VIII. Bag of Bones

Catherine woke up to the sun in her face. She turned away and cuddled closer to Warrick. She had been sleeping with him for almost a month, while seeing Vincent on the side. She felt incredibly guilty about not being honest with Vincent, but she didn't feel guilty about the relationship that she had with Warrick either.

She opened her eyes slightly and leaned in to kiss him. Warrick woke up and rolled her over on her back while kissing her.

"Good morning," she said smiling.

"Good morning," he said grinning proudly.

Catherine sat up and began to look around for her clothing that had been tossed in various spots around the room. When she spotted her thongs, she got up. She winced in pain.

"Ow," she whined. "God Warrick, what did you do to me last night?"

"Well, you were the one that said you wanted to try a different position," he said, putting the blame on her.

Catherine raised an eyebrow at him and then resumed looking for her clothes. She found her shirt and pants, but couldn't find her bra. She walked back and forth all over the room in search of her bra. It was quite an expensive bra. It was satin and it had "HOTTIE" spelled out in studs on both straps, courtesy of Victoria's Secret. She was beginning to get frustrated.

"Looking for this?" Warrick asked holding up her bra.

"Where was it?" She asked.

"In the bed," he answered. "It came off after…you know."

"I know very well," she said crawling back into the bed to retrieve it. "And I liked it."

She licked her lips seductively inches away from his lips. She could be such a tease sometimes. She grabbed her bra then kissed him. She pulled away before anything else happened.

"I wish you could stay," Warrick said getting up and pulling on his boxers.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning," Catherine said. "I'm off tonight and Vince is taking me out to dinner. Lindsay wants to stay with Sara, but I'm worried about her. She's supposed to be on bed rest, and I don't want to stress her out."

"I'm on the schedule tonight," Warrick said. "I would watch her if I could."

"I'll call Sara and see if she feels like any company," she said rather forlornly. "God, I should apologize for what I said to her. She was just scared for Lindsay that's all and I understand that now. I've talked to Vince about it, and he said that it's normal for kids to want to get away from someone they don't know. I didn't think that Lindsay would make up something to make Sara think Vince is hurting her."

"Maybe you need to talk to her," Warrick said, massaging her shoulders. "She doesn't understand what's going on, you know."

"Yeah," she said, enjoying his touch. "Sara is going to go stir crazy on bed rest for the next two weeks. She's never spent more than a day away from work. And Nick is on pins and needles with her."

Warrick chuckled. "Yeah, he's been trying to keep himself together, but out in the field, all he thinks about is Sara. He calls her every ten seconds, and he worries whether he bought her the right brand of ice cream."

Catherine giggled and leaned into him. She was content. So this is what love feels like, she thought. Mornings after with Warrick were always a pleasure. He made her feel special. Then again, so did Vincent. They both treated her like she was the queen of England, and they both loved Lindsay and had practically adopted her as their own. She was a rock in a hard place. She would eventually have to tell the truth to everyone about she and Warrick. Or, she could have it both ways: she could be with Vincent and Warrick. It was working out so far. But that wouldn't be fair to Warrick. She knew how much he loved her. Vincent would never know either way.

She leaned up and kissed him before she got up and got dressed. Warrick admired her body as she dressed.

"It's impolite to stare, you know," Catherine quipped as she buttoned up her shirt.

"Oh, but the view is so good from here," he replied, giving her a lustful once over.

Catherine smiled as she pulled on her thongs then her pants. Once she was completely dressed, she kissed him again on the way to the front door.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said smiling.

"Okay," he said. "Why don't you stay for breakfast tomorrow? I'll cook whatever you want."

"I would love to," she said getting up on tip toes to kiss him again.

She put on her jacket then got in her car, little knowing that someone was watching her.

On the way home, she felt a pang of hunger and went to Jack in the Box to get some breakfast tacos. She knew that Warrick's breakfast would be much better.

Catherine just barely made it paying for the tacos. She devoured her tacos as she headed home. She thought about how she would work out this situation with Warrick and Vincent. The idea of staying with both of them was the best for now, she supposed, and maybe after a few months, she and Warrick would have to make a decision. No, she would have to make a decision.

The house was quiet. Lindsay was at school, and Vincent was already at work. She plopped down on the couch with her soda and turned on the TV. She was sleepy, and she was hardly paying attention to whatever was on television. She fell asleep.

She was only asleep for about two hours, but it felt longer to her because she was in a deep sleep. A wave of nausea woke her up and she rushed to the bathroom. She made it to the toilet just in time to reject all of the contents put in her stomach. Bits of taco, meat, soda, and lettuce all came up with other things she had eaten the night before. She flushed the toilet when her body tricked her into thinking she was finished. She walked out of the bathroom, only to rush back in. This time she threw up all over the seat and the floor. She covered her mouth as she threw up again and opened the toilet to throw up in the bowl.

Catherine threw up for a good fifteen minutes. When she was finally done, she washed her hands then wiped down the bathroom in her lethargy. The bathroom wreaked and she sprayed some air freshener. She was pale and pasty looking. She collapsed onto the bed and fell instantly asleep.

***

Sara was waiting patiently for Nick to come home. She was munching on Krispy Kremes while watching the Discovery Channel. She knew why Nick watched it all the time. The shows were addictive. And TLC was good too. She liked "Trading Spaces" and "While You Were Out". There were stacks of baby magazines and child development books on the coffee table. She had read every last one of them. She was ready for motherhood.

"Three more months little one," she said rubbing her belly. The baby kicked and rolled around in response.

Sara was overjoyed at the fact that she was having a boy. The doctors confirmed it. Nick wanted a girl so bad, but he was happy to have an heir to carry on the Stokes name.

She ate another doughnut. Original glazed were addictive. She had a whole box in front of her. Nick bought it for her when she got out of the hospital. Nick was rewarded accordingly. He was so good to her. She wondered what she did to deserve him. The things he'd done for her, his support through her difficult pregnancy, it all made her want to cry.

She felt tears running down her cheeks.

"Mommy's got the best man you'll ever know darling," she said. "And he'll love you so much."

She wiped her tears. The phone rang and she reached over to the cordless.

"Hello?" She sniffled.

"Sara? What's wrong with you?" Arthur asked.

"Oh, nothing," she said. "Hormones. Got anything for me?"

"Nope. The guy's a saint. He's clean."

"Dammit. Thanks anyway Art. I'll see ya around."

"Yeah, of course you will. Bye."

"Bye."

Sara hung up the phone, then pondered over her next move. Vincent had a past. Everyone had a past.

Nick walked through the door.

"Hey sweetie," he said. He walked over to her and kissed her cheek. Something he did on a daily basis.

"Hey," Sara said eyeing him suspiciously. "You've got that Stokes grin. What's going on?"

"You've got that Sidle intuition," Nick quipped. "Get dressed I'm taking you somewhere special."

"At eleven o'clock in the morning?" Sara questioned.

"Woman, do you always have to make everything so difficult?"

Sara narrowed her eyes at him. "What was that?"

"I'm getting too excited. I'm sorry. Sara, I didn't mean that," Nick said trying to worm his way out of the nasty situation that he put himself in.

"Watch it, Stokes," Sara warned.

"I'm taking you somewhere. It's a surprise. Go get dressed," Nick said smiling.

Sara got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. That was one thing he had to get used to. Sara took forever to get dressed. She had a system. She had to straighten her hair, put on her makeup, curl her hair, style it the way she wanted it, match her underwear (Nick couldn't understand that for the life of him), find an outfit, put on jewelry, find the right perfume, and then put on shoes. Their bedroom had turned into a salon. She was a neat freak from Hell though. Everything had to be in perfect order. It pained her to see anything out of place. She would cry if anything that she fixed was messed up, or not put back properly. It was borderline obsessive compulsive. Actually, she did have the disorder. To a mild extent.

"C'mon peanut let's go," Nick said looking at his watch.

"Hold your damn horses!" Sara yelled from the bedroom.

He should have said that time was of the essence. Finally, she came out of the bedroom. She looked and smelled fresh. She was glowing.

"You look beautiful," Nick said.

"Really?" Sara asked grinning. "I feel like the Goodyear blimp. I'm fat and ugly. When I have this kid, I'm going to cut my hair. It's getting hard to manage now that it's longer."

"I love your hair," Nick said kissing her.

As he ushered her out the door, she glanced at the cabinets containing the glasses within. She gave him a lethal stare.

"Those glasses are not the way I put them," she said.

In the car, Sara was seething. Nick had blindfolded her so she wouldn't get a hint as to where they were going.

"The thing with the glasses is not over Nicholas Alexander Stokes," she warned.

Nick knew he was in trouble then. When Sara used his full name, he had to prepare himself for the blowout that tipped on the edge of nuclear warfare. The sweeter side of Sara disappeared when she got really upset. He forgot how Sara had put the glasses and he hoped that she wouldn't mind if they weren't right.

After about twenty minutes, they made it to their destination.

Nick assisted Sara out of their vehicle.

"Nick, where are we?" Sara asked, he anger still boiling.

"You'll see soon enough," he said.

He took off her blindfold. Sara gasped at what she saw. Tears welled up in her eyes as they beheld a new house. It was a two story Spanish style house with a sprawling front and back yard. It was bigger than any house she had ever seen in her life.

"Nick, how did you…?" Her voice trailed off.

"I saved the money I got from my grandmother's will and it's been collecting since then," Nick said feeling her belly from behind. "I bought this house for you and the little guy. This is your house Sara. Welcome home."

Sara turned and faced him and burst into tears.

"Oh, honey don't cry," Nick said.

"I can't help it!" She wailed. "What did I do to deserve a man like you? I don't even know why I'm crying!"

"Sara, please stop crying," Nick begged. He got on one knee. "Sara Matilda Sidle, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? That is if you stop the water works long enough."

Sara stopped crying for a second. "Yes, I would love to," she said giving in to her hysterical crying.

She hugged and kissed him. "I love you so much," she said smiling.

"I love you too," Nick said.

Sara pulled away to look at the house again. "Oh my God, our first house!"

***

Vincent had a lot on his mind. He had several thoughts. Thoughts of Catherine and Lindsay, thoughts of Stacy, Mayella, Theresa, Gina. He didn't know how to make them go away. He had thoughts of Sara Sidle. Thoughts about her large belly, how her baby would kick, and how she would suffer great pain to bring it into this world. He could see her now: screaming, yelling, crying,, breaking, begging for mercy; pushing the life through her body in agonizing pain and drenched in sweat.

He had seen her before. She was thinner then, and her hair was shorter. She used to live in San Francisco before she moved to Las Vegas for whatever reason. The day he met Catherine at the country club she was there. She was almost three months pregnant then. She had left with her boyfriend when he joined Catherine at the table. He loved Catherine. She was the only one that could possibly save him from himself. His impulses. He had to know if she loved him or not. She was cheating on him with another man. He saw them in their act of lust. She looked like she was enjoying herself. She was wonderful when he slept with her. She had to choose tonight.

"Hey Vince," Derek called from his office door, jarring him from his thoughts. "How's that portfolio coming?"

"It's going great Derek," Vince said smiling proudly. "I should have done and turned in by tomorrow."

"Great," Derek said, then left.

Vincent went back to thinking about Sara. He had to get rid of her, her boyfriend, and her baby. All three of them, so that he could be with Catherine. So that he could leave his past behind.

***

Catherine felt much better as the day went on. She figured it was the grease from the taco meat that made her stomach queasy. It was getting late, and she figured she better get ready for her date with Vincent.

Sara consented to watch Lindsay over night, but barely said two words to Catherine. Catherine felt guilty. She was having problems with everything. Hopefully, she would be able to resolve all of her problems over the next few months.

The case with the dead little girls was worsening. The guy they were looking for was meticulous, and very clean. She was scared for Lindsay's life. One of her friends had been raped by the man and she was so mentally and physically damaged, she refused to speak. Lindsay had changed as a result of her missing friend.

Catherine tried to get her mind off of those things. She tried on several dresses until she found the right one. It was a simple black dress with spaghetti straps. She picked out some black Stiletto heels to match. She applied her usual makeup, and then waited patiently for Vincent to arrive. She paced back and forth, waiting for him to come through the door, prepared for dinner. She was hungry, and she wanted to eat.

Vincent was right on time.

"Hey," he said smiling.

"Hey," she said kissing him. "Ready?"

He took her to a restaurant at the Bellagio. He looked at her incredulously as she ate like it was her last meal before death.

"I love this place," Catherine said, her mouth full of Salsbury steak. "The steak here is excellent."

"By the way you're eating it, it must be," Vincent said laughing. "Catherine?"

"Yeah?" She answered.

"Do you love me? I certainly love you with all my heart."

Catherine stopped chewing on her steak to ponder that. Did she really love him? She was sure she loved Warrick, but what about Vince? He was so good to her, and he was gentle. How could she not love him?

"Yes, I do," she said smiling genuinely.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Catherine admitted.

They were tangled up in her bed sheets, making love to each other passionately. Catherine thought about Warrick here and there. She had done the same thing earlier in the morning. Vincent was a great lover too. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why was it so hard for her to be in love with one man? It was always a triangle. If Sara could do it, then certainly she could commit to one man.

"Yes," Catherine moaned. "Right there."

He was thrusting into her faster and faster. The passion and love was building up within him. He wanted to please Catherine first, but his orgasm was building. The feel of her, the smell of her, the sound of her…it was all so invigorating that he couldn't hold on anymore. With his last thrust, he exploded inside of her. Catherine followed with her orgasm.

She didn't know what she was going to do.

***

There was a knock on her door. She opened it to two strange men.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?" She asked, her voice hollow and numb.

"Hi, I'm Nick Stokes and this is Warrick Brown. We're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab."

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Are you Camilla Hamlin?" Nick asked.

"Yes," the woman answered.

"Do you mind if we ask you and your daughter some questions?" Warrick asked.

Camilla was a young black woman who had long hair, full lips, and hollow brown eyes, which Nick assumed were full of life before crisis struck. She stepped back and allowed them to come in.

"Would you like something to drink?" She asked.

"No thanks ma'am," Nick declined politely. "Miss Hamlin, may we please see you daughter?"

"Mrs. Hamlin," she corrected. "I'm a widow. And no, she doesn't want to see anybody right now. Especially men."

"Mrs. Hamlin," Warrick started. "Did your daughter describe the guy to you?"

Camilla thought for a moment to that awful day. She shook her head.

"No, not that well," she said. "When I picked her up from school, I didn't think there was anything wrong with her. I thought that she was quiet because she had a silly fight with her friend. When I found out that she was violated, she could only describe what his hands felt like. She said they were scaly feeling and scratchy. Like he had some kind of skin problem. She's too sick now to remember anything else."

"I'm sorry," Nick said.

"You know when you're a parent, you try and teach them everything," Camilla said in a monotone sound. "I told her not to talk to strangers, and to tell me if she had the slightest bad feeling about anyone or anything. I know that she listened, but she panicked. And that psycho ruined her for life. He hurt her so bad that she won't be able to have children. It would be dangerous for her to get pregnant as a woman because her uterus is damaged, she had tears, too. I want you to find him. I want to see his face."

"We will try and get him ma'am," Nick said.

"Do either of you have children?" Camilla asked.

"I don't," Warrick answered.

"My fiancee is expecting," Nick answered.

"If you weren't an officer of the law, and it were your daughter, what would you do?"

Nick looked around the room, trying to hold back tears for the widow. "I'd kill him."

Warrick sensed the tension.

"Thanks for your time Mrs. Hamlin," Warrick said. "If you or your daughter remembers anything about that day, call LVPD."

Camilla walked them to the door.

Nick sniffled back his tears as they got into the car.

"Hey man, you okay?" Warrick asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Nick said. "I just need to go see Sara for a few minutes, to see if she's okay."

Warrick dropped Nick off at his house.

"Why don't you stay with her tonight?" Warrick suggested. "I'll tell Griss you weren't feeling well."

"Thanks man," Nick said.

Nick walked into his home. Sara was in the kitchen with Lindsay laughing and smiling while making cookies. Sara had her own special recipe for chocolate chip cookies. She made them for a bake sale at work one time and they were a big hit. Actually, that was the day Nick knew he was in love with Sara and he asked her out on a date. It was the cookies, he thought.

"Hey sweetie," Sara said smiling her beautiful smile.

"Hey," he said, inhaling the scent of cookie dough. "Smells good in there. What are my two best girls and little guy making in here?"

"My famous chocolate chip cookies, you know the ones that you like so much," Sara said smiling seductively.

"Sounds good," Nick said with a mischievous smirk. "Sar, can I talk to you alone?"

"Sure," Sara consented. "Linds, keep mixing for me."

"Okay," the little girl said.

Sara met Nick in their bedroom. She sat down next to him on the bed. Something was troubling him deeply, she knew. He planted a tender kiss on her belly before laying his head on it. He rubbed her belly with his hand. She smoothed his hair down as he listened to the baby kick inside of her. There was no need for words. She knew exactly what he was communicating.

"C'mon sweetie," Sara said soothingly. "Help me bake my cookies. I want them really bad."

Nick chuckled and got up to kiss her. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you or the baby."

"I know you won't," Sara said.

Lindsay had fallen asleep before the cookies were done and Nick put her in the guest bedroom.

Sara munched on the cookies while Nick started putting things away in boxes in preparation for moving into their new home.

"So," Sara started. "What should we name him?"

"That's up to you," Nick said. "But I'm just putting Nicholas Alexander Stokes the second on the table."

"You know, I was thinking about that name. It's nice and strong, but it's sexy too. It fits you and only you because you are sexy," Sara said smiling wide. "I was thinking Tyler Andrew, or Christopher Anthony. Those are good names. Besides, we have to think of names ourselves before my parents do. You know we're Italian, right?"

"Yeah," Nick chuckled. "In the words of your grandmother: 'Eat. Don'ta be ashamed'."

"You've got a great accent," Sara commented. "Anyway, we just barely skirted by with not converting you to Catholic, although the baby will be Catholic since I'm Catholic, but if my side of the family gets a hold on the naming process, this kid will get Marc Antonio, or Andrea Maria, or Guido, or worse, Guiseppe."

Nick gulped in horror at the names.

***

Vincent looked over to Catherine to see if she was asleep. She was sleeping hard. He slipped out of bed, following his urge, his thoughts.

Tonight it would be the skating ring. Lots of beautiful girls went there. All he wanted was to feel their hair. Girls and women had such beautiful hair. Their hair was fine and silky. Just like his mother's. Just one more girl, he promised. That will be the end of it. No more. Catherine was his life. He loved her, and she loved him.

He snuck out of her house then got in his car and left. He drove through the streets of Las Vegas looking at the lights, the people, and the buildings of varying themes as he drove to his destination. Skateworld was a favorite teen hot spot. It was voted one of the best in a recent poll. To the rest of society, the place seemed innocent enough, but Vincent had been there enough times to know that the place was far from it. Runners hung out there, waiting patiently for their instructions, street racing went on there, and the kids did everything else but skate. It was like another Studio 54.

They had no real grasp of the real world. That was what he was trying to get them to understand. He was trying to melt their naivety and innocence and prepare them for the real world. The real world wasn't innocent. It was dirty, filthy, slimy, and sinful. They all needed to see that. Soon, Sara Sidle would see that. But Catherine would never have to see that again. She had the right to innocence. Just like his mother.

He sat in the parking lot, waiting for just the right one. After about two hours, he found the right one. She was a tall blonde. She looked like a dancer. She looked frail and innocent.

He got out of his car, and walked over to her in the cold night air. She was alone.

"Excuse me, but I need help," he lied. "I dropped my Rolex over there near my car, and I need you to help me find it. It's within that area over there."

"Sure," she said.

They walked over to his car. "I think it may be near the passenger side."

She began to look for it. He took out his knife and placed it on her neck. She stifled a scream.

"Get in the car slowly," he commanded.

Her breathing became shallow as she got into the car.

It was his last night. He had to make this one last.

***

"Hey, baby," Nick said holding up a box. "What's in here? This box is heavy."

"Oh, those are my old case files from Frisco," Sara said. "I used to Xerox and save them just in case I was accused of not doing my job correctly. SFPD is no walk in the park."

"Hmm," Nick said as he put the box down. He looked up at Sara who had that "Sara" look. "What?"

She got up and opened the box. She began to frantically search through the box. A realization came to her mind and it could possibly save Catherine and Lindsay. She took out whole files from old cases and dug deeper to find what she was looking for.

"Whoa sweetie," Nick said. "Calm down."

"Nick leave me alone right now," Sara said angrily as she searched the files.

Nick stood bewildered until Sara found what she was looking for. "Aha! The bag of bones. Everyone's got a past Vincent. Everyone's got a past."

***

When Catherine awoke early the next morning, Vincent wasn't there. She figured he left for work early. She knew that Warrick would be home by now.

Catherine packed a gym bag to pretend that she had gone to the gym to work out. While that lie wasn't completely a lie, (because sex was a work out) she still felt bad. Vincent was so lovable and sweet, and so was Warrick. Catherine didn't know if she had the energy to sleep with both. She would eventually have to tell the truth and make a decision.

***

SAN BERNADINO, CALIFORNIA CORRECTIONAL FACILTY

Arthur Stanhope walked down the cavity of the penitentiary. People's view of prison was distorted. People automatically think bars and dirty toilets. Not so. The place was sanitary.

The visiting room was full of girlfriends, lovers, mothers, children, and friends. Arthur was there to see one man.

He sat down on the opposite side of the window and picked up the phone.

"I can get you out of jail and acquitted for those murders," Arthur said to the man plain and simple. "You'll be a free man."