Entreaty
Chapter 19
"Hanson has a record a mile long in Vegas." Brass accepted the bottle of water that Sara handed him and took another swipe at his forehead with the handkerchief. "His family owns several casinos. In fact, his grandfather is Monty Richardson. Ring any bells?"
Grissom shook his head, but Sara piped in. "He was on the news recently, commenting on being sued for scamming the public."
"What casino doesn't scam the public?" Grissom voiced to their amusement.
"He is well known in the Vegas circles. His grandson was not so welcome. The talk is that Hanson was forced to leave and make his own way outside of the family business."
"Involvement with drugs?" Grissom asked him as his mind raced for the connection between Hanson and Andy.
"He wasn't convicted on anything drug related, but he was a suspect." Brass dabbed his forehead again and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw an approaching helicopter. That was one-step closer to getting back to air conditioning.
Tom walked past them without a word and walked over to the first helicopter. He spoke briefly with the pilot, before turning back towards the small group. He watched the second chopper land as he spoke.
"I have a team coming here directly. This is FBI jurisdiction."
"You are a Fed?" Sara gasped.
"My team is already here." Grissom said smoothly. He studied Tom from a new perspective. "We are processing this scene."
"It's not your case," Tom insisted. "You can return home and I'll take it from here."
The two men glared at one another until Sara placed a hand on Grissom's chest causing him to break eye contact with Tom.
She then turned back around to face Tom. "I know how much this must be tearing you up inside. We only want to help."
Tom stared at her for a tense minute and then slowly nodded as they watched the door of the second chopper slide open.
Nick was the first one to emerge. His wide grin vanished when he took in the disheveled pair and the man that was standing beside them.
Warrick was next, followed by Catherine. They had similar reactions as Nick when they set their eyes on the tattered group.
Sara was the first to speak. "Tom, this is Catherine, Nick, and Warrick." She glanced at Tom. "This is Tom Giles." She did not find it necessary to explain he was a relative of Grissom's and left any further explanation to the two men.
Grissom ignored Tom and began a brief description of the crime scene. He did not tell them his relative was the victim and he offered no explanation of the man standing beside him.
"Tom?" Sara's voice relayed the question she was not going to ask aloud with everyone listening.
"Any information will be given to my team when they arrive." Tom insisted as his eyes swept over Grissom's team. "I will have them meet me at CSI." He turned away from them and walked briskly back to the first helicopter pilot.
Sara motioned for the team to follow her and they moved as a group to where the body was discovered.
The team moved as a unit to collect evidence. Nick commented on the "mussed up" sand and quickly shut his mouth when he earned a disproving look from Grissom. They worked in silence for several hours until the body was completely uncovered.
Catherine walked over to stand beside Sara who could not take her eyes from Kyle Giles body.
"When we get back to the lab, you have to tell all."
Sara shot her a sour look. "There's not much to tell, Catherine." Her eyes found Grissom's across the body before he turned his attention back to the scene. "Grissom asked me to help him out. So I helped him." She bit her lip. This was Grissom's tale to share if he chose to share.
"And what an interesting tale it must be."
Once the body was secured in the second chopper, Tom spoke to Sara.
"I'm going with Kyle. Will you be returning to the lab to process the evidence?"
"I'm going to finish processing here, first." Sara motioned towards the Tahoe. "Then I will return to the lab."
Tom nodded. His demeanor was that of a tired man. A shell of the man she had first met only a few days before.
Grissom broke the silence. "Nick, why don't you ride back with Brass and begin processing."
They watched the helicopter lift off and then turned towards the Tahoe.
"We know the plane was a Cessna." Sara commented as she averted her eyes from the others.
"Warrick and I will collect the bullets." Grissom bent down to stare at one of the holes. "Why don't you and Catherine collect the tent?"
Sara stared at his bent head for a minute before shaking her own head. She walked towards the tent with Catherine trailing behind her with a collection kit.
"You don't need that, Catherine." Sara stepped into the tent and stared at the unfolded sleeping bags spread out on the tent floor.
"Uh, Sara, can you move aside so that I can enter the tent?"
"You know," Sara held her position as she spoke over her shoulder. "I can get this, Catherine. Why don't I hand you the cooler?"
"The cooler." Catherine repeated. She gently pushed Sara aside and stepped into the tent. Her inquiring eyes absorbed the intimate layout. "This is not Kyle Giles campsite?"
"It is his campsite." Sara began the process of rolling up the top sleeping bag. "You could call it a re-enactment campsite."
"I wonder how much re-enactment occurred here." Catherine picked up a dark blue bra.
Sara snatched it out of her hand and tucked it beneath her arm. "It gets really stifling in the desert during the middle of the day." She looked away from the inquisitive eyes.
Catherine stared at her discomfort for a second and then cleared her throat. "If you and Grissom have come to some kind of understanding then I'm happy for you both."
"I think that we should get this stuff together." Sara started rolling the second sleeping bag up and kept her blushing face averted.
"I'll take the cooler to the Tahoe." Catherine picked up several empty water containers and stuck them inside the cooler.
Warrick dropped another bullet into the evidence bag held by Grissom. "Who did you piss off, Gris?"
Grissom leaned on the car and watched as Warrick dug another bullet out of a tire.
"That man is my half brother."
Warrick straightened. "The Fed?"
"The Fed. The victim." Grissom heard a gasp and turned to find Catherine staring at him.
"You don't have siblings." She said.
"I found out recently that I do have siblings. Three to be exact."
That was all he felt like telling them. He saw Sara standing behind Catherine, looking uncertain.
"I'll take those Sara." He reached for the sleeping bags with the intention of placing them inside the car. "We can get them back after the car is towed."
"Warrick. Would you mind helping Catherine break the tent down?" Sara's pleading look was understood by Warrick who dragged a protesting Catherine back towards the campsite.
Left with Grissom, Sara felt suddenly awkward. The past evening felt eons ago and incredibly surreal. Grissom closed the back of the Tahoe and walked around to stand in front of Sara.
"Thanks." Grissom indicated the retreating pair. "I'm not ready to share more of my personal life with them."
"I'm surprised that you told Warrick as much as you did." Sara stared over his shoulder. "I'm not sure how to say this, Grissom."
"It can't be that bad, Sara, spit it out." Grissom purposefully kept his tone light. Inside he was waiting for her to state that it had all been a mistake.
"Catherine suspects that something happened between us."
Grissom's eyes swept from her face to her feet and back. "Why would she think that?"
Sara fastened her gaze on his chin. "You sent us to breakdown the tent."
Grissom shrugged. "Because she knows we slept in the tent she automatically assumes that something happened?" "Gris," Sara was not sure how to explain this to him without bluntness. "You haven't been back inside the tent since we heard the chopper."
"Nooo," Grissom clearly was not getting what she was implying.
With a heavy sigh, Sara looked around to make sure no one was within earshot.
"If you stepped back inside there, Gris, you would have known that something happened."
Grissom pictured the small tent. The sleeping bags spread out on the tent floor.
"Think with all your senses," Sara wiggled her brows suggestively. "Not to mention my bra was lying in plain sight."
Grissom's eyes flicked to her chest and back to her face.
"Hey, you two ready to go home?" Catherine stood next to Warrick who was now wearing an unreadable expression.
Grissom gave her a short nod. "I need to get back before the FEDS take over the case."
"According to your ---." Warrick stumbled over his choice of words. "Tom, the case is already a Federal one."
"I've been thinking about that," Sara said. "Tom never showed us his ID. What if he isn't FBI? I mean, he is one of the only ones that knew we were coming out here."
She could tell that possibility had never occurred to Grissom. His eyes widened. "You think he has been involved in the disappearance all this time?"
Warrick squinted into the distance. "Here comes a car. See the dust?"
Grissom grabbed Sara's hand. "Let's get inside the chopper. Now."
They clambered inside and buckled quickly as Grissom shouted for the pilot to take off.
When the pilot did not turn around or acknowledge them, Grissom spoke louder. "Let's go!"
Still, the pilot did not move.
TBC
"Hanson has a record a mile long in Vegas." Brass accepted the bottle of water that Sara handed him and took another swipe at his forehead with the handkerchief. "His family owns several casinos. In fact, his grandfather is Monty Richardson. Ring any bells?"
Grissom shook his head, but Sara piped in. "He was on the news recently, commenting on being sued for scamming the public."
"What casino doesn't scam the public?" Grissom voiced to their amusement.
"He is well known in the Vegas circles. His grandson was not so welcome. The talk is that Hanson was forced to leave and make his own way outside of the family business."
"Involvement with drugs?" Grissom asked him as his mind raced for the connection between Hanson and Andy.
"He wasn't convicted on anything drug related, but he was a suspect." Brass dabbed his forehead again and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw an approaching helicopter. That was one-step closer to getting back to air conditioning.
Tom walked past them without a word and walked over to the first helicopter. He spoke briefly with the pilot, before turning back towards the small group. He watched the second chopper land as he spoke.
"I have a team coming here directly. This is FBI jurisdiction."
"You are a Fed?" Sara gasped.
"My team is already here." Grissom said smoothly. He studied Tom from a new perspective. "We are processing this scene."
"It's not your case," Tom insisted. "You can return home and I'll take it from here."
The two men glared at one another until Sara placed a hand on Grissom's chest causing him to break eye contact with Tom.
She then turned back around to face Tom. "I know how much this must be tearing you up inside. We only want to help."
Tom stared at her for a tense minute and then slowly nodded as they watched the door of the second chopper slide open.
Nick was the first one to emerge. His wide grin vanished when he took in the disheveled pair and the man that was standing beside them.
Warrick was next, followed by Catherine. They had similar reactions as Nick when they set their eyes on the tattered group.
Sara was the first to speak. "Tom, this is Catherine, Nick, and Warrick." She glanced at Tom. "This is Tom Giles." She did not find it necessary to explain he was a relative of Grissom's and left any further explanation to the two men.
Grissom ignored Tom and began a brief description of the crime scene. He did not tell them his relative was the victim and he offered no explanation of the man standing beside him.
"Tom?" Sara's voice relayed the question she was not going to ask aloud with everyone listening.
"Any information will be given to my team when they arrive." Tom insisted as his eyes swept over Grissom's team. "I will have them meet me at CSI." He turned away from them and walked briskly back to the first helicopter pilot.
Sara motioned for the team to follow her and they moved as a group to where the body was discovered.
The team moved as a unit to collect evidence. Nick commented on the "mussed up" sand and quickly shut his mouth when he earned a disproving look from Grissom. They worked in silence for several hours until the body was completely uncovered.
Catherine walked over to stand beside Sara who could not take her eyes from Kyle Giles body.
"When we get back to the lab, you have to tell all."
Sara shot her a sour look. "There's not much to tell, Catherine." Her eyes found Grissom's across the body before he turned his attention back to the scene. "Grissom asked me to help him out. So I helped him." She bit her lip. This was Grissom's tale to share if he chose to share.
"And what an interesting tale it must be."
Once the body was secured in the second chopper, Tom spoke to Sara.
"I'm going with Kyle. Will you be returning to the lab to process the evidence?"
"I'm going to finish processing here, first." Sara motioned towards the Tahoe. "Then I will return to the lab."
Tom nodded. His demeanor was that of a tired man. A shell of the man she had first met only a few days before.
Grissom broke the silence. "Nick, why don't you ride back with Brass and begin processing."
They watched the helicopter lift off and then turned towards the Tahoe.
"We know the plane was a Cessna." Sara commented as she averted her eyes from the others.
"Warrick and I will collect the bullets." Grissom bent down to stare at one of the holes. "Why don't you and Catherine collect the tent?"
Sara stared at his bent head for a minute before shaking her own head. She walked towards the tent with Catherine trailing behind her with a collection kit.
"You don't need that, Catherine." Sara stepped into the tent and stared at the unfolded sleeping bags spread out on the tent floor.
"Uh, Sara, can you move aside so that I can enter the tent?"
"You know," Sara held her position as she spoke over her shoulder. "I can get this, Catherine. Why don't I hand you the cooler?"
"The cooler." Catherine repeated. She gently pushed Sara aside and stepped into the tent. Her inquiring eyes absorbed the intimate layout. "This is not Kyle Giles campsite?"
"It is his campsite." Sara began the process of rolling up the top sleeping bag. "You could call it a re-enactment campsite."
"I wonder how much re-enactment occurred here." Catherine picked up a dark blue bra.
Sara snatched it out of her hand and tucked it beneath her arm. "It gets really stifling in the desert during the middle of the day." She looked away from the inquisitive eyes.
Catherine stared at her discomfort for a second and then cleared her throat. "If you and Grissom have come to some kind of understanding then I'm happy for you both."
"I think that we should get this stuff together." Sara started rolling the second sleeping bag up and kept her blushing face averted.
"I'll take the cooler to the Tahoe." Catherine picked up several empty water containers and stuck them inside the cooler.
Warrick dropped another bullet into the evidence bag held by Grissom. "Who did you piss off, Gris?"
Grissom leaned on the car and watched as Warrick dug another bullet out of a tire.
"That man is my half brother."
Warrick straightened. "The Fed?"
"The Fed. The victim." Grissom heard a gasp and turned to find Catherine staring at him.
"You don't have siblings." She said.
"I found out recently that I do have siblings. Three to be exact."
That was all he felt like telling them. He saw Sara standing behind Catherine, looking uncertain.
"I'll take those Sara." He reached for the sleeping bags with the intention of placing them inside the car. "We can get them back after the car is towed."
"Warrick. Would you mind helping Catherine break the tent down?" Sara's pleading look was understood by Warrick who dragged a protesting Catherine back towards the campsite.
Left with Grissom, Sara felt suddenly awkward. The past evening felt eons ago and incredibly surreal. Grissom closed the back of the Tahoe and walked around to stand in front of Sara.
"Thanks." Grissom indicated the retreating pair. "I'm not ready to share more of my personal life with them."
"I'm surprised that you told Warrick as much as you did." Sara stared over his shoulder. "I'm not sure how to say this, Grissom."
"It can't be that bad, Sara, spit it out." Grissom purposefully kept his tone light. Inside he was waiting for her to state that it had all been a mistake.
"Catherine suspects that something happened between us."
Grissom's eyes swept from her face to her feet and back. "Why would she think that?"
Sara fastened her gaze on his chin. "You sent us to breakdown the tent."
Grissom shrugged. "Because she knows we slept in the tent she automatically assumes that something happened?" "Gris," Sara was not sure how to explain this to him without bluntness. "You haven't been back inside the tent since we heard the chopper."
"Nooo," Grissom clearly was not getting what she was implying.
With a heavy sigh, Sara looked around to make sure no one was within earshot.
"If you stepped back inside there, Gris, you would have known that something happened."
Grissom pictured the small tent. The sleeping bags spread out on the tent floor.
"Think with all your senses," Sara wiggled her brows suggestively. "Not to mention my bra was lying in plain sight."
Grissom's eyes flicked to her chest and back to her face.
"Hey, you two ready to go home?" Catherine stood next to Warrick who was now wearing an unreadable expression.
Grissom gave her a short nod. "I need to get back before the FEDS take over the case."
"According to your ---." Warrick stumbled over his choice of words. "Tom, the case is already a Federal one."
"I've been thinking about that," Sara said. "Tom never showed us his ID. What if he isn't FBI? I mean, he is one of the only ones that knew we were coming out here."
She could tell that possibility had never occurred to Grissom. His eyes widened. "You think he has been involved in the disappearance all this time?"
Warrick squinted into the distance. "Here comes a car. See the dust?"
Grissom grabbed Sara's hand. "Let's get inside the chopper. Now."
They clambered inside and buckled quickly as Grissom shouted for the pilot to take off.
When the pilot did not turn around or acknowledge them, Grissom spoke louder. "Let's go!"
Still, the pilot did not move.
TBC