Out of Time: Chapter 4
A/N: Sorry this took so long everyone. I hope eople are still interested in reading it. Let me know what you think. Reviews are what make the world go round. I think. Maybe it's gravity.
*********************
"How could you forget?!"
"I'm sorry, Gil. I was just overwhelmed with the lab and worrying about you. I forgot about the gun."
"The Sheriff isn't going to buy that. A department weapon was used in a crime. Someone's in deep shit for this." Grissom paced around the break room gesticulating wildly. He had been getting close to moving on and now here he was with more questions than ever and the sinking feeling that something horrible had happened.
"What I don't understand is how the perp got Sara's gun. She wouldn't just throw it out." Despite his calm demeanor, Nick was silently panicking. He had seemed to take Sara's leaving the hardest and had obviously blamed Grissom for that.
"No. And she wouldn't quit without turning it in." Warrick was rubbing his temples. If they didn't solve this soon, he could battle Gris for the world's worst headache. The thought that Sara might be hurt, or worse made him physically ill with guilt. He had been a bit pissed when Sara left without warning. True, they hadn't gotten off to a good start, but he'd thought she had begun to fit in better. Just leaving like that not only made things difficult around the lab, but hurt Grissom in the process. Grissom had become very important to him. He had gone to bat for him so many times and he hated to see him like this.
Catherine nodded. "So where does that leave us?"
"Well either she lost it, which is highly unlikely, or someone stole it and she doesn't know its missing."
"Or she's unable to report its missing."
Grissom stopped his survey of the room and met Nick's eyes. "You think something happened to her?"
"It isn't like her to forget something like her gun."
"Yeah. And she left without saying anything. I know she'd been withdrawn for a while, but it is weird she left without warning."
"But she mailed in the form." Catherine knew she sounded desperate. She was trying to find any logical explanation that didn't end with Sara being hurt.
"And it was her signature on it."
Grissom face grew determined as he turned to leave. "I know, I know. It's just really odd. Let's hope we can find the perp. Maybe he can shed some light on where he got this." ***************** Sara was exhausted. Physically and emotionally. Fighting this situation was becoming too much of a burden. Every day Tim was there, feeding her, taking care of her. He hadn't hurt her since the toe and even the pain of that was fading. She had asked him once what it would take for him to release her. Like any victim she had offered him money only to have him actually get insulted. He said that all he wanted was her love. All she had to do was love him and she was free to go.
At the time she thought he meant that he wanted sex. But he'd never tried to rape her, which would have been easy enough. She was in no position to fight back. Yet he hadn't tried anything. He was so patient and caring as if he truly wanted her to love him.
It almost would have been easier if he had raped her, or at least tried to. Maybe then he'd grow tired of her and let her go. Or maybe he'd kill her. Sara almost didn't care which. Anything to break this stalemate, this steady wearing down of her will.
Maybe she could offer him sex. Maybe he'd be willing to take the physical love instead of the emotional kind. The thought of doing such a thing turned her stomach, but he didn't seem like he'd be rough or violent. She'd only have to endure the indignity and humiliation for a little while and then she'd have a chance. Sara decided. Next time she'd try to whore herself out to him.
*****************
Grissom photographed every inch of the crime scene, working his was up and down the street in a methodical grid pattern. The repetitive actions were usually enough to draw his mind into focus. Usually the world around him disappeared and extraneous thoughts fled. Unfortunately, that momentary peace was denied him tonight. The case involving Sara's gun remained unsolved as did the question of how it got there. Nick's suggestions had been unsettling at the least. It was one thing to know that Sara was alive somewhere and getting on with her life, but the thought that she might be in trouble, or worse was devastating.
Grissom muttered a curse to himself and tried to refocus his attentions. He had a murder to solve here and worrying about nothing wouldn't help anyone. But Sara wasn't "nothing" and between his own personal thoughts and the crime scene, he was oblivious to everything except the square meter of asphalt in front of him. He didn't even hear Catherine calling him until she was right behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey Grissom!. I was calling you. Are you sure your hearing is fixed?"
"I'm sorry Catherine. I was. distracted."
"Don't worry Gil. We'll find out what's going on with Sara. Come here. You have some dirt on your face. Were you dumpster diving?" Catherine leaned into Grissom and wiped some dirt off his cheek with her thumb. On some impulse, she pushed her luck and gave him what she hoped he realized was a reassuring hug. Grissom stiffened automatically, but relaxed as the hug lasted only a split second. Neither noticed the flash coming from the crowd of onlookers and media outside the yellow tape.
****************
"How are you doing today, honey?" Tim walked in and sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked down at Sara; her hair lying on the pillow was so beautiful. But her eyes looked tired, worn. He supposed it was because of the situation and felt a little bad about it, but there was nothing he could do about that yet.
Sara turned to meet his eyes, and her eyes grew determined. "Don't call me that!"
"What? Honey? I'm sorry Sara. I didn't mean to upset you."
"You didn't upset me. I was just thinking."
He reached down and brushed a few errant strands of hair from her face. "What were you thinking about?'
Sara looked up at him and prayed that she had the strength to go through with her plan. "I was thinking about you, about us." She smiled seductively. "I was thinking about how lonely it is without you here."
Tim's breath caught in his throat. She was coming on to him. She shifted her body slowly, spreading her legs just a bit and wriggling around a bit. He smiled down at her and slowly stroked her cheek. He wanted her so much it hurt sometimes, but he had promised himself he wouldn't rush it. Now it had happened, he had waited and the prize would be even sweeter. His hand moved down her body to rest lightly on her hip. That's when he noticed her eyes.
Her smile didn't extend to her eyes. Her mouth said come and take me, but her eyes were full of fear and desperation. And the eyes were the windows to the soul. She was lying to him.
His immediate reaction was anger. How dare she lie about something as important as love! Here he had pampered her, cared for her and she just threw her body at him like some sacrifice. That was what she thought of him! That all he wanted was sex!
He got up and paced around the room trying to rein in his rage. He rubbed his knuckles with the sudden urge to slap some sense into her. He slowly calmed his breathing, bringing his emotions back into control. He had to stay in control of everything. He finally stood next to Sara's bed again and looked down again.
All signs of her little sexual farce were gone; her face showed only fear. And suddenly he felt bad. He shouldn't be angry. She had not yet given up hope of escape. That was evidence of her strength that he loved so much. He was in control and he could afford to let this one slide.
He smiled at her one more time. "That's okay, Sara. I know what you were trying to do and why. I know you're scared, but soon I hope you'll come to trust and love me."
With that he went back upstairs, leaving a dejected, sobbing Sara behind.
****************
Grissom sat at his desk staring at the wall. His mind was methodically sifting through every case from the past five years that involved the abduction of a woman. There were so many, and so few ended well. He knew it was unlikely that any were related to Sara, but he knew what could happen to her. He knew the odds were against her still being alive.
Brass rushed into his office breaking him out of his morbid reverie. "We got him, Gil. Michael Cobb, a frequent visitor of the LVPD drunk tank and failed pawn shop burglar."
Gil was on his feet and walking to the door immediately. "Well what are we waiting for Jim? Let's see what he knows."
"Maybe you should just watch, Gil. I mean, if he knows something about Sara..."
"Relax Jim. I'm just going to ask him a few questions. I don't lose my temper."
Brass wasn't convinced, but knew by that look on Gil's face that none of his arguments would work. Hopefully the suspect would be cooperative and he wouldn't have to physically restrain Grissom. "Right. Just don't do anything rash. Okay?"
"Okay, Jim. Let's just do this!"
They walked down to the interrogation room and looked in before entering. Tehir suspect seemed to be sleeping slumped over the table. He looked like a street person in a surplus army jacket and boots, scruffy facial hair and a thick coating of grime. The walked in and Mike raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot and he reeked of cheap wine.
"Hey. Can I get a donut or something here."
Jim stood in a corner ready to intervene if things got out of control. "Sure Mike. I'll just run down to Krispy Kreme for you. But first you're going to help us."
"I can't help you. I can't help anyone."
Grissom sat down calmly across from the suspect and glared at him. "You can help yourself, Mr. Cobb. We know you tried to rob that pawn shop. We've got your prints all over the gun. Now you're going to tell us where you got that gun."
"What gun?"
"The gun you dropped outside the pawn shop. That gun belonged to a friend of mine, and now she's missing. Where did you get the gun?"
Cobb looked panicked. "Look. I don't know nothing about some girl. I. I. I just found it when I was doin' my rounds a while ago. Ya know. In a dumpster."
Grissom leaned forward and lowered his voice. "You better be telling the truth, because if I find out that you are lying to us, I will seriously hurt you."
"I swear. I'll do whatever you want."
Jim walked over and manhandled him to his feet. "Good boy. Now you're going to show us where you got the gun."
********************
"It didn't work out, Sara because your heart was elsewhere." Tim sat on her bed in his usual place. The fiasco of the other day had ended, but she was obviously still feeling the effects. She seemed to have given up. Tim had given her space and time to calm back down, but he couldn't leave her side for long. He had to show her how well he knew her, how much he cared.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes you do. Even before you found out about his girlfriend, you weren't happy with him"
"I was happy." Sara couldn't believe that she was lying there getting lectured on her love life. What the hell was wrong with her? Two days ago she had had her sexual advances rejected by her kidnapper. Grissom didn't want her, Hank didn't want her, and now even this nut job didn't want her. She was out of ideas, and hope.
"No, you were distracted. That's all he was to you, a distraction."
"No."
"Yes. You needed someone to take your mind off of Grissom."
"That's ridiculous. There's nothing between Grissom and me."
"But you want there to be. You've tried for three years and all you have to show for it is heartache. He didn't even tell you why he was leaving."
Sara shook her head, as if to physically dismiss his words. She had been thinking the same thing for weeks, but it was so painful hearing it spoken aloud. Even worse that Tim could see what was going on when none of her so- called friends did. "That doesn't mean anything. He doesn't talk about his private life to anyone."
"He told Catherine."
"You can't know that."
Tim looked sadly at Sara. It was time to show his winning cards. "I do. Sara, he's been leading you on for years. He doesn't want you because he's got her."
"No."
"Yes. He's been with her for a while now. He's been toying with you. He doesn't want you for himself, but damned if he wants anyone else to have you."
"He's not with Catherine." Sara's mind was racing desperately now. She knew that Grissom and Catherine were good friends, but that was it. She would have noticed if they were together. She was a trained investigator; she couldn't have missed the signs.
"He's forgotten all about you. It didn't take him long to move on."
"He couldn't have forgotten me already."
"I'm sorry, Sara. I didn't want to have to do this. I hate seeing you in pain, but you have the right to know. Here, I took these." Tim opened an envelope and took out several photographs of the recent crime scene. He held them up for Sara to see and slowly flipped through them. Grissom crouched down photographing something. Grissom standing up. Grissom talking to Catherine. Catherine touching his face. Catherine hugging him.
Sara's elation at seeing Grissom quickly turned to cold heavy dread as she saw him with Catherine. Could he have already forgotten about her? Was he with Catherine now? "No. This can't be what it looks like. Maybe she was just wiping something."
"I felt awful about how he was treating you. I thought maybe if you saw the truth, you could move on."
"No." She couldn't deal with this now. Tim couldn't be right. Grissom hadn't forgotten about her already. He cared for her. He wasn't with Catherine. Sara repeated this over and over in her head, trying to drown out that nagging voice that told her that Tim had only confirmed what she already knew. She closed her eyes and tried erase the pictures from her mind and ignore the pain they had caused.
Tim knew she needed some time alone and got up. "I'm so sorry. I know how hard this is. Let me go get you something to drink. I'll be right back."
******************** "The dumpster turned up nothing. Just normal trash: food, dirty diapers, some dead plants. Nothing else that traced back to Sara." Catherine was tired and dirty. They had gone dumpster diving for over an hour and hadn't found anything.
"So where does that leave us?" Nick was losing patience. Sara was in trouble and there was nothing they could do about it.
"All we have is her gun. Since Sara would never throw out her own gun, then we can conclude that someone got a hold of it, did a crappy job of filing down the serial number and dumped it. The question now is, how did someone else get it?" Grissom was trying desperately to remain objective, to handle this in some logical fashion.
"Someone's done something to her!"
"We don't know that."
Warrick looked at Grissom incredulously. Could he really believe that Sara was okay? "No Grissom, Nick's right. None of this makes any sense unless Sara's."
"What? Dead? Missing?! Why won't any of you come right out and say it?!"
"Calm down, Gil. We're all concerned about her. When you talked to the movers, what did they say?" Catherine laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Just that Sara had called them and paid to have them pick up her stuff. They didn't have a new address for her because they delivered it to a storage place."
"Well why don't we try there? Maybe there will be some evidence of where she is."
**********************
Sara felt the hot tears running down her face as she tried in vain to erase the images from her head. All this time he had been with Catherine. All this time he had been making little comments that sent shivers down her spine. The slight brush of his hand on her skin that made her breath quicken. All of that had been a joke. Sara closed her eyes and sobbed. He had never wanted her. She was just someone he could toy with and then ignore when things got to serious.
Catherine. Catherine was so obviously a better choice than her. No wonder Grissom was with her instead. She dressed better, was more beautiful, and seemed to have Grissom's trust. Sara just couldn't compete.
Now she knew for certain that no one was looking for her, or even cared she was gone. There would be no rescue, no knight in shining armor. She was alone and at the mercy of her captor. She would remain there, his prisoner until he got what he wanted or tired of her.
**********************
Grissom tore off his glasses and leaned heavily on the counter. He was quickly losing what little patience he had left. "I don't understand. I thought she paid for the entire month."
"She did."
"So where is it?"
"She only kept her stuff there for a few days."
"Do you know where she moved it?"
"No."
Grissom leaned over the counter and practically snarled at the man. "You're not being very helpful Mr. Ivera. There's an investigator missing and I don't have time to play games with you. Maybe you know more than you're letting on."
Catherine moved in to prevent an already tense situation from getting worse. Grissom looked ready to pull a gun on the man. "How did she pick everything up?"
The manager looked suitably intimidated and spoke quickly. "Well actually she didn't. A guy did. With a pickup truck. He had to make a few trips."
"Did he say who he was?"
"Well yeah. He had the key and showed me ID. He was her husband. Tim something or other."
**************************** Tim never stayed away for long now. He had come back to her with a diet soda and some tissues. He had dried her tears in an almost motherly gesture and then helped her sit up so she could have a drink. She was a willing, pliable participant as if all the fight had left her. She looked at him with blank, emotionless eyes as if she no longer cared what happened to her.
Tim almost felt bad for making her look so bad. He didn't want to totally destroy her. He just wanted to break her ties to her former life. She was defeated for now, but with love and care, he could rebuild her. He could make her love him.
The biggest hurdle had been conquered. She clearly believed what he had told her about Grissom. He had broken the bond they shared. She believed that nobody cared for her or remembered her. Now that she was alone, totally alone, she needed him.
**************************** "Sara didn't get married Gil."
They had been driving in silence for fifteen minutes and Catherine was getting worried. He might hide his emotions well, but the manager at the storage place had shaken him, badly. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but judging by the rigid emotionless mask he wore, his thoughts were not pleasant.
"How do you know that, Catherine? How much does anyone really know about Sara these days?"
Catherine sighed. "So that's it?! You're jealous because you think Sara found someone else and moved on? That's crap! Even if she did, she wouldn't have been reckless with her gun. Get your head out of your ass and think of someone else for a change!"
Grissom's face slipped just a little as he hung his head briefly. "You're right. This is all just a lot to deal with."
They arrived back at the lab and went to find Nick and Warrick. They were both hunched over a computer talking quietly.
"So did you two find anything?"
"Yeah Gris. The moving company said that Sara had called them and given her credit card number the week before she went missing, but that they weren't scheduled to be there for two weeks. But then someone else called and had the date moved up."
"Let me guess, her husband."
**************************** "Come on Sara. You have to eat something. I don't what you to get sick." Tim sat in his usual place with a veggie omelet. Sara wasn't talking to him today. In fact she wasn't doing much of anything today. She wouldn't even eat anything.
The knowledge that her friends seemed to have abandoned her to her fate had finally defeated Sara. She no longer saw any need to eat or drink or do anything to ensure her continued survival. What point was there anyway? As long as she lived, she would wake up bound to this bed. As long as she lived she would be woken up and fed by Tim. As long as she lived, she would be alone.
Tim was worried. Now that she had hit bottom, he needed to get her out of her despair. As long as she ignored him, he couldn't make her bond to him. And now she seemed to want to die. He couldn't let that happen. He had to get her to eat and drink before she grew too weak.
****************************
"Well I checked, and there's no way Sara got married in this state."
"Thanks Nick. So Sara's missing and everything she owns was taken by some guy pretending to be her husband. He's gotta have her somewhere."
Warrick shook his head sadly. "Or he's already finished with her. Did we get a description from the storage guy?"
Grissom looked down at his notes. "Brown hair, brown eyes, medium height, in his thirties. Only a few million guys like that around."
"Great. And the truck?"
"Black ford pickup. Again, too many to count in the state of Nevada." Catherine sat on the couch with her notes spread out on the floor in front of her, looking for any connection that might help them find Sara.
"Cath. Anything on the letter?"
"Well she definitely signed the letter, but the handwriting on the envelope was not hers. There was a partial found on the letter, not Sara's and not in any database in this country. Also, DNA on the stamp was not hers. Thank god we have samples from her. Made comparisons easy."
Grissom sighed and closed his eyes. "Well at least we'll know if we find the guy."
*****************
"Please! It's just some soup."
Sara still would not eat or drink or even respond to him. He was getting desperate. He was running out of ways to get through to her.
"Sara. I know you're hurting, and I'm sorry about that but you're punishing yourself. It's not your fault that Grissom is an ass. He never deserved you. You are so much better than him."
She wouldn't look at him but he knew she could hear him. A lone tear rolled down her cheek and he brushed it away, cupping her jaw and gently guiding her face so their eyes met.
"Look at me, Sara. I love you so much. I will never ignore you or hide my feelings from you. All I want is for us to be happy together. You're hurting now, but I hope you'll come to realize that you deserve to be loved like I love you."
Tim got up and unlocked one of her wrists so that she had more room to move around on the bed. She barely acknowledged the difference. Her wrist was red and raw from weeks of being tied up. He knew that she was still hopelessly bound to the bed and now that she had given up, she would soon be bound to him.
*****************
"Grissom! I found something." Nick rushed into the break room where everyone sat lost in their own thoughts
Everyone stopped and looked up. Grissom eyed Nick expectantly. "Well spit it out Nick."
"I went through the DMV records and narrowed down the list of Black Ford pickups. I eliminated everyone who wasn't white, male or in their twenties or thirties. Only 20 of those have the first name Tim."
Grissom eyes looked a little brighter. This was the first solid lead. But the reality of the situation soon came crashing home. "Nice job Nick. But I'm afraid we'll have to look into these on our own time."
"What do you mean?"
"This isn't an official investigation, and if I make it one, Ecklie will take it over. We'll have to check each person on your list, but only during our off hours. That is, if you and the others want to help. If not I understand."
"Well I sure as hell want to help, and I'll bet Catherine and Warrick feel the same." A quick glance at the other members of the CSI team confirmed this. "So I guess we split the list up and each start moving."
"Okay, but we should do it in teams. I'll give you and Warrick half and Cat and I will take the other half. We can start after shift."
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Sara lay on the bed with her eyes open, though it was so dark she couldn't even make out the ceiling. It must have been a new moon since no light came in through the tiny basement window. The darkness was oppressive. She felt as if she was the only think left in the universe, surrounded by black nothingness. She had read a novel once in which soviet scientists used sensory deprivation to break spies, but never imagined how effective something like that could be.
Sara closed her eyes. No difference, just the overwhelming sense of isolation. She couldn't even fall asleep. At least sleep would bring oblivion or another reality than the one she was living. She had been dreaming about Grissom recently. She would dream about working a case with him, or simply having breakfast after shift. But now she was terrified of such dreams. Grissom was gone. He had obviously found someone better than her. She thought that she could accept that, but the thought of him and Catherine together while she was in hell actually brought her physical pain. The pictures Tim had showed her were burned into her brain. She couldn't escape them any more than she could escape the crushing emptiness that filled her chest when she thought of them.
She opened her eyes again and tried to stop thinking. Her mind had become her enemy. Her thoughts only served to quicken her surrender. Even now, she hoped that Tim would come downstairs if only to relieve some of her loneliness.
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"Number seven. This is the last one we can get to today, Gil. We both need to sleep at some point."
"I know. Let's just do this. I'm sure it's just another dead end anyway."
They made their way to the front door and Grissom looked over the house while Catherine rang the bell. They had been to three other houses that day and none had turned up anything. All had alibis for the day Sara's stuff had been picked up at the storage place. Catherine rubbed at her back of her neck, dead tired from a full shift and then driving all over Nevada. They were about to leave when the door opened.
"Hey there. What can I do for you folks today?"
"Mr. Foster, I'm Gil Grissom and this is Catherine Willows. We're looking for someone who may have been witness to a car accident in Las Vegas.
TBC... Review, review, review!
A/N: Sorry this took so long everyone. I hope eople are still interested in reading it. Let me know what you think. Reviews are what make the world go round. I think. Maybe it's gravity.
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"How could you forget?!"
"I'm sorry, Gil. I was just overwhelmed with the lab and worrying about you. I forgot about the gun."
"The Sheriff isn't going to buy that. A department weapon was used in a crime. Someone's in deep shit for this." Grissom paced around the break room gesticulating wildly. He had been getting close to moving on and now here he was with more questions than ever and the sinking feeling that something horrible had happened.
"What I don't understand is how the perp got Sara's gun. She wouldn't just throw it out." Despite his calm demeanor, Nick was silently panicking. He had seemed to take Sara's leaving the hardest and had obviously blamed Grissom for that.
"No. And she wouldn't quit without turning it in." Warrick was rubbing his temples. If they didn't solve this soon, he could battle Gris for the world's worst headache. The thought that Sara might be hurt, or worse made him physically ill with guilt. He had been a bit pissed when Sara left without warning. True, they hadn't gotten off to a good start, but he'd thought she had begun to fit in better. Just leaving like that not only made things difficult around the lab, but hurt Grissom in the process. Grissom had become very important to him. He had gone to bat for him so many times and he hated to see him like this.
Catherine nodded. "So where does that leave us?"
"Well either she lost it, which is highly unlikely, or someone stole it and she doesn't know its missing."
"Or she's unable to report its missing."
Grissom stopped his survey of the room and met Nick's eyes. "You think something happened to her?"
"It isn't like her to forget something like her gun."
"Yeah. And she left without saying anything. I know she'd been withdrawn for a while, but it is weird she left without warning."
"But she mailed in the form." Catherine knew she sounded desperate. She was trying to find any logical explanation that didn't end with Sara being hurt.
"And it was her signature on it."
Grissom face grew determined as he turned to leave. "I know, I know. It's just really odd. Let's hope we can find the perp. Maybe he can shed some light on where he got this." ***************** Sara was exhausted. Physically and emotionally. Fighting this situation was becoming too much of a burden. Every day Tim was there, feeding her, taking care of her. He hadn't hurt her since the toe and even the pain of that was fading. She had asked him once what it would take for him to release her. Like any victim she had offered him money only to have him actually get insulted. He said that all he wanted was her love. All she had to do was love him and she was free to go.
At the time she thought he meant that he wanted sex. But he'd never tried to rape her, which would have been easy enough. She was in no position to fight back. Yet he hadn't tried anything. He was so patient and caring as if he truly wanted her to love him.
It almost would have been easier if he had raped her, or at least tried to. Maybe then he'd grow tired of her and let her go. Or maybe he'd kill her. Sara almost didn't care which. Anything to break this stalemate, this steady wearing down of her will.
Maybe she could offer him sex. Maybe he'd be willing to take the physical love instead of the emotional kind. The thought of doing such a thing turned her stomach, but he didn't seem like he'd be rough or violent. She'd only have to endure the indignity and humiliation for a little while and then she'd have a chance. Sara decided. Next time she'd try to whore herself out to him.
*****************
Grissom photographed every inch of the crime scene, working his was up and down the street in a methodical grid pattern. The repetitive actions were usually enough to draw his mind into focus. Usually the world around him disappeared and extraneous thoughts fled. Unfortunately, that momentary peace was denied him tonight. The case involving Sara's gun remained unsolved as did the question of how it got there. Nick's suggestions had been unsettling at the least. It was one thing to know that Sara was alive somewhere and getting on with her life, but the thought that she might be in trouble, or worse was devastating.
Grissom muttered a curse to himself and tried to refocus his attentions. He had a murder to solve here and worrying about nothing wouldn't help anyone. But Sara wasn't "nothing" and between his own personal thoughts and the crime scene, he was oblivious to everything except the square meter of asphalt in front of him. He didn't even hear Catherine calling him until she was right behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey Grissom!. I was calling you. Are you sure your hearing is fixed?"
"I'm sorry Catherine. I was. distracted."
"Don't worry Gil. We'll find out what's going on with Sara. Come here. You have some dirt on your face. Were you dumpster diving?" Catherine leaned into Grissom and wiped some dirt off his cheek with her thumb. On some impulse, she pushed her luck and gave him what she hoped he realized was a reassuring hug. Grissom stiffened automatically, but relaxed as the hug lasted only a split second. Neither noticed the flash coming from the crowd of onlookers and media outside the yellow tape.
****************
"How are you doing today, honey?" Tim walked in and sat down on the edge of the bed. He looked down at Sara; her hair lying on the pillow was so beautiful. But her eyes looked tired, worn. He supposed it was because of the situation and felt a little bad about it, but there was nothing he could do about that yet.
Sara turned to meet his eyes, and her eyes grew determined. "Don't call me that!"
"What? Honey? I'm sorry Sara. I didn't mean to upset you."
"You didn't upset me. I was just thinking."
He reached down and brushed a few errant strands of hair from her face. "What were you thinking about?'
Sara looked up at him and prayed that she had the strength to go through with her plan. "I was thinking about you, about us." She smiled seductively. "I was thinking about how lonely it is without you here."
Tim's breath caught in his throat. She was coming on to him. She shifted her body slowly, spreading her legs just a bit and wriggling around a bit. He smiled down at her and slowly stroked her cheek. He wanted her so much it hurt sometimes, but he had promised himself he wouldn't rush it. Now it had happened, he had waited and the prize would be even sweeter. His hand moved down her body to rest lightly on her hip. That's when he noticed her eyes.
Her smile didn't extend to her eyes. Her mouth said come and take me, but her eyes were full of fear and desperation. And the eyes were the windows to the soul. She was lying to him.
His immediate reaction was anger. How dare she lie about something as important as love! Here he had pampered her, cared for her and she just threw her body at him like some sacrifice. That was what she thought of him! That all he wanted was sex!
He got up and paced around the room trying to rein in his rage. He rubbed his knuckles with the sudden urge to slap some sense into her. He slowly calmed his breathing, bringing his emotions back into control. He had to stay in control of everything. He finally stood next to Sara's bed again and looked down again.
All signs of her little sexual farce were gone; her face showed only fear. And suddenly he felt bad. He shouldn't be angry. She had not yet given up hope of escape. That was evidence of her strength that he loved so much. He was in control and he could afford to let this one slide.
He smiled at her one more time. "That's okay, Sara. I know what you were trying to do and why. I know you're scared, but soon I hope you'll come to trust and love me."
With that he went back upstairs, leaving a dejected, sobbing Sara behind.
****************
Grissom sat at his desk staring at the wall. His mind was methodically sifting through every case from the past five years that involved the abduction of a woman. There were so many, and so few ended well. He knew it was unlikely that any were related to Sara, but he knew what could happen to her. He knew the odds were against her still being alive.
Brass rushed into his office breaking him out of his morbid reverie. "We got him, Gil. Michael Cobb, a frequent visitor of the LVPD drunk tank and failed pawn shop burglar."
Gil was on his feet and walking to the door immediately. "Well what are we waiting for Jim? Let's see what he knows."
"Maybe you should just watch, Gil. I mean, if he knows something about Sara..."
"Relax Jim. I'm just going to ask him a few questions. I don't lose my temper."
Brass wasn't convinced, but knew by that look on Gil's face that none of his arguments would work. Hopefully the suspect would be cooperative and he wouldn't have to physically restrain Grissom. "Right. Just don't do anything rash. Okay?"
"Okay, Jim. Let's just do this!"
They walked down to the interrogation room and looked in before entering. Tehir suspect seemed to be sleeping slumped over the table. He looked like a street person in a surplus army jacket and boots, scruffy facial hair and a thick coating of grime. The walked in and Mike raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot and he reeked of cheap wine.
"Hey. Can I get a donut or something here."
Jim stood in a corner ready to intervene if things got out of control. "Sure Mike. I'll just run down to Krispy Kreme for you. But first you're going to help us."
"I can't help you. I can't help anyone."
Grissom sat down calmly across from the suspect and glared at him. "You can help yourself, Mr. Cobb. We know you tried to rob that pawn shop. We've got your prints all over the gun. Now you're going to tell us where you got that gun."
"What gun?"
"The gun you dropped outside the pawn shop. That gun belonged to a friend of mine, and now she's missing. Where did you get the gun?"
Cobb looked panicked. "Look. I don't know nothing about some girl. I. I. I just found it when I was doin' my rounds a while ago. Ya know. In a dumpster."
Grissom leaned forward and lowered his voice. "You better be telling the truth, because if I find out that you are lying to us, I will seriously hurt you."
"I swear. I'll do whatever you want."
Jim walked over and manhandled him to his feet. "Good boy. Now you're going to show us where you got the gun."
********************
"It didn't work out, Sara because your heart was elsewhere." Tim sat on her bed in his usual place. The fiasco of the other day had ended, but she was obviously still feeling the effects. She seemed to have given up. Tim had given her space and time to calm back down, but he couldn't leave her side for long. He had to show her how well he knew her, how much he cared.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes you do. Even before you found out about his girlfriend, you weren't happy with him"
"I was happy." Sara couldn't believe that she was lying there getting lectured on her love life. What the hell was wrong with her? Two days ago she had had her sexual advances rejected by her kidnapper. Grissom didn't want her, Hank didn't want her, and now even this nut job didn't want her. She was out of ideas, and hope.
"No, you were distracted. That's all he was to you, a distraction."
"No."
"Yes. You needed someone to take your mind off of Grissom."
"That's ridiculous. There's nothing between Grissom and me."
"But you want there to be. You've tried for three years and all you have to show for it is heartache. He didn't even tell you why he was leaving."
Sara shook her head, as if to physically dismiss his words. She had been thinking the same thing for weeks, but it was so painful hearing it spoken aloud. Even worse that Tim could see what was going on when none of her so- called friends did. "That doesn't mean anything. He doesn't talk about his private life to anyone."
"He told Catherine."
"You can't know that."
Tim looked sadly at Sara. It was time to show his winning cards. "I do. Sara, he's been leading you on for years. He doesn't want you because he's got her."
"No."
"Yes. He's been with her for a while now. He's been toying with you. He doesn't want you for himself, but damned if he wants anyone else to have you."
"He's not with Catherine." Sara's mind was racing desperately now. She knew that Grissom and Catherine were good friends, but that was it. She would have noticed if they were together. She was a trained investigator; she couldn't have missed the signs.
"He's forgotten all about you. It didn't take him long to move on."
"He couldn't have forgotten me already."
"I'm sorry, Sara. I didn't want to have to do this. I hate seeing you in pain, but you have the right to know. Here, I took these." Tim opened an envelope and took out several photographs of the recent crime scene. He held them up for Sara to see and slowly flipped through them. Grissom crouched down photographing something. Grissom standing up. Grissom talking to Catherine. Catherine touching his face. Catherine hugging him.
Sara's elation at seeing Grissom quickly turned to cold heavy dread as she saw him with Catherine. Could he have already forgotten about her? Was he with Catherine now? "No. This can't be what it looks like. Maybe she was just wiping something."
"I felt awful about how he was treating you. I thought maybe if you saw the truth, you could move on."
"No." She couldn't deal with this now. Tim couldn't be right. Grissom hadn't forgotten about her already. He cared for her. He wasn't with Catherine. Sara repeated this over and over in her head, trying to drown out that nagging voice that told her that Tim had only confirmed what she already knew. She closed her eyes and tried erase the pictures from her mind and ignore the pain they had caused.
Tim knew she needed some time alone and got up. "I'm so sorry. I know how hard this is. Let me go get you something to drink. I'll be right back."
******************** "The dumpster turned up nothing. Just normal trash: food, dirty diapers, some dead plants. Nothing else that traced back to Sara." Catherine was tired and dirty. They had gone dumpster diving for over an hour and hadn't found anything.
"So where does that leave us?" Nick was losing patience. Sara was in trouble and there was nothing they could do about it.
"All we have is her gun. Since Sara would never throw out her own gun, then we can conclude that someone got a hold of it, did a crappy job of filing down the serial number and dumped it. The question now is, how did someone else get it?" Grissom was trying desperately to remain objective, to handle this in some logical fashion.
"Someone's done something to her!"
"We don't know that."
Warrick looked at Grissom incredulously. Could he really believe that Sara was okay? "No Grissom, Nick's right. None of this makes any sense unless Sara's."
"What? Dead? Missing?! Why won't any of you come right out and say it?!"
"Calm down, Gil. We're all concerned about her. When you talked to the movers, what did they say?" Catherine laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Just that Sara had called them and paid to have them pick up her stuff. They didn't have a new address for her because they delivered it to a storage place."
"Well why don't we try there? Maybe there will be some evidence of where she is."
**********************
Sara felt the hot tears running down her face as she tried in vain to erase the images from her head. All this time he had been with Catherine. All this time he had been making little comments that sent shivers down her spine. The slight brush of his hand on her skin that made her breath quicken. All of that had been a joke. Sara closed her eyes and sobbed. He had never wanted her. She was just someone he could toy with and then ignore when things got to serious.
Catherine. Catherine was so obviously a better choice than her. No wonder Grissom was with her instead. She dressed better, was more beautiful, and seemed to have Grissom's trust. Sara just couldn't compete.
Now she knew for certain that no one was looking for her, or even cared she was gone. There would be no rescue, no knight in shining armor. She was alone and at the mercy of her captor. She would remain there, his prisoner until he got what he wanted or tired of her.
**********************
Grissom tore off his glasses and leaned heavily on the counter. He was quickly losing what little patience he had left. "I don't understand. I thought she paid for the entire month."
"She did."
"So where is it?"
"She only kept her stuff there for a few days."
"Do you know where she moved it?"
"No."
Grissom leaned over the counter and practically snarled at the man. "You're not being very helpful Mr. Ivera. There's an investigator missing and I don't have time to play games with you. Maybe you know more than you're letting on."
Catherine moved in to prevent an already tense situation from getting worse. Grissom looked ready to pull a gun on the man. "How did she pick everything up?"
The manager looked suitably intimidated and spoke quickly. "Well actually she didn't. A guy did. With a pickup truck. He had to make a few trips."
"Did he say who he was?"
"Well yeah. He had the key and showed me ID. He was her husband. Tim something or other."
**************************** Tim never stayed away for long now. He had come back to her with a diet soda and some tissues. He had dried her tears in an almost motherly gesture and then helped her sit up so she could have a drink. She was a willing, pliable participant as if all the fight had left her. She looked at him with blank, emotionless eyes as if she no longer cared what happened to her.
Tim almost felt bad for making her look so bad. He didn't want to totally destroy her. He just wanted to break her ties to her former life. She was defeated for now, but with love and care, he could rebuild her. He could make her love him.
The biggest hurdle had been conquered. She clearly believed what he had told her about Grissom. He had broken the bond they shared. She believed that nobody cared for her or remembered her. Now that she was alone, totally alone, she needed him.
**************************** "Sara didn't get married Gil."
They had been driving in silence for fifteen minutes and Catherine was getting worried. He might hide his emotions well, but the manager at the storage place had shaken him, badly. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but judging by the rigid emotionless mask he wore, his thoughts were not pleasant.
"How do you know that, Catherine? How much does anyone really know about Sara these days?"
Catherine sighed. "So that's it?! You're jealous because you think Sara found someone else and moved on? That's crap! Even if she did, she wouldn't have been reckless with her gun. Get your head out of your ass and think of someone else for a change!"
Grissom's face slipped just a little as he hung his head briefly. "You're right. This is all just a lot to deal with."
They arrived back at the lab and went to find Nick and Warrick. They were both hunched over a computer talking quietly.
"So did you two find anything?"
"Yeah Gris. The moving company said that Sara had called them and given her credit card number the week before she went missing, but that they weren't scheduled to be there for two weeks. But then someone else called and had the date moved up."
"Let me guess, her husband."
**************************** "Come on Sara. You have to eat something. I don't what you to get sick." Tim sat in his usual place with a veggie omelet. Sara wasn't talking to him today. In fact she wasn't doing much of anything today. She wouldn't even eat anything.
The knowledge that her friends seemed to have abandoned her to her fate had finally defeated Sara. She no longer saw any need to eat or drink or do anything to ensure her continued survival. What point was there anyway? As long as she lived, she would wake up bound to this bed. As long as she lived she would be woken up and fed by Tim. As long as she lived, she would be alone.
Tim was worried. Now that she had hit bottom, he needed to get her out of her despair. As long as she ignored him, he couldn't make her bond to him. And now she seemed to want to die. He couldn't let that happen. He had to get her to eat and drink before she grew too weak.
****************************
"Well I checked, and there's no way Sara got married in this state."
"Thanks Nick. So Sara's missing and everything she owns was taken by some guy pretending to be her husband. He's gotta have her somewhere."
Warrick shook his head sadly. "Or he's already finished with her. Did we get a description from the storage guy?"
Grissom looked down at his notes. "Brown hair, brown eyes, medium height, in his thirties. Only a few million guys like that around."
"Great. And the truck?"
"Black ford pickup. Again, too many to count in the state of Nevada." Catherine sat on the couch with her notes spread out on the floor in front of her, looking for any connection that might help them find Sara.
"Cath. Anything on the letter?"
"Well she definitely signed the letter, but the handwriting on the envelope was not hers. There was a partial found on the letter, not Sara's and not in any database in this country. Also, DNA on the stamp was not hers. Thank god we have samples from her. Made comparisons easy."
Grissom sighed and closed his eyes. "Well at least we'll know if we find the guy."
*****************
"Please! It's just some soup."
Sara still would not eat or drink or even respond to him. He was getting desperate. He was running out of ways to get through to her.
"Sara. I know you're hurting, and I'm sorry about that but you're punishing yourself. It's not your fault that Grissom is an ass. He never deserved you. You are so much better than him."
She wouldn't look at him but he knew she could hear him. A lone tear rolled down her cheek and he brushed it away, cupping her jaw and gently guiding her face so their eyes met.
"Look at me, Sara. I love you so much. I will never ignore you or hide my feelings from you. All I want is for us to be happy together. You're hurting now, but I hope you'll come to realize that you deserve to be loved like I love you."
Tim got up and unlocked one of her wrists so that she had more room to move around on the bed. She barely acknowledged the difference. Her wrist was red and raw from weeks of being tied up. He knew that she was still hopelessly bound to the bed and now that she had given up, she would soon be bound to him.
*****************
"Grissom! I found something." Nick rushed into the break room where everyone sat lost in their own thoughts
Everyone stopped and looked up. Grissom eyed Nick expectantly. "Well spit it out Nick."
"I went through the DMV records and narrowed down the list of Black Ford pickups. I eliminated everyone who wasn't white, male or in their twenties or thirties. Only 20 of those have the first name Tim."
Grissom eyes looked a little brighter. This was the first solid lead. But the reality of the situation soon came crashing home. "Nice job Nick. But I'm afraid we'll have to look into these on our own time."
"What do you mean?"
"This isn't an official investigation, and if I make it one, Ecklie will take it over. We'll have to check each person on your list, but only during our off hours. That is, if you and the others want to help. If not I understand."
"Well I sure as hell want to help, and I'll bet Catherine and Warrick feel the same." A quick glance at the other members of the CSI team confirmed this. "So I guess we split the list up and each start moving."
"Okay, but we should do it in teams. I'll give you and Warrick half and Cat and I will take the other half. We can start after shift."
************************
Sara lay on the bed with her eyes open, though it was so dark she couldn't even make out the ceiling. It must have been a new moon since no light came in through the tiny basement window. The darkness was oppressive. She felt as if she was the only think left in the universe, surrounded by black nothingness. She had read a novel once in which soviet scientists used sensory deprivation to break spies, but never imagined how effective something like that could be.
Sara closed her eyes. No difference, just the overwhelming sense of isolation. She couldn't even fall asleep. At least sleep would bring oblivion or another reality than the one she was living. She had been dreaming about Grissom recently. She would dream about working a case with him, or simply having breakfast after shift. But now she was terrified of such dreams. Grissom was gone. He had obviously found someone better than her. She thought that she could accept that, but the thought of him and Catherine together while she was in hell actually brought her physical pain. The pictures Tim had showed her were burned into her brain. She couldn't escape them any more than she could escape the crushing emptiness that filled her chest when she thought of them.
She opened her eyes again and tried to stop thinking. Her mind had become her enemy. Her thoughts only served to quicken her surrender. Even now, she hoped that Tim would come downstairs if only to relieve some of her loneliness.
************************
"Number seven. This is the last one we can get to today, Gil. We both need to sleep at some point."
"I know. Let's just do this. I'm sure it's just another dead end anyway."
They made their way to the front door and Grissom looked over the house while Catherine rang the bell. They had been to three other houses that day and none had turned up anything. All had alibis for the day Sara's stuff had been picked up at the storage place. Catherine rubbed at her back of her neck, dead tired from a full shift and then driving all over Nevada. They were about to leave when the door opened.
"Hey there. What can I do for you folks today?"
"Mr. Foster, I'm Gil Grissom and this is Catherine Willows. We're looking for someone who may have been witness to a car accident in Las Vegas.
TBC... Review, review, review!