Irrefutable

By: Manigault

Note: Thanks for the reviews! And, thank you to anyone who is still reading!

Short, but hopefully the next chapter will be soon.

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"Grissom! You're okay!" Greg held the phone away from his ear and pointed at it as he waved it wildly in front of Warrick and Nick. "It's Grissom!"

"Here, give me that," said Nick, grabbing the phone from Greg. "Griss, hey, we have a situation here."

On the other end of the line, Grissom felt his throat constrict as he leaned against the wall and asked to speak with Sara.

"That's just it, Grissom, she's not here and we don't know when she left or where she went." Nick felt terrible giving Grissom this news but it was fact and there was no way around it. Sara was gone.

"Where are you now?" Grissom asked, afraid that he already knew the answer.

"Sara's place. Your place. She had to have left on her own free will because I was here, Warrick and Greg were both here and she said nothing to us."

"Why was Sara at our home? She shouldn't have gone back there until I got back to Vegas." Grissom could hear Nick's heavy sigh and then the sound of the doorbell in the background. "Whose at the door?"

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Entering the gas station Sara's eyes swept the room searching for a phone or maybe someone who could let her use their personal phone. She would give them her credit card if they let her call Brass. There was nobody in sight as her eyes swept up and down the narrow isles of junk food and necessities.

"Anyone here? Hello?"

She was about to search the counter for a phone when a young boyish face appeared in front of her as the owner of that face popped up from behind the counter with a grin that reminded her of Greg back in the day.

"Hi there! May I help you?" The boy appeared to be late teens or early twenties and much too filled with mischief by the way he was checking her out. "I'm Bronson."

Wtih a short shake of her head, Sara wondered how many times someone had introduced themselves when she had stopped into a gas station. The answer came quickly to mind. Never. There was something about the way the boy was acting that unnerved her and made her anxious to get out of there and on the road home.

"I need to use a phone," Sara nodded her head towards the parking lot where she could see her car still parked beside the pay phone. "That pay phone is broken so if you can let me make a quick call?"

"Noooo, sorry. I was told to give you this, however."

Sara stared in horror as Bronson reached over the counter and shoved an envelope into her hands. "What's this?"

"You are Sara? I was shown your picture and asked to give you that when you stopped in here, so I'm giving it to you."

"This is crazy."

Sara stared at the young boy in dismay and thought she saw a flicker of doubt flash in his eyes. Pouncing on that possibility she said quickly, "You need to let me use a phone before you are convicted of helping a murderer."

The words had the opposite affect on the boy as he laughed and pointed to the letter. "The man told me that you were playing some kinky game and that you would play that card. Vegas gets all kinds, doesn't it? You should read your letter."

The letter felt heavy in the hand and bulky. Lurie couldn't have possibly known that she would stop here, could he? Was there a letter at each gas station between Vegas and Lake Mead Marina? She had no way of knowing, but the surreal nature of this situation was making her begin to unravel.

With shaking hands, she opened the envelope.

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"Brass. It's Brass, Grissom," Nick waved the older man over to the phone and handed it to him at Grissom's request.

"Gil, I'm sorry, I know that I told you that I would keep her safe and apparently I've failed." Brass rubbed sweat from his brow as he spoke.

"We can argue about whose fault it is later, Jim, but for now we need to get Sara back." Grissom felt so helpless being stuck in this hospital hundreds of miles from Sara and from the team.

"Gil, hold on," Brass held the phone away from his ear as he tried to make out something that Warrick was shouting from within Sara's bedroom. "We may have a lead, something Warrick found."

Grissom held his breath as he waited for Brass to explain to him what it was that Warrick had found and if it could lead them to Sara.

"Jim? What is it? Talk to me."

In Vegas, Brass huddled around the closet doorway along with Warrick, Nick and Greg as each man stared in fascination at the message that was splayed out in bright red letters on the closets carpet.

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She had to reread the letter several times before she could concentrate on what it said and even so found herself shaking her head.

If you are reading this, Sara, then shame on you. I forgive your actions, however, and know that you are frightened of the truth. Leave now and I'll expect you in ten minutes from the second you start your car. The boy has been instructed to call me as soon as you pull out.

Sara looked up and steadied her eyes on the boy who watched her with eager eyes and a knowing smile. "This isn't a game, Bronson, this man is crazy."

"That's what he told me you'd say and he assured me that's all part of the game."

"How much is he paying you? I'll double whatever it is if you let me use your phone to call Captain Jim Brass. You call him yourself," Sara leaned against the counter and stared into the teenagers eyes. "In fact, why don't you call the Las Vegas Police Department and ask to speak with Captain Jim Brass. Call him."

A sudden fearful look passed over the boys face and he backed up a few steps before shaking his head and laughing nervously. "You're bluffing. The man told me that you would sound very convincing but like he said, you could just get in your car and leave, right? He's going to pay me double the amount after your little game is over. You'd better get moving." He pressed a button on a phone and said quickly. "She's leaving right now."

Sara considered pulling out her gun and demanding the cell phone but then she made the mistake of looking back inside the envelope. Pictures of the victims from the hotel caught her eye and she made a decision. She would face Lurie and end this nightmare. She had ten minutes to get there.

TBC