Chapter One
Missing Person, Times Two
Start of Wednesday Graveyard Shift
Catherine Willows almost ran from the LVPD parking lot into the building and down the corridors to the labs and offices of the Crime Scene Investigation unit. The tan slacks and pale beige blouse that had been so crisp and fresh when she dressed for work were smudged with black, and she doubted that the best dry-cleaner in town would be able to erase the stains from her rust-colored leather blazer. Similar grime streaked her chin and cheek and marred the manicure on which she'd spent two hours of her precious time off. She uttered a string of minor curses under her breath as she scanned the hallways for her boss, hoping that she would have time to clean up a bit before being dispatched on a case.
She blew out a relieved breath when she saw no sign that her tardiness had been noted. As she rounded the corner toward the locker room, she literally ran into Warrick Brown, who looked both worried and annoyed.
His incongruously light green eyes swept over her as he steadied her with a hand on her arm. "Whoa," he said in surprise. "What happened to you?"
"Flat tire," she spat. "The auto club couldn't get a truck to me in less than an hour and a half, and there wasn't a single chivalrous passerby in sight. So I changed it myself." She flipped a flyaway strand of red-blond hair from her eyes and asked, "So, how pissed is Grissom that I'm late?"
Warrick blew out a long breath. "Well, seeing as how he's late, too…"
Catherine drew back and gave him a disbelieving look. "Grissom? Late?" she asked. "What is this? Mess with Catherine's Mind Day?"
"No. It's weird. Judy said he and Nick checked out at the same time – a little after nine this morning. She said Nick was ragging on him about expecting more than an Egg McMuffin for breakfast."
"So…did you ask Nick if he knows why Grissom might be late?" From the look on Warrick's face, Catherine suspected she knew the answer to that question.
"Nick hasn't made it in either. And neither one of them is answering either home or cell phones."
Catherine now understood the worry furrows creasing her colleague's forehead. She felt their twins forming on her own. "I think we have our first case of the night," she said grimly. "Missing person, times two."
Sara Sidle leaned around the doorframe of Gil Grissom's office. "Still no answer on either phone," she reported to Catherine, who was seated behind Grissom's desk and methodically examining the collection of files arranged on top. "Grissom's and Nick's personal vehicles are still in the parking lot, but the department Tahoe checked out to Grissom is missing. I called dispatch and asked for an APB on it."
"Good." Catherine looked up. "What do you remember about the Mahler case?"
"Burton Mahler," Sara said promptly. "Died last night from a drug overdose. Grissom and I took the call."
Catherine waved one of the folders. "Your OD was related to one of the men convicted in the SunWays armored car robbery that went down last March. From the notes Grissom made, he was interested in an old mine Burton owned."
Sara stepped farther into the room, coming to stand in front of the desk with her arms crossed and her head tilted to one side. "As I recall, they never recovered the money from the heist. I wonder if Grissom thought maybe it was hidden in the brother's mine?"
"Could be. But Grissom wouldn't have gone to check it out without backup…" She flipped through the stack of files and opened a different folder. "The report on the robbery lists Dan Stevens as the lead detective on the case." She made a face as she reached for the phone and dialed the Robbery Division extension. Stevens wasn't well liked among the crime lab staff; he was a little too free with his low opinion of "geeks with guns" for anyone's liking. After a brief conversation, during which her expression clouded even more, she slowly replaced the phone in its cradle and looked up at Sara. "About nine o'clock this morning, Stevens asked for the rest of the day off to take care of some urgent personal business. His lieutenant tried to contact him late this afternoon to make sure everything was all right, but hasn't been able to contact him."
Sara's lips parted in stunned apprehension. She stared at Catherine for a long moment before she said, "I think we need to have a look at that mine."
To be continued…