Chapter Five

Nick stood at a distance behind the glass window, watching Emily describe Richard to the forensic artist. His arms were folded tightly across his chest in an almost protective fashion. He did not turn to look at his supervisor when he came to stand next to him.

"How's it going?" the older CSI asked as he watched the artist work on her sketch.

"It's going." Nick replied with a slight edge to his voice.

Grissom turned his head a touch and eyed the other man. "Something bothering you, Nick?"

Nick was silent for a moment and without taking his eyes off the scene in front of him, he responded with a question, "Was all that necessary?"

Grissom thought for a moment. "You mean what happened back at Emily's house?"

Nick grunted in affirmation.

"Yes, I believe it was." Grissom stated confidently.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Nick rounded on his boss. He kept his voice low so as to not make a scene right there in the hallway. "You could have told her about the DNA results and then asked her about her family. She might have given us a straight answer. You could have done it differently, without causing a scene, but you didn't even try. "

"She wasn't going to tell us anything. She's been hiding from her past for the last ten years. People like that don't just calmly give up the truth. They're too used to denying it. Besides, she was a flight risk and fleeing was the last thing she needed to be doing. I had to get her to admit that she knew more than she was telling us as quickly as possible and forcing the truth out of her like that was the only way to resolve the situation." The pitch of Grissom's voice matched Nick's.

Nick did not back down. His voice carried an extreme force that matched his harden features. "Resolve it? You mean completely break her! She's not some random bad guy, Grissom! She's on our side, and she's a victim! She shouldn't have been put through the ringer like that! It's not fair! She's been through enough!"

Nick shook his head in frustration. He turned his gaze away from Grissom and back onto Emily. His angry features softened a bit as he watched Emily's movements and he sighed.

"Sometimes, I just don't understand people. He's her father. He's supposed to protect her, take care of her. How could a man violate his own daughter like that?" Nick's voiced dripped with disgust. He could feel his insides churning again at the thought. "It makes me sick."

Grissom studied the younger man's face. He knew what Nick would say if he started in on him about getting too emotionally involved in the case. This was old territory between them. For once, he decided to let it go. It was different this time and he knew it. The victim was a colleague, a friend. Perhaps even more than that to Nick. It was hard to remain detached when the victim was someone you cared about.

They stood side-by-side in silence for a moment. There was a question that Nick had been wanting to ask Grissom for a while now, but his stubborn annoyance at Grissom was battling against his curiosity. Finally, his curiosity won out. Without turning his head, Nick spoke again. "So how'd you know?"

"That they were related? Well, for one thing, she seemed scared when she found out he was dead and if she had been hiding from him, she wouldn't have felt the need to run away. Furthermore, there's the photo of Peter and Hannah that, at first glance, appears to be out of place unless it has some hidden relevance which it did. It was obviously put there to expose their true identities and force Emily to show her hand so to speak. Also, we know from the photo that Peter and Hannah were 6 years apart and so are Adam and Emily."

Grissom paused his explanation to take a breath. "As for the identity of the murderer, Adam wasn't old enough to have a son capable of overpowering him and killing him and the picture only shows two children, so the father seemed the most likely candidate."

Nick turned to stare at his boss and lowered his head as he mumbled, "I should have figured that out."

"Your thoughts were elsewhere." Grissom said simply, switching his gaze back to Emily.

Nick opened his mouth to ask what Grissom meant by this remark but closed it when Brass approached. "Hey fellas. How's our girl doing?"

"Should be done soon, I suspect." Nick said, checking his watch. "They've been going at it for almost an hour."

The three men stood in silence. In actuality there were other things that they should have been doing, but they couldn't bring themselves to do anything else. Perhaps they were feeling overprotective. How could they not after hearing Emily's story?

Finally, they saw Emily stand. As one, the three men walked forward.

"Well, that's it." Emily rubbed at a spot on the table, keeping her eyes adverted. "I hope it'll do. I don't know how much he's changed over the last ten years."

The men looked at the sketch that the artist had come up with. Richard Douglass bore a striking resemblance to his son. They had the same dark, handsome features. Nick wondered vaguely if Emily resembled her mother as her blonde hair and fair complexion were in stark contrast to her father and brother's.

"I'm sure it'll do fine." Brass assured her, taking the sketch from the artist. "I'm going to get this passed out. Every cop in Clark County's going to be looking for this guy in no time. All they need to know is that he's a cop killer."
The fact that her head was still lowered partially construed the grateful smile that crept onto Emily's face. Brass' meaning was not lost on her. "Thank you, Captain. I appreciate that."

As Brass walked away, Emily lifted her head and fixed Grissom with a piercing look, determination etched on her face. "I want to see him."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. Adam's death was..." Grissom hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "Are you sure you want to remember him that way?"

"Please. I need to see him." Her voice was soft but firm. It was clear that she was not about to change her mind.

"Okay." Grissom nodded. He could not refuse her the right of seeing her brother one last time. He shot a look at Nick, who understood its meaning.

"I'll take you. It's this way." Nick took Emily's arm and lead her in the direction of the morgue.

A few minutes later, Emily was standing in the morgue, staring at the covered body of her brother and trying to muster enough courage to raise the sheet. Nick was across from her and Doc Robbins was at the head of the slab. The two men did not speak a word or make an attempt to rush her. They knew that Emily needed to prepare herself for the sight she was about to see.

The silence was broken when Doc Robbins excused himself, deciding that perhaps Emily would like to be alone. He glanced at Nick before stepping away. Nick prepared to follow suit when Emily reached for his hand.

"Please don't leave me," she whispered.

Nick responded by drawing closer to her and squeezing her hand. This sign of support seemed to give Emily strength and she reached forward with her free hand and drew back the sheet.

She drew a sharp intake of breath. Though the blood and grime had been washed off the body, the bruising and cuts remained and nothing could hide the deep gash on Adam's throat.

"It's amazing. Even in death, he's still got such a kind, noble face. I don't know how he managed to keep it that way after all these years with everything he's been through." She stared at his face, bringing her hand up to gently touch the cold cheek. "He was so kind, so brave. He was always thinking of me first. He gave up so much for me, made so many sacrifices."

She bent forward and placed a tender kiss on his forehead. "He doesn't deserve this. He tried to protect me and this is his reward. It shouldn't be him lying here. It should be me. I'm the one who disobeyed. I ran away. My father warned me what would happen and I ignored him and let my brother put himself in danger. He did this to Adam because of me. He wanted me to see what he's going to do to me. This is my fault."

At this, the tears began to fall. Leaning down, she whispered in her brother's ear. "I'm so sorry! I would trade places with you in a heartbeat if I could! You have to believe me!"

There was an urgency in her voice that was practically begging the lifeless body to respond to her words, but they were met with an unbearable silence and whatever emotional strength that had been keeping Emily together up till that point gave way.

She practically threw herself at Nick and buried her face in his chest. Her sobs filled the morgue, echoing off the walls. Nick did nothing but hold her. He wished that he could block the sound of her sobs from his mind. He'd never heard anything like it - tears so full of grief and pain. He could feel his heart pound dully against his chest as he fought against the overwhelming emotions that were threatening to overtake him.

Nick longed to offer her comfort and in doing so, comfort himself, but knew his words would do nothing for her at this time. So he held Emily close in a tight embrace while she abandoned herself to her grief.

Some time later, Emily's sobs had ceased and silence had filled the room once again. Her head was resting on Nick's chest, rising and falling with every deep breath he took. She wished that she could stay there forever, feeling safe and secure in his embrace.

Suddenly, a loud growl emitted from Emily's stomach, disrupting the silence.

Emily looked up guiltily at Nick. "Sorry. Emotional upheaval makes me hungry."

Nick gave a tiny chuckle. "Well, let's see what we can do about that. There's a diner not too far from here that's pretty good for one of those 24 hour joints."

"I'm sure I look like a mess." Emily wiped at her eyes and her cheeks.

"You look great." Nick said, reaching up to smooth her hair with his hand.

Ten minutes later, they were seated in his SUV. Nick had told Grissom and Brass that they were going to Norm's Diner, a place very familiar to those on the graveyard shift. Grissom had been hesitant to let them go, but after a short debate with Nick, he finally agreed that a change of scenery might be good for Emily.

They drove in virtual silence to the diner and when they arrived, Nick sat for a moment before voicing the thought that had been in the back of his mind. "You really impress me, Emily. You haven't had an easy life, but you've made the most of it. Not only that, you've made a career out of fighting against injustice. Not just anybody would do that."

"I just want to help people, you know?" Emily stated. She looked at Nick with her blue eyes shining. He could hear some of the intensity he heard earlier that day in the courtroom creep back into her voice.

"For the most part, the victims that I see don't have anyone looking out for them. Sometimes all it takes for a person to be able to survive is the knowledge that there's someone fighting for them. If hadn't known that Adam was trying to figure out a way to save me, I would have given up a long time ago. He gave me strength. I just want to give that to someone else." Exhaling slowly, she looked down at her hands.

Nick nodded in understanding. "He sounds like he was an incredible man. I wish that I could have known him."

"He was incredible. You remind me of him in many ways." Emily confessed, shifting her gaze back to Nick.

Slightly embarrassed by her compliment, Nick looked away. He cleared his throat, . "Let's eat, shall we?"

They exited the vehicle. Nick turned to lock the door and glanced up to look at Emily through the windows when someone suddenly slammed her up against it. Her head was positioned in such a way that Nick could see the large knife that was pressed to her throat glisten.

He started to reach for his gun when a man's voice said, "Move another inch and I will swear I'll do it."

Not doubting him for a second, Nick held his hands up to show that he wasn't planning a quick draw. His eyes were locked on Emily. A cold wave of fear had washed over her. Nick knew that she recognized the voice of her father.

He slid Emily to the right and slammed her down on the hood, the knife still pressed to her throat and Nick looked into the face of Richard Douglass. He immediately understood why Emily was so terrified of him. His cold, hard eyes stared back at him, mocking him. He would have been handsome were it not for the cruelty that was etched all over his face. The faint smile on his face told Nick that he was enjoying himself immensely.

"Now, Nick, please slide your gun over to me ever so carefully, okay?" Richard allowed his smile to become a bit more pronounced as he said this. He dug the knife a bit harder into Emily's throat causing her to whimper in pain.

Nick swallowed and quickly tried to weigh all of his options. He didn't want to give up his gun, but Nick had no doubt in his mind that Richard would slit Emily's throat in a heartbeat if he tried something. This was not a man to be tested. He would have to give up his gun.

Slowly and carefully, Nick reached for his gun. He placed it on the hood of the car and pushed it across to Richard.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" His voice had an eerie calmness to it that sent a shiver down Nick's spine.

Richard reached forward and grabbed Nick's gun. He bent forward and placed his head next to Emily's. "I've been looking for you for a long time. I'm so glad that I finally found you. And now, sweetheart, we're going to go someplace where we can have a nice chat."

In one swift motion, he stood up, leveled the gun at Nick, and pulled the trigger.