Part 10

Giles stood abruptly and began to pace as his mind whirled with thoughts. Willow's disclosure of Geoff Daisani's death had sent ideas and thoughts tumbling over each other. Was Daisani an innocent victim in this? Did he just want to get a very well known artifact in the occult world for his shop? Was he a go-between for a buyer that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted?

Buffy's mind reeled with all the implications. She turned to Giles, "how well did you know Daisani?"

God, she needed to make sure that Giles wouldn't be a suspect in his death. That would be all they needed but as the only other "reputable" occult shop in the Las Vegas area she knew that he would be top of the list of suspects. Buffy wouldn't be assigned the case since it would be a conflict of interest and she was too new to the force to have any contacts she could trust that would give her the information. She never thought she'd miss the days of Sunnydale when Giles would point out the big bad and she would slay. No muss, no fuss.

"N-not very well, actually. I mean I knew him peripherally and I'd met him at some of the auction houses but that's all. Why?"

Buffy's eyes strayed over to Nick and then back at Giles, silently letting him know that she'd tell all later. "Just crossing you off as a potential suspect."

Xander stiffened his spine at Buffy's response. He knew that she was only doing her job but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Nick watched, with interest, the interaction among Willow's friends. He hadn't missed the subtle glance his way that Buffy had given Rupert Giles. He knew they were holding back because of his presence there but there was no way he was going to leave.

Buffy turned her attention to Willow. "Has a cause of death been determined?"  She hoped it was due to anything besides the necklace but she didn't hold out much hope.

Willow's eyes flickered over to Nick. It wasn't really compromising the case as the next of kin had been notified but she couldn't be as open as she would have been without Nick's presence.

"The cause of death is UNKNOWN." She hoped that her emphasis on the last word would get the message across.

Nick rolled his eyes. There they went again with the evil mystic mojo terrorizing Vegas. Sure there were unsolved cases gathering dust back in the forensic files but that didn't mean they had a mystical explanation. These latest cases were just one of many that would remain unknown no matter how much Willow or her friends might think otherwise.

"Look, unless the necklace was used to strangle the victims I really don't see it as a murder weapon." Nick held up his hand to stop Xander's interruption. "I'll leave the 'evil magic' theories to you, I'm only interested in where the evidence lies and so far nothing you've said has convinced me that it lies in the supernatural. I will concede that the missing necklace plays a part but only in that it seems to be the motivating factor in some of the victims' deaths."

Nick looked at each of the occupants of the room before letting his eyes linger on Willow. "I do agree that it looks as if most of the cases are connected and that the one common denominator seems to be the necklace. Gris probably has a warrant by now to search Daisani's occult shop. I'm guessing he's already pieced together that there is a common factor just not what that factor is. I think it's time to bring him in on your 'theories'."

Willow's shoulders slumped in defeat. She knew that Nick was right but she REALLY wasn't looking forward to that conversation at all. Not that she would tell Grissom about the supernatural aspects with the necklace… that bit of information was going to stay with the Scoobies. She'd learned her lesson with this whole revealing to Nick fiasco. She was going to take a page out of Buffy's life… her "Slayerette" duties and her forensic duties would be separate but equal.

"I wonder if I set a record for the shortest career in forensics."

Nick placed his hand on Willow's arm, "Okay, I'm confused. It's okay to tell me but you'd quit before you'd tell Gris?"

"Quit? Nope, but I'm thinking he'll probably fire me."

"Willow, Gris isn't going to fire you. He's had some strange theories himself and it's not like you've broken any laws. Bent a few but we've all done that at some point in our careers. You'll probably have to listen through one of his speeches where he tries to teach a lesson but it just leaves you scratching your head."

Xander smiled, "piece of cake, she's used to those from Giles."

A small smile flitted at the corner of Willow's lips. Leave it to Xander to try to lighten the atmosphere. "Xander, can I borrow your car since mine's still at home?"

"Sure."

Nick interrupted Xander before he could toss Willow his keys. "My car is right outside, I can take you to see Gris and then drop you off. Besides I'm collecting on the rain check."

Willow's eyes widened. He still wanted to have lunch with her, even after all that he'd heard? Maybe it hadn't turned out to be a fiasco after all.

Buffy's eyes flitted between Nick's smile and Willow's blush. She was SO going to get the scoop on what the rain check meant. "Okay. I guess that means I take you guys to the precinct as promised."

Giles nodded reluctantly before tuning to Xander, "would you mind doing a few things at the store for me while I'm gone?"

Xander's brow wrinkled at the odd tone in Giles' voice. "Sure, Giles."

"Right then." Giles looked around for a pencil and paper to make a list for Xander. "There's not much but I'd really appreciate anything that you can do."

Xander looked down at the piece of paper that Giles had just handed him. There were a list of spell ingredients and a note that said to check the demon black market. A slow smile spread across his features as he realized that Giles was up to something. "Consider it done."