Growing Up
Part 19: Messages
Summary: Grissom has an unusual request for Sara.
A/N: Sorry that this chapter is so short, but things got mixed up a little bit and I had to improvise. Hope you still like it.
xxxxx
"Thank god. Sara, why haven't you called earlier?"
She could hear the fatigue in his voice and listened closer. There was no crying in the background, and she wondered if she should be relieved or even more worried.
"Is everything alright? Something wrong with Amelia?"
His silence told her that everything was not all right, but what was it and how bad?
"She's fine, but I can't say the same of me."
She was worried for another moment before understanding set in. Grissom appeared to have the same problem she had had last night. "Grissom, what am I supposed to do? If I come home now, how will that look?"
She was behaving strangely already, and Nick had taken notice. If she left now, she was sure that they would put one and one together and they were not ready for so much exposure.
"I know," Grissom sighed.
He had probably thought about it as much as she had.
"That's not why I'm calling. Could you sing that lullaby again, to my answering machine?"
It took a second for the words to sink in, but when they did, it hit her hard. Sara burst out laughing. The idea was just too absurd, but she could tell he was dead serious.
"If she's not sleeping, try other music. I'm not going to sing to your answering machine."
Maybe she was getting paranoid, but she looked around for the tenth time. If someone heard her, she would not only be mortified, but she could also get into trouble. This was not something she wanted others to find out, especially since she was seriously contemplating to do what Grissom asked.
"It's not that she isn't sleeping; she does fall asleep. But half an hour later she's up again."
The fact that Grissom had troubles with the girl too assured and worried her at the same time.
"She just doesn't sleep… deep enough. And I was hoping that if I played her the song from today, she could really fall asleep."
Grissom had not yet reached the same state of desperation, but he was willing to beg Sara to do it.
"Hang up and get that tape ready."
Having been in a similar position the day before, she didn't have the heart to refuse him, no matter how ridiculous the whole idea seemed.
She could hear his relief and the hope in his voice as he thanked her.
Sometimes you have to sacrifice something to help.
xxxxx
Sara entered the lab again about forty minutes after she had left in a hurry.
"Sorry for the long break. Did you make any progress?"
The moment she had come in, Nick had started searching for any kind of clue as to what was going on. She looked slightly flustered and was nervous about something, but he didn't see anything else that would tell him the reason for her unusual behavior.
"Nick?" When she called his name, he realized that he had zoned out while she had asked him about the case.
"Uh yeah, the plate traced back to Michael Fisher, but he reported his car stolen. And since we already know that wasn't the car involved in the hit-and-run…"
Sara nodded, following Nick so far, but she was getting impatient. Where was the progress?
"Guess what? His brother has a car that matches the description. Coincidence?"
"There was no trace of a break in on the car."
"And here comes the bummer. There was no connection between the vic and Michael Fisher, but guess who owed the vic some money?"
Nick was very proud of the development, almost too proud for Sara's liking.
"But why didn't he use his brother's car? Why total his own car?" She looked over the photos from the crime scene again, hoping to find the clue that they seemed to be missing.
"How before why, remember?"
A huff of frustration escaped her, but she relented. "Okay, have they found the car yet?"
"Brass is already on it."
With that, an odd sense of relaxation set in that always came with waiting for a new piece of evidence. Along with that she felt the sizzle of anticipation of being close to cracking the case wide open.
"Good, let's hope they find it soon."
Suddenly, Nick's posture changed. His face told her that he was no longer focused on work.
He was going to ask her again, she could see that.
To avoid his questioning, Sara hurried to gather the files and leave the room.
She was out before Nick could open his mouth.
xxxxx
It was convenient that it didn't take Brass long to find the car. The car had been behind the house of Peter Michael. Brass had secured a warrant and it had been towed in before shift was over.
Sara spent the remainder of the night in the garage, partially to wrap up the case and partially to avoid talking to Nick.
It seemed to work and she was actually making headway in the case.
The car showed exactly the damage the other one had been missing. She found signs of impact, blood and fibers; enough to validate that this was indeed the vehicle used in the hit-and-run.
The only question left now was why?
She got that answer during the questioning. It was plain and simple stupidity mixed with a good measure of greed that had led to the switch of the cars.
The man had thought that he could get rid of the man he owed money, pull one over his brother and cash in some money from the insurance for another accident at the same time. That was all he had been thinking.
Stupid.
Most criminals were stupid, and this guy was certainly no exception.
TBC