Author's Note: Congrats to my Longhorns! Way to go, guys!
Chapter Two
Grissom sat in his office, thinking. He had placed his elbows on the armrests of his chair and he held the earpiece of his glasses to the corner of his mouth in a pensive manner. He closed his eyes and contemplated the case that brought them to Prosper's door a month ago.
There was blood everywhere. It dripped from the walls, covered the furniture, and pooled on the floor. It was as if the killer had drained every ounce of blood from his victim and then spread it all over the room to be used as some macabre sort of decoration. All this made it very difficult to maneuver around the room without stepping in some of the victim's blood.
The metallic smell of it permeated the entire house. There was no escaping it. It was far more than the stench of death. It was the stench of a massacre. Thomas Sanford's killer had shown him no mercy and his suffering had been severe. The sight of all that blood and the smell of it gave the whole feel of the crime scene an unnatural sense of terror - like you had just stepped inside a horror flick. The cops were keeping a distance and even Brass was doing his best to stay outside.
Grissom stood just outside of the room, observing the sight in silence. He was trying to figure out what to tackle first - the blood or the body. They were going to have to collect samples of every blood drop as it was more than likely that the killer had cut himself in his vigor to commit his crime. He felt himself stiffen as he sensed Nick approach and stand next to him.
Nick exhaled sharply as he took in the crime scene for the first time.
"This is unreal." he said, amazed. "Look at all that blood. And the smell!"
"Make sure you breathe through your nose." Grissom cautioned. "I don't want you throwing up in here. You'll contaminate the evidence."
Nick stole a glance at his boss. For the past few days, he had been wondering when it would be a good time to bring up the issue that had been weighing on him. He looked behind him and saw that the cop standing guarding over the scene was well out of earshot. He figured now was as good as time as any.
"Look, Grissom, about the whole thing with Kristy, I - " he started but Grissom cut him off.
"There's nothing to discuss, Nick. Catherine got your name cleared and the situation resolved itself." Grissom said without looking at him.
"Yeah, but - " There were still some things that Nick wanted to say. He wanted to explain himself, but once again, Grissom would not let him speak.
"We're done, Nick. There's nothing else to say." Grissom turned to look at him and the sight that met him made Nick quickly shut his mouth. There was a fire in Grissom's eyes that Nick had not seen before and it made him uneasy. Despite what Grissom might say, the situation did not appear to be resolved. At least not between them. Not by a long shot.
Feeling that it was best to switch topics, Nick stated, "Brass said that our victim lived here with his son, Nathan, who's currently MIA."
"He could be a second victim." Grissom mused.
"Or our suspect." Nick countered.
Nick turned his focus to the room. His eyes began to survey it in its entirety and stopped when something caught his attention.
"Grissom, what's that on the VCR? Is that a note?" Nick asked in confusion.
The older man looked to where Nick had indicated and saw that there was something there. He felt slightly annoyed. He had been too focused on the body laying in the middle of the room and the blood surrounding it that he'd missed the note. Curious, Grissom ventured carefully into the room with Nick right behind him. He leaned forward and examined the note.
"There's blood on it. It's possible that our killer placed this here." Grissom said.
"Play Me." Nick read aloud. He gave a small chuckle. "That's very 'Alice in Wonderland.'"
"Well, let's see what's behind the looking glass." Grissom pressed the television's power button and then turned on the VCR. As he did so, a young man in his late teens appeared on the screen.
"To the detectives who examine this crime scene, let me greet you and explain my actions to you. While people may know me as Nathan Sanford, I have rejected the surname of this man before me. He is not my true father and I will no longer be shackled to him." The camera flashed to a very much alive Thomas Sanford, who was bound to a chair with tape over his mouth.
The camera flashed back to Nathan. "Ask yourself what you would do if you lived with a man who treated you like garbage. This is a man who is supposed to love you. He's supposed to take care of you and yet he rejects that responsibility. How can I call this man father? Does he not represent everything contrary to what a father is supposed to be?"
"What did I do to deserve such cruel treatment? Nothing! Too long I have felt the shame and guilt he forced upon me when in reality, he is the guilty one. Too long have I allowed this man to dominate me, to beat me down, to break my will. I will no longer allow him to hurt me. I will be strong. I will show him who has the power. Men like him should not be allowed to live in this world. They are cruel and they feed off the pain and humiliation of others. His crimes against me are worthy of death and he will pay."
Nathan walked over to Thomas' side and now Nick and Grissom were able to see the knife Nathan was holding in his hand. Thomas was now squirming like a stuck pig. Nathan raised the knife over his head and then brought it crashing down. The next few minutes were some of the most disturbing of Grissom's life. The murder was brutal to say the least. He wanted to look away but couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen. At one point, Nathan cut Thomas free and the bleeding man made a desperate attempt to get away, but his son renewed his savage attack without mercy.
When it was finally over, a blood-spattered Nathan walked towards the camera with an almost wild look in his eye. "I have seen the dawning of a new and glorious day and it is beautiful. My true father has shown it to me. No longer will the innocent suffer. Those who are guilty will perish and their blood will flow. The Day of Purging is at hand."
The screen went dark and Grissom hit the power button. Both CSIs were silent for a few minutes as they tried to digest what they had just seen.
"Have you ever seen anything like that?" Nick asked quietly.
Grissom turned to look at the younger man. He noted his somewhat pale complexion and felt sure that his face looked similar. "No."
"He's not just your typical angry teenager. There's something else going on here. What's he talking about? The Day of Purging? What's that?" Nick wiped a hand over his mouth.
"I don't know." Grissom answered. "All I know is that there was someone else in the room during the murder. I would like to know who was behind the camera."
"Well, at least we don't have figure out who the murder is and we know that all this blood belongs to our vic." Nick said. "We even know when the murder was committed. The time stamp was in the right-hand corner."
"This may be one of the few times our crime scene isn't going to be able to tell us anything new." Grissom stated. "Let's take a look at Nathan's room. Perhaps we'll learn something about him."
They made their way upstairs to Nathan's room. Upon first glance, nothing stood out as unusual. Everything belied the tension that existed between father and son. The room was well-kept and organized.
"Nothing's telling me that this room belongs to a disturbed individual." Nick said with a wave of his hand. "It looks like it belongs to a nice, normal kid."
"Appearances can be deceiving. You have to dig deeper." Grissom instructed him.
Grissom walked over to the night stand and pulled open the drawer. Inside, he found a photo of Nathan and a young brunette who appeared to be the same age as him. They were sitting close together and Nathan had an arm draped across her shoulder. Grissom wondered vaguely if she was their Tarantino.
"What's that? A photo?" Nick peered over his supervisor's shoulder. Immediately, he drew a sharp intake of breath.
"What?" Grissom asked curiously.
"I know that girl." Nick answered quietly.
"You know her?" Grissom was stunned. "How? Who is she?"
"Her name is Donna Redman. She's my next door neighbor." Nick said, giving his boss an intense look. He had a good idea what Grissom was thinking. "She's a good kid. She wasn't the one filming the murder. She wouldn't be involved in anything like that."
"Perhaps, but she might know where our suspect is." Grissom replied.
They searched Nathan's room from top to bottom but found nothing pertinent to their investigation. There were no notes scribbled on paper explaining what Nathan had meant by the Day of Purging. Nothing to indicate where he had gone. Nothing to indicate that he had been planning to brutally murder his father.
"I'm going to get Brass and then go see your neighbor, Donna." Grissom said as they made their way out of the house.
"What about me?" Nick asked.
"You know this girl, Nick. You live next door to her. You shouldn't be there when we question her." Grissom told him as he redoubled his pace.
"She might be more willing to talk if I was there." Nick replied, scrambling to keep up with the older man.
"Or she might be embarrassed and keep her mouth shut. Your presence will most likely be a liability. Just go back to the lab with the body." Grissom dismissed him with a wave.
"So this is where Nicky lives." Brass gave Nick's house an inquisitive look as he exited his vehicle. His eyes roamed the rest of the street. "Seems like a nice, quiet neighborhood."
Grissom and Brass made their way to the front door of the Redman house and rang the doorbell. The woman who opened the door had to be Donna's mother. She looked just like her. She gave the men an inquisitive look, waiting for them to explain their presence at her door.
"Patricia Redman? My name is Jim Brass. I'm with the Las Vegas Police and this is my colleague Gil Grissom. He's with the crime lab. We have a few questions we'd like to ask your daughter, Donna." Jim held up his badge for Mrs Redman to see.
The woman seemed hesitant. "You want to talk to Donna? Is she in some kind of trouble?"
Jim shook his head and gave her a small smile. "No, ma'am. We just need to ask her a few questions regarding a crime we're investigating. We were hoping that Donna could provide us with some information."
Patricia still did not seem convinced, but she stepped aside to let them enter. "If you'll be seated, I'll go get Donna."
A few minutes later, she reappeared with her daughter. "Donna, these men would like to ask you some questions."
Donna shot a small smile in the direction of Grissom and Brass as she took a seat. She fiddled with her hands and appeared a bit apprehensive, but Grissom was not sure if this was due to guilt or just nerves from having to talk to the police.
"Donna, my name is Gil Grissom. I'm with the Las Vegas Crime Lab and this is Detective Jim Brass." Gil greeted the young girl.
"The Crime Lab?" Donna asked as she put a stray hand of her hair behind her ear. She seemed to be searching for some way to put herself at ease. "My neighbor works there. His name is Nick. You know him?"
Grissom nodded. "Yes, he works for me."
"Oh. He's a nice guy. I like him." she said allowing her eyes to briefly connect with Grissom's.
"Donna, we'd like to ask you a few questions about Nathan Sanford." Grissom told her, thinking the time for pleasantries had come to an end.
Adverting her eyes, she asked, "What makes you think I can tell you anything about him?"
"We found a picture of the two of you in his bedroom. You seemed pretty close." Grissom told her.
"I guess you could say that we're friends." she admitted, stealing a glance at her mother who had remained silent thus far with her arms folded tightly across her chest.
Grissom studied the girl carefully in an attempt to ascertain the underlying emotions behind her actions. Was she upset because she was linked to the murder of Thomas Sanford or because her secret relationship with Nathan had just been revealed? Perhaps it was too early to tell.
"What were you doing in Nathan's house? He wasn't at school today. Is he okay?" Donna asked, her voice becoming a bit more confident.
"No. His father was killed earlier today and he's missing. We need to find him." Grissom informed her.
Donna eyed the CSI and seemed to understand the implications behind his words. "You think he killed his father."
"We know he did." Grissom said, appreciating Donna's straightforwardness. He had been afraid that he would have to dance around the truth somewhat in order to spare the girl's feelings.
Biting her lower lip, Donna nodded in understanding. "Things have been hard for the past six years ever since Nathan's mom left. Nathan and his dad didn't really get along."
'That's an understatement.' Grissom thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "There was a video tape at the crime scene on which Nathan recorded his confession. It gives us proof that someone else was present during the murder."
"And you think that person was me." Realization was dawning on her. "It wasn't. I was at school. Didn't miss a class and I had a tutoring session during lunch."
'Well that would be easy enough to verify.' Grissom thought as he shared a look with Brass.
"Did you have any idea what he was going to do?" Brass asked, keeping his tone free from accusation.
"No. I mean, I knew things were bad between them. That's part of the reason Nathan was acting out in school. But he seemed to be doing so much better. He was seeing a psychologist and everything. I don't understand how he could do a thing like this. He's not a bad person." Her voice dropped as she finished her words.
"Nathan was seeing a psychologist?" Grissom asked. This was a new avenue to pursue. Perhaps the psychologist could provide some insight on his patient.
"Yeah, the school counselor recommended it so his father sent him to one." Donna told them. "It was either that or expulsion. Mr. Sanford didn't want that."
"Do you happen to know the name of Nathan's psychologist?" Brass inquired.
"Dr. Levi Prosper. Nathan never told me anything about his sessions other than that he really liked the guy."
That was all they were able to get from Donna. As soon as they were a few steps away from the house, they heard shouting begin. No doubt Patricia Redman had finally decided to voice her opinion on the whole matter. Grissom had been somewhat surprised by the taciturn nature Patricia had adopted during the questioning. Usually parents can't keep their mouths shut, but Patricia had remained silent though it had been obvious that she had been growing more angry with every revelation.
"So I'm assuming that you're gonna swing by the lab and grab Nicky and then go talk to the shrink." Brass asked as they reached the vehicle.
"We definitely need to talk to him." Grissom said.
"Well that should be a fun conversation. I can just picture it - 'Hey Doc, what can you tell us about your patient who made mincemeat out of his father? You think he's mentally unstable?'" Brass allowed a sarcastic smile to play across his face.
Grissom sighed and responded dryly. "Something like that."
Some time later, Grissom and Nick walked into Dr. Levi Prosper's office. A perky blonde was sitting at the receptionist's desk, typing away on her keyboard. She raised her head as they entered.
"Hello. Can I help you?" She greeted them with a smile.
"Yes, we'd like to speak with Dr. Prosper. My name is Gil Grissom and this is Nick Stokes. We're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab."
"You're in luck. Dr. Prosper just returned from lunch and he's not due to see another patient for about twenty minutes. If you'll just wait, I'll tell him that you're here." She smiled at them again and went to announce their presence.
When she returned, she waved them in. "He will see you now."
They entered the office and found Levi Prosper sitting at his desk. He closed the file that he had been reading and stood up to greet his guests.
"Gentlemen, Jill tells me that you're from the crime lab. How can I help you?" he asked, giving them a helpful smile.
"We'd like to talk to you about a patient of yours. His name is Nathan Sanford." Grissom said, taking a seat.
"Ah, yes. Nathan." Levi nodded. "He's in trouble I gather."
"Yes he is." Grissom admitted.
"Tell me, is he the victim or the victimizer?" Levi asked curiously.
His tone struck Grissom as odd and the scientist fixed the man with a penetrating gaze. Grissom could tell that Levi was a very guarded man. The kind of man whose face showed no emotion other than that which he had consciously decided to show. Levi held his gaze and seemed almost to smile at Grissom.
"The victimizer. He killed his father." Nick told him plainly.
Dr. Prosper shifted his gaze to Nick and seemed to consider him a moment. "Did he? Well, Nathan did have some issues with his father."
Nick was struck by the cavalier attitude the psychologist possessed. It was as if he didn't care at all. How could someone not care about the brutal murder of another person?
"Issues?" Nick repeated incredulously. "He butchered his father and we've got it on tape. I'd say he had more than a few issues. No one deserves that."
"You think so? That's an interesting position for someone in your line of work. Do you not make a living off of the punishment of others?" Levi countered.
Nick leaned forward in his seat and spoke in a clipped tone. "There's a difference. The people we put behind bars are guilty and we prove it before a court of law. They get what they deserve."
"Ah, the guilty get what they deserve. You like getting the bad guy, don't you?" Levi asked, amused.
Nick did not like what the man seemed to be implying and opened his mouth to respond, but closed it when Grissom shot him a quelling look. This only served to amuse Levi further.
"Dr. Prosper, Nathan has disappeared. We're wondering if you have any idea where he could be." Grissom asked, trying to get things back on track.
Levi focused his attention on Grissom once again. "I'm sorry, but I have no idea where he could be."
"What did you and Nathan talk about during your sessions? Did you have any idea that he was going to kill his father?" Grissom inquired.
"If I had suspected such a thing, I would have been obligated to report it." He said, running a hand through his brown hair. "I made no such report, but I'm sure you already know that."
"On the tape, he mentioned something called the Day of Purging. Did he ever make any reference to that in one of his sessions with you?" Grissom asked.
"Mr. Grissom, you know I'm not free to divulge anything that Nathan shared with me during our sessions." Levi told him with a shake of his head.
"We'd like to take a look at Nathan's file." Grissom told him plainly and then waited for the inevitable.
"You won't get that from me without a court order." Levi said.
"Then I'll get one." Grissom promised.
"You do that and I'll be happy to oblige you." the psychologist said with the faintest trace of a smile.
Grissom left the office in a foul mood. He had the nagging sensation that Prosper knew more than he was saying. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the man almost seemed to be laughing at them through the entire conversation as if it were all some big joke to him.
"I don't like that guy. Something's not right about him." Nick said, echoing Grissom's thoughts.
"You shouldn't have let him goad you like that. Why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut?" Grissom snapped.
"I was just answering his questions." Nick replied a bit defensively.
Grissom rounded on the younger man. "No, you let him make you angry and gave him power over you. We were supposed to be questioning him about Nathan and he got you to discuss your personal beliefs. If you can't control your own emotions, you shouldn't take part in interviews. It's unprofessional."
Nick opened his mouth to say something, but Grissom held his hand up. "No more. Let's go back to the lab."
They got subpoena and read through every page of Nathan's file. There was no mention of the Day of Purging. No threats made against his father. In fact, everything implied that the therapy sessions were having the desired effect on Nathan.
Nick tossed the file on the table with an air of annoyance. "This doesn't make sense. How can a kid who's supposedly making improvements like it indicates in his file commit an obviously premeditated murder and spout off all this weird ideology? It's like he's two different people."
Grissom had been thinking along similar lines and he had come to a disturbing conclusion. "Dr. Prosper makes no indication that he doubts Nathan's words. Makes no comment about him possessing a duplicitous nature. I find it hard to believe that Nathan could have deceived his psychologist so completely."
Nick's eyes dawned with realization. "You think he knew what Nathan was going to do."
"This file is too perfect. It shows remarkable improvement over a short span of time. Honestly, I find that hard to believe. I think this file is a complete fabrication. I think Dr. Prosper and his patient have been talking about something completely different for the past few months." Grissom said.
"Well Nathan said that he had found his true father. Do you think he meant Prosper?" Nick asked.
"That would make sense." Grissom agreed. "If Nathan was acting out to get the attention of his distant father, all Prosper would have to do to win him over is provide him with the kind of strong, paternal attention that Nathan was seeking and then manipulate him into killing his father."
"He was probably the one who videotaped the murder." Nick said. "I bet he also knows where Nathan is hiding."
"Most likely." Grissom nodded.
"Well, I'll call the Judge and see if I can get a warrant." Nick said, getting to his feet.
Gil made no response as Nick left. His mind was racing with thoughts. What kind of man manipulates a child into killing his father? What were his motivations for doing so? Was the Day of Purging something that Prosper had come up with and then shared with Nathan? Was there something more sinister than the murder of Thomas Sanford at hand?
A short while later, Nick returned and leaned against the doorframe. His defeated look told Grissom all that he needed to know before Nick uttered a word. "The Judge won't budge. He says we lack probable cause for a warrant, so unless we can get some hard evidence against our Dr. Prosper, we're out of luck."
And that was it. They had not found sufficient evidence to link Prosper to the murder of Thomas Sanford or that he had concealed the whereabouts of Nathan Sanford. The man was tricky. Grissom had to admit it. He hoped that this time things would not go as well for Dr. Prosper.