Chapter 5

The sun looked bright for the morning and things were just wrapping up at the crime scene. The coroner was just loading up the second body into the van. Sage was finishing bagging the last of the evidence while Warrick was giving a last look and talking with the detectives and the learning more from the ones who found the initial body.

Loading up the Tahoe, she looked at the evidence and the various containers like the film in the fridge and other odds and ends. She blinked as she sighed, thinking about the long road ahead. She just shut the door when Warrick came up. She glanced at him and asked, "Ready to roll?"

"Go ahead. I'll finish up here," Warrick replied. There wasn't that much left to do but he got the feeling that Sage was up to logging in what they collected. "Don't worry about it Parker."

"I'm not worried," Sage replied. "Just trying to make sense of it."

"Don't get ahead of the evidence now. Still need to process it," Warrick replied in soft tone. He studied her for a moment. In the three months she had been on graveyard, he noticed how she would become thoughtful at times. It was sort of like how Grissom would become when he was thinking. It actually made her seem like she was really young, almost like Greg's age. "But do you have any thoughts about this case?"

Sage looked up at the tall CSI after looking at the alleyway. "Not sure. But I do find it odd the way the case is turning out with what we have. Abuse and homicide…" She made a slight frown. "Sorry, just thinking."

"Anything like it at Metro?"

"Too many," Sage replied as she closed the back. "And that is combined CPS call ins and domestic disturbances. Homicide was my gig but occasionally I was called out especially if it involved children." She leaned against the door to the Tahoe. "You know it doesn't matter if it is six or nineteen or even thirty; abuse is abuse and in this case it looks like the abuser was trying to shut up the abused."

Warrick looked at Sage with a slight look as she thought it through. He could tell that she was going to probably pull a Grissom and work through a double. She had that same intense look she got when she was assigned lab days or she volunteered on Greg's nights off. Just like Grissom. "Seems like that at face value."

"Right. I'll get to the lab. With luck maybe might get something on this." Sage opened the door to hop in. "Catch ya back at the lab?"

"Sure thing Parker." Warrick shut the door. He tapped the door and watched as she drove off. He then went to finish the wrap up on the scene.

In the meantime Sage made it back to the lab with no pit stops even though she was dying for a cup of coffee. She had already made up her mind to work overtime on this and considering that she had a stack of paperwork to get on; she could use that time and write it up. She was relieved that she had her field notes ready to go. First things first was to log in evidence.

She started on it, making sure that everything was neat and tidy. It was laborious but it was a necessity. She was meticulous about it and made sure that everything was in its proper place. It would take more time to go through it and process it but at least she would have help. At least she thought so. It was up to Grissom and it seemed that he was going to hear about it sooner rather than later.

"Anything on your victim?"

Sage paused in her logging to look up at the elder CSI. She straightened up and put her pen down and replied, "Very much alive and suffering from post-concussive syndrome quite possibly from chronic abuse. He is actually a missing person."

Grissom studied Sage as she picked up her pen. He had noticed that she was fairly ambidextrous. Her primary writing hand was her left but she could switch just as easily to the right. It explained why she kept her gun mounted on the right when she was out in the field. She was most proficient at it when she was working in the DNA lab or trace. "Anything else?"

"His brother was found dead in an alleyway not too far by vehicle from where the accident was. Second DB might be the shooter. Found him with the gun but haven't yet run for prints yet."

"And your assessment?"

Sage looked up and saw Grissom looking at her expectantly. She felt her lips twitch in the reflex to smile but she replied, "Robbie and Jordan Cullen were taken to that alleyway. Photos of Jordan's wrists and bruising suggest chronic abuse as well. Quite possibly the kidnapper and possibly abuser was tired of them and decided to get rid of them. Victims fought back and possibly John Doe shoots Jordan and turns on Robbie. Robbie would have the capability to turn the gun on his attacker and shoot him. Leave the gun at the scene and take off. Why he would leave Jordan, he probably assumed that he was dead but blood drops pointed that Jordan managed to move before finally bleeding out. Circumstantial since we just collected."

Grissom nodded. "Very good."

Sage pursed her lips before asking, "Grissom, why bother to keep this separate? It looks like the two are related to each other."

"You said it yourself, victim could be suspect."

"Yeah but it looks like there is more to it and there is still the fact that Robbie mentioned a Rachel. Lockwood is checking out missing persons and…" Sage shrugged her shoulders.

"You may be right, which is why I'm going to officially make it a single case and you, Warrick and Nick work it."

"Another training exercise?" Sage looked at Grissom with a raised brow and a slight smirk. She was well aware of Grissom's quirks. She had refused to give her blood for experimentation on her first day, knowing what it was for; for so many reasons as Grissom would say. She used to do the same.

"I know you're capable Sage."

"Objectivity and the fact that I was involved in the accident," Sage replied nodding. Apart from Greg, Grissom was the only one who called her by her first name. Occasionally he interchanged it with 'Parker' but for the most part it was Sage. "Gotcha."

Grissom gave a slight smile at that. He was well aware of her reputation but it seemed that she was content being in a non-supervisory capacity. True she took control of DNA and trace when her days came up but collection and processing she was happy with. "You three work together but follow the abuse angle Sage. Since you think that there is more that the victim isn't telling you…"

"Yep. I go in and do my shrink thing. Makes me wonder why I even bothered," Sage replied giving a slight look of exasperation.

"And you're good at it. Catherine is a people-person and so are you." Grissom turned to leave. He paused and added, "By the way the next strange and unusual case that crops up, you're with me. Call it a proficiency."

Sage gave a slight smile after watching Grissom leave. She had been in his office a few times to look at his specimens and they talked about them. She said that the cases that really made the job interesting were the unusual circumstances like a ritual killing of a pig but initially was thought to be human. That led to a conversation about similar ones in Clark County and she stated she was curious about the people of Nevada. It seemed that Grissom remembered and mentioned it.

It certainly did lift her mood as she finished logging in evidence. It was enough for her to hum and occasionally form words as she finished the last of it. Finally she could get started on her paperwork.

Doc Robbins looked at the three bodies laid out on the tables. He had paged Warrick and Sage since he was finished with the autopsies. He was surprised when only Warrick showed up. "I paged Parker."

"Working on another angle," Warrick explained. "And they are connected."

"And you're the primary," Robbins finished. "No biggie so let's get started. Where do you want to start?"

"Let's start with the driver."

Robbins walked over to the driver of the SUV. "Brian, no last name. Cause of death internal bleeding. The spleen ruptured as a result from the impact. Contusions indicate that he hit the driver side of the door indicating severe hemorrhaging."

"Any bruises or injuries not related to the crash?" Warrick looked at the body after glancing at the coroner.

"I found some a couple of days old were the most recent, similar to the ones inflicted on Jordan Callen over there. I also found these." Doc Robbins picked up the left arm.

"What is that?"

"Well after an interesting lesson from Parker on cicatrization and scarring patterns, these appear to be cigar burns. Controlled and maximized to be permanent and painful upon infliction." As Robbins said it, they both could visualize the motions as it was being done. Down to the sizzling of flesh; it was eerie.

"Damn," Warrick replied as he looked at the burns. They were confined to one space and each one was distinctive. "Anything else?"

"I did find partially healed fractures in the cranium to the zygomatics, the eyes. Some fractures on the humerus and radius and ulna. The most recent not from the accident are a couple of broken ribs and a hairline fracture in the wrist."

"Consistent with domestic violence. He must have been in pain."

"Probably was used to it given that he was driving. I'd estimate that he's probably been abused for years." Robbins didn't like it either and he knew that it was only going to get worse with the fifteen year old.

Warrick looked at the guy who was estimated to be at least twenty, a year maybe two older than their live one. According to Sage, Robbie and Jordan had been missing for five years. This one might have been gone longer. "Who would do something like that?"

"Someone with a lot of rage, a need for dominance. That's Parker's area," Robbins pointed out. "I did note some dust like particles. Powdery. I sent a sample of it to trace and had a tox panel ordered just in case."

"Wouldn't surprise me if he was popping pain pills given the condition," Warrick replied. "You do the same for Callen?"

Robbins walked over towards Jordan Callen. "Jordan Callen, aged 15. Cause of death two gunshot wounds to the chest. Exsanguination."

"That was fairly obvious, Doc," Warrick replied. "We recovered the possible weapon at the scene."

"Possibly the abused turned on the abuser," Robbins replied.

"Parker suggested the same thing but knowing her," Warrick let that slide. He picked up the markers to put into the entry wounds. Following the hole he put the protector. "About 85 degree angle. Consistent that he was shot face to face."

"David said that there was a blood trail." Robbins looked up at Warrick as he removed the markers.

"Yeah. In the same area where we found John Doe here and the murder weapon. Figured that the kid may have crawled away after being hit. Thing is how…?"

"Adrenaline does interesting things. Given that one punctured the lung and the other in the pericardium, I'm surprised. Reasonable to believe that maybe he has fought back before. There were contusions consistent with defensive wounds on his hands and he did have some partially healed fractures and bruising as recent as a couple of days ago."

Warrick was willing to buy that a little. The human element was probably the most unpredictable at certain times like extreme conditions. Looking at Jordan he asked, "Was there anything like cigar burns?"

"Nothing like that. Mostly this kid was punched with fists. I did detect some indication of molestation but not conclusive. To be sure I collected an SAE kit and sent it up to Greg, priority. I also found this." Robbins picked up a container that had little tiny bugs in them. "Found them in his hair. Not sure if it is from the alleyway or not. Looks like maggots but they're not."

"Oh mealworms. They feed on grains," Warrick pointed out. "Saw one of Grissom's experiments and it was… interesting."

Robbins gave a slight look, "Well I don't know if it is probative or not but there you go." He handed the container to Warrick.

Warrick made a slight face. At least there was something to entertain Grissom with. It also looked like they were going to be busy trying to find where they came from since they had been missing for about five years and Brian was missing longer probably. He looked at the kid and noted the bruises and ligature marks. "Parker found ligature marks on his brother and I see them here."

"Yes. Suggests that they were tied up at some point and within the last day or so since they are partially healed. The underside was smooth, almost like his wrist was tied to something."

"Thinking a chair maybe?" Warrick raised a brow at that.

"Possible since I did find some on the ankles but not to the extent as the wrists. Before you ask, I didn't find anything on Brian except faint scarring from a similar situation and it was all around the wrists. Ankles, nothing."

Warrick wondered about that. It almost sounded like torture. What did the pervert do to these kids? He wasn't sure of what to make of it. Well the evidence was going to have to speak for itself and Sage was going to have to talk to the kid again. He just wondered if she was going to be up to it. He knew she was no wall flower but even this made his stomach churn. "Okay, anything else?"

"Tox panel like the other and we move on to John Doe."

Nick walked through the halls feeling a bit disappointed in the fact that the dust samples from the SUV was basic desert dirt. That really didn't help much since they were in a desert and it wasn't anything distinctive like nursery potting soil. However it was mixed with faint traces of the tar like substance he found on Robbie's shoe. That was still pending.

The good news was that the SUV had been in the alleyway where the two other DBs were found. The tire registry confirmed that and there was the license plate number. So there were some leads. It just wasn't a whole lot and it seemed that Sage was going to have to go in for another talk with Robbie.

Nick could say that he didn't like the idea too much since the kid was strong enough to knock her around but even he knew she was no pushover. She made that clear when they had a DB, suspicious circumstances in one of those seedy motels. He could honestly say that their prime suspect 'Bubba' was singing a different tune. It made him all the more eager not to get on her bad side. Still he didn't want to see her hurt.

The upside was that Grissom told that the three of them would be working the case together. They didn't have to pretend that they were two separate cases. It seemed like a three CSI job to him and since Sage had cooperation from the victim, they had a good chance of finding anything else.

Passing through the hall, he noticed Sage sitting and bent over paperwork. Well it looked like she was. A closer look revealed that she was hovered over it, her pen was tapping and her eyes were closed. If he didn't know any better she looked like she was asleep. Actually she did and the only thing that betrayed that was the pen tapping.

Unable to resist, Nick walked into the room and sat across from Sage to watch. She didn't appear to react to any sound he made. She was still tapping her pen and her eyes remained shut. Nick continued to observe her and that was when he heard it. He heard the distinct telltale sound of humming mingled with words. In other words she was singing in her sleep and that was if she was sleeping.

"The longer you continue to stare at me, you'll miss this pen being flicked at your face."

Nick sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. His expression was more curious since he was certain that she was not aware of what was going on. She certainly tuned out people when she was busy. "What makes you so sure that you won't miss?"

Sage slowly opened her eyes and blinked owlishly at Nick. Her right had been pressed against her forehead and she looked like she was bored. "That's for me to know and maybe for you to find out." She straightened up and rubbed her eyes. "So what brings you here?"

"Nothing except I'm curious as to why you didn't go to autopsy with Warrick," Nick replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"The not so glorious part: paperwork and…" Sage looked at her piles organized in her own meticulous way. "And I was trying to get a feel about the abuser."

"Profiling."

"Thanks for stating the obvious but yeah. Abuse victims are consistent in injuries but there are sometimes distinct types of injuries. Of course that could be suggestive of torture or, in cases of death, suggestive of serials."

"And you're thinking the perp is in the system?"

"Not always but with behavioral analysis, profiles that are developed give a better idea of what to look for and in some cases help identify potential victims, comfort zones and sometimes answer the why." Sage tapped her pen and wrote something down on what she was working on.

"And what about the evidence?"

"Victim, suspect and crime scene. The other stuff is gravy and if this guy has other victims, better to know what he likes and track him that way. But I'm not finished; I need to talk to Robbie. This is just paperwork." Sage gave a slight smile as she went back to flipping through sheets and cross checking with notes. "Archie still working traffic cams?"

"Going through it," Nick replied. He was about to say more when he was paged. At the same time Sage's went off too. "Looks like Bobby."

Sage checked, "Yep. Must have something on our bullets and gun." She folded up her folders and set it aside for later and got up. "By the way, I wasn't sleeping."

"Do you ever?" Nick gave a grin to indicate that he was teasing her.

Sage gave a wry look mingled with a smile and walked out of the room she had been working in followed by Nick. They made their way to the ballistics lab where Bobby was waiting. Nick asked, "What do you have?"

Bobby looked at the pair and began, "Well I can say that the bullets from your gun match the ones found in your SUV and victim. I also checked the slugs pulled from the victim's brother and they are a match."

"So they were shot with the same gun?" Sage looked down the scope to take a look.

"Yeah," Bobby replied, "I checked the database and the striations match bullets from a home invasion about five years ago." He showed them the file.

"I remember this," Nick replied as he read it. He explained for Sage's benefit, "Family in Henderson was home and two guys come in. Police found the husband dead and the wife in shock and no sign of their kid. Kept looking and mom ended up dying."

Sage had been listening and looking at the gun. She noticed something on the grip. Prints she had lifted and gave them to Mandy. She almost smiled at the memory of that conversation. Mandy said she didn't need an encore and her choice was hardly original since someone else did it. It had Sage curious about who it was but she resisted the urge to ask and told Mandy that she was going to have to come up with something for her to do. Mandy of course said that she would think of something and Sage was eager and a little nervous at that.

As she was listening a thought formed. She looked over at the file and asked, "You got a name on the missing girl?"

Nick looked and replied, "A Rachel Lawson, aged 14 when taken. You thinking something?"

"Maybe," Sage replied. She knew she was in the habit of saying that when she had an idea and wasn't sure of what yet. She looked at Bobby and asked, "Can you get a serial off it?"

"Sure thing."

Sage nodded and looked at Nick who was waited for her eventual explanation. "Might be a longshot but maybe the girl taken might be the Rachel that has been mentioned. You got a photo of her?"

"What do you take me for?" Nick replied as he handed it to her.

"General dogsbody," Sage replied studying the photo. She had an idea in mind and had seen it done once with soldiers but she wasn't going to go to that extreme. Still a picture was better than nothing and if it was their girl, she wouldn't have changed too much.

Nick shook his head slightly but he knew enough to recognize that an idea was forming in that head of hers and she was aiming to follow through with it. "Thanks a lot."

Sage gave a slight look as she started walking out of the ballistics lab. She turned and looked at Bobby, "You'll page when you get something?"

"Always do Sparks."

A/N: The case is moving forward and looks like Warrick uncovered extreme abuse and Nick and Sage have a general idea who Rachel is. Keep watching for more Desert Secrets...