Title: Pride and Prejudice
Disclaimers: Sadly, I do not own anything or anybody related to CSI. Nor the lines I quoted in the story.
Chapter Twenty-six
From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate. – Socrates
With sincere appreciation in his eyes, Hodges said to the wide eyed Sara, "I just wanted you to know that I think it was cool that you finally filed a report against that photo company."
"How?"
"Sara Sidle, I have my sources but again, I came in peace. You're cool!"
"Well, it wasn't as easy as you might think…"
"You did the right thing, it's our job, and actually, we have no other choice…as hard as it is."
Sara was surprised and touched by his words and in her unstable state of mind, Sara was grateful for every supportive word regardless of who told them. Even though she also knew that she had done the right thing with reporting the foul play, Jacob Spring had died and the pain could not get any less with or without justice.
Sara was about to thank Hodges for his support when they heard a man shouting from the other end of the hallway and a woman shouting back from right behind Sara.
"Yes, father. I'm sorry," the young woman said but found it hard to look away from Sara.
To Sara, it seemed that the woman with long, wavy brown hair had been about to say something to her but then she had changed her mind. Sara arched her eyebrows but then took only a glance in the direction of the other's voice. The man was looking at her in a strange way just like this young lady had done moments ago. But the odd, almost eerie feeling ended as soon as it had started when Hodges touched Sara's arm. She looked back at him and let a slight smile adorn her lips.
"Thanks, Hodges. But keep it to yourself for now, okay?"
"Of course. I'm not gossiping."
With a parting nod, Sara left the man there and headed toward the interrogation room hoping to catch the other victim there. She went into the observation room to listen to and watch the questioning but through the glass she only saw Brass and Greg sitting there talking. Sara checked the clock on the wall and got shocked to realize that she had been in the rest room for almost an hour.
Again in that secluded room, Sara's haunting past had grabbed her and tried to push her into an endless abyss. In this dark room, she again could see her own face reflected in the glass and felt the desire to break the glass in order to get rid of the image of her sour face. But then, an almost forgotten voice of her step-mother asked her to listen.
For someone who was living in the past, their present was like their past. It could look so real to them just like their own reflexions in mirrors and if they tried to break the mirrors, only their hands were going to get injured.
Sara closed her eyes and remembered the only woman who had treated her like a worthy child. The only woman in her life who had seemed to know every answer to every question. Sara took a deep breath and decided not to let her dark thoughts ruin her critical thinking. What was logical was right and what was right, it felt right and good. Then why did she feel so bad?
"Hey, Sara!" Greg cheered when he caught the sight of his friend pulling Sara out of her wandering. "We've got the statement, we're good!"
"How did it go?"
"Well, wasn't very easy. July Harper hated every moment of it but her father persuaded her to tell us everything," he pressed the word 'persuade' with the quotation marks hand gesture to indicate that he would not want a father like Mr. Harper.
"Did July tell you why she had tried to keep it a secret?"
"Oh, she didn't need to. Her father answered for her…"
"Why?"
"I think her father is some kinda control-freak. Probably this was the main reason July wanted to hide this stuff from her father. And she was about to get promoted…"
"So if I had not reported it, she would have gotten the promotion."
"Stop this Sara! We couldn't close our eyes to any crime, no matter…"
"No matter what we do, somebody will get hurt in the end," Sara mourned over Jacob Spring and now over July Harper so she quickly looked away from Greg who witnessed her torture.
"Sara, it wasn't for nothing."
"That's what I fear."
"Look, we've everything we need to have 'DigiZoom'. They won't hurt anybody else, I promise you!"
"Thanks, Greg!"
"Want to grab something for breakfast?" he asked the woman knowing that the lottery tickets had provided her enough money until salary day.
"Um…I think I'll go home instead. To see what killing trap Herbie cooked for me," she said but she only wanted to be alone for a little before shift. She would not let anybody see her fragile state; her job was her indicator as a worthy person of the society.
Greg did not insist on going out for breakfast, the young CSI knew Sara enough to understand her need for space and time to recover. But this fact would not keep him from informing Grissom when the time would be right about the happenings this morning. If someone, it was Grissom who could comfort Sara, Greg knew this, too.
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February 19th, 2005
My father thinks I went to work after this awful morning but I couldn't. How would I have? When my father thinks I'm capable of nothing…nothing at all. I don't know why he hates me but I know he does hate me, or blames me for something, however, I didn't do anything wrong. Ever.
I thought he wanted to come with me to hold me close, to support me, to protect me but he threw me to the wolves. And they were thirsty for my blood I could tell. I was sitting there naked…bleeding and my father was my worst enemy. Fathers like their children. It is the law of nature, right? Then why does my father hate me? I'm his flesh and blood. I wish he loved me. I wish he loved me half as much as my mother loves me.
My dear mother. She isn't happy either. When they think I am not there and can't hear them, they often argue…argue about me. And in the end, my mother always let him win…always. She chooses him…over me. But I'm her flesh and blood, right? Shouldn't she choose me?
I'm sure I let them down again. And the disappointment in their eyes is slowly killing me. I feel I can't fight any longer when the result is nothing else but more failures. My mother said once when I asked her how she could live with my father…she said that human gets used to their lives as well going by…human gets even used to living someone else's dreams, too. With time, human gets used to everything. But one thing my mother doesn't know. I'm used to living the life of July my father likes but I'll never get used to forgetting my dreams, forgetting who I really am.
I'm betrayed by my parents, by my friends and I was betrayed by strangers. Strangers like Sara Sidle. Why did she have to do that? I didn't do any harm to her so why? I didn't even know her, so why? Why does that Sara Sidle hate me this much? But now, I hate her, too.
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A long hour of walking later, Sara was sitting on the old bench in the park that she usually visited when she needed peace. The park was near her apartment complex, she felt safe there. She loved that particular place so she called that few square feet hers. A month and a half ago, Sara had found it ironical that just like everything else in her life, this small section of area had not been hers either. Still, it had felt like one. The dark green paint on the seat was mostly peeled off, the back-rest started to rot. No one seemed to visit that bench, it looked abandoned and unfriendly but Sara still liked it. Months ago, that area had been her sanctuary from the life she had had to live; now, it was the place where she could remember what she had lacked then but had now. Months ago she had named every tree around the wooden furniture; every bush had got a label, too. Once in a while, one or two sparrows had challenged her. Months ago it had seemed that only the animals had been kind to her. They had never judged her; never expected her to be perfect. They had loved her the way she was. Now, Sara had Grissom, too, who loved her because for him she was perfect. She also had Herbie who adored her for what she was and Sara had Hank, as well, who worshipped her just the way she was.
This morning was quiet, though. No little birds, no insects, only her and her remorse. Sara pulled her legs up to her chest and was just sitting there thinking about the what-ifs. What would have happened if she had made another decision, if she had chosen not to file that report? Maybe Jacob Spring would be still alive. Life versus justice. Was reporting that crime really the right thing to do? She really did not know. One thing she knew though. If she had not come clean and tell him what she had done, Grissom would have been harmed in every possible way. He would not have stopped investigating and sooner or later, his reputation would have been ruined, therefore, he himself would have been destroyed. Gil Grissom versus Jacob Spring. Had it been selfishness to choose Grissom over a faceless stranger? Was it heartlessness to be so sure that she would do the same if she had to again? Because she would do anything again to protect the only man who had taken the chance on her, risked to love her and offered his embrace as a home for her. People were supposed to guard their loved one from any harm, right? Then why did Sara feel as if she had pushed the gas pedal lower and lower in Jacob Spring's car?
Sara looked down at her watch and saw that she still had five hours until shift and she automatically took her cell phone out to call the only man whose voice meant remedy to any sorrow. But then she pressed the end button just as quickly. The Eiger case needed his attention; it was a high-priority case. Sara did not want to disturb him with such a thing like her turmoil. She had already caused him annoyances enough for the rest of his life. So she decided to go home, feed the monster, clean the flat and go back to the Lab. She could handle it, she had to.
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In the Lab, Grissom and Catherine were gradually getting closer to solving the Eiger case. Whenever they had thought that they had had the person who had been responsible for the casino mogul's death, new evidence or a new suspicious character swam into their sights. If Grissom wanted to be honest with himself, he would have to admit that this snip-snap riddle entertained him. He loved observing the strange angles of human nature and behavior; he enjoyed solving mysteries like this.
"LSD is in and out of your system in twenty minutes. But it acts as a trigger, which sets off cascading reactions in the brain. The brain keeps cascading long after the drug is gone."
The Eiger case somehow got under Catherine's skin more than it did to anyone else in the team. There were moments that Catherine just could not understand. A man like Bruce Eiger who had controlled so many people's lives and he had been running in diapers giving someone a chance to hold it against him or worse. Why did people do stupid things like this, she would never get it. "Well, there are good trips, and bad trips, and trips right off the balcony."
"Strange drug of choice for a control freak," Grissom on the other hand rarely thought about the whys. He simply watched people, registered their behaviors and then tried to draw a pattern from the data. But to decode the data he might earn? Waste of time. It would be like to solve a function of multiple variables when one knew too less to even try to solve it. And by the time one figured out how to solve the function, they found themselves with lost minds. However, Mathematics was clear and easy to understand, people were not. So Grissom accepted humans as much as he could, he did not want to judge them, even though, sometimes it had been hard for him not to do that.
"Maybe not his choice," Catherine added shaking Grissom out of his thinking.
After Catherine and Grissom had departed in the hallway, Grissom headed straight to his office. The man did not like the hallway from the stairs to his office; he preferred approaching his office from the opposite direction. This corridor was draughty. It was almost 6 pm. He knew that Sara probably was not in the Lab yet but he felt the now familiar magical sensation in the pit of his stomach. Sara must be close or did he just hallucinate her scent in the hallway brought by the draught to his nostril? Within seconds, Grissom ceased to be the nightshift supervisor, he closed his eyes and like a hunting dog he breathed deeply into the air and without thinking, he turned toward from where the scent might travel to him. The sense of smell conquered his sense of sight and hearing. His legs seemed to function on their own and brought Grissom to the locker room where he finally could see the source of the intoxicating fragrance.
"You're early again," he told Sara after he had looked around to be sure they were alone.
"Hey!" she greeted him clearly happy to see him. "I just thought I could help with the Eiger case…no field work…just in the Lab." Her lips already lost the beautiful smile.
"You okay?" he asked when he noticed her effort to hide her melancholy.
"Sure," she said too quickly.
"How were the interrogations going? I heard we've got everything we need to nail 'DigiZoom'. Everything will be alright now."
Sara wanted to yell at him that nothing would be okay because one man had died and his family would mourn him until their own deaths. She knew about mourning way too well. And everybody said that everything would be alright. How would anything be ever alright after what had happened? Did Greg or Grissom not get it?
Maybe her anger was irrational but it felt very real. She did not know what she expected. Sara longed for comforting words, still the ones she had received angered her beyond measure. Would it be a wakening slap in the face if any of them had told her that she had been responsible for Jacob's death? Would she stop blaming herself and finally would she accept that every move of people affected the others' lives?
Sara looked at him ready to lash out but the sparkle in Grissom's eyes melted Sara's heart. This man truly believed that everything would be okay when justice would be served. This man honestly offered her his trust and comfort; she had no right to be angry at him or at Greg. Sara realized that her anger was fed on her frustration, fear and guilt and had nothing to do with the words Grissom or Greg had said.
"Yeah, eventually…We have the statement. How is the Eiger case?"
Grissom's face lit up at the mention of that aberrant case. He gradually inched closer to Sara unconsciously needing her closeness while he told her every little detail about the case. Sara could pinpoint the moments when Grissom had loved what they had found out and could pinpoint the moments when he had become shocked by the events. This whole story could be even funny if the protagonist had not died on the way.
"I love my work," Grissom smiled.
"Yeah, it shows," Sara said sincere in her voice. They knew that they had to be careful with showing affection in public but Sara could not resist the temptation and she caressed his cheek tenderly. It was only a subtle but lingering gesture but to Grissom it was like a kiss of promise. And this time, he knew exactly what she meant with it.
"Chalk again?"
"Nope, but it betrays where you were just as well," she met his eyes for a long moment then looked away.
"Can't a supervisor smile?"
"Not like this and not at work…this is your…um…bedroom smile…wipe it off…"
Both rowed to dangerous waters with teasing each other and both knew that even the locker boxes had ears. They were still leaning how to have a secret relationship and how to work together without letting the cat out of the bag. Hesitantly, Grissom went back to his office and Sara went to find Sofia so they could look through some papers for the Eiger case. Sara did not mind working hard, the chat with Sofia actually distracted her thoughts from her own issues and for that she was grateful.
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The restaurant was not the most exclusive a tourist could find in Las Vegas but it was definitely a pleasant one with friendly atmosphere. The lights, the table setting were elegant, still semi-formal. It was a restaurant Grissom liked to visit occasionally. The team had closed the Eiger case, all of them had been shocked in the end. The fact that nothing had been sincere and real in Bruce Eiger's life had moved everybody. His mother was a living stone who had demolished her own child mentally and emotionally, Bruce Eiger had destroyed countless lives including his own wife creating a heartless woman and the babysitter…while Bruce had exploited her, the young woman slowly had been faded too. Her punishment was not going to be a normal one; her real punishment had started five years ago…dark and without chances.
Although, Brass, Grissom and Catherine had come to this restaurant to celebrate and let out a heavy sigh after this depressing case, they could not stop talking about it. The dinner reminded Grissom of the old times when they all had gone out to have dinner together. The only difference was that the team had never chosen an elite restaurant like this. But again, it had been Catherine's idea and as Grissom missed working with her, missed her friendship, he had not minded to pick this place. He was just sorry that the others could not come. As Ecklie had been extremely happy that they could close the case with satisfying outcome, he had let everybody home to rest. Nick and Warrick had had to stay to finish the paperwork, Greg had played mysterious and Sara had said that her shift had not been ended yet. Since Grissom had not been alone with her when she had said this, Grissom could not ask her about the real reason of her reluctance. The biggest disadvantage of their secret relationship.
Brass was telling stories about old times when he and Grissom had been green much to Catherine's delight. The woman loved gossips about the big crabby man. She knew that there were more in this man than he let anybody see.
"I knew you have more in your pocket than just your cell phone," Catherine laughed.
"Oh, speaking of…sorry, I have to check…"
"Come on, Gil. No one called you…"
"Just a second."
Grissom took out his cell phone but saw that the device was turned off. He did not remember turning it off.
"Don't look at that crap…I turned off," Catherine said.
"What? Why?"
"Hey, calm down, no one is in emergency. We deserve a relaxed dinner, don't you think?"
"Catherine!"
"Ok, check that damn thing. I'll order dessert…"
Grissom excused himself and went to the rest room to turn on the phone and call Sara. He did not have to press the fast dial button; there were two calls from the woman who had been on his mind since the moment he had stepped out of the Lab. Immediately he called her back.
"Sara! I'm sorry…my cell was turned off…"
"Oh, okay, I shouldn't disturb your dinner anyway."
Grissom could hear the unmistakable sadness in her monotone voice, "What's wrong?"
"No…nothing's wrong. I…I just…"
"Are you at home?"
"Yes. Are you having a good time?"
"Yes. But I'm going home…to your place."
"No! Please, don't leave your friends for me."
"Then tell me what happened. I know something must have happened."
Sara could not recall the last time Grissom had been out with friends, she was cursing at herself for having been that weak and called him. She had had no right to take the relaxation away from him. He needed this diversion. Just as she would have needed some comfort when the grieving girlfriend had come to the LVPD for Jacob Spring's stuff. Sara could not look into the woman's eyes, not that the young woman would have known who Sara had been. Sara had felt excruciating pain and remorse. She had only wanted to hear Grissom's voice, to confess her guilt, to finally open up but as if fate…she could not reach him. Probably, it had been the right thing. One person was enough to suffer.
"Nothing happened, I just missed you…"
"You've missed me once already today…come up with another lie, dear," he tried to joke.
"I missed you more than you can imagine. I love you. Know this, I love you!"
"That's it. I'm going home…"
"No, I'm fine, really. Can't a CSI miss her love?"
"I'm still leaving…"
"Um…Herbie peed onto your pillow."
"What? Still leaving…"
"Enjoy your dinner, Grissom. You can come after the dinner…"
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February 20th, 2005
I investigated a little. I played Sara Sidle. But this time, she was the one who was being investigated. How does it feel? I guess she doesn't even know or she doesn't care. But this bitch is like a ghost. Doesn't she have a past or what?
I went to work today…not for working, oh no. Before I took a week off or two? I don't remember but I don't really care. Screw work! However, sometimes, it is great to work for the Mayor. There are lotsa documents there. But I hope he will die a pitiful death with his new assistant. I would have been amazing. I would have been awesome as his assistant. But I was thrown away. And why? Because of that Sara Sidle. Even her name suggests betrayal…sidle. Anyway, this Sara Sidle really has no past, poor thing. She just studied and studied and studied…hah…but she winded up at this crappy job. No husband, no kids. Good. Lots of work and worth it? A more viable person is able to get a job without wearing their brains off.
I need to know more. I want to know my enemy. I will know who robbed me.
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The next few days had seemed to be eventless. Sara had never told Grissom what had bothered her that night. She had silenced him with loving kisses and when he had asked her between kisses, she had smiled at him and told him how much she had loved him and she had made him promise that he would remember that always.
Herbie had become unusually clinging, the cat had never wanted to leave her side, and he had played with Sara, to Sara, for Sara.
Hank's behavior had changed, too. He had watched Sara for hours without moving. And when Sara had left the room, the dog had run after her. Grissom had even mentioned once that she had stolen Hank's love. But the weirdest thing had been that Hank had not wanted to take a walk. He had started to whine every time Sara had approached the door.
After a while, Grissom had stopped asking Sara, he had decided to show her that he had been there for her whenever she was ready to talk. For the first time in his life, his actions had been talked for themselves.
When Grissom could not bear the suspense any longer, he even asked Greg to come to his office and tell him everything that had happened that day.
"And Sara took his death pretty hard. I think she blames herself."
Jacob Spring and July Harper. Of course! The two names that Jim Sullivan - Grissom's college friend – had mentioned before Sara had knocked on his door weeks ago. In the locker room, Sara had said one statement they had received. How had that information slipped his notice?
"The guy committed suicide, no one could predict it."
"Well, when we closed the Eiger case, his girlfriend came to gather his belongings but the coroner didn't release them then, so she will come today. Do you think Sara should talk to her?" Greg asked.
"It's her day off. I don't know if she wants…or it would help her."
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February 24th, 2005
What a boring life Sara has. She gets up when normal people go to sleep; she never smiles when she is alone. However, she should be happy. She fucked my life and stole my father's love, she should be exhilaratingly happy.
She has a dog, a big one actually. This idiot doesn't even know how to walk a dog. Or that stupid thing doesn't enjoy her company. I can understand it. It just jumps on her, presses its disgusting body to her legs. Well, pitiful dog for a rotten bitch.
And she has a boyfriend. How could he love this skinny slut? Not that this wobbling guy would be a jackpot. He is old and his legs… He either has enormous amount of sex so he can't walk or he has some knee problem. I hope the latter.
I was thinking how to return the favor you did to me, Sara. You took away the only person I've ever loved…now I was going to do the same to you, Sa-ra Si-dle. Or I can have a better present for you. I will make your wobbling bear suffer…It is funny, I hate you but I haven't met you yet, I hate you but you haven't known me yet. Still, you screwed up my life. Why?
Normal people work this hour of the day but this shit is sleeping. I better go home before I sleep on her.
Oh, wait, she's just come out…no dog…it's my time…
Only a pity person would use a knife…because the one who dies with knife will get cold quickly…And I'm everything but pity. You might think you have nothing so you have nothing to lose…but you're wrong dear Sara. You have nothing but can lose something. I'm the only one who has everything but has nothing to lose.
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"I know him! He wouldn't have…" a woman was crying desperately in the hallway attracting audience immediately.
"Miss…I'm so sorry for your loss, I really do and I understand that it must be hard to accept that your loved one chose this way to…"
"No, you didn't know him, I do! Jacob would have never committed suicide."
Grissom walked out of his office to see what was going on. He saw Greg Sanders trying to comfort a young woman. According to the name the lady mentioned, she had to be the girlfriend of Jacob Spring. Grissom went to the crying woman.
"Miss…um…I'm Gil Grissom."
"Anne Stewenson,"
"Why do you think it wasn't suicide?" Grissom received a questioning glare from Greg and a hopeful look from Miss Stewenson.
"Jacob called me right before his…so he called me and begged for forgiveness and he asked me to wait him up because he wanted to tell me something. He said he would be at my place in ten minutes. Who calls and after commits suicide?"
Grissom looked at Greg and without a word he turned and left the couple and the audience in the hallway. He practically ran into his office and grabbed the report that described the car crash. He felt the goose-bumps forming on his arms. He closed his eyes to prevent the dirty words from coming out of his mouth. Then he checked the name of the leading CSI who had processed the scene. Of course, it was a dilettante from days. In the photos, there were well-defined tire marks that indicated that Jacob Spring had tried to stop the car multiple times. It was an accident and not suicide. It would not make any difference for Jacob; he was already dead but would make a complete difference to his girlfriend and to Sara.
Grissom hurried back to Greg and Anne Stewenson to inform them about the new findings. The hallway had been almost empty by the time Grissom reached them. People had lost their interests immediately when it had turned out that the young lady had been only in pain and had not wanted to make a scene.
About ten minutes later, the lady left the Lab with lighter heart. Knowing that her love had not betrayed her that way made her heart easier to beat. Greg was glared in front of him not saying anything.
"Look, you didn't have to read his report, evidence without connection to your case is not evidence. And actually, it's still irrelevant to Sara's case."
"Yeah, but if I had read it, Sara would have been suffering. She would have read it."
"She reads everything. Do you want to tell her?" Grissom asked but secretly hoped Greg let him call Sara.
"Okay."
Greg dialed Sara's number and was prepared to sit out the two or three times the phone rang until she answered it but the line seemed dead. He arched his eyebrows.
"Maybe my phone went wrong. The line is deaf."
Grissom found it odd that the line was dead, his guts said to him to go and see Sara, "Okay, look, I have to run some errands anyway so I come by her place to see if she is okay and tell her about Spring."
Errands…yeah…sure, Greg thought but said nothing, only nodded, however, Grissom did not see Greg smirking as he was already out of his office.
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It had taken Sara almost half an hour to get out of the flat as Hank had definitely been in a tantrum. Herbie had not helped a bit either. Had the babies gone crazy lately? For some insane moments, Sara had felt that neither Hank nor Herbie had wanted her to leave the safety of her home but Sara had just laughed at them. She had nothing to fear outside.
And she needed fresh air; she needed the walk as badly as Hank should have needed it. So here she was at the entrance of the apartment house while her two pets were left home. Sara did not take one step when she stopped and ran back to the building.
Whenever she had feared of something, she had been left alone instead of taking a deep breath and facing it together with her mother. Hank had been stressed out for some days now and she had done what her mother had done to her. She had given up and left him alone. Sara had even got angry at the silly dog and at Herbie for giving him hand in his tantrum.
For someone who was living in the past, their present was like their past. It could look so real to them just like their own reflexions in mirrors and if they tried to break the mirrors, only their hands were going to get injured.
When she closed her eyes, Sara could see Grissom smiling at her, leaning close to her intending to kiss her, she could see the face of Herbie who was eager to please her, eager to love her and let her love him back, and behind her closed eyes, there was Hank who seemed to confuse his role in the family and became Sara's number one bodyguard. When Sara dared to open her eyes, they were still visible, they were real, they were there.
As Sara climbed the stairs, a determined smile was slowly forming on her pale face. She wanted to live in the present so it would be the mirror of their future. She would not break any more mirrors; she would not injure any more hands.
When she opened the door, Hank and Herbie were sitting side by side on the couch where Sara usually sat. It was said that animals sensed earthquakes or natural diseases in advance. It was said that animals could feel if something bad was going to happen to someone they loved. And there was only one who Sara loved more than anything. Grissom.
Not really being conscious of what she had realized now but being impulsive in her actions, Sara wanted to see Grissom. An uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that she should "listen" to Hank and Herbie and stay home but if they were right and Grissom was in danger, she had to go to him as fast as she could.
Sara leaned close to Herbie and to her surprise the cat let her kiss him on the nose. Normally, he would grimace but now, he was purring loudly. Hank looked at her and as if he resigned to the inevitable, he followed Sara to her fate.
As Hank had been acting oddly lately, Sara attached the lead to his collar, just in case. The big dog pressed his body as close to Sara's legs as he could without hurting the woman he loved. They were crossing the road to her car when Hank started to whine dearly. Sara looked down at him and saw that the dog was trembling, he was definitely afraid of something. She crouched to him to comfort the dog and just then noticed a roaring car travelling quickly toward them. Without time to react, Sara could not stand up, however Hank jumped on her intending to protect her but it was too late.
July Harper had driven her car with her eyes closed. She did not open them again, not after when her car had smashed with a parking car nearly head-on. She only breathed, 'I'm sorry.'
And then everything went dead silent leaving the words of Sara's step-mother floating in the air then disintegrating into flames of memories when they all closed their eyes.
Everybody had a good self and a bad one. The bad self kept whispering to them and they should listen to the whispers. They should listen to both sides. They should not pretend as if the bad suggestions did not exist, they had to react to them or else the bad self would secretly get the better of their good selves and slowly but surely would kill who they really were. And then nothing remained, only the consuming devil.
TBC