Chapter 6
The Life…Or Dead of the Party
"So you're just going to leave me?" Ariel questioned at the top of her lungs. Yeah, she did deserve an explanation, but what was Grissom supposed to tell her?
"Yes…" Grissom started to pack up the rest of his belongings from his girlfriend's dorm. Several textbooks fell from his grasp as he began to shake from his nervousness.
"I thought you said you loved me! That we were meant for each other? God you're just like your father Gil… You get up and run away when something or someone gets too close." Ariel's anger was clouding her judgment again as she spat out words and profanities to try to hurt Grissom. The only thing that stuck out in his mind was that he was like his father…Was he? He never wanted to stay with a woman long enough to find out.
"Fine go…God, you and your mother were pathetic to put up with him anyways…When I was your neighbor, all I would hear were things being thrown around all night…I wouldn't have stayed." Ariel grinned when she saw Grissom's expression change from calm to rage.
"Don't you EVER talk about my mother again…Do you understand?" Grissom yelled, not realizing he now had numerous spectators watching from the near by dorms as their door was open for their entire argument. With a final act of derogation Ariel spit on Grissom to which she received a slap to her face. The action left Grissom stunned.
"Get out! If I ever see you anywhere on my campus again I'll call the cops! You are your father… You disgust me…" As Grissom started to hear the sirens of campus security start to draw closer, he ran down the hallway to bump into one of the security officers.
"Son, you're coming with us…" Grissom was cuffed and escorted down the hallway. He promised himself only one thing; he would never get close to another woman again. He had to stay strong. He just had to…
A knock to his hotel room jolted him from his repressed memories.
"Dr. Grissom? It's me, Special Agent Culpepper, open up…"
Grissom rose sluggishly from his bed to unlock the door which separated him from the one person he dreaded to talk with besides Sara.
"Ah, nice to see you Culpepper, I was wondering when you would grace me once more with your presence." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he slumped once more back on the bed.
"Alright, Dr. Grissom, when I said you could accept the mission I expected you to stay in the house we provided you. You're supposed to married to Sidle, now the whole neighborhood is going to think you're divorced. You just don't leave an undercover Op and your partner without any notification of where you will be staying!" Culpepper's anger was evident, however Grissom could care less.
"You know what, you're right, Culpepper, I should just stay with Sara so we can discuss window treatments and bake homemade cookies together while waiting for the next episode of "I Love Lucy" to air on Nick at Night." Grissom's eyes closed as he tried to fight his headache.
"I don't care what you want to do while you're inside that house, Grissom…But my ass is on the line here and if you don't get up and go back to that home I'm going to have to force you. You only have an hour to get ready for a party. I suggest hurrying back as soon as possible. You look like you need some sleep, take these tonight cause you look terrible." Grissom was tossed a bottle of sleeping pills, an invitation and three photos of sandals.
"The party starts at eight and those pictures Sidle believes have blood present on your hostess' attire. I suggest watching Mrs. Nouvelle mighty closely just in case she is our first suspect. I'll leave all the evidence taking to you. Just call me when we may get to arrest somebody…" Quickly leaving Grissom to think on his own feet, Culpepper pushed his way out of his room and into the hallway.
"Sara knows know where we stand. It was a mistake; the rest of the case is pure business. Just act like her supervisor and nothing can go wrong. Think you're at work…And if you have to act like you're married just a quick peck on her cheek will suffice. It's business…All for show." Grissom kept on repeating his mantra to himself as he left his hotel room and made his way to his car in hope of being early for the party.
Sara was a hard woman to find in a crowd of middle aged, snobby millionaires. He had hoped his tuxedo would not make him appear over dressed. His attire choice proved to be correct as he noted that everyman in the room was a wearing a suit. The women on the other hand all wore unique dresses which catered to their unique personalities. Grissom was too late to catch Sara before she left so had no clue as to what she was wearing. The thought of Sara in a high cut dress stirred up a mixture of feelings Grissom was trying to repress. He made up his mind in the car that no matter how she looked or what she said it was all for show. Their distance was for their own good. As he searched the enormous living room for any sign of his partner, he noted the elegance that the home endowed. Crystal chandeliers swung from the ceiling with ease and the marble floors shone with brilliance. The Nouvelle's living room was four times the size of Grissom's "home" and the fact that they had their own DJ for the party added to his perception that they were filthy rich.
"All this just to welcome us into the neighborhood? A little over done…Something isn't right…" Stuck in his own thoughts, Grissom failed to notice her. She was stunning. He held his breath as he took in all her beauty wrapped in a red Oscar de la Renta designer dress which had a high slit on her left side, almost showing her thong line. Her hair was done up in a bun and several curls were strung down, refusing to be bound. Her red lips diverted his attention to her smile which she was unfortunately giving to three other men sitting on a couch with her right in the middle. She didn't seem to notice him there as she continued to flirt with three gorgeous guys. They all neglected to realize she was "married" due to the absence of a ring. Culpepper had picked out cheap fake gold rings for the couple to wear while they were out, both of them always forgot.
"So you're in the exotic dancing business…I didn't know one could make so much money." Sara blushed as the gentleman looked down at his crotch.
"Well Miss, if you saw how big I was, you too would pass the money up front just to get a glimpse…" The man took Sara's hand and kissed it before leaning in to kiss her. Sara didn't even flinch as he took her into his mouth. Grissom began to feel the familiar pang of jealousy as he watched Sara with another man. This time it wasn't a dream.
"May I ask what the hell you're doing, honey?" Grissom's voice struggled to hold a sense of sanity as Sara didn't even break from the kiss when she heard his voice. After another minute she ended her lip lock and turned innocently towards Grissom.
"What does it look like darling? I'm mingling. I'm sure you didn't mind, remember our conversation earlier?" Sara bitterly laughed as another man kissed her neck and his hands made their way up the slit of her dress.
"I would like this to stop. NOW Sara." Grissom made himself more then clear to the men by her side, however Sara did not seem to get the picture. As the men tried to leave she clung onto their jackets.
"What? Don't leave, the party is just getting started…Don't pay any attention to him, he's nobody." The men all left Sara alone on the couch with a martini grasped in her free hand. Grissom suppressed his anger when he saw the glass half empty along with others identical empty on the table.
"You're drunk Sara…" Grissom noted as he sat down and put a possessive arm around his "wife".
"I am not drunk…And get your damn hands off of me!" Sara slid further down the couch trying to gain her distance.
"We're supposed to be married remember?" Grissom whispered, trying not to allow anyone to hear their conversation.
"Yes, that's right Grissom, it's all for show…And I suppose last night was too huh? You fuck me and then that's it…You can then just treat me like your employee and try to pretend nothing is wrong. Am I just your whore, Grissom? Is that all I will ever be?" Sara was far from quiet and Grissom soon realized that the whole entire party was now staring at them in disbelief.
"…Sara…I…Umm…I'll be right back." Grissom searched for the words to explain his actions as he got up to sort out his feelings in the washroom.
"Excuse me Mrs., is this seat taken?" A handsome elderly gentleman took the seat where Grissom had previously rested. His grey curly hair and stunning blue eyes took Sara aback. His face was clean shaven but held a slight amount of stubble which was becoming close to resembling a five o'clock shadow. "I couldn't help but notice you look upset, and an upset woman upsets me believe it or not…" The older man flashed another charming smile before taking Sara's hand with no hesitation.
"Yeah, my husband and I love to fight…" Sara bitterly responded before finally noticing that their hands were entwined.
"Your husband is a foolish man, for if I had you as my trophy, I would never give you anything but respect and admiration." He flashed Sara another enchanting smile before stroking her hand lovingly. Somehow Sara couldn't object to his actions, they seemed familiar.
"Do I know you? I have the strange feeling that we've met before." Sara tried to scan her memories for any past meetings and could only hope that he did not know what her true profession was; it would ruin the mission for sure.
"No, I doubt it…Although we could have been lovers in a past life. Am I too forward to say that I think I'm in love…?" The elderly man continued to hold Sara's gaze.
"Hmm, I don't know what my husband would think of that. He has a bad temper." Sara's eyes glazed over recalling the first night they stayed together in the hotel. He had taken her arm quite forcibly and left her wondering about his repressed emotions. She knew he had passion but she didn't want to find out the hard way about his temper. But, this was Grissom she was thinking about. Not some abusive husband. His heart is too big to contain anger…Or does it.
"A temper is something we can fight but never hide." The man quoted.
"Shakespeare?" Sara laughed.
"No…That quote is from me…" The elderly man kissed her cheek once more. "When can we meet again my dear?"
"Umm, well I'll ask my husband about Saturday night. That's six days from now, hopefully we'll be done unpacking. We live in the house directly across the street."
"I will be looking forward to seeing you again." Before Sara could say anything in response a scream made her jump from her seat.
"Help, someone help!" A woman from outside screamed hysterically while pointing to something hidden in the weeds in the backyard. As Sara ran over to the scene she noticed a young woman between the ages of twenty five and thirty was lifeless on the ground with a noose tied around her neck. Grissom ran out of the house and asked everyone to remain clam as he called the police. He stood at the back of Sara as he began taking note of the crime scene.
"Hung like the others…" Grissom noted.
"Yes but from outside in the backyard?" Sara looked up to see that the tree was not big enough or strong enough to support the body lying on the ground.
"No, she was brought here. Look at the eyes, they're clouded over. This murder occurred more then four hours ago and I'm sure someone would have noticed if the body was placed here any sooner. Someone at the party took the body from the victim's home and placed it out side."
"How do you know she was killed in her home?" Sara asked.
"All the others were…The signature is still the same, the killer wouldn't change it by now after more the twenty victims. The killer is trying to tell us something by placing the body here…" Grissom strained his head to think of a motive for any irregularities in the crime scene.
"I think it's a sign. The killer is telling us that someone from the party is next, he's showing one of the guests their future. Everyone brought a present correct?" Grissom nodded his head to Sara's question.
"Yes, it was on the invitation to bring a gift." Grissom said.
"Well then who's to say that this isn't the killer's present? He would have to have been here tonight and known about the party." Sara exclaimed.
"We need to wait for CSI to get here, then cooperate with their investigation in their lab away from plain sight…I think we did enough staring to make ourselves look suspicious." Grissom gently put his arm on Sara's back and escorted her to the living room where they would wait for law enforcement to arrive.