Chapter Four
"So, Sara," Greg said cheerfully, at the start of next shift, as he slipped out of the break room just as Sara was walking past. "I hear you and I are working the same case."
"Possibly," Sara said, continuing to walk along the corridor. Greg followed her.
"Sounds like we probably are," he said seriously. "Your vic could have disturbed the murderer when he was preparing to lie in wait for her. Did you get anything from the office?"
"A couple of fingerprints. I'm still waiting for the results," Sara replied monotonously.
"That's more than we got from the French Palace... Warrick and Johnny have gone to talk to the manager. He was on vacation in Hawaii – "
"They've gone to Hawaii?" Sara asked, in disbelief.
Greg frowned at her. "Do you think I would have stayed behind?!... He's coming back early... Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sara said, unconvincingly.
"Sara, you've got to stop worrying about Grissom. He can look after himself... If he needs your help, he'll ask for it. He knows you're there if he needs you," Greg said seriously.
Sara stopped and turned to face him. "I'm not worrying about Grissom – " she protested, the look in her eyes giving away the fact that she was lying.
"Oh," Greg said, "So you have another reason for being so moody, then?" He smirked, and Sara couldn't help but smile. She lowered her head so he wouldn't see her, but he did.
"How do you do that?" she said, blushing and feigning anger.
Greg put his arm round her shoulders and resumed their walk along the corridor. "You're like an open book, Miss Sidle... An open book."
Nick had, reluctantly, gone out to the store to get him and his guest some food, leaving Catherine on her own. He had insisted that they could order take out for delivery, but Catherine convinced him that she would be fine for an hour or so, and it would give them a break from each other. The cheeky smile on her face as she had said that showed him that she meant that part as a joke.
She had drifted off to sleep about five minutes after Nick left, but was woken twenty minutes later by a noise outside. She sat up on the sofa, eyes wide and attentive. She listened intently but didn't hear anything else. Then the light from a passing car cast a shadow across the window. Distinctly the shadow of a person. She instinctively jumped up and stood flat against the wall beside the door. From there she could watch the door and windows.
The silence was eerie, with the only sound being the steady hum of the refrigerator coming from the kitchen. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, and every breath she released shook as her lips trembled. Now was probably a little late to come this realisation, but she thought she should probably take the whole situation more seriously.
She had taken Lindsey to Nancy's, and she had gone to stay with Nick, but she still hadn't accepted the threat as a reality. She figured the police would catch whoever was behind the murders, and she'd be at home with her daughter in the next day or so.
She had never actually thought that her life was in danger. Until now.
She could feel herself panicking, and she knew she needed to calm down and think straight. Taking deep breaths she considered her options. She could run. Open the front door and make a run for it. But what if he was outside and she never made it past the threshold? And if she did make it out, where would she go? It was late at night, Nick's neighbours probably wouldn't answer the door at this time.
Ruling out that option, she looked around the room. Seeing the phone just a few feet away she glanced at the door, glanced at the window, listened for any other sound at all, and decided she could make it.
She grabbed the phone and returned to her position by the door. Frantically dialling 911, tears began to burn her eyes. She swallowed hard, trying to push back her fear. The voice of the operator made the whole thing more real. She was put through to the police, and explained the situation as well as she could. She was just finishing up when there was a loud knock at the door. It actually hurt as she jumped, suppressing her scream, and dropping the phone.
"Ms Willows, LVPD," a male voice said from outside.
Catherine remained still. It couldn't be the police so quickly, could it?
The voice didn't say anything else, but she could hear a faint female voice, and remembered her call was still connected. Picking up the phone, she quietly told the woman that she was still there, then her entire body shook with relief as she was told that the police had been watching the house and those officers had been informed of her situation. She thanked the woman, and disconnected the call. Then, as the police knocked on the door again, she looked through the peep hole and asked them for their ID. Satisfied they were for real, she opened the door.
"Warrick Brown," the tallest of the two men introduced himself. "Are you okay?"
Catherine nodded shakily, the tears escaping down her cheeks betraying that.
Warrick smiled understandingly and led her into the house. He sat down beside her on the sofa, and motioned to his partner to get her a glass of water.
Giving her a few minutes to calm down, he started his questioning after she turned to him and smiled sheepishly.
"I'm sorry," she said.
Warrick shook his head. "It's a natural reaction... Can you tell me what happened?"
Catherine took a sip of the water, then placed the glass on the table.
"I must have fallen asleep. I woke up when I heard a noise outside, then I saw the shadow of a man move past the window... Didn't you see him? I thought you were watching the house?"
"We were," Warrick explained. "We didn't see anything. The first thing we knew of your distress was when we were told you'd called 911."
"I didn't imagine it," Catherine said defensively.
"We're not saying you did," Warrick assured her honestly.
Catherine nodded and apologised once more.
"There's no need to be sorry... Our crime scene investigators are on the way, they'll process the outside of the house, see if we can find any evidence of who was out there."
Catherine nodded again, finding it was the only thing she could manage to do.
Half an hour later, Nick panicked instantly as he pulled up outside his house to see crime scene tape around it, and crime scene investigators crawling along his yard. He leapt out of the car, leaving the food inside, and the vehicle unlocked, and ran up the path. An officer stopped him at the tape.
"This is a crime scene, Sir," the young man said forcefully.
"That's my house," Nick said quickly. "Where's Catherine?"
The officer looked to Warrick Brown for permission to let him through, and Warrick nodded. Nick moved under the tape as the officer lifted it for him, and he made his way straight to Warrick.
"Where's Cath? What happened?"
"Ms Willows is fine," Warrick explained. "There was someone outside the house. She called the police. She's inside now."
Nick sighed with relief. "I knew I shouldn't have left her."
"She said she insisted you go. I imagine she's hard to argue with," Warrick smiled assuringly.
Nick laughed a little. "Yeah. Can I go in?"
Warrick nodded so Nick made his way into the house. He found Catherine sitting on the sofa. She looked up when he walked in.
"Hey," she smiled nervously.
"Hey," he smiled back. "Did you have some peace without me here?"
Catherine laughed and looked down. "Okay, you were right."
"What?" Nick said, pretending he couldn't hear her.
She looked up directly into his eyes. "You were right." Her smile quivered a little as Nick sat down beside her, and she spoke quietly and seriously. "No matter what I say, don't ever leave me alone here again."
Nick nodded and enveloped her in a hug.
"This guy's good," Greg said to Emily as they drove back to the lab from Nick Stokes' house. "Warrick and Matt didn't see anything, but all those footprints indicated someone was there."
Emily nodded. "They're not going to be much use to us either unless Johnny and Sara have come up with anything."
After finding the connection between their two cases, Greg, Johnny, Sara and Emily were now working the evidence together. Johnny and Sara had stayed at the lab when the call came in for this. Johnny was processing the evidence from the murder of Tessa Mills and, to avoid seeing Catherine again, Sara was looking at the evidence from the office at the Tangiers.
"Yeah, this guy's probably getting more and more infuriated with Catherine because she keeps foiling all his plans," Greg offered.
"They'll put her in police protection now," Emily said. "And I get the feeling she won't be turning it down this time."
TBC...
"So, Sara," Greg said cheerfully, at the start of next shift, as he slipped out of the break room just as Sara was walking past. "I hear you and I are working the same case."
"Possibly," Sara said, continuing to walk along the corridor. Greg followed her.
"Sounds like we probably are," he said seriously. "Your vic could have disturbed the murderer when he was preparing to lie in wait for her. Did you get anything from the office?"
"A couple of fingerprints. I'm still waiting for the results," Sara replied monotonously.
"That's more than we got from the French Palace... Warrick and Johnny have gone to talk to the manager. He was on vacation in Hawaii – "
"They've gone to Hawaii?" Sara asked, in disbelief.
Greg frowned at her. "Do you think I would have stayed behind?!... He's coming back early... Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sara said, unconvincingly.
"Sara, you've got to stop worrying about Grissom. He can look after himself... If he needs your help, he'll ask for it. He knows you're there if he needs you," Greg said seriously.
Sara stopped and turned to face him. "I'm not worrying about Grissom – " she protested, the look in her eyes giving away the fact that she was lying.
"Oh," Greg said, "So you have another reason for being so moody, then?" He smirked, and Sara couldn't help but smile. She lowered her head so he wouldn't see her, but he did.
"How do you do that?" she said, blushing and feigning anger.
Greg put his arm round her shoulders and resumed their walk along the corridor. "You're like an open book, Miss Sidle... An open book."
Nick had, reluctantly, gone out to the store to get him and his guest some food, leaving Catherine on her own. He had insisted that they could order take out for delivery, but Catherine convinced him that she would be fine for an hour or so, and it would give them a break from each other. The cheeky smile on her face as she had said that showed him that she meant that part as a joke.
She had drifted off to sleep about five minutes after Nick left, but was woken twenty minutes later by a noise outside. She sat up on the sofa, eyes wide and attentive. She listened intently but didn't hear anything else. Then the light from a passing car cast a shadow across the window. Distinctly the shadow of a person. She instinctively jumped up and stood flat against the wall beside the door. From there she could watch the door and windows.
The silence was eerie, with the only sound being the steady hum of the refrigerator coming from the kitchen. She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest, and every breath she released shook as her lips trembled. Now was probably a little late to come this realisation, but she thought she should probably take the whole situation more seriously.
She had taken Lindsey to Nancy's, and she had gone to stay with Nick, but she still hadn't accepted the threat as a reality. She figured the police would catch whoever was behind the murders, and she'd be at home with her daughter in the next day or so.
She had never actually thought that her life was in danger. Until now.
She could feel herself panicking, and she knew she needed to calm down and think straight. Taking deep breaths she considered her options. She could run. Open the front door and make a run for it. But what if he was outside and she never made it past the threshold? And if she did make it out, where would she go? It was late at night, Nick's neighbours probably wouldn't answer the door at this time.
Ruling out that option, she looked around the room. Seeing the phone just a few feet away she glanced at the door, glanced at the window, listened for any other sound at all, and decided she could make it.
She grabbed the phone and returned to her position by the door. Frantically dialling 911, tears began to burn her eyes. She swallowed hard, trying to push back her fear. The voice of the operator made the whole thing more real. She was put through to the police, and explained the situation as well as she could. She was just finishing up when there was a loud knock at the door. It actually hurt as she jumped, suppressing her scream, and dropping the phone.
"Ms Willows, LVPD," a male voice said from outside.
Catherine remained still. It couldn't be the police so quickly, could it?
The voice didn't say anything else, but she could hear a faint female voice, and remembered her call was still connected. Picking up the phone, she quietly told the woman that she was still there, then her entire body shook with relief as she was told that the police had been watching the house and those officers had been informed of her situation. She thanked the woman, and disconnected the call. Then, as the police knocked on the door again, she looked through the peep hole and asked them for their ID. Satisfied they were for real, she opened the door.
"Warrick Brown," the tallest of the two men introduced himself. "Are you okay?"
Catherine nodded shakily, the tears escaping down her cheeks betraying that.
Warrick smiled understandingly and led her into the house. He sat down beside her on the sofa, and motioned to his partner to get her a glass of water.
Giving her a few minutes to calm down, he started his questioning after she turned to him and smiled sheepishly.
"I'm sorry," she said.
Warrick shook his head. "It's a natural reaction... Can you tell me what happened?"
Catherine took a sip of the water, then placed the glass on the table.
"I must have fallen asleep. I woke up when I heard a noise outside, then I saw the shadow of a man move past the window... Didn't you see him? I thought you were watching the house?"
"We were," Warrick explained. "We didn't see anything. The first thing we knew of your distress was when we were told you'd called 911."
"I didn't imagine it," Catherine said defensively.
"We're not saying you did," Warrick assured her honestly.
Catherine nodded and apologised once more.
"There's no need to be sorry... Our crime scene investigators are on the way, they'll process the outside of the house, see if we can find any evidence of who was out there."
Catherine nodded again, finding it was the only thing she could manage to do.
Half an hour later, Nick panicked instantly as he pulled up outside his house to see crime scene tape around it, and crime scene investigators crawling along his yard. He leapt out of the car, leaving the food inside, and the vehicle unlocked, and ran up the path. An officer stopped him at the tape.
"This is a crime scene, Sir," the young man said forcefully.
"That's my house," Nick said quickly. "Where's Catherine?"
The officer looked to Warrick Brown for permission to let him through, and Warrick nodded. Nick moved under the tape as the officer lifted it for him, and he made his way straight to Warrick.
"Where's Cath? What happened?"
"Ms Willows is fine," Warrick explained. "There was someone outside the house. She called the police. She's inside now."
Nick sighed with relief. "I knew I shouldn't have left her."
"She said she insisted you go. I imagine she's hard to argue with," Warrick smiled assuringly.
Nick laughed a little. "Yeah. Can I go in?"
Warrick nodded so Nick made his way into the house. He found Catherine sitting on the sofa. She looked up when he walked in.
"Hey," she smiled nervously.
"Hey," he smiled back. "Did you have some peace without me here?"
Catherine laughed and looked down. "Okay, you were right."
"What?" Nick said, pretending he couldn't hear her.
She looked up directly into his eyes. "You were right." Her smile quivered a little as Nick sat down beside her, and she spoke quietly and seriously. "No matter what I say, don't ever leave me alone here again."
Nick nodded and enveloped her in a hug.
"This guy's good," Greg said to Emily as they drove back to the lab from Nick Stokes' house. "Warrick and Matt didn't see anything, but all those footprints indicated someone was there."
Emily nodded. "They're not going to be much use to us either unless Johnny and Sara have come up with anything."
After finding the connection between their two cases, Greg, Johnny, Sara and Emily were now working the evidence together. Johnny and Sara had stayed at the lab when the call came in for this. Johnny was processing the evidence from the murder of Tessa Mills and, to avoid seeing Catherine again, Sara was looking at the evidence from the office at the Tangiers.
"Yeah, this guy's probably getting more and more infuriated with Catherine because she keeps foiling all his plans," Greg offered.
"They'll put her in police protection now," Emily said. "And I get the feeling she won't be turning it down this time."
TBC...