Laws of Motion – Book 3
Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT
Chapter 27
Wednesday - October 5, 2005
Nick and Carrie's House
6:01 am
"Good Morning!" Ryan greeted when he saw Nick enter the kitchen. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I did. What are you doin' up so early?"
Jumping off the counter, Ryan zoomed to the fridge "I got up early to make you breakfast before you go to work." With a carton of eggs in his hand, the teen cracked a sunny smile. "Scrambled, boiled or over-easy?"
"Get over here." Nick gave the boy a bear hug. "You know I love ya, right?"
"Duh! What's not to love?"
"There's the Ryan I know. Scrambled would be great, thanks." Releasing the boy from his arms, Nick said, "Who taught you to make eggs?"
"Your mom. Coffee's hot and your paper's waiting for you on the table."
"That's why it wasn't in the driveway." Picking up a handmade card from the table, Nick remarked, "Wow…this is remindin' me of what we used to do for my Dad on Father's Day. This is really nice, Ryan, thanks." Moved by the effort and the realization that it was all his mother's idea, he took a seat smiling. "Hey, I was gonna call your dad later today and ask for permission to take you to the range Friday after you get out of school."
"Awesome!"
"If he says no, you can pick somethin' else for us to do."
"Bungee jumping!"
"Something your mother would approve of."
"That narrows it down to a tea party or basket weaving."
"Hey, Nicky," Carrie waltzed into the kitchen with a laundry basket in her arms. "I'm washing Cassie's favorite jammies and the shirt she got dirty yesterday, so if there's anything of yours you need done, drop it in the laundry room before you leave."
"Yeah, I have a few things, thanks, Darlin'."
"You're very welcome." She pecked his cheek. "Your mom went to your brother's to gather a list of things he forgot to pack, but she wanted you to know that she made a batch of chocolate chip cookies to take to the office, they're in some Tupperware on the entry table."
Chuckling, he pinched himself. "Whoa, I was sure this had to be a dream."
The Sanders Home
6:09 am
Kneeling next to the couch where her husband was sleeping, Tawny quickly stole a kiss from his parted lips and then whispered, "Wake up sleepyhead." Running her fingers through his hair she tried again, "You don't want to be late for Nick's morning meeting, do you?"
Slowly his eyes fluttered open. "Hey..." His voice thick with sleep, he asked, "What time is it?"
"Almost six-fifteen." She waved a steaming cup of Kona Diamond coffee under his nose.
"Mmm…my favorite."
"It's my way of saying, thanks for the great time last night."
"You're welcome." Stroking her cheek with his thumb, he whispered, "That's how our first date should have gone."
"But I'm glad it didn't." Taking his hand, she placed it on her womb. "I just chugged a glass of OJ, maybe we'll get another kick."
Grabbing the mug, he asked, "Were you up to hear what time Dad took Lily back to her sister's?"
"Check it out." She pointed toward the kitchen counter. "Unless she went home without her purse…she's still here."
"Whoa."
"Oh!" Tawny burst into giggles. "Two, I felt two!"
"Who needs caffeine! That made me instantly wired." After placing his mug on the coffee table, Greg pulled the mother of his children on his lap. "What a great way to kick off the day, huh?"
Drew's House
6:12 am
"Andrew?!" Jillian tossed her purse and keys on the kitchen table. "Honey?!" He had told her he'd be up at six and working out, but when she peered into the home gym, he wasn't there. "Andy?!"
Walking down the hall, she noted the empty spaces where belongings used to be but now were in storage for Lissa. "What the…" When she saw three empty bottles of Cristal and two glasses on the coffee table, her eyes narrowed. I can not believe he had a woman here last night when he said he was going home to put the house back in order for the kids! If it's Lissa, I'll kill him!
Then she saw a bra too large to be Lissa's on the floor.
Tearing through the house, she yelled, "Andrew William Stokes, you get your lyin' butt out here this instant!"
One by one, she threw open the doors on the first floor and then the second, but turned up empty every time. "This place doesn't have a pool house, so where…" Staring at the only door she hadn't opened, her mouth dropped. No…there's no way. Walking closer, she noticed Marta's door was open a crack.
After debating the ethics of the situation for a minute, Jillian pushed the door ever so slightly. "Is this what you call puttin' the house back in order for the kids, Andrew?!" The sight of her supposedly devastated son, spooning the nanny, made her see red.
"Mama?" Drew rubbed his eyes. "What's goin' on? Is somethin' wrong?"
"I sure as hell think there is!"
"Who…?" Unable to open her eyes, Marta rolled onto her back and clutched her throbbing head. "What…?"
"You slept with the nanny?!" Jillian snarled. "She is the onlyperson those children can count on and…"
"Oh…" Marta cried. "It hurts. Help me."
Putting her outrage on hold, Jillian rushed to girl's bedside and placed a hand on the nanny's cheek. "Honey, where does it hurt? And if she's says anywhere below the belt I will kill you with my bare hands, Andrew!"
"Everything hurts."
"Wait!" The events of the last twelve hours snapping into focus for Drew, he rushed to explain, "She's hung over is all. She drank a lot of Cristal."
"Where did the sweet, innocent twenty-four year old nanny get the notion to drink lots of 'three hundred dollars a bottle' Cristal? Let me guess…from a forty-year old pig who just filed for divorce yesterday?!"
"We'll talk about that later, Mama, okay?"
Marta whimpered as the room spun faster. "I'm scared, I'm really scared."
"It's okay, Honey." Pulling Marta toward him he said, "Champagne hangovers are nasty and you're not used to drinkin' is all. You're gonna be fine."
Jillian barked, "Unless she has alcohol poisoning!"
Ignoring his mother, he hurried to help Marta to her feet. "Let's get you to the bathroom so you can get sick, that'll help."
"My stomach hurts so bad." Tears squeezed out of the corners of her clenched eyes. "I'm dying."
"No, you only feel like you are, Honey. Come with me, you'll feel better soon."
Watching her son, who was clad only in boxer shorts, help the frantic girl, who was wearing an A&M t-shirt and floral panties, into her bathroom, Jillian shook her head. "Just when I thought I couldn't be more frustrated with you, Andrew." Holding her head, she plopped down in a chair and listened to her son coach his children's sweet nanny to vomit in between her sobs. Lowering her head, Jillian sighed. "Lord, help me not to kill the jerk"
The Grissoms
6:20 am
Holding Flash on his leash, Gil walked out the front door hoping that Mike wouldn't say anything to set him off.
Around midnight, he and Sara finally figured out that the enemy was trying to reverse their roles by making them feel imprisoned within the walls of their home while he moved freely throughout the neighborhood.
"Gil!" Mike cheerily greeted his nemesis in plain view of two other neighbors. "Do you have a minute?" Wiping the garden dirt on his work jeans, he crossed the street.
"Just one." With a vice grip on Flash's leash he met the murderer at the curb.
"Now that I'm out and have my life back, I just want to say…thank you. Thank you for making it so incredibly easy to regain my freedom. I owe you, pal. If you and your friends weren't such fuck-ups, I'd still be in Ely." Mike winked, then raised his voice and turned on the charm. "That is one adorable basset hound you've got there. I sure hope you and the wife will be at our neighborhood party. Have a great day at work!"
Although the street was usually quiet, Gil wished a lost MAC truck would careen around the corner and deliver an unsuspecting blow to Mike as he jogged back across the street. "Have a nice day, neighbor!" I can play your game too…only better.
Drew's House
6:24 am
"Feelin' any better?" Drew placed a new, colder washcloth on Marta's head and then took a seat on the edge of her bed.
"My head still hurts and my throat's on fire."
"Honey, my mother is sittin' in the kitchen ready to call the police because she thinks I intentionally got you drunk to have sex with you, so if you could try really, really hard maybe you can remember what happened and tell her that's not the case. I'd be most appreciative."
"Did we…" she whimpered in between head throbs.
"Make love?" Drew smiled and shook his head. "No, ma'am, you're still a virgin."
"Oh God…how do you know?"
"You told me."
She licked her parched lips. "What happened? How did we end up in my room? Why am I wearing your shirt?"
"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked while handing over a cup of ice chips. "Suck on those, it'll help with the dry mouth and the nausea."
"I remember we watched Titanic."
"Right, and then we drank some champagne and we were watchin' Shallow Hal, remember that?"
"Yes."
"Another refill, please." Marta held out her glass. "I've seen people drinking this in movies and now I know why they like it so much."
"You've already had two, so I'm cuttin' you off after this one because you're a lightweight."
"Did Tony Robbins hypnotize you too?" she giggled. "I'm a heavyweight for sure. In case you were wondering if I stuff my face all day, these hips and my butt are the same ones my mother and grandmother have…it's genetic. Even if I starved myself, I'd be a stick with a giant booty."
"I think you look fine the way you are."
"That's not true." After polishing off her third flute, Marta sobered, "I've heard the cracks you've made with your friends."
"Uh." Drew nervously cleared his throat. "I'm really very sorry about that. I was an idiot, but I've been tryin' to change. I really hope you can forgive me."
She eyed him angrily for a moment then grinned, "Forgiven."
"Thank you." Drew's returned the sunny smile. "I'm afraid I was a lot like Shallow Hal."
"Except, unlike Hal, you have the looks and the body to get any girl you choose."
"Yeah, and look where that got me," he sighed. "Divorced and trying to piece together my daughter's broken heart."
"You told me to keep watchin' the movie." Drew shook his head, "When Hal realized why little Cadence was really in the hospital…I lost it. All I could think of was Cassie bein' burned and disfigured like that and everyone bein' too frightened to look at her or touch her when really she was still the same sweet little girl. Thinkin' she'd never go to the prom, or get married because of the way she looked. That killed me right there. What can I say, Marta…you bring out the girl in me. It was a two hankie moment that steamrolled me into confessing everything I hated about myself, my childhood, and my life. If you don't remember that part, I'll be thrilled."
Flashes of the scene he spoke of flickered in Marta's memory. "Now that you mention it…it's kind of coming back."
"After you went on about catharsis and it being healthy for me to release my trapped emotions, you decided to cheer me up. You asked me to pick a favorite funny movie of mine while you fixed us somethin' to eat."
"You have no idea how much you're gonna regret that in the mornin'," Drew warned as he walked over to the kitchen counter where Marta was polishing off a tumbler of champagne she had poured on the sly.
"I feel fine…great actually…very happy."
"Whatcha makin' over there?"
"Nachos."
"The girl in me was hopin' for a pint of Ben & Jerry's, but nachos will do."
"We were laughin' in the kitchen and then we watched Animal House and I drank some more. It blew my mind that you had never seen that movie. You asked me to tell some crazy stories from college, because you never got to go and I picked some of the best, which had you rollin'."
The blurry night finally coming into focus, Marta cringed, "Tell me I didn't really ask you to…"
"You did, and it was adorable, because you said it just like Rose when she asked Jack to draw her like one of his French girls."
"Kiss me, Drew." Their lips an inch apart, she drunkenly urged, "Kiss me like you kissed those wild girls at college."
"I uh…" He licked his lips. "I don't really think that's the best idea, because of our situation here and…sorry, I can't." He confirmed his statement by placing his palms on Marta's cheeks and pulling her in for a kiss twice as passionate as the one he surprised Tawny with at BPAC.
"After that it pretty much went along like we were lovestruck teenagers in the back of my Daddy's car. I tossed your shirt, you popped open my jeans. Your bra went flyin', my pants hit the floor. I said you were real good at foolin' around for a girl with no college experience, you said you learned every thing from movies. Holy hell, you had me all revved up on the couch, and then I asked…"
"Do you take pills?"
"Just one multi-vitamin," she panted. "Don't worry, I'm overweight, but I'm healthy and in very good shape. I can keep up."
Falling a little harder for the girl, Drew chuckled, "I meant birth control pills, Darlin'."
"No," she gave a champagne laugh. "There hasn't been much of a need."
"When was the last time you were with someone?"
"Uh…right now," she giggled harder.
"I mean before me."
"There hasn't been anyone before you, you're about to explore uncharted territory, Magellan."
"You're a virgin?"
"Is that a problem?" she said as the champagne fueled her emotions. "Does it make me unattractive?"
"Um…" Clearing his throat, Drew anxiously said, "No…no, believe me, it doesn't make you unattractive. It has quite the opposite effect as a matter of fact, but you're trashed for the first time in your life and therefore vulnerable…and while I really, really want to close the deal here, because we're havin' a great time, and I've never felt as comfortable with a woman as I feel with you…I can't possibly, no… you deserve better. You've been waitin' for the right guy this long, don't waste it on me. Hell, I slept with Lissa on our first date and look how that turned out. I think you're doin' the right thing."
"And then…" Marta covered her face. "Ohhhhh…I cried and got all insecure, didn't I?"
"Yeah, yeah you did, but excessive champagne makes people over emotional and I had already blubbered like a baby that night, so don't be self-conscious about it."
"I've seen the kind of women you like, women like Tawny. At least be honest with me, it's because my body's a turn off."
"To quote my CSI brother, let's consider the evidence." Drew pointed to his boxers. "I'm not turned off, I'm riled. If I hadn't grown a conscience recently, we'd be in the throes, believe me."
"My body's really not the problem?"
"Only an insensitive jerk would let tonight be your first time and I'm trying not to be one of those anymore. I swear…not that my word's been worth much lately, but yeah."
"Just my luck that you'd turn over a new leaf." Disappointed, she sniffled, "I want to know what Rose was feeling when her palm pressed against the glass of the steamy car window. I want to know why she's so blissful afterwards when Jack looks at her. I've watched that scene a hundred times and I want to live it. I'm ready, I'm soooo ready, and this is the closest I've ever been and who knows when I'll get this close again. Oh! How humiliating, I'm begging."
"Honey…don't…" Off balance from the emotional roller coaster he'd been riding and the Cristal, Drew stroked Marta's hair and sweetly whispered, "How about I give you that feeling you're cravin' without us makin' love? I really want our time together to end either." When she nodded, he retrieved his Aggie shirt from the floor. "Put this on like you're one of my college girls, and we'll go upstairs and get comfortable in your room. I'll even sketch you naked by candlelight if you'd like."
The memory slammed into Marta's mindseye. "Oh God!" He fooled around with me out of pity!
"Yeah, you were praising God a bunch." He couldn't help but grin. "It's okay, you had me rejoicin' too."
"I did?!"
He got lost in the memory.
Watching Marta's eyes dance in the candlelight, Drew stroked her hair and asked, "Was it everything you thought it would be, Sweetheart?"
"Even better," she exhaled before a blissful smile swept across her face. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome, it was my pleasure." Feeling incredibly close to the woman trembling beside him, he fought the urge to go back on his word. "Darlin'…" Before he could finish his thought, her tentative touch thrilled him. "I told you there were no strings, so you don't have to…"
"I want to…if that's okay."
"It's perfectly okay." Closing his eyes, he realized he had exactly what he had told Dr. Myers he craved... someone whose words and moans were real, and unlike Lissa, Marta was pleasuring him even though she had already gotten what she wanted. "Mmm…"
"Does it feel good?" she nervously whispered.
Although she had the technique of his junior high girlfriend, he murmured, "Sweetheart, you have no idea how good it feels."
"Then I woke up the morning after the pity party and barfed just to look a little more pathetic."
"Hey." He moved Marta's hands from her flushed face. "You rocked my world last night, and I'm not just talkin' about the foolin' around. What you said really got to me, it. I've never been able to talk to anyone like I can talk to you. It was special, real special."
"Really?" Her words jammed in her throat. "Uh…"
"I see that look in your eyes," he chuckled. "Sorry, I don't mean to freak you out. Please, please don't panic. Yes, I'm a smitten with you, but I don't expect anythin' to come of last night. I understand it was a crazy day and you were drunk for the first time and let your guard down. No wonder you're panicking, the last thing a sweetheart like you needs is a bitter forty year old divorcee on the rebound from a failed marriage. Can you imagine? Your father would come after me with a shotgun for ruinin' his little girl, especially when everyone would call you a homewrecker, and think I was some scuz who kicked out his wife for the pretty, young nanny. My father would never hear the end of that one."
"I never thought of it like that." She used all her strength to chuckle with him. "It would be very confusing for the kids too."
"Right, I didn't think of that, yeah."
"Yeah."
After sixty seconds of silent staring, Drew cleared his throat and said, "So, uh…we'll just go on as business as usual, puttin' last night behind us as a fun memory, but not something we'll be doin' again. Right?"
Afraid she'd confess her true feelings if she spoke, Marta pursed her lips and nodded.
"Good, you get some rest and keep hydratin', you'll feel better by noon." When he got to the doorway, Drew heard her sniffling. "Uh…" With his back still turned he said, "Marta, remember Jack's lesson…don't ever settle, life's too short."
The Demcak Residence
7:27 am
"Dead in his bedroom at seventeen." Sara crouched down next to the bludgeoned boy on the floor while Nick set up to process. "Vartann…where are kid's parents exactly?" He had told them the boy was positively identified by his father from the description of two distinct birth marks, a scar on his right calf, and an appendectomy scar.
From the doorway, he answered, "Vancouver. The kid's father won a sales award. He works for Sahara Hummer. They're waiting for a flight home as we speak."
"That explains the two tricked out Hummers in the garage," Greg commented as he entered the room.
"I wonder if he sold my brother his?" Nick groaned, "Sahara Hummer is where Andy got his penis extension, I mean vehicle." He winked at Vartann. "No offense to those who drive little red sports cars."
"Like I could be offended by a guy who takes thirty-six tries to get a bullseye with an arrow." Laughing he said to Sara, "If you need protection today, you'll want me, not Stokes."
"Thanks, Tough Guy." Sara stood and patted her gun. "But I can protect myself, save the macho posturing for your wife"
"That's the sting of the The Sidle Smackdown you feel, Detective. I love when she does that." Greg winked at Sara before busying himself with his camera. "Is it warm in here?"
"Look who's still flirtin' with CSI Sidle," Nick joked. "Sometimes I think your girls will be playin' with her kid and you'll still be tryin', Sanders."
"In another lifetime Greg and I would have been great." Sara immediately clutched her stomach. "Uh oh."
"Ha!" Nick slapped his buddy on the back. "Thinkin' of you romantically made her ill."
"No, it's Morning sickness!" Sara raced for the door.
Just as Nick was about to snap his first photo, his cell rang. "It's my Mommy."
"Tell her thanks for the cookies," Greg said while prepping evidence bags.
"Hey, Mama, everyone loved the cookies."
"Nicholas, do you remember when you bought your first car how you sold a bunch of comic books to get the extra money you needed?"
"Uh, yeah." With his ear piece in place, he snapped photos while listening. "Why?"
"What did your collection include?"
"I had a ton of the Amazing Spiderman series."
"What about The Spectacular Spiderman series?"
"Uh huh, I had all the ones with Peter Parker in the title and a bunch more."
"Spider Girl?"
"Ooh, no, no Spider Girl. The superhero chicks always ruined the action for me."
"Why? Should they have been home barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen instead of fightin' crime?"
"Mama, you know I like my women tough, but…" he snorted a laugh before realizing that Vartann and Greg were staring at him. "Uh, I'm at a scene, so can we take this trip down memory lane tonight? Thanks."
Crouching over the corpse, Greg broke into the theme song from Spiderman.
"Have some respect for the dead, Sanders," Nick stated while snapping his next picture.
"Are you kidding? I'm singing to take my mind off the dead because it's way too depressing to think about this dead teenager, especially when I almost was one."
"This is no suicide, that's for sure." Staring at the place where the boy's nose should have been, Nick said, "They kept goin' long after he was dead."
"Destroying the vic's face, who does that?" Greg reviewed his mental notes. "The killer is one sick puppy."
Meanwhile, in the front yard…
Sara was beyond the crime tape purging the last of her banana muffin and juice.
"Need a drink?"
"No, I'm…" When she turned, Sara jumped from the sight of Mike Rodgers' killer smile and the bastard offering her a bottle of water.
"Like seeing a ghost, isn't it?"
"You don't scare me."
"Boo!"
Sara jumped and cursed herself for reacting to the trick.
"Isn't it amazing how fast a guy can get his old job back when the Sheriff is shaking in his shoes about bein' outed as a fag who likes to screw barely legals?" Retracting the water bottle Mike said, "I'm crazy for offering you a drink. You'd probably open up the bottle, lace it with GHB, and accuse me of trying to drug you again."
"Go to hell."
"Thanks to your husband, I've already been."
"Is there a problem here?!" Vartann ducked under the tape. From the home's window he had seen Mike hassling her. "Nick found something and needs you inside, Sara."
Happy for the rescue, Sara darted under the tape toward the house.
"Tony…how the hell are you?" Smiling, Mike removed his sunglasses. "You look great. The new marriage must be going better than the last one. Speaking of which…your ex-wife has serious issues."
"Yeah, well I don't give a shit about her or you."
"I'm serious, you need to hear this. As you may know, I'm an ordained minister now. Yesterday, I asked Amy to a motel. She believed we were going to have sex, but I wanted to let her know that although we had sinned together in the past, I've repented and it's not too late for her to do the same."
"I expected a better quality of bullshit from you."
Stepping closer, Mike whispered, "When I got to the motel, she pulled out a knife and asked me to be a part of this really messed up role play with elements of violence and bondage. I was stunned. There's something wrong with her head, Man, she wasn't like that before. I won't pretend the past didn't happen. I screwed around with Amy when she was married to you and I laughed behind your back. I was a bastard for doin' that to a friend, but prison changes a man…I want to say I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too…sorry that I've wasted two minutes conversing with you."
"You can choose to ignore this information, but I recognized that look in Amy's eyes. It's the same one inmates get before they snap. I think if you talked to her, she'd listen, because it was really apparent she's still in love with you…even though she's still trying to screw every guy in sight. She needs help, Tony. Who the hell knows what's going on in the head of a woman who wants a knife to her throat during sex? She could fly off the handle and go after your wife or kill herself. She blamed you for messing up her head, but I find that hard to believe."
"Let me guess, you got a Psychology degree in prison after you paid ten bucks for that minister title you toss around like it actually means something."
"Hey." Mike put his hands up. "I give up."
"Good, now it's my turn to tell you something." Tony pointed to his badge. "You see this number? Now look at yours. You see how mine is a lot lower? That means I have seniority over you." He pointed down the block. "Go stand at the intersection and wait for the coroner. When you see him wave him down the street, then come back over to me and get your next pissant assignment."
"I'm on it, Detective Vartann." With each step, Mike grinned a little wider. Ten…nine…eight…seven…who am I kidding, the cell's already in your hand. Catholic guilt's a bitch, just like your ex-wife. You're already imagining her in the morgue. You can't let it go, not when she may blame you in her suicide note. You gotta try, you know you do, Anthony Michael, Saint of Sin City.
Amy Vartann's Townhouse
7:37 am
"Miss me?" the excited ex-wife answered her phone in a breathy voice.
"No, I hate you, do not think for a minute that I don't hate you, but as much as I hate you, I don't want to show up at a scene and find out you're the victim. You know why? Not because I care about you or want you back, I don't care if we never see each other or talk again. I'm calling because I had to tell a mother her seventeen year old son was murdered last night and the woman's screams are still echoing in my head. Your mother always treated me like her son, so this is for her…get yourself to a doctor, Amy, before it's too late. There's been something seriously wrong with you for almost two years now, you know that. If it's your pride stopping you, then blame me for your problem. Say living with me caused you to go off the deep end. Say I drove you crazy because I demanded your tampon wrappers hit the trash, or because I didn't care enough about your new nail polish color when I was watching the Devils play, or any of the things you hated about me over time. Go…please…before something bad happens." His voice softened, "What you're doing isn't safe, Amy, deep down you know that. One day you're going to ask the wrong guy to hold a gun to your head and he's not gonna stop at let's pretend."
Drew's House
7:48 am
"We'll just pretend it never happened," Marta whispered as she sniffed Drew's Aggie shirt one last time before dropping it into the washing machine. "I think that's going to be a little tougher for me than you."
The Demcak Residence
7:55 am
"Hey, Tough Guy." Sara was printing the front door, when she saw Tony walking up the steps. "Thanks for the macho posturing and protection. I guess I do need an assist from time to time."
"Everybody does." Still down from his telephone call to Amy, he glanced over his shoulder and asked, "Did you get real Mike, or were you treated to Reverend Mike's bullshit?"
"I got the real Mike."
Nick showed up at the door. "Greg just told me he saw Rodgers out here. Where is the bastard?" He pushed past Sara. "I can't believe he's back in uniform in twenty-four hours and at our scene." Instead of Mike he saw a blonde rushing towards the house. "Do we know who the girl is running over here and crying?"
Convinced it was his ex-wife, Vartann whipped around, hurrying toward the blonde. "Miss, I need you to stay where you are!"
"Kyle!" The teen dropped her backpack and raced for the house, but was stopped at the tape.
"Miss…you're not allowed past the crime tape," Mike counseled as he held her back.
"Kyle!" She fought to get free. "What's going on? Is my boyfriend is okay?! Let go of me!" When she saw a gurney with a body bag poised on it, she gasped. "His parents are in Canada…oh my God! Is that for him? No, no it can't be for him. Let go of me!"
"Miss…" Tony approached and softly said, "I'm very sorry, but you can't go inside."
"Kyle!"
The detective pulled out his cell phone. "Give me a number of a parent or guardian I can call for you."
Mike soothed the girl as she cried in his arms. "Can you think of number?" Then he yelled to a fellow officer, "Check her backpack for contact info! She dropped it in front of the next house!"
On the front porch, the CSIs stood watching the girl clutch a rapist and murderer like he was a teddy bear.
Nick turned and walked into the house. "Frickin' insanity."
The Sanders Home
8:20 am
"I knew she was crazy about you!" Tawny excitedly whispered to her father-in-law who was mixing pancakes.
"I still can't believe I…I can't believe I'm discussing this with my daughter-in-law either." Dropping blueberries into the batter he smiled, "We were talking about our divorces and how much it hurts to have the person you thought you would spend the rest of your life with morph into someone you didn't recognize. Then we started reminiscing about silly things that happened in the office over the years and the good times."
"Did you kiss her, or did she kiss you?"
"She kissed me," he boasted. "Do you think it was the wrong thing to do?"
Demcak Residence
8:29 am
"Uh oh."
"Uh oh, what?" Nick asked when he saw Greg lower his head in shame. "Sanders…what did you do?"
"I uh…dropped the scale on top of the partial bloody footprint."
"Please tell me it was after you were done."
"Don't kill me."
"How many close ups did you get before you dropped the scale on it?"
"Please don't kill me." Greg's heart raced as he confessed, "I was placing the scale when I realized I hadn't taken any photos, which as you know, would be bad news once I placed the scale, so I got nervous about my 'almost big mistake' and…um…dropped the scale…making a colossal mistake. Having Rodgers out there has me on edge and…no excuses, I screwed up, please don't kill me, I have twins on the way."
"I'm not gonna kill you," Nick replied while heading for the door. "Because I'm stepping out until the urge to strangle you passes."
Drew's House
8:35 am
When Drew stepped into the kitchen, Jillian took a deep breath and remembered her grandchildren were in the next room. "I'm tempted to file for custody of your children. They deserve to be in a stable home where their guardian isn't focused on his needs more than theirs."
"I know you're upset."
"Upset?! Your brother is broken hearted that he lost his first child and you're taking yours for granted. I have visions of little Cassie waking up every mornin' to find stranger after stranger crawling out your bed and traipsing out of the house like vampires smartin' from the sunlight."
"Marta said she cleared things up with you."
"Yes, she did, and when I asked, she swore you didn't pay her to lie." Feeling sorry for the sheltered girl who, in drunken silliness, had asked her son to cuddle because she had never felt a man's arms around her while she slept, Jillian said, "The poor thing was trippin' all over herself she was so embarrassed."
"I'll make a deal with you," Drew confidently said as he approached the sink. "If I ever bring a woman into the house for a one-night stand, I'll sign over custody. You can draw up the papers, I'm that confident it won't be happening. And if you think my life is gonna be one string of sleepover parties outside my home, you're wrong too. I'm gonna be the best father to those kids, you'll see."
Breezing by her son, she snipped, "Your words have lost their value. I'll need to see it to believe it."
The Demcak Residence
8:49 am
"You really dropped the scale on the foot print?" Sara stated while staring at the bloody blur that used to be a shoe print. "Wow, you're in trouble, Sanders, big trouble."
"I know, Sara," the depressed CSI groaned.
"About the only thing that could save your ass now is if someone else had photographed that before you messed it up." She held up her camera. "I snapped five perfect shots before putting down the scale and then two more before Nick told me to let you do the grunt work. I planned on telling you that your pre-scale shots should be tossed."
"Seriously?!" Greg raced over to check Sara's camera screen.
"You owe me big."
"Did you tell Nick?!"
"Not yet, he's with Vartann talking to Kyle's girlfriend, Krista and her parents at their house, about two blocks from here."
"Uh… we're here with Rodgers alone?"
"Yeah, but Vartann has him guarding the tape out front, so that means he can't come inside."
Greg peered out the window. "It's like having a giant yellow superhero force field around us that the bad guy can't penetrate."
"There may have been some penetration over here." Sara illuminated Kyle's bedsheets. "I've got soldier spatter. It's a very odd, far-reaching spatter pattern actually."
From the foot of the bed, Greg studied the configuration. "Uh…that's not what it looks like when a guy is alone unless he has two foot hose that's flying around out of control."
"You're right, it does look like he sprayed it with a hose." Sara cocked her head. "Two guys, more product?"
"Having a contest to see who has the most output?" Greg shook his head. "That's something egomaniac straight guys would do, not lovers."
"Here we go." Leaning in, Sara plucked a coiled red hair from the sheet. "He had company with very long red hair, there's a few more around the middle of the bed. An explosive last second pull-out and he didn't know if he should go right or left so he ended up getting some on both sides?"
"Nope." Greg pointed to the mattress. "He's on his back while someone is satisfying their oral fixation. He's pulling on the person's hair and when the moment comes, that someone balks and forcefully spits the contents going left to right or right to left, with the void being Kyle's body. "
"Nicely done." Sara noted a follicle was still attached to one of the hairs. "Now who's the red head with a sensitive gag reflex, because Krista's hair is blonde?"
Krista Stallings' Home
8:56 am
"Does my daughter really have to answer your questions, Detective?" Mr. Stallings asked, while clutching his devastated little girl.
"Thank you for letting us into your home." Tony followed the family members into the living room and explained, "Your daughter is Kyle's girlfriend, which makes her critical to the investigation. We can speak here, or if you'd rather meet us at the station later when you're…"
"No." Bill Stallings shook his head. "The last place I want to drag my daughter to today is a police station. She has an alibi. She was home all night and she can't leave during the night because the alarm's on and she doesn't have the code. Her mother and I are witnesses."
"Thank you for the information." Taking a seat in the chair the girl's mother was pointing to he said, "CSI Stokes is the lead at the scene, so he may chime in with some questions of his own."
Nick nodded and continued walking around the living room.
"Krista, do you know if Kyle had any enemies?"
"Everybody loves Kyle," she tearfully replied.
"I saw his baseball awards, what about opposing teams? Did he ever say that a guy got mad at him or roughed him up after a game or…"
"Kyle didn't play the last half the season because of his math grades," the father answered. "He failed summer school too. His father was livid and started getting him tutored three days a week after school and on Saturdays. Another part of the new restrictions were that Kyle and Krista were only allowed to see each other before school…they walked together, and on Sunday's at church and then for two hours afterwards. The rest of the time he had to be studying, so he could make the grade for sports. His father was always yelling, No Bs, no bases. He wanted to see Kyle in a college uniform."
Drew's House
10:07 am
When he saw the Aggie t-shirt he had given Marta was neatly folded on his bed, Drew froze. She gave it back? She's not supposed to give it back. No girl has ever returned one of my shirts. He walked to the bed shaking his head. "She washed it too." They used to like to sniff 'em.
"Excuse me…"
When he heard Marta's voice, Drew whipped around.
"Good, you found your shirt. I wanted to make sure you found it." Forcing a smile, she said, "I know how much you love you're A&M stuff."
"You were supposed to keep the shirt."
"I was?" Her tension eased when she realized things weren't going to be as horribly awkward as she imagined. "Why?"
"Because girls don't return the shirts they get from their guy." He stepped closer and lowered his voice to a whisper, "Just so you know for the future."
"For the future?"
"I don't mean our future, because we said we wouldn't find ourselves in that situation again." Since he knew she was clueless, he did some more coaching. "A girl keeps it and wears it to let everyone know she's with someone."
"But I thought we broke up." She quickly backpedaled. "Not that I thought we were together! I mean we were together last night, but not before that…and together isn't really the right word. It was more like we were…"
"Intimate," he interjected in a tranquil voice.
"But we didn't have sex. Doesn't intimate imply sex?"
"Believe me, sex and intimacy can be mutually exclusive." Lowering his voice, Drew confessed, "I don't know about you, but I've been thinkin' a lot about our night together. It was erotic as hell, wasn't it?"
"Oh." Marta's palm covered her mouth. "That sounds so…"
"Accurate?"
"Naughty," she whispered while moving closer. "Oh my gosh, I was naughty, wasn't I? Me, a farm girl from Iowa…naughty." Stop talking!
"I said it felt erotic because everything felt taboo and right at the same time." Reaching out, he grazed her cheek with his fingertips. "How are you feeling?"
"Totally confused!" she blasted. "Three hours ago you told me we'd forget this ever happened and now you're going on about being intimate and erotic and…"
"I was referring to your hangover when I asked you how you felt, but I hear ya…" He broke into an outrageous grin. "I'm feelin' a little confused myself at the moment."
"How specifically?" she boldly asked, hoping he'd take his time answering and keep stroking her cheek.
"I'm…hey, Mama!" Drew nonchalantly waved to his mother who had popped up in the doorway. "Be right with ya. We're reviewin' the kids schedule for this afternoon and makin' sure things are extra good for them around here."
"I have those papers ready for you to sign," Jillian huffed. "I'll wait in your study."
Taking Marta's hand, Drew quickly made an offer, "If you're interested in watchin' the Aggies play on Saturday, I'm gonna make a little football party for kids. I would love for you to accompany me to the stadium, also known as the family room." Placing the t-shirt in her hand, he winked. "No maroon, no admittance."
"But you never watch your football games at home with the kids." When they were living in Chicago, he either flew to Texas or watched them with friends.
"You're lookin' at my new leaf, remember? I'm a family man twenty-four, seven…which means my kids need me home, not in a sports bar." After winking, he said, "Those damn Colorado Buffalos are on fire in the Big 12 South, but I sure do hope the Aggies score a bunch of times. What about you?"
"Of course," she chuckled, "why would I want your team to lose?"
Chuckling, he walked away. "Take a minute and really think about what I just said."
Author's Notes:
Who knows what Drew just said he couldn't wait to do?? Aggie readers, I know you know!
Creepy Mike! Boo! But Gris is fully on board to keep up with the game.
Ryan will thank Jillian for teaching him how to make eggs, after he impresses his first lady with that skill one day in the future! LOL
I felt we needed a case to work. Look for the Master Criminalist to come sniffing around it soon.
Next Chapter: The CSIs and Vartann work the case, and a few other fun things happen. Posting: Sunday night
Thanks for reading even though I keep writing Mike!
Maggs