Note: Thanks again for the reviews! And special thanks to Alison for
editing another chapter!
"That's not possible." Elaine wrapped her fingers around the chair back and stared at Grissom with disbelief. "Andrew would never do drugs. He is too smart."
Grissom turned to look at Sara for support. She lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug before concentrating her attention on the upset woman.
"It happens to good kids, Elaine." Sara took a tentative step towards the distraught woman. "Andrew experimented along with some other boys on his football team. Two of them have admitted it."
"They are lying." Elaine's knuckles were white, and her eyes sparked in anger as she darted her attention between Grissom and Sara.
"What is going on here?"
Both Grissom and Sara swiveled around towards the harried voice of Tom Giles.
Tom was glowering from the kitchen doorway as Elaine hurried around the chair to grab his arm. "They are telling me that Andrew, my Andrew, was using drugs."
She stared at her brother-in-law's face with such hope it caused Sara to look away with a new sadness.
Tom continued glowering at the pair as he wrapped a protective arm around Elaine's shoulders.
"Why would you come here and tell Elaine this when it can't lead us to Andy, or Kyle, for that matter?"
Grissom opened his mouth and closed it quickly. Sara picked up the response.
"You are kidding, right? The fact that Andrew has vanished may have everything to do with his taking drugs and with his altered behavior."
"What do you know of his behavior?" Elaine demanded. "You only know what people have told you. If you had known Andy then you would have known that he was always upbeat and full of laughter." Her voice trailed off as her eyes took on a glazed expression.
"Andy has always been incredibly personable." Tom added, but with less conviction.
"Exactly." Elaine clung to Tom's arm a bit harder and they could see him wince. "I would know if Andy was changing."
A toddler's cry echoed down the hallway. Elaine dropped Tom's arm, but she did not move towards the sound. Instead, she reached for a chair and sunk into it with a stunned look.
Three pairs of eyes studied her with new speculation. After several minutes, Elaine looked up and with glistening eyes sought Grissom. "Do you think this has only been going on for a few weeks?"
"We estimate that it started approximately three months before he disappeared. That's if what his friends tell us is true."
Hope flickered in Elaine's eyes. "Then you are not positive." She turned from Grissom to stare at Tom. "Tell me that you don't think that Andy would do this, Tom."
"I know that Kyle was concerned about him." Tom admitted after a long hesitation.
Elaine gasped. "Kyle said nothing to me." She stared at the others as she tried to come to grips with this new information.
The toddler's cry grew louder as she called for her mom to come get her. Elaine did not even acknowledge that she heard the child. Sara glanced at Grissom and they exchanged questioning looks. Should she draw Elaine's attention to her child?
She was about to touch the woman's shoulder, when she saw Tom silently leave the room. A few seconds later he reappeared with a red faced Emily. Immediately the toddler reached out for her mom to take her, but again Elaine barely acknowledged the girl, earning a frown from Tom.
"Elaine, your daughter needs you."
Tom tried to hand the child to Elaine. She waved him away and twisted her back on them both. "I can't hold her right now, Tom. I need to be alone."
Without another word, she left the room. Sara noticed Mattie watching from the hallway as Elaine passed him. She did not speak to him and he did not attempt to stop her flight. He looked back into the kitchen with a sad expression. Tom held out a hand towards him and he ran to his uncle, pressing his face into the man's side.
Emily wrinkled her small face and began to cry as Tom swayed gently while holding her close. He looked over her blond locks.
"If you two have dropped enough bombshells, maybe you should be leaving."
Sara felt Grissom's hand on her elbow, but she was not ready to go yet. "Did you plan on ever letting Elaine know any of this, Tom? Is that fair?" She did not want to say too much in front of Mattie, but she felt compelled to defend her actions, and Grissom's.
Tom patted Mattie's shoulder and asked him if he would wait for him in his room. Mattie nodded. He stopped in front of Grissom as he was leaving the room and tilted his head.
"I would like your phone number, Uncle Gil. Is that okay?"
Surprise flickered behind Grissom's eyes, but he smiled slowly. "Of course." Pulling his wallet from his pocket, he withdrew a small business card. Taking a pen, he wrote his personal home number and his cell phone number on the back before handing the card to Mattie.
Taking the card, Mattie pressed it within his hand and turned to Sara. "I would like to keep in touch with you, too, Sara." He smiled and with a shy look took his watch from his arm and handed it to her. "I want you to borrow this so you can use it to remember me and my dad and brother."
A confused Grissom watched Sara smile warmly at the boy. "I can't take your watch, Mattie. Your dad gave it to you."
"It's a loan." Mattie placed the watch inside her hand and said firmly. "I think it will help you find them. I don't know why." He backed away from them and left the kitchen.
When Sara looked back at Tom, his expression had softened. "You both made quite an impression on Mattie. He doesn't usually take to strangers."
"I guess he doesn't consider us strangers." Grissom said. His voice was more defensive than he intended and he decided again that it was time to leave. "We need to get back to Vegas, Sara. I also want to take another look at the spot where they found Kyle's car."
Sara gave him a nod, but her attention was on Tom and the little girl. "Will you stay with them for awhile?"
Tom swayed with the child in his arms while simultaneously rubbing the small back. "I'll probably take them to my mom's house. I won't leave them by themselves while Elaine is in this state."
The relieved smile Sara sent him lit up her face and Grissom noticed that Tom gave her an appreciative smile in return.
Scowling, Grissom tightened his grip on Sara's elbow. "We need to get on the road." He grumbled.
Sara did not shake him off immediately, but she also refused to be pulled out of the door. "Tom, you said that Kyle suspected that Andrew was using drugs? Did he say anything else that would make you think it could have been related to their disappearance? And, did he mention who he thought could be supplying these kids the drugs?"
To her relief, Tom did not appear angry. He was thoughtful as he mulled over the questions.
"Kyle was concerned, but he didn't know anything for certain." Tom smoothed the little girls blond hair and pondered his own response. "At least Kyle did not tell me anything for certain. I don't know who was supplying the drugs."
"Okay." Sara did not press him, although something about the way he was averting his eyes made her question how much he was keeping from them. "Say, Tom? Do you think that it would be okay for us to borrow Kyle's tent and supplies?"
Again, surprise washed over Tom's face, as well as Grissom's. They both stared at her with odd looks.
"I don't know why not." Tom nodded at the child. "I don't want to put Em down right now, but you and Gil can get whatever you need. Do you know where the stuff is?"
"Thanks, Tom." Sara pulled her elbow from Grissom's grasp and refused to look at him. "We will get what we need."
"You will keep me informed?" Tom requested, speaking directly to Sara.
"Of course." Sara shot Grissom a warning look, but to her surprise, he was not looking at either of them.
"We better load the camping equipment into the Tahoe, Sara. That's if you are finally ready?"
Ignoring the sarcasm, Sara led the way to Andrew's room.
------------------------------------------------- ---
An hour outside of Vegas, Grissom put in a call to Greg's pager. Within fifteen minutes, his cell rang and the energetic lab tech was talking his ear off.
"Where you been hiding, Grissom? It's strange here without you ordering people around. I think that ---."
"Greg." Grissom tried to interrupt, but Greg kept talking. After another long sentence, Grissom tried again. "Greg!"
Sara laughed aloud without thinking it would carry over the line. Greg's attention was finally captivated.
"Was that Sara? That sounded like Sara's laugh."
"I have the radio on, Greg." Grissom did not intend to explain Sara's presence to Greg. "Listen, Greg, I need a favor."
A subdued Greg agreed to meet him at a park not far from the lab in two hours. Grissom pressed the disconnect button and sighed with relief.
"Greg bought your the radio is on explanation?"
"It is on." Grissom said with a defensive look towards the radio.
"He didn't buy it," Sara snorted. "I'll ask him not to say anything."
Grissom shook his head. "I'm going to drop you off at your apartment."
"That's bull shit, Gris and you know it. I'm with you on this and I'm seeing it through." Sara glared at his locked jaw and wondered how long she would have to repeat her arguments with him regarding her input on this case.
"To what end, Sara? I'm not sure of anything right now, much less what is in the desert. I'm not even sure why I'm going back there or what I think will be accomplished. I think the answers are in Calienta."
"I think you are right about that." Sara rubbed her neck and shifted back onto the seat, drawing her right leg up against her chest. "I also think that Tom knows more than he is letting us know."
Her remark earned an astonished look from Grissom. "I'm stunned to hear you say that." Grissom spoke with a new lightness resonating in his voice.
"He is your blood relative, Grissom." Sara could not resist the taunting response, but it was said half-heartedly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Grissom demanded.
"It means that you both have secrets. You have these elusive natures that give you the excuse to lock away your emotions." Sara took a deep breath and continued in a much calmer voice. "You have an excuse to hide behind this mysterious persona in the hopes of not being hurt by anyone."
Grissom gripped the steering wheel and refused to look at her as he spoke. "You think that I've never been hurt? You think that I'm incapable of feeling emotions?"
Sara studied his profile for several minutes while processing his words. They had touched on this subject in the hot tub, but then he had successfully changed the topic.
"No, Grissom. I don't think that you never feel emotions." Sara chose her words carefully. "But, I also don't believe that you have ever been in love. Have you?"
She did not expect him to reply, but she was disappointed when he remained tense and silent. Turning away from him, Sara stared with unseeing eyes at the blurry scenery of the desert.
TBC
"That's not possible." Elaine wrapped her fingers around the chair back and stared at Grissom with disbelief. "Andrew would never do drugs. He is too smart."
Grissom turned to look at Sara for support. She lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug before concentrating her attention on the upset woman.
"It happens to good kids, Elaine." Sara took a tentative step towards the distraught woman. "Andrew experimented along with some other boys on his football team. Two of them have admitted it."
"They are lying." Elaine's knuckles were white, and her eyes sparked in anger as she darted her attention between Grissom and Sara.
"What is going on here?"
Both Grissom and Sara swiveled around towards the harried voice of Tom Giles.
Tom was glowering from the kitchen doorway as Elaine hurried around the chair to grab his arm. "They are telling me that Andrew, my Andrew, was using drugs."
She stared at her brother-in-law's face with such hope it caused Sara to look away with a new sadness.
Tom continued glowering at the pair as he wrapped a protective arm around Elaine's shoulders.
"Why would you come here and tell Elaine this when it can't lead us to Andy, or Kyle, for that matter?"
Grissom opened his mouth and closed it quickly. Sara picked up the response.
"You are kidding, right? The fact that Andrew has vanished may have everything to do with his taking drugs and with his altered behavior."
"What do you know of his behavior?" Elaine demanded. "You only know what people have told you. If you had known Andy then you would have known that he was always upbeat and full of laughter." Her voice trailed off as her eyes took on a glazed expression.
"Andy has always been incredibly personable." Tom added, but with less conviction.
"Exactly." Elaine clung to Tom's arm a bit harder and they could see him wince. "I would know if Andy was changing."
A toddler's cry echoed down the hallway. Elaine dropped Tom's arm, but she did not move towards the sound. Instead, she reached for a chair and sunk into it with a stunned look.
Three pairs of eyes studied her with new speculation. After several minutes, Elaine looked up and with glistening eyes sought Grissom. "Do you think this has only been going on for a few weeks?"
"We estimate that it started approximately three months before he disappeared. That's if what his friends tell us is true."
Hope flickered in Elaine's eyes. "Then you are not positive." She turned from Grissom to stare at Tom. "Tell me that you don't think that Andy would do this, Tom."
"I know that Kyle was concerned about him." Tom admitted after a long hesitation.
Elaine gasped. "Kyle said nothing to me." She stared at the others as she tried to come to grips with this new information.
The toddler's cry grew louder as she called for her mom to come get her. Elaine did not even acknowledge that she heard the child. Sara glanced at Grissom and they exchanged questioning looks. Should she draw Elaine's attention to her child?
She was about to touch the woman's shoulder, when she saw Tom silently leave the room. A few seconds later he reappeared with a red faced Emily. Immediately the toddler reached out for her mom to take her, but again Elaine barely acknowledged the girl, earning a frown from Tom.
"Elaine, your daughter needs you."
Tom tried to hand the child to Elaine. She waved him away and twisted her back on them both. "I can't hold her right now, Tom. I need to be alone."
Without another word, she left the room. Sara noticed Mattie watching from the hallway as Elaine passed him. She did not speak to him and he did not attempt to stop her flight. He looked back into the kitchen with a sad expression. Tom held out a hand towards him and he ran to his uncle, pressing his face into the man's side.
Emily wrinkled her small face and began to cry as Tom swayed gently while holding her close. He looked over her blond locks.
"If you two have dropped enough bombshells, maybe you should be leaving."
Sara felt Grissom's hand on her elbow, but she was not ready to go yet. "Did you plan on ever letting Elaine know any of this, Tom? Is that fair?" She did not want to say too much in front of Mattie, but she felt compelled to defend her actions, and Grissom's.
Tom patted Mattie's shoulder and asked him if he would wait for him in his room. Mattie nodded. He stopped in front of Grissom as he was leaving the room and tilted his head.
"I would like your phone number, Uncle Gil. Is that okay?"
Surprise flickered behind Grissom's eyes, but he smiled slowly. "Of course." Pulling his wallet from his pocket, he withdrew a small business card. Taking a pen, he wrote his personal home number and his cell phone number on the back before handing the card to Mattie.
Taking the card, Mattie pressed it within his hand and turned to Sara. "I would like to keep in touch with you, too, Sara." He smiled and with a shy look took his watch from his arm and handed it to her. "I want you to borrow this so you can use it to remember me and my dad and brother."
A confused Grissom watched Sara smile warmly at the boy. "I can't take your watch, Mattie. Your dad gave it to you."
"It's a loan." Mattie placed the watch inside her hand and said firmly. "I think it will help you find them. I don't know why." He backed away from them and left the kitchen.
When Sara looked back at Tom, his expression had softened. "You both made quite an impression on Mattie. He doesn't usually take to strangers."
"I guess he doesn't consider us strangers." Grissom said. His voice was more defensive than he intended and he decided again that it was time to leave. "We need to get back to Vegas, Sara. I also want to take another look at the spot where they found Kyle's car."
Sara gave him a nod, but her attention was on Tom and the little girl. "Will you stay with them for awhile?"
Tom swayed with the child in his arms while simultaneously rubbing the small back. "I'll probably take them to my mom's house. I won't leave them by themselves while Elaine is in this state."
The relieved smile Sara sent him lit up her face and Grissom noticed that Tom gave her an appreciative smile in return.
Scowling, Grissom tightened his grip on Sara's elbow. "We need to get on the road." He grumbled.
Sara did not shake him off immediately, but she also refused to be pulled out of the door. "Tom, you said that Kyle suspected that Andrew was using drugs? Did he say anything else that would make you think it could have been related to their disappearance? And, did he mention who he thought could be supplying these kids the drugs?"
To her relief, Tom did not appear angry. He was thoughtful as he mulled over the questions.
"Kyle was concerned, but he didn't know anything for certain." Tom smoothed the little girls blond hair and pondered his own response. "At least Kyle did not tell me anything for certain. I don't know who was supplying the drugs."
"Okay." Sara did not press him, although something about the way he was averting his eyes made her question how much he was keeping from them. "Say, Tom? Do you think that it would be okay for us to borrow Kyle's tent and supplies?"
Again, surprise washed over Tom's face, as well as Grissom's. They both stared at her with odd looks.
"I don't know why not." Tom nodded at the child. "I don't want to put Em down right now, but you and Gil can get whatever you need. Do you know where the stuff is?"
"Thanks, Tom." Sara pulled her elbow from Grissom's grasp and refused to look at him. "We will get what we need."
"You will keep me informed?" Tom requested, speaking directly to Sara.
"Of course." Sara shot Grissom a warning look, but to her surprise, he was not looking at either of them.
"We better load the camping equipment into the Tahoe, Sara. That's if you are finally ready?"
Ignoring the sarcasm, Sara led the way to Andrew's room.
------------------------------------------------- ---
An hour outside of Vegas, Grissom put in a call to Greg's pager. Within fifteen minutes, his cell rang and the energetic lab tech was talking his ear off.
"Where you been hiding, Grissom? It's strange here without you ordering people around. I think that ---."
"Greg." Grissom tried to interrupt, but Greg kept talking. After another long sentence, Grissom tried again. "Greg!"
Sara laughed aloud without thinking it would carry over the line. Greg's attention was finally captivated.
"Was that Sara? That sounded like Sara's laugh."
"I have the radio on, Greg." Grissom did not intend to explain Sara's presence to Greg. "Listen, Greg, I need a favor."
A subdued Greg agreed to meet him at a park not far from the lab in two hours. Grissom pressed the disconnect button and sighed with relief.
"Greg bought your the radio is on explanation?"
"It is on." Grissom said with a defensive look towards the radio.
"He didn't buy it," Sara snorted. "I'll ask him not to say anything."
Grissom shook his head. "I'm going to drop you off at your apartment."
"That's bull shit, Gris and you know it. I'm with you on this and I'm seeing it through." Sara glared at his locked jaw and wondered how long she would have to repeat her arguments with him regarding her input on this case.
"To what end, Sara? I'm not sure of anything right now, much less what is in the desert. I'm not even sure why I'm going back there or what I think will be accomplished. I think the answers are in Calienta."
"I think you are right about that." Sara rubbed her neck and shifted back onto the seat, drawing her right leg up against her chest. "I also think that Tom knows more than he is letting us know."
Her remark earned an astonished look from Grissom. "I'm stunned to hear you say that." Grissom spoke with a new lightness resonating in his voice.
"He is your blood relative, Grissom." Sara could not resist the taunting response, but it was said half-heartedly.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Grissom demanded.
"It means that you both have secrets. You have these elusive natures that give you the excuse to lock away your emotions." Sara took a deep breath and continued in a much calmer voice. "You have an excuse to hide behind this mysterious persona in the hopes of not being hurt by anyone."
Grissom gripped the steering wheel and refused to look at her as he spoke. "You think that I've never been hurt? You think that I'm incapable of feeling emotions?"
Sara studied his profile for several minutes while processing his words. They had touched on this subject in the hot tub, but then he had successfully changed the topic.
"No, Grissom. I don't think that you never feel emotions." Sara chose her words carefully. "But, I also don't believe that you have ever been in love. Have you?"
She did not expect him to reply, but she was disappointed when he remained tense and silent. Turning away from him, Sara stared with unseeing eyes at the blurry scenery of the desert.
TBC