For some reason, this case upset Sara and she was thankful for the solitude her Denali provided as she drove back to the lab to go over the evidence with Nick. Some cases seemed to get to her more than others, and this was no exception, but an aspect of this one was different. What had seemed at first to be a home invasion gone horribly wrong, leaving the home's occupant dead, had morphed into something which seemed far more personal and premeditated.

What Nick had found in the kitchen trash can was presumably the victim's pet cat, brutally killed in the same fashion as its owner. What people did to each other was disturbing enough, but to track down a pet and purposely kill it as well added another level to the twisted perverse nature of the person responsible.

Sara didn't even bother to wipe away the tears that streamed down her face, she just let them flow, giving some release to the emotions that the case had brought to the surface. She had gotten so used to keeping her emotions in check for their human victims that seeing an animal treated that cruelly had taken her by surprise and hit her hard.

When she had seen what Nick had found in the trash, she choked back a sob and he looked at her with a concern that bore into her soul. She had excused herself for a few minutes, heading outside to try and pull herself together so that they could finish processing the crime scene. By the time she returned inside, Nick had already bagged the cat as well as the trash it had been in to preserve any trace evidence that might be present.

They had meticulously gone over the entire house, paying particular attention to anything that seemed out of the ordinary for a woman in her mid-thirties, and as they did, it occurred to Sara that anyone with a longhaired cat would have to vacuum a lot. However, when they'd searched for a vacuum cleaner, they hadn't been able to locate one, even though there was evidence that the carpet had been vacuumed recently.

As Sara pulled into the parking lot of the lab, she took a few moments to compose herself, wiping away her tears and blowing her nose. A quick glance in the rear view mirror told her that she'd be taking a quick trip into the ladies room to wipe away the smudge of mascara that had formed below her eyes from the tears that had fallen and she made a mental note to switch to a waterproof version of her favorite brand.

Before she had the opportunity to disappear into the ladies room, Grissom spotted her and for a long moment she looked at him, silently pleading with him not to ask anything until she'd had the chance to make herself more presentable. He nodded imperceptibly, surprised at the evidence of her tears. She thankfully disappeared into the ladies room, and when she emerged she went in search of Grissom.

He glanced up from his desk as she paused in the doorway. Concern flickered across his face momentarily as he looked at her. "I wanted to ask you how the case was." There was an unspoken question in his tone.

"Disturbing." Sara answered evenly. "Nick's bringing in the evidence we collected."

Grissom looked at her over the rim of his glasses. "Yes, Catherine told me she had gotten ill."

Sara nodded. "I think that maybe the victim knew her attacker."

Grissom furrowed his brow. "What makes you think that?"

"He killed her cat too, just the way he killed her. Nick found it in the trash in her kitchen." Sara explained, a pained expression flitting across her face for a moment. "It seems too personal."

Grissom gave her a thoughtful expression. "Keep me informed."

Sara turned to leave, knowing that she and Nick had a long night ahead of them as they sifted through everything they had collected in the house.

"Sara." Grissom's tone was softer.

Sara paused and then turned around. "Yeah?" She sounded tired.

"You can't let it get to you." He knew that she'd bristle at his words, but he couldn't help but admonish her to try and stay focused and detached as she worked the case.

She nodded somberly. "I know." Her tone implied that it already had gotten to her, and as she turned and headed down the hall in search of Nick, she felt a veil of sadness cover her. In reality, it was more than just this case, but this case had brought things to the surface unbidden and at the moment she wasn't sure how to deal with it other than to try and push it down and ignore it.

Nick was in the third layout room down the hallway. He was already sifting through the trash bag, having saved the processing of the cat until Sara had gotten there. He glanced up and gave her a friendly smile. "I got a head start."

"I can see." She tried to return his smile, but failed miserably. Instead, she picked up a yogurt container and inspected it to see if it might hold any clues.

Nick continued with his task, but at the same time spoke softly. "You know, I had this dog once when I was a kid. My older brother was jealous because he'd asked for a dog for years and my parents always said 'no' because they both had busy careers and there was always someone in diapers and they didn't want to deal with a pet on top of that. But when I was about six, my parents got me a dog. By then my brother was in high school and getting ready to head off to college and my sisters were more inclined to try and dress me up than play with me, so I think my parents figured that I could use a little company."

Sara glanced up and a more genuine smile formed on her face. "What was his name?"

Nick smiled. "Landry. I named him after Tom Landry, the legendary coach of the Cowboys. I pretty much lived and breathed football and that dog went just about everywhere with me."

Sara let out a soft chuckle.

"Well my junior year in high school, I think poor Landry was a bit lonely because I was involved in sports and I was dating this girl Melissa, so I wasn't home much. A neighbor started to complain that Landry was barking all the time, but I think he just wanted someone to pay attention to him." A sad expression crossed Nick's face. "One day I came home after a football game and found Landry on the front porch with a bullet wound in his side."

"Oh, Nick." Sara's expression fell.

Nick nodded. "We took him to the vet, but he'd lost too much blood and we had to put him to sleep." He looked over at Sara even as he blinked back tears. "I cried like a baby over that dog."

"Did you ever find out who shot him?" Sara furrowed her brow.

Nick shook his head. "Nothing we could prove. There were several theories, what with my dad being a DA and my mom being a public defender, any number of people could have been pissed off, but to this day I think it was the neighbor who complained that Landry barked too much."

It seemed a light had dawned in Sara's mind. "So you think that the motive for killing our vic and her cat could have been something as simple as a neighbor that had a grudge?"

Nick smiled at her insight. "And to think, I almost missed this by taking the night off to paint my spare room. I'll have to thank Catherine for getting sick."

Sara looked at Nick with a raised eyebrow. "Did you really have a dog named Landry?"

Nick chuckled as he regarded her suspicion. "Sara, every word of that story was true; I was just reminded of it when I saw the cat."

Sara smiled. "Thanks Nick."

He looked at her quizzically. "For what?"

She looked a little embarrassed as she spoke. "For understanding why I fell apart."

His expression was exceedingly kind. "Sara, it's a wonder that we don't fall apart more doing this job."