"I realized I live on coffee and fast food, not the best way of living. It's hard to change everything at once so I try to do it step by step. No more coffee besides a cup before work and healthy food – as healthy as it gets in a diner or take away shop."
"Sounds sensible."
"Thanks." She closed her eyes. A coffee. What wouldn't she give to get a huge hot coffee, black as the night and strong. Strong to make her stay awake, make her alert and fit. With this headache she felt like she wasn't capable of thinking.
They were working together since lunch time. Now, seven hours later their last destiny were the crime scenes. All attacks had been in the same area. Their plan was by visiting the scenes again seeing the connection between the victims. Was a path they all went every day? Was it a shortcut to a famous bar? Diner? There had to be something. Something that made them walk there and something that made the killer wait there.
So far they couldn't find a connection. The next hospital was two miles away, the next fire brigade five, the next bank two miles, next to the hospital. They drew lines from the workplaces to the crime scenes, no connection to all five.
The attacks had been between six in the evening and two in the morning. Who waited for a random vic that long? Or did the killer knew they came their way at a certain time? How could he? The bankers came out of a bar next to their bank, their cars were parked in front of the bank, they had no reason to walk around where they were found. And the crime scene was the place they got beaten and killed. Did the killer get them somewhere else, drove to the place where he planed to kill his victims and left them there? There were no skid marks, nothing that indicated a car. Then again it was a sealed road, if the car didn't lose oil or anything, the drive didn't hurry, the car didn't leave any traces.
"Salad cheese and orange juice, there you go." Sofia handed Sara her food and drink."
"Thanks. What do you have?"
"Fish burger and a diet coke. Not as healthy as your choice but better than a hamburger and a coffee with sugar and cream. I thought you're right, if we don't look after ourselves nobody will do it. And I asked a lot of favors of my body the last days I can do something good for it too."
"You had a day off, wasn't that something good?"
"I went on a twenty mile hike."
"What? Why?"
"Because I needed my head clean and I can't get the thoughts out when I sit the whole in my condo and watch TV. The best way to relax for is sport, hiking, running. When I'm exhausted I don't think anymore, I drop into bed and sleep. Exactly what my body and my mind needed."
"One day wasn't enough."
"Would it be enough for you?"
"No." No, Sara needed a year or so. Enough time to leave before anybody saw her belly grew and some time to get back to normal after the birth. A year. All right, whom was she fooling? A child meant more than giving birth to it. There was a lifelong responsibility that came with the baby and a change of lifestyle. She needed a place for the baby to stay while she was working, she couldn't work overtime without planning and thinking and…she jumped out of the car, hand in front of her mouth and vanished into the next bushes.
How was she supposed to keep her pregnancy a secret when she was throwing up the whole time? Didn't that stop? She had this for over a week, it was enough. There was no reason for this, she knew she was pregnant, she got the message and didn't need more. Why couldn't her body support her? Why was it against her? She tried to make it happy, tried to change her way of living to make it easier for her body and it…it didn't appreciate it.
"Was the sandwich bad?" Sofia asked when Sara was back in the car.
"No, I…I don't know. I think I should clean my fridge, something in there must be bad. Guess that happens when you eat most of the times out and forget the things in there. Maybe the mayonnaise. I had it on a few sandwiches."
"How long has it been in your fridge?"
"Honestly I can't remember when I bought nor when I opened it. It looked okay, a little bit yellowish but I thought it's the oil. I guess I'll throw it away when I'm back."
"Would be better. You don't want to have a food poisoning because of it."
"No, not at all."
"Want a new sandwich?"
"I think I'll settle for a plain bagel. The mayonnaise on the sandwich wasn't the best thing, I'm afraid."
"Probably not. I get you one."
"I can do that myself, thanks." Sara got out of the car. How much longer was she supposed to lie? How many more lies did she have to tell before she had no other choice than telling everybody the truth? And was it easier to tell the truth than to lie? At the moment both seemed to be difficult and energy-sapping.
A bagel later they were out of the car, walking from one crime scene to another. The sun vanished slowly behind the hills while they checked possibilities how the victims could be connected.
"You know when you walk south you come to The Strip." Sofia stopped and looked toward the tall tower of the Stratosphere Casino.
"Is it the shortest way?"
"Could be. I need a map to be sure but from here it looks like it is. The nurses and the emergency officer came this way, if the banker took the same way we have six of ten victims on the same way. The garbage men have work to do here as well, that leaves us with the fire fighters."
"You dial 911, call in a small fire and wait for the fire fighter." Sara realized she stroke softly over her belly. Why did she do that? Did she do that more often? Or since she knew she was pregnant?
"But where was the vehicle? The fire brigade doesn't come on foot when you call them and we didn't find a vehicle. And they didn't call a lost vehicle in."
"Were they off work?"
"Yes, why?" Sofia didn't understand why Sara asked this question.
"They could have been here for private pleasure."
"Here?" They were on a road, an ordinary road with no shops and nothing special to see. A few houses, most weren't in the best condition and an old church without windows.
"Yes. Give this area two or three more hours and you'll have a good variety of male and female hookers. You stop close by after you left work, have a little fun with somebody and go home or to The Strip."
"You know interesting things, Sara."
"You have been away for a while, Sofia, otherwise you knew this too."
"Did you miss me?"
"Like the flu." Sara blinked.
"Still charming – compared to a sea witch. How is your stomach?"
"Better. The bagel was good and the promise to throw the mayonnaise away did the rest. Apart from that I could use a little break."
"How about quitting time?"
"After only twelve hours?" Sara snorted.
"Sorry I forgot we prefer double shifts."
"Exactly. Everything else won't satisfy the Sheriff."
"I doubt there's anything I can do to satisfy him."
"Not if you try it with work."
"Hey, I don't hang around this area in a few hours." Sofia bopped Sara.
"Got another corner?"
"Careful Sidle, I might leave you here."
"You won't."
"Don't dare me, you might…Sara! Watch out!"
Sara turned and the next thing she saw was how Sofia went down after something hit her in her left side. Before she could do or react she felt a huge pain in her head and her world turned dark.
"…we have to move them or we will lose her."
"Do it."
Greg couldn't take his eyes of what was left of Sara and Sofia. How could this happen? They were supposed to work the case and not become a part of the case. All they wanted to do was have a look around and be back before darkness.
He had just arrived at the lab, prepared for a night with new cases when the call came in. Two women seriously injured in the same area where their serial killer found his victims. Nobody reached Sara, Brass didn't reach Sofia so he and the captain took over. The place looked like any other crime scene before, paramedics were kneeing above two people, the fact that they were still busy told the men the victims were still alive. Two females.
When Greg got the wallet from an officer and saw the I.D. photo his mind tried to tell him this was a pickpocket who got Sara's wallet. It couldn't be his friend. Without words he threw the wallet in Brass' hand and was next to the first victim. He didn't see much of the face, there was too much blood, too much…he didn't want to think about what exactly he saw. All he needed to see was the long hair that had been blonde once and was now deep red. Sofia.
Swallowing the urge to puke down he ran to the next victim. He recognized the watch before he looked at Sara's face. This was the watch he gave her to her birthday. She was one of the victims. A victim of the serial killer and not the victim of a pickpocket. How could that happen?
"Greg?" Brass put his hand on the shoulder of the CSI.
"They are more dead than alive…did you see them?"
Brass lowered his head and nodded. "Yes. It doesn't look good."
"Where will they take them to?"
"Desert Palms."
"I want to go there too."
"I called Grissom, he will send Catherine to Desert Palms to collect evidence. You can't do that, it had to be a woman, you know that."
"What evidence can she possibly get? There was…they were…they are covered in their own blood." As much as Greg wanted believe everything would be good, everything turned into a happy end, he couldn't believe it. He had seen how Sofia looked like, he knew how the other victims looked like. They died. That Sara and Sofia were still alive was only because they were found fast and got medical attention. If they would survive the night, would recover was something he didn't dare to hope. All he hoped for was that they didn't feel the pain. It had to be unbearable. Only one look at them was more painful than anything he ever experienced. You couldn't survive an attack like that one. He had to prepare himself for a goodbye from his friends and colleagues.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. There is light when you die. You walk to the light and you will die. Like a mot that leaves it hideout to reach the light bulb. Die, die, die my darling.
THE END...unless you hate character death as much as I do...so let me know, if you want a different end