A/N: This update is in honor of the horse show I was competing in this weekend. May I so happily add that me and my horse Pita did very very well. So, you all get an update! Lol. Well, don't just sit there! Read and review!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own it… yet. But I have a brilliant foolproof plan! So when the police come to investigate the um, "tricking of CSI dudes", you didn't hear anything! Lol. Just kidding… they will never catch me!!!!!!!!!! Hehehe.
"Wait up Grissom!" called Catherine as she got up to follow Grissom. He turned and looked at her curiously.
"I need to get over there to find out who that horse shoe belongs to." She replied with a smile as she and Grissom headed out to the barn.
"Hey Sara, Brass is going to meet us at Peyton Trowds house in about an hour." Sara looked up at him as he got into the car with her.
"So where are we going?" she asked. Nick flashed her a grin.
"Well, I figure we have a good 45 five minutes before we need to head over to her home…" Sara playfully smacked him as a wide grin spread across her face.
"And I seem to recall we never got to finish what we started earlier."
Ten minutes later they had parked in an empty spot by a small park. Nick quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to give Sara a deep kiss. He chuckled as he pulled away.
"I've been wanting to do that since we talked earlier."
"And I've been waiting for that all day." She said as they came together in another kiss. Their tongues came together in a frenzied dance as the kiss became more urgent. As they traded passionate kisses, they lost all track of time. The shrill ring of a cell phone going off. Nick groaned as he reluctantly pulled away and picked up his cell phone.
"Stokes."
"Hey, if you can tear yourself away from making out with Sara, we do have a suspect to interview." Came Brass's amused voice.
"We weren't…"
"Oh please. Don't even try. Can you two manage to control yourselves long enough to interview her?"
"Alright. We'll be there in ten minutes." He hung up and looked at Sara, who was struggling to contain her laughter.
"We've been caught."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Sara asked.
"I, um." She laughed.
"We'll talk about it later. Right now I think we have places to be and people to interview!"
"Nice of you two to join me." Brass said dryly as Sara and Nick stepped out of the car, the young CSI's blushing profusely. He led them up to the large house where the suspect lived.
"Hello. I'm detective Jim Brass and this is Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle from the crime lab. We're here to ask Peyton Trowds some questions about the recent murder of Kimberly Aruba." Brass said as a woman opened up the door. She quickly ushered them in.
"Peyton!" she called. She turned to the group. "Want anything to drink?"
"No thanks." Nick drawled. Just then, a teenage girl came walking into the room where the all stood.
"Um, Hey. Who are you?" The girl was short with shoulder length dark brown hair with light highlights. She looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, and like the rest of the girls from the barn, she looked like she had been crying.
"I'm Detective Jim Brass and this is Sara Sidle and Nick Stokes from the crime lab."
"You're here about Kim." It wasn't a question but a statement. Brass nodded. Peyton walked over to a couch and motioned for them to have a seat. She glanced at her mom. "Mom, um, could we have some time alone?"
"Of course." Came the reply as the woman hurried away. Settling down, Brass paused before he started shooting off questions.
"So, how well did you know the victim?"
"Pretty well. We're all kind of like a family at the barn. And she went to my school." She wiped a tear the had leaked from her eyes.
"Did you have any problems with her?"
"Of course not! Everyone loved Kim! You don't think…" her eyes grew wide as she realized what Brass was implying.
"Well, your martingale was used to strangle her." Sara Said before Brass could reply.
"What?" Peyton looked at Sara with a shocked expression. "
"Well, can you explain it then?" Nick asked gently.
"No! I would never do anything to hurt Kim! Someone must have taken it and used it and then returned it to my rack. Oh my god, I can not believe this!"
"Do you know of anyone who would have a possible motive for doing that?" Sara questioned.
"I don't think so."
"Any one you didn't get along with?"
"Well, there is Lee Smith. But it wasn't that bad!" She said. Nick and Sara looked at each other. It was time they talked to this Lee Smith.
"Well, thank you for your time. We might have some further questions for you later on in the investigation." Brass said as the trio walked out into the cool December air.
"Ok. Feel free to ask away. I have nothing to hide." Peyton said, her dark eyes tearing up.
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"One Two One Two One Two One." Grissom watched in amazement as the horse and rider approached the large jump. He couldn't really understand why the rider was counting up to it though.
"How do you think that spot worked out?" asked the trainer as the rider pulled her horse to a halt.
"A little tight but good."
"It could have been a bit better, but good job. I think we can end with that."
"Thanks Jana." The girl turned her horse away as Jana walked over to where Grissom stood observing the lesson.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes. I'm Gil Grissom from the Las Vegas crime lab."
"Oh, ok. Hi. I'm the owner of this barn, Jana. I already talked to two of the investigators though." She said, confused.
"I know." Grissom glanced over at the field behind her where the lesson had been conducted. "Why were you counting?" He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.
"To find the distance to the jump. You want the horse to leave the ground at the right moment so that you go over the jump nicely." She explained. Grissom nodded, still confused.
"Yeah. Ok. Well, mind if I take a look around?"
"No, not at all."
"Thanks." He turned and walked towards the barn where the riders were tacking up and hosing down horses. As he walked into the canopy area, a small pick on the ground caught his eye.
"Um, what is this?" he asked a teenage girl.
"A hoof pick. We use it to pick out manure and dirt and stuff from the horses hooves."
"Would you mind if I took this back to the lab?" The girl raised an eyebrow and she looked at him.
"Uh, ok. Sure."
"Thanks." He said. He smiled as he bagged the small hoof pick. He had a strong suspicion that he had just figured out what had been used to stab the victim.
A/N: ok, several things. First, yes, I actually –gasp- included fluff. If I sucked, I am very sorry. Tell me and I will never try again. But if it wasn't that bad, feel free to tell me that to. Lol. Also, the part where she is riding the horse, the counting is entirely true. We count our rhythm to jumps so we can find a good distance to jump at. It's not as confusing as it sounds. But it is hard. Well, REVIEW!!!!
--Emily--
