To Whom It May Concern

by duffshel

Sequel to Poisonous Fear. There’s evil once again in the city of sin. Whatever happens in Vegas…might just kill ya. Now Complete!

20. Chapter 20

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, Shooting Stars, Gum Drops, 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: Flashback of a different kind in this chapter. It hopefully is pretty clear (look for the italics!). Oh, and we get a couple different people's views in this one. Almost didn't include something I know people are dying for in at the end of this chapter, but decided I'd be semi-nice. Thanks to everyone for reviewing the last chapter. I guess saying you're starving helps things along! smiles sweetly Enjoy the read and see ya next time.

Chapter 20:

The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty;

not knowing what comes next.

Ursula K. LeGuin

Blonde hair always looked odd on the steel table, washed out in a pinkish tone of death. No matter whether the woman was a natural blonde or one that had to use dyes against the sands of time, it turned out the same. Limp and dull when there was nothing to nourish it. And nourishment was basically non-existent in the body now.

She had never been what one would have called a beautiful, perfect woman. Time had taken its toll and punished her for all the wrongdoings whether past or predicted. Prison could affect the physical person as much as the emotional and mental. And just over three years seemed to be enough.

Dr. Albert Robbins simply looked down, only his eyes moving over the corpse. He had never met her, only heard of her. From the descriptions he had heard from the people walking around in the lab, she should have been uglier than a snapping turtle and just as vicious. Seems that personality and persona could mess with the appearance of people. Not a wise tale anymore.

Twisting his head just a little, the coroner looked down at her hands. He had just finished testing for gun powder residue. The gun had been held in her hand. Her life was taken under her own power, own thought processes.

Sighing, the man used his cane to help him move over to the far counter top. He needed to get one of the colored poles so he could check the projectory of the bullet. Everything would have to be covered even though he had little doubt on what had happened. Robbins would never believe that Nick would have had anything to do with this.

Ecklie had come right down to his office the moment the body had been brought in. The lab supervisor was trying to gain face and prove that he was just as efficient as everyone else in city works. And as much as Robbins would have loved to, he would never tell the man no. So, here he was, doing something he had done only once before.

"I heard she arrived?" Conrad Ecklie asked as he pushed his way through the swinging doors of the city morgue. He didn't wait to be asked to enter or for any other questions.

"Yes, David just got her set up on the gurney. I was about ready to get the preliminary examination done. I don't have a case for you right now Conrad. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes. I just want to make sure that everything is covered with this case."

Robbins frowned and applied more of his weight onto his cane support, "Well of course. I never slack on any case that comes into this room. I will do as I always do when it comes to suicide."

"Are you sure it was purely a suicide? We weren't there and there were no witnesses that have come forward yet with the tale of what happened in that parking garage. So, I want this treated as a homicide until you can prove with no doubt that it was a suicide."

It was uncommon for the man to come in making directions and announcements like this in Robbins territory. The two had butted head before in the past, but he had thought that was behind them. They had recovered the missing body and had gotten things back together after that case. Robbins thought that would have been enough for Ecklie to respect their work in the lab more. It appeared he was wrong.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. I was told by David that Nick had been present and that this was a suicide. Nick was present for this. He talked with Captain Brass over the phone almost immediately after it happened. And from what I can see, this is a self inflicted gun shot wound."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was all a cover up. This needs to be treated like anything else that comes in here, just as you said. I don't care if a CSI was the primary witness or not. And from what I understand, no statement has been taken officially to begin with."

It was enough to make Dr. Robbins mouth to drop open in shock, "You can't be meaning what I think you are?"

"Well, Nick does have a record on file as a possible suspect in a previous case, previous homicide," Ecklie moved closer to the table and looked down at the body, "A hooker, someone he was with and he shouldn't have been. And now this. Come on, you can't mean you don't find it a little suspicious."

"But she was the one who went to Nick. Not the other way around. And this has nothing to do with what happened to him before."

"No?"

"No, of course not. Kristy Hopkins was a different story and from what I understand, Nick was friends with her to begin with. This has nothing to do with that. He was cleared of all charges."

"With the help of a fellow graveyard CSI. If you ask me, they have been covering up for each other for years. A lot has happened to that unit and yet no one does anything about it."

"You broke them up," Robbins pointed out, his frustration mounting higher. He wanted nothing more than to kick the other man from the room and get on with his job.

"Yeah, and look at what happened then. It is easier to keep them together, easier to keep track of them. But now, I have another mess involving Nick to figure out. We should have let him go the last time."

That was all Robbins could take, "So you're telling me you want to me to act like Nick is the suspect and figure out how he forced this to happen?"

"I want you to do your job," Ecklie raised his eyebrows at the small declaration, "Like always. Just don't lose sight of things. No matter what, she's dead and I want everything covered. I'll expect the full report on my desk when you're done."

The lab supervisor didn't bother to look at the coroner as he turned and headed to the door. Robbins clutched hard at the handle of his cane wanting nothing more than to throw something at Ecklie's head. But he kept his head and his tongue still. It wouldn't help things to egg the man on. He simply watched the door swing shut and turned to the dead girl on the gurney.

He picked the green pole and shuffled back over to the table. The thoughts of what happened still made him upset. But he was determined to make this a shut case of suicide. There would be nothing for Ecklie to even look twice at. And so far, he was well on his way to doing such a thing.

The entry wound for the bullet was clear. There was simple, dark colored hole in the bottom of her chin. It was the exit wound that was hidden from the naked eye. With a great deal of the skull missing, there was no way to tell which hole through the brain tissue might be the exit.

Robbins took a breath and placed one end of the pole into the entry wound. He had to shift it around a little, trying to get to the point where it smoothly would work its way through wrecked flesh and tissue. It didn't take that long before he felt it slip up into the head easily.

Twisting it with a little motion from his wrist, Robbins worked about three inches of the pole up into the chin. A slight snag and he was on his way. He shifted his body a little so he could see the top of her head better. Pressure from the pole caused the remaining brain tissue to shutter and shift. But it wasn't long before he saw green coming out of the pale pink-brown tissue.

Pushing harder, the pole broke through and Robbins stepped back. About thee inches remained on the outside of both wounds, in the top of the head and the chin. It was an odd angle, one only achieved with close contact or by the very person killed.

Grabbing up the camera, Robbins snapped a few photos and made a few notes on his legal pad. He knew the video camera had picked up the entire procedure, but he could never be too careful with something like this. And this was a suicide.

For the sake of the cameras and recorders in the room, "I have just determined the projectory of the bullet, from under the chin. It shows clear sighs of self infliction due to the angle and extent of the track."

There was a sound behind him, at the swinging door. Robbins bit into his tongue and continued to write something in his notes. If it was Ecklie, he wasn't ready to present anything. And he wasn't about to begin any conversation with that man anyways.

"How's it going, Doc?" Grissom's voice moved closer with each word.

"I've just about finished. Clear signs of suicide unless you have something else for me. I have done all the tests required for proving it and would like to get started on other things that need to be done. I have David starting on the other body that came in."

Grissom moved to the other side of the table and looked grimly down at the woman who had just caused more trouble in his life, "Yeah. I need them both done as soon as possible. Either might hold the answer to why Nick was really there in that parking structure. We haven't been able to talk with him yet, though Catherine will be in that room as soon as she can be."

"Has anyone talked to her yet? Do we know anything about what has happened to him?"

"Well, she did call and said the doctor wasn't too worried. Just an overload. They were going to look him over, get some fluids in. Should be no problem. I'm having her bring him back here if they let him go."

"That's good, he shouldn't be alone right now. He needs some support for all of this. I can't imagine how this is affecting him."

"No, me either," Grissom sighed and looked like he wished he were talking about something else at that moment, like cockroaches.

Robbins made a point to stop asking about Nick and continued to do his work on the body. He wanted to get this done. As badly as it sounded, he was sick of looking at her.

"Wait," Grissom asked suddenly, "Why were you worried about signs of suicide? Nick told Brass that she killed herself and it looks pretty clear that she did so. Why the extra work?"

"I was asked to do it," Robbins shifted uncomfortably, hoping for a miracle involving Grissom letting it go. No such luck.

"From who?"

"Ecklie."

Both men remained quiet, searching the eyes of the other. And Robbins could see how angry it made Grissom to think about Ecklie getting involved in this. He waited for the lead CSI to make the first move on this.

"He isn't in charge of this case. There was no reason for him to be down here."

"He's the head of the lab, Gil. Technically he can go anywhere he wants to."

Grissom frowned deeper, "But why this? Did he really think Nick had anything to do with this?"

"Well, he did mention what happened before, with Kristy Hopkins. He just wanted everything to be clear and have no doubts on what happened here. As much as I hate to say it, he was right. Now no one can say Nick had anything to do with her putting the bullet through her head."

"No, but it was unfair to do. Nick shouldn't have to be held up to that anymore. He had proven himself beyond it," Grissom ground out. He was angry at the accusations against his CSI.

Again, both men were quiet. Neither bothered to looked up when the doors swung again, the familiar sounds of another gurney entering. David didn't say a word as he got ready to move the other body to the other table in the room. It was time for her to be opened up now.

"I'm going to go find Jim. We have some more work to do. Then I want to get over to the hospital if Nick and Catherine don't leave there first," Grissom shifted away from the table slowly, almost glaring down at Kelly, the woman who had done so much to the lab even without her full knowledge of most of it.

"Alright. I have to give Ecklie a copy of the report as well, just so you know."

"Yeah, figures. Just get it to me when you can. Can't move along with too much more until we talk to Nicky about what happened," Grissom reached out his right hand to the door.

It swung inward, almost hitting the CSI. Grissom's eyes were wide in surprise as he looked at the latest person to enter the room. He saw a very unhappy police detective.

"You turn your phone off or something?" Brass barked out.

"No. What happened, Jim? You look flustered."

"Oh, you would be too if you just got off the phone with Catherine. Seems Nick got out of the hospital without anyone seeing him. No one knows where he is. Adds to a perfect time, no?"

Robbins watched both men run from his morgue. He exchanged a look with David, but both men knew there was little they could do about it. All they could do to help would be to get these two bodies ready and done with. It didn't seem to be much, but it was needed.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where the waiting room to the E.R. was. All Sophia Curtis had to do was follow the angry voice of one Catherine Willows. Shaking her head with a small grin on her lips, the detective dared to enter the room.

The blonde CSI stood next to a nervous looking doctor, with several nurses running to and fro around them. And it wasn't long before said CSI saw Sophia and turned her wrath upon her. The voice of reckoning was loud in that seemingly tiny room.

"I want this place searched. He couldn't have gotten far. Right?" Catherine walked right up, nose to nose with Sophia., "And I want it done now. No waiting, no damn coffee breaks."

"Well, his room wasn't all that far from the doors. And with only one person in the hallway, the girl at the desk, I'd have to say it could be very possible."

"Not the answer I was looking for, Curtis. Try again."

Sophia rolled her eyes and took a step to the left, "Yeah, well. You were the one here, not me. I really don't have a whole lot to offer you. But I will do my best with what I have to work with."

"Oh," Catherine looked as if she were ready to burst, "This your search now? The cops are going to do their jobs all of a sudden? Wow. Maybe if you would have been doing them before none of this would have ever happened. Maybe nothing would have happened ever! Seems to me that my guys keep getting in these situations due to your shitty police work!"

It was getting out of hand and quickly. Sophia wasn't going to hold it against Catherine, but neither was she going to sit there and get hammered on over this. Doing such a think wouldn't help get Nick or Warrick back any sooner.

"Look Catherine, I know you're upset. But you and I have to work together on this one if we want to get anywhere with it. I need you to tell me what you know so far and then we can work from there."

Catherine looked like she wanted to argue, throw more jabs at the other woman, but then thought better of it. Her shoulders slumped and her face aged ten years in a matter of seconds. Taking a deep breath and composing herself, Catherine looked straight in Sophia's eyes.

"I was out here, waiting like I was told to do. Next thing I know, nurse comes running through looking for the doctor, something about a missing patient. And, thinking as I'm sure any of us would, I went to the room I was told Nick was in. All that was left was a leaking IV setup. No Nick."

"You didn't see him?"

"Only when we first got here. I talked to the doctor a little in here, but that was it. Just waiting and reading four month old magazines."

"So," Sophia turned in a tight circle, "Only two ways to those rooms. Through here and the main entrance to the emergency area, by the ambulance bay. Has to be the way he got out. You know if they have cameras around this place?"

"Well, we can ask the doctor. Dr. Mercer was working with him. Went to get some of his tests through when he left. She said he looked tired, not really aware of what was going on when she left. No idea what would have caused his sudden leaving."

Sophia nodded and looked towards the tiny, yet determined doctor. The woman seemed to be in control of things even with a missing patient. Walking slowly towards her, Sophia was well aware that Catherine was right behind her.

"Excuse me, Dr. Mercer? I'm Detective Curtis with the LVPD. You were working with Mr. Stokes?"

"Yes, he's one of my regulars sadly enough. I was just gone for about ten minutes when the nurse came to find me. I really don't know of anything that would have made him leave like that. He really seemed okay to be alone for a few minutes."

"So he didn't say anything to you? About finding Warrick or anything along those lines?"

"He talked, nothing I could really figure all out. When he first got here he wasn't totally with it. Kept talking about blood, bullets, and missing persons. And I never did really pry when he was clearer. I knew a little of what had happened after talking with Ms. Willows though."

"Do you have cameras set up around this area?" Sophia asked looking at the ceilings in the waiting room.

"Of course. In fact, we have three just in the ambulance bay. There are two outside and one on the inside, just over the desk. All three would have picked him up leaving if he went that way."

"I'm going to need to see the video surveillance room," Sophia met the doctor's eyesight, "And to talk with the person sitting at the desk at the time."

"No problem. I'll help you all with it myself. Pending nothing happens with any of my patients of course."

"Any help you can offer is great. We can get started right away. Going to help Catherine?"

The blonde CSI nodded and followed the other two women, "Nothing else I can really do yet. I have to wait to hear from Grissom. I called and told Brass what had happened."

"Yeah, he called and told me to get over here as soon as I could. I have to get something to tell him or I think I'll be looking for a new job tomorrow," Sophia mumbled as she walked along, no humor in her voice.

Catherine nodded, but watched the lines of the tiles as they moved, "I just want to know where Nick and Warrick are. Nothing else matters."

The weight of the world was suddenly in that hallway, upon three women. And each walked heavily, trying to see the good, the hope in all of it. For one, it was almost gone and she didn't know what she would do if it were gone forever.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

He could hear the sirens from where he was waiting. Nick slouched down in the seat, keeping his head well under the top of the headrest. The truck was hidden in a full parking lot, away from the main entrance of the store. It wouldn't be too easy to see. Bad thing was that it wasn't too far from the lab. But Nick hadn't wanted to drive along on the streets too long out of fear of being spotted.

The phone rested between his right palm and his jittery leg. His heel couldn't seem to stay on the floor of the truck. It kept bouncing up and down, faster than his heartbeat which at the time seemed impossible.

Sweat was running from his pores, his free hand constantly brushing at his face. He could feel a slight heat coming from his skin, but Nick didn't pay it any mind. And he completely ignored the tremor that had taken over his entire body. It was clear he shouldn't have left the hospital.

A car parked into the spot across the way. Nick homed in on it and watched the driver very carefully. It was a young woman, dressed in jeans and extremely high heels. Odd place to be meeting a date, no less picking up a guy. Nick bobbed his facial expression up and down before looking out the side window.

Sniffling a little, Nick let his eyes roam around from car to car. Tenner hadn't said about sending someone out to get him, but he wouldn't put anything past that man. For all Nick knew, there were like five guys tailing him and watching his every move. And that did nothing for his already frayed nerves.

Trying to swallow the little saliva he had, Nick looked back down at the phone. For the hundredth time since he parked thirty seconds ago, he checked to make sure the phone was on, battery charged, and that he had a full connection. And as the previous time, everything was fine. But there was still that tiny paranoia that the phone wouldn't work when he needed it to.

Nick tried to will it ring. He had only about a minute left to wait, but he was really hoping that Tenner would call before the time said. Though, the man would probably know exactly how Nick would react and was making this go on for as long as possible. Just enough to make Nick feel like he was losing it.

His brown eyes watched the seconds count down. The time was up. Tenner should be calling and giving out his directions. Nick held up the phone, ready to flip it open on the ring.

Nothing.

Nick frowned, "Come on asshole. Time's up."

Still nothing. No sound, no lights lit up on the phone. Stillness.

"Call."

Silence.

"Call, damnit!"

Fifteen seconds over the time. Nothing.

"Call," Nick screamed down at the phone, losing whatever he gathered to deal with Tenner.

The phone didn't respond.

Nick's breathing accelerated, more sweat running down his face. His hand shook harshly, the phone going along with it. It was almost to the point where he was sure his heart would pound right out of his chest. Sounds were nothing compared to that pounding.

Silence.

"Please ring," Nick's voice took on a pleading quality, fear taking over. He was going to lose Warrick. Tenner was going to take his brother away. It was as good as over.

Nothing.

A sob began to work its way through his throat, demanding to be released, "Don't do this. Please ring. Don't do this to me. To him."

More seconds ticked off. Forty-five seconds past the time.

Nick slammed his hand, phone included, hard down into his leg, anger rushing to the surface, "Ring you fucker!"

One minute past time.

The phone rang.

It was sudden. Nick wasn't ready for it. His emotions had taken over, losing everything for him. The phone was almost a battle for him now. Nick managed to fumble it open.

"Hello?" Nick chocked out, not as strong as he wanted it to be.

Only a one word reply, "Worried?"

"You're over the time, you asshole! I did as you asked and you called late!"

"You sound worried Nick," Tenner purred through the line, "Only a minute and you lose control. I should have waited even longer. Probably would have gotten you to cry if I did."

"Just tell me where to go, please," Nick didn't care if it sounded like begging to the other man. He was done playing games.

"Alright. Since you seem so eager to get back together with your friends. I can do that. Now, where are you?"

Nick barely registered getting the words out of his mouth. He tried to collect himself, but couldn't seem to do it. His nerves were shot, his body not taking too much more. The Texan was going to snap if any more pressure was applied. He couldn't do this for much longer.

"You need to leave there. Leave the lot, take a left on the main road. You drive and I'll tell you what to do. Make any signs to anyone else, or if anyone is with you, I'll kill him. You'll lose this and then you'll lose your life. You understand?'

"Yes," Nick breathed out, defeat dripping off the one word.

"Good. Soon, we'll be back together. I don't know about you, but I'm very excited about this. It'll be the biggest moment in destiny to come to pass. You should consider yourself very lucky Nick. You're about to make cosmic history."

TBC…