Chapter 1
"Can I help you, Miss?" said the blonde receptionist of the LVPD to the girl who had just entered the building.
"Yes, please. My name's Aida Rossetti, I'm looking for Gil Grissom"
"Sure, just a moment". The receptionist then picked up the phone and, after a few seconds of conversation, she hung up, turning to the waiting girl and handing her a visitor badge. "Mr. Grissom is waiting for you in your office."
Aida followed the woman through the corridors. In sharp contrast to the outside heat, the temperature inside the building was low, even though she knew that the light shivers running down her back weren't caused by the chill, but by the atmosphere in the department. Smell of sterilisation, the same as hospitals, people dressed in dark blue labcoats, neon lights… she found it kind of creepy.
She glanced at the many labs in the corridor, they all had glass walls. There were people looking at evidence under microscopes, someone was examining a gun or other weapons. Suddenly, she saw something that seemed to break the uncomfortable aforementioned atmosphere: a tall dark man and a spiky-haired man were laughing. She had never thought that a work related with death could leave space to laughter.
"Here we are, Miss Rossetti." After that, the blonde woman knocked on the door, then headed back. Aida entered the office, and was welcomed by a smiling bearded man. "Hi, Gil", she said, a large sincere smile forming on her face. The two hugged, then Grissom spoke "You look gorgeous".
"Thanks. Sorry for showing up at your office, but I've got a really bad jet lag, you know.. From Italy to here it's 9 hours difference… the result is that I fall asleep during daytime and now.. at night… I'm totally awoken.." after that, she noticed the big tarantula behind his desk. She hated spiders. Grissom noticed her getting paler. "ehm, Gil… can we talk where that thing can't see us?" He chuckled "Sure, but I can't leave the building, I'm on duty right now."
They headed to the break room, no one was in there. "So," he said, "why have you decided to come here?"
She feared that question, although she knew she couldn't avoid it. "Well, I needed to get away for some time.."
"People do not buy a new house in another continent only to get away for some time, Aida…" She sighed. "My life was going nowhere, Gil, I… I just felt I had to change it. Alcohol, drugs, parties, offered me no solution, so I thought coming here would be a good idea.. at least it wouldn't ruin me." She noticed the look of worry in his eyes. The atmosphere was getting louder and louder "I was not a drug addicted, Gil.. just snorted cocaine a few time lately, at the parties Mauro or some friends of his gave.." he seemed doubtful, but didn't give her a lecture about the danger of drugs. "by the way… Mauro? How did he take the news?" Her answer was brusque. "We broke up. That's it." "And.. what about your mother?" "Oh, I almost forgot… she says Hi to you… well, I phoned her to tell her about this… she said she would give me all the money I needed, because, as she says.. 'Changes are good'. She added this would be great for my aura…" he grimaced. Her mother was a very clever woman , only a bit obsessed with aura and supernatural things; she was one of the most estimated living artists, and a 'free soul', as she liked to called herself.
"So" she said "did you fix the appointment for the apartment I told you about? The one I saw on the Internet?"
"Sure; it's fixed for tomorrow, 3 o' clock p.m. Do you want to sleep at my place tonight?"
"No, thanks. I've already booked a room at the Sahara Hotel. You've been so kind to me, I'll never thank you enough, I know you're busy at the moment, and the last thing you want is surely a niece you haven't seen in 3 years, suddenly showing up and annoying you.. "
"Don't even think about it, even though you'll have to return the favour.. I already know how… you'll have to accompany me to the most boring event ever occurred… the annual Police Charity Ball, next week. Be prepared to it, it's much worse than it sounds.." She burst out laughing, and he chuckled. The ice was broken between them, they felt relieved.
They were interrupted by the entrance in the room of one of the men Aida had seen before, the one with spiky hair. He rushed excitedly into the room, blabbering about something he wanted Grissom to take a look at. But when he noticed the girl next to his supervisor, who was searching for something inside her purse, he calmed down, literally immobilising. He scanned the girl for a second, recording every single detail of her: her long, curly red hair, her slim figure, her ivory complexion. He mentally calculated her bra size, a 36D, smiling to himself, thinking that the white close-fitting, long-sleeves T-shirt exalted her curves, doubtless. He noticed she wore also a black linen knee-length skirt. He wished she wore a very shirt skirt, so that he could check her legs. She was looking at her mobile phone, maybe reading a text message.
"Greg?" he was drawn back to reality by Grissom's voice "what did you want to show me?"
"Oh, yes… Look at these test results from the blood traces we found on the murder weapon… there are two donors. One is the victim, the other.."
"Might be the killer. Run it through CODIS."
"Already done, Griss. We have a match. Keith Wilburn,prior for sexual assault."
"Well done, Sanders. Let's go find this guy."
"Gil, I'm leaving now. I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" Aida was leaning on the threshold. Grissom gave her a quick smile, then nodded and waved her goodbye. She smiled in return and waved at Greg. "Bye, Ginger" was his response. She raised an eyebrow, perplexed, though amused somehow. "You remind me of Ginger Rogers." She grinned. "Bye, Bart", she replied, alluding to his spiky hair, which reminded her of the character in The Simpson cartoon, then headed to the exit.
Greg grimaced, he had got the joke. Her green eyes remained in his thoughts for a while. Grissom noticed the look on his face, sighed, and simply said "Don't even think about it, Sanders."