The Search by SLynn
Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, not mine.
Spoilers: Everything up to 'Nesting Dolls' in Season 5 although I doubt seriously I drag all that up.
Night Five
By the time most of swing and night shift had rolled into work they'd all heard the news. The local stations were all saying that the search had officially become a recovery operation and that they latest lead had come up a dead end.
Every five minutes someone was popping their head into Catherine's office asking her if it was true, what was going on, a thousand other questions she couldn't answer.
What's worse is she just got off the phone with a very angry Mrs. Faulkner. Greg's mother was apparently enraged, which had surprised Catherine because judging from their last conversation she'd assumed the woman was devoid of feeling. But apparently she was only callous when it came to her son. Her youngest daughter, Kathleen, was very upset and Mrs. Faulkner didn't want anyone else from the lab contacting anyone but her from this point on.
This was all news to Catherine as she hadn't been aware anyone from the lab had been contacting Kathleen or any one else in Greg's family for that matter. It didn't take long to figure out who it had been, Mrs. Faulkner had a name. Sara Sidle.
Catherine, really not looking forward to the discussion she knew she had to have with Sara, was delaying it as long as possible. But it couldn't wait forever. Mrs. Faulkner had assured Catherine that she would be contacting the lab director herself, Conrad Ecklie, to make her grievances further known.
That's just what they needed right now.
"Cath," Nick called from the doorway, "got a minute?"
"Depends, are you going to ask me about what they're saying on the news?"
"No."
"Come on in," she said receiving a smile in return.
"Brass called," Nick said sitting down, "wanted us all here. He's got something new I guess to tell us about the search."
"Well, if he left early it can't be good," Catherine sighed as she looked at her watch, it was ten to eight.
Nick said nothing, just nodded.
"Do you know if Sara has been calling Kathleen Faulkner?" Catherine asked after a pause.
"Katie?" he asked, not really liking the look he received in return.
"Did you call her too?"
"No," Nick said, "but only because she didn't ask for me. She called a few nights ago looking for you, when you weren't here she asked for Sara. Why?"
"Why?" Catherine returned, "Greg's mother is why. She's livid. Doesn't want us talking to anyone but her."
"Catherine," Nick started, "Katie asked Sara to call her with information. You know Sara wouldn't just…"
"It doesn't matter what I know. No one calls her and if she calls here, you direct her to me. Or Ecklie. Got it?"
Nick nodded and stood.
"Brass should be here soon," he said as he left, shutting the door behind him.
Catherine sighed once more, hating this job and not for the first time.
Nick made his way down the hall, jaw set and eyes looking straight ahead. It was fairly easy to see he was mad and no one had to ask why. There were really very few things that set him off, but the lab by and large knew it was best to just stay out of his way when one of those things did.
He went straight to the locker room and was relieved to find Sara already there.
"Heads up," he said to her, coming over and talking in a near whisper, "Catherine is going to talk to you about Katie Faulkner. Greg's mother apparently went on the war path. You called her today didn't you?"
"I had too. I promised I would."
"What did you say?" Nick asked, leaning in closer.
Sara looked at him and for a moment couldn't read him. She could see he was mad, thought he might even be mad at her and that thought fueled her own emotions.
"I told her the truth," she snapped.
"That they're calling off the search?" he asked, disbelieving it.
"I had too."
Nick shook his head and stepped back.
"Nick, it was already on the news. She was getting half-truths from every news station online in Vegas."
"She's a kid."
"She's seventeen," Sara countered as she slammed the door shut. "And she was scared. Her mother wasn't telling her anything so she was just left to imagine the worse."
"Sara," Nick said, his voice losing all of its previous anger, "I know you were only doing what was right, I'd of done the same, but I don't think Ecklie is going to see it that way."
"Ecklie?" she asked and now she knew where his anger was coming from.
"You don't need this kind of trouble."
"I'll be fine."
"Sara…"
"Just let me worry about it," she said pushing past him and down the hall.
Nick was right behind her. Feeling worse then he had before. Angrier even, but mostly with himself. Wondering, not for the first time, what it must be like to be in Sara's shoes right now. Grissom and Greg were the only ones who had stood by her and now they were gone. She'd had a rough year and he hadn't really been much of a friend to her as of late. Nick planned on rectifying that, if it wasn't too late.
Brass saw them both in the hall and waved them into the AV room. Warrick and Catherine were already inside.
"So what is going on?" Warrick asked Brass as soon as he shut the door.
"Search has been temporarily called off."
"Why?" Catherine asked now, "News said something about a dead end."
"Yeah, you could say that," Brass said sitting down and sweeping a hand across his brow, "About two hours ago we ran into something."
"What?" Catherine asked again, obviously concerned. Each of them momentarily fearing the worse. A body. Maybe two.
"The other half of the search team."
"What?" Nick asked, echoing Catherine's earlier question.
"We started on one end, the other half started on the other and we met in the middle two hours ago without finding a thing."
"So they weren't on that trail," Warrick said flatly as he shook his head.
"Doesn't look like it," Brass said, his voice the same tone.
"So they went down the other one," Nick said trying to be optimistic. "We were wrong, tomorrow we just…"
"It's not just that Nicky," Brass broke in, "We did find something or something found us I guess."
They all looked at him expectantly, waiting for the explanation. Waiting for what looked like the real bad news of the day.
"This afternoon a concerned citizen turned this in," Brass said as he fished something out of his jacket and handed it first to Nick. He hadn't bothered with an evidence bag and opening it Nick understood why. It was still soaked, there was no way they would get anything like prints off of it. Not that they needed it. Checking the ID, Nick's felt the blood leave his face.
"Where'd they find it?" he asked before handing it over to Warrick.
"Up past the strip, near Tropicana."
Warrick had looked and passed it on to Catherine who sighed upon seeing its contents.
"We're assuming now that they took the other trail," Brass said as he went over to the map they'd used the night before and illustrated it in pen, "that sort of leads up into these creeks. Tomorrow a copter is going to trace the path of the run off the wallet was found in up to about this point."
Brass indicated about the spot on the map that the trail would have naturally run into one or more of the creeks in that canyon.
Catherine, as he spoke, absently handed the wallet off to Sara who didn't open it just yet.
"So is this why they're calling it a recovery now?" she asked instead.
Brass nodded before he continued.
"Chances are if that wallet was in the water…"
He didn't have to finish it. They knew what he meant.
Sara opened the wallet and was immediately accosted by Greg's smiling face. He smiled in every picture she'd ever seen of him; she wondered why she was so surprised to see it now on his driver's license.
"So is it just him or do we think…"
Sara wasn't even sure how she started that question, knew she couldn't finish it. She was gripping the wallet now so tight her knuckles were white from the effort.
"We assume that if one of them went in, it's likely they both did. The wallet confirms that at least Sanders was in the water at some point, whether he fell in first or second no one can say."
"When's the helicopter going up?" Nick asked after clearing his throat.
"Eight tomorrow morning. I can take two of you with me, three if we squeeze in."
"Why don't you three go," Catherine said with a nod. It was an easy choice. She could see on each of their faces that they'd wanted to be picked, she was probably the only person in the room that couldn't stomach the thought. Catherine knew she wouldn't be able to take that flight. To be the one that possibly…
"Are you sure?" Warrick asked, leaning in to her now, not sure how to take this kind of response.
Catherine nodded once more.
"Okay," Brass said, "I'll see you guys then."
Brass left without a goodbye and the room felt heavy.
"Alright," Catherine said after a few minutes of silence passed, "we've got cases to run."
Catherine stood now to emphasis her point but no one else moved. She'd planned on talking with Sara before this meeting but couldn't bring herself to do it now. Instead, like Brass before her, she turned to go without another word.
"God," Sara said shaking her head, "this is really happening."
Both men knew exactly how she felt.
Sara, unable to take the silence anymore, was ready to be moving. Handing the wallet back to Nick she stopped momentarily. Their eyes met briefly before Sara turned and was gone.
Warrick left right after Sara leaving Nick alone.
Nick flipped the wallet over a few times before pocketing it. He probably should put it in the evidence locker but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Sara had said it best, 'this is really happening.'
