Sources

Chapter 10

"Take a minute and collect yourself," Grissom said to Greg as they surveyed the parking lot. "Remove any personal feelings you have about the case. This is all about the evidence."

Greg took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Now, where was Sara standing when you left last night?"

"Right next to where I parked. Space 17." Greg pointed.

Grissom frowned. "You're sure?"

"Positive, why?"

"That's less than twenty feet from the entrance to her building. How could someone abduct her as you were still driving away?"

"Yeah, that was my reasoning when I didn't walk her back in." Greg gave a sad smile.

"Focus, Greg," said Grissom firmly. "No personal feelings."

Greg nodded. "Right." He looked behind him. "Surveillance camera over the door. It's pointing at the entrance and not the parking lot, but it might have caught something."

"Good. Work the area around the doorway. I'll start at Space 17 and work my way back."

It took less than a half hour for the two investigators to sweep the area from the parking space to the door. The search yielded several cigarette butts, a broken hair clip, an angel charm, and a Starbucks coffee cup, but none of it seemed relevant to Sara's disappearance. Greg bagged each item carefully anyway, trying to hide his disappointment.

Grissom rubbed his fingers together absently. "We need to check the surveillance tape before we go any further," he said. "If Sara re-entered the building after you left, we're wasting precious time out here."

They walked inside and got the attention of the security guard on duty. "We're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab, investigating the disappearance of one of your tenants," Grissom said with authority, flashing his credentials. "I need to see the surveillance tape from this building's entrance, around 2 a.m. last night."

"Warrick, it's me," Nick said into his cell phone. "I know, man, I'm sorry to wake you up. It's an emergency. Sara's missing."

He glanced at Mandy, who was in the kitchen preparing a pot of coffee. "We don't really know anything yet. I could use your help." He smiled in appreciation at Warrick's response. "Thanks. We need a record of Sara's e-mails and the websites she's visited at work. I took a look at her home computer but didn't find anything. Great. Let me know if you find anything. yeah, I'll call you if anything changes."

Nick closed his cell and rubbed his face wearily. He wished he hadn't drunk so much the night before. Not only would he be sharper and less hung over at the moment, but he also might have had the presence of mind to insist on walking Sara back to the building.

"Here," said Mandy, handing him a steaming cup of coffee. She was still self-conscious about her recent crying spell, and avoided eye contact with him.

"So," Nick said, breaking the ice, "what was Sara like when she was younger?"

Mandy smiled. "Shorter."

"There!" Greg paused the tape. He and Grissom looked at the TV screen, which showed Nick, Greg and Sara walking out the door and out of the camera's sight.

"Reset the time as zero," Grissom instructed. The tape ran for two and a half minutes before Sara reappeared. She sauntered toward the door, grinning and reaching for the handle. Suddenly she straightened up.

"She heard something," Greg said. They watched Sara turn toward the parking lot and freeze stiffly. She stood still for several seconds, then half-turned toward the door, glancing up at the camera for a moment.

"My god," said Grissom. Sara's eyes were filled with terror. She looked down for a moment, and appeared to be either listening or thinking. They watched her stick her hand into the front pocket of her jeans and pull something out.

"What is that?" Greg asked, squinting. Grissom shook his head. The item was too small to see. Sara looked at the camera significantly, then down at the hand that clutched the object. She froze again, definitely listening this time, then looked like she was saying something.

"Go back. What did she say?" For once, Grissom was relieved to have experienced his hearing issues. They had taught him how to read lips with great accuracy. He watched Sara's mouth, speaking her words aloud. "Leave her alone. I'll come."

Greg was startled. "How did you do that?"

Grissom ignored him. "Keep it running." They watched Sara take one last look at the camera, then turn toward the parking lot, swinging her arms oddly. She walked out of the frame. Greg fast-forwarded it to the end of the tape, but she never came back.

"Go back to the last time we see her, as she's walking toward the lot," Grissom instructed. Greg obliged. "Now, play it in slow motion." As Sara turned and swung her arms, they saw the object fly out of her hand and into the bushes by the entrance.

Grissom quickly turned to Greg. "What did you find in the bushes?"

"A couple butts," said Greg. "And that angel charm."

"Let me see it."

Greg pulled out the evidence bag and handed it over. Donning gloves, Grissom studied it carefully.

"What is it?"

"It's sort of a talisman," Greg explained. "They're big in the Catholic church. Flat stones with an angel carved on one side. People carry them for protection."

"Sara's not Catholic. She's not even religious," Grissom puzzled. "Did you dust it for prints?"

Greg shook his head. "I bagged it with minimal contact and we were in a hurry, so I figured we'd dust it later."

Grissom was already taking out his brush and powder. Lightly twirling the soft bristles along the surface of the charm, he smiled slightly. The entire back of the charm was covered by one, perfectly clear print. He reached into his kit and pulled out the sheet of CSI fingerprint images. It had been Catherine's idea for CSI's to start bringing the sheets to scenes so that they could quickly rule out any prints that they had accidentally left behind.

"It's her right thumb," Greg said, pointing out the image. Grissom nodded in agreement. They stared at the thumbprint, wondering what the significance was.

Greg sighed. "We're no closer to finding her than we were when we got here."

"We know a great deal more," Grissom corrected him. "We know that Sara left the building at 2:06 a.m. and did not return. She recognized the person or persons who took her, and was afraid, but went with them to protect someone - a female. And we know that this charm," he said, peering at it again, "has some significance. She had only seconds in front of the camera and chose to use it asher message."

"But what's the good of a message if you can't understand it?"

Grissom turned the charm over, looking at the angel. "We've got to find the person who does understand it. When we do, we'll find Sara."