Chapter 36

JJ was rubbing at the back of her neck and smiling at her little girl who was smiling and running around in the backyard. Nick had apparently bought a brand new play area, with swings and a slide, and had it delivered and it had just arrived and Ella was loving every minute of playing on it. JJ could see that she was going to have a hard time getting Ella away from it whenever she needed to get her into the house or get her to leave since she was inclined to only want to play with the new play structure. JJ turned at the sound of a chuckle and saw Nick standing there with Greg. It was apparent that they were there to go over the case with her, she could see the file in Greg's hand and she could tell by the look in both of their eyes that they were having a hard time with something in the file.

Suddenly she could see Catherine walking into the house with Lindsey and her mother, and that told JJ all she needed to know, there was another body and it was apparent that not even Nick or Greg knew this one had popped onto the victim's list.

"Grissom asked me to get down here so that Ella would have someone to look after her, and you would feel like she was in good hands. There is another body, and this is the address." Catherine said handing a slip of paper to JJ who slowly nodded and went into the house to get her gun, badge and crime scene kit.

"When did this one show up?" Nick asked confused.

"Recently." Catherine said shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know much about the case remember, I am not supposed to be anywhere near anything on this case."

"Well, when is Warrick being released from the hospital anyway?" Nick asked her with a sigh.

"He was supposed to be released this morning but the doctor pushed it back, stating there was still something bothering him about Warrick's health and chart, almost like he feels there is something missing from the chart and he isn't sure what it is. I almost think he believes someone got to his chart and said something got done, that hadn't been done which could be fatal for Warrick if there is a problem." Catherine said with a sigh as she watched Lindsey play with Ella who was squealing and giggling.

"Thank you for coming down here. We feel better knowing someone who has a gun is near her." Nick said softly as he saw JJ hesitating as she clipped her badge to her belt and put her gun in the holster she just put on her shoulders.

"Hey, I would be feeling the same way. Nicky, you picked a winner this time. We all feel horrible about the way we treated JJ before, but now we can see she is an amazing person and we can see she is an incredible mother and we know how much you love her." Catherine said softly.

"I think I always have loved her. I don't know why I didn't notice she was the JJ I grew up with back home and that she was the one I had a huge crush on, something she doesn't really know about." Nick said with a wince.

"Ohh… possible blackmail material." Catherine joked, waggling her eyebrows up and down.

"Ha ha, very funny." Nick said rolling his eyes as he and Greg turned and headed to where JJ was standing at the front door, waiting for them. "Ella will be fine." Nick whispered in JJ's ear.

"I know, I know that. I just feel like it's my place to be the one to keep her safe and I am not doing my job at all." JJ said with a wince.

"She's going to be just fine, she's our daughter JJ, that should tell you something." Nick said as he kissed her lightly on the lips and then turned and followed her out the door.

He was sitting in the apartment building across from where the newest victim had been placed. He had everything all set up, including the camera's. He knew that it wouldn't be long before JJ and Nick or maybe one of them, figured out what the clue was that he left and realized he had left them a treasure hunt. He knew that JJ would be the one to figure it out first, if she was paying close enough attention, mainly because he had written the clue to be able to relate mostly to her, than Nick. JJ was smart, he knew that almost like everyone else knew that, she was probably smarter than anyone really knew.

"Come JJ, don't let me down little one, show me how smart you are and prove to me that you have the brains to get close enough to take me down. But then again, if you do what I think you will, then you might be dumber than I thought. Oh man, little girl, I am getting bored with our game, it's time that I really make you think and it's time I put a clock in the game. Maybe I can get through to your friends and your little hubby, if there is a clock that needs to be followed and beaten." The man said laughing as he continued watching and made sure all his monitors were on, he had the record setting set for motion activation, they wouldn't start recording until someone walked through the motion sensors in the specific areas and then they would stop recording when they left a certain area, he was going to make sure he got everything on tape and he wasn't going to miss any little thing.

JJ got out of the car, sighing as she pulled on the latex gloves and grabbed her gear, heading to where the body was lying just in the middle of the taped off area. Something about where they were and how the body seemed to be posed, was bothering her, it seemed familiar. Something was off, and JJ had a real bad feeling. The hair on the back of her neck was standing up, and that usually meant that someone was close by, someone really bad and someone she really didn't want to have to deal with.

"I know he is here, he has to be here, but why be at this crime scene and not the others? What is so special about this particular scene?" JJ muttered to herself. She looked around closely, looking at the faces of the gawkers that were staring, taking pictures or videotaping the scene around them. JJ rolled her eyes, wondering how they would feel if the victim had ever turned out to be someone they knew? She knew that it would anger them if someone had videotaped, or taken pictures of their close and well loved one. She shook her head and sighed as she headed over to where the body was and stopped dead in her tracks, halfway there. Something was familiar and something was off, now she needed to figure out what it was.

Warrick was annoyed as he looked at the doctor who was refusing to release him from the hospital. The doctor was convinced someone had messed with his chart, someone had done something when it came to the tests that were run or the tests that were ordered or something that was important. Warrick was happy he had a doctor that was so careful, but at the same time it was annoying him that someone would not let him go home where he really wanted to be, mainly on a hunch. He could see that the doctor had made a decision, now he could only hope that decision would be what he wanted to hear and that he was being released from this hospital and right away.

"So doc, what's my verdict?" Warrick asked with a grin on his face.

"I'm afraid it's not good. I re-ran some tests that were bugging me and I was right, someone messed with what I ordered, and so I didn't catch this earlier, there was some serious damage done internally Warrick, I need to do an ultrasound on your spleen, liver and kidneys right away, we could be in trouble if I find anything there, which I am expecting to." The doctor said with a solemn, serious face.

"Please tell me this is some sick joke." Warrick said, no longer smiling. He knew that Catherine was busy at the moment watching Ella, she had called with Lindsey and her mother to say hello, so he wasn't going to call her, no matter how badly he needed her there, Ella's safety was more important at that moment, she was just a baby.

"I wish I could Mr. Brown." The doctor said. "I am going to do everything I can to make sure we fix whatever damage has been done, I swear to you."

Grissom knew that there was something wrong, he looked over at Sara as she looked over the case reports sitting in front of her. Although there was another scene, Grissom didn't see the benefits of having four CSI's there when there was only one body. He had already talked to Greg when they were enroute to the scene and informed him that if they needed help at the scene, to just give him a call and he and Sara would head out there right away, but he didn't want to crowd the scene or alarm anyone into thinking there could be a huge problem there. Grissom had the computer up and ready to receive the pictures as soon as Greg sent them. Greg was taking pictures at the scene and Nick was videotaping it, and when they were done with that part, Greg would upload and send both the photo's and video to Grissom at the lab for Grissom and Sara to compare to everything else, and that would allow them to continue at the scene and take pictures of anything else that Grissom thought they needed more pictures of.

"There has to be something we are missing, there has to be." Sara said as she threw the pictures onto the table and jumped up, rubbing at her shoulder that had been bugging her lately. "I can't believe a serial killer can just walk away from things or kidnap someone and no one knows what he looks like or why he is doing this! Someone had to have seen something and they just don't know what they saw!" Sara said as she groaned.

"Or maybe they are involved or don't want to get involved at all." Grissom suggested leaning back in his chair. "Sara, getting frustrated and upset isn't going to help us here, we need to keep our heads clear and level."

"I understand that!" Sara said as she plopped back into her chair. "Let's go over these again until we get the news ones, I guess." She said with a sigh of clear frustration and annoyance.

JJ was sure that this whole thing looked familiar to her. She wasn't a CSI, she was a detective, which was why her little kit had nothing to do with the evidence. She called the briefcase thing she carried an evidence kit, only so no one would ask her what was in it, but it was really tools and things she needed to see things differently, to act things out so she could get a feel of things, but she had to wear gloves, just like anyone else who might touch the body or any evidence in the case. She looked behind her and saw that Nick and Greg had started working on going over the evidence and things, and she sighed. She was kind of glad she was a detective, and only investigated and not a CSI, it just didn't seem like her thing.

"All right, talk to me, what am I missing and why?" JJ said as she looked around her and realized she really needed to get to work, figuring things out, immediately. "I am going to find what's here and when I do, whoever you are, we are going to catch you!" JJ said out loud, but deep inside, she was scared out of her mind that things were about to get out of control and there was nothing she could do about it.