A/N Thanks for all the great reviews and for the people who were interested enough in the case to e-mail me with their thoughts on the killer's MO, it's really really awesome to hear from you all. I can't express my appreciation enough for everyone who takes the time to tell me what they think of my work.  But, getting sentimental here… on with it!

Chapter 8

Tim Loft sat on the couch in his living room. Sara sat next to him and Grissom sat to the side in the armchair.  Brass was standing. Tim looked terrible – unshaven, in slept-in clothes, bags under his eyes.  He breathed in deeply and turned to Sara who smiled lightly at him.

"I'm sorry that you keep getting asked questions Mr. Loft," she said softly.

He shook his head, "No, it's okay – I know you're just doing your job – anything to help find out who did this."

Sara nodded, "Well there was really just one thing we wanted to ask you. Did Paula have any tattoos?"

Tim looked up and nodded, "Yeah, she had an Angel – here," he touched the back of his shoulder and looked up at Sara, "Is that important?"

Sara looked at Grissom who lent forward in his chair, "It's very helpful, thank you."

"That's it?" Time asked, rising as the two criminalists got up to leave.

"Just one more thing," Grissom asked as they all moved towards the front door of the apartment, "You wouldn't happen to know where she got it done, would you?"

Tim nodded, "Yes, the tattoo parlour down on Baker Street – I think it's called Jeremy's Body Art?"

Brass scribbled the information down in his notebook and looked up at Tim, "Thank you Mr. Loft."

"You will let me know, wont you? As soon as you hear anything? As soon as you know something?"

"Yes Mr. Loft, we'll let you know, good evening."

"Thank you, yes – goodbye."

The three investigators came to a stop in front of Brass's Taurus and Sara's Tahoe out the front of the apartment block.

Sara whipped out her phone and dialled Nick's number. She waited impatiently as it rang twice.

"Hey Sar," Nick's voice reached her clearly.

"Tell me what I want to hear Nicky!"

"Jeremy's Body Art, Baker Street?" Nick asked hopefully.

"Yes!" she looked at Grissom and grinned, "Same place – look Nick we'll head on over to the Tanner's place and confirm that Melissa had a tat…"

"Tell him not to go over there unless O'Riley's still there with him," Brass interrupted.

Sara nodded and asked Nick, "Are you still with O'Riley?"

"Yeah, we're just leaving – hey we'll meet you guy's there?"

"He want's to know if we'll meet him at the tattoo parlour," Sara looked at Grissom and Brass, "O'Riley's with him," she added to Brass.

"We'll go talk to Melissa's parent's first and see what we can find out there," Grissom said.

"Nick? We'll let you know – we're still going to go and talk with the Tanner's okay?"

"Yeah no worries, Sar," she could almost hear his grin.

"Hey Nicky? Good work," she smiled and hung up.

Grissom and Sara clambered into the Tahoe and followed Brass's car as he pulled away from the curb.

~~

"No, no Melissa would never get a tattoo," Mrs. Tanner cried to Grissom.

"Mrs. Tanner, are you sure? She couldn't have hidden it from you because she knew you'd be upset?" Sara asked.

Mrs. Tanner shook her head, "No, she never even mentioned it – she didn't even have pierced ears."

Grissom sighed, "Okay, thank you ma'am."

Once again the three investigators trudged back to their vehicles – this time there was a little less bounce in their step.

"I still say it's possible she had one and didn't tell her parents," Sara said to Grissom.

Grissom nodded and squinted in thought, "Although the place where the patch of skin was removed – it's hardly an inconspicuous place… the leg – especially for a dancer."

Brass joined in, "Maybe she was in there having a look? Thinking of getting one? Maybe the killer removed a bit of skin with no markings on it because he'd already chosen his next victim and wanted to throw us off the trail, confuse us?"

Sara nodded her agreement, "It's possible – let's go and talk to her friends, they might know if she was thinking about getting one, her and the girl she worked with at the night club on the strip were close, it's only down the street," Sara pleaded. There was no way she was going to give up because of the minor set back.

Grissom nodded, "Okay – lets go."

~~

Brass flashed his badge to the security guard at the front of the club, who barely blinked and nodded them inside.

The music blared and the dance lights flickered – it wasn't late enough for the place to be really packed but there was still quite a few people in there, drinking and dancing.

The two men followed Sara down the steps and across the dance floor, towards the bar.  Grissom noticed a couple of guys checking Sara out and immediately frowned – how dare they? He gave them a glare, which Brass caught and smiled at, before catching up with Sara who was already talking to one of the girls behind the bar.

"Melissa with a tattoo?" the girl – Kim - laughed at a memory, "No, no – she wasn't really into that sort of thing."

Sara sighed and looked at Grissom and Brass.  Brass shrugged his shoulders, but Grissom was looking intently at Kim.  A tattoo of a blue rose had been inked onto her right wrist.

"Is that new?" He asked her and pointed to her wrist.

"Oh yeah – kind of, probably had it about a month? Actually Melissa was there when I got it done – held my hand while I almost broke hers from squeezing it so hard…" She smiled again, but suddenly a tear came streaking across her face.  She gulped and wiped it quickly away, "Anything else I can help you with? Cos I've got customers, y'know?"

"Just one thing – where did you get it done?" Sara asked, a hint of urgency in her voice.

"Uhm – Johnny's… no Jeremy's Body Art – Baker Street, you know the one?"

Sara nodded, "Thank you for your time."  She turned around and gave the men a triumphant smile and marched quickly towards the exit. 

Brass watched sympathetically as Kim walked into what he assumed was the break room – the tears finally falling uncontrollably, and then followed the two CSI's out to the parking lot.  By the time he reached them Sara had already snapped off her phone and finished talking to Nick.

"O'Riley and Nick have finished already – they've got a list of employees and the types of cars they drive, but we'll have to get a warrant if we want to go after their shoes," she said, all business.

Brass nodded, "Good – I'll get onto that and let you know the moment I hear anything," he got into his car, waved, and drove away.

Sara looked at Grissom's typically stoic face, "We are so close," she said quietly.

He nodded, "So lets go and get this guy before he strikes again."

Both of them knew the other was a mess, emotionally.  Neither of them could fool the other into thinking that they were completely cut off from the case and both of them knew this too. But still, Grissom continued to show no emotion and pretend nothing had happened between them – inside he was all over the place; excited about the new lead, scared there would be another victim before they found the killer, worried about how Sara was feeling, angry because it had taken them three dead bodies for the case to open up.  Sara was feeling similarly, although the features on her face made her look more determined than Grissom's passivity. With both of their facades still in tact, they got into the Tahoe and drove back to headquarters.

TBC