His reaction to the ringing of the phone was to hit the button on his alarm clock. He quickly realized where he was and snapped the phone open. Sitting up rubbing his eyes and running his fingers through his hair , he listened to Sophia rattle off a schedule of crimes that would need to be investigated, she asked for information on a scheduled state review and ….. At this point Grissom quit listening and told her he would be in the office within the hour. Gil had not formed a solid opinion of Sophia and her presence on his team. He looked at the clock. He had slept later than usual. No wonder Sophia called, he was usually the one on the phone by this time of day issuing directives but he was exhausted. Gil promised himself that he would leave on schedule and sleep after this shift. He could function on no sleep and caffeine for only so long. The conference, the flight and last nights events had left him with no energy reserve.
The two of them stood in the doorway of the crime scene. It had to be the exhaustion, he had to be hallucinating. His eyes were sending him one image and his brain was rejecting it. Sara stood just inside the sliding doors of the emergency room questioning Lady Heather. In this environment they both looked out of place. He paused long enough to clear his head. Sara was wearing her usual, black pants, black shirt and suede jacket and thick soled shoes. Although Lady Heather wore black she stood in complete contrast to Sara. Lady Heather had on a long soft cape with a hood, underneath Grissom could visualize the elaborately bucked and tied costume that revealed her profession. All that was visible under the cape was the long black stiletto boots she wore. As he approached they both looked in his direction.
"Sara can you get me up to speed on this case" They had been called to the hospital to process a stabbing in the parking lot. Possible domestic dispute that ended in murder.
Sara led him a short distance from lady Heather.
"Apparently a nurse was getting off duty, usually a security guard walked her to the parking lot. Her ex had been harassing her since their divorce, but tonight, she walked to the car …alone and he stabbed her to death before shooting himself. He is in the trauma room, shot himself in the head. The ER doc says if they keep him alive he'll be a gork" Sara expelled all the information in on long breath.
She noticed Gil was looking intently at Lady Heather.
"This is..um… Lady Heather… the deceased sister."
"I don't believe there is any need for my presence. You know how to reach me if I can be of … service" Lady Heather directed these words to Sara, but Gil knew the last sentence was meant for him.
Lady Heather walked away without acknowledging Grissom's arrival. He followed her.
"Don't" she said without turning to face him. He put his hand on her shoulder to turn her
"I said don't" She walked forward and let his hand drop. He kept pace with her.
"Lady Heather, Your sister… are you sure you don't need assistance in any way?" He offered
She slowly turned to face him. Her green eyes glowing. Grissom could smell her perfume.
"Mr. Grissom, The assistance I require regarding my sisters death in no way involves you or your expertise. It is simple, my sister married a brutal man and when she had the courage to leave him, he could not let her go. He was cruel and obsessed. She refused to listen to anyone that confronted her about his obsession. She paid for it with her life." Lady Heather told him
.
"Obsession is a powerful thing" Grissom said
"You can't imagine it… good bye Mr. Grissom." She whispered leaning in close enough for him to feel her breath and walked away.
"What was that all about" Sara demanded when Grissom returned to the doors of the ER.
"What?" He answered.
Sara cocked her head and just stared at him. The encounter she had just witnessed confirmed some old gossip she had heard in the hallways at CSI. She had ignored the rumor that Grissom had flirted with a dominatrix on an older case. She had seen Lady Heather after she had been questioned at the station. Sara had even asked Brass about Lady Heather after she was questioned. All he would say was "Ask Grissom". "Do you know her?" Sara continued to probe.
" Yes." he stated simply. His tone of voice dared Sara keep probing, but before she could answer Grissom's phone rang
"Grissom" He snapped into the phone, thankful for the interruption, wondering how he would have continued the conversation with Sara.
Brass was on the other end. There was a kid at the police station telling them her parents had been killed by intruders. Grissom was needed at the scene and he would need the entire team on this one. It was the Conte family.
"Conte Real Estate?" Sara questioned as they pulled into the manicured grounds of the Conte home.
"Uh Huh. Big Bucks. Look at this lawn. More grass than a golf course" He observed.
These people bought and sold more property than any company in Las Vegas. The family had owned the land most of the casinos had been built upon. The Conte's were old money as far as Las Vegas was concerned. Third or fourth generation rich. This case would have to be handled perfectly.
"Dammit" Grissom muttered as he got out of the truck. "Ecklie"
Sara and Grissom were joined by Catherine and Nick. They had arrived earlier but had not yet entered the house. Brass was at the door and he was not letting anyone inside. Conrad Ecklie looked agitated.
"Gil, finally, you have to do this one perfectly. No problems. I would handle it personally but as you know I have a personal relationship with the Contes." Ecklie said making sure everyone heard him. "James and I have some investment interests in common"
"The fact that you slept with his ex-wife may also compromise your involvement in this investigation , too, Conrad" Gil answered a little to gleefully considering the circumstances.
"Just don't screw up." Conrad hissed hoping no one else had heard the exchange. He then stalked back to his car and drove away.
"Play nice Gil." Catherine whispered as she headed for the door of the house.
Brass briefed the team.
Katie Conte had arrived at the police station around 10:30 a.m. She had run from her car without turning off the ignition and into the station. She was in shock and told the officer on duty that someone had broken into her house and killed her parents. Katie then fainted and was taken to the hospital and upon awakening began screaming . The doctor sedated her. The doctor had been an intern and had not known the police would need to question her. She would not be conscience for 6 or 8 hours.
Nick and Sara took the outside of the house. Gil and Catherine started inside. Everything looked normal, no sign of forced entry at the front or back door. When they arrived in the kitchen, the door to the garage was open and in the garage a window had been shattered. They started upstairs, bloody foot prints were found in the hallway to the master bedroom. A rifle lay at the foot of the bed. The bedside drawer was open. On the bed lay a dead man, shot once in the head at close range and once in the chest. A woman was on the floor on the opposite side of the bed. She appeared to have been shot trying to get out of bed.
"The man was shot first, the wife woke up and the intruder shot the wife." Catherine stated " Then the intruder stepped in the wife's blood and leaned over to shot the husband in the chest."
"Two different guns were used, look at the residue on the wife and then at the husband" Gil pointed out.
"Well, we know where the bloody footprints came from." She countered "but why do they end at the top of the stairs. The intruder must have taken his shoes off the go down the stairs"
"Something's not right here. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" He said and knew Catherine had the same idea he had.
They headed back downstairs. Greg had arrived on the scene with Warrick. Grissom directed them to collect all the evidence in the bedroom. He and Catherine headed for the garage. As they reexamined the window, Nick and Sara walked into the garage.
"You two must have reached the same conclusion we did" Nick said shining the beam of this flashlight at the window and the broken glass.