Chapter Four

Given the grand scope of the case, Grissom had pulled Warrick, Sara, and Catherine off their current assignments in order to assist him. He had gathered his team around him and was issuing orders like a general.

"Okay, here's the situation. We potentially have seventeen missing people. What I need for you to do is verify that all of the people Prosper mentioned in his video are in fact missing. Whatever cases you're working on now can be passed on to Days or the Swing shift. This case is a top priority."

As one, the team nodded in understanding and Grissom pressed on. "I want you to investigate the disappearances of the both victim and suspect. There has to be some clue left behind as to where they went. I want you to find it. It is essential that we find them or we will be processing seven dead bodies some time in the very near future. While Prosper did not give us a specific time when these murders would take place, we have to assume that they will happen soon otherwise he would not have risked having his people grab them."

"What is this, Grissom? Some kind of wacky cult?" Warrick asked in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the situation.

"Not a cult per say, but it does possess many cult-like characteristics. This man, Prosper, has manipulated the pain these people are going through in order to accomplish his own goal and he made them believe they could truly find healing by taking matters into their own hands. It's part of his grand desire to rid the world of injustice." Grissom said with a wave of his hand.

"So he's planning to do that by turning these people into murderers? That's not justice. That's vigilantism." Sara said.

"It's more than that. He's given these people a purpose. Do not confuse this with violence for violence's sake. They most likely honestly believe in his desire to make the world a better place. He's an intelligent guy. He knows exactly what he's doing and what to say in order to get people to do what he wants. These people were in a vulnerable place when he encountered them and he promised to give them the healing they needed. He promised to give them the justice they had been denied and the opportunity to punish the person or persons responsible for their pain. But he also made them a part of something larger than themselves. They're not seeking personal justice alone. They want the same thing for everyone. He's created his own ideology - something for them to believe in. That makes Prosper and his followers all the more dangerous." Grissom told them.

"We're going to break this up into smaller parts because time is of the essence." Grissom said as he began to hand out his orders.

He turned to Sara and said, "I want you to investigate the disappearances of Rae Lynn Michaels and Stan Morrison. Nick and I have done preliminary work on it, but dig deeper. We might have missed something. I also want you to look into the disappearances of Maggie Hawkins and Evan Harris."

"You got it." Sara nodded and took off down the hall.

Grissom focused his attention on Warrick. "I want you to investigate the disappearances of William Belanger and Max Bridgford. I also want you to look into the disappearances of the Quentin Bowlin, Kenneth Bowlin, and Jackie Travers. Make sure that they're really missing and that this isn't just some effort on Levi's part to distract us."

"I'm on it." Warrick said and departed.

"Catherine, look into the disappearance of all four of the Alcotts. I'm assuming that the children will be missing as well, but I need you to verify that. Also check out Denise Dayton and Paul Brooks." Grissom told her.

Catherine made as if to respond when Nick cut her off. "What about me? What am I supposed to do? You just assigned all the missing persons case and left me with nothing."

Grissom's eyes flickered to Nick, his annoyance at being interrupted when handing out assignments blatantly obvious. "You're going to assist me in searching Prosper's background."

"You just said that time was of the essence. If that's true, then I should be out there working one of the missing persons cases. Everybody's working two. Let me help ease the load." Nick said eagerly. This was the first time in a month that he had dared to speak up for himself, but he felt that he'd risk it. The case was too important.

"Researching Prosper may give us insight into who he is, his motivations, and where he might be. It's an important job and I would like your assistance." Grissom told him in a cool tone.

"Yeah, but - " Nick started.

Grissom held up a hand. "No. You're backing me up and that's my final answer. Now go talk to Brass about getting a warrant for Prosper's home and office. There should be no trouble getting one this time."

Grissom looked away, a clear sign that Nick was dismissed. Though clearly unsatisfied, the younger man turned to leave without another word.

Catherine had watched this whole exchange with wide-eyed concern. Although Grissom and Nick's relationship could never have been described as close, this exchange was abnormal even for them. This wasn't some stress-related argument that was tied to the enormity of the case. No, there was a deeper issue at work here. Grissom had deliberately kept Nick from taking on an aspect of the case all by himself. It was almost as if Grissom didn't trust him.

As she stopped to think about it, she thought that things had seemed a bit strained between them for the past few weeks. Hadn't Grissom been working a lot of cases with Nick recently? And if Grissom wasn't working with Nick, then she was. Not that she minded of course as she very much enjoyed working with Nick, but it did seem a bit odd. When was the last time Nick had worked a case with Warrick or Sara? If memory served her correctly, it had to have been over a month ago.

A month ago. Before the death of Kristy Hopkins. The sudden realization hit her hard and everything started to make sense to her. While the situation was over and done with in the minds of everyone else, it appeared that this was not the case for Grissom.

"Do you have a question about the assignment I just gave you?" he asked abruptly, rounding on her suddenly and eyeing her critically.

"No." Catherine answered not feeling intimidated by his rudeness in the slightest. "I was just thinking that maybe Nick should be working one of the missing persons cases. We're tapped out, Gil. You've got three people working four crime scenes each. We could use the extra pair of hands."

"Nick's working with me. I need his help." Grissom said flatly.

"You mean you want to keep an eye on him. A lesser person might just think that your personal issues with him were clouding your ability to do your job." Catherine responded carefully. She wanted him to know that she knew what was going on between them without actually accusing him of anything.

Grissom was not about to be goaded into a fight about Nick or the way he had assigned tasks. "I tell Nick what to do. That's my right as his supervisor. I'm yours too. Now get moving, Catherine."

She watched as Grissom stalked off in the same direction Nick had gone. For a split second, Catherine considered going after him and forcing him to discuss his treatment of Nick, but the clock was ticking. Now wasn't the time. There were people who needed to be found.

Obtaining a search warrant was much easier the second time around given that Prosper had confessed to being involved in the kidnaping of several individuals. Grissom and Nick made their way back to his office with Brass in tow. While Brass interrogated a distraught Jill, the CSIs searched Prosper's office.

Throughout his search, Nick stole glances at Grissom. He could sense that his superior was doing his best to ignore him. He sighed inwardly and chastised himself for speaking out against Grissom's assignment for him. Though his intentions had been honorable, it seemed that opening his mouth had only served to tick Grissom off even more if indeed that was possible.

The amount of frustration he had been feeling for the past month was growing exponentially with every passing minute. Nothing he seemed to be doing was working. Every time he opened his mouth, Nick could tell he was annoying Grissom. It didn't matter what he said or did. Everything annoyed Grissom. There's nothing quite like continually working with someone who has made it painfully obvious that the last person they wanted to be with was you.

Not for the first time, Nick wondered what was going through his supervisor's mind when Grissom looked at him. Was it just a flurry of raging emotions? Did a series of angry comments run through his mind that he only just managed to refrain from actually speaking? Or was it something deeper? Something that even Grissom wasn't able to describe?

Nick had always been very personable and well-liked. These winning qualities had just come naturally to him, but Grissom had never really been won over by them. He certainly was not the first person to not succumb to Nick's Southern Charm and Charisma, and while Nick was not the kind of person who had a great need to be liked by everyone, Grissom's standoffishness bothered him greatly. Nick had wanted to impress him and to earn his respect, but it was blatantly obvious right from the start that these were not things easily won - no matter how charming you might be.

So he had buckled down in an effort to prove himself a good CSI and worthy of the respect and admiration of the Great Gil Grissom. It was slow-going, but he felt that he had made some progress. After all, he was promoted to CSI Level Three before Warrick. That was no small feat. However, all that was gone now. Every time he looked into Grissom's eyes, Nick could glimpse the deep-rooted disappoint and anger in them and it chipped away at his confidence.

Maybe Grissom was right. Maybe he wasn't a good CSI. Maybe he wasn't smart enough. Maybe he was too emotional. Maybe he was just a screw up who only avoided a prison sentence through sheer luck.

Nick sighed and shook those thoughts away.

'C'mon, Stokes. No more pity party. Just focus on the task at hand.' he told himself.

"Hey fellas. The secretary swears up and down that she doesn't know where the good doctor is and denies knowing anything about what he was planning to do." Brass said, hovering near the entrance of the office.

"Do you believe her?" Nick asked.

"Call me crazy, but yeah, I do." Brass admitted. "You, uh, find any more freaky videotape confessions?"

Grissom shook his head. "No. I found the patient files that belong to our suspects. They're worth taking a look at. I'd like to know just what kind of people we're dealing with. As for information on Prosper himself, I'm beginning to think that our time would be better spent searching his home."

"Have warrant, will travel." Brass smiled. "Let's head out."

Grissom and Nick began their search of Levi's house methodically, starting with the first floor. They soon discovered what a cold, impersonal house it was. There were no photos of family or friends sitting around. Nothing to indicate a connection with any other person, which was something that struck Nick as odd. After all, Levi was a psychologist. Part of his job was to connect with people thereby making them feel comfortable enough to share their deepest, darkest secrets with him. Of course, psychologists were only human. They had their share of "issues" as well and it was evident in more ways than one that Prosper had plenty.

Nick wandered into the study and as he peered around the room, his eyes fell on an antiquated trunk. He crouched down and finding it unlocked, raised the lid. Inside, he found an assortment of papers and a photo album. He picked the album up and flipped through it. The pictures had to have been taken at least thirty years ago and despite the smiles, the family in them did not appear to be a very happy one.

Setting the album aside, he picked up the item that had been directly underneath it. It was a tattered book and as he began to flip through the pages, he soon discovered that it wasn't just any book. It was a journal. As he read bits and pieces, he could feel excitement begin to build inside of him. Now here was something worth finding.

"Hey Grissom! I think I'm starting to figure out the mind of our suspect." Nick called out, unable to contain his enthusiasm.

Gil paused from his work and glanced over to where Nick was crouching. "How so?"

Nick held the journal aloft for Grissom to see and gave a small smile. "Dr. Prosper's got Daddy issues."