A/N; Many many thanks as always for your comments and reviews, and PM's. THey are always very much appreciated and i look forward to your thoughts with every chapter posted. Lots of defense for Grissom in that last chapter. Another awesome beta from JellybeanChiChi. I really couldn't do this without you :)

CHAPTER 10

Holding the search warrant in his hand, Grissom took a deep breath as he passed Daniel to Sara. "There in the hamper in the master bedroom. I'll show you..."

Sara steadied him with a hand on his arm, at the same time as Jim spoke.

"I need you to stay here, Gil," Brass reminded him as Sara bristled beside Grissom.

"Do you really think he's capable of doing this? That he'd murder someone? Jake had no business even being in the park."

Brass raised up a hand to halt Sara before she went any further. "It's protocol, Sara, you know this." He tried not to placate Sara, but knew it was probably hell being on this end of law enforcement. "You've done this a thousand times before. The evidence is only telling one of side of the story. Until then, let Nick do his job."

Sara sighed in frustration, knowing that right now there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Fine!" she huffed. "Our room's to the immediate left at the top of the stairs."

"I'm really sorry about this," Nick said quietly, as he passed them, and headed towards the stairs, kit in hand.

"It may be best if you came down to PD to answer a few more questions, Gil," Brass continued after Nick had disappeared upstairs.

"Am I under arrest?" Grissom asked. Although his right eyebrow was raised, his face paled slightly.

"No," stated Brass. "But it might be a good idea if you called your lawyer. One other thing; Hank will need to go with animal control. They're waiting outside."

"Why?" Sara demanded. "What has Hank got to do with this! He's not a vicious dog! We wouldn't trust him around Daniel if he was."

"It's part of the investigation. That's all I can say right now."

"Sara," Grissom warned softly, as he gently rubbed his son's back. "I'm sure once I've made a statement and answered a few questions, both Hank and I, will be back before you know."

"If you're going to PD, then I'm coming with you..."

"Honey, there's no need," Grissom tried to reassure her. "You continue on with the preparations for the barbecue as planned. I'll be back in a few hours at most. What you can do is call Wilbur for me. Tell him to meet me at PD."

He offered a brief smile as he leaned forward and lightly kissed her on the mouth, his large hand gently caressing Daniel's head, before he turned with a nod at Jim and the two polices officers.

"Gil, I'm coming with you," Sara stated adamantly, permitting no further argument from her husband. "The barbecue can wait."

As Sara followed them out, she dialled Wilbur Jacobsen's number. She hoisted Daniel more securely in her arms and snagged his fully stocked diaper bag kept near the front door.

Nick hesitated a moment, outside of Grissom and Sara's bedroom, taking a moment to gather himself. Taking a deep breath, he gently pushed on the partly open door.

The bedroom, somehow hadn't been what he'd been expecting. While it wasn't his first visit to the townhouse, it was the first time, he'd had reason to be in his former boss' bedroom. He'd expected to find evidence of Grissom's beloved bugs, and when he didn't he was both relieved and strangely disappointed.

The room was airy, with traces of Sara's influence. The left side of the bed was clearly Grissom's, judging by the bric-a-brac on the night stand, which included an empty water glass, a spare pair of his reading glasses, an entomology magazine, and a baby monitor. The right side night stand consisted of another empty water glass, a box of tissues, a forensics journal, a digital clock and a bottle of moisturiser.

Entering the en suite bathroom, Nick pulled on a pair of gloves and switched on the light, unable to help the quick smile that lifted the corners of his mouth at the sight of the butterfly and green vegetation motif.

The bathroom consisted of a bath tub and walk-in shower. The smell of fresh soap and shampoo still lingered in the air.

To his left stood the hamper, and putting his kit down with a heavy sigh, Nick, began his search.

After bagging and initializing the items of clothing, Nick began his search of the closet. None of the footwear there visually matched the bruises on Jake's body.

Taking the evidence that he'd gathered so far, Nick made sure to secure the townhouse, before he returned to the lab.

Flies buzzed lazily around the trash can, and Nick quickly snapped on a pair of gloves, before lifting the lid, and examining the contents. His heart sank.

Sara carried a sleeping Daniel in his car seat as she walked into PD. She caught sight of her husband, Brass and Ecklie just outside an interrogation room. They were speaking with a man man in his late 30s, who, for some inexplicable reason, reminded Sara of a rook or raven.

"Mr. Grissom? I'm Hobson Nash, and I'll be taking on your case." Nash was thin, of medium height, a receding hair line, a hookish nose, and beady black eyes. "I regret to tell you, that Wilbur Jacobsen is unavailable, dealing with a family emergency out of town. Shall we?"

As Nash made his way into the interrogation room, Grissom glanced quickly in Sara's direction, before following the lawyer into the room.

Once Grissom and Nash disappeared, Ecklie and Brass made their way over to Sara.

"It's been a while since I've seen you Sara. Sorry it's under these circumstances," Ecklie intoned as they approached her.

"Come on, Conrad, do you really think that Gil is capable of something like this?" Sara wanted to know.

"I have my thoughts, but you're not going to like them," Ecklie warned, as Sara's eyebrow arched.

"Since when did that ever stop you in the past?" Sara snapped back, with an irritable huff.

Ecklie chose to disregard her barb, putting it down to her anxiety for Grissom.

"Well," he stated taking a deep breath before leaping in feet first. "What I know of Grissom, is that where you're concerned, he'll do just about anything."

He raised his hands in a placating gesture as Sara stood taller her shoulders back, her features darkening as she gathered herself in defence of her husband.

"But murder?" Ecklie shook his head. "That's a step too far, even for him."

Sara smirked, and nodded her head, curtly.

"I'm glad that you agree. There's no valid reason for Jake to have been in that park. Or that he'd know for sure that Gil would take Hank there at the time he did."

"Sara you know we can't discuss the details of an on-going investigation," Ecklie reminded her. "And frankly you really shouldn't be here. Because of your relationship its a conflict of interest. The best thing you can do, is go home with your son, and..."

Sara laughed, and shook her head, as she picked up Daniel's car seat.

"The last place I'm going to be when Gil needs my support is home, Conrad. I'm here to support my husband," she finished as she headed towards the observation room.

Detectives Tristan Bowden and Matty Foster had already started interviewing Grissom as Sara, Brass and Ecklie witnessed the scene through the two-way mirror.

"...I didn't see him again after the diner, until I picked my wife up from work last night. He was being rough with her." Grissom finished his explanation.

"And that's why you fought?"

"It was reason enough. I didn't like the guy, but I didn't kill him. He was alive when we left the CSI parking lot." Grissom insisted.

"The evidence says otherwise, Mr. Grissom," stated Tristan Bowden, questioning Grissom, and placing several photos on the table in front of him. "DNA on Jake's clothing is a match to you."

"Of their fight," stated Nash, finally joining in. "Which my client has already admitted to. He's explained the circumstances regarding that. He was concerned for his wife and son's safety. I see nothing here that my client can be charged with, since the man is dead. It's unfortunate, but.."

"Explain to us, why you were in the park, between midnight and 1 a.m.," Detective Matty Foster asked.

Grissom sighed with frustration and his fists clenched unconsciously on the table top.

"I was there, because I thought it would help settle my dog. It wasn't the first time, I've walked him there at that time. Lately he's been restless, I thought it would help calm him, after he awoke the household, barking and whining. I thought he'd been after a squirrel or an owl."

A knock on the door, prevented any further questioning, and Detective Foster rose to his feet to answer it.

"My client has answered all your questions," said Nash, once the detective had returned to his seat ten minutes later. "Now unless you plan to charge my client with anything, then I suggest.."

"Not so fast Mr. Nash," Foster held up a hand to stop the lawyer in his tracks. "New evidence has just come in."

Rather than continue, Detective Foster sat with his elbows on the table, one finger resting on his lips as he watched Grissom from across the table, with a ponderous look on his face.

To those that didn't know him well, it would seem that Grissom returned the detective's stare impassively, but Sara knew that he was nervous. Not for the first time that day, she wished she could be there with him to reassure him. That she believed in his innocence.

"You've said that you never saw Jake Sullivan again, after the diner, until you saw him man-handling your wife in the parking lot last night?" Foster finally spoke, ending the oppressive since that had be begun to invade the room.

Grissom nodded.

"The case he was working on with Sara was over, and he was due to fly back to Seattle."

"And as you say, you never saw him in Desert Breeze Park, when you walked your dog….Hank?"

"No."

Foster opened the folder to his left, and took out the photos of Jake once more, spreading them across the table for Grissom and Nash to see clearly. Grissom winced only slightly.

"Then how do you explain this, Mr. Grissom?" Tristan asked, opening the other folder and quickly reading the report. "There were traces of canine DNA in the wound on Jake's throat. They came to back as a match to your dog, Hank."

Grissom's face drained white, and he swallowed reflexively around an impossible lump in his throat.

"But that's impossible!" Grissom gasped. "Hank isn't vicious..."

"These distinctive bruises are made from the sole of a Karrimor Mount men's walking boot," Tristan continued, not giving Grissom a chance to continue. He lifted up an evidence bag that contained a pair of walking boots that Grissom instantly recognised.

"These were found in a white plastic bag, in your trash can. The blood on them is a match to Jake Sullivan. They're also a match to the bruises on Jake's throat and body. The fingerprints on the white bag, were a match to you."

Grissom shook his head.

"You have it all wrong! I had nothing to do with this. We had a fight, but as far as I was concerned it was over. He was returning to Seattle. I put these boots in the trash days ago, maybe even a week ago, because Hank had chewed them, and that explains why his DNA is present. It also explains why my fingerprints are on the bag."

"The evidence speaks loud and clear, Mr. Grissom," interrupted Foster. "You were jealous of Jake's attention to your wife. He also happens to be her ex-lover. Worried that she might return his affections, you set up a meeting. You take Hank for a walk as cover. At first you just want to...talk, but Jake wont listen to reason and so it comes to blows. While he's down you stomp on his throat, crushing his larynx, and he chokes to death."

"That's not what happened. It was Jake that was jealous, because Sara wanted nothing to do with him. I trust my wife. If I had wanted to kill him…"

"Gil, I'm advising you not to say another word..." Hobson tried to caution Grissom. But Grissom furiously carried on, either ignoring the lawyer, or simply not hearing him, in his anger.

"...do you really think I would have left the evidence in plain sight like that?"

"People make mistakes, even the great Gil Grissom," Foster said with a smug smile. "I'm arresting you for the murder of Jake Sullivan…."

Sara gasped in shock as Foster mirandrized Grissom, handcuffed him and lead him away.

She turned sharply towards the door of the observation room, but was blocked by Brass.

"Let me go!" Sara fumed, as sudden angry tears of frustration blurred her vision. "Jim, you and I both know that despite what the evidence suggests, he didn't do this."

"Sara..the first thing you need to do, is calm down, or you'll upset Daniel," Brass began in a calm voice. "The second thing I need you to do, is think this through calmly. You're not going to help Grissom by jumping in with both feet."

Sara half turned towards her son, sitting in the middle of the floor, chewing on his small fist. Seeing his mother, he grinned and pointed a stubby finger in her direction, and babbled excitedly as he kicked his small legs.

"I need to see Gil," Sara stated calmly as she turned to face Brass again. "And Dan needs to see his Daddy. Gil needs to know that I still have faith in him, even if no one else does. And I won't leave here, until I've seen my husband."

Brass sighed, resigned to the knowledge that Sara would dig her heels in. Grateful, at least that he'd managed to placate her for now, he nodded his head.

"I'll see what I can do. And just so you know, I don't believe he did this either."