Sources

Chapter 8

It took about 24 hours before Mandy's doctors agreed to discharge her. After she confided to Sara that she'd recently been laid off and lost her apartment in L.A., it was decided that she would stay in Las Vegas for the time being. Sara found it hard to hide her enthusiasm. She'd be able to come home after a rough day at work to someone who cared about her. She secretly hoped Mandy would stay forever.

Nick and Greg arrived after their shift ended. They were both pleased to have been invited. Everyone at the lab had been worrying about Sara, and they were using the visit as an excuse to check up on her.

Upon hearing the doorbell, Sara threw open the front door. "Hey!"

Nick and Greg felt their jaws drop as they took in the sight of a Sara they hadn't seen in. well, maybe ever. It wasn't just the skimpy tank top and tight jeans. She had a smile on that made her look lit up from the inside. Greg turned to Nick as they walked in, whispering, "Have you ever seen her this happy?" Nick shook his head.

"What's that?" asked Sara, hearing Greg's murmuring. Greg cleared his throat.

"Oh, uh, I was just saying that I've got the information you needed," he stammered, handing her a file. She rewarded him with another glowing smile.

"I'm so glad you two got tonight off. This will be fun!"

Sara introduced the men to Mandy. Nick took one look at her fading bruises and went into Texan gentleman mode, pulling out her chair for her and fetching her something to drink. Mandy and Sara shared an amused glance. "He's so cute!" Mandy mouthed.

After a pasta dinner and some lively debate over who was the best CSI in the room, they found themselves in front of the TV with a giant bottle of Tequila.

Mandy rubbed her hands together in anticipation, then winced slightly and held her injured wrist against her chest. The gesture was not lost on Nick, who moved closer and threw a protective arm around her.

Sara passed out the shot glasses. "Okay, here's the rules. Every time they say 'thorax' Nick takes a shot. When they say 'pupa,' Mandy takes a shot. When they say 'wing,' Greg. When they say 'antenna,' me. And when they say 'furthermore,' we all drink."

Greg rolled his eyes. "I can't believe we're playing a drinking game that revolves around a Nova insect documentary. You and Grissom really are made for each other."

Sara glared at him. "Oh, and anyone who mentions Grissom has to chug from the bottle for five full seconds."

"Grissom!" called Warrick, chugging from a bottle of water. "Any chance I can drag you away from that paperwork for a sec?"

Grissom looked up from his desk with relief. "A very good chance. What's up?"

Warrick entered Grissom's office and plopped down in a chair. "Cath is out on that trick-roll, Sara's on leave, Nick and Greg took the night off. That leaves you and me on the Bellagio case. I went to the pediatric office before they closed last night and questioned the employees. I spent all morning typing everything up."

Grissom removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. "Any leads?"

"They all said the same thing. 'Tom and Becky were the perfect couple.' Everyone agreed. They're in shock over what happened."

"So they had gone public with their relationship."

Warrick nodded. "Oh yeah. Almost right from the start. All in all, they were together over three years."

"Three years," mused Grissom. "He's 51, she's 36. Any watercooler speculation on marriage prospects?"

"Actually, there didn't seem to be any watercooler speculation at all."

Grissom's eyes narrowed. "No office gossip on the relationship? I don't buy it."

Warrick spread his hands. "Why would there be? They were open and honest about it, nothing to speculate on."

Grissom sighed heavily. "Believe me, Warrick, workplace romances become workplace issues. No exceptions."

Warrick studied his supervisor closely. "What's your source?"

"Personal experience," admitted Grissom reluctantly after a pause.

Feeling his heart sink, Warrick forced himself to ask. "Catherine?"

Grissom laughed, raising his eyebrows at Warrick sympathetically. "Oh no, not Catherine. It was years ago. A fellow CSI named Maria Decker. We dated for about six months."

"Didn't end well?"

"No." He didn't elaborate, and Warrick knew it was time to change the subject.

"Anyway, I'm not sure how to proceed with the Bellagio case. Evidence all points to murder-suicide, even though we can't find a motive."

Grissom sighed. "Well, shift ended three hours ago. Go home. We'll tackle it tonight."

His phone rang, and Warrick left the room. Pushing aside the piles of paperwork that covered the phone, Grissom answered.

"Yeah."

After a pause, he heard a tentative voice. "Hi, um. I'm looking for a guy named Grissom."

His brows furrowed. "This is Grissom."

"Oh, hi. My name is, uh, Amanda Warren."

Realization dawned. "Sara's sister. Mandy."

"Yeah. Listen, I was wondering if Sara was there."

"Here?" He was confused. "No, Sara is still on leave. I haven't seen her for days."

"Oh." Grissom could hear the nervousness in Mandy's voice, and felt the flutter of fear start in his chest.

"Mandy, when was the last time you saw Sara?"

She sniffled. "Last night. Around 2 a.m."

"Could she have stayed at a friend's house?" He purposely didn't ask about a boyfriend.

Mandy hesitated. "I don't think so. Her friends Nick and Greg came over last night, and we hung out till 2. She went to walk them out to their cars, and she never came back."

The flutter in his chest grew. "Maybe she drove one of them home and crashed there?"

"That's what I figured, but I found her cell phone and called them both this morning just to be sure. They said they left her in the parking lot last night."

Grissom grabbed his keys and jacket. "Mandy, stay where you are. Don't answer the door to anyone but me. I'm coming over."