1 Chapter Four: Suspicions
The room fell silent. It was too soon after the Paul Milander incident to deal with this. Birthdays caused problems.
"And…?" Grissom knew there was more to this.
"On the day I was born, there was an 'accident' in my neighborhood. My next- door neighbors were the Fieldings – Mrs. Diana Fielding and her five-year- old son, Kyle. Mrs. Fielding was a blonde model, and she was gorgeous. Her husband left two years before because she was an alcoholic and refused to get help. My parents knew Mrs. Fielding was an alcoholic and that she abused Kyle, but they never did anything. And on the day I was born, Mrs. Fielding drank a whole bottle of wine. And then…and then…and then she…"
Catherine stopped and took a deep breath. Everyone was listening intently, but Catherine couldn't bring herself to look at any of them.
"Kyle was watching television and his mother came in. She had the corkscrew in her hand…My father saw them in the emergency room. His mother was frantic – screaming and sobbing. Kyle's right eye was gone. My parents never knew what had happened, but they suspected. When I was thirteen, Kyle ran away and joined the circus – literally. My parents told me what had happened the day I was born and why Kyle had a glass eye. His real eye was green, but his glass eye was blue. I was told never to go near Mrs. Fielding's house since she was so dangerous." Catherine looked up. "We went to the circus once when I was in high school. All my friends came. There was one clown who stood on his hands the entire time. He looked straight at me and I saw his eyes – one blue and one green. I knew it was Kyle."
Catherine stopped. "I think it's him."
No one said anything for the longest time. Catherine had managed to keep from crying and the others were shocked by her story. Grissom was the first to speak.
"But Catherine…why?"
"Kyle was always mean and vengeful. He was always in trouble at school and at home. People avoided him. And he blamed it all on his mother."
She stopped and looked straight at Grissom. "I talked to him once, after the circus. He said he would never forgive his mother. He said he would have revenge. I told him I wished I could have helped him escape the abuse. A week later his mother's house burned down, and she died. The police said it was arson. CSIs swarmed the house for a week. Mrs. Fielding had not been killed in the blaze. She was killed just like Tamara Richards, Elizabeth Martin, and Antoinette McPherson. Her eyes were gone. The police found something though. Mrs. Fielding was holding a jar in her hands when she died. The jar had an eyeball in it. Preserved. It was Kyle's."
Catherine looked around the room. "Kyle's circus left, and he was never charged with his mother's murder, even though the whole neighborhood knew he was responsible. The police couldn't get him on anything; they had no evidence. Kyle's circus didn't come back to town, but now it's in Las Vegas. He's here. He did it."
"We can't prove it," Nick said. "We have no evidence."
"He's a bragger," Catherine replied.
"All right. Who wants to go to the circus?"
The room fell silent. It was too soon after the Paul Milander incident to deal with this. Birthdays caused problems.
"And…?" Grissom knew there was more to this.
"On the day I was born, there was an 'accident' in my neighborhood. My next- door neighbors were the Fieldings – Mrs. Diana Fielding and her five-year- old son, Kyle. Mrs. Fielding was a blonde model, and she was gorgeous. Her husband left two years before because she was an alcoholic and refused to get help. My parents knew Mrs. Fielding was an alcoholic and that she abused Kyle, but they never did anything. And on the day I was born, Mrs. Fielding drank a whole bottle of wine. And then…and then…and then she…"
Catherine stopped and took a deep breath. Everyone was listening intently, but Catherine couldn't bring herself to look at any of them.
"Kyle was watching television and his mother came in. She had the corkscrew in her hand…My father saw them in the emergency room. His mother was frantic – screaming and sobbing. Kyle's right eye was gone. My parents never knew what had happened, but they suspected. When I was thirteen, Kyle ran away and joined the circus – literally. My parents told me what had happened the day I was born and why Kyle had a glass eye. His real eye was green, but his glass eye was blue. I was told never to go near Mrs. Fielding's house since she was so dangerous." Catherine looked up. "We went to the circus once when I was in high school. All my friends came. There was one clown who stood on his hands the entire time. He looked straight at me and I saw his eyes – one blue and one green. I knew it was Kyle."
Catherine stopped. "I think it's him."
No one said anything for the longest time. Catherine had managed to keep from crying and the others were shocked by her story. Grissom was the first to speak.
"But Catherine…why?"
"Kyle was always mean and vengeful. He was always in trouble at school and at home. People avoided him. And he blamed it all on his mother."
She stopped and looked straight at Grissom. "I talked to him once, after the circus. He said he would never forgive his mother. He said he would have revenge. I told him I wished I could have helped him escape the abuse. A week later his mother's house burned down, and she died. The police said it was arson. CSIs swarmed the house for a week. Mrs. Fielding had not been killed in the blaze. She was killed just like Tamara Richards, Elizabeth Martin, and Antoinette McPherson. Her eyes were gone. The police found something though. Mrs. Fielding was holding a jar in her hands when she died. The jar had an eyeball in it. Preserved. It was Kyle's."
Catherine looked around the room. "Kyle's circus left, and he was never charged with his mother's murder, even though the whole neighborhood knew he was responsible. The police couldn't get him on anything; they had no evidence. Kyle's circus didn't come back to town, but now it's in Las Vegas. He's here. He did it."
"We can't prove it," Nick said. "We have no evidence."
"He's a bragger," Catherine replied.
"All right. Who wants to go to the circus?"