| Specters of Crimes Past - by kyrdwyn (page 4) |
| Rated: R (language, adult themes) Spoilers: None Synopsis: Three years after Ghosts and Shadows, Jana finds herself at the heart of an investigation into the death of a local defense attorney. |
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| CSI, Gil Grissom and company, and places and etc are all property of Anthony Zuiker, Alliance Atlantis, CBS, and other companies. They did not condone this fic, and I am not getting paid for it. I write because I want to. All other characters not appearing on CSI in any way, shape, or form that appear in this story are my property. If you have any comments - good or bad, feel free to e-mail me at: toxicrev@yahoo.com |
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| Jason Davis slouched down on his tailbone in the interrogation room, insolently popping his chewing gum. He had waived his right to an attorney, a move which would make Brass' job much easier. Sara, Warrick, and Catherine stood behind the one-way mirror and waited for Brass to begin the interrogation. The homicide captain sat across from Davis. He appeared to be waiting for something. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it." Brass raised his eyebrows. "That innocent, are you? Two felony convictions, several arrests…" "Yeah, so? That was a long time ago." "And you've been a model citizen ever since." Brass sarcasm was heavy in his voice. Davis looked sharply at Brass, but didn’t say a word. "So, when's the last time you had contact with Marcus Jackson?" Davis laughed. "Jackson's on death row. You think they let someone like me visit him?" "There are other ways of contact." "Oh yeah? Like what?" Davis folded his arms across his chest. Brass regarded the insolent posture of the man in front of him. "You know Thomas Morrison?" "He and I are business partners." Davis' voice held a note of wary caution. A knock on the door interrupted Brass' next question. Nick poked his head in and handed something to Brass, whispering into the older man's ear. Brass nodded and took the folder from Nick. Nick closed the door and Brass leafed through the contents before turning back to Davis. Nick joined the other three CSI's in the observation room. He shook his head at their questions and nodded to the room beyond. "How about Alexander Wilson?" Davis shook his head. "Never heard of him." "Hm. Ever been to the Westward Center office building?" "No." Brass raised an eyebrow. The four CSI's grinned. "Even though your business rents an office in the building, you've never been there." "That's right." "And you've never heard of Alexander Wilson?" "You can keep asking me the same questions but you're going to get the same answers." Brass made a noise in his throat. "Can you explain why your fingerprints are in the room where Alexander Wilson was killed?" Davis sat there, barely blinking. Brass went in for the kill. "And why your fingerprints are in Alexander Wilson's office? And on forged documents found in his office?" Davis' jaw dropped, along with the jaws of three CSI's in the observation room. Nick merely grinned. "They….they had to have been planted! My fingerprints, they were planted." Davis said hastily. Brass pulled a photograph out of the folder and placed it in front of Davis. "And I suppose the security tape at Alexander Wilson's office was planted as well?" "What's on the tape?" Catherine asked. "Davis walking baldly into Wilson's office, two days after the murder, at 3 in the morning," Nick replied smugly. Back in the interrogation room, Brass smiled unpleasantly at Davis. "Seems to me like we've got you for the murder of Alexander Wilson and for forgery. Quite a step up from assault." Davis sat staring at the photo, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Finally he swallowed and looked up at Brass. "I want a deal. I'm not going down for this alone." Brass sat back in his chair. "Oh?" "Yeah. Morrison set it up, at Jackson's request. Jackson wanted to get the bitch that put him away. Wilson wasn't getting the job done, so Morrison and Jackson decided that if they could get the bitch set up for Wilson's murder, he could get a new trial." "So you killed Wilson?" Davis nodded his head vigorously. "Morrison had me put her business card in Wilson's pocket. A few days later, he gave me the documents and told me to put them in Wilson's office." "Why would you agree to kill for Morrison?" Brass asked, genuinely curious. Davis, however, clammed up. "I've said all I'm going to say. I did it. Now I want my lawyer." Brass smiled again. "Of course you do." * * * * * When the police arrived at Morrison's office, they found him carrying a trash bag with letters between him and Jackson, and him and Davis, down to the building dumpster. "Apparently, the concept of a paper shredder is beyond him," Brass remarked as he joined the CSIs in the break room. "Anyway, as soon as he realized the jig was up, he started singing like a canary. Spilled the whole story - though he tried to make it look like the real plotters were Jackson and Davis." "Think they were?" Sara asked. Brass shrugged. "I really don't care. The D.A. will decide who gets the deal and who gets a trial for murder one." "What about Jackson?" Nick inquired. Another shrug. "He's already under a death sentence. The D.A. might charge him, but he might not live to see the trial." "Well, at least we know what really happened," Warrick said, tossing today's paper with the front-page story onto the table. "And Jana is vindicated," Sara added with a sidelong glance at Catherine. The other woman glared back. "Hey. I had my reasons." "Sure you did," Sara said as she got up. The others followed Sara out of the room, Brass lingering. "Look, Catherine. I know you had your reasons, but I think that this is going to cause a huge rift between you and Grissom if you don't do something to explain them to him - or to Jana." With that the homicide captain left the room, leaving a pensive Catherine sighing. * * * * * Catherine stood on the walk outside Jana's condo, waiting for the young woman to open the door. She saw a curtain flicker on an upstairs window, heard the dogs barking a warning. Then her cell phone rang. Sighing, she flipped it open. "Catherine Willows." "If you want to talk to me Catherine, go through my attorney." Jana's icy voice came through loud and clear. "Jana, please. I need to apologize, but I don't want to do it over the phone." Catherine heard the unmistakable click of a phone being hung up, and she closed her cell phone with a sigh. She was walking away when she heard Jana's door open. She turned to find the younger woman standing there in a skirt and blouse. She had obviously just gotten home from work. Jana's eyes were flat. "Come on in, Catherine." Catherine followed the younger woman up the stairs into her living room. Tilly and Evie followed. Jana stood behind one of her couches, a symbol of the barrier that stood between the women. Tilly and Evie took up positions on the couch, watching Catherine. "Jana, I'm sorry." Jana said nothing. Catherine sighed. The silence between them stretched. Finally Jana broke the silence. "Catherine, I can understand you suspecting me in the murder. Hell, that was the point, apparently, to the murder. But you knew I had an alibi, you verified it, and then proceeded to ignore it. Even to the point of lying by omission on the warrant application." Jana gave a mirthless laugh. "If I had pulled something that stupid Brass would have kicked my ass out of the crime lab without a second thought." "I know. But, Jana, the fact that your alibi was your lover…" "What? Makes Gil a liar?" "Jana, you hated the man's guts for five years, then suddenly the two of you are lovers? No one knows about it, but then he's giving you an alibi." Jana leaned forward, putting her hands on the back of the couch. "If you can call three years of dating before sleeping together 'suddenly being lovers', I guess I could understand your logic. As for no one knowing about it, that was our decision if we wanted to keep it quiet. What, we needed to flaunt our relationship in front of all Las Vegas for an alibi to be believed?" Catherine heard the anger in Jana's voice. "Jana, I'm sorry. I was just…concerned that Grissom would let his feelings for you overcome his better judgment." "Well, lucky for him his feelings and his 'better judgment' could both be placated with the simple truth." Jana's voice dripped with sarcasm. Catherine began wringing her hands, unsure of how to convince Jana how sorry she was and what her real worry had been. Finally, she decided to just say it. "I was worried that Grissom would decide that you were more important than his career, so he would lie for you." Jana just stared at Catherine, mouth open. Finally, Jana regained control of herself. "Isn't that his decision to make? Lord knows, I never asked him to make any sort of decision like that." "I'm his friend, Jana." "I though I was your friend, too. Yet you tried to put me in prison for a crime I didn't commit. You think I'm that dangerous to Gil? How do you think he'll feel if he finds out why you did this?" Catherine didn't answer. Jana finally sighed. "Look, Catherine. I guess I can understand why you did it, but I don't know if I can forgive this easily. I'll drop the harassment complaint. Just, give me time." Catherine nodded, and Jana moved toward the door. Neither woman said anything as Catherine left and Jana closed the door behind her. * * * * * Jana stood outside the Las Vegas crime lab, watching the sunrise. Her jeans, leather jacket, and boots drew suspicious stares from the police officers passing by. One came over and asked Jana if he could help her. Jana shook her head. "I'm waiting for a friend." The officer didn't look happy with Jana's answer but he continued on his way. Jana leaned back against the light post and stared off into the distance. "Fancy meeting you here." Jana jumped and spun around as Gil's voice sounded in her ear. He was standing right behind her, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He looked tired, the lines around his eyes deeper than Jana remembered from the last time she had seen him, three weeks ago. The night he told her he loved her. Jana smiled hesitantly. "Gil, can we talk? In private?" Searching her face, he nodded. "You have anyplace in mind?" "Your place? It's closer," she added when he raised an eyebrow. Twenty minutes later they were in Gil's house, on his sofa. Jana found herself unable to speak, the same way she had three weeks ago. The silence stretched out between them awkwardly. Gil sat watching Jana. Three weeks ago he'd told Jana he'd loved her, then woken up alone in his bed several hours later. She left a note saying she'd call him, but she hadn't. She had been cleared of any involvement in Wilson's murder, thanks to Nick and the rest. Gil still didn't know why Catherine had been so set on Jana, but he didn’t want to know. Gil reached out and slid his hand under Jana's hair to curve around her neck. She looked up at him, surprised by his touch. "I meant it, Jana." "I know," she said softly. She reached up to rest her fingers on his forearm. "And I'm sorry for the way I reacted." She dropped her eyes to the cushions of the couch. "It's just…It's hard for me, after everything that's happened, to believe in happy endings. That I'm worth some Prince Charming who will ride up on a white horse." She said the last sentence with a half smile. Gil reached out and cupped her jaw with his other hand, gently lifting her chin so she was looking at him. "I wish I could make you believe that you are worth Prince Charming, Jana. Because you are." Jana shook her head, her hands gently removing his from her face. He let them drop into his lap, frustrated by Jana's lack of belief in herself. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be the one to push the plunger on Marcus Jackson, to pay the man back for destroying Jana's self confidence. Jana got up from the couch and started to walk to his front door. He went after her, stepping in front of her to block her way. "Jana, don't let him do this to you again. Don't let him win." Jana looked up at Gil, her eyes reflecting her puzzlement. "Marcus Jackson has been haunting you ever since he killed your parents. You've let him dictate the course of your life for the past 18 years. He took your family, your job, and your belief in yourself, away from you. He tried to have you set up for murder. And now you're letting him kill us. Don't let him do that, Jana. Please." Jana kept looking at him, chewing on her lower lip. "Oh god, you're right," she finally said. She turned from him. "He's run my life for 18 years. And I'm not sure how to get him out of it." Gil rested his hands on her shoulders. "Don't let him decide what you do, Jana. Be selfish. Do what you want." Jana turned back to him, an unreadable expression on her face. "I don't know what I want, Gil." "Then go find out. I can't tell you how or where to do it," he said, dropping a light kiss on her forehead, "but I can tell you that I'll be here for you if you need me." Jana reached up to put her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest. "I really don't deserve you, but I do love you, Gil. And I want this. I want us." Gil put his arms around Jana. "I still think I don't deserve you either, but I love you too." She looked at him with a smile. "That makes us perfect for each other. So, kiss me and try to turn me from a frog into a princess." "With pleasure." |
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