The next installment is up.
Chapter 6:
Eight hours later the conference table held not only the eleven files but also the remains of four large pizzas and a number of empty containers of Thai food. A large grease board stood nearby with the names Todd Saxon, Theodore Rustovson, Darrell Ashkroft, Martin Keel, Joseph Cranstof, Jerry Smith, Lee Hand, James Godson, William Trist, Juan Pescado, and D'Angelo Thesa. Arrows were drawn here and there, connecting facts and evidence, or lack thereof, to each corpse's name.
Warrick, Nick, Greg, and Jennifer sat in front of the massive plasma TV playing Need for Speed. Actually, Nick and Warrick were playing while Greg and Jen yelled out instructions intended to help, but only hindered their progress.
Sara and Olivia stood across a ping-pong table from Shannon and Sam as they batted the little plastic ball back and forth, never breaking the constant flow of discussion.
"I just don't get it." Sara said.
"Wuzzat?" Sam asked as she smacked the ping-pong ball.
"The lack of evidence. There's nothing at the scene but the bullet and the victim."
Olivia volleyed it back with deadly accuracy. "Our CSU had the same problem back in New York."
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." Grissom said from the table."
Catherine looked over at him from her perch on the arm of the couch near the ping-pong table. "Well, that helps us a lot. Who said that anyway?"
"John Adams."
On the same couch Brass laid, his head pillowed on one of the arms, snoring softly. He hadn't slept for almost 26 hours so everyone allowed him this small luxury.
Elliot stood in front of the grease board half-heartedly writing down more evidence as Tasha helped Grissom try to find some piece of information that they might have missed.
Back at the ping-pong game Shannon reached a long arm over Sam's blond head and sent the ball spinning to the far corner of the table where it then bounced towards the PS2 and hit the power button with just enough force to shut the platform off. A groan came from the four around the TV as Ecklie led one Lindsey Willows by the elbow down the stairs.
Ecklie grinned evilly as if he'd caught them in the middle of some heinous act and was going to tattle on them. "Did I miss something?"
"Yeah, about eight hours of research on these cases." Tasha said as she frisbeed an empty folder at him and watched as it glanced off his thinning dome.
He scowled and handed Lindsey over to Catherine. "I think this belongs to you."
"Lindsey? What are you doing here?" Her mom asked.
"Grandma had to go home." She answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"So you walked all the way here?"
"Of course not Mother." Lindsey said as she rolled her eyes.
A wad of paper bounced off her head a second later. She looked around but couldn't find the guilty party.
"I took the monorail here. Do I look stupid?" Lindsey said as another piece of paper bopped her on the head.
She spun with her fists up, ready to pummel the culprit. Olivia, who'd been standing behind her suddenly grabbed the girl's upraised fist, gave a quick twist, and applied a light pressure to the outer aspect of her elbow.
"Whoa! Watch it there girl. No need to go all Carrie on us."
Lindsey tried to jerk her arm away but only ended up having her elbow bend back a bit further.
"Lay off the attitude girl. There's no reason for this." Olivia resolved.
It took a second but Lindsey finally relaxed and Olivia let go of her arm. Grissom, not liking the tension between the two did a very un-Grissom-like thing and stepped in the middle of the fray.
"Lindsey, would you do me a favor and check on Fluffy? I think I forgot that today was the day to feed her."
"No problem Uncle Gil." Lindsey quickly took the out offered and headed upstairs.
"Fluffy?" Sam raised an eyebrow.
"My tarantula."
"You have a tarantula? Cool!" And with that, Jen headed up the stairs behind Lindsey.
SVUCSISVUCSISVUCSISVUCSI
Jen actually wasn't as excited as she'd made herself seem down in the basement. She did think it was neat that Grissom had a spider but she had two of her own tarantulas back home. Which reminded her, she needed to call her younger brother and make sure he fed them.
But, the justification for her seemed enthusiasm about the spider was merely a reason to follow Lindsey. When the young girl had walked by earlier Jen had caught a hint of a familiar odor about her and she had every intention of interrogating the 13-year-old.
Inside the office Jen found Lindsey reading a set of instructions taped to the side of Fluffy's aquarium before reaching into another nearby and pulling out half-a-dozen live crickets.
Jen caught a whiff of Lindsey as she passed behind her and gently shook her head. She made her way to an aquarium containing a young iguana. Another one of Grissom's newly acquired pets, according to Catherine. She leaned over to better look at the lizard through the grate on top and pulled a face.
"Gah! When's the last time Grissom cleaned this cage? It reeks!"
Lindsey sidled up next to her and tentatively sniffed the enclosure. "I don't smell anything."
"You wouldn't."
"And why's that?"
"The capillaries in your nose are so dilated your sense of smell is next to nil."
Lindsey brought her empty hand to her nose. "Why would the capillaries in my nose be dilated?"
"Simple, my dear. You've been smoking and marijuana by the smell of it." Jen replied as she bent her head to sniff Lindsey's hair.
The girl turned away and dumped the crickets in Fluffy's aquarium. "I don't smoke."
"Look me in the eye and tell me that."
Lindsey looked her strait in the eyes with a serious face. "I. Don't. Smoke. Period!"
"Your eyes say yes while your mouth says no."
"What?"
"You have all the signs of recently smoking a blunt. You can't smell anything. Your eyes are glassy and your pupils dilated. And I can smell the smoke in your hair. Your mouth probably feels like it's full of cotton, too."
Lindsey scowled at her. Jen reached into her back pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar.
"Thought you might want this."
"What for?"
"Munchies, duh!" Jen said as she wiggled the candy in front of the girl.
She eyed it for a second before grabbing it and dropping it in her purse. Then, she thought better of it and opened it and took a big bite.
"You won't tell Mom, will you?" She mumbled around the mouthful.
"I won't, but I can't say the same for my partner." Jen said as she ran a hand through her graying hair.
Lindsey started. "How does she know?"
"She's a detective. She's paid to notice stuff like this."
"Mom hasn't." Lindsey smirked.
"Your mother's in denial. She doesn't want to admit her little girl is a pot-head."
"I'm not a stoner. I've only done it once or twice."
"And you will again unless someone sticks their nose in your business."
Lindsey sighed and gazed down at the half-eaten chocolate bar. Jen gently patted her shoulder.
"Come on. It's probably time to go face the firing squad."