Author's Notes: Thanks for the positive reviews! And no, this isn't a Gil/Cath pairing. I just love their working relationship (right up until "Weeping Willows" last night. That has thrown me into a quandry about this story, so we will just see where it goes. Suffice it to say, this takes place before Committed or Weeping Willows.) Also, Cherastowee County is a made up place, though I would like to think my other descriptions of the upstate of SC are accurate enough.
Disclaimer: Don't own em; just having fun.
The next morning was gorgeous. Even Catherine had to admit that. The sky was bluer than she had ever seen in Vegas. The green of the trees was almost too much for her desert-hardened eyes to bear. Though it was mid-Spring, the heat was already in the air, and humidity that she just wasn't used to breathing. Gil was more chipper than usual, the result of finally being close to seeing the specimen that had teased him here in the first place. They were sitting in a small diner, if you could call it that. A hole in the wall would have been more appropriate. The folks sitting around her didn't do much to dispel the idea that she was in a hillbilly haven. The clientele was 90 male, and 90 of the males were wearing baseball caps and clothes that indicated they worked outside or in physical labor. Strangely, she didn't feel as if she were being eyed or give the once over. Maybe it was the fact that Mel was with them and wearing her uniform. Or maybe everyone was just too polite to look closely until they were leaving.
Grissom was talking animatedly, and she was only half listening, now picking at the remainders of what Mel had called a "cat head" biscuit. Catherine had been startled, until Mel had patiently explained that "cat head" referred to the enormous size of the biscuit. The deputy had a tomato and bacon biscuit; Catherine had followed suit, surprised at how good the combination was on the enormous, but fluffy and light, biscuit. Gil had tried something called a salmon egg biscuit, which turned out to be scrambled eggs with chunks of canned salmon. By the way he had eaten every last bit, she could only guess that it was good. She sipped on her coffee, wishing fervently that the acrid brew would magically turn into Greg's expensive Hawaiian. Alas, no genie to fulfill that here.
"So, we will head to the new law enforcement center from here. I am going to introduce you to our sheriff and then we can see the ant," Mel said, draining the last of her iced tea.
"I thought you weren't on duty until this afternoon," said Catherine, referring to the fact that Mel was wearing her khaki uniform and had picked them up in a large white Suburban that had been painted with "Cherastowee County Sheriff's Department". It had "Scene Investigation" in small blue letters on the back of the vehicle. Upon seeing the female deputy in her uniform, Catherine was once again struck by the impression that Mel's body was a combination of incongruent parts held together by the straining khaki fabric. It was sure that she seemed more comfortable in the uniform than she had in the civilian clothes she had worn the day before.
"Ah, Sheriff Doublon told me to go ahead and consider myself on the clock since this does have to do with an ongoing investigation," the young deputy said. At first Catherine had thought she was older, but she realized it was the stern countenance and the ultra blond hair. This girl wasn't much more than 25.
As they got into the vehicle in the parking lot, they encountered two more deputies.
"Hey Mel," the taller one said, stopping by the grill of the Suburban. "You working a double?"
"Yeah, I'll be on until 11:30. You?" she countered.
"Yeah. Me and the boys are going out after shift. You ought to stop by," he said. He had a friendly smile, but it was obvious that Mel was just another one of the boys to him.
"Might. I know better than to stand between y'all and the bar this time," she answered. He gave her a light shove on the arm and joined his partner, who had been waiting at the screened door going into the restaurant.
"So, I hope y'all enjoyed the breakfast," Mel said as she got into the truck.
"I don't think I've ever been quite so full," said Catherine, still trying to sip the acrid coffee into submission.
"I don't know that I have ever seen biscuits quite so big," said Gil. Catherine was surprised to see Deputy Mel actually smile at Griss. It really transformed her face. "She's smitten," Catherine thought, and chuckled to herself. She never understood the attraction other women had for Gil. He was a generally good-looking guy, though she felt the beard he wore these days made him look older. He was definitely not her type, and once other women had been around him for long, his antisocial entomological tendencies would usually let them know that he wasn't their type either. She thought briefly about Sara, and how Gil could have handled that differently, about how she had asked him to handle it differently. If Gil could have just thrown caution to the wind, maybe things would be a lot different. Maybe Sara wouldn't be such a loose cannon on some cases. Maybe she and Sara would be able to walk by each other with more than a stiff "hello" or nod of the head. But then, she and Sara were both grown women, and the tension between them was as much their own faults as anyone else's. Still, she would have liked to see Gil just go for it, for once. She thought the whole crew might have been better off for it.
It surprised her that Gil charmed Deputy Mel. It was obvious that the girl tried hard to fit in with what must be a good ol' boys club in the department. She wouldn't have thought an older, bug-loving man would have caught her eye. By now, Mel was describing the specimen for Gil for what must have been the hundredth time. Catherine decided to call and check on Nick and Warrick. She had left Nick in charge this time, and Warrick seemed a bit relieved at that. Gil had left Sofia in charge of nights; she was sure that had not gone over so well with his crew. Nick had said in a voice mail that he would be at work until 8 am, Vegas time. Catherine knew it must be rough if the boys were working doubles.
"Hey, Nicky, just checking up on you," Catherine said into the phone. She heard the Texan familiar chuckle come through on the other end. Her cell reception wasn't great out here in the boondocks, but she felt she was coming through OK.
"Sounds like we should be checking up on you," Nicky replied. "I tried to call you at your hotel and they said you had checked out. What exactly are you and Griss up to?" he asked. Catherine thought she heard Warrick's guffaw in the background, and what sounded suspiciously like Greg Sander's giggle.
"We're following up on a lead for someone Griss met at the seminar," Catherine answered, now sure that she could hear Warrick, Greg and even Sara in the background. "Why do I get the feeling you are having too good of a time without us there?" Griss turned to face her quizzically when he heard this end of the conversation.
"We're just at breakfast with the old buddies Cath. It's been a really rough week so far, so we made a command decision," Nick said.
"And that would be?"
"We decided to combine the swing and night into one shift this week. We've all been working doubles or at least one and a half's all week. We made Sofia the supervisor, so she would get stuck with the paperwork and signing for OT. Y'all haven't missed a damn thing," Nicky answered. She had heard the laughter around the table when it was mentioned that Sofia had to do the paperwork. It made her feel a bit wistful to hear the younger CSI's all having breakfast together again. She wondered if they were sitting at their usual table at the diner. She knew Greg probably had her old seat beside Warrick. Of course, maybe Greg would weasel in beside Sara and leave Nicky out in the cold.
"Yeah, well, you enjoy it while you can. We'll be back in a couple days," she said in warning. Nicky laughed at her tone.
"Sure Mom. We'll clean up. Promise. You'll never even know we had the kegger in your office," Nicky said, in a tone that belied the sarcastic words. She heard the laughter around the table again. After saying goodbye, she looked up to see Grissom with an eyebrow cocked in her direction.
"How are the kids?" he asked. She knew he didn't mean Lindsey.
"Well, it must be a doozy this week, because they have combined night and swing into one shift, and they are letting Sofia handle the supervisory stuff," she said, sighing. She was surprised when she saw a small smile at Grissom's lips.
"I am sure she is relishing the opportunity. And I am sure that Warrick and Nick are giving Greg a good education," he said. He smiled again. "It sounds like they've been fine without us."
"Yeah, they do." Privately, that worried Catherine a little. She had worked hard to get the supervisor position, and though she had made some big mistakes before, she felt she could do some good, but she hadn't exactly proven it to herself yet. She hadn't meant to ally herself with Ecklie against Gil when she and Sara had their blow up. She knew Ecklie had used her as an excuse to go after Gil. Too bad she had been too caught up in the job to realize it until it was too late. She was glad she and Gil had been able to work through the tension and come to the seminar together. It was just like old times – Butch and Sundance. She wondered how Sara would feel about being part of the "Hole in the Wall" gang.
They had arrived at a newly constructed law enforcement center. As they signed in, Catherine realized that all PD's whether county, city, or whatever, seemed to use the same crappy fluorescent lighting. Mel led them to what must have been the break room.
"Grab yourself some coffee, I'll be right back. I just need to check with Sheriff Doublon to see if he can meet with us."
Catherine turned to see Gil still trying to fasten his visitor's badge. She took it from him and quickly had it fastened to his breast pocket.
"How do you get along without me?" she asked.
"Well, at least Sofia's not here. She would have probably glued it on," Gil said. His eyebrows raised and his mouth bordering on a smile. They both heard the sheriff approaching before they saw him.
Here was the rawboned farm hand Catherine had imagined. The man looked to be 60 years old, but still looked to be in good shape, with light, graying hair and sparkling green eyes. He dwarfed his deputy as she trailed behind him.
"Welcome, welcome," he boomed, his voice seeming to echo over the halls of the center. "I'm Sheriff James Doublon. I excited that Deputy Lawrence was able to pull you away from the seminar in Atlanta. She tells me you are a real expert in insects, Dr. Grissom," the sheriff said, shaking Gil's hand. Gil winced slightly at the booming sheriff's grip. As he shook Catherine's hand, he was very easy.
"Well, sir, I am very excited. If Mel is right, this ant has no business being in the mountains of South Carolina," Gil said. This was the friendliest sheriff he had ever met, in or out of Las Vegas.
"When y'all get done, I want you to come by and talk to me a bit, if possible. Deputy Lawrence here had some ideas about the county doing a better job with crime scene investigations. While we don't have a huge budget, I wouldn't mind being able to do a better job of giving the DA an airtight case when I can."
As they followed Mel through the corridors of the building, Gil couldn't help grinning to himself.
"What's that look?" asked Catherine.
"I don't think I have ever met a sheriff that was so …" he was a bit lost for words.
"Not a total jackass?" said Catherine. Gil looked at her with a knowing smile.
"Here we are," announced the deputy, leading them into a small lab. Though this was a new building, this lab seemed crammed with all types of things. A couple of computers, microscopes, a sink, journals … it was as if someone had tried to make a 10 x 12 room into a total CSI lab. Mel walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a file and a small Plexiglas box. "This is it."
Inside the box was an ant approximately 24 cm long, almost an inch. Catherine thought it looked like a wingless wasp. It was a dark red, with powerful mandibles and a stocky look. Gil looked like a small boy on Christmas.
"Deputy Lawrence, what you have here is a Paraponera clavata, also known as hormiga bala or Bullet Ant. So called because the stings are the most painful known for any insect. These insects are typically found in Central and South America in rain forests. So how did you get in South Carolina?" Gil asked the specimen. The ant didn't reply.
Catherine had been poring over the crime scene photos and initial write up.
"This man was stung more than once," she stated. Mel shook her head in the affirmative.
"Yes ma'am. He had sting marks all over his body. The thing is, I am convinced that this body was moved. To me the lividity suggested that he had been laying face down …"
"But the crime scene photos show the body laying face up in the grass," Catherine said, interrupting her.
"Exactly."
"Do you have trace from the body? From the surrounding area?" Catherine asked. This case was starting to intrigue her. A moved body with stings from a tropical ant in the middle of a grassy field was not a normal case, even in Vegas. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for Mel to have it happen here in Podunk.
"I gathered everything that seemed pertinent. I also have his clothes. I should be receiving the autopsy report soon. The ME over in Greenville sent blood samples to SLED down in Columbia, so I should be getting those soon as well."
Catherine looked at Grissom expectantly. He didn't appear to have heard any of the conversation between her and the deputy. He was still looking at the ant.
"So where on the body did you find the ant? Or was it on the scene?" Gil asked. Deputy Mel blanched a little.
"It was actually in his mouth," she answered.
"So, someone bit the Bullet," Gil answered. Catherine could only groan.
