Chapter 11:

Down in the basement the feminine half the investigation team sat enjoying their short reprieve. Catherine and Sara sat at the conference table with Olivia, Tasha, and Jen, finishing up their lunches. Sam sat over on the couch, a notebook open in front of her, doodling away. Shannon leaned over the back examining the artwork with a bored expression.

"You heard anything on Ms. Curtis lately? I mean we've been here, what? Five days, and she's been sick all of them." Jen said after she swallowed the last of her burrito.

"I went and checked her apartment before we came here and she came to the door in a robe with a tissue in her hand and stuffed up red nose." Catherine smirked.

"So she really is sick?"

"I thought so at first, but the rouge all over her nose just didn't seem to fit." Catherine's smirk grew into an evil smile.

"Rouge?" Sara asked.

"Trust me. When you've been in stripping as long as I was you tend to notice when people are faking. She rubbed rouge on the underside of her nose to make it look like she was congested and constantly blowing her nose but I could tell it was make-up."

"I have a feeling she's not going to be part of Night shift for much longer." Sara supplied.

"How's that?" Olivia queried.

"Either she's going to get another job somewhere else, which is no skin off my teeth…"

Tasha giggled. "I didn't know teeth had skin."

Sara threw her wrapper at the detective but couldn't help smiling. "Before I was so rudely interrupted. Either she's going to leave or Ecklie's going to hire her back as Day shift supervisor."

Shannon looked up from Sam's notebook. "Do you think he actually will? I don't really know the guy. I've only met him like twice, but Ecklie comes off as a guy who only sticks his neck out for himself."

"In most cases that'd be true. But I think he and Sophia have some kind of history." Catherine said.

Sara almost choked on her veggie burrito. "You mean she slept with him? Oh Gawd! That's just sick."

"No. Even Sophia wouldn't lower herself that far. But she was his go-to gal. She did pretty much everything for him. He might feel indebted to her and Ecklie hates owing someone. More than anything he'll offer her a better position so he'll feel he's broken even."

Sam looked up from her drawing and absently rubbed her nose. "I suppose that makes sense, even though the man is nothin' more than a pesky coon rootin' in our business."

She frowned when everyone started chuckling. Olivia vaguely pointed in Sam's direction. "You have pencil lead all over your nose. You look like you've done a little brown-nosing yourself, Sam."

Shannon started giggling as she handed over her compact. Sam rolled her eyes when she looked in the small mirror and headed for the bathroom.

Jen leaned back in her chair. "What's in that notebook that has you so interested, Shannon?"

She handed it over to the older woman who started giggling again and turned it for everyone to see. The whole page was covered with cartoon versions of the detectives and criminologists.

Sara reached for it. "That's so cool. I look cute."

Shannon dropped into the chair next to her. "You should look at some of the pages before that."

Everyone gathered around Sara as she flipped through the sketchbook, oohing, aahing, and giggling some more. They were so intent on it they didn't notice when all the guys trooped in.

"It makes perfect sense." Elliot said as he pulled out his phone. "Does anyone know the number for the Navy post around here?"

Shannon rattled off the phone number without even thinking. Everyone turned to look at her.

"What? I have a friend who's posted there right now. Why do you need it anyway?"

"We need to get information on a Lieutenant David Century and Commander Michael Anderson. They might be involved in this string of murders."

Shannon whipped out her phone and went to hit the speed dial button. "What exactly do you need to know? Dawn knows her way around the data and can get you what you want…within reason."

"Where they've been posted and if it was together, where they've gone to recruit, and where they're supposed to go next." Grissom said.

"I'd say that's within reason." Shannon said as she listened to the phone ring.

She held a short conversation with her friend and asked Brass for the PD's fax number as Sam descended the stairs.

"Hey, Sam, since you're already over there will you head up to the main desk in the bullpen and pick up the fax."

"Uh…yeah. Did I miss somethin'?"

"Just go get the fax, it's important! We'll tell you when you get back."

Sam came back down about ten minutes later reading through the reports. She frowned and tipped her hat back to idly scratch her head.

"I don't get what all this is supposed to tell us." She said as she handed them to Elliot and Brass.

Elliot wiped down the grease board and began jotting down the information on the reports and then the dates of the murders next to it. Sam and the rest watched with fascination as all the murders matched up with the dates Century and Anderson were recruiting in that state except one.

Sara pointed to the board. "Well, that accounts for all but the Saxon case."

"Yeah, Century and Anderson didn't start recruiting duty till after Saxon was killed." Brass handed a paper to her to prove his point.

Grissom propped his chin on his folded hands and gazed thoughtfully at the board. "But, is it enough to bring them in?"

Brass dropped down next to him. "Probably, but it won't hold up in court."

Shannon pulled her phone out again. "How about an expert opinion?"

She flipped it shut not a minute later.

"Who'd you call?" Jen asked.

"Assistant Defense Attorney Diana Forbes. Personal friend of mine and the police department's new ADA. She said she could get here in about fifteen minutes."

The next ten minutes passed quickly as each took a sheet of paper and information practically flew across the table. The only thing that stopped them was a soft knock on the wall near the PD's stairs. They all turned to see a tall, slim blond dressed in simple cotton pantsuit with a pair of black-rimmed glasses over pale blue eyes.

"Diana, that was quick." Shannon said.

The ADA didn't answer back but stared with horror at Elliot and Olivia.

Both of them stared right back at her with equally terrifying looks. "Alex?"

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We don't know how often we'll be able to update after this; school just started this week.