Summary: There's evil once again in the city of sin. Whatever happens in Vegas…might just kill ya.
Timeline: Sequel to Poisonous Fear (recommended that one is read first), Early/Mid Season Six
Spoilers: Grave Danger, Bodies in Motion, Daddy's Little Girl, several references to other episodes
Disclaimer: This is all written in fun. Everything CSI is not mine and never will be. It belongs to the creative talent of the actors, the writers, the directors, and the producers. I am not making any money off of this. Only meant to offer something new on something already so great. No reason to sue.
Title: To Whom It May Concern
By: duffshel
Author's Note: Thanks to my two reviewers on the last chapter. You'd think with so few reviews, I'd be able to get back to you guys. And sorry about the wait as well. Been a bad week, broken toe and all. Ah well. Let's get back at it. Hope this works for everyone. Just want to get things stacked so I can make the house come crumbling down later. As I said before, stick it out with me and I promise something fun later! Bye!
Chapter 9:
Let the fear of danger be a spur to prevent it; he that fears not, gives advantage to the danger.
Francis Quarles (1592 - 1644)
Silence was never true to its dictionary definition. Never was anything completely void of some sort of noise. There was always something there, whisking away the ghosts that devoured spoken words. But it sure could become quieter than all hell.
Nick breathed heavy. It filled the cab of his truck, pulsing in his ears along with his racing heart. His eyes were tight to follow the movement of the police officers rushing around the now very dead guy. More sirens were on the way, but it didn't matter anymore.
He managed to look away for a second, to look at the problem with his hands. Never before had they hurt like they were now. Of course that could because they were completely white, blood cut off by the tight muscles and tendons. Nick tried to flex them to release the wheel, but they only gripped tighter. A small noise escaped from the back of his throat.
'Come on Stokes! Not the first dead guy you've ever seen. Get a grip!' his mind screamed at him from the blackness behind his eyelids. Another voice, softer than the first, brought other words he refused to acknowledge.
The door opened at his side, startling him. Nick turned wide, brown eyes to look at Sophia. And he really wished he hadn't. There was concern, worry, and a dash of pity swarming. Emotions Nick could use a little break from.
"Hey, you okay? I called Sam and he's going to get a hold of the lab. Someone should be here shortly."
His mouth was dry. It felt like someone had jammed cotton balls into the back corners and gathered all his saliva before it had a chance. His tongue was heavy and rough as he tried to wet the roof of his mouth. It was a pointless endeavor.
"Yeah, great."
Sophia's eyebrows darted up to her hairline, "Want to get out of the SUV then? Could use you over by the car."
Nick turned his eyes away from the questioning look the blonde detective was sending him and looked back at his hands. They had taken an odd pink tone and it made his face crinkle up in confusion. Any pain or biting was gone, just a numbness now.
A hand appeared and slowly rested on his left hand. The long fingers carefully rubbed over the top of his fingers before working down over the knuckles, under to his nails. It was soothing and Nick could feel the release a little through the fog running up his arm.
The slender fingers pried his away, coming away with a jerk. But his hand never lost contact with the other one. His fingers remained bent, red like claws from a prehistoric bird. Nick was so busy watching the color return to the extremity that he didn't feel the process being repeated with his right hand.
"Better?"
The voice was closer to his ear than he was expecting. Nick threw his head up and suddenly noticed that the door was open wider and Sophia was standing close enough that he could feel the heat from her skin. And both his hands were being held by each of hers.
"Better Nick?" she repeated softly as she watched him sort things out in his head, different things running across his eyes.
Nick shook his head a little, closing his eyes for a second. When they opened, he felt a little more grounded and could certainly feel the pain from his hands. "Yeah, sorry about that."
"It's okay. Take your time. I'll be up there when you're ready," Sophia carefully set his hands into his lap before stepping away. She looked him over one more time before turning her back and leaving him alone in the SUV. It had worried her at the condition she had found the CSI in his truck, but wasn't going to make a scene out of it. But she also wasn't going to keep it quiet.
Taking a deep breath, Nick dropped his head downward, calming the nerves that were close to being shot. Bad pun intended. His heart rate slowed one thump at a time until he couldn't hear the rushing in his ears anymore. And his fingers were almost back to normal color. Plus the tingling was only just annoying.
He flexed them a little, wincing at the tightness in his knuckles. Nick flipped them over and looked at his palms. There were semi-moon pits, four on each. His fingernails weren't long, but enough to do a job when they needed to.
Coughing to clear a non-exist blockage, Nick could feel the blush coming strong. His face heated up and he shifted uncomfortably. Sophia had seen him panic, had to come and save him. And he was pretty sure she was going to share that little tidbit with someone else.
"Shit!" Nick hissed as his eyelids fell, eyelashes brushing across his cheeks for a second before opening back up. His head rolled a little to the right, mouth opening. Dropping his face, Nick rubbed a sore hand against his cheek before pushing himself into action.
His legs almost buckled out from under him, but he kept it steady. No way he was going to fall down to the ground in front of all these people. And Nick could already sense the news crews making their way like vultures to an antelope carcass.
He pulled in a deep breath through his nose, back straightening with the inhale. It helped to clear up his mind a little and Nick could see things clearer now. Wiggling his fingers, Nick opened the back door to his truck and pulled out his kit. The familiar weight in his hand was reassuring and he felt more confident once the door slammed back into place.
More officers had filled the area, an ambulance was wailing away in the distance though it was just a formality now. David would be needed a gurney for this instead.
Nick could still see the way the man's head had been thrown back from the impact of the bullet. The blood that flew through the air, spraying the area around him with little droplets of crimson. At least from his angle, the bullet went out the back of the head. So Nick wasn't saved the sight of pink brain being blow apart with white bone. He shook off the chill from knowing what steel felt pressed against his chin.
Nodding to a few officers on his way, Nick walked over to where Sophia was standing. Her arms were crossed across her chest, frown bending down behind her sunglasses. They didn't exchange any words, simply continued walking together.
Their feet stopped about a yard from the newest D.B. Blonde hair was stained pink and missing in a large portion of the head. Whatever the guy had used on himself was a lot more powerful than what he used on the girl back in the alley.
"Two weapons."
Sophia turned her head, "Huh?"
"There were two weapons," Nick walked a wide circle around the front of the car. He stopped and pulled out a pair of gloves to open the passenger door. Sweat was building on his forehead, running towards his eyebrows. Reaching down to place the kit on the ground, Nick popped it open. A black hat waited for him on the top of his supplies. He pulled it out and slapped it backwards on his head.
"Think about it. The gun he just used on himself, blew his head open. If he used the same gun on any of the girls, there would be larger wounds, even from more of a distance. Has to be two different ones."
Nick pulled the latch to release the door and pulled it open. The inside of the car smelled like stale French fries. From what he could see, there were wrappers and soda bottles strewn all over the vehicle's floors and seats. Something stained the upper half of the passenger bucket seat.
His brow furrowed downward for a second, smoothing in the next. Nick lowered himself down into a crouch and reached a hand in slowly, waiting for something to jump out to bite him. Nothing moved except for the pieces of trash he himself moved. It reminded him a little of Warrick's truck, minus the bad smells.
The driver's side door opened bringing along with it another fresh burst of air. Sophia shifted herself so she was as far from the body as she could be. "Need a hand?"
"Nah, I'm good here. You go do whatever it is that ya cops do at a crime scene. Impress me," Nick looked up only to smirk.
"Sure, sure CSI boy," Sophia laughed a little, but quickly left the man to do his work. She lowered her bulk onto her heels and looked down at the body at her feet.
Looking from head to toe and back, Sophia looked up at the people milling around her. Her eyes looked up from her eyelashes, sighing as she noticed no coroner in sight. Only more officers and people who just loved to see a little gore in the morning.
Thinking, or not, she pulled on a pair of her own gloves and went pocket hunting. The first closest to her, the left front pocket, turned up to only contain a crinkled receipt that looked as if it had been washed a few too many times. It was the other that turned up the wallet.
Sophia pulled it out carefully and flipped it open. The main flap proved to hold only four dollar bills. Nothing more, but one plastic credit card and a driver's license, "Seems that we have one Caleb Johnson. Age twenty eight."
Nick looked up at the detective and nodded, "Alright, let me check the box." He reached over with his right hand and turned the knob for the glove box opened. It fell outward with an odd thud. Nick was assaulted by a new smell that he really didn't need to know what caused it.
"Seems to be a few unpaid parking tickets, a couple menus for take-out, a napkin, and a registration form," Nick flipped through the papers he managed to pull out, "And they all contain the same name. Dude's car."
"So, he uses his own vehicle as the get away. Might be able to figure out where he came from," Sophia shrugged as she lowered the wallet to the ground.
Nick simply nodded and went back to digging around in the compost heap. Something greasy had gotten over the lip of one of his gloves. He could feel it running down the palm of his hand. But Nick really didn't want to see what it was quite yet for fear of contaminating the scene with his previous meal.
Some voices and footsteps for closer to the car. Nick didn't bother looking up at David or Warrick as they talked over things with Sophia. He finally felt something solid. But it was buried under something he couldn't quite describe.
"Hey bro, what ya got?" Warrick squatted down by the Texan once he got the rundown from the female detective. He was slightly worried about what he had heard and the significant look Sophia had given Nick during the little retelling.
"Not too much. But I think a second gun is in play. You done over at the bunker?"
"Grissom and Catherine are finishing it up. Greg and Sara were being sent to that alley way you guys took off from. I was sent here to help ya."
"Well, seeing the fact this didn't happen all that long ago, not a whole lot done yet. I haven't taken any photos of anything. Wanna do that?"
"Sure, know me bro. I'm better with a lens then ya are. Shake too damn much," Warrick slapped Nick on the back as he pushed himself to his feet.
"Uh huh. That's why Ecklie gave me the new camera model for my kit. Sure thing 'Rick."
"Man just knew you needed all the help you could get for taking a couple of photos. Not like anything is moving either."
"Just jealous of the skills," Nick grunted as he finally winded a finger around the object he was trying to obtain, "You can cry in your pillow later tonight about it."
"Yeah, I'll give ya something to cry over," Warrick muttered as he got ready to document the scene visually.
Nick pulled his body back, item firmly held in his hand. He shook his head a little, "Now, how in the hell would the second gun get buried so damn quickly like that?"
"You got it?"
"Yeah, but was some work. Damn car is full of crap just like yours is. It was wedged in and covered. Don't see when the guy would have a chance to hide it that well on that little drive we just took."
"And I suppose you drove like little Ms. Daisy. Bet Sophia was grinding her teeth.'
Clicks from the camera filled the void as Nick turned the gun around in his hands. It didn't feel warm from any use, but he wouldn't dispel it just for that reason. He held it up towards his nose and pulled in a big whiff. The smell of gunpowder was strong.
"Gonna bag this. We should have the car towed in. Get it out of here before we lose anything."
Warrick nodded, one eye scrunched, other pressed to the camera, "Just get some photos first man. Don't want anything to be thrown out on this one."
"There ya go telling me what to do again," Nick fought hard to keep a straight face and keep his voice tight from any emotion.
It worked. Warrick's head snapped up, eyes wide at the comment. Green eyes suddenly flashed dangerously once it was figured out what had just happened. And Nick had to grin from ear to ear.
"You are one dead Texan, I hope you know."
"Just threatened me in front of a hell of a lot of witnesses. Gonna have a hard time getting anyone to believe it wasn't premeditated."
"Shut up and get to work."
Nick saluted the other man, "Yes sir."
!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+
"Girl is right this way," the officer waved the two CSI's through the alley. Sara walked a little in front of Greg, but neither took notice of this to care.
"Called in from Sophia?" Sara asked as they found the victim.
The uniform nodded as he took a few steps back out of the way, "Uh huh. Detective Curtis called it in while in pursuit of the suspect."
"Thanks, we'll get it from here," Greg nodded as he walked over to where Sara had crouched down to look over the girl, "Seems to fit the others."
"Yeah, gun shot to the lower back and neck region."
Sara made her comment as she reached into one of the pockets on her vest for her newest pair of latex gloves. She was really going to need some lotion once they got back to the lab. But she quickly shook her head free from the worry over her dry hands. There was work to do.
The victim looked tall, was slender. Her hair was dark, almost a complete shade of black. Sara watched as the flashes reflected back at her from the shiny tresses. Another young life cut short from something that they would figure out.
"When's David going to get here?" Greg asked as he walked the area around the body. He was lucky and found one of the shells from the gun. Just couldn't seem to find the second.
"Dunno. Had to go to the other scene first. Depends on what sort of shape the suspect is in. Could be awhile. Why?"
"Just getting tired. Been a long shift."
"Yeah and it's just going to keep getting longer unless we do our jobs here. So, don't slack."
Greg grinned and bobbed his head, "No problem with that."
He bent down and scooped up the second shell, hidden by a trash can. There was no top and the smell of waste decomposition was strong against his nostrils. His nose crinkled up, creasing between his eyes. A shift in his stomach was enough to get him to move away as quickly, and safely, as possible.
"Found the shells. Have to get them back to Bobby, see that they match the gun the suspect used on himself."
Sara nodded as she reached down to look at the girl's left hand, "Looks like she fought back."
"Huh?" Greg shifted closer to Sara, looking down at the girl's fingernails.
"Loose skin particles," Sara pointed before reaching for her wooden scrapper and baggy for the evidence, "Mia will confirm it."
"So, she fought back. That means what? She was still shot. Anyone would fight back when someone comes up to them with gun."
"Yeah, but why fight so much when the gun is waving around in the air."
Greg frowned at the odd comment, "Let's see…a gun versus a fingernail. Wouldn't be much of a fight. What's the point?"
"Point is, the gun wasn't out right away. She had a chance and she took it. This might not be the only crime scene. I think this started somewhere else and ended up here. This is where the gun was brought out and into play."
"Really?"
The senior CSI lifted her head and shook it, hair flying out around her, "It's possible Greg. You really must need a nap if this is going right over your head."
"Ha ha. Just don't get in my way," Greg stood with a flourish, "I'm going to be the one to break and make this case. Wait and see."
"I only have one life time to live," Sara smiled as she listened to Greg stomp away from her.
!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+
Vega wedged his sedan between two other police vehicles, lights spinning the lights all around the dirty alley. He sat for a second, took a deep breath, then launched his body from the car. The area was taped off already. It was the honey for the bees. People were milling around everywhere. He had to push a couple teenagers out of the way to get through. A woman with blonde hair swore at him when he asked her to step back from the tape. She wasn't happy one bit.
He was late to the scene, but there was a traffic accident across the Strip, a five car pile up. It had taken too long to get everyone's statements and registrations from them. But finally he was able to hand things off and leave for this scene. Seemed to be his fate with this case, always late. And an hour was enough to cause problems.
The coroner wagon was already there and loaded already from the look of things with something. A body was resting in a black bag on top of a steel gurney locked into place on the left side. Two officers were standing by the vehicle to make sure everyone stayed away that was supposed to. He nodded to himself in approval.
When he finally arrived to the stop the two CSI's were busy with, Sam was short getting to see the body and the state the victim was in. He was going to have to wait to hear about it later from someone. Sam fought the urge to roll his eyes at his luck.
"How's it going?" he asked out into the open air.
David merely nodded at him as he pushed the second gurney away. Nothing from the young man. And Greg seemed to be avoiding him, well, everyone in general as he stalked the area. Sara stood, hands slapping her pants.
"Not too much. We have the same killing method, this one has ID on her."
The detective nodded, "Good. I can have her family brought in with the other."
"You got in touch with them?"
"Yeah, just before this all broke out. I have to get back and meet with them soon. Brass is going to speak with them, impartial party and all. But I want to be around. You guys want me to stick it out?"
"Nah. We got it. Let ya know if anything comes up. But I think we're pretty much done here. Just a little more to do. Any word from the highway scene?"
"Talked with Curtis. She didn't say much other than your guys was having the car towed in. And the body is going in with the one found here. Doc's going to be busy. Hell, busier."
"Alright. I just want to figure out what is going on. Though, I really hope we are done with these murders. The suspect is dead, might stop."
Sam turned, eyes skyward, "Maybe."
TBC…