Chapter 7

Catherine looked across the lawn. She stood at the patio door of the Bloodworths home. The
strawberry blonde had protective booties on her feet as she moved stealthily through the backyard letting a flashlight guide her path. Greg followed closely behind her and bagged evidence as she directed.

Warrick was near the body taking pictures and measurements while Nick examined the section of wall closest to the body.

When Catherine made her way to Warrick they both glanced back at the patio door where the Bloodworths now stood. Warrick spoke in a low whisper. "That is some kind of freaky."

Catherine returned in her own low voice. "You say Grissom and Sara have met them."

"That's what Brass said."

"Brass ID the body yet?"

"Cindy something…another one of Lady Heather's girls"

"Serial," Greg had joined them. "Grissom and Sara here already." he nodded towards the house to where the Bloodworths stood observing the team.

"That's not them." Catherine responded.

"What? They are standing right there."

"It's the Bloodworths."

Greg squinted and opened his mouth. "What the hell?"

Nick chimed in from the wall. "Exactly."

Brass brought Grissom and Sara through the front door of the spacious home. He huddled with them in the foyer.

"Okay here's the deal. The Bloodworths had a small dinner party with some local artists this evening. There were about six people here up until about an hour ago. The Bloodworths were having one last glass of wine in the living room when something set off a motion detector. Mr. Bloodworth looked out in the backyard and didn't see anyone. His alarm company had already dispatched the police; uniforms called me; I called
your team and that my friends, is why we are here. Mr Bloodworth will only let his wife talk to Sara."

Grissom took his hands out of his pockets and pressed one hand into Sara's back. "What is the team saying so far?"

Brass shrugged. "So far everything checks out. There are foot prints on the vacant lot behind the house. There is some blood on the wall that indicates a drop. The Bloodworths had company most of the night. Unless they had help it couldn't be them and oh yeah it's another one of Lady Heather's employees. David has the cause of death as a knife to the heart."

Grissom felt Sara stiffen against his hand. He rubbed soothingly on her lower back. The Lady Heather comment would set her on edge

"Let's go and see what they have to say." Grissom followed Sara down a long hallway.

The room they came to was a patio sunroom that looked out on the back yard.

They could hear Jarvis talking soothingly to his wife. "Leigh you should not be watching this. Let's go back in."

Sara saw her silhouette as Leigh turned to face her husband. Tears ran down her face. Jarvis pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped the saline from her face. When he was done he kissed her gently on the forehead. Leigh saw the other couple out of the corner of her eye. Sara thought it was strange that she cried for this woman but not Janet.

"Sara, Dr. Grissom." She gave a thin little smile as she turned to face them both. When she spoke, gone was the cool demeanor that Sara had seen earlier that day. Her voice was shaky and her face ashen. "I am sorry for interrupting your evening. It just I don't think anyone else can properly understand everything." She waived trembling hand in the air.

Grissom was surprised that he had little reaction to the woman who looked so much like Sara. She was a very attractive woman with intelligent eyes and what seemed to be a generous spirit. He regarded her fondly as he would if she were a close relative of Sara's but he did not feel any part of the passion or spark that he felt when he looked at Sara. He wondered if it was the same for Jarvis Bloodworth.

Leigh Bloodworth directed them to sit on wicker furniture similar to the set that Sara had sat on earlier.

Jarvis Bloodworth sat close to his wife. He barely glanced at Sara and Grissom. His face was a map of concern and worry. All of his energy and attention was focused on the distress of his wife.

Without any consciousness of their movements, Sara had looped her arm through Grissom's. He could feel Sara drinking in the other woman's pain. He put his hand over hers.

Brass watched the foursome with a practiced eye for detail. He stood hovering in the doorway almost in shadow, as unobtrusive as possible. He watched as the two men adopted protective postures and pulled the women close. Neither Jarvis nor Gil seemed to notice surroundings. The other woman in the room held little attention for either of them. Grissom murmured something into Sara's ear. Grissom had often chastised her for being too involved in cases. Brass knew that those were not his words this evening.

If Grissom had any hint that any of it was too much for Sara that they would leave. Despite her tough exterior Sara was affected deeply by the suffering of others. Something had happened over the last 24 hours. Grissom was no longer concerned with the job.

Sara spoke first. "Leigh can you tell me what happened? Start with the dinner party."

"We had a few friends over. There was only about six of us. Jar and I, Rena Matlock and her husband Martin and Robert Archer and his girlfriend Bridget Madison."

Sara took in the couple's dress. She had seen little of the other woman's body in her artists smock. Now she wore a dark crimson dress the color of which reminded Sara of dried blood. It was sleeveless and dipped just a bit in the front to show a little cleavage. Her legs were bare. On her feet were silver sandals with a heel. She had painted her toenails a crimson color to match the dress some point after Sara had left. She had the curves that Sara longed for, full bosom, round hips, well muscled legs.

Jarvis Bloodworth still wore his jeans from earlier in the day. He had changed into a crisp white shirt. On his feet were soft Moccasin's with an intricate pattern of some sort or another. Sara wondered if Grissom owned jeans anymore. The last time she had seen him wear a pair had been close to four years ago at a conference just before she moved to Vegas.

Leigh continued with her narrative. Sara almost shivered when she noticed how pale the other woman was. "Everyone arrived about 7. Robert and Bridget were a bit late. They had just come from a show in Chicago. We had appetizers, then dinner and dessert. Eventually I served a night cap and everyone left about 10. It was a normal evening with friends."

"There was a little wine left so we decided to sit finish it off, well Robert decided to finish it off. At some point the alarm went off, Robert looked out and saw something on the ground and then the police came."

Jarvis spoke for the first time. He looked at Brass in the shadows. "Do you know who the dead person is yet? Is it a man or a woman?"

"It's a woman named Cindy Ngyuen, she worked at Lady Heather's Domain. Do you know her?"

Leigh looked at Jarvis and let out a low gasp. Jarvis stroked her hair and spoke to Grissom. "We had an appointment with someone name Cindy last week but we cancelled."

"Why did you cancel?"

"Leigh is pregnant. We have to make some lifestyle changes."

Sara found herself unreasonably happy for the other woman. They smiled at one another. Grissom felt some of the tension seep from Sara's body and thus his own.

Grissom considered for a moment. His next words were measured. He was cautious of not embarrassing the other man in front of the woman he loved. He thought of Sara's response every time someone spoke of Heather. "Dr. Bloodworth is there anyone who would be upset by your wife's pregnancy?"

Jarvis frowned then spoke simply. "No."

"Who knows that your wife is pregnant?"

"Our parents, our siblings and now you."

Grissom turned to Brass. "Check the phones."

Brass spoke briskly into his radio.

Leigh was distressed. "Someone is listening to our phone calls!"

Jarvis patted her knee soothingly. "Dr. Grissom?"

He paused and measured his words again. "Is there someone, someone you were romantically involved with that is strong enough to lift a person?"

Jarvis looked at Leigh in quiet contemplation. Jarvis finally spoke. "Yes." He rubbed the soft hairs of his beard.

His narrative started at the beginning.

"Dr. Grissom I am Lebanese. Actually my mother is Lebanese and my father is Lebanese and English. They were both very proud of their heritage and wanted my brother, sister and I too consider marrying someone from the Lebanese community selected by our families."

"An arranged marriage."

"In a manner of speaking. We agreed that to meet several potential spouses selected by our families and to go from there. My brother was given potential matches in England, my sister in Paris and me in New York. My family corresponded with several prominent Lebanese families that had daughters close to my age in and around New York. I met Rebekah and we dated for a time. We seemed suited. .Before I met Leigh, I was very pragmatic about matters of marriage, of love. Rebekah and I had almost the same background; close Catholic families, immigrants who settled in Europe, a passion for art. I did not love her but I believed that I would come to love her the way my mother and father came to love one another. My brother and sister had found suitable matches and even before the weddings were in love with their spouses. I believed that it was a matter of time for us."

He seemed to weigh what he said next.

Grissom broke into the silence using the other mans first name for the first time. "Jarvis I need to hear all of it if you want to keep Leigh safe."

"Of course. Rebekah is an artist as well, that is that is why I didn't notice it at first. Artists can be difficult, eccentric. I was used to it. I can be difficult and ill tempered. My friends are the same. I just thought it was that

Sara spoke. "It was more than that?"

"Yes Sara it was more than that." It surprised Sara that he used her first name.
"At first, she was suicidal and had to be hospitalized twice and when she was released she refused to take her medicine or see her doctors. She believed that God was going to heal her and sometimes she said that people thought she was crazy because God spoke to her. I said to her that God speaks to each of us but God would never tell us to harm ourselves or other people. Eventually her wrath turned to me. She stabbed me just above my heart once."

Leigh was the strong one now, exerting a bit of reassuring pressure on his arm as he glanced at her for a moment and smiled sweetly.

"I did not know how break it off with her. My parents are wonderful people. They never asked me for anything. I am the first born son. They could have asked for much more. I should have taken over the family textile business. I should have stayed in Paris with my parents and sister. They asked none of this. It seemed the least I could do for them. Rebekah's parents had told us that she suffered from some depression but nothing else. According to her doctors Rebekah's training had kept a number of problems at bay."

Jarvis saw Sara's frown. "I'm sorry. Rebekah competes in triathlons. She competed for the English team in two Olympics."

"A strong woman," Grissom said.

Jarvis nodded and continued. "The strain became too much for me. My health and my work began to suffer. I avoided calls from my parents and my brother and sister. My friends rarely saw me. It was during that time that Leigh came to study at Columbia. I became even more conflicted and confused. Eventually my parents reached me by phone. My mother heard my voice and she and my father took the first flight they could from Paris. She walked into my apartment and said "Un fils douleureux est comme aucun fils du tout."

Sara and Jarvis said it at the same time. "A sorrowful son is like no son at all."

Jarvis smiled wearily. "That was it. I broke off the engagement. Rebekah took it very hard. There were a few scenes in our apartment in New York and at one of my showings."

The room was quiet for a while. Brass cleared his throat from a corner and stepped from the shadows. "Dr. and Mrs. Bloodworth, I need to show you something."