Hanging by a Moment
- Absolution (Part Two off Free Falling)
Chapter Four
Author: Jen
Note: These characters don't belong to me, I only borrowed them again & I knew this had to be a corker of a chapter before I even started this story is not finished but I feel I had to put up what I have, for a billion tiny reasons.
I was simply inspired & this story deserves to be shared even though I'm just one tiny voice. & I am only now half roads (ironic) but I would never the less somehow like to continue this story for the other half is still there.
Only other thing as they nicked my second chapter's name I'll go for the season thing assume nothing with this chapter, for there is more to it than meets the eye! & the other part of it, for its not complete chapter either, will be at beginning of next chapter! For I got to keep going, this story happened for some reason!!!!
N/S & G/C this chapter is handed over to Gil & Catherine, for Nick could not tell this part of story & no matter what ship please read; this is one for everyone though it's not a complete story yet but I got to continue!
All I ever wanted was to capture the heart & soul of something if I came anywhere near close I'll be happy and this story just grew and its still there so I'm going with my heart and what faith I have left and say I will finish what I have started please read & make of it what you will, what I have here is what I was going to write anyway & what I seen while watching this great show….
PLEASE READ & ENJOY
Major angst done in flashback & thanks to everyone who replied last time, it makes it all worthwhile & this story just had to be told!
The snow covered mountains rose sharply in the near distance; the arbour an enclave onto those Rocky Mountains was deathly quite. The only sound to be heard was the vultures high above. They watched intently; over the still form which lay unmoving there. The rising sun hit the mountains.
Dawn light at that moment etched across the arbour; blood trickled onto the dark earth. The live was hanging by a moment; as the vultures above began to descend. Death lay near and the live which clung onto the last shreds of life. Lay far from where; that live itself had been sown…..
It is a rich ambivalent land the Indians the first to rule it; with agriculture and cotton trade bringing its first wealth. With the oil fields found later in abundance; would utilise the land and bring more people to the fertile plains.
To the state which is Texas the land of opportunity; which lies deep in the heart of the southern United States having borders with Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico to its west, Mexico to its south west and the gulf of Mexico where water meets land at its south east edge.
The name itself - Texas; is derived from the Spanish who called it Tejas meaning "friends". It is also the lone star state; aptly named after the single star which adorns its flag and Dallas with its foothills lies in the North East of the state is the second largest city in Texas after Houston.
It was first settled by whites in 1841 its growth slow until the coming of the railroad in 1873; its cowboy culture by that time made and by the 1890's it was the largest city in Texas. Stokes was also by that time; a well known surname in and around Dallas…
A city which today is the eighth largest in the United States; vast to look at its sky scrapers landmarks in themselves, with Dallas now a city as much known for commerce and architecture. As the oil fields and cowboys which had helped build it; and for Gil Grissom there was only one other thing out with what had brought him here, that he could connect with the city of Dallas….
Something he remembered well and something that he could not help drawing parallels with; for it was something which was to go down as one of the darkest moments in American history and Dallas.
The assassination of John F. Kennedy on the 22nd November 1963; that grassy knoll, Lee Harvey Oswald, the controversy and all which surrounded what happened on that day and what was also forever tied with the Kennedy name….
With that date the 22nd of November now of further significance to him for it was the date when this investigation was opened for the first and his colleague Nicky Stokes. The CSI three who had worked under him; became listed as a missing person and where he now stood in these crime labs on the east side of Dallas not far from the Cotton Bowl, was where Nick himself had started his career as a CSI……
These labs being Nick's home for a year; before he had moved to Las Vegas and it was here in these labs where all which had been felt in Las Vegas had been mirrored; and the home where Nick had grown up and spent the first twenty-seven years of his live…..
Lay only a few miles from where he was now; a home which he had visited with Catherine and this investigation in his name. Where they had drawn nothing but blanks from the onset. Had in every way possible painfully driven one thing home to him; how little he had actually known about the young man who had worked under him….
His blue eyes opened.
For a second; he listened to Catherine Willows steady sure voice, as his eyes took a moment to re-adjust them selves to the little light there was in this darkened room.
As his gaze came to rest on the all important official A4 document he held in his hand; and the name scrolled in red. His hand at that moment tightening its grip on the missing person file, its documentation; and that it enclosed every detail of his colleagues live…..
…..With what he had known beforehand only being underlined; but it was what it held over and above. Plus the further background and knowledge he now held with that; and the individual, the person concerned was someone he knew and that he now in context understood every detail of that person's live:
Nick being the youngest of seven; his charismatic colleague having come from a middle class, well schooled, Texan hard working background; and that background the foundations, which had been interwoven into his live from the very beginning, had come through in everything Nick had done….
…..Entrenched in its own way by his parents the late Tom Stokes a district attorney and Grace Stokes a public defender; they had met. Married young; and had been happily married for forty-five years. There children who had soon followed five brunette daughters and two sons all coming at more or less two year intervals.
The only exception being Nick the baby of the Stokes family; with a gap of five years between Nick and Neve Stokes the youngest of his five sisters, a sister who had been his closest playmate in his early years and that marginal gap would later prove crucial.
In what would impact Nick's live like no other; with what had been imprinted onto his live from the start. Something which had made an impression long before anything else; for it had been part of him and part of his upbringing and ran deep in the Stokes blood and had done so for generations….
Law and Justice; and that Nick had essentially known no other live…..
His character a reflection of that and compared to the rest of his siblings Nick had always had a mind of his own; Nick not being one to stick to the straight and narrow and from the moment he had been able to walk, had been continuously landing himself in trouble in one way or other……
Something which had not changed with years, and that the young Nicky Stokes forever having the habit of getting under his sisters toes; or getting in one scrape of other which deserved there attention and along with it Nick had always been that little bit different something which Nick's mother had been only to glad to tell him…..
A mother who Nick took much after and that her youngest son her last child, of all her children had been her favourite; with Grace Stokes who from that first moment he had met her on his first visit here to Dallas had left him touched.
Not only in her personality; and that she was strong, it was something that came across without words and could be seen in her fine features; auburn brown hair, which was almost grey and the same soft brown eyes which her youngest son had inherited from her; and those brown eyes that that first time, he could hardly bring his own gaze to meet for that same reason…..
With Grace Stokes in someway also somehow reminding him both of Catherine and Sara, proud and spirited; and who so soon after the loss of her husband was now suffering the loss of her youngest son, a son thought to be dead and that son….
The most vulnerable of all her children; was a son who already in a different way been lost to her. Once at the age of nine; then again when he had moved from Dallas to Las Vegas and now in the cruellest of ways she had lost him completely and strong though she was he could see she had taken it hard……
Slowly his gaze swept to Catherine at that thought; as Catherine's blue ocean eyes lifted for a brief moment to look into his.
They shared a look.
One that needed no words as he lost himself there in those blue depths; before there gaze parted, his own gaze at that moment once more returning to the A4 file in his hand as the man who sat directly across from the red-head finely spoke…..
He took in the words as his thoughts once more turned back to where they had been…..
His gaze falling back on Catherine at that moment and to what Grace Stokes had told him of her late husband Tom Stokes the person who had been the centre of her live; and who Nick had taken much after, more so than he had ever known….
The handsome set features, the serious nature, his determination, the skills that had made Nick the CSI he had been, skill's which had been his fathers also; and had taken Tom Stokes to the highest level of the Texas Supreme courts.
With Nick's father being one of the most loyal and trustworthy district attorneys in the state of Texas; and was something which had made his name, like his father before him the grandfather who Nick had been named after….
…And what went it, something irretrievably passed from one generation to the next; Nick being no exception for it seemed to surround the Stokes name, a name which was familiar to anyone's ears in this part of Texas….
For it went hand in hand with what the Stokes blood was steeped in law and justice; something which was an enigma in itself and what Tom Stokes had taught each of his children well for it had been the stronghold of there live…
….Popular and well liked being what also came with the name and the qualities which had shone in Nick; and what had made him altogether unique from the rest of his siblings that Tom Stokes youngest son had ended up going against the grain of his forefathers…
Nick not following in his father's footsteps or his brother; a brother who ten years older than Nick was poles apart. The first born son and acted as such; with Ryan Stokes like his father a powerful district attorney in his own right and that Nick had from childhood played second fiddle to his older more confident brother…..
The words had now stopped; his thoughts also for a moment.
As the man across from Catherine turned and looked his way there gaze met for a moment; before the man's features turned to a vicious smile he ignored it. As Catherine once more spoke her soft tone rising.
He focused on her words as his thoughts turned inwards.
To what Nick had for reasons that he could well understand not told him after the Wilkinson case; where at that point on that shift which had followed. They had in one way or other managed to sort things out…..
….His treatment of the CSI three being no better then than it had been at any other time and although he had essentially got Nick to talk to some degree; he had sensed there had been more to it than what Nick had told him, he had left it be though not pushing him any further…..
Nick giving him picture enough at the time over his father and though the CSI three had not said too much else; he had nonetheless known by the clear emotion in Nick's voice how close his family was and it was something which was now all the more clearer……
With what had been the footnote in Nick's live.
Something which had shaped it like no other and had done more damage than anything; and had quickly come to light on the opening of this case for it was part of the pro-forma, that he had been a victim once long before…..
The details of it needing no expansion his official file giving him enough - more than enough and that that one defining moment; had influenced and shaped Nick's every choice from then on. Scaring him for live; and that it had done so in more ways than one and he could only imagine how Nick must have felt…..
Not only robbing an innocent nine year old of his childhood and physically scaring him; the emotional scars which went with it. The ones which had lasted ran deeper - far deeper.
With all that Nick had been brought up and taught to believe in letting him down.
His father along with it; Nick blaming the only person he could and for reasons that he could well understand and that it had been. Something that neither father nor son had recovered from; with the gulf between Tom Stokes and his youngest son only growing with the years……
Nick in the end causing more pain and anguish than the rest of his siblings put together; and that he had throughout his adolescent years played on a knife edge. With his other choices the ones which had followed him from boyhood to manhood.
Which had caused the most concern; that revolving door reputation with women something which had escalated in his college years and his choice in career more than anything. In comparison to his sisters and brother; who had all stuck to within the courts of the law…..
….Nick had irrepressibly on the other hand gone for a career on the frontline, directly in the line of fire. With that choice one that would eventually also lead to him becoming a CSI being one of the final blows to Tom Stokes; Nick forging his own path…..
And that it had been notably his younger colleague's first major dice with death; which was in the end, to be what had been the final twist. That would eventually send Nick his way to Las Vegas.
With his colleague relenting to some extent to his parent's wishes by compromising becoming a CSI; and it had been then, at that point. That Nick had turned into a defiant son.
Drifting away from his close nit family and turning his back on Tom Stokes; with Nick's last year in Dallas not being a happy one, before fate stepped in. His colleague taking it by transferring; Nick in the end adding one last insult, one which had struck deep…..
Leaving Dallas and his family home to see beyond Texas; and that by doing so Nick had let his father down in every way possible and the last part, what had been hardest on his colleague, was something. That Nick had told him in his own way; and that he now had the complete picture to go with that, with what Grace Stokes and more importantly Sara.
Sara being the one closest to Nick…..
That his sensitive colleague had been through more than most; as his gaze lifted at that to observe the man, there suspect, who sat across from Catherine. As he now drew up beside the red-head; lightly touching Catherine's shoulder as that same moment…….
As Catherine's sure voice stopped in mid-sentence.
With that touch as he now carefully placed the missing person file that he had held in his hand. On the desk before him as the man who sat across from Catherine gaze fell on that file and then on him; he remained standing though.
As Catherine's gaze which like the suspects had been on the file which lay before him swept back to where it had been; to there prime suspect. Catherine blue eyes coming back at that; to once more look into his as her professional tone rang out, continuing the question as his own gaze remained firmly on the suspect and that his only lead.
His only breakthrough in this case had, lead him to this.
To Nick's late father; his district attorney background and to those who had been his enemies and the one other thing. Something that had cut deep on all fronts; that this suspect was tied in with Nick's past, to what had happened in his childhood and that this man's name lay within Nick's own file…..
Plus the further fact for it was something which had marked and defined this case, from the start and something unfamiliar to him Gil Grissom; that it was neither science nor theory which had got them to where they were now.
A place that he did not want to be…..
And the science which was his live, had already spoken; on that crime scene.
Nick's apartment which had given them nothing, the fingerprints being the victims and that there was no real physical evidence; only blood, Nick's blood …..
And all he had over and above was one thing and one thing alone – circumstance. With what he had used time and again to solve; to find the pieces, to theories, the evidence was not there. Science being of no use to him and that his only one true piece of evidence.
Was what lay in front of there suspect now; Nick's watch.
His only link left to the victim; and to the crime and where after they had turned over every stone in Las Vegas; his only lead that six months after his father's death.
Nicholas Stokes.
Tom Stokes youngest son; a son who had managed to escape all that went with his family name was missing and that this was all somehow linked to his father, who had been one of the most powerful district attorneys in this state…..
As the cold voice of there suspect once more spoke; in answer to Catherine as his gaze again fell at that moment on the woman beside him.
With Catherine's blue eyes for the current moment not looking his way; her gaze instead on the man across from her.
He looked for a moment between the two.
His colleague and there suspect; and then to what shone in Catherine's blue ocean eyes, something that she could not hide and something which right at this moment was all the more visible across her delicate features…..
It was a look of heartache; and along with it there was also a look of fury infused in those cool blue eyes that were boring into the man across from her and though Catherine the woman who was his second in command.
Was strong; something he had never doubted he knew more than anyone how close she had been to Nick; and more importantly that Nick had been there for her in the way that he had not been.
The CSI three being a lynch pin to her; and that like what Sara was to him, his light of day. Nick had been to Catherine; and that light was now gone and that the person who did not doubt and who did not look back did…
And that no talking on his part or anyone else's could take away what lay in those blue eyes it trans-felled everything; and the fact Catherine had always looked upon Nick as a son….
As the blue eyes of his colleague once more fell on him as though she had been reading his very thoughts……
He returned the look; as Catherine's ocean blue eyes softened.
There gaze remaining temporarily locked on each other.
His heart quickened.
The blue eyes flared at him; before turning back to where they had been.
As he now took the seat beside Catherine. His gaze now also level with the suspects as he turned; to once more look into those blue pools and what was also there in those blue depths, for it was something which gripped his heart and soul ……
For it was something which had been there in every part of there professional relationship, for it was what underlay it; only now it was free and the line which for so long had been drawn between them had finely ceased to exist….
With what he had long denied Catherine; being all that in these last three months since that fatal day which had made any sense and that this strong independent women who was his second in command, Catherine Willows was the only one who was ever able to get him to lift his head away from the microscope….
To look at the world around him; and that Catherine was his strength, his bridge to that world that more often than not he tried to ignore.
Yet there was more and it belonged only with her; her vibrancy and sparkle and that Catherine dazzled him in a way no other woman could and along with it that certain way she had of holding her own ….
And the woman underneath; the woman who he had always admired a mother first and foremost, a single parent being there for Lindsey supporting her and being there; now in that same way for Sara a way that neither he nor Warrick could and though she had never spoken it.
He knew the burden which Catherine carried.
One that he could not shoulder for her yet it was one, they shared; for in his own way he carried that same burden in a different way and that Catherine had been the first to arrive at that crime scene……
As his thoughts once more changed; coming back to the present as his gaze rested on Catherine.
To the news that Sara had just given a matter of days ago; something which in itself seemed to deify logic, to go against the odds, and were it not for the seriousness of the circumstances. It was also in some unfathomable way; typical of Nick.
With that most important of news being passed on to his family and to the man who they were now questioning; and if he were needing any further testimony to how strong Sara was, to how she had found the strength and courage to get through these last few months; then the look in her dark eyes when she had told him and Catherine had been more than enough….
…..And those words of Sara's had only confirmed something further; something he had known, even from the first moment in those locker rooms. When he had found out about them; along with Catherine and Greg for it was something he had played against….
Nick baring the brunt of it; that he did approve of the relationship between them and Nick had been the one to give Sara live out with her work, the live she deserved and more. Nick being close to Sara in a way; neither he nor anyone else ever had been or would be and though he worried for her safety; his colleague with tear filled eyes had already answered that for him.
That who ever were, responsible had already got what they wanted; and that there was now one more victim in this. A life which was completely innocent; a live of an unborn child and how much, the live, the baby to which Sara carried meant…..
As his; thoughts halted.
His steal gaze coming to look; the man who was there suspect directly in the eye.
And though they had been here before; for Tom Stokes had been a man of high standing and power he was all too aware that Nick would have known better than he ever was likely to…..
Those who had been the enemies of his father; and if anything Nick had confirmed that for him with his own words after the Wilkinson Case where the CSI three in the gentlest of tones, had told him one thing:
'He had enemies Grissom'
Plus if he were to read any more into those words; it had been the look across Nick's features and in those soft brown eyes at that moment and the fact he had felt Nick had been speaking more to himself than to him.
At that precise moment, when those words had slipped out, as his thoughts now caved; and this investigation in his name which had brought him here to Dallas to where Nick had grown up, was not only a missing person's case, it was in essence a murder inquiry…..
And it was his colleagues live …..
As the grey depthless eyes of there suspect continued to look into his.
There gaze remained fixed.
With this man; there prime suspect. Being someone that he Gil Grissom; had every reason to suspect…...
An ally of Tom Stokes; a district attorney, a close friends of the Stokes family and had been so for years and someone who had known Nick far longer than him and this man whose gaze was set upon him; would be nothing more than a vaguely familiar face to Nick….
As Matthew Garrett's gaze switched back off him.
Onto Catherine; whose slender hand for a moment came to rest on his, as Catherine's professional tone, lost its edge:
'You were the reason why he lost the case'
There was a moment's silence then an answer:
'It was over twenty years ago'
Catherine's warm touch left his; it was his cue as Matthew Garrett's gaze slid back of the red-head, as he now spoke carrying on from where Catherine had left off:
'You were there though'
The man across from him twitched slightly at that, the grey transparent eyes continued to look into his; as his tone became harsher:
'It was your friend's son'
Matthew Garrett's gaze stayed on him, the words this time having had no impact as; he continued his eyes narrowing:
'It made no difference though did it?'
The grey eyes locked with his at that moment the tone emotionless:
'Tom Stokes would have lost either way and there was justice only not in Dallas'
Matthew Garrett fell silent; the deep grey eyes looked dead ahead.
Catherine's gaze found his.
She was thinking the same thought; as there gaze remained on each other and that, there was a small bitter grain of truth in those words….
Their own enquiry having already been down that line; and the woman who had marked Nick's live so long ago. Was like Nigel Crane safely behind bars; and the justice which should have been given years earlier, had finely prevailed not on American soil but over the border in Canada; and it had been years too late…..
…..When the system; had finely caught up with Josephine Wallace and that Nick had been one of her first victims. With those details, minimal as they were gave, only more anguish; and combined with it. That Matthew Garrett's name had first cropped up at that point, within Nick's records on the case to which Tom Stokes should have won…..
As Catherine once more spoke the tone sharply even:
'You played the law at its own game; the guilty party got of the hook, innocents suffered for it and it was not the first or last time you would do the same thing'
Catherine Willows looked at the man across from her.
His gaze was on her; she did not waver under the look though as she now heard Gil Grissom's tone heighten; as he followed her up with his own words:
'Nicky Stokes was only a means to an end even then'
The grey eyes rested on her.
Gil's words not even tainting the, look in those grey depths and that Matthew Garrett reminded her of one individual and one man; Sam Braun…..
And it lay not only in the cool veneer, charm or the power which yielded from those grey depthless eyes that were looking into hers. It was the fact that Matthew Garrett was made of the same mould and type, and it was the type she knew well……
As Gil's steal gaze at that moment came to rest on her; they shared a look. One that went beyond any spoken word with; there being an unspoken gesture in that look, it was a lifeline to her as she drew strength from that gaze…..
Before she turned to once more look at the stern handsome features of Matthew Garrett the grey eyes deflected her cool glare; and unlike the man who was at her side, this man was of a different calibre from Gil.
A calibre that had been used ruthlessly; and had worked in his favour with Matthew Garrett, bringing justice winningly when it suited him and the cool set ways which were apparent right at this moment.
Had made him one of toughest district attorneys in Texas and a trusted one; trust which had been abused as her gaze fell. To what lay between her and the man across from her, Nick's watch; as her blue eyes rested on the cracked face and the aluminous dials.
She drew in a breath for a moment closing her eyes; and that Matthew Garrett had not once looked at the black watch which lay between them, as her gaze now slowly lifted at that to once more look in those grey translucent eyes.
Which penetrated her own as she studied him carefully; her gaze then falling back for a moment on her colleague with there suspect; being five years older than Grissom as she now looked Gil's way to the handsome set features.
With Matthew Garrett being of the same height as her colleague but of a more muscular build and unlike her colleague this man was married but had no children and like Nick's father had been. He was a high status district attorney; as Gil's gaze once more found hers the look a serious one she returned it.
Her voice striking out at that moment:
'It was not the only time you meddled in his live'
The words hit the mark as the grey eyes hit her with a glare:
'His choice I only got his foot in the door'
There gaze met; the grey eyes once more challenging her she did not take the bait though instead it was Gil's voice which sprung back following her line of thought…..for it was something which they were both aware off; the part to which this man had played in Nick's live:
'You were well aware though how much it meant to him becoming a cop'
The head lifted; in answer, dilute silence descended.
Her gaze at that falling back to where it had been to the watch which lay concealed safely in its sealed packet; and then to what was directly in front of her…..
The palm of her hand touching a statement, her thoughts turning inwards at that moment; and that they had at every turn of there investigation been a step behind, evidence being thin on the ground with there trail there only lead, inevitably leading them, to Nick's family and his father and the one other fact…..
Something that had not escaped her; the crime scene alone telling them that much, that it had been a hit, an inside job by someone who worked within the law and the further fact something they were sure of that Nick had known his assailant……
Her blue eyes fell on Gil at that thought.
The look in the deep blue eyes holding her for a moment; her heart beating a little faster under that intense gaze which was now at this moment, solely directed her way as her thoughts delved her gaze once more falling on there suspect.
A man whose name had come up far earlier but had not been suspected; his name coming up as a matter of form in Nick's records and that there had been no reason to question him his original statement which her hand lay upon being enough….
As her gaze once more fell back on Gil; and the look in those blue expressive eyes which were now focused on there suspect and scientist though he was. She knew the individual behind that. The person who they had all fallen back on; the support to which they had all turned to…..
……With what had always lain dormant between the two of them; taking root, forging itself and that, they now relied on each other in a whole new way, one which completed her and belonged only with him. The man who was there to watch her back and she his and compared to those who had gone before him what lay between them was something untouchable …..
Her thoughts began to drift at that, her heart once more beating a little faster and that they had informed no one of this…...
As her gaze rested for a long moment on her colleague; taking in at the same time the look which was etched across the strong handsome features. Her thoughts changing once more and to what was there in Gil's eyes …..
That it was one of there own.
A live now gone from them; his name listed along with countless others as a missing person and they had come here, now to Dallas…..
To bring closure; and to find answer's to this puzzle.
A puzzle which until now had lead, them to nothing but dead ends…..
His family asking all the same questions they had asked with the nitpickings what little Nick had told her of his family; gaining deeper meaning and Tom Stokes the father who Nick had never been close to. Had not only been a district attorney that he had reached the top of his profession before his death.
Being Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Courts, and that reason alone had given them suspects enough…..
Suspects that had slowly been diminished; and that they had been looking for someone with intent, access and motive enough to harm Nick. The range of there investigation broadening to those less obvious; with it being at that point that Matthew Garrett had first been questioned…..
With it being only now.
That something they had not been aware of then; had come to light and that it had come from an unlikely source. From the son who had followed directly in his fathers footsteps, from Ryan Stokes…..
Someone who they themselves had not put beyond the finger of suspicion; for the simple reason he was of a completely different mould from Nick in more ways than one and that for brothers. They had been nothing alike; and it was something she had seen clearly from the first moment she had laid eyes upon him…..
Plus the further fact Ryan Stokes who held all that went with his family name; had been elected by the Texas Supreme Courts to be his father's successor. As her gaze shifted back to Matthew Garrett at that thought; and that the Garrett name like the Stokes name had been entwined with the law and this part of Texas for decades…..
As she now carefully picked her words, changing the tact of there interrogation and at the same time following through on Grissom's last comment:
'Nick was not aware of the part you played years earlier; but his opinion of you did not change and he was not the only one who felt the same way. For it was one of the few things as brothers; they did agree upon.'
She fell silent letting the words hang in the air for a moment as Matthew Garrett's features turning into a twisted smile. The body language telling her enough; as her gaze now drifted slowly to her colleague.
The blue eyes seeming to look through her for a moment as she seen the jaw tighten and the blue eyes darken as Gil glanced her way. The look telling her enough; as Grissom's clear cut tone filled the air extending on her words:
'They shared little in common but there opinion of you was the same'
He paused for a moment at that; sensing Catherine's direct gaze as his tone now darkened merging the facts which they knew together and picking up at the same time the pace of there interrogation.
His thoughts thinking only of the victim, as he spoke:
'But your friendship with there father Tom Stokes; went back a long time and it was pivotal. For you had shared history which went back generations'
The grey eyes glinted into his as Catherine's tone hit with equal intensity her words the catalyst to his:
'You had his trust and it was something you played to your advantage'
Her words had made no impression the smile was still across the stern handsome features that were Matthew Garrett's. With Gil's gaze like her own set on the suspect's; as her colleague once more, spoke the tone like ice with Grissom's words being the all important ones:
'For he was your enemy Garrett and his death was to give you an opportunity.'
The smile which had been there previously was now gone. His gaze met Matthew Garrett's. As he drove the point home; looping in at that moment something of significance to them:
'It was an opportunity which was then taken from you; in the same fashion as it had been once before.'
Matthew Garrett shifted slightly to those words but the look in the eyes remained the same. As his tone now sharpened circling closer to his point:
'His oldest son succeeded him two months later in the Texas Supreme Courts and from that moment on the tide was turned.'
He paused once more; deliberately letting the words hang.
Before continuing; and that it was his words now at this moment which were all the more crucial and significant for they involved Nick:
'For you knew then it would sooner or later come to light what you had got away with and for the second time you had lost out in winning presidency over the Texas Supreme Courts'
He stopped.
The latter part of his sentence carrying its own weight; with the other half being something they now had hard evidence off. For it had taken them to within the highest levels of the Texas supreme courts; and that Matthew Garrett had committed treason and perjury of the highest order……
…….In cases all across the board; including child abuse with Tom Stokes case for his youngest son years earlier. Being one among countless others; which had fallen prey to this mans injustice and that it was only now. This information had come to light….
Ryan Stokes digging the dirt on the man who had been his father's friend and ally…
With there being one more edge, coming along with that and one which they had no power over. For it was protocol; with that sensitive data, coming under the media's speculative eye and this part of it.
The part which involved Nick now; had stayed out the media circus….
As his gaze fell without thinking to the black watch, as he drew in a breath his thoughts spiralling; looking at the dried in blood on the black strap of the watch. His thoughts changing completely at that moment and that there was more to it…
…. For it was what made it all the more harder, for it was one thing he was certain off; that Matthew Garrett had clear motive to harm Nick. As he tried to keep his tone level, his gaze lifting of the black watch voicing that motive:
'You lost out twice to the Stokes name; in a position which would have given you free reign'
Catherine's voice at that moment cutting in before his:
'And it was personal you were after blood'
There was no response to those words; the grey impermeable eyes remained resolute.
As his gaze fell once more to the black watch his gaze resting there; and what made it all the more crueller as his voice struck out again at that moment:
'Nick played no part in this'
The tone itself gave the gravity which lay in those words; however it was the look on Gil's set features at this moment which hit the hardest as her, own voice drifted across to Matthew Garrett whose gaze was back on her:
'He was an easy target but that was only a small part of it'
She stopped not going any further; her gaze at that moment shifting to the man beside her, as his blue eyes slowly lifted from the watch. In answer to Catherine's words; his gaze falling for a moment on Matthew Garrett and then to the woman at his side….
It needed no words.
As there gaze held. With the look which Gil was now sending her; being her only strength as she now forced herself on. Her gaze falling to where Gil's had been moments before; and to all that one small piece of evidence meant to them as she at last spoke:
'Nick was his father's son and you knew the impact it would have'
Catherine's soft tone rang with emotion as those words filled the air. His colleague saying no more as his gaze once more found that of the strong women beside him. They shared a look; a look which gripped his heart.
Before his gaze shifted back to Matthew Garrett; whose grey eyes had darkened in response to those words, the features now taunt. It told him enough…..
As he now cut to the chase.
Looking at what also lay in front of Catherine; there suspect's previous statement and what Catherine had earlier punched holes through. As he now picked up on that fact.
Looking Garrett direct in the eye at the same time; his thoughts turning back to the victim in that moment:
'Your alibi warranted no further questions at the time there was no reason too; for you come often to Las Vegas for judicial purposes'
He stopped letting the woman beside him follow through as Catherine once more spoke:
'Only there was a defining difference this time.'
Her eyes closed she, drew in a deep breath before continuing feeling her voice catch:
'You came to Las Vegas for a purpose, the purpose was Nick. It was why you stayed in the Stratosphere Hotel. It put you in a closer vicinity to the victim; and it was why you checked out on the 22nd'
His gaze stayed on Garrett; as he felt Catherine's gentle touch. With the features of the man across from him now giving him a vicious smile, the same smile he had received earlier as Garrett replied playing back of there words:
'You and your colleague have nothing more than you have stated and there is no forensic evidence'
The grey eyes shifted between them at that moment taunting them; as Gil's gaze at that moment locked once more with the suspects before looking her way. She could feel the increased tension; and the handsome features of her colleague whose gaze was again on her had now hardened the blue eyes dark.
She knew the look and what went with it; as Gil now laid the photo, which had been sitting face down, at her left hand side between them in front of Garrett.
It was evidence proving one thing that he had lied in his previous statement; and backing up along with it what she had covered in the earlier part of this interrogation.
As Gil's flat tone at that moment filled the darkened room:
'Forensically they were not meant, to be anything'
The grey eyes darkened again as his gaze stayed on there suspect:
'It was an inside job of the highest degree; and you seen to it yourself'
His voice faltered the palm of his hand coming at that moment to lie upon the missing person file in front of him; and the fact Matthew Garrett was more than capable of what they were accusing him off…..
With there being no reaction to what he had just sat down in front of him something that had come from there own labs and tied in also, with the time from when Nick had last been seen alive; as his tone hit a new intensity:
'On the morning in question Las Vegas Surveillance Cameras have you within two blocks of the victim's apartment at 10.30am. It's your vehicle.'
Catherine's gaze locked with his, at that moment as he continued:
'And it puts you in the time frame.'
There was no immediate answer she could feel the man beside her tense up; and the fact that they were hanging by a moment on Matthew Garrett's next words as the grey eyes once more gave her a penetrating look as her own thoughts found voice:
'There are allegations of a different sort; serious ones'
The grey eyes sent her a glare she ignored the look as her blue eyes fell again on Gil before turning back:
'You're going down and the youngest son of the man who was your friend and ally. Is missing, likely to be dead; and the evidence suggests that you are responsible Garrett.'
Catherine blue eyes flared and that she had put into words what he had been unable to say; as his gaze swept back to Garrett at that same moment drawing the photo at the front of the missing person file out placing it beside the black watch, as he added his own comment:
'He was an innocent in this'
The grey eyes met his at that moment; and the feeling of uneasiness which had been there from the very start of this interrogation grew as Matthew Garrett's rugged Texan accent filled the air, the tone cold as the grey eyes fell to the picture a thin smile coming across the features:
'Then you have what you came here for; with your own words Gil Grissom.'
The smile broadened, the voice struck out again:
'For he was a Stokes'
Garrett's gaze lifted from the photo in that moment, the grey eyes coming to look into, hers; the look sent a chill through her. As Matthew Garrett's gaze fell again to the photo the tone deadly; pulling on the factor that neither of them could deny:
'But you lack one thing; and without it you have no closure or certainty'
The words hung in the air, stagnant as her gaze locked with Gil; they shared a look, as the Texan accent now struck out dagger like:
'And it's the one thing you will not find.'
There was a moment of dead silence.
She felt the man beside her wince, to what Garrett was referring too.
As her gaze fell at that moment to the photo in front of her; her blue eyes taking in all, that image showed before her eyes closed…..
Aware of what Matthew Garrett had just given them an admission off; and to what he was not going to tell them. As her blue eyes slowly opened the picture coming sharply back into focus……
With Gil's voice at that moment filling the silent void in a tone she had not heard before:
'There is always something left to find Garrett'
The man across from her made no move to answer.
Her gaze again taking in the calm controlled look as she looked once more directly into the grey eyes this time studying him closer as something registered with her; as she continued to gaze into those grey eyes. Her gaze automatically falling; to the photo directly in front of Garrett - Nick's photo……
Before once more looking up taking in Matthew Garrett's posture; and what her instincts were telling her for it was her area of expertise, as she took in his demeanour and body language. That he was not lying; but it did not change the fact, that no part of her could accept his words ….
As she tried to pull her thoughts and emotions together; her gaze shifting to Gil and the look in those deep blue pools, her gaze falling once more to the photo. As she now asked the question she had hung back from asking, deliberately picking this moment to voice it:
'When did you last speak to Nick?'
The tone alone was enough to shift his gaze of Garrett to Catherine, whose blue ocean eyes shone clear with the woman beside him, once more changing the angle of there interrogation, in the way only Catherine knew how.
As he continued to look at Catherine for a moment, the blue eyes holding his as he quietly acknowledged at the same time of what she was doing and why……
Before his gaze shifted back to Matthew Garrett whose grey eyes had fallen for the first time.
To the black watch which lay on the table between them…..
As Garrett's gaze now lifted slowly to meet his, the features tense for a moment; before relaxing as though he had been expecting it as the Texan accent filled the air the tone jagged:
'The day of his father's funeral'
A half smile crossed Matthew Garrett's features at that moment the grey eyes looked directly into hers it left no doubt; as her gaze quickly diverted to the man beside her.
They gaze locked…..
His gaze switched back to Garrett looking him square in the eye as he voiced at that moment; what both he and the woman as his side was thinking:
'It was not the last time you would see him though'
Matthew Garrett's grey eyes gleamed in response to those words; a smile crossed into the stern features Garrett's gaze staying put.
Undisturbed by his; as the fact slowly dawned on him at that moment……
As the grey eyes continued to bore into him; that this was a fight, they were not going to win; as his gaze moved at that no longer looking there. Into those grey eyes which were looking deep into his; as his gaze fell at that moment to the missing person file which lay open before him.
His blue eyes resting there on that official document before slowly moving to Nick's photo and the watch which lay in front of Garrett, his gaze gliding at that to Catherine the blue eyes once more holding his.
As his gaze slid back to Matthew Garrett holding there before moving again; looking beyond him to the mirror in this darkened room. His gaze staying there for a long moment knowing the person behind there; that would have listened to every word of this interrogation, as his gaze fell to Nick's watch at that moment ……
….For Matthew Garrett had dealt the card which he could not play against; for it was the one thing denied to them and if they ever were to find it, it would mean only one thing, proof of this mans words…..that Nick was dead; and that this man, there prime suspect even now had the upper hand….
As his gaze rested on the watch his thoughts and emotions coming together as one:
'You used Nick as a pawn Garrett'
He looked up, feeling Catherine's touch upon him at that moment as his tone grew razor sharp:
'He paid the price with his live for something which did not involve him; and until the day we find his body there is no closure and that is what you wanted all along, to leave his family not knowing.'
The grey eyes penetrated his; Matthew Garrett's gaze staying on him.
There was no response though.
As Catherine's hand which lay in his tightened its grip, his own responding to Catherine's as his gaze now swept beyond Garrett, looking again to the mirror before shifting his gaze to the right, to the cop who stood at the far corner next to the door.
He nodded, the cop stepped forward.
Garrett's grey translucent eyes darkened; picking that moment to add one last comment with words which would haunt him:
'Maybe your words hold grains of truth; for sooner or later you will find closure Gil Grissom. It's only a question of time.'
He froze unable to move his gaze away from the look across Garrett's features and the viciousness of the tone; as he felt Catherine's hand add slight pressure. His colleagues gaze now finding that of Matthew Garrett's.
The look alone speaking for them both as the cop now etched closer….
His gaze falling at that back on Garrett whose grey eyes looked once more into his as the cop produced hand cuffs, Catherine's gaze staying where it was, before slowly turning to meet his.
The hand in his gently realising as Garrett was now forced to stand.
The hand cuffs clicking into place; the sound filled the air. As Matthew Garrett looked between them for a moment a thin smile forming across his features; as his gaze slowly shifted of them, no longer looking at either of them, instead the grey eyes were focused on one thing and one thing alone the watch…….
'He's guilty'
His eyes closed the Texan accent was matter of fact; as he took a breath, before he turned slowly to face the individual who had spoken. The dark brown eyes of the individual in question looked directly in his, his gaze at that moment taking in the strong resemblance; the short brown hair, athletic frame and the strong set features…..
……Which made the likeness even more distinct as his gaze stayed on Ryan Stokes, his thoughts changing once more at that for it was something which he was very much aware of at this moment; as those dark brown eyes continued to look into his.
It was by all accounts where the resemblance ended to his younger brother, for the person who stood before him now; was of heavier build, taller and less handsome than Nick and the brown eyes which were continuing to look directly into his.
Were a shade darker than his brothers; and gave away the nature which belonged to Tom Stokes oldest son. As his gaze continued to rest on Ryan Stokes; taking in at the same time the smart appearance.
Of the dark suit and tie which only heightened the acute difference in personality and character. For it was the something which had not escaped him; and was written across the strong features at this moment, that Ryan Stokes lacked among other things the integrity and humanity which had been his brothers…..
As his gaze now drifted past Ryan Stokes taking in the other person who stood not far from Tom Stokes oldest son; and unlike Ryan Stokes was not related to the victim by blood. The features tense like his and that this person was someone Nick had known well.
A work colleague at one time, friend and someone who he now knew; had saved Nick's live the first time he had a gun pulled on him and compared to Ryan Stokes he was altogether different……
Sun kissed blond hair; beach boy good looks, medium height, green-blue eyes and a born cop, with a personality to match; and something which was in evidence at this precise moment as his own gaze looked Max Calder in the eye before moving back to Ryan Stokes.
His features turning to a frown as the look of almost hate, grew in those dark brown eyes; his gaze moving finding that of the woman closest to him. Catherine's blue eyes shone and that her thoughts were running along the same line as his. As his thoughts now found voice, his gaze staying set on Ryan Stokes:
'It's not the point Ryan and you know it'
The head turned, the features turned deadly serious:
'Then tell me what is?'
Feeling him self flinch under the tone he replied:
'Matthew Garrett would rather rote in jail than give us anything more'
The square jaw tightened the brown eyes softened glinting into his and what they both knew as the Texan accent turned raw:
'It was not what I asked you Gil Grissom'
Her blue eyes swept between the two; seeing Gil at that moment trying to keep his emotions in check while Ryan Stokes maintained his stance Tom Stokes oldest son continuing to look Gil direct in the eye; as a different Texan voice at that moment filled the air, the twang rugged.
It was the voice of Max Calder:
'They did all they could Ryan'
The strong set features swung back of him at that as Ryan Stokes now turned to face Max Calder the strong features turning to scowl as his gaze; once more glanced Catherine's way. The blue ocean eyes reflected into his, there thoughts one; as the red head beside him now followed up on Max Calder's comment.
Forcing Ryan Stokes gaze back onto them as she did so:
'You took him down Ryan but Matthew Garrett wanted revenge against your father; and even now the law is on his side.'
The brown eyes glared in response to her words silence filled the air; as she now felt the brunt of Ryan Stokes anger. The strong features becoming rigid at that moment and what shook her more than anything, the tone used against her as the Texan accent spat back at her:
'Then there is no justice and it's my family who are suffering'
For a moment the words hung there. No one moved the anger fading ever so slightly from Ryan Stokes features, as Catherine's blue eyes found his Max Calder's doing the same and that all eyes were now on him but he did not answer instead; it was at that moment the woman who stood beside Catherine.
Who made the move, the person who had remained silent until now; his colleague, the woman who like Ryan Stokes had listened to every word of Matthew Garrett's interrogation and who right at this moment had never looked more fragile….
The fine features etched in pain the dark intelligent starlight eyes tear filled and full of fire; the brunette mane of shoulder length hair fell loosely, capturing her beauty and unlike Catherine the woman who stood between them.
Her attire was less formal revealing ever so slightly the small bump; that gave away her pregnancy as Sara Sidles voice filled the half light room. Her gaze resting on the missing person file which lay open before her:
'What about Nick's life Ryan, he was your brother'
The dark brown eyes flickered for a moment; Sara's words having an imminent effect as Ryan Stokes gaze now moved between them. Before coming back to rest on the woman beside her, the look in the eyes altered from before and like Sara she could see the look of pain there:
'Nick's dead'
There was a pause the tone rising; a nick at that moment as Ryan Stokes gaze slid back of Sara; coming instead to once more to look into hers. With the look which lay there in those brown eyes cutting deeper than the words at that moment:
'And Matthew Garrett is responsible'
The tone descended.
Ryan Stokes gaze set once more on Catherine.
The red-head for a moment looking his way the blue eyes sending him a silent message and it had been as though Catherine had been the one to inflict the wound……
As the two women beside him both looked his way; Sara's dark eyes finding his at that moment. The look alone telling him the underlying emotions and that it was Sara the woman who stood not far from him who was the individual going through the most…..
….His gaze slowly moving from the dark starlight eyes, for a second returning to Catherine before falling to the official document in front of Sara; as his thoughts went into free fall something registering within and it was something which came neither from theory or science…..
….For if anything it had been something he had learned from Catherine; and surrounded this investigation. Human behaviour and what it was combined with, for it was something which had hindered them for the start. The little evidence they did have and that there prime suspect the accused lay beyond justice, conviction not being enough alone.
There evidence bringing vindication but not answers….
As his blue eyes moved from the missing person file which lay open; to his colleague seeing the look which shone strong there in Sara's dark starlight eyes, as his gaze landed once more on the name written in red on that official document…..
The victim's name as his gaze swooped from there.
To look at Ryan Stokes whose dark brown eyes were now glazed over, the strong features withdrawn and the look across those features; was somehow not far removed from from one he had seen once before, in another time and place…..
The memory of that day for a moment returning as he continued to look directly into those brow eyes and like Catherine they shared the same view on the individual who was looking him directly in the eye…..
With there being an off handiness in Ryan Stokes manner with that off handiness being something which had only now been broken with Sara's news and although Ryan Stokes had shown the same concern as his five sisters.
There was still coldness, in his demeanour something uncharacteristic of what they had come to expect from Nick's family and the underlying fact something which shone there in those brown pools.
That the person across from him was of the same blood as Nick a Stokes; and though there was much he disliked about him. It did not take away from the fact that Ryan was never the less Nick's brother…..
With Ryan Stokes voicing the words which no one wanted to hear; for there hands were tied. Matthew Garrett in the end only torturing them with those other no less severe charges against the man who had been Nick's fathers ally…..
….Taking him down for live with this part of it remaining as it had been out of the media eye, there evidence superseded; as his gaze drew back level with Ryan Stokes his gaze looking deep into those dark brown reflective eyes, before shifting.
To the look at the other Texan who stood in this room. Max Calder again giving him a direct glance as his gaze fell to Sara at that moment; seeing the love shining there in those dark firelight eyes.
For the individual; his colleague the man who had brought them all this way to Dallas and who could now be nothing other than dead and it was the one thing even at this moment he could not fully accept……
…..As his thoughts turned for they had no comeback; nothing to disprove otherwise with Ryan Stokes taking the bait, what Matthew Garrett had used to torment them with as blue eyes fell to Catherine at that moment.
The blue ocean eyes completely drawing his.
His heart missed a beat under that gaze.
With the blue ocean eyes holding his as he lost himself there in those depths, there thoughts merging in that moment; for it was a view they both shared on something unrelated yet paramount….
….That it had been someone else pulling the strings on this investigation; with the feeling something which had been there since that fatal day and had only grown in these months that he had been powerless at every turn…
….As his gaze swung back to Ryan Stokes at that thought; the serious look across the features darkening at that moment and the fact he could not put the dagger in this mans hands.
For Ryan Stokes had done everything in his power to help them with there not being a shred of evidence to even hint otherwise as his gaze rested there on the brown eyes; which offered him no answers…..
Before he slowly looked Catherine's way, the delicate features grave as his thoughts now returned to the present; and the fact, something which had been driven like a stake into them, that all they were ever likely to find would be his body…..
As his gaze swept at that to Max Calder, someone who had known Nick long before he did; with look across the Texans features reflecting the look which had been across a young lab technicians features not so many months ago and like Greg. Max Calder thought otherwise; as his steal gaze fell to the A4 document in front of Sara.
His thought turning inwards for it went against his every belief and the science which was his live; but it applied to Nick and in its own way also to Catherine and it was something a live now hung by – Nick's live as his blue eyes lifted from that official document; to look again at the two women who stood side by side.
His blue eyes falling first to Catherine's, his heart lurching under the red-head's gaze as he slowly now tore himself away from that gaze, to look at the younger woman beside her.
Seeing the spirit and fragility there as he continued to look Sara's way; and that her image portrayed his thoughts with the live Sara carried within her personifying that; as his voice at last rang out with certainty.
His words clashing with those that had gone before; Ryan Stokes gaze locking with his at that moment:
'Matthew Garrett gave responsibility but you're playing into his hands'
The set features twitched in response.
Ryan Stokes tensing up there gaze remaining locked on each other; as he now left his next words hanging by a moment as he looked deep into those brown eyes:
'Your brother is still missing Ryan'
The sky was overcast and grey, the skyscrapers of Dallas, stood out in the far distance as the hand in hers gently released. Her gaze sweeping over the suburban sprawl that lay in front of her before her gaze slowly shifted back.
Taking in the profile of the man who stood beside her; the handsome features were taunt the blue eyes dark and that the look on Gil's features reflected how they both felt as she now sent her colleague, a half smile changing the subject as she did so:
'You sure have a way of putting the cat among the pigeons Gil'
The features gave her a quizzical glare the tone lightening up as Grissom replied on form:
'That's usually your area of expertise Catherine'
She smiled, seeing Gil's features doing the same as she now played back of that last comment:
'You know maybe it is; but I don't think you can keep this under wraps for much longer'
The blue eyes shifted, her a look. Her hand coming back into Gil's strong hand; linking them as she did so as she now beat her colleague to the next comment:
'And don't even think about throwing me a line Einstein; for Sara and Warrick like Lindsey already have us figured out and we are dating partner.'
His colleague smiled; the smile that could turn any head as he continued to look into those blue ocean eyes and that Catherine was nudging him away from the subject they had been discussing. As he now gently teased his second in command back playing on that last comment of hers:
'Just we've not went official yet and it's not our style at any other time Catherine'
The hand is his tightened its grip the blue eyes sparkled as he now left Catherine hanging at that; his gaze temporarily moving away from the red-head his hand releasing from the smaller one at that moment
His gaze returning to the crime labs that they had just left and where Sara still was. With Ryan Stokes having left; Max Calder staying for a little longer and who they had left Sara with and that Catherine was now trying her level best to get his thoughts away from what had just taken place.
The stand off which had been left between them and Ryan Stokes as his gaze came back onto Catherine at that the blue eyes sending him a look; before he now looked beyond Catherine to what his eye could see, the backdrop of Dallas.
Which even on this overcast day stood out; the skyscrapers majestic to the grey background, and the fact something which stung more than anything as he stood here now here looking out over this city that, there was nothing more they could do and the pain which Nick's family now had to suffer….
….As he looked for a moment into Catherine's blue eyes his colleague giving, him a look as though she could read his every thought as Catherine's voice now turned sombre going back to what they had been discussing:
'Ryan Stokes would not have listened to us anyway Gil to stubborn'
She stopped seeing the look in Grissom's eyes change; as she now hit the nail on the head:
'It's not the issue though is it?'
The blue eyes glinted into his waiting on his answer:
'He voiced what anyone of Nick's family would have done Catherine; but what about the victim in this and Sara'
There gaze met; the blue eyes reflecting into hers with Gil speaking words of truth as her gaze swept over the landscape and that beyond those skyscrapers which stood out, lay the green foothills and cowboy country which marked this part of Texas and the heartlands of Dallas.
As her thoughts mingled for they were staring into the eyes of defeat; for there was nothing more and that Ryan Stokes had voiced that; for it was only now formality, a blip in an errorless type, which kept Nicky Stokes name where it was…..
Her gaze again looking into Gil's steal gaze at that. As her thoughts turned for a moment to Sara, her colleague and the person staying with her; for there was no solace, no arbour, to take away the pain for she had been the person closest to him and what made it even harder to bear...
….Something which would only deepen with the passing of time; for it was the legacy now left to them and something which she knew would be re-forged in the live, of the unborn child Sara carried within her…..
For it was what, she could see clearly at this moment in those blue eyes of Gil's. The look of pain which shone there and reflected in her own; for it was here in Dallas where Nick had grown up, where his live had begun. That they had found only absolution…..
For they had no recluse merely the knowledge and the epitaph which now surrounded them; his name remaining by default as a missing person and that they had no where else to turn, evidence and Matthew Garrett compounding that. With decadence being there only closure and of what they now faced.
Something which would be tripled in Las Vegas where Nick had settled and what she knew weighed heavily on the man who stood beside her. That when it had mattered most, they had failed him and that it went beyond the victim, for it touched all who had known him.
As she once more turned to look at the man beside her and though it was something he would never admit; it was there in those deep blue eyes a vulnerability that was heightened right at this moment and that; Ryan Stokes had only made that feeling worse….
…Her gaze at that again, taking in Gil's handsome set features and the look in those blue eyes as she now gently placed her hand back into Gil's strong one, linking them in that moment….
For a second she did not speak as she continued look at the man at her side and that they were bound to each other with the love which shone deep in Gil's blue eyes encircling her in every way possible; as she seen the first grey clouds begin to break in the sky above, the Dallas backdrop warming to it.
The hand in hers tightening, its grip at that moment, with it being the words spoken between them in these next few moments; which she would forever hold this man too, for it was something they would do together, no matter the outcome….
……For it was the live which bound them as one, as her thoughts linked together. Her soft tone ringing out, the Dallas breeze catching her words; words which had first been echoed by Warrick, yet it was at this moment, they struck in a new way:
'We'll find him Gil'
His gaze took Catherine in, the words hanging there; as he now ever so gently brought the red head closer to him. The small hand staying encircled within his as Catherine's blue ocean eyes looked deep into his it left him free falling…..
…. As the Dallas sun picked that moment to blink into view; his gaze returning to Catherine. Seeing the look across those delicate features and of the intimacy they now shared as his thoughts interlinked.
For he was certain that the CSI three who had worked under him would have approved of this; as he now gently changed the subject back away from what had brought them here and to what Catherine had earlier cornered him on, taking his colleagues statement a stage further and at the same time playing on how they both felt:
'There is a different way of going official Catherine, if you're game'
The hand in his responded his blue eyes for a moment closing; his heart missing a beat as his blue eyes opened Catherine Willows once more sending him that smile; a smile which could light up any room and then some, as the strong independent woman who he now held close gave her answer……
Days, weeks and months had passed since that day; which was forever, for so many reasons, etched in his memory. It was now early July.
With what lay between them now being official in more ways than one; there relationship in turn only finding new depths and that Catherine was his constant, his sun and moon, the woman who held his heart and soul and who understood him in the way no other could.
As the palm of his hand slowly came to the file in front of him his thoughts changing completely as he looked at the name written there; for it something which had not changed, for it was a complete file and a cold case as his gaze took in the A4 document in front of him….
His hand carefully flipping open the cover, taking in the different sections that made this document a whole the personal and confidential details; at the front of the file and what was also here in this section. Something which had been added and gave permanence his colleague's photo; along with his CSI three cards.
As he now turned his attention to the latter sections of the file; the pictures from the crime scene, the work of Ecklie's team, Greg's data, there own findings and all the information from Dallas, along with Garrett's statement were here. His eye taking in the acronym left from that; as he drew to the back of the document.
To the one piece of evidence which lay there, the possession which had been on the victim, was sealed safely here; Nick's watch and that this legal, official document was all that was now left of his colleague as he now slowly turned the pages of black and white over.
His thoughts turning inwards for this file; held everything there was, the genetics behind that live, the blueprint, the individuals unique confidential details, what had shaped there live and every aspect of it and that it now essentially. Gave the remnants to how that live had ended….
As his thought tapered off; and that they had not found him. With it being what had resided those months ago in Dallas; keeping this investigation open and what he could draw from that, for it was what hindsight had given him.
For there was no deliverance; that it was only a question of time before they would find the closure he did not want and what went with it something which made it all the more painful, that this investigation…..
Went deep into the victims past to the primaries of his live: to Dallas his family, to what had happened in his childhood and to Tom Stokes the father who Nick had never been close to; and that Matthew Garrett a man who had indirectly influenced Nick's live….
….Was now a convicted man; Garrett maintaining only silence behind bars something which would not change and that he was even now above the law for they held nothing more; with forensics and science obsolete …..
As he looked once more at the open document before him; his thoughts colliding at that moment as his gaze swept to what also lay on his desk, the spare copy of this document lay on his left hand side and beside it sat a note, a message passed from Dallas and that it come not from Ryan Stokes.
But from the sister closest in age to Nick and that the information held in this note had not surprised him, for he had known the toll on her and that Grace Stokes Nick's mother was now also dead; as his thoughts turned to that last trip he had made to Dallas with Catherine. Just over a month ago:
Where they had travelled through Arizona, New Mexico to the south states, to Texas; with the interstate winding them past Carrollton and A & M College. Where Nick had made the first moves towards his future career and past the streets he would have patrolled as a cop.
Before they had reached there final destination; there only stop being the labs where his CSI career had begun before coming to the traditional two storey house on the east side of Dallas; where he had grown up.
With Grace Stokes knowing as well as him his reason for coming that day; that her youngest son was by record deceased, there findings only sealing that and what he had seen that day with his own eye, that strong though she was.
Grace Stokes had failed since that first time he had laid eyes upon her, with the loss of her youngest son proving too much after her husband and that she had lost the two most important men in her live, a blow which had finished her ….
With Grace Stokes being surrounded by her family that day; a family which had been shattered to the core, with two of Nick's siblings being there to listen to every word that he and Catherine had to say.
Ryan Stokes and the woman who had sent him the note which lay before him now, the sister closest in age to Nick; Neve and what she had told him, the story from her own childhood which gave away part of Nick's character.
That love of heights. For she had been the sister who had taken the rap, the time her six year old younger brother had fallen from the red oak tree which infringed there backyard; with Nick managing in the process to fracture his right wrist.
Something which had caused further commotion and concern; and that it had in the end only elevated his colleagues dare devil approach for further heights. With that red oak tree still being there beyond the veranda in the backyard and that it had been in full bloom on that day, late in May…..
Plus something which had only registered with him that day, though he had been aware of it, that Nick himself had been an uncle and what he was aware of now……
That Grace Stokes had not lived to see her last grandchild come into the world; with it being the words which she had not spoken, that day which said the most Grace Stokes instead in her own way asking after Sara; and the view she had shared with him….
The irony of what Nick had been doing on that fatal day.
Paragliding and the significance that had to both of them; and the deeper irony something which reflected in Grace Stokes soft brown eyes that her youngest son had been happy here in Las Vegas….
As his thoughts now turned; to Ryan Stokes.
The individual who had succeeded his father; and was chief justice of the Texas Supreme Courts and that he had barely spoken a word to either he or Catherine. Keeping instead the standoff there had been between them; and that without reading between the lines.
For it had been obvious that day; that unlike the rest of his siblings Ryan Stokes had in no way ever been close to his younger brother….
His thoughts shifting away at that from Ryan Stokes; for a moment and something he had seen in that large comfortable house.
Where his colleague; had grown up. With that spacious house not being far removed, from the open plan apartment which had been Nick's in Las Vegas and that he had dwelt long. For that reason, while Catherine had continued to talk to Grace Stokes and the rest of her family.
For unlike Nick's apartment where there had been no photos, there was plenty in his family home and that Dallas home; gave more the large hall, gliding back to the old fashioned homely kitchen where Catherine and him self had first met Grace Stokes.
With the hall having a small study to its left hand side, the study which had been Tom Stokes place of work and a room which had hardly changed in more than thirty years; maps adorning it and that beyond the study, lay the family room.
A room which held tradition for more than one generation; a grandfather clock of the old style, a large fireplace, family air looms and what had drawn him in that room. The carved, worn, wooden style display cabinet; and the many photos which were displayed on it.
Photos for every decade of his colleagues live; and that they depicted every stage of Nick's live and that like the document before him now in this brightly light office; those pictures told there own story:
From his first picture, a baby in his mother's arms; to the toddler under his sister's watchful eyes and to the warm brown eyes and smile of a five year old boy with a baseball bat in hand.
The pictures changing with the passage of time and giving away without meaning to what had impact the live; the family photo, with the haunted look in those same brown eyes, the serious look across the features, Nick standing a little apart from the rest of his siblings.
And the later photos, the ones he had lingered at, the adolescent at play the warmth returned to the brown eyes; with the handsome features changing becoming more distinct with each passing year and the college photos.
The baseball, bat again in hand only now in the hands of an adult; the person he had come to know and that along with the few photos, of the cop Nick had become sat another picture a picture taken in Las Vegas; of the CSI he had been….
….With the last photos taking centre place; and the only other photo which had caught his eye one which stood near the front. A picture of a father with his two sons; Nick in his early twenties the handsome features grave beside that of his brother and that, that the picture had only solidified what he had come to understand.
As his thoughts bounded to the present; and the memory of Grace Stokes words to him for it was the words her eldest son had given first:
'He's dead isn't he?'
And that he had been unable to give her any answer; instead he had raised his head to look directly into those soft brown eyes with the one other thing hitting at that moment while Grace Stokes steady gaze remained on him; for the crime scene alone had given enough clues on that front.
For it was a place he did not want to go. The fact Grace Stokes youngest son would had not died in pain and that she had known. The words he was unable to speak. With Ryan Stokes at that point also turning to look his way, the look in the features giving testimony enough to how he felt….
As he drew in a breath his thoughts disengaging; with the light of the office playing across the file in front of him for it was something this investigation had brought home to him and what struck now something he could not help but feel.
That there investigation had been to clean cut, to final; taking them to the victim's roots, to Dallas. His father's death plus all that was linked to it, including Ryan Stokes; with Matthew Garret the vital spoke in the wheel the empathy of that and that at every turn he had been unable to dictate the path taken.
That it had been out of his hands…….
And the new slant of pain for it went with it and was what his family were left to suffer; for it was what there investigation had dug up and that Garrett a once friend of the family was now behind bars and that it did not take away the pain.
It only added to it; and what lingered with him, the human element something which forerun this case and though he did not doubt Matthew Garrett's guilt that he had too many links with the victim; his family and that he had been after blood ….
- With Garrett being too willing, to forthcoming, and to forward and that he would never answer to them….
- Plus what surrounded this investigation; law and justice something which ran deep in the Stokes blood and the deep set irony….
Something which had been twisted in for it was in some cruel way linked to the victim; that nether science, modern technology or theory was enough alone to solve this puzzle and that even now. He Gil Grissom did not hold all the answers….
…. For he held at this moment; no more than half the pieces and that it was unlikely he would find anything more. For the noose had been tightened. With there only ever being one person who could help him solve this puzzle, to find the pieces; the victim – Nick…..
As his blue eyes closed for a moment no longer looking at the document before him; for it was the knowledge given to them. The certainty bound to them; and that it would bring no peace of mind. Only that it would bring more pain; to his family and Sara….
…..For it was the place; no part of him could go.
Too see Nick's body lying on an autopsy table. To find his remains; and even though everything in black and white stated otherwise that Nick was dead….
….It was the fear which clutched his heart; and that he could not accept that live was gone for it was the feeling which had been there those two times when he and Warrick had went to identify a body; and that if were it to happen a third time.
It would be to one fate…..
As a cold sharp voice picked that moment to abruptly bring his thoughts to a halt his gaze lifting from the document on his desk too look at the person, who stood at the door of his office:
'Not filed that one away yet Gil'
The tone was matter of fact; as he looked up into Conrad Ecklie's pasty features his gaze moving at that back to the document in front of him and that the person whose file; he was looking at was ten times the man and more to what Ecklie could ever dream of being….
…..With it being Ecklie whose gaze was at this moment set on him being the one to see to it; that Nick's locker had been filled and the grudge, that Ecklie had borne against Nick. Was something which had now been transferred over to Sara and the unborn child she, carried.
As Conrad Ecklie's voice once more struck out, taking his silence as an opportunity as Ecklie nodded to the file on the desk:
'It's a dead end case Gil but then again those are the ones which always surprise you'
Ecklie's features turned into a menacing grin the tone deceptive the comment holding there. With there gaze remaining for a moment locked on each other; as his gaze fell back at that to the missing person file.
His thoughts changing and that Ecklie had enjoyed every moment of this. While his own team had fell back on itself struggling to come to terms with its loss; and that it was a loss that went far and beyond his team for it was felt throughout the labs.
As he again looked up to give his reply to one Conrad Ecklie; instead he found himself looking an empty corridor. Ecklie gone, for a moment his gaze rested there as though expecting someone else to be standing there watching him….with time itself eradicating Nick's memory as though he had never once walked these corridors...
And it was what he had felt those months ago in Nick's apartment; and something which had now become all the more clearer…..
That the power of his team with one fatal calculative swoop. Had been halved the touchstone of his team gone; the heart ripped from them and that it was something which could and would never be replaced….
With his team only now slowly beginning to adapt to live without that gung-ho Texan in it; and that it was only his relationship with Catherine which had seen them both through. While he had seen at the same time the friendship between; Warrick and Sara become steadily closer.
Warrick being a vital support to her when she had needed it most; and he knew Nick's all too innocent last comment to Warrick had something to do with it - though not all and that the ice which had always been between Catherine and Sara was now gone. Sara for a time staying with Catherine; the two women finding a bond and helping each other through this…..
Sara now in the latter stages of her pregnancy and the part Nick had played in her live was something he could see in Sara's every gesture and action and that she had found a place of her own; preparing it for the child that would soon enter all there lives and like the rest of his now team.
He could see the look of pain which shone deep in Sara's dark starlight eyes with there only ever one person, who could take that look away…..and that by the time Sara came back from her maternity leave, the temporary replacements that had filled Nick's place would no longer be so.
That it would be someone per meant; with Greg who had steadily worked his way up the ranks now standing in for Sara for the time being and the fact he missed that CSI three who had worked under. More than he cared to admit; and that no one had come anywhere near close to what Nick had given his team……
The people skills' something that Nick partly shared with Catherine but it was something Nick had, had an abundance off; the course of there investigation only highlighting where those skills had come from.
His Texan up bringing and all that had influenced his live and what it was combined with his determination and will, that innate zeal; and the emotional tide that Nick had under toned into every inch of his work a quality which had simply; been part of him.
Along with that stubborn serious but easy going nature of his; and that for a CSI, Nick had something unique. His enthusiasm, heart and that huge chunk of humanity and those qualities, had been all the things he had time and again faulted Nick for.
That he had been to eager to please, that he had at times tried to hard and on the rare occasion when he had ever given Nick the time of day; he had ended up shunning what was right in front of him favouring either Sara or Warrick over the Texan….
As his blue eyes opened and to where he had turned to without thinking. His gaze watching the aluminous dials of the black watch; and that Nick in many ways held the qualities he himself lacked.
Yet it was more for it was something which came once every so often. The human touch, that serious edge, his compassion, innocence and loyalty…..and what had been sunk deep into him, something revealed when it was too late. That like Catherine he had looked upon Nick as a son….
And that his team was no longer a whole; that they were at half mast without him, with the cases that came and went making it no easier. Missing person cases being the hardest; made even more so on the rare occasion when the person had turned up alive.
As an old memory pricked his thoughts at that moment, a missing person case, the one which had involved Paige where Nick's determination and will had been there in all its glory; the CSI standing his ground with him not going along with him on his theory then and unlike him.
Nick had been someone who went on gut instincts, a hunch, something where like Brass he had hardly ever got it wrong. Nick having it as in borne skill and it was something he could see now in a lesser degree in Greg.
With Nick being the type of CSI, who did not work on theory alone his cop back ground resurfacing along with what had been the backbone of his live; and that for him Gil Grissom the science which gave the truth - every answer this time did not.
For it was what this investigation had revealed to him…..
Something which DNA and science was only a small part off for he had delved into the fabrics, the threads of a persons live, a live he himself had known; and what lay encircled within this official document. That like the Texas state where he had grown up; Nick had been a lone star in his own right……
……And the crushing fact that he Gil Grissom could not solve this puzzle. Nicky Stokes name now to be found engraved only on file; database and also on CODIS and that his colleague like thousands of other missing person's had become a statistic, a numerical value.
As his thoughts halted; remembering Greg's words as he looked for a long moment at the watch before him and the significance of what that small possession held and what was added to it as he turned past the evidence. To the front of the file to the picture which lay there for it was what made it harder to bare that any day know.
Sara would be bringing a child into this world, which would be of Nick's own flesh and blood. The part of him left to them; and that like Catherine before her Sara would bring this child up in every way possible to know. The persons whose details he was looking upon now.
As he slowly closed the A4 file, looking for a moment at the name and what went with it. Something that had always been part of that Texan; that Nick had been strong, that he had throughout his live fought back against all the odds and it was the shred of hope…
….Which lay somehow entwined in the baby; Sara carried within her.
For it was what they clung to. What he himself had voiced. Something which went against his every, believe; for they had found no record of him to state otherwise and the one other thing - for to find it.
Would be to find Nick; the silver ring which he had worn. A family air loom and there only other means of identification; with the odds being a billion to one that he was even out there - that he was alive at all….
…And the part of him which could not help but feel Nick was alive.
What his better judgement never the less told him. That even if he had somehow survived. The blood loss, the physiological damage alone, would have left little of the man he himself would have known and that if he did not know himself for whatever reason….
There was only one place that Nicky Stokes would sooner or later or turn up. The one place he was sure to return to… and the one further thought along that line what ingrained this investigation. That the system which had let Nick down years before and was doing the same now did not account for everything……
As his thoughts came to the present the palm of his hand for a moment resting on the document and all it enclosed; before his hand moved reaching for the spare copy of the missing person file carefully putting the two together - he did not file them away though.
Instead he sat the documents at his right hand side of his desk where they had been; and the place where they would remain for years to come…. until the day they would be lain out of sight away from the eagle eye of a brown eyed boy…..
As he now heard a familiar rap at his office door.
He looked up away from his desk and all that lay on it as Catherine made her way over to him; the red long hair cascading forward, capturing those delicate features. His eye also taking in at the same time his colleague's dress which was as ever formal but elegant; and what she wore at this moment only seemed to intensify her beauty.
However it was the look across those features at this moment that brought an ache to his heart; as Catherine took the seat across from him, the small hand linking with his. Tears shone in those blue ocean eyes; the emotions clear and he could see the smile that was also trying to tug across her features.
With Catherine's gaze falling to the document which lay at his right hand side. The hand in his tightening its grip as he now clasped that hand to his. Aware of what news she was about to break to him; as his gaze followed Catherine's.
For it was something which would bring both joy and pain to them; and the person whose file he was looking at was now a father. As there voice rang out as one in the same moment; voicing the name of the women who had meant most to Nicky Stokes:
'Sara'
TO BE CONTINUED
P.S Not best to leave you stranded but I had to put this part of it up by the way did any of this chapter live up to anyone's expectations what is there? & even with what's happened do you think it's worth continuing?
Jennifer J Kirkland