Title: Fragile
Author: Lifeguard
Disclaimer: Obviously I own nothing, though if I did, things would be different. CSI does not belong to me, nor do any of the characters. I only own the ones I create!
Archive: Sure, just e-mail me first and tell me where.
Spoilers: Um, none that I can think of now.
Rating: PG-PG13 for violence/language.
Summary: Catherine, Sara and Grissom try to find the killer of a girl stuffed in a locker, while two murder victims are connected to one waitress. Can Nick save her from the killer?
Author's Note: This is my first CSI fic, as I normally write X-files stories. I love both shows, as well as ER. I am hopefully going to start an X-files/CSI crossover fic soon. Any feedback, especially constructive, is welcome. Please read and review, and I will try to do the same for you!
It was a quiet night at the Blue Moon Diner. Emma O'Brien was nearly done her shift as she noticed her friend Gordon come through the front doors.
"Hey!" she said cheerfully.
"How's it going?" he replied.
"Not bad, slow night though. Can I get you a coffee?"
"Sure. Is Kerri here?"
"She's on her break, probably having a smoke. Nasty habit. I've been trying to get her to quit for years."
"Can I ask you something Emma?"
"You can ask me anything" she answered, grabbing a mug and the pot of coffee.
"Is Kerri free this weekend? Well I mean, do you think if I asked her, she would, you know…go out with me?"
Emma smiled. Gordon and Kerri had been subtly flirting with each other for a few weeks since she had introduced them. She knew Kerri would say yes to Gordon.
"Well you would have to ask her yourself, but I think she's free on Saturday" Emma said winking.
"I want to surprise her tomorrow night. Can you make sure she sees me around ten tomorrow night? I want to bring her some flowers."
"Of course Gordon. She'll love it."
"Emma you're the best!"
Emma blushed and then noticed the time. She was getting off in five minutes.
"I better go. My boyfriend is picking me up really soon, I get to go home early tonight. I have so much reading to do for my classes."
"I should go too. Tell Kerri I said hi, I should get home, get some sleep. Thanks for your help."
"Any time Gordon. See you tomorrow night!"
Gordon hugged her from over the counter and then Emma headed to the back room to get her coat, while Gordon left. She went to the back door and stepped outside to see her boyfriend, Jeff, waiting outside of his black pick-up truck.
"Hey" she greeted him.
"So I saw you with Gordon in there. He comes by a lot doesn't he" Jeff stated.
"Yeah, he's my friend"
"You hugged him."
"Friends hug Jeff, let's drop this."
"Whatever. I picked up your book from him today."
"Thank you. What's wrong Jeff? You seem mad tonight."
"Nothing" Jeff said flatly.
"There's something wrong Jeff. What is it?"
"I said nothing! Get in the truck!" Jeff said loudly, as he got in the drivers side, slamming the door.
They rode back to their apartment in silence, Emma knowing to give Jeff space when something was bothering him. He pulled up to their building and stopped in front.
"Aren't you going to park?" she asked.
"Get out. I'm going for a drive."
"Where…"
"Just go!"
Emma got out, and he pulled away, leaving her alone.
The Next Evening
Nick and Warrick entered a small apartment. They looked around as they approached the bedroom. The place held the typical belongings of a twenty-four year old male, except now the apartment also held police officers and two crime scene investigators.
"Name of the deceased, Gordon Coachman. Cause of death, bleeding out from a knife wound to the neck and a stab wound to the stomach" a cop informed Nick and Warrick.
There was blood everywhere, and Gordon lay in the middle of the bedroom floor face down.
"Any sign of forced entry or struggle?" asked Warrick, as he snapped pictures.
"No sign of a forced entry, but there appears to have been a small struggle" replied an officer, pointing to the blood marks on the floor of the bedroom leading to the hallway and a small table in the hall that was knocked over.
Warrick continued taking pictures as Nick silently took in the crime scene.
"What do you think Nick?" Warrick asked.
"I think this guy knew his killer" Nick answered, moving out of the bedroom into the hall. He looked closely at the overturned table, and saw more blood leading down the hall.
"The victim was stabbed first, he tried to get away from the killer, down the hall" Nick called to Warrick.
Nick walked into the living room, and looked at the coffee table which held binders and text books. Two empty pop cans were also on the table, each near a different chair. Nick thought it was possible that someone had dropped by earlier to the victim's apartment, so he bagged the two cans. He wandered into the kitchen and his eyes fell on the pictures on the fridge. They were obviously friends of the victim at a party. That's when Nick saw the one picture of the victim and a girl, and he immediately registered in his mind who both were. He went back to Warrick.
"Hey Warrick, I know who this guy is, and I think I know where he was last night."
Catherine and Sara walked into a change room of a public pool and met Grissom already inside. Both looked shocked at the site of a body shoved inside a locker. The arms and part of the legs were missing and the torso stared out at them, loosely wrapped in a shower curtain. Blood was pooling at the bottom of the locker.
"A lifeguard was doing a routine walk through check before they opened this afternoon, and she said that it smelled, and then saw blood coming from this locker" Grissom informed the two women.
"Did you find the arms or legs?" asked Catherine.
"In the next locker actually. The killer obviously couldn't fit the whole body in one locker."
"Do we know if the locker belongs to anyone?" questioned Sara.
"No, the lockers are just for public use. I have the locks from both lockers already sent off to the lab to look for prints" Grissom replied.
"Any guess as to how long the body has been here?" Catherine enquired.
"Probably just over night."
"Then how come the maintenance person didn't find it?" Sara said.
"Good question. I am going to find him" replied Grissom.
"We'll stay here and process this" Sara said, while putting on latex gloves, while Catherine started taking pictures.
Nick pulled the truck into the parking lot of the Blue Moon Diner.
"I come here now and then, they have good food. I saw the victim, Gordon come here a lot as well. He knew a couple people who worked here. The picture on his fridge that I found of him and that girl, well the girl is a waitress here. Her name is Emma" Nick said to Warrick.
"And you think our victim came here last night?"
"Only one way to find out" Nick stated as he got out of the truck.
Nick and Warrick entered the semi empty diner, and immediately Nick spotted Emma wiping down a table. She had her dark curly hair in a pony tail, and a pale pink button up sweater on over her blue uniform. She looked up and smiled, and came over to Nick.
"Hey Nick! Good to see you. You want your usual?"
"Hi Emma. This is Warrick, and we're actually here on an investigation tonight."
"An investigation? What happened? Is there someone you want to talk to?"
"We want to talk to you, and then anyone else that was here last night. Do you have a few minutes?"
"Yeah," she said looking at the clock, "my break just started. Do you guys want some coffee?"
"That would be great" answered Warrick.
They made their way over to a booth in the corner, and Emma joined them with their drinks.
"So Nick, you gonna tell me what happened?"
Nick looked at Warrick and then back at Emma, trying to decide how to break the news to her. Warrick knew from what Nick had told him that Emma had known the victim well, and Nick was friends with her. He guessed that Nick was having trouble telling her, so he spoke first.
"You knew a man named Gordon Coachman, right?" he asked her.
"Yes, we were good friends."
"I'm really sorry, but Gordon was murdered last night."
Emma looked from Warrick to Nick, disbelief on her face.
"No, Gordon was here last night. He's the nicest guy. He can't be dead!"
Emma locked eyes with Nick who was sitting beside her. His sombre expression told her all she needed to know. Tears formed in her eyes, and she turned away, wiping them with the sleeve of her sweater.
"I'm so sorry Emma" Nick whispered, touching her arm gently.
They sat in silence for a few moments, as Emma collected herself. She then turned back to face Nick, her eyes red.
"Do you know who did it?" she asked.
"That's where we're hoping you can help us. We need to know what happened last night. Who he talked to, if anyone was with him" said Warrick.
"He always comes alone, on his way home from working the night shift at the casino. He deals cards. Gordon would come here, grab a coffee or something to eat, and talk to me or Kerri…oh poor Kerri!"
Fresh tears rolled down Emma's pale cheeks at the thought of her best friend, and the surprise from Gordon she would never get.
"What about Kerri?" questioned Warrick.
"Gordon liked Kerri. He was going to ask her out tonight…they are perfect for each other."
"Did Gordon talk to Kerri last night?" asked Nick.
"No. He only talked to me. She was on her break. Gordon came in alone, we talked a bit, and he left, then I left. Nothing else happened."
Another waitress, with short blonde hair came over to the table.
"Emma? What's wrong? Nick what's going on?" she enquired.
Warrick noticed the girl's name tag, which identified her as Kerri. Kerri squatted down beside Emma, and touched her shoulder, as Emma was crying again.
"Emma? Please? Tell me."
Emma sobbed out what had happened, and Nick nodded confirmation of the story. The two women embraced each other as Kerri began to cry as well. Nick and Warrick excused themselves to talk to the other staff members at the diner and look in the parking lot. After awhile they still hadn't found anything, so they went back inside. Emma was sitting at the table still with Kerri as Nick approached them.
"Warrick and I have to get back to the lab and process what we found at the crime scene. I want you to call me if you hear or remember anything ok?" Nick said, writing his cell number down on a napkin.
"I will. Promise me you'll find out who did this Nick" whispered Emma.
"We'll do our best, that's all I can promise. Again, I'm really sorry" he replied placing his hand on her shoulder.
"I know you will" Emma said, looking up at Nick with her blue eyes. She placed her hand over his on her shoulder.
Warrick's cell phone rang, and he talked for a few seconds before calling Nick, and both left.
Back at the lab, Catherine was talking to Al the coroner. The body from the locker and it's limbs were spread out on the metal table, and in the process of being examined.
"Well she definitely drowned to death. The marks on her neck would suggest that she was forcibly held under water, and from the smell of her hair, it was in the pool" said Al.
"Chlorine" stated Catherine.
"That's it. Her limbs were severed post mortem, and I would put her time of death around eleven last night."
"Well that would make sense. The pool closed at ten, so the killer obviously had access after then to the facility. Now besides the pool, there is also the gym, and that closes at ten thirty. I bet our killer works there" replied Catherine.
"Do we know who she is yet?" asked the coroner.
"We do now" said Grissom entering the room.
"What did you find out?" enquired Catherine.
"Her name is Morgan Andrews, age twenty one. There was a missing persons report filed for her this morning. When she didn't show up for work today, the boss called her family, who couldn't find her. But that's not the best part. Want to know who her boyfriend is?"
"Who?" Catherine asked.
"The maintenance guy, Jay Braddock. I talked to him. He was there last night, but he left at six, and the evening person came in for him."
"Who's that?"
"Andy Flock, who I haven't been able to get a hold of yet. Jay said Andy had to be there till eleven to close the building. I think we need to go find Andy. Where's Sara?"
"She's with Greg, processing what looks like chemicals found on the victim's body, and looking at a partial print we found on the locker."
"Good."
Warrick and Nick were looking at the results of the DNA testing done on the pop cans found in Gordon's apartment.
"Well, one is our victim, the other is not. Based on the finger prints on the can, they belong to a Jeff Goldwin. He was arrested once before for a DUI" Warrick said, pointing to Jeff's picture on the computer screen.
"Wait! I know that guy too. He is Emma's boyfriend" Nick replied.
He pulled out his cell phone and called the diner and asked for Emma.
"Emma, it's Nick. Did Jeff go to Gordon's place yesterday?"
Nick listened and gave Warrick the thumbs up.
"Where do you think we might find him tonight? Thanks Emma. Bye," he put away his phone and looked at Warrick.
"He was there wasn't he Nick."
"Yeah, he picked up a book Gordon had borrowed from Emma for a class earlier yesterday. I think we still need to talk to Jeff though. Why don't I do that, and you go check out the casino Gordon worked at?"
"Sounds like a plan."
Awhile later, Nick parked in front of the apartment complex where Emma and Jeff lived. He got out and located the number given to him by Emma, and knocked on the door. A tall, blonde man with a five o'clock shadow opened the door, and the television could be heard in the background.
"Are you Jeff Chambers?" asked Nick.
"What's it to you?" he answered.
"Do you know a Gordon Coachman?"
"Yeah"
"Do you know he's dead?"
"Really" answered Jeff flatly.
"We lifted some finger prints from some pop cans in his house, and they belong to you. Were you at Gordon's house yesterday?"
"I was. My girlfriend needed me to pick up a book for her. They went to university together."
"Mr. Chambers, what time were you at Gordon's house?"
"Around 9:30, cause I picked my girl up from work around ten. He invited me in, and offered me a drink. We talked for a bit, that's not a crime is it?"
"We are just trying to gather any information about Gordon's death. So I am assuming that you and Gordon were friends?"
"Kind of…we hung out cause Emma hung around with him. He was always at the diner she works at. Did you talk to her yet?"
"I did. She told me you went to Gordon's."
"She told you that huh? Well, I gotta go pick her up from work now, so unless you have a warrant, no more questions ok?"
"Thank you for your time Mr. Chambers" Nick said, as Jeff closed the door on him.
Nick pulled out his cell and dialled Warrick's number, while heading back to his truck.
"Hey. The boyfriend has an alibi, but I don't quite trust him yet. I want to talk to Emma again. Listen, when your done, meet me back at the lab."
Catherine and Grissom sat in questioning room with Andy Flock.
"Andy, short for Andrea right?" asked Catherine.
"Yeah, I've gone by Andy since high school."
"Miss Flock, where were you last night?" questioned Grissom.
"At work, where else?"
"What time did you leave?" Catherine enquired.
"Around eleven, after I closed up."
"Now I know the pool closes at ten, and the gym at ten thirty, and the murder happened just around eleven, placing you as the only one there at that time. Did you happen to see or hear anything happen?" said Grissom.
"Or do anything that we should know about?" added Catherine.
"If you're suggesting I murdered someone last night, I didn't."
"Well you were the only one there that we know of after ten thirty."
"No. Just before eleven Jay stopped by. Said he forgot something."
"Really. How long did he stay?" Grissom asked.
"About ten minutes or so. He went and checked that the pool was locked for me, so I could leave too."
Grissom and Catherine looked at each other, then Catherine asked,
"Did you know the victim? Morgan Andrews?"
"Yeah, she used to stop by and bring Jay dinner, or coffee. She was a sweet girl, what a shame."
"Do you know if her and Jay were having problems? Did he ever talk about her?" Grissom requested.
"I know that they had fought recently, and that she didn't come by as much, but that's all I know."
"Well thank you. We'll be in touch" Grissom finished.
Andy left the room, and Grissom gave Catherine a look.
"I guess we should bring Jay in here next. He never mentioned anything about going back last night" he said.
"Greg got the results back on the partial print we got. It matched a member of the gym. Sara talked to him, he has a solid alibi, and proof that he was there earlier in the day. Dead end. You think the boyfriend did it?" she asked.
"Let's talk to him first."
It was the next night and Warrick and Nick were at the lab talking.
"So what did you find out at the casino?" asked Nick.
"Not too much. Gordon was a good guy, well liked, always on time, until the other day. No one really had anything against him. They all said the same thing: he lived alone, went to school, and came to work. On the weekends he would go out with his friends."
"Well I want to talk to Emma again, about his friends. You want to come with me?"
"No, I am gonna stay here, see what they got off the body, look at the pictures from the crime scene again."
"Alright, I will see you later then."
The bells on the door of the Blue Moon Diner rang out, as Nick pushed open the door. Emma was behind the counter, serving someone, wearing the same pink sweater. She looked up and smiled at Nick, gesturing that she would be there in a minute. He took a seat at one of the tables and waited.
"What's up?" she asked, taking the seat across from Nick.
"I need to talk to you about Jeff."
"What about him?"
"About how he felt about Gordon. What do you know about their relationship?"
"They hung out sometimes, not a lot. Jeff would come out to the same parties that I would go to, and Gordon would be there too. I knew Gordon before I knew Jeff."
"I found a picture of you and Gordon on his fridge. That's how I recognized him" Nick said pulling the photo from his jacket.
Emma took the picture and studied it for a moment.
"Do you want to keep it?" Nick asked her.
"It's not evidence?" she questioned.
"No"
She seemed to think about this for a moment before saying,
"No thank you. I have a few pictures of us already, but Jeff doesn't like pictures of me and other guys together, so I don't keep them around."
Nick watched her as she said this, then asked,
"Did Jeff like it when you hung around Gordon?"
"Only if he was with me. I think he thought that Gordon liked me. He didn't know that Gordon really liked Kerri."
"When Jeff picked you up, did he seem mad? Or did he act differently then he normally does? Did he go anywhere else after dropping you off?"
Emma paused before she spoke, handing the picture back to Nick.
"If you are accusing him of anything, then maybe you should ask Jeff. Look Nick, we're a little busy tonight, I can't talk any more."
Emma got up and began to walk towards the counter.
"Emma, wait. This is really important" Nick said following her.
She grabbed a cloth and went to a table to wipe it down.
"Emma, did Jeff go out that night after picking you up?" Nick asked again.
"Yes. But I have no idea where. He didn't come home till much later…shoot!"
Emma had knocked over a glass that was left on the table, soaking her sweater's sleeve. She took off the pink sweater and Nick noticed that her left arm was bandaged just below her elbow with gauze, and her right arm was bruised in several places.
"What happened to your arms Emma?"
"I fell down the stairs" she said flatly, wiping at the wet table, not looking at Nick.
"Is Kerri around?" he asked.
"No. She took the night off" she replied, turning away from Nick, taking the wet cloth back to the counter.
"Alright. Thanks Emma, but I am going to head back to the lab. If you think of anything please call me."
Emma didn't even raise her eyes to him. She continued working behind the counter and mumbled,
"Ok, bye."
Back at the lab, Warrick greeted Nick as he walked in the room.
"Did you find anything more out from Emma?"
"Something isn't right. As soon as I started talking to her about Jeff she stopped talking, and avoided me. She didn't know where Jeff went after dropping her off, and she didn't want to talk about Jeff's mood at the time. She also had bruising on her arms, and a cut" Nick answered, pacing the room.
"Maybe he doesn't want her talking to us about him. Maybe she knows something more and is afraid to tell us."
"Afraid to say something incriminating about him? Or afraid that he'll get arrested? If he's innocent, she has nothing to worry about."
"Maybe she's afraid of him Nick. Maybe he's threatened to do something to her if she talks."
"I told you I didn't trust him. Did you find out anything from the body or crime scene pictures?"
"Stab wound came from a large knife, and because we didn't find it, we can only assume the killer took. The footprints on the carpet that I picked up were Jeff's, but he was there earlier, so its likely they are from then. Coroner said Gordon had defence wounds on him, looks like he may have tried to grab his attackers arms, before trying to get away. Other than that, the killer did a good job of cleaning up after themselves."
"Let's get Jeff in here to talk" said Nick.
Sara looked up as Detective Brass entered the room with Jay Braddock, and Grissom following him. Jay took a seat, while Catherine watched from behind the mirror.
"So we got some interesting information about where you were the night of the murder" Brass stated.
"Where was I?" Jay said sarcastically.
Jay was a tall man, with short black hair, and numerous tattoos on his arms.
"Well, Miss Flock said you stopped by to get something just before eleven, then checked to see if the pool was all locked up" answered Sara.
"You murdered Morgan, didn't you Jay. Figured you'd stuff her in a locker and try to get away with it" Brass taunted.
"I did not murder my girlfriend. Sure we had a few fights, but I wouldn't do that!"
"But it would have been so easy. Force her in while Flock wasn't looking, drown her in the pool, and stuff her body in a locker. You were bigger than her, you could have easily over powered her" Brass continued.
"Honestly I have no idea how you came up with this story. I left early, and then came back later to ask if Andy had seen Morgan. I was looking for Morgan, cause she said she would meet me at this bar. I thought Morgan may have forgotten that I got off early that night. Whatever Andy told you, I wouldn't believe her. She has this thing for me, and I blew her off, she's mad at me, and is leading you on to take the heat off her! Now if you want to continue accusing me of this, then I want a lawyer! Can I go now?"
"You're not under arrest" Sara answered, as Jay left the room.
"Something is not adding up here" Brass said.
"That's because Andy is leaving out a few details" Grissom stated.
Andy Flock sat in the same room Jay had been in only a half hour later. Catherine, Grissom, Sara and Brass had a new theory on what had happened, and had decided to question Andy about it.
"Andy how long have you known Jay for?" asked Catherine.
"About two years"
"And you have been working for the same facility as him for the same amount of time?"
"Yes"
"Well I talked to the receptionist, who seemed to know you well. She said you had a thing for Jay" Catherine continued.
"He was cute, but he had a girlfriend. Is it a crime to have a crush on someone?"
"No, but perjury is" Grissom said.
"What are you talking about?" Andy asked
"You lied to us. Morgan Andrews came by the facility looking for Jay around ten thirty. Jay showed up when you said he did, but by then, you had already murdered Morgan" Brass said.
"What?"
"You had it bad for Jay, and you hated Morgan. The only way for you to have him was to put her out of the picture. So when she came by, you strangled her, and stuffed her in a locker" Catherine replied.
"Jay has an alibi as to where he was up until he came back to the facility. Plus, we traced the calls from your office phone, and the last one was too Morgan's cell phone. You were the only person there at the time to make the call" Sara added.
"It also doesn't help that the chemicals found on Morgan's body were the ones you used last to clean the floor" Grissom said.
"Face it Andy, it was only a matter of time before we caught you" Brass said.
Andy starred at them, then swore under her breath, before putting her head in her hands.
"I hated her" she said flatly.
"Are you confessing?" asked Grissom.
"What else is there to do?" she muttered.
The police officer who had been standing in the corner came over and arrested Andy Flock.
"Love hurts" Catherine said to her co-workers, as they exited the room.
It was the next evening, and Nick picked up the phone in the lab and dialled Jeff's home number. There was no answer, so he left a message on the machine, then called the diner.
"Blue Moon Diner, how can I help you?"
"Hi, can I please speak to Emma?"
"I'm sorry, she took the night off."
"Do you know where I can reach her?"
"I don't know, I'm sorry."
"Wait, can I talk to Kerri then please?"
"She is off as well."
"Thanks anyways" Nick said hanging up. He then dialled another number. Nick waited a few moments until Kerri picked up on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Kerri, it's Nick."
"What can I do for you Nick?"
"I need to talk to Jeff and Emma, but I can't get a hold of either of them. I was wondering if you knew where Emma is?"
"She doesn't want to talk to anyone Nick."
"Is something wrong?"
"Nick, I really shouldn't be talking about this."
"Why? I need to know. If either of you knows anything about Gordon's murder, you need to tell me."
"Believe me, I want to see Gordon's killer caught, but Emma can't talk to you for other reasons."
"Is Jeff threatening her?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
"Kerri? You have to tell me if he is, I can protect her."
"Listen, and listen carefully, cause this is all I am going to tell you. Emma is here with me, but you can't tell Jeff. She's resting right now, so she can't talk with you. I have no idea where that jerk Jeff is, and she probably doesn't either. Try his cell."
Nick wrote down the number he was given.
"Kerri, can you have Emma call me when she wakes up?"
"Fine, but please don't keep asking her about Gordon, it upsets her. Give her a break ok?"
"Alright, thank you. Bye"
Nick hung up and was thinking about what Kerri had said when Catherine came into the room with Warrick.
"Hey Nicky, how's the case going?"
"Emma's not at work tonight. She's at Kerri's place, and Kerri says we can't tell Jeff she's there."
"Sounds like she's hiding from him" Catherine said.
"I think she might be too. Kerri doesn't seem to think to highly of Jeff, and when I asked her if Jeff had threatened Emma, she was silent."
"I think Jeff is our guy. Let's try that number" Warrick added.
Nick tried it, but no one answered.
"Why don't we take a drive over to his place, see if he suddenly decides to show up there" Warrick suggested.
"I'll drive" Nick answered.
After an hour and a bit of looking for their suspect, they were still empty handed. They had gone to the apartment, to the diner, and where Jeff worked, but had not seen him. They were headed back to the crime lab when Nick's cell phone rang.
"Stokes"
"Nick, it's Emma, you called me."
"Yeah, I need to know where I can find Jeff."
"I don't know."
"Emma, do you have any idea where he might be?"
"If you didn't find him at home, then try these bars."
She listed off a few of them, Nick thanked her and they drove off. They didn't find him at the bars.
"I guess now all we have left to do is wait" Warrick said as they drove away from the last bar.
"Yeah, he's gotta show up at his place or work sometime. He can't hide forever" answered Nick.
They drove back to the lab, opting to review the case for any details they had missed instead of driving around Vegas all night.
As Nick was checking his e-mail at home the next day, his phone rang.
"Hello"
"Nick, it's Emma.." she said sounding worried.
"What's wrong?"
"Kerri went out early this morning, she said she couldn't sleep and was going to this take out place that is open all night. I woke up, and she wasn't back."
"Are you sure she didn't go somewhere else? Did she leave a note or anything?"
"No, I checked. She's not answering her cell phone either. Nick I'm really worried."
"Where are you?"
"At her apartment."
"I'm coming over."
"Thanks" she finished, hanging up the phone.
Nick arrived at Kerri's apartment, and knocked on the door. He heard Emma undo the locks, and she opened the door. She had her hair down, covering part of her face, which was looking at the ground. She was wearing a tank top and pyjama pants, with a long robe over top.
"Thanks for coming Nick. Sorry I'm not dressed, I was just going to do that when you came. Come in and sit down."
She led him into the apartment, and he sat on the couch while she went into the bedroom.
"So how long has Kerri been gone for?" he called to her.
"She left around five when she woke up. I saw her leave, locked the door for her. I went back to bed and woke up around ten. I expected her to be back, but she wasn't, and there was no note or anything."
"Well she's not an official missing person till she's gone for at least twenty four hours, but I called it in on my way here, asked the police to keep an eye out for her."
"That's good, and again, thank you."
"She didn't go to class did she?"
"No, we both don't have class till later today. We were going to hang around here this morning."
"Emma, why are you here? I talked to Kerri last night, she said that Jeff doesn't know you're here, and that no one can tell him."
There was silence from the bedroom.
"Emma, is Jeff threatening you if you talk to me?"
Again, there was no sound from the bedroom. Nick got up from the couch and approached the door.
"Please talk to me. I can help you" he tried again.
"You don't understand.." she said softly.
"Understand what?" he asked.
"Just leave it alone please…"
"No, something is wrong, you have to tell me. Please let me help you."
"It's not just threats…" her voice broke with emotion.
"Emma, tell me what does he do to you?"
The door opened slowly, and she stood in front of him, her head down, her hair covering her face, but he could tell she was crying. She was wearing the tank top, and her arms had more bruises than before. She slowly lifted her face to him, pushing back her hair. Nick realized what Jeff had done to her, realized what she was hiding from, when he saw her right eye swollen, black and blue, her lip healing from where it had been cut. There were tears streaking down her face, and a look of fear in her eyes.
"Oh Emma…" he started to say.
"Help me Nick…please don't let him find me" she whispered, fresh tears falling down her cheeks.
He touched her shoulder gently, and suddenly she leaned forward, resting her head on his chest, breaking down into sobs. He embraced her, stroking her hair, feeling pity beyond words for her, and hating her boyfriend for what he had done to her.
Nick had taken Emma to the police station to file a report, and now had a warrant out for Jeff's arrest. He had run into Catherine who had offered her help on the case. After the police station, he didn't know where to take Emma that was safe, so he brought her back to the lab with him. He had left her in the lounge with some coffee when Catherine came down the hall and called to him.
"Nick, I've got some news for you."
"What is it?"
"The police found Kerri. She was in a garbage bag, in the dumpster behind the take out place she went to" Catherine said, handing him a folder with the police report in it.
Nick shook his head, and looked towards Emma in the lounge.
"She's already been through so much. How is anyone supposed to tell her that her best friend is dead? But we do have evidence now that the boyfriend committed the murder."
"How did you find that out?"
"Her cell phone. She had a missed call. Jeff left her this message."
Nick pulled the cell phone out of his pocket, and pressed a button. Jeff's voice said:
"Now you have no one to run too. You're mine, and you're next. You can't hide anymore Emma."
"That's pretty damning for him. What are you going to do with her till they find him?"
"I figured that I could take her to a women's shelter tonight, while we work on the case. She doesn't have any relatives here, or anyone else to go to."
"The boyfriend was isolating her. She probably knew he killed the first victim, and when she tried to get away, he killed off the one person she could go to. He most likely beat her after she talked about the first murder. At least she's getting away from him. I hope they find him. Men like that make me sick."
"When they get him I'll make sure he gets the maximum sentence. Look at what he's done to her. She's such a sweet girl, and now she's been reduced to constant fear."
"That's why she's reaching out to you Nick. She trusts you, and she wants out of the cycle of abuse she's in. She's lucky to have someone like you on her side."
Catherine placed her hand on Nick's shoulder as he watched Emma, her back to him, sip coffee. He glanced once more at Catherine, then went into the lounge and sat beside Emma. The female CSI watched as Emma broke down in sobs again as Nick broke the news to her.
Later that evening Nick told Emma that he was taking her somewhere safe, and they drove off to the shelter.
"Nick, would you mind if we stopped by the diner for a minute? I want to get some things of mine, and Kerri's" she asked softly.
"Of course you can" Nick answered.
They rode in silence for a few more moments until Emma spoke again.
"I want to thank you for everything you've done Nick, for taking care of me. You didn't need to come this morning, I know you work nights, but you did. You're a really sweet guy to help me through all this."
Nick blushed a little in the dark car before simply answering,
"You're welcome" while placing his hand on hers.
They arrived at the diner, and he pulled up to the front door. Nick unbuckled his seat belt, and started to open his door.
"Oh, you don't have to come in with me. I'll only be a minute" Emma said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'll be in and out really quick."
Nick didn't really want her going in alone, thinking that Jeff was still out there waiting for her. He looked at the diner, and knew he could see through the big windows into the whole place. Yet he knew he wouldn't be able to see her go into the back room.
"Emma, I'm going to come in and get some coffee. I'll just sit at the counter ok?"
She nodded, checked the makeup that was hiding her black eye, and they went in. He watched her tearfully hug another waitress who had obviously heard about Kerri, and slip into the kitchen. Nick sipped at his own coffee he had ordered, and waited, allowing her the privacy of getting Kerri's things. He waited five minutes, and then ten. When she wasn't back in fifteen minutes, he called to another waitress.
"You know Emma right?" he asked her.
"Yeah."
"Well she went to get her stuff about fifteen minutes ago, and she hasn't come back yet. Would you mind going back there and seeing if she's coming?"
"No problem, hold on a sec."
The waitress went back and he could hear her call out to Emma. She then poked her head out the door and said,
"She's not back there."
Nick jumped up from his seat and showed the waitress his identification, and went into the back room.
"Emma?" he called out.
He noticed the back door was open, leading out to the alley behind the diner. Nick slowly looked out the door into the dark night and called out to Emma again. When no one answered, he swore under his breath and took his radio off his belt.
"This is Nick Stokes requesting immediate back up.." he said as he listed the address of the diner and the descriptions of Jeff and Emma.
"Don't let anyone leave the diner. Tell them the police are on their way" he added speaking to the waitress.
Nick didn't have a good feeling about the situation, as he pulled out his gun and made his way out into the alley, calling out to Emma again.
The alley was dimly lit by the streetlights at either end, and there were a few dumpsters lining it. The back door that Nick had come out of was close to the parking lot of the diner, and he checked that exit quickly, and found no one. He went the other way down the alley, and listened intently.
"Emma? Where are you?" he yelled into the night, moving further down the alley.
"Nick!" he heard her suddenly cry out.
"Where are you?" he called out, moving towards her voice.
"Looking for someone?"
Jeff said, emerging from behind a dumpster with Emma held in front of him. He held a large knife to her neck, and she had terror in her eyes. Sirens could be heard in the distance.
"Let her go Jeff! The cops are coming, there's no way out" Nick commanded.
"If you don't put down your gun, I'll kill her" Jeff answered calmly.
The police sirens sounded closer now, and all of a sudden the shadows in the alley began flashing red. Jeff noticed this and didn't seem as calm anymore.
"Let her go Jeff. If you hurt her, it's only going to put you away for longer" Nick tried again.
"You left her alone Nick. I knew she would come back. It was only a matter of time. It was too easy to get her here. They always leave the back door unlocked" Jeff taunted.
"You son of a bitch let her go!" Nick responded.
Someone called out Nick's name from the parking lot, and a police radio could be heard.
Jeff looked behind Nick in that direction, and saw the police coming, yelling the same orders of drop the knife.
"I guess there is no way out of this…" Jeff said, slowly lowering the knife from Emma's neck.
"Put it on the ground and then back away" Nick ordered.
Jeff moved the knife to his side, but still kept his hand on Emma's arm.
"Let Emma go!"
Jeff nodded, then as Emma moved away, he suddenly pulled her back and rammed the knife into her stomach. In the split second it took for him to do that, Nick fired his gun and both Emma and Jeff fell to the ground. Police officers who had been watching the standoff rushed in to apprehend Jeff, while Nick was instantly on his knees by Emma's side.
Crimson blood stained her pale blue shirt. Nick held her, and put pressure on her wound.
"Emma? Talk to me" he begged her.
Her fragile body was light in his arms, and her breathing was weak. Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to open them.
"Please open your eyes…" he pleaded with her again.
The ambulance siren rang out but to Nick it sounded to far away. There was too much blood. It dripped onto the ground, and covered Nick's hands. He watched her face, and then she opened her blue eyes, and starred into his.
"Nick…" she whispered weakly.
"You're going to be ok. Help is coming, just stay with me Emma."
"Don't leave me…" she trailed off, her eyes closing again.
"Emma! Open your eyes…stay with me.." he begged, tears forming in his eyes.
He heard voices behind him, and paramedics appeared at his side. Nick let them place her on a stretcher but ran with it to the ambulance, and rode with them to the hospital.
The elevator doors slid open and Catherine walked down the hallway of the hospital. She glanced into the waiting room and spotted him. Nick was sitting with his head in his hands, still wearing his blood soaked shirt. She went over and sat beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Nick looked up at her, and she saw the pain in his eyes.
"Have they told you anything?" she asked gently.
"She's in surgery still."
"Nicky, are you ok?"
He turned his face away from her.
"It's all my fault Catherine. I left her alone. I should have known that he would go there for her. She's hurt because of me."
"You know that's not true. You went in with her, you didn't leave her alone. You didn't know that he would go in the back. Nicky, she's got a chance to survive this because of you."
"If I hadn't let her go in there alone…"
"Stop it Nick! Look at me!"
Nick reluctantly turned his head towards Catherine.
"It's not your fault. Jeff would have tried to find her another way if he didn't get her tonight. You were protecting her, and you know what, you did a good job. Emma is going to get through this, and she's going to have a new life because of you. You didn't cause this, you prevented something worse from happening."
Nick thought about this, then realized that there was truth to what she was telling him.
"Thanks Catherine" he said shyly.
A doctor came out of the O.R and into the waiting room.
"You were with Miss O'Brien right?" he asked Nick.
"Yes, how is she?"
"She's going to be ok."
Nick let out a sigh of relief.
"When can I see her?"
"In a few minutes when we get her settled in recovery. I'll send a nurse to get you."
"Thank you" Nick said, shaking the doctor's hand.
"I should get back to the lab. The team was worried about you, but I'll tell them that you and Emma are going to be alright."
"Alright. I'll see you later then."
A few minutes later, a nurse came and called Nick. She took him to a room where Emma was sleeping. Nick took the seat beside her, and held her hand, keeping his promise not to leave her side.
Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know please. There are still two more chapters to come. Constructive feedback is always welcome! (I know the B case was a little on the weak side, but I really wanted to focus more on Nick and the A case than that one.)