Chapter 6

Grissom was sitting in his office, staring at the crime scene photos. He knew there had to be something he had missed. He was so deep in concentration that he didn't hear Catherine knock on the door.

"Disarming, isn't it?" She asked.

He looked up, startled at her presence. "What's disarming?"

"Knowing that the well-being of your child is question," she answered.

He furrowed his brow, and then slowly nodded. "When Nick was taken, I was worried about a friend, but I could still concentrate. Now that it's Alex…" he couldn't continue.

"It's amazing sometimes, the bond that forms between a parent and a child—even a parent and an adult child. And the emotions that we go through when that bond is threatened."

Catherine had an idea what Grissom was feeling. Her emotions had been put to the test many times with Lindsey. But she couldn't image being in Grissom's shoes at this moment, having a daughter you've just met taken away.

"When did you get here?" Grissom asked, not knowing what else to say.

Before she could answer, Brass knocked on the doorframe. He was with a gentleman in his mid-forties wearing a brown suit, with slightly graying hair.

"Sorry to interrupt Grissom," Brass said. "But this is Special Agent Jacob Thompson."

The gentleman with Brass stepped up and shook Grissom's hand. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Grissom," Special Agent Thompson said.

"This is our investigation," Grissom replied, not wanting to stand around and bullshit with Thompson.

"I beg to differ," Thompson handed Grissom a file. "This goes way beyond Special Agent Hart's disappearance."

Grissom took the half-inch thick file and began to flip through the pages. Inside he found information on the kidnapping and murdering of five female law enforcement officers, all eerily resembling Alex and all killed within the last 8 months. The file stated that all were found with their badges stuffed inside their mouths. No doubt a statement about the perpetrator's feelings about female officers.

Then he saw pages on the suspect. Sean Martin, according to the file, started off as a runner for a bookie. He soon became known as a strong arm for his employer. It seems he enjoyed inflicting pain a little more than the average person. He'd been arrested on some simple assaults, but nothing ever seemed to stick.

"What does Alex have to do with this, other than looking like the victims?" Grissom was starting to seethe at the possibility that the Bureau knew Alex was a target.

"Special Agent Hart doesn't look like the other victims," Thompson corrected. "The other victims look like her."

Grissom could feel the anger welling up inside. "What?"

Catherine and Brass just stood there in shock.

Special Agent Thompson had suspected that Grissom and Alex had a relationship. There were rumors going around the Las Vegas Bureau office about the bookworm and the famous entomologist. When Grissom used her first name, Thompson knew there was some truth in the rumors. So he felt an explanation was due.

"It was Hart's first—and last—undercover assignment with the Bureau. She was posing as a book cooker for a bookie who, suffice it to say, did more than just take bets. He was Sean Martin's employer. Martin met Hart and decided she would be his. She was ordered to go along with it and led Martin on for a little while." Thompson paused. He looked at Grissom and if looks could kill, Special Agent Thompson knew he would've been the next to drop.

He continued, "Her cover was compromised after the Bureau found out Martin had been following her. And so she was pulled off the case. Martin was furious that she had tricked him, but no one knew just how much or how far he'd go until it was too late." Thompson paused again. He knew what he had to say next was only going to further cement their loathing of him and the Bureau where Hart was concerned. "Until they found Hart's grandmother murdered."

"I don't understand," Catherine broke in. "Why her grandmother?"

"Apparently, he knew where Hart lived. We believe he went there to kill Hart, but she wasn't home and so he killed the one person who was home."

"So why isn't he behind bars?" Grissom nearly spit.

Thompson pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew these questions were inevitable and he was only answering them out of respect for a fellow law enforcement officer. "He had an alibi that we couldn't prove was lying."

"If he's killed five officers why hasn't he been caught?" Catherine was indignant at his response.

"And why wasn't Alex assigned protection if they knew she was a target?" Grissom's face grew more taut and his words more venomous with every word that came out of Thompson's mouth.

"She requested the transfer to Las Vegas and she felt she would be safe here. She thought in such a large city that he wouldn't be able to find her. She refused protection," Thompson tried to explain. But he could tell it wasn't helping.

Thompson could feel the anger oozing from Grissom, and he didn't like it. "Look," he continued, pointing at Grissom, "I understand you're upset that your girlfriend is missing, but know I'm only here and letting you stay on the case as a courtesy because of your reputation. Serial killers are federal juris--"

"She's not my girlfriend," Grissom shot back, not letting Thompson finish. "She's my daughter."

Thompson went pale. "I-I didn't know."

"Well now you do," Grissom responded. "What else do we need to know about Martin?" Grissom knew from all Special Agent Thompson said and the file contained that they had to find Alex and fast or they wouldn't find her alive.