1.1.1.1 Chapter Twelve: Paper Work
"Catherine!" Grissom called as he hung up his cell phone. "We've got to get back to the lab. Sara's got something for us."
"Coming!" Catherine cried from the bedroom where she was getting changed into clean clothes.
Grissom packed up the rest of the evidence and double-checked all the locks on the house before they left for the lab.
"Where's Sara?" Grissom asked Elisabeth as he passed the front desk.
"I think she went to the lab or maybe she's in the break room…"
"What've you got?" Grissom asked when he found Sara in the break room.
"This," she said, motioning towards the new evidence.
"The shirt…"
"Yes, Grissom, the shirt."
"Does it have the same rip? Is it the same fabric?"
"Yep, this is the shirt."
"But –"
"I got a package and saw the shirt while I was at the front desk. That's the package. Elisabeth said both the package and the shirt just 'appeared' after her lunch break. Oh, and I found something in the pictures of the blood patterns." As she spoke, Sara laid the pictures out for Grissom and Catherine, who had just walked in, to see.
"'Isabele?'" Grissom said, studying the pictures.
"That's right," Sara said, and began rearranging the photos again.
"Oh my gosh." Catherine gasped at the name now spelled out for her. "'Elisabe'…you don't think…"
"I think there's something very suspicious going on here, that's what I think," Sara said.
"You got a package, too?" Grissom said, noticing the brown box identical to the one delivered to Catherine's house.
"What do you mean, 'too'?"
"I got one," Catherine explained. "Inside was a…a corkscrew."
Sara stared at the box silently for a minute. "Do you think I should open it?"
"No, not yet. Bring it to the lab; see if we can get anything. And get the shirt, too."
While the new evidence was being processed, Grissom, Catherine, and Sara went out to talk to Elisabeth.
"Elisabeth," Grissom began, "there's a problem."
"Something's wrong?" Elisabeth asked nervously, scanning their faces.
"I'm afraid we need to speak with you."
Elisabeth was getting nervous. She began cracking her knuckles. "About what?"
"A case."
"A c-case?"
"What's your name?"
"My name? You know my name."
"What was the name you were born with?"
Elisabeth opened her mouth slowly. "I…I –"
Grissom stared at her.
"Isabelle Fielding," she whispered.
"Elisabeth, did you legally change your name?" Catherine was questioning her officially now.
"Not exactly…" Elisabeth looked at Grissom and Catherine and then towards the two-way mirror which hid Sara, Warrick, and Nick from sight. "I couldn't change it legally."
"Oh really? Why not?" Catherine asked, already knowing the answer.
"Well, I never really…existed…legally…"
"Alright," said Grissom. "Who murdered your mother?"
Elisabeth, amazed she had gotten away with such a flimsy answer, looked at Grissom in disbelief. "My mother? This is about my mother? That happened ages ago! It was settled. I just want to get on with my life. Do you have to bring this up?"
"Yes. Who murdered her?"
"Whoever burned the house down."
"Now, Elisabeth, you know that's not true."
"I – I just want it to be true, okay? I don't like the thought of a murderer and an arsonist both being on the lose." Elisabeth shivered. "I try to convince myself there's only one…even the police don't know what really happened!"
"No, they don't. In fact, they thought that the same person who murdered your mother burnt the house down. So why do you think otherwise?"
Elisabeth was caught off-guard.
"Do you have any siblings, Elisabeth?"
"Uh…a brother. He died."
"Really?" Catherine asked, glancing at Grissom. Grissom nodded towards the two-way mirror and the door opened.
"Isabelle? Is it really you?" Kyle stared at Elisabeth.
"K-Kyle…"
"Elisabeth, who is Kyle?"
"Me!" Kyle exclaimed.
"Shut up, Kyle," Catherine and Grissom chorused.
"Kyle's my brother," Elisabeth said in a voice that was barely audible.
"Oh, so he's dead?" Sara, who had come in with Kyle, asked Elisabeth.
"I am not!"
"Kyle!" Catherine, Grissom, and Sara said in unison.
Elisabeth was staring wide-eyed at Kyle. "I really thought he was dead."
"I'm not," Kyle pointed out helpfully.
Elisabeth looked shocked and Catherine figured it would be the perfect time for the truth.
"Elisabeth? Did you have another brother?"
"Yes," she answered without hesitation, continuing to stare at Kyle.
"Named?"
"James."
"Whatever happened to James?"
"Mother locked him outside."
"What? I thought he died! Where did he go?" Kyle interjected.
"He left. He wasn't there when I went to let him in. I don't know what happened to him."
"Who murdered your mother?" Grissom asked, getting back to the point.
"I did."
There was a moment of silence.
"Come again?" Sara asked quietly.
"I killed my mother."
"Isabelle! I've been covering for you for years and years and you just up and tell them you did it?! What is wrong with you?" Kyle screeched.
"They'd find out, Kyle. They always find out."
Elisabeth's apartment was spotlessly clean and organized. Nick and Warrick stepped in carefully and looked around. They were checking for evidence that would connect her with the murders. She had admitted to killing her mother, but insisted she knew nothing about the "Corkscrew Murders," as the press was calling them, except what she had seen on the news. Nick went into the bedroom and Warrick headed for the kitchen. After only a few minutes Warrick had found something.
"Hey, Nick! Check this out!" Nick came in from the bedroom.
"Whoa," Nick said. "That's weird." Warrick began snapping pictures of the old wine cabinet, which was completely empty except for cobwebs and a small brown box full of shiny silver corkscrews.
"You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…"
Finally, they had solved the case. Another serial killer behind bars. And yet, something didn't seem right to Catherine. As Elisabeth was led away for the murder of her mother and the murders of the four women, Kyle was being led away for arson – he admitted to setting his mother's house on fire to cover up the murder. But something wasn't right. Catherine had looked through Elisabeth's purse for the copy of her house key, but had only found the two keys to Elisabeth's things at work, one for Elisabeth's car, and one for her apartment. Someone still had a key to her house. Catherine shuddered. Nick, Warrick, and Sara had already left and Grissom had just finished some of his paper work and was going home, too.
"Are you ever going to leave?" he asked as he watched her begin the paper work for the case.
"Yes," Catherine said, forcing a smile. "I'm just going to finish these up."
"Are you sure you're okay going home alone tonight?"
"No problem," Catherine lied.
"Is Lindsay okay?"
"Yeah, she's having a great time. I don't think she ever understood why she has to stay over at her friend's, but I guess it's better that way."
"See you tomorrow," Grissom said, and left Catherine alone to do her work.
An hour and lots of paper work later, Catherine was fading, no matter how much coffee she had. She decided to go get some rest. After all, she reassured herself, it's all over. The murderer has been caught. She's in jail. On to the next case tomorrow. Repeating these somewhat happy thoughts, she drove home. It took all her energy not to fall asleep at the wheel. Rubbing her tired eyes, Catherine fumbled with the doorknob and pushed her front door open. She flicked the overhead lights on, and was suddenly wide-awake.
A blond woman was sitting motionless on her couch.
"Catherine!" Grissom called as he hung up his cell phone. "We've got to get back to the lab. Sara's got something for us."
"Coming!" Catherine cried from the bedroom where she was getting changed into clean clothes.
Grissom packed up the rest of the evidence and double-checked all the locks on the house before they left for the lab.
"Where's Sara?" Grissom asked Elisabeth as he passed the front desk.
"I think she went to the lab or maybe she's in the break room…"
"What've you got?" Grissom asked when he found Sara in the break room.
"This," she said, motioning towards the new evidence.
"The shirt…"
"Yes, Grissom, the shirt."
"Does it have the same rip? Is it the same fabric?"
"Yep, this is the shirt."
"But –"
"I got a package and saw the shirt while I was at the front desk. That's the package. Elisabeth said both the package and the shirt just 'appeared' after her lunch break. Oh, and I found something in the pictures of the blood patterns." As she spoke, Sara laid the pictures out for Grissom and Catherine, who had just walked in, to see.
"'Isabele?'" Grissom said, studying the pictures.
"That's right," Sara said, and began rearranging the photos again.
"Oh my gosh." Catherine gasped at the name now spelled out for her. "'Elisabe'…you don't think…"
"I think there's something very suspicious going on here, that's what I think," Sara said.
"You got a package, too?" Grissom said, noticing the brown box identical to the one delivered to Catherine's house.
"What do you mean, 'too'?"
"I got one," Catherine explained. "Inside was a…a corkscrew."
Sara stared at the box silently for a minute. "Do you think I should open it?"
"No, not yet. Bring it to the lab; see if we can get anything. And get the shirt, too."
While the new evidence was being processed, Grissom, Catherine, and Sara went out to talk to Elisabeth.
"Elisabeth," Grissom began, "there's a problem."
"Something's wrong?" Elisabeth asked nervously, scanning their faces.
"I'm afraid we need to speak with you."
Elisabeth was getting nervous. She began cracking her knuckles. "About what?"
"A case."
"A c-case?"
"What's your name?"
"My name? You know my name."
"What was the name you were born with?"
Elisabeth opened her mouth slowly. "I…I –"
Grissom stared at her.
"Isabelle Fielding," she whispered.
"Elisabeth, did you legally change your name?" Catherine was questioning her officially now.
"Not exactly…" Elisabeth looked at Grissom and Catherine and then towards the two-way mirror which hid Sara, Warrick, and Nick from sight. "I couldn't change it legally."
"Oh really? Why not?" Catherine asked, already knowing the answer.
"Well, I never really…existed…legally…"
"Alright," said Grissom. "Who murdered your mother?"
Elisabeth, amazed she had gotten away with such a flimsy answer, looked at Grissom in disbelief. "My mother? This is about my mother? That happened ages ago! It was settled. I just want to get on with my life. Do you have to bring this up?"
"Yes. Who murdered her?"
"Whoever burned the house down."
"Now, Elisabeth, you know that's not true."
"I – I just want it to be true, okay? I don't like the thought of a murderer and an arsonist both being on the lose." Elisabeth shivered. "I try to convince myself there's only one…even the police don't know what really happened!"
"No, they don't. In fact, they thought that the same person who murdered your mother burnt the house down. So why do you think otherwise?"
Elisabeth was caught off-guard.
"Do you have any siblings, Elisabeth?"
"Uh…a brother. He died."
"Really?" Catherine asked, glancing at Grissom. Grissom nodded towards the two-way mirror and the door opened.
"Isabelle? Is it really you?" Kyle stared at Elisabeth.
"K-Kyle…"
"Elisabeth, who is Kyle?"
"Me!" Kyle exclaimed.
"Shut up, Kyle," Catherine and Grissom chorused.
"Kyle's my brother," Elisabeth said in a voice that was barely audible.
"Oh, so he's dead?" Sara, who had come in with Kyle, asked Elisabeth.
"I am not!"
"Kyle!" Catherine, Grissom, and Sara said in unison.
Elisabeth was staring wide-eyed at Kyle. "I really thought he was dead."
"I'm not," Kyle pointed out helpfully.
Elisabeth looked shocked and Catherine figured it would be the perfect time for the truth.
"Elisabeth? Did you have another brother?"
"Yes," she answered without hesitation, continuing to stare at Kyle.
"Named?"
"James."
"Whatever happened to James?"
"Mother locked him outside."
"What? I thought he died! Where did he go?" Kyle interjected.
"He left. He wasn't there when I went to let him in. I don't know what happened to him."
"Who murdered your mother?" Grissom asked, getting back to the point.
"I did."
There was a moment of silence.
"Come again?" Sara asked quietly.
"I killed my mother."
"Isabelle! I've been covering for you for years and years and you just up and tell them you did it?! What is wrong with you?" Kyle screeched.
"They'd find out, Kyle. They always find out."
Elisabeth's apartment was spotlessly clean and organized. Nick and Warrick stepped in carefully and looked around. They were checking for evidence that would connect her with the murders. She had admitted to killing her mother, but insisted she knew nothing about the "Corkscrew Murders," as the press was calling them, except what she had seen on the news. Nick went into the bedroom and Warrick headed for the kitchen. After only a few minutes Warrick had found something.
"Hey, Nick! Check this out!" Nick came in from the bedroom.
"Whoa," Nick said. "That's weird." Warrick began snapping pictures of the old wine cabinet, which was completely empty except for cobwebs and a small brown box full of shiny silver corkscrews.
"You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…"
Finally, they had solved the case. Another serial killer behind bars. And yet, something didn't seem right to Catherine. As Elisabeth was led away for the murder of her mother and the murders of the four women, Kyle was being led away for arson – he admitted to setting his mother's house on fire to cover up the murder. But something wasn't right. Catherine had looked through Elisabeth's purse for the copy of her house key, but had only found the two keys to Elisabeth's things at work, one for Elisabeth's car, and one for her apartment. Someone still had a key to her house. Catherine shuddered. Nick, Warrick, and Sara had already left and Grissom had just finished some of his paper work and was going home, too.
"Are you ever going to leave?" he asked as he watched her begin the paper work for the case.
"Yes," Catherine said, forcing a smile. "I'm just going to finish these up."
"Are you sure you're okay going home alone tonight?"
"No problem," Catherine lied.
"Is Lindsay okay?"
"Yeah, she's having a great time. I don't think she ever understood why she has to stay over at her friend's, but I guess it's better that way."
"See you tomorrow," Grissom said, and left Catherine alone to do her work.
An hour and lots of paper work later, Catherine was fading, no matter how much coffee she had. She decided to go get some rest. After all, she reassured herself, it's all over. The murderer has been caught. She's in jail. On to the next case tomorrow. Repeating these somewhat happy thoughts, she drove home. It took all her energy not to fall asleep at the wheel. Rubbing her tired eyes, Catherine fumbled with the doorknob and pushed her front door open. She flicked the overhead lights on, and was suddenly wide-awake.
A blond woman was sitting motionless on her couch.