Chapter 38
He found his team waiting outside his office. "You're late." Catherine huffed before narrowing her eyes at him, "Haircut, beard trim, new clothes…I know you weren't in Night Court. Date Gil?"
"Catherine, you and Greg have a date of your own to worry about at the Shivering Olive." He handed her the assignment slip, Greg stood on his toes to read it over her shoulder. "Someone shiv Olive?"
Gris raised his eyebrows, "Actually, yes. The owner Olivia Sawford was discovered dead in her back room roughly 30 minutes ago. Go!"
Catherine looked slightly stunned at his force but turned quickly, walking into Greg. The two cleared the hall and Grissom sighed at Warrick. "Any new thoughts on the Manzinelli case?"
CSI Brown followed his supervisor into the office, "Archie's looking into his wire transfers. He did a lot of money transfers to Brooklyn, could be connected, could be nothing."
"What about his email records, anything about the money coming and going in them?"
"Nothing that I saw. Did we get his cell phone number?"
"Doubt it. No reason we can't get it now though, what're you thinking?"
"Text messages. It's faster than waiting for someone to check their email right?"
Grissom nodded, "Get on it."
Left alone at his desk he glanced at the phone. She'd be sleeping by now. Focus Grissom!
His cell jarred him and he felt for it at his hip. "Grissom."
"Brass. 1437 Spriten St. Wear your vest and bring your piece. I mean it Gil."
The vest was in the car; he'd throw it on when he got there. His gun was locked in his desk, where it would stay.
Walking past he knocked on the window of the computer lab with the back of his hand and motioned for Warrick to join him. "Vest." Was the sum total of his explanation to the younger CSI.
Warrick made a quick trip to his locker, put on his vest, grabbed his gun and jogged to catch up with Grissom at the Denali.
"Where we headed?"
"Spriten St."
"Bad hood."
"No neighborhood is a good one if we're in it, Warrick."
Turning onto Spriten was an ordeal. Three unidentified white vans and two police cars were abandoned on the corner. As he nudged his vehicle to a stop behind one of the blue and whites Grissom pointed his chin to the street, "Little too quiet out there."
"Shit. The wife's gonna be pissed if I get killed." Warrick grunted before cracking his door open cautiously.
"Mine too." Grissom thought to himself as he shrugged into his bulletproof vest.
A shot from a gun rang out making a sound like a large tree branch cracking overhead.
"Van." Warrick had good eyes.
"Which one?"
"Far right." He had his gun in his hand trained on the window that faced them.
Grissom barely heard him over the sound of gunplay. Three cops ran out of the second house from the corner, trading lead with whoever remained inside. Brass appeared out of nowhere at the driver's side of the Denali, "Jumped the gun, get the hell out of here, I'll call you when it's clear."
There was a time in Grissom's career he would have stayed. Warrick's too.
Sara's admonishment resounded in his mind as he slammed the car into reverse just in time to see the van closest to them explode into flames.