Title: Las Vegas Knights
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. These character's are owned by some ridiculously rich people who think that character development means that you turn one of your best characters into an alcoholic.
Chapter Three:
"Sara you paged me?" Grissom asked sounding annoyed.
"Yeah," she replied without apology. "Check this out. Each piece including the sword and the shield have this."
Grissom walked over to stand next to her. He leaned over her shoulder only mere inches from touching her. Sara took a deep breath and held up a piece of the armor while turning it so that he could see the inside of it. Etched into the metal were the very tiny words: 'Medieval Replicas – J. Roberts'.
Grissom's mouth gaped and he smiled. "Well now this is interesting. Nice find Sara."
Sara flashed him a toothy grin at the compliment and Grissom couldn't help but notice that his heart started to beat a little faster. Grissom quickly pulled back and put some distance between them. He cleared his throat and forced a stoic expression upon his face.
"Have you already already checked for prints?" he asked a bit more coolly than intended.
Sara stared at him somewhat confused by his mood change. "Uh yeah. I found two distinct prints. I am going to automatically assume that one set belongs to the vic, I have Jacqui running them through AFIS now," she replied.
Grissom nodded. "Why don't you go see what you can find at Medieval Replicas this morning. Perhaps this J. Roberts can shine a little light on our mystery?"
Sara narrowed her eyes and frowned. "You aren't coming?"
"No. I have some things to take care of around here."
"I guess that means I'll see you later," Sara replied softly, but he was already gone. She tried not to feel disappointed by Grissom's aloof manner towards her. 'I should be used to it by now,' she thought bitterly.
Sara knew that the store wouldn't open for a few hours longer so she continued to process the evidence. She began to study the boy's t-shirt closely. An 'X-Men The Movie' logo adorned the front of the shirt. Two well defined blood stains and tears marred the garment at the right shoulder and the middle of the abdomen. She found another much smaller stain and hole on the left sleeve of the shirt.
Sara frowned and moved over to examine the boy's pants. He had been wearing a pair of black jeans at the time of his death. She quickly found two medium sized holes in the right leg of the jeans.
There had been no blood on the weapon that lay near the victim's body. She had recognized the tell-tale signs of a struggle at the crime scene and that theory was reaffirmed as she studied the photographs taken of the area around the body. However, the only blood at the scene had belonged to the victim. The victim may have tried to fight back, but he had been way out of his league.
"You never stood a chance did you?" she said sadly.
"Talking to yourself again Sar?"
"Hey Nick," she said without turning around. "I thought you weren't going to make it back before the end of shift?"
"Things went better than expected I guess. I heard you have a weird one. Thought I would come and check it out," he said curiously.
"Sure come on in," she replied still not looking at him.
Nick walked over and stared at the suit of armor in awe. "Wow you actually found a guy wearing this stuff out at Lake Mead?"
"Yep. A huge gaping wound in his head too. Take a look at that helmet."
Nick picked up the helmet and examined it closely. "This is surprisingly well made."
"If you look on the inside you will see the maker is a J. Roberts of 'Medieval Replicas'. I am going to pay that establishment a visit in a few hours when they open. I still can't figure out why he would have been wearing this stuff though. Vegas can be a strange place, but I think this is taking bizarre to a whole new level."
Nick was staring at the t-shirt she had laid down on the table. "X-Men huh? You know I collect comic books."
Sara chuckled. "Thanks Nick. I now have a whole new level of respect for you," she said in a teasing voice.
He tossed a glare her way. "Hey now comics are a piece of history. I have some comics that are older than we are. My best one is Amazing Spider-man issue number three from 1963. Its in very-fine condition," he said proudly.
Sara glanced at him and shook her head in confusion. "Nick that means absolutely nothing to me."
"Sara! That issue is the very first appearance of Doctor Octopus!" he exclaimed.
"Riiiiight, now it all makes sense," Sara drawled as she ran an ALS over the victim's clothing.
Nick exhaled slowly. "Don't you have any hobbies?"
Sara groaned. "Please lets not get into this line of questioning again. I'll accept that you value your comic book collection greatly."
He decided to drop the subject knowing that an irritated Sara was not worth the effort of the argument. "Hey do you still want to grab breakfast this morning?" he asked.
"No I can't. Grissom wants me to check out one of our leads," she said with a sigh.
Nick put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him. "Sar? Whats wrong?"
Sara narrowed her eyes and noticed his good mood for the first time. "No whats wrong with you? Your practically glowing. And your smiling. A lot. What happened on your case?" she inquired.
He grinned broadly. "Nothing really. Gypsy Stone is pretty amazing though."
Sara's mouth popped open in a perfect 'O'. "Please tell me you didn't ask her out on a date Nicky."
He chuckled. "No no. She is just really nice is all. Listen, I need to beat my feet back to Catherine. I told her I would just check up on you. Our case is looking like something more than a simple stalker."
"Sure thing. See you later Nick."
Sara finished up with her evidence shortly after he left. Looking at her watch she saw she had a little more than an hour before Medieval Replicas opened. Against her better judgment she decided to stop by Grissom's office. His door was opened when she arrived and he appeared to be studying a series of papers on his desk.
"Hey Griss."
"Sara," he said without looking up.
"Whats up?"
Grissom lifted his head slightly and stared at her over the top of his glasses. "Don't you have something you need to be working on? Or have we solved this case already?"
"Well I still haven't gotten the prints back from Jacqui and my lead doesn't open up for another hour."
"Okay. Can I help you with something then?" he asked coolly as he directed his eyes down towards his desk again.
Sara blinked once. Twice. "No." She quickly turned to leave before she said something she would regret. 'Damnit why does he treat me like I am beneath contempt? And why do I keep going back for more?' Sara cursed silently to herself.
She grabbed her kit and decided to leave for Medieval Replicas a bit early. On the way out she passed Catherine and Nick who each smiled at her even as they chatted to each other. Sara heard Nick say "I still can't believe she lifted up my shirt..." before she walked out of the building. She didn't know what to make of that comment and was still too angry with Grissom to think about it.
As she drove to her destination Sara considered her options. She didn't see many. She loved her work. And being employed at the number two lab in the country had its benefits. Moving up to the number one lab, the FBI, wasn't an option, nor was moving down to a lesser lab. That left transferring to a different shift. Working with Grissom may be difficult, but working with Ecklie would be hell.
She decided that the best possible solution was to stop trying to be Grissom's friend. She resolved to avoid any future unnecessary conversation with her supervisor.
When Sara arrived at her destination she still had twenty minutes to wait before the store opened. She got out of her Tahoe however and walked up to the shop. She cupped her hands against the outer window and could make out someone standing behind a counter. After knocking loudly on the door she stepped back and waited for the employee to acknowledge her.
A moment later the door opened and a large man stared at her with annoyance. "I'm sorry but we don't open for another..."
"Hi I am Sara Sidle with the Las Vegas Crime Lab," she said as she held up her ID for him to inspect.
The man quickly changed his tune and smiled at her. "What can I do for you officer?"
"I'm not a police officer. I'm just an investigator."
He chuckled. "Same thing in my book."
She smiled. "I was wondering if a J. Roberts works here?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I am Jack Roberts. Is there a problem? Here why don't you come in," he invited kindly.
Sara walked into his shop and was amazed by the amount of medieval style weapons and armor that surrounded her. "You made all of this stuff?"
"Sure did," he stated proudly.
Sara took some pictures out of her file and showed them to him.
"Would you recognize this boy?"
Jack took the picture and studied it a moment. "Sure don't. I don't get many kids in here and that one looks dead if you ask me."
"He is. Here take a look at these pictures," she said handing him the photos of the armor.
"Well yeah this is a set I sold to a couple a few weeks ago."
To Be Continued...