Poison Revelations
Author: Uriel Falcon
Rating: M
Contains: Eventual CS, don't read if you don't like it. I don't need people describing how they hated it because of the couple. Thank you to all the reviewers, you're support is great! And a special thanks to MBInc, for being my Beta reader. I don't own Tool's song, Vicarious, so no suing. But, I do own Suzi Vayne. You'll see what I mean, soon enough.
VIOLENCE
NUDITY
SWEARING
COARSE
LANGUAGE
Sara plopped into the driver's seat of her car, rolling down the window and buckling in. She turned on the radio, and was just about to pull out when Catherine slumped into the passenger seat. Sara was slightly confused, since she had just finished fixing Catherine's car, so Catherine should have been ready to use it. Catherine saw the slight confusion in Sara's eyes, and gave a little laugh.
"Saving the environment, I suppose. Sides, I want to know the radio station you listen to, I love it." Catherine joked, buckling in. Sara laughed, leaning her arm on the open window. She began to back out of the driveway, pulling out onto the street. She quickly turned on the radio, and began driving towards work. Catherine leaned on the window, closing her eyes and inhaling the scent in Sara's car. It was lavender, but there was something else hidden within it that Catherine fancied. Something that could only be Sara.
Sara stopped at a red light, bobbing her head lightly to the music. The previous song ended, and after a few weird blabbers from the radio DJ, and a new song popped on. Catherine opened her eyes, and sat up, listening closer to the song. Sara smirked, and pumped up the volume. Catherine felt her head bobbing to the music involuntarily. She was even more pleased when she heard Sara's voice in the background.
Eye on the TV
'cause tragedy thrills me
Whatever flavour
It happens to be like;
Killed by the husband
Drowned by the ocean
Shot by his own son
She used the poison in his tea
And kissed him goodbye
That's my kind of story
It's no fun 'til someone dies
Don't look at me like
I am a monster
Frown out your one face
But with the other
Stare like a junkie
Into the tv
Stare like a zombie
While the mother
Holds her child
Watches him die
Hands to the sky crying
Why, oh why?
'cause I need to watch things die
From a distance
Vicariously I,
live while the whole world dies
You all need it too,
don't lie
Why can't we just admit it?
Why can't we just admit it?
We won't give pause until the blood is flowing
Neither the brave nor bold
The writers of stories sold
We won't give pause until the blood is flowing
I need to watch things die
From a good safe distance
Vicariously I,
live while the whole world dies
You all feel the same so
Why can't we just admit it?
Blood like rain come down
Drawn on grave and ground
Part vampire
Part warrior
Carnivore and voyeur
Stare at the transmitter
Sing to the death rattle
La, la, la, la, la, la, la-lie
Incredulous at best your desire to believe in
Angels in the hearts of men
Pull your head on out
Your head believes it give a listen
Shouldn't have to say it all again
The universe is hostile
So impersonal
Devour to survive, so it is
So it's always been
We all feed on tragedy
It's like blood to a vampire
Vicariously I,
live while the whole world dies
Much better you than I
By the end, Catherine had memorized the tune, looking over to Sara, who didn't seem to notice that she was staring quite suggestively at her.
"You know... You're a really good singer." Catherine mentioned as nonchalantly as possible. Sara laughed slightly.
"Yeah, if you like nails on a chalkboard." She replied, turning left at a corner. Catherine shook her head.
"I'm serious, Sara, you're really damn good. I think I'm going to ask for a ride to work more often..." She giggled out, tapping her fingers on the side of the window. Sara smiled to herself, trying to control her quickly reddening ears. Catherine reached over, and wiggled one of Sara's ears.
"Aw, is Sara blushing?" Catherine joked, talking like she would to a baby. Sara swatted her away, laughing.
"Ah, shuddap." She blushed further, trying to act serious only to have it fail miserably. Catherine smiled to herself.
"Cute..."She mumbled, smiling and staring out the window. Sara blinked a few times, but acted like she had heard nothing.
"Let's hope the DNA results are in. We'll probably have to go to the kids' school..." Sara spoke, already beginning to work out the case in her mind. Catherine sighed.
"It's a shame, really. Those poor girls, and those sick parents... Plus, whoever killed them is twice as worse." Catherine sighed again, unbuckling as they parked at headquarters. They both hopped out, and headed into the lab. When they entered, they were greeted by a few office workers, and soon headed straight towards the break room. Grissom was seated there, talking to someone else, whose back was turned to them.
The woman was around 5'2, with a sleek build and wide shoulders. She was wearing a white button up blouse, with the sleeves rolled up three-quarters of the way. She had tanned skin, and dark black hair with wicked bright blue streaks through it, held into a ponytail. She also wore a pair of black slacks, a huge gun strapped to her left side. Her thick army boots completed her ensemble. Sara blinked in recognition at the small, Japanese symbol tattooed to the back of the woman's left ear.
"Ah, Sara, Catherine. I'd like you both to meet our newest member of the LVPD. She'll be one of our graveyard officers. Say hello to-"Grissom started. The woman turned around, facing the two female CSIs. She had piercing green eyes, two long blue streaks hanging down beside them. She had a strong, beautiful face, with a nose stud and a tongue piercing. She had a long, jagged scar on the left side of her face, from chin to just under her eye and the bridge of her nose. The second she saw Sara, she gave an evil grin, her pointed teeth gleaming. Sara gave a grin as well, hands on her hips.
"Suzi Vayne." Sara finished, standing tall and up in Suzi's face. Suzi glared up at her.
"Sara Sidle." She spoke out. They held their glare for what seemed like hours. Grissom and Catherine blinked, giving each other the 'What the hell?' look. After a few seconds, both glaring women burst into laughter. Suzi hugged Sara around the waist, and yanked her off the ground, giving her a bear hug.
"SARA!" She exclaimed, looking very happy. Sara coughed.
"SUZI, CAN'T BREATHE!" She laughed out. Suzi promptly dropped Sara, adjusting her tie.
"Erm, sorry about that. Long time no see!" Suzi gave another grin, probably one of those famous grins that Sara remembered her for. Sara smiled.
"Yeah, I know. God, what is it now? 10 years?" Sara tried, leaning against the break room table. Suzi nodded.
"Yup... You haven't changed a bit. You're still ugly." Suzi joked, giving Sara a punch in the arm. Sara growled a laugh, giving Suzi a little shove back.
"Yeah? Keep talking, Midget. By the way, you have the same name as one of our victims. Except for the fact that you're a grandma compared to how old this girl is..." Sara mentioned. Suzi nodded.
"I know. Her adopted parents are my cousins. I figured, not only would I score a great job in Vegas, but I could help them cope with the pain of losing her. I met her once... Nice kid, reminded me of myself, ironically enough. Even more ironic that I meet my pothead, Californian buddy here." Suzi changed the mood many times throughout her sentence, leaning up beside Sara. Catherine raised an eyebrow. Pothead, eh? We'll have to make a note of that...
"I'll have you know I quit all of that... 'Sides, you were a bigger pothead than I was, you're from Vancouver. I do miss the beer, though..." Sara reminisced, laughing. Suzi smirked.
"I brought you some Kokanee... The best of British Columbia, just for my old friend... By the way..." Suzi started, leaving a little pause in her sentence. She struck to the side, punching Sara square in the shoulder hard enough to send her off her feet. Sara stood up, a look of 'Oh no you didn't' plastered on her face.
"YOU NEVER CALL!" Suzi complained, waving a finger at Sara. Sara blinked, then shrugged.
"Oops?" She reasoned, a tiny smile on her face. Suzi rolled her eyes.
"Workaholic little shit..." She mumbled, shaking her head. Sara huffed.
"Meh. Anyway, are you here to help us with the case, or just annoy me?" Sara asked, sitting on the table. Suzi laughed.
"Well, I'd be glad to help you if you'd introduce me to this lovely lady here..." Suzi stated, leaning back on the table. Sara laughed.
"Sorry about that. This is Catherine Willows. Catherine, this is Suzi Vayne. We worked together in Canada. And it looks like you've already met Grissom..." Sara introduced them. Suzi shook Catherine's hand, giving her a wide, enthusiastic grin.
"Nice to meet cha." Catherine grinned. Suzi was like Greg with a sugar boost.
"You too. It's nice to finally have another person to lighten up this lab." Catherine walked over to the coffee machine, beginning a fresh brew of Greg's hidden coffee. Nick bounded into the break room, leaping on the couch just as Warrick came barreling down the hallway.
"HAHA! Beat you!" Nick taunted, grabbing the first player controller console. Warrick grumbled, sitting down and grabbing second player.
"That's cause you started early!" He complained. Grissom cleared his throat loudly, and both men looked up, slightly confused.
"Guys, I would like you to meet the newest member of our team, Suzi Vayne." Nick stood up, and shook Suzi's hand.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Nick Stokes, and this here is Warrick Brown." Warrick shook Suzi's hand, giving her a smile. Suzi laughed.
"Pleasure's all mine, dudes." Suzi had a slight coastal accent, Warrick noticed. Both guys slumped back on the couch, and picked up their controllers, ready for a round of some racing game. At that moment, Greg came bounding into the room, waving some sort of report.
"Sara, just the woman I wanted to see. Mia got your results back. No hit on CODIS, but it says that there was an unknown male AND an unknown female present. The blood under the bed is the male, the blood on the knuckles of the girl, was female AND male. There was a huge brawl and-Hello..." Greg stopped, reaching out and grasping Suzi's hand. She laughed and shook it.
"I'm Suzi Vayne, I'll be working with Graveyard from now on." She explained, leaning back on the table. Greg smiled wide.
"I'm Greg Sanders. I used to be the DNA guy, but I finally got the leash off." Suzi laughed a booming laugh.
"Well, I'm sure you're doing well. Otherwise Sara probably would have whooped your ass by now." Sara raised an eyebrow, thinking about it for a moment.
"Yeah, probably." Greg gave a little squeak.
"Oh, dear..." He said meekly. Suzi gave another loud laugh.
"Ahaha, you rock, dude." She said as she walked over to the coffee machine, using a mug that said, "CANUCK" in bright red letters. Catherine turned to Sara.
"So, two unknown people... It think we better go to school." She stated, popping the lid on her coffee. Sara nodded.
"Yeah. Are you going to be our officer, Suzi?" Sara asked, sipping her coffee. Suzi nodded, adjusting her belt buckle.
"True to that, friend. Let's get going. Do we know which school these kids go to?" She asked, downing her coffee in a fast chug. Catherine turned to her files, scanning down the page.
"Says here, Miranda Junior High School... 6124 Alderberry road."Catherine read out. With that, the three women walked out, heading towards the parking lot. Suzi hit something on her maple leaf key chain. The roar of an engine sparked up, and they hopped into her truck, buckling in. With a few adjustments, they were off. Suzi cranked up her stereo to a couple tunes, constantly tapping her hands as she went.
"So, give me the low down on this case. So far, I've got mass murder in my mind." Suzi asked as they pulled to a stop at a red light. Catherine rattled off the details, focusing more so on observing the quirky officer. Suzi nodded.
"Alright, gotcha. So we're looking for friends, associates, teachers. No body who has a criminal offense because nothing turned up on CODIS... Judging by what you've told me, I'm presuming that we are dealing with a crime of passion. Lovely first case..." Suzi grumbled the last bit, beginning to pull through another intersection. Sara chuckled.
"So, where are you living now?" Sara asked casually. Suzi spoke her address.
"Just a little apartment. I'm looking for a house so that when I secure my position here, I can move up my family." Sara blinked wide.
"Tell me you didn't forget to call me about kids or a wedding of some kind..." Sara warned. Suzi chuckled sheepishly.
"I would of, but it happened so fast. I've got my own baby girl, a beautiful stepdaughter and a husband to kill for. I knew you were living in Vegas, I heard from your friend in 'Frisco, so I decided, what the hell, let's get to tell her personally." Sara laughed, a grin on her face.
"I'm happy for you, Suzi." Suzi blushed, a soft smile on her face.
"Yeah, me too. Anyway, here's the school." Suzi parked, hopping out of the truck. Catherine and Sara followed, putting on their game faces. Suzi marched through the front doors, and slapped her hand on the administrative desk. Turns out, it was a big school. The secretary jumped.
"S'cuse me miss, my name's Vayne, I'm from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. See these two kids? I know you recognize them. I need their class numbers, the names of the teachers who taught them, and names of any friends you can think of." Suzi explained, holding up school pictures of the two girls. The secretary nodded, writing down some information on a piece of looseleaf. Catherine was impressed at how fast Suzi was able to extract information. Sara was busy observing the bustling hallways.
"Okay, ladies, here we go. Both were in the same class, grade... Oh, poor souls. Both were in grade nine... Let's go before I start to lose it." Suzi said sadly, walking towards the hallways. Sara followed with Catherine, feeling slightly out of place as they got stares from the younger teens. Suzi knocked on a classroom door, and then walked in, motioning for the teacher to come out. He walked over, and closed the door behind him.
"What's this about?" He asked. He looked young, probably a fresh teacher. Suzi looked up at him.
"My name is Vayne, I'm from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. These are my colleagues, Sidle and Willows. I regret to tell you this, but Dana Redden and Suzi Vayne are both dead. We were wondering if you knew any of their friends, who they hung out with and so forth..." The teacher looked genuinely shocked. Then he frowned deeply.
"Was it that damned Johnson kid? He's such a bad influence on Dana. They were such good kids, I can't believe that someone would want to hurt them. Suzi was a very secretive girl. Sat at the back of the class, quiet as the night is dark. She really didn't have any friends, save for Dana. I always wondered about her, though. Suzi was incredibly smart, a genius, in fact. But she always had bruises."
"Dana, on the other hand, was very outgoing. She was close to Suzi, and normally if anyone asked I would say to talk to their counterpart. But I guess it would probably be either Rina Costa or Darwin Johnson. Both were horrible influences. Darwin, according to the grapevine of gossip, got Dana and Rina hooked on drugs. Suzi apparently had wanted no part in it, and they all had a falling out. Except for Darwin and Dana. Suzi was worried, and Rina was furious. I'm not sure if it was because she liked Darwin, or because she just hated Suzi. Either way, there was a lot of animosity flowing. If I were to talk to anyone, it would be them." The teacher explained, trying to recall all the detail he had heard around the classroom. Suzi handed him a card.
"Thank you very much, sir. If you hear or think of anything else that may be important, give me a ring." Suzi explained, walking into the classroom. Sara and Catherine followed, feeling like moral backup. Suzi looked around the room, and spotted who she believed were Darwin and Rina.
"Darwin Johnson, and Rina Costa, would you mind stepping out of class for a minute?" Suzi's voice was very demanding, and Catherine probably would have been slightly intimidated if it weren't for the fact that Suzi was on their side. The two kids stood up, and walked toward the door. The boy, Darwin, looked very strange, and seemed paranoid, his eyes flickering strangely. He had short blonde hair, and was quite tall for a kid.
The girl was a mess. Frizzy red hair that was knotted messily, sunken in eyes, and chapped lips. Her eyes were red, and her pupils dilated. She was stoned. When Suzi had both kids outside, she crossed her arms, and gave them both a death glare.
"You lovely kids remember Dana and Suzi, don't you?" She asked calmly, but Sara could tell that Suzi had a plan of some sort. They both nodded, although Rina looked angry at the mention of Suzi's name.
"You guys hung out in a while, or what, eh?" She asked calmly, her coastal accent kicking in around a few words. Darwin itched the back of his neck, looking left at the ground.
"No, not in a while." He spoke, his voice a little shaky. Catherine crossed her arms. He was lying, they had been hanging out. Looking left for fabrication, as she recalled. Rina's eyes shifted.
"I did. Me and Dana went out, partied a little, smoked up. She stopped suddenly and said that she couldn't do it, that Suzi would get mad. I told her to forget about Suzi, and she freaked out on me and left for home. I shrugged it off and just smoked more. That was... I dunno when, I don't really remember. Could have been yesterday morning..." Rina offered. Sara almost raised an eyebrow, and gave Catherine a look that relayed her obvious doubt. But Suzi ran with it anyway, taking on a relaxed pose.
"Ah, okay. So, about her parents... What has she told you guys?" Darwin perked up, an angry look on his face.
"They were horrible to her. They beat her, pushed her around, called her names. She hated them." Darwin explained. Catherine noted his angry attitude. Suzi nodded.
"Hmm... That confirms my suspicions. Bastards. Now Rina... Why was Dana so afraid that she would upset Suzi?" She asked carefully, as if she was truly concerned for Dana. Rina flared up.
"I think they were fucking. Suzi, that bitch, told Dana that I wasn't good for her. I bet she was beating Dana right along side her parents, fucked her up real good." Catherine nearly gasped. Concern? Ah, no chance. Jealousy, on the other hand... Suzi nodded.
"Okay, thank you for your co-operation. If you don't mind, could we take a sample of your DNA?" The kids nodded, and Sara quickly swabbed them, labeling the tubes for DNA, on rush. Suzi gave a semi waving salute, and both kids walked back into the classroom. Immediately Sara's eyebrows struck the roof.
"If that wasn't the motive of the century, I don't know what is." She stated, hands on her hips. Catherine nodded.
"And Darwin was lying about hanging out with her. He was looking left... Fabricating." Catherine added, standing beside Sara. Suzi nodded, crossing her arms again.
"I've got a theory, and your DNA stuff should probably back it up. Let's get back to the lab." Suzi stated, already walking towards the hallways again. The CSIs followed, already wondering what Suzi had concocted in her strange little mind. They got back into the truck, Suzi giving the fuzzy red maple leafs hanging over her rear view mirror a swing. Catherine sat in the middle this time, smiling at the novelty items all around the car. Stickers of flags, beer bottle labels, and random coins.
"So, are these Canadian?" Catherine asked, holding a few of the coins in her hand. Suzi nodded.
"Yup. Beaver's five cents, moose is 25 cents, the loon is a dollar, and that polar bear is a lovely two dollars. The Bluenose is our ten cents. And of course, the maple leaf is our one cent coin." Suzi explained. Catherine put the coins back, leaning back in the seat, casually resting her hand on a knee. Wait, hold the presses. That wasn't her knee. Catherine took a quick glance down, and realized that because she was in a smaller space, she accidentally placed her hand on Sara's knee.
"Well, I hope you listen to the same stuff Sara does, I can't stand when I have to go out to a crime scene in Nick's car. WAY too much country for any soul to stand..." Suzi burst into her booming laughed, clicking on her CD player. A heavy bass line kicked in, and Suzi pulled out of the parking lot, a smirk on her face.
"Well, then I guess Sara hasn't changed much then. Good thing too, I'd hate to see her change from anything but the mean ass, cold, caring, funny individual she is." Sara blushed slightly, but not from the comment. She noticed right away Catherine's hand upon her knee, and she was trying desperately to focus on anything but the soft fingers massaging her-Woah. Stop. Massaging her knee? Sara immediately suppressed a blush, feeling her ears begin to burn, along with something else in the pit of her stomach. Catherine grinned, feeling Sara heat up.
"So... Want to let us in on what you were thinking?" Catherine asked, absently stroking Sara's knee. Suzi sighed.
"Well... I know we're not supposed to guess before the evidence...But I know that Darwin is involved with the murder of the Redden parents, there's no doubt. The male evidence you found... It's his. I know how to read this guy... He was in love with Dana, you could see it in his eyes. He hung his shoulders in guilt, he was paranoid because it's his first kill and he got the jitters because he feels like everyone knows. He killed them, and I bet he killed Dana, too. Went under, reached for her, searching for approval. When she screamed and kicked in horror, he dragged her out. There's no damper for adrenaline, so he shot her, and then regretted it. So he fled..." Suzi looked over, smiling slightly at Catherine's gesture. She then got back into detective mode.
"I can't tell when Suzi was killed. Either, she got there just in time to warn Dana that she was about to be killed, or walked in after Dana was already dead. This is where Rina comes in. She's in love with Dana, too. I can't tell if it's friendly or romantic, but she obviously thought that Suzi was Dana's lover, when they were in fact sisters. So, either driven by homophobia, fear, love or revenge, or a twisted combination of them all, these two were driven to kill. I can't tell if they were in it together or not, but in a sick link of their minds, they've wiped out two generations of a very broken family." Suzi finished, her theory elaborate, but very factual and possible. Sara nodded.
"Sounds about what I was thinking. We'll have a brainstorm when we get back." Sara stated, quickly giving Catherine a pat on the hand. Catherine smiled to herself. Now this is getting interesting...