Title: Vengeance

Author: IrishDachsie

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Not mine…except for some of the characters.

Vengeance

Casey O’Keeffe trudged through the rain-soaked, shin-high grass that covered the ground in the woods across from a small, run down apartment complex. He grumbled to himself as he climbed the hill, moving the heavy bag from one shoulder to the other. Stopping briefly, he turned around to check the view.

Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head lightly before moving fifteen feet and four inches to the right. A small smile appeared as he looked down at the small maroon car with the pale yellow and orange flames painted on the hood and front quarter panels. Taking a quick glance slightly to the left, his smile grew as his eyes focused on the front entrance of the complex.

“Perfect”, he muttered softly as he dropped his bag to the ground. He knelt down and pulled the zipper on his large sized duffel. He exhaled deeply as he removed his collapsible chair and set it up next to a moss-covered tree. He looked at his watch as he took a seat in his oddly comfortable chair. “Three hours. Not a problem.”

Leaning forward, he pulled a black hard-cover case from his bag. His eyes filled with anger as he sat back, the case on his lap, and began his wait.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gretchen Michelson ran to the door, a towel wrapped around her wet hair. “Just a sec!”, she called out as she quickly buttoned her jeans.

She unlatched the door, swinging it open to find her old friend standing there with a smile on her face.

“Alice!” Gretchen pulled her into a fierce hug. “You’re early! I was going to pick you up at the airport!”

Alice Adams laughed as she returned the hug and stepped into Gretchen’s small apartment. “I know, but I was able to catch a different flight in Chicago which got me here two hours earlier. And I thought I’d just grab a taxi and surprise you.”

Gretchen closed and re-latched the door. “Well, it’s definitely a surprise!” She ushered Alice into the living room and motioned to the small sofa. “Have a seat. Would you like something to drink? Or eat? Or…”

Alice chuckled softly as she shook her head. “No, I’m fine, thanks. Why don’t you sit down and tell me how you’re doing.”

Gretchen smiled shyly as she sat down next to Alice. “I’m good. Really. I’m much better now than I was. I’ve got a new job…well, it’s actually a promotion-type thing. It’s the same job, but with more responsibility. My manager has been so good about everything.”

“That’s good, it’s important to have someone close who understands.”

Gretchen folded her hands in her lap as she inhaled deeply. “I was so nervous when I told him, but I knew that I had to. But, he’s just been wonderful.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Casey’s eyes widened as he saw Alice exit the taxi and walk into the complex.

“Bonus.” He smirked as he popped open the case. “Two for the price of one.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Alice sat on Gretchen’s bed, chatting to her as Gretchen blew her hair dry. She knew that the past year had been hard on Gretchen. She felt a small amount of pity for her, but mainly she had just been worried about her. As Gretchen went through the list of medications she was now on, Alice couldn’t help but go back to the day she learned that Gretchen had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Alice had been online, waiting for Gretchen to appear on the messaging service they used to talk to one another each day. She waited for hours, slowly losing her patience, until a message popped on the screen from Gretchen’s sister stating that Gretchen had hurt herself once again. But this time, the cuts were much worse—requiring hospitalization. Alice didn’t sleep much for the next few weeks, as she awaited Gretchen’s return. She had felt bad that she couldn’t travel to see her friend, but at the time she simply didn’t have the money to spare. Gretchen’s family told Alice that Gretchen understood, but Alice still felt horribly guilty for not being there for her friend.

“What do you think, Al?”

Alice blinked as her eyes regained their focus. “Sorry, Gretchen, I kind of zoned out there for a minute. What did you say?”

Gretchen laughed lightly. “I zone out after being on a long flight, too. I just asked if you thought that the pink or yellow would look better in my hair.”

“Oh.” Alice quickly examined Gretchen’s outfit. “Definitely yellow.”

Gretchen nodded in agreement and walked over to her bedside table. She laughed as she saw the piece of paper resting on a small stack of magazines in the top drawer. “Oh, look what I found in a box the other day. I put it in here so I’d remember to show you.”

Alice took the paper from Gretchen, tilting her head as she silently questioned her friend.

Gretchen continued to laugh. “Just read it, you’ll get a kick out of it.”

Alice quickly read the words on the page, a smile starting and growing as she neared the end of the letter. “God, I haven’t thought about Casey in forever. Why did you even keep this?”

Gretchen plopped down on the bed beside of Alice. “Just for laughs. How pathetic was he?” She leaned over, pointing to a section of the note and reading aloud. “Thanks for destroying my life. I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone as cold and heartless as you.”

Alice grinned broadly as Gretchen fell back on the bed laughing. “Well, he got what he deserved in the end. I wonder if he ever straightened things out?”

“Who gives a shit? I don’t even care if he’s still alive.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Casey checked his watch again as he lit up a cigarette. “Should be soon…providing that other bitch doesn’t fuck up her routine.”

He took a deep drag from the cigarette and let the smoke billow around his head. Holding the cigarette between his lips, he carefully attached the silencer to the high-powered rifle resting on his thighs.

“Soon.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grissom smiled as he felt a familiar, and welcome, presence enter his office. “You’re early.”, he stated matter-of-factly before looking up. Meeting her eyes, he instantly felt a warmth inside as Sara smiled back at him.

“So are you.” She chuckled as he gave her a wink. “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d come in and say hi to Warrick and Nick before they left.”

Grissom nodded as he leaned back in his chair. “They’re around here somewhere. Warrick said that it had been slow for them today. Looks like we’re going to have the same problem tonight. There’s not much going on.”

Sara grinned as she placed an envelope on his desk. “Well, since you said that we’ll probably have a triple homicide pop up.”

Grissom lightly fingered the envelope as he looked into her eyes. “We wouldn’t be bored then.” His fingertip played with the edge of the flap. “What would this be, Sidle?”

Sara winked at him as she backed out of the door. “Open it and find out. See you later, Grissom.”

He watched her leave his office as he deftly opened the envelope. Tilting it slightly, he smiled as a silver key slid onto his desk.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Casey sat up quickly, though carefully as not to disturb his surroundings too much—something he had learned by watching far too many crime movies. He smirked as he watched the two young ladies exit the apartment complex.

“Here we go. Only an hour late.”

He stood up quietly and expertly raised the rifle to his shoulder. He captured their image within the scope and followed them as they walked to the maroon car with painted flames. Centering the crosshairs on one of them, he took a deep breath and gently squeezed the trigger.

Gretchen was in mid-sentence when she saw Alice’s head move grotesquely to the right. Even as her friend’s blood coated her blue blouse with the pink, yellow, and green stripes, she wasn’t sure what had happened. Alice’s body seemed to crumple to the ground in slow motion as Gretchen stood there, eyes bulging and drops of Alice’s blood dripping from her hair and onto her face.

Gretchen was literally covered in the other woman’s blood. Finally realizing that something was horribly wrong, she opened her mouth to scream. Her head exploded in the same violent manner before she could force the scream out.

Casey lowered the rifle and stared at the scene he had created across the road and down the hill from where he was standing. Shaking another cigarette from the pack, a broad smile appeared on his face as he lit it.

“Bullseye.” He blew a cloud of smoke into the night air. “Times two…most impressive.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grissom found Sara in the layout room going over impression casting techniques with Greg. They both looked up as Grissom entered the room.

Sara’s lips formed a half smile as she met his eyes. “What’s up, Griss?”

“Double homicide. 1527 Oak Street. Ready to go?”

Sara and Greg quickly stood and followed Grissom down the hall. They listened intently as their supervisor briefed them on the details that he had been given. As they walked out the front door of the crime lab and towards the black Denali parked in Grissom’s spot, Sara gently nudged Grissom with her elbow.

When he turned his head to look at her, she smiled softly. “Told you something would pop up.”

He returned her smile as he fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the vehicle. “You were one short, though.”

Sara chuckled as she pulled herself into the front passenger seat. Greg cast a quick glance between the two, then shook his head as he climbed into the back seat behind Grissom.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Captain Jim Brass had already secured the scene by the time the investigators arrived. Grissom and Sara stood back, surveying the scene in front of them, while Greg walked over to Brass.

“Hey Brass, what happened here?”

The detective looked up from the notebook he was writing in and motioned towards the two dead women. “Well, it looks like these two were shot…subsequently expiring at the scene.”

Greg rolled his eyes as Brass grinned. “Do we know who they are?”

Brass nodded as he flipped back a couple of pages in his notebook. “Alice Adams, aged twenty-five. Not a Vegas resident. According to her DL, she resided at 38 ½ Blaketon Road…in Corbin, Kentucky. Gretchen Michelson, aged twenty-seven, lived here…in apartment number 46.”

Sara knelt by Alice’s body and studied her head. She glanced quickly around the ground before re-focusing on the corpse. “No sign of struggle. No shell casings. No powder burn. Griss…this was a long distance shot.”

Grissom immediately turned around and faced the woods on the hill. His mind calculating rapidly, he invisioned the shots and the paths in which they would have taken. “The bullets entered at a slight downward angle, wouldn’t you think?”

Sara tilted her head as she examined the entrance wound. “Yeah…”

“Considering that they were standing, walking to the car…I’d say he was on that hill…”

Sara stood up and brushed the dust from her pants. “I’ll get Greg and we’ll go on a scavenger hunt.”

Grissom nodded as he continued to stare into the woods. “Be careful.”

He said it quietly, nearly a whisper, but she had heard him. She smiled gently and laid her hand on his arm. “I will.”

“Good.” He took his eyes from the hill and looked at her. “Thank you for the key.”

Sara grinned coyly. “You’re welcome. I thought it was time. We’ll see if it works tonight?”

Grissom offered her a loving smile and nodded silently. He watched her walk over to Greg before he turned his eyes back to the hill. He was up there…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Casey re-packed his bag as he hummed an upbeat tune. He felt a sense of peace within himself as he took one last look across the road. With a smile on his face, he lightly patted the tree next to him. He turned and began making his way back down the hill with his hand in his pocket, his fingers caressing the two shell casings he had dropped inside as he was cleaning up.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grissom nodded to the officer standing outside of Gretchen’s apartment as he walked through the door.

No signs of struggle, but…I wasn’t really expecting to find any. One large suitcase, a smaller bag—carry-on sized. Probably Adams’.

Methodically, he walked through the apartment looking for a sign…of anything out of the ordinary. He wasn’t having much luck, just evidence of one friend visiting another.

He walked down the hall and into the bedroom.

They were going out…to a casino? A nightclub, maybe? A woman showing her friend around town? Nothing overly peculiar about that.

He exhaled deeply as his eyes scanned the room. Seeing something on the bed, he walked over to take a closer look. His gloved hand picked up the note that Alice had dropped onto the bedspread before they left.

A threatening note. A signed threatening note. Finally, something that’s out of place in here.

He turned the note over as he carefully read the words.

No date. Could be new, could be a few months for a few years old. Ink hasn’t faded, paper is in good condition. This letter has been stored…and stored well. Why would someone store a letter like this? Casey O’Keeffe. Looks like he felt that Miss Michelson was to blame for…destroying his life in some manner. Definitely someone to take a closer look at.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I’ve got footprints!”, Greg called out to Sara. “They look pretty fresh. I’d say someone walked through here after the rainstorm this afternoon.”

“There was a rainstorm this afternoon?” Sara questioned as she looked over his shoulder at the prints he had found.

Greg looked up at her, bewilderment showing clearly on his face. “A huge storm. Where the hell were you?”

In the darkness, Greg couldn’t see the redness in Sara’s cheeks—but she felt the warmth of the blush as it flooded over her. “I was sleeping. Heavily, for a change.”

“Must’ve been one hell of a nap. I can’t believe you slept through all of that thunder!”

Sara quickly moved the conversation back to the subject at hand. “Looks like a size…10? 10 ½? It’s a good print, so cast it now before it becomes damaged.”

As Greg set to work casting the impression, Sara moved the beam of her flashlight through the woods. Something caught her eye and she walked up the small incline to get a better look. Reaching the tree, she tilted her head in awe.

“Any more prints up there?” Greg called out to her.

“A couple, but…I found something a little more interesting.”

Greg stood up quickly and carefully scampered up to her. “Yeah? What did you find?”

Sara carefully detached the object from the tree and turned around to face Greg. “A note.”

Greg narrowed his eyes in confusion. “A note? What kind of note?”

“The kind that says ‘Congratulations for finding the sniper’s nest. I assume that you are investigating the horrifying deaths of Gretchen Michelson and Alice Adams. I have some information for you, if you can find me. I’ll make it easier for you as you’ll find nothing but footprints here. My name—Casey Dean O’Keeffe. My address—11 Brandon Avenue. Good luck.’”

Greg’s mouth dropped open. “Well, that’s…bizarre.”

“Yeah. It could be a true confession. Or…a red herring. But, there is some truth in this…we’re not going to find anything other than footprints. Let’s head back down. Maybe Grissom found something.”

As Greg carefully followed Sara back down the hill, he felt the urge to ask her a question. “Sara?”

“Yes?”

“So…what exactly is going on with you and Grissom?”

Sara chuckled as she stepped back onto the asphalt at the bottom of the hill. “Just stick to the evidence, Greg.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Grissom met Sara and Greg in the middle of the road, his eyes darting to the evidence bag in Sara’s hand. “What did you find?”

“Footprints and…this.” She handed the note to him.

Seeing the puzzlement in his eyes, she spoke softly. “Griss?”

He looked up and handed her the note he had found. “Casey O’Keeffe…”

Sara exhaled a deep breath. “Well, at least we have an address…”

Grissom nodded slowly. “Let’s get Brass.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The front door opened, revealing a middle aged woman. “Can I help you?”

Brass held out his badge for the woman to see and spoke firmly. “Is this the O’Keeffe residence?”

The woman folded her arms across her chest in a protective manner. “I’m Linda O’Keeffe, what’s this about?”

“I’m Detective Jim Brass, we’re looking for Casey Dean O’Keeffe. Does he live here?”

Linda motioned towards the three investigators standing behind Brass. “Who are they?”

“They’re Crime Scene Investigators—Gil Grissom, Sara Sidle, and Greg Sanders. We’re investigating a double homicide and need to speak with Mr. O’Keeffe.”

Linda’s eyes filled with tears. “Detective, I can’t help you. My son, Casey, died two weeks ago in a car accident.”

As Linda broke down on her front porch, Grissom and his team felt the confusion consume them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Flight 2386 to La Paz, Mexico now boarding at Gate 15.”

Casey O’Keeffe stood up from his seat and walked over to the gate, the passport he had obtained four months earlier held tightly in his hand. Handing the passport and his boarding pass to the gate attendant, he smiled brightly. “A beautiful day for a trip to Mexico…”

The attendant smiled back as she looked over his documents and handed them back to him. “Indeed it is. Have a nice trip, Mr. Killian.”

He gave her a wink as he walked through the gate. “Thank you, ma’am. I’m sure I will.”

He chuckled to himself as he made his way to the plane. He silently congratulated himself on his ingenious plan. He had faked his own death, murdered two people who he felt deserved to die, and now? Now, he was starting a new life…as a new person…in a new place. Casey Dean O’Keeffe no longer existed. Aidan Killian had taken his place and all was good.

There was no anger in his heart. There was no shame in his mind.

And, there was no remorse in his soul.

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