A/N See first chapter for disclaimers and other information

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Chapter 2

They stood in the crowded vendor's room, a handful of credit card receipts between them. On every side of the pair of investigators, booths selling odd paraphernalia or esoteric services surrounded them. Swarming the stalls were convention goers-from the relatively mundane, a woman in a dragon t-shirt, to the more bizarre, a pair of men dressed as the stereotypical bug eyed aliens. "Our killer didn't seem to want to cover his or her tracks very well." Sara glanced down at the first credit slip, for a booth called 'Ancient Treasures'. "Unless of course, the killer has nothing to do with the Convention, and we're on a wild Phoenix chase."

At her mythological reference, Grissom grinned again, this time not shielding the visage from Sara's eyes. She could only stare for a moment. Gil Grissom? Enjoying himself? With her? When was the last time that happened? Blinking for just a moment, she handed her boss half the slips. Neither her voice nor face betrayed any of the flash of hope his simple grin had elicited. "I suppose we should split up, check these out…"

"No need Sara, there aren't that many." A brow lifted as she simply stared at him. "Unless of course, you'd rather…"

Shrugging, Sara took the papers back from him. "No. Either way is fine with me. There's the first one. Ancient Treasures. The receipt just says jewelry." She walked away before Grissom could respond, leaving him frowning after her for a moment before hurrying to catch up. By the time he did, she had already introduced herself to the booth's proprietor, a thin, graying woman in a jeans and a peasant blouse.

"I don't know if I should give out information on what Mr.…Simons purchased."

"Please," Sara flashed a warm smile at the woman, "Mr. Simons isn't in a position to object. And any information you could give us might help us find out what happened to him."

"I really don't remember him." She had glanced at the morgue photo for only a moment, before turning away in distaste. "But I'll look up his purchase. If you'll wait a moment?"

Sara nodded and dropped her eyes to a tray of pendants lining the counter. "That one is interesting." She started at the sound of Grissom's voice, very near her shoulder. Her head turned, and she peered at him through a screen of dark hair.

"Which one?" She managed to speak without emotion as her eyes followed his pointing finger, even as she took a half step away from him. As her gaze dropped to the ornament, she couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "Griss? A closet fan the WB?"

It took him a moment to answer, his eyes resting in the void where she had been standing so close to him just a moment before. "I…ah…" Finally, he looked up at her dancing expression. "The what?"

"The WB show? Charmed? That's a Triquetra. It's the symbol of the show. Not," she hurried to assure him, "That I watch it."

"Of course not Sara." He lifted a brow then glanced down at the bronze pendant, "So? The Triquetra?"

"Oh." She shrugged, "A symbol of trinities. In Witchcraft, Wicca, it symbolizes the three phases of women. Maiden, Mother, and Crone. The circle, here," she pointed to the outer ring, "Symbolizes the unity of whatever trinity is signified by the outer points of the ovals." She reached out to touch them gently, "Of course, any three-fold system can be represented by the triquetra: life, death, and rebirth, the Hindu trinity, the Christian trinity, yin, Tao, and yang. That's why it's surprising it took such a silly show to make it popular."

Grissom's brow lifted again and Sara dropped her eyes almost shyly. "What? I read a lot."

She was saved from any response when the proprietor returned. "Here we are. Took me a moment to organize my files. Mr. Simons bought an Ankh. Silver. A lovely piece." She laid a silver medallion that looked like a cross with a loop top on the counter. "Lovely, but not very special I'm afraid. Mass-produced. If that's all? I do have customers…"

Sara glanced at Grissom, who nodded. "Yes. Thank you for your help." She looked up at the man, who was watching her expectantly. "What?"

"Your thoughts on the Ankh please, Miss Sidle?"

"Theorizing ahead of the evidence, Griss?"

He smiled, "No, just trying to understand the evidence a little better."

This time it was Sara who frowned. She could understand him not recognizing a triquetra. But an ankh? He was more widely read than she, and Egyptian culture was much more mainstream than Celtic. "Ah. Uh…the Ankh symbolizes life in ancient Egypt. It was associated with things like water, air, and the sun…all elements that sustained life. It's considered very powerful by some. Protective." No way she was getting into the female/male symbolism involved.

Grissom nodded, a slow smile tugging at his lips. "Sara?" He paused until she looked up from the credit card slips. "How many of these Conventions have you been to?"

"What? None! I told you, I read a lot!"

He just watched her for a moment, his brow slowly raising again, the smile curving about his lips.

"All right, all right. One or two. With my parents." Sara glared at him, "When I was younger. And if this gets around the lab…"

"Relax Sara; your secret is safe with me." His smile faded a bit as the frown remained on her face. "So? What's next?"

TBC