Chapter 8 – Great News
CSI, Las Vegas
Sara entered the building and nodded to the watchman behind the reception desk. She didn't need to show her id-card to him, because they were almost friends as they met at least once a day.
She made her way through the long corridors where her she now and then glanced at faces she knew and gave those colleagues a greeting nod.
She chose the staris without even thinking about it, she felt so full of energy. Taking two steps as one she reached for the right level, humming some ficitve melody that just came to her mind.
Finally she stepped into the break room which was empty – a fact that didn't surprise Sara. She was damn late and everyone else was at work.
She threw her bag on a chair, pulled out the sandwich she had bought on her way to the lab and put it into the fridge.
Turning around she came across a note that was placed in the middle of the table. Stepping closer she reached for it and read it. Surprisingly it was indeed adressed to her.
"Hey Sara, hope your headache ist better now! Ask Greg where you find me, he'll tell you. Catherine"
The very thought of asking Greg made Sara roll her eyes, but she sighed and walked over to his lab.
A little knock on the door frame and she stepped in. Greg didn't seem to have heard it, nor even have noticed her. He bent over a microscope and studied something, moving to a melody only he could hear.
Sara cleared her throat and his head turned.
"What...? Oh, it's you!"
His face brightened and he turned to her completely. "You... wanted to see me?" He lifted his eyebrows and grinned at her.
Sara rolled eyes again. Would Greg ever stop trying to drive her mad? She was sure there was not a snowball's chance in hell...
"No, I wanted you to tell me where to go." She replied harshly. "Catherine left me a note telling me I should ask you to explain to me how I get to where she is – wherever that ist."
Greg still grinned.
"What will I get for that?" he asked with a lascivious twinkle in his eyes.
Sara kept cool, but in her inside she boiled with rage. She would not let this jumping jack distroy her good mood!
So she stepped over to him and grabbed his collar, pulled him up from his chair and growled:
"I'm not in the mood of playing along your freaky jokes, savvy? You give me the information I need and I'll be gone."
A minute later she knew everything she needed. The case, the address and a detailed description of how to get there. Even the rosy smile had come back to her lips after having solved this problem.
She fetched her bag and her sandwich and headed outside for her car.
North of Las Vegas, industrial areaSara stopped her car in front of a large, dark building. Almost half of the windows were smashed and the whole complex seemed rotten to the core.
The policemens' flood lights cut through the dark night and showed Sara where she had to go.
Clutching her bag closer, she headed for the entrance, that had been sealed by the police. The officer let her pass after having had a look at her id-card.
The inside of the building seemed even more rotten than the outside. Dirt and garbage lay on Sara's way as she followed the gangway in the direction from where she heard voices.
Broken glass gnashed under her shoes, and she had an uneasy feeling. She tried to ignore it for that she was sure those were still the aftermath of the incident in Tribbiani's bar, which she had to admit she had not processed yet.
Almost every day she woke up, drenched in sweat, haunted by horrible nightmares that made her sream and cry.
The last day had been the only one, where she had slept really good – which had been by Nick's side.
She just stepped into a large hall, crowded by policemen, emergengy physicians and firefighters. That was when she suddenly realised there was a light smell of burned plastics in the air, that grew more intense the nearer she got to the middle of the vast room.
This was exactly where she found Catherine, bending down over the corpus of a dead.
Sara approached an kneeled next do Catherine, who turned around.
"Oh, it's you! So Greg told you?"
Sara smirked. "Let's say – I made him tell me..."
The two women laughed, then Catherine pointed at Sara's head. "What about your headache? Do you feel better by now?"
Sara swallowed and thought of a white lie. "Uhm – yes, I took a pill."
She didn't like to lie to her friend, but at the moment it was the only solution she could think of. She only hoped Catherine wouldn't notice. Maybe somewhen there would be the right situation to tell her.
But this was definitely not the right situation.
Catherine pointed at the dead. "Somebody emptied a can of gasoline over him – and set him on fire."
Sara grimaced and risked a closer look at the body. It was impossible to say whether it was a man or a woman – he or her had been burned beyond recognition.
"Do you already know who that is?", she asked and looked back at Catherine who shrugged.
"We're not sure. There haven't been any valuables around, no watch, no wallet, no pass. Might have been a robbery, or it has been burned, as well." She sighed, then she went on. "But we do know that there has been a watchman in this building, whom we were unable to find. So either he is our burned guy or else he has something to do with it."
Sara nodded. "Maybe the dental findings will help us to identify him ... or her."
She wanted to add something, but that moment the ting-a-ling of her mobile attracted her attention.
A quick look at the blinking screen showed her it was Nick. "Excuse me", she said to Catherine, levered herself to her feet and walked a few steps away, then answered the phone.
"Hi Nick – you're alright?", she asked and smiled when she heard him yawn.
"Yes, I feel wonderful. I just woke up to find your notice, thank you. I already miss you ... your smell ist still in the air..."
Sara flushed and smiled all over her face. This man was like hitting the jackpot.
"I feel great, too, and I wish I could be with you now. But I have to work on a murder. Someone's been burned."
"You're alone?"
"No", Sara replied, "I'm with Catherine. Don't worry about us, we'll get along. But how do you feel tonight?"
She could almost see Nick being all smiles when he said: "Never felt better before, truly." He hasitated, then asked: "Did you ... well ... tell Catherine anything?"
"No ... no, I didn't. It's not that I want to hide, but I just don't know how to tell her. But I believe there'll be the right moment somewhen." She noticed that Catherine turned around to her and pointed insistently at her watch.
Sara nodded, then concentrated on Nick again. "I'm sorry, Catherine needs my help... Maybe.. well"
"...you could come around later?", Nick finished her sentence and made her smile.
"Yes", she replied, "I'd love to."
"See you!"
Sara put her mobile back in her pocket and went back to Catherine. Before she could say anything, Catherine asked with a grin:
"You've been whispering sweet nothing, weren't you? Come on, have you got a crush on someone? Who's that been?"
Sara tried not to flush, but failes miserably. "It was Nick."
"So what did he say?"
"He's feeling a lot better today." – and this wasn't even a lie, Sara thought. But she prayed to God that Catherine wouldn't ask further questions...
Her prayers were answered, Catherine remained silent.
So the two of them went back to work, concentrated on the clues they had to find and the burned person's doom.
Exhausting hours of working later, Sara wanted nothing but get a rest and sleep. At least for a few minutes. She was dirty all over, because she and Catherine had raked up every corner of the building. But all they had found was dirt, dirt and even more dirt. Not one useful clue.
She squat and put her head in her hands. It was almost 8 o'clock in the morning, the sun was rising in the east and illuminating one half of the large room.
Catherine was talking to the last two policemen who were around, the rest of them was already gone. Only the markings on the floor still showed where the dead had lain.
It was almost absolutely quiet until the ting-a-ling of Catherine's mobile cut the silence.
"Grissom?", Sara heard Catherine ask, "Yes. ... Yes, she's here with me. ... Are you sure? ... That's great news, I'll tell her!"
Sara looked up – were they talking about her? What great news?
Catherine approached and Sara noticed there was a huge smile on her face when she said: "Well, that was Grissom. They've got a clue."
"A clue?", Sara asked, "I don't know what you mean..."
"Grissom said, they might have found the man who injured Nick."
There was a long silence. Sara was stunned and unable to say anything. In her mind she was back to that night and bent over Nick, who was lying on the stone floor, wounded and weak. Her hands trembled and her face lost all its colour. She had tried to forget these images for such a long time, and now they closed in on her.
Slowly, very slowly she began to realize the meaning of what Catherine had just said. They might have found the man, who had murdered a woman and injured Nick. She'd never forget his face. She had seen it the minute bevor he shot at Nick, when she had tried to talk to him because she had had the feeling, he was involved in the case. The ice-cold, blue eyes. The narrow lips.
"Sara?", Catherine's voice cut into her thoughts, "Are you okay?"
Sara looked up and her eyes mirrored the pain she was going through. But nevertheless she nodded. "Yes, I am."
Catherine was anything but convinced, but she didn't ask a question. Instead she helped Sara up. "Well ... Grissom wants us to join him and the others in the lab. He ... well, maybe you..." She broke off, didn't know which words to choose.
"Maybe I can identify the man?", Sara helped and felt uncomfortable at the thought of being faced with that cruel guy again. He had almost killed Nick!
Catherine nodded. "Yes. But you do not have to decide, yet, ok? First we'll go back to the lab."
"Would you mind to take me with you?", Sara asked. She didn't want to drive right now as she was so agitated.
"No problem.", Catherine replied and gave her a knowing smile. Then the two of them took their bags and headed outside.
to be continued...
I know it took me quite a LONG while to go on. Again. Sorry!