"So let's get this straight. We have epithelials from an unknown donor and blood on her shirt from Officer Clearwater. A size nine tread. An unknown toolmark from the underwear. No semen, no condom. No hairs. No fibres." Nick sat back. "And no suspects."
"What we need is Catherine's statement," Sara replied.
"For that, you're going to have to get Grissom's okay," Warrick told her. "And I haven't heard from him since he took Catherine home from the hospital."
Greg came into the room, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it.
"Here to save the day again?" Sara asked.
"No. I'm hiding from Ecklie."
Nick arched an eyebrow. "What did you do?"
"It's not necessarily what I did, but what we're doing."
"Ecklie wants the case?"
"Yeah, but I told him what Grissom told me to. That we were following orders from our supervisor, and if Ecklie had a problem with that, to contact Grissom."
Warrick nodded. "Good." He handed Sara the evidence bag with the underwear. "See if you can find out what was used to cut them. Greg, you're on the blood from the gun. See if it's Catherine's, then take it to Trace and make sure we haven't missed anything. Nick, see what kind of shoe made that tread. And I'll call Grissom. See how Cath is doing."
Gil watched Catherine very carefully, making sure she ate everything on her plate.
When she had finished, she pushed the plate away. He was relieved to see it was all gone.
"Good, huh?"
She looked up at him. "You've always been a good cook."
"Maybe one day I could teach you. If you were interested."
Catherine nodded slowly. "That would be nice."The telephone rang and Gil paused, glancing at her. "Want me to get that?"
"Please."
Gil picked up the phone. "Hello? Warrick."
Catherine looked up for a moment, then turned away, and began to clear up the breakfast dishes.
"I can do that," Gil murmured.
"I want to," came her reply, going back to the methodical process.
Gil frowned, concentrating back on Warrick. "When?"
Catherine continued to stack dishes, trying to ignore the conversation, even when it was plain that they were talking about her.
"We're…we're coping," Gil told Warrick. "Okay. Yeah. I'll try. Okay. I will. Bye, Warrick." Gil put his hand on Catherine's shoulder. "Cath?"
"Mhm?"
"I can clean up, you know."
"I know."
"They've collected evidence. They don't have a main suspect yet." Gil felt her stiffen under his touch at the comment. "They were wondering if you were up to giving your statement yet."
Catherine froze. "To who?"
"Brass. Me." Gil made her face him. "If you're not ready, Catherine…"
"I want to catch him, Gil. I want to sleep at night."
Gil nodded. "Okay."
"So?" Warrick looked down at Greg.
"Blood on the gun matches Catherine's." He handed over the paper. "I'll take it to Trace next."
"Okay." Warrick patted Greg on the back. "Thanks."
"Hey, uh, I know she won't want everyone crowding around her, particularly guys," Greg began, "so could you just…you know, say hi to Catherine for me and give her…I don't know, my support, or love or whatever?"
A small smile broke out on Warrick's face. "I will. I'm sure she'll appreciate that."
Greg nodded and disappeared down the hallway, the evidence bag containing the gun in his possession. Warrick turned and went down the hall to the computers, finding Nick still searching through treads.
"Hey. How's the search going?"
"Slowly. It's a type of boot, but it's got this weird mark here. I can't tell if it's part of the shoe tread or just a worn part." Nick looked up. "Catherine coming in?"
Warrick nodded. "Griss is bringing her."
"I'll uh…hide out here. I don't think she'll want too many people around her right now."
"Okay. I'll tell her you said hi."
Nick grinned. "Thanks, man."
Warrick left the room, intent on visiting Sara next. However, Ecklie stepped into his path.
"Brown."
"Ecklie."
"You're on my case."
"You're in my path. Guess that means we're both pissed off."
"I want my case back."
"No."
Ecklie raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"My supervisor assigned me this case, so I'm working this case. If you want it, take it up with Grissom."
"Except no one seems to be able to find Grissom."
Warrick shrugged. "That's your problem, not mine."
Catherine gripped Gil's hand tightly as they stood in front of the station. He looked at her, worriedly.
"You can do this," Gil assured her. "I'll be right here beside you the whole time."
Catherine nodded. "Okay."
They walked through the doors, and were almost immediately set upon by Ecklie.
"Grissom! Where the hell have you been?"
Catherine shrank back, terror in her eyes. Gil stood in front of her, shielding her from Ecklie's view.
"Stand back, Conrad."
Ecklie frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"He said stand back," Warrick growled, grabbing Ecklie by the shoulders.
"Get your hands off me, Brown!"
"Get Catherine settled, Griss. I'll deal with this piece of…"
"Thanks, Warrick," Gil said. He gently took Catherine by the arm, taking her a different route.
He sat her down in the lounge, kneeling in front of her. "It's okay, Catherine. You're alright. Just Ecklie making some noise. He likes being the center of attention."
Catherine hugged her arms around herself. "I feel like such a pathetic idiot. Ecklie managed to scare me…"
Gil tilted her chin so she looked at him. "You're not a pathetic idiot. You've been through a hell of a lot, Catherine, and I'm so proud of you for being as strong as you are." He put his arms around her and Catherine cried, fists clenched in the front of his shirt.
Warrick stopped in the doorway when he found them. Turning around quietly, he left them alone for a while.
"Sara?"
"Yeah?"
Warrick walked in. "I want you to sit in on the interview with Catherine."
Sara arched an eyebrow. "Me?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know if Catherine will be comfortable with that."
"She'll be a hell of a lot more comfortable with you than me."
"I don't think she's going to be comfortable with anyone but Grissom at the moment." Sara leant back. "Why don't we just let Grissom and Brass be in the room? We can always observe from outside."
Warrick thought for a moment. "That's probably not a bad idea."
Brass closed the door to the interview room, making Catherine jump. "Sorry, Cath," he murmured.
"It's okay," she replied quietly, glad of Gil's hand making soothing strokes down her back.
Brass sat down on the other side of the table. "You ready for this?"
Catherine nodded. "I just want to get it over and done with."
"Okay," Brass agreed. "Just want to start at the top?"
Catherine took a deep breath. "I was working a case in the park. A woman had been robbed. Officer Clearwater was waiting on the scene with me."
"Were there any other CSI's there?"
"No. Only one is needed for a robbery. Unless one is a rookie and then…" she paused. "I'm babbling."
Gil squeezed her hand. "You're doing fine, Cath. Just fine."
She nodded. "Officer Clearwater said that he was feeling sick. I told him he could go take a few minutes to clear his head."
"Then what happened?"
"I was looking on the ground for any evidence. And then I felt arms around my waist."
"Where was your gun?"
"He yanked it out of my holster and held it to my head." Catherine took a deep breath. "He told me not to scream, or I'd regret it."
"Did you scream?"
Catherine looked up. "I didn't really want to find out how he'd make me regret it."
Gil frowned at Brass, who nodded and continued.
"Then what happened?"
"He bound my wrists with some duct tape. He said we were going to get up very slowly. When we stood up, he pushed me against the tree, pressing his knee between my legs." Catherine stopped, a tear trickling down her cheek. "I'm sorry…I…"
"It's okay, Cath. Take as long as you want," Gil told her. He looked up at Brass, who indicated that he wanted to talk to Gil in private. "I'll be right back, okay?"
"I think you should continue this interview by yourself," Brass suggested.
Gil looked at him. "Are you sure?"
Brass gestured at Catherine. "She's not going to feel comfortable with me in there. She and Sara don't get on well, and there's no other female that she knows who can do the interview. You on the other hand…"
"I want this by the book, Jim. I don't want this bastard getting away with what he did to her."
Brass nodded. "He won't. Go on, Grissom. I'll observe."
Gil agreed, heading back into the room.
Catherine looked up as he reentered the room. "Where's Brass?"
"We thought it might be good if I took your statement."
Catherine nodded, fidgeting with her hands. "Okay."
Gil sat down. "Can you continue for me?"
Another nod. "I…He was grabbing my breasts through my shirt. He pulled it off and then he tried to undo my bra. When he…when he couldn't get it undone he pulled it down around my middle." She took a deep breath. "He started grabbing them again and then he tried to kiss me. I didn't want to and I turned my head at the last minute. He hit me across the breast with the gun and then held it back to my head. He told me to cooperate."
Gil's fists clenched beneath the table.
Catherine paused again. "He…he kissed me again and he kept pinching and squeezing my breasts. I tried to tell him it hurt, but he wouldn't listen. Then he…he put his knee between my legs. He kept pushing. Then his hand was at my pants, pulling the zipper down and undoing them. He pushed them down…"
Gil watched her carefully. "Cath? Do you need a break? Or you want someone else to.."
"No, just. I just need a minute." She took a shuddering breath. "He knocked me down to the ground and pushed my pants down as far as he could without moving the gun. Then he pulled a knife from his pants and cut my underwear. Then he made me…"
Gil didn't say anything, just letting her take her time.
"He made me put a condom on him. Then he was inside me and I was crying and he kept telling me to shut up, but I couldn't…I just couldn't and it hurt and he started hitting me and then I don't remember anymore and I'm sorry…" Catherine burst into tears.
Gil was by her side in an instant, holding onto her. "It's okay Cath, it's okay. You did really well."
"I need…I just need a minute," Catherine said, her head resting against him.
"Take as long as you want," Gil assured her. "I've got you."
Sara, Warrick and Brass, just stood there.
"Jesus," Warrick finally said.
"I…I need to go," Sara said, leaving the room. She felt sick.
Brass took a deep breath. "Explains your duct tape, cuts in the underwear, blood on the gun, epithelials on the bra."
"We just need to find the bastard."
Gil came out. "I'm going to take Catherine home."
Brass nodded. "Good idea."
"We'll find him, Griss," Warrick promised him.
Gil nodded. "Just let me know if there is anything I can do from Catherine's."
"If she remembers any detail that she didn't include in the statement, let us know."
"I will." Gil paused. "She did tell me that he kept telling her he knew she wanted it." He sighed. "Maybe it was someone who's seen her before?"
Warrick nodded. "We'll keep that in mind."