A/N: Okay, I guess I should start off and say this is my first CSI Fan Fiction. I have posted other stories on this site but not CSI. To be honest, I just got into the show about a week ago. But, I've rented most of the DVDs and seen most of the epi's from season 1 and some from 2 and 3. My friend Rachael helped me get up to date on what's happened and I think this should be good. But that's up to you.
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or anything related to it.
Two's Company, Three's a Murder
Chapter One - RumorsCatherine sauntered into the break room, bye the look on her face you could tell she had a piece of juicy gossip. That was the great thing about the saucy strawberry blonde; she was never in short supply of gossip. And today, the gossip was not only huge, but a little disturbing.
"Boy," she said, addressing Warrick, Nick, and Greg, "I do believe hell has frozen over." She said down backwards in one of the hard plastic chairs.
"What's up now?" Warrick asked laughing.
"Prepare yourselves, this is quite disturbing. According to my sources, Ecklie has a girlfriend." Nicks mouth flew open and Warrick mimicked his actions. By far, Greg's reaction was the most amusing. Greg had just taken a bite of his tuna fish sandwich when Catherine dispersed the news and in no time Greg was disgustingly spitting it out.
"You're shitting me, right?" asked Nick, mouth still open in shock.
"C'mon, would I lie to you boys?" The shot glances at her. "Okay, scratch that, would I lie to you guys about something this big?" They nodded in mutual understanding and repulsion.
"What's so big?" asked Sara as she walked into the room.
"Ecklie has a girlfriend," replied Warrick.
"That is disgusting," said Grissom as he walked into the room with a stack of assignments in his hands, "but it is not our problem." Everyone faced him and waited for their assignments to be handed out.
"Catherine, Warrick, and Nick, you three have a DB. A girl who looks to be in her late twenties was found in a dumpster for the Olive Garden just a half mile off of the Strip." All three nodded and headed out. Grissom looked at Sara and proceeded to tell her of their case.
"Sara, you, Greg, and I have a missing persons report. A three year old girl was taken from her home by her father after he severely beat the mother and knocked her unconscious." Greg nodded and headed out to the lab. Grissom stayed back and sat down next to Sara who was quiet.
"Are you going to be okay with this Sara? I can take you off the case if you want." She looked up at him a little dazed and smiled.
"I'll be fine Griss. I can't let my past control me forever." Grissom smiled and stood up. He knew he was getting too close and was scared that if Sara got too emotional on this case he might get too close to her through comforting. But he also knew that he needed Sara for this case. There was no way to get around that.
"Hey, how 'bout you go out to the car and I'll be there in a minute? I have to get something." Grissom nodded and left the room. Sara closed the door and felt her knees buckle and send her to the ground.
"Get a hold of yourself Sara, you've dealt with these cases before, you can do it again," Sara told herself. As much as she didn't want to appear weak in front of Grissom she had to remind herself that this was not about him. This was about a little girl that needed her help and a battered wife trying to find her daughter.
When Catherine, Warrick, and Nick arrived at the scene they grimaced a little at the scene. The girl looked to be in her late twenties but they would have to wait for fingerprinting to verify. She had short blonde hair but it was covered so much blood you would have thought it was red. From the look of things, she had been shot in the head twice and Catherine had the suspicion there were more bullet wounds.
Warrick looked in the dumpster and found a green Coach purse spattered with blood. Inside was a wallet with three hundred dollars but no ID. The killer wanted to make sure no one knew who she was. Warrick bagged the purse and walked over to Nick who was looking at something on the sidewalk.
"See this?" Nick said pointing to large blood spatter. "It's looks as though she was shot here and then dragged to the dumpster." Nick pointed out a faint, smeared, trail on blood that led in the direction of the dumpster.
"You know, even after all my years doing this, it still sickens me at how cruel people can be," replied Warrick as he stood up and began walking over to Catherine. "Find anything?" he asked her as she started taking photos of the scene.
"Yah, I think I found faint traces of bloody footprints on that side of the dumpster," she said, pointing to the left side of the dumpster." Catherine led him over to the spot. "But look at this, their two different prints. And this one looks like a pair of high heels." Warrick nodded and took copies of the prints to take back to the lab. Catherine, after taking a moment to watch Warrick, walked over to where Nick was and took a photo of the spatter.
"Catherine, I think two people did this."
"Why do you say so?" She already knew of her evidence that suggested the same theory but maybe he had a bit more evidence.
"Well, over here on this window," he pointed to the window of the small drug store, "there are some fingerprints. The window looks as though it was just cleaned so I'm assuming the prints are from the killers. But, I took a look at them with the magnifying glass and they don't look like it's from the same person. I mean, it was a rough look but they don't look the same. I already took a print so I'll take that back to the lab and have Sofia take a look and see if we have the people in the computers." Catherine patted him on the back.
"Good job Nick. You're never one to look something over, are you?"
"You know us Texans, we never do anything half way." Warrick felt a twinge of jealousy as he watched Catherine and Nick laugh at their own little joke.
Grissom and Sara arrived at the scene and walked inside the house. The mother, Heather Scott, was sitting on her suede couch wrapped in a thick red blanket. She had a large bruise around her eye but it paled in comparison to the large gash that started at her left eyebrow and ran up into her hairline. It was still fresh and bleeding quite profusely. Sara grimaced at the scene.
"Hi, Mrs. Scott. I'm Gil Grissom and this is my partner Sara Sidle. We're here to help you find your daughter." The woman had light brown hair that was filled with tangles. Here deep blue eyes were filling with tears at the thought that her daughter might be dead.
"Please, call me Heather?" Grissom nodded. Sara was walking around the house viewing the damage.
"Okay, Heather. I must ask you, why were you passed out when your husband, James, took off with your daughter?" Heather, who had been crying, collected her composure.
"He and I were yelling. I had come home to find him hitting Missy, or Melissa, with a belt. He said she has talked back to him, which was ridiculous since she's only three. I grabbed her away and we started fighting. He grabbed the toaster because it was the closest, and threw it at me. That's where I got this cut," she said pointing to her head.
"When did all the abuse start?" asked Sara, finally coming out of her daze.
"About five years ago."
"So he was still hitting you while you were pregnant?" Heather looked at her hands that rested in her laps.
"Yes." Her voice was low, and barley audible, but Sara heard it. She shook her head in frustration and stomped her foot.
"Why? Why didn't you get out? Why didn't you take your daughter and leave?" Sara asked the questions but she knew the answer.
"I was scared. If I left him he would have killed me. If I told he would have killed me. I couldn't tell anyone. It's not something I liked, living is fear is horrible. I was just trying to protect my daughter." Sara looked at Grissom and signaled for him to leave. He took off with the fingerprinting kit and headed into the daughters room, out of earshot.
"I know what it's like to live in fear," Sara said to the shaking mother. "And I understand why you were reluctant to do anything, my mother was the same way." Heather looked up at the vulnerable brunette sitting next to her.
"You were abused?"
"Yes. My mother and I were both abused. And, even though what you did was not the best idea, it was better than what my mother did and you have my respect because of that." Heather could tell that she should not persist on asking what her mother had done. She had a good enough assumption.
"Sara, Miss Sidle, do you think she's alive? Do you think my little Missy is still alive?" Sara looked at her with saddened eyes.
"I don't know. I really don't." Grissom was looking out of the door of the little girls room and watched the whole conversation. He could tell Sara was going to become emotional, but he also knew she would be determined. Deep down in the pit of his stomach he felt sorrow for Sara, but if he let that feeling surface, he knew he just might regret it.