"Hey Grissom, where's Catherine?"
"Warrick, Sara, Nick. Sit down. Catherine is in hospital, she's been attacked."
Sara felt ice close round her heart. "What happened?"
"She was walking to her car on Franklin Street and some guy jumped her from behind. She was knocked unconscious. We don't know the motive behind the attack yet. At first we thought it was just a standard mugging, but her bag was at the scene and her purse was still in it."
Reality hit and Sara started hyperventilating. "But.she was going to the hospital to visit her friend.she was supposed to meet me here." she broke off and her hand flew to her mouth. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Warrick put a comforting arm round her shoulder.
"Griss, how is she? Is she awake yet?"
"No. She's had a nasty blow to the head. The doctors say it may be a couple of days before she comes round. So that's a couple of days we'll have to do without our main witness in our top priority case, so, as always, follow the evidence."
Nick still looked in shock, but Sara and Warrick looked the most determined Grissom had ever seen them. He knew if any CSI's could solve this case, his team could.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Right, what have we got?" Nick and Warrick were spreading out the evidence they had collected so far on the table. Sara stood back a little, her brow furrowed in concentration. She looked white and drawn but other than that there was no outward sign of her overwhelming terror that Catherine would not make it, or her hurt that she had been lied to. Catherine had been found miles away from the hospital, and she had checked the hospital records for every Jane that had been there for more than two weeks. Then she had personally gone and talked to each one, and none of them knew Catherine. So what had she been doing for all that time each week? Sara felt a sick certainty that Catherine must have been cheating on her. It would explain the fact Catherine had been less interested in sex recently, and had been so distant. But why? Am I that bad in bed that she needs to go elsewhere? It's something you can ask her when she wakes up, she promised, trying to reassure herself that that would happen. Because, even if Catherine had been cheating, Sara knew she still loved her and always would. She shook herself and tried to concentrate on what Nick and Warrick were doing.
"Purse, full of money. Lots of money. So it wasn't a mugging." Nick picked the purse up in a gloved hand and moved it to one side of the table.
"What was she doing with that much money on her late at night anyway?" Warrick asked.
"Sara, you were the last one to talk to her, weren't you? Did she mention getting money from somewhere for something?"
"No, she just said she was going to the hospital." Sara tried to swallow the lump in her throat.
"Besides man, no cash point gives out bills this crumpled and in this many denominations," Warrick chipped in.
Their confusion was interrupted by all three pagers going off simultaneously. They met Grissom in his office. "Hospital just called. Rape kit came back negative." Sara breathed a huge sigh of relief, and Warrick and Nick visibly relaxed. It was something Sara had been having nightmares about all of the previous night, along with the fear that Catherine might not wake up. Grissom continued, "And Brass arrested the guy whose prints were on Catherine's watch strap. He's bringing him in for questioning now."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, man, I didn't do anything! I don't know no 'Catherine Willows'. I swear!"
"Then why have we got your fingerprints on her watch strap?" demanded Brass.
"Maybe you were trying to restrain her, or she was fighting you off when you attacked her. Your fingerprint, and two eye-witnesses who saw you fleeing the scene is enough to convince a jury you had something to do with the attack." Sara watched his face carefully, trying to detect any fear there.
"Look, I'll level with you. I was there." Brass looked triumphant. "But I didn't hurt her. I was trying to help her! I've no reason to hurt her! Kitty-Cat is one of my favourite dancers! I was."
"What?" Sara was almost out of her seat. "Dancers?"
"Yeah, you know, at Heaven." Sara ran from the room, and Brass suspended the interview and instructed a junior officer to take the suspect back to his cell.
Sara locked herself in a cubicle in the ladies and sobbed. How could Catherine do this to me? She'd said she turned down Mark's offer of a job. Why did she want to dance again? Why did she lie to me? She's shown half of Las Vegas parts of her only I should see. I'd almost rather she'd have been cheating. Almost but not quite. Sara started to calm down a little, getting her breathing under control. It took her a while, but eventually she was ready to resume the interview. She sought out Brass.
"What happened in there, Sara?"
It took a while to convince Brass that she was fit to go back into the interview room, but he gave in, knowing her and Catherine had been friends and she would want to be there.
"Carry on, Mr Harvey, she's one of your favourite dancers." Brass said.
"Right. So I come out of the club and see some guy standing over her undoing his trousers. So I yelled at him to leave her alone. He didn't look like he was going to, so I picked up a piece of piping from the ground and threatened him with it. Then he left."
"If you didn't hurt her, why run off before the police or the ambulance got there?"
Mr Harvey shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't want my wife to know I was at Heaven. It would hurt her too much. So I called the ambulance, then when I heard the sirens approaching, I left."
Brass and Sara shared a glance. It was obvious to them both that he was telling the truth. "Okay, you're free to go. We'll contact you if we want to know anything else."
After he had left, Sara turned to brass. "Well, that explains why she was attacked; it was an attempted rape, and also why the rape kit came back negative." Brass nodded. Sara's pager went off at that moment and the message read "caths awake." She stood quickly and said to Brass, "She's awake," before walking swiftly out of the door.
"Warrick, Sara, Nick. Sit down. Catherine is in hospital, she's been attacked."
Sara felt ice close round her heart. "What happened?"
"She was walking to her car on Franklin Street and some guy jumped her from behind. She was knocked unconscious. We don't know the motive behind the attack yet. At first we thought it was just a standard mugging, but her bag was at the scene and her purse was still in it."
Reality hit and Sara started hyperventilating. "But.she was going to the hospital to visit her friend.she was supposed to meet me here." she broke off and her hand flew to her mouth. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Warrick put a comforting arm round her shoulder.
"Griss, how is she? Is she awake yet?"
"No. She's had a nasty blow to the head. The doctors say it may be a couple of days before she comes round. So that's a couple of days we'll have to do without our main witness in our top priority case, so, as always, follow the evidence."
Nick still looked in shock, but Sara and Warrick looked the most determined Grissom had ever seen them. He knew if any CSI's could solve this case, his team could.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Right, what have we got?" Nick and Warrick were spreading out the evidence they had collected so far on the table. Sara stood back a little, her brow furrowed in concentration. She looked white and drawn but other than that there was no outward sign of her overwhelming terror that Catherine would not make it, or her hurt that she had been lied to. Catherine had been found miles away from the hospital, and she had checked the hospital records for every Jane that had been there for more than two weeks. Then she had personally gone and talked to each one, and none of them knew Catherine. So what had she been doing for all that time each week? Sara felt a sick certainty that Catherine must have been cheating on her. It would explain the fact Catherine had been less interested in sex recently, and had been so distant. But why? Am I that bad in bed that she needs to go elsewhere? It's something you can ask her when she wakes up, she promised, trying to reassure herself that that would happen. Because, even if Catherine had been cheating, Sara knew she still loved her and always would. She shook herself and tried to concentrate on what Nick and Warrick were doing.
"Purse, full of money. Lots of money. So it wasn't a mugging." Nick picked the purse up in a gloved hand and moved it to one side of the table.
"What was she doing with that much money on her late at night anyway?" Warrick asked.
"Sara, you were the last one to talk to her, weren't you? Did she mention getting money from somewhere for something?"
"No, she just said she was going to the hospital." Sara tried to swallow the lump in her throat.
"Besides man, no cash point gives out bills this crumpled and in this many denominations," Warrick chipped in.
Their confusion was interrupted by all three pagers going off simultaneously. They met Grissom in his office. "Hospital just called. Rape kit came back negative." Sara breathed a huge sigh of relief, and Warrick and Nick visibly relaxed. It was something Sara had been having nightmares about all of the previous night, along with the fear that Catherine might not wake up. Grissom continued, "And Brass arrested the guy whose prints were on Catherine's watch strap. He's bringing him in for questioning now."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey, man, I didn't do anything! I don't know no 'Catherine Willows'. I swear!"
"Then why have we got your fingerprints on her watch strap?" demanded Brass.
"Maybe you were trying to restrain her, or she was fighting you off when you attacked her. Your fingerprint, and two eye-witnesses who saw you fleeing the scene is enough to convince a jury you had something to do with the attack." Sara watched his face carefully, trying to detect any fear there.
"Look, I'll level with you. I was there." Brass looked triumphant. "But I didn't hurt her. I was trying to help her! I've no reason to hurt her! Kitty-Cat is one of my favourite dancers! I was."
"What?" Sara was almost out of her seat. "Dancers?"
"Yeah, you know, at Heaven." Sara ran from the room, and Brass suspended the interview and instructed a junior officer to take the suspect back to his cell.
Sara locked herself in a cubicle in the ladies and sobbed. How could Catherine do this to me? She'd said she turned down Mark's offer of a job. Why did she want to dance again? Why did she lie to me? She's shown half of Las Vegas parts of her only I should see. I'd almost rather she'd have been cheating. Almost but not quite. Sara started to calm down a little, getting her breathing under control. It took her a while, but eventually she was ready to resume the interview. She sought out Brass.
"What happened in there, Sara?"
It took a while to convince Brass that she was fit to go back into the interview room, but he gave in, knowing her and Catherine had been friends and she would want to be there.
"Carry on, Mr Harvey, she's one of your favourite dancers." Brass said.
"Right. So I come out of the club and see some guy standing over her undoing his trousers. So I yelled at him to leave her alone. He didn't look like he was going to, so I picked up a piece of piping from the ground and threatened him with it. Then he left."
"If you didn't hurt her, why run off before the police or the ambulance got there?"
Mr Harvey shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't want my wife to know I was at Heaven. It would hurt her too much. So I called the ambulance, then when I heard the sirens approaching, I left."
Brass and Sara shared a glance. It was obvious to them both that he was telling the truth. "Okay, you're free to go. We'll contact you if we want to know anything else."
After he had left, Sara turned to brass. "Well, that explains why she was attacked; it was an attempted rape, and also why the rape kit came back negative." Brass nodded. Sara's pager went off at that moment and the message read "caths awake." She stood quickly and said to Brass, "She's awake," before walking swiftly out of the door.