| Suspect - by kyrdwyn |
| Rated: R Spoilers: None Synopsis: The only suspect in a missing persons case is a member of the unit. |
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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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| "Well, Greg?" Sanders looked up from the report on the substance on jeans and regarded the four CSIs facing him. "I wonder if he's ever tried that scene from Lady and the Tramp." "Greg…." Catherine's voice betrayed her frustration at the young tech's cryptic comment. "Chill, Cath. It's tomato sauce. Not a trace of blood to be found." All four of their faces revealed their relief. "What about the knife?" Sara asked. Greg shook his head. "No blood. No anything, actually. Like it was brand new." "So what now?" Nick asked. "Reno police just called." O'Reilly's voice sounded from the doorway. They all turned to him. "I faxed up her picture to them and they checked with the hotel - Carolyn Young was the one who used her credit card there last night. She checked in alone, and checked out early this morning." "Do they know why she was in Reno or where she's going?" He shook his head at Catherine's question. "No, but I've put her car out with the state police - just to be sure." "Thanks, O'Reilly." "This case is getting weirder by the minute," Warrick remarked. "Is she still missing now or what?" Sara asked. "Until we talk to her ourselves, she's still missing. But the fact that she was in Reno last night, alone, at least is a step toward finding her." "And a step toward getting Grissom off the hook," Nick said. * * * * * He was dreaming again. He had to be dreaming, because Carolyn was in his bed, her body pressed against his as she gently ran her fingers through his hair, whispering his name. He murmured a response, reaching up to capture her hair in his hand, bringing her lips down to his. He kissed her with all the emotion he felt for her, everything he was afraid he might not be able to tell her now. He could feel her surprise, her hesitation before she let herself be drawn into the web he was trying to spin around her, to capture her so that nothing could happen to her. Her hands slid down his body, and he returned the gesture, knowing what would drive her wild. As their desire for each other was shared to a mutual ending, he whispered her name over and over, as if that would keep her there with him when the dream ended. She cried out his name, clinging to him like he was her anchor to reality. He slowly came awake of out the dream to find Carolyn lying underneath him, her gray eyes watching him. He blinked in amazement. "Carolyn?" he whispered, letting his hand brush against her cheek. "I hope you weren't expecting someone else, Gil," she said, a small smile on her face. He sat up, watching her; still worried that this was a dream. She sat up as well, pulling the sheet up to cover her. "You're looking at me like you think I'm going to disappear." "Where have you been?" She sighed. "Reno. Dana got herself into some serious trouble, and since I'm the only person in the family that she'll listen to…" Carolyn's voice trailed off as she shook her head at her niece's antics. He reached out to cup her cheek in his hand, and she turned her head to kiss his palm. "Gil, what's wrong?" she asked, noticing the odd look in his eyes. "You were reporting missing two days ago. The police have been looking for you." Her eyes widened. "What?" He nodded. "I think you need to go down there and tell them what happened." * * * * * "Catherine, we have a visitor." She looked up from the microscope and turned to O'Reilly. "Who?" "Carolyn Young." Catherine's eyebrows went up. "She's here?" He nodded. Catherine followed him down the hall to reception, where a tall brunette woman stood, nervously playing with the strap of her handbag. She looked up when O'Reilly called her name, and followed the two back to an interview room. O'Reilly let Catherine take the lead on the questioning. "Ms. Young, your neighbor reported you missing two nights ago. She said she heard you arguing with someone late Wednesday night and you didn't stop by like you usually do after your morning run." Carolyn nodded. "I know. I didn't think about Iris when I left. I was a little upset after David's visit." "David?" "My brother-in-law, David Young. He came by Wednesday night trying to get me to go along with some silly scheme of his - he's always trying to make a quick buck. I listened to him because he's Matthew's brother, then told him to get out. He got angry, I got angry, and we ended up arguing. He finally left." "And you didn't go with him?" She shook her head. "No." "Ms. Young, your credit card was used in Reno last night." "I got a phone call after David left. My niece Dana had gotten herself arrested up in Reno and called me to bail her out because she didn't want to tell her mother. So I went up there." "It took you four days to bail your niece out of jail?" O'Reilly was incredulous. "Well, I bailed her out, got her a lawyer, and stuck around to make sure she showed up for the hearing. The judge dismissed the charges, but then we had to tell my sister-in-law - who didn't know anything about it until afterward. That’s when she kicked me out of her house and I went to a hotel." "Ms. Young, you have to admit that it's odd that you didn't tell anyone where you went," Catherine said. "I'm not used to having people worry about me - I've been back on my own for eight years. I was so worried about Dana that I didn't think to call Iris, and my boyfriend was out of town." She looked from Catherine to O'Reilly, noting the doubt in their faces. "Look, call the police and the courts up in Reno - my niece's name is Dana West. Call my sister-in-law, you know about the hotel. I came down here because I knew you were investigating my disappearance, I don't appreciate being grilled like I did something criminal. Yes, I was stupid to not call anyone." "Ms. Young, can you explain why a pair of your jeans was found, covered in a red substance, at your boyfriend's house?" O'Reilly asked, not knowing about the test results. "Oh my god - you searched his house? Why? What in the world would make you think he did anything?" "Ms. Young, please," Catherine said quietly. Carolyn rolled her eyes. "We had dinner together last week. I spilled tomato sauce all over my jeans as I was taking it off the stove. He offered to wash my jeans for me and let me borrow a pair of his. You can't honestly believe that he would have done what you're thinking." The young woman's disgust came through loud and clear. She stood up. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. Next time I will try to remember that there are people who care enough about me to worry. But I went to Reno on my own, of my own free will. If I hear about charges being filed against anyone, I will make your life a living hell." "Are you threatening us, Ms. Young?" O'Reilly asked. "No, Sergeant, I am merely stating a fact. You have no evidence whatsoever to hold anyone responsible. I know what an arrest will do to my boyfriend's career. He may not be too worried about it right now, but I know what it would do to him. I also know he's about the only suspect you probably have, if you've searched his house. Trust me, my attorneys and I will have a field day with this. Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go apologize to him and to Iris." With that Carolyn Young swept from the room, head high and shoulders stiff. Catherine and O'Reilly watched her go. Catherine was amused, O'Reilly looked flustered. He turned to Catherine. "What do you think?" "If she says it was a trip to Reno that she did voluntarily, there's not much we can do. She's here, she's not pressing charges." Catherine shrugged. "Guess that means our investigation's closed." "You notice she never mentioned who her boyfriend was?" O'Reilly noted. Catherine looked back at him. "She knew we knew, though. I could see it in her eyes - she was mad at us for even thinking he was a suspect." "I wasn't exactly feeling good about it myself." "Me either," Catherine said quietly. "Me either." * * * * * Grissom was back at work the next night, the case having been closed. He never mentioned anything to the team as the shift began, just handing out assignments as usual. He and Sara pulled a domestic murder that turned out pretty easy to solve, considering the husband confessed as soon as they walked in the door. The forensic evidence backed up his confession. Before the shift was over, he was in the break room with the rest of the team. No one really wanted to look at him. He found it amusing, this guilt trip they all seemed to be on. "Look, guys. You did your job. You found the truth. I'm not upset by any of this." They still wouldn’t meet his eyes. Finally Warrick spoke up. "Yeah, but…" Grissom interrupted. "No buts. I'm not upset. Look, the evidence you collected led you to me, so you followed it. That's all I've ever asked you to do. Our personal feelings shouldn't get in the way of that. I'm not saying that I was happy about being a suspect, in fact as Catherine can tell you I wasn't," he paused as Catherine and Sara chuckled. "But you did what you had to without compromising anything. And I'm proud of you for that." There was an embarrassed silence before Sara spoke up. "I just have to ask, Grissom - what was with that knife." They were all surprised to see a slow smile cross his lips. "You'll have to read Carolyn's next book to find out." * * * * * Carolyn snuggled closer to his warm body and sighed, enjoying being back in his arms. She had been waiting for him when he got home from work, anxious to see what happened. She still couldn't believe the people he considered his best friends would have believed he was capable of harming anyone. "You've got to let this go, Carolyn," he said, kissing her forehead. "They were just doing their job." "I know," she said simply. "It's just going to take me a little time. I guess I'm not as forgiving as you are." She reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "I wonder if I could turn this into a plot in my new book," she said absently. He laughed softly and pulled her closer to kiss her lips. "I'll let you get lost in your writing later. Right now, I want to make sure you aren't going anywhere." She looked at him, her gray eyes serious. "I don't want to be anywhere else right now but here with you." |
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