Chapter 16
Grissom returned to work with very little fanfare. The guys shook his hand and welcomed him back. Catherine handed out assignments and life in the lab returned to normal. With Sara and Grissom only taking cases that the others couldn't cover they were all working overtime. No one, not even Catherine, knew exactly what the two of them were working on.
Over the next several weeks Grissom and Sara read hundreds of reports. They scoured piles of paperwork, going back through surveillance logs and witness interviews. They talked with the cops that were involved in the attempted raids. Theygot absolutely nowhere.
It was a Wednesday night and they were both tired. Grissom was sitting across from Sara with several open files in front of him. He looked up as Sara said, "You know, Gris, there has to be something we're missing. The problem is the lack of pattern."
"Maybe the lack of pattern is the pattern," Grissom said, quirking an eyebrow. "Maybe we're looking for an obvious connection within the detective division when we should be looking further out."
"Okay," Sara said. "How far out do we look? We've eliminated everyone involved in these cases. We are running out of options."
Grissom sat for a moment, staring into space, before standing up and saying, "Let's get something to eat." Without waiting for a response he walked out the door. Sara sat there stunned for a moment before following him.
"Gris, wait up." Sara hurried down the hall behind him. "Where are we going?"
"We need a break. I agree that we are missing something but sometimes you can do better with a little distance." Grissom held open the passenger's door of the car and waited on Sara to get in. As he was driving out of the parking lot, he asked "How about Thai food?"
Sara was still a little surprised at Grissom's strange behavior. This man could go for days without sleep or food when he was on a case. Suddenly he couldn't go five minutes without Thai? "Sure, that would be fine," she said.
They were driving down the strip, headed for an all night place they both liked, when Sara suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar face outside. "Hey, Gris, I think that was Ecklie. And he was talking to Joe DiMarco."
"Joe DiMarco? Isn't he new owner of the Tangiers?" Grissom glanced over at Sara. "Why would Ecklie be talking to him at one in the morning?"
"Maybe I was wrong. It probably wasn't Ecklie. I'm so tired I'm seeing things." Sara shrugged and turned back to stare out the window. But, like a dog with a bone, she couldn't let it go.
After dinner they drove back to the lab and settled in with the files again. After a while Sara looked up and said, "Gris, what if that was Ecklie?"
"What, Sara?" Grissom had been reading yet another report and wasn't sure he heard her. He looked at her over the top of his glasses and said, "Why would he have been out at that time of night?"
"Well, I think I remember reading in one of these," she gestured to the files spread around them, "that Mr. DiMarco is suspected of being involved in the drug trade. Apparently, there wasn't enough to do anything about it. But…" she let her voice trail off.
"Sara, if we went to the sheriff with Conrad's name he would throw us out," Grissom said.
"Not if we have proof. You said yourself that we need to look further out. We know it is from within the department but not necessarily the detectives themselves. We know that Ecklie is friends with Lt. Warrens. Maybe we've been focusing on the wrong things." Sara's voice had risen in excitement. She started digging through the folders trying to find the one that mentioned DiMarco.
"Hold on, don't get so excited. If you're right we will need an airtight case. We need to be very careful to dot all the I's and cross all the T's." Grissom leaned back in his chair and studied Sara across the table. "Are you sure you saw Ecklie?" At Sara's nod he said, "Then let's get started. Just remember we can't bend the evidence to fit the theory."
"Okay, the first thing we should do is find out where DiMarco's money comes from. How did he raise the capital to buy the Tangiers?" Sara said. Then, after a moment, she continued, "We also need a look at Ecklie's finances. There would have to be some sort of payment. Surely, he wouldn't do it for free."
"Well, we are going to need warrants for that and we are going to need evidence to get warrants. Why don't we start with Lt. Warrens? Maybe we can get him to lead us to Conrad," Grissom suggested.
"Okay. I guess that means we'll be here late again. What happened to more time for s-e-x?" Sara grinned.
"I don't think you have been doing without. Or have I just been having really good dreams?" Grissom returned her grin.
"Bugman, you do have excellent dreams," Sara said. She licked her lips and, when Grissom's eyes followed the path of her tongue, smiled. "If you don't stop looking at me like that I might spontaneously combust."
Catherine chose that moment to walk in. Feeling the electricity in the room she said, "Am I interrupting something?" There was a faint smile on her face.
Grissom jerked his eyes away from Sara and said, "No, Cath, what can we do for you?"
"I've got a DB and I need your expertise. It shouldn't take long. We can process everything except the bugs," Catherine said.
"Let me get my kit," he said. Turning back to Sara, he told her, "I won't be long. Keep looking for that reference and don't go anywhere without me." Then, giving her a wink, he followed Catherine out of the room.
Sara gathered all the files together and began scanning them for any mention of Joe DiMarco. She also started a list of the other names to be run against known associates. When she was done she decided to find a computer and run the background on Mr. DiMarco herself. That is where Grissom found her.
"Hey. What are you doing?" He asked as he came to stand behind her. He didn't touch her but she could feel his heat.
Tilting her head to look at him, she replied, "I decided to run DiMarco's background. I also made a list of the other players in those files to run against known associates."
"Good idea. What do you have so far?" Grissom asked.
"Well, it seems that Mr. DiMarco and one Conrad Ecklie graduated from NYU at the same time. DiMarco obtained his BA in Business Administration. After that he went to work with his father who owned several dry cleaners in the New York area." Sara continued, reciting what she had learned. "Now, I realize NYU is a very large school and the likelihood of these two knowing each other is small but…" she drew out the word with a smile, "it seems that our two heroes were roommates." Her face alight with excitement, Sara almost bounced in her chair.
"That information puts a new twist on this whole thing." Grissom looked thoughtful and then continued, "We still have no evidence that ties Conrad to this. Being someone's roommate thirty years ago isn't a crime."
"I know but it is more than we have on anyone else. I think we need to talk to the lieutenant again," Sara said assertively.
"Okay. We'll do that now. But we don't need to name names. Be discreet." Grissom almost laughed at the look on Sara's face. Telling her to be discreet was like telling her not to breathe. Sara rolled her eyes and, bounding up from her chair, headed out the door. Chuckling, Grissom hurried to keep up.
They interviewed Lt. Warrens again. This time their questions were designed to draw out any information he might have inadvertently given to Ecklie. After a lot of dancing around the man finally told them that the only person, outside the detective division,he could remember talking to about the cases was Conrad. They thanked him and left his office. Since it was already two hours past end of shift they decided to call it quits for the day.
As soon as they arrived at the lab the next night Sara went to work running the list of names for known associates. When none of them hit on DiMarco, Sara made a new list from the information she found and tried again. After about four hours she hit pay dirt.
"Yes!" she exclaimed. Jumping up she strode down the hall looking for Grissom. She found him hunched over a microscope examining evidence he had collected the night before. "Gris, I've got him. Apparently the busts were being made on mid to low level distributors. I couldn't tie those guys to DiMarco but when I ran their associates I found a couple who tied to him. I figure I could keep going up the chain but surely two should be enough to raise suspicion." Sara's eyes were bright and she was talking ninety miles per hour.
"Sara, slow down. We need to get this in a report. You can't get a warrant until you put it on paper." Grissom paused before saying, "Let me finish this for Catherine's case and I'll be right in."
"Okay. I'll get it started. We need to get this to the sheriff in the morning," Sara said. "I could kiss you right now." With a wink she turned and headed back to get her report started.
Both Grissom and Sara were waiting outside the sheriff's office when he arrived. Seeing them leaning against the wall, he said, "Gil, Ms. Sidle, to what to I owe the pleasure?"
Sara got straight to the point. "We are here to review our findings. I think that we have enough to get a warrant but we will, of course, need your approval."
"Well, in that case, let's go inside." He opened the door and flipped on the light in the outer office. Leading them through to the inner door he turned on another light and motioned for them to precede him. Holding up his Starbucks cup he said, "Sorry I don't have any coffee made. I think I have some water in the refrigerator. Would you like some?"
Grissom shook his head and Sara said, "No thank you. If you don't mind I'd like to get to the point."
"Ah, Ms. Sidle, you never have had any patience." The sheriff smiled ruefully and said, "Okay tell me what you've found."
Sara handed the sheriff a copy of her report and then laid out the facts. She made the connections that linked Joe DiMarco to the dealers and to Conrad Ecklie. She made the connection to Lt. Warrens. When she had exhausted all her information she fell silent.
The sheriff read through her report and then looked up. Glancing from Sara to Grissom and back, he said, "Are both of you sure about what you have here? No offense Ms. Sidle, but this could prove to be very explosive. Considering Dr. Grissom's suspension, and the circumstances surrounding that, we have to be very careful."
"All we want is a warrant to take a look at Ecklie's financial records," Sara said. "I believe that we are on the right track here. I understand your hesitation but this is not a witch hunt. You asked me to do a job and I am doing it."
"Sheriff," Grissom said, "I think we need to look at his financials. We would be remiss if we didn't at least do that much. If you know nothing else about me, you know that Idon't allow emotion to interfere with the evidence."
The sheriff sat for a moment, eyes closed, fingers pressed to his temples. Finally, he sat forward and said, "I'll get the warrant. It will be waiting for you when you come in tonight. Let's keep this under our hats for now." He stood, indicating that the meeting was over. As Grissom opened the door, the sheriff said, "Gil, be absolutely sure."
The following night Grissom and Sara picked up the warrant and went to work. They pulled Ecklie's financial records for the past two years. They began by checking for any large deposits or any large unexplained purchases. There it was. Beginning just one week after the first failed raid and occurring approximately one week after each subsequent raid were large deposits. They were being made to an account that wasn't listed in Ecklie's personnel file and were for ten thousand dollars each. Sara and Grissom sat in silence. Neither could believe what they were seeing.
Finally, Sara looked over and said, "We'd better call the sheriff."
When Conrad Ecklie was arrested the local news stations were all on hand. They recorded his shame just as they had recorded his posturing. As he made the 'walk of shame' from interview to booking Grissom and Sara were standing in the hall. He stopped in front of Grissom and said, "My lawyers will eat you alive, Gil."
Grissom responded, "We only followed the evidence, Conrad. The evidence never lies."