Nervous was barely a word to discuss the team going to Sunset Park the next night. In the Tahoe, as Grissom drove, were Nick, Maggie and Catherine. Sara, Brass, Ecklie and Greg rode in the Taurus behind them, the miles closing in the conclusion of the case, the hope in all of their minds. And hopefully, the end to people trying to come after me, Maggie thought as the night skies at Sunset Park opened up to them brightly, allowing the police cruisers and C.S.I.'s to come in, headlights highlighting the tree lines and azure shadows jumping from tree to tree, bridge to bridge.

"Do they happen to know that we're coming?" Maggie asked Grissom as a fourth police car came up behind the Taurus. "If they didn't then, they might as well now."

"I don't think it's wise, but Assistant Director Ecklie insisted on it," Grissom replied stiffly, his dislike of Ecklie's decisions quite clear. "Usually, a few police cars have been spotted in this park daily, because of robbery, rape and murder once, so it shouldn't be unusual, especially if the person being exchanged should have a ride and some support from her co-workers. The kidnapper did not say anything about people coming, but to bring you."

Maggie visibly shuddered. Nick then leaned over next to her, taking her hand.

"Furthermore," Grissom added, as if he was relieving the tension in the car as they parked, "we are, after all, trying to make this as normal as possible. We're the legal nightly visitors to the park. Also remember: 'A goal without a plan is just a wish'."

Catherine chuckled softly, recalling to mind Maggie's case from three years ago, something that could have never been avoided, had she tried. "How about, 'What is started today is never finished tomorrow'? That's more appropriate."

"Or, as Albert Einstein said, 'You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anybody else'. I think we might have the upper hand, then, if we're playing this right." Maggie smiled, catching on quickly. "With the added 'support', not to mention Ecklie around, we might make this smoother than we thought. However, they might take this as an attack and hit back."

"So, we can play this to our advantage and pretend we know nothing, as usual," Nick added, shaking his head, laughing.

"Exactly," Maggie replied, feeling more confident. "I found nothing at the house last night, like anywhere else we've been investigating. Somebody called Grissom and asked for an exchange. Nobody knows where Karen Tanner and her children are and the only person who did is dead except…Lynda! The prostitute knew where they were housed. She showed Eric. Why didn't anybody think to question her?"

"We did, a while back, and when she showed where she took your ex, the backyard apartment was emptied," Grissom informed her as he parked, waiting for Ecklie to get out and give the signal for everybody to move out and take their place. "Nobody was there, but there were signs of people living there. The day shift took care of it and also found nothing but evidence that people lived there and that Ursula was there for a short time."

"Why didn't anybody tell me that?" Maggie demanded, becoming more and more irritated that she wasn't informed on the latest news on the case.

"You're not in the loop for much in this case unless Grissom and Ecklie say so," Catherine said in jest somewhat, the serious, reprimanding voice hidden behind her worry.

"It seems so. However, I keep getting dirty house duty and investigating the little nooks and crannies of the crime scenes. And yet, we still get nothing."

"We may be getting back to square one all the time, but we still have some leads."

"Yeah, Catherine, but using me as bait again and hoping for the best as uniformed guys and C.S.I.'s run around, hoping to get everyone in one piece and not have another person killed."

"Are you sure you're not on –?" Nick tried to joke as he butted into the conversation.

"No!" Maggie interrupted, practically screaming.

Ecklie tapped on the back passenger window. "Is there a problem, O'Keefe?" he asked, the stern voice muffled through the glass.

"No, Assistant Director," Maggie replied as Brass did the night before, taking her hand out of Nick's as she opened the door to the Vegas heat and humidity. "Where the rendezvous point and how am I supposed to get there and stand?"

"Don't be so smart with me, O'Keefe." Ecklie backed away as the foursome exited the Tahoe. "The last time you played smart and ignored procedure, you –"

"Ecklie, I think it's almost time for the exchange," Brass interrupted, coming up from behind the Assistant Director. "It's after midnight and we have less than an hour. Gil said that the exchange is supposed to be over the bridge."

"Tell your men to take their places in the woods and around the island then, if they can handle it," Ecklie ordered, back to business. "We may be dealing with a setup and, if it is, we have the people to take care of it."

"What are you trying to say here, Ecklie?" Maggie demanded. "This isn't a setup. It's a kidnapping and murder case, all rolled into one!"

Ecklie turned to face Maggie as she stood beside the vehicle. "Sanders found information on your computer, shared with the supposed kidnapped person that might be relevant to the case." He paused, amused upon seeing the anger built up amongst everyone, save for Greg, before the truth slipped out. "It seems that, while you weren't paying attention, Ursula Kearns had been emailing her kidnappers. She made a deal with them, to switch you for her, in a perfectly staged kidnapping. You'll be killed for putting a bullet in Jason Napolitano's head and she gets to play the innocent victim with her children, just in case we didn't find out about her little schemes. Then, after you're gone, she'll be targeting the rest of the night shift. Gil Grissom and Nick Stokes were on the top of the list after you, your child going into her care."

Maggie looked to Greg, panicked, not believing what she was hearing. "Is this true?" she then demanded from him as he tried lurking back into the night shadows, not liking what was happening. "Ursula was my friend. She couldn't have done this. She and I shared everything. She helped with everything else, helped me with Michael and dealing with Eric. No, she can't do it! She wouldn't!"

"No, it's all true," Greg replied, gulping as his hair waved in the light, cool breeze. "Ursula Kearns had been in contact with these people for two years now, planning this out with them. She befriended you because they asked her to. It wasn't her plan, though."

"What do you mean, they asked her to?" Maggie shook her head.

Grissom came up behind Maggie, trying to take the heat off of Greg. "Maggie," he said gently, seeing the C.S.I.'s eyes turn to him, "Ursula Kearns is Quentin and Hannah Tanner's younger sister, the youngest of the four siblings, the last sibling dead and with children in their grandparents' care. She, on the other hand, luckily married and had her children before she met you and did not change her last name because she knew that you were coming back to Las Vegas someday."

"What do you mean?" The C.S.I.'s mind spun, denial still there and swimming. She could not believe that Ursula was capable of crime, much less that their suspects were her siblings.

"The evidence is in," Catherine simply replied. "On Ecklie's orders, we haven't been able to tell you anything until now. We kept you in the dark and told you to do some things to keep you occupied and having a sense of control. We told you the truth at every turn. I even sent Nick to bother you once in a while." Then, seeing the shocked and betrayed look at her co-worker's face, Catherine reassured her, "We also did it to keep your head elsewhere while we worked. It was not Nick's fault. He just did what he was told."

"So, here's how it happened, as confirmed by the computer, the evidence and a little research," Sara added. "Karen Napolitano married our suspect, Quentin Tanner, in late 2005, after barely a month's engagement. He knew about her troubles, seeing as how he was a stage manager in old Harry Pitt's shows, and only wanted to help her, out of the love he said he had for her and her late husband. Quentin then contacted his sisters, Hannah in Las Vegas and Ursula in New York City, to see if they would help him. However, it was only a month or so after his marriage to the former Mrs. Napolitano, Ursula found herself fired by Detective Mac Taylor, who found out that she was tampering with evidence on a case she was working on with no clear motive in sight. Luckily, she didn't face any charges, with the lack of evidence, and was only released from her C.S.I. job, only to be phoned by her brother about an 'injustice' done in late 2004."

"Hannah was pleased to help her brother in all things, seeing as how she used to date Jason Napolitano after high school, but Ursula was reluctant," Nick continued as he came around the car to join everybody. "She had recently lost her twin daughters in a custody battle which included her ex-husband saying that she was abusive to them and generally a danger to children, of which was true, to some extent. So, in exchange for getting her daughters back, Ursula was asked to go to Connecticut, seeing as how she was hours away, befriend you and somehow, get you back to Las Vegas. Already, her brother had managed to get her a job in Hartford and worked it out so that she was on the same shift as you."

"He pulled some strings, all right," Catherine said. "For a motel owner, Quentin Tanner had some connections not only in the show business, but also in the Mafia, which helped Ursula get her job in Hartford. After the two of you became friends, time because an enemy until Grissom here called you and told you about Warrick, two years after working with you in Hartford and watching your child when she could." Breathing deeply, as if to dispel the event from only the month before, Catherine sighed with some relief. "There is no evidence saying that the Tanners were connected with that death, but what is certain is that it was an opportunity for them to act. When you decided to move back here, Grissom thought it was a good idea to bring you back, but a better idea to keep Ursula closer to Ecklie's team because he could keep a closer eye on her, seeing as how Detective Taylor sent a note about her."

"What's more is that events seemed to come too quickly," Greg chimed in, feeling braver than before. "Quentin Tanner wanted to sit and wait for the right moment while Hannah wanted your head on a silver platter sooner. We don't know what Ursula was thinking, but she went through with the plan anyway. She was told to tell people about her new relationship – when it was really just her brother posing as somebody she was interested in – and just stayed the night alone in a motel room to cover up her misdeeds. Then, after a while, Hannah demanded the plan to go into action, seeing as how Ursula and Karen Tanner were having a relationship in that same motel room every so often. She wanted her younger sister to play the kidnapped and not play around with another woman, especially someone who was supposed to be her sister-in-law."

"She was bisexual, so I'm not surprised –" Maggie began, not even thinking about the sordid love triangle Ursula was tangled in.

"Regardless, we're still not finished yet." Greg smiled as he interrupted her. "Now, Karen took herself out of the picture mostly, but took in strays to keep herself busy, which was where your ex-boyfriend came in. As Ursula was being 'kidnapped', he unexpectedly came into the picture, so he had to be eliminated quickly, especially when Brass asked him to look out and call him. Lynda had no idea what was going on, but they could not take chances, which is why she's in protective custody now. Anyhow, to make a long story shorter, Quentin Tanner knew that we were on his tail, so after he called in the kidnapping to Grissom, he changed his name, threw in the club owner's name and lousy evidence and a story about him, substituting him for Karen in everything he said, and ran quickly. He knew that Eric was released from Headquarters, so when he spotted him spying at the motel, he had Ursula pull the trigger and throw him into the fire he set. Afterward, he took Karen and her children to Hannah's house and hid them and Ursula there. We found Karen Tanner and her family after you left Hannah's house, but could not find Ursula anywhere."

"This explains why you know a lot more than what the evidence told you," Maggie plainly replied.

Grissom beamed with some pride. "Karen Tanner confessed everything when presented with what we had: stains on the motel sheets, Ursula's hair on the bed, her hair on the window, the bullets from Eric's body, the accompanying murder weapon found on the scene, D.N.A., fingerprints from everybody, the recorded call from the White Sands Motel and even the recorded call from Hannah Tanner's home. Before leaving with his sisters, Quentin managed the call again, to tell me about exchanging you for Ursula. We were lucky to have both recorded and stripped to reveal his voice and Ursula's in the background of the second call: 'Let's get out of here,' she said."

Suddenly cold in the Las Vegas heat, Maggie closed her eyes. "I still can't believe it out of her," she finally said after a few moments of silence, opening her eyes to the group. "However, if this is what the evidence has said, then it must be true. There's no other way."

Brass, the quietest, smiled, tapping his watch to remind everybody of the time. "Maggie, it's almost one. We have to escort you over the bridge."

"Who is coming with me?" she then asked, aware that time was running short and sighing about it.

"Nobody was asked to go with you, but we're sending Nick visibly and Catherine and Sara in the background," Grissom informed her.

"With Brass and his men tailing behind them just in case? Geez, I never knew people could think of back-up at a time like this!"

"Exactly the point here, so get moving before we lose them again," Ecklie reminded them.