A/N: Moving forward with a new chapter-short one. More coming soon!
Gil Grissom's Romance Part 2
Chapter 29
The smell of flowers, the hum of insects, the sounds of distant traffic rolled into a hazy miasma that seemed to turn Sara's surroundings into a spiteful quagmire. Taking deep breaths, slowly turning in a circle several times, she gained control of her emotions. While anger was pushed down, she was still irritated.
She could not believe her ears; he had not said one hundred words to her, yet he was telling Heather Kessler who he loved. Anger flared again so quickly it caused her ears to buzz. Quickly, she took several steps away from the hedge. On purpose, and in anger, she grabbed a flowering shrub and broke a limb, raking it against other hedge plants to noisily announce her presence.
By the time she turned the next corner, her temper had cooled a bit; she had managed to plaster a fake smile on her face as she approached Grissom and Heather who were standing near the entrance to the maze.
In an unruffled purr, Heather greeted her, saying, "You've found our maze." Then with a puzzled look, she asked, "How did you enter? The maze ends at the pergola."
Brusquely, Sara said, "I left the gym and found an opening in the hedge. Might want to get your gardener to plant a few more bushes." Pointing to the house, she said, "Hodges left a blood trail—fairly certain it's Ecklie's blood as he left by the back door—the one that opens to the—the service driveway. How did he know to leave the gym that way?"
Grissom took a step toward her, saying, "Heather told me that Hodges had been here once—to inquire about hiring her as a life coach. She showed him around the gym."
His response for Heather irritated Sara but she held her frustration as her phone chirped with an incoming message.
In the time Sara had been away, Grissom had learned little, but enough, from Heather Kessler—she was shocked, surprised, and confused by the attack on Conrad Ecklie who was no newcomer to her business. Grissom had known for years that Conrad was a 'customer' of Lady Heather's Dominion—one of dozens of politically-connected patrons who frequented her business.
Long ago, Grissom had decided he would be no customer or client, but a friend to a woman who had an unusual ability to observe and clarify a culture that society ignored. As a friend, he believed he had helped Heather as she had helped him. And yet, for some unexplainable reason, he did not discuss Heather with the woman he loved.
When his ex-wife came around the hedge-row, he knew she wasn't happy; he knew there was animosity between the two women. Long-standing animosity; he decided to ignore their petty little exchange and stepped between them. And then thankful to hear Sara's phone chime.
"We've got to go," Sara said after reading the message. She pocketed the phone, adding, "This is not a good thing—we've all been called in."
Grissom turned to Heather, thanking her and adding, "It was good to see Alison again."
Heather's response was a slight nod of her head, saying, "I'm sure we'll talk soon."
Sara walked passed both of them to Detective Crawford. She said, "Can we leave the patrolmen here? Crime scene guys are almost finished and now the undersheriff wants to talk."
Crawford nodded, saying, "Sara—we—we haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but I hope you get the director's job. You're the best person for it."
Grissom had caught up and over heard the conversation; he followed Sara to her vehicle.
As they buckled up, he asked, "What's going on?"
Sara did not look at him as she cranked the vehicle and drove away. She said, "It's probably not good." She pulled into traffic and asked, "What did you learn from Heather? Other than she showed Hodges around? The scene was bloody."
Grissom settled in for the ride. "She seems to be as confused as everyone else. Hodges came in—from upstairs—and didn't say anything until he was a few feet away. Shouted something like 'you did this!' and threw a weight at Conrad. Before Heather or Conrad could do or say anything, Hodges pulled a gun and shot Conrad and then ran out the back of the gym."
They speculated on what Hodges could have meant with his words until Sara turned into the parking garage. If possible, more media trucks had arrived; cameras and reporters were jammed into an area at the end of the street.
Inside the building, he followed Sara and by the grim looks on faces, he knew the news could not be good.
Suddenly, around a corner, he and Sara almost collided with a familiar face. Nick and Greg were on either side of the woman.
It took all of them a few seconds to recover their surprise as Catherine Willows hugged and air-kissed and hugged both of them again.
"Who would have ever thought we would be together—because of…" Catherine's arms waved in all directions. "Look at us!" Her eyes zeroed in on Grissom. "And where on earth have you been? Last I heard you were—were sailing around an ocean!" She turned to Sara, grabbed her by the shoulders, saying, "And you! Sara Sidle, Director of the Crime Lab! Wow!"
Catherine continued talking, giving no one else time to respond with more than a word or two, as the five made their way along the hallway; none noticed the parting of people, some staring in surprise while others appeared puzzled by this group. A few had been in the lab for years while others had only heard of the legendary Gil Grissom and the renowned Catherine Willows.
Entering a large auditorium, the group found seats near the front. The dais remained vacant until the room was filled and then the county commissioners entered. Solemn faces on all as they proceeded to the podium, making a semi-circle around one of the undersheriffs.
Quickly, a somber greeting was given and in a concise announcement, everyone learned what most had deducted. Conrad Ecklie had died as a result of two gunshot wounds. David Hodges had not been found. As the crowd murmured, the undersheriff stated he had another important announcement.
At the same moment, Catherine Willows stood and made her way to the right side of the podium. Nick and Greg glanced at Sara who shrugged her shoulders in puzzlement which lasted about a minute.
One of the commissioners met Catherine as she stepped on the raised platform and walked with her to the front of the stage.
The undersheriff welcomed Catherine, adding a few sentences about her history with the department and her move to the FBI. As he shook her hand, he said, "Catherine has agreed to take the position as Sheriff of Clark County for six months until a nationwide search can be done."
A pin dropped in a far corner could have been heard in the collective silence that came—for a second—and then everyone broke into loud applause. People stood, applause continued for several minutes.
The undersheriff was smiling, the county commissioners were smiling, and Catherine was smiling.
Quietly, Nick said, "Well, I'll be damn."
"Who would have thought…" came from Greg.
Sara and Grissom remained silent, both stunned by the announcement.
After a few minutes, Grissom said, "She'll do fine—Catherine has always been political."
A/N: We had hopes of finishing this one by the end of the year-don't think its happening. So hang in with us-thank you for staying with our story. (Did you notice-we decided to write a completely different case for getting Grissom to Vegas?)