Chapter Five

When Catherine had pulled out of the parking garage of Sara's apartment building, Grissom went inside. He walked the stairs to her second floor apartment and stood in front of her door for a minute. He wasn't exactly sure why he'd come. He wanted to see her, yes, but they'd be working their case together in less than an hour. He wanted to hold her, to tell her what he'd told Catherine. He didn't want to do that in the car, that's why he'd come, they needed to talk.

He knocked lightly on the door and waited for an answer. When he didn't get one after five minutes, he decided that she was probably in the shower. He tried the door knob and was surprised to find that it was unlocked. Not like Sara at all.

Grissom entered her apartment as though it were a crime scene, taking in every misplaced object like evidence. He moved through her living room, noticing the clutter on her desk in the corner. A desk top computer, her police scanner, and many other electronic gadgets that Grissom couldn't identify. Her coffee table was littered with mail-order catalogues, the type of thing he'd expected her to have lying around. He moved down the hallway toward the sound of running water.

When he reached the bathroom door, Grissom stopped. He wasn't sure how she'd react if he simply walked into her bathroom. Although, if he knocked she'd probably have a gun in his face when she opened the door. Maybe I should just wait in the living room, Grissom thought.

He didn't. He opened the door slowly, hoping that she hadn't heard it. He left it cracked behind him and stood stock still in the middle of her bathroom. He could make out the outline of her body through the purple shower curtain and his breath was caught in her throat.

Grissom turned to go, he should've waited in the living room. If Sara pulled back that shower curtain to find him standing there staring at her, she'd be embarrassed and possibly angry. He didn't want her to get upset. But he couldn't make himself leave her either. He wanted to be there when she got out of the shower, water dripping off of ivory skin, hair matted to her face and neck. He couldn't make himself leave.

Grissom removed his glasses and fought with himself. What the hell am I doing? he thought, I shouldn't be here. I can't take this back.

He was just standing there. Head down, glasses in his hand. Sara didn't know what to do. He didn't seem to know that she'd shut the water off or that she was standing in front of him in only a towel. She wasn't sure if she should say anything, she didn't want to scare him. Although, finding him standing in the middle of her bathroom had sure as hell scared her. She took a chance and cleared her throat.

Grissom looked up, not visibly startled, but Sara could see it in his eyes. He replaced his glasses on his nose and simply stared at her through them.

"Grissom, are you all right?" she asked, taking a step toward him.

At her movement, he took a step back.

"I'll wait for you outside," he said, quickly turning to the door again.

Sara caught his arm before he could leave, forcing him to turn and look at her.

"Hey, Grissom, you don't have to leave."

"I do, actually, because, if I stay, I may do something that I can't take back," he told her. "And I can't hurt you like that, Sara. I love you too much."

Sara stopped trying to move him. She simply took a step closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, too, Grissom."

Grissom's hands stayed at his side. He couldn't touch her, not when she was naked under the towel she wore. He'd end up throwing the towel aside and taking her right there on the bathroom floor. He wouldn't be able to stop himself.

"I really should go, honey," he said, his voice low and raspy. "I'll wait in the living room."

Sara stepped back, smiling at him and taking his hands in hers for a moment, "I'll be out in a sec."

She kissed him quickly, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, and watched his back as he left her there.

"God, do I love you."

Grissom sat on the couch in Sara's living room, flipping through a furniture catalogue he'd found on her coffee table. He'd left her in the bathroom almost half an hour ago and he couldn't help checking his watch every few minutes. They needed to head out. He'd asked Brass to meet them at the bar where Allison Conners had worked. He wanted to question Joey again and show the young man the picture of 'Rick' he'd found in Allison's wallet.

Sara leaned against the arch way that lead down the hall to her bedroom. Grissom was obviously growing restless sitting on her couch. He'd been staring at the same page in her magazine for the last five minutes. She cleared her throat for the second time that evening and he turned around only to gape at her before snapping his mouth shut.

Grissom was stunned. Never in all of the years that he'd known Sara Sidle had he ever seen her look so sexy. She stood in the doorway, wearing a pair of tight black pants, an even tighter pink tank-top, and an enticing pair of black sandals that gave him a glimpse of her perfectly painted toe nails. Her hair was pulled half up, small curls falling around her face which was done up in the most exotic way.

"Why do I have a feeling this has something to do with me?" he asked, moving toward her as she pushed off of the wall. She took a couple of steps toward him.

"I figured we could have breakfast after shift," she said, her arms going around his neck again. She leaned in and kissed him, letting it linger a little longer. He didn't hold back then, his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her body tightly against his.

"I think that we can arrange that," he said against her lips, "I meant what I said in there, honey, I love you."

She smiled.

"I love you, too, Gil."

For a moment, neither of them moved. Grissom couldn't seem to pull himself away from her. He'd never heard her say his name like that, she'd never actually called him by his first name, it had always seemed so personal. She'd said it casually just then, but there was meaning behind it. She loved him.

Sara took a step back and out of Grissom's arms.

"We should go."

"I know, Brass is waiting for us," Grissom said, taking the keys from Sara's hand, "I'll drive."

They were switching gears again and Sara knew that their romantic moment was over. Grissom picked up a file from the coffee table, on Sara knew she hadn't put there, and ushered her out the door.

"Where are we going?"

They'd been on the road for almost twenty minutes and Grissom hadn't said a word since leaving her apartment. He had held her hand for nearly the entire drive but Sara couldn't get him to look at her.

"Back to the bar where Allison worked," Grissom explained, still focused on the road ahead, "I found a photograph in Allison's wallet and the man in the picture doesn't fit the description that Joey gave us."

"Do you think that Joey was like any other eyewitness and didn't see what he thought he saw?" Sara asked.

Grissom looked at her then and Sara thought he was a little angry.

"It's clinically proven that if a person loses one of their five senses, the other four are greatly heightened," Grissom told her, "I don't doubt that Joey gave us an exact description of what he saw, I think that this 'Rick' person, is not a professor of Allison's, nor is he the man that Joey saw in the bar."

"And the man in the picture?"

"The name on the back of the photo, 'Rick'."

Warrick stood at the front door of David James' residence. A double-wide trailer dropped on a chunk of property in the middle of the Nevada desert. He wasn't at all surprised to see the shitty environment that the man lived in, he was a known drug addict. An addiction that could cost a few thousand dollars a month depending on the drug. Not to mention the guy, judging by the amount of liquor bottles littering the front yard, was probably an alcoholic.

Nick stood beside Warrick and beat on the front door of the trailer. No one was answering.

"Come on man!" Nick shouted, throwing his hands up in defeat, "The guy's gotta be here, his brand new Jeep's sittin right there!"

"Maybe this guys stupider than we thought," Warrick said. He turned to the LVPD lieutenant behind him, "Let's get the dogs out here, I wanna know if Erin James is on this property."

The lieutenant nodded at Warrick's idea and climbed into his car to radio for backup. Beside him, Nick had pulled on a pair of latex gloves and drew his gun.

"Wanna take a look inside?" he asked Warrick.

Warrick drew his own gun, glancing at Nick as he did so. Together, they kicked in the front door.

Grissom and Sara pulled up beside Brass' Taurus in the parking lot of the Sundown Sands bar and night club. The two CSIs exited their vehicle, Grissom carrying a UNLV yearbook, and were promptly joined by Brass at the door of the bar.

"You wanna tell me with brought me out here again?" Brass asked.

"I called the bar's owner and requested another meeting with Joey," Grissom explained, "I think that Sara and I have been going the wrong way with this case."

"How so?" Sara asked.

"I'm not so sure that the boyfriend should be our only suspect, Sara, we need to figure out who this 'professor' is. I think that he may help us figure out who killed Allison Conners," Grissom told her.

"You think that a photo from that yearbook will prompt Joey's memory?" she asked.

"I'm hoping."

The three of them entered the bar only to be greeted by a waitress in an outfit Sara would never even consider wearing. The girl was showing so much clevage that Sara was tempted to ask her to change her shirt. She kept her mind on their case and glanced out of Grissom out of the corner of her eye. He didn't seem to notice the girl even as she led them to the bar. He was walking very close to her and Sara was tempted to grab his hand when it brushed against hers. Instead, she tried to decide what he was seeing as he scanned the crowd of people.

"She couldn't have screamed," Sara said, noticing it too, "Everyone in this bar would have heard her. I mean, it's pretty quiet in her for a club."

"I don't think that she screamed at all. I think that she knew the man that attacked her, which leads me toward the boyfriend or the professor."

They reached the bar and the waitress led them to the back room. Joey sat there waiting for them with his back to the door. Sara watched the waitress walk around the table so that Joey could see her and she pointed past him to the three of them standing their.

Grissom signed something to Joey and Sara didn't catch any of his gestures. He moved faster than he had the last time and he wasn't verbally asking his questions.

"Grissom, slow down or talk to me because I can't read your hands that quickly," Sara said, not wanting to interrupt him or upset him.

He stopped completely and turned to look at her.

"You know sign language?" he asked, a little surprised.

"I'm trying to learn," she said, "A friend of mine had a hearing problem a few months back."

Grissom didn't see anything but Sara could see the shock on his face. He turned back to Joey, signing to him again but now speaking for Sara's benefit.

"Joey, I need you to look through this yearbook and tell me if you recognize the man that Allison fought with that night."

Grissom placed the yearbook on the table in front of Joey, open to the faculty pages. It didn't take long for the young man to point out the professor he'd seen with Allison Conners and Grissom wasn't surprised to see that it was Professor Jason Talbott.

"Are you sure this is the same man?" Grissom asked.

Joey signed something Sara didn't understand to Grissom. He nodded his head, thanked Joey, and turned to go. Sara picked up the yearbook and followed Brass and Grissom out of the back room and into the bar again. Grissom was walking quickly ahead of her, talking to Brass and Sara thought that he might be angry that she'd known about his hearing problems. Not that he had any right to be angry, she was the one who should be angry. He hadn't trusted her.

They reached the parking lot and Sara climbed into the passenger seat of the Tahoe and slammed the door. She was slightly irritated now that he'd become annoyed with her. She didn't want to talk to him, she didn't want to look at him. He was acting like the things that had happened between them were nonexistent and he was back to being the closed-up, private Grissom she'd fought with for so long. She shouldn't have let him know that she knew.

Grissom finished his conversation and climbed into the Tahoe after Sara. He started the car and waited for Brass to pull out of the parking lot before shutting it off again. He turned to Sara who looked at him confused and a little hurt.

"Catherine told you." He wasn't asking.

"She confirmed it for me, yeah, but I'm not an idiot, Grissom. You asked me to come to Vegas four years ago because you know that I'm a good investigator, you know that I can read people well," she said, "You started acting more distant than normal, even on our important cases. One of us could be telling you the breaking piece of evidence and it was like you were in a different world. I'm not the only one who noticed. Catherine and I talked about it even before you told her. Nick and Warrick, they had the same idea. But we all know how you are, locked up inside your own head half of the time, none of us wanted to piss you off by invading your personal space."

Grissom didn't say anything. He sat there across from her, staring down at his hands and Sara knew that he was lost in thought. Trapped somewhere inside his head. She didn't bother trying to get in there, she knew it wasn't possible without his consent. Sara simply reached out and wrapped her fingers with his in an attempt to comfort him and let him know she was there for him.

"I'm sorry," was all he said.

Sara wanted to throw her arms around him and tell him she loved him. She wanted him to know that, no matter what happened, she'd always be there for him. She didn't say anything.

"I'm so sorry, Sara, I wish I'd told you, I wish that you could have been there when I needed you," he said hoarsly, "I wanted you there, but I was. . ."

"Its okay, Gil, you don't have to say anything," Sara said, now sliding as close to him in her chair as she could, "I love you, that's all that matters now."

His arms went around her then and Sara had to force herself not to cry. She rested her head on his shoulder, running her fingers through the curly hair on the back of his neck. He pulled her closer.

"Sara?"

"Yeah?"

She pulled back to look up into his eyes that now seemed a few shades darker.

"Well this is all over, when we're through with this case," he told her, "I'm giving you a few days off, and I'm considering joining you."

Sara smiled at him, "How many days are we talking here, Dr. Grissom?"

"As many as you need, honey, and as many as I can stand."

Sara and Grissom followed Brass back to Vegas. They approached the lab and he turned off ahead of them. Grissom proceeded to pass the lab and Sara looked at him curiously.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He picked her hand up out of her lap and held it in his.

"I thought we could use a break," he told her, "Give Brass some time to find Professor Talbott."

"Coffee?" Sara asked.

"Or dinner."
"Hmm, I'm not really that hungry."

"We can have coffee," Grissom said.

He turned onto Fourteenth Street and pulled into a small, all-night diner that Sara had never noticed before. Grissom got out of the car first and came around to open the door for her.

"Thank you," she said, climbing out of the Tahoe and taking his hand in hers again.

Grissom smiled at her and lead her into the diner.

"Do you ever watch t/v?" Sara asked, laughing at him.

Grissom laughed with her as he took another drink of his coffee.

Sara was relieved. The change of atmosphere had settled them both and they'd been able to fall back into their quiet rhythm. She had always tried to be patient with Grissom, to give him his space, but, as they became closer and he gave her a little slack, she wanted more. For now though, she was happy that he was comfortable being with her, laughing with her. It had been a long time since they'd been able to laugh.

"You've seen my apartment, Sara," Grissom said, "And my office, I have so many other distractions that a television is unnecessary."

"I think I'd die without my t/v. The silence of living alone would make me crazy. Between the scanner, the radio and the t/v I barely have enough noise to keep me company."

Grissom laughed again, "I know you talk to yourself, Sara."

"No I don't!" Sara laughed, feeling herself blush, "Well, maybe sometimes, but I have to be really bored."

They both laughed again but silence soon fell between them. Comfortable silence, but silence none the less. Sara stared down into her coffee cup, stirring in slowly with her finger. Grissom watched her and admired her lazy concentration.

"Maybe I can keep you company," he said softly.

Sara stopped stirring and looked up.

"I'd like that," she said, smiling at him.

They were silent again, both of them taking in what their agreement meant. He was making a commitment to her, a small one, but she would take it. She was admitting that she wanted him to stick around, giving him hope that what they were doing could last. He needed that.

Grissom's pager went off and they both jumped a little at the sound.

"It's Brass."

"Figures," Sara said, sticking her finger in her mouth to taste the coffee there.

"We'll make a date out of breakfast," Grissom told her, tossing a couple of dollars on the table between them. "I'll even turn my cell phone off."

"Pager, too, and you've got a deal," Sara said, smiling at him wickedly.

"Deal."

Sara smiled again, "So, what would you like in return?"

Grissom didn't say anything for a minute and Sara tried to imagine what he would say.

He laughed then, "I'm sure you'll think of something."

Warrick and Nick hadn't expected to find David James at home when they'd kicked down his front door.

"Ah man!" Nick muttered, "What the hell?"

"Needle's still lodged in the vain," Warrick said, snapping a picture of the vic's left foot. "Guy must've been a major addict if he had to move to his toes. Veins in his arms must be too thin."

"This shits everywhere," Nick said. He held up a balloon of heroin he'd pulled out of a dresser drawer.

They moved throughout the trailer, photographing every piece of evidence and every ounce of heroin they found. When they were through processing, Warrick had used eleven roles of film and Nick had run out of evidence bags.

"We need more-"

"Brown, Stokes!"

Both CSIs met Lieutenant McLaughlin outside.

"Did you find her?" Nick asked.

"They found something," McLaughlin said, cocking his head toward the crowd behind him, "We were waiting for you two to dig it up."

When Sara and Grissom arrived at the station to meet Brass, they instead met a crowd of reporters. Grissom avoided the front entrance and drove around to the back of the building.

"I wonder what the hell that's all about," Sara said, getting out of the car and following Grissom to a side entrance. She flashed her ID at the guard there and Grissom took her by the elbow, steering her toward the elevator.

"A prominent UNLV professor brought in for questioning," Grissom said, "Raises people's eyebrows, Sara."

"But how'd it get out already?" Sara asked, "He's probably only been her for about twenty minutes."

"Nosy neighbors make the best eye witnesses."

"People can't ever keep anything to themselves can they?"

"It's not in our nature, besides, those are the people who assist us in our investigations," Grissom said, "They're very reliant."

"How do you figure that?"

Grissom's hand found the small of her back and directed her out of the elevator and to the left. The contact sent chills up Sara's spine.

"They know all and see all," Grissom said, "Most of the time, a neighbor will tell you more about the comings and goings of a suspect than the suspect will."

"But wouldn't that be considered hear-say?" Sara asked.

"I'm not saying that their testimony would hold up in court, Sara. I'm simply saying that the information we get from nosy neighbors usually leads us in the right direction with the case."

Sara contemplated all of this as Grissom pushed her into the interrogation room. She took a seat beside Grissom and across from Professor Talbott.

"Took you two long enough," Brass said from the corner.

"Sorry, Jim, there's a mob of reporters waiting for the professor," Grissom said, glancing at the professor for the first time.

"Professor Talbott, my name is Sara Sidle and this is Gil Grissom, we're from the crime lab and we'd like to ask you a few questions about Allison Conners," Sara began.

"We talked to Joey, a young man who worked at the bar with Allison," Grissom said, "He remembered you having an argument with her the night she disappeared."

"Yeah, Allison and I fought all the time," Professor Talbott told him, "She was one of my best students and I hated seeing her degrade herself at the bar. I was there that night, I tried to convince her to quit."

"You and Allison weren't having an affair?" Sara asked.

"I. . . I don't have to answer that."

"Actually, Professor, if you don't want us to arrest you right now, you will," Brass told him.

Professor Talbott's head dropped, "Please, don't tell my wife."

Sara and Grissom glanced at each other.

"I need to hear the whole story," Sara said.

"I don't really know where to start. When Allison moved to Las Vegas from Seattle three years ago, she was very young and beautiful and ambitious. I was attracted to her from the beginning. She wasn't like any of the other young women I'd ever met. She was demanding and determined to get where she wanted in life. She was a double major, Spanish and International Business."

Grissom glanced at Sara but she wasn't looking at him. She was scribbling notes in her file.

"I guess that neither of us really approached the other in a sexual manner, it really started out innocently. She needed a mentor and she looked up to me. I coached her along for a year or so, helping her get through some tough times with her parents and her classes. It, our affair, just sort of happened. But it wasn't just sex with Allison, I really cared about her, I may have even loved her. . ."

"Professor Talbott," Sara said softly, "Did Allison have a boyfriend?"

"Yes, he's the only reason she worked at the dump."

Sara took the photo Grissom had shown her in the car and placed it in front of the professor.

"That's him," Talbott said snidely, "Frederick Evens. Double-major also, Spanish and Education. He really treated her like shit. I mean, the guy even hit her a few times. She called me at three in the morning once and asked me to drive her to the hospital because she and Rick got into another fight. I get there and the doctor tells me she's got two broken ribs and a sprained wrist."

He shook his head and looked up at Sara and Grissom again.

"She told the doctors she'd been mugged."

"Do you know where we can find Mr. Evens?" Grissom asked.

"He lives off campus somewhere. Allison and I tried not to talk about him too much, she knew he pissed me off."

Grissom, Sara and Brass stepped into the hallway.

"Jim, can you get an address on Evens for me?" Grissom asked, "Sara and I need to go visit our victim."

Sara smiled at Brass as Grissom turned toward the elevator again.

"You two have fun."

Grissom entered the morgue first and Sara was right behind him. For some reason, Doc Robbins wasn't surprised to see them.

"I've been waiting for you for over an hour," he said to Grissom.

"Excuse me?" Grissom asked.

"Didn't you get my page? I found something interesting on your vic," he told them.

Sara and Grissom both moved to the side of the table.

"She was obviously abused," he said, "Bruising on the rib cage visible fractures to all of her ribs, even a cracked vertebra. But I thought you'd be happy to know that our vic had sexual intercourse less than an hour before her death. I sent trace to Greg."

"Any sign of rape?" Sara asked.

Grissom glanced at her, knowing how she'd take the news if it was positive. He squeezed her hand under the table.

"No, it looks to be consensual," the doctor told them, "The bruising below the waist is inconsistent with sexual assault."

Sara squeezed Grissom's hand in return and dropped it.

"Thanks, Doc."

The two of them turned to go.

"Hey Gil, maybe you should get your pager fixed."