Chapter 3: Dead Ends
When Nick arrived back at the lab, Catherine greeted him on his way to Trace. "Hey Nicky." She said as she fell into step beside him. "How's the girl?"
"Angry. Confused. And she seems to hate my guts." Nick told her. "How'd you guys do?"
"Well, Sam Riley's still MIA but Brass put and APB out the car; hopefully it comes up with a match." Catherine handed Nick the manila folder she was carrying. "Greg tested the blood samples you picked up off the floor. Most of it was Sam's – his DNA was in the system from the drunk and disorderly awhile back – and some of it was also Emily's matched it to the sample the hospital sent over."
"Well, she had a nasty cut to her head." Nick mused. "They musta had a tussle...what I don't get is why? Why attack her? In the pictures I found they look happy."
Catherine shrugged. "Everybody looks happy in photos Nick; that's why they call 'em Kodak moments." She sighed.
"Maybe he freaked about becoming a father?" Nick suggested.
"Maybe...but then why not finish the job?" Catherine asked. "I mean, the baby's fine, right? And going by the photos you took of Emily most of the injuries seem to be on her upper body as opposed to her belly."
Nick shrugged. "Maybe she was too strong?" he thought aloud.
Catherine gave him a look. "Take it from me, Nick, when you're seven months pregnant it's hard enough to just get on your feet let alone beat a guy to a pulp." She paused. "No bruising on her hands?"
Nick shook his head. "No; she scratched him – her nails were torn to shreds – but nothing to indicate she punched him."
"Then she had to have used a weapon." Catherine continued. "We didn't find anything at the crime scene. And there weren't a lot of places to search." She clucked her tongue. "Maybe Emily hid it after she hit him?"
"I guess she could've." Nick agreed loosely. "Or maybe Sammy took it when left her behind."
Catherine glanced up at Nick a second time. "Or that." She muttered.
"Look; I'm not saying she's innocent." Nick told her quickly.
"Sounds like it to me." Catherine said with a wry grin. "Nicky; you know better than to get too involved in cases like-"
"I'm not involved." Nick almost laughed. "Jim told me to go see her and she sure as hell wasn't happy about it."
Catherine sighed. "Maybe I could try?"
"Knock your socks off." Nick told her as he headed into the lab to process Emily's clothes. It wasn't until he was scanning her bloodied singlet that he realized Emily had used exactly that same phrase when he'd met her.
xxx
Catherine wasn't sure what to expect when she saw Emily but it certainly wasn't what she saw. Emily was very beautiful and very sad at the exact same time. She had a furrowed brow that seemed to be permanently stamped into her forehead and she wasn't at all happy to see Catherine.
"Who are you?" She asked warily.
"My name is Catherine Willows; I'm with CSI." She answered.
Emily laughed sardonically. "Great. First they send in the cute one; he doesn't work so now they send you."
"Ma'am; no one sent me here." Catherine replied curtly.
"Right; you came off your own moral high-horse, did ya?" Emily sneered. "And I bet you're a mother, too. Think you're gonna reach me on that heart-warming, maternal level? You're wasting your time, Cathy."
"It's Catherine. And yes, I am a mother." Catherine told her as she folded her arms over her chest. "You don't have to make this so hard; we just want to help you."
"Same speech; different messenger." Emily leant back in her bed and held a hand to her stomach. "You don't know a thing about me, sweetheart."
"Look; I'll be straight with you." Catherine said; fed up with her attitude. "You're boyfriend's missing; you admit to attacking him and we found blood all over your house and clothes – this does not a good picture paint."
"So now you're arresting me?" Emily asked wryly. "You're a scientist; you can't do that."
"We just need to know what you know." Catherine said. "Why don't you want him back here? Is it because of the baby; did he change his mind?"
"Just get out." Emily spat at her.
"Or maybe he did and you didn't; you certainly don't seem like the motherly type to me." Catherine snapped.
"Get out!" Emily roared. "GET OUT!"
"Catherine!" Captain Brass yelled from the door. "In the hall; now!"
Catherine stormed out of Emily's room full of anger; prepared to go at it with Jim. "She doesn't want that baby." Catherine snapped at him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Brass snapped in a whisper. "That girl was attacked by someone she trusted and you waltz in there and start telling her off? What's the matter with you?"
"She doesn't care." Catherine laughed uneasily.
"Cath; you've seen that kinda thing before. Drug addict mums, hooker mums – it happens." Brass said. "I know how you get with these cases. Take a step back and think about what you're doing, alright? That woman is scared; she's got nowhere to go and she's got a kid on the way. She already thinks we're all against her and what you just did was only proving her point."
Catherine sighed; regaining her composure. "You're right. I'm sorry."
"I don't want you in a room with her again; too risky." Brass told her. "Keep your distance, alright?"
Catherine nodded, all of a sudden aching for Lindsay, and headed back down the hall. She checked her clock and realized her daughter would be home from school now. Before she went back to the lab; she rang home.
xxx
Nick found both Emily and Sam's blood on her singlet – which he expected – and was scanning her skirt with a magnifying glass when Greg came in.
"Hey." He said as he arrived beside Nick. "The footprint you pulled; size 12 men's loafer. Pretty common but I checked the shoes in Sam's closet; he was a twelve. Not definitive; but it's something."
"Yeah; so is this." Nick mumbled as he tweezed a long hair, with a skin tag still intact, tangled in a loose thread on the hem of Emily's skirt. He held it up against the light. "Redhead."
"Ooh; my fave." Greg deadpanned. "But Emily is a brunette."
"Yeah. And Sam is a crew-cut blonde." Nick said as he collected the hair in a bindle. "Maybe someone else was in that house."
xxx
