Author's note: This chapter was not beta'd, so all mistakes are my own.
Chapter 2
Catherine Willows sighed with relief as the ambulance pulled away. Turning to the young CSI standing behind her, she directed him to start taking photos of the scene.
Greg Sanders nodded. He paused before snapping pictures of the blood-splattered wall before him, realizing that the blood was probably Grissom's.
Catherine walked over to the body that lay several feet away from where Brass had found Gil. A young black male in his mid-twenties was shot in the chest multiple times. The bullets appeared to entered the body with inches of each other. He had evidently been in a fight because of the bruising on his face and hands. She assumed that Grissom had shot the young man. She knew the night shift supervisor was an expert marksman, having proven his prowess with a revolver at the shooting range. He usually scored highest for the entire department in marksmanship.
She wondered what prompted Grissom to carry his weapon, let alone fire it. In all the years she had worked with him, he rarely carried his weapon. Jim Brass often chided him for not having his department-issued firearm when investigating crime scenes.
Turning back to where Grissom was found against the wall, Catherine glanced back and forth between where Gil was and where the body now lay.
"Greg, what do you see? Run it."
The rookie CSI took a deep breath. "Well, I think this guy ambushed or, at least, attacked Grissom. Looking at the blood splatter and the scuff prints, it looks like Grissom was grabbed from behind. Grissom fights back and falls against the wall. This guy starts to grab him, but Griss is able to push him away and reaches for his weapon. This guy draws his weapon first and shoots at Grissom, but Grissom's shot hits the guy first. So the guy's aim is off and Grissom is shot in the shoulder. More shots are fired at Grissom by the looks of the ricochet and the bullet holes in the wall. Grissom, on pure adrenaline, empties his Glock."
Catherine stared at the scene, trying to envision what had taken place. Where was Sara in all this? Both Grissom and Sara were here together. Something happened which caused them to split up. If there was any hint of danger, Grissom would have waited for back up. True, he has entered crime scenes that were not necessarily secured, but that was when he was alone. He wouldn't have done that if Sara was with him. Something was off.
"I think that initially you're right. Griss was physically assaulted and he ended up against the wall. He was shot in the shoulder. Brass said that Grissom's Glock was empty. Greg, there was at least one other person here. Maybe at least two other people. Otherwise, where would Sara be?
The young investigator nodded his head in agreement. "Griss must've killed this guy and someone else shot Grissom," speculated Greg as he snapped off a few more pictures."
" I dunno, Greg. Maybe. Process and fingerprint everything. Send everything to the lab asap. Let's see if we can figure out what went on here. I'll go to Desert Palm. Maybe Grissom will be able to tell us something. He is also evidence. Let's see what physical evidence he might have on him. Hopefully he'll remember and can fill in the holes."
Hearing footsteps entering the warehouse, Catherine turned to see a grim-looking Nick Stokes with his kit. He headed right over to where Greg and Catherine were standing.
"Hey. Have you found anything around the perimeter?" inquired Catherine as she slowly straightened up.
"Some shoeprints, which we took pictures and impressions of. Tire tracks too….looks like someone took off in a hurry. There was a bit of struggle. Vegetation was disturbed and Warrick is measuring both the tire tracks and shoeprints. An SUV or truck by the looks of the tracks. Once we run those, we should be able to narrow the field. There were at least four different sets of shoeprints."
" Okay. So at least two other persons were here if we include Sara. our DB, and assuming that none of those prints are Gil's. What about Griss's Denali? What's going on there?" inquired Catherine.
"On my way to do that next. Sofia did a preliminary look over. Brass is interviewing possible witnesses. Apparently, two kids might be witnesses. No sign of Sara. Sofia found some blood splatter around the driver's seat. Sara's Denali is parked half a block down the street. I'll process that next, " Nick replied grimly.
Catherine gave Nick a questioning look. "Sara's Denali is parked down the street? They didn't come together, and I'm betting Grissom had no idea she was following him. There are more questions here than answers. I'm headed over to Desert Palm. I'll let you guys know what's going on with Grissom. He took some nasty blows to the head, along with a gunshot wound to his shoulder." Catherine noticed Nick's look of concern and reassured him. "Griss is going to be ok, but he'll be a handful as long as Sara's missing. One of us is going to have to be with him for a while to make him behave," she said. With that, Catherine walked quickly to her Denali and headed for the hospital.
Catherine entered Trauma Room 3 and paused momentarily. Grissom had sustained numerous injuries, but none of them were life-threatening. An IV was hooked up and the soft beep of the monitor indicated a steady heartbeat. Catherine stared at the still form of her friend.
Dr. Jay Taylor appeared next to Catherine.
"I'm Dr. Taylor, Mr. Grissom's attending. How can I help you?"
"Yes, Dr. Taylor. I'm Catherine Willows with the crime lab and was wondering about the condition of your patient here. What is the prognosis?"
"Well, Mr. Grissom sustained a fractured left wrist, 4 cracked ribs on the right side, and two on the left side. He also suffered a minor concussion. Even though he has bruising about his face, there are no broken bones. The back of his hands, his knuckles, were severely bruised."
"Defensive wounds," murmured Catherine.
Nodding, Dr. Taylor continued, "His left shoulder sustained a gunshot wound, and it appears that the bullet entered through the front and exited out the back. It's a clean wound, no organs or major blood vessels hit. We were able to stop the bleeding and patch the wound. Some blood loss but not enough to warrant a transfusion. He'll just be weak until his body is able to replace the loss. Right now, he is awaiting surgery to set his wrist. Nothing life-threatening really. He'll just need time to heal."
Catherine nodded. "Thanks. I'll need his clothes so that we might recover any trace evidence. I would also like to check his body for any trace that might be left under his nails or in his wounds. I will also need all the gloves, swabs, etc. you and your staff used on Mr. Grissom so that we might examine those for trace."
"All materials are in a bio-hazard bag and I will have both the bag and his clothes delivered to you. He won't go upstairs for surgery for a few minutes while the OR is being prepared so I see no problem for you to process him right now. I doubt that he is aware of his surroundings. He was given a sedative for the surgery."
"Was he conscious when he was brought in? Did he say anything?"
"Yes he was conscious, but not the most cooperative patient I've had. He had to be strapped down in order for us to work on him. He kept saying that he couldn't stay. That he had to find someone named Sara. We just now took off the restraints."
Catherine nodded with a rueful smile. That was Gil…stubborn to the core.
"Yeah, well, he sort of hates hospitals."
"Oh, you know him, then?"
"Oh, yeah…almost too well. But you really don't want to know… Well thanks, Doc. I better get to processing." With a smile and a nod, Dr. Taylor left Catherine to her task.
Catherine walked quickly over to the gurney holding Grissom. Opening her kit, she pulled on latex gloves and took out the necessary instruments and materials to process any evidence that was still on Gil's body. She gently picked up his right hand and carefully scraped any evidence that was trapped under his nails. She spoke quietly to him as she went about her work, letting him know each procedure she was performing, knowing that he probably couldn't hear her. She moved quickly and quietly around the gurney. She winced at the bruising around his face and gently swabbed the cuts and bruises. She photographed his injuries and paid special attention to the bruising on the backs of his hands and knuckles. Moving the hospital gown gently down so that his torso was uncovered, Catherine quickly snapped off pictures of the bruises and contusions that surrounded both sides of his rib cage. Sighing, she finished the processing of Grissom's upper body and then tenderly covered him back up. It seemed surreal processing Grissom in this manner. Through the process, Grissom seemed to be oblivious to Catherine's ministrations.
Soft rustling sounds entered his consciousness. He felt like he was floating in soft cotton. The smell of antiseptic was strong, and he heard the beeping of a monitor. Hospital... in the hospital…Someone was murmuring something but Grissom was too exhausted to react or try to figure out who was talking. The voice was vaguely familiar. He tried to concentrate on the voice...like a mother trying to soothe her child… there was something he needed to do, but everything was so fuzzy. There was something waiting for him in the far reaches of his consciousness. He felt each of his hands being gently handled and then slight pressure being applied to different parts of his face…like soft cotton being tenderly rubbed softly against the bruises he could feel…and then the realization slowly dawned on him…Catherine was with him and was swabbing him for evidence. He fought to open his eyes..
A soft moan escaped Grissom's lips. Catherine looked up, surprised. Grissom cracked open his eyes to narrow slits and turned his head slightly in her direction.
"Hey there big guy…"
"Cath..wha…" came the hoarse whisper. Grissom tried to chase the cobwebs from his mind and formulate the words he wanted to say. The words seemed to be all a jumble. His eyelids felt like lead weights were on them, so he shut his eyes.
"Shh..shh….just lay still. You're scheduled for surgery in a few minutes."
"Surgery? Cath…What….." Grissom shook his head, trying to clear away the confusion. The medication was making everything foggy. Something about Sara…what about Sara?
"To set your wrist…you're pretty banged up. So just take it easy. Don't fight the meds. You won't win."
Grissom nodded slightly and closed his eyes tighter and settled back against the pillow. The haziness was creeping its way through his thoughts preventing him from thinking straight or from remembering what he wanted to ask Catherine. Sara! She was missing. He tried to raise his good hand, but it felt like a lead weight. A dull pain coursed through his body and he let his arm drop heavily. "Sara…."
"Griss…I'm done here. I'm taking this evidence to the lab. I'll be back. Let these guys take care of you. Some one will be here to check on you. Rest easy, ok? The rest of the team and I are taking care of things. We'll find Sara." Catherine patted his arm and packed up her kit. There was no response from Grissom as the medication took him back under.
An orderly and nurse entered the room and quickly wheeled the gurney out. Dr. Taylor appeared at the door and turned to Catherine.
"The surgery should take no more than 2 to 3 hours tops. We'll take good care of him. The waiting room is up on the second floor. After recovery, we'll be assigning him a room. I don't see a need for him to stay more than a day or so. None of his injuries are life-threatening. He will be sore from his injuries and weak from the blood loss, but his recovery should be complete. I would like to keep him longer for observation. However, if he hates hospitals as much as you say, he might be able to go home tomorrow, provided that he has complete bed rest and is not left alone."
"Thanks, Dr. Someone will be here to check on him," Catherine said. She turned and left for the lab.