Hey everyone! Thanks for the super feedback - i appreciate it!
Solomynne- thanks for the correction: i'm something of a geek too and i want to be correct. living in SA leaves me guessing sometimes so thanks for the tip - the prob is being fixed asap!
C: 2
From his position on the ground, Greg looked up to find only four poles sticking out of the water. Broken shards of wood were floating where the deck used to be. Nick burst through the floating debris, gasping for air. It was Greg's turn to laugh.
"My rubber's looking a whole lot more attractive now, huh Nicky?"
Nick glared at him and said through chattering teeth, "Ha. Ha. Where's Sara?"
Greg's smile disappeared and he scanned the water worriedly. At that moment, a pale hand broke the water, shoving the floating planks aside.
"Sara!" Nick shouted, hastily paddling over to her. Sara instinctively gripped his arm for support as she gasped for air.
"Ugh!" she sputtered, spitting out some water.
"You okay?" Greg called.
"Yeah. But now our evidence is floating in tiny pieces."
"We'll have to save what we can." Nick held the waterlogged camera up and sighed. "No chance of saving these pics." From nearby, Brass came rushing over.
"What the hell happened?" he called to them, briefly glancing at Greg's ridiculous state and smirking.
"Jetty collapsed. It's obviously not as stable as we thought," Nick explained.
"At least the vic's still there," Sara said casting a glance at the four poles, still standing solidly. She wrapped her arms around herself, "God. This water's freezing. I-" her words were cut short as another rasping cough claimed her body. Nick quickly wrapped an arm around her waist to support her – nobody could tread water and cough like that at the same time. When it subsided, she gave a miserable sniff and cast him a grateful glance.
"C'mon Sar, you'd better get outta this cold water," he said.
"But Nick – the evidence?"
"Never mind that!" Brass called, "It's what we train dive teams for! Get yourselves out of that water!" He turned to a uniform standing nearby, "Get me some blankets!"
"Dive teams?" Greg questioned, "I'm off the hook!"
"Sorry Greggo," Brass said, "we still need a CSI to supervise and since you're already in that cute suit of yours, it looks as if that's gonna be you."
Greg pulled a face but nodded. One look at Nick and Sara told him that there was no question of either of them taking his job
Nearby, Nick and Sara paddled in to the shore and rose from the water, both shivering. Nick gripped Sara's hand and put an arm around her.
"Nick?" Sara questioned, surprised at the protective gesture.
Suddenly aware of his closeness, Nick blushed, "Sorry! I – uh… you didn't look so hot so I was- uh- just worried, I guess."
Sara smiled warmly at him. Feeling brave, she said, "It's okay. I…appreciate it. Thanks for caring."
Their eyes met again. This time Sara didn't look away. He was concerned about her? Could this mean…? She didn't need to rationalise it, Nick's eyes were speaking volumes and that strange emotion had returned. Slowly, his hand left hers, reaching for her face, drawing her closer to him. Suddenly, Sara keeled over and a fierce cough attacked her body. She straightened up with a sniff and a shrug to respond to Nick's concerned eyes – and to mask her own disappointment as the loss of a potentially close moment.
"Sara…"
"I'm fine Nick," she cut him off with a voice that was more prickly than she had intended. She smiled apologetically. "I'm fine – really." She said softly.
Nick frowned and brought his hand up to her forehead. "No you're not. You're burning up."
"That's just because your hands are cold from the water," Sara smiled, shrugging. "The only thing wrong with me is that I'm covered in freezing, stinky lake water."
Nick ignored the joke and looked deep into her eyes, "Please Sara, take care of yourself."
Sara's smile faded, "It's nothing serious Nick. Just a cough."
"I know, but just in case it might be, go back to the lab – then home. You obviously need rest. If not for yourself then," Nick put on a puppy face, "for me?"
Sara raised an eyebrow in surprise at his new tactic. "Sorry Nicky. You're real cute, but I can't. The lab Christmas party is in two days and I want to finish this case."
Nick shrugged, "Can't blame me for trying." One of Brass's men came hurrying up to them carrying blankets and Nick put a friendly arm around Sara.
"Come on you, let's get outta this pond scum," he joked, knowing that suggestion was something to which Sara would never disagree.
Back at the Tahoe, David waved to Sara and Nick.
"I hear you two went for a swim."
"Yeah. Greg's waiting on some divers to help him retrieve the jetty shards. We're going to head back to the lab to see if we can salvage anything from my camera and a swab of blood Sara took." Nick said, holding up the waterlogged Panasonic.
"Well, as soon as they're done, I'll collect the body. Once the Doc's done the preliminary autopsy, I'll page you," David said with a smile.
"Thanks," Sara said, smiling. David frowned and cocked his head to the side.
"You okay Sara? You don't look so great…"
Sara rolled her eyes and let out an irritable sigh. "I'm fine. Just wet."
xxx
"Ugh! God, you smell terrible!" Catherine wrinkled her nose as Sara entered the break room, carrying a bag of her and Nick's wet clothes.
"Thanks," Sara said flatly.
"What happened?"
"The jetty our vic was tied to? It broke."
"Oh…" Catherine pulled a face and made her eyes big.
"Argh!" Sara slumped in a chair. "We lost everything. Anything that might have been probative is probably gone."
"What about the body?"
"Luckily only the middle broke. The poles are still standing."
Nick put his head in the door and smiled at Catherine. "Hey Cath! Sara, the Doc just paged me about the preliminary COD – asphyxia. Funny thing is, she also had a knife wound to the chest and numerous small cuts on her neck- pre-mortem."
"Did he give you a ten card?" Sara said, getting up from her seat and going to him.
"Yup, prints are running through AIFS now."
"Great, let's go." Sara waved to Catherine and followed Nick from the room.
Minutes later, she was seated at the computer, beside Nick.
"Prints came back to a Melanie Porter." Sara said, "She was rounded up for vandalism in high school back in '95 but nothing since then."
"Residence? Married?" Nick asked, leaning over her shoulder to scan the screen.
"Married. To a Michael Porter, age 30. Lives just off the strip." Sara commented, shivering with pleasure at the nearness of Nick to her body.
"Nothing fishy there," Nick said, standing up.
"Hang on a sec," Sara said, typing furiously, "There were several complaints from their neighbours over the last few weeks – loud noises, shouting: some suspected domestic abuse. Investigation pending."
Sara snorted as she scanned the screen, "Investigation pending. Domestic violence waits for nobody," she said, disgust evident in her voice.
Nick raised an eyebrow at her reaction but said nothing. "Perhaps it's time for us to pay Melanie's loving husband a visit?"
xxx
"Look. Mel and I have – had- a rocky time holding our marriage together over the last while. I've been working overtime – trying to keep my business afloat. Mel, well, she got sick and tired of me never being around and found someone else. Some cheating Romeo out at Mead. At first I didn't suspect anything, but when she started spending every weekend out there, I cottoned on. My company just landed a huge account so I've been under less pressure. It's easy to read the signs of an affair."
"Were you angry?" Sara asked from her position opposite him.
"I was furious. At myself more than at her. Work should never be an excuse to let other parts of your life suffer. It was too late when I finally realised that. I'd already lost Mel. But no, before you ask, I didn't hit her. We argued. That's all. I threatened divorce."
"To which she responded?"
"She agreed to break it off with the other guy. She went to Lake Mead this weekend to end it."
"Did she phone you at all – let you know how things went?"
"No."
Sara frowned, "And you weren't worried about her?"
"Look, Mel was an independent girl. She didn't need me breathing down her neck."
"What about the other man? Did you ever find out who he was?"
"No. I want nothing to do with that Romeo."
"How do you explain your neighbours' complaints about domestic abuse – shouting, lots of crashes?" Sara leaned back in her chair, folding her arms.
"Mel and I were a normal married couple. We fought. She was a turbulent personality. When she got angry, she liked to throw things. The neighbours must have heard that," Michael paused, looking annoyed, "Look, I love my wife and I'm here because I want to help you, but I really don't see how these questions are aiding finding who killed Melanie. Can I go?"
"Yeah," Brass stepped forward, "You're free to go."
Once he'd left, Sara turned to Nick, "What do you think?"
"Call me crazy, but I don't think he killed her." Nick sighed.
She nodded in agreement, "Complaints or no, even I feel like we should believe him."
"Then where does that leave us?"
Sara thought for a moment, and then smiled, "O Romeo, Romeo. Where for art thou Romeo?"
A/N Well, i hope you enjoyed it. Do let me know what you thought!