A/N: Thanks to CTB for her beta work on this chapter. Also thanks to all those who are still reading and letting me know what you think, it's greatly appreciated.
"Bingo, we got the scum bag!"
Hearing the excitement in Sara's voice, Grissom looked up anxiously, dropping what he was doing waiting for her to continue.
"Well, I'm pretty sure we know who he is, we just don't know... who he is."
Seeing the confused look on Grissom's face, she went on to explain.
"Using the facial recognition software, Archie put together a list of about fifty suspects who were on both sets of crime scene tapes. Taking into consideration race, age, and sex; I cut the list down to about twenty five. Watching the tape on all of them, I am positive I've found the guy, Grissom. He tries so hard to blend in and remain anonymous, it's creepy."
"Sara, you can't choose a suspect in a serial killer case based on looks and the fact that you find him creepy."
"It's not just his looks Grissom. You have to come watch the tapes, it's more than that. He hung around the Venetian before Melissa Tressle went missing. He could be seen outside the Venetian before Kelly Nichols met Greg in front of the Mirage across the street. And the coup de tat; he was sitting at the Let It Ride table that Kelly and her friends were playing at the day before."
"Really? Even so Sara, that's still pretty weak."
"Grissom, he won a fairly large amount of money on a table with a ten dollar limit. You should see his reaction, he looked like he wanted to curl up and die. Not the reaction of a man happy to have won hundreds of dollars."
"Even so, we don't know who he is right? Any thoughts on how to find out?"
"I already went to the larger hotels and had his photo checked against their facial recognition database." Seeing Grissom's face, she continued herself. "I know it was a long shot, but it was something. He wasn't in their database, but I do have an idea."
Threading his fingers before him, Grissom leaned forward, giving Sara his undivided attention.
"I say we release his picture to the media."
Collapsing back into his chair, he was starting to think Sara had lost her mind.
"Sara, we can't do that and you know it."
"No, wait Grissom think about it. We release it to them, but tell them he's a potential witness in a burglary or something totally unrelated. We'll have them make that very clear that he may have witnessed something while on the strip. What do you think? You know these guys; most of them want to play us. They want to think they're smarter than we are. I bet he takes the bait."
Grissom sat back up, giving Sara's idea some thought. Picking up the phone he punched out seven numbers without hesitation.
"Yeah, where are you? Can you put that on hold and get down here? Thanks."
Practically bouncing on the edge of her seat, Sara couldn't contain herself any longer. "Well?"
"That was Brass, we need to run this past him first, so don't get your hopes up."
"Well?"
Staring blankly at her, he couldn't figure out what she wanted now.
"Well what, Sara?"
"Well when is he coming? Damn, Grissom!"
"He's here now." Came the voice of the Captain from behind her. "What's so damned important that I had to put down my roast beef sandwich?"
"Sara has an idea. Let's go watch a video, shall we?"
Leading Sara and the increasingly annoyed Brass out of his office, they all headed to Archie's lair. After watching the tapes that caught Sara's attention; they all agreed her plan might be their best bet to try to catch this guy before he struck again.
"I'll give this to the public relations guy to pass along to the press first thing in the morning. This way the guy will have all day to see himself on the tube, and want to help out."
"Hey Brass, can you have somebody watching the parking lot?" Seeing Sara's triumphant look, Grissom added, "If he happens by, we can check out his vehicle when he comes inside."
Throwing a wink at his friend, Brass nodded the affirmative as he headed out of the lab.
Too excited over the possibility of their guy showing up, Sara couldn't bring herself to go home; she wanted to be there in case he showed. Walking into the break room she was startled to see both Grissom and Nick still there at nine in the morning, drinking coffee and catching up with paperwork.
"You guys want to be here too, huh?"
"I want to nail this sucker Sara. I've got a good feeling about your plan." With a large smile Nick kicked out a chair for Sara to join them in their wait.
Smiling proudly, Grissom got up, moving to the counter to refill his coffee. "You want some Sara? It may end up being a long day."
"Yeah, thanks Grissom."
"Lots of sugar and no cream right?"
Amazed that he'd remembered, she blushed, nodding her head yes. Setting both cups on the table, Grissom sat back down and buried himself in his paperwork that was overdue.
Entering his apartment around four thirty in the morning, he collapsed on the couch; too exhausted to write out the night's events. He never realized how draining this line of work was. It was harder than he ever thought creating a masterpiece would be, but it would be well worth it in the end when the world would remember his work.
Dozing periodically on the couch, he turned on the television at eight, which would be enough sleep for the day. He had another chapter to find and that wouldn't get done sleeping the day away.
With his eyes drooping, his chin was about to hit his chest again when a familiar image flashed in front of him. His eyes popped open and his body stiffened as he realized the image was him.
Staring at yourself on TV was an odd feeling, especially when a police station was visible in the background. Fumbling for the remote, he quickly turned the volume up to hear what was being said. Not comprehending how they could have been onto him yet.
Upon hearing the explanation for his picture on the screen, he laughed at the stupidity of the local authorities. And as he contemplated the location of the camera that captured his likeness, he debated internally the idea of turning himself in.
The brazenness of going to the police on another matter while still scripting his work of genius was brilliant. The sheer boldness would be a wonderful addition to the end of his gripping drama; another climax shared as he outwitted the police again.
The decision was made; he would go to them and upstage them. Outplay the so-called authorities at their own game. He would be cordial and even helpful as he attempted to accommodate them in their little investigation into whatever small crime they were investigating. It would be fun.
By two thirty that afternoon both Grissom and Sara were beyond tired, especially of listening to Nick snore as he drooled on the table. One by one their pagers began to beep, stunning all three and waking them up instantly.
"He showed." Sara whispered.
"Let's go. Nick you go to the front desk and wait for my call as to which vehicle he drove. Remember, no touching, this is a walk around only. We can't afford any evidence being thrown out if he's our guy."
"Oh he's our guy alright." Sara responded, now almost running to meet up with Brass outside of interrogation room one.
"Grissom, I want this interview." Seeing his look of hesitation, she continued, once again talking too much around him but unable to stop herself. "Grissom, I deserve this. This was my idea and I want this guy."
"And that's the problem, Sara. You want it too badly. You want him too much, and I don't want you losing sight of our purpose here." Pausing a moment he debated the risks internally before continuing. "You start with it, but I'm sitting in there."
Seeing that the argument was now over, Brass took this moment to interject what kind of car the suspect was driving. "White van, third row from the front, sixth spot from the left."
Grabbing his cell phone, Grissom relayed the info to Nick who was waiting at the front doors ready to go check it out.
Not sure if she should feel triumphant at getting to do the questioning or mad at him for treating her like a child; Sara decided to focus on the task at hand instead. Taking a moment to clear her head, she took a deep breath and entered the room with Grissom and Brass right behind her.
"Hi, I'm Sara Sidle, and this is Gil Grissom and Jim Brass, and you are?"
"Uh yes I'm William Faulkner; I saw my picture on the news?"
"Nice to meet you William, wait—William Faulkner like the author?"
He smiled internally, actually amazed that the bimbo who thought she was an expert even knew who Faulkner was.
"Yes, my parents were both aspiring writers. They had hopes that if they named me after one of the greats... that perhaps I would also have the gift."
"Ah, my parents are both defense attorneys, they pushed me to do the same." Leaning in almost conspiratorially, she whispered, "This job irritates them to no end. They think I entered law enforcement to spite them."
Watching the silly bitch attempting to associate with him; telling stories of a life he cared nothing about, he was enamored by her stupidity.
Brass felt his chest puff with pride watching Sara interview their suspect, he could actually see him relax and feel comfortable talking with her.
"Mr. Faulkner, we think you may have inadvertently witnessed a crime outside the Mirage last week. Would you care for some coffee?"
An offer of a drink, they were trying to make him feel comfortable so he would help them with their investigation. William figured he would play along and have the free cup of what would probably be government funded sludge.
"Yes please, I take mine black, and call me William."
Looking at the young officer by the door, Sara raised her eyebrow at him, an order to go get the drinks. Unmoving from his post, he did risk a look at Brass who nodded that he should do it. As the officer turned to leave, she added, "I take mine with just some sugar please officer."
Watching the interaction, William found himself amused that they would send in an obviously higher ranking woman to ask for information from a witness in a small case.
Crossing his arms, Grissom found himself pinching the skin under his forearm trying not to laugh at the display Sara was making. While enthralled with her ability to reel the suspect in, he knew the officer wanted to kill her.
"Well Miss Sidle, I was at the Mirage a couple of days last week, but I don't remember seeing anything on either day."
"Please call me Sara, and it would have been last Wednesday a little past seven in the evening. Do you remember any sort of struggle or people fighting around that time, William?"
Suppressing the laughter was becoming a chore for William; a first name basis, she was putty in his hands.
The door opened again and the officer came in with two cups of coffee. Setting the black one down in front of the suspect, the officer glared at Sara as he set hers with the cream down in front of her.
Batting her eyelashes, Sara attempted to disarm the officer, but he was having nothing to do with it. Sara gave up realizing that she could only bullshit one man at a time.
"I don't remember any sort of fight, Sara." Blowing on his coffee, he took a few sips before setting it back down in front of him.
Sara decided to stir things up a bit, knowing that he would have seen Greg with Kelly. "You don't happen to remember seeing a young couple around that time do you? The woman was a brunette. So was the man, but he had some very obvious blonde highlights. He was also wearing a very colorful shirt."
Stunned for a split second, William thought quickly. They were asking about Chapter Twoandher date,The ShirtBut if they were inquiring about The Shirt, they must be under the assumption that he committed the crime. Wonderful, he would play along and help them to continue down that road.
Watching the man closely, Grissom saw his color drain for a second. He composed himself quickly though, jumping on the chance to implicate another.
"You know, I do remember seeing a young man fitting that description. I didn't see a woman with him though, he was alone. I only remember him because I wondered where one would purchase such ridiculously loud clothing."
"Yes, ridiculously loud, that would be him." Forcing a smile, Sara continued. "Hmmm no woman huh? Well that's good, he either already beat her up by then, or had just left her."
"Oh, he beat a woman huh? Not a very nice guy." William was holding his breath without even realizing it, as he worried he had just laid it on a little too thick.
"No, they all can't be gentlemen like you, William. Did the officer get all of your information in case I need to ask you anything else?"
Breathing a small sigh of relief, he was composed again, knowing she'd bought his little ad lib.
"Yes, ma'am he did. Is that all you need Sara?"
"For now William, for now. If I need anything else, I may call you. Thank you so much for your time."
"You're welcome, Sara." All four seated at the table stood, as William turned to go. Turning back around he picked up his coffee cup, draining the remaining contents. He crumpled the cup and walked out of the door.
Moving to the door, Sara leaned out watching him head down the hallway to the reception area as Grissom called Nick to warn him. Reaching into her pocket, Sara pulled out a glove. "I've got you now you son of a bitch." Snapping the glove over her hand she reached down, picking up the hopefully DNA laden cup.
"Nice work there Sidle. If you're ever looking for a job, you can come work for me." Giving her a wink, Brass looked at the young officer. "There's a reason for most things around here kid. So next time a CSI tells you to get her some coffee, remember you could be helping to retrieve some case-breaking evidence."
Blushing profusely, the officer apologized to both Sara and Brass before rushing out of there.
"Sara, I had no idea your parent's were lawyers." Brass said, a little awed by the revelation.
"They're not. They do think I chose this profession to spite them, though for a totally different reason. They're hippies; they can no longer defy the man, since I am the man... so to speak."
Laughing, Brass had a whole new respect for the young brunette. Exiting the interrogation room, they almost ran over the bustling Nick. Brass continued down the hall, leaving the CSIs to their business.
"Anything in the van, Nick?"
"The van was pretty clean inside, but there was an iPod sticking out from under the front passenger seat. I could only see it when I looked in from the driver's side window. Were any of our vics wearing one?"
"No, not that we're aware of—" Again the three were interrupted first by one then by all three pagers beeping loudly.
Exiting the police station, William couldn't help the high pitched squeal that left his mouth. Looking around quickly he was happy to see nobody around. Barley able to contain his excitement, he hurried to his van, eager to get home and pen this part of his coup.
Unlocking the door, he scanned the back of the vehicle, ensuring its cleanliness. Happy with the order he was keeping in every aspect of his process, he climbed in anxious to get home and celebrate by pulling out the newest addition to his collection under his pillow.
The thought of the light purple fabric made Hemingway twitch with anticipation. The memories of last night's event combined with his still peaking high, was making all of his senses keener.
His confidence at an all time high, he knew he had to continue collecting chapters. Even though his plan had originally been for six of them; with his unbelievable success, he knew he must carry on. He would acquire such a following, it would be rude not to.
Yes, the decision was made; he would add more chapters. Picking up his speed, he hurried home, eager to extend his outline.
The car following at a safe distance behind, maintained its speed. The light sitting unplugged on the passenger seat sat, remaining unused, letting the vehicle it was following go over the speed limit without interruption. The undercover car would remain incognito.
"What the heck, he just left us, he knows where we are." Grabbing his cell, Grissom punched in the numbers to reach Brass.
"Jim, what the—" Having been obviously interrupted, an annoyed Grissom just listened. "Oh shit." His only response, hanging up, he relayed the information to the eagerly awaiting crew by his side.
"We've got another body. The son of a bitch was here, knowing he had another body out there. He probably killed her last night and he came in here today, playing with us. Grab your kits, let's go."
With Nick rushing on ahead of them, Sara turned risking a look at her supervisor. She'd seen him upset before, but not often. While she hated seeing him upset, it was comforting somehow, knowing he could be affected.
Seeing Sara looking at him, Grissom stopped, head tilting in question.
"It's nothing, I just... it does affect you too, doesn't it?" Sara asked quietly, needing him to admit it to her.
"Of course it does Sara. Nobody should die, not like this."
Pausing he watched her look at him, her eyes squinting, almost as if she were trying to believe him; hoping that he was telling her the truth.
"Just because I try not to show it, doesn't mean that I don't feel for the victims Sara. I just can't afford to let it affect my judgment."
Almost blown away by his admission, all Sara could manage was a meager, "Yeah."
"Let's go, we have work to do." Giving her a wink, he walked out. Leaving her to walk out behind him; watching him still, trying to piece together the puzzle that was Gil Grissom.
TBC