Sara turned to Grissom as the EMT loaded the first body into the ambulance under Dr. Robins' close supervision. "Security Office is on first floor, right? She walked over to the elevator and hit the button, then turned around to see if Grissom was coming. Behind she heard the elevator door open, but then- before she could turn around- she heard it click shut again.
Spinning around, Sara stared at the door. "Grissom?" she questioned, sure she had imagined it. "Did that door just-"
But he wasn't listening to her. "Lindsey? He called, hoping she could hear him through the thick metal door. "Linds, it's Uncle Gil. Are you okay? Would you open the door? Please?"
Slowly the doors opened revealing a little girl with a tearstained face. Crying, she flung herself at 'Uncle Gil' as he bent to embrace her. "Mommy told me not to open the doors until you guys came." she explained between sobs. Then her face paled as she saw a sheet-covered stretcher being put in an ambulance. "That's not- Mommy can't be-"Lindsey couldn't get the words out.
"Oh, no, that's- no." Sara bent to reassure the child, who turned from Grissom and buried her face in Sara's shoulder.
Grissom stood and walked over to where Brass was standing. Brass waved away the cop he had been talking to, and turned to Grissom. "So we've got two dead bad guys, and two missing good guys." he said, struggling to keep the anger and frustration of his face.
"Make that 'one missing good guy' "Grissom explained further after a questioning look from the detective. "Lindsey was hiding in the elevator. Catherine told her to keep the door closed until we arrived."
"Thank God!" Brass exclaimed. "Is she all right?"
"She looks fine. She's scared, worried about her mom..." Grissom's voice trailed off.
"Hey, Gris?" Sara's voice floated across the cement room Grissom looked over. Sara was standing up, her hands on Lindsey's shoulders, as Lindsey tried to stop the tears flowing down her face. "I'm going to take Lindsey to the station, then home. You all got the scene?"
"Uh, sure." Grissom turned to the elevator to go down, but then, remembering that it was part of the scene, he turned to his car, and started the drive down to ground level.
Sara and Lindsey didn't say much as they drove toward the police station. After a few minutes, Lindsey leaned forward and started playing with the radio. After playing with it for a while, she found a station she liked, and sat back. Avril Lavigne's voice filled the car-
- 'Cause you weren't there,
When I was scared,
I'm in this thing
Alone!!
She shut the music off quickly. They drove the remainder of the way in silence.
Detective Vega looked at Sara and Lindsey standing in the waiting room. Oh Lord, I don't think I can do this. I already questioned her when her father was shot, now I have to ask her about her mom's kidnapping! With a sigh, he walked up to them. "You guys ready?"
---------------XXXXXXXXXX ---------------Catherine awoke with a pounding headache. Slowly, she rose to her feet, trying to ignore the pain in her head. Holding her hands out in front of her, she staggered forward until she found the wall. Running her hands along the wall, Catherine finally found the door. Locked. Well, no surprises there. Drooping to the floor, she tried to peer through the crack, but it had been blocked up from the other side. Retreating to the far corner of the room, she sank to the floor, remembering the events that had taken place before in the last few minutes before she had lost consciousness. Then she remembered, the elevator doors had closed, and there is no way to break into an elevator without alerting security. Lindsey was SAFE!!! And with Lindsey to answer questions, and the security tapes, Grissom and all would-
The door opening broke her train of thought, and she looked up to see a figure silhouetted against the lights behind him. Blinking at the sudden brightness, Catherine tried to focus her eyes. The voice that spoke chilled her blood, "Hey, Cath! Long time, no see!" he said, in an attempt at civility. When she didn't respond, he slammed her against the wall. "You Bitch, you ruined my life!! You put me in jail for ten years!! TEN years in an 8x10 cell- do you know what that's like? You took away my job, my family, my career.... Well guess what? It's payback time!"