Illusions

Author: Jess

A/N: Thanks for all of your kind reviews. And a special thank you to Rouch for help with the poker lingo and CSI4nsicAce for making sure my grammar is correct.

Disclaimer: I still do not own CSI.

Chapter Eight

"No way!" Nick Stokes shouted and threw his cards on the table. "I can't believe you had two aces! Ugh, beaten by two aces!"

Sara Sidle's smile grew as she swept the chips towards her. "What can I say; I feel lucky, and you should never chase an inside straight," she replied.

"Lucky, huh?" Warrick asked, amusement evident in his voice. "I have a feeling there's more to this than simple luck."

Sara flashed him a brilliant smile. "No idea what you're hinting at," she said.

She looked over at Nick who was pouting and eyeing her pile of money enviously. "Oh, cheer up Nicky," she said and threw a chip at him.

"I don't want your pity," he mumbled and tossed the chip back at her.

"I thought the point of this endeavor was to beat Warrick!" Greg exclaimed between mouthfuls of his sandwich. "Where did you learn to play poker, Sara?"

"College," she stated. "Stop pouting and deal, Nicky."

Sara laughed as she watched Nick deal the cards. She was having fun and not because she and Warrick were the only two winning any hands. She missed Nick and Warrick and spending time with them. She missed the friendly jabs and jokes. She missed happy go-lucky Greg. She missed the sound of her own laugh, and this morning she was experiencing all of it. It was music to her senses.

"We need music!" Greg announced and made his way to the entertainment system.

"No!" the other three yelled simultaneously.

"What?" Greg asked, pretending to be offended. "Are you trying to tell me that you do not care for my taste in music? For shame!"

"You're small blind, Greggo," Nick said. "Sit down and look at your cards."

"What's the point?" Greg asked, sinking into the couch and throwing one chip into the pot. "I'm going to fold, and you'll keep upping the pot, and in the end, it'll be between Sara and Warrick, and since Sara won the last hand, my bet is on Warrick winning this one."

"Defeat doesn't look good on you," Sara said and picked up her two cards. King and an eight. "Raise ten dollars," she added.

Nick looked at his cards closely and then at the small pile of chips he had left. "Call." He knew he was going to regret the move, but he threw three chips in.

Greg looked at his cards again and raised his eyebrows. "Ooh, raise five dollars more," he said and threw in three chips.

"Great job on not showing emotion," Warrick said and threw in three chips.

Sara and Nick each placed a chip into the pile. "Pot's right," he stated and then turned over three cards in the middle.

King and two eights on the flop. "Ten dollars," Sara said.

"Raise to twenty!" Greg said enthusiastically.

'Remind Greg to work on his poker face skills,' Sara thought and shook her head.

"I fold," Warrick stated.

"Me too. Beer?" Nick asked.

"Raise to forty," Sara said and raised her hand in response to Nick.

"Call," Greg said, counting the appropriate number of chips and adding them to the pile.

Nick passed around the beers before placing another card in the middle. Seven. Sara used every bit of self control not to show any emotion. "Check," she said.

"Check," Greg said, tapping the table.

Nick placed one more card in the row. King. 'Full house,' Sara smiled, not quite believing that her eights over kings just turned into kings over eights. However, her sympathy for the overzealous friend next to her compelled her to check. Greg returned the check, and she moved to turn her cards over, but the ringing of her cell phone stopped her. Sara reached for her purse and removed the offending object. "Full house, Greggo," she said and laid down the cards. "Sidle."

She frowned as she heard Grissom's voice on the line. "I need you to come in," he stated.

"Why?" she asked as she stood and walked towards the kitchen. "I'm in the middle of kicking Greg and Nick's asses in poker."

"Ha ha, Sara," Nick yelled from the living room.

"We're letting you win!" Greg added.

"We have another body," Grissom answered.

Sara let out the breath she had been holding. "I—Greg drove me here. Can you pick me up? My car's at work," she said.

"I'm on my way," Grissom said and hung up.

Sara flipped the phone shut and made her way back into the living room. "You won," Greg said as he shuffled the deck. "I had two of a kind."

"Who was on the phone?" Warrick asked.

"Grissom," Sara said and began to count her chips. "He's coming to get me; I need to cash out. We have another body."


Sara could already feel the adrenaline beginning to course through her body. 'We have another body.' That was what Grissom had said over the phone. She knew it must be related to the Kimberly Witt case, or dayshift would be handling it. Standing by Nick's window, she looked out at the parking lot, waiting to spot Grissom's Denali

The poker game had broken up. The boys had turned on ESPN and were currently yelling at the television. Sara spotted the Denali and let go of the blinds. "He's here," she said and walked towards the door.

"No hug goodbye?" Nick joked and stood up.

Sara quickly hugged him and waved goodbye to Warrick and Greg. "Please tell me you're not letting him drive," she said worriedly as she regarded Greg.

"Nah, he can pass out on the couch," Nick said and opened the door. "It was good seeing you, Sar."

"You, too," she said and looked down at the Denali. "Duty calls."

Nick gave her a lopsided grin, and she started down the steps. She opened the car door. "Thanks," she said as she buckled herself in.

Grissom nodded. Sara leaned back in her seat. An uncomfortable silence enveloped the SUV. It seemed that neither of them wanted to be the first to talk. Sara watched the city begin to disappear as they merged onto the highway.

Now or never. "What exactly do we have?" she asked and looked at Grissom.

"Body out by Lake Mead. Young woman, with lilies covering her body, displayed on a blanket. Candles on the corners. Sound familiar?" he asked as he maneuvered them onto the first Lake Mead exit.

"Did I forget to mention that there are bugs?" Grissom asked innocently.

Sara smiled wryly. "That's why they called you?" she asked and donned her sunglasses.

"Well, I am the resident entomologist," Grissom replied. "I told the officers not to touch the body and that I'd be there as soon as I could. Then, he asked if he should leave the lilies where they were because the wind was beginning to move them around."

"Oh," Sara said.

Grissom nodded. "I had him describe the scene and informed him not to touch a thing. Then, I called you," Grissom said. "Brass is meeting us there."

"If it's the same guy, we're now dealing with a serial," Sara stated.

"I know," Grissom said and cringed.

Up ahead a channel 8 news van was parked on the side of the road. "Great," Grissom mumbled and let out a sigh.

Sara frowned as Grissom parked the car. If nothing else, it would be an eventful morning.