Title: Good Enough

Chapter 6

*****

Mrs. Ling, the guidance counselor at Daniel Kincaid's school, leans forward and narrows her eyes at me.  "Mr. Stokes," she says, in a throaty voice, "We keep a very strict eye on our students."

I try to smile.  "I'm sure you do, Mrs. Ling.  I'm just trying to find out what's been going on in Daniel Kincaid's life."

Turning her dry lips into a thin, forced smile, Mrs. Ling blinks several times, and then opens a file.  She's a creepy-looking woman.  There just isn't a better way to say it.  She's wearing a pair of tiny, rectangular-shaped glasses, and her hair is wrapped into a stiff bun.  A piece of costume jewelry dangles off her long, bony wrists. I can't imagine a 17-year-old feeling comfortable enough to confide in her about their problems.  I'm feeling pretty unnerved just sitting here.

I glance at Brass.  He's standing across the room, trying to be inconspicuous. 

Brass and I came here today to interview a girl named Molly Cooper.  Turns out, she's Daniel Kincaid's girlfriend.  Mrs. Cooper wanted to be here when we spoke to her daughter, so we're enjoying the company of Mrs. Ling while we wait.

Clearing her throat loudly, Mrs. Ling says, "Daniel had normal problems."

"Such as?" I say.

"He was upset with his parents."

"Why?"

She blinks at me.  "He said they put too much pressure on him."

"Was this a regular complaint?"

Mrs. Ling starts to tap her nails against Daniel Kincaid's open file.  "He mentioned it several times."

"And did you speak to his parents?"

"Of course not."  She breaths loudly.  "Mr. Stokes, Daniel was applying to college.  This is a stressful time.  And you'd be hard-pressed to find a teenager who doesn't think their parents expect too much of them."

"Did Daniel ever talk about suicide?"

"That's irrelevant.  Daniel was killed by a robber or something."

I laugh hoarsely.  Apparently, she's been talking to Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid after all. 

I can feel the muscles in my neck starting to tighten. "We're trying to figure out what happened, Ma'am."

Brass finally walks over to stand beside my chair.  "Mrs. Ling," he says, calmly, "Daniel spent most of his time at this school.  He was a student.  He attended sporting events.  He attended dances.  He belonged to clubs.  He was here more than he was at home."

Mrs. Ling blinks at us.

Brass lets out a breath.  "This school was his life.  Chances are, the person who caused his death is here, too."

"Are you implying that one of my students—"

A knock at the door cuts Mrs. Ling off.  A secretary opens the door and says, "Mrs. Cooper is here."

Mrs. Ling frowns at Brass, and then me.  "Send them in."

A teenager with reddish hair walks into the room, followed by an attractive blonde.  Mrs. Ling gestures toward two chairs, so the Coopers sit down.  They look nervous.

I stand up and hold my hand toward them.  "Mrs. Cooper.  Miss Cooper."

Molly smiles when I call her "Miss." 

Then Brass introduces himself.  After we've all exchanged pleasantries, I return to my chair, and Brass, who shoots a cautious look toward Mrs. Ling, lowers himself into a seat beside me.

"Molly," he says.  "I understand you wanted to talk to us."

She nods.  "I don't know if I have anything that will help."

I smiles encouragingly.  "Well, just tell us what you know.  The more we know, the better we can do our jobs."

"Well," she says softly.  "I'd been kind of worried about him."

"How so?" Brass asks.

"He's been up and down.  We've been seeing each other for about a year."  She pauses.  "He started getting depressed and moody about five months ago.  At first, it was just little stuff.  But then, he started saying how he couldn't do anything right and he just didn't know why he bothered."

"Did he ever talk about hurting himself?"

Molly glances at her mother, who nods.  The teenager reaches into her purse and fishes out a package of tissues.  "Yeah.  I was afraid he was going to kill himself."

Mrs. Ling makes an audible choking sound.

Wiping her eyes, Molly says, "I overheard Danny talking to Cody—he's our friend—about this game they were going to in California."

I nod.  "What about the game?"

"Daniel said they weren't coming back."  She crosses her arms.  "He said they were going to go out in style."

"What happened?"

"I confronted Danny after Cody left.  We got an argument, and Danny said he just couldn't take it anymore.  His parents and stuff.  So, I told him he should tell my mom.  He said he'd think about it."

"He never did," Mrs. Cooper says. 

"The next day, he came up to me after Psych and told me he was being stupid.  He said it was just talk."  Molly stands up and begins to pace.  "I guess I wanted to believe him.  I went up to Cody, and he pretty much said the same thing.  That it was just talk.  So, I didn't say anything."

"When was this, Molly?" Brass asks.

"Uh—three weeks ago.  Last week, I started worrying about them again.  Cody more than Danny.  Cody's been out of it.  But I was worried about both of them, so I finally told my mom."

"I called both of their parents," Mrs. Cooper says, her voice trembling.  "Mr. Kincaid said he was sure Danny was fine, but he'd talk to him.  When we heard the news about Danny, well…"  She trails off. 

We sit there in awkward silence until Brass scoots forward in his chair. "Molly," he asks.  "Was Daniel involved in anything else that worried you?"

"You mean like drugs?"  She asks.

Daniel Kincaid's body came up negative for all drugs, except the sleeping pills. 

"That or anything," Brass says.

"He drank a little.  That was unlike him."  She wipes her eyes.  "For a while, I thought there might have been another girl."

"Oh?" I say.

She nods.  "There's this girl.  She's in his English class.  I don't know."

"What's her name?" Brass asks.

Molly grimaces.  "Natalie?  I'm not sure.  She's not exactly in my social circle."

I look up at Mrs. Ling.  "Could you get us a list of the female students in Daniel's English class?"

"Of course," she says nastily.

"Molly, you've been very helpful," I say. 

"Thanks," she smiles feebly.  "Please find out what happened."

"We're doing our best."

"Mr. Stokes," she says.  "Is someone keeping an eye on Cody?  I mean, I've already lost Danny."

*****

Brass and I walk into headquarters.  I haven't said much since we left Daniel's school.  I've been turning the situation over and over in my head.  I knew something was going on.  Daniel and Cody were on the edge, just like I thought.  The problem is Daniel didn't kill himself.  He may have wanted to, but somebody beat him to it. 

Before we left her office, Mrs. Ling said she'd call the Briers and talk to them about their son.  I doubt it'll do much good.  I know people like the Briers.  The last thing they want to hear is that their perfect son is flawed. 

"You okay, Nicky?"  Brass asks, slapping one hand on my shoulder.

I hold my breath.  I'm getting sick of people asking me that.  The thing that bothers me the most is that I know I'm not okay, but there's no way I can talk about it.  I can't talk about Greg.  That's a big no-brainer.  And I can't talk about what happened when I was a kid.  Only Catherine knows about that.  And everything else that's wrong in my life…well, I just sound like I'm whining.

I sigh.  "I've had better days, Jim.  But I'll be okay."

I sneak a look toward Greg's lab as Brass and I walk past.  Greg is standing there, talking to Catherine and Warrick.  He glances at me, shakes his head, and then turns back to Catherine and Warrick. 

Damn.

I exhale, and walk toward the lounge.  Dropping myself into a chair, I lay my head on the table.  My head aches so bad I feel like it'll explode anytime.  I'm glad it's almost time to go home.

I hear Brass pull out a chair and sit across from me. 

"You ever think about it?"  He asks.

"Think about what?" I say, not raising my head.

"You know."

I lift my head up.  "You mean…it?"

"Yeah."

He means suicide. 

I cover my face with my hands.  "Have you?"

"No," he says quickly.  "No. You?"

This is a conversation I definitely don't want to have.  To be honest, I guess I have thought about it.  Not a lot, and I don't think I'd really do it.  But I have thought about it.  If Brass finds out I've thought about ending my life, even for a moment, I'll be in a shrink's office so fast I won't know what hit me.

Fortunately, I'm spared having to answer when Sara walks in.  "What's up?" She says.

"You know what?" I say.  "I'm feeling a little sick.  Headache."  I stand up.  "I'm going to hit the bathroom."  Brass and Sara are looking at me, but I leave before they have a chance to stop me. 

I crash through the bathroom doors, turn faucet on full blast, and splash some cold water on my face.  My head's still throbbing. 

How did I get to this point? I think, gazing at myself in the mirror.  Why is everything in my life going wrong at the same time?

Suddenly, the bathroom door swings open.  Jumping slightly, I glance over my shoulder. Catherine is standing just inside the room, looking very much like she belongs here.

"Hey, Nick."

"Hey," I say.  "Catherine, why are you in the men's room?"

"Because you're in the men's room."

I close my eyes.  Oh no.  They've called in the big guns.

Catherine is the one who handles the emotional stuff around here.  She can even handle Grissom. 

"Come on," she says.  "Shift's over. Let's go grab something to eat.  You want breakfast stuff?"   

I'm not in the mood for this.  "I'm going to head home to bed."

"Great," Catherine says, undeterred.  "We'll get take out and head to your place.  Then you can tell me what's been going on with you."

"I don't feel like talking."

"Too bad," she says.  Grabbing me by the wrist, she leads me out the door. "You're going to talk to me.  It's not optional."