What The Eyes Can't See

AN: Thanks to ALL the great reviews that I have gotten so far.

A Special Thank you for those that reviewed the last chapter; SpinLizard, Shinigami, LondonLass, ArodLoverus, Iancly41, and CassieWitch.

The next four chapters were not originally planned but after all the great reviews and all the patient waiting for those who wanted to see their favorite characters, here is my little present for you. Thank you for sticking it out as I told you the tale of Emily’s life.

The next four chapters will be occurring simultaneously (over the same couple of days). I hope that I have conveyed at least in some small part, the essence of how an episode would go. But instead of flipping back and forth in the different cases, I thought it best to break it up into four chapters with each chapter focusing on individual cases.

As always, these chapters and this story would be riddled with grammatical errors without the ever vigilant Elfmaiden25. If you enjoy this story or even if you don’t, I highly recommend reading her stories at www.mystifyingdreams.com Previous chapters can also be found at Mystifying Dreams under Liz122474.

I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 17: Nick And Sara – Can You Hear Me Now?

“Do you get the feeling that Grissom and Brass are hiding something?” the smooth drawl of Nick Stokes interrupted the silence of the SUV.

Sara shook her head and grinned, “You got that too, huh?”

Nick nodded and turned on the signal to make a left turn.

“Why wouldn’t they tell us what was going on? We all worked that case for over 48 hours. If they had any information on the Miller case, why wouldn’t they let us know?” Sara asked.

“I don’t know but they’re both our superiors. If they don’t want to share information, that’s their prerogative.” He said.

Sara remained quiet, still a little peeved about being left in the dark. Nick understood her feelings, while he too felt a little of the same, he knew that if Grissom and Brass wanted to leave them in the dark, there was nothing he could do about it.

What he could do was concentrate on the next case. He continued to drive down the side streets of Vegas heading toward the poorer and older sections of the city. As he drove, he could see the decline of the area. Homes and yards that had been well maintained, turned to houses in need of repair and grounds choked with weeds and shrubs.

As he pulled onto Divers Street, he saw several squad cars with their lights flashing. A small crowd had gathered behind the yellow police tape that surrounded what seemed to be an empty lot.

Exiting the car and putting on his shades to combat the harsh light of the Nevada sun, he walked toward the yellow tape with Sara following next to him.

The officer that was in charge of crowd control recognized the two CSI’s and lifted the tape so they could easily step under it. Just as they had started to walk toward the field, the Coroner’s van pulled up.

“Go on, I’ll wait for David,” Nick nodded toward the area where a couple of uniformed officers and Detective Brass could be seen.

Sara nodded and continued on.

Dr. David Phillips, the assistant coroner, exited the van. Walking up to Nick, the two men greeted each other and began walking toward the field where Sara waited.

Brass stood by as he watched two of his men with crowbars slowly finish prying off the planks that hid its contents.

Brass turned to the three waiting individuals. “A kid called it in. He and a couple of friends were hoping to find something to sell when they pried open the first plank. As soon as they figured out what they had found, they high-tailed it out of here.”

As his men moved away from the crate, Brass’s cell phone rang

Nick stood next to Sara as they watched David examine the body found in a shipping crate. From his vantage point, Nick studied the body. He determined by the state of the body, the female had been in the crate for a while. The dry heat of the Nevada sun had begun the decomposition and slight mummification. While he couldn’t be sure, he suspected the body had been hidden for at least a month if not more. The crate that housed the body was weather beaten. He could also make out deep gouges on its exterior where stray animals had tried to get inside the decomposing corpse.

Brass closed his flip phone rapidly. “I gotta head out in ten minutes. A 406 just got called in and since your team are already out on location, Sanders will be flying solo.”

“Ahhhh, Grego’s first time. How precious.” Sara joked.

Nick smiled. “You never forget your first time.”

Brass smiled and waited as the CSI’s and coroner reviewed the body and area.

As Nick looked around the abandoned lot, he could see why it had taken so long for someone to find the corpse.

Sara voiced his thoughts by asking Brass, “How did a body go undetected for so long? This is a pretty open area in the middle of the neighborhood.”

“In this neighborhood, people tend to look the other way from anything that may look suspicious. It’s notorious for drug dealers, gang bangers, prostitutes…the works. You keep your mouth shut, you live to see another day,” Brass explained. “A guy dumping trash illegally, no matter how suspicious, wouldn’t cause someone to bat an eye.”

“It’s going to be hard to find anything in this,” Nick stated.

The lot was overgrown with weeds and tall shrubs. The block long field was littered with several bags of trash, some torn open by wandering stray dogs. From his current position, Nick could barely make out the busy street and the crowd that had gathered.

“Uh, guys...” David interrupted Nick’s thoughts.

“Yeah,” Sara answered.

“There’s more than one body here.” David never looked at them directly, continued to examine the bodies.

Nick and Sara carefully approached the crate. As they looked inside, David carefully lifted the stiff arm of the corpse that could easily be seen. Once the arm was lifted, Nick could see another arm.

Using a flashlight to examine the body underneath, David continued, “The body underneath is at a later stage of decomposition than the top. From what I can see, they’re both female. My guess, right now, is that the bottom victim has been here for about two months, the top one maybe a month. I’ll be able to verify that once I get them back to the morgue.”

Brass interrupted. “Well, there is a surprise for you guys. I’ll leave you two to it. Have fun.”

Nick nodded to Brass as the older man passed him.

Sara crouched down next to David and looked at the body lying on top of the pile, “It looks like her throat was cut. Cause of death perhaps?”

“Most likely, but I want to confirm it before stating it as fact. You guys want to process this one before I move her?”

Sara nodded. As the two moved back, Nick began to take photographs of the body. Making sure to capture the victim’s current resting spot, how the body had been positioned, the state of her torn clothing and also how the body underneath it peeked out from underneath her.

During his peruse, Sara began working the scene. Picking up and bagging anything that may be used as evidence. She couldn’t find any shoe impressions except for those created by the person who found the body, the police officer that investigated, and their own four sets of prints. Using her own camera, she photographed the prints as well, to rule them out later.

Sara bagged all that lay within a few feet of the crate and the bodies it held. The items consisted of some empty fast food packaging, a couple of broken beer bodies and some other trash paraphernalia. Nothing suggested that the killer had left any of the items, yet everything needed to be processed just the same. As she glanced around the area, she could see that the lot had been used as a dumping site for several years. It was going to be a long night, she and Nick would slowly bag and label through everything to take back to the lab.

“Okay, Dave. We’re ready,” Nick nodded. With several labeled bags in hand, Nick walked toward the spot where Sara stood.

“This place is a mess. Even if the killer did leave something behind, it’s going to be hard to single it out. Plus, any lawyer will be able to say it’s circumstantial. Did you find anything on the body?”

“I got a couple of fibers but I think they’re just remnants from her torn clothing. She has no I.D. on her. She has bruises on her wrists and upper thighs. There’s very little blood on the body. Either she was killed somewhere else and than dumped here or any remnants of blood have been washed away by last month’s rain.”

They continued to hypothesis and work the area as David and four other officers lifted the stiff body carefully out of the crate and into a morgue bag. Zipping up the black bag, “Okay, let me know when you guys are done with the second one,” Dave led the way as two of the officers carried the stretcher away from the crime scene.

“You want this one and I’ll start widening the circle?” Nick asked.

Sara nodded and approached the crate. As she looked over the body, she could clearly see where the body had been covered and protected from the elements. Like the previous body, there was a clear slash along the female’s throat. Her decaying clothes were torn and bruises were stark against the pale skin along her wrists and thighs. This victim had been positioned in much the same way as the previous one. The dead woman lay slightly on her side with the knees pushed upward. Her arms had been crossed, over her chest. Sara suspected that the reason for this particular positioning was more for the body to fit in the crate than any other particular design. Both women seemed to have had similar taste in clothing, skimpy and tight.

Identifying the area as one high in crime, drug dealing and prostitution, it was likely the two women were ‘street walkers’. That made the crime no less tragic. Despite their choice of employment, these women were still someone’s daughter, sister or mother. Someone would have to notify the families that all hopes were now lost in finding their loved one alive.

She quickly processed the body and than signaled to Dave that the body was ready for moving. The crate that held the bodies was too large to store in Nick’s SUV.

“Hey, Dave. Do you have room in your van for this?” She motioned to the crate.

Dave looked it over and calculated how much room it would need. “I think we can work it in.”

“Cool.” She motioned to an officer, who was not currently helping with the transportation of the body, to lend her a hand. She grabbed one end of the crate while the officer crouched down on the other end to help.

“On three. One…Two…Three,” She counted and they lifted the heavy wooden crate. Nick smiled as he watched Sara walk away with the crate, refusing help from an officer that attempted to take her side of the load.

When she returned, she began searching the area along with Nick. Collecting items in square foot blocks, it took them several hours to collect possible evidence. They returned to HQ and began to catalogue everything they found. Dave was currently autopsying the two bodies and had already taken prints. Mia was running them through AFIS. Hopefully by the beginning of the next shift they would know the identity of the two females. By knowing their identity, the two CSI’s would be closer in finding their murderer.

Nick rubbed his face, trying to wipe away the sleepiness from his eyes. Looking up at the clock, he noticed that his shift had been over for close to two hours. He glanced at Sara, who continued to scribble into the log book.

“Ecklie isn’t going to approve overtime on this.”

Sara looked startled for a moment before his words sunk in. She looked at her wristwatch. “Ugh, how many more do we have?”

Quickly counting the remaining bags of evidence, “About 20.”

“Let’s finish up and than call it a morning.”

Nick nodded and grabbed the next bag.

*****

Nick was eager to find out what Dave had learned regarding the autopsies, as well as finding out whether or not the two women had been identified. He quickly entered the CSI building and headed toward the locker rooms.

“Nick.” He turned to see Sara standing in the doorway of one of the labs. “You’re not going to believe this.”

“Good afternoon to you, too.” He smiled.

She smiled, “Your really not going to believe this.”

He walked toward her and as they both entered the room, he noticed one of the lab technicians prepping an audiotape. He was surprised to see Brass standing next to him.

As Brass noticed Nick, he said, “You’re really not going to believe this.”

“Woah, guys. You’re making me really nervous here. What the hell is going on?”

Brass simply tapped the technician’s shoulder.

The younger man began clicking away at the keyboard, “This is a 911 call received early this morning.” With emphasis he pressed the last key.

*911, what’s your emergency?* A young voice spoke.

The next voice had been electronically altered,

*Excuse me sir?* Surprise was evident in the operators tone.



“You’re kidding me,” Nick said, overlapping the next question from the operator.



*Found who?*



Nick could hear the furious typing of the operator. He knew that the 911 operators were strenuously trained to handle these types of situations. The operator would try to keep the caller online as long as possible and attempt to trace it.

*Sir…*

She was interrupted when the voice continued,

Without allowing the operator to continue, the phone disconnected.

“You’re right, I don’t believe it.” Nick looked over at Brass and Sara. “Could it really be our guy?”

Brass nodded. “The call came in after the morning news ran the story. I didn’t get the info until four hours ago. I’ve already sent a unit out and Dave is currently at the scene, processing the body. I wanted you guys to hear the tape before sending you out.”

“Did we trace it?” Sara asked.

Brass shook his head. “The call was made from a cell phone that no longer had a provider. Cell phones have to send 911 calls through whether or not they are in service. But without a provider, we can’t trace it.”

The technician interrupted, “Actually, we could probably trace it to its general location.”

Brass looked down at the man and waited for him to continue.

“Um,” he stuttered, realizing the acute attention that he now drew to him with his words, “I could…um…trace it to the tower that transmitted the signal. It will give you guys a general area of where the call was placed.”

“How long will it take to trace it?” Brass asked.

“Um…a day…maybe longer. I have to isolate the signal and track it down. Vegas has several hundred such towers and I’ll have to eliminate each one. But once done, it could give you guys an area about ten to fifteen blocks diameter.”

“That’s still a pretty big area.” Brass commented.

“Can you also isolate some of the background noises as well? That might help us narrow it down even further,” Sara said.

“Also see if you can eliminate the altering device. I want to hear what this guy really sounds like.” Brass said.

The young tech nodded and turned back to his keyboard.

Brass looked over to the two CSI’s, “Alright, let’s go.”

*****

Nick and Sara worked the scene in the alley way behind the bookstore. The bookstore was popular for specializing in the more risqué category of literature. They also carried a full line of videos, lingerie and toys. The alley behind the store was in much the same condition as the abandoned lot they inspected the day before.

The body, found in a dumpster, was in much the same condition as the previous two bodies. Female, no identification, throat slash with bruises around the wrists and upper thighs.

“Why is he calling now? Dave said the older body had been dead for over two months and the top body was about a month? Dave thinks that this new body has been here for possibly two weeks,” Sara stated, using a pair of forceps to pick up an empty fast food bag.

“Bragging, maybe?” Nick took another photograph of the area surrounding where the body had been placed previously. “He did say that it was about time. Maybe he was just waiting for the breaking news.”

“Yeah, but than why would he hide them in areas that were abandon, especially in this neighborhood? I mean, if he wanted to brag about it, why not leave them somewhere where they would have been found sooner?”

Nick shrugged his shoulders, “To make it harder to find him, perhaps? Time and weather would slowly deteriorate any evidence that would link it to him.”

“But murderers who brag usually want to be caught, even subconsciously. So, even though he wants to be found…he’s making it difficult. Like a game.”

Nick sighed deeply, “I hate these kind of games.”

“When it involves murder, it’s never fun.”

*****

The first two bodies had been identified. Tilly Lawson and Susan Klein. AFIS easily found their records because both women had a rap sheet that recorded their solicitation and drug usage arrests. The fingerprints were already running for the third victim along with the several lifts they had found after going over through the numerous items found at both crime scenes.

Sara had gone over the crate found at the first murder scene. She was able to verify that the two women had been killed somewhere else and than dumped there. She wasn’t able to find anything else. No fingerprints, no foreign DNA or fibers that could be linked to the killer. The last month’s rains had done a good job in erasing all evidence of the crime and the one who committed it.

Sara and Nick now sat in one of the meeting rooms going over the autopsy reports that Dave had created. Both women had suffered a violent rape and beating before their throats had been slash. The weapon used had been a serrated knife, making the wound very ragged. By the angle of the cut, Dave was able to hypothesis that the man who had created it was about four to five inches taller than the two women, making him about 5’10” to 5’11”.

Any thumbprints or foreign DNA had been washed away by time and the weather. Dave had found some foreign fibers not linked to the clothing found with the bodies but nothing to lead them to the killer.

“Do you think he’ll call?” Sara asked as she closed the file on Tilly Lawson.

“If there are more woman out there, this guy’ll call,” Nick said. “We have about…” he looked up at the mounted clock on the wall, “an hour before it hits the morning news. If he keeps up the same time table as last time, he should call within 30 minutes of the broadcast.”

Sara nodded and sighed in frustration, “So far his call is our only lead.”

“Yeah, I spoke with Todd in audio and he’s already eliminated over half of the towers in Vegas. It’s not taking as long as he expected and he thinks he can narrow it down to one tower by tonight. Also, I have a friend who may be able to help us even more.”

“Cool.” Sara replied simply.

*****

It had only been a half hour since the morning news told the tale of a third body being found no more than three blocks from where the first two had been found. Unknown to Nick and Sara, they divulged more information than they had expected them to.

Nick and Sara waited patiently for Brass as Todd went over his new findings. As they watched Todd, they both knew that whatever he was able to find would not be enough without more information. Hopefully, Brass would show up like a fairytale God-detective and deliver them a new 911 call.

“Okay, I finally got that transmission down to one tower.” Todd clicked a couple keys on the keyboard and a map with a section of Vegas highlighted. Clicking a few more keys the map zoomed in until most of the screen was highlighted yellow showing where the tower’s range encompassed. “Here is the area. Its about a 12 block area.”

“Still a pretty big search area.” Sara said.

“Can you show us where the bodies were found?” Nick asked, leaning towards the screen.

Todd murmured an affirmative and the keyboard clicked with his strokes. Soon two red dots appeared on the larger screen.

“Well, they fall into the search area.”

Brass had stood quietly listening in. “Hate to interrupt your little pow-wow but I have something for you two.”

Sara looked up from the screen. “He called.”

Brass shook his head negatively. “That’s the bad news. The six o’clock morning news ran the story like we expected. However, they also included a little tidbit about the LVPD tracking the perp by his cell phone.”

“Damnit,” Sara violently said.

Nick shook his head angrily. He looked over at Brass, who stood quietly in the doorway, “You don’t seem too upset about this.”

Brass smiled slightly. “That’s because we had someone come in a couple of minutes after the news ran this morning.”

“A witness?” Questioned Sara.

Again, Brass shook his head slightly, “A victim.”

*****

The interrogation room was dimly lit. The face of the woman, who sat opposite of Brass and Sara, was lined by a harshness of life despite her file stating she was only 28 years old.

“Ms. Swanson, would it be alright for myself and Ms. Sidle to ask you a few questions?” Brass asked gently.

The woman nodded slowly.

“Lisa, I’m really sorry for what’s happened to you. And I want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to find the man that hurt you,” Sara started.

The woman across from them nodded again.

Sara continued gently, “In your statement, you said that this occurred roughly five months ago. Why didn’t you report it after it occurred?”

“He said that if I went to the police, he would come after me and kill me…and that he would hurt my two kids.” Tears that had been held back by the woman slowly escaped.

Sara nodded in understanding. She was worried though. Any evidence of the rape would have vanished by this point and even if Lisa Swanson was able to identify the man who raped her, there was very little to convict the rapist without any of that evidence. “Why did you decide to come to us now? What makes you think that the guy we are looking for is the same man who hurt you?”

“The news…they said that the women were prostitutes,” Lisa whispered.

Sara and Brass waited for her to continue. They could see that her next words were hard.

“When he was…raping me, he kept saying that I wasn’t like the others. He could tell that I wasn’t a…whore. He said that I was a good girl and didn’t deserve to die, that whores were dirty and that they all deserved to die. He said that that was the only reason he was going to let me live. As long as I kept quiet, he wouldn’t kill me…he wouldn’t cut my throat and dump me somewhere where no one would find me.”

Brass and Sara looked at each other knowingly. While many of the details regarding the murders were released to the press, how the victims had died did not. Before being able to pose any more questions, Ms. Swanson continued.

“He was almost polite…” Her brow furrowed. “When he was…done, he redressed me. Then he kissed me on the forehead and…said thank you.”

Sara asked the most important question. “Lisa, would you be able to pick the guy out in a line-up?”

The woman nodded again.

“Thank you, Ms. Swanson for coming forward. Once we have a suspect, we’ll call you in for the line-up ID. Why don’t I have one of my men drive you home?” Brass said.

The woman looked startled for a moment as if waking from a nightmare, “Wait.”

Sara and Brass had stood by this time and both turned toward the woman who looked anxiously at them.

“Don’t you want to know his name?”

Sara plopped back down in her seat barely containing the rush of excitement that made it way through her body, “You know who raped you?”

“Yes, I mean not at the time but several weeks later I was walking to the grocery store with a friend of mine. I…I looked across the street and there he was. Standing there with some of his friends. He waved. At first, I thought he was waving at me but than I saw that my friend waved back. I asked her if she knew him, and she said that they had gone to school together and had even gone out for a while. I turned back and I noticed that he was now staring at me. I was…shocked and I turned away and continued on without telling my friend anything. Later when we were walking back home, we passed the same corner but he was gone. She started talking about him and the time they spent in high school. I finally asked her for his name.”

She took a deep breathe before continuing. Lisa knew that this was the point of no return. Once giving the police the name of the man who had raped her, there would be no turning back. If by chance, the rapist ever learned that it was her who had passed on his name, she would be a dead woman and the lives of her children would be in danger. She remembered what the news had said about the man and how three bodies had been found and it was suspected that there were more. She took another deep breath to steady her nerves and looked at the two strangers sitting in front of her. They watched her with expecting faces.

“Dwanye…Dwanye Goldberg.”

*****

“I’ve placed Lisa and her family under police protection. They are currently staying at the Circus Circus courtesy of the city of Las Vegas,” Brass said as he entered the room. “I have a man printing out a history on this guy and we should get something really soon.”

“Good,” Sara said, happy that Lisa and her family would be safe at least for the moment.

“Well, you’ll be happy to learn that while you two were interviewing Ms. Swanson, I have been very, very busy.” Nick smiled like a little boy who did his chores without the coaxing of his mother.

“What’d ya got?” Brass asked.

Nick nodded, his smile only growing.

“My friend…the one I was telling you about…actually works for the FBI. It seems that the FBI have in their possession a way to determine a cell phone’s SN number just based on its transmission signal,” He said proudly.

“Okay…in English please.” Brass waited.

Nick continued, “SN is the Serial Number. Turns out, every cell phone has one…even those that aren’t in service. When a cell phone is on, it emits a signal so that way incoming calls can come through. Otherwise, how do the signals know what cell phone to go to?”

“Okay, so how does this help us?” Sara asked.

“Well, I heard that the FBI had a means to identify the SN. They usually keep it under wraps and the general public doesn’t know that the FBI has this capability.”

“Right, because if they can locate an individual SN than they can track it,” Sara said understanding the dynamics of this new technology.

Sara slowly reached into her pocket to press the off button on her cell, hoping that no one noticed.

However, Nick noticed her actions and pulled out his own cell. “Mine’s been off since I got the call. This is the exact reason why the FBI doesn’t want this information to be common knowledge. If everyone knew about it, the technology would be worthless since they wouldn’t be able to track anyone.”

Brass shook his head, “I don’t understand. We’ve tracked people by their cell phones before, what’s so different about this.”

Sara explained, “Only when they were using their cell phones. If I understand correctly, the way we track them is by piggy-backing on the signal and following it back to its source. But once the call disconnects, we lose the signal. The FBI can track someone anytime, anywhere as long as their cell phone is on and available to receive and/or make calls including those that don’t have a wireless provider.”

Nick nodded, “While the FBI won’t help us in tracking the phone, they did give us the location of where the 911 call was made from.”

“It’s a little after six in the morning. The murderer finally sees his story on the news and he places the call. Where is he most likely to be?” Sara called it.

“In his PJ’s, eating from a bowl of Fruit Loops…In his place of residence,” Nick answered and smiled.

Nick turned around to the computer. “Okay…here is the 10 block radius of the cell towers reach.” A map showed up on the bigger screen in the front of the room with a large highlighted area showing. “Here is where the bodies were found.” The map on the screen zoomed in showing two blue spots on opposite sides. “And here… is the location where the 911 call was made.” In the middle of the screen, in equal distance from the two locations were pinpointed, a red sphere appeared. Directly underneath the dot was the address 1616 Madison Road.

Nick and Sara smiled triumphantly, both excited that the case was now closer to being solved.

Brass noticed their facial expressions. “Don’t get too excited yet. I want to read up on this guy before we go ahead and pick him up.”

The two CSI’s attempted to curtail their excitement but failed miserably.

“Take a break you two. I’ll go read up on his file and than we can be on our way,” Brass said and walked out of the room.

Nick’s smile returned. Looking at Sara, he reached one arm over the same shoulder and began patting himself in the back, “Good job, Nick. Good job.”

Sara simply shook her head and smiled. “Shall we?” Pointing vaguely toward the break room.

“After you.”

*****

“UGH, What’s taking so long?” Sara exasperated.

Two hours had passed while the two CSI’s waited in the break room.

“Do you think Brass forgot about us?” Nick questioned.

Sara shook her head.

As if he knew that the two people waiting for him were talking about him, Brass entered the room.

Dropping a file about two inches thick onto the table, Brass took one of the remaining seats left at the table.

Both CSI’s looked at the file quizzically. Sara interrupted the silence. “You have got to be kidding me. This is the guy’s file?”

Brass nodded and sigh, “This guy has a pedigree for murder.”

Nick turned the file toward him and opened to the first page. Sara got up and moved slightly behind him to read over his shoulder.

“Don’t bother, it’ll take to long. Let me give you the Cliff Notes version. Grandfather executed for the murder of two little boys. Father charged for 1st degree manslaughter when Dwayne was just a baby. Father was released when Dwayne was around 12 years old and proceeded to beat up his wife along with the help of a friend. Wife charged with the murder of said husband and friend after a night of their rousing antics, though I don’t blame her really and so I was happy to read that she only served a minimal sentence. Older brother incarcerated after the shooting and subsequent death of a convenience store clerk after a botched robbery. Another older brother is on death row for killing six people in a bank robbery. A sister is in jail for murdering her cheating husband. And another brother in jail for the rape and attempted murder of a sixteen year old,” Brass rapidly stated.

“And it gets better. Dwayne himself was convicted six years ago for murdering his wife after he learned that she had become a prostitute. He was released a year ago.”

“He only got five years?” Nick asked shocked.

“His attorney was able to convince the jury that Dwayne was temporarily insane and overcome with anger on the news of his wife returning to a life as a hooker. He’s charges were dropped down to second-degree manslaughter. He was released early on good behavior.”

“So he’s on parole?” Sara said, flipping through the pages of the file.

Brass shook his head. “After his release, he never reported to his parole officer. This is the first time anyone has heard from him.”

“Look,” Sara said excited. “1616 Madison Road. It’s his sister’s address.”

Brass nodded and sighed, “I have bad news.”

“More? What could it be now?” Nick said.

Brass paused, “Lisa Swanson and her family have checked out of Circus Circus and as far as we can tell, they’ve left Las Vegas.”

Nick leaned over and began to bang his head on the table.

“You think Dwayne found them?” Sara asked.

“No, I think she got scared that he would and decided to leave town, maybe even the state.”

“You’re going to let her go?” Nick righted himself.

Brass nodded, “Even if she were able to pick him out in a line up, there is little we can do with her testimony. For one, too much time has passed for her testimony to be effective in her rape trial. Any lawyer worth a grain of salt will have the case thrown out for insufficient evidence. And in the likely event that her rape case does get thrown out, more than likely, her statement would than be thrown out as well in the murder trial of the three women. If we do need her in the future, I’ll send out an APB for Nevada and surrounding states.”

“So what evidence do we have to even charge Dwayne with the murders? I mean, we found nothing at the sites, on the bodies or the two receptacles used for the bodies.” Sara said, becoming agitated at the thought of this murderer getting away.

Nick sighed, “The cell phone.”

Brass nodded, “We’ll pick him up for violating his parole. When we do, your job will be to find that cell phone, either on him or somewhere in his vicinity. By linking the cell phone to the 911 call, we can arrest him for murder. Meanwhile, I’ll interrogate him to see if anything pops up then.”

*****

Sara and Nick followed Brass’s car as they drove to Dwayne’s suspected residence.

“If we don’t find that phone, he’ll be able to get away with it?” Sara asked, worried clearly determined in her voice.

Nick shook his head, “Not really. If anything, he’ll be going back to jail for violating his parole.”

“Yeah, but than he’ll just be re-released in ten years or so. Sooner if he’s on good behavior.”

The cabin of the SUV went silent, as both CSI’s contemplated the ramifications of Dwayne returning to civilization after another stint in jail. Both knew that the cell phone and subsequent interrogation would be key in putting Dwayne Goldberg away for good, possible on death row.

Suddenly, the car in front of them swerved over to the shoulder and parked. Two patrol units that were behind them also quickly moved over. Nick braked and stopped in the middle of the road as they both watched Brass and other officers exit their cars and surround a man in front of a pawnshop.

Recognizing the man that was being placed under arrest as Dwayne Goldberg, Sara stated, “This isn’t good. If he doesn’t have the cell phone on him, we won’t be able to search the house without the owner’s permission or a warrant.”

“Somehow I don’t think getting a warrant will be a problem.” Nick watched as the perp was placed in the back seat of one of the cruisers and as Brass walked slowly up to the passenger side window of their SUV.

“Sorry about the sudden stop,” Brass said. Smiling, the CSI’s could tell that Brass wasn’t really apologetic.

“Did he have a cell?” Sara asked.

Brass held up a clear evidence bag.

“YES…finally some good news.” Nick shouted.

The two occupants of the car clearly saw an older model Nokia. He passed it over to Sara who placed it on her lap while she grabbed a pair of surgery gloves of the glove compartment. Opening the bag, she pulled out the cell phone and turned it over. Nick held his breath as Sara took off the battery to look at the label underneath.

“SN 217/07186798”

As Nick yelled in triumphant, Brass said, “It’s a match.”

Sara hated to rain on their parade but felt the need to point out a flaw. “He could say he found it.” She replaced the battery and put the phone back in the bag.

Nick and Brass were quiet for a while until Nick spoke up, “I have another great idea.”

*****

Back at the lab, Sara and Nick stood in front of an aquarium.

“Okay, this phone has been out of service for awhile, right?” Nick said.

“Yeah, Todd said it’s been over two years since it last had a provider. But Dwayne wasn’t the last owner. He must have found it or bought it thinking he would reactivate it,” Sara answered.

“Well, Dwayne would know that the phone was practically useless. In fact, he would know that its only use would be to call 911.” Nick turned and grabbed a tube of superglue.

Opening the tube and placing a dime size amount on the aluminum foil, he capped the tube and placed it back. Sara watched as she took a sip of her hot tea and as Nick turned toward her, she handed him the cup of steaming liquid. Nick smiled at her small sacrifice and placed the cup inside the aquarium. Putting the lid on the glass enclosure, he stood back and watched as the temperature rose inside. The superglue began to react with the added humidity and heat provided by the tea and a thick smoke filled the container.

“So, what are you looking for?” Sara asked.

“Duh…fingerprints.” Nick smiled.

Sara grinned and shook her head. “I mean…Dwayne’s fingerprints are obviously going to be on the thing, how does it prove that he didn’t just find it earlier today?”

“Patience…Patience is a virtue.” Nick continued to smile and rocked backwards, knowing exactly what they needed to put Dwayne Goldberg away.

Ten minutes pass and their control fingerprint showed perfectly through the dispersing fumes.

“Let the games begin,” Nick said as he opened the aquarium.

Handling the cell phone gently on its sides, he pulled the phone out so they could both see the results of the fumigation clearer.

Three fingerprints showed clearly on the phone. All of them looking identical to each other but would need to be verified by AFIS.

Nick smiled, “I am a genius.”

Sara laughed, “Yeah, Yeah…whatever.”

“We got him,” Nick continued as they both examined the placement of the fingerprints as they clearly showed on the power button, the nine and a slightly smudged impression on the one button.

*****

Dwayne Goldberg was now safely tucked away in a roomy cell provided by LVPD. Confronted with evidence in his involvement of the three murders and taught the dynamics of cell phone use, Dwayne, who at first had been cordial to Brass, became quiet. His lawyer had been called and the DA suspected that he would be receiving a call from Goldberg’s lawyer asking for a plea.

*****

Nick and Sara were in the locker room, along with Catherine, Greg and Warrick.

Nick smiled as he turned toward the newest CSI agent. “Hey…I heard that you just solved your first solo case.”

Catherine walked up behind Greg and ruffled his hair. “Yup, our little Greggy is growing up.”

Greg only laughed, blushing slightly. He was so juiced for completing the case all on his own…well almost.

Sara put on her jacket. “I say we celebrate with breakfast. Greg’s buying.”

“What?” The smile soon faded from Greg’s face as he heard Sara’s statement.

Sara clapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, Greggy. Let’s see if our boss wants to join in.” Both walked out of the locker room followed closely by Nick.

Catherine shouldered her purse and turned to Warrick, “You coming?”

“Nah…I’ve got other plans,” He stated simply.

“Plans, huh?” A corner of her mouth lifted. “Would these plans include a female?”

Warrick laughed softly and reached into his locker for his jacket but remained silent.

Catherine noticed that he was going to remain silent. “Fine…don’t tell me. I’ll see ya tomorrow?”

“Yup, another exciting night in Vegas.” He smiled. “See ya…oh, and say hi to Lindsey for me.”

“Will do.” Catherine gave a final wave and went to find her fellow CSIs. As she approached the three waiting agents, she realized that Gil wouldn’t be joining them. So, he was avoiding them. It looked as if Gil would continue to keep his secrets this time. She hoped that the secret wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

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