Kinky

Kinky

Chapter One

Grissom’s cell rang out obnoxiously into the relative silence of the night making the cop who had cleared the scene jump at the sudden sound. Grissom pursed his lips in irritation; he hated being interrupted at a crime scene. He fished his cell out of his pocket and checked the caller ID. Ecklie. His thumb hesitated only a second before sending him to voicemail. Whatever performance stats he was late giving him could wait, right now there was a case to be solved. Thoroughly annoyed, he went about changing his gloves so he could continue processing the scene. He checked his watch; even the lateness of the coroner irked him tonight. The noisy arrival of the rest of the team broke his concentration once more.

‘You know how your mom always used to tell you to change your underwear in case you got hit by a bus..?’ Warrick said, his eyes not leaving the corpse. Sara and Catherine slowly dragged their own eyes away to look up at him in confusion.

‘I’m just saying… There’s some things you shouldn’t be found dead wearing. Literally.’

‘We’re not here to judge. We’re here to collect evidence.’ Grissom’s harsh tone caused a brief awkward silence followed by a flurry of activity that didn’t quite cover up Nick’s whispered ‘Don’t worry, man. He just doesn’t like to share one-liners’ as the team split up to begin processing the scene. Grissom sighed and returned his attention to the girl laid out before him. Yes, it was obvious to him that she had been posed. Even without the macabre message spelt out in blood on a wall behind her in the alley, her final resting place. ON THE FIRST DAY. That didn’t mean that the outfit wasn’t her’s though. Damn it, he thought, she’s so young. How was it that so many girls got caught up in these things? Didn’t they realise they were selling themselves short? Maybe it was his short fuse, or maybe he was just tired, but this case already wasn’t sitting right with him. It crossed his mind that this was what it felt like to be Sara, to carry the weight of the victim around with you as you tried to solve their murder.

“So, any luck with ID?” Sara crouched down beside him, surprising him out of his reflections.

‘No, I don’t see any pockets on this thing, do you?’ It wasn’t disdain so much as general frustration. Grissom seemed to be carrying an emotional load these days that Sara could see but not begin to guess at the cause of.

“No… A bag maybe? Or a locker somewhere… Maybe she has the key hidden on her person…” Sara thought out loud, hoping to distract him from his ill humour.

“Or maybe she was moved. I mean she’s obviously been posed.” Grissom sighed. This was going to be a long night. “Did you have any luck with the perimeter?” He asked, not holding out much hope. His main objective these days was to assign Sara as far away from him as he could. He needed room to think, to concentrate, but when she was around him the world seemed to shrink to just the two of them. He could not allow himself to be distracted like that on a case. It was scary enough when it happened on his own time.

“Nah. That’s why I finished so fast. Cath and Warrick are still questioning people from the apartments over there.” She gestured to one of the nearby buildings. “Nicky went to see if they have any surveillance cameras, or if any of the residents match her general description. It seems odd though, the crime scene is here, but there is literally nothing along this alley to indicate what went on. No evidence of where this girl came from. I did empty the trash can over there though, so maybe that’ll give us something.”

“Do you think the costume is relevant?” Grissom asked suddenly. Sara got the impression he hadn’t been listening for a while. Nothing unusual there. Taking a deep breath she began to hypothesise.

‘Well maybe there’s a BDSM club somewhere around here… we should check that out… She could have been on her way too or from, in the wrong place at the wrong time.’ She looked back down at the mangled remains of the girl. ‘The worst time.’ She said softly before shaking her head, as if to rid it of the images there, and continuing.

“Of course, on the other hand, the costume could have been part of the posing, making it an extremely important clue to finding the killer.” Grissom merely nodded this time, as if taking it on board.

“Can you take Greg and the evidence back to the lab? The writing is definitely in blood, so run it against the vic’s. Also have them run trace on the red smears from the costume. I’m assuming cosmetic, but would like it confirmed.”

“Yes, boss.” Sara replied with a little of her old sass, but Grissom didn’t even look up. She hoped he was ok. Things seemed to be hitting him harder and harder lately. She only wished there was something she could do. No, Grissom didn’t want her to be there for him. She wasn’t worth the risk. Remember? One glance at Greg’s big eyes was enough to make her realise that Grissom wasn’t the only one having problems with the case.

“Come on, Greggo, you and me have a hot date back at the lab.” This earned her an eager smile. At least her charms weren’t lost on everybody.

As they made their way to her car the sound of Grissom’s cell chased them, followed by an uncharacteristic growl of annoyance. Sara and Greg’s eyes met with a knowing smile.

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“Grissom.” His eyes closed at the sound of his name. Ecklie had caught up with him. Grissom had gambled on the sanctity of the lab director’s working hours being enough to keep him out of his hair for at least another shift, but clearly whichever of the seven deadly administration sins he had committed this time could not wait. Or else Nick was right and Ecklie did have a crush on him. Suppressing the wry smile that threatened to curl his lips at this, Grissom turned to his office door. If the lab director’s companion surprised him, Grissom didn’t show it, Ecklie noticed with grudging admiration.

“Ecklie.”

“You remember Mark Thayer.”

“Of course, last I heard he was serving time for attempting to pervert the course of justice.” Grissom nodded at the other man, his poker face still giving nothing away. Ecklie winced at this, but continued on as if nothing had been said.

“Mark will be joining the night shift temporarily, with a view to expanding the lab’s pioneer status in terms of entomology. He will technically report to you, but I’m sure you’ll give him the respect that a fellow entomologist of his calibre deserves. He’s been cleared for fieldwork as a Level One, and I expect to be kept fully briefed on all his assignments.” Grissom regarded Ecklie for a long moment, as if working something out, and for a moment it looked as if he was going to say something, but finally he just nodded.

“If that’s everything, then I’m sure I have some overdue paperwork to be getting on with.” He said curtly.

“Right.” Ecklie turned to Thayer. “I’ll leave you in Gil’s capable hands, Mark.” This reminded Grissom once more of Nick’s assertions that Ecklie had a ‘homoerotic’ vibe going on.

“I hope there will be no hard feelings between us. I am very much looking forward to working with such a renowned expert.” The other man held out his hand for Grissom to shake. There was no doubt about it. Mark Thayer was smarm personified. Grissom tried not to let himself get riled, but still ignored the proffered hand.

“Likewise. I will make some changes to the rota, and notify you of your shifts within the next few hours.” At this he returned to his desk, effectively dismissing Thayer.

“Thanks, I’d appreciate that. So when do I get to meet the team?” Thayer remained nonplussed as he withdrew his hand, but still refused to leave straight away.

“Tomorrow night will be your first shift.” Grissom did not even look up from his paper work this time.

“Excellent.” It was not until Thayer had left his office and disappeared from view in the hall that Grissom finally allowed himself a deep sigh. This was not good.
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Grissom arrived home to an indignant Hank. The dog seemed about as happy as he was to have pulled a double, if infinitely more energetic.

“Sorry boy, no walk tonight. You’ll have to make do with a run in the yard.” Grissom noticed his answer phone light blinking at him after he had let the dog out. He sighed. Surely not work, they had only just sent him home. He pressed the button and waited.

“Hello son. I’m sorry to have missed you. I’m afraid I never seem to remember your work schedule. If you even have a schedule any more. Perhaps you’ve moved there permanently now.” Grissom rolled his eyes at this. Even his mother thought he was working too much.

“Anyway, I was hoping that you might be able to free yourself up a little, find some time for your elderly mother during the holiday season.” This was said with a healthy measure of sarcasm that was not lost on Grissom.

“I know it’s late notice, but I don’t expect to be babysat. I just want to see my son at Christmas.” Grissom sighed, trying not to let the thought of more impossible time management get him down. This was his mom, after all.

“No arguments, you’re far too busy to come here, and besides, this way I can finally meet the love of your life…” Grissom’s eyebrows raised in confusion. “The lab.” He could hear his mother chuckling at her own joke. This brought a smile to his lips.

“I’ll call back later with my flight details. Don’t worry about picking me up if you’re working though. I love you. Take care, my boy.”

Grissom smiled in spite of himself, his mind full of happy thoughts and memories as he stripped for his shower. He stepped into the stall, turned on the water and relaxed under the stream of wet heat that gently massaged the stress of the day away. As he lathered up he thought of Thanksgiving and Christmas, with his mom there. He could show her the lab, introduce her to the team, to Sara. No! He chastised himself suddenly. He would introduce her to Sara, but only as part of the team. He had to stop thinking of her as a separate, special entity, he berated himself. He was trying so hard to remain professional around her, but since that case… After the Lurie case, and his confession during the interview, he had found it harder and harder to keep his feelings, and his thoughts under wraps. It was as if the act of vocalising his feelings had made them concrete, real, impossible to ignore. But he would ignore them. For Sara. Like he had always done. He knew now more than ever the ugly reality of what would happen if they got together.

A wave of disgust and self-loathing swept over Grissom as he realised he was fully erect. Just the thought of her. He knew he couldn’t will it away. Gone were the long, restless nights when he had tried. How could he reduce her to this, an object of lust? She was so much more than that. So beautiful. So intelligent. His hand had begun to move of its own volition. She deserved better than him. Eventually she would see that. She deserved somebody who could match her. Someone young, strong, and virile. No, his mind balked at that, the thought that anyone could presume to want her, to touch her, to love her. She belonged to him. She was his. His Sara. His Sara. His…

Grissom’s mind found release in chocolate brown eyes, as his physical need found release over the shower floor. Sighing sadly, he rinsed off before shutting off the shower and leaving the cubicle. He hated himself for this. For all his intelligence and powers of reasoning, he couldn’t make his heart understand what his head had worked out long ago: He and Sara would never work. Could never happen. He had to be the strong one for both of them. She would thank him for it one day.

Grissom towelled off quickly, his previously good mood now thoroughly spoilt, and pulled on some boxers before climbing, exhausted, into bed. That was why Sara Sidle would never know that he loved her.