Albert

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI, The Sixth Sense, or any other work which may bear a resemblance, intentional or otherwise, to this work.

Rating: T

A/N: This I have a flatmate called Alberto. He is a very nice guy and bears absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to 'Albert'.

Chapter 2: The Witness

"Okay, Brass, what's the story?"

"Vic's name is Dr. Evelyn Ross. She's a child psychologist. She had a session this evening with –" Brass checked his notepad "- Tommy Raines, aged six. It was supposed to finish at 7:30pm.

"At 7:45pm the secretary, Anita Messinger, knocked on the door to remind Dr. Ross that the session was over. Receiving no reply, she entered the room to find Dr. Ross lying dead on the floor and the boy, Tommy, huddled in a chair on the other side of the room."

"Where's the boy now?"

"He's with his mother in the waiting room. Miss Messinger is being interviewed by PD."

"Okay." Grissom turned to Sara. "Sara, do you want to talk to the witnesses and I'll start processing the scene?"

Sara nodded and pulled out her notebook. "Okay."

Grissom left her to it and headed to the office where the murder had taken place.

"Hey David."

"Hey Grissom," the coroner's assistant replied.

"What do you have for me?"

"Okay." They both crouched beside the vic. "Cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the chest. PD checked both witnesses for weapons, but no luck. We'll have to perform an autopsy, but I'd say you're looking for a knife of some kind, probably one with an unusually thick blade."

"Hmmm." Grissom glanced around the room. "If the weapon wasn't on either of the suspects then there's a chance it may still be here. Time of death?"

"Given the body temperature, you're looking at between one and two hours ago."

"Which puts it squarely in the middle of Tommy's session."

"Is the boy a suspect? Given the position of the body and the angle of the wounds, I'd say she was standing up when she was stabbed. How would a six-year-old reach that high?"

"He couldn't. The boy's a witness. Sara's with him now."

"Okay." David stood up. "All yours. Once you're done we'll bag it and tag it and take it back to the lab."

Once he was alone, Grissom looked around the room. Photograph the body and the scene, search for a weapon, check for prints. Unless…

His eyes were drawn to a pair of scissors sticking out of a pot of pens and pencils on the desk. Making a detour around the body, he snapped several photographs for evidence, then picked them up, careful not to damage any fingerprint evidence. They were bloody to the hilt.

"Weapon of opportunity," he muttered.

CSI CSI CSI

"And you're certain you didn't see anyone enter or leave the building during the time that Dr. Ross was murdered?" Sara asked a tearful Anita Messinger.

"Yes. I told you, Ms. Sidle, I saw Evelyn at 6:30 when her previous client left. Tommy went straight in and Mrs. Raines went to get a cup of coffee. I was at my desk doing paperwork the whole time, and no-one came in until Mrs. Raines came back at about 7:15.

"Sometimes Evelyn runs a little over time, especially on the last session of the day, and it's usually when something big is coming out, so I didn't want to disturb her. When it got to about quarter of eight I went in to remind her and-" her voice broke. "I'm sorry, I just can't help it."

"That's okay," Sara told her. "You've been really helpful. If you think of anything else, give us a call."

Anita nodded. "Okay."

"If you could go with this officer, we'll need your fingerprints for comparison, and then you can go."

"You can't think that I-"

"No," Sara cut her off, although that was precisely what she was thinking. "It's standard procedure to fingerprint everyone who had access to a crime-scene for elimination purposes."

"Okay."

The officer stepped forward. "If you'll come this way, ma'am."

Sara was about to go and talk to Tommy when Grissom came out of the office.

"Sara, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure. What do you have?"

Grissom waved her into a corner and spoke in a low voice so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"Dr. Ross was stabbed to death with a pair of scissors from her desk. The angle of the wounds makes it unlikely that Tommy was responsible."

Sara nodded. "Apart from Tommy, Anita Messinger was alone with the victim for approximately forty-five minutes, from just after 6:30pm to about 7:15."

"I checked the window. There's no sign of forced entry, so the killer almost certainly entered through the door."

"Okay. I'll talk to Tommy then check the exterior."

The little boy was sitting in a waiting-room chair, his legs dangling. He had short brown hair and scuffed sneakers. His mother was crouched in front of him. She looked up at Sara's approach, but Tommy continued staring at his hands.

"Hi Tommy."

"It wasn't me," the little boy said.

"I know that, honey." Sara crouched down beside his mother.

"It was Albert."

"Who?"

"Albert," his mother said through gritted teeth, "is the reason why we're here. He's Tommy's imaginary friend."

"He's not imaginary." Tommy looked up for the first time. His eyes, Sara noted, were as brown as hers. "He killed Dr. Ross."

Karen Raines stood up abruptly, throwing her hands up in a gesture of despair.

"I give up!" she cried. "That's it Tommy; I give up!" She was shaking and there were tears in her eyes. Her son watched as an officer led his mother away.

"She doesn't believe me," he said.

CSI CSI CSI

"It was really creepy." Sara was sitting in the break-room, cradling a cup of coffee in her hands. For some reason, she felt cold.

Nick, also on a break, was sitting opposite her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, like something out of a horror movie. You know, that one with Bruce Willis and that kid: 'I see dead people'?"

"The Sixth Sense? Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but it totally freaked me out."

"What'd Grissom say?"

"He was processing the scene. You know Grissom; he'd think I was being ridiculous." Nick raised an eyebrow. "I'm serious, Nick. There is something not right about that kid."

"Hey, I believe you." He looked at his watch. "Break's over. Catch you later." He left.

"'I believe you.' Sure you do," Sara muttered to his departing back.

CSI CSI CSI

"The only prints on the weapon are the vic's."

"There is no way she committed suicide."

"I'm aware of that." Sara hated it when Grissom used that tone of voice. "I'm saying that I found no other prints on the scissors."

"The secretary?"

"Nope."

"That is really bizarre."

"Tell me about it. You said there was no blood on either of the witnesses?"

"Not a drop."

"The killer would have been covered."

"Yeah."