed.
"You clearly haven't ever been to the diner where I work." Alicia joked, tucking a stray hair back behind her ear.
"How about we trade war stories over a drink?"
*
Grissom dropped the water bottle and a swab on top of the forensic magazine Greg was reading, who jumped and fell off his precariously leaning chair.
"I need a comparison run on these as soon as possible and as quietly as possible." Grissom said, ignoring the pained protests from the floor under the desk. Second later Gregs messy blonded spikes appeared over the top of the desk as he scrambled to regain composure in front of the night supervisor.
"Quietly?" the dazed technician asked. Grissom nodded.
"It's a personal matter. I need to know if the DNA on the swab is a paternity match to the DNA from the water bottle."
"No problem" Greg said, reaching for a swab and attacking the bottle neck. "Can I ask what this is about?"
"No" Grissom replied sharply. Greg looked hurt for a moment, then recovered and dropped the swabs into their respective solutions and started the analysis machine spinning. Ten seconds later the computer beeped and a single sheet of paper spewed forth from the printer. Greg snatched it up before Grissom could and scanned the results with interest.
"Well you've got your paternity match. Markers are a clear indication. Now you gonna tell me who the specimens are from?" he pushed hopefully, but Grissom had already left the lab. Greg sighed,
"Just think of the promotion being a lap dog could bring". He muttered, returning to his magazine.
*
Warrick and Nick had gained almost identical information on their victims. Both had been dating a mystery blond who had been cheated on with an even more mysterious brunette. Nether victim was praised for their compassion and both were regarded with obvious distain by those closest to them.
"My moneys on the blond" Warrick announced, leaning back in his chair and throwing a grape absentmindedly at Catherine, who reached up and caught it.
"Wow, nice reflexes." He said impressed. Catherine popped the grape into her mouth and smirked,
"Thanks….comes from years of having to catch vases before Lindsey smashed them."
Warrick laughed, "Violent child?" he asked.
"Not the only one." Grissom said, entering the break room and shutting the door hard behind him. "Apparently our frat boy's ex had quite the temper on her. When he left her she slashed his tires and threw a brick through his window."
"Doesn't sound uncommon to me." Catherine commented. Sarah nodded her agreement, and then laid a photo of a signature before them.
"Well I think I I.D'd our scorned woman. A blond woman, medium height and slim build purchased a set containing the same heart that was dug out of the second victim. Her name is Lila Gregory…that ties in with frat boy right?" she asked Grissom, who nodded.
"Friends confirmed the girlfriends last name was G something." Catherine added. "And that he dumped her because she accused him of cheating on her…with one of his friends a brunette by the name of Louise Anderson."
"I couldn't find anything at the crime scene to say why the pattern changed for this victim, but that makes sense. The others all cheated on our Lila Gregory, whereas this one actually wasn't." Grissom commented. Nick shrugged.
"Maybe she was trying to prove she'd been right. By putting something hidden in the bed it would have caught whoever was in there, not just the ex."
Sarah picked her coat from the back of her chair and tucked it under her arm.
"I'll run Lila Gregory through our databases and see what pops up." She said, starting for the door. Grissom called out to her.
"No, I'll do it." He avoided Catherines wary eye and ducked past Sarah into the calming corridor. Behind him the other CSI's exchanged interested glances.
"Think he'll ever talk about it?" Sarah asked. Catherine snorted.
"Not in this lifetime."
