Chapter 11

Morning. People went off on their normal jobs, walking or driving down the street, happy, care-free, unaware that somewhere in Vegas there was an innocent woman being held captive…who'd been raped, and then left alone in the dark, and only now was beginning to see light again. There was a tiny, almost non-existent window at the top of the wall, which let in just enough light for her to see by.

She was no longer attached to a chair, but her wrists were still handcuffed and her ankles were now re-duct-taped together. She had crawled into the corner once he'd left and just sort of curled up into a ball, trying to wish it away, even as she knew it was real, and there was nothing, at the moment, that she could do about it.

The sunlight that came into the room sort of broke into her haze of despair, as she realised that she was not alone. Nick and Warrick would be looking for her…Nick would find her…he had to…She gulped, bringing her mind back to the problem at hand. Her clothes were twisted and her shirt was ripped at the shoulder, close to exposing her chest area. She struggled to a sitting position, then, using the wall for support; she pulled her wrists down past her legs and in front of her. ((A/N: Yes, it is possible, I made sure…)) She cried out as the stab would from the night before protested. She was lucky, it had missed her heart, landing the blow in her shoulder, but, as she could see now that she looked at it, she was still losing blood pretty fast. If that wasn't treated soon, she'd bleed out.

She stood up, her whole body aching. She had scratches on her face, which had stopped bleeding, but were probably infected from the filth that she had been lying in. She felt dirty, and disgusting, especially after what he had done to her. She wanted to kill herself. Instead, she moved over to the spot of light on the floor, letting it slowly warm up her skin, trying to bring herself hope. However, as her mind cleared, she remembered what Nick had told her, back in the break room…had it only been the night before?

"…It looks like all of the victims were killed the same way…raped, then stabbed through the heart…" That's what Nick had said…that all the victim's had been killed the same way…that meant she already knew what this sicko was planning for her. She'd recognised him, from, if you can believe it, back in Toronto. He'd been a suspect in a rape and murder, and although they hadn't gotten enough evidence to convict, she'd always had a sneaking suspicion that he…he had killed that girl…and now he had killed three more…his name was Trent Ricardo.

Dani felt the hope drain out of her. He hadn't left any evidence back in Toronto…what was the likelihood that he'd left any now? She sighed, closing her eyes and clenching her fists. Her wrists were cut from when she'd been pulling on the handcuffs, trying to get away…trying to get away from his hands…She whipped open her eyes, knowing that she couldn't think about that. She had to get away…somehow…The door was locked, but was there no other way?

-------------------------------------------Back at the Lab-------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick was pacing around the break room, waiting for Greg to finally be done with the shred of clothing they had found. He was exhausted, but when Catherine had half-heartedly suggested that they go home and get some rest, he'd just given her a hard look and she'd backed down and shut up. Dani could be being raped and murdered as they were pacing here, and she was suggesting that they go HOME?? Keep emotions in check…keep emotions in check…you're already skating on thin ice…

Finally Greg walked in, and, judging by the look on his face, they'd gotten something. "We got something." He said triumphantly, holding up the printout. "You're lucky though. Although I wasn't able to get any skin epithelial off of the fabric, it turns out your guy got a little sweaty attacking innocent females. I was able to get a sample off of the fabric, and I matched it to a guy. Trent Ricardo. His DNA was taken from when he was a suspect from a rape and murder in Toronto." Greg was looking quite pleased with himself.

"So, where is he now?" Catherine asked before Nick could open his mouth. "If he's still in Toronto, we're at a dead end…" Nick nodded, glancing at Greg, who grinned again.

"I was getting to that. Turns out that as soon as he was cleared, he sold his place in Canada, and moved down here. He wasn't even a Canadian citizen, and he apparently has a place downtown…" Greg trailed off, looking between them. "Guess you need the address…" He held out a piece of paper, which Nick snatched and walked out, heading towards the Tahoe, closely followed by Catherine.

"Nick, we can't arrest, him so…stay calm or he'll be walking before we can even blink…" She reminded him quietly, and he nodded curtly, climbing into the driver's seat and waiting for Catherine to climb in. Nick, through sheer willpower, kept under the speed limit as they drove to the address that Greg had written down for them.

---------------------------------------Ricardo's registered address---------------------------------------------------------

Catherine and Nick knocked on the door, which was opened by a younger man, with dark black hair and tanned skin, Latino looking. "Can I help you?" He spoke with a Spanish-tinged voice, but it was barely noticeable. He had obviously been away from the Latin community for quite a while.

"Trent Ricardo?" Catherine asked, even as she knew the answer. When he nodded, Nick spoke up, it's 'Nice guy from Texas' twang fully in play. "We need to ask you a few questions, if you could come with us?" Nick's ears were strained for any sound from within of a damsel in distress, namely Danielle Ryan. Trent looked at the two of them, then shrugged.

"Fine by me." He reached for the keys, and locked the door behind him as he exited with them, and they drove to the police station with him sitting serenely in the back, apparently totally unaffected by the fact that he was being taken to the police station.

-------------------------------------Again…back at the lab…interrogation room…-------------------------------------

Grissom, Brass and Catherine were standing in the interrogation room, and Nick was watching through the two-way mirror. He had wanted to ask questions, but had wisely been convinced to just watch for this time. He was always on the edge, it seemed, and if he lost it with a suspect, he'd have a lawyer over his head. So he was reduced to pacing in front of the mirror, watching as the guy tried to talk his way out of an arrest.

"Look, I don't know how a piece of my shirt got on her car…maybe someone I know got into my stuff, or my dry-cleaners…" He shrugged, but felt a little uncomfortable.

"Now, normally, if we had a doubt it was anyone but you who had last worn that shirt, we wouldn't have even bothered bringing you in. However…we found your DNA on the shirt. Now, if someone else had been wearing that shirt, it would have been covered up with their DNA. Can you explain that?" Trent's face went a semi-shade paler, and Nick knew. He'd been caught.

"I…I…" He stammered, but Catherine cut him off shortly. "Save it…now where is she? Did you add her to your list of victims, or is she still alive somewhere…waiting for you to come finish her off…?" He remained silent, with a sort of smug look on his face, which made Nick want to rip his face off. They'd caught him, but it might be too late for Dani. She could already be dead or dying while this bastard wasted their time.

((And…I guess…I'm done…I know, it's really, really, really short, but I wanted to leave you guys in suspense a bit longer XD Don't worry, I'll post the next chapter really soon…))