LOST AND FOUND
CHAPTER ONE
Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or the CSI characters, not that I wouldn't want to.
Footsteps in a well-kept hallway echo rhythmically and fade away. A heavy oak door opens, and the footsteps muffle on the carpet. Typing, flipping pages, machines printing, copying. The sounds of an office calm her as she steps up to the counter.
"My name is Rachel Weiss, I am signing out. I have a dentist appointment at eleven" the girl said confidently. "I have a note".
The receptionist skims it robotically and hands it back to Rachel. "Great; don't forget to sign in when you get back, dear" she says. Rachel smiles at her and leaves.
She leaves Butterfield Academy and sits down on the curb to wait for her mother. Thoughts wander in and out of her mind. Waves of hate crash over her as she tries to think up reasons her parents sent her to a school for out-of-hand kids. Almost Juvenile delinquents. She didn't belong there and everyone knew it, too.
"Shut up! Shut up!" She hissed, and clamped her hands over her ears to prevent whirling thoughts. Her parents didn't know she knew, how was she to keep a secret? "Stop it…" she said to herself. Thoughts were choking her and she needed them to stop. She checked her watch. It was a quarter to eleven. She remembered she had to tutor Lindsey after school. Seventh grade science, it will be easy, she thought to herself. She began to recite the elements to take her mind off things. She was good at remembering lists. Always had been.
She finally came back to reality when she felt a hand on her shoulder. A red Durango was idling nearby and she jumped. Panic was engulfing her.
"Get out of here, dad. You are on a restraining order. You CAN'T be here," she said quickly as she turned around and faced him. He smiled his plasticky smile at her and pulled her up.
"How are you, Rach?" he asked, clearly trying to charm her into forgiving him. She struggled slightly to try and escape his tight grasp on her wrists.
"Let go of me daddy, please, just get out of here before mom comes and you get yourself in trouble," she said, still struggling. He kept his grip on her and looked her in the eye.
"Rach, you waiting for your mother? Is she going to take you to the dentist, Rach? You know what that slut did Rachel? She's going to kill you," his tone was almost playful and sarcastic. Rachel panicked. He started to drag her over to his truck. Rachel fumbled for her phone, but her father drew out a pocketknife before she could react. There was blood, and her phone fell to the ground.
"DADDY! Stop it! Please, daddy, let me go! Stop, dad!" Rachel shrieked. She struggled to free herself, but his hand tightened and she felt powerless. She looked around, but nobody was there to rescue her. Blood was dripping from somewhere. She didn't know where she was cut. Rachel started to feel delirious.
Pauline Weiss approached Butterfield Academy in her smart gold-coloured sportscar. She couldn't see Rachel so she parked and ran towards the entrance.
"Crist, Rach, you'll be late" she hissed to herself, dialling Rachel's phone. She crossed the parking lot. She froze. Rachel's phone was ringing not thirty feet away. Pauline approached it. "Good Lord!" she wailed. A bloody handprint gripped the phone, and she noticed Rachel's bag strewn into the bushes. Shaking, Pauline dialled 9-1-1.