Chapter 9
Thursday June 10th, 2010
CSI Break Room
11:45 p.m.
"Pass the pizza," Greg spoke as he polished off another piece.
"Greg that's your third piece," chided Liz as she handed Greg the box.
Smirking, Sara sat back as she picked a piece of pineapple off her pizza before popping it into her mouth. Liz was going to have to work to get him to stop eating pizza anytime soon. The boys could put away pizza like nobody's business...but then again, they needed the down time.
It had been three days since they were asked to take over a case for the others, which had monopolized their time out in the field, with her being stuck with paperwork in her office, while Cath, Nick, and Grissom ran down every possible lead they had managed to come up with in regards to BPKC. It had been so busy; she hadn't really seen Warrick, except once in passing, since before her appointment. Which might have been a good thing...
But, they had finally caught the guy earlier that morning, and everyone went home to crash before coming back in. And now, without an iota of things to look at in regards to BPKC, they had decided to get something to eat and ordered in Pizza Hut. She was craving their cheese breadsticks and cinnamon breadsticks. Plus, with Pizza Hut, she could get a personal pan and salad and the rest of them could get whatever they wanted on their pizza.
"Hey look," Greg exclaimed pulling her from her thoughts. "They have questions kids can ask parents on the box."
"I don't see your parents around Greggo," Nick teased.
"Bite me Stokes," Greg shot back with a smile. "No, I was thinking, why don't we have some fun and answer them."
"Well, we are pretty much bored out of our minds..." Catherine shrugged. "Why not? They're probably silly questions anyway."
"Goodie," Greg grinned.
"I swear," Warrick smirked, "he's the only thirty-five-year-old I know who says 'goodie'."
"He's never grown up after all," Sara pointed out as she shifted on the couch and propped her feet up on an armrest. One plus to coming hours early, you always got the best seat in the house. "So what's the first question there, kid?" she continued with a smirk as he turned and glared at her for a moment.
"Alright," Greg began as he turned back to the box. "Who was your favorite TV, Movie, or Cartoon character growing up?" he read. "Well, mine was Plucky Duck."
"Who?" Grissom asked as everyone else in the room started laughing, and Catherine just stared at Greg in shock.
"God, Greg's favorite cartoon character came from a show my daughter used to watch," she muttered shaking her head.
"Who's Plucky Duck?" Grissom repeated
"Early nineties, a cartoon show came out, Tiny Toon Adventures. The basic plot was that Bugs Bunny and the older Looney Tune characters had retired and were teaching the newbies at Acme University. Basically each of the original characters had a counterpart among the younger generation. Plucky Duck was Daffy Duck's...and Plucky was, quite frankly, scary," Sara explained.
"Plucky was cool!" Greg argued. "All he wanted was to be a serious actor, but he was the cutest baby."
"Okay, skip Plucky being scary. The fact Greg loved the duck is scary, as a child even. I would have killed him if Baby Plucky had been my kid. He dumped everything down the toilet, beat up his father on numerous occasions...just scary," Sara shook her head.
"You know...I wouldn't be surprised if Greggo knew the theme songs to every kid show of the early nineties," Nick mused.
"We're tiny, we're toony,
We're all a little looney,
And in this cartoony,
We're invading your TV!"
"We're comic dispensers,
We crack up all the censors,
On tiny toon adventures
Get a dose of comedy!"
"So here's Acme Acres,
It's a whole wide world apart,
Our home sweet home,
It stands alone,
A cartoon work of art!"
"The scripts were rejected,
Expect the unexpected
On tiny toon adventures
It's about to start!"
"They're furry, they're funny,
They're Babs and Buster Bunny,
Montana Max has money,
Elmyra is a pain!"
"Here's Hamton and Plucky,
Dizzy Devil's yucky,
Furrball's unlucky,
And Gogo is insane!"
"At Acme Looniversity we earn our toon degree,
The teaching staff's been getting laughs since 1933!"
"We're tiny, we're toony,
We're all a little looney,
It's tiny toon adventures,
Come and join the fun!
And now our song is done!"
Everyone just stared at Greg when he finished his song before slowly shaking their heads. "Okay, remind me to never say anything that he might take as encouragement again," Nick sighed.
"Alright then, what's your answer?" Greg challenged.
"That's easy," Nick grinned. "Captain Marvel."
"From Shazam?" Sara asked with a smile. "Yeah, I can see you running around with a cape as Captain Marvel as a kid."
"Sure did," Nick grinned as she giggled.
"Honestly now, give me Flash Gordon any day," Warrick countered.
"Yeah, I can see you being a Flash man," Nick mused as he looked over at Warrick. "What about you Griss?" he asked looking over at Grissom
"Wait, let us guess," Catherine interrupted before glancing over at Sara. "Atom Ant."
Grissom merely smiled as the guys groaned.
"Griss, have you ever not been a bug guy?" Greg asked as he snatched another piece of pizza.
"Can't say that I have," Grissom mused.
"Okay, next. Since you knew Griss so well, what's yours Cath?" Warrick asked.
"Pebbles," Catherine answered immediately.
"Flintstones?" Greg asked before shrugging. "Personally, I preferred Dino."
"I always liked Pebble's and Bamm Bamm's daughter Roxy," Sara mused.
"Exceptionally strong girl...I can't imagine why..." Greg teased. "So, is that your favorite character?
"Nope, my favorite cartoon character was Stanley the Loyal Blue Fluppy Dog," Sara smiled.
"Fluppy Dogs?" Greg asked looking over at her. "But I was eleven when that came out."
"Your point being?" Sara countered
"You were fifteen."
"Once again, you're point being?" she repeated as she glared at him. "Not my fault the show didn't come out before I was technically a teenager now is it."
"Nope, not your fault at all," Greg answered quickly as he turned to Liz. "So, your turn."
"The horse, Thunder," she replied.
"Oh, I remember Thunder," Sara smiled. "Cool show."
"So, what's the next question?" Grissom asked.
"When you were young, who was your hero?" Greg read. "Mom."
"Grandpa."
"Dad."
"Grandmother."
Sara looked over at the other women. "Were they competing to see who could praise their hero the fastest or something?"
"Good question," mused Liz with a smile.
"Interesting, really. The men in this room, their heroes are all related to them." Catherine mused. Grissom had claimed his mother, Greg his grandfather, Nick his dad, and Warrick his grandmother. "Ironic enough, my hero was unknowingly related to me too." she continued to shake her head.
"Oh?" Greg asked.
"Sam." Catherine shrugged.
"Ahh..." Sara nodded. "So what about you Liz?"
"Miss Paterson, my high school science teacher."
"Cool." Warrick grinned.
"So who was your hero Sar?" Nick asked looking over at her.
"Queen Esther," Sara smiled slightly. "Hey, I was a good Jewish girl. But really though, I had always admired her," she shrugged
"Cool," Greg nodded. "You'll have to explain that later. Never quite understood everything in the Old Testament the few times I went to church."
"Greg, I can't tell you crap about the Old Testament. You want to know stuff, I can tell you about the history of the Jewish people from the Torah. Two different things, contrary to the popular opinion of the world," Sara snapped lightly.
"Cool. We have to have a theological discussion some day soon Sar," Greg smiled and she smiled back apologetically. "So, new question. What is your favorite thing to wear?"
"My little black dress," Catherine grinned.
"My boots," Nick smirked as Warrick and Greg rolled their eyes.
"Who didn't see that coming," Warrick teased.
"My Hawaiian shirt from the last Jimmy Buffet concert," Greg spoke up.
"My pajamas," added Liz. "And keep that mind of yours out of the gutter Stokes."
"I never said a word," Nick defended himself
"Who said you had to?" Sara countered.
"What makes you think you would need to Stokes? You've never even seen them," Liz pointed out. "Don't even think about it Greg," she continued a moment later.
Greg frowned before shrugging. "So what about you Griss?"
"I actually don't have anything," Grissom shrugged and the others just shook their heads. Somehow they saw that coming...
"Well, my favorite thing is my green court shirt," Warrick offered as Sara grinned.
"Do we want to know why she's grinning?" Greg asked glancing over at her.
"Nope," Warrick smirked.
"Fair enough," Greg nodded. "So what's your favorite thing to wear Ms. Sidle? Please something that involves lace or leather," he added with a wink as Warrick reached over to smack the back of his head. "Ow!"
"Sadly, no. I prefer silk if it's any fabric other than cotton, and taking a guess at where your mind was, I only sleep in pajamas," Sara laughed as Greg rubbed his head. "Really though, my favorite thing to wear is my ring," she continued with a smile as she played with the chain around her neck.
"God, they are so in love it's sickening," Greg muttered gloomily.
This time it was Liz's turn to smack Greg on the back of the head. "And what's Mia? Chopped Liver? I'd kill to have even half of what you and Mia and Warrick and Sara have."
"No, the love of my life," Greg answered. "And I'd help you kill whoever has the guy who could give you that," he continued with a smile.
"Then we'd all have to provide you with an alibi, wouldn't we?" Warrick asked as he grabbed a box of Cinnamon breadsticks and walked over to the couch as Sara sat up. He sat down before she laid her head on the pillow he'd placed on his lap, and then dipped a breadstick in icing for her.
"Yes we would," Greg grinned. "Okay, next question...wait, I think I can answer this one for everyone."
"Oh really?" wondered Liz. "What's the question Greg?"
"Where did you grow up?" he read before looking up and pointing around the room. "Charleston, South Carolina; Dallas, Texas; Bozeman, Montana; Santa Monica, California; I grew up in San Gabriel, and those two hail from Tomales Bay and right here in Vegas," he finished jerking a thumb over his shoulder at the couch.
"Should we be afraid how he knows all that?" Catherine mused.
"Greg have you been reading the personnel files again?" questioned Liz, one eyebrow raised curiously.
"I? Never!" Greg tried to sound astounded they would suggest such a thing.
"Yeah right," Sara giggled.
"Honestly," he defended himself. "Okay, it was only my own file," he tried once more.
"Is that why I caught you with mine about two months after I got here?" demanded Liz
"Oh...I forgot about that," he ducked his head.
"I don't want to know how many other people's he's forgotten he's read. I don't want to have to be a supervisor until after dinner," Sara sighed.
"I'm going to be seeing you in your office after this, aren't I?" Greg asked looking over at her and sighed after seeing her nod. "Oh well."
"God, he sounds more eager to get this over with than I do," Sara groaned. "Maybe he can punish himself," she mused.
"I don't think we want to know what his punishment would be..." Warrick smiled. "Good point, okay, next question."
"Did you ever have a nickname?" Greg read. "I was Igor."
"Igor?" Sara, Catherine, and Liz repeated before bursting out in laughter.
"Is there something about your physical appearance we should tell Mia she doesn't know about?" Nick asked with a smirk.
"No, I don't have a hump," Greg rolled his eyes. "They called me Igor because of my science fascination. At the time, my cousin read Frankenstein and saw the movie...they said I wasn't a Dr. Frankenstein, so I was Igor."
"Interesting," Grissom nodded.
"So, did you have a nickname?" Nick asked looking over at him.
"No."
"That's why I call him Mr. Bug Guy." Sara smiled.
"It fits," Catherine agreed with a smile. "Only nickname I had was Muggs."
"Kemosabe." Nick spoke up with a smile
"Really, so where's Silver?" Sara giggled.
"Back home with Tonto," Nick countered. "So, what nickname did you have?"
"Rita,." Sara answered before mentally smacking herself. "What about you Liz?" she continued before anyone could ask about it.
"I'd like to see if Greg here could figure it out knowing he's read my personnel file," counted Liz.
"Cheer queen? Southern Belle? Lizzie Beth? Lizzie Belle?" Greg offered.
"Uh...no, no, no and uh no," smiled Liz.
"Annoying-know-it-all?" Greg suggested as a last resort.
"I think that's just you Greg," Catherine pointed out.
"Not even close Greg." laughed Liz shaking her head.
"Spill, girl!" Warrick ordered with a laugh.
"Bubbles," replied Liz
"Bubbles?" Sara asked before giggling. "I can just see it," she continued with a grin.
"Alright then, what was yours Warrick?" Greg asked looking back at the couple.
"Mostly I was known as Mary's boy," Warrick shrugged, "or the shortened form being 'Boy'."
"Interesting," Greg nodded. "Okay, next question. 'What was your favorite song when you were a teenager?' Blame it on Rock and Roll," he answered immediately.
"That is so very fitting," Catherine laughed. "I Will Survive for me."
"That's fitting." Nick smiled. "Summer of '69."
"Should we wonder if that one is just as fitting?" Warrick grinned.
"I can so see that," commented Liz with a look at Nick. "Papa don't Preach and Live to Tell."
"Joy to the World," Grissom offered.
"Jeremiah was a bull frog," Greg started bouncing before Liz smacked the back of his head. "Okay, okay, I get the hint. So what about you Warrick?"
Sara giggled. "Now, if this isn't prophetic, what is?"
"What?" Liz asked with a smile.
"Would you like to tell them, oh giggly one?" Warrick asked looking down at her. "Smooth Operator," Sara announced before giggling once more.
"That is so fitting," giggled Liz
"Really," Catherine agreed.
"So what was your favorite song?" Greg asked with a laugh.
"Ask Me."
"I did," Greg argued.
"No," Sara snickered. "That's the name of the song silly."
"Oh. Never heard of it," Greg shrugged. "You know, that's the only song I don't recognize...what are the lyrics?"
"Hmm, huh, what?" Sara asked looking around the room.
"Why do we get the feeling she is purposely ignoring your question there Greggo?" Catherine mused.
"'Cause she is," Nick agreed. "Come on Sar, we've heard you singing around the lab before...and at home..."
"Come on, I don't think any of us recognize the song, Sar," Greg begged and Sara sighed as she looked up at Warrick.
"I don't recognize it either honestly." Sighing softly Sara sunk further into his lap as she closed her eyes, before she began singing very softly.
"I see her as a little girl hiding in her room
She takes another bath and she sprays her momma's perfume
To try to wipe away the scent he left behind
But it haunts her mind," she started slowly.
"You see she's his little rag, nothing more than just a waif
And he's mopping up his need, she is tired and afraid
Maybe she'll find a way through these awful years to disappear," she paused before continuing slightly stronger.
"Ask me if I think there's a God up in the heaven
Where did He go in the middle of her shame?
Ask me if I think there's a God up in the heavens
I see no mercy and no one down here's naming names Nobody's naming names."
"Now she's looking in the mirror at a lovely woman face
No more frightened little girl, like she's gone without a trace
Still she leaves the light burning in the hall
It's hard to sleep at all."
"Still she crawls up in her bed acting quiet as a mouse
Deep inside she's listening for a creaking in the house
But noone's left to harm her, she's finally safe and sound
There's a peace she's found."
"Ask her how she knows there's a God up in the heaven
Where did He go in the middle of her shame?
Ask her how she knows there's a God up in the heavens
She said His mercy is bringing her life again."
"Ask me how I know there's a God up in the heaven
Where did He go in the middle of her shame
Ask me how I know there's a God up in the heavens
She said his mercy is bringing her life again
She's coming to life again."
Trailing off she opened her eyes and looked up at Warrick before shrugging slightly.
"Hey Liz, you okay?" asked Nick quietly when he saw her discreetly try to wipe her eyes.
"I'm fine Nick," replied Liz. She didn't really want to let everyone in on her past. They knew enough, they didn't need to know everything.
"Are you sure?" he pressed rubbing her back gently.
"I'm sure," reassured Liz with a small smile.
"Okay then," Greg began sensing the need for a subject change. If they'd known the song was her favorite years before, they all might have understood her better when she first came to Vegas...who knew. "Next question is...how old were you when you had your first job. Well, Sara's answer is easy. I mean did she ever not work at her family B and B as a young child?" he teased lightly and Sara smiled back, neither confirming nor denying.
"Well, my first job was when I was seventeen, bagged groceries," Nick smiled.
"My first job was when I was twelve. Local authorities had me do autopsies on animals," Grissom offered and everyone just shook their heads.
"No wonder he has so many years on the job, he's been doing this since he was a kid...literally," Warrick laughed. "Mine's no secret, started running at twelve," he shrugged as Sara slipped her hand in his, and he gave hers a gentle squeeze.
"First job, after I left home, waitress in Seattle, was eighteen," Catherine stuck her two cents in.
"I was twelve, babysitting," Greg grinned. "And don't diss the job, I was the most popular sitter in town, nearly covered my first year of college."
"Cheerleader for the New Orleans Saints when I was 22. Got me through Graduate School and paid the bills for a long time," piped up Liz
"Good job," Sara smiled
"Great job," Greg grinned. This time it was Nick that reached over and smacked Greg on the back of the head. "What was your favorite toy?" Greg read a few moments later. "Chemistry set!" echoed around the room.
"Well that covers Grissom, Nick, and Greg," Sara giggled.
"My bike, I could go anywhere with that thing," Warrick smiled.
"Pebbles Doll. I adored that doll; she had a bone in her hair and everything," Catherine grinned.
"My Little Pony," admitted Liz with a smile.
"Sara?" Grissom asked with a smile.
"Bubbeh's dreidel. It was her grandmother's, passed down through the generations. Being able to play with it was my favorite part of Chanukah," she smiled as she remembered.
"What happened to it?" Warrick asked.
"Hmm? Oh, it continued through the family line," Sara shrugged lightly. "So what's the next question?"
"What was your favorite book?" Greg read.
"Gone with the Wind and the North and South trilogy by John Jakes." admitted Liz.
"Oh, good books," Catherine smiled. "Little Women was mine."
"King Solomon's Mines," Warrick answered.
"Through the Looking Glass," Grissom added.
"The Lone Ranger series," Nick grinned.
"Explains so very much," Sara teased. "Sense and Sensibility."
"Now, that doesn't explain so much," teased Nick back. "So what about you Greggo?"
"Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus."
The other six looked at each other before bursting out laughing. "Now, that explains a lot," Nick managed to get out as Greg rolled his eyes.
"Okay," Sara began as she managed to control her laughter. "What's the last question?"
"What pets did you have?" Greg read.
"Ants."
"That's as predictable as Atom Ant," Catherine groaned. "I had a horse named Cookie," she continued with a smile.
"A cat name Scarlett," offered Liz.
"Psychotic shih-Tzu my Grandmother rescued named Hara Kiri...we called her Kerri," Warrick shook his head.
"Someone named the dog after the Asian tradition of death in honor by suicide?" Grissom repeated shaking his head.
"Always figured that's why the dog was psychotic...had to live up to its name in some way," Warrick shrugged.
"Scary," Nick shook his head. "I had a golden retriever named Max."
"I never had a pet," Sara shrugged and Greg just stared at her in shock. "What? It's not that unusual," she pointed out with a frown.
"Yeah, what pets did you have Greg?" Warrick asked to end the look.
"Scamper the hamster, Powder Puff, a salmon pink Himalayan, Sambo, this gorgeous Siamese that could eat you out of house and home, Goldie, she was a goldfish..."
"Okay Greg, something tells me we might be here for hours," Catherine laughed.
"Hey, there you are…"
Sara and the others looked up to see O'Riley in the doorway. "What's up?" she asked. "Please don't tell me we have another press conference..."
"No, another victim," he replied with a sigh.
"Damn," Sara groaned before sitting up. "Well, back to work we go. Someone get the leftovers in the fridge," she continued as she swung her legs back to the floor.
"Got it," Greg replied as he gathered things up. Reality had just interrupted their fun...damn thing.
Friday June 11th, 2010
Desert Palms Hospital
4:55 p.m.
"So how does it look?" she asked as the doctor came back into the room.
"Not good," he answered softly as he sat down. "Stage Two...we need to start treatment right away. If not...losing your ability to bear children is going to be the least of your problems..."
Nodding she glanced over at the window. She'd have to let the others know, not just those here. She needed to let them know, they'd want to come see her...and maybe it was time she introduced them to the gang anyway...they were her family after all.
"I need to get things settled with work and such. Monday morning I can be here to discuss and start treatment."
"Alright, I'd rather have you start immediately, but we can wait two days. But time is of the essence. It has spread this far, but we don't want to give it time to spread any further."
"I know," she answered softly.
"Alright, get plenty of rest this weekend. And I'll see you Monday." Nodding at the doctor she rose and gathered her things before making her way out to arrange the appointment with the nurse. Outside the hospital she stopped and sat on a bench as she tried to process everything that was happening. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath before pulling her cell phone out and dialing the long familiar number of her sister.
"Hello?"
"Hey you." The familiar voice greeted, and she just knew what smile was with that greeting. "Cath..." She began before starting to cry as it all hit her once more.
Sunday June 13th, 2010
Outside LVPD
8:15 a.m.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an announcement to make," Detective Ray O'Riley began as he stepped in front of the camera, Sara by his side. "At twelve-fifteen last night, Jonathon T. MacDougal was arrested and identified as the Blue Paint Killer Copycat..."
Sara zoned out enough to keep track of what he was saying as she thought over the past two days. After the call came about the latest victim, they all made their way out there. And for the first time since the killer first started attacking their city five-years-earlier, he had messed up.
It had been a shock when they saw the hair snagged on the tree bark; even then they didn't get their hopes up that it might be someone's other than the victim's. By the time Mia came out with the results that it wasn't the victim's and in fact matched someone named John MacDougal. She and O'Riley had gone to see MacDougal, just to see if he may have an explanation for why his hair was at the scene, to rule him out of course. And while they were talking with him, she noticed the blue paint in the nail bed of his thumb. From there on, one thing led to another. They found a box of plastic cuffs in MacDougal's apartment matching the batch that had gone missing from the PD so many years before. And that, combined with the paint they found, actually had MacDougal confessing pretty much in no time flat.
MacDougal was a fan of Kevin Greer's comics, a fellow 'artist'. But he'd never been as good an artist as Greer, and when it came out that Greer was the Blue Paint Killer; he decided that he could beat Greer in one thing in life. Figures he would pick a competition with a psychopath. The missing box of plastic cuffs was bought from the brother of an officer that died the day after the cuffs arrived at the P.D. He had found them among his brother's things and thinking they were just a bunch of plastic bindings, didn't see the harm in selling them at the garage sale. Ironic really that MacDougal got them.
So, in the end, the whole reasoning for the death of so many women was simply a competition with a dead man. Senseless; like so many crimes.
"That's all ladies and gentlemen, thank you," O'Riley finished and Sara tuned in completely as they turned and headed into the building. "I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a person in handcuffs before," Ray mused
"I think the entire city agrees with you there, Ray," Sara smiled as she looked at the man.
"You and me both," he agreed with a grin. "Well, I'm going to go finish off the paperwork, then go home and get the first decent night of sleep I've had in months."
"Enjoy," she laughed as they parted ways, feeling the familiar vibration on her hip she pulled her pager up and frowned when she saw the message to go see Pete. All she wanted to do was go home, relax, and climb into bed with Warrick so they could talk. Shaking her head, she pushed her plans to the back of her mind and changed directions.
"Hello," she began, surprised when she found the rest of the team, Nick, Grissom, and Catherine waiting in Pete's secretary's office.
"Hi," Catherine smiled. "Nice press release."
"Thanks. Ray did everything," Sara shrugged as she sunk into a chair only to have Pete, Jim, Tony, and Sophia come out of Pete's office. "Uggh, go figure I sit down and I have to get up again."
"Sorry Sar," Pete smiled, "Why don't you all come on in. We've got a few chairs, but most of you are going to have to stand I'm afraid," he trailed off with a frown.
"Probably a good thing. If I sit down now, there's no way I'm going to be able to stand up again," Catherine grinned as they all moved into the Sheriff's office.
"So what's up?" Warrick asked as they all found a place around the room.
"We know you just finished with the BPKC case," Pete began. "And you did wonderful on that case," he continued.
"But...?" Sara prompted.
"While you've been working the BPKC case, we've had another serial killer come to Vegas. Jim and Sophia have done their best, but considering how well the group of you work together, and in the grand scheme of things, how quick it took you to solve this case, I would like to ask if you all would be willing to work together a bit longer and try to stop the Friday Killer as he's been dubbed."
"The Friday Killer?" Grissom asked.
"Every Friday since May forteenth, a victim has been found, subsequently linked together by method. Friday night, a fifth victim was discovered. This one was different from the others in that she was raped, then murdered," Pete explained softly. "It is completely understandable if you do not wish to continue. This wouldn't be a Task Force like it was for BPKC, and it's understandable that the three of you who have come here to work the BPKC case would desire to return home. That's why I called all of you in to ask. If you do not wish to do this, it's entirely understandable. And that goes for all of you as well. Just because you aren't here working from elsewhere doesn't mean you don't deserve a break as well."
"Hey, Jim, Phi, and the others have been holding down the fort for weeks. If I can help get rid of this other guy who is threatening our city. Then I'm up to it," Greg spoke up first.
"Same here," Hodges agreed.
"Count me in," piped up Liz
"What are a few more days...?" Nick shrugged before others around the room nodded. Only Sara remained silent, though it went unnoticed really in the commotion of agreement.
"Alright," Pete nodded. "Look, the evidence will wait a few hours, why don't all of you go home, get some rest. You've been working non-stop since Thursday. While you're getting rest, Jim and Sophia can get everything to one of your offices for you to have tonight."
Warrick nodded as Pete rose from his chair. "Thank you, all of you," he continued softly.