"Why didn't you tell us earlier that your wife is also an agent?" Brass inquired. His voice was detached, and his demeanor was aloof. Sara was watching him from her vantage-point behind him. He behaved as though he was distracted, as though he didn't really care about every single word that left Carpenter's mouth. If Sara hadn't known any better, she'd say his mind was elsewhere but she knew it wasn't. Brass was wearing his poker face.

"Last time you saw me I was in shock. I apologize…" he said through clenched teeth, "if I left out some details or neglected to follow routine procedures."

"That's fine." Brass relied flippantly. "Could you go over your statement with me? From the beginning?"

"Helen left work early. We agreed to meet back at the house, she got there before I did. When I got home…" He stopped and switched the direction of his comment. "I stopped to buy dinner. I wish I hadn't."

Brass studied him for a few quiet seconds.

"There was evidence of rape at your apartment and on your wife's body.Should we be suprised when we findyour DNA when we process your wife's body?"

Agent Carpenter gave a cynical laugh.

"We had consensual sex this morning, before we left for work, and then she surprised me in my office around twelve and we made love again. You will find an excess of my DNA." Sara watched the profile of the man's face and noted with surprise as a tear traced its way across his angular features.

"Was there a big case your wife was working?Was there anybody in particular who would want her dead?"

"This…. What happened to Helen… I don't think that it was random. She has a dangerous job, she's aggressive; she's headstrong. Helen's made a lot of enemies."

"Did she intimidate you, Agent Carpenter?" Sara asked. From the other side of the one-way glass, Grissom turned his attention to her. Her voice was gravelly and dark. He was able to read far enough into her tone to know that she had long ago pegged Agent Carpenter as her guy.

"No, I was not intimidated by my wife!" He snapped back.

"Did she make you feel inadequate? Big guy like you, I bet you're used to women backing down. Helen stood up to you, didn't she? she stood her ground and let you know when you were off base. Did she nag you the wrong way? Catch you on a bad day?" Sara pushed further. Brass remained quiet and watched.

"I liked Helen because she had moxie. She was a rough, physical and temperamental person, and I knew she could take care of herself. I admired my wife, Ms. Sidle, so you can quit it with the male-inadequacies. I work the narc. unit. I carry a gun, and it's a big one. I don't have any inadequacy issues."

Sara staredCarpenter down from her side of the room. Grissom noticed how far she was keeping herself from the table. She couldn't see him, but Grissom was sure she knew he was there. She avoided the glass window and kept her gaze on the suspect.

"Look, you have no reason to hold me, My meeting in Cancun's very important. It's official state business. It's taken months to plan this seminar; I am afraid I can't stay behind. If you need me, you can contact me through my department."

"That's convienient." Sara heard herself say. "Play the badge card, you think you can just run off? Where then, Barbados? Or are you a Brazilian kind of man?"

"Sara." Grissom warned, walking into the room

"Gris-" she began but clamped her jaw shut. She followed him out when he motioned for her to join him.

Her suspect and Brass sat quietly and waited until they left. Sara could hear their voices through the microphone of the observation room. She immediately paced over to the far wall and turned on Grissom, throwing her back against the wall and crossing her arms tightly. Grissom had her cornered, and she was full of momentum.

"Look, we're all on the same side here." Agent Carpenter began from the other side of the glass. For a moment, Sara and Grissom were quiet as they both watched the Federal Agent pick up his things and straighten his tie.

"I trust you and your people to find who killed Helen. I have faith in your abilities, but I can't stay here. I have responsibilities and people depending on me."

"He's a potential suspect in a fresh case!"Sara commented outloud. She kept her gaze on the glass."He can't just leave the country, I don't care who he works for!" Sara challenged, laughing in disbelief at the absurdity of the issue. She caught Grissom's glare from where he stood in the middle of the smoky blue room. His whole body was awash in shadows, except a pinprick glare off his glasses.

"I'm going to say this once, and only once." Grissom's tone was neutral despite his authoritative words. His body language told Sara more than his voice did. She saw the way he stood; defensively, with his feet apart and his arms crossed.

"Keep your head in the game or I'll pull you."

"I can do this."

"I know you can, now prove it too me." He challenged.

Sara pushed herself off the back wall with the heel of her foot and came within abreath's distanceof Grissom's face. In truth, it was closer than she had intended but she was not about to back up. Grissom maintained his cool though and gave no more of a reaction than a tilt of his head. She could see the expression on his face now, where before she only had the silhouette from the interrogation room. Over his shoulder, Sara could see that Brass had left as well.

"Why are you provoking me?" Sara was calm and collected now. The light flickered in her eyes and her lips looked black in the dim light, the heat from her body was seeping across the distance between them, like it was seeking him out. He could read her like a book, and despite her neutral tone, Grissom could still see the bitterness and the anger simmering in her. Her breath was light and quick, and everything about her juxtaposed her cool demeanor. His own shadow eclipsed her face and partially obscured her in the darkness of the room. He questioned his own wisdom in pushing her so hard, especially knowing what he knew about her. He pushed her relentlessly, and he knew it.

"What happened to the peace you spoke so highly of?" He said instead ignoring her question.

"May I leave? There's an autopsy that won't wait long for me." She replied, ignoring his. She was already stepping towards the door but Grissom reached out deftly and his fingers brushed against the back of her arm. She stopped as suddenly as if he had grabbed her and pulled her backed and she stumbled despite the lightness of his tough. There was static between them and the air cracked as his index finger grazed her skin. She looked at him in blatant shock.

"I'm coming with you." He said meekly.

She only nodded mutely and held the door open for him. Her hand shook as she did.