Post-Butterflied

Disclaimer: I still don't own CSI and get no profit from writing these stories…yadda yadda yadda.

Chapter 13

"Look, Grissom, I really don't care that you skipped out on work. Please just call me the second you get this message, I need your help," Catherine said to Grissom's voicemail.

"He didn't answer his cell phone?" Warrick asked.

"No," Catherine slammed her phone down in frustration.

"Hopefully we'll find Lindsey before Grissom even gets here," Warrick said.

"I just want to know where she went," Catherine sighed, "part of me is mad at her for just disappearing, but most of me is terrified that something happened to her. I almost lost her once…"

"Shh," Warrick hugged her, "it'll be okay."

"How do you know that?" Catherine mumbled into his chest.

"Okay, I don't, but it doesn't make you feel any better if I tell you that, does that?" Warrick asked.

"No," Catherine sniffled in reply.

"All right, one kid at her school said that she saw Lindsey this morning. Your babysitter dropped her off. She waited for the babysitter to drive away, then started walking west from the schoolyard," Brass announced.

"What?" Catherine pulled away from Warrick.

"I know, it sounds strange, but it's the only witness we have at the moment," Brass said.

"She wouldn't just ditch school," Catherine shook her head, "I know she's been getting into trouble but…well, maybe she would. God, I don't even know my own daughter anymore."

"She's just at that age where she wants to rebel, some kids are worse than others, you are not a bad mother," Warrick rubbed her lower back gently.

"Look, we have officers all over the place looking for her," Brass offered, "if she's out there, we are going to find her."

"She's never leaving my sight again if we find her," Catherine sobbed.

"We're doing our best, Cath," Brass said, "I'm going to go for now, you just stay here and wait for news from us. I mean it, don't go looking for her. We don't need you out in the field right now."

At that moment, Catherine's cell phone rang, "Hello? Lindsey?"

"No, it's me Grissom," her supervisor responded, "what's going on?"

"Lindsey's missing," Catherine's voice shook.

"Do you have any idea where she is?" Grissom asked.

"No, someone saw her walking away from school this morning and that was it," Catherine replied.

"Do you need me to do anything for you?" Grissom offered.

"Please go look for her, I want to find her," Catherine begged, "you have to help me."

"I'll do what I can," Grissom said, "call me if you hear anything and I'll do the same."

"Okay," Catherine said softly, "please find her Gil."

"I'll do my best," Grissom said, "goodbye Catherine."

"Bye," she hung up.


"What's going on with Catherine?" Sara asked the second Grissom hung up his cell phone.

"Lindsey is missing," Grissom replied, "Catherine wants me to help look for her."

"Damn, what a time for me to not be mobile. Could you take me to Catherine's house and drop me off. If I can't help you out, I'll at least go help her," Sara said.

"Sure, I'll take you over there," Grissom stood, "this is not good."

"I knew she said Lindsey's been acting up in school, but you don't think she'd just run away, would she?" Sara asked.

"I really don't know," Grissom replied, "here let me help you."

He bent down and picked up both crutches for her, then helped her to her feet. He dropped Sara off at Catherine's house and then got a call from Nick and Greg. They were out helping look for Lindsey. He joined them at her school.

"So, another student said she saw Lindsey walk that way," Greg pointed.

"Well, I guess we should head that direction then," Grissom clapped his hands together.

"Maybe we should split up a bit, we don't know which direction she could have gone from there," Nick scanned the area.

It was a nice neighborhood. There were neat little homes all around and a fence surrounding the schoolyard. A few blocks away there was a little convenience store where, according to the teachers, a lot of students would stop in and buy candy on their way to and from the school.

"I think I'll head for that convenience school," Grissom said, "I'll ask if they saw her."

"Call if you find anything," Nick yelled as Grissom walked away.

"Same goes for you guys," Grissom hollered back.

Grissom walked to the convenience store, all the while scanning the ground for anything out of place. When he got to the store, he pulled out the picture of Lindsey that Catherine had given him before he left. He showed it to the clerk and asked if they had seen her at any time during the day.

"Yes, I remember that little girl," the clerk replied, "she was in here this morning, at about nine o'clock. She bought a soda and a candy bar."

"Okay," Grissom slipped the picture back into his pocket, "did she happen to say anything about where she was going or what she was doing here?"

"No, I thought it was odd that she wasn't in school. She was by herself though, didn't say a word. She left and I think she was heading towards town. I figured it's one of those kids ditching school to go hang out at an arcade or something. I see a lot of that in here," the clerk elaborated.

"Thank you, you've been very helpful," Grissom nodded to the clerk.

"I hope you find her," the clerk called out after him.

"Me too," Grissom slipped out the door.

Grissom pulled out his cell and dialed Catherine's number, "Hey, it's me."

"Have you found her yet?" Catherine asked eagerly.

"Not yet, but I may have a lead. She was seen at a convenience store this morning buying a pop and some candy. The clerk seems to think she was heading towards town," Grissom explained.

"So she was ditching school? I knew it! She knows better than that," Catherine fumed.

"We're still hoping to find her," Grissom said, "we've still got a lot to go on. Nick and Greg are helping me and the police are keeping their eyes out for her."

"Please find my baby," Catherine implored.

"I'm doing everything I can," Grissom assured her, "with any luck, she'll be found before dark. There's a lot of people out there looking for her."

"Thank you," Catherine said quietly.

"Sara and Warrick still there with you?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah, did you want to talk to Sara?" Catherine asked.

"Yes please," Grissom said.

"Hey Gris," Sara took the offered phone.

"How's Catherine holding up?" Grissom questioned.

"She's doing okay," Sara lowered her voice, "obviously upset, but she's holding together. I think Warrick's giving her a lot of comfort. I'm actually feeling like a bit of a third wheel. She'd never ask me to leave, but I think she feels better with him around."

"At least she seems to be okay," Grissom sighed, "I don't know if we'll find her or if she's going to be okay. I pray for Catherine's sake that she's fine."

"Me too," Sara said, "it's really nice that you're helping her though. I think she's getting a lot of piece of mind from knowing you and the other guys are out there helping look for Lindsey."

"I'm just doing what I can," Grissom told her, "look, I'll call you guys later if I find anything else out, okay?"

"All right, talk to you later," Sara hung up Catherine's phone.

A/N: Hope you are enjoying the story so far. I appreciate and enjoy reading your reviews as always.