AN: Some more work in this chapter – I had a lot of fun with this case file (horrible as the crime might be), I hope you guys have enjoyed it too! And a little bit of domesticity and a tiiiny bit of smut
Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to CSI
Chapter 35
Two hours later, they have one possible victim from Minneapolis – Lily Johnson, seventeen, found raped and strangled, with zip ties binding her hands and feet together and plastic wrap around her head, under the St. Croix River bridge, on the morning of October fifth in 2000. She matches the victim type and might be the owner of the necklace with the name 'Lily', but if there's a second victim from the area, they either don't have the case file, or the cases are too different to raise any flags, which is possible but seems unlikely considering the similarities between the three cases in Colorado and the four in Nevada.
"I know this was way after your time," Catherine says, frowning down at the autopsy report from the case. "But do you have any connections back there these days?"
Grissom takes the folder when she holds it out and flips through the pages, noting names. "I knew the coroner, but he died… two years ago, maybe? The name of the lead investigator is vaguely familiar, but I don't think we ever worked together. I'll try to get a hold of him, see if they had any suspicions the case was related to others." He makes a note of the name before closing the folder and running a tired hand over his face – exhausting as it can be to spend an entire shift at a crime scene, in some ways it's worse to spend eight hours reading and rereading case files, studying crime scene photos, trying to find something without even knowing what you're looking for. "If that doesn't lead anywhere, I'll send out another request tonight. See if any other cases match this one, maybe expand to Wisconsin; he could have been driving the I-94. And if that doesn't work, we can send out a photo of the necklace, see if anyone recognizes it. But it's possible the victim hasn't been found, if she was dumped along a deserted part of the highway."
"I guess it's too much to hope for that Pritchard will just tell us what we want to know," Sara muses, stretching her arms over her head, making her spine crack and her shirt ride up. His eyes are automatically drawn to the exposed sliver of skin, and he has to make a conscious effort to look away, focusing on his desk and gathering up the folders. Catherine still throws him a smirk that he resolutely ignores.
"Jim says he hasn't said a word since he was brought in," she says. "Hasn't even asked for a lawyer. Since he knows we already have him on the four girls here, I say we let him stew for a while, until we have something more on the other cases."
"If we find more," Greg sighs. "There was no DNA on any of the victims in Colorado, he must have used condoms. No fingerprints either, the only thing we might have – apart from the trophies – are fibers from what could be the trunk of a car, but what are the odds he still has it?"
"If we can identify the girls the necklaces belong to, it should be enough, and even if the DA won't charge him based on that, he'll be getting life – minimum – for the four murders here," Grissom reasons. "Obviously, I want to get him on all of them, but as long as he spends the rest of his life in prison, I'll settle for four out of ten."
"True." Catherine closes the folder she was going through for the third time and drops it on top of the stack in front of him. "OK, I'm out of here."
"Yeah, let's all call it a day," he agrees. "Maybe get Nick and Warrick to take a look tonight, they might catch something we missed. Fresh eyes."
Greg and Catherine disappear quickly, but Sara lingers, one of the evidence bags with jewelry in her hand, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she studies it closely.
"What are you thinking?" he asks, stacking the folders before rounding the desk to look over her shoulder.
"That looks like a hair," she says, angling the evidence bag against the light. "Have we checked these for DNA or trace?"
"No," he admits. "And I agree, that's a hair. But… if this belongs to the first victim, it's most likely been kept in the cardboard box Pritchard had for over a decade. The odds of usable DNA are slim, at best."
"Slim but not nonexistent," she argues. "Let's at least try, it's not like we have anything to lose. I know identifying the jewelry should be more than enough, but you know juries these days – they want DNA."
Grissom takes the bag from her and puts it in the evidence box with the other trophies. "You're right. Let's drop these off with Wendy, see if she can find anything."
The DNA tech promises to do her best, and they leave her to it. He waits while Sara changes her vest for her bag in the locker room and then they leave the building together.
The sky is a deep summer blue, not a cloud in sight, promising another scorching day, but for the moment, the air is still clear, fresh. He tilts his head back when they reach Sara's car, taking a deep breath.
"Been stuck inside too long?" she asks amusedly.
"I've already gotten used to being out in the field again most of the time," he replies, wondering how he ever convinced himself that paperwork was better than fieldwork. "For some reason, spending a whole shift in the lab isn't as appealing anymore."
"No?" She smirks. "I wonder why."
If it had been Catherine, he would have brushed it off, but he doesn't mind Sara thinking he'd rather work in the field with her. It's true, and he wants her to know that.
"The only thing that would be better would be working with you every day," Grissom confesses, which turns her smirk into a smile.
"Probably best not to push it," she reasons. "No need to give Ecklie a reason to split us up."
"Don't worry, I'm very good at rotating assignments to avoid showing too blatant favoritism."
Sara tilts her head to the side and studies him for a moment. "And how long have you been practicing that?"
He considers. "Probably longer than I realized myself," he then says.
"Yeah, you always were a little slow to catch on," she teases lightly.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes, a surge of melancholy overcoming him at the thought that, if he hadn't been so incredibly stubborn and afraid of change, they could have gotten here years ago. Needing to touch her, he reaches out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger. She closes her eyes and leans into the touch for a moment, but then huffs and takes a step back.
"We should probably keep, you know, personal stuff at home," she says, sounding reluctant. "Or at least further from the lab than the parking lot."
He sighs but nods. "You're right."
"I'm going to go, before one or both of us forget that." She smirks. "See you soon?"
The hint of longing in her voice ignites the same feeling in him. "I'll be waiting."
"So, this is the honeymoon phase, right? It'll pass." Sara lets her eyes slide closed for just a moment, catching her breath.
She feels Grissom's fingers close around her wrist and then he lifts her hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss to her palm that makes her whole body tingle despite the orgasm she had only a few minutes ago. "I think I can safely say that I will never get enough of you."
"OK, good point," she agrees. "But we should probably get up."
He lets out a disappointed sound that makes her laugh.
"I bet I could change your mind." His words are accompanied by a hand sliding up her arm and then along her rib cage and she has to fight the urge to turn into him.
"I bet you could." With momentous effort, she rolls away from him instead and throws her legs over the edge of the bed. "But you need to call that guy in Minneapolis, right? You do that, I'll pick up Shelby."
The sigh behind her makes her smile, but when she glances over her shoulder, he's mirroring her position on the other side of the bed.
"We should probably eat something, too," he notes, pulling a t-shirt over his head.
Sara finds her underwear and pulls them on along with the t-shirt she slept in. "I can pick something up on the way," she suggests.
"You're coming back?" He sounds a little surprised, but mostly pleased.
"Of course." She shrugs. "Or, I mean, we can head back to Catherine's, if you…"
"No," Grissom interrupts her quickly. "Come back. Please. The call shouldn't take too long, I'll be done by the time you've picked up Shelby and some lunch."
She laughs as she rounds the bed and steps into his personal space. His arms come up around her waist immediately. "OK."
"That was easy."
"You don't actually have to talk me into hanging around," she tells him amusedly. "I want to be here. Yesterday was just… practicality."
"Good to know." He leans in, pausing an inch or so from her, and she's the one to close the distance.
His arms tighten around her as their mouths meet, and she slides both hands around his neck, pulling herself closer. She knows she should take a shower so she can get going, but she indulges for a while before pulling away.
"I need a shower."
"Me too." She knows what he's going to say before he does, due to the mischievous smile on his face. "We could share, it's quicker."
Sara snorts. "I think we both know that it definitely wouldn't be quick."
"I'll behave, promise."
"I don't believe that for a second." But it's too tempting. "But if you can keep your hands to yourself…"
"Cross my heart."
He doesn't quite follow through on his promise, but they're out of the shower in fifteen minutes – despite the fact that he gets her off with his fingers, her back pressed against the cold tile a stark contrast to the heat from his mouth on her skin, before they leave the glass-enclosed space.
They get dressed and brush their teeth in companionable silence before descending the stairs.
"Any preference for food?" she asks, grabbing her bag.
"Whatever you or Shelby are in the mood for," he replies lightly.
"I'll try to steer her away from McDonald's."
He laughs as he follows her to the door, pulling her in for a brief kiss that quickly turns longer. Eventually, he releases her and steps back.
"Get out of here before I change my mind."
"Back soon."
Traffic isn't too bad and she's at the daycare a few minutes before four. Pat lets her in with a frown. "No Dr. Grissom today?"
"He had to get some work out of the way, so I offered," she explains.
"Let's hope little miss Shelby doesn't mind," Pat says with a smile as she unlocks the inner door. "She was talking about going to the park with Daddy all through lunch."
Sara laughs, following her. "We're going back to his place, so I'm sure we can fit in a stop at the park."
Shelby looks up at her voice, a small frown appearing on her face. "Where's Daddy?" she asks with a pout when Sara crouches down where she's putting together a wooden puzzle with animals.
"He had to do some work stuff, so you get me today," she says. "But we're picking up food and going back to his place, so put that away, OK?"
"Can I finish?"
She smiles at the question. "Sure."
Ten minutes later, they're back in the car.
"So, what do you want to eat, baby?" she asks, looking at her daughter in the rearview mirror.
"Chicken nuggets!" Shelby exclaims excitedly, and Sara laughs.
"How about a chicken sub?" she suggests instead. "You can get one of those chocolate cookies you like so much."
"OK."
She sends off a text to Grissom, asking what kind of sub he wants, and by the time they get to the nearest Subway, she has a response. They're alone in the shop, so within a few minutes, they're back in the car – with a whole box of Shelby's favorite cookies.
It takes over a minute before Grissom opens the door when they get there.
"Hi Daddy!"
"Hi sweetheart." He manages to ruffle Shelby's hair before she darts past him into the house. "Sorry, I was up in the office, sending off an email to the guy in Minneapolis. But you still have the key, right? Use it."
"I do, yeah." She hasn't actually thought about the key he gave her last week. "You don't want it back?"
"No, keep it. And use it."
She steals a quick kiss before moving past him. "Will do."
They eat at the dining table, indulging in a cookie each when the subs are gone. Shelby puts on her best puppy eyes, trying to get another one, but Sara won't budge. "We'll bring them back to Catherine's tonight, you can have another one after dinner," she says, ignoring her daughter's slightly wobbly chin.
Shelby sighs but doesn't push. "Can I watch Dora?"
"Sure."
She slides off her chair and finds the remote on the coffee table before plopping down on her stomach in front of the TV and turning it on to the right channel.
"I don't know how you do that," Grissom says, voice full of awe.
"Do what?" Sara asks, turning back to him.
"Not give in," he expands. "I know I shouldn't, but those eyes…"
She laughs. "I know. It takes practice. You'll get there." She gathers their trash and goes to dump it in the kitchen before returning to the table. "Did you get anything from Minnesota?"
He glances at Shelby before responding, but she's already engulfed in the show. Still, he lowers his voice a little. "He remembered the case very well – and do you know why?" At Sara's shake of the head, he continues. "Because he was collaborating with a colleague from St. Croix County in Wisconsin. There was another girl found on the other side of the river, scene almost identical – zip ties around her hands and feet, plastic wrap around her head. She wasn't discovered until over two weeks later – seems the area wasn't as trafficated – but T.O.D. was only a few days apart."
"You were right. But why wasn't there anything in the case file about it?"
He frowns. "Politics, apparently. The mayor was up for re-election, didn't want word to get out about a possible serial, so when no new victims turned up and what little physical evidence they had didn't lead anywhere, it got hushed up."
Sara groans. "Because obviously, getting re-elected is more important than solving a double and giving two families peace of mind! And I thought Ecklie was bad…"
"Yeah. He said he'll send over the other case file and look into getting the evidence here – there were minute traces of blood on the plastic wrap. It could be the victim's, of course, but it could also be the perp's. Not enough to test back then, but it's been properly stored since, and now…"
"Technology has evolved."