Illusions

Author: Jess

A/N: Ah, Rouch, where would I be without you? Thanks so much for all your help. And go read her story with Teenwitch. It's amazing. And thanks to CSI4nsicAce for all those grammatical things. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You all are too kind.

Disclaimer: I checked my mailbox but still have not received any statement saying I own CSI. :(

Chapter Four

Grissom moved the specimen to the microscope. He placed the ruler by the insect and read the measurement. '9mm.' He recorded the finding in his notebook and pinned the insect onto the board. He carefully removed another one of the insects he had collected from an evidence jar. He smirked at the brown liquid. He had stopped on his way to the crime scene to pick up coffee. It was one of the cheapest ways to preserve the insects.

'8mm.' He recorded the new measurement and pinned the insect to the board. He gave a sideways glance to Sofia, who sat in one of the other chairs. She was studying the different jars.

"The victim's body was beginning to lose rigidity. So, most likely he was dead for at least thirty hours, but less than forty-eight," she said. "How long does this process take? Grissom?"

Grissom wrinkled his brow in confusion. He didn't like being interrupted. "Yes?"

"How long does this process take?" Sofia repeated.

"I have to wait until the insects mature," Grissom said and looked back at the microscope.

"We already know he died between thirty and forty-eight hours ago because of his stage of rigor. Can't the bugs tell you anything more definitive now?" Sofia asked.

"No," Grissom said.

Sofia picked up one of the jars that contained moving insects. "You can't simply look at the bugs now, and identify what stage they are at?"

"I know what stage these guys are at," Grissom said, "but I have to take into account different variables, and I need to know how long it takes for the others to reach maturation."

She gently shook the jar.

"Please put those down." He gave her a sharp look. He turned back to the microscope and continued recording data.

Grissom heard her leave and let out a soft sigh of relief. He needed to be able to concentrate in order to accurately record the data. He removed another insect and placed it under the microscope.

A knock interrupted him.

He turned towards the doorway and quickly wiped the scowl from his face. "You wanted to be kept informed," Sara said.

He beckoned her in. "What do you see?" he asked and moved away from the telescope.

Sara entered the room and looked through the microscope. "8 mm. Second instar larva," she said and looked up at him. "Where was he found?"

"Inside his house," Grissom said and removed the bug.

"It would have taken awhile for the insects to get to the body," Sara said. "Did you check the temperature read outs?"

"They're being sent to me," Grissom said with a smile. "You've been reading."

"When I can't sleep, I read," Sara shrugged. She moved from the microscope and leaned against the table. "There were signs of a struggle at Kimberly Witt's apartment. No sign of blood. It looks like she was packing to go somewhere, but was interrupted."

"Break in?" Grissom asked.

Sara shook her head. "I found some finger and shoe prints. Greg's running them." She drummed her fingers on the desk. "I feel like I only have half the puzzle."

"Stop, take a coffee break, and refocus," Grissom said.

"Ugh," Sara said. "I checked the coffee. I think it's the same stuff that's been there all week." She looked at him. "Need any help?"

He handed her the notebook and pen. "You can record."

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled. Grissom looked back at the microscope and grinned.


Sara Sidle looked down at the row of measurements and quickly calculated the mean length of larvae in her head. "9mm," she told Grissom. She grinned at his startled look, and added, "Physics major, remember? I'm fast at math."

She handed the notebook to him and watched him jot down some notes. "So, we know the average length of the larvae found. Now what?" she asked.

Enthusiasm radiated off of her. One thing she had never been able to turn down was a learning experience. She loved to gain access to new information. It was probably her greatest strength and greatest weakness at the same time. Her thirst for knowledge helped her excel in classes, and in her job as a CSI. However, it also had her embarking on excursions she wouldn't normally try if she had been in a normal state of mind. Ken Fuller was an example of a way her desire to learn new things could be a bad thing.

Sara's lips twisted in a thoughtful expression. Ken Fuller had been an experiment on being normal. She had tried very hard that year to fit into the normal trappings of college. She drank too much, partied too much, and entered in a relationship with Ken. She had pretended that she was not an ex-foster care child, that she wasn't a nerd, and that she was simply your normal, average Harvard undergraduate. After that year, she had decided that she didn't like being normal. She couldn't keep up with the lies; pretending to be happy was a lot harder than finding things that actually made her happy. She had transferred from Harvard to Berkley for many reasons. A fresh start had been one of the most important. That and she had missed the West Coast.

She broke out of her reverie and listened to Grissom discussing the process in mid-sentence. "…after that we'll need to look at the fluctuating temperatures over the last few days, in order to help determine how fast or slow the insects were able to develop," Grissom said and stood up.

Sara watched him move to the mini-fridge the team, well the old team, had bought him for Christmas two years ago. "Now you'll have no excuse to leave your experiments in the community fridge," Catherine had joked. Sara had a sneaking suspicion that Grissom kept more than his experiments in the fridge. She had seen him remove a chocolate grasshopper or two from it on more than one occasion.

He stopped abruptly and turned to look at her. His face was a mask of worry. "What?" Sara asked, unsure if she really wanted to know. Who knew what could be growing in there.

"I need to feed the larvae," Grissom stated.

Sara looked at him curiously, confused as to why this was a problem. Then, it dawned on her. Meat. The bugs eat meat. She smiled brightly. He was worried she'd be offended. "Its okay, Griss. Feed the bugs," Sara said. "Just don't expect me to touch it."

Relief seemed to sweep over Grissom and he produced a pack of ground beef. Sara cringed slightly at the pack of dead cow. "How often do you need to feed them?" Sara asked and picked up one of the specimen jars.

"I have to make sure they have a steady source of food," Grissom said and added pieces of beef to the jars with live specimens. "If they were still on the body, they would have free access to it."

"They'd also be eaten by predators," Sara pointed out.

Grissom nodded. "It is the natural state of life. Though, I guess you wouldn't understand that, since you are a vegetarian," Grissom said and smirked.

"Hey, that's entirely your fault," Sara replied.

"How exactly is your becoming a vegetarian my fault?" Grissom asked and returned the left over beef to the fridge.

"Kay Shelton's case," Sara replied. "Your bugs said three days. Though, it was actually five. We sat out and observed the pig."

Sara smiled and lost herself in the memory of that experiment. It had been a couple of cold, December nights watching the process to get the information they had needed. Greg interrupted further trips through her memories. "Sara!"

Grissom and Sara both turned to see an excited Greg Sanders in the doorway. "You have a match?" She asked.

Greg nodded. "The fingerprint on the inside door handle came up as an unknown, but it matched an unknown in a currently unsolved homicide in Pahrump," Greg said and handed the printout to Sara.

"I looked up the case file," he continued. "Two weeks ago, March 14, a woman's body was found in the desert. She was nude, covered in lilies, posed on a linen sheet with four candles on the corners. They never released the use of lilies or candles to the press."

"According to Dr. Robbins she died from loss of blood. She had Xanax in her system, and wouldn't have been able to cut herself. Whoever did cut her knew exactly where to cut," Sara informed him.

Greg handed the report to Sara. Sara studied the report carefully before handing it over to Grissom. "Do you think we're dealing with a serial?" Greg asked.

"There has to be at least three to designate the label of serial," Grissom said.

"Yeah, but the likelihood that it's a simple coincidence is slim," Sara said. "It's gotta be the same guy, but do we have two isolated incidents, or is this a serial killer that's just getting started?"

"I'll contact the Nye county department and have them send over their reports," Grissom said and placed the file on his desk. "Maybe we can find a common denominator between the victims."

Greg and Sara nodded. "I'm going to get back to the evidence we collected," Greg said and left the room.

Sara watched him leave before turning to Grissom. "I'm going to see what I can learn about Kimberly Witt," Sara said and stood.

"Keep me informed," Grissom said.

Sara nodded. "Sara?" he asked as she reached the doorway.

She turned back. He struggled with something to say. "Thanks for helping me with the bugs," he said.

"Anytime," Sara replied and left the room, wishing he would finally be able to tell her what was on his mind.


Two hours later, Grissom found Sara in front of a computer looking over the credit history of Kimberly Witt. "…the girl I left behind me, you said she wouldn't do," Sara softly sang. "I know who I want to be, I want to be worthy of you. So why do I change myself to be worthy of you…"

Grissom frowned as he listened to the lyrics. She had a cup of tea in her left hand; her right hand was on the mouse. Two empty cups sat by the computer. It reminded him of the Pamela Adler case, and he did not like the comparison.

"Sara?" he said, loud enough so she would hear him but soft enough so not to scare her.

She turned around and looked at him. "Shift ended thirty minutes ago," he stated.

Sara rolled her eyes at him and turned back to the screen. "I'm almost done," she said.

"It can wait," Grissom responded and sat beside her.

He watched her lips twitch. It was a reflex of hers that let others know she was annoyed. "It's just thirty minutes," Sara said and took a sip of her tea.

"You and I both know it's not going to be 'just thirty minutes'," Grissom said.

She purposefully chose not to answer and continued to read the screen. Grissom let out a sigh. "Sara, you need to go home," Grissom stated.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly. He could almost see the wheels in her head turning as she tried to figure out what to say. He waited a minute and when she failed to answer, he continued, "Sara, remember the talk we had about diversions?"

Sara's head snapped around to face him. "I found a diversion," she stated.

Grissom raised his eyebrows and nodded for her to continue. "Turns out he didn't think I was worth the risk," she said and quickly stood. "I'm going home."

Grissom sat in the chair and processed the words she had spoken as he watched her leave.