The Miseducation of Calleigh Duquense
Chapter 5
" Find any fingerprints ,Delko?" Tim asked as he took pictures of the bed. They had both left Calleigh downstairs with Alexx and started to process the scene where it was thought to had begun, Olivia's own bedroom.
Eric sighed heavily and looked up from the vanity to the long streak of brown that covered the cream carpet amongst the destruction that encased the entire room. Not long ago , he had enjoyed a relationship with Olivia, now he was here under a different set of circumstances.
" I got a bunch on this vanity, some partials. But I'm willing to bet that they are all hers," Eric returned.
" Well she put up a fight, judging by the state of this place. I found some hairs on the pillow. Could be hers or the assailants, but a quick trip to the trace department will solve that mystery."
Eric continued to lift the fingerprints off of the vanity then moved on to another surface. When he was finished with the bedroom, he had hundreds of prints. He looked to Tim who was bending down to pick up something under the bed.
" Speed, what do you have there?"Eric said as he closed his kit. This was actually harder on him than he thought it would be.
" I think I may have found the murder weapon," Tim said as he pulled a gun from under the bed." And it has a gift for us."
" Is that what I think it is?" Eric said peering at the gun.
" Well there's only one way to find out," Tim said as he went inside his kit and produced a swab and two vials. He gently brushed the swab against the gun then applied the nihydrin. In seconds, the tip of the swab turned a bright pink color. " It's blood. I'll take a swab for DNA. Can you call Calleigh up, Delko?"
Eric nodded then went to retrieve Calleigh. She walked in the room, mindful to avoid the bloodstain on the carpet.
" What do you have, Speed?" Calleigh asked monotone. Any trace of happiness was long gone from her.
" The possible murder weapon," Tim said as he produced the gun.
Calleigh took the gun in her gloved hand, almost repulsed at its mere existence. Despite what she was feeling, Calleigh identified the gun, " It's a 357 Magnum . Big gun. When I get the bullet I can do a comparison. I'll check for the last known owner."
" Calleigh , are you sure that you're okay to do this?" Tim asked as he stood up. He desperately wanted to reach out to her to comfort her, but he knew his boundaries for the moment.
" I'm fine. I'll see you at the lab. I'm going to go on over with Alexx. I'll be in firearms if you need me."
" Okay, Calleigh. Call me if you find anything at the autopsy," Tim said as he gazed into her eyes. The endless void that he saw there was almost more than he could bear.
"Will do, Tim," Calleigh said as she turned to walk out of the room. The pain of her lost would be more than what anyone would see.
CD
" Hey Alexx," Calleigh said as she strode through the doors of the morgue. After she had gotten back to the lab, Calleigh went directly to firearms and started with the gun. The analysis had yielded nothing. It was almost as if the gun simply appeared out of nowhere. Frustrated, Calleigh decided to go down to the morgue. Hopefully, Alexx would have something.
" Hi, Calleigh. I was just finishing up on her," Alexx replied sympathetically.
" Was it as bad as it looked?" Calleigh returned as she glanced at her friend. She tried in vain to picture her as she was, not how she looked now.
" Worse. The ecchymosis that I saw wasn't from a broken neck, her windpipe was crushed. One solid blow. Also, I found fibers to whatever was used to strangle her, and a bonus. Skin cells ,from under her fingernails."
" That's great, Alexx. But won't they be too degraded to process?"
" No. It was found intact. There is also something else..."
Calleigh looked up and saw what she didn't want to see in Alexx's face. She closed her eyes and felt the tears stinging at the back of her eyelids, " She was raped?"
" Yes. Found semen inside of her as well as tears at 6 and 9. She was sodomized as well. Sick bastard wasn't satisfied at the beating he gave her."
" God , who would do this to her?" Calleigh said gently wiping a single tear from her eye.
" I don't know, honey, but we definitely need to catch this animal before he does something like this again," Alexx said handing her an envelope. " Here's the bullet I promised you."
" Thanks, Alexx."
Calleigh took the envelope and turned to walk out of the morgue. Alexx watched her, debating on whether to step in on her Timmy's business. Sighing she called, " Calleigh, wait. You got a minute?"
" Yeah, sure."
" I wanted to talk to you about something," Alexx said as she took off the gloves. She gently covered Olivia with the sheet and stepped away from the slab. " I know that this is hard for you, but can't you try and forgive Tim?"
" Alexx..." Calleigh said as she turned to walk out again.
" Wait ,Calleigh. Really, Tim is head over heels for you. You're all he can talk about. I've never seen his face light up the way it does when he even thinks about you. You are good for him, and I'm sure that he would be good for you. He is a wonderful shoulder to cry on and he truly loves you."
Calleigh dropped her head , trying to hide the desperation that was in her eyes. She knew what Alexx spoke was the truth , but her stubborn pride wouldn't allow her to accept it. He had lied. If he could lie , then he was capable of anything else.
" I can't deal with this right now, Alexx. I have to find out who did this to Olivia," she replied, steeling herself.
" All I am saying is, don't shut him out. He may be the very one who can help you deal."
" Okay, Alexx. Consider your advice taken," Calleigh returned with a small smile on her face. She thanked God for her small family at CSI.
" Anytime, honey. Call me if you need anything."
" I will, Alexx, and thank you." Calleigh said as she turned to walk through the door. Heading to the firearms lab, she took to heart what Alexx had said. But there was no time for that, she had to find her best friend's killer, and fast.
As night settled on the city, Tim strode through the doors of the CSI lab with his hands full of evidence envelopes. They had spent the better part of the day collecting evidence from the living room downstairs, and now he was looking at being at the trace lab well into sunrise. He placed his kit down by his desk and grabbed the headphones. He would need to remain focused to complete this enormous task. Settling down at a seat next to the microscopes, his mind flashed onto Calleigh. He knew that she was down in firearms, working late as well trying to substitute her pain. Something rose inside of him when he thought back to the scene and the look of despair that hung on her face. He wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and shield her from this, but he knew that he had to knock down some walls to get to her heart again. He exhaled loudly then began logging in the evidence as the music started to flow through the headphones. Usually he would have some up beat song blasting, but he decided that he would fare better with something mellow.
We might kiss when we are alone
Nobody's watching when I take you home
We might make out
when nobody's there
it's not that we're scared
It's just that it's delicate...
He was hitting his stride as he finished cataloging the evidence in, and then he started immediately on the evidence. When he turned around to face the microscopes, he saw Calleigh standing there, causing him to slightly jump.
" Did I scare you?" Calleigh asked as she folded her arms across her chest. A brief smile played on her lips.
" Well, you did sneak up on me," Tim said as he took off the head phones. " Is there anything I can do for you?"
" I was sitting at the firing range and thinking about Olivia. She was always wanting me to find someone who could love me. She always wanted to see me happy. Now , she's dead and I can't help but think that it was all my fault."
Tim moved to get closer to her and exhaled. He hated to see this woman upset, it always shook him to the core.
" Calleigh, this is not your fault. Whoever did this, is an maniac, and we will catch him."
" It looked too personal to be a random, Tim. Maybe it was someone in our past," Calleigh said as she turned away from him. It felt good to talk to someone about this, but at the same time, she didn't want to let her guard down.
"Or her past. Horatio is looking into her cases to see if she had some enemies that wanted her out of the picture. Calleigh, everything is going to be okay," Tim said as he turned her back around to face him. Grief swam in her eyes and he couldn't help his longing to comfort her. He lifted his hand to caress her cheek, wiping her tear drops as they fell. " I want you to hear me out, Cal. I love you and I am going to do everything in my power to find whoever did this . I don't want you to worry about it."
He inched his face closer to hers, feeling the need to kiss her. Calleigh advanced as well, being lured by his promises and the warmness of his eyes. She felt the familiar trust that she had in him, rise inside of her. At the last moment, Calleigh pulled away, inciting frustration from Tim.
" Why won't you let me love you?"Tim asked as he held his hand out to her.
" I'm scared, Tim. I've lived in fear for so long , I don't know how to trust any more."
"I'll never hurt you, Calleigh. I can't, I love you too much," he replied as he moved behind her. He could feel her conflict as it surrounded her, confusing her.
" All men hurt at one time or another. If it is a smack in the face or a lie. It all amounts to hurt, and I just can't take it anymore."
Tim put his arms around her from behind and bent his head to whisper in her ear, " Calleigh, I would die before I put you through any pain. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. Can't you see that I love you? How many times do you have to hear it to believe me?"
Calleigh turned to face him, seeing the sincerity in his expression, and her heart melted. There was no way that she could deny the feelings she had for him any longer. She took him in a passionate embrace, pushing him against the table. Her strong emotions, fueled by her grief overpowered her and she kissed him greedily. Tim reciprocated placing his hands on her face. After a moment, Tim pulled away, gasping for breath. Calleigh glanced at him, feeling the lust rise in her. She had to get away from this lab, from this case. She had to feel his love. She took him by the hand, and led him to the garage. Silently, she unlocked the doors and got in.
The ride to her apartment was quiet, yet filled with electricity. As she pulled in to her driveway, she looked at Tim. He was staring at her as if she was going to disappear.
" What, is it Tim?" Calleigh said , fearing that she was moving too fast.
"I just want to know if this is real. Are you really going to let me into your life?"
" Tim, I need you more than anything right at this moment. I want you to show me that you love me." Calleigh said as she leaned over to kiss him. The need to get into the house was more prevalent now than ever. Calleigh unlocked the door to her apartment quickly then slammed it . They made their way to the bedroom, neither of them speaking. As he laid her gently on the bed, he remained focused on her, her sparkling green eyes luring him into the throes of passion. As he continued to grant her the attention that she had desperately been missing, Calleigh let the pain of the past drift out on the moans of pleasure that echoed through out the bedroom. Tomorrow would be a new day.
TBC...
