Journey Through the Past- Chapter 21

Scott Grissom made his way rapidly through the narrow ravine. The pinks and grays of the early dawn were just starting to peek over the desert landscape. Ordinarily, Scott would have paused and enjoyed the rising of the sun, but he was in a hurry. Time was of the essence, and he feared that he would be too late. Coupled with that, he worried about how Grissom would fare left by himself in the abandoned mine shaft.

Once he got back to the trail that he and Grissom had taken the night before, Scott left the trail and cut through the desert. He would soon be back on the perimeter of the clinic grounds and he would need to change into another orderly's uniform before seeing Sara.

He circled around to the area of the clinic that held the staff quarters. Most of the staff commuted from the nearby communities of Beatty and Goldfield, but occasionally, members of the staff were required to extend their shifts, so most had rooms in which they could stay the night. Scott was the only one on the staff who was housed full-time in the cottage-like apartments. He had lived out here away from Jones since he was sixteen despite Jones' reluctance to let him do so. Jones had a modest house next to the staff quarters, and so allowed Scott to move to the quarters closest to his house so that he could keep tabs on him but, at the same time, allow the young man his growing independence.

Scott climbed the slight hill that led to the staff quarters, and, as he approached the building, Baker rounded the corner of the building pointing his 9mm at the young man. Startled at seeing the guard and having a weapon pointed at him, Scott came to an abrupt halt. Grissom's son eyed the gun warily and held his hands up.

Baker had recognized Grissom's son as he approached the building and waited until he was close to the building. He quickly radioed Mallory that he had spotted Scott wandering in from the desert. Mallory ordered that the young orderly be brought to Jones' office. Baker roughly patted Scott down and shoved him towards the administrative building.

When they reached Ken Jones' office, the door was propped open and Baker shoved the young man through the doorway. Scott stumbled and fell against the desk onto his knees. Quickly, Scott stood up and faced his abuser with clenched fists, his face darkened with anger. Baker grinned and took a step forward.

"Back off, Baker. I'm sure that Arthur has an explanation of why he was out in the desert during our lockdown. Why don't you make yourself useful and try to find our escapee?" said Jones as he stood up from his desk and reached over to lay a calming hand on his Scott's shoulder.

Baker rolled his eyes as he turned and left the office in a huff.

"More than likely he helped Grissom escape," said Mallory dryly, who was reclining on the leather couch near the office door. "The kid is more like Grissom than you think he is, Kenny. I don't trust him."

Scott coolly eyed Mallory; his dislike for the man was growing in leaps and bounds. Grissom's son shook off Jones hand and stood defiantly before Mallory. Turning his attention to Jones, Scott touched the doctor's arm and then turned his attention to the window.

"Did you decide to spend the night in the desert like you have in the past?" asked Jones quietly

Scott turned to look at Mallory and a curt nod.

Jones touched Scott's shoulder to get his attention and asked, "Did you happen to see Grissom out in the desert? Did you see anything?"

Scott feigned a look of surprise, and a smirk slowly crossed his face. He looked at Mallory and simply shrugged his shoulders, and crossed his arms.

Mallory stood up angrily. "Kenny, you'd better teach this boy some manners. It might not be good for his health to be such a smart ass."

"Look, Lucas, it was you and your men who lost Grissom. It didn't have anything to do with Arthur. I'm not going to have you badgering him on something he knows nothing about," Jones shot back.

Turning to Scott, Jones got his attention again and briefly gestured as he said, "Change and start your rounds. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Scott nodded and gave Mallory a wide grin as he left the room.

"Fine. Grissom's woman is due her next dose. I should be getting over there soon to give her next injection. If I find that that kid had anything to do with Grissom being gone, there'll be hell to pay- for both Grissom and the kid," growled Mallory.

"You're not touching Arthur. I've already told you that whatever you do to Grissom, Arthur is not to be touched. He may be connected to the man genetically, but he doesn't know the man at all. Grissom means nothing to him. It's natural curiosity that he would want to know about him. He's an innocent in all this," warned the doctor.

"Kenny, you're being blinded. That kid is more like Grissom than you know. He's got that same irritating smugness about him. You didn't see him when we nabbed Grissom from that safe house. There's a connection. Even though Grissom was out of it, he was still thrashing about, and that kid somehow was about to calm him down for the ride here."

"Arthur believes his father abandoned him and his mother for his drug habit. I've been able to build on that for years. I allowed you to take him because he was curious after he found out about you getting Grissom out of Vegas. He needed to see Grissom in that condition in order to cement the stories about his father I've been feeding him. He hasn't asked to see him or talk to him, has he? No. It's because he thinks the man is an addict and a criminal. He wants nothing to do with him," Jones said flatly.

"Have it your way. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. I've got to get back to my lab and get the woman's next dose. Soon, she'll be as wasted as Grissom," Mallory said as he left his cousin's office.

Ken Jones watch Mallory leave. He almost believed everything he had just told Mallory. The truth was that he knew Arthur did feel that connection and had approached him several times asking him about both Sara and Grissom. So far, he had been able to avoid any real deep conversation about Grissom and Sara, but he knew that he would not be able to avoid the subject much longer. Jones wasn't sure how much Arthur was really buying into the story about Grissom being an addict. The young orderly had experienced and learned too much about the behaviors of recovering addicts here at the clinic. Jones knew that Arthur observed Grissom in the infirmary and had that long ride in from Vegas to also think about. Grissom's behavior was not typical of the recovering addict. For one thing, he was having a hard time relating the use of drug to himself directly. Though Grissom knew all the medical terms and the symptoms, he was plainly bewildered that any of these terms should be applied in any form at all. He had resisted all medication for the most part and that was not typical of a person who was being dried out. The recovering patient almost always begged for whatever addictive substance he was on to relieve the symptoms, but not Grissom. He preferred to suffer and fight through them rather than give in to the soothing relief of the next hit. In fact, when informed that he had been on a combination of PCP and ecstasy, Grissom was genuinely shocked.

Slipping on his lab coat, Jones left his office and headed towards Lucas's makeshift lab. With Lopez and Baker hunting for Grissom, he would make the pretense that Lucas might need the help in giving Sara her next injection. He really hoped that perhaps he could talk his cousin out of the rest of this madness. Grissom may very well be dead from lack of medical attention or any number of the dangers an injured, disoriented man might encounter in the desert. If they didn't find Grissom soon, he would likely die of heat stroke or exposure as the sun was already heating up the Nevada desert. What good would it do to proceed addicting Sara to the same substances if the center of that plan is missing or dead?

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The cell door swung slowly open, and Sara looked up to see Scott carefully bringing in a tray that held her breakfast. Closing the door behind him, he set the tray down and signed to her.

I know it's a bit early for breakfast but I needed to talk to you before Mallory comes by.

Sara gave him a questioning look and then her look changed to worry.

"Scott, what's happened? Something's wrong. Tell me."

Don't have a lot of time. You just need to know that….

The jangle of keys diverted Sara's attention from Scott, and he stopped what he was saying. Looking at the door, Scott quickly turned and picked up the food tray, as the door swung open and both Mallory and Jones entered the room.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" roared Mallory.

Scott casually turned towards Mallory and held the tray up and cocked his head as if to say, "Just bringing her breakfast. Want some?"

Jones stepped in between Mallory and Scott before he could advance on the young man. "He's just doing his rounds. Sara is part of his patient load. Remember, you didn't want the rest of the staff to handle her since you didn't want any possible leaks about her getting out. Arthur seemed the logical choice to be taking care of her needs."

"Since he's here then, he can help with Sara, especially if she gives us any trouble. If he isn't involved in helping Grissom, then helping us give Sara her next dose shouldn't make any difference to him. It'll be a test of his loyalty to you, Kenny," said Mallory.

"Will that convince you that he has nothing to do with Grissom's disappearance?" asked Jones in a serious tone.

Sara raised herself off the cot despite the dizziness she felt. "Wha..what do you mean Grissom's disappeared? Where is he? You mean with all your planning, he got away from you?" Sara asked incredulously. She smiled in spite of herself.

Mallory turned to Sara, furious at the smug look on her face. "You think that Grissom is coming back here to rescue you? You haven't seen him in the last few days. The addiction has deepened, and, if he isn't dead, he soon will be. He won't be coming back to come and get you because he thinks he's to blame for the death of his dear departed wife. If the withdrawal doesn't kill him, the heat and exposure from the desert will," said Mallory wanting to strike the woman before him.

Sara wasn't fazed. Grissom knew about desert survival, having lived in Vegas for the last fifteen some odd years. Both he and Sara had made regular trips into the desert, camping and exploring the terrain, learning and experiencing the harsh environment. Knowledge of the desert was useful in their line of work, and that knowledge would work for Grissom to help him survive. Sara knew that his will to live would also outweigh the withdrawal; he would fight through it.

Mallory withdrew a syringe from his lab coat pocket and handed the instrument to Jones.

"Here. Give this to Grissom's son. We'll hold her down, and he can give her the injection," said Mallory with a smile on his face.

Turning to Sara, he sneered, "We'll see who has the last laugh, Sara."

Jones handed the syringe to Scott who had already put the tray down. Scott looked down at the syringe with obvious distaste. Jones indicated to him that when they held Sara down, he was to give her the injection in her arm. Scott stared at Jones with resentment but nodded reluctantly to show that he understood. Scott stared at Sara intently and then looked back at the syringe, flipping his attention back and forth between the instrument in his hand and her, trying to get her to understand that the syringe was just filled with saline.

As the two men approached the woman sitting on the cot, Sara tried to leap between the two of them. They quickly had her pinned to the cot. Sara struggled mightily against the men but was held down fast. She rocked her head back and forth, trying to bite one of the arms holding her down.

"Please don't do this," she pleaded to Scott. He approached her slowly, holding the syringe up. Scott took the syringe, plunged it into her arm and then backed away.

Sara felt the sting of the needle, at the same time, being careful to look resentfully at Scott. She let herself slowly relax and go limp. God, I hope this works, Scott. They'd better buy it. Sara rolled her eyes up in her head and let out a sigh. Jones and Mallory eased off and backed away from her. She moaned softly and then opened her eyes. She gazed about the room pretending to not being able to focus on one thing.

Mallory stepped back, satisfied. Scott eyed her critically and then looked at Jones. Jones seemed to believe that Sara was really tripping and nodded his approval at Scott. He suddenly felt a surge of anger at the doctor, but calmly handed the empty syringe back to Jones. The young orderly cocked his head towards the door to indicate that he needed to complete his morning rounds and wanted to leave. Jones nodded his permission, and Scott turned and left the room quietly.

Mallory watched the young man leave with amusement in his eyes. "Okay, I guess he passed your test, Kenny, but I still don't trust him. He's still Grissom's son. I do believe that she's right, though. If Grissom is still alive, he'll try to make his way back here to get her. However, she'll be so hooked by then that she'll never be able to crawl out of the hole I've put her in. Won't Grissom be pleased?"

"Let's go, Lucas. I've got rounds, and you still need to find Grissom before someone else does," said Jones.

"I look in on her in a couple of hours."

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Scott watched the two men leave from inside the supply closet. After waiting for a few minutes, he made his way quickly down the hall and eased his way into Sara's cell. Sara lay on the cot softly moaning and stopped instantly when Scott came through the door.

Scott grinned widely at her and signed, Nice job. Mallory fell for it totally.

"Yeah, well, I had to guess what you were doing. When nothing initially happened, I figured that you were able to switch out the drugs. What's going on with Grissom? Is he okay?" asked Sara.

Scott nodded his head. I had to leave him alone in a place that only I know about. He was awake and coherent, but he's going to need help soon. I didn't have a choice but to let him self-medicate. I couldn't stay.

Sara got up quickly from the cot.

"Well, let's go then. Take me to him or let's at least get some help."

Can't right now. Mallory's men are searching and they're armed. I need to do my rounds or Jones and Mallory will get suspicious. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.

"I think I'll be okay. I'm just feeling dizzy and have a headache. So, do you have a plan? What's next then?" asked Sara.

To tell you the truth, I'm sort of making it up as I go along. Hang tight here. I still have my morning rounds, and I need to rest. I'll come back after I've slept a little, and I'll see if we can get you to Grissom.

"Okay, but hurry, will you?"

Scott nodded, peeked his head out the door, and made his way out. Sara sat back. At least Grissom was away from Mallory's manipulations, but what was his current condition and state of mind?

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Captain Jim Brass held the warrant in his hands to search Grissom's townhouse. Beside him were Warrick Brown and Catherine Willows. The documents Greg had sent to QD had come back inconclusive concerning the legitimacy of Grissom's signatures on the property deeds and the business license for MG Enterprises. All they had was circumstantial evidence of Grissom's involvement in drug trafficking and being an informant for the Fifth Street Knights. As far as Brass was concerned, the evidence was too thin and just too convenient.

Sighing, Brass turned to Catherine and Warrick, "Are you ready for this?"

Snapping on latex gloves, Catherine nodded grimly and said, "Let's get this over with."

Taking Grissom's spare key from his pocket, Brass opened the door. Both Brass and Grissom some time ago had agreed to grant power of attorney to each other. Along with that, Grissom had given Jim spare keys to his townhouse and Mercedes. Since Grissom's and Sara's disappearances, Jim had regularly gone to the townhouse to feed Grissom's tarantula and hissing cockroaches, water Sara's plants, and collect the mail. Hank, their dog, was being kept at the sitter's. Brass made it his mission that he paid the sitter, and he took the dog on a walk at least twice a week. Though Brass had been in the townhouse several times in the past few weeks, he didn't notice anything unusual. Then again, he wasn't looking for evidence of criminal activity.

Setting their kits down in the entryway, both Catherine and Warrick made a cursory look of the townhouse. Everything was just as Grissom and Sara had left it the day Sara had disappeared. Except for a fine layer of dust, everything looked as though the residents of the home had left for work and would return after their shift.

"Where do you want to start, Cath?" asked Warrick quietly.

Looking around, Catherine directed her colleague, "Why don't you take the kitchen and living room. I'll start in the office and the bedroom."

"Right. I'm on it," said Warrick, grimly as he watched Brass finish securing the home and then post a uniform at the front door and then one outside the backdoor that led to a small closed-in yard.

Warrick brought his kit into Grissom's kitchen and set it on the counter. The kitchen was well stocked and neat as a pin. Warrick grinned; the neatness of the kitchen was no doubt because of Sara's influence when you consider the usual state of Grissom's cluttered office. The CSI started with the refrigerator and freezer. Brass had long ago thrown out any foods that had spoiled or had reached their expiration dates. Seeing nothing unusual in the refrigerator, Warrick proceeded to the freezer, noting a package of veggie burgers next to a frozen pepperoni pizza. Again, there was nothing unusual about the contents of the freezer, just evidence of two people living together, respectful of each others likes and dislikes.

Warrick continued his investigation of the rest of the kitchen, finding evidence of Sara's influence into Grissom's previous bachelor existence. He found a variety of herbal teas and no coffee to speak of. It was obvious to Warrick that Grissom and Sara had been together for quite some time.

Catherine, in the mean time, was processing the den, in which Grissom had turned into an office for both him and Sara. She carefully looked over the contents that on the top of the desk. There was a copy of the latest forensic journal, along with a case file from Grissom's last case. That case had been handed off to the day shift CSI's after his disappearance. A copy of Shakespearean love sonnets lay open on the corner of the desk to Sonnet 128.

How oft when thou, dear dearest music playest
Upon that blessed wood whose motions sounds,
With thy sweet fingers when thou gently swayst
The wiry concord that mine ear consounds,
O how I envy those keys that nimble leaps,
To kiss the tender inward of thy hand,
Whilst my poor lips which should that harvest reaped
At the wood boldness by thee blushing stand,
To be so touched the fain would change their state
And situation with those dancing chips
O'er whom your fingers walk with gentle gait,
Making dead wood more blessed than living lips.
Since then those keys so happy are in this,
Give them your fingers, me your lips to kiss.

Catherine smiled to herself. The Gil Grissom she knew was a scientist at heart, but had the soul of a poet. Though he seemed socially awkward at times, she knew that the man felt deeply and was passionate about many things. One of those passions happened to be Sara, and the two of them seemed made for one another. They fit together so well. It had just taken Grissom a long time to realize it, but when he did, there was no turning back for either of them.

Catherine continued her search. She finished with the desk and continued to the bookshelves lining the den's walls. Grissom's book collection was extensive and demonstrated his wide range of interests. Not only were there texts on entomology and other sciences, there were books on poetry, classical literature, art, and music. Catherine quickly scanned through the bookshelves. The books were meticulously organized according to subject matter and then alphabetized by author. Cocking her head to one side, she did a double take. An entomology textbook was tucked in between two Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Reaching up, she took the book down and examined it. As Catherine took the book down from the shelf, she noticed a space open behind the books. Reaching in, she found several filled vials.

"Jim! Rick! I found something," called Catherine.

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A/N: Another chapter in. Thanks for those of you who have taken the time to review. They have been a great encouragement for me to keep going with this. Hope that all of you have a Merry Christmas! becky