Irrefutable

By: Manigault

Thank you for reading this story! Double thanks to those who have commented!

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Sara stared at the pair in unmasked horror. If she didn't know Grissom so well, then she would have sworn it was him in the bed with a look alike Lady Heather. If the scene left no doubt as to who did this to the couple, then her ringing cell phone and the pleased voice on the other end confirmed it.

"Did you get my message Sara? Don't ignore me again."

The lunatic hung up but Sara still clutched the phone to her ear and stared at the victims as she slowly became aware of the concerned looks of both Catherine and Greg.

"Sara, you okay? I can process the scene if you need to go back to the lab." Greg told her with geniune concern.

Catherine, who had regained her composure after the first look at the victims, braced her shoulders and shook her head. "Sara will be fine. Isn't that right, Sara?"

Replacing the phone on her hip, Sara squared her own shoulders and nodded. "Let's nail this bastard." She wasn't one to cower in terror or stand back while some nut ran havoc in her life. She was fighting back.

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Grissom had not taken a step from the hotel room when his phone began ringing.

"Grissom." His voice was clipped as he spoke into the phone, and he answered without looking at the name of the caller. He suspected who it would be and was caught off guard when it wasn't.

"Gil, where are you?"

"Catherine? What's wrong?" His heart leapt to his throat as thoughts of Sara spun around his mind.

"You won't believe this case we have." She went on to describe the scene and then the astonishment of how much the victims resembled himself and Heather. "We're back at the lab and I had to give you a heads up on this. I don't think it's a coincidence."

"Who is working the case with you?" Grissom knew the answer before it was confirmed.

"Sara and Greg," Catherine told him. She leaned back in Grissom's chair and rubbed her forehead as the image of the crime scene played in her mind. "Sara is back to her usual driven self. She's deteremined to solve this one. It reminds me of that Debbie Marlin case and how obsessed you were with it."

Grissom almost stumbled over his own feet as Catherine made this comment. Debbie Marlin. "How were these victims murdered?"

"Knife. Throat slashed. Weapon found at scene and of course there were no prints."

"Surgical knife?" Grissom asked.

"No. A kitchen knife. A typical knife that you can buy in any Walmart." Catherine processed the meaning behind his question and she sat up straight. "You think there could be a connection?"

"It may be far fetched and rather stupid on his part but he's arrogant enough to think that he could taunt us and get away with it."

"He got away with it before," Catherine mused.

If Lurie was the one responsible for all of this then he would know about this conversation and realize they were on to him. Lurie. That was one name he had pushed to the back of his subconcious. The nightmares that man had caused in his life.

"Catherine, I can't talk about this right now."

"Where are you Gil? I think that you need to come to the lab and help solve this one." Catherine couldn't help but wonder if the way Sara had been behaving recently had anything to do with the fact that Lady Heather had been to see Grissom on the same day he called out.

Grissom hesitated before opening his car door and decided at this point he had to send a warning to Sara, even if the lunatic knew. "Catherine, is Sara nearby?"

"She's with David and Al," Catherine said. "Do you want me to ask her to call you?"

He wanted nothing more than for Sara to call him. "Don't let her go anywhere alone, Catherine, promise me that? Don't let her go home and don't leave her by herself."

"Gil? What are you not telling me?" Catherine's internal alarm system was firing on all levels.

"I can't say anything else at this time," Grissom heard a beep that indicated an incoming call and added quickly. "You'll do this, Cath?"

"I'll try. You know how Sara is, but I'll try my best."

Catherine wanted to ask more questions, but the connection was lost.

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Grissom pressed a button and the phone began ringing immediately. Glaring, he vowed that when this was over he was going to take Sara on a vacation someplace far away where there were no cell phones.

"Grissom."

"You've been busy, Mr. Grissom."

"So have you, Doctor." Grissom decided there was no point in playing coy. Neither man was that unintelligent.

The laughter that spilled over the wire was unnerving, but Grissom set his jaw and kept his cool.

"You have it all figured out, don't you Mr. Grissom? You can't prove anything and you can't protect Sara from me. You have a choice now. You can continue to L.A. and I'll tell you where the child is located, or you can return to Vegas and the opportunity will be gone. Oh, and if you still choose to return to Vegas then you will be returning to a different type of crime scene. You can't protect Sara."

"If I keep driving to L.A. then you'll leave her alone?"

"She'll live."

"You are Lurie?" Grissom knew in his gut who this man was, but he wanted it confirmed.

"I'm your worst nightmare, Grissom, that's all you need to know. You can give me any name you like."

The line was disconnected. Grissom leaned against his car and tried desperately to control his pulse rate. No matter who the man was, he didn't trust him and couldn't trust that Sara would be left unharmed no matter what decision he made.

"What was all that about?" Heather asked from beside him. "You know who the person is that has my grandchild and is threatening you and your lover?"

"A living nightmare, that's what he is."

TBC