Confessions

Disclaimer: House characters are not mine. I wish they were but they aren't so don't sue me.

--

House didn't expect Catherine to greet him, but she was there.

"It was Tritter." House said. It was a statement, not a question.

"It was the Tritters," Catherine replied. "His brother did the actual killing but Detective Tritter cleaned up the mess."

House winced at the word 'mess' recalling the torn up state that Cuddy's apartment had been in.

"You ready Cath?" Grissom asked as he rounded the corner, then stopped, catching sight of her with House.

Catherine nodded and started toward the interview room.

House reached out a hand and grabbed her elbow. She whirled to find herself face to face with blue eyes that looked at her with such an intensity that she felt her feet take a step back without her consent. There was a raw and primal look in his eyes as if he was possessed by a savage beast that craved blood.

"Five minutes." He begged. "Give me five minutes with the bastard."

Grissom stepped in between them. "Excuse me sir, but we need a confession. This is a confidential matter."

House would not back down. His stubbornness lay next to his bones, permanent, never wavering. "I need to know why."

"I'm sorry sir, but it's too risky. He may look at you, know your connection to the victim and refuse to talk." Grissom said.

The muscle in House's jaw twitched.

Catherine stepped up as mediator. "Why don't I try first? If he won't talk, we'll give Dr. House a chance."

Grissom hesitated. He looked at Catherine and they exchanged a look. A look that replaced words. A gesture that only the best of friends knew how to interpret. A nod.

"We'll watch." Grissom said. He started toward the observation room and held the door open, making it clear for House to go in.

Catherine pushed the door open and came face to face once again the killer of Lisa Cuddy.

--



Walter Tritter looked nothing like his brother. While Detective Tritter's hair was already a full patch of grey, Walter's was still thick and brown. Catherine noted his twitching leg as she took a seat across from him and Olivia sat down beside her.

"Alright Mr. Tritter, we know what happened. We've got fingerprints, fibers, and a flawless timeline." Catherine said. "So tell me how'd a simple man like you end up in a doctor's mansion?"

He shifted and regarded Catherine coolly. Catherine's gaze never wavered.

"I knew her okay?" He said, his words like rapid fire. "I knew her and she knew me, but she never saw me. I showed her. I showed her I'm not invisible."

Catherine's head jerked up. "You knew her? How?"

"School." He said. "College. I was a student when she was there. So beautiful. So untouchable. I wanted her. She never saw me. Everyone else did, but her."

"What do you mean by she never saw you?" Catherine pressed on. "Why'd you kill her?"

"I didn't kill her. She just ignored me. Always had her nose in a book as if words on a page were more important than me. I thought it was because she was just hard working until she met a guy. Then she was either in the books or with him. Like I said she ignored me."

"We have evidence, solid evidence that you killed her." Catherine said. "You can't argue with forensic evidence."

"You don't have nothing." He slurred at her. "I want my lawyer now."

Catherine sat back resigned.

"I'll make the call." Olivia said, rising to her feet.

Walter glared stubbornly at the strawberry blonde before him. "Lisa deserved what she got. She was rude. Snobby. Thought herself above everyone else because she was so smart. She stole my scholarship you know. Not only did she humiliate me all through school, but she stole my life."

Catherine regarded him with steel eyes. "Did you ever see her again after college?" She asked.

The corner of his mouth twitched. He leaned forward and tilted his head to one side. "Oh yes many times." He said.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

The smirk came alive. "I want my lawyer now."

--



Beside Grissom, House was seething. As soon as he laid eyes on Walter, he felt red hot anger begin in his toes and travel up his already burning legs.

"I know him." He hissed.

Grissom's head snapped toward him.

"The fucking bastard was in Lisa's Bio class." House said quietly. "I remember seeing him."

The memory hit him like a ton of bricks, pulling his stomach down to his feet.

He slung an arm over her shoulders as she exited her class, snapping her hands out of soggy latex gloves.

"You smell." He told her.

"Funny." She retorted. "The pig on my table reminded me so much of you."

"You know that pig anatomy is very similar to human anatomy right."

She quirked an eyebrow and gave him a sly grin. "In some cases identical."

"Oh, you clever, you." He said with a chuckle. "You're talking about me aren't you?"

"Egomaniacal and a cynic." She teased.

Someone bumped into them. Books flew everywhere.

"Oh I'm so sorry." Lisa said, bending over and picking up the guy's books. "I wasn't watching."

The guy looked up and stared at her. He eyed her up and down with a smirk on his face. Greg growled deep in his throat.

Lisa, however, noticed nothing as she plopped the books onto the pile in his arms, and then turned back to Greg.

"Greg, you better get going or you'll be late for your game." She was telling him. He nodded, gripping her closer to him and leading her away. One backward glance told him that the guy was still staring.

"You mean he liked her?" Grissom asked.

"Stalked her was more like it. I saw him lingering around a bunch of times afterward. I mentioned it once, but she said it wasn't a huge school and it was probably just coincidence. Knowing Lisa and her oh so I want to see the good in people, I should have insisted her to get some sort of protection, but I wasn't as stubborn as I am now." House said bitterly. "Then she and I broke up and I left and she graduated. I never gave him a second thought."

Grissom had turned back to the mirror. "So our love interest has escalated. What triggered him?"

House's face was contorted into frown. "And how long has he been watching her?"

--



Author's Note: Sorry for the super slow update and then short post. My work has been killing me. Barely have time to sleep. Once again took on too much stuff at one time thinking I could manage it all. Maybe trying to be superwoman like Cuddy is starting to get to me. Hehehe. Just kidding. House jumps into the interview next chapter. This one was for a bit of background between Cuddy and the killer. Hope you liked it. Sorry if I don't reply to your review. I really appreciate them though.