Disclaimer: I do not own CSI, nor do I make any profit from writing this.
A/N Thanks for the lovely reviews. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this. I'm not sure how long this will turn out… at least ten I think… maybe more? Also, I went back and made two changes to chapter 6, just some name switches with the lawyer and Jonathan Craft's friend... hopefully the fixed chapter is up now, before I messed it up and I just had to go back and reload chapter 1 up and the new chapter 6. I hope its fixed now. P
Anyway, Chapter 7:
Grissom now sat at the grey table opposite David Roberts; Brass was standing behind him.
"David, hello; I just need to ask you a few questions." Grissom said.
"Sure, anything you'd like to know. I'll do my best to answer your questions to my fullest ability."
"Good. Okay," Grissom began. "Detective Jim Brass talked to a friend of yours earlier. You borrowed his car the other day?" He asked.
"Oh, Jon? Yeah; I had to go get gas for my truck. I came out the other morning and the gas light was lit up. I'm pretty sure it's some kids down the street; they're always standing around, looking for anything to do and most of the time…getting into trouble."
"Jonathan told us that you never brought it back. Care to explain?"
"I guess I got side-tracked. I was out pretty much all day and I'm not very technologically advanced, so I don't own a cell phone."
"Where were you all day?"
"I was at work. I work at Mandalay Bay as a part time bartender and waiter at a few of the restaurants. If you want, my boss can confirm my story, but I don't think I clocked in that day; I was running a little late so I just checked in with her and grabbed my uniform from the closet. We were pretty busy that day and I had already lost time by not being on time. The guys needed me as fast as possible."
"How come you were late to work?"
The man seemed to be thinking hard, gnawing slightly on his lower lip.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, no," the man replied, "Oh, late for work… Well, you already know I had some car trouble, which is partially why I'm talking to you right now. Plus, I live with my wife and she works more hours than I do. I guess I've taken up her jobs of doing the laundry and going grocery shopping. I had a few errands to take car of for friends and my wife."
Grissom nodded, "One more thing… how did Jonathan Craft's car end up in the courthouse parking lot?"
"My step-dad was in the area the past two days; on Sunday we had a small birthday party for him and he ended up staying a few days because we hardly see each other anymore. He's good friends with Jonathan and he said something about having to give Jonathan something… some papers or something. I really don't know what that was all about, but I figured since he had to give something to Jonathan, he could take Jon's car back. He said something about taking the bus home after that. I guess he got side-tracked, as well. Hey, wait… what's going on that involves Jon's car, anyway?"
Brass looked over at Grissom and decided to take over. Grissom was sitting there with a notebook and pencil in his hands. He was writing something and had that mixed expression on his face; the one of realization and worriment.
"A missing persons case," Brass answered the man, "By the way, your step-father is a lawyer, isn't he. Was he at the courthouse yesterday? I didn't see him there."
The man shrugged his shoulders, "Haven't heard from him since he left to go give Jon the car back. I don't know what you'd want from him anyway… he's a good guy; he'd never do anything wrong. Can I leave now?"
The room was silent and the only noise was the scratching of Grissom's pencil on the pad of paper.
"Sure," Brass replied and the man grabbed his jacket and left.
Brass and Grissom were now alone and Brass was wondering what Grissom had been writing for the past five minutes,
"Gil?" he asked.
Grissom looked up, "Sorry, I just got an idea. I think we need to talk to Mr. Steingard."
Grissom and Brass got up and exited the now empty interview room.
"You okay?" Brass asked.
"I'm not sure," Grissom replied, "What's going to happen if we find her?"
"The same thing that happens when anything happens… nothing."
Brass walked away down the hall, leaving Grissom to ruminate over his statement. Now, the hall was completely empty and it was completely silent. There was nothing to distract him from his thoughts.
He remembered Sara's DUI… inside, he know it was partially his fault. How many times had he turned her down? It was his fault that she wanted to leave three years ago, as well. And then when Sara got angry at Catherine, he should have done something, but she scared him. He didn't know how she would react to anything; and not knowing scared him. And then, before he went to the convention, so many things had happened and he and Sara became even more distant. He felt guilty for taking Sophia out to dinner. She did intrigue him, but he didn't feel the way about her that he did Sara. She wasn't complicated like Sara was, though and it was easier for him to be around her. It was just now that Grissom realized Sophia was only a distracting to keep him from dealing with his feelings for Sara. It was like his hearing problem; he didn't understand it and he didn't want to break away the norm and deal with it. Luckily, he did and the problem was fixed. With Sara, though, he kept ignoring everything and now it was too late… Sara was probably lost.
He stood there, just seeing his thoughts and memories. When Sophia came up behind him, it scared him.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't know." He shook his head.
"You know, I was just talking to Greg. He told me how much Sara means to you."
"He did?"
"Actually, he said everyone knows, except you and Sara."
"I've been a fool. She told me a long time again that when I figured out what to do, it would be too late. Now, it truly is too late."
"You'll find her. She may not like me very much, but that's because she's strong willed and stubborn. She's intelligent; she'll be alright."
Grissom nodded, "Thanks and I hope you're right. I… have to go."
Sophia nodded and Grissom walked away down the hall. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he needed to do something, anything to find Sara. He saw Warrick and Catherine walking down the hall and they stopped as he was about to walk by.
"How did the interview with David Roberts go?" Warrick asked.
"I'm getting Brass to find Barry Steingard. David said he lent the car to his step-father and didn't see him after that. I'm taking an educated guess and saying that Barry Steingard, the lawyer for the defendant in that hearing I was supposed to attend today, is how the car ended up at the courthouse."
"Griss, have you even stopped to breathe since you've gotten back from that seminar? Warrick, go talk to Brass and interview Barry Steingard."
"Catherine…" Grissom started.
"No, you're going to take a break. I know you're worried about Sara and I can tell it's getting to you, so we go grab a coffee and talk."
He had to admit; he was pretty stressed out and worried, but how would he feel if he was on a coffee break and someone found Sara? He'd feel like he'd done nothing and he could only imagine how hurt she would be if he wasn't out there looking for her. However, he knew that Catherine was relentless and he had no choice but to follow her orders.
"Here are my notes from David Roberts's interview." He handed Warrick the clipboard. "Call me if any important information comes up or if anything happens."
"Of course." He took the clipboard and got out his cell to call Brass and see if they found Mr. Steingard.
Warrick took off down the hall and Catherine turned towards Grissom. "Come on; you're coming with me to get some coffee and try and relax."
He followed her out to the parking lot and out to her Tahoe. Outside it was so bright and cheerful. Grissom wondered how such a wonderful day for everyone else had turned into such a miserable one for him.
A/N Thanks for the lovely reviews! D The next chapter should be up soon. I had some time to plan everything out for this, so writing the next few chapters won't take so long. And as with everyone else… I can't see how this turns out. I know, that probably sounds weird, lol.