Volonta forte - Girl, where you been? I've been close to sending out the search parites! I hadn't forgotten - some things have evolved since then. And you're right! It is endless! (:s)

meadow567 - I keep switching it up to keep you on your toes! Plus, I have to make it fit with what I write! lol

sparkyCSI - I'm off work tomorrow night, well, so far, so hopfully, I will get some chapters to you. There's one where I do everything I ever wanted to do to Devon! I really am sorry if I'm rubbing off!

demolished-soul - she is! It was about time, too! Although she just hadn't realised it! I hope you're day wasn't that bad! But I'm glad I made it better! lol

Aphina - good - I like the element of surprise. I want to push her out of a window! lol.

miss wizard of oz - ok, I think I can manage that - give me a few chapters!!

Mauraudingknight - I'm glad you enjoyed! I had to go back and read it over. I have lots planned (:s)

Madison Bellows - Oh, I have more planned for Devon. It amuses me how much everyone dislikes the girl! lol

Spoilers... still on whichever it was in the last chapter - I forget... 3x03/4, maybe. I dunno. But there are still big thanks to sparkyCSI for betaing!

What The Eyes Can't See

Chapter 152: Is it any wonder I'm tired? Is it any wonder I don't know what's right?

Somehow, it was all fitting into place. She wasn't sure if it was her conviction, her determination to push all else from her mind. It may have been that she had been spending so long with the CSIs that they actually were beginning to rub off. Or that the ghost was being exceptionally helpful. Or even a combination of all three.

But she was standing in the middle of the ghost's apartment, who according to the unopened mail which was scattered over the ransacked apartment's floor, was called Natalie Letterman, in her bedroom, staring down at her lifeless body.

She let out a squeal as Flack came bounding in, complete with vest and gun drawn, accompanied by Stella and Sheldon.

'Taylor? What the hell are you doing in here?' he questioned.

Taylor pointed at the body. 'Her ghost showed up.'

Flack surveyed the mess. 'And you didn't think to call this in?'

Taylor held up her hand which was clutching tightly to her cell phone. 'I was going to.'

'BEFORE YOU ENTERED THE ROOM!' he bellowed.

Taylor jumped, wincing. There was no venom in his voice. But he was angry all the same. Nevertheless, she brought herself to her full height and straightened her shoulders. 'Natalie asked me for help. I did. Her clues led me here. Now, I may not have sworn an oath to serve and protect, but it's what I do, only without the badge.'

Flack sighed, shaking his head and headed over to the victim's upturned dresser.

Stella and Hawkes, who had been watching the conversation much akin to one who was watching a tennis match, glanced at each other, eyebrows arched.

'She's just a kid,' said Stella, clearing her throat.

Hawkes crouched down by Natalie's body. 'She's got a muzzle stamp on the wound. It suggests close contact.' Carefully, he lifted her body to look at her back. 'She was executed.' Stella leant and snapped a few photos. 'It's a through and through. Bullet's lodged in the mattress.' Slowly, he extracted the bullet and examined it. '41 millimeter. Armor plated jacket. Not a weapon you see every day.'

'And not the weapon our crew used for the take down,' Flack added from the window.

'Maybe they're carrying spares?' Hawkes suggested.

Stella, who had since moved on to take photographs of the mess pointed to a spot on the floor under a chair she was holding up. 'I found blood under the debris. Indicates that the place was ransacked after Natalie was murdered.'

'Which means our shooter was looking for something?' Taylor asked, more to the ghost who had appeared, staring mournfully at her body, than to the CSIs.

'Yeah, the stolen merchandise,' Hawkes offered.

Flack looked at the body, walking back over. 'Double cross?'

'But if her partners whacked her for the jewels, why toss the place?' Stella asked.

Flack shrugged. 'Maybe they had a falling out and Natalie hid it from them.'

Taylor shook her head, mimicking the ghost of Natalie. 'No,' she said softly.

'Care to elaborate?' Hawkes asked.

Taylor looked pointedly at Natalie. Who held out a diamond. Taylor frowned, raking a hand through her hair. 'It's about the diamonds?'

'We get that,' sighed Stella, as she moved towards the bathroom.

'No,' said Taylor, slowly. 'It's about the actual diamond.'

Natalie nodded. 'You have to help them. They don't know how much trouble they're in.'

Taylor nodded. 'I'm going to try.'

'She's in the room, isn't she?' Hawkes suddenly realized.

'Yeah,' said Taylor softly.

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Taylor had left the CSIs to head back the lab whilst she took a walk to clear her head. Her mind was still buzzing and the ghost had merely left her with the clue of a diamond.

Somehow, she had made her way down to the docks, staring out across the barely moving water – it was so hot that even the water didn't want to move. She sighed. She was being silly, and she knew it, but she just couldn't shake the feeling.

It didn't help that she felt like she was being watched all the time, either. The ghosts had started to make her paranoid.

'You have to help them. They're in trouble.'

Speaking of.

Taylor frowned. 'Hang on. That's not what you said earlier.'

'You have to help them!' Natalie cried, desperately.

'How can I help you?' Taylor asked, suddenly going red as she realized a passing business man was giving her a very strange look. 'Diamonds mean nothing,' she added, turning to face the water.

'They're in trouble,' Natalie added.

Taylor glanced at her from the corner of her eyes, and then slowly turned her head. The ghost was pointing at something… or someone… she realized as she recognized a girl from a photograph she had seen in Natalie's apartment.

'Is that Beth?' Taylor asked, wracking her brain for her name.

Natalie nodded.

Taylor took a breath and ran over. 'Excuse me!'

Beth barely glanced in her direction.

'Beth?'

Beth stopped, whirling, puzzled as to who the woman was.

'My name's Taylor. I'm a friend of Natalie's.'

Beth's eyes filled with tears. 'I can't stop,' she gasped as she turned to walk.

Taylor took a breath and continued after her. 'Look, what you're about to do is dangerous.'

Beth whirled around so suddenly, that Taylor went flying into her. 'What do you know?' Beth asked, her eyes now sparkling dangerously.

'I know you and Natalie held up the jewelry store I was in yesterday,' she told her, pointing at the diamonds she could see glinting up at her in Beth's bag.

Beth's eye's narrowed. 'Are you with them?'

Taylor shook her head. 'Natalie sent me.'

'Natalie's dead,' Beth snapped, trying to suppress the sob.

'I know,' Taylor said softly. 'And she doesn't want you to end up the same way.'

Beth stared at her, and then it was as if something snapped. 'Leave me alone!' she shouted before walking hurriedly off.

Taylor grunted in frustration and hurried after her. 'Look, I'm not going to pretend to know exactly what is going on, but I do know that you're in danger and Natalie is worried about you.'

'Natalie is dead!' Beth shouted at her. 'Just leave me alone!'

Taylor grabbed her arm. 'No. Look, you need to come with me. My friends, they can help.'

'What? Who are you?'

'I told you, I know Natalie.'

Beth wrenched her hand free. 'And I keep telling you, Natalie is dead.'

'I know,' Taylor repeated. 'And she doesn't want you to end up the same way.'

'Which hospital have you escaped from?' Beth muttered to herself.

'That's right!' Taylor exclaimed. 'I'm trying to help you – I must be psychotic.'

'What the hell is going on?' Stella demanded as she, Danny, Flack and Lindsay seemingly appeared from nowhere.

'I am so glad to see you guys,' Taylor muttered.

'What are you doing?' Flack asked.

'Natalie,' Taylor shrugged as though the one word would explain it all.

'I'm so happy you saved me from this lunatic,' Beth gasped. 'But if you'll excuse me I'm – Hey!' she cried as Danny grabbed the bag she was holding.

He opened it up and grinned, whistling. 'Christmas has come early,' he said, holding it open for Flack to see inside.

'Nice. Looks like it's all there.'

Stella grabbed Beth's arm. 'What's your name?'

'Beth. Beth Larson. Please,' Beth begged, trying to wriggle free.

'Are you working with Mosi Gedhi?' Stella demanded.

'Who?' Beth asked as the tears began to fall. She shook her head. 'No! Please, they already killed Natalie.'

'Who pulled the trigger?' Stella demanded.

'Whose ever diamonds we stole,' Beth sobbed. 'I don't know his name. But he knows us. He followed us after the robbery. We all split. But someone called me.'

Flack frowned. 'How did he know how to find you?'

'He said he had a partner waiting outside the store for him,' Beth gasped. 'He must have followed us. He thought Natalie had taken everything home with her. She didn't. I did.'

'And when he found out Natalie didn't have his diamonds, he killed her. But not before he got her to turn over her partners,' Danny finished.

Beth was full out crying now. 'This wasn't supposed to happen. This was a onetime deal. We figured that between us, what we knew, engineering, physics, film, we could pull it off.'

'That's putting your college education to practical use,' Flack muttered dryly.

Beth stared pleadingly at him. 'None of us came from wealthy backgrounds. It was a way of putting us though college, keeping out apartments. No one was supposed to get hurt. God, please, you have to let me go,' she finished, beginning to struggle again.

'You're not going anywhere,' Flack informed her. 'You're under arrest.'

'If I don't deliver they're going to kill Dana,' Beth cried, turning hysterical. 'The man on the phone said not to involve the cops, okay. I have to deliver them at five. That's ten minutes away!'

'You have to help them. They're in trouble,' Natalie begged, appearing with Maddy who was looking concerned.

Taylor stared at Stella who was arguing with Flack.

'He has a hostage. We can't just move in,' Flack was saying.

'If we don't let her do the drop, she's dead,' Stella told him.

'I know, Stell, but I can't get an undercover here in under half an hour,' Flack said.

'Please,' Natalie asked, grabbing Taylor's arm.

Taylor stared at it, shivering at the strange feeling it was causing, and swallowed. 'I'll do it.'

'Like hell you will!' Flack snapped.

'We have to do something,' Taylor snapped back. 'And it's not like you haven't had me undercover before.'

'Wandering around a party in a posh frock is hardly the same as walking into a hostage situation,' Flack bellowed back at her.

'I'll do it!' Lindsay cried. 'I'm the same size, they were wearing wigs. They'll never know.'

'Montana!' Danny exclaimed.

'Look if it's between me and Taylor, aren't we best going for the one who's insured to do it?'

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Secretly, Taylor was insanely thankful that she didn't have to go in. She'd said it at the spur of the moment, and the only reason she was objecting so much was because Flack was being so stubborn.

She was pacing up and down, alongside a police van the others were sat in listening to Lindsay who was wearing a wire.

The next thing she knew, the three of them came flying out of the van and into the building.

'What the-?' Taylor was cut off by a loud bang. 'What's going on?' she demanded to the various uniforms, but no one was paying any attention to her.

It was a full twenty minutes later before Taylor was able to breathe properly, when two men were escorted out in handcuffs by Flack and a uniform. Seconds later, a medic was carrying out the third girl from the picture, followed closely by Stella. Taking up the rear were Lindsay and Danny, the former of which was shaking violently.

She was about to run over and check on her friend when Flack appeared. 'What the hell happened?' she demanded.

'She was made,' Flack explained. 'It was a flash bomb.'

Taylor exhaled slowly, and then she turned and punched Flack. 'You jerk!'

'Hey!' Flack objected. 'I was not about to let you go into that building, Damnit.'

'No,' Taylor told him. 'You're a jerk for scaring me. You dash into that building and the next thing I know there's a bang and all I can get from these guys,' she pointed at the various uniforms, 'is that the bomb went off. Damnit, Flack! I swear my heart stopped beating.'

Flack sighed and wrapped his arms around her. 'You shouldn't worry.'

'I love you,' she snapped. 'I can't help it.'

Flack stepped back and looked down at her. 'What?'

'I can't help it,' Taylor snapped at him.

'No, before that?'

Taylor frowned and then looked sheepishly at the floor. 'I love you,' she muttered.

Flack grinned and gently grabbed her face, bringing it upwards. 'I love you, too.'

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Danny rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if, for the umpteenth time since he had set out to her place, if he was making the wrong decision.

She wanted slow. He respected that. She wanted to keep it between themselves. He could do that. Hell, it had taken everything not to declare his love for her in the middle of Beth's smoke filled flat.

But all he had done, since he'd dropped her off, was walk around thinking about how much he just wanted to hold her. His feet had taken a mind of their own and somehow, he had found himself outside her apartment door.

And then his hand seemed to follow suit of his feet, and before he realized what he was doing, he was knocking – hammering – on her door.

The door opened a crack, catching on the chain. 'Danny?' The door shut and he heard the chain being removed before it was opened again, this time to be greeted by Lindsay in pale blue flannel pajamas covered in cows.

'Christ, Montana. Don't you know we're in the middle of a heat wave?' Brilliant. Just insult her. His eyes went up to meet her eyes, only to find they were red rimmed, tear streaks marking her face.

'I can't get warm,' she whispered softly, trembling on the spot.

'Linds,' he whispered softly, enveloping her in his arms. She whimpered and then she was crying. 'Hey,' he muttered, gently stroking her hair. 'I'm not going anywhere.'