Disclaimer: do you honestly think, that if we owned them, we'd be sittin'
here and writing fanfiction?
(CSI and it's characters belong to CBS, Jerry Bruckheimer etc. We don't own
them, just using them for fun! Gold Coast Hotel also exists, we're just
borrowing it's name ;))
A/N: Our very very very first fic together! Be gentle, please ?? And thanks to our wonderful, magnificent Beta: Anne !!!!!!
Chapter 1
Grissom locked the Tahoe and watched Catherine hurry off to the crime scene. He had no idea why she was in such a hurry or why it amused him. He shook his head then tilted it slightly to take in his surroundings. Gold Coast Hotel and Casino. Just one mile west of the Strip. With a heavy sigh he quickly concluded that, at first glance, nothing seemed suspicious on the outside. Not suspicious for Vegas, that is.
Tearing his gaze from the white building and its impressive arches, he looked down at his scribbled notes, the ones he wrote down just 20 minutes ago when Brass called him about the case.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
Double homicide.
Male and female.
Registered at the Hotel as 'Mr. & Mrs. Helban '
Booked a room for four, two bodies were found.
Arrived today.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
Cath opened the door of the hotel room and looked around. "Sheez, what happened here, World War 3?" she asked one of the police officers. "No ma'am, I think this was an assault that escalated." he said, and glanced at the mess around them. "Poor devils." he sighed. Cath looked up and saw what he was looking at. "Yeah" she said and looked around the room once more. "What's behind that door?" Cath pointed at a white door, to the left of the entrance.
"That's probably the bathroom, but we haven't been in there yet. We also just arrived here, so I can't tell you much more than the details we already gave your supervisor".
Suddenly, a phone rang. Both Cath and the policeman reached for their cell phone but it appeared to be his. "Oh excuse me, ma'am, I've got to take this call," the man said and walked off. Cath nodded briefly, looked around again and then headed for what she assumed to be the bathroom.
The door wasn't locked. Since not of all the rooms had been cleared yet, she knew she had to be cautious. Softly Catherine pushed it open and immediately saw that she wasn't alone in there. "What.. the... hell...?" she mumbled to herself.
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Grissom nodded at the uniform standing at the front door and tapped his LVPD ID-card. "Grissom", he mumbled, and entered the room, instantly scanning it for Catherine. He turned to face the cop. "Excuse me. Has this room been cleared?"
The cop nodded. "We were finishing up when the redhead stormed in."
"Right." Grissom frowned, placed his kit on the floor and carefully began scanning the room a second time.
Small hallway leading to some sort of living area with a couch, a table and a couple of chairs. All made of the same dark wood. A cheap imitation of mahogany, he assumed. There were two white doors, one that probably lead to the bathroom, the other to the only bedroom. Also, a lot of golden accessories. .......Vegas.
The body of the man laid spread out in the living-room area, close to the hallway. "Shot in the chest, at close range." Grissom mumbled to himself, pulled out his camera and took a few shots of the DB.
The second body lay in front of the door leading to the bedroom. The door was slightly open. It was a woman, in her mid-thirties. Shot in the back.
Grissom walked around the bodies and was so caught up in his thoughts about theories, motives and possible murder weapons that he completely closed himself off to the outside world. Until he heard something coming from the bedroom.
Annoyed that this 'noise' had interrupted his thoughts, he half-growled "Cath?" When she didn't answer, he rolled his eyes at the creamy-white ceiling adorned with golden angels and tried to determine what the source of the unidentified noise was.
It appeared to be some soft sort of thumping.
Intrigued, he followed the noise until he came to a stop in front of one of the large wooden closets in the bedroom. Slowly he reached for the door and then forcefully pulled it open.
Startled, he took a few steps back.
A girl.
A little girl.
She was sitting up, her back pressed against the back of the closet, her knees tightly pulled up against her chest. She'd been either softly kicking or knocking on the closet door. Her face was pale, her greyish-green eyes red rimmed from crying. She didn't acknowledge his presence but instead stared at the closet floor, her dark blond curls resting on her shoulders.
She looked so scared and fragile, he was afraid to speak.
After a quick glance over his shoulder, to see if maybe Catherine was around to help him with this 'situation', Grissom looked back at the frightened young girl.
"I...I'm with the police." He showed her his ID-card. "My name's Gil Grissom. Can you tell me yours?"
The girl stiffly shook her head twice and avoided his gaze. After a few minutes of silence, she whispered, "Reese."
Relieved that she was talking, he crouched down in front of the dark wooden closet and tried to smile at her reassuringly.
"So. Don't you want to get out of this closet?" He carefully reached out a hand to her.
She shook her head furiously, her curly hair swinging from side to side.
"Are you.....are you hurt?"
Again, she shook her head.
"Can you tell me your last name?"
At first she didn't react.
"You can't tell me your last name?"
"No."
Grissom cleared his throat uncomfortably. Of course he wasn't going to pull her out of that closet, but she needed to get out of there, get checked out by the medics. She could be in shock, hurt and most likely was an eye- witness to her parents murder.
"Um...Cath...Catherine? Can you come over here?"
Catherine was oblivious to her partner's calls. "Hey there little one." She kneeled down and pushed the shower curtain a bit further open.
The girl stared at her with fear in her eyes.
"Care to come out of there? The water must be getting cold?" Cath whispered. She reached out to the girl and immediately regretted it. It was almost as if the child was trying to climb up the wall. She was obviously terrified.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my name is Catherine, do you want to tell me yours?"
The girl in the bathtub was looking at her as if Cath had two heads. Don't do that to me, Cath thought to herself, don't you dare go in shock.
"A-alexis," the girl suddenly said with a shaky voice. "That's a very pretty name," Catherine said relieved and smiled at her.
"Who are you?" Alexis asked and gave Cath a quizzical look.
"My name is Catherine Willows and I'm with the Crime Lab" Cath replied. She noticed that the girl was shivering, and felt the water. It was far from warm and Cath wondered how long Alexis had been sitting there. "You still don't want to come out of there?" Alexis thought about the question for a few seconds and then decided that it wasn't very comfortable in the cold bathwater either, and that Catherine seemed like a nice woman.
Cath handed her a big yellow towel and saw that she had some clothes lying on a pile near the washbasin. "You think you can get dressed on your own?" Cath asked her when she helped the girl step out of the bathtub. Alexis nodded carefully.
"I will be right back, and you stay here until I come and get you ok?" Alexis nodded again. Cath gave her a reassuring smile and stepped out of the bathroom.
"Grissom!" she called out, stepping into the living room.
"Cath!" He came running from the bedroom.
"There's a child in there!" they both said at the same time, Cath pointing at the bathroom and Grissom pointing at the closet where he had found Reese.
"What?! How could the police have missed.....There are two kids?" Cath said, somewhat shocked.
"Apparently" Grissom said dryly. "The hotel manager did say that the Helbans rented this room for four persons. Looks like we just found the missing two. Their daughters."
Catherine sighed and shook her head sadly. "I have to get back in there, that little girl was freezing cold. She must have been sitting in that tub for hours. "
Grissom nodded. "You two," he gestured at the cops outside the room, "get us some paramedics in here. We've found two little girls, possible witnesses." He turned around. "I'll be right back." Catherine nodded and headed back to the bathroom as he walked out the living room into the narrow hallway.
"Wait?"
Grissom spun around and saw the girl attempting to crawl out of the closet.
In an instant he was beside her but unsure of what to do, he crouched down next to her again, looking at her helplessly.
"Are you ok? ..Do..... you need me to help you up?"
She had her eyes closed. "I don't want to see."
"I understand." He answered softly, glancing over his shoulder to the living room, where the bodies lay.
A loud yet familiar voice broke the silence. "Paramedics should be here in ten." He heard Brass coming from the hallway. "Grissom. What a mess, huh?"
"Brass." Grissom gestured at the girl sitting next to him.
"Sorry. About that.... and being late. Traffic's a BI-......" He eyed the girl, "- t annoying. Sara and Warrick will be here in 10 as well."
Grissom frowned. "Why? We can still process this crime-scene, Jim."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Alexis had gotten back into her clothes. "Where is Reese?" she asked when Cath came back in. "They are dead, aren't they?" Strangely enough, Alexis' face didn't seem to show any emotion.
"Reese is in there, and I think she's also looking for you." Cath hesitated. "And yes,... I do think that your parents are dead, honey". Thank god they are lying in the other room, she thought to herself.
"I want to see Reese." Alexis simply stated, without reacting to the comment that her parents were quite likely to be dead. She walked past Cath in search of her sister, but suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and spun around.
"Will you come with me?"
"Of course I will."
Catherine walked out, holding Alexis' hand who had an amazingly firm grip for such a little girl.
"Lexi?" Reese's shaky voice came from around the corner.
"You must be Reese." Cath said and looked up to Grissom, who nodded.
"Good, why don't you and your sister come with me, and then..."
"NO!" Reese almost shouted and opened her arms to her younger sister. Alexis let go of Catherine and ran to her sister.
"Close your eyes." Reese whispered to her.
The adults looked at them sadly, all unsure of what to do.
"You guys go with them when the paramedics get here." Brass said finally.
"No, this is my crime-scene, I can't..." Grissom started, raising his voice.
"Yes, you can." Brass cut in. "It's alright; the rest of the team's already here, so you two are free to go. Get them checked out, get their statements...just...do what you gotta do. You found them. "
Grissom sighed and watched Catherine lead the two girls out of the hotel room. "We found them."
- TBC -
A/N: Our very very very first fic together! Be gentle, please ?? And thanks to our wonderful, magnificent Beta: Anne !!!!!!
Chapter 1
Grissom locked the Tahoe and watched Catherine hurry off to the crime scene. He had no idea why she was in such a hurry or why it amused him. He shook his head then tilted it slightly to take in his surroundings. Gold Coast Hotel and Casino. Just one mile west of the Strip. With a heavy sigh he quickly concluded that, at first glance, nothing seemed suspicious on the outside. Not suspicious for Vegas, that is.
Tearing his gaze from the white building and its impressive arches, he looked down at his scribbled notes, the ones he wrote down just 20 minutes ago when Brass called him about the case.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
Double homicide.
Male and female.
Registered at the Hotel as 'Mr. & Mrs. Helban '
Booked a room for four, two bodies were found.
Arrived today.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
Cath opened the door of the hotel room and looked around. "Sheez, what happened here, World War 3?" she asked one of the police officers. "No ma'am, I think this was an assault that escalated." he said, and glanced at the mess around them. "Poor devils." he sighed. Cath looked up and saw what he was looking at. "Yeah" she said and looked around the room once more. "What's behind that door?" Cath pointed at a white door, to the left of the entrance.
"That's probably the bathroom, but we haven't been in there yet. We also just arrived here, so I can't tell you much more than the details we already gave your supervisor".
Suddenly, a phone rang. Both Cath and the policeman reached for their cell phone but it appeared to be his. "Oh excuse me, ma'am, I've got to take this call," the man said and walked off. Cath nodded briefly, looked around again and then headed for what she assumed to be the bathroom.
The door wasn't locked. Since not of all the rooms had been cleared yet, she knew she had to be cautious. Softly Catherine pushed it open and immediately saw that she wasn't alone in there. "What.. the... hell...?" she mumbled to herself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
Grissom nodded at the uniform standing at the front door and tapped his LVPD ID-card. "Grissom", he mumbled, and entered the room, instantly scanning it for Catherine. He turned to face the cop. "Excuse me. Has this room been cleared?"
The cop nodded. "We were finishing up when the redhead stormed in."
"Right." Grissom frowned, placed his kit on the floor and carefully began scanning the room a second time.
Small hallway leading to some sort of living area with a couch, a table and a couple of chairs. All made of the same dark wood. A cheap imitation of mahogany, he assumed. There were two white doors, one that probably lead to the bathroom, the other to the only bedroom. Also, a lot of golden accessories. .......Vegas.
The body of the man laid spread out in the living-room area, close to the hallway. "Shot in the chest, at close range." Grissom mumbled to himself, pulled out his camera and took a few shots of the DB.
The second body lay in front of the door leading to the bedroom. The door was slightly open. It was a woman, in her mid-thirties. Shot in the back.
Grissom walked around the bodies and was so caught up in his thoughts about theories, motives and possible murder weapons that he completely closed himself off to the outside world. Until he heard something coming from the bedroom.
Annoyed that this 'noise' had interrupted his thoughts, he half-growled "Cath?" When she didn't answer, he rolled his eyes at the creamy-white ceiling adorned with golden angels and tried to determine what the source of the unidentified noise was.
It appeared to be some soft sort of thumping.
Intrigued, he followed the noise until he came to a stop in front of one of the large wooden closets in the bedroom. Slowly he reached for the door and then forcefully pulled it open.
Startled, he took a few steps back.
A girl.
A little girl.
She was sitting up, her back pressed against the back of the closet, her knees tightly pulled up against her chest. She'd been either softly kicking or knocking on the closet door. Her face was pale, her greyish-green eyes red rimmed from crying. She didn't acknowledge his presence but instead stared at the closet floor, her dark blond curls resting on her shoulders.
She looked so scared and fragile, he was afraid to speak.
After a quick glance over his shoulder, to see if maybe Catherine was around to help him with this 'situation', Grissom looked back at the frightened young girl.
"I...I'm with the police." He showed her his ID-card. "My name's Gil Grissom. Can you tell me yours?"
The girl stiffly shook her head twice and avoided his gaze. After a few minutes of silence, she whispered, "Reese."
Relieved that she was talking, he crouched down in front of the dark wooden closet and tried to smile at her reassuringly.
"So. Don't you want to get out of this closet?" He carefully reached out a hand to her.
She shook her head furiously, her curly hair swinging from side to side.
"Are you.....are you hurt?"
Again, she shook her head.
"Can you tell me your last name?"
At first she didn't react.
"You can't tell me your last name?"
"No."
Grissom cleared his throat uncomfortably. Of course he wasn't going to pull her out of that closet, but she needed to get out of there, get checked out by the medics. She could be in shock, hurt and most likely was an eye- witness to her parents murder.
"Um...Cath...Catherine? Can you come over here?"
Catherine was oblivious to her partner's calls. "Hey there little one." She kneeled down and pushed the shower curtain a bit further open.
The girl stared at her with fear in her eyes.
"Care to come out of there? The water must be getting cold?" Cath whispered. She reached out to the girl and immediately regretted it. It was almost as if the child was trying to climb up the wall. She was obviously terrified.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my name is Catherine, do you want to tell me yours?"
The girl in the bathtub was looking at her as if Cath had two heads. Don't do that to me, Cath thought to herself, don't you dare go in shock.
"A-alexis," the girl suddenly said with a shaky voice. "That's a very pretty name," Catherine said relieved and smiled at her.
"Who are you?" Alexis asked and gave Cath a quizzical look.
"My name is Catherine Willows and I'm with the Crime Lab" Cath replied. She noticed that the girl was shivering, and felt the water. It was far from warm and Cath wondered how long Alexis had been sitting there. "You still don't want to come out of there?" Alexis thought about the question for a few seconds and then decided that it wasn't very comfortable in the cold bathwater either, and that Catherine seemed like a nice woman.
Cath handed her a big yellow towel and saw that she had some clothes lying on a pile near the washbasin. "You think you can get dressed on your own?" Cath asked her when she helped the girl step out of the bathtub. Alexis nodded carefully.
"I will be right back, and you stay here until I come and get you ok?" Alexis nodded again. Cath gave her a reassuring smile and stepped out of the bathroom.
"Grissom!" she called out, stepping into the living room.
"Cath!" He came running from the bedroom.
"There's a child in there!" they both said at the same time, Cath pointing at the bathroom and Grissom pointing at the closet where he had found Reese.
"What?! How could the police have missed.....There are two kids?" Cath said, somewhat shocked.
"Apparently" Grissom said dryly. "The hotel manager did say that the Helbans rented this room for four persons. Looks like we just found the missing two. Their daughters."
Catherine sighed and shook her head sadly. "I have to get back in there, that little girl was freezing cold. She must have been sitting in that tub for hours. "
Grissom nodded. "You two," he gestured at the cops outside the room, "get us some paramedics in here. We've found two little girls, possible witnesses." He turned around. "I'll be right back." Catherine nodded and headed back to the bathroom as he walked out the living room into the narrow hallway.
"Wait?"
Grissom spun around and saw the girl attempting to crawl out of the closet.
In an instant he was beside her but unsure of what to do, he crouched down next to her again, looking at her helplessly.
"Are you ok? ..Do..... you need me to help you up?"
She had her eyes closed. "I don't want to see."
"I understand." He answered softly, glancing over his shoulder to the living room, where the bodies lay.
A loud yet familiar voice broke the silence. "Paramedics should be here in ten." He heard Brass coming from the hallway. "Grissom. What a mess, huh?"
"Brass." Grissom gestured at the girl sitting next to him.
"Sorry. About that.... and being late. Traffic's a BI-......" He eyed the girl, "- t annoying. Sara and Warrick will be here in 10 as well."
Grissom frowned. "Why? We can still process this crime-scene, Jim."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------
Meanwhile, Alexis had gotten back into her clothes. "Where is Reese?" she asked when Cath came back in. "They are dead, aren't they?" Strangely enough, Alexis' face didn't seem to show any emotion.
"Reese is in there, and I think she's also looking for you." Cath hesitated. "And yes,... I do think that your parents are dead, honey". Thank god they are lying in the other room, she thought to herself.
"I want to see Reese." Alexis simply stated, without reacting to the comment that her parents were quite likely to be dead. She walked past Cath in search of her sister, but suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and spun around.
"Will you come with me?"
"Of course I will."
Catherine walked out, holding Alexis' hand who had an amazingly firm grip for such a little girl.
"Lexi?" Reese's shaky voice came from around the corner.
"You must be Reese." Cath said and looked up to Grissom, who nodded.
"Good, why don't you and your sister come with me, and then..."
"NO!" Reese almost shouted and opened her arms to her younger sister. Alexis let go of Catherine and ran to her sister.
"Close your eyes." Reese whispered to her.
The adults looked at them sadly, all unsure of what to do.
"You guys go with them when the paramedics get here." Brass said finally.
"No, this is my crime-scene, I can't..." Grissom started, raising his voice.
"Yes, you can." Brass cut in. "It's alright; the rest of the team's already here, so you two are free to go. Get them checked out, get their statements...just...do what you gotta do. You found them. "
Grissom sighed and watched Catherine lead the two girls out of the hotel room. "We found them."
- TBC -