Scenes of Crimes
Catherine checked her watch for the third time in the last half hour. Gil was still happily looking around the scene, but Catherine was getting worried. Sara had run out to check in on her team, but she was now at least thirty minutes late. "Gil? Don't you think Sara should have been back by now to pick us up?" she asked, but all she got was a grunt in reply. He was reviewing the case files and flicking his flashlight around the bedroom. Catherine rolled her eyes, and pulled out her cell. The voice that answered sounded startled, and it definitely wasn't Sara's. "Sara?" the unknown male on the phone asked.
"No, this is Catherine. Who's this? Is Sara there?"
"This is Jeremy. The phone was on the ground near where Sara was parked earlier and I thought maybe she dropped it." Catherine heard his sharp intake of breath and her stomach plummeted. She heard him yell for Annemarie while she called his name into the phone. Gil had come up behind her and was looking at her questioningly as she tried to get a response. She shook her head and listened intently as she heard Annemarie and Jeremy speaking urgently just out of the pickup, so she could only recognize a few words. Finally, an audible voice spoke into the phone, just as Catherine thought she was about to start screaming.
"Catherine? This is Annemarie. Are you still at your scene? Is Sara with you?"
"Yes, we're here, and no, Sara isn't with us. What's going on?"
"Sara left here at least 45 minutes ago. But her phone's here." Catherine read the silence. "And?" she questioned. "Her gun, badge, and pager are here too." The concern in Annemarie's voice was controlled, but Catherine could sense a growing fear in her words. "I'm sending a patrol car to your location to pick you up and bring you here. See you soon."
Catherine clicked the phone shut and turned to Gil. "We need to pack up and wait downstairs for a patrol car," she told him quietly.
His eyebrows knitted alarmingly over his eyes, and he swallowed hard before asking, "What's happened? Where's Sara?"
Catherine saw the panic rising, and there was nothing she could say to reassure him, or stop her own fear. "We don't know." She heard a siren coming toward them. "Gil?" Catherine caught his hand and pulled him toward the door. "We're going to the scene she was just at. We'll know more then, ok?" She spoke as if she were talking to a child as he went pale with shock and stood there, resisting her pull. "Come on, we have to go." He finally obeyed, and followed her out the door.
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Jeremy was photographing a small pile of items when they arrived. Gil had come around, and he immediately got out and went over to the square of yellow tape, checking the scene with his flashlight. Annemarie was listening intently to a radio, before snapping. "Secure the scene. We're on our way." She caught Catherine's look, and explained, "Patrol just found Sara's car."
"Can I...?"
Annemarie read her thoughts and nodded. "Come on." She made eye contact with Jeremy, who nodded and kept working the scene, as the two women dashed off. It was only a short, ten-minute ride, but Catherine's heart was pounding out of her chest by the time she saw the blue-and-red lights flashing ahead. The official navy sedan Sara had dropped them off in sat in an alley, surrounded by officers. She jumped out and immediately yelled, "Who's touched what?" before realizing that this was Annemarie's scene to work. She looked over at the younger CSI, who gave her a bleak grin and nodded, before moving to photograph the ground by the driver's side door. A few of the officers gave her a strange look, but she plowed on, "Talk to me, people."
An officer volunteered that he had walked over and looked in the window to confirm it was empty, and then secured the area. "Nothing else?" He shook his head. "Good." She took in the scene and walked toward the car, noting the car keys lying in the debris near the rear of the car. Her breath caught as she snapped back to the officers standing there. "Did anyone check the trunk?" In response to her unspoken command, a patrolwoman ran forward and punched the trunk lock and stepped back so Catherine could see as the lid popped open. Sara's bruised and bloody face was the first thing Catherine saw, shining palely in the glow of her light, and she felt her knees begin to buckle as she stepped forward and stretched out a shaking hand to check the pulse. Her heart stopped in her chest for a second, until she felt a weak beat under her fingertips. "EMTs. Now," she commanded the officer in a voice she barely recognized as her own.
"Sara." Annemarie's voice was strangled in her throat as she stepped closer, before Catherine stopped her. "Don't disturb the evidence." The young CSIs eyes turned to her, hate-filled at what Catherine knew was her seeming coldness, but Catherine stared her down. "If we want to find out who did this to her, we have to work this scene properly." The staring contest continued for just a few moments before Annemarie broke contact, biting her lip and nodding slightly. Catherine pointed down at the keys. "Photograph the exterior and bag the evidence. Then get this car towed to your garage so we can rip it apart."
The paramedics had Sara out of the trunk, and it looked like she had been badly beaten. Catherine's hand balled into a fist, and she let out a shaky breath, before noticing Annemarie watching her with the same flat angry expression she knew was on her face. "What about..." her eyes glanced to the right, at where the EMTs were working, and Catherine swallowed hard. "I'll process the... victim," she said, closing her eyes as she said the last word.
Annemarie nodded again. "Take my kit. I'll have Jeremy meet me here and we'll share." Catherine reached up and squeezed the young CSI's shoulder briefly before following the stretcher back to the ambulance.
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The doctor was giving her report and Catherine tried to listen. She caught, "multiple blows to the head and body with a blunt object," "unconscious," "swelling of the brain," and "no sign of any sexual assault," but the rest was drowned out by static that seemed to fill her head and rendered her unable to concentrate. Finally, she snapped out of it when she realized the doctor had stopped talking and was looking at her expectantly. "Any idea how long she'll be unconscious?" The doctor pursed her lips, and then shook her head sadly. "We don't know. The longer it goes on..." She shrugged. "We'll be monitoring her. If the swelling gets worse, we'll have to operate."
Catherine picked up her kit. "I had better," she said, nodding toward the door to finish her sentence. She steeled herself as she stepped over the threshold, and looked at Sara. The blood had been wiped away, making the dark bruises stand out against her pale skin even more clearly. One marred her smooth cheek, and three others mottled her arms, but the worst were unseen, hidden by her hair. The kit was open and she was scraping under Sara's fingernails as the years of professional practice took over. She managed to get photographs of the bruises, including the three on her shoulders and back which showed a clear imprint of the object used in the beating, and she managed to get everything packed away before her professional facade cracked. Catherine wasn't sure how long she sat there, clutching Sara's hand with both of her own, breathing hard to keep the sobs under control, when Annemarie cleared her voice behind her.
"Catherine? I'm sorry to disturb you. I need to get these samples sent out to the lab." Catherine nodded as the brunette picked up the evidence bag, and turned to go.
"Wait. What do you mean, sent out?"
Annemarie sighed in frustration. "We lost our funding for an internal lab tech last year, so we have to send all of our samples out to a central lab for processing." She indicated the bag in her hand. "It'll take at least 48 hours to get these back, even with a rush on them, so I want to get them in quick."
Catherine's mouth dropped. "48 hours?"
"Yeah. Sara's trying to get the line reinstated, but it can't become a budget item until next year. Until then, we're stuck with this."
Catherine already had her cell out as she brushed past Annemarie. "Don't leave. I'll be right back." As soon as she hit the pavement, she was on the phone to the lab. "Greg? I want you in San Francisco immediately. Get a patrol car to drive you to the airport and get the first available flight. Flash your badge if you have to. Yes, I'll reimburse you. I'll call Warrick and Brass to explain. Are you out the door yet? No, I'll explain everything when you get here. Call me from the airport to tell me your flight information, ok? Thanks." She hung up the phone and rolled her head on her shoulders, giving Greg a couple of minutes to get out the door before calling Warrick and Nick. "Warrick? Is Nick there with you? Is Brass around? Yeah, put me on speaker phone."
When she returned to the room, Annemarie was sitting beside the bed and seemed to be telling Sara the status of the investigation. Catherine watched the interaction from the door, smiling a little to herself at the young CSI's obvious case of hero worship as she debated what Sara would recommend as the next move. "I think she would say, get back to the lab and start processing the evidence." Annemarie looked up, her embarrassment evident, even in the face of Catherine's teasing tone. "I've called in a favor and we'll have a lab tech here in three to four hours." Catherine settled back into her seat and took Sara's hand again. "In the meantime, we can still run the prints and start tearing up that car."
"We?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm here. I might as well help." They sat in silence for a few moments, watching Sara's still figure. "Did she...?" Catherine squeezed Sara's hand in hers, hard, as they saw her twitch on the bed, and she thought she felt a slight pressure in response. Afraid she was imagining it, Catherine leaned over, brushing a few stray hairs off her forehead, and whispered, "Sara, honey?" She saw another twitch. "Sara?"
Sara's mouth opened and Catherine thought she heard her name in the faint whisper."Get the doctor," she told Annemarie before turning back to Sara. "Sara, honey, can you open your eyes for me?" Her eyelids fluttered a couple of times before staying open. Sara had a hard time focusing them, before her eyes rolled back again and she lapsed back into unconsciousness. The doctor ordered her out, then, and finally joined them a few moments later in the hallway. "That's a good sign. We're taking her for another CAT scan now to be sure, but I think the swelling is already receding. If so, then I feel very confident she'll make a full recovery. But I'm about to put her on some medication that will put her to sleep for a few hours, so there's nothing much you can do here."
Catherine caught Annemarie's eye. "Get the evidence bag. We can use the time to process the car, so maybe we can have a present for Sara when she wakes up." Annemarie grinned like a predator ready to pounce on its prey, and got the bag before hustling Catherine out of the hospital and back to the lab.
Catherine checked her watch for the third time in the last half hour. Gil was still happily looking around the scene, but Catherine was getting worried. Sara had run out to check in on her team, but she was now at least thirty minutes late. "Gil? Don't you think Sara should have been back by now to pick us up?" she asked, but all she got was a grunt in reply. He was reviewing the case files and flicking his flashlight around the bedroom. Catherine rolled her eyes, and pulled out her cell. The voice that answered sounded startled, and it definitely wasn't Sara's. "Sara?" the unknown male on the phone asked.
"No, this is Catherine. Who's this? Is Sara there?"
"This is Jeremy. The phone was on the ground near where Sara was parked earlier and I thought maybe she dropped it." Catherine heard his sharp intake of breath and her stomach plummeted. She heard him yell for Annemarie while she called his name into the phone. Gil had come up behind her and was looking at her questioningly as she tried to get a response. She shook her head and listened intently as she heard Annemarie and Jeremy speaking urgently just out of the pickup, so she could only recognize a few words. Finally, an audible voice spoke into the phone, just as Catherine thought she was about to start screaming.
"Catherine? This is Annemarie. Are you still at your scene? Is Sara with you?"
"Yes, we're here, and no, Sara isn't with us. What's going on?"
"Sara left here at least 45 minutes ago. But her phone's here." Catherine read the silence. "And?" she questioned. "Her gun, badge, and pager are here too." The concern in Annemarie's voice was controlled, but Catherine could sense a growing fear in her words. "I'm sending a patrol car to your location to pick you up and bring you here. See you soon."
Catherine clicked the phone shut and turned to Gil. "We need to pack up and wait downstairs for a patrol car," she told him quietly.
His eyebrows knitted alarmingly over his eyes, and he swallowed hard before asking, "What's happened? Where's Sara?"
Catherine saw the panic rising, and there was nothing she could say to reassure him, or stop her own fear. "We don't know." She heard a siren coming toward them. "Gil?" Catherine caught his hand and pulled him toward the door. "We're going to the scene she was just at. We'll know more then, ok?" She spoke as if she were talking to a child as he went pale with shock and stood there, resisting her pull. "Come on, we have to go." He finally obeyed, and followed her out the door.
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Jeremy was photographing a small pile of items when they arrived. Gil had come around, and he immediately got out and went over to the square of yellow tape, checking the scene with his flashlight. Annemarie was listening intently to a radio, before snapping. "Secure the scene. We're on our way." She caught Catherine's look, and explained, "Patrol just found Sara's car."
"Can I...?"
Annemarie read her thoughts and nodded. "Come on." She made eye contact with Jeremy, who nodded and kept working the scene, as the two women dashed off. It was only a short, ten-minute ride, but Catherine's heart was pounding out of her chest by the time she saw the blue-and-red lights flashing ahead. The official navy sedan Sara had dropped them off in sat in an alley, surrounded by officers. She jumped out and immediately yelled, "Who's touched what?" before realizing that this was Annemarie's scene to work. She looked over at the younger CSI, who gave her a bleak grin and nodded, before moving to photograph the ground by the driver's side door. A few of the officers gave her a strange look, but she plowed on, "Talk to me, people."
An officer volunteered that he had walked over and looked in the window to confirm it was empty, and then secured the area. "Nothing else?" He shook his head. "Good." She took in the scene and walked toward the car, noting the car keys lying in the debris near the rear of the car. Her breath caught as she snapped back to the officers standing there. "Did anyone check the trunk?" In response to her unspoken command, a patrolwoman ran forward and punched the trunk lock and stepped back so Catherine could see as the lid popped open. Sara's bruised and bloody face was the first thing Catherine saw, shining palely in the glow of her light, and she felt her knees begin to buckle as she stepped forward and stretched out a shaking hand to check the pulse. Her heart stopped in her chest for a second, until she felt a weak beat under her fingertips. "EMTs. Now," she commanded the officer in a voice she barely recognized as her own.
"Sara." Annemarie's voice was strangled in her throat as she stepped closer, before Catherine stopped her. "Don't disturb the evidence." The young CSIs eyes turned to her, hate-filled at what Catherine knew was her seeming coldness, but Catherine stared her down. "If we want to find out who did this to her, we have to work this scene properly." The staring contest continued for just a few moments before Annemarie broke contact, biting her lip and nodding slightly. Catherine pointed down at the keys. "Photograph the exterior and bag the evidence. Then get this car towed to your garage so we can rip it apart."
The paramedics had Sara out of the trunk, and it looked like she had been badly beaten. Catherine's hand balled into a fist, and she let out a shaky breath, before noticing Annemarie watching her with the same flat angry expression she knew was on her face. "What about..." her eyes glanced to the right, at where the EMTs were working, and Catherine swallowed hard. "I'll process the... victim," she said, closing her eyes as she said the last word.
Annemarie nodded again. "Take my kit. I'll have Jeremy meet me here and we'll share." Catherine reached up and squeezed the young CSI's shoulder briefly before following the stretcher back to the ambulance.
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The doctor was giving her report and Catherine tried to listen. She caught, "multiple blows to the head and body with a blunt object," "unconscious," "swelling of the brain," and "no sign of any sexual assault," but the rest was drowned out by static that seemed to fill her head and rendered her unable to concentrate. Finally, she snapped out of it when she realized the doctor had stopped talking and was looking at her expectantly. "Any idea how long she'll be unconscious?" The doctor pursed her lips, and then shook her head sadly. "We don't know. The longer it goes on..." She shrugged. "We'll be monitoring her. If the swelling gets worse, we'll have to operate."
Catherine picked up her kit. "I had better," she said, nodding toward the door to finish her sentence. She steeled herself as she stepped over the threshold, and looked at Sara. The blood had been wiped away, making the dark bruises stand out against her pale skin even more clearly. One marred her smooth cheek, and three others mottled her arms, but the worst were unseen, hidden by her hair. The kit was open and she was scraping under Sara's fingernails as the years of professional practice took over. She managed to get photographs of the bruises, including the three on her shoulders and back which showed a clear imprint of the object used in the beating, and she managed to get everything packed away before her professional facade cracked. Catherine wasn't sure how long she sat there, clutching Sara's hand with both of her own, breathing hard to keep the sobs under control, when Annemarie cleared her voice behind her.
"Catherine? I'm sorry to disturb you. I need to get these samples sent out to the lab." Catherine nodded as the brunette picked up the evidence bag, and turned to go.
"Wait. What do you mean, sent out?"
Annemarie sighed in frustration. "We lost our funding for an internal lab tech last year, so we have to send all of our samples out to a central lab for processing." She indicated the bag in her hand. "It'll take at least 48 hours to get these back, even with a rush on them, so I want to get them in quick."
Catherine's mouth dropped. "48 hours?"
"Yeah. Sara's trying to get the line reinstated, but it can't become a budget item until next year. Until then, we're stuck with this."
Catherine already had her cell out as she brushed past Annemarie. "Don't leave. I'll be right back." As soon as she hit the pavement, she was on the phone to the lab. "Greg? I want you in San Francisco immediately. Get a patrol car to drive you to the airport and get the first available flight. Flash your badge if you have to. Yes, I'll reimburse you. I'll call Warrick and Brass to explain. Are you out the door yet? No, I'll explain everything when you get here. Call me from the airport to tell me your flight information, ok? Thanks." She hung up the phone and rolled her head on her shoulders, giving Greg a couple of minutes to get out the door before calling Warrick and Nick. "Warrick? Is Nick there with you? Is Brass around? Yeah, put me on speaker phone."
When she returned to the room, Annemarie was sitting beside the bed and seemed to be telling Sara the status of the investigation. Catherine watched the interaction from the door, smiling a little to herself at the young CSI's obvious case of hero worship as she debated what Sara would recommend as the next move. "I think she would say, get back to the lab and start processing the evidence." Annemarie looked up, her embarrassment evident, even in the face of Catherine's teasing tone. "I've called in a favor and we'll have a lab tech here in three to four hours." Catherine settled back into her seat and took Sara's hand again. "In the meantime, we can still run the prints and start tearing up that car."
"We?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm here. I might as well help." They sat in silence for a few moments, watching Sara's still figure. "Did she...?" Catherine squeezed Sara's hand in hers, hard, as they saw her twitch on the bed, and she thought she felt a slight pressure in response. Afraid she was imagining it, Catherine leaned over, brushing a few stray hairs off her forehead, and whispered, "Sara, honey?" She saw another twitch. "Sara?"
Sara's mouth opened and Catherine thought she heard her name in the faint whisper."Get the doctor," she told Annemarie before turning back to Sara. "Sara, honey, can you open your eyes for me?" Her eyelids fluttered a couple of times before staying open. Sara had a hard time focusing them, before her eyes rolled back again and she lapsed back into unconsciousness. The doctor ordered her out, then, and finally joined them a few moments later in the hallway. "That's a good sign. We're taking her for another CAT scan now to be sure, but I think the swelling is already receding. If so, then I feel very confident she'll make a full recovery. But I'm about to put her on some medication that will put her to sleep for a few hours, so there's nothing much you can do here."
Catherine caught Annemarie's eye. "Get the evidence bag. We can use the time to process the car, so maybe we can have a present for Sara when she wakes up." Annemarie grinned like a predator ready to pounce on its prey, and got the bag before hustling Catherine out of the hospital and back to the lab.