A/N: Hi everyone. New chapter afoot. I hope you enjoy and thank you to everyone who has reviewed.
Chapter 9 is going up on my Pat reon later. If you would like some great content, advance chapters, never before seen material as well as some upcoming member's only fiction and access to our live server, hop along and join the amazing gang. Info in previous chapters or feel free to message me.
A huge thank you to my current supporters – Nat, Mrs Crabby, Dbackfan, AliceC, ChristineS, DawnS, Jillian, IngridT, Tracer85, Nati and NancyB.
My gracious thanks as always to calim for the beta and help. You rock.
On we go…
Chapter 7
"Oh, you might be surprised. What have you got?" Max asked.
"Well," Allie cleared her throat. "The map took us to a, well … a blow-up sex doll. And, it doesn't belong to the store."
There was silence for a second before Grissom's voice was heard. "Check in its mouth."
Josh's eyebrows soared as he crouched down next to the doll.
"A little disturbed how you don't seem surprised," he joked, pointing his flashlight and trying to get a look in the open mouth of the doll. "There's something in there."
Reaching into his vest pocket he took out a set of tweezers and carefully plucked a piece of paper from inside the doll, holding it up for Allie to take.
Doing just that, she un-crumpled it and frowned. "We got a piece of paper with..."
"Is it a sketch?" Grissom asked.
"Um… yeah."
Allie held the paper up for her colleagues to see. "It's, um… really creepy. And has one word on it."
Grissom's next question came swiftly. "What word?"
"IS," Allie said. "Not sure if it's just supposed to be two letters or spells 'is'."
"Is?" Grissom questioned sounding confused.
"Yeah."
Everyone heard Grissom sigh.
"Okay," Max swiftly cut in. "Finish up what you need to do there as quickly as you can, and we'll meet you back at the lab. We all need to get our heads together about this and what we do next."
"You got it."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
Sitting in Max's office, Sara watched her husband rub his eyes. Christ, what a day. Neither of them expected how so much from their past could resurface in such a small space of time. It was baffling, yes, but the fact it all linked together and was directly connected to them….
No. It was directed at her husband. The inscription of his name on the plastic Halloween arm confirmed that. Well, it did for her and, even though he pretended not be bothered by it, she suspected he knew it, too.
Once everyone had arrived back at the lab, Max called her entire team together and they collated what new evidence had been discovered.
Sara couldn't help but keep an eye on Grissom. The almost space-out expression he wore as if he was looking 'through' the items rather than 'at' them reminded her of when his land sickness would kick in. She prayed that wasn't happening again because it wasn't as if she could just ask him if he was okay in front of everyone. Hopefully, he was just bewildered.
First came the plastic arm discovered at the warehouse. It was an identical match to the one Paul Milander had created when they'd first encountered him. This was a confirmation that someone was copying his MO.
Second was the rubber doll found at the Boutique scene. This was even more unsettling if that was possible. It was the same type as the one left in the black trash bag by Kevin Greer, the Blue Paint killer, at the University campus many years ago. The message didn't make any sense, but the horrific drawing of a female lying bound on the floor with her throat cut was exactly like the drawings he'd left.
The second Grissom saw the drawing Sara sensed it stirred something within him but before they could discuss it any further Max received a phone call interrupting the little gathering.
"Undersheriff," she greeted and then listened. "Okay." Sara frowned as Max looked at them. "I'll be right there."
"Everything okay, Boss?" Folsom asked.
"Yeah," Max said a little unconvincingly, lowering the phone. "Gil, Sara. Would you mind coming with me?"
The couple looked at each other, Grissom's eyebrow rising before they followed Max from the room.
csicsicsicsicsicsicsi
As they waited in Max's office for her to return from speaking with the Undersheriff, it was as if Sara could hear the gears of her husband's brain spinning around and around. Biting down on her lip she reached out to lay a hand over his as it sat on the arm of the chair.
"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, her tone loving and concerned.
Puffing out his cheeks, he looked at her. "I'm okay," he replied softly.
Giving him a gentle smile, her fingers stroked over his. "What are you thinking?"
He shrugged. "Lots of things."
Lips pursing at him, Sara was about to ask for a little elaboration, but Max returning prevented her from doing so.
"Hey you two," she said smiling as she sat behind her desk. "Thanks for being patient."
"I wasn't aware we had much of a choice," Grissom retorted causing Sara to squeeze his hand. Clearing his throat, he continued. "So, what has our friendly Undersheriff have to say?"
"Well," Max began, entwining fingers on the desk. "He's expressing a little concern."
"About us," Grissom concluded.
Max nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, I can't say I blame him," he answered.
Both Sara and Max looked surprised by that comment.
"My name has been found at both crime scenes," he continued when he saw Sara's look.
Again, Max nodded but Sara interrupted anything she might have to say.
"Wait," she said toward Max, shuffling forwards and holding up a hand. "He can't think that we're involved with this? Surely we aren't going there again?"
Laughing, Max reached for a can of energy drink on her desk and took a sip.
"Why are you laughing?" Sara questioned, a deep frown pinching her brow.
Putting the can down, Max held up both hands. "Relax. He doesn't suspect you."
"Well, that's a relief," Grissom joked.
Sara's eyes narrowed at him amazed at how relaxed he suddenly seemed but then again, that wasn't a bad thing. Trying to do the same, she sat back as Max continued.
"His concern is more for your safety given what we have found."
"Oh," Grissom mumbled.
"It concerns me, too," Max added. "Everyone who works in this lab is my responsibility."
Grissom's head tipped his wife's way for a moment. "I thought we'd already discussed whether we wanted to be here or not."
"Yes," Max agreed. "But that was before we found what we did today. And we need to be very clear on the fact that there is a killer out there who has a fascination with you and he's letting us know it."
"I understand that," Grissom replied calmly. "And right now it doesn't change anything."
"And how do you feel about it, Sara?"
Letting out a silent breath as Max looked at her, Sara felt a shudder run down her spine. 'How do I feel about a murderous lunatic copying my husband's key crimes scenes and leaving messages for him all over the place?' was almost what she wanted to say but held her tongue.
Clearing her throat, she dropped a hand back over Grissom's.
"I wouldn't say I'm feeling very comfortable about it, but I'll support Gil with whatever he wants to do. And, for now, it sounds like we are here to stay and to help."
"Okay," Max agreed. "But you need to promise me something."
Grissom frowned. "Okay."
"You need to tell me if you change your mind. Don't feel you are obligated just because you are too proud to back away."
Now Grissom smirked. "All right," he agreed.
"Good." Standing Max looked at her watch. "It's almost time to call it a day anyway so I suggest you both go to the hotel and get some rest. Everyone else will be clocking off shortly, also."
"Um," Grissom began, getting to his feet with Sara following suit. "Don't we have a lot to do?"
"We do, but it can wait until the morning." She held up a finger. "Everyone needs to look after themselves. That much I have learned recently. And, after what happened last year, with you two running yourselves into the ground over David Hodges, I'd rather not have a repeat of that."
Grissom looked at his wife and she smirked at him.
"She's right," she told him.
He shrugged. "Fine."
"The Undersheriff has authorized you both to carry and I suggest we organize your firearm before you leave."
"Well," Grissom began, rubbing a hand over his chin, "I don't really need..."
"This isn't optional," Max cut in quickly.
Sara watched as her husband's head tipped back, a twitch in his chin telling her he was biting on his lip and wasn't thrilled with what he was hearing. No. He'd never been a fan of guns and very rarely ever carried even back when he was a Supervisor. But he could shoot, and he was damned good at it when he wanted to be.
"I need to know that you can both protect yourselves if you need to," she told him. "And it wouldn't make me a very good boss if I allowed you to go out there unprepared."
"Okay," Grissom agreed swiftly, holding up a hand. "I get it."
Max offered a smile. "Good. You're both now fully cleared for all the labs systems, so, we are pretty much good to go."
"So that means I can access documents online from the hotel?" Grissom asked.
Max's eyes flicked to Sara for a second. Even during their short visit the year before it was pretty obvious her husband was a workaholic. Well, depending on the circumstances but given the current ones, it was likely going to overtake their lives again. She needed to make sure they kept a reasonable balance for their own health.
"Yes, you can," Max informed them. "You'll probably need to change your password the first time you log in though."
Grissom nodded. "I think I can manage that."
"Are you sure?" Sara teased, knowing just how much her husband loved computers.
His eye narrowed at her and she smirked.
"Come on," Max encouraged, heading to the door. "Let's sort out that firearm and then you can both go and get some well-deserved rest."
CSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
The first thing Sara did when they got to the car was open the trunk and grab Grissom's medication. Since there wasn't a cure for his sickness, they both knew what he'd been prescribed wasn't guaranteed to help. But since he'd started taking a new migraine prevention tablet, it had helped a lot. And now was not the time to miss a dose.
The idea of all this extra stress was already starting to worry her so she planned on keeping a close eye on him since, like most men, he wasn't very forthcoming if he felt unwell.
The drive back to the hotel was quiet but Sara didn't make a fuss about it. There was a lot to think about especially for Grissom, so she'd wait until they were in a more comfortable environment before she'd even attempted to talk about it. She knew him better than anyone and he'd always need some time to soak everything in.
Arriving at the hotel they checked in and went straight to their room. Sara opened the door with the key card and walked in, Grissom making sure the door was locked behind him.
"Wow," Sara exclaimed as she pulled the suitcase a little further into the room. "Catherine is still the Queen of hospitality. I think this room is bigger than the last one."
Grissom dropped the bag he was carrying and looked around as Sara pulled her backpack off and placed it next to the suitcase.
"I think you're right," he agreed.
The suite truly was top notch. A large lounge area with two sofas and a table, huge flat screen TV, a writing desk and chairs, separate dining area, and of course an amazing view, this time with a balcony as they were higher up in the building.
"Is that a bar?" Sara asked as she moved across the room.
Finding out she was correct, she grinned at the bar and kitchen then chuckled when she opened the fridge. She was greeted with numerous bottles of wine, champagne, beers and spirits.
"Does Catherine think we're alcoholics?" she laughed, grabbing a bottle of bourbon and holding it up.
"Well," he began, bending to pick up the backpack. "We might need that by the time this is over."
Rolling her eyes, Sara put the bottle back. "Very funny," she said, watching as Grissom pulled a laptop from the bag.
As he placed it onto the table she was quick to move. Swiftly by his side, she reached out, closing the laptop barely a second after he'd opened it.
Giving him a loving smile as he turned to her with a frown, she edged close, lifting her arms and dropping them over his shoulders.
"I have an idea," she said, bringing up fingers to fiddle with the collar of his shirt.
His eyebrow rose. "Oh?"
"How about we check out the bedroom, have a nice shower and then we can order some room service? If you want to talk then, I'm all ears."
As Grissom kinked his head back towards the laptop, Sara placed a hand gently on his cheek, urging him back to face her.
"No more work tonight or we'll be exhausted before we've even began. We really don't want to end up like we did last time. Please, Gil."
Letting out a soft sigh, Grissom slipped his arms around her, holding her against him while placing a soft kiss upon her lips.
"Okay."
Smiling, Sara felt a wave of relief wash through her at the sincere tone in that single word. Returning his kiss, she then took his hand and tugged him towards the bedroom.
"I hope the shower's as big as the last one," she said when reaching the door and pushing it open.
"Alas, I forgot my bathing suit," Grissom joked.
She turned to him with a cheeky grin. "Don't worry. You won't need it."
A/N: Oooof Grissom's poor brain must be going a million miles an hour… Thoughts please :)