Chapter 10
Grissom was walking the corridors at the lab looking for Nick, when Mandy called out for him.
"Dr. Grissom, I have received a letter, but it only says CSI, so who do I give it to?"
Grissom went over to her, "You can give it to me."
Nick all forgotten, Grissom went back to his office and opened the letter, it was put together with words cut out from newspapers.
To CSI
DO you know Where CSI Sanders IS RIGHT now?
hang Around and MayBe more information will FOLLOW
Grissom picked up the phone and called Greg's number, but all he got was Greg's voice mail, then he called Brass, after quickly explaining him the situation, Grissom tried Greg's number again but with the same result.
Grissom left the letter with Hodges to see if he could get anything from it, and then he started gathering his team in the break room, a few minutes later Brass and Curtis joint them.
While Grissom was explaining to the team what was going on, Brass was on the phone, returning he looked at Grissom.
"Seems like we're missing two persons, it was a detective from the Northwest area, they are missing Detective Mark Underwood." Brass enlightened.
"Okay, who was the last one to see Greg and when?" Grissom asked.
"That would probably be me," the blonde detective said. "We had breakfast this morning after work. We went down to the usual diner and stayed there to around 9am, we walked out to the cars together and said our goodbyes and left." Sofia gazed at Brass, "and no, I didn't see anything unusual."
Grissom pinched the bridge of his nose. "Brass, can you send a squad car by Greg's apartment to see if his car is there, at least when we'll know if he'd ever made it home?"
At the same time Hodges walked in, "Sorry Grissom, no help on the letter they must have used gloves, and the glue is a water based children's glue, you can buy in every store."
"Thanks Hodges," Grissom said.
Brass had been on the phone again. "They'd found Greg's car a few blocks away from the diner," he exclaimed, "It's on its way back to the garage."
"Warrick… Nick, go down to the garage and wait for the car, and the minute it arrives start working on it. Since there is nothing more we can do right now, I suggest, the rest of us are going back to the cases we were working on before this" he stated with finality.
Everyone nodded, got up and left the room.
On his way to his office, Grissom ran into Ecklie.
"Any news?" Ecklie asked.
Grissom shook his head, "No not yet; I'll let you know the minute we find anything."
"Fine," Ecklie replied walking away.
Greg was slowly starting to come around, his head was throbbing and felt heavy, he didn't know how long he'd been out, and he had no idea of where he was. For a long time he just listened trying to find out whether he was alone. No, he could hear someone else breathing. He opened his eyes ajar but the room was only slightly illuminated, everything just seemed dimly to him, so he closed his eyes and dozed off again.
Greg felt a little better when he woke up again, his head had stopped throbbing and his eyes was able to focus in the dimly lighted room, and finally he saw the person who was in the room with him.
"Hey, are you awake and are you alright?" Greg asked.
"Hey, yeah except for a headache, I'm fine… You..?"
"I'm okay" Greg looked around, "Any idea where we are?"
"No, I was sitting in my car, when someone opened my door grabbed me and pressed a cloth probably with chloroform, over my face and when I'd woke up here."
"The same thing happened to me. Oh, I'm Greg, by the way."
"I'm Mark, nice to meet you, although, I'd wish the circumstances could have been better."
The room turned silent for awhile, Greg's brain was working on high speed, trying to make some sense of it all.
"Mark what do you do for a living?" Greg asked pensively.
Mark looked confused but answered, "I'm a police man, I work up in the Northwest area, why?"
"I think we might have been kidnapped! You're a police man; I work as a CSI down town, not two jobs that pays a lot, so I don't think this has anything to do with money, so political maybe?"
Mark's brow furrowed deeply. "I don't know Greg, but if you're right I just hope they don't want to exchange us for prisoners, the mayor will never go for that it's totally against his policy."
"Yeah tell me about it," Greg groaned "I just hope that with the whole law enforcement and CSI out looking for us, we don't have to find out!"
Both men felt into silence again.
Five hours after receiving the first letter, another one arrived; Grissom put on a pair of gloves and opened it.
To CSI
"Found them yet? No… We didn't think so! But I guess we got your attention on this one!
So, what do we want? For now… Nothing!
All, we ever wanted was for you to solve the crime that was committed against us, but you gave up, although, she was just a child, you put the case aside, left us, without any forms of justice!
Well, let's test your skills, shall we? Let's see if you're going to give up, when it's one of your own on the line, but be warned the clock is ticking!"
Once again, everyone was gathered in the break room!
After reading the letter aloud Grissom said. "We need to go over every cases involving small or young girls that haven't been solved, look especially after the parents' sensitivity. Oh, one last thing, don't waste time going over Sara's cases, there won't be anyone involving kids that haven't been solved. Okay, we'll meet back in here when you're through."
Two hours later, everyone was gathered again, seven cases was lying on the table, after going over them one by one three was dismissed, but they still had four cases.
"Did Greg work on any, of these cases?" Warrick asked.
Catherine looked at the dates, "No, they all go back before he started working in the field."
"Is there anything that links Greg, to any of the cases?" Nick asked.
"Don't forget they took Mark Underwood too, I don't think Greg has anything to do with it, they needed a CSI, so they just took one they could get to," Brass exclaimed.
Catherine looked at Grissom, "So where do we go from here? We can't just go knock on peoples doors, if they suspect we're on to them, only god knows what they'd going to do."
"I think you're right, we just have to wait, for the next letter to arrive," Grissom replied.
Sofia was sitting looking at her hands thinking, she really hoped Greg was alright, they had grown quite close over the last month he had turned out to be a very good friend. But if you say Greg you'd also had to say Sara, no doubt about she was Greg's Grissom, but she was also his best friend. Sofia looked up at Grissom, "Have anyone thought about calling Sara and let her know that Greg is missing?" She asked.
Everyone froze in their seat, the silence in the room was so thick you could cut into it with a knife; they all knew that Greg and Sara was each other's best friend, and yet, no one had thought about calling her.
Grissom finally spoke, "No one is going to call Sara, there is no reason to worry her before we know more than we do right now."
"I didn't know that you have such a big death wish!" Catherine said without preamble. "When, and I mean when, Sara finds out that you have detained this from her not to mention if… god forbid, anything happens to Greg, you will be a very lucky man if you die quickly and painlessly, but knowing Sara I don't see that happen," She warned.
"She's right Griss, and you know it," Warrick said, "Sara will kill you without hesitation if anything happens to Greg, and I can't say I would blame her!"
Brass looked at Grissom, he knew that Grissom only was trying to protect Sara, but he also knew that Warrick and Cath was right, if anything happened to Greg, there would be no telling what Sara would do, but he remained silent this was Grissom's decision.
Rubbing his beard, Grissom silently digested her comments. "I know you all mean well, but my decision stands, no one is to call Sara," Grissom said. "Nick anything on the car?"
"No, everything we found came back to Greg."
Grissom sighed, "Well the shift is over, I suggest, you all go home and try to get some sleep!"
They all started protesting, but Grissom cut them off.
"The minute I hear anything I'll call you back in, but you all need to rest, no one knows how long this is going to take."
Eight hours later, everyone was back at work but still not a word. Three hours later, the third letter arrived.
To CSI
Here you will find the two missing people. HAVE FUN!
(p x 5 -2) + (p x 5 -1) + (p x 6 -1) + (p x 6 + 1) + (p x 3 -1) + (p x 7 +1) + (p x 2 - 1) + (p x 6 ) + (p x 6 +1) =
(p x 1 +1) + (p x 2 - 1) + (p x 6 ) + (p x 2 -1) + (p x 6 -1) + (p x 6 +1) =
(p x 3 ) + (p x 5 -2) =
(p x 6 +1) + (p x 3 - 1) + (p x 2 - 1) =
(p x 7 -1) + (p x 4 +1) + (p x 1 +1) + (p x 2 -1) + (p x 6 -1) + (p x 2 +1) + (p x 6 -1) + ( p x 5 -1) + (p x 7 -1) + (p x 5 -2) + (p x 1 +1) =
(p x 1 - 2) + (p x 3 ) + (p x 6 - 1) + ( p x 6 -1) + (p x 1 - 2) + (p x 3 ) + (p x 1 +1) ~
(p x 6 ) + (p x 3 - 1) + (p x 2 -1) + (p x 4 -1) + (p x 6 +1) + (p x 2 -1) + (p x 6 -1) =
"What the hell is this?" Nick said, confusion written all over his face.
"Some kind of mathematical code," Warrick tried.
"Seems like it," Grissom granted.
A knock on the doorframe made everyone look up. A young police officer tall red/brown hair, dark blue eyes, quite a beautiful woman, was standing in the doorway.
"Hello, I'm Officer Ann Jones; I've been sent down from Northwest branch to follow the investigation. I'm looking for a Captain Jim Brass."
"That will be me," Brass said, "Captain Curtis called earlier and informed me that you were on your way, please come in and sit down."
Everyone introduced themselves, welcoming her and asked her a couple of question, but soon everyone's attention was back at the letter.
"I don't think this will help us finding the parents," Catherine said, "None of them seems to have anything to do with math."
The young officer was frowning, her head slightly tilted. "I got a degree in mathematics, and I don't recognize any of that I think it's homemade," she revealed.
"That's just fucking great!" Nick growled, "How the hell are we supposed to ever solve that?"
"Watch your language young man." The sheriff was standing in the door, with Ecklie right behind him. "It doesn't sound like we are doing too well Grissom, where are we with this case?"
Grissom looked at the sheriff, "we have just received this letter, with some kind of math code in it. Archie has put it in to the computer to see if the computer can break it, but so far it hasn't."
The sheriff looked at the people sitting around the table, "So who on this team is the math genius?"
The sound of 4 voices in perfect harmony echoed throughout the room "SIDLE."
The sheriff looked back at Grissom, "and where is she?"
"She's on leave!" Grissom said, giving the sheriff a pointed look.
"Is she now, and have it ever occurred to you to call her, and get her back?"
"No it hasn't, I …"
The sheriff disrespectfully cut Grissom off, "Well maybe it should! I got Mark Underwood's parents on the phone ten times a day threatening about talking to the press, to get help from the citizens of Vegas to find their son. But I really don't need that kind of publicity, and neither does this team. So get her back, I am indifferent to what it will cost, whatever she wants give it to her, but call her and get her back."
Grissom looked at the sheriff with a stone face, "No I won't I'm only her supervisor, technical she is employed by Ecklie, he should be the one to call her," he said, not bothering to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
The sheriff turned to Ecklie, "He's right, you should be the one to call her, so better get on your phone."
"A bit of advice Ecklie, be nice and ask don't demand, or you will have her resignation first thing tomorrow morning," Grissom smirked.
"I think I know how to call someone," Ecklie growled.
"I surely hope so," the sheriff said, "Because, it's your job on the line. If I receive her resignation, I will expect yours too!" He said walking out the door, Ecklie right behind him.
"Wow," Warrick said.
"You can say that again," Nick said exhaling, "What was that about?"
"Politics, nothing more nothing less," Catherine stated.
"If anyone wants to give the code a try feel free too, otherwise, we just have to wait and see if the computer comes up with anything," Grissom said.
Sara struggled with the coves; she was having a nightmare, but not one of those she used to have. She woke up in the dark with sweat covering her whole body, her heart rate pretty elevated, she took some deep cleansing breath, trying to calm herself down. Slowly Sara's body began to relax, disturbing images slowly fading away; she couldn't make any sense of the dream. She didn't know where it was or who it was everything had been to dim, she had tried to follow the voice that kept calling out to her pleading for help, but she couldn't get close enough. Sara shook her head and jumped out of bed knowing she wouldn't get any more sleep. On her way to the kitchen her phone started ringing.
"Sidle."
"Hello Sidle, Conrad Ecklie from Vegas. Sorry to call you in the middle of the night. But we have a situation here, and were hoping that we might be able to persuade you, to come…"
Sara simply cut him off, "who is it?"
"Greg Sanders, he has been kidnapped."
"I'm on my way," and without any further explanation Sara shut the line off.
On her way to the shower she called the airline, but she couldn't get a ticket to a plane before six hours later, but there was no way she was going to wait that long so she decided to drive.
She showered and got dressed in ten minutes, on her way down to the garage, she sent a text massage to Brian, explaining what was going on, and once again she was on her way to Las Vegas.
Tbc…