Sara said nothing.
After an uncomfortable silence Catherine declared: "I have to tell it Grissom."
Sara still said nothing.
"Do you want to accompany me to his office?" Catherine asked in a friendly tone.
"Sure," Sara whispered and left Catherine's office quickly.
Grissom was doing his favourite paper work when Sara and Catherine walked into his office. Catherine knocked on his open door and he looked up. "Hallo. You are still here?" he asked Catherine surprised.
Sara remained staying in the door with her arms folded.
"We have a problem," Catherine began. "We got a shooting today. Near the crime scene a gun was found. It fits to the bullets which killed the victim."
"What is the problem?" Grissom asked frowning.
Catherine glanced at Sara and then at Grissom and announced, "It's Sara's gun."
Grissom opened his mouth, but it was Sara who murmured, "Cannot be my gun."
"It is," Catherine said impatiently. "And in my office you said you think it has been stolen."
"I just wanted to look whether it was in my locker, although I am sure that I put it into my trunk when you asked me to come to your office," Sara tried to explain.
"So we should just go and look," Grissom suggested friendly.
Sara's look darkened. "I can look after my things myself."
Catherine again glanced first at Sara then on Grissom. "Sorry to say that. But I will call Nick. He's still here and it's his crime scene. Just in case," she decided and added: "He'll open your locker."
Looking uncomfortable and wearing gloves, Nick opened Sara's locker. He searched through the locker, pushing aside some of Sara's neatly stored things. "No gun in here," he finally said.
"No surprise, because Sara's gun was found near a crime scene," Catherine stated.
Nick glanced at a pair of Sara's shoes which were lying in the locker and held them up. Some strange, sticky stuff was on them. "I know that stuff," Nick said slowly. "It was also on the victim's clothes."
"Everything has to be processed …" Catherine began but Grissom interrupted her: "We will do that."
Catherine looked at Sara. "I'm sorry, but Nick has to take a sample from your hands, Sara, and test it for gun shot residue, chemicals … you know the procedure."
"I've already washed my hands," Sara said sarcastically, "but if it makes you happy, go ahead."
Nick and Sara left and Catherine turned to Grissom, who was silent.
"I still have to tell you something," Catherine began. Grissom still said nothing.
What Catherine told him about the victim was nothing which broke his silence.
"Just hold up your hands with the palms up, please," said Nick, feeling no more comfortable than when he had opened Sara's locker. He examined her hands and took a sample. "Thanks," he said, looking at Sara, "and sorry."
Sara smiled for half a second. "You don't have to apologize. It's your job."
Some minutes later Nick and Sara returned to the locker room where Catherine and Grissom were waiting.
"It's clear that Sara cannot be included in your "we", Grissom. She should go home until we call her for an interrogation." Catherine stated without looking at Sara.
She glanced to Grissom who glanced at Sara with an apologizing look.
"We're getting used to that." Sara whispered. "I'm off then."
They watched Sara leave. "Nick, I'm sorry that you have to work overtime again. Please investigate the locker and send everything to the lab," Catherine requested.
Nick nodded but didn't leave.
"We found no wallet. It could be robbery," he remarked hopefully.
"Possible. But what about Sara's gun?" replied Catherine.
"Stolen," said Nick.
When Catherine answered nothing, he added: "Sara says so."
Greg was still thinking about the conversation which he had overheard in the break room. He was in the lab, helping out Mia because of the loads of stuff Warrick and Nick had brought them from the crime scene and the additional things from Sara's locker.
How was it possible that the victim had been killed with Sara's gun? He didn't let the thought occur that Sara had shot the man. Not possible. Impossible.
He sighed and reached for the sheet of paper which was coming out of the printer. It was the result from the bottle which had been found in the plastic bag together with the gun. The DNA on it was female. It was Sara's.
Greg set off for Grissom's office.
Walking slowly into the room and closing the door behind him, he looked seriously at Grissom.
"The bottle which was in the plastic bag together with the gun … Sara's DNA is on it," he said, looking downcast.
Grissom stood up, looking serious and sad at the same time. "Probably the first time I say this: unfortunately, we have some other evidence, too. I just got some other results from Hodges. The paste that was found on the victim's clothes is the same from Sara's shoes."
TBC
