Title: To Hell with Love

Rating: Still T..I think.

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or its characters. I'm just a fan

Author's Note: To necira, Mma63, SassySasha19, Myralee8, Thanks for your reviews. You guys made me smile :) I feel inspired to write more now. Oh..good job Myralee8 for spotting the quote, I was hoping someone would notice :)

Chapter 2

She wasn't looking directly at the camera; the dark spots of her eyes were looking slightly to the left of the little box she was in. It was as if she was thinking of something…of days at the beach, a good dream or even a promotion at the office. She was smiling, her mind in a place that held memories of better days. Her long dark hair was resting on her shoulders, hers fingers were interlocked with one another just a few inches below her chin. It was like she was playing with them when the photo was taken. She bears a face that you see every day on you way to work, on a subway or in a café. You'll want to get to know her if you had the chance, she seems friendly enough. But just as that picture spoke thousand words to you, another box just below it tells you the opposite. She wasn't in it, yet you know she's there. In that dull box was a blur image of a yellow tape, the backs of men in uniform and white cloth that barely covered her. All the world had to say about her and her ending existence was…

Woman Found Dead in Alley Way

The body of a woman has been found in an alleyway. Two teenagers stumbled onto the body near Elm Ave and Poplar Ave. The incident happened two weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon; major newspapers and broadcasters were given the permission to release this information relating to this case just yesterday. The LVPD are requesting the public for any information in regards to the case.

The woman was identified as Lisa Reid. Before she was found, Reid was among the hundreds of people that were missing in Las Vegas. A representative from Missing Persons unit had confirmed her identify after comparing her from a picture they had in their department. She has been reported missing two months ago by her landlord. Her family is currently residing in the UK and could not be reached for an interview.

Police speculated that the cause of death was a suicide. The body was located within arms-length of the nearest building. The coroner said that there was massive internal bleeding and signs of abuse. Other injuries include cuts on the arms and legs that may or may not be caused by an attacker. It is unknown if the victim suffers from depression. No suspect has been found and there are no new leads in the case.

Sources say that they get one or two cases such as this every year. It has yet to be determined whether they're related. If you have any information, call Crime Stoppers at 365-5….

"I still don't understand why we have to take my car." Nick said as he read the last line of the article. "It's not like it would make any difference---".

"Oh yes it does", Warrick replied as he controlled the black Chevrolet SUV with ease.

Nick looked up from the newspaper, stared at Warrick, and looked back at the article again, "Its not like I get sick that easy. Where are we anyways?"

"Close— about a few minutes more". Warrick didn't keep his eyes of the road. It was easy to get lost out here in the desert, or in Vegas itself. He remembered Catherine telling him about the time she got lost with Sara on their way to a mini mart crime scene. The last thing he'll ever want is to be stranded in the desert, with only Nick's newspaper for entertainment. Besides, he'll most probably be the one to throw up. Warrick can't read while he's in a car.

Nick read the article again. He was extremely curious about it. As far as he knows, it seems like your average, standard suicide case. But…..newspapers can be unreliable. Reporters aren't always accurate. Sometimes they exaggerate too much, most of the time they leave important information out. What made Sara take interest in this article? Does she empathise with the victim? It's bad enough to live alone, worse to die alone in a place like this. Sara never did like crimes involving abuse. He looked at the woman's picture again, thought for abit, and decided to ask Robbins about it. There was a high possibility that he was the one who processed Lisa Reid's body, if not, Nick was sure some other coroner would tell him about it.

The car slowed down, "We're here." Warrick said. They arrived at the site and Warrick parked near the other officers' car. In front of them, Brass was talking to a man wearing a plain white shirt. Brass signalled for them to come over.

"We're not at Death Valley." Nick looked around as he reached into the back of the car for his kit. They were on Route 160, just a little further from Pahrump Road. They were nowhere near Death Valley. Warrick smiled at Nick, "That was the only way I could get you to leave the break room. Thanks to that, you left the room faster than you normally do." Nick handed Warrick his kit, shoving it towards his gut. Secretly, he was thankful that they didn't have to travel all the way to Death Valley.

Brass swiped the sweat off his brow, "The guy was making his back to Las Vegas from Pahrump. Saw a body on the side of the road."

They took a look at the body. The woman was of medium stature, in her late-20s. She was lying face up on the desert floor, facing away from the three men. Her right arm was across her chest while her left was bended at the elbow, palm facing up. Warrick started photographing the body while Nick did an evaluation of the area.

"There's no skid marks," Nick stoop down to touch the sun-baked tar. "You would think that whoever did this would leave in a hurry."

"Any tire treads or shoe prints?" Warrick asked, his eyes still through the camera.

"I doubt we could get any shoe prints off the desert floor--- As for tire treads…" Nick fought the glare of the sun to look for the end of the Route 160, "lots of cars have drove pass, it'll be impossible to get a good, solid print. Get anything off the body?"

"She's a mess. Take a look." Warrick said as he took a picture of the woman's legs. The body was a terrible sight. The woman was dress in a sports bra and board shorts. She looked as if she was planning to go to the beach or workout at the gym. There were trails of sun-dried blood coming from her nose, mouth and ears, forming a network of crimson lanes on her cheeks and neck. Her forehead was caked with a mixture of sweat, blood and hair. Her body had different shades of black, blue, green, yellow, red, purple and pink, consistent with bruises inflicted at different times. The arms and legs had bruises too, except for the fact that they also had cuts of different striation-like formations. Nick moved over to get a closer look of her face. The woman's open eyes showed a blank, glassy stare. There was nothing peaceful about it.

"Bad place and time to go for a jog." Brass looked at the body sympathetically, "What is the world coming to? Can we all just get along without killing one another?"

"Well Brass, humans are capable of anything." Nick looked at the body from head to toe, toe to head. Nothing surprises him anymore. He saw the wavy image of the coroner's van approaching as he stood up. "Got everything you need?"

"Almost. Help me lift her right arm." Warrick positioned himself to a comfortable position to photograph the rest of the body. With great care, Nick held the woman's wrist and elbow, lifting it in such a way that her fingers point to the sky.

Nick watches as the coroner's van arrived and tries to back up to the spot behind his car. "David's here…I'm sure he going to complain about this heat—" Nick turned to face Warrick's puzzled frown.

"What on earth—?" Warrick exclaimed, taking a closer look at the woman's arm. Nick tilted his head to see what Warrick was looking at. The underside of the woman's right arm had a set of deep cuts on it, extending from her wrist to the end of her forearm. The ends of each cut were linked to another, forming an untidy string of capital letters. Together, the semi-dried red lines formed the word:

REJECTED

It was close to noon when Greg and Sara drove up to the crime scene. "Can you imagine working in a place like this?" Greg asked as he turned the car into a parking spot.

"I think it's peaceful. I always wondered what it would be like working in a supermart. You know…working in the service industry."

"Peaceful? I think it's boring." Greg turned the engine once he park the car. "Plus, crime rates are higher in these areas. Robberies, theft, hit and run…."

Sara smiled, "I guess you right." Greg didn't know if he had offended Sara or not. He wanted to say something but the state trooper at the scene approached them.

"Thanks for coming. Hit and run, this man witnessed the crime." He looked at his notes, "James Manx, a clerk working at the supermarket." Greg looked at the officer. He had a tag with the word "Spencer" on it.

"Officer Spencer, did you touch anything?" Sara obviously knew him. He was one of the regular troopers in the state that aided the CSIs in their investigation.

Spencer smiled, "Fourteen years as a state trooper. I think I know how to secure a crime scene without contaminating the evidence…besides, there's no point in this case---"

"What do you mean?" Greg asked as Sara walked towards the site.

"The victim's not even human…." The officer continued talking to Greg. Sara stoop down next to the victim. His legs were broken and breathing was laboured. She heard the faded voice of the officer, "We have already have a suspect, but he denies any involvement. That where you come in…"

"Thanks." A shadow loomed over her. "Cat?"

"Dog." She replied Greg. The golden retriever's once shiny coat had blood spatter on it. Its chest was rising and falling in an irregular pattern. Sara stroked its head. She alway had a soft spot for animals. Greg looked at Sara before taking it upon himself to question the suspect. Sara went to look for the clerk.

Within less than half an hour, the suspect confessed and was charged with animal abuse. The dog was put out of its misery and the case was closed. Greg was putting his kit in the car as he saw Sara walking out of the store.

"What'd you got there?"

Sara lifted her merchandise as she walked towards him. "I got you a sandwich, thought you might be hungry."

Greg smiled. He walked towards her and looked at the rest of the contents in her bag."Sandwich, sandwich, yogurt...and a microwave burrito?"

"I bought that for Nick. He likes his junk food with radiation." She replied, "Let's head back to the lab, we're done here."

He watched as they drove out of the car park and towards the direction of the lab. He starts scribbling some notes on his worn-out note pad. Just before putting it away, he wrote:

NSGGGSSSSCCWWBJB?

TBC

What do you guys think? Too long? Too short? Too boring?

I'm already thinking of what to write for the next chapter. While waiting, try to find out what the string of letters mean. Its quite easy.

Please review :)