A/N: Thanks goes out to everyone who has taken the time to read this fic! I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.
Title: Gone, Without a Trace!
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THE FAIR: Twenty-Seven Hours Prior
"What's going on here…?" Nick asked the principal, Joe Simmons, rushing back into the building, and down the hallway to the cafeteria, where the science fair was being held.
"Someone stole James McDuffy's volcano," he replied. "We don't know who, we don't know why, and we don't know where it is," he added.
"So no one saw anything?" Sara asked, walking up beside Nick, and glancing over at the principal.
"Unfortunately, no," Simmons told her. "We were all walking around exploring the projects, and… we just didn't see anything out of the ordinary," he sighed.
Nick frowned, looking over at James.
"It's not fair," James whispered, sitting down at his now empty booth. "Me and my daddy worked so hard on that volcano… we spent lots of time on it, and it made cool lava," he sniffled, trying not to cry. "And when my daddy gets here, he's going to be so mad! Why would someone take it?" he asked the small crowd of people gathered around his booth. Starting to cry, James buried his head in his hands. "I don't understand!"
Nick glanced at Sara, before carefully walking around the table, and kneeling down next to James. "Hey, buddy, remember me?" he asked.
James slowly nodded his head yes, trying to wipe away his tears. "You're one of the judges," he told Nick.
Nick nodded, smiling. "My name is Nick, and this is my friend, Sara. We're going to try to help you find your volcano, okay…?"
James looked down at the ground, once again trying to wipe away his tears. Not hearing Nick's words, he sighed. "Me and my daddy built that volcano together, and it's the bestest volcano in the whole-wide world! And now it's gone…" he sadly added, shaking his head. "My volcano is gone!"
"Look at me, James," Nick firmly said. James lifted his eyes to meet Nick's gaze. "Do you know what a detective is?" he asked. James nodded yes. "Well, Sara and I are kind of like detectives. We help solve crimes," he told the little boy. "We're going to try to find your volcano, okay…?"
"Uh-huh," James mumbled, once again looking down at the ground. "Try really hard, though, okay, Mr. Nick?"
"We will, buddy," Nick replied, gently patting his shoulder. Slowly standing up, he bit his lip, glancing over at Sara.
Sara sighed, walking a short distance away from James and his booth. "Nick… this is an elementary school science fair," she pointed out. "We can't go around fingerprinting little children and their parents," she added, frowning.
"No, we can't," Nick agreed. "But we can do some looking around, can't we? I'm sure that it's still in the school, Sara," he told her. "If we mobilize enough of the adults, we should be able to quickly scan any unlocked classrooms, closets, bathrooms, offices, and garbage cans. I have a feeling that we'll find the volcano around here. I'm not sure that anyone would risk walking it out of the building, although…" he paused, sighing. "Although… doing so really wouldn't be all that out of place, considering the amount of projects that have been coming into the school all day," he added.
"Mr. Nick…?" James quietly asked, standing up from his seat, and cautiously waking around the table towards Nick.
"Yes, James?" Nick asked, once again kneeling down on the ground so that he could be at eye-level with the little boy.
"How can I help you find it…?"
Nick bit his lip, thinking for a moment. "You know what you could do to help us?
"What?" James whispered, looking over at him.
"Can you tell us what your volcano looks like…?"
"Uh-huh!" James gave Nick a small smile. "It's the bestest volcano in the world!" he repeated. "Does that help?"
Nick hid his grin, nodding yes. "That definitely helps, buddy, but can you tell Sara and I what it looks like…?"
"Oh, 'kay…" James frowned, trying to think. "It's made of brown and red clay, and it has these long…trails along the sides, so that the lava can flow down it…"
"James," Sara quietly spoke up, standing just behind Nick. "Is it on a base of some sort?"
"Yup, it's on a base," James confirmed. "It's super-glued to a wood board, and the board is in a square container… the container is… I dunno," he shrugged, scrunching up his face, and trying to remember what it looked like. "I dunno," he repeated after a moment. "Is that…good enough…?" he then asked Nick and Sara, once again sniffling.
Nick smiled down at James. "That's a start, buddy. But does your volcano have anything else on it, which might make it look different from the other volcanoes?"
"Uh-huh," James again nodded. "It has little tiny trees glued to the side of it, and lots of trees around the base. Oh!" he added, jumping up and down, excited that he remembered something important. "And the lava is orange and red," he informed Nick and Sara. "Does that help…?"
Nick raised an eyebrow, glancing up at Sara. No… not really…that still describes every other science fair volcano ever made. "It might be helpful," Nick told him with a small smile. "We'll soon find out, okay…?" he asked, standing up, and heading away from James's table.
Right on his heels, Sara sighed. "What are you thinking, Nick?" she asked, crossing her arms.
Nick bit his lip. "I still think it has to be in the building… possibly in one of the classrooms, closets, bathrooms, offices, or even in the dumpster. We know that it was made of clay, and that it has trees glued to it. Let's see if we can find a trace of his volcano," he shrugged. "Oh… and we'll have to check all of the other volcanoes entered into the fair, just in case... I'd hate to think that another child stole his volcano and is claiming it as his or her own, but…" he again shrugged. "According to the project list, there are only three other volcanoes…"
Sara raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Only three? Alright. Let's go talk to Mr. Simmons, and get some of the adults looking for this volcano. The sooner that we begin, the sooner that we can hand it back to James," she added.
Nick nodded, as they spotted the principal on the other side of the cafeteria. Walking over to him, Nick frowned. "Okay, Mr. Simmons. Your school has what, four main corridors? Let's get a team of three adults to explore each hallway, and your staff can check all of the unlocked offices. And someone should check the dumpster just outside the door," he added. "The volcano still has to be in the building…or at least just outside of it. We need the adults to look for signs of anything out of the ordinary, including toy trees scattered around, or even dried clay on the ground. And while that is being done, Sara and I are going to start judging the science fair… beginning with the other volcanoes."
"I just can't believe that anyone would do this," Simmons frowned. "This has never happened before…"
"Well, let's just get James back his volcano, so that he can still compete in the science fair, Mr. Simmons," Sara spoke up.
"Yes… of course…" the principal mumbled, moving off to mobilize some of the adults for the "search party." "
"And in the mean time," Nick told Sara, "Let's get started on our own volcano judging."
Sara just flashed Nick a half smile-half frown, following him back towards the science fair projects.
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TO BE CONTINUED
