Title: Holding Out for a Hero
Summary: Nina enlists Greg's help in finding Marie.
Notes: This is the first Episode in The Ghost of a Good Thing Series. Everything's Not Lost is a kind of prologue to this, but you don't have to read it to understand this. All you need to know is that Nick is now living with Greg and this occurred after the Stalker episode.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Anything italicized means he/she is speaking in Italian. Oh and Padre means father and Madre means mother.
Chapter Three: Lost Without You
No one understands
The meaning of your eyes
And how I feel
Burning deep inside
What if I never lost you
I wouldn't have to find you all over and over
You're the one I've, I've always wanted
The one that I just can't live without
--Taking Back Sunday 'Lost and Found'
Shawn's Town House—Monday March 15—5:30 pm
Cassandra and Shawn were coloring on the floor when the door bell rang.
"Stay here and finish," Shawn told her as he got up from the floor, "I'll be right back." He walked the few feet to the door and opened it slightly. "Can I help you?" he asked staring at the two strange men on his doorstep.
"Good evening, sir. I'm detective Brass," he said flashing him his id, "and this is Warrick Brown form the crime lab. We have reason to believe that Nina and Cassandra Moretti are staying with you."
"Yes, they are, but Nina's at work right now." He told them. "Are you investigating Marie's kidnapping?"
"Yes, sir we are," Warrick answered, "is there anything you can tell us?"
"I don't think so. I mean the girls have a routine they hardly ever break. Nina makes dinner for Cassandra while Marie gets ready for work. Then Marie feeds Cassandra while Nina gets ready. I'm usually there by five unless I get tied up at work, which is what happened last night. The girls usually leave together. Nina drops off Marie at Club Paradise and heads over to Seven unless she's working at Paradise that night. I think she works at Seven Tuesday through Thursday and then at Club Paradise on Saturdays and Sundays and on Mondays and Fridays. I usually watch Cassandra until around five am when I go pick up Marie and bring her home and then Nina drives herself home. We never leave Cassandra alone. No exceptions." Shawn told them. He said the last part very seriously. Cassandra was one of the best things in his life and he would never put her in harms way by leaving her by herself for even a minute.
"So Nina is at Club Paradise right now?" Brass asked him.
"Yes, sir." he answered.
"Are you a construction worker?" Warrick asked out of the blue.
"No, I'm an architect, but I usually oversee the projects. Why?"
"We have reason to believe Marie may have been abducted by a construction worker due to an eyewitness."
"But why? I mean I've never had any complaints from any of my employees." Realization dawned on Shawn as he was finishing his sentence.
"What is it Mr. Rossi? Did you think of someone who might have done this?" Warrick asked giving him a scrutinizing look.
"I just. I mean I never gave it much thought. He deserved it. He was cutting corners, endangering lives I had to fire him."
"Who?"
"Luke. Luke Haslett."
Club Paradise—Monday March 15—7:00 pm
Nina had been wiping down the counter when none other than Sara Sidle took a seat at the bar.
"You took off pretty quick yesterday. We weren't able to ask you any questions."
"I had to get Cassie home. She had school today and it was way too late for her to be up."
"Your friend Shawn Rossi informed us that you work two jobs. Both nightshift."
"Well that's the only time they're open. It's good money. It pays for the apartment and it'll help get Cassie through school. That's all I'm hoping for right now." Nina stopped wiping the counter and placed a hand on her hip as she stared at Sara. "Why are you really here?"
"Who cuts your hair?" Sara asked evading the question.
"Marie does. And I cut Cassie's and hers."
"We believe someone may have enticed Marie out of the apartment by using either you or Cassandra as leverage. We found this," she put the plastic bag containing the lock of hair tied with the red ribbon on the counter, "at the crime scene in Marie's room." Nina picked up the bag and smiled.
"This couldn't have been used as leverage," Nina told her, "this was a lock of hair from Cassandra's first haircut. I let Marie keep it. Shawn and I have a lock of her hair to. Its like a good luck charm I guess you could say." Sara was dumbfounded.
"Then why would she leave so quietly?" she asked stunned.
"I think Carson was right, the front desk night manager. He thought Shawn had been in some sort of accident. Maybe that's what that man told Marie."
"But her room was trashed."
"Look," Nina whispered as she leaned forward on the bar, "when Marie thinks someone she loves has been hurt she gets angry. And when Marie gets angry ain't nothing gonna stop her. She probably screamed and swiped her arm across the dresser, tossed a few articles of clothing around, maybe even a couple of pillows, grabbed her purse and followed him out the door. If you're looking for evidence of a crime you won't find it in the apartment. You'll probably find it in the parking lot."
"How do you know so much about this?" Sara asked suspiciously
"Do you really thing Greg made it through high school and college without help? He would have figured it out while we were there, but he was too stunned by my presence to say much and then Shawn showed up and you saw the bad blood between them. It was all I could do to keep them from killing each other." Nina started about her work again and moved down the bar to pick up a few empty glasses.
"If you hate Greg so much," Sara began softly, "why did you come to him for help?" Nina stopped and looked up at Sara. Unshed tears from years before were in her eyes and she looked about ready to fall to the floor from the weight of all the pain she hid behind her smile.
"I don't hate Greg." She told Sara walking back toward her, venom beginning to seep in her words. "Look," Nina said composing herself, "if that's all I really need to get back to work." Sara nodded and stood up. She opened her mouth to say something. She didn't know if it was to apologize or say goodbye or even tell her everything was going to be alright, but something stopped her. Maybe it was the way Nina moved into the swing of thins letting everything that had just happened go. She appeased the customers that flirted with her, she prepared drinks like a natural, and the entire time Sara knew she was hiding a world of pain behind a mask.
Sara would one day ask her how she could do it. Keep her composure when she had set herself up to be hurt again. Nina would smile and tell her how there are some things that are hard to do that we keep working at until they destroy us, and there are some things that are hard that we do because no matter how much we love them they can't or won't love us back. And Sara would nod in complete understanding and then ask her what the Italian word for pain was. Maybe one day she would utter it just under her breath as she passed him by. And maybe he would learn that's what he caused her every time he said hello, or looked at her. That's what he caused her whenever he was around.
Pacific Harbors at Sunrise Parking Lot—Monday March 15—8:15 pm
Catherine Willows and Nick Stokes stood in the parking lot of the Pacific Harbors apartment complex looking at nothing.
"This is their parking space," Catherine said more to herself than to Nick, "but we know Nina has the car, so I think it's totally pointless to even look around here. Is there parking for visitors?" Catherine asked.
"Oh are you finally talking to me?" Nick joked.
"Sorry."
"No problem, but there isn't any. There's an overhang where you can pull up and wait for up to thirty minutes. After that a tow truck is called." Nick informed her.
"I'm just betting that there's a surveillance tape too." Catherine smirked.
"Way ahead of you. The nightshift manager is getting it as we speak." Nick and Catherine continued to search the lot by flashlight uncovering nothing before Nick broke the silence. "You got a theory on this Nina and Greg thing?" Nick asked Catherine.
"Not really. I think she loved him. Once. I don't think Cassandra is his biological daughter." She added. Nick turned his flashlight to her.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean Greg might have done a lot of stupid things in his past, but he's too cautious to have a baby as a teen. Plus have you really looked at Cassandra? Looks just like her mother, no sign of Greg in her though. Not even her disposition. And another thing if Greg was the real father either he took off or she took off and there's only one way a woman feels if either one of those things happens."
"What's that?"
"Hate. No matter what happened Nina would have never asked him for help no matter how desperate she was if he had abandoned their daughter."
"How do you know all of this?" Nick asked incredulously.
"Eddie was a lot of things, but he stuck around for Lindsey and for that I'm grateful. Then there's woman's intuition. Has he said anything to you?" Catherine asked Nick as they walked back to the overhang to see if they had missed anything there.
"No, but he had some kind of nightmare last night. He shrugged it off though. Greg's not into talking about his own pain. He'd rather hear about someone else's." Catherine nodded in agreement on this fact.
Club Paradise—Monday March 15—8:45 pm
Sara had waited at the bar as Nina prepared drinks for other customers. As soon as there was a lull in the crowd she went off to find Frank and tell him he was needed to answer a few questions for the crime lab on Marie's disappearance. Of course she still had to explain to him Marie's disappearance.
Frank nodded briskly to Sara and stuck out his hand. She took it.
"I'm Fred Border, the manager. I hear you need me to answer a few questions about one of my dancers, Marie."
"Yes. Do you know of anyone with a grudge against her? Someone who might want to harm her?" Sara asked as he took a seat on the stool next to her.
"I don't have time for the girls to be jealous of each other. They all know this. My girls are pretty close. They watch out for each other and they look after Nina like she's a five year old. She's my only girl bartender, but she's my best."
"How about your customers? Have any of them been giving Marie a hard time?"
"We had an incident about a week ago. He seemed harmless. Just your average asshole. I don't usually get too many of his kind in here. We're a little more high-profile. I let him know he was no longer welcome. I never caught his name, but he used a credit car to pay so I can check my records for you." He offered. He stood from his stool and walked behind the bar.
"I would appreciate that very much." Sara thanked him. He walked over to the computer that was on the far end of the bar. He typed something in and waited before typing something else and then hitting the print button. He grabbed the piece of paper when the printer spat it out and handed it over to Sara.
"This is all I can do for you. I'm sorry. I wish I was more useful."
"This is great Mr. Border. Thank you for your cooperation." He nodded and walked off to attend to other business.
Sara was leaving when Nina came running out of the club.
"Sara," she called out, "do you see Greg at work?" she asked coming to stand in front of her. They were roughly the same height and Sara stared her in the eye searching for a hint of something behind her mask.
"Yes, why?"
"Will you tell him. Tell him we all still love him. Tell him if he's willing to explain we're willing to listen. But most importantly tell him Shawn never found another best friend." Before Sara could assure Nina she would relay her heartfelt message Nina ran back into the security of the club.
Everyone sure seemed to be doing a lot of running lately.
Pacific Harbors at Sunrise Parking Lot—Monday March 15—8:50 pm
After calling Grissom to convey the information he had gotten from Shawn, Warrick decided to head back over to the apartment complex. He spotted Nick and Catherine working by the entrance under the overhang. He pulled into an empty parking space and got out.
"You find anything?" he asked Catherine and Nick as he walked up to the front doors.
"Not a thing." Catherine said.
"Yet." Nick added from his spot over by the bushes.
"What did you find?" Catherine asked. Warrick and Catherine walked over to where he was standing and peered over his shoulder.
"Someone's purse," he begun to dig through it and pulled out a slim, black leather wallet. Opening it revealed it to be Marie Bianchi's.
"I'd say right about when they got to the car she figured out something was going on. Maybe she even tried to make a break for it. But if her license information is correct she's small. Only 5'6" so she was probably easily over powered." Nick explained. Catherine had begun to shine her flashlight on the curb and asphalt near the area. She kneeled down and took a picture of a spot about three inches from the curb.
"Hey, look at this. I think I have scuff marks. Probably made by her heels when she fought back." Nick bagged the purse and walked over to Catherine.
"Well I'll leave you guys to it. I'm going to go check the apartment. See if we missed anything." He left and headed into the building.
Crime Lab—Monday March 15—9:00 pm
"Hey Grissom," Brass said upon entering his office, "want to come with me to check out a couple suspects." Brass was a little elated at the fact of getting to go badger a couple of low-lives. Grissom looked up from his paper work and grinned.
Derek Garman's House—Monday March 15—9:15 pm
Derek Garman answered the knock on his door and found two men standing on his doorstep. One held up a badge for him to see. The other just stared.
"Derek Garman. I'm Detective Brass and this is Gil Grissom from the crime lab. We need to ask you a few questions."
"Look I haven't been back to Club Paradise. I know when I'm not welcome and there are plenty other places in town that will want my business."
"This is about more than that. One of the dancers from Club Paradise has gone missing and we need to ask you a few questions." Brass told him calmly not affected by his immediate excuses.
"Do you know a girl by the name of Marie Bianchi?" Grissom asked holding up a picture for him to see.
"Yeah, I seen her," he told them leaning against the door frame and folding his arms across his chest. "They call her the Italian beauty up at the club. She's got some hotshot architect boyfriend though. I told her if she ever wanted a real man she could give me a call."
"Guess you never got that call." Brass retorted. Derek stood up straight and glared.
"Hey, I'm cooperating here. The least you could do is show some respect."
"Oh, the same respect you showed those girls at the club? How about the respect you showed Marie when you kidnapped her?"
"Hey I ain't touched her. I haven't seen her outside of the club. And the last time I was there was about a week ago. I ain't gonna get all riled up just cause some girl doesn't like the attention she gets as a dancer. I'll just go somewhere else."
"Where were you last night around nine p.m.?" Grissom asked ignoring his plea of innocence.
"I was at Brendan's Pub. You can ask the bartender. I'm a regular."
"We'll do that." Brass informed him. Derek shut the door. "Do you think he's lying?" Brass asked as they walked back to the car.
"I have a funny feeling he's not." Grissom answered climbing in the passenger's side.
Pacific Harbors at SunriseApartment 218—Monday March 15—9:00 pm
Warrick searched the kitchen, living room, all three bedrooms, and both bathrooms and found nothing new. He decided to see if there was anything out on the balcony, which he very much doubted. He walked back through the living room and opened the French doors that led out onto the balcony. He noticed a door off to the left side. He opened it to discover what should have been a storage room, but looked like it had been turned into some kind of sound room. There was a small glass box about the size of a telephone booth in the far right corner of the room. A microphone hung from the ceiling in the center of it and a pair of large headphone rested on a music stand. The rest of the room was dedicated to multitudes of electronics. In a small alcove off to his right as soon as he entered the room were two bookshelves lined with video tapes, CDs, and music books. Everything was organized and neatly labeled. He noticed one CD was labeled DEMO in big, bold, red letters. He figured one of the girls was the artist and the other one mixed the CDs. He moved his flashlight to read the titles of the tapes. They all had one thing in common the label started with the letters NY then there was a dash and the date and then another dash and a small description. He noticed one description was Cassandra's Firsts. He took out his cell phone and called Grissom.
Luke Haslett's House—Monday March 15—9:20 pm
Grissom's cell phone rang while they were on the way to the next suspect's house.
"Grissom," he answered.
"Hey Grissom I found some video tapes at the apartment. It looks like they're of Marie, Nina, and Cassandra. There's one recent one." Warrick told him when he answered.
"Good, bring them all in and see if you can find anything useful." Grissom told him before hanging up.
They arrived at Luke Haslett's house shortly after. They waited a good five minutes before someone answered the door.
"We're looking for a Mr. Luke Haslett." Brass said holding up his badge.
"You're looking at him. Can I help you with something?"
"We're investigating the disappearance of Marie Bianchi. I'm Detective Brass and this is Gil Grissom from the crime lab. Where were you last night around nine p.m.?"
"I should have been at work but that son of a bitch Rossi fired me. So instead I was stuck at home looking for a new one."
"Can any one verify your whereabouts?" Brass asked him
Crime Lab—Monday March 15—9:55 pm
Warrick was sitting in the video lab watching one of the home videos. A much younger looking Nina was soundly sleeping in a hospital bed with a small infant in her arms and the voices of who he guessed were Greg, Shawn and Marie were whispering behind the camera.
"Sh," Marie whispered harshly, "don't wake her up."
"Too late." Nina whispered as she opened her eyes sleepily, "Just try not to wake up the baby." Marie came into view of the camera and took a seat on the edge of the bed. Someone set the camera down on a table and both Greg and Shawn pulled up two plastic chairs that had been in the room.
"Have you named her yet?" Marie asked excitedly.
"Yeah," Nina answered happily, "Cassandra Marie Moretti. I didn't think Rossi or Sanders worked very well." She joked. The boys laughed and Marie smiled faintly.
"You should get some rest." Marie informed her as she stood up.
"Are you joking I've been resting all day," she turned and looked directly into the camera as if just realizing it was there. "I know that camera isn't on, right Greg."
"Of course not." He answered. He stood up and disappeared from view and the picture went black. Within a few minutes the picture was back and it showed Nina giving Cassandra a bath in a small baby tub that sat in the kitchen sink.
"You know," Warrick heard Greg say from his position behind the camera, "I thought the mother was supposed to bathe with her baby."
"In your dreams, Sanders." Nina replied good-naturedly.
"Hey Warrick," Greg said coming into the room. He stopped dead when he saw what was on the screen. A small smile appeared on his face as he watched. "That was her first bath you know. Coming up will be her first walk in the park and then crawling and standing and walking. And then her first hair cut when she was about one and a half. We each got a lock of her hair for good luck. I've still got it." Greg rambled.
"What happened?" Warrick asked.
"We grew apart." Greg answered the smile leaving his face. He left after that forgetting to tell Warrick what he had come to say in the first place.
Sara bumped into him in the hall and she was glad to see him.
"Nina wanted me to give you a message," Sara told him grabbing his arm to stop him from walking away. She saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes and her heart went out to him. "She wanted me to tell you that they're willing to listen and that they still love you." Greg sighed, the hope leaving his eyes.
"Is that all?" he asked exasperated.
"No," she told him, " she also wanted me to tell you Shawn never found another best friend." With those last words she left him. He stared at a spot on the wall as he played her words over in his head. He'd deal with this later right now he had work to do. With that last thought he turned and walked back into the DNA lab.
Shawn's Town House—Tuesday March 16—6:15 am
Nina quietly let herself into the town house. Shawn had fallen asleep on the couch apparently waiting for her to get home or maybe waiting for a call from the police. She set down her purse and keys on the kitchen table and walked into the back. Cassandra was asleep in the guestroom curled up in a little ball on the edge of the queen-sized bed. She walked in and laid down next to her pulling her into her arms. Cassandra stirred lightly, but didn't wake up. Nina looked at the clock to check and make sure the alarm was set for seven. In a little less than an hour she would have to wake up and get her daughter ready for school and pretend that nothing was wrong. Shawn and Nina had decided to tell Cassandra that Marie had gone on a business trip. Nina doubted Cassandra believed them, but still they didn't need to tell her what had really happened. Nina didn't need to worry about Cassandra worrying. She all ready had enough on her plate as it was. She hoped Sara had relayed her message to Greg as she drifted off to sleep. All she wanted to know was why he ran. If she had done something wrong. She didn't think that was too much to ask. But she didn't think Greg really knew himself why he ran.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm going off this week on vacation, but have no fear I will be working diligently on this story the entire time I'm away. Besides it's for my friend's graduation so I'll probably be bored out of my mind anyway. I know most of you are wondering why Greg ran away. That will be revealed after we find out what happened to Marie and if she's still alive. A special thanks to Em, Kathryn Mason-Sykes, GregsGirl16, RainbowsnStars, and Gilligan16 for reviewing. You guys are great. For those of you who haven't reviewed please do. Thank you all! J