Disclaimer: Csi not mine. Whole family loves CSI. Rock the family.
Grissom put aside his pager and waited for Sara to show up. Jackie watched Grissom warily from the other end of the table, and hugged her teddy bear tighter.
Grissom sighed inwardly. This wasn't going to be an easy interview. It was a good thing he had Sara around. He'd told Nick to go speak to the other models and get their fingerprints. He had a hunch that they might be needed.
Grissom's beeper went off. It was Nick. 'Unknown fingerprints on bag - you think it's one of the models?'
Unknown fingerprints? Grissom sighed again. This case was getting progressively worse. There was still no clue as to where Tina had gone, no clue as to whether she had been kidnapped or simply walked out, and everyone, so far, seemed to be lying or hiding something, or both.
He looked up again to find Jackie still staring at him, with wide eyes that showed only fear.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently. "I just want to talk to you."
Jackie cringed as though he'd hit her, and buried her face in her teddy. Grissom sighed again.
He heard the door open and close quietly, and Sara sat down beside him. She smiled at the supermodel, and Jackie peeped over the top of her teddy bear, a little assured. She now seemed like a child being introduced to strangers - shy, but curious.
"So, Jackie…" Sara leant forward, "Are you okay?"
"I'm hungry." She said gently. "And I'm very sleepy."
"This won't take long," Sara assured her. "We only need to ask you a few questions. Okay?"
Jackie squirmed in her seat. "Okay."
Grissom relaxed. Sara could definitely handle this.
"Jackie, we need your fingerprints."
Jackie blinked. "Why?"
Sara smiled reassuringly. "We found some fingerprints that don't belong to Marcus, and we don't know whose they are."
Jackie whispered something in her teddy's ear, listened to its reply, then looked back up at Sara. "Misty says you can have them if you want. She says we should share."
"Really?" Sara smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Well, how about I give you my fingerprints, and you give me yours."
Jackie spoke to her teddy bear again. "Misty says she wants his fingerprints." She pointed at Grissom.
Sara looked at Grissom and raised an eyebrow. "Is that okay, Grissom?"
Grissom blinked, then smiled uncertainly at the girl. "Why do you want my fingerprints?" Jackie just giggled.
Sara cleared her throat, then got out the ink-pads and sheets of paper. She looked at Jackie. "Ok, Jackie, this is what we do when we take someone's fingerprints." She picked up Grissom's hand. Grissom forgot to move his hand towards the ink pad, so Sara had to yank at his arm.
Jackie giggled again.
One by one Sara pressed Grissom's fingers into the inkpad and rolled across the paper. Grissom stared at his fingerprints as thought they were the strangest things he'd ever seen. When the card had been filled with Grissom's prints, Sara gave it to Jackie. While Jackie oohed and ahhed with her bear over the fingerprints, Sara turned to look at Grissom. Catching his eye, she smiled a warm smile at him… and her heart leaped when he smiled back.
"You want my fingerprints now?"
Sara turned back to look at Jackie. "Not yet. I just want to ask you a question first."
Grissom frowned at Sara. But Sara didn't notice.
"Okay." Jackie said, smiling. "What is it?"
"That mark on your back," Sara said slowly, "Did Marcus hit you? Did Marcus do that?"
Jackie stared at Sara, her smile vanishing. She hugged her bear tightly again, and refused to answer.
"Jackie, please." Sara said, almost pleading. "Just tell me, yes or no."
"He hit me." Jackie said, in a voice so small it was almost inaudible. "But I'm not supposed to talk or I'll get in trouble."
Sara looked at Grissom, as though to say 'I told you so', but it was a sad triumph.
"Okay, Jackie," Grissom said, "Sara's going to take your fingerprints now."
Jackie watched as Sara picked up her fingers, and one by one rolled them in ink and tapped them on the card. And then she turned her sad brown eyes on Grissom.
"Don't tell him I told you," she whispered. "Tina told on him, and he hit her so bad she didn't wake up."
Sara went as pale as a sheet and left the room with Jackie's ten-card as soon as she could.
-
Warrick drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I suppose anything's possible."
"So why are you throwing out my tree theory?" Val whined.
Warrick laughed, and Val smiled along with him. "Because," he explained, "Forrester was killed. York wasn't. York has got nothing to do with trees."
Val pursed her lips thoughtfully, then sighed. "Alright, fine. I'm dropping the tree angle. Happy?"
Warrick laughed, "Your crazy theory reminds me of the time when everyone at the lab was convinced that a vic had died from spontaneous combustion. Well, everyone except me." Sure it was a slight exaggeration, but exaggerations made for better stories.
"Funny you should mention that," Val said, with a completely straight face, "Because it happened in Seattle not too long ago."
Warrick spared Val a quick, stunned stare before turning his eyes back to the road. "You're kidding."
Val burst out laughing. "Gotcha!"
Warrick shook his head and scowled, then reached down and turned on the radio. Some soulful singer crooned out a ballad. The voice was hauntingly familiar. Warrick stared at the radio. "Lillie?"
"Who's Lillie?" Val asked, curious.
Lillie's voice sang a song about missing someone. Warrick stared stubbornly out the window his jaw set.
"You don't want to talk about it?"
"Lillie Ivers," Warrick said, his voice emotionless. "She was just a lounge singer when I first met her. She was heading towards the top. I guess she still is."
"What happened?" Val asked gently
"We were investigating a murder," Warrick said, as though he really didn't want to talk about it. "she wasn't a suspect or anything, but she was there… and she heard me play piano." He swallowed.
"Fur Elise in blues?" Val asked, the ghost of a smile playing about her lips.
Warrick smiled and shook his head, "Naw, it was something I made up myself." He gripped the steering wheel hard, relaxed, gripped it again. A lone car passed them on the roads. "I had to walk away."
The song ended, and the DJ announced the girl's name. It wasn't Lillie Ivers. Warrick sighed, somehow relieved, somehow disappointed. Another song started up, a little bouncy, a little more upbeat.
"Could we turn that off?" Val asked, a little uncomfortable.
"What?" Warrick smirked, "You don't like bubblegum pop?"
Val gave him The Look. "I like all music. Just not right now." She sighed. "I haven't listened to music since… since then."
Warrick looked at Val out of the corner of his eye. She was slumped down in the seat, tracing the scar on her stomach through her shirt.
Warrick turned the radio off, then turned into the side road. They'd arrived at the York home. And Michael York was waiting for them.
A/N: Just a boring author's note today. This story is: To be continued. Please review. Creative reviews make me have happy glee moments - funny ones may or may not make me fall out of my chair. (PS It's Val's bday on the twelfth!)
(... Yes i know, I'm pathetic. I make my characters seem more lifelike by actually giving them birthdays -.- well, only the interesting characters, anyway)