Important:The story lines from the previous two parts are continuing, but slowly right now, so please be patient.this is also the begining of a Grissom/Sara Romance, so hang on for a wild ride.
I didn't put the time period in the other two parts, and it kinda matters so here it is:
Internal Affairs:mid-February
Offspring: mid-April
Amanda: End of May - Early June
She was sitting in Ecklie's office. He was saying how honored he was to have her there, the most well known CSI from LA. She smiled; she was so tired of people saying that. She had explained to him why she was there. He of course, was pleased to oblige her.
She was working on a serial case. It was connected to LA, Chicago, her old home Philadelphia, and Vegas. There was a pattern in the cases; they rotated between the cities in a west to east loop.
From the pattern that she had figured out, LA was not originally one of the cities in his loop.
She had encountered the pattern in Philadelphia in 1997 and in Los Angeles in 1999 and 2004. The next city in the pattern was Las Vegas.
The first killing had been all the way back in 1986, in Vegas. The victim had been Stephanie Watson, a friend of Catherine Willow's. The next two years, he had killed strippers in both Chicago and Philadelphia. He took a year off, and then repeated the same three-year pattern. In 1994, he changed his pattern; Los Angeles was added to the cities he struck. Other than that, the pattern was constant; he killed in the consecutive cities for consecutive years, and then he took a year off. In 2004, his newest cycle began.
When she had encountered the case again in LA, she called her former co-workers in Philadelphia, to look back at the files. Then she started to look into the DNA databanks across the country. Then she began to see the pattern emerge.
The victims had all been strippers, and in each city, they were always taken from the same clubs. The methods by which they were tortured and killed escalated with each cycle of killings. That's why he took the year off, to change his pattern, to escalate the viciousness of the crime.
The first three victims were all stabbed to death. The next three were tortured for a day, and then stabbed to death.
The following four were tortured for two days, beaten and then stabbed to death. The four after that were treated the same way as the previous ones, but they were more brutally treated. They were stabbed, but not to death, it was a method of torture. He would slice their skin, causing them immense pain, and blood loss, but not death. Then he raped them, and he shot them in the back of the head to kill them.
The one the year before was the worst though. She had been raped multiple times, and she had been the most brutalized.
Their bodies were found at various locations throughout the cities.
That's why Amanda Johnson was in Las Vegas, she was going there to try to stop this man from killing again.
She had looked into the personnel of the unit, and she had chosen her desired team, Sara Sidle and Greg Sanders. Ecklie was skeptical of the team, but he said all she had to do was to clear it with Grissom.
Now however, he was going on about what an honor it was to have her work there, even if it was for a short time. She was so glad that she didn't work there, she would never be able to put up with him.
She was, in truth, LA's star CSI. She was hard working and dedicated. She managed never to mess up, at least, she knew how not to get in trouble for it. She was just over 31, but she already had level 4 clearance, even though she was a level 3 CSI. She was also being groomed to become a supervisor in about 5 years.
She had graduated at 16, so all this use of her intelligence was to be expected. 'If only they knew about my past,' she thought, although she never vocalized it.
Finally he let her go to see Grissom. She knocked lightly on his door, which was practically open. He looked up, and he told her to come in. So she came in and took a seat.
"My name is Amanda Johnson, I just came from Ecklie to see you. I'm working on a serial killer and rapist case, which ties to Vegas. I've come from LA with my information."
"Your coming had been mentioned to me. I'm pleased to meet you, your reputation precedes you."
She sighs, but smiles as well. "As does yours. I have chosen two members of your team to work with me. Ecklie has approved of them, but he said that I need to ask for your permission to use them."
"Alright, which two?"
"Sidle and Sanders."
He raises both eyebrows. "Are you certain?"
"That was exactly his reaction. Yes, I'm certain. I like what I've seen in their records. And even though Sanders is new, I think this would be a good case for him. They bot have a unique perspective on things, and I like that."
"Alright, you can have them. I'll get you set up in a room and I'll page them. Greg has just finished his last case, so he can be there right away. Sara is nearly done with hers, and she would hate me if I took her off a case."
"That's ok, right now, we're just going to do small things. As long as she can be there today, I don't have a problem."
He smiles and she reciprocates it, then they head off.
A little while later, Greg comes into the room. He sees Amanda sitting there. He is surprised at how young she looks.
"Grissom paged me to meet someone hereā¦"
She turns to face him. When she sees his face, she smiles. Then she stands and puts her hand out for him to shake it. "Yes, my name is Amanda Johnson. I'm here on a special case. I have the files in my car. The rest of it should arrive tomorrow. We can get those and then we can get the information from storage here."
"Alright."
They start to go down the hall, and Greg says, "You know, Sara wasn't happy when she got that page."
"I figured, she'll be happier when she starts the case though."
He looks at her incredulously. "Are you certain?"
She smiles brightly again, "Trust me."
