Warrick had made it halfway down the hall when it hit him, he and Nick had touched the note and it was a key piece of evidence. He should ask someone who wasn't involved in the case to process the evidence and Grissmon would need to be told. He thought about it for a moment and decided to tell Grissmon and ask if he would process the note and the results. Turning on his heel he headed towards Grissmon's office only to find that the entomologist wasn't there. Grumbling he walked towards the break room and found Greg sipping coffee. He didn't want to wait much longer to get the note processed and decided to ask Greg to do it. He would try to track Gris down while Greg was processing.
"Greg, I need you to process this for fingerprints, you're going to find mine and Nick's on it." Greg who had been sipping a cup of coffee took out a tissue and gingerly grabbed the edge of the note. He paused for a moment taking in the contents and then gasped.
"This was addressed to Nick?" He asked incredulously as he began to walk down the hall, Warrick following him closely.
"Yeah, he was pretty shaken up. I'm going to find Grissom and then check on Nick, page me when you're done alright?" Warrick didn't wait for an answer; he simply took off in the other direction.
Greg made his way to one of the many rooms and pulled on latex gloves and retrieved print powder. He laid the note out flat and set to work, uncovering two sets of prints which he assumed were those of his colleagues. He continued processing and found no other prints. He then sealed it in an evidence bag and ran the prints confirming what Warrick had told him. He took the note to have the handwriting analyzed, hoping that it may provide some answer to who they were dealing with.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Warrick had searched the lab twice and still had not found Grissom. He spotted Brass and decided that if he couldn't find his supervisor then the Detective was the next best person.
"Brass!" Warrick called out as he rushed over to a surprised looking Brass.
"Warrick." He responded as he waited for the younger man to explain.
"We got a lead in the Martin case, the perp sent a note addressed to Nicky, told him he wanted to play a game. I can't find Grissom anywhere and Greg's processing the note right now." Breathing heavily he leaned against the wall.
"Grissom is in L.A. at a conference with Sara, I want to see the note and where is Nick?" Brass began to walk down the corridor.
"Grissom's in L.A.? Damn. I'll page Greg and see how far he's gotten and I don't know where Nick went. He went to get some air." Warrick pulled out his cell phone and waited for Greg to answer.
"Warrick, I ran the prints and as you said only yours and Nick's were found. I took the note down to George in handwriting and I'm sitting next to Nick on a bench out back." Warrick simply stared dumbfounded at his phone and then flipped it closed. Shaking his head in amazement he turned to Brass to answer his question.
"The note is in handwriting and Nick and Greg are out back." Warrick led the way as he and Brass headed outside.
They found Nick and Greg sitting quietly on a bench staring at nothing. Greg looked up when he heard Warrick and the Detective's footsteps but Nick continued to stare out into space. Greg put a hand on Nick's shoulder and Nick turned his gaze to the three men staring back at him.
"Nick, you okay?" Brass inquired as Warrick stood on Nick's right side.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Greg was just telling me that he wasn't able to lift any prints other than mine and Warrick's." Nick said in a quiet voice. He then looked back at the parking lot to retreat into his own thoughts.
"Let's check on the note, I'm not really surprised about the prints." With a heavy heart Warrick turned back to the lab followed by Brass and Greg. Nick sighed and followed the others back into the lab.
The group made their way to handwriting and spoke to the tech. They learned that the author Carl was right handed and sure of himself. Warrick looked at Nick and noticed that the Texan was staring into empty space again.
"Alright, let's go to the break room and have some coffee and fill Brass in." Warrick ushered the group out into the hallway and into the break room. Greg started a fresh pot of his favorite Blue Hawaiian coffee and the four sat down around the table.
"Nick, when did you get the note?" Brass asked gently.
"I came on shift and was headed to the break room when Julie passed me in the hall and gave it to me." Nick looked at Brass and waited for the Detective to continue.
"Ok, so what did you do next?" Brass had pulled out his notepad and started to take notes.
"I opened it and read it. Then I showed it to Warrick. I didn't realize what it was so I didn't use gloves." Greg handed Nick a cup of coffee and sat down on his left.
"Grissmon's in L.A. with Sara and Catherine pulled a DB at the Bellagio that's going to keep her for some time. It's just us on this one. Nick, I'm not going to let you put yourself in danger." Ignoring a cry of protest from Nick Brass continued, "I need to know if you're up to handling this case."
"I'm fine, I don't need anyone to baby sit me Brass." Nick shook his head and then sipped his coffee.
"Okay, that's all I needed to know. So, do we have any suspects?" Brass asked of the group.
"No, we've cleared the only two that looked good for it. We'll go through the rest of the employees at the advertising firm, but I don't think is someone she worked with." Warrick answered with a frown.
"Unfortunately we can't say for sure that he prefers a particular type of woman to select as his victim either. We've got some cold case files that had the same unknown prints pop, we can look through those and see if there's a pattern to the victim type." Nick spoke quietly, waiting for the group's reaction.
"It's a start. Why don't you three start on that, I'll call Gris and fill him in. I'll tell him not to worry that we've got it under control. I'm going to meet up with Vega; I'll call you if I get anything." Brass drained his coffee and started towards the door as the three got up to leave.
"Oh, and Sanders, good coffee." Brass grinned and made his way down the hall.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The three CSIs headed into one of the smaller labs and began to pour over the cold case files they had received. Together they created a list of characteristics that the killer seemed to prefer and compared notes. They found that the victims were of various ages, races, and hair color and eye color. Physically nothing stood out. As they delved deeper however they found something each woman had in common.
"Each of the victims lived alone and weren't dating. They were all successful, independent, and responsible. They all worked for big name companies." Nick listed the characteristics they had found as Greg wrote them down.
"The question then is how did he select his victim?" Warrick asked as he crumpled a piece of paper and threw at the waste basket in the corner.
"Well, did any of the women have a service repairman come over? Maybe a cable man or plumber?" Greg theorized.
"It's possible, we should go through the files of each victim and see if they had anyone come to their prior to their death to fix anything." Nick suggested.
"Sounds like a good place to start, I'll take the New Orleans case files, Nick how about you take the New Mexico files since you seem to hit it off with that detective from Albuquerque and Greg you take the Oklahoma files." Warrick handed out assignments and each CSI went their separate way.
Nick contacted the Detective in Albuquerque and left her a message for the woman to call him back. He started to read through the files she had sent him and was soon lost in note taking.
Greg contacted the CSI in Oklahoma who been the lead on the case and was soon taking notes as the CSI went over the case files with him over the speaker phone. Before ending the call the CSI promised to send him everything he had on the case as soon as possible.
Warrick contacted the New Orleans Police Department and after five minutes was connected with a tired sounding Detective who seemed reluctant to talk to Warrick. After an exchange of pleasantries, the Detective asked Warrick for his reason for calling.
"So CSI Brown, what do I owe this pleasure to?" Detective Wood asked in a raspy voice.
"We've got a case that's similar to a cold case you had a few years back. Your vic's name was Mary Black, raped and shot in the head. I was hoping I could pick your brain." Warrick explained.
"Well, I don't know Brown, I'm not sure that's a time I want to revisit. My partner and I drew that case and the three that followed after that. He shot himself shortly after the fourth murder." Wood sighed and waited for Warrick to respond.
"I'm sorry to hear that Detective Wood. It would be a great help if you could give us any information you have. Did your partner receive anything from the killer, a note or pictures perhaps?" Warrick held his breath as he waited.
"Hmmm, how'd you know that? Oh….he's sent something to you has he?" Wood asked in return.
"He didn't send them to me; he sent them to my partner. He's playing a game with us and he's going to kill again. You can help me catch this bastard." Warrick quietly said.
"You think you can catch him?" Wood asked.
"Yeah, I do, but with your help I can nail him." Warrick answered in return.
"Okay, I'll give you what I know; I'll Fed Ex the files over to you. You got an account number I can charge it to?" Wood gruffly asked.
"As a matter of fact I do." Warrick smiled as he gave the account number over the phone.
The three CSI's finished their shift, each feeling the strain of the day. Warrick watched Greg get into his car and waited to make sure that Nick made it to his truck okay before heading to his jeep. He had talked to Brass and an undercover officer would be stationed near Nick's house to make sure that "Carl" didn't try anything while Nick was at home. Brass had talked to Grissmon and somehow had convinced the man to stay in L.A. and let them handle things. Warrick yawned and headed home to his apartment to sleep. He would keep his cell close by just in case Nick needed anything.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Carl had been working as a cable installer for a cable company in town. He had written up a fake resume and landed the job easily. He had installed cable when he was in Oklahoma, not for very long, but long enough to be able to do it for a living. He hadn't stayed in Oklahoma for long, the hunting hadn't been to his liking and the Detective he had played with was just about to retire and hadn't been much fun. He had been too easy to push over the edge. With a sigh Carl pulled his van to a stop outside of the two story brick home in the suburb and stepped out. He opened the back door to his van and retrieved his tool kit and clipboard. He was here to install one Karen Tulane's cable, deluxe package.
He made his way to the front door and knocked and was greeted by a young woman with long brown hair and hazel eyes. She invited him in and then picked up the cordless phone she had set on the counter and waved him towards the living room as she continued her conversation.
"No, tell Mark that we settle for nothing less than half a mil, it's a take it or leave it deal Lori." The young woman said angrily into the phone. She paused to listen to the other speaker and watched as Carl set to work.
"Lori. Listen to me. You tell that S.O.B. that he either takes the deal or I'll see him in court." Karen hung up the phone and turned to Carl.
"Sorry about that, I get a day off and end up bringing work home with me." Karen put the phone back on the counter and watched Carl.
"No problem Ma'am, I'll be out of your way in no time at all. If you don't mind me asking, do you work for a law firm?" Carl asked in interest.
"Yes, I do. How did you figure that out? Oh, wait the phone call." She laughed lightly and Carl laughed along with her.
"There you go Ma'am, all fixed up. You have the deluxe package and your husband or boyfriend has his choice of sports channels to pick from if he so desires." Carl put everything away and handed the clipboard to Karen.
"Haha, if I had a boyfriend I'm sure he'd enjoy it! I'm so busy these days I don't even get to see my house let alone date." She giggled as she signed the paperwork. Carl smiled and thanked her. She let him out and he headed to the van whistling. He had just found his next victim. Now the fun would really begin.
He continued towards his van and headed to the next job. At the end of the day he would swing by Karen's house again so he could watch her. He would follow her for some time before making his move, but that didn't mean he couldn't toy with Nick in the meantime. He grinned as he drove to his last job; he was starting to like this town more and more.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Nick drove home, his head spinning and his breathing shallow. He pulled into his driveway and looked in the rearview mirror. Just as he suspected there was the unmarked Sedan and a bored looking plain clothes cop sitting behind the wheel. He knew that Brass would send someone to watch his house and normally he would have been angry, but today he was relieved. After the last year he still hadn't put the kidnapping and the death of Kelly Gordon behind him, he was getting there slowly, but he still had nightmares. He looked once last time in the rearview mirror and grabbed his coat and locked his truck.
Stepping into his house, he threw his coat over the back of the chair. He locked his door and headed to the fridge to grab a bottle of water and then head to bed. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, the day's events catching up to him. He drank down the water and headed to bed. He kicked off his shoes, took off his shirt and jeans and lay down in his boxers. He set his alarm and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Nick could see Lisa Martin sitting across from him, her eyes sparkling and her smile bright. She handed him a cup of coffee from the tray between him and he looked down at the cup of steaming brown liquid. He realized that he was sitting in her living room drinking coffee and that she was dead. Nick dropped the cup and it shattered upon hitting the floor.
"Oh no! Here, let me get something to clean that up." Lisa exclaimed. As she stood to go to the kitchen she turned her head away from Nick and he saw that her hair was bloody and matted down from the bullet wound.
Lisa quickly returned and began to clean up the broken cup and spilled coffee. Nick sat in stunned silence, not knowing what to say or do.
"Nick, he raped me. He put a gun to my head and he pulled the trigger. I had so much to live for Nick. He took that away from me. He took my future away from me. Nick, you have to find him and stop him. Don't let him do this to anyone else." Lisa pleaded as she looked up at Nick.
Finding his voice Nick answered. "I'm sorry Lisa, I'm so sorry." Nick looked away and then back at Lisa.
"I know Nick." Lisa smiled sadly and then walked into the kitchen throw away the broken cup.
"I'll get him Lisa; I promise you I will get him." Nick looked toward the kitchen and found that Lisa was gone and he was alone.
Nick woke with a start and groaned as he realized that he been dreaming. He rolled over and waited for his heart to calm down before looking at his bedside clock. He had been asleep for two hours; he rolled onto his stomach and closed his eyes as he waited for sleep to reclaim. He prayed that he wouldn't dream this time.