Chapter 6 – Peculiar Motives...
Disclaimer- Don't own it, haven't been there, haven't done that, don't got the shirt. Maybe tomorrow?
Notes- This chapter is set in and around the last scene of 'Nesting Dolls', and as such, contains spoilers and dialogue from that episode. Dialogue is in Italic. This chapter contains three points of view: Ecklie's, Catherine's, and Grissom's. Enjoy!
Ecklie's POV
Conrad Ecklie, assistant director of the Las Vegas crime lab, blinked slowly and shook his head slightly. "I'm s-sorry, Willows, what did you just say?"
Catherine Willows, looking (and feeling) like she would rather be anywhere else in the world, doing anything else in the world, repeated herself "Yes, Ecklie. I think Sara Sidle should be disciplined further for her actions."
Ecklie could not quite believe what he was hearing. This was easily the last thing he had ever expected Catherine to say, and she was saying it. But she wasn't supposed to say that, his mind yelled at him. She was supposed to disagree!
Some of the shock must have registered on his face, because Catherine was looking at him carefully, as if she were trying to visually dissect him, or analyse him as she would a piece of evidence. Ecklie cleared his throat and said "W-well, thank you for your input on this, uh, delicate matter, uh, Willows. But, uhm, on to other business. I see that you have also recommended that a, erm, follow-up federal investigation be launched into the Madame Matryoshka hair salon."
"Yes, you see; I think Chloe Daniels may be involved with more than mail-order brides. I have done some background checks, and..." She spoke, but Ecklie didn't listen. His mind was reeling, and it was all he could do to keep his face (relatively) impassive.
Catherine's answer meant two things, one of which was extremely good, the other extremely bad. Ecklie, ever a practical man (or so he considered himself) reflected on the bad thing first. There was now no feasible way that he could fire Sara Sidle, at least not for insubordination. Had that blonde-haired bitch sitting opposite him answered 'no' like she was supposed to, then he could have gone through with his plan.
He had intended to bring up a bogus charge against Sara Sidle and have her framed for it. The charge in question would have been severe incompetence, he figured that would suit her nicely, she who was always so utterly meticulous in her work. However, the only way he could have brought the (naturally fake) evidence for this charge to the sheriff would have been alone.
But now that Catherine had apparently decided to punish Sara, such evidence would not be able to be introduced, as Catherine would disprove it before the sheriff's eyes in a flash. If there was one thing she would never do, it was lie about a colleague.
And if Ecklie knew Catherine, there was no way in hell that she would trust him enough to simply sit back and allow him to go to the sheriff without her (and he was right!).
He had been checkmated. There were no two ways about it. If Sara went down, so did Ecklie. He would have to find some other way to dispose of her. If she had started nosing around through the lab's confidential files, it was only a mater of time before she found what was in Ecklie's file...
Shying away from this horrible scenario, he concentrated on the good side of Catherine's answer; she had taken Ecklie's side! Against all reasonable logic, she had moved to punish Sara! True, she had unknowingly scotched Ecklie's plans in the process, but still...
Ecklie had noticed some static between the two CSI's in the past, especially when a case hit to close to home for one, or both of them. However, he had assumed that they had always kissed and made up afterwards (and done considerably more, in Ecklie's positively lurid dreams...).
But now it looked like one had pushed the other too far. Could that be possible? Could Catherine actually want Sara out of the crime lab? Ecklie supposed it was potential; since the shift split Catherine and Grissom had certainly been getting more and more irate with one another.
It could simply be down to frustration on Catherine's part, after all, she'd missed her chance at day-shift supervisor and her daughter had recently mouthed off at her. Perhaps she was displacing her anger onto Sara.
Still, on the off-chance it did go deeper, Ecklie decided, he would give Catherine a bit more leeway, cut her some more slack. He would still keep a close eye on her though. After all, if Ecklie really had found a new ally in Catherine...
SNAP!
"Hunh!" Ecklie almost jumped out of his skin.
"Hey! Earth to Ecklie! Come in!" Catherine had snapped her fingers in his face and was looking at him impatiently. Ecklie mentally cursed himself. What was wrong with him? Just because he had been thrown a curve ball... He refocused on Catherine (particularly the part of her that had always earned her extra tips back in her dancing days), and told himself he would consider this development further later on...
He was saved from further embarrassment by the arrival of a new presence. Gilbert Grissom had apparently managed to drag himself away from his bugs and bottles long enough for a brief moment of human contact. No prizes for guessing why, Ecklie thought sarcastically.
"You wanted to see me about Sara?"
Knew it. "I haven't received her disciplinary action. What's the hold-up?"
"Well, I'm not firing her."
No surprises there. Ecklie had only asked him to do so earlier to give himself more time. It was so pathetic, Ecklie mused, how Gil always had to play the knight in shining armour whenever she got into any kind of trouble. He was turning into a walking midlife crisis.
"What action are you taking?"
Whoa, did Catherine actually say that? Ecklie was privately gloating! He really would have to keep an eye on her...
"I've taken it."
Ecklie re-entered the conversation. "I thought I was clear."
"You were. Now let me be equally clear. Sara's behaviour is a direct result of my management."
Oh please Grissom, don't make me puke, Ecklie moaned inwardly. "So I should fire you."
"But you won't."
Ecklie's grin faltered. No, that wasn't going to happen. Not today. "Look, Gil ... I've been there. We're human. We get attached to people; we try to fix their problems. It doesn't work."
This was a last attempt on Ecklie's part, but privately he already knew the battle was over, and he had lost.
He wasn't disappointed. "She's a great criminalist, Conrad. And I need her."
And finally, Ecklie conceded defeat. "I'm sure you do. You know what? She's a loose cannon with a gun. And she's all yours."
He threw the file he had been holding down, and stalked off.
Catherine's POVCatherine had never felt like such a traitor in her life! Why couldn't Greg have spared a few lousy seconds just to tell her what the hell this was all about? But that urgent, almost fearful look on his face just wouldn't go away, and she went ahead and told Ecklie to 'discipline' (i.e. fire) Sara.
His reaction was understandable, Catherine supposed, as he would have obviously thought her the last person to say such a thing. As had she, she reflected miserably.
Then Ecklie was asking her about the investigation she had suggested into the hair salon that was really a stop off point for future brides. Catherine gave herself a mental prod and began to speak.
"Yes, you see; I think Chloe Daniels may be involved with more than mail-order brides. I have done some background checks, and her name popped up in an LAPD investigation into a prostitution ring involving teenage boys and girls. But they had no hard evidence to suggest that she had been anything more than a friend of one of the dead hookers, so they dropped it.
"Now, out of professional courtesy Denver sent over a copy of the document with her name on it. It was found inside the room of one Rachel Sampson. Chloe Daniels gave this girl in particular her name and number, when she wouldn't give her own mail-order brides the time of day. Doesn't that strike you as kind of odd?"
She waited for a response: "Ecklie?" Looking over, she saw that Ecklie was staring into empty space, with a pensive expression on his features and a faraway look in his eye.
Jeez, isn't ANYONE going to listen to me today! thought Catherine exasperatedly. She reached over and snapped her fingers in his face, watching with some satisfaction as he almost wet himself. He made his excuses, and politely asked if she could repeat that last segment.
Rolling her eyes, Cath did so, not missing the way he stole a glance downwards every so often. Figures, she thought. Wife giving you static again, Eck?
Just then ,Grissom arrived. Catherine saw the look on his face, and briefly considered plunging Ecklie's letter opener into her guts as she recalled what she had said about Sara. For that was undoubtedly why he was here.
"You wanted to see me about Sara?"
Ecklie seemed to wake up. "I haven't received her disciplinary action. What's the hold-up?"
"Well, I'm not firing her."
Catherine knew it would be more prudent to remain silent while Gil was in a mood like this, but she had to know if Sara was okay. "What action are you taking?" Please say none, please say none, please say none, she mentally begged.
"I've taken it."
Was that good or bad, Cath wondered. Grissom's expression didn't change.
Ecklie spoke up. "I thought I was clear."
"You were. Now let me be equally clear. Sara's behaviour is a direct result of my management."
Oh shit! Did this mean he was going to take the rap for it?
"So I should fire you."
"But you won't."
A small, selfish part of Catherine felt jealous of Sara all of a sudden. Would Gil take the flak like this if it was her career on the line, and not Sara's. Telling that part of her to shut the hell up, she listened to Ecklie's last-ditch attempt.
"Look, Gil ... I've been there. We're human. We get attached to people; we try to fix their problems. It doesn't work."
"She's a great criminalist, Conrad. And I need her."
And with that, Catherine knew, it was over. So did Ecklie, apparently. "I'm sure you do. You know what? She's a loose cannon with a gun. And she's all yours."
He stormed out of her office, leaving the two of them alone.
Please don't hate me for this, Gil. I had to, Greg told me to, he begged me to...
Cath considered blurting this out, but why put Greg in harm's way? What would that solve? So instead, all she could do was look at Grissom and wait for his reaction, for the inevitable accusation.
It never came. Instead, Gil's face finally softened, and he said "Greg told me that no matter what happened, you were on Sara's side. And I believe him."
Relief sweeping through her, Catherine Willows said: "Believe it, Gil. I am."
Grissom's POVGrissom wondered what Sara was thinking now. What she thought he would say, what she thought he would do. He never stopped learning about people, it seemed, least of al his own friends.
This from the man who so openly welcomes change, he mentally chastised himself. Perhaps if he'd taken the time to learn about what Sara was really like, what demons she'd had to fight, to overcome in her life...
Now it was too late. The damage was already done, and it was too late, just as Sara herself had prophesised once upon a time. "By the time you figure it out, it might be too late."
Grissom groaned and put a hand to his head. What could he do to make this right? He had refused Sara's offer for a reason. Of course he found her physically attractive, he doubted there was a man in the lab that didn't. Well, maybe Hodges, but then he'd always wondered about Hodges...
But it wouldn't matter if she was Marilyn Monroe (who had been a young Gilbert's childhood fantasy model), the fact remained; she was barely thirty, and he was almost fifty. He couldn't have her. He was too old.
But then, why did he feel comfortable casually flirting with Sophia? She wasn't much older than Sara was, and he hadn't known her as long. Maybe that was it. Maybe he'd shied away from Sara because he'd known her previously, and she had once been his student. Perhaps that was why he felt uncomfortable with the thought of her as his...girlfriend?
But did he feel uncomfortable with it? When he considered what it would feel like to be with her, putting all morality, all ethical considerations aside, he most definitely did not feel uncomfortable. Should he then not bother with Sophia, if he would be thinking about Sara?
This was the loop his mind caught itself in as came to Catherine's office, and found both his most favourite person and his least favourite person there as promised. Oh, boy, this wasn't going to be pleasant, he thought.
"You wanted to see me about Sara?"
Ecklie turned to regard Gil with slightly less smugness than usual. "I haven't received her disciplinary action. What's the hold-up?"
"Well, I'm not firing her." As you must surely have known, Ecklie, so why even ask me to, wondered Grissom.
"What action are you taking?"
Gil suddenly had to fight hard to keep his jaw from dropping. That was Catherine who had said that. Catherine, not Ecklie. What the hell was going on? Gil remembered that Greg had tried to convince Gil that Cath was on their side. Well, duh, Grissom had thought at the time.
Now all of a sudden, he wasn't sure of anything anymore...With an effort, he dragged himself back to reality and answered:
"I've taken it."
"I thought I was clear." This was Ecklie, no doubt trying to re-establish some meagre control over the situation. This was it, he told himself. Time to bite the bullet, time to face up to your failures, Gil Grissom.
"You were. Now let me be equally clear. Sara's behaviour is a direct result of my management."
"So I should fire you."
"But you won't." Though he would dearly love to...
"Look, Gil ... I've been there. We're human. We get attached to people; we try to fix their problems. It doesn't work."
Why was he trying something he knew wouldn't work? "She's a great criminalist, Conrad. And I need her."
"I'm sure you do. You know what? She's a loose cannon with a gun. And she's all yours."
Gil blinked. Was that it? Ecklie was giving up so soon? Had something happened that he'd missed? He became aware that Catherine was looking at him in an odd way.
Catherine. A part of him had always admired her, but ever since she had shot Syd Goggle, the vicious Strip Strangler (Gil still hated that title) off his back, he'd sometimes wondered if she wasn't invincible! Although younger than Grissom, she'd often been like a big sister to him, sometimes even made him feel like a little kid.
She couldn't have come around to Ecklie's side, she just couldn't have, it wasn't possible...
And when Grissom saw her face, he knew he was right; she hadn't taken Ecklie's point of view, no matter what he might think. He allowed his expression to soften as the angry mask fell away. "Greg told me that no matter what happened, you were on Sara's side. And I believe him."
Catherine looked as if a three-ton weight had been pulled off her shoulders. "Believe it, Gil. I am."
Elsewhere...
Ecklie stormed furiously down the corridor, looking forward, not looking back. If he had looked back, he might have seen a young man staring silently after him with rage beyond his years, watching him with devil's eyes.
It wasn't over. Sara was safe, for the moment, but Greg Sanders was NOT done with Conrad Ecklie, not by a long shot...