Catherine paced up and down the hallway, she couldn't bring herself to step back in to the hotel room, and knew that Nick would be upstairs again shortly. There was a lot going through her mind at the moment, and the battle of Investigator for Rose, and Friend for Sara was still raging.
'Hey Catherine' Nick said approaching her, kit and evidence bags in hand. Catherine stopped pacing for a moment and smiled weakly
'Hey'
'Is there something you know?' Nick asked gently 'You hung up on me rather abruptly'
Catherine shrugged her shoulders 'I… I don't know…I really don't know…'
Nick just nodded, not wanting to press the issue to much at the moment
'How is she?' he asked his voice thick with concern and kindness.
'Sleeping… she's gonna have one hell of a headache when she wakes up, I can tell you know, it's gonna be one of the worst tox screens we'd have seen… She's confused, and scared, and she says she can't remember anything… 'Catherine starts pacing again, her hands running through her hair 'I… I don't know if I believe her… but I know something went horribly wrong this evening.'
'Shh, it's ok…' Nick tried to reach out to Catherine 'Calm down…' he whispers whilst placing an arm on Catherine's shoulder 'Look… I know it's hard, but we've got to follow the evidence… but, from what I can see… I dunno, it looks like self-defence… an accident maybe…' Nick tries to make his voice sound strong, but his voice hitches a little. Like Catherine he can't imagine Sara doing anything this bad. 'Look, Catherine…' He starts again 'I think Rose robbed Sara, maybe drugged her… There's that photo of Sara in her wallet, and Sara's watch was on her wrist… You know Sar, she doesn't just give away items like that…'
Catherine nodded, her eyes blinking 'What about the body?'
'I haven't been able to look properly yet… We really do need to call in Dave… but other than signs of sex, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary'
'Ok… Um… Call Dave, and then, take everything back to the lab… get Greg to run everything he can…. Um… keep eyes off this, please?' Catherine asks, almost pleads.
Nodding Nick agrees
'Want me to take in Sara's clothes…and uh… stuff'
'Please… um, there's an SAE kit… please handle it yourself..and um, there's photographs… please try to not let anyone else see them.'
Nick nods again.
'I'll just grab it all…' Catherine turns to the door and steps inside, a minute or two later, she comes back out, evidence bags and kit in hand.
'What do I tell Dave?'
'Um… I dunno… abbreviated truth I guess… I was here on hotel business, busboy called it in directly to me… I didn't call it in officially…cuz… you were already here?'
Nick nodded again, he didn't want to lie, but he knew how bad it would be for everyone if Sara was accused and arrested for something she may not have done.
'Ok…' Nick turned and began to walk away, and paused.
'Has she eaten?' he asked turning slightly
'Nope…' Catherine said
'Wholemeal toast… Apple Juice, Strawberries and Pineapple…'
'What?' Catherine said, confusion in her face.
'Sara's favourite breakfast.' Nick said walking away evidence in hand.
Catherine sat in her office chair in the doorway between the living space and bedroom of her hotel quarters, and watched Sara sleeping. The younger CSI looked awful, the toll of the night evident in even in her sleeping features, and the bruising and scratching just visible where the bed sheets didn't quiet cover all of Sara's body.
Nick had left about 3 hours ago, and although Catherine knew she should really walk Sara up and try and question her again, she just didn't have it in her heart. It could wait a few more hours. Deciding there was nothing else she could do for now, Catherine got up and walked towards her computer. Perhaps if she couldn't talk to Sara, she could at least try and find CCTV footage of her and Rose.
Looking at the time that the room was booked, Catherine started ten minutes before, hoping to catch them walking in to the hotel. It didn't take long to find what she was looking for, Sara and Rose walked in to the hotel, arm in arm, swaying slightly, giggling, and approaching the help desk, obviously asked for a room. She saw that Rose tried to pay, but evidently her card was rejected. She noticed that the receptionist, Jenna, was about to reject them when Sara's arm raised up, probably to tell her to wait, and she grabbed her own purse, and pulled out a credit card. Jenna ran it, smiled, and handed Rose a key card, and handed the credit card back. Catherine shook her head slightly, paused the tape, and rewound it for a moment, watching once again as Jenna handed back the credit card, and saw that it was Rose who took it not Sara.
'Gotcha!' Catherine whispered. It now seemed apparent that Rose was stealing from Sara, and Sara being too blind drunk, didn't even notice.
Catherine watched the rest of the tape, tracking them walking across the foyer, towards the lifts, where the almost immediately started kissing, Sara pinned against the lift wall, and then out of the lift, across the corridor, and into the room. Catherine decided to wait, to see how long Sara was in the room before leaving it, and watching the time stamp in the corner of the screen, saw that Sara was in the room for 5 hours. She also knew that Rose had been discovered roughly 90 minutes later. She sighed heavily, unless the autopsy revealed a very specific time of death, it was going to be very hard to prove that Sara was innocent.
Catherine went back to watching the interaction in the lift, where the couple had been the most physical, at least on camera, hoping that perhaps she would see something, anything, to help her make sense of what she was seeing.
It was times like this when she wished that recording audio with CCTV was legal, as it would make her job slightly easier.
Catherine watched the two walk into the lift, evidence of a lot of drinking based on how they were walking. Then saw how the two of them kissed, passionately, roughly. She saw Rose slip her hand in her own purse, and bring it out again, and then, it seemed, Sara's knees buckled slightly, but they carried on kissing.
Of course, that could have meant anything, Catherine knew that a good kiss like that could leave anyone weak at the knees, but for some reasons, something in her made her feel uneasy. Sighing she closed her eyes. She had a horrible hunch, and she knew that she would need help proving it. She also knew that the equipment and technology at the hotel was limited, and she would have to call in another set of eyes. Archie.
Catherine looked at the clock, it was 7 am. Archie wouldn't start work for another few hours, and although she could have asked anyone in the A/V lab to look at the videos, she really did only want Archie to look at it, knowing he wouldn't judge. It would just have to wait a few more hours.
Catherine picked up her phone, and dialled for room service, ordering what Nick had suggested, plus some coffee for her, and 4 bottles of water. 10 minutes later when the door knocked, she stood up, and went to answer, grateful for the food. She had to wake Sara up; she had to at least make Sara drink some water if nothing else.
'Hey…' Catherine said quietly in the door way 'Hey Sara, you need to wake up… you need to eat…'
Sara stirred slightly, her brow furrowed, momentarily confused as to where she was, why she could feel silk against her skin, and why she was waking up to Catherine's voice. Her head feeling heavy, snippets of the past evening flashed into her mind and she sighed, angry and embarrassed about her situation.
Catherine stepped in closer to the room, food tray in hand, and placed in gently next to the bed.
'Sara.. You need to eat…'
Reluctantly Sara nods her head, and pushes herself up so she's sitting on the bed, back against the headboard, and rubs her eyes
'Feeling better?' Catherine asked gently, and Sara shrugs, not speaking.
'Will you are least eat?' Catherine asks, deciding to pull the tray on the bed, and to sit down on the edge of it. Noticing Sara's puzzled expression, hearing the silent question, the one both confused and gently surprised by the contents of the tray, the one saying 'how did you know what to order?' Catherine smiles slightly, and simply says 'Nick' and Sara nods once again, a slight smile playing across her face. It's just like the Texan to notice and remember such things.
Sara picks at the food, knowing she hasn't eaten properly in 48 hours, that she drank a lot, that she had been sick, that her body really needed the sustenance, but her appetite is out the window, and all she does is pick at the food, looking anywhere other than Catherine.
'Look… Sara…' Catherine says after 10 minutes 'Were going to have to talk eventually…'
Sara drops her head down into her chest, the piece of toast falling back on to the plate, and she closes her eyes. She can't talk about this; she doesn't know where to begin. What to believe. Her memories and emotions are playing havoc, and she is more scared then she wants to admit.
'Sar…' Catherine begins, trying her best to be gentle, to be understanding, but Sara abruptly, and unexpectedly interrupts her
'Is it true?' She asks quietly, her eyes closed, not daring herself to look at Catherine, for fear of what she might see in the other women's eyes.
'Is what true?' Catherine asks, puzzled about Sara's words, and about why this would be the first thing that she asks.
'About you…' Sara pauses, and opens her eyes, and brings herself to look at Catherine 'About you and cocaine?'
Catherine's mouth opens slightly, her shoulders drop, and feeling like a deer in the headlights, she stutters, not knowing how to respond, and then an instinct kicks in. If she wants Sara to open up about the events of the previous night, perhaps she needs to open up too, a confession of events sought through honest but tough discussion. She understands the psychology of a back and forth narrative, and making up her mind, she replies
'Yes'
'How did you quit?' Sara asks, her eyes dropping away from Catherine once more, her knees now bought up to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them, the food now forgotten.
Catherine shrugs slightly, deciding the best course of action is 100% honesty, and screw the consequences. 'I haven't… not really… I just count days… '
'Oh' Sara says quietly, and Catherine realises it's not the answer the younger women was looking for, but she doesn't understand why she know it.
Before anything else can be said, her phone rings, and silently cursing herself for not putting her phone on vibrate, she looks at the caller I.D., Nick.
Catherine sighs, and stands, answering the phone and walking out of the room, right now she really doesn't want Sara to overhear anything.
'She lied' Nick says, no greeting, just those words, anger evident in his voice
'Nick? Slowdown, who lied?' Catherine asks, stepping further from the bedroom, and towards the door so she can step into the hallway.
'Sara'
'Sara? What do you mean?' Catherine asks, clearly she is missing something.
'She promised me, and she lied' Nick says, anger and disappointment in his voice
'Nick, you're not making any sense, what are you talking about?'
'I processed the photos… of Sara… she uhh… she has scars all across her stomach…'
'I know, I saw them, she said they were old…' Catherine said, her hand running through her hair
'She lied…'
'Wait, what do you mean? Nick… how do you know about Sara's scars?' Catherine says as quietly and as calmly as she can, although she has already figured out the answer 'Wait… You and Sara… When?'
Nick takes a breath 'Umm… a few times… After I was pushed through that window… after the lab explosion… after a few other tough cases…' Nick sighs, 'I'm sorry you had to find out this way…' He pauses 'Look… the first time, I saw the scars, and asked her, but she clammed up, and just told me it was a life time ago… that she never did that kinda thing anymore… that if ever she had the temptation, she would ring me. Umm… the thing is… back then… there were, I dunno.. maybe 10 or so scars? Now… now there's closer to 20… ' Nick rushes everything out, his voice uneven.
Catherine's eyes close, her hand coming to rest on her face. Taking a moment, she sighs
'Anything else?'
'Yeah… yeah, there is… I don't know how to explain it…'
'Just spit it out'
'Sara's a Dom… it was evident in our encounters… she, she takes control, and rarely lets anyone else do anything to her…I mean, to take over… it's um… psychological reflex… common with abuse and rape survivors… ' Nick pauses, thoughts of his own rape as a boy washing over him. 'Rape survivors find that because they were once victims in a sexual encounter, they need to try and be dominant in every encounter thereafter, so as not to feel like a victim…'
'Nick, where are you going with this?' Catherine interrupts violently.
'Sara would never allow herself to be bitten like that…she would be the bitter… but Rose barely has a mark on her… I think Sara was raped, and then snapped… probably killed Rose in self-defence, trying to stop the attack… she wouldn't have known she was doing it though… and now that it's over… she'd have shut herself down, blocked everything out…and she'd be feeling vulnerable, perhaps even…'
'Suicidal…' Catherine says gasping, and hangs up the phone, rushing back into the room. She can't believe she was so stupid to not see it before. She just hopes Sara isn't feeling as bad as her and Nick now fear.
Catherine reaches the bedroom, and the smell of Iron hits her senses. Blood.
Her eyes reach Sara, and she takes in the scene before her. Sara is holding a shard of glass, blood dripping from her palm, her eyes glassy, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. The bottle of apple juice is smashed on the tray.
'Sar…' Catherine says quietly, creeping towards the younger women 'Sar… Sweetie, give me the glass.' Sara looks up from the glass, to Catherine, and back again.
'Sar… please…' Catherine steps closer.
'I can't feel anything…' Sara whispers 'I can see it… but I can't feel it …'
'Sara… please…' Catherine whispers again. Sara looks up to her once more 'It was an accident…'
Sara opens her hand slightly, the piece of glass dropping back on to the tray 'It was an accident… it… I didn't feel it…I'm sorry…' Sara's eyes close, her head hanging again, as Catherine quickly pulls the tray away from Sara, making sure the glass and anything sharp is out of reach, and then she pulls of her top, not wanting to leave Sara's side for a moment, and needing something to use as a make shift bandage for the wound.
'I'm sorry…' Sara whispers again, over and over and over.
Catherine staunches the bleeding as best she can, checking there is no glass in the wound, and bandages the hand as best she can without saying anything, only after she has finished, does she speak.
'Why Sara?'
'It was an accident' Sara repeats again, and knowing Catherine doesn't believe her, she looks into her eyes 'Please, please believe me… I … I have nerve damage.. my hand… it's pretty fucked… has been for years' She sighs, her shoulders slumping. 'I do a good job at hiding it… ' She rambles, not knowing if Catherine will believe her, but she has to try. She still can't remember much of last night, she she knows she may be guilty in the death of the girl, but she desperately needs Catherine to understand that this was truly an accident.
'I … I couldn't get the damn bottle of apple juice open….' Sara lets out a strange cross between a laugh and a sob. 'I, didn't know I was gripping so hard, damned nerve damage… the bottle smashed in my grip… and I couldn't feel it. Please believe me.' Sara brings her eyes up to look at Catherine once again, wanting and needing to see into the older women's eyes, but Catherine can't bring herself to look at her, and quickly looks away, avoiding her glance.
'Sara… ' Catherine pinches the bridge of her nose 'Sara… Nick processed your photos… we know that the scars across your stomach are recent… we also suspect you to be suicidal….' Catherine doesn't finish her sentence, it's evident that she doesn't think the smashed bottle was accidental.
Sara sighs, and bangs her head against the headboard, and says nothing for a moment.
'They are' She finally whispers. 'And I am…' she confesses.
'Oh Sar….' Catherine whispers, a tear falling down her cheek, and she reaches out to touch Sara, but Sara pulls away.
'Glass isn't my M.O…. Scalpels are' and with that Sara turns away, making herself as small as possible in the bed, ignoring Catherine's tears.
