CSI: LV Fic - Optimum Potential Ch.19/20
Title: Optimum Potential
Chapter: 19/20
Author: caffeinified
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas
Characters/Pairing: Gil Grissom, Team
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. It's just for fun.
Summary: Casefile: Mira O’Hara. Warning for adult themes in case details.
Previous Chapters: 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15| 16| 17| 18
Going through the routine of processing Kent Thomason’s home was as close to tying off the case with a neatly constructed bow as Gil could possibly hope for. The staircase told most of the story of the fall. Even though the mahogany wood had been thoroughly cleaned, for today’s modern technology it hadn’t been enough. With the help of the blue ALS light and a pair of red tinted glasses, the blood was visible. The spatter along each step was consistent with a fall. Under further inspection, he was certain that it would prove to be Mira’s blood.
Throughout the process, they had stayed in the general vicinity of the large stairwell as the current warrant had dictated. However, in lieu of Mr. Thomason’s confession Jim had gone after a warrant that covered a search of the entire house. In the meantime, Gil had purposefully elongated the inspection of the area they were restricted to. While he knew that it was necessary to follow the letter of the law, part of Gil was chomping at the bit to see if there were any other secrets in the large space that pertained to the case of Mira O’Hara.
Most of his questions had been answered satisfactorily. Michelle’s story was a sad one. Her life had been filled with things that she had deemed failures, her daughter aside. But in the end, she had unintentionally murdered her own daughter. Kent Thomason and John Ghetti had been catalyst to here wavering psyche and accomplices in the cover-up of little Mira’s murder. In the end, the fact remained that Michelle O’Hara was still missing. That fact bothered him.
Although it rarely happened, Gil found himself sympathizing with someone from a case file. He had yet to come face to face with Michelle. But he knew that she would have blamed herself for that trip down the stairs with her daughter. She would have blamed herself for Mira’s death even though she had simply been trying to flee a bad situation. She would have blamed herself for surviving the fall. And if his perception of Mr. Ghetti and Mr. Thomason’s characterization was correct, either or both men would have played off of her darkest moment to get what they wanted out of her if there was anything left of her to get.
Truth be told, he was trying not to get his hopes up that they would find anything of Michelle here. Despite all attempts, he was failing in this. If Michelle was dead, he was almost sure that he would find something that alluded to that fact somewhere in this house. And if she was alive, he hoped that he would find something that would guide him to her. He wanted to tell her that it wasn’t her fault. He wanted to tell her that she had been dealt a bad hand as so many other people were. He wanted to give her some semblance of peace about the death of her daughter and the life she had once lead with her disapproving family. He wanted to do these things that he would normally warn his colleagues away from. It was just another way he was slipping both personally and professionally.
“Got a warrant.”
Gil looked up to see Jim walking into the front door. He got to his feet and put away his flashlight before making his way to the Detective. “We can search the house.”
Jim nodded. “The whole shebang.”
Without hesitation or another word to add to the conversation, Gil turned to move further into the home. The awkward and abrupt end to the exchange only caught Jim off guard for a moment. He was used to Gil’s uncouth interactions with others whether close friends or mere acquaintances. He proceeded to follow Gil through the house.
It was more than half an hour later when Gil opened a closet door in the third bedroom he had inspected on the second floor of the home. He was surprised to find that the door didn’t lead to a closet at all. After calling on Jim and two other uniformed officers, Gil followed them into the other room to find inside a small cot with several blankets and pillows on it. Several female clothing items hung on hangers over a metal bar that lined one wall. Next to the bed, there were three photos taped to the wall, all of Mira or the little girl and her mother.
Jim leaned in to look at the photos. “Well at least we know she was here.”
“Something we already knew to begin with.” Gil glided the light of his flashlight over those photos, studying each of them. “The question is how long ago was she here. And if Kent or even John was so in love with her, why was she stuffed into a room like this?”
“Stuffed and held here possibly against her will.” As he pulled up a pair of chained cuffs that were attached to the wall at the head of the cot, Jim looked to Gil. “I don’t think Kent and Michelle were as good of pals as he’s trying to make us believe.”
Gil tilted his head to the side. “Her stay here doesn’t seem to be as consensual as we’ve been told. People lie.”
“People lie, and it looks like Michelle O’Hara vanished out of thin air.”
Nodding at Jim, Gil turned away from the photographs to look around the rest of the dimly lit room. “She wouldn’t have left those photos behind. Not if she had left under normal circumstances. She had to have been in a hurry or…”
Jim completed the sentence. “Or dead when she was carted out. Should we set up another interrogation with Kent Thomason to ask about our vanishing O’Hara?”
“He won’t tell us the truth.”
Jim looked to Gil, curious for a moment and then understanding. This was part of what Gil had become since Warrick’s death. It was disconcerting and he had found himself worried about his friend as the days ticked by and his emotional state fell farther and farther. “Yeah. I’ll set it up anyway, alright?”
“Alright.” Gil nodded as he looked back to Jim, meeting his gaze. “Mark Twain said that a lie could travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. I think with Mr. Thomason it’s too little too late. Either Michelle has fled in a severely traumatized emotional state or she was in the way and when we got too close to the truth she was taken out of the equation.”
“If that girl’s dead, we had nothing to do with it Gil. Nothing.” Jim answered. “Alright? That’s not on us. Neither is her trauma from all of this.”
Gil’s only answer was to nod. He wasn’t so sure that he agreed with that detached mentality anymore. He wasn’t sure that he could trick himself into believing it.
Chapter: 19/20
Author: caffeinified
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas
Characters/Pairing: Gil Grissom, Team
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. It's just for fun.
Summary: Casefile: Mira O’Hara. Warning for adult themes in case details.
Previous Chapters: 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15| 16| 17| 18
Going through the routine of processing Kent Thomason’s home was as close to tying off the case with a neatly constructed bow as Gil could possibly hope for. The staircase told most of the story of the fall. Even though the mahogany wood had been thoroughly cleaned, for today’s modern technology it hadn’t been enough. With the help of the blue ALS light and a pair of red tinted glasses, the blood was visible. The spatter along each step was consistent with a fall. Under further inspection, he was certain that it would prove to be Mira’s blood.
Throughout the process, they had stayed in the general vicinity of the large stairwell as the current warrant had dictated. However, in lieu of Mr. Thomason’s confession Jim had gone after a warrant that covered a search of the entire house. In the meantime, Gil had purposefully elongated the inspection of the area they were restricted to. While he knew that it was necessary to follow the letter of the law, part of Gil was chomping at the bit to see if there were any other secrets in the large space that pertained to the case of Mira O’Hara.
Most of his questions had been answered satisfactorily. Michelle’s story was a sad one. Her life had been filled with things that she had deemed failures, her daughter aside. But in the end, she had unintentionally murdered her own daughter. Kent Thomason and John Ghetti had been catalyst to here wavering psyche and accomplices in the cover-up of little Mira’s murder. In the end, the fact remained that Michelle O’Hara was still missing. That fact bothered him.
Although it rarely happened, Gil found himself sympathizing with someone from a case file. He had yet to come face to face with Michelle. But he knew that she would have blamed herself for that trip down the stairs with her daughter. She would have blamed herself for Mira’s death even though she had simply been trying to flee a bad situation. She would have blamed herself for surviving the fall. And if his perception of Mr. Ghetti and Mr. Thomason’s characterization was correct, either or both men would have played off of her darkest moment to get what they wanted out of her if there was anything left of her to get.
Truth be told, he was trying not to get his hopes up that they would find anything of Michelle here. Despite all attempts, he was failing in this. If Michelle was dead, he was almost sure that he would find something that alluded to that fact somewhere in this house. And if she was alive, he hoped that he would find something that would guide him to her. He wanted to tell her that it wasn’t her fault. He wanted to tell her that she had been dealt a bad hand as so many other people were. He wanted to give her some semblance of peace about the death of her daughter and the life she had once lead with her disapproving family. He wanted to do these things that he would normally warn his colleagues away from. It was just another way he was slipping both personally and professionally.
“Got a warrant.”
Gil looked up to see Jim walking into the front door. He got to his feet and put away his flashlight before making his way to the Detective. “We can search the house.”
Jim nodded. “The whole shebang.”
Without hesitation or another word to add to the conversation, Gil turned to move further into the home. The awkward and abrupt end to the exchange only caught Jim off guard for a moment. He was used to Gil’s uncouth interactions with others whether close friends or mere acquaintances. He proceeded to follow Gil through the house.
It was more than half an hour later when Gil opened a closet door in the third bedroom he had inspected on the second floor of the home. He was surprised to find that the door didn’t lead to a closet at all. After calling on Jim and two other uniformed officers, Gil followed them into the other room to find inside a small cot with several blankets and pillows on it. Several female clothing items hung on hangers over a metal bar that lined one wall. Next to the bed, there were three photos taped to the wall, all of Mira or the little girl and her mother.
Jim leaned in to look at the photos. “Well at least we know she was here.”
“Something we already knew to begin with.” Gil glided the light of his flashlight over those photos, studying each of them. “The question is how long ago was she here. And if Kent or even John was so in love with her, why was she stuffed into a room like this?”
“Stuffed and held here possibly against her will.” As he pulled up a pair of chained cuffs that were attached to the wall at the head of the cot, Jim looked to Gil. “I don’t think Kent and Michelle were as good of pals as he’s trying to make us believe.”
Gil tilted his head to the side. “Her stay here doesn’t seem to be as consensual as we’ve been told. People lie.”
“People lie, and it looks like Michelle O’Hara vanished out of thin air.”
Nodding at Jim, Gil turned away from the photographs to look around the rest of the dimly lit room. “She wouldn’t have left those photos behind. Not if she had left under normal circumstances. She had to have been in a hurry or…”
Jim completed the sentence. “Or dead when she was carted out. Should we set up another interrogation with Kent Thomason to ask about our vanishing O’Hara?”
“He won’t tell us the truth.”
Jim looked to Gil, curious for a moment and then understanding. This was part of what Gil had become since Warrick’s death. It was disconcerting and he had found himself worried about his friend as the days ticked by and his emotional state fell farther and farther. “Yeah. I’ll set it up anyway, alright?”
“Alright.” Gil nodded as he looked back to Jim, meeting his gaze. “Mark Twain said that a lie could travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. I think with Mr. Thomason it’s too little too late. Either Michelle has fled in a severely traumatized emotional state or she was in the way and when we got too close to the truth she was taken out of the equation.”
“If that girl’s dead, we had nothing to do with it Gil. Nothing.” Jim answered. “Alright? That’s not on us. Neither is her trauma from all of this.”
Gil’s only answer was to nod. He wasn’t so sure that he agreed with that detached mentality anymore. He wasn’t sure that he could trick himself into believing it.