Confessions

Grissom and Catherine sat across from Nick, Gil sitting in his office chair and Catherine leaning on the desk. Nick could feel their questioning gazes, but he ignored them and just held his head in his hands as he leaned forward on his knees.

"Why didn't you come to us?" That was a Catherine question. Grissom didn't voice those obvious things that made you want to shrink into oblivion.

Nick's answer was just a shake of his head.

Grissom cleared his throat. "Are you sure it was them at the park?" That got Nick's attention. He stared at his boss for several moments.

"I was followed by a car, and then at least two men, was caught and put in a strangle hold," he summed up as his voice started to escalate. "So yeah, I'm sure."

"Why, then?" Catherine asked. "Why would they want you alive?"

"Who says they did?" Grissom said. Before Nick could gawk at that, he continued. "What about Paige Landry?"

Nick instantly felt his face flush, and it was Catherine's turn to gawk.

"Don't tell me you—"

"No," Nick said. "Though not like she didn't want to. She's been popping up everywhere, warning me off the investigation."

"She was at the crime scene," Gil pointed out, holding up a photo for the younger CSI to see. Nick nodded somewhat guiltily.

"Yeah."

"You said she's been warning you," Cath said. "Do you think she's part of it?" That was a question begging to be dealt with in his mind. Nick honestly didn't know. She seemed concerned for him, and yet she worked for whatever mysterious group this was, and that group was becoming more and more dangerous to him.

His reluctance to answer must have shown.

"I'll take that as a maybe," Catherine filled in. "What about the tapes?" Nick sighed and shook his head.

"Tampered with—I noticed blood after the fact, but everything during the murder was blanked out," Nick said.

Grissom had that thoughtful look on his face as he rubbed the stubble on is chin. "Did you talk with the employees?"

Nick frowned, and Gil glanced at Catherine.

"Cath, take Warrick and Brass. Ask around, and see what you can find." She got up immediately and left.

Nick was left in his boss's office, still clad in his jogging clothes. He felt absolutely miserable. Somehow he'd gotten himself in this mess, and now he was dragging everyone else into it. Sure, it was comforting he wasn't alone.

But something told him the risks could escalate, as well as the danger.

"Warrick," Catherine called out. The tall and lean man looked away from the store employee he and Brass were interviewing. Catherine waved a video tape at them. She saw Warrick shoot her a confused look and excuse himself from the questioning.

"What's that?" Warrick asked. She smiled victorious.

"Nick missed a tape last time," she said. "The store manager said Nick only asked for two camera angles. This is a third one."

Warrick quirked an eyebrow up at that. "Cool."

"You know something that's always bothered me?" Nick suddenly said. Grissom looked up from his computer. Nick had changed clothes in the locker room, but now had sat in Gil's office for awhile now, just thinking while wringing his hands.

"What?" Gil asked, indulging the young CSI.

"The knife wound," Nick filled in. "Paige said it was a mugging that got Patterson killed. But a random mugger doesn't murder."

"Nick, we've seen many cases that disprove that theory," Grissom said. Nick held up a hand and nodded.

"Yeah, but go with me on this," he said. "A mugger might shoot the victim, or stab him—"

"Which was the case here—"

"—but what about the open wound?" Nick asked. "The murderer twisted the knife and yanked it out of the guy's flesh."

Grissom blinked at that graphic description.

"Someone who does that has a lot of experience with knives," Nick said. "And killing too."

Gil frowned. He was afraid he was seeing where this was going.

Suddenly his fish above the door started singing, and sure enough, there stood Catherine and Warrick. Nick quickly got to his feet, swallowing nervously as if he were awaiting the news of an operation.

"We have something you should see."

The footage played. It was jumpy and very low resolution, but it played.

"The manager said this camera is obscured by trees," Catherine said. "No one really watches it, but hopefully that means someone else missed it." They all held their breath as the time code moved forward, frame by frame.

And it didn't blank out to noise.

Nick felt his breath hitch as Patterson showed up. He stopped his car behind the loading area, and seconds later, another person showed up.

It was a man, dressed in a dark suit and gloves. Nick had no idea what he looked like, but the CSIs just watched.

"What's going on?" someone said. Nick practically jumped. It was Sara.

"Shhh!" he hissed at her, and turned his eyes back to the large screen in front of them. He felt Sara's arm brush against his as she claimed a spot to the show.

The two men talked after shaking hands. They seemed to know each other, and to be on friendly terms. Patterson smiled and laughed at what was said. And suddenly, the other man grabbed Patterson by the shoulder, holding him steady, and then plunged an object into his stomach.

The man gave another push of the knife, and Patterson's body jerked quite visibly. Christian Patterson's face was one of astonishment, and sudden fear.

It went beyond fear. Christian Patterson knew death was inevitable.

The other man flicked his wrist forcefully, and Patterson jerked again. The man pulled away with the knife in hand. He simply let go, and Patterson's body fell.

Not a sound was made in the lab. The five CSIs watched the gruesome crime unfold.

The man pulled out a cell phone, made a 12 second call, and hung up. A minute later, a white van pulled up. It had no license plates. Patterson's body was collected by two other men. One drove off with the body in the van. The other drove Patterson's car. And the murderer calmly drove off, but not before glancing in the direction of the loading dock's cameras.

And that was it.

Warrick stopped the tape. The silence stayed.

Nick wanted to feel satisfied—he had some answers—but it evaded him. Whoever Paige worked for had some involvement with Christian Patterson's death.

But was Paige privy to the premeditation of that murder? She said she loved Patterson, but fed Nick the whole story about the mugger. It's possible she doesn't know.

He swallowed down a hard lump in his throat. He couldn't be too optimistic. Too many things about Paige were conflicting, and it'd gotten him into a mess already. However, he couldn't just abandon any hope that she didn't know about Patterson's murder.

The phone rang in the lab and it startled everyone. Warrick scowled at it and answered gruffly.

He listened to whoever called, and then nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell him." He hung up and turned to Nick.

"You have a visitor," Warrick said. Nick furrowed his brow, just as the others stared at him. And then, Grissom gasped.

Nick whirled around to see what caused the reaction.

Paige Landry was walking towards them, her face streaked with tears and a crumpled tissue in her hand.