Please forgive the time it has taken to get this out to you all. I have been having major problems with my computer, but think I have them all taken care of now. Hope you enjoy this chapter and come back for more. Beckaboo

ACID BATH

CHAPTER 12

Grissom and Horatio stood as Warrick and Sara entered the hospital room. Brina was sleeping soundly, so they took the moment to invite the new couple inside and get an update on the case. "What have you got," Grissom asked.

"We found the cat," Sara began, closing her eyes at the through of the poor, mutilated creature. "Unfortunately, she's dead and her paws have been removed."

Grissom cocked an eyebrow. "Where was she found?"

"She was hand delivered. The package is being processed now. The body is with Doc Robbins."

"Warrick?"

"The cameras are high end surveillance equipment like the CIA uses. He'd have to get them at a specialty shop. We're tracing the manufacturer and distributors now."

"Prints?"

"No leads there. The perp is having some fun with us, Gris. The prints at Brina's were Mister Marriott's and prints at the Marriott's house were Brina's."

Grissom sighed. Looks like it may be a circular trail. His having us double back on ourselves. He could be long gone by time we figure out who he is."

"Don't get discouraged, Gil," Brass said as he leaned against the doorway. "We're going through all Brina's cases that involved any of the victims and have been checking the backgrounds of all of them to see if we can find connections."

"Nick and Greg are headed for a defense attorney's home right now." Warrick informed. "Her prints were on the paper used to wrap the tape sent to Missus Marriott. We'll see what she can tell us."

"Keep working." Gil ordered. "It's got to pop soon."

aaaaa

They sat by Brina's bedside, each wrapped in his own thoughts. Grissom cradled a folder that Warrick had given him in his lap. Horatio held Brina's hand, wishing there was more he could do. Part of him realized as he sat there that Brina was much more than a foster sister to him, yet he tried desperately to squash that feeling. He knew Brass had strong feelings for her and he didn't wish to get in the way. That's why he had told Brass what he had. He realized now that it was because he was afraid to hope for anything more in their relationship. He'd been burned too many times in the past and found himself overly cautious with women in general and with ladies who were friends in particular.

Gil looked up from his reading to gaze at the picture of the couple in front of him. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he quickly covered it with a hand, stroking his beard. "So, Horatio," he began, "we know that Brass will probably never tell Brina about his feelings. When will you?"

Horatio's head shot up to look into Grissom's cool blue eyes, his mouth gaping. "Is that the famous Grissom intuition I see," he finally smirked.

"It's obvious, H. Why else would you rush out here when you were called and stay with her 24-7?"

"That's what brothers do, you know."

"H., it's me. Don't try to deny it. I'm a trained observer, remember?" He smiled. "It just amazes me that the three most important men in her life have intimacy issues."

"Well," a whisper came from Brina. "You all have good reason to have those type of issues. Don't think you're alone. Lots of people have them."

The two men looked down at her pale face as she smiled up at them both. "You heard...?" Horatio's look of embarrassment was all too evident.

"Just that you all have intimacy issues. Strange things you men talk about when you think the women aren't listening."

"How do you feel?" Grissom asked.

"Like someone jumped on my chest," she reached a hand up to rub her sternum. "What happened."

"You had a little problem, but the doctors were able to remedy it."

Horatio stated.

"Stop that. I'm grown up, now. Tell me the truth."

"Congestive heart failure due to the pulmonary edema. They had to use the paddles on you to bring you back."

"So, I had a man on my chest, did I?" She smiled. "Was he cute?"

bbbbb

"Hello, Your Honor." Roger's voice came from the doorway. Brina had been lying in her bed alone for several minutes when he arrived. She turned her head to see him in a wheelchair, his eyes bandaged. A gasp passed her lips before she could stifle it.

"Roger?" She looked from him to his wife, whose face showed the strain of the ordeal. "Tiki? What happened?"

They moved into the room and Tiki took a seat beside Brina. Roger stood up and reached his hand out to her. She took his, patting it gently. "Your attacker made a second run on me," he said. "Apparently, he used cobra venom in my attack, aiming directly for my eyes. He's quite cunning, this one."

"What's the prognosis?" Brina wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she needed to understand the extent of his injuries.

"I—I'm permanently blinded. I guess you'll have to get a new clerk."

"Don't worry about that yet. Let's wait and see if there is anything that can be done."

"You're an optimist, I know, but they say there is nothing." Tears flowed from Tiki and Brina's eyes.

"I am so sorry, Roger. You don't deserve this. It's all my fault."

"It is not. How do you figure that?"

"Obviously, this maniac was after me and anyone involved with my work, so…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ms. Grissom," Tiki stated. "None of this was your fault. You could not have foreseen any of it."

"How do you feel?" Roger changed the subject.

"Well, after having my chest pounded on, I guess I should say I feel terrible, but I am breathing better."

"I heard he got you with acid. How's your face?"

"I'll have to have plastic surgery. We'll go to Miami for that, because some of my best friends are there. They'll take good care of me."

"When do you expect to leave?"

"As soon as the doctors release me from here. I hope it's soon. I want to get this done and get back on the bench."

"Meanwhile, the police and CSI will be working to find the lunatic that did this to us. I hope they are successful. He's very sly, this one."

ccccc

Brina sat in a wheelchair staring out the solarium windows. Brass, Horatio and Grissom sat around her, trying to fill her in on the happenings of the past couple of weeks. Her mind was a fog of images. Friends were having their lives destroyed, and for what?

"Can you think of any connection in all of this," Brass asked.

"Of course I can," she snapped before she could stop herself. Then, she turned toward him, a gentle hand reaching to touch his. "I'm sorry, Jim." She took a deep breath. "I can say for a fact each victim has been in my courtroom at one time or another."

"Carol Zukermann?"

"Multiple cases. She was also Mr. Fontaine's attorney during his trial." A tear trailed its way down her cheek. "I—I just can't believe someone would hurt Roger over a perceived injustice. Why him? He doesn't preside over cases or defend the criminals. I don't understand."

"Clearly," Horatio softly answered, "we are dealing with a deranged individual. We may never know the why. What can you tell us about Ms. Zukermann?" Brina's mind went to her colleague with the curly red hair.

"She always had a smile on her face and a kind word for everyone." A slight smile crossed her face as she continued. "She gave over 50 of her annual income to feed the poor and owned housing for displaced families to stay while they regrouped. She taught reading to the illiterate and was involved in the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

"When we'd meet at a special function, she'd always be laugh8ing and jovial, always the best hostess. So you see," she turned her gaze to Grissom's critical eyes, "I can't see why anyone would harm her. How did you say she died?" She knew of the three men with her, her cousin would be most forthright. No beating around the bush with him.

He hesitated only a moment, reading the court professional in her demeanor. She would hear the facts from only him, as if he were in the witness box of her courtroom. He slowly stood, kneeling before her and placing her hands in his, staring into her fiery hazel eyes.

"Bree, this isn't going to be easy," he began. "You obviously cared for her."

"Everybody admired her, Gilly. Just state the facts."

"Okay," he took a deep breath. "She was found eviscerated in her bathtub, a large Bowie knife in the tub with her. Someone tried to make it look like a bizarre suicide."

"She'd never commit suicide." Brina insisted. "The perp is going to great length to keep himself hidden. Have you had a forensic psychologist check out the M.O.?"

"Yes. She's going through all the crime scene data now to try to piece together a profile."

Brina stared at the rose covered landscape outside the windows. She fingered the nasal cannula on her face that was attached to a portable oxygen tank for a moment. "That was personal," she finally spoke.

"They were all personal," Brass answered.

"Yes, Jim," she agreed, "but this time he wanted her to see him, look on the face of death as he destroyed her."

"She's right," Horatio nodded. "And by now he knows Bree is doing better. He'll be back to finish the job."

"The more reason to get her out of Vegas."

"No, Jim," she argued. "What good would that do? He'd just come after me."

"He's right, Bree," Grissom put in. "H. can take care of you down there and you can get the plastics done you'll need. You'd be under an alias, of course."

"We'd put you in an undisclosed location, say a beach cottage?"

"I have a better idea," Brina smiled.