Chapter 12: Reliving the Worst
Definition of Pain- [noun:]1. An unpleasant sensation arising from injury, disease, or emotional disorder. 2. Suffering or distress.
"Grissom!"
I turned and saw Catherine, Warrick and Nick coming towards me.
"What are you deaf?" Warrick asked. "Where's the girl?"
I could have screamed out in anger. Yes I am deaf Warrick! I was angry, hell I didn't even realize I was in one of my spells. I was beginning to worry if it was speeding up and Elizabeth Clark wasn't making my day any better. I shifted under their glare and calmed down.
"We had to release her. She left an hour ago. Why?"
"Blood matches. The unknown in the kitchen, on the towel you found, and on the mirror in the bathroom all matches Elizabeth Clark."
I raised an eyebrow. "So she was there."
Catherine jumped in. "What did she deny it?"
"Yes."
"What else did you find out. You don't sound like you already suspected she was there." Nick commented.
"She mentioned Sara's name, like she knows her. And she didn't seem too grief stricken at the fact that her boyfriend was shot in her apartment. And now we have the evidence to prove she was there."
"That is odd about her reaction to her boyfriend's death. Usually the victim's loved ones push for trial. How long have they been together?"
"She said a year."
"Well it looks like Thomas McBride had a fight with Clark before he went after Sara. That would explain the blood we found in the kitchen and her reaction to his death. How did she look? Any bruises?"
"A black eye and busted lip, but that doesn't mean that our speculation is true. I was thinking that Ms. Clark was part of the attack against Sara. She could have held Sara down or lured her into one of McBride's traps. But again pure speculation."
"True. We have no evidence that can go either way." Catherine said.
"That's why I want to bring Sara in for questioning. Maybe she can remember what happened to clear up this confusion."
"Good idea. Any perspective would be helpful right now. Then we know where to look for the evidence." Nick said.
"Nick," I said. "How are her prints coming?"
"I didn't bother running them against the ones found on the gun because we got her DNA. I can though."
"If Clark's fingerprints are on Sara's gun that could mean that Clark was part of the attack against Sara. Get that done."
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Catherine, Warrick, and myself waited in another interrogation room for Sara. When they led her in she looked horrible. I wasn't the only one that noticed either. Warrick and Catherine exchanged worried glances. Sara's attitude was a complete turn around from the last time we saw her. The guard uncuffed her and Sara closed her eyes at the pain. She swallowed hard then opened her eyes. She forced a smile but it didn't last long. I saw her face go flushed and pale white.
"I think I am going to be sick." Sara started to sway in her chair. Catherine rushed over to her preventing her from falling on the floor. "I need..."
Warrick acted quick enough to just get a tin trash can under her mouth, before she threw up. Catherine began to rub her back as Sara heaved into can.
Catherine looked over to me and nodded. She motioned the word 'nerves' with her lips. I shook my head in agreement. I knew this had to be getting to Sara. Sara was one who had to be part of the action, not on the sidelines. And I bet the pain wasn't helping either.
"Are you okay Sara?" Warrick pushed back her hair when the heaving stopped.
She pulled away from his hand as it lingered on her black eye. "Fine. Great time for me to get sick, huh? Leave it to me to mess things up."
Warrick took the can away from Sara and gave it to the officer to dispose of.
"Its okay." Catherine said.
"Thanks Catherine, but no its not." Sara's response was angry. I wondered if she were angry at us, the situation, or herself. She put her head down on the table trying to fight back another convulsion.
"Sara," I started. "We can do this later if you feel sick."
Her head shot up from the table at warp speed. "No." Sara's reply was again angry. "I want to get this over with, I want to go home Grissom."
I nodded. "Okay. We need your perspective of the attack. We think we are missing something."
"Like what?" Sara's answer was too quick like she was hiding something.
"We don't know yet." I said with a raised eyebrow. "Okay lets start at why you came here with a your gun."
Sara looked away at the wall. "I wanted to just visit. I left right after work, so I accidentally brought my gun."
Something rang false in her statement but I ignored it and continued. "When did he attack you?"
"I was outside getting in my car in some old neighborhood I used to live in. He came up and tapped on the glass. I didn't recognize him at first until it was too late." She stopped and turned to look at me. "He pulled me out of the car by my hair and threw me on the sidewalk."
"We found blood on the sidewalk, was it yours?"
"No I got to my feet and punched him in the face. His nose was bleeding pretty bad."
I remembered the bruised knuckles I held when I first came to see her. "Then what?"
"He wasn't too happy so he hit me in the stomach and pulled me inside. Once we got to the apartment he went crazy. I can't remember too much because it was so fast. I remember being thrown into a glass coffee table though. I was on the floor laying in the glass when he slammed my head into the floor." Sara unconsciously ran her fingers across the cut on her forehead. "I think he began to kick me or hit me with something, because I remember the pain in my back and sides. I was about to pass out when he grabbed my leg and dragged me into a bedroom. He picked me up and threw me on the bed, then he..." Sara's voice got caught in her throat. "He...uh...he...uh tore my...shirt I think. Then he...pulled at my pa...pants." Stubborn tears started to trickle down her face. I wanted to tell her to stop but she kept going.
"I remember he started to...to undo his pants. I had to get him off me. I reached for my gun while he was distracted but with his weight on top of me, I couldn't get it. I had to get him off me though. So I...I told him to stttop." Her stuttering went on. "I bbegggan to to plead with him. I ttold him if he wwould let me up, I ccould make it more pleasurable for him." Sara stopped and closed her eyes holding back the tears. "He was all over me." She repeated again.
I placed my hand on Sara's and Catherine knelt down beside her.
"Sara you don't have to do this." Catherine found my words for me.
She ignored her and looked straight into my eyes with hatred plaguing her features. "He got up off me and I shot him. Three times. Once in the shoulder and twice in the chest." She wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes and straightened her shoulders in determination. "I had no choice."
I was in a daze on the other hand. Shocked into silence. I never felt so much pain without experiencing it myself. This pain was different, it wasn't mine. I couldn't control it, ignore it, or run from it. Her pain became my own pain once again. Before when I looked at the pictures of Sara's injuries I was able to put out the thought that it was Sara's body that was battered and beaten. Now she sat directly in front of me with pain all over her face. I could not ignore that. Pain is a horrible feeling to experience but I believe that seeing someone you care dearly about in pain, is much worse. I had to do...something.
I finally spoke up. "Catherine, Warrick I want to be left alone with Sara."
Catherine and Warrick exchanged looks, Sara just stared at me. So much pain, so much heartache, so much suffering, and I wasn't there to relieve that pain.
"Sure." Catherine replied.
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tbc...