He sat back, not preparing to be astonished. After all, it was only ragtime. And it wasn't like he had bought the ticket. Doc Robbins had, but he'd had to step out because of a last-minute autopsy. So he had taken the ticket and given it to Grissom.
But to the man slowly going deaf, ragtime wasn't what he needed. True, it was orchestral ragtime, performed by the Las Vegas City Orchestra. But some Mahler, Holst, or Mozart would have satisfied Gil.
The orchestra began to file onstage. Gil sat up in his seat. Though he might not have wanted to be there, he was still a polite concert attendee.
As the cello section came onstage, Gil though he saw a familiar brown head. But the feeling came as quickly as it had come, until he looked down at his program. "Sidle, Sara" he read from the alphabetical list under the heading "Cello." So. He had not been wrong.
Maestro Paul Stoddard took the stage. "Tonight, I'd like to welcome you to our performance of many of Scott Joplin's works. Our first number will begin with a clarinet and piano duet performed by Mary-Ellen Strauss, first clarinet, and Clint Semple, a visiting pianist from Great George, South Dakota. Our first number, ladies and gentlemen: 'The Entertainer and Ragtime Dance.'"
He turned to the orchestra amidst the applause. Mary-Ellen Strauss and Clint Semple played their short duet, a version of "The Entertainer." Then the fast-paced "Ragtime Dance" started. Gil was pleased to see Sara bowing and playing just as well as any of the other cellos. They all looked – and sounded – spectacular, even the fresh-faced snare-playing percussionist who reminded Gil of Greg for some reason.
When the concert was over, he found Sara backstage, carefully tucking away her cello. "You know," he said, "many of Joplin's songs have inspired complex mathematical expressions."
"Only you, Grissom." She turned, and was smiling. "What are you doing here?"
"I got stood up." He smiled back. "Doc Robbins got called to a last-minute autopsy for Cath and Warrick's case."
Sara clicked the last latch on her cello case. "Well, if you enjoyed tonight's concert, you should come back next week. We're doing 'Carmen.'"
Gil grinned to himself, but only said calmly, "I love 'Carmen.'"
His pager went off just then. So did Sara's. "It's Brass," she said before Gil could respond. "Let's go."