Disclaimers, etc. in Part 1

A/N: Sorry this part is so short, but it wouldn't let me post the final part as one chapter, so I had to split it somewhere

3/4

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"So, you gonna tell me exactly what we're doing here and why it couldn't have waited until after we interview the boyfriend?" demanded Sara as soon as she and Grissom stepped into the house rented to Jennifer Hawkins.

"As I said, an experiment," he replied cryptically, infuriating Sara further.

"Yes, I know that, but what kind of experiment?"

"It was something Kesla said last night, I just need to check it out."

"Okay. What do you need me to do?"

"Lie on the bed," he instructed, walking into the bedroom with Sara following close behind.

"What?"

"Lie on the bed," he repeated.

"Why do I need to… Oh, never mind," said Sara, obviously giving up and deciding it was easier just to go along with whatever Grissom had in mind. "Need me to get into my pajamas again?" she asked sarcastically. Grissom said nothing and she let out a sigh of frustration before climbing onto the bed and lying on her back. "What now?" she asked, looking at Grissom for an answer.

"I just need to think for a moment, work out the best way to do this," said Grissom.

"Do what?"

"Sara."

"Sorry, it's that over-talking thing," she shrugged self-deprecatingly.

"I noticed you even do that in your sleep," said Grissom without thinking.

"What?!"

"Oh, uh…"

"Grissom, what did you mean by that?" she demanded.

"You were talking in your sleep," he replied, giving no more away than he had to.

"What did I say?" she asked, obviously worried.

"I don't know, couldn't make it out," he lied.

"Oh, okay," she said with a sigh of relief.

Grissom contemplated for a few moments and then retrieved something from his field kit. Approaching the bed, he dropped down onto the other side from Sara, startling her.

"What are you doing?" she asked with shock.

"You remember how the sheets were a little rumpled on this side, but not enough for someone to have slept here all night?"

"Yes."

"I'm thinking that there was someone here, but only for a short time. Here, put this on," he requested, hading Sara an identical face mask to that worn by the victim.

Sara did as he asked and sat up to place the mask over her head. She was about to lie back down when Grissom's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Hang on a second, I need to adjust something," he said gently, moving his hands to the back of her head. Sara nodded and waited patiently for him to finish before lying down again. She had only been lying for a few moments when she shot back up again, reaching for the elastic of the mask at the back of her head.

"Damn, Grissom, what did you do to this thing?" she muttered, pulling at the elastic.

"You could feel the twist?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course I could, it feels like a huge knot. Wait, you knew about it?"

"Yes, it's part of the experiment." Sara just looked at him and he explained, "Kesla had the same problem when she put the mask on last night and it reminded me of something I saw here when we processed the vic. I checked back through the photos and found the one we took when we turned her over. In that, the elastic of the mask is clearly twisted behind her head. I needed to check that, using the same pillows, she would have felt it. You have roughly the same hair length and thickness, so here we are."

"And I felt it, so that means…" she said, following his train of thought.

"That the mask was more than likely placed over her head after she was already dead," he finished.

"The boyfriend?"

"More than likely, but we have no evidence of that," warned Grissom. "We can see what he says at the interview though."

"Well, let's get going," said Sara, starting to get off the bed. Once again, Grissom placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

"Wait, we still have to figure out if she could have had the mask on at all and had it removed while she was asleep."

"If it was the boyfriend, would she have been wearing the mask? We heard what Dr Mathieson said, she didn't wear the mask when he was here."

"We don't know that for sure, Sara, it's pure conjecture. He could have changed his mind about that since her last check-up or, even if he hadn't, the victim could have decided to wear it that night, since she was working the next day; it's not likely she would have wanted to have the sleep apnoea symptoms at work."

"True," she agreed. "So, what do you need me to do?"

"Lie back down with the mask on properly, get comfortable."

"Okay," she nodded, doing as he said.

"Close your eyes," he said softly, his breath very close to her ear as he leaned partially over her.

Once her eyes were closed, Grissom appraised the situation, trying to work out the best way to remove the mask without disturbing Sara too much that, had she been asleep, it would wake her.

He slowly placed one hand over the front of the mask and started to pull it out towards him, away from Sara's face.

"Grissom?" she queried.

"Just let me do this, Sara and then tell me how much of it you could feel. I need to know if you think it would be enough to waken you."

"I'm a light sleeper though, we don't know about the victim," she pointed out.

"Let's just try this for now."

He pulled the mask again, but saw that Sara's head was starting to move as well, in relation to the pressure on the elastic behind her head. Knowing that the victim would have woken with that, he replaced the mask and thought of another way. Once again, he placed a hand on the front on the mask but, this time, he also gently levered his other hand behind Sara's head, starting to grip the elastic.

Working very slowly, he managed to move the mask and elastic up and away from her head. Sara opened her eyes and found him looking down at her, the mask in his left hand and his right hand still under her head.

"Hey," she smiled,

"How much did you feel?" he asked, lowering her head gently and removing his hand.

"Actually, not that much the second time," she said quietly, instinctively keeping her voice low due to the fact that Grissom was still hovered over her, his eyes locked with hers.

"So, if the vic was using the machine that night, even if her boyfriend was staying over, it's possible he could have removed the mask while she was asleep, without her ever knowing," theorized Grissom, tearing his gaze from Sara and lying back beside her on the bed.

"I guess," said Sara, "but why would he? I mean, if he wanted to kill her, he'd have to know that her condition had worsened and, if he knew, she'd have to know as well because of the symptoms resurfacing."

"Yes, but she was due at the clinic last night so, if her condition started getting worse recently, she might have just decided to wait to discuss it then."

"Ah, okay," she nodded. "Still though, what motive would the boyfriend have? And, if he was going to kill her, why do it this way?"

"To make it seem like natural causes, due to the sleep apnoea."

"Yeah, but surely he knew questions would be asked?"

"A killer doesn't always think logically, Sara, you know that."

"We still need a motive though."

"Yes, we do. Maybe our discussion with the boyfriend will cast some light in that area," said Grissom. "Brass should have him there by now."

Grissom stood up from the bed and walked around to Sara's side, offering her a hand to help her up. She gripped it lightly and stood, coming face-to-face with him, mere inches apart.

"Thanks," she said quietly, dropping her gaze to her shoes. "Hey, how could the boyfriend have done it? There were no prints other than the vic's on the face mask and the boyfriend couldn't really wear gloves without her wondering what was going on, could he?"

"He could have pulled them on after she fell asleep. Let's go," said Grissom, picking up the face mask he'd brought with him, having requested it from Beth at the hospital, and leading the way to the door.

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Sara, Grissom and Brass took their seats opposite Adam Ferris, Jennifer Hawkins' boyfriend, and all looked at him carefully. They'd already appraised him from behind the one-way glass and thought he seemed too 'cool, calm and collected' for someone whose girlfriend had just died.

"How long had you and Miss Hawkins been dating?" asked Brass as an opening question.

"About 18 months," he replied nonchalantly.

"We've been told you only saw each other at weekends," continued Brass. "Isn't that a little strange when you've been together that long?"

"Not really," he shrugged. "We're both busy people and like to be on our own, we need our own space. Weekends are times when we don't have to worry about getting up for work the next day, so we can relax. We did meet up during the week, we just didn't stay over. Jen didn't like to carry her machine around, in case it got damaged, and I like to be at home during the week, as I often work late at night."

"You're a computer programmer?" said Brass, checking the file in front of him.

"Yes," confirmed Ferris, holding Brass's gaze.

"And Jennifer worked in a law office?"

"Yeah, she was an office manager."

"When did you go to your brother's?"

"Tuesday morning."

"And you were there until we picked you up this morning?"

"Yes."

"Do you always go out of town during the week, when you're supposed to be working?" Ferris merely shrugged. "I thought you were a busy person, yet you found time to do that?"

"I hadn't seen him for a while. His wife has just had a kid, so I thought I should say hi to my new nephew."

Brass, Grissom and Sara shared dubious looks before Brass continued the questioning.

"When did you last see Jennifer?"

"Sunday night, I left her place around 7."

"Did you talk to her after that?"

"No."

"Did she know you were going to your brother's?"

"Probably not."

"You didn't tell her?"

"I told her about my nephew, I don't know if I told her when I was planning to visit."

"You didn't remind her on Sunday night that you'd be out of town most of this week?"

"No."

"Why not? What if she planned to stop by your place?"

"She never turned up unannounced, she'd always call first."

"And she didn't call at any time?"

"No."

"Do you have an answering machine at home?"

"Yeah."

"Have you checked your messages there?"

"No, everyone knows to contact me on my cell."

"Because you were going to your brother's?"

"No, people always use my cell," he shrugged.

"Did Jennifer always use your cell? She never called you at home?"

"She called me there once or twice, but usually on my cell."

"Would you mind if we visited your apartment, took a look around, maybe checked if Ms Hawkins left you any messages there?" asked Grissom, suddenly taking over the questioning.

"I don't see why you need to visit my apartment," said Ferris, regarding Grissom coolly.

"We'd like to check your voicemail messages," repeated Grissom.

"I can dial in remotely if you want, let you listen to them from here."

"You can dial in remotely?" queried Grissom, his interest piqued. "Have you dialled in already, while you've been at your brother's?"

"No, I never really bother to check. As I said, everyone knows to use my cell."

"If it's alright with you, I'd still like to visit your apartment and check the messages there, rather than dialling in."

"I guess that's alright, I don't have anything to hide," agreed Ferris.

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TBC…