Chapter Nine – Well, Now You Know
Catherine had a smug look on her face all day. She was positive she had solved the case; she just needed to get the results back from Bobby confirming that the bullets were from her gun. She also needed to get a warrant so she could take Sofia's shoes and test them for blood but it was a simple task. As she walked down the halls she saw Warrick and ran up to him, planting a kiss on his lips before spilling her evidence.
"We got her! Dear God Warrick we finally got her! No more Sofia, no more Sofia, no more Sofia!" Catherine playfully twirled in Warrick's arms.
"What are you talking about?"
"Sofia did it. I know she did, she had the same shoe prints that were found at the scene."
"Cath, we got the results back from Greg, the prints don't match Sofia's." Catherine came to a screeching halt. Her face was deadpanned.
"What?"
"They came back as…Ecklie's. I know it's weird but…this is just confusing me so much. I mean, Ecklie would never do this, he loves his job too much to let it all go down the drain."
"Could they have been planted?" Warrick looked at the case file.
"I don't think so. Usually you can tell when prints are planted and these show no signs."
"Well, has Bobby gotten back the bullets? Maybe that will straighten things out."
"I don't know, lets go see." Both started walking down the hall to Bobby's lab. Half way there Catherine grabbed Warrick's hand and interlocked their fingers. She looked up at him and smiled.
"Hey Bobby, you got the serial number back yet?" Bobby sat at his computer searching the database.
"Yep, just got the results and you will not believe it. The shots to the back were from Ecklie's gun. He never reported it missing so…"
"What about the shots to the head?" Warrick asked.
"That's where it gets even weirder. Those are from Sofia's gun. And she didn't report hers missing either."
"So that means we have two murders on the field but not motive. Why would Sofia and Ecklie do this to poor Brittany? I mean, Brittany dated Ecklie so there's your connection but Sofia? What's she got to do with any of this?" As the words flew from Warrick's mouth Catherine remembered something Grissom had said to her before she had passed out at the bar the night they got drunk.
"I do like Sara, I really do. But she thinks I like Sofia, which is so not true, but because of it she asked out Greg. I mean, Sofia has a boyfriend for Christ's sake, not that she'll tell me who he is or anything."
"Oh my god," Catherine slowly breathed out. "She's dating Ecklie! He was dating both at the same time! That's why she was there!" Both Cath and Warrick looked at each other and let out a noise of disgust.
"That's just wrong! That is one mental image that I definitely don't want sticking around. Anyone got some soap?" Warrick asked. His face was riddled with disgust, horror, and nausea.
"That's gross! I feel like I need to take a 4 hour shower."
"Yah, I'll join you on that." Both Cath and Bobby looked at Warrick confused. "I meant the shower sounds like a nice idea. I wasn't actually gonna join you." Both Warrick and Catherine had left the room.
"That's sucks," Catherine leaned up and whispered in Warrick's ear, "Because I was hoping you would."
… … … … … … … … … … … …
Grissom felt his heart move from his chest to his throat as he saw the source of the blood was Sara. Heather had passed out when the gun fired so Grissom easily moved her. He quickly got out his cell phone and called Brass, telling him to get there as soon as possible with a medic.
"Sara, Sara please wake up! Sara, just open your eyes. Please Sara? Just let me know you're okay." Grissom propped up Sara and held her hand in his. Tears were welling in his eyes as he watched her just lay there unconscious. "Sara, please wake up? I don't want you to go." He choked out. "Sara, please, please just squeeze my hand if you can hear me? Sara, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I acted that way to you but I need you to wake up. Please, we need you." Grissom quickly let go of Sara's hand and spun around at the sound of movement behind him.
"Aww, how touching, you love her. Don't you?" Grissom inched back until he hit a wall. He was once again pointing down the barrel of another gun. He hadn't expected Heather to have to many. He silently chided himself for leaving his gun in the car on the day that he would actually need it.
"Y-yes, I do. Please, please don't shoot. Let me help her. Please, you have to understand…"
"I don't have to understand anything. James hurt me so I'm gonna hurt you. You just don't get it; you don't know what it's like to love someone and not have their feelings returned. It's like someone took your heart out and stomped on it over and over. I loved James and I told him that every day, but every day I knew he didn't feel the same. I tried to kill myself so many times it wasn't funny anymore. He was my own husband and he still didn't like doing a simple thing just as going out to dinner with me. You have no idea what that's like." Grissom looked past her to Sara.
No, but I bet I know someone who does know.
"Heather, please put the gun down. I can't make James love you, I'm sorry. Sometime…people hurt other people without realizing it. They toy with someone's heart and more comes out of it than intended. Look, hurting Sara and I isn't going to make up for what James did." Heather gripped the gun tighter, her knuckles turning white.
"Yes it will. I never meant to hurt her but you…you need to be taught a lesson. I see the way she looks at you. And I see the way you toy with her. She loves you and you are blinded by your insecurities to admit it. Grissom, I'm a therapist, reading people is my job. I can tell how you are and how she feels. She's just like me and you…you are just like James." Grissom felt his stomach lurch as the realization that Heather did in fact know how to read people due to her job.
"Put the gun down now!" Both Grissom and Heather's head turned to the voice of their resident homicide detective, Jim Brass. Three police officers stood next to him and two EMT's gathered Sara who was trying hard to hold onto consciousness.
"No!" Heather shouted. She angrily turned back to Grissom. Her eyes were thin slits and they left Grissom with a feeling of horror. Her thin eyes were the last things he saw as two loud bangs filled the room and Grissom felt an enormous pressure in his stomach and left arm, right under his collarbone. The room started to spin and grew darker every second until he saw nothing.