Beautiful Child, Broken Dream
Chapter 4
A/N… I know this is gruesome. But hey… gore can be interesting!
Sara and Nick showed up and joined Grissom at the crime scene. Grissom had warned them that this was not pretty. Horrifying was more like it. There were several bodies, all female, with body parts interchanged. It would take hours to discern what parts belonged to which of the dismembered women. Fortune was on the team's side, however. A trail of bloody footprints led straight into the apartment across the hallway.
Damon Reedy wasn't home when the police knocked, but his girlfriend was. Melanie Gerkan opened the door. One look at Melanie, and the officers were surprised she hadn't been the fourth victim. Melanie was covered in bruises on every inch of bare skin that her tee-shirt didn't cover.
Hours later, Sara sat with Melanie in the hospital. Melanie's sister Alisyn was supposed to be arriving soon to be with her sister. The case had been nicknamed "The Puzzle Case" because it was going to take quite a while to put the puzzle together and figure out what parts belonged to which woman.
"He made me watch." Melanie said in barely a whisper. This was the first she had spoken, other than her name.
"What?" Sara asked in horror.
"He said he was going to chop me up too if I didn't stay quiet. He's gonna come back and kill me." Melanie continued hoarsely.
Before Sara could get an answer, Melanie lost consciousness. Sara was shuffled out of the room by Dr. Sharpe, and a large bunch of nurses who were trying to help.
"Hi, Ms. Sidle, I'm afraid that Ms Gerkan is in a coma, and no one can see her. Someone will call you if her condition changes." The kind older man said sympathetically.
Sara sighed heavily and headed towards her Denali. The sun had begun to rise, and Sara picked up her phone.
"Hi Nicky, you wanna get some breakfast?"
Sara arrived first at Benito's Burritos. She headed into the tiny off-strip dive. The term restaurant could only be used loosely. Seating herself at the furthest booth from the door, Sara looked around. The decor was eclectic at best, most everything being from Mexico, with a few glaring exceptions. One such exception was the 7 foot tall painting of Che Guevara hanging above her booth. She shook her head, and looked at the menu. When she looked up a minute later, Nick was standing over her.
"Isn't he Argentinean?" Nick laughed, sitting across from Sara.
"Good morning to you, too!" Sara chuckled.
Nick took Sara's hand in his and kissed her knuckles softly. Sara smiled, and blew him a kiss. He winked at her, and she licked her lips sensually. Nick growled softly.
"Keep that up and I'll be having you for breakfast." Nick couldn't disguise the lust in his voice. He felt a foot slowly tracing up his thigh.
Sara's foot quickly retreated, as the waiter appeared to take their order. Sara ordered a vegetarian breakfast burrito, and Nick had a double – steak burrito. Their meal went quickly, as both savored their delicious food. When the meal was finished, Sara and Nick headed back to Nick's apartment.
Nick led the way into the apartment, leading Sara by her hand. They sat on the couch, and Nick took Sara's hands in his. "Sara, I'm sorry. I should have been with you yesterday. You needed me and I wasn't there. I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have had to go through that alone."
"Nicky… it's okay. I'm okay. I love you. Please don't blame yourself." Realizing she had just told Nick that she loved him for the first time, Sara smiled.
"I love you too, Sar. I've wanted to tell you that for a long time, but I've never found the right moment. You shouldn't blame yourself either, you know, it wasn't your fault." Nick choked out, his voice colored with tears.
