Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot idea for this fic. All Other Characters names, information and whatnot are products of my imagination. There's no truth behind any of these fictionalized people.
Summary: What is really brewing between Gil Grissom and Catherine Willows? Is it love? Is it friendship? Could there be more to Catherine and Grissom's relationship than what was seen on the surface?
Author's Notes: This is my first CSI fic and so please be nice. I just recently got hooked on the series and...well, I can't help but feel some underlying tension between the Night Shift's supervisor and his right-hand person and closet confidant. Please read & review. I'd like to hear some feedbacks from you. I so very much love to explore the possibilities of a GC pairing. :smiles:
V. Why Can't We Just...
"This is pointless," complained a very annoyed, and obviously stressed-out, Nick after they went through every valuable piece of evidence they collected. "We know that Amelia Sabato did not kill her husband on purpose, but whomever wanted Slick Rick dead sure knew what he--or she--was doing."
"Aw Nick, don't tell me you're giving up already," Catherine cooed as she examined the deceased's personal effects and some other documents that might help them solve this case quickly.
Nick put down the small flashlight he was using and looked at the blond woman seated across the examination table from him. They had been on the Sabato case for close to a week now, and like the day they took on the assignment, they had very little to go by. Catherine and Grissom's theories were proven correct. Catherine was right about the drugging (the substance found in the widow's blood proved she was indeed drugged) and after they got a shrink to perform a hypnotic test on the widow, they learned she was abducted from her bedroom the night before the murder. Amelia Sabato couldn't recall the feature of her abductor. All she could remember was drinking her usual glass of milk before bed then felt woozy afterwards. A few seconds later a form materialized before her; her abductor's voice was muffled (he or she must've been wearing a mask to avoid being identified when his or her voice was heard) and when she came through she was already at the casino surrounded by shocked patrons and security personnel, her dead husband lying in a pool of blood before her and the murder weapon in her possession.
"It just doesn't make any sense, Cath. Amelia Sabato confessed to being drugged and not remembering much after she was abducted. We know for a fact that she had been hypnotized once or twice before, hence why the easy hypnotic penetration to her subconscious when Dr. Mandell performed hypnosis on her. What I don't get is, if Slick Rick hasn't strayed since that last folly of his, who else would want the Italian kingpin dead? I mean, does someone want to take over his turf hence the murder and blackmail the dead man's widow?"
"Good point, Nicky," agreed Grissom leaning against the doorway.
Nick and Catherine jumped at the sound of their supervisor's voice. Both whipped their heads at his direction and waited.
"What have you got?" Catherine inquired when she noticed him holding a manila folder.
Grissom pushed away from the door and crossed the distance to stand by the table between the opposite ends Catherine and Nick were at. He opened the envelope and handed each of his two CSI's a copy of a document that Catherine hasn't come across yet in her pile. Grissom gave the two ample time to finish reading the photocopied document and waited for either one of them to say something.
It was Catherine who broke the silence first.
"Slick Rick wanted to expand his business."
"Yep," nodded Grissom.
"He made a deal with another kingpin to share one property and become business partners," observed Nick as he read further down the document.
"Right again," nodded Grissom once more at Nick's observation.
"So...are we looking at foul play?" threaded Catherine carefully as she handed the photocopied document back to her superior.
Grissom opened his mouth and was about to say something, but Nick beat him to it.
"I don't think so. This document's ironclad. And Slick Rick's future business partner, Tony the Brawn, is a legit businessman. Might be a bit dodgy sometimes, but he never operates on the other side of the law." Nick returned the document back to Grissom and added, his eyes meeting Catherine's, "At least, not that the law enforcement knew about," he gave her a you-know-what-I-mean wink.
"And yet you knew about this how?" Grissom pressed.
Nick turned his attention to his supervisor and gave him a dimpled grin. "Unnamed sources," he spread his arms wide and shrugged. "Let's just say that I know some people who knows the Brawn."
"Nick..." there was a warming lacing Grissom's tone. He wasn't in the mood for games.
"What?"
"You're withholding evidence," Catherine answered.
Nick's forehead creased to a frown. "No, I'm not. Look, I know how the Brawn operates simply because he came from Texas. Or his family anyway. He was the second-generation 'the Brawn' that was labeled in his family after his father. Their wealth had something to do with black gold."
"Oil," Grissom murmured.
"Exactly. But Tony, he doesn't want to supervise the rigs. He ran into a few scrapes when he was younger. My parents handled his case so I knew about it. After he served his two years sentence at a juvvie center he upped and left Texas for the lure of Sin City. He owns a couple of night clubs, strip clubs and a casino. Whenever someone double crosses him...well, he'll do something about the person, but it won't be traced back to him," he explained.
"Maybe Slick Rick double crossed him," Catherine theorized.
"No," Nick shook his head. "Slick Rick might operate like the Brawn, but he was an honest businessman. I ran a background check on him as well to make sure that he didn't have any illegal dealings on the side that might help give us a lead to his actual killer, but everything checked out. Slick Rick and Tony the Brawn's deal was legit. They were to open a high-ended strip club catering to the rich and famous only."
"High-class prostitution," Catherine blew a whistle under her breath. "I'm sure a lot of horny men in Vegas and across the country would want to get in on that."
"No doubt," agreed Nick.
"Here's what doesn't add up in my opinion," Nick straightened up in his seat from the diner booth he was occupying with Grissom and Catherine and wiped mustard off his lips. "One, if Slick Rick and Tony the Brawn's deal is legit, who's against it? Two, Amelia Sabato doesn't care much about her husband's business. As long as her ship don't sink, she's cool with it. And three, Slick Rick's sons made sure to get the message across that neither one of them wanted to inherit running the family business. So who else is left?" Nick ticked off his points with his fingers and looked helplessly at the two senior CSIs for help.
Catherine wiped ketchup from her lips and put the napkin down beside her plate. Resting her elbows on the edge of the table, she laced her fingers together and met Nick's inquisitive gaze across from her. "Good points, Nicky," agreed Catherine.
"Thank you," the young Texan gave the blond a dimpled smile.
"Just because the sons doesn't give a damn about the family business doesn't necessarily mean they don't want Slick Rick's money." Grissom finally put his input into the conversation, his eyes never straying far from the food he was eating.
Both CSIs turned to their supervisor, eyebrows raised and waited for him to elaborate.
"So what are you saying? Either one of his two sons wanted to inherit all of daddy's loot but doesn't want anything to do with the business?" questioned Nick.
Grissom lifted his gaze from his face and met the young Texan's questioning gaze. "Ricardo Sabato alone cost north of 10 million dollars. With him gone, his will states that the running of his businesses will be left to his CEOs, but Amelia Sabato takes control over the stocks and the usual flow of business until she appoints someone else to take over from her if their sons still doesn't show interest in running the family businesses," he explained. Pausing he watched his two cohorts' attentive gaze focused on him; they were absorbing what he just explained. "If Amelia's sent to prison or passed on -- whichever comes first for her, she will lose the ownership of each of the Sabato holdings. The CEOs will still be in charge of running the business, but the ownership will then be divided between Rick Junior the fireman and James the soon-to-be lawyer."
"So the two sons still benefits from it," Catherine deduced.
"Yes," nodded Grissom.
"But they both don't want anything to do with it," Nick said a matter-of-factly.
"Just because they don't want anything to do with it doesn't mean they aren't after what their late father's billions of assets has to offer," Grissom pointed out.
"So we place the two sons on top of the suspects' list," Catherine answered, blowing out a deep breath. "Boy, this makes me very thankful I am not rolling in dough."
Grissom cocked an eyebrow and turned to his most senior CSI. "Life of the rich and famous aren't as laid back and fun as life of any other middle-class citizens of this country, Catherine," he answered matter-of-factly.
TBC
Author's Notes: Sorry it took me so long to update this. I actually hit a snag and couldn't piece together what should happen next. I'll be slowly working on this one. I still love the show and I am trying my best to get inspired to write more. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out where to take this story in the next chapter.