Chapter 2: Road Trip
"And you are?" Catherine snapped.
"Officer Jeremy Green of the San Francisco PD."
The man was young, about same age as Nick and Warrick. He wasn't very buff like them though. My eyes picked every detail about the man. He wore a nice navy suit and blue tie. The shine on his shoes told me that he took pride in his appearance. "Can I see your identification please, Mr. Green?" I asked, but it was more of a command. Once pleased I gave the I.D. Back. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, this is where Sara Sidle works, am I correct?"
"Yeah but she's not here." Nick explained.
"I know she is in San Francisco being held for charges against her."
My mouth and everyone else's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?" I manage to croak out.
"She had quite an incident with a Mr. Thomas McBride. She killed him with her weapon issued by Las Vegas."
"No way. Sara wouldn't harm anyone." Nick exclaimed. The news was shocking to all of us.
"Well if it makes you feel better she is claiming self defense." The man glared at us, and continued. "Oh wait. My information came out wrong, I can tell by the look on your faces."
"No shit." Warrick murmured.
The man continued, despite Warrick's attitude. "She is currently in the San Fran Hospital being treated for severe wounds, not in prison. You see she hasn't been charged, yet."
My heart sank and I thought everyone had surely heard it. "What happened?"
"Well according to a witness, Sara was attacked. And was badly beaten."
Nick spoke the words I didn't have the courage to. "Was she rap...raped?" Everyone knew Sara was always touchy about such cases, we just hoped Sara wasn't one of them. Anyone that would have to live with such pain, well, I just can't imagine.
"No. But it looks like he might have tried. Her pants were undone and her shirt torn when I found her. That is when we suspect that she shot him."
"Well that is self defense, no jury would ever convict her." Catherine said. "That bastard deserved to be shot."
The man started again. "I am afraid that its not that simple. First of all no one saw her shoot him. They just saw him pull her out of her car and inside a apartment complex. Its a case of he said she said. Secondly, it wasn't a random attack. Sara knew the man and we still don't know why she came to San Fran anyway. And why she came with a firearm. Right now it is looking like she came with the intent to kill him. That's why I am here." He waited. "I am on your side by all means. My boss wants your team Mr. Grissom on Sara's case."
"But we are too close, any evidence we touch would be tainted." I interjected. "Nothing would hold up in court."
"Well we looked at it this way and the courts agree. Sara spent a longer time in San Francisco and knows a lot more people. Sara was quite popular there, even though she was quite the loner. Everyone adored her. So you see we are more likely to taint the evidence, at least in the courts eyes we are. And the PD won't send for the FBI because of the money involved."
"The FBI services are free nationwide Mr. Green." I put in.
"You and I both know the world is run by money Mr. Grissom. And it just so happens the director of the FBI thinks it would be a waste of resources to put a task force on Sara's case. Therefore it will cost them money. So will you? You are the best team for the job. Sara could use you."
"Why do you care so much about Sara?" I asked incredulously.
"Like I said she was popular. I worked with her for some time. She was a very dear friend, like a sister really. And yes ma'am the attacker deserved it, trust me I knew him and knew what he was capable of. Now charges haven't been filed yet but I bet they will be by the time we get there. Do you accept my offer?"
"Yes." Nick spoke for all of us.
"Good. Sara will need a few friendly faces."
"Does Sara know we will be on her case?" I asked. Sara was very fond of her privacy and if this somehow connected to the past, like it was looking, I didn't want to intrude. A hurt Sara was bad news and an angry Sara was even worse.
"No but she should be grateful. You are close aren't you? She always talked about the bug man in Vegas." The man smiled.
"As close as he allows." I heard Catherine whisper.
I chose to ignore her though. "How long do we have to pack?"
"I'll give you an hour and a half. Mind you we have our own lab there so pack light. You will need clothes. This won't be an open/shut case like you think. You might be there for a while."
I turned my back to the man and faced the group. "Go home get some stuff, meet back here to collect anything that would help with the case. Then we go to San Francisco."
Nick's Texas grin was contagious. They all cracked a smile to be spared doing paperwork, but they just wished it could have been under better circumstances.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc...