Some brief author's notes: With finals ending yesterday, I had the time to finish up this chapter today. It shouldn't be long before the next chapter is out. Also, I was able to do some updating to my Sandle website (the link is on my author page) and made a computer wallpaper based off this story (using Nick's quote about eternity from a couple chapters ago). So if you're interested, check it out and leave a note in the guestbook, I'd appreciate it.
As for this chapter, it's the longest so far, but itrevolves more around the case then Sara and Greg's relationship. Next chapter will get back to them…
Chapter Seven
After Sara had left his office, Grissom had turned his full attention back to Greg's case- losing all track of everything else, including time. Without realizing it, he worked through the end of his shift and halfway through the day shift before he was interrupted.
"Gil." Ecklie's voice stirred him from his thoughts as the assistant director hovered in the doorway.
Grissom looked up and frowned at the other man's presence. "Conrad."
"Any leads in Sanders' case?"
The supervisor shook his head slowly, sadly. "No."
Ecklie nodded, moving a little further into the office- an unusual look of concern on his face. "Have any of your CSIs gotten any sleep in the last 36 hours. Have you?"
"I haven't. Nick and Sara did, but if anyone else has, it was minimal."
"I know that you are all worried about Sanders and want to find whoever is responsible, but this can't be healthy on any of you. Besides, what good can you do if you're exhausted?"
"If this is about overtime pay…" Grissom shook his head threateningly.
Ecklie held up his hands in defense. "It's not." He shifted, making it clear that this was awkward territory for him. "Maybe to the sheriff it is, but I don't care. I'm saying this out of consideration for you and your CSIs."
"I appreciate that."
"What are you going to do?"
"We already have a meeting scheduled in twenty minutes. If no one has any solid leads, I'm sending everyone home." Grissom sighed, motioning vaguely off to one side.
"And, if you have a lead?"
The supervisor shrugged. "See where it takes us?"
Ecklie sighed as well, but gave a nod. "Do you mind if I sit in?"
"No."
"The sheriff wants an update as well, perhaps it would just be easier to have him hear the facts straight from CSI."
"Perhaps." Grissom replied half-heartedly.
Ecklie frowned. "Get some rest at some point, Gil. You're looking old."
For the first time, Grissom really did feel old, and tired. He was frustrated with the lack of evidence he and Catherine had found in Greg's case and he blamed himself. He had dedicated his life to solving crimes and yet he seemed unable to do anything for one of his own CSI. Rubbing his forehead, he gave a long sigh.
"You okay?" Catherine asked, concern for the supervisor obvious in her tone.
"Tired." Grissom replied, glancing across the table at her.
"We all are." The redhead gave a weary smile. "But, we've got to see this through. For Greg… and Sara."
The supervisor nodded.
"Why are Ecklie and the sheriff heading this direction?" Catherine's tone immediately became colder.
"They're sitting in on the meeting."
"Oh." She watched the two men enter the room with mild apprehension.
"Are the others coming?" Ecklie asked, glancing at the empty seats at the large conference table.
"They should be here momentarily." Grissom motioned to two seats. "Please, sit."
"Do you have any idea who shot your CSI?" The sheriff asked as soon as he was seated.
"I'm afraid I don't. I'm hoping the others will."
"Has his condition changed at all?"
Grissom shook his head. "No. Greg's stable, but in a coma."
The sheriff frowned. "And the other CSI, the one he was working with, was unhurt?"
"Sara's fine, physically."
"Physically?"
"She's taken Greg's situation very hard. They're close." Catherine explained, glancing over at Grissom, who gave a small nod of agreement.
The sheriff considered this for a moment before speaking. "I see. Is she back at work tonight?"
"She is."
"Here they come."Grissom nodded toward the hallway, as Sara, Nick and Warrick approached.
As they entered,Catherine could see that the younger CSIs had something. Nick and Warrick had the excited look of knowledge and Sara seemed more awake and confident than she had before. The latter was carrying a small stack of file folders, whichCatherine hoped held the answers they were all searching for.
"You know something." The redhead accused as the men sat down across from her.
"Fortunately, Sara got a hold of some vital evidence and was able to send us in the right direction, 'cause we got nothing off the footprints and trace evidence." Nick looked up at Sara and grinned.
Sara returned a meek smile, hovering at the end of the table. "I got lucky."
"She's so modest." Warrick laughed. "She put it all together before Nick and I got the first two pieces together."
"You know who killed the vic?" Grissom asked, avoiding the question they were all wondering about- he couldn't bring himself to ask if she knew who shot Greg.
"I think so."
"Let's hear it." Catherine urged, now wide-awake.
Sara set the first file on the table, opening it to show a picture of a young man. "The victim's name was Joshua Anderson- a fairly successful business owner."
"That name sounds familiar." Ecklie commented.
"It should. Two years ago, CSI worked a case that involved his business."
"Weren't there three owners? One was killed and another was found guilty of his murder?"
The brunette nodded. "You're correct. Patrick Randolph was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of the third owner. Because of this, Joshua became the sole owner…"
"Increasing his income significantly." Nick added with a smirk.
"Now, the CSI that worked the case was never really convinced Patrick was the murderer. There was sufficient evidence against him, but, according to the report, it seemed suspicious. However, despite all that, the case still went to trial and Patrick was found guilty. It seems that there was suspicion that Joshua Anderson framed Patrick in order to take over the business." Warrick explained, taking another file from Sara and showing the others a picture of Patrick Randolph.
The sheriff looked from the picture to Sara, still frowning. "It's plausible, but I'm not seeing where this is leading."
"Joshua was being blackmailed. He was receiving an e-mail every week for some designated amount of money to be sent to a PO box." Sara replied, laying out several e-mail printouts.
"Someone knew that he had framed the other guy?" Catherine asked.
"That was my guess. The e-mails started a few weeks after the guilty charge was brought down."
Grissom nodded, starting to see the pieces fall into place. "So, you traced the PO box…"
"Brass was able to track it, but when we went there, the name it was registered under was fake. However, I was able to pull a print from the inside of the box." Sara handed another file to Nick.
"It came back to a Michael Randolph. His prints were on file for an assault charge about five years ago." Nick showed the supervisors a rap sheet and picture.
"Another Randolph? That's not a coincidence." The sheriff commented.
"He's Patrick Randolph's younger brother." Nick replied.
Warrick tapped on the papers. "The print by itself doesn't mean much, but knowing his family's connection to the vic…"
"You've got a suspect." Ecklie gave a nod.
"What I don't understand is… why kill Joshua? There's no more blackmail money and there's no chance of clearing his brother's name- if he had any interest in that at all." Catherine glanced between the three CSIs.
Sara looked down at the papers spread across the table before answering. "I think, at one point, he did. My guess is he had no more solid proof of the frame up than the police did, but he knew enough to frame the guy. Maybe, he figured Joshua would come clean, if threatened enough."
"Still, why did Joshua end up dead?" Grissom asked.
"Patrick Randolph died in prison, three days ago." Sara said softly.
A silence fell over the room, everyone considering what they had just been told.
"Where does the CSI fit in?" The sheriff asked bluntly, breaking the silence.
"I don't know." Sara shook her head slowly.
Grissom looked from the brunette to the sheriff. "We know that the same gun that killed Joshua Anderson shot Greg."
"So if this Michael Randolph killed this Joshua guy, he is also probably responsible for the shooting of the CSI."
"It seems likely."
Catherine watched the shine disappear from Sara's eyes at the mention of Greg. Her sympathy for the brunette fueled her desire to find the man that was responsible. Looking at the other CSIs, she could tell they shared that thought. "I think we need to talk to Michael."
"Brass is looking for him as we speak." Warrick answered confidently.
Leaning near the doorway, Grissom watched as Nick paced back and forth in the police station waiting room. Every couple minutes, the young man would stop and look down the hallway before starting to pace again.
Catherine and Warrick sat near Grissom, both watching Nick with tired expressions. Across from them, Sara stared blankly out the windows of the room.
"Nicky! Just sit already!" Catherine snapped, breaking the silence of the room. "I know you're just as impatient as the rest of us, but enough is enough." She added, gentler.
"Sorry." Nick stopped and dropped into a chair near Sara, who finally broke her stare to glance over at him.
"What if Brass doesn't find him?" The brunette asked, glancing between the other CSIs.
"Brass'll find him, don't worry." Warrick assured her. "This guy won't get away with what he did."
Sara nodded, but she didn't look terribly reassured. "I just want answers…" She said quietly, the others barely hearing her.
Grissom moved away from the wall and sat down next to Sara, taking her hand as he did so. "If there are answers to be found, Sara, we'll find them."
She looked from him to the others, and smiled. "I know. I believe that."
"Good." The supervisor nodded and sat back in the chair, still holding Sara's hand as they waited.
Catherine had just started to drift off to sleep, on Warrick's shoulder no less, when she heard the sound of footsteps, followed by Brass's voice.
"We got him!" The captain announced excitedly.
"He must be a hard man to locate." Nick commented, standing and stretching.
"Hey, we had to check five strip clubs before we finally found him." Brass gave him an annoyed glance.
"I'm sure that was brutal." Sara smirked, giving a soft laugh.
Everyone glanced toward her, surprised to hear her sound a little like her old self, to which the brunette merely shrugged.
Brass gave Sara a dry smile, then nodded toward the hallway. "Come on, let's get this over with."
The CSIs filed out into the hallway, just in time to see a young man being led toward the interview rooms.
"Is that him?" Catherine asked, glancing at the captain.
"Yep. One Michael Randolph."
Nick glanced over at Sara, who was watching the officers and suspect with a wary expression. "Sara…?"
"Yes?" She turned her attention toward him.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." She nodded, giving an unconvincing smile as she led the way into the viewing room. "I'll be better when all this is over…"
"We all will." Catherine replied. The redhead hung back, along with Warrick and Grissom, away from the glass while Sara and Nick stoodat it.
Nick studied Michael Randolph as they waited for Brass to begin the interrogation. The young man was rather plain in appearance, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, and seemed to fit the stereotype of blackmailers/strip club patrons. The man did not strike Nick as a murderer, but the CSI knew that appearances were too often misleading.
After a minute or so, Brass entered the interrogation room and sat down across from the suspect.
"State your name."
"Michael Randolph." The young man sneered at the captain. "But you knew that."
"I still gotta ask." Brass replied calmly. "Does the name Joshua Anderson mean anything to you?"
"Maybe."
"You're brother knew him, didn't he?"
Michael rolled his eyes. "Josh is the biggest S.O.B. this side of the Mississippi. Just because my brother knew him doesn't mean I want anything to do with him."
"Then you didn't have anything to do with his death?"
"If someone killed Josh, he had it coming."
"Really? Why is that?"
"He would do anything for money. He didn't care what lives he ruined in the process."
"You were willing to take his money." Brass raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about your print in a PO box that Joshua Anderson was sending blackmail money to and the deposits you made into your account for the same amounts."
Michael shrugged. "He set my brother up."
"So you were avenging your brother?"
"My brother had a kid. I was just looking out for my nephew."
"That's nice of you." The captain gave an insincere smile. "Where does killing Joshua fit into that?"
"What makes you think I killed him?"
"You had motive and we can prove you did it, but do yourself a favor and come clean now."
"Like I said, the guy deserved it."
"Is that a confession?"
"Josh set up my brother. At first I thought I could get him to vouch for Patrick- you know, say he wasn't guilty. Josh bragged, to my face, that he had killed that guy, not Pat. I couldn't do anything for my brother."
"Except blackmail Joshua. You still haven't answered my question."
"When Patrick died, I lost it. I could bear the thought of that… that… bastard walking around, making more money. I took my brother's old gun and went to see Josh."
Brass nodded, a grim expression on his face as he sat forward. "Now, Michael, Joshua wasn't the only one you shot that night."
"News to me."
"I don't think so." The captain shook his head. "The way I see it, you came back to the house and saw the cops wandering around the front yard, so you decided to take a shot at them."
Michael looked at Brass, expression blank. "Did I hit someone?"
"Yeah, you did. You hit a CSI."
"He alive?"
"At the moment.If he dies, you're looking at another murder charge, and probably the death penalty. So, why did you do it? What had they done to you?"
"Two years ago, you people took my brother from me. You took away someone I loved and now he's dead- punished for a crime he never committed…"
Grissom gave a long sigh. "'An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind'." He shook his head.
"I don't understand..." Sara replied, staring at Michael through the glass.
"You don't? Hate and revenge tend to be a part of human nature- Michael hated the people who took his brother away from him and eventually sought revenge against them. I mean, don't you feel hatred toward him for what he did to Greg?" Nick looked from the interrogation room to her.
"No." She shook her head slowly. Looking up at Nick, Sara frowned thoughtfully. "Hate solves nothing, it only leads to more hate. It won't undo what happened to Greg."
Grissom gave a tiny small, fueled by an immense sense of pride in the woman his young student had become.
"What are you going to do now?" Nick asked gently.
"I don't know. I'll figure something out."
"Do you want me to drive you anywhere?"
Sara shook her head with a small smile. "You've been wonderful through all this and I'm incredibly grateful to you, but I need to do this alone. I need to figure out what comes next."
"I understand. Call me if you need anything." He pulled her into a tight hug.
"I will." She gave a brave smile as she headed for the door; pausing briefly, she looked back at them before heading out into the hallway.
"Where do you think she's going?" Catherine asked, watching the brunette walk away.
Grissom gave a tiny shrug. "I don't think she even knows."
"What happens now?"
"We go home. We tell the people we love that we love them," He glanced from Catherine to Warrick to Nick, "And we hope that, one day, Sara will get the chance to do the same."
To be continued...