Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Chapter two
The lulling warmth of the vehicle did nothing to dissuade the sudden panic that overcame Sara when she realised exactly what it was she had agreed to.
She had perhaps just made the stupidest decision of her career, and it had taken over three hours on the winding, endless stretch of road for the reality of the situation to hit her.
This area of northern Nevada was void of the barren, uninviting desert she had come to know as home over the last five years, and instead the roadside teemed with overgrown plant life and looming trees of opulent, rich green and brown, thriving with life and mystery.
She stared distantly out the side window, avoiding any conversation with the brooding man beside her, vaguely wondering if he too, was feeling the sudden weight of the situation.
They had briefly explained things to Sofia, sparing most of the details and the fact that they were chasing what was most likely a dead end lead in an anonymous town four hours from Las Vegas. Okay, so really they hadn't told her anything. Just that Grissom had a sudden, urgent family emergency, and that Sara needed to take some unexpected leave.
If either of them had really thought about it, they might have realised how suspicious that actually sounded.
She had sensed the Jane Doe case was affecting Grissom on a personal level for weeks now, but she had never spoken up about it. It would have been hypocritical of her to criticise him for feeling a personal involvement, and she knew Grissom would never willingly accept her concern. She had maintained her silent vigil in the hope that the case would be solved, and that he would work through it like she herself had done many times.
She had never expected an explosion of this proportion. Grissom normally remained detached, repressing any and all emotion in what she had long ago identified as a safety mechanism. She understood the need for it, and for such an introspective person, it was perhaps the easiest way for him to deal.
Sara had not grown up in a healthy household, but outpourings of emotion were one thing she had not been spared from, despite their negative impact. Her empathy often manifested itself in obsessive, self-damaging behaviour, but she wasn't afraid to show it.
Something detrimental to Grissom's inner world had crumbled, and this was his reaction. She realised that. And at least one reason she had unconsciously decided to tag along on this unprecedented wild goose chase was to keep an eye on him. Perhaps her way of returning the very same favour he had done her a few months ago, after her suspension.
They started to reach what resembled a small town, and Sara shifted in her seat, gaze languidly sliding over the looming landscape as they neared a worn down service station.
Grissom slowed slightly, and they started down what she supposed was Eildenbrook's main street. She had grown up in a small coastal town, but everything had been clustered together, and that had been a quiet but friendly community. Everything here was sparse and isolated, and she could see almost immediately that they were going to have trouble getting information.
Several small, modest shops cluttered the main road, all places of necessity; a general store and post office, a small doctor's office, and a bar. She also spotted the amber neon lights of a motel through the thick trees, and she assumed there was a police station somewhere in the vicinity.
Grissom hadn't told her much of his visit to Jackpot two years ago, but she got the feeling he was not very interested in enlisting the help of the local authorities. She agreed wholeheartedly. This town was even smaller than Jackpot, and she knew their resources had been extremely limited, and their officers had only hindered his investigation.
Grissom came to a halt at the service station, and climbed out to fill up their depleting gas supply.
She was sure they hadn't passed another town for the last two hours. The thought of being that isolated made her inwardly wince. She slowly climbed out of the passenger side after her boss, stretching her cramped limbs, and taking in their surroundings.
The rich scent of pine instantly assaulted her nostrils, and she had to admit that the landscape was beautiful. She glanced at Grissom, who looked distant and contemplative as he refilled the tank. In other circumstances, she might have thought something else of the situation, but she decided that thinking about how close the two of them would be for the next few days was a forbidden subject.
She retrieved her jacket from the back seat, chafing her hands together as she circled the car to lean against Grissom's side. Her breath made tiny puffs of cold air in front of her face, and the sky was already beginning to darken.
"So what's our game plan, exactly?"
They hadn't spoken much on the ride over, and she wasn't sure if it was because he had regretted his decision, to come here or to allow her to accompany him. Whatever his thoughts, it was too late now, and she thought it was about time they decided how they were going to go about this.
Grissom lifted his eyes to look at her, gazing at her a moment longer than necessary, an unreadable emotion hovering over his face. He cleared his throat, closing the fuel cap slowly. "You make it sound like I know what I'm doing here".
She lifted an eyebrow, folding her arms as she leant back against the side door, taking in his unexpected admission of weakness. "You have had four hours to think about it".
He smiled slightly. "Yes. I have." He sighed deeply, bracing his hand on the side of the vehicle as he gathered his thoughts. "All right. I thought we could ask around. I doubt runaways are particularly common around here".
She nodded, looking down at the ground. She didn't want to ask what they did if nobody knew anything.
He seemed to sense her uncertainty, and attempted to reassure her gently. "One thing at a time, Sara, okay?"
She nodded. She too, had the feeling that the answer to their dead girl's identity was hidden in the underbelly of this small, mysterious town. She just hoped that both of their instincts were right.
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The bar was reasonably empty for this time of the evening, and apart from the burly, dangerous looking guy behind the counter and a smaller, plump older woman running a towel lightly over the tables, there were only a handful of other patrons scattered inside the smoky interior.
Grissom glanced back at her fleetingly before they approached the polished bar, just as the woman returned, placing the towel under the counter.
"Hello, there", she said, nodding slightly in greeting as she looked up and took note of their appearance. "We don't get many out of towners here. Passing through, are you?"
"You might say that", Grissom replied, leaning one arm casually against the counter. Despite his inability to relate easily to other people, Sara thought he could be very sociable at times. When he had to be.
They had already asked after a missing girl among several residents, all of whom had feigned ignorance at their questions. She was starting to loose her earlier enthusiasm completely, and she hoped this visit proved more fruitful.
She took a moment to watch Grissom as he responded to the woman's query, before propping herself nonchalantly on the edge of the stool beside him.
The woman took her shrewd, wary gaze over to Sara, scanning her with short-lived curiosity. "I'm going to guess you two are from Vegas. What can I get you?"
"We're looking for some information; actually", Sara spoke up, leaning forward slightly. "We were wondering if anyone has gone missing around here over the last year or so?"
The woman lifted her eyebrows. Her red hair was greying at the temples, and her features were crinkled with age, but she didn't look any more than fifty.
"Don't get many people asking questions around here, either", she replied flatly, expression indicating she too intended to remain entirely uncooperative. "You two cops, or something?"
"We're from the Las Vegas Crimelab, actually", Grissom corrected politely.
She gave him a look, as if to say, what's the difference?
Sara cleared her throat. "We think that a young girl, maybe sixteen or so, disappeared from here about a year ago".
The woman lifted her eyebrows; expression closing off swiftly and leaving no doubt that she was hiding something. Whether it was merely a fear of outsiders, or something pertaining to their case, though, Sara couldn't be sure. "I'm sorry, but I can't say I know anything about that".
Sara glanced at Grissom doubtfully. They were trained to extract information from people for a living, but she couldn't help thinking that someone like Nick or Catherine would be more useful in this situation. "Are you sure about that? It seems like something that would be a little hard to miss…"
"We keep to ourselves around here", she retorted in a flat, irritable tone, uncovering several glasses from under the counter and setting them out neatly. "Now, do you two want anything, or not?"
Mutely, Grissom shook his head, and Sara politely declined. They strode back out into the cool evening, and her cell phone shrilled loudly before she could voice her mounting frustration. She glanced at Grissom briefly, lifting it smoothly to one ear.
"Sidle".
"Where the hell are you, Sara?"
She sighed when she recognised Greg's familiar voice, tucking her hair behind her ear wearily. "Sofia gave me some lame excuse that you're on leave or something".
Grissom lifted an eyebrow at her, turning to examine the town noticeboard outside the general store, and giving her a little privacy.
"And that's so hard to believe why, Greg?" she demanded, somewhat irritated by how notorious her work ethic was.
Greg simply scoffed, and she could hear the familiar buzz of lab activity in the background. "Please", he said impatiently. "Give me a break. Ecklie's looking for you as well, you know. Especially with Grissom missing too." He took a moment to pause pointedly. "He's not there with you, is he?"
Sara rolled her eyes. Their colleagues were trained investigators, after all. It wasn't as if it would be very hard to figure out.
"It's a long story, okay?" she said irritably. "I just need you to play dumb on this for a while, please?"
"Aren't you going to give me a reason? I can't exactly cover for you if I don't know what I'm covering. Ecklie said something about the Jane Doe case being closed, does this have something to do with that?"
"You know what, Greg, I think you're breaking up", Sara said quickly.
"What? Sara—"
"Sorry, Greg, I can't hear you!"
She snapped the phone briskly shut, feeling a surge of inward guilt as she breathed out a heavy sigh, circling back to face Grissom.
He was watching her, looking surprisingly amused by her end of the exchange, and she realised that he had been listening to the whole thing. "Bad reception, huh?"
"Shut-up", she said grouchily, surprised at how easy it was for them to fall back into their old, comfortable relationship when they were away from work.
He smirked slightly, then gestured to something on the neighbouring noticeboard. "You might want to take a look at this".
She stepped towards him slowly, inadvertently brushing against his side as she leant forward, struggling to discern what he was talking about in the dim light.
A yellowing, crumpled old notice was hidden under several other papers, which Grissom lifted aside mutely. The fuzzy, black and white photograph of a young girl was difficult to make out, but the caption underneath was unmistakable and she blinked at their unlikely good fortune.
"Missing: Hayley Barton. Date of birth: 17th October 1988."
"Contact Sylvia Barton with any information", Grissom finished.
She glanced at him, and a slow smile pulled at her lips. "Nice".
He noddedwith a grim sort of satisfaction."I think we have another stop to make, don't you?"
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