Irrefutable
By: Manigault
Thanks to those who are reading this story! Thank you also for your patience. I've had some computer difficulties and have been unable to post anything new for awhile.
Thanks for those who left reviews on the previous chapters!
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Sara pulled her cell phone out and dialed Brass, her fingers shaking as they dialed the number.
"Lurie is at the hospital," Sara said as soon as he answered. "He was in a silver Mercedes and I caught him watching me after I got into the car with Sophia."
Sara listened to Brass's sharp intake of breath. "Your sure it was Lurie?"
"Of course I'm sure," Sara bristled. She had relived that scene in the interrogation room over and over, Grissom's confession of sorts and Lurie's expression. Frowning to herself, Sara pushed back the thought that her concentration had been on Grissom, not Lurie, and therefore she hadn't paid as much attention to the killer that got away. She had a good memory, though, and she was certain that it was Lurie that was in that car watching her.
Maybe. He had looked at his watch and then not glanced back over at her as Sophia started the car. Maybe it wasn't him. Watching her rearview mirror for any sign of the Mercedes she wondered if she had told Brass the truth. "Jim, maybe you should check for him at his house," she said with a sigh.
"We're pulling into his driveway now," Brass turned the ignition off and stared up at the impressive house. Turning to Catherine after assuring Sara they would call with any new information he said calmly, "I've never understood why one person must live in a house that could hold fifteen."
Rolling her eyes good naturedly, Catherine opened her door and shot over her shoulder, "some people need space."
Brass's hmmph resounded behind her and she laughed softly as the two of them approached the front door. Pressing the doorbell, they waited for several minutes, taking turns pressing the doorbell as they stepped back and proceeded to peer through the windows.
"He's not home," Catherine said after ten minutes elapsed.
"Or he's refusing to answer the doorbell," grumbled Brass wondering if the man Sara had seen outside the hospital was indeed Lurie. "We'll have to come back later and try to catch him at home."
"We need a search warrant," Catherine said as she stared at the house and scowled at the impressive home. What secrets were hiding behind this door? Catherine turned away and started walking back towards Brass's car, the older man following more slowly, reluctant to leave without answers.
Catherine had the passenger door open when she caught sight of a silver Mercedes spinning around the corner and coming towards them at a rapid clip. "Sara must have seen Lurie."
Brass followed the direction of her gaze and watched as the Mercedes pulled into the driveway and rolled gently up beside Catherine.
Lurie sat for several seconds and stared out of the window at the intruders. He had expected them, but not right now. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. His mind was focused on Sara and the need to settle into his office in front of his monitors. He wanted to talk with Sara, not these two idiots.
Opening the cars door, he swung his lanky legs onto the concrete driveway as he mentally prepared himself to face the barrage of questions that would be aimed at him by Captain Brass. He remembered him well from the time in his life when Grissom was trying to send him away for murder. He couldn't keep the smirk from showing as he approached the wary individuals who were hoping to catch him at something illegal. What proof did they have? Nothing, Lurie thought to himself as he made no attempt to shake their hands.
"Why are you on my property, Captain Brass? Is this a social call or do I need to phone my lawyer?"
Catherine rolled her eyes and decided to allow Brass the explanation, especially when she wanted nothing more than to slap the smirk from his face and demand to know why he was targeting her friends.
Brass remained calm as a similar thought swept through his mind. The fact was they had no proof that Lurie was involved with this situation and unless they found something then they were in worse shape than they had been during the Marlin Case.
"We have a simple question for you," Brass said wanting to make Lurie squirm with his words.
"I'm doing fine, thank you." Lurie replied with a sardonic smile as he took note of the awkard situation Brass found himself in.
Catherine narrowed her eyes on the man and decided not to wait for Brass. "Do you know a man by the name of William Richards?"
"I'm supposed to know this man? The name doesn't ring any bells so if I know him it must be in passing, certainly not a patient of mine."
"He worked as an OR assistant with you on several cases," Brass interjected as both he and Catherine watched Lurie's eyes for any sign of recognition. The man could act, Brass decided. He didn't blink an eyelid as they studied him.
"I work with many OR assistants and honestly I don't know them all by name. I would recognize his face, I'm sure, although I don't know how that would help."
"If we could step inside with you, then I'll show you a picture of the victim." Brass knew this sounded weak, but they needed to get inside Lurie's home.
"You can show me the picture right here," Lurie countered. It was obvious he wouldn't allow them inside his house and Brass reluctantly pulled the photograph from the folder he held in his hand.
With a quick glance, Lurie nodded. "I recognize him, but we didn't socialize. If that's all? I have someplace that I need to be and although I appreciate the personal house call I'm sorry that I can't be of service."
Without a backward look, Lurie walked away from them and up to his front door where he was quick to enter the house and shut the door.
"That was pointless," Catherine muttered.
"At least he knows that he's on our radar," Brass said with a sour smile as they climbed back inside the car and he picked up his phone. "Maybe that will buy us some time to discover something that will nail him."
"At least Grissom is on his way home," said Catherine as she snapped her seatbelt in place with a click. "I don't know what the man was thinking going off on a wild goose chase with Lady Heather."
"You and me both."
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"We have nothing to connect Lurie with these murders," Sara fumed, her eyes sliding from the report Warrick showed her on the victims, to the concerned man himself.
"Sara? Are you positive Lurie is behind this?" asked Warrick.
"No," Sara admitted with a sigh. Picking up the cell phone she had placed on the table while she was poring over the little bit of information they had collected, she pressed one number and waited for Grissom to answer his phone. The ringing faded into his voice mail and the alarming sensation that he was in trouble and her frustration reached a new limit.Standing up she began to pace the room in angry strides as she ran one hand through her hair and gripped her cell phone in the other.
Slamming the phone on the counter she glared at it as if it was the offensive object that kept her from connecting with Grissom. "I'm worried about him." She didn't realize she had spoken aloud until she heard Warrick clear his throat and ask softly.
"Who? Grissom?"
Pulling her eyes from the phone she looked over at Warrick and nodded while trying her best to keep the tears that were beginning to pool in her eyes from slipping over and running down her face.
"He's supposed to be on his way back here and he isn't answering his phone."
"Where is Grissom?" asked Nick, who had stepped inside the room and witnessed the exchange between Sara and Warrick.
Sara looked between the two men and decided it was time to come completely clean. They deserved to know the entirity of the situation they were trying to help with. Taking a deep breath, she began, "He's with Lady Heather."
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Grissom glanced into the rear view mirror and noted that Heather's eyes were drooping. Hoping she would nod off, he decided to keep silent and simply drive, reasoning with her in this state of mind was next to impossible.
Shaking her head, Heather tried to keep her eyes wide open and not slip into the comfort of the sleepiness that was trying to claim her body. The ringing of the cell phone jolted her from her relaxed state and she grabbed for the object with relief.
With a glance at the caller id, she scowled at the watchful eyes in the rearview mirror. "Your lover is calling yet again," she tossed the phone back onto the seat and smiled thinly, "I should thank her for jarring me back to alertness." She narrowed her eyes and observed. "If your waiting for me to fall asleep then you can put that hope out of your mind, Gil, because I'm not going to sleep until we find my grandchild."
"You may be awake for years then, Heather." Grissom felt no elation with that fact, and tried to suppress the sharp disappointment of not being able to pick up the phone and hear Sara's voice. She was probably frantic with worry about him, not knowing why he hadn't been in touch.
"It shouldn't take years to reach LA," Heather retorted with a smirk. Fingering the gun in her lap, she asked with sudden interest. "Why do you fear this Lurie so much?"
Grissom bristled at the words.
"I don't fear him," he said firmly.
"On the contrary, you are terrified that he's the man who has his sights on your lover." Heather stared into the eyes of the man who peered at her in the rearview mirror.
"Lurie is a psychopath," Grissom said after a long pause where she thought he wouldn't respond. "He brutally murdered an innocent woman because she left him for another man." Grissom went on to give a detailed account of the murderes and how Lurie had disposed of the woman's lover. "He's a madman."
"You couldn't proove any of this?" Heather had been sickened by the description of the murders and what this could imply for her own grandchild, if indeed the child was in the hands of this man.
Grissom scowled into the rearview mirror and felt a desire to bring the car to a sudden stop on the highway. He refrained from the urge and instead bit out a short reply.
"No."
Satisfied with this answer, Heather settled back in the seat and rubbed the gun's smooth surface. "Then you have no way of knowing if he was the killer."
"Lurie is the killer and I'm certain he's behind this farce." He chose not to elaborate further, since it was apparent her focus was not on what this lunatic had done or what he was capable of doing, but on her own narrow focus of finding her grandchild.
"All the more reason to do as he says and find my grandchild." Heather placed the gun on the seat beside her and turned her attention to the scenary rushing past the window.
Noting her distraction, Grissom made a rash decision and swung the car sharply to the right and onto the shoulder of the road, pressing the brakes as he did, so that the car spun in a half circle and slammed against the guardrail with an intense impact.
Grissom braced himself against the side of the car and held tight to the steering wheel, thankful that the airbag did not deploy as he heard the sound of a gun sound throughout the car before everything went black.
TBC
