Troubled Waters
See Part 1 for Disclaimers, etc.
Calleigh woke up in a dark place. It was so dark, she couldn't even see her fingers in front of her face. Frightened, she wondered where she was. She was on a soft surface, probably a bed and her head was throbbing. She was under a blanket but realized she was only wearing her bra and panties. Calleigh vaguely remembered being in the park and then being grabbed by someone and losing consciousness.
Her body felt sore both inside and out, and she started to cry softly as the realization came to her that she must have been raped. Forcing herself to stop, Calleigh realized that crying wouldn't help matters. She had to figure out where the hell she was. Her eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness and she realized she was on a bed and there was a table next to it.
Carefully feeling around, Calleigh found a lamp and struggled to find a switch. Finding one, she turned it on, wincing with pain as the light hit her sensitive eyes and her head throbbed more painfully. Spotting her clothes on the floor next to the bed, she grabbed them and started to put them on, noticing bruises on her arms and legs.
Who had done this to her? She wondered, more frightened than she'd ever been in her life. More importantly, where was he and when was he coming back? Looking around the room she observed that it was virtually bare except for the bed and bedside table. There was a tiny bathroom with a sink and toilet and not much else. She slowly walked to the door of the room and carefully turned the knob. The door was locked and there were no windows in the room so Calleigh knew she was trapped.
Her head was pounding with such painful intensity that Calleigh felt faint so she lay back down on the bed, curling up into a fetal position. She didn't see any way out of this at the moment and just lay there, dreading the moment her captor returned. She lay there in the dark, forcing herself not to fall asleep, feeling that would leave her more vulnerable. Calleigh jumped when the silence was broken by the sound of the door being unlocked. Sitting up on the bed, she backed up against the wall as the door opened slowly. She immediately recognized the face of Evan Schneider, smiling at her. He closed the door, turning the deadbolt and then faced her again.
"I see you're awake. My own little Sleeping Beauty."
"Why did you do this? Why am I here?" Calleigh demanded tearfully, sitting up and wincing at the pain in her temples.
"You're my pawn, Miss Duquesne. Among other things." He replied, sitting down beside her on the bed. He reached over to stroke her hair and Calleigh moved away, avoiding his touch. Grabbing her roughly, Evan kissed her on the lips, forcing his tongue into her mouth. Calleigh tried unsuccessfully to push him away but did succeed in biting his tongue as he started to pull off her blouse, ripping the buttons as he went. Evan cried out and slapped her across the face. "You're going to regret that, I promise you." Calleigh looked at him disdainfully, tasting his blood in her mouth and felt bile rise in the back of her throat.
"You can hurt me all you want, but they're going to find me and then you're going to pay." She said hatefully, wondering how such a monster could be human.
"Yeah, I'm sure they're looking for you right now but they're not going to find anything. Your boyfriend must be beside himself right now, imagining you with me." Calleigh looked at him with surprise. "That's right, they know I have you. If they didn't then this wouldn't be nearly as much fun." Evan unbuckled his belt and started to undo his pants. Calleigh cringed and he smiled at her reaction.
"You were good when you were unconscious, I wonder what you're like when you're awake? Why don't we find out?" Calleigh let out a sob as Evan came toward her, feeling absolutely powerless to stop him. There was nothing she could use to fight him except her fists and her feet. Weakened by the drug he'd used to knock her out earlier Calleigh knew she was no match for his strong frame. Closing her eyes, she thought of Tim and vowed to make it through this so she could be with him again.
Speed watched the sun come up from Eric's patio, wondering where Calleigh was right now and hoping that she was still alive. They shared such a strong connection that he was sure he would know if she were dead. He would feel it somehow and right now part of him was sure she was alive somewhere. Tim had stayed awake the entire night, giving up on sleep after tossing and turning until 3am.
Instead, he had gone on the Internet, searching for information on Evan Schneider. Horatio could order him off this case all he wanted but he was bound and determined to do all he could to help find Calleigh. He hadn't come up with much but had written down the names of a few of Schneider's known associates that he was going to give to Horatio today. Speed kept thinking about the note, thinking there must be some reason why it had been written, other than to taunt him of course.
Schneider had mentioned a woman and Speed was planning on asking Horatio if he'd found any information about her. It blew him away that Schneider had been stalking them, taking pictures. He'd been doing that while he'd been raping and murdering little girls. He was a busy guy, Tim thought. He shuddered at the thought of Calleigh being with Schneider. Anger boiled up in him and he wanted desperately to smash something. Knowing he couldn't wreck Eric's apartment Speed decided he needed to take off.
He would go to CSI and demand to know what was going on with Calleigh's case. If he sat around much longer he knew he would lose it. Tim took a cab to work and walked through the building, intent on finding out some information. He found Horatio in no time and he did not appear happy to see Tim there.
"Speed, I don't think you should be here right now. Go home." Horatio said sternly. He couldn't afford to have Speed there, knowing he was a loose cannon right now.
"I need to know if anything's happened. I can't just sit at home. Here, I've found the names of some known associates of Schneider." Speed handed Horatio a slip of paper. "I've got to help somehow." Seeing the desperation in Speed's eyes, Horatio wished he could give him some hope but knew he couldn't yet.
"I get that but right now I don't want you to do anything that may jeopardize this investigation. I know you don't want that either." Hagen approached them, cutting their conversation short. Speed was glad, not wanting to have to justify his reasons for being there right now.
"They found another little girl an hour ago. We're pretty sure that Schneider has struck again. He stole this one right out of her bedroom window while she was sleeping. He's definitely getting bolder; her parents were sleeping in the very next room when it happened. We've got people on the scene right now looking for prints. This time there was semen present--it's in the lab right now." Horatio thanked Hagen and turned to Speed.
"Look, we've got a lot to do today. I'll get someone on this list you gave me and we've also got to track down Schneider's ex-girlfriend. I want you to go home."
"H, give me something to do. I'll process evidence. Anything." Horatio knew Speed wasn't going to give up so he relented.
"Okay. You oversee the processing of any evidence that is found on the victim, at the crime scene and in her bedroom. Let me know what you find out." Horatio knew that if nothing else, Speed would be thorough. He wouldn't let anything slip through the cracks on this case. The pictures from the day before had been a bit of an eye opener for Horatio but at the same time he hadn't been too surprised. Calleigh and Speed had always seemed to have a connection and Horatio knew that Speed must be in hell right now.
He wasn't far from hell himself, as he had been up all night working on the case, finding all the information he could on Schneider. He was determined that when the day was done they would be much closer to getting Calleigh back. He was afraid that the longer Schneider had her the worse the chances would be of finding her alive. Horatio couldn't bear the thought of that so he forced himself to pull out all the stops, believing in his heart that they would find Calleigh soon. She was too young, beautiful and too full of life to be snuffed out by some sick, twisted rapist playing games.
TBC....
See Part 1 for Disclaimers, etc.
Calleigh woke up in a dark place. It was so dark, she couldn't even see her fingers in front of her face. Frightened, she wondered where she was. She was on a soft surface, probably a bed and her head was throbbing. She was under a blanket but realized she was only wearing her bra and panties. Calleigh vaguely remembered being in the park and then being grabbed by someone and losing consciousness.
Her body felt sore both inside and out, and she started to cry softly as the realization came to her that she must have been raped. Forcing herself to stop, Calleigh realized that crying wouldn't help matters. She had to figure out where the hell she was. Her eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness and she realized she was on a bed and there was a table next to it.
Carefully feeling around, Calleigh found a lamp and struggled to find a switch. Finding one, she turned it on, wincing with pain as the light hit her sensitive eyes and her head throbbed more painfully. Spotting her clothes on the floor next to the bed, she grabbed them and started to put them on, noticing bruises on her arms and legs.
Who had done this to her? She wondered, more frightened than she'd ever been in her life. More importantly, where was he and when was he coming back? Looking around the room she observed that it was virtually bare except for the bed and bedside table. There was a tiny bathroom with a sink and toilet and not much else. She slowly walked to the door of the room and carefully turned the knob. The door was locked and there were no windows in the room so Calleigh knew she was trapped.
Her head was pounding with such painful intensity that Calleigh felt faint so she lay back down on the bed, curling up into a fetal position. She didn't see any way out of this at the moment and just lay there, dreading the moment her captor returned. She lay there in the dark, forcing herself not to fall asleep, feeling that would leave her more vulnerable. Calleigh jumped when the silence was broken by the sound of the door being unlocked. Sitting up on the bed, she backed up against the wall as the door opened slowly. She immediately recognized the face of Evan Schneider, smiling at her. He closed the door, turning the deadbolt and then faced her again.
"I see you're awake. My own little Sleeping Beauty."
"Why did you do this? Why am I here?" Calleigh demanded tearfully, sitting up and wincing at the pain in her temples.
"You're my pawn, Miss Duquesne. Among other things." He replied, sitting down beside her on the bed. He reached over to stroke her hair and Calleigh moved away, avoiding his touch. Grabbing her roughly, Evan kissed her on the lips, forcing his tongue into her mouth. Calleigh tried unsuccessfully to push him away but did succeed in biting his tongue as he started to pull off her blouse, ripping the buttons as he went. Evan cried out and slapped her across the face. "You're going to regret that, I promise you." Calleigh looked at him disdainfully, tasting his blood in her mouth and felt bile rise in the back of her throat.
"You can hurt me all you want, but they're going to find me and then you're going to pay." She said hatefully, wondering how such a monster could be human.
"Yeah, I'm sure they're looking for you right now but they're not going to find anything. Your boyfriend must be beside himself right now, imagining you with me." Calleigh looked at him with surprise. "That's right, they know I have you. If they didn't then this wouldn't be nearly as much fun." Evan unbuckled his belt and started to undo his pants. Calleigh cringed and he smiled at her reaction.
"You were good when you were unconscious, I wonder what you're like when you're awake? Why don't we find out?" Calleigh let out a sob as Evan came toward her, feeling absolutely powerless to stop him. There was nothing she could use to fight him except her fists and her feet. Weakened by the drug he'd used to knock her out earlier Calleigh knew she was no match for his strong frame. Closing her eyes, she thought of Tim and vowed to make it through this so she could be with him again.
Speed watched the sun come up from Eric's patio, wondering where Calleigh was right now and hoping that she was still alive. They shared such a strong connection that he was sure he would know if she were dead. He would feel it somehow and right now part of him was sure she was alive somewhere. Tim had stayed awake the entire night, giving up on sleep after tossing and turning until 3am.
Instead, he had gone on the Internet, searching for information on Evan Schneider. Horatio could order him off this case all he wanted but he was bound and determined to do all he could to help find Calleigh. He hadn't come up with much but had written down the names of a few of Schneider's known associates that he was going to give to Horatio today. Speed kept thinking about the note, thinking there must be some reason why it had been written, other than to taunt him of course.
Schneider had mentioned a woman and Speed was planning on asking Horatio if he'd found any information about her. It blew him away that Schneider had been stalking them, taking pictures. He'd been doing that while he'd been raping and murdering little girls. He was a busy guy, Tim thought. He shuddered at the thought of Calleigh being with Schneider. Anger boiled up in him and he wanted desperately to smash something. Knowing he couldn't wreck Eric's apartment Speed decided he needed to take off.
He would go to CSI and demand to know what was going on with Calleigh's case. If he sat around much longer he knew he would lose it. Tim took a cab to work and walked through the building, intent on finding out some information. He found Horatio in no time and he did not appear happy to see Tim there.
"Speed, I don't think you should be here right now. Go home." Horatio said sternly. He couldn't afford to have Speed there, knowing he was a loose cannon right now.
"I need to know if anything's happened. I can't just sit at home. Here, I've found the names of some known associates of Schneider." Speed handed Horatio a slip of paper. "I've got to help somehow." Seeing the desperation in Speed's eyes, Horatio wished he could give him some hope but knew he couldn't yet.
"I get that but right now I don't want you to do anything that may jeopardize this investigation. I know you don't want that either." Hagen approached them, cutting their conversation short. Speed was glad, not wanting to have to justify his reasons for being there right now.
"They found another little girl an hour ago. We're pretty sure that Schneider has struck again. He stole this one right out of her bedroom window while she was sleeping. He's definitely getting bolder; her parents were sleeping in the very next room when it happened. We've got people on the scene right now looking for prints. This time there was semen present--it's in the lab right now." Horatio thanked Hagen and turned to Speed.
"Look, we've got a lot to do today. I'll get someone on this list you gave me and we've also got to track down Schneider's ex-girlfriend. I want you to go home."
"H, give me something to do. I'll process evidence. Anything." Horatio knew Speed wasn't going to give up so he relented.
"Okay. You oversee the processing of any evidence that is found on the victim, at the crime scene and in her bedroom. Let me know what you find out." Horatio knew that if nothing else, Speed would be thorough. He wouldn't let anything slip through the cracks on this case. The pictures from the day before had been a bit of an eye opener for Horatio but at the same time he hadn't been too surprised. Calleigh and Speed had always seemed to have a connection and Horatio knew that Speed must be in hell right now.
He wasn't far from hell himself, as he had been up all night working on the case, finding all the information he could on Schneider. He was determined that when the day was done they would be much closer to getting Calleigh back. He was afraid that the longer Schneider had her the worse the chances would be of finding her alive. Horatio couldn't bear the thought of that so he forced himself to pull out all the stops, believing in his heart that they would find Calleigh soon. She was too young, beautiful and too full of life to be snuffed out by some sick, twisted rapist playing games.
TBC....