Behind The Scenes

By: supercsi4

Chapter 35 – Lab Rats

SARA:

Grissom and I barely got to see each other today. He sent me out to the Omdi-Tech offices on Boulder Highway to investigate a scene for the CDC, while he spent the night in autopsy with a floater pulled from Lake Mead.

So while the CSIs are away, the lab techs shall play, or so Grissom informed me. It turned out to be Hodges' lucky day when he brought together Mandy, Henry, Archie and Wendy, to solve the connection between all of the miniature crime scenes.

I also think Wendy might have a bit of a geek crush on Hodges. She was giving him some lovingly glances across the lab and trust me, I know geek eye sex when I see it. And I walked right in on her watching Hodges in the break room from the DNA lab.

"Hey," I greeted her, breaking Wendy from her stare.

"Hey."

"Here you go. I checked under the keys. Crusty white stains, pale blue under ALS."

"Semen, huh? What made you check under the keys?"

"A butt print on the credenza."

"Yeah, okay, that's gross." I agree.

"CDC contacted us, because the whole office has a herpes simplex 1 outbreak, and nobody could figure out why. I guess you never really know what's going on in your office." I should know.

I turned to leave, but Wendy stopped me, "Hey, Sara? Is it true that the 'miniature' cases have been keeping Grissom up at night?" What!

"How would I know?" I asked her, trying not to blush.

"I just thought that maybe you guys all talk about this it, and…Hodges told me that Grissom confided in him and…You know what? Never mind. Just forget I even asked."

"Well, listen, I-I don't know what Hodges has been telling you," and god I hope he hasn't suspected something was going on between Grissom and I, "but…do you really think that Grissom would confide in him? About anything?"

"No. Of course not." And with that, I practically ran out of that room before she had me talking any more about Grissom.

Speaking of Grissom, I have to watch my back a little more now because of the small prank I played on him. Reminding me that revenge is a bitch, he told me he screamed like a little girl because of the fake rat I had snuck into his desk. David had told me, along with much of the lab, about Grissom and Doc Robbins chasing a rat around down in the morgue earlier that evening and I just knew I had to do something to him. Nothing scares Grissom though, nothing expect a fake rat, huh?

So I didn't get to hear about the huge breakthrough in the Miniature Crime Scene Killer case until I later found Grissom in his office, after our cases were all solved and I was ready to head home, he told me all about it on the way home and continued most of the night. Bleach, yeah, bleach was the connection, which means anyone who uses bleach could be our next victim.

I curled up a little closer to Grissom that night just thinking about how involved he was in the case and how the Miniature Crime Scene Killer knows who he is and I'm sure he knows all about him by now. I just pray to god we can catch him before he tries to hurt someone we're close to or even Grissom himself.

GRISSOM:

Sara and I barely got to see each other today, but it was all worth it because while all of us were out at our crime scenes, the lab techs pulled together and combined forces in order to figure out the connection between all of our miniature crime scenes…bleach.

I'm a little disappointed that I hadn't figured it out, but I'm very happy we can finally move forward a little on that case. Sara had warned me that I had left the miniatures unlocked, but I never thought Hodges would find his way in there and reinvestigate all of them.

Today, while working my case of a floater found in Lake Mead, Doc Robbins and I also spent a good portion of the night chasing down a rat that was hiding out in our dead body and got lose. But the good Doc turned out to be deathly after of rats and I even hear him squeal like a girl at least once while it was scurrying around on the floor. We finally caught the rat and our whole adventure quickly made its way around the lab and when Sara heard about it, she hid a fake rat in my desk, thus causing me to also scream like a little girl.

Anyways, after completing my case and eliminating our rat problem, I made my way back to my office to find Hodges. He seemed to be deep in thought examining the Penny Garden miniature.

"This better be good, Dave," I said sternly to him. If he had been going thru my office all day I was sure he would have found some evidence of Sara and I was about to be livid with him.

"Bleach," was all he said.

"What?"

"I found a common element in all four miniatures…bleach. There's a bottle of it in the trash at Izzy's, there's a barrel of it at the chicken plant, there's, uh, bleach in the flower water at Barbara's condo, and now…" he hands me a crumpled miniature bleach coupon and the magnifying glass he had been using, "…a bleach coupon in Penny's."

I was blown away that I missed this connection, speechless actually, so Hodges continued, "This-this may sound crazy, but if the killer is a housekeeper or a janitor, they would certainly know the ins and outs of each location, uh, what goes in what drawer, what book on what bookshelf. Hours of operation, habits, schedules. I've thought a lot about the killer's pathology, and there doesn't seem to be any regular interval between murders, which makes me think that they're triggered by something. Maybe…maybe the killer is triggered by bleach."

"The bellows," I said.

"I'm sorry?" That's right, this is Hodges in front of me, not Sara. He can't read my mind.

"James Tilly Matthews. Early 19th century London. Matthews was in Bedlam Hospital awaiting trial. Doctors were trying to determine his sanity. Several interviewed him. Half thought he was sane, half insane. Turns out he was perfectly normal…except when someone mentioned politics. At that point, he'd go into a rage about the little men who lived underground and used a bellows to push thoughts into his mind, as well as the minds of Parliament and the Queen. A specific object or word that triggers the urge to kill. That's a form of delusional psychosis. Rare, but does exist."

"If the killer is one of Ernie Dell's foster kids, maybe bleach played a role in some sort of childhood abuse. He's getting back at the world for what they did to him."

"Well, if having bleach in your home is the common element among victims…then anyone can be next." Even me.

"Did the victims use a common cleaning service?"

"Not that we know of. However, it's not unusual for people with these pathologies to become vocal toward the institutions that they feel propagate the trigger."

"Maybe we could call bleach-manufacturing companies and see if they've received any hate mail."

"Cross-reference correspondence with Vegas postmarks. Might be able to narrow down neighborhoods." Wow, I can't believe I said that and actually meant it. "Good job, Hodges."

Did Hodges really just blush because of a simple compliment?

"Really," I repeat, but nice time is over and I needed my office, "Now…do you mind?"

"Absolutely…" he got up and headed for the door, but stopped, "I…I'm sorry if I crossed the line. It won't happen again."

His face was plastered with a huge smile and I'm sure he practically ran around the lab to brag about his accomplishments.

"Well, if having bleach in your home is the common element among victims…then anyone can be next." That one statement that came out of Hodges' mouth really scared me. The Miniature Crime Scene Killer knows who I am, knows all about me and my work, so I could actually be the next target or god forbid…someone I'm very close to…maybe even Sa – never mind, I'm stopping that horrible thought.