"What's in this box Nick?"

Catherine and Nick were going over the evidence in the lay out room, when Catherine discovered an unmarked box that had somehow escaped their lab processing.

"Not sure, you check it out." He was looking over the other evidence laid out on the table.

"OK" she opened up the box and was surprised by what she found. Envelopes, letters and parcels. She picked one up and read the name "Alyssa Sanders" she dictated, to herself more than anyone. She picked up the next "Greg Sanders. Hey Nick?" Nick looked up from his preoccupied state and muttered

"This better be good, I was on a roll"

"Sure you were, listen, I've gotta go see Brass, you right here?"

"Yeah" he said, pulling out his phone, "I'll call Warrick to come help."

Catherine walked out of the room and pulled out her phone, she dialed Brass' number and put it to her ear.

"Brass?"

"Cath?"

"Yeah, hi."

"Watcha need?"

"Can you meet me in the break room in 10 minutes?"

"Make it 5, I'm in the building."

"Great, see you then."

She hung up and headed to the break room. She only had to get to the doorway before Brass was standing in front of her asking "What's up?"

"I need to know her motive, Jackie Sanders', for wanting her husband gone."

"She said that he'd abandoned the family completely, left her in the lurch."

"He was in the army, it comes with the territory!"

"That's what we said. But then she stated that he was going to write to Greg and Alyssa and send money, but never did. We still had to take her in for 2nd degree murder, but you gotta feel a little sorry for her, no money and broken promises."

"No! We do not have to feel sorry for her. She was lying. That was not her motive, we recovered a box of letters she was hiding under her bed. She was stopping them getting to Greg and Alyssa. And I would be willing to bet some had money in them. She just never opened them, or let the kids…"

"Why would she lie though? We've already got her."

"That's what we gotta find out."

"I might have some part of the answer." Catherine and Brass whisked around to see Alyssa Sanders on the break room couch, intently listening.

"How much did you hear?" Catherine asked

"Enough to know how much I hate my mother." She answered with conviction. Catherine was disturbed by the answer, how could a mother do this to her child?

"What've you got for us Alyssa?"

"Well, 1st of all, dad did write to us for two weeks in the beginning, after that, it must've been when mum started stopping the letters; we got nothing. Mum started getting depressed. She didn't know that I knew but I found out we were in financial trouble. I heard her praying one night for dad to send money…the next day was the day we were supposed to get our letters, we never did. I'm guessing now, that she took them. Is it true you found the other letters?" she looked from Catherine to Brass and back again, trying to see if there was any last link to her father.

"We think that's what they are, I'll bring them to you later."

"Thank you" she shook her head, as if drifting back from her memories, "Where was I? Oh yeah, so we got no letters and as far as I knew, our money situation was getting no better, but if dad was dead, then mum got single mothers benefits. I think that's why she told me to run, to get the benefits you have to have at least one child under 16 year of age, ie. Me. She just didn't count on me running to Greg and getting caught."

With each word of her theory her eyes had gotten steadily more tearful until then, as she blinked a tear ran down her cheek.

"Lyss! What's wrong?" Greg burst into the room "I've been looking everywhere for you." he practically ran to her and gave her a big hug.

"We'll just leave you two alone then" Catherine said, as she and Brass left to go work out more on the developing theory and get the box of letters for Greg and Alyssa.

Greg pulled away from his sister, a question burning on his lips, but he couldn't ask it without being caught out of listening in…then an idea popped into his mind,

"So, Lyssa, where's Felix these days?"

"He's wandering around. Um…about him though…he asked me something…something I have to tell you about…"

Greg's plan had worked, just mention Felix and she'd blab.

"I'm listening, Squirt"

She smiled "You haven't called me that since I was 6" another part of his 'plan', make her feel too young to go out with someone. He knew it would never work, but he was a very protective brother. "But, uh…Felix…he, um…he…" she was cut off by Catherine returning to the room with the letter box.

"You two might wanna go through these together. There's a lot." She left the box on the table and walked out.

Both Greg and Alyssa looked longingly at the box then walked to it, each putting a hand on the lid.

"Greg, before we do this, I have to tell you something. Felix asked…" she was once again cut off, this time by Felix himself.

"Speak of the devil" Greg muttered with a lack of enthusiasm.

Alyssa gave him a glare as Felix said "Hey Lyss, you want to come learn how to finger print people? Jackie's got nothing to do, she's just waiting for the computer to beep, so she said she'll teach us."

Alyssa looked at the box, then at Greg,

"We'll go through these later, Squirt," he reluctantly said. "You go." He knew how interested in forensics she was, although he wasn't entirely sure that's why she was going this time.

"Thanks Greggo."

Greg sat down on the couch and sighed. He knew he had to let go, but he couldn't. Now he knew how his dad must've felt every time Lyss went out. She was a very attractive girl and got attention everywhere she went. He was worried that she would the attention of the wrong guy.

He couldn't sit there brewing. He had to do something. He opted on finding Grissom and maybe going over the case with him. He stood and walked out of the break room, leaving the letters on the table to be given attention later.

"So you just put their finger in the ink, and then roll it like this" Jackie demonstrated with her own finger "On the paper." She watched Alyssa finger print Felix, "Yep, that's it. Now you just scan it into the computer, then enter the correct details, and, there you go, you'll be in the system. I have to go chase up some old prints for one of the cold cases running at the moment, so are you two OK doing that by yourself?"

"Yep."

"Yeah."

"Great. I'll be back in 10 minutes."

"Hey Felix, do you remember that year we played all summer in that old warehouse" she asked as she took the print of his index finger "We covered the entire door in hand and finger prints."

"Good times! Course I remember. Then we drew all over the walls in crayon, then we got in trouble 'cause it wouldn't come off. My dad didn't know that the warehouse was abandoned."

"And remember he punished you by taking your Yank's hat off you? You were so devastated." She smiled at the simple pleasures of their youth "I haven't seen that hat in the last day actually, where is it? I thought you couldn't live without it!"

"You know me too well, but I actually can live without it. I lost it, so I guess I will have to live without it."

"You and your hat." she finished taking his final print and went to the computer. "So, we just scan it in like this?" she pressed a button and the finger prints came up on the screen. "Oh, cool! I guess I did it right then."

"Yep, OK, so now I write my name and age and all that…" he entered the data and hit enter on the keyboard.

"Now you're in the system. You have to be careful now, if you get your fingerprints at the scene of a crime…" she was disturbed mid-sentence by a beeping emitting from the computer. "What does that mean?"

"I think it means it's found a match to a print. I didn't know it was still looking."

"You mean a match to the print on the murder weapon. Let me see."

Felix reached the computer 1st, he turned around to face Alyssa and said "It's no one you know, let's forget about it."

"No Felix, let me see." She pushed past Felix and looked at the computer screen, all the colour draining from her face. She looked at Felix "What? You? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

He moved forwards to her "I'm sorry Lyss" she moved away from him crying. But she wasn't fast enough, he cupped his hand around her mouth to stop her screaming and lead her out of the building, pulling out a gun on the way.

Greg and Grissom headed to the print lab, Greg had told Grissom that Alyssa and Felix were in there and since Grissom wanted to talk to Alyssa, they had decided to find her.

They stepped around into the room and were surprised to see no one there.

"I thought you said they came here to learn how to finger print," Grissom said, checking on the computer, "Uh, Greg, you might want to see this." He said pointing at the screen.

"What is it?" just like his sister, all the colour drained from his face as his eyes lay gaze to the face of Felix on the screen that was beeping MATCH. "He's got her"

"Where?"

"I have a hunch."

oOoOoOoOoOo

oooo…now the action starts! I'm thinking there are about 2 maybe 3 chapters left in this story!

Sorry if the story is lacking…well, just lacking anything…I'm trying my best!

Luv ya's

Em!