Brass was waiting just outside the store where their victim had died when Nick and Sara arrived. His smile was decidedly wry. "I see you kids just can't stay away from the mall today."
"She made me come." Nick quipped smirking at Sara.
She rolled her eyes, trying to hold back a smile. "Somebody has to carry the packages."
"Right." Brass turned and headed into the store with the two CSIs trailing behind him. "I've contacted the head of security for the mall and they're gathering the security tapes for the last twenty-four hours to see if we can find out where our victim came from."
Nick kept stealing glances at Sara as they walked with Brass. "I was thinking that since she was on foot we might look for abandoned vehicles."
Brass glanced back at him and smirked. "Well today that's going to be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but we'll tell the security guys to keep their eyes out."
Nick just nodded and noticed Sara's furrowed brow and wondered what she was thinking.
She didn't keep it a mystery for long. "Brass, have we checked with the stores in the mall to see if any of their employees failed to show up for work?" It had occurred to her that other than the rabid shoppers waiting in line outside the stores that morning, the only other people crazy enough to go near a mall on a day like today were the people that worked in them.
Brass just shook his head. "Not yet."
"But if she was going to work, why didn't she have her purse with her?" Nick reasoned. Sara's theory was good, but the missing identification was something that they still had no answer for. For all they knew, she could have been mugged on her way to wait in line and stumbled towards the crowd in an attempt to get help.
"Maybe she got to work, but went back to retrieve something from her car." Sara shrugged her shoulders.
They approached the mall security office and waited outside while Brass showed the head of security the warrant.
Bud Redmond, the head of mall security for the Rodeo Discount Mall, was in his mid-forties with a slight paunch in his gut and a handlebar mustache hovering above his upper lip. He resembled a cowboy from the old west more than a security guard. "Captain Brass, we sort of anticipated this after earlier this morning. I've got John in there burning copies of the tapes as we speak. Should be done in another twenty minutes or so." He glanced over at Nick and Sara and then back at Brass. "I can give you all a coupon for a free coffee at one of the stores in the food court if you want to come back."
Brass glanced at Nick and Sara and shrugged. He knew that he they had the authority to seize the tapes right then, but he always favored letting people work with him. Nick shrugged back. Brass turned towards Bud and nodded. "We'll come back." Brass held a palm up and shook his head as Bud reached for the coupons. "No need for the coupons."
As the trio left the security office, Brass gestured down the middle of the crowded mall. "We may as well start canvassing the stores to work your theory out Sara."
Nick furrowed his brow. "Don't you think we could narrow down our scope by reviewing the tapes first?"
Sara considered Nick's words. "You have a point. There are at least a hundred stores in here and it's the busiest shopping day of the year. But if we started in the general vicinity of where she died, we could narrow it down somewhat."
"I always did like you, Sidle." Brass didn't hand out compliments often, but when he did they were usually very sincere, even if his tone of voice was slightly acerbic.
Nick grinned at her, having a hard time hiding his admiration for her skills as an investigator, and just his admiration for her in general. "Me too."
They fanned out and began to canvass the stores that were located near where the victim had died hoping to rule them out one by one, but then they developed another problem. Apparently, working the day after Thanksgiving wasn't the most popular thing among mall employees, because almost all of the stores they checked said that they had employees that were scheduled to work that didn't show up.
Nick and Sara met up in the middle of the mall and Sara looked frustrated. "I think I'm liking your idea more and more about watching the tapes first." She shook her head. "Doesn't anyone have a work ethic anymore?"
"Yeah, I got the same thing. I have a feeling that a lot of people called in sick today." Nick was frustrated at the dead end they seemed to have hit. He gestured back in the direction of the mall security office. "Let's see if Brass has those tapes yet."
"I have a feeling we should have taken those coupons for coffee." Sara was starting to feel the effects of this second shift.
"Well I happen to know where Greg hides his coffee, and if that doesn't work, we can take a break and grab a couple of power naps." He smiled at her as a genuine smile from her was directed at him.
"You know where he hides his coffee?" She looked a bit doubtful; Greg guarded the location of his Blue Hawaiian coffee carefully. "How did you find that out?"
Nick smirked. "Let's just say that I know a little something about our Mr. Sanders that he really wouldn't want to get out."
"Tell me." Sara insisted with all the patience of a child.
Nick shook his head. "Can't do it. I promised." He let out a chuckle as disappointment flitted across her face. "I'll tell you where the coffee is though."
"That's better than nothing." She felt a sudden flip in her stomach and she had to remind herself that they were working and she couldn't afford to swoon.
Brass intercepted them before they got all the way to the security office. He held a mall shopping bag in one hand and wore a smile on his face. "Bud went so far as to put these in the most time relevant order for us."
"Well wasn't that nice of Bud?" Nick sounded slightly patronizing at how the security lead had bent over backwards to help them, it almost made him wonder if he had some sort of role in the death of their mystery woman.
"I'll let you two take these." He handed the bag to Nick. "I believe it was your job to carry the packages."
Sara tried to keep from smiling without much success. "Thanks, Brass."
Brass glanced at his watch and then surveyed the CSIs for a moment. "I'll leave this in your capable hands. I'm going to try and get some shut eye."
"Thanks, Jim." Nick smirked as the homicide detective slowly headed towards the exit to the mall. He glanced over at Sara. "Looks like we have a date with the AV lab."
She let out a soft chuckle and looked back at him. "You really need to pick out better movies."