Best of Intentions

Sara hit the crime lab like a woman on a mission. While she knew she couldn’t handle physical evidence in the case, that wasn’t stopping her from combing through records looking for a connection. Greg and Sophia were already in the layout room working when she arrived. They had gotten files on all the students that any of the 4 missing professors had, and after several hours nothing was standing out.

“This is getting us nowhere! These professors weren’t even on the same campus.”

Sara sat down and started looking at one of the files. “I know you’re frustrated Greg, but we have to keep going over these. There has to be something….that…” Sophia and Greg looked at her, as she never finished her thought, but dove for another file.

“Greg get a hold of Brass and have him bring Michael Thomas back in.”

Greg was puzzled. “Sara they already checked out his story and he’s telling the truth.”

“Maybe. But he’s still hiding something. Like the fact he changed his major four times.”

Greg smiled. “That’s not a crime. Stupid, sure. But that doesn’t point to anything.”

Sara highlighted part of the file. “When he first started at UNLV he listed his major as English. His advisor was Dr. Robert Winslow. Two semesters later he changed his major to Accounting and his advisor was Dr. Todd Baymen, our third victim. Now just that is enough to get me looking, but did you notice that he transferred to UNLV from the community college, where his major was Early Childhood Development?”

Dinnertime found Sara in the observation room watching Brass questions Michael Thomas a second time. Grissom’s day four was rapidly drawing to a close and they were not even close to finding him. Nick and Warrick tag teamed Thomas with Brass hoping to rattle him.

“I already told you guys. I left Dr. Grissom in his office and I went to my parent’s house. I head out there a couple of times a week to check on the place.”

Brass nodded. “Yeah you told us that. What you didn’t tell us was that you’ve changed your major a few times, and that you know all of the professors that have disappeared personally.”

“Hey a lot of people know those professors.”

“All of them? I don’t think so.”

Nick was looking over some reports before he spoke up. “Did you take anyone to your parent’s house with you?”

“Sometimes a friend of mine tags along when I head up there. Why?”
“We’re going to need a name.”

A bucket of water was his wake up call once more. “Well Doc, you don’t look so good. Don’t worry about it though, it’s almost over.”

Grissom looked at his captor for a moment pondering that statement for a moment, when the door opened and he heard a familiar voice “Trent! What are you doing?”

“Chris, nice of you to drop by. I’ve just been giving the great Dr. Grissom lessons in failing.”

“Trent you have to let him go. This isn’t right.”

Trent spun around glaring at Chris, “Of course it is! We’ve listened to people rave about these professors like the walk on water, and ones like him are the worst. They go give their lectures, come back to teach a few classes for us common folk, and then put us down every chance they get.”

Chris slowly walked toward his friend. “But Grissom isn’t like that. He’s a good guy. Hey I’ve helped him settle into the office and spent a lot of time talking to him. He’s really a good teacher and he’s been able to help me. He doesn’t judge people.”

“No they all do. They think they’re better than everyone. And now he’s got you believing it too. Now you get to follow him.”

Brass pulled up to Michael Thomas’ house behind the sea of marked cruisers, SWAT, paramedics, and CSI’s. Michael identified the cars in the driveway as his friend Chris and their mutual friend Trent Bryce. Officers were taking positions to storm the house at a moment’s notice but they were holding back, still unsure of the situation inside.

Nick was pulling into the scene with Sara when he saw the coroner’s van pull in. He reached over and patted her hand. “They’re bringing in everyone because they aren’t sure what they’ll find in there. You know that Sara.”

“Yeah I know. I can see they haven’t made a move to go in yet. I’m ok, really Nick.”

She leaned her head on her hand as Nick turned his new Denali around at the end of the block and came back to get Sara close to the scene. She closed her eyes and Nick’s Cd played.

I had big plans for our future
Said I’d give you the whole world somehow.
I tried making good on that promise,
Thought I’d be so much further by now.
Never could build you a castle,
Even though you’re the queen of my heart
But I’ve had the best of intentions from the start.

Now some people think I’m a loser,
Cause I seldom get things right.
But you make me feel like a winner,
When you wrap me in your arms so tight.
Please tell me you will remember,
No matter how much I do wrong,
that I had the best of intentions all along.

I gave you a ring and I promised you things I always thought we’d do
But my best laid plans slipped right through my hands to show my love for you.
And if you could read my heart, then you’d know without exception,
It was all with the best of intentions.

Nick reached up and turned the CD off when he noticed Sara trying to hide her tears. “I’m sorry Sar. I didn’t think about what I had in there.”

“It’s ok Nick. It doesn’t take much to make me cry these days.”

They got out and stood by the truck waiting for any word. Suddenly a shot rang out from inside the house and the SWAT team burst in through the front and rear doors. Three more shots were heard, and then the call came over the radio, to send the coroner in. Nick grabbed Sara as she started to sink to the ground in tears. “Sara come on, we don’t know what happened in there.”

“I know a monster has my husband, and I know I heard a shot before SWAT went in. All his victims were killed by a single shot. It’s not that big a stretch Nick.” Nick wrapped his arms around her and held her as she began to sob uncontrollably. “We’re supposed to be moving next week. Now he won’t get to sleep in our new bed we just had delivered. He won’t get to set up his insect room downstairs.”

Catherine and Doc Robbins went over to help Nick with Sara. Catherine knelt beside her and helped Nick try to stand her up. “Come on Sara, work with us here. You know Gil is a fighter. He won’t go down without a fight now that he has you. But I really don’t think he’ll be very happy to come out here and see you crying like a baby.”

Sara’s head snapped up and her sobbing increased. “Baby? Oh God he doesn’t even know about the baby.”

Catherine lifted Sara’s chin to look at her. “You’re pregnant?” At her nod Catherine pulled her into a hug and glanced over at the assistant coroners bringing out two body bags. Warrick’s voice boomed through the radio calling for paramedics in the basement as Sara made her way over to David who was making notes standing beside the body bags. After a few minutes of standing there she regained enough of her control to speak.

“Which one?”

David gave her a blank look. She repeated. “Which one?”

“Um Sara..” “Damn it David just tell me which one is Grissom!”

David looked rather sheepish at her tone and Doc Robbins nod told him to tell her what she wanted to know. “Neither. These two were in the stairwell to the basement. I didn’t see Grissom at all.”

Nick saw the paramedics bringing a gurney out and recognized the man on it. “Sara.”

Sara looked at Nick and then followed his eyes to the paramedics coming out of the house. The man on the gurney was beaten, swollen and bloody, but it was Grissom. She ran over and touched his hand. He opened his eyes as best he could and smiled at her.

“Miss we really need to get moving.” Hank Peddigrew came walking up carrying the cases. “Come on Sara, let us get him to the hospital. Scott make room for her in the back.”

Catherine hopped into the ambulance with Sara and her field kit. Warrick, Sophia and Greg stayed to process the house and Nick followed the ambulance to the hospital. Catherine followed the gurney into the trauma room to start collecting evidence while Nick fought Sara to keep her in the waiting room. It seemed like an eternity when Catherine arrived in the waiting room.

“Cat what’s going on? They aren’t telling me anything.”

“Sara you need to calm down. This kind of stress isn’t good for you or the baby. They don’t know anything yet. He was heading down to x-ray when I came out. But he was talking to them, so that’s good.”

Just over an hour later Warrick, Greg and Sophia arrived at the hospital. Sophia took the evidence Catherine collected with her as she headed back to the lab. Sara jumped when she heard a voice call for Mrs. Grissom.

“Your husband is a lucky man. We’re just about to reduce is dislocated shoulder and he won’t let us go any farther until he sees you. I have to warn you, he looks pretty bad. Fortunately his injuries look a lot worse than they are. He has a concussion and a fractured cheekbone..”

Sara felt her panic rise “Another head injury” “He had a fractured skull and a severe concussion just a few months ago.”

The doctor smiled. “Yes he mentioned it. We’ll be keeping him a few days for observation just to be safe because of that. He also has a dislocated shoulder, four broken ribs, a fractured forearm, and an injured knee. We didn’t find any fractures around his knee, so it’s soft tissue damage. Ortho will be seeing him later on to evaluate that. Other than that, it’s all bruises and some minor cuts.”

“So he’ll be all right?”

“Absolutely.”

Sara walked into the trauma room and went to her husband’s side. He was covered in bruises and had a splint on his left arm and on his right knee. She lightly stroked his curls when he smiled. “Honey we’ve got to stop meeting like this.” She looked into his blue eyes and smiled. “Well this wasn’t my idea Dr. Grissom. And here I thought when you started teaching that you had a nice safe job.”

Grissom saw the tears in her brown eyes and took her hand. “I’m alright. It’s over.” Sara nodded and fought against her tears. The door opened and the doctor returned. “Sorry to interrupt, but we really do need to take care of that shoulder Dr. Grissom.” Grissom nodded and the doctor put a syringe into his IV. “OK now you’re just going to take a little nap for us and we’ll pop that shoulder back where it belongs.”

Sara watched his eyes drift shut and felt him squeeze her hand as he fell asleep. She had to step away as the doctor started working on him, but despite their suggestions she wouldn’t leave him.

“Ok that does it. Let’s get that arm into a sling and get him down to x-ray.” He looked at Sara. “Once we get the post-reduction films we’ll get him up to a room.” She watched as they wheeled her sleeping husband back out of the room and her emotions overtook her. He was there, he was alive, and everything would be just fine. He would have a long recovery, but she would be there with him, just the two of them. Her hand absently drifted to her stomach “Well not for long anyway.”