CHAPTER 5: TENSION AND UNCERTAINTY
Later that night, the shift started as usual. Sara had left Greg sleeping peacefully in his apartment, a smile creeping up her face at the thought. She had given him a sweet little peck as she left, and she found it hard to resist the temptation of leaving him, of not crawling into the bed beside him. But as she left the locker room of the Las Vegas Crime Lab, she knew her duties. She had promised Greg to tell him all about the advances in the case when she returned to the apartment.
She walked into the break room, and she almost sighed in relief when all who was there was Catherine and Nick, sipping at coffee. They looked up, and greeted her cheerily.
"Hey Sar", Nick said, looking at her. He hesitated. "Are you okay? Where's Greg?"
Sara thought it nice that Nick cared, but her face remained expressionless. "This is Greg's day off, so he's sleeping off his cold. I, on the other hand, have to work. Now, where do we stand on the case, Nicky? Oh, and by the way", she added, smiling a friendly smile, "I'm okay."
Nick nodded and started. "Okay, well, the fingerprint never got a match, meaning our guy doesn't have a record. Also, I got a call just before I got here, Steven Lynely has awakened, and he'll be ready to talk soon. I'm headed over there now."
Sara grunted. "That's not a lot to go on. Was there anything else found at the pool that could be used?"
"Well", Nick began, "The shoe impression is a pretty small size, indicates a small person. That's all we know."
"Well, then I know where I'm going."
"Where's that, Sara?"
"I'm going to call Brass to take me to the parents of Colin Setter. I want to ask him and his parents a few questions. Something tells me that the kid knew more than he was letting on."
"Good enough then Sara, I'll meet you back here then with both our results. I'll page you if something really interesting comes along."
"Cool", she said as Nick rose and left. Sara was about to follow suit when Catherine asked her to stop. She had been quiet all this time. She had waited for Nick to leave. "What's up Catherine?"
"Sara, what happened between you and Grissom…"
"Catherine, I don't want to talk about this right now", said Sara frankly. It was the truth. Sara wanted to never think of that moment again.
"I wasn't going to say that." Catherine defended, "I was going to say that you shouldn't say anything. What Grissom did was out of line, but you have to know how sorry he is. You know he isn't usually like that. I think…it's the fact that things are changing that's making him abnormal. Give it time…in a while he'll come begging for forgiveness, and then things will be relatively normal."
Sara shook her head. "Why are you so sure?"
Catherine rose, and as she brushed past Sara she said, "Because I've had more experience with men, Sara. Most of them are alike."
Sara smiled at the comment. She and Catherine had their issues, but she always knew what to say. A second later, she called Brass. She would deal with this whole deal with Grissom, but not yet. The rings went through and a gruff familiar voice answered.
"Brass."
"Hey Jim, It's Sara. I need you to accompany me to a house of one of the victim's neighbours. I want to ask them a few questions."
"Sure, give me the address and I'll meet you there."
Sara rattled out the information to him, and made her way to the exit and entrance to her vehicle. Before she got to the doors, she heard a voice call out to her that made her stomach plummet. "Guess it won't wait", she silently told herself.
She turned to see Grissom. "What do you want Grissom?"
Grissom looked down, ashamed and guiltily. "Sara, stop right now. I've known you long enough to know how you hold grudges. I want to say that I'm sorry now for what I've done."
"How I am for holding grudges?" Sara questioned.
"I was out of line, and completely stupid, and I realized that when I talked to you last night. I don't deserve you, and thinking on it…I still stand by what I said before about us. It won't work out."
Sara raised her arms and let them fall in frustration. "Then why the hell would you go and do something like that Griss? That was so stupid! What was the point of asking for me if you wouldn't commit?"
"Seeing you with Greg, seeing how much you loved him made me jealous." His voice remained low, as to make sure attention would be less likely drawn. "I wanted to have someone stare at me like that…"
"I did, for years, and never once did you acknowledge."
"I know that now, and I realize that this is all my fault. I'm sorry. To you and Greg. Can we still be…you know…" He reached out his hand.
Sara looked warily at the hand, but seeing Grissom's face, reached out her own hand and shook it. "It's okay Grissom. I forgive you, and if I do, than so does Greg."
Grissom never smiled, but relief washed over his face. "Thank you Sara."
He turned when Sara stopped him. "Hey Griss, I'm headed over to Setter house to ask Colin and his parents some questions. You coming?"
Grissom nodded his head, and started to follow her out of the office and to her vehicle.
The pulled up to a street of houses, lawns littered with family objects such as toys, water hoses and sprinklers, and trees for shade. They saw Brass' vehicle pulled up to one house, and they parked nearby, exiting to see Brass open his door as well. "Hey Sara, Grissom." He greeted.
"Hey Brass, I'm coming with you", Sara said, walking with him towards the door, "Griss, stand by and check the perimeter. When I ask if we can look about the property, go ahead." He nodded, and stood at the back of the walkway, wandering the lawn looking about at some of the foliage there.
The other two walked up to the door and knocked. It opened a crack, and then a woman of about 35 came out onto the stoop. "May I help you?"
Brass cleared his throat authoritatively. "I'm Captain Jim Brass of the LVPD, this is Sara Sidle, and we're investigating the murders of 2 boys and the beating incident of another."
"Oh, you mean poor young Steven, don't you?" Said the woman, "I know, I heard about it on the news. I was so sorry, because Steven and Colin used to be such good friends."
Sara raised her eyebrow. "Used to? What do you mean, Mrs. Setter?"
"Well", she began, "I remember that about two and a half weeks ago, Colin came home really upset, and he never told me what was the matter. I finally realized that Steven never acme home with Colin anymore, and when I asked why, Colin said that it was because they had had a really big fight. I thought it would blow over, but he hasn't returned to the house, and Colin just seems really out of it now."
"Mrs. Setter", Sara began, "do you mind if we check out your house and backyard, to see if we can find any clues?"
She nodded. "Sure, whatever you want."
Sara turned to Grissom and gave a signal, and he started to circle the house, looking about the back garden. He walked in through the gate and saw a looming leafy tree with a house in its upper branches. He walked over and started to ascend the nailed on stairs, while Sara walked into Colin's room. She looked about, but saw nothing suspicious. A few posters on the wall of bands she did not know, and a made up bed. She wandered to his work desk, and started flipping through some leaflets. Her eyes scanned the pages and stopped when she came to a bunch of poems. She read down through the words, realization coming to her eyes as she read the stanzas:
Lonely Drowning
Ever since the day we met
We stuck by each other's side
We never let the stressing days
Take us like the tide
The bullies used to tease us
And popular we were not
But as long as we had each other as friends
Those things we never sought
Those days came fleeting, falling fast
On a day so near ago
The pool we thought was such a treat
Became my greatest foe
I lost my friend to those that hate
He left me for new life
So now the pain I feel is betrayal
Cutting me like a knife
Now I'm always left alone
While he's off having fun
So when the time arises
I'll end it with this gun
Friendship is such a fickle thing
Cause now I'm left to lonely drowning
Sara's eyes lifted from the page, the whole crime playing in her head. She looked out the window, and saw Grissom waving to her to come down. She bagged the poem quickly, and headed out back to where Grissom looked down from the tree house. "Find something?" She called.
"If you call a possible murder weapon something, yes", he called back, holding up a bagged gun. Sara chuckled in delight that they had a new lead to chase. "Now, it may take me a few hours to climb down from here…find Mrs. Setter. You know what to ask her."
Sara nodded, and headed back to the house where Brass had just been enticed into a cup of fresh coffee. Mrs. Setter seemed extremely nice. "Mrs. Setter", Sara began, "I need to ask you some questions. We found something disturbing in your sons tree house."
She looked up from where she sat at the small table. "What did you find?"
"First things first. Where is Colin's father, and where is Colin?"
"My husband is at work, with his construction crew, and my son walked to the abandoned part of town." She chuckled. "My son has started going there quite often. I think he may have a secret hideaway there."
"Okay." Sara scribbled down the answers. "Do you own a gun, Mrs. Setter?"
She nodded as she sipped the steaming beverage. "Yes, who doesn't these days in Las Vegas? We keep it in the storage room, in a special case. Do you wish to see it?"
Sara nodded, and she, Brass and Mrs. Setter walked into a room off the kitchen where many things were stored. Mrs. Setter walked to a small chest and opened it, only to be shocked. "It's not there, Mrs. S", Brass said in his mocking tone.
"Mrs. Setter", said the voice belonging to Grissom as he entered the room, "Is this the gun?" He held up the bag.
She gasped deeply. "Yes, it is. Where'd you…oh no!" She looked horrified, realizing this was what was up in the tree house. "My little boy?" She added in a weak voice.
"I think so, madam", Brass said. He turned to the other two. "So, who's up to returning to the regular scene of the crime?"
Sara, Grissom and Brass got out of their vehicle, and stared at the familiar looming building ahead of them. They started towards the pool building, and saw some familiar faces standing nearby. "Hey Polly", Brass greeted as he and the others walked up to the homeless lady and her companions. "What are you doing out in the middle like this?"
"Oh, it's the policeman!" Polly said thankfully, "I heard strange noises from inside the building again, but this time they were different noises…I was afraid, but now that you're here, you can check it out."
Brass looked to Grissom and Sara. They had already started at a run into the building, Sara slightly ahead of Grissom. She burst through the slightly ajar doors, and saw a shadow underneath the water, once again interrupting the serenity of the waters reflection. She slid off her vest, and without another passing second, dove headfirst into the pool. Her powerful strokes had her to the bottom and to the body in a few seconds. She was a very powerful swimmer, and lucky she was, for it took all of her strength to lift this very small boy. At first attempt, she could not. She resurfaced, sucking back air, and she dove again. This time, she headed for the boys ankle, which had been tied to a weight of some sort, a rock or piece of concrete. She hauled out a knife she had carried with her in her belt next to her gun and hacked the ropes away. The boy floated in the middle of the water until Sara vaulted him by the midsection into the air above. She gasped for air after breaking the surface, and the boy sputtered. Grissom took the boy from her when she neared the edge, and she hauled herself up.
She watched, panting as Grissom laid the boy down in a relaxing position while he regained his senses. This pretty much guaranteed what they had just recently suspected. She stood up, and ringing out her dripping hair, she walked outside with Grissom while Brass dealt with Colin Setter in a professional way.
What Grissom had said next surprised her. "I wish Greg was here."
Sara looked up into her bosses face. "What? Why do you say that?"
Grissom smiled, thinking it over. "Because if he was as interested in you in the water as you were of him, than I'm sure he'd be drooling over himself now." He walked away, leaving Sara stunned, and still mulling over the hidden meaning of what he said as she entered the Crime Lab once more, and probably for the last time before wrapping up this case.
She had just returned from the locker room, as she now sported a pair of state-provided coveralls when she spotted her other partner. "Nick!" She called as she jogged over to him. "What did you get?"
Nick showed her the notes he had taken, and he spouted them from memory as she read them word for word. "Steven wasn't exactly talking much with all those bruises on his face and chest…must make it hard. He did talk with me however, and he said that Colin Setter did it? Does that make sense to you?"
Sara smiled. "Yes", she replied smugly as she explained what they had found that day.
"Oh, well, then that's great. Chalk another one up for the graveyard shift", he said smiling as he gave Sara a high-five. "I'm going home, I need a break."
"Nick, that's just code for, 'hot baseball game'." He laughed, nodded and waved as he left, dropping his notes with Sara. Sara smiled to herself and walked to her next destination only down and across the hall. She entered the room where Brass, Colin, his mother and a lawyer waited for her. "Okay. Let's get started."
Brass spoke up. "Okay, Colin. You like poetry, right?" Meek little Colin only nodded. "Then here's a little poem I just made up. 'Violets are blue, roses are pale, you shot your friends, and you're going to jail."
"What proof do you have?" The lawyer shot up at his remark.
"Well let's start", Sara said, bringing up her file. "Well, here is a poem I snagged from your room, Colin, with your mom's permission, and it provides reasonable doubting in your case. It almost exactly describes your relationship with Steven Lynely, how he left you when the pool made him popular, and how alone you became."
"That proves nothing", the lawyer said.
"Oh, there's more." Sara added, "We recovered the family fun from not in its case, but in Colin's tree house. We checked it out, and both Colin's DNA and fingerprints and the DNA of Steven Lynely…all on the butt of the gun. That was the weapon you used to beat him with. Also, your fingerprints were found on the outside of the pool, placing you at the scene. Your shoe print matches the one found outside the scene, and the coup de grace? Steven Lynely woke up today. He placed you as the attacker."
"In simple terms", said Brass, "You're busted. Here's what happened, so that you don't have to speak. Having the pool was great, you and your best and only friend swam there every day without adult supervision. Then, your friend's pool attracted more popular kids, and that really got to Steven. He started brushing you off, and that wasn't cool. No, you wanted to keep your friend, you felt betrayed by his jump of ship, and started to watch him every night, plotting your revenge. Then you remembered your family gun, and wrote that poem. Then, when watching them nearly got you caught, you decided that that was the last straw. You picked a day when your arm", he gestured to the arm that was shown by a short-sleeved tee to be very bruised and swollen from his fall, "felt a little better, ad attacked when there were few people. You killed George Tailor first…he was closest. Then when Steven neared you, you shot his leg to immobilize him. You wanted him to watch, and suffer. Then you used your sore arm, and spent all your bullets getting the other kid, Aaron Patterson, who was swimming and diving to avoid you. Then, you beat Steven until he was unconscious, not dead. And you ran."
Meek little Colin, with tears now streaming down his face nodded. Sara got up to leave with questions answered, but near the door, back turned, he spoke in a quiet wavering voice. "I was saved from drowned, but not saved from drowning. Why couldn't you have left me?" Then he broke down, sobbing hysterically. Sara left him, and headed for Grissom's office.
Grissom looked up as she knocked. "Hey Sara".
"Hey Grissom. I just wanted to tell you that I was heading out. Colin confessed."
"Good…wait!" He added as she turned. "Catherine said to give this to Greg…apparently he called her for it."
Sara took the package quizzically. "How do you know I was going to Greg's?"
Grissom smiled. "When I accept things, I think rationally. I know you well, and if Greg has a cold, you'll take care of him."
Sara smiled. Now she understood the last comment. He had accepted her relationship, and like that a weight was lifted. She left with the unknown package in tow towards Greg's apartment, where she would sit in loving arms and know that in the end she would feel safe for the rest of her life.
Read n' Review!!! Read n' Review!!! I enjoy the readin' and reviewin' :) And Merry X-Mas if I don't post again until after the merry season.