Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone! They do give me encouragement! This is a short chapter, but the next one will be following shortly.
Sara surveyed the room with a mixture of amusement and interest. Andrew's taste ran to the outdoors and extreme sports as well as the usual run of the mill sports such as football and baseball. Rock climbing posters lined the walls and complimented the desert stones that sat on the desk as well as the windowsill. A whitewater rafting poster was displayed prominently above a single bed. Sports paraphernalia and trophies were exhibited on the bookshelf that sat in the corner of the room, along with footballs, a baseball glove and ball, and tennis rackets. He was a regular sports jock and outdoor enthusiast, Sara mused as she took it all in.
Behind her Sara heard the door click shut as Grissom slowly made his way into the room and spoke loudly into her ear.
"If you are finished taking a mental inventory of the room, Sara, then you can tackle that backpack over there." Grissom pointed to a medium sized backpack that lay against the side of Andrew's bed. He moved to a larger one that stood against the windowsill, his latex gloves quickly slipping into place as he snapped them on.
With a roll of her eyes, Sara went to her own bag and pulled out a set of latex gloves before unsnapping the backpack that she was assuming belonged to Andrew. Power bars filled the outer pocket and she put them aside with little interest.
Beside her, Grissom was pulling out clothes, checking pockets, and finding nothing to give them any hints of what happened to Kyle and Andrew. Sara glanced at him from time to time, attempting to gauge his mood as they worked, but she could not put a finger on it. Deciding to focus her attention on the rest of her task, she unzipped the main part of Andrew's bag, pulled out a pair of blue shorts and started to put them aside when she felt a crumple in the back pocket. Curious, she examined the pocket more closely as she unbuttoned it and pulled out a photo of a teenage girl. The girl appeared to be the same age as Andrew, fourteen by her estimate, and was smiling back at the photographer with a glint in her eyes.
"Grissom." Sara waited for Grissom to turn towards her before she held up the photograph. "Andrew's girlfriend?"
Grissom tilted his head and stared at the dog- eared corners of the photo. "Or a girl he liked."
Turning the photograph back around, Sara studied the girl's playful manner. "I wonder if Andrew took this picture or someone else." With a shrug, she placed the photograph in a plastic evidence bag. "Either way, I would like to talk to this girl."
"I'm sure Elaine could tell us who she is." Grissom replied. He stood up to stretch when he accidentally knocked the backpack over with his foot. Before he could stoop to upright the bag, Sara stopped him by grabbing his leg.
"Wait!" She did not look up to see his astounded expression, but reached over him to point to something on the bottom of the bag.
Grissom followed her finger and saw a twig stuck on the corner of the backpack. He watched as Sara extracted the twig along with a few strands of grass and deposited the items in the evidence bag.
"It could have been stuck there by the police or investigators when they were transferring the camping equipment." Grissom stated this with a kind of stubbornness that mystified Sara, who rocked back on her heels to stare directly into the eyes that were locked with her own.
"It could have been," she responded. "But personally I think that it is. It should be treated as evidence. I also think that we need to get this to the lab as soon as possible."
"A twig and some grass," Grissom said without taking his eyes from her own. "You want me to process this in the lab and tell them what exactly?"
Sara kept her eyes on his as she stood up in one fluid motion. "Grissom. What is with you? You want to investigate this case but you don't want to investigate the evidence. I'm confused."
Grissom took a deep breath. He knew that Sara was making complete sense, but he did not want this trailing back to the lab. He stared at the scant evidence they had and frowned. "I don't know for certain this is a crime. We don't have the possible crime scene intact. We don't have any motives." He broke eye contact and stared across the room at the shelf of trophies. "I'm not a missing person's investigator, Sara." Grissom repeated for the second time in a day.
"No, but you are an investigator, Grissom." Sara replied while taking a step closer to him as she gripped his upper arm in her own, until he looked back into her eyes. "We are investigators, Grissom, and we don't know what happened to Kyle and Andrew. But I plan to find out." She squeezed his arm. "Or do my best trying."
Grissom gave her a slight nod as he dropped his eyes to the hand still holding his arm. Sara abruptly let go just as the door flew open. As it slammed against the wall with a bang, an angry voice reverberated throughout the room.
TBC
Sara surveyed the room with a mixture of amusement and interest. Andrew's taste ran to the outdoors and extreme sports as well as the usual run of the mill sports such as football and baseball. Rock climbing posters lined the walls and complimented the desert stones that sat on the desk as well as the windowsill. A whitewater rafting poster was displayed prominently above a single bed. Sports paraphernalia and trophies were exhibited on the bookshelf that sat in the corner of the room, along with footballs, a baseball glove and ball, and tennis rackets. He was a regular sports jock and outdoor enthusiast, Sara mused as she took it all in.
Behind her Sara heard the door click shut as Grissom slowly made his way into the room and spoke loudly into her ear.
"If you are finished taking a mental inventory of the room, Sara, then you can tackle that backpack over there." Grissom pointed to a medium sized backpack that lay against the side of Andrew's bed. He moved to a larger one that stood against the windowsill, his latex gloves quickly slipping into place as he snapped them on.
With a roll of her eyes, Sara went to her own bag and pulled out a set of latex gloves before unsnapping the backpack that she was assuming belonged to Andrew. Power bars filled the outer pocket and she put them aside with little interest.
Beside her, Grissom was pulling out clothes, checking pockets, and finding nothing to give them any hints of what happened to Kyle and Andrew. Sara glanced at him from time to time, attempting to gauge his mood as they worked, but she could not put a finger on it. Deciding to focus her attention on the rest of her task, she unzipped the main part of Andrew's bag, pulled out a pair of blue shorts and started to put them aside when she felt a crumple in the back pocket. Curious, she examined the pocket more closely as she unbuttoned it and pulled out a photo of a teenage girl. The girl appeared to be the same age as Andrew, fourteen by her estimate, and was smiling back at the photographer with a glint in her eyes.
"Grissom." Sara waited for Grissom to turn towards her before she held up the photograph. "Andrew's girlfriend?"
Grissom tilted his head and stared at the dog- eared corners of the photo. "Or a girl he liked."
Turning the photograph back around, Sara studied the girl's playful manner. "I wonder if Andrew took this picture or someone else." With a shrug, she placed the photograph in a plastic evidence bag. "Either way, I would like to talk to this girl."
"I'm sure Elaine could tell us who she is." Grissom replied. He stood up to stretch when he accidentally knocked the backpack over with his foot. Before he could stoop to upright the bag, Sara stopped him by grabbing his leg.
"Wait!" She did not look up to see his astounded expression, but reached over him to point to something on the bottom of the bag.
Grissom followed her finger and saw a twig stuck on the corner of the backpack. He watched as Sara extracted the twig along with a few strands of grass and deposited the items in the evidence bag.
"It could have been stuck there by the police or investigators when they were transferring the camping equipment." Grissom stated this with a kind of stubbornness that mystified Sara, who rocked back on her heels to stare directly into the eyes that were locked with her own.
"It could have been," she responded. "But personally I think that it is. It should be treated as evidence. I also think that we need to get this to the lab as soon as possible."
"A twig and some grass," Grissom said without taking his eyes from her own. "You want me to process this in the lab and tell them what exactly?"
Sara kept her eyes on his as she stood up in one fluid motion. "Grissom. What is with you? You want to investigate this case but you don't want to investigate the evidence. I'm confused."
Grissom took a deep breath. He knew that Sara was making complete sense, but he did not want this trailing back to the lab. He stared at the scant evidence they had and frowned. "I don't know for certain this is a crime. We don't have the possible crime scene intact. We don't have any motives." He broke eye contact and stared across the room at the shelf of trophies. "I'm not a missing person's investigator, Sara." Grissom repeated for the second time in a day.
"No, but you are an investigator, Grissom." Sara replied while taking a step closer to him as she gripped his upper arm in her own, until he looked back into her eyes. "We are investigators, Grissom, and we don't know what happened to Kyle and Andrew. But I plan to find out." She squeezed his arm. "Or do my best trying."
Grissom gave her a slight nod as he dropped his eyes to the hand still holding his arm. Sara abruptly let go just as the door flew open. As it slammed against the wall with a bang, an angry voice reverberated throughout the room.
TBC