Warrick put his flashlight on. "Well, here we go. Crime scene."
"What was she doing in a park at night?" Sara asked.
"Finishing up a case," Nick replied grimly.
"Where was the officer on scene?" Warrick asked.
"Brass is talking to him. He said CSI Willows okayed him to leave."
Sara narrowed her eyes. "I can't imagine Catherine doing that unless he had a good reason."
"She did it once before. When the guy was about to puke on the evidence," Warrick answered. "But he was a rookie."
"What about this guy?"
"He's been in the force seven years," Nick answered.
"We've got prints here," Sara said, pointing to the ground. "They look about Catherine's shoe size."
"We've got a size nine tread here," Warrick murmured. "Could be our guy."
"Aw, man," Nick whispered.
Warrick and Sara both stood up.
"What is it?" Warrick asked.
"Duct tape. The bastard bound her up."
They all paused, the reality of what Catherine had been through starting to hit them.
Warrick was the first to break the silence. "The best thing we can do for Cath now, is work the case."
Gil unlocked the door to Catherine's house, and then went back to her car, where she was waiting for him. "Okay, ready?" He extended his hand to her.
Catherine took it, gripping tightly and getting out of the car. "Kay," she replied quietly.
Gil took her inside, keeping her small hand in his. "Okay, where shall we go first?"
"Tired."
He nodded. "I thought you might be." He locked the door behind them and led her upstairs to her bedroom. "Okay, Cath." Gil took her coat off. "Want to get changed or are you comfy?"
"Fine," she replied, lying back on her bed.
"Let me just get your shoes," he suggested, slipping off the sandals. "Better?"
She nodded and let Gil tuck her in. As he went to leave, her hand shot out, grasping his.
"Don't go."
Gil turned. "Cath…"
"Please," she begged. "Don't leave me."
Gil's heart broke and he vowed to find whoever had done this to her. Whoever had taken Catherine from him. "Of course I will," he replied.
"So, what have we got so far?" Warrick asked.
"Duct tape," Nick pointed. "Catherine's gun. No shots fired, but there is blood on the tip. We'll have to analyse it to see who's it is."
"Fibres," Sara, said, holding up the bag. "Presumably from Catherine's clothes, but we'll compare them to make sure." She pointed to some swabs. "And blood. Some from against a tree, some from the ground. We'll compare it to Catherine's DNA."
Warrick nodded. "Okay. Has anyone seen Greg?"
"I'm here," Greg said, appearing in the doorway. "And I have something to offer to this evidence log."
"What?" Nick asked, looking up.
Greg tossed two bags on the table.
"That's Catherine's underwear," Sara said.
"Very observant," Greg replied. "But obviously you guys didn't look too hard earlier."
"What is it, Greg?" Warrick asked impatiently.
"I was looking at the clasp of the bra strap, because sometimes guys have trouble getting them off," Greg explained.
Sara arched an eyebrow. "Greg, this wasn't consensual sex. I'm sure the guy didn't bother with the bra strap."
"Wanna bet?" Greg replied.
Nick's eyes widened. "You're kidding!?"
"Pulled epithelial from the clasp. He tried to get it off. Obviously he gave up, but he still left us some DNA behind."
"Enough to run?"
"I did. Wasn't in the database."
"Great job, Greg!" Sara told him.
"Wait, I have more." Greg gestured to the ripped underwear. "It was cut."
"It looks pretty jagged for a knife cut," Warrick said.
"Not if the material is hard to cut through and the person keeps moving," Greg replied. "This is top quality underwear."
"Can we match the knife?" Nick asked.
"Maybe…but I have something that may be a little easier."
"What is it?"
Greg handed over Catherine's blouse. "See this blood on the shirt? We assumed it was Catherine's."
"We assumed wrong?" Sara asked.
"It came back Officer Ray Clearmount." Greg said, putting the DNA printout on the table. "The officer that was supposed to stay with Catherine."
Gil woke up to tossing and turning. "Catherine?" he asked, touching her.
"No!" she cried, shrinking away from him.
Gil's eyes widened and he tried to soothe her. "Cath…Catherine it's alright. It's me. It's Gil. You know me. I won't hurt you."
"I can still feel him," Catherine began to cry. "I can still feel him touching me and telling me it's what I want. I can still feel him in me…I'm scared, Gil!"
Gil almost burst into tears himself, but he just held his arms out. She crawled into them, burying her face in his chest, her body shaking as she sobbed.
"We'll get through this, Cath. We will. I promise. And you know I never break my promises."
She nodded slowly, the tears slowing. "I…I feel dirty."
Gil thought for a moment. "Would you like me to run you a bath?"
Catherine gripped his hand. "But…"
"I'll be here, Cath. Come on, you can come too."
Gil took her into the bathroom and settled her on the lid of the toilet seat. "Bubbles?" he asked, as he began the bath.
Catherine nodded.
He poured some bubbles in and took her hand, gently letting her test the water. "Okay?"
She nodded again.
When the bath had finished, Gil stood, not sure what to do next. "Catherine…"
"Help me undress. Please," she murmured.
Gil paused, turning to look at her. "Okay," he finally answered. Anything she wanted. Anything at all.
She raised her arms and he slipped the shirt off, being gentle as he began to see some of the damage that the monster had caused her.
Angry red bruises were forming over her chest and stomach. As he eased her bra off, his breath caught in his throat. A handprint was on the side of her right breast.
Gil swallowed the lump in his throat and eased her sweatpants and panties off, the bruises forming on her thighs making his blood boil.
He put the clothes in the laundry hamper and took her hand. Gil helped her into the tub, and she grimaced as she moved her aching body into the tub.
Gil sat on the floor beside the tub, his hand reaching for the soap and cloth. He placed them by her side. "There you go."
Catherine glanced at the items for a moment, before grabbing them and starting to rub the cloth around. Gil frowned as she noticed her continually scrubbing.
"No," he said, taking the cloth.
She looked at him, confused.
"He's not there anymore, Catherine. He's not on you or in you." Gil put some soap on the cloth and slowly glided it down her arms. "It's just you, Cath. Just you and you're clean. You're beautiful." He moved the cloth to her stomach. "Like this, Cath. Gentle."
"Want to explain how your blood got on CSI Willows shirt?" Warrick growled.
"And you can also explain why the hell you left your station!" Sara told him. "You were supposed to stay with her on scene."
"She okayed me to leave!" Ray Clearwater cried.
Warrick sat opposite him. "You know, I did that once. I left a CSI. And she died. She was shot by the suspect. I don't like things repeating on me, Ray." He pushed forward the DNA printout. "Explain how your blood got on CSI Willow's shirt."
Ray sighed. "Okay, okay. I was the one that called in the 911."
"No you weren't," Sara growled. "A park ranger called it in."
Ray sighed. "No, I said I was a park ranger."
"Why?"
"Because I knew everyone was going to be on my case for leaving the scene. I felt bad and I came back. I found her, lying there. She was unconscious and bleeding. So I called 911."
"And then you left her again!" Warrick said. "You left her bleeding and unconscious."
"I was scared!" Ray finally admitted.
Sara glared at him. "You were scared? Think how CSI Willows felt when this guy attacked and raped her!"
Ray looked at his hand. "I know there's no excuse for my behaviour…"
"You're damn right there's no excuse," Brass said. "Now, explain why you left the first time?"
Ray took a deep breath. "Look, CSI Willows okayed me so I don't know…"
Warrick's fist slammed down on the table. "I don't give a damn whether she okayed you or not! Why did you leave the scene?"
"I said I was sick."
Brass narrowed his eyes. "Said you were sick. So what was the real reason?"
Ray fidgeted in his chair.
"Tell me before I get the urge to throw your ass across the room," Warrick told him.
"I had to meet some people."
"What kind of people?"
"I owed some money."
"For what?"
"Services rendered."
"Ray, you're very close to a rape, assault and attempted murder charge," Sara told him. "So let's start telling the truth."
Ray sighed. "Drugs."
"You left CSI Willows alone at a crime scene to go and get drugs?" Warrick asked.
"Not to get drugs…to recompense for drugs already purchased."
Sara rubbed her eyes. "That still doesn't explain the blood on the shirt."
Ray put his hand on the table. It was bandaged. "They didn't really like when I mentioned I had to get back to work. It must have got on her shirt when I checked to see if she was still breathing." He put his hand back under the table. "Look, I did something wrong, yes. But I did NOT rape or beat her up!"
"How about I cook us some real food?" Gil suggested, settling Catherine on the kitchen chair.
"Okay."
Gil glanced at her. "Do you promise to eat some if I go to the trouble of making it for you?"
She nodded.
"Good," Gil smiled. "How about pancakes?"
Another nod.
Gil began to organize the breakfast, keeping his eye on Catherine as he went. He was worried about her change in personality. "You know that you're going to have to make a statement, right?"
That caught her interest. She looked up at him. "I know."
"I'll stay with you," he told her, pouring the batter into the pan.
"Thank you."
Gil flipped the pancakes. "The best team are on this, Cath. I'll get him."
Catherine nodded. "I know."
"Trust me, Cath."
"I do," came the simple reply.