A/N: Hmm...nothin much to say...except I don't own the Hilton, nor do I have any affiliation with the people that do. I don't own CSI or any of its characters... and that's a very sensitive subject for me so I would appreciate it if you didn't bring it up... –sniffle--
Chapter 7: Wishing Only Gets You So Far...You Have To Take Action To Make The Wish Your Reality.
Sunday December 10, 2004
The Hilton
Ballroom B- Entomology Convention
Massena, New York
5:36 p.m.
Sara squirmed in her seat and prayed to God that this would be over soon. She had been by Gil's side when he had put this entire project together...but at the time she didn't realize how boring it actually was. She had always had a slight interest in bugs, perhaps the man up by the podium had something to do with it, but this...this was torture. She hated to admit it, but Grissom's presentation was making the other guy's look good.
It seems though God had heard her prayer, and the speech was over. They were done...for today. Sara stood up and groaned, knowing that she would not only have to deal with their silly fight from earlier, but she now had this to worry about. If he kept this up for two weeks, she might actually die. She sighed as she began to walk towards the stage they had set out and saw Grissom talking with a few other colleagues.
"Ah, here she is. This is Sara Sidle, CSI level 3." Grissom introduced and motioned her forward. She smiled tentatively and walked towards Grissom and the other entomologists men around him.
"Ms. Sidle, good job today assisting Dr. Grissom with his lecture today. I thought it was top notch." The older man with the British accent commented.
"Um, thank you very much." Sara said and gave a small smile. She turned to Grissom and raised her brow slightly before returning her attention back to the people he was surrounded by. A blonde man no more than a few years older than Sara smiled and immediately drew her attention.
Wow...
"Well, Ms. Sidle, we were all about to go out for a nice dinner. Would you care to join us? I could be your escort." The man slightly older than Sara suggested. She smiled at his slight accent...
Wow...I never new Southern accents could be so...nice sounding. Is this how Nick's voice sounds to women who don't consider him as an older brother?
That was when she realized had spoken to her again. "I'm sorry..."
He smiled a boyish grin and shook his head. "I said I'm sure we'd all be pleased to have you. I actually wanted to know more about how the blow flies helped in the Shelton case ya'll mentioned earlier." He drawled and Sara felt a blush coming on. Why did the dinner sound so tempting...
No! Bad. Bad Sara! You've finally got Grissom and now you're thinking about other guys? What is your deal? Okay, just cool it, go to the hotel and...figure out the argument and how to fix it with Grissom before you blow it.
She found herself getting lost in his dark green eyes, boyish grin, and handsome features. She smirked and looked to a few of the other men, all nodding vigorously. She stole a quick glance at Grissom and saw his nerves were tweaked. He eyed the man as though he was a threat and squared his shoulders.
Sara smiled despite Grissom's unfriendly demeanor. "Actually, I'm going to head back to the hotel. I'll have to take a rain check." She replied and stole one more glance at Grissom before turning away and walking out of the room. They all watched her go and Grissom felt his heart fall into his stomach. He knew that she was still a little miffed from their dispute earlier...it had bothered him all day and he wanted to straighten a few things out.
But he couldn't skip the dinner because that would raise suspicions...and he cared too much about her reputation to have it soiled because he can't help himself. He sighed barely audibly and looked back to the gentlemen around him, eyeing the young Southerner subtly. "Well...shall we venture into the bitter December weather?"
LVPD
CSI Crime Lab
6:00 p.m.
Las Vegas' December weather was unusually icy today, leaving a shiver coursing through Catherine's body as it assaulted her uncovered face. She wrapped her arms around her body tighter to preserve warmth and opened the LVPD doors and stepped into the Crime Lab part of the building. Warrick tagged along a few feet behind her, and she held the door open for him. His hand went to the small of her back and nudged her forward, letting her know that he was in the building also.
He let his hand linger on her back, and reluctantly let it fall before anyone could see. She walked straight through the lab and into Grissom's office to continue her investigation of the Millander case. Warrick closed the door behind them and pulled off his jacket. He watched as Catherine went through the letters and flyers lying on the uncommonly clean desk and threw several in the trash.
She sighed and pulled off her winter attire and laid it on the chair. "What do we have?" Warrick asked and Catherine sighed.
"A 419 along Boulder Highway, and a pile of bones down out by Area 51."
"Who's goin where?" Warrick asked, preparing to deliver assignments.
"Nicky's got the 419, tell him to take Greg along, let him observe but no collecting evidence. He's back in his little lab when they get back. You and Kris go head out to the pile of bones. She's an anthropologist...this should be her cup of tea." Catherine let a small smile grace her stressed out face and Warrick walked towards her.
"Hey, you okay today?"
She sighed and nodded, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against Warrick's well defined chest. "Better than I have been but...still not 100 percent."
"Well I didn't expect 100 percent...more like 49.9 percent." Warrick smiled and she chuckled softly.
"Yeah...somewhere around there."
"Alright..." He unwillingly pulled away from her, but kissed the top of her head. "I'll go hand out the assignments. If you get too stressed...relax, take a break, and go yell at Greg."
"Will do."
Warrick walked out of the room and went into the break room to find the three people in question. "Hello my happy little campers. I've got your assignments."
"How Catherine?" Nick asked.
Warrick nodded. "She's better."
"What do we have tonight?" Kris questioned setting down her anthropology book. Warrick smiled.
"Nick, you and Greg get a 419 off of Boulder Highway. Greg, you observe, take notes and pictures. No collecting evidence. Kris...good thing you've been studying your bones, you and I are out to Area 51. Mysterious pile of bones."
"Oooh! Maybe he was zapped by aliens and abducted for probing!" Greg exclaimed hopefully and Kris smiled and shook her head.
"So why did the aliens leave his bones?" Kris asked, playing along with the insane idea.
"Because, they wanted to give you an early Christmas present. You like bones."
"Yep. No bones about it." Kris joked and rolled her eyes. "Sorry, corny anthropology humor."
Warrick shook his head. "You two are weird."
"Just be glad that we aren't working this case together..." Greg pointed out.
"Halleluiah!" Everyone else sang.
"That would be one crazy ride..." Nick commented. "Anyway, I think I got the lesser of two evils."
Kris gave him a fake smile and Warrick suppressed his grin.
"Good burn." Greg said and Kris chuckled.
"Yeah, lucky you, you get stuck with the Trainee lab tech that's had four cups of his infamous Blue Hawaiian coffee." Kris countered and smiled. "You ready Rick?"
He chuckled and nodded. "This will be fun."
The two of them departed and Nick looked at Greg in dread. "Seriously man, four cups?"
"Heck yes."
Warrick's Tahoe
6:21 p.m.
"Heck yes! Can I turn this up?" Kris asked motioning towards the radio. Warrick chuckled.
"Go for it."
Kris smiled and cranked up the radio, and Nickleback blasted from the Tahoe. "Who is this!" Warrick shouted above the music.
"Where Do I Hide by Nickleback!" She yelled back and began singing along with the music. "Got a criminal record, I can't cross state lines! First on the bad list, and you're last on mine! Lookin for a scapegoat, long past due! Walking down the aisle, staring straight at you! I still hear him screaming "where do I hide?"! And he asks and I say "hurry inside"!. He said, she said, no she don't! Be back before morning, you know she won't! I remember that summer, like yesterday! And I remember his mother, as he was dragged away! I still hear him screaming "where do I hide?"! And he asks and I say "hurry inside"!
A whole lot of memories, yours and not mine! And he asks and I say "hurry inside"!"
"Here we are!" Warrick shouted and she turned down the music. "Damn...you're as bad as Greg is."
She chuckled and shook her head. "I like Rock 'n Roll..."
"Hardcore."
"Heck yes." She laughed and climbed out of the car when it came to a stop.
"Do you like just Rock...?"
"No. I like everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
"Rap?"
"Yeah, 50 Cent, Dem Franchize Boyz, Eminem, Akon, T.I...I like 'em all."
"And Opera?"
"Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom of the Opera is my favorite. But I also like Handel's Agrippina and Rinaldo."
"Country?"
"Eh, not on my top three, but I like Johnny Cash, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride, John Michael Montgomery...Kenny Chesney isn't that bad either."
"Wow...so you could, go to an Opera with Gris, head over to a Green Day concert with Greg, hit the club with Cat and I, and then head over to the Country Bar with Nick."
"Eh...you had me until the last part. What about Sara?"
"Um...I'm not sure what she prefers, but she sings a lot of oldies."
"Like?"
"Blondie, The Pretenders, Rose Royce, Ohio Players, Wild Cherry..."
"I like them too."
"So you and Sara can chill at her house and listen to your outdated music, because no one plays that anymore."
Kris laughed. "Well, you know, I've had a full night of Opera, head banging, grinding, and square dancing...I think I need a little break." Warrick laughed and smiled at her. He could tell already that she'd be fun to work with, especially when she got right down to business. "Hey Brass, what's the scoop?"
"Rick, Kris. Pile of bones. People are convinced it's a sign."
"From God?" Warrick asked.
"From E.T."
"Phone home." Kris finished and Brass smirked, and led them to the bones.
"Exactly...good luck you too. No witnesses, no buildings, no trace...and any minute now this place is gonna be swarming with reporters. Not to mention Officer Rhines over there contaminated the scene. He responded to a call saying there was some 'mysterious bones' out in Area 51...he got here, touched the bones. Freaked out and called in someone else."
"Yay." Kris remarked sarcastically.
"Who placed the call for the uh, the 'body'?" Warrick asked and Brass sighed.
"Look around you...one of the E.T. fanatics..."
"Lucky us...questioning is always fun."
"Yeah, especially when your vocabulary is limited to two words."
Kris squatted down next to the pile of bones and snapped a few photographs from various angles, then picked up the bone on the top of the pile. She sighed and turned it over. "This is a fibula. Not fully formed. Probably a baby or young kid." She dug through the pile and rooted to find a particular bone.
"What are you looking for?"
"Cranium." She muttered and pulled a skull. She looked it over for a few minutes and sighed. "Yeah...this is a definitely baby's skeleton...young...Caucasian...wait..." She pulled out another bone and inspected it. "Maybe not. We'll have to get these back to the lab to be sure though. I'll have to lay them all out and reassemble the skeleton from what we have here to tell gender, and get a better estimate at age and race..." She let her thought trail off as she began photographing each bone and placing it in individual bags.
"How many bones do you think are here?" Warrick asked her and Kris looked around.
"Rough Guess-timate, I'd say anywhere from 100 to 150...about half a body's worth."
"Won't it be hard to identify the body without all the bones?"
"Well...it won't be the easiest thing to do. But it can still be done. If we're lucky we'll get some teeth, dental records are always easy. Oh...lucky us." She pulled out a large bone structure. "We get a whole mandible."
"Plenty of teeth still intact too." Warrick noted and Kris nodded.
"Only a few missing, but judging by the estimated age, I'd say they just probably haven't come in yet. Either that or they're just falling out...we'll be able to tell which scenario is right once we identify the age range."
Warrick nodded in understanding and helped her collect the evidence. "Ya know, you seem to have this handled. I'm gonna go help Brass with the questioning."
Kris looked over at him for a moment before nodding and continuing to gather evidence. Warrick walked over to Brass and sighed while scanning the crowd. "Where do we start Detective?"
Unknown Location
Boulder Highway
6:43 p.m.
"Where do we start?" Greg asked uncertainly.
Nick picked up his camera and snapped a quick shot of Greg. Greg looked over at him like a deer caught in the headlights. Nick smiled and motioned to the body. "Try the body." Nick drawled, a slight smirk appearing on his face. Greg nodded and walked over to the body. "Here." He handed Greg the camera. "Take pictures, I'll collect evidence. Keep up. Make sure you get multiple pictures from diverse viewpoints. Make sure the lighting is just right, do NOT get your finger in the corner of the camera when you take the picture, and make sure your lens is clean at all times." Nick instructed and Greg nodded, tensing with each strict instruction her was given. Nick looked over at him seriously. "And Greg..."
"Yeah?" Greg asked, extremely nervous that he was going to mess up the scene.
Nick cracked a small, supportive, smile. "Relax."
Greg smiled and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Okay." He snapped a few picture of the body from a few feet away, then moved closer to snap a few full body, close up, shots. He then moved closer and took pictures of individual parts of the body that Nick pointed out. "Wow, this isn't that hard."
"Greg...you're only takin pictures buddy." Greg sighed. "First thought?"
"Um...well, the blood pooling around her head suggests that she wasn't moved when the initial wound was inflicted. Lividity is consistent with the body's position. So, this probably wasn't a body dump." Nick nodded and urged Greg along. "The victim appears to have been redressed," Greg knelt down and pointed to the woman's blouse. "Killer missed a button."
"So, how did the killer kill and redress a woman on the side of the highway without anyone seeing?" Nick asked, already knowing the most likely scenario, but wanting Greg to figure it out for himself.
Greg paused for a while and looked around the scene, surveying the area, cars, victim, and finally Detective Vartann. "Greg...it's alright if you don't know the answer right away. That's what we have labs for. You remember, you spent most of your career in there." Nick teased and Greg ducked his head.
"Right...sorry."
"Don't apologize Greg...that's how you learn. That's why you're here, to learn."
"Okay...I have a question."
"Shoot."
"If the killer did redress her and she wasn't moved from this position, pending that she was killed before she was redressed because there are no signs of a struggle and she would have struggled if she was alive...how did no one notice a half naked woman on the highway?" Greg asked and Nick nodded, understanding what he was saying. "I mean...she's a pretty girl..."
"Pretty or not, you see a half naked woman on the side of the road you're lookin at her. Women have that effect on you, they entrance you...it's part of their genetic make-up."
Greg smirked and snapped another picture. "Is that scientifically proven or are these just wise words from a man who has slept with his fair share, pardon me, a lot of men's fair share of women?" Greg countered and Nick looked at him in shock, trying to hide his amusement.
"Well, you answer me this, you see two half naked women on the side of the road, one's gorgeous. She's like...who's that hot brunet from Bay Watch?"
"Yasmine Bleeth?"
"Yeah. She looks like Yasmine Bleeth, and she's wearin less than she normally does on Bay Watch. Then next to her is an ugly, totally repulsive looking woman also half naked...who are you gonna stare at?"
"Yasmine." Greg answered, lowering the camera and looking over at Nick.
"That's what you tell yourself, but when it comes down to it you end up staring at the ugly girl, whether its from mere shock or disgust, the ugly chick seems to draw your attention."
"That's not always true. Say that the chick from Days, Maria Lopez, say that she and Kris were standing on the side of the road, half naked. Which one are you gonna look at?" Greg asked, snapping a picture of the woman's missing leg.
"As I said before, the ugly one. Maria Lopez. I told you Greg, as in pure shock you stare at the ugly one just because its human nature." Greg smiled widely at Nick, who was completely unaware of what he had insinuated. "What are you laughin about Greg?" Nick drawled, still completely clueless.
"I just got you to admit that you think Kris is hot." Greg replied casually and snapped another picture, this time of Nick's shocked expression. "But it was only so obvious, I mean, you check her out often enough."
"What! I do not."
"You do too. You stare at her ass constantly, and check out her rack every chance you get. But I can't blame you man she is hot."
"I do not check Anderson out."
"Eh, it's only fair. She's checked you out too."
Nick turned to look at the younger man. "Really?"
Greg chuckled. "Yeah."
"When?"
"Why do you care?" He snapped another picture of the corpse's severed hand.
"I don't. You brought it up." Nick mumbled and Greg chuckled to himself and continued inspecting the body. Nick picked a fiber off the victim's foot that Greg had been eyeing. "...When has she checked me out?"
Greg laughed. "You are bad man."
"What! I'm trying to make conversation."
"No, making conversation is, 'so...how's the weather, how's your family, are you feeling okay?'"
"I know how the weather is. It's cold. I want to know when she checked me out."
"Why?"
"Two words man, black mail."
"Technically I think that's one word." Greg pointed out and Nick scowled. "Or...maybe it's a hyphen. And either way, I'm not giving you information to blackmail Kris."
"That's only cause you wanna date her."
"No, I wouldn't tell you if someone else was checking you out either. Just like I won't tell Kris that you check her out."
Nick looked over at him and gave a smirk. "Even if she bribed you with a date?"
"Yep."
"You're a good friend."
"One can only try." Greg said and snapped a final picture of the body.
Massena, New York
Unknown Location
Sara's Rental Car
7:02 p.m.
"I'm trying to find my way back to the hotel. I'm lost somewhere on the side of the road." Sara admitted in shame. She drew an exhausted finger across the steering wheel and pressed the phone tighter to her ear. She hadn't really wanted to talk to Grissom but he was the only person she knew here...and it was getting cold.
"Okay, what's the last landmark you've seen?" Grissom asked calmly.
"Uh...there wasn't one."
"None?"
"No." She admitted feebly.
"Then you went the wrong way. You should have seen at least three landmarks on your way back to the hotel by how far you've been driving."
She sighed and rested her forehead on the palm of her hand. "Shit." She cursed softly.
"Stay where you are. I'm coming to find you."
"Griss...I don't even know where I am. How are you gonna find me?"
"Which way did you go when you pulled out of the hotel parking lot?"
"Left."
"How long did you travel south?"
"About thirty miles or so. Then I went east for about fifty miles..."
"Alright, I call you in a little bit. Stay put, stay warm. I'll try to find you." She was quiet a moment. "Sara?"
"Yeah?"
"Be safe..."
"You too."
"And Sara..."
"Yeah?"
"...I love you." He said softly and Sara felt her heart flutter, then become in pain, she missed him. She wanted to be with him right now. Not lost somewhere on the side of the road.
She smiled and sighed softly. "I love you too Gil."
The re-use of his first name sent his heart soaring, and he was bound and determined to find her. "I'm on my way Sweetheart. Sit tight."
CSI Crime Lab
Layout Room
8:16 p.m.
"I'm on my way Linds...I'll be there soon." Catherine said and hung up the phone. Kris looked up at her but didn't say anything. As if sensing the girl's question, she elaborated. "Lindsey wants me to come and see her..."
"And that confuses you?"
"Well yeah. She hardly ever wants me around...unless she wants something."
"Well I think this time may be the same case." Kris replied and Catherine looked at her in shock. People weren't supposed to agree to that type of response... Kris looked up at her and gave a small smile. "She wants your support."
"And you know this how?"
"Wouldn't you want your mom in a case like this?" Kris asked completely serious. Catherine gave a small grin. "I'll see you next shift Catherine."
"Here's hoping."
"Give Linds my regards." Kris called and Catherine waved over her shoulder. Kris chuckled and shook her head, getting back to her work. Just then Nick walked in.
"Anderson," Nick said and Kris looked up, brushing a piece of hair out of her eye with her finger. "Is Catherine in here?"
"Nope. She just took off to go see Lindsey at the hospital."
"Did she say when she'll be back?"
"Hopefully not 'til after shift. Those two need to talk."
Nick sighed and hung his head. "Damn..."
"Hey, do you know how to work this stupid computer? I have to verify my status as a CSI to get my results on a piece of evidence, but this computer is being dumb and denying me access." Kris mumbled and Nick chuckled and stepped forward.
"Uh, yeah...try entering your name and status again but instead of typing in the personalized password, use the company one."
"Which is...?"
"Margaritaville." Nick replied and Kris typed it into the computer. But the computer rejected it.
She sighed in exasperation. "It didn't work." Nick walked over to the computer and stood behind her, leaning around her to type in his user name and password. It immediately accepted it and opened the Lab's page, finally giving Kris' information.
"Yeah, they um, they just might not have you in the computer's files yet. You'll be in there soon enough."
"Oh...thank you."
"You're welcome." They both avoided eye contact, Kris because of the fact that she had to ask for his help and Nick because he now knew that she had checked him out, as he had her. He gave up and finally dragged his gaze over to her, and she looked back at him. Nick slowly pulled away and chuckled. "See...I can be a nice guy."
"I never said you couldn't...but I still can't stand you."
"The feeling is mutual." Nick replied and Kris nodded, continuing her work.
"Good." She smiled slightly and shook her head as Nick walked out of the room. A few seconds later he walked back into the room. Kris looked up at Nick and he laid the piece of paper down on the table across from her.
"Make sure Catherine gets this." Nick instructed and slid the paper to her. She set it aside and nodded. "Thanks." He said, once again leaving the room. Kris continued typing and Greg walked in.
"What's cookin good lookin?" Greg greeted and Kris shook her head, not able to control her smirk.
"Not much. How can I help you Greg?" She asked looking up at him.
"Well...a date would be nice. But I doubt that'll happen. So how about helping me with an autopsy? I need help reviewing Doc's notes...too much Latin and bone-words for Nick and I to process alone."
"Aren't you and Stokes on the same case?"
"Yeah, but neither of us know a lot about bones."
"There were bones at your scene too?"
Greg nodded. "Only a few, there were pushed off to the side. The girl was missing her left leg and right hand."
"And you don't know a fibula from a phalange."
"Um..."
Kris chuckled and arranged her papers in a neat pile. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Um, give me a few minutes to get this all straightened out and...I'll meet you in the Conference Room."
Greg nodded. "Alright, see you in a few Kris." He walked out of the room and Kris put her nose to the grind stone to finish up what she had to do. She shivered as she felt a cold burst of air sweep through the room, and she pulled her white lab coat around her navy blue fleece sweater tighter.
She shivered again. "Man...it's getting colder..."
Massena, New York
Unknown Location
Grissom's Rental Car
8:34 p.m.
The temperature had dropped almost three degrees since the last time he had talked to Sara. And while that wasn't a big temperature plummet, the wind had picked up and the snow was now falling harder. Grissom cursed to himself and accelerated a little more. He was torn between driving fast to find Sara, and driving slow to prevent killing himself.
Sara had called him a few minutes ago and informed him that her car had just died...she had no heater...and it was getting colder and colder with each passing moment.
He sighed as he scanned the side of the roads looking for the rental car. He had to be getting closer...
He pulled out his cell and hit speed dial three. He waited as the ringing continued, and soon the familiar gruff voice picked up. "Brass."
"Jim, I need you to do me a favor." He heard shuffling and Jim coughed. "Are you getting sick?"
"Yeah, probably. Vegas is 'experiencing unusual conditions'."
"And those would be?"
"Snow. I'm blaming yours and Sara's departure and the new girl. Were all freezing our asses off down here."
The mention of freezing made Grissom wince...
Sara...
"Jim, listen. I need you to trace Sara's cell."
"Why?"
"She's lost. She was trying to get back to the hotel and she got lost somewhere on the side of the road. Her car gave out and it's about 22 degrees...it's snowing, she's got no heat, and I've been driving around for the past three hours trying to find her. I've got a GPS in my rental car, so all you have to do is trace her phone and I'll put the coordinates in the GPS."
"Okay, hang up with me, call her and tell her to call me. I'll get the coordinates and give 'em to you."
"Thanks Jim."
"No problem Gil."
Grissom hung up his phone and silently prayed that he could find her in time. He continued driving south, then decided it would be best to not waste his gas by driving around aimlessly when he could probably be driving farther and farther away from her.
He pulled over and tried to wait patiently...it wasn't going so well. He closed his eyes and tried to squeeze away the images of a very frozen Sara lost on the side of the road...
He knew that the odds of her freezing before he found her were very slim...but the odds of her catching pneumonia were very likely...
Come on Gil, don't think like that. Think positive.
But he had never been really good at thinking positive...positively logic...that was easy. Optimistic...not so much. He sighed and glanced at the clock on the dashboard.
8:42...
He had talked to Jim not even two minutes ago.
Come on! What's taking so long?
His ability to think logically even, always went out the window when it came to Sara and her safety. He knew that Jim couldn't have possibly traced her phone call by now...he'd just have to wait a little longer...
But how much longer?
Desert Palms
Recovery Room
9:03 p.m.
"Mom, how much longer until I can go home?" Lindsey whined and Catherine gave a soft chuckle and fluffed the pillow behind her daughter's head.
"The doctor said they want to monitor your progress for a few more days. They don't want your heart giving out...lean back." She instructed and Lindsey did so. Catherine pushed the girl's bangs aside and sighed.
"I'm really sorry mom." She said softly and Catherine gave a small, understanding and appreciative smile.
"I know Hon...I know."
"I love you."
Catherine gulped back her tears and smiled. She hadn't heard Lindsey say that in too long a time. "I love you too Kiddo."
"Remember that one time...almost five years ago...you came home from work...you went to Aunt Bevy's house and woke me up, you wanted to tell me how much you loved me?" Lindsey asked softly. Catherine thought back to that day, and how every day since then, she wished she could repeat those events...but wishing only gets you so far.
"Yeah...I remember that Linds..."
"It was nice." She remarked softly and looked at the bird cage Greg had bought her.
Catherine followed her gaze. "Have you thought of a name for her?"
"Is it a her?"
"Well...I don't know. What did Greg say?"
"That it was an Arctic Bluebird, the state bird of Vegas..."
"Hmm...well what do you want it to be? Boy or girl?"
"Um, you can't just pick what kind of sex an animal is?"
Catherine chuckled and shrugged. "Do you think the bird is gonna know the difference? Are you planning on mating it?"
"No."
"So who cares?"
Lindsey smiled. "I want it to be a girl."
"And what do you want to name your little girl bird?"
"Hmm...Antares."
"The bright red star in the Scorpius constellation?"
"Yeah. It's the heart of the constellation and it shines the brightest. My zodiac sign is Scorpio...and I have to admit that this little bird has stolen my heart."
Catherine chuckled. "Do you want me to run to the store and pick you up some magazines or something to do? I know it's got to be pretty boring to have to sit here all day with nothing to do..."
"No, um...can you do that after I fall asleep? I just, I want you to be here."
Catherine smiled and took Lindsey's hand while pulling up a chair. "Sure."
"So...do you like the name of my bird?"
CSI Crime Lab
Conference Room
9:15 p.m.
"Greg, you can't just rename the bones! The names have been carefully chosen by highly educated scholars, from the archaic language of Latin."
"Latin's dead. My ways are so much easier."
"Yeah, I'm especially fond of, 'the big one that looks like a giant ear.'"
Kris rolled her eyes, "Otherwise known as the pelvis. And it only looks like an ear because it's been sawed in half."
"With what?" Nick asked leaning closer to get a better look. He rested his hands on the table, accidentally knocking one of the bones out of place.
Nick looked over at him and gave a smug look. "A saw."
Nick scowled. "What kind of saw?" He drawled.
"Hand saw." Greg answered. "Look at the jagged striations. Chainsaws cut clean."
"So...we're probably not lookin for a craftsman or carpenter..."
"But maybe a disgruntled ex-boyfriend, angry husband, or guilty father of her child." Kris noted, and Nick and Greg looked at her curiously. "She's given birth, judging by the marks on her bones...I'd say that she gave birth about a year ago..." She let her train of thought trail off.
"What?" Nick asked noticing the look of realization on her face. She didn't answer as she walked out the door, leaving the two men standing there, lost and confused. "Something I said?"
"Probably." Greg said seriously. Just then Kris walked back into the room with a folder in hand.
"You got an ID on your vic?" She asked walking back to the table.
"Yeah, Trisha Manilio."
Kris sighed and opened the folder. "Tyler Manilio...ten months old." She sat down the file and both men looked at it. "Well, I think we're workin the same case." She replied somberly. "The pile of bones found at Area 51 was identified as Tyler Manilio. He wasn't reported missing but the bones had been there for a few days...luckily we got some teeth in the mandible...proved to be Tyler from his dentals from a few weeks earlier."
"Why wasn't he reported missing?" Greg asked.
"New question Greggo, how does a half naked woman on the side of the road not get noticed for two days?" Nick asked, looking up at the younger man.
"They were going to fast to notice her...she uh...she kinda blended into her surroundings...and she was partially hidden by the bushes." Greg replied uncertainly.
"How long have Tyler's bones been there?" Nick asked looking over at Kris.
"Two days." Kris answered and straightened the bones that Nick had, once again, accidentally moved out of place. He finally wised up and took his hands off the table. "Doc estimated time of death was almost a week ago..."
"No way the body decayed that fast."
"No, the bones were clean. Way too clean. They couldn't that clean unless..." She realized what had happened and horror and disgust formed on her face. She, once again, left the room without saying anything.
"Okay, I didn't say anything that time." Nick defended and Greg shrugged. Greg and Nick took off in search of the red head.
They finally found her in Grissom's office going through a file. She didn't knowledge their presence, and the two men exchanged a look of significance. She finally found what she was looking for and she spoke to the men without looking at them. "The officer who found the bones contaminated the scene and remarked, 'the bones were hot to the touch'." She quoted. "The bones were clean, almost as if they were stripped, but there were no markings."
Nick thought for a moment then furred his brow. "Are you saying they were boiled?"
"I'm not saying anything...but it looks that way." She sighed and shook her head.
"That's sick."
"No...that's Vegas." Nick said sadly and Kris looked back at the picture of the little baby, shaking her head and sighing.
"Well than Vegas is sick." She sighed again. "Okay, we need to get all our evidence together and compare scenes. If they were killed by the same person, which I'm thinking they were, we need to find him."
"Greg, start looking for missing persons calls for our female vic. See if you can find a husband, a boy friend...anything on her. Anderson and I will get to work on putting together these bones."
"Then we need to head out to the crime scenes again and see if we can find anymore bones."
"I'll call Vartann and tell him not to release the scene if he hasn't already." Nick said and nodded and Kris. She nodded and looked over at Greg.
"Check in with me or Nick once you've found something."
"What if I don't find anything?"
"Then you look down another avenue. You keep trying Greg." Kris replied and Greg nodded, turning to walk away. "Your vic was found on Boulder Highway?" Nick nodded. "Where do you wanna go first? Visit the E.T. fans or highway patrol."
"Lady's Choice."
"That's why I asked you." She quipped and Nick frowned.
"Good Burn." Greg congratulated, poking her head back in the door and Nick shot him a glare.
"Don't you have a history to be searching?" Nick snapped and Greg scurried off. Kris chuckled and walked out the door, with Nick following closely behind. "Seriously, which scene are we going to first?"
"Why don't we each split up and take a crew of cadets with us, we'll scan the areas for more bones..." Kris suggested and Nick nodded.
"Sounds like a plan. I'll meet back up with you in a couple hours." Nick declared nudging her elbow slightly.
"Got it." Kris said and they went their separate ways. Kris was almost to the lobby when she heard Greg calling her name. She sighed and walked back towards the lab tech's voice in the layout room. "Yeah?"
"I got a hit on the girl."
"Already?"
"Broadcast just went out. The husband reported her missing about an hour ago."
"She's been dead for about three days...that means whoever killed her had to have kept her somewhere for about 12 hours, then driven her out to boulder highway, and placed the bones in random spots. And the killer left the bones at the scene so we couldn't trace them back to him..."
"You think it's a man?"
"...Or her."
"What I don't get is why they would bother to boil the woman's bones...the baby's I get...he/she didn't want any trace skin or DNA left...figured it would be harder to identify him with, especially since a missing persons report wasn't filed. But why boil the mother's bones if he wasn't going to bother to hide the body or conceal her identity."
"I don't know...you uh; you said the husband filed the report on the mother?"
"Yes, a Todd Manilio..."
"Okay, I'll call Brass and get him to bring the husband in for questioning." Kris said.
"What about me?"
"You...you need to check the medical records for the baby."
"Can I ask why?"
"Because, who knows your state of health before you died better than your physician? Just check for recent check-ups he might have had, trips to the hospital...anything out of the norm." She replied and walked out, pulling out her cell phone and dialing Nick's number.
"Stokes." He greeted.
"It's Anderson, Greg just found a missing persons report on the mother, Trisha, her husband filed one a few hours ago...I'm about to call Brass to get him to bring the guy in for questioning, do you want to sit in on it and I'll go out on the 'bone hunt'?"
"Nah, I'm already on the road...you and Brass can handle it."
"Alright."
"Hey, Anderson..." He said with a hint of realization in his voice.
"Yeah?"
"The female vic, Trisha, she was missing a hand."
"Yeah..."
"Wasn't it her left hand?" Nick asked and Kris saw were he was going with this.
"Where her wedding ring would have been..." Kris finished.
"Yeah, only we didn't find it at the scene."
"So maybe you should go look again."
"I'm on it." He said and hung up the phone. Kris did the same, then dialed Brass' number.
"Brass."
"Brass, it's Kris, I need you to bring a suspect in for interrogation."
"And their name would be..."
"Todd Manilio. Probable father of the baby from mine and Warrick's crime scene and husband of the woman from Stokes and Greg's."
"Your cases are connected?"
"It's lookin that way."
"Alright."
"Do you know where Warrick is? He disappeared on us."
"I think he's at a 'meeting' with Ecklie."
"Oh..."
"Rumor has it he wants to talk to you after he's done with Warrick."
"Me? Why? What'd I do?"
"Probably nothing...Ecklie's just funny that way."
"Okay..."
"Don't sweat it Kid, you'll be fine. He's just going to ask some routine questions...you're the new meat of the lab. He's just checking it out. But fair warning, the guy is a shark, watch what you say."
"Dully noted."
"I'll bring your guy in for questioning. Bye Kris."
"Thanks Brass."
They hung up and Kris took off down the hall. She jogged into the lay out room and grabbed her case file and photos of the crime scene, then went back to the interrogation room to wait for Brass.
Massena, New York
Unknown Location
Sara's Rental Car
11:34 p.m.
Sara sat in her car and tried to wait patiently for Grissom. She tried to keep her body warm by continually moving her limbs and rubbing them. Just when she thought she couldn't hold out any longer, a pair of head lights came form the distance. She tried to see out the window, but the pitch black night failed to illuminate the car or anything around it.
The car stopped next to it and Grissom emerged from the car, carrying a flashlight. He ran up to the car and she unlocked the door.
"Sara!" He exclaimed and she jumped from the car and into his arms. He held her tight for a moment, and then planted a soft kiss on top of her head. He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, not able to express in anyway how happy he was that he'd found her. "Sara...I-"
She put her finger to his lips and shook her head. "Ssshh. I know...I know."
Grissom sighed and grabbed her purse from the car and walked her to his own rental car. He sat her in the passenger seat and buckled her in. He pushed the hair out of her face and kissed her forehead softly. "I'm sorry." He apologized softly.
"Me too." She said equally as softly. He stared at her for a moment, and then he realized she had begun to shiver. He closed the door and reappeared at the other side of the car. He jumped in and pulled away from the side of the road and towards the hotel. The ride was silent, but not awkward as their usual lulls were.
No, this was a comfortable silence...whether it was the fact that each of them was glad they had finally been re-united after four terrifying hours, they both felt stupid for their earlier quarrel and had made it clear they were sorry...or that they were just too exhausted to feel anything else.
Grissom reached over and grasped Sara's soft, cold hand in his own and planted a kiss on it. "I love you Sara." He said just as softly as he had before.
She slowly rolled her head over to look at him and a serene smile formed on her tired face. "I love you too Gil...and I'm not just talking about tonight."
Grissom studied her a moment, and then smiled as he drove away and her car got smaller and smaller with each passing second.
A/N: Yeah...I know...this chapter kinda sucked, but I've been kinda out of it. Okay...Chapter 8 will be here soon enough. And yes, GSR on the way.
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