Cruel Summer

Chapter One – Devil In The Wishing Well

Sara Sidle was enjoying her first coffee of the evening in the break room, the silence a more then welcome relief. For some reason, the last few days had been so quiet, a change from the normally controlled chaos from the lab. And Sara was enjoying it while she could; she knew that it never lasted as long as one wished it would. She continued to flick through the magazine she had on her lap, scanning the article quickly to find the good bits.

"Did you hear what Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes called their new little girl?"

Catherine Willows strolled into the room, on smile on her face as she took in the relaxed Sara. It must be quiet if this workaholic was sitting back, catching up on Hollywood gossip.

"I have no idea, but I'm sure you're dying to tell me."

"Suri. Have they never heard of normal baby names? First Apple and now this."

Sara glanced at Catherine again, her face pulling into a frown.

"Aren't you meant to be hanging out with Lindsey today?"

Catherine crossed over to the coffee machine, her black boots clicking loudly on the lino floor.

"So did I but apparently I'm not cool anymore. The only thing cool about me is my wallet."

Sara offered Catherine a sympathetic smile.

"I remember that stage well. Anyone over the age of twenty-five are just old and senile. Cookie?"

Catherine took a handful from the box that Sara offered and took a seat beside her.

"You seen Grissom this shift?"

Sara shook her head.

"Nah, I think he's in his office catching up on paperwork"

Catherine was about to answer when she saw a tall, young black woman standing in the door way.

"Hi, can I help you?"

The woman nodded, stepping further into the room.

"I'm looking for Sara Sidle."

Sara waved a little at the woman.

"That's me. How can I help you?"

Sara noted the woman's stunned expression as she stood before them, as she ran her eyes over Sara.

"I'm Keisha Henderson. Do you think we could talk privately?"

Catherine exchanged a quick look with Sara before standing and grabbing the box of cookies.

"I'll go and feed the beast that is Grissom."

Keisha gave Catherine a quick smile before her eyes came to rest on Sara again.

"Did you want a coffee Keisha?"

Keisha shook her head as she perched herself on the very edge of the seat.

"So what can I do for you Keisha?"

Keisha pulled a file from the briefcase that she had with her, sliding out a small snapshot and handing it to Sara. Sara examined it closely, going over the huge group of faces, her heart dropping as she fell on a terribly familiar one.

"Why do you have a picture of my dad?"

"He's my father too. That's my mom, uncle and my older brothers that he is with."

Sara could not find any words to comprehend what the woman, this stranger had said. How do you take in that kind of information?

"You must be mistaken."

Keisha opened the file again and withdrew a faded slip of paper handing it too Sara.

"He's my father, there is no mistake."

Sara pushed the picture and birth certificate back into Keisha's hands.

"You need to leave."

Keisha said nothing, just quietly gathered her belongings and walked out of the break room. Sara waited until she was gone before she let the tears fall. She had hated her father before he died, but now she had even more reason to hate him. Not only had he beaten the living shit out of her mother, brother and himself but he had cheated on her. Sara let herself cry for a few more minutes before choosing to push the event away, choosing to push herself into old and cold cases.

"Sara, we got a case. You want in?"

Gil Grissom stood in the doorway, his face pulled into a happy smile. He hated it when it was this quiet. She nodded and followed him into his office, taking a seat next to Grissom.

"Warrick, Catherine and Nick, you guys have a B and E on Willow Drive. Sara you and I have a rape case on Holdings Ave."

Sara nodded and followed Grissom outside the lab, settling herself in the driver's side of the truck. Brass was waiting for them when they arrived, his back against one of the squad cars, his face somber.

"Poor woman was a block away from home, stopped here to pick up some shopping when she was attacked. He pounded her before he raped her, left her for dead."

"I.D?"

"Keisha Henderson."

Sara froze as Grissom continued to walk beside Brass, neither of them noticing her reaction. Sara's stomach twisted in a series of painful knots, vomit raising in her throat, burning the flesh.

"Sara?"

Grissom stepped back a little so that he was beside her, his hand coming to rest on her elbow. Sara gave him a small smile before continuing the short walk to the crime scene.

"I'm fine Grissom."

Grissom watched her closely as she moved ahead of him. Keisha was sitting in the ambulance, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders while a medic checked her over. Keisha smiled slightly when she saw Sara.

"Sara. I'm sorry about earlier."

"That's ok Keisha. What happened?"

The woman shrugged, gasping as she grasped her left side.

"I don't remember much. He hit me once and after that everything is a blur."

"Did you see him?"

Keisha shook her head.

"No, I didn't. He did speak though; he said 'This is for what you did black bitch.'

The medic looked at Sara, his face pulled into a small frown.

"I'm sorry but we need to get Mrs. Henderson to the hospital."

Sara gave Keisha a quick smile before the medic closed the door and the bus drove away.

"Care to tell me what that was about?"

Sara could feel Grissom's hard glare on her face as she tried to keep his eyes from hers.

"Keisha is my sister. I found out earlier tonight. She came to the office and told me."

Sara finally turned to face Grissom, the shock clear on his normally passive face.

"Sister?"

"Apparently my father had interests outside of his marriage to my mother."

Grissom nodded as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Right, there is no way that I can let you continue with this case, you know that right?"

Sara crossed her arms over her chest.

"Let me collect the physical evidence, get a statement then you can take me off."

Grissom frowned at her.

"That's it Sara, I mean it. Physical, statement, nothing else."

Sara nodded.

"Thanks Grissom. I'll buy you breakfast."

Grissom shrugged as he handed her the keys.

"Promise me you will be careful. Take the truck and call me as soon as you are done."

Sara nodded as she caught the keys that Grissom tossed her, slipping into the drivers seat, giving Grissom a little wave as she drove off.

Sara had to sit for over three hours before she could finally see Keisha. She was sitting up in bed, her hands, wrist and head bandaged. She also had butterfly stitches pulling the pieces of damaged skin back together.

"Hey Keisha, how are you feeling?"

""A little sore and tired."

Sara moved further into the room, her kit in her left hand, her camera bumping her stomach as she walked closer to the bed.

"Good. We have a lot to do Keisha. First we need to remove your bandages so that I can photograph your wounds."

"That's why the nurses didn't clean them right? So that the evidence would remain there"

"That's right. They are getting better and better at keeping the evidence safe."

Sara placed her kit on the table at the end of the hospital bed, pulling out al of the odds and ends that she needed to gather the rest of the physical evidence. She clicked on her latex gloves before giving her a small smile.

"This may hurt Keisha."

Keisha nodded and closed her eyes as Sara began to remove the bandages, placing them into evidence bags carefully.

"So are you married?"

Sara kept her tone and the conversation light. She was trying to distract her, keep her occupied so that she could do this with little or no trouble.

"Yeah, since I was sixteen."

"Wow, that's young. Any kids?"

"Yes, six kids. Three boys and three girls."

Sara started scrape under Keisha's bloodied fingernails, the pieces of evidence falling into the small paper that lay beneath.

"You've been busy. What are their names?"

Keisha let out a slight gasp as Sara accidentally hooked a loose nail bed.

"Sorry Keisha. Keep going."

"My oldest is Kole, he's sixteen, Elizabeth who is fourteen, Harvey is thirteen, Xander is eleven, Ester is nine and Quinlee is one."

Sara smiled at her as she moved onto the next hand.

"Oh, was Quinlee a surprise?"

Keisha shook her head.

"They all were. I was told I could not have kids. Then when I did fall pregnant, Michael and I decided we would have as many as we could afford."

Sara moved onto taking pictures of Keisha's battered face and hands, continuing with the questions, which seemed to make the woman relax.

"I bet she is spoilt rotten."

"Is she ever. Michel and the kids adore her but she's a little tyrant."

"Why? What does she do?"

"Hides in the dryer. The only way we know that she is actually in there is that her dog Susie is sitting outside of the machine."

"How many dogs do you have?"

"Three. Michel has Hudson, a mutt that he got from the pound. Susie who is a German Shepard and Frank who is a Mastiff. We also have three cats, four goldfish, two hamsters and two turtles."

"Your house sounds like a complete zoo."

"It is but it's home."

Sara finished her processing and finally took a seat beside Keisha, her kit closed and back on the floor beside her.

"I know you don't remember much but could you describe what little you do remember?"

Keisha nodded as she fiddled with the I.V tubing in her arm.

"He was fairly solid build, he smelt like alcohol and tobacco, his voice was raspy and he was wearing a raincoat."

"How do you know that he was wearing a raincoat?"

"You know that swishy sound they make when fabric meets fabric? That's how. I don't remember much else."

Sara quickly wrote down the points, jumping when a man came barreling into the room.

"Keisha baby, what happened?"

The man ignored Sara as he stood over his wife, his entire focus on Keisha. He was a massive man, with board shoulders, a wide chest and muscular arms. His hair was cut close to his head and his handsome face was a mask of concern.

"I'm fine Michael. Are the kids ok?"

Michael nodded as his eyes scanned over his wife's injured body.

"Kole is babysitting."

"Do they know what happened?"

"I explained the best I could. Ester locked herself in the room with Hudson and Kole went all quiet."

Keisha nodded before she pointed to Sara.

"Michael, this is Sara."

Michel looked Sara up and down, his face pulled into a confused frown.

"But you're white."

"Michel!! Be polite!"

Michel gave Sara a small smile.

"Sorry, it's just a bit of a surprise, that's all."

Sara shook his hand, her smaller one becoming lost in his massive grip.

"To you and me both. I'm the CSI assigned to your wife's rape case."

Michel froze and Sara watched as the mask of concern was washed away with one of anger.

"Find him before I do. I don't want the kids to have to visit me in jail."

Sara nodded and watched as Michel returned to his wife's side, his hand coming to rest on her foot, stroking her toes gently. Sara had always found it fascinating the way a married couple interacted. The ones that she often saw, the ones that were normal and had been touched by a utterly horrible event, loved each other so much that you could see it in a glance or a touch. She felt jealous of those that had found that bond, that soul mate that loved them on every level. She was also glad that Keisha had in during this time, when everything else was so uncertain.

"Did you get what you needed?"

Grissom sat behind his desk, turning his attention from the files only when Sara entered the room and took a seat across from him.

"Not really. She does not remember that much. Greg's doing the rape kit now."

Grissom nodded his eyes still on her.

"How are you?"

Sara shrugged, not quite sure what to do with Grissom's concern.

"Ok I guess. I mean I don't really know her so it makes it a little easier."

Grissom sung an open file towards her, his glasses slipping down his nose slightly.

"I did a little research on Keisha Henderson while you were out. She works at a school for kids from gangs and abuse situations. And it turns out that in the last three years there have been several attacks on the teachers and their families. Car bomb, drive bys and such."

Sara let out a low whistle.

"I hope that none of her kids have been threatened."

Grissom raised an eyebrow.

"Keisha has six kids."

Sara closed the file and watched Grissom with steady eyes.

"I want to stay on this case."

"I can't let you do that. You have a personal involvement in this case and I will not let that destroy what we have."

Sara nodded before handing Grissom a slip of paper.

"If you don't let me stay on this case, I will have to take personal leave."

"Reason?"

"To support a family I never knew I had. I need to be involved Gil, whether it be in a personal or professional capacity."

Sara took her things and left the office, leaving him to make his decision. She had already made hers.