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Chapter 11

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Grissom's eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head.

"What!"

Sara looked at the floor. "Grissom, please don't look at me like that."

"That's why you were in the hospital? This guy tried to kill you?"

"See, this is why I didn't tell you. I knew you'd do this..." Her hand moved to her still-bandaged temple. "I'm getting a headache."

"Well, no wonder. He damn near smashed your head in... At least, that's what I think happened. You haven't told me." He turned and swore under his breath.

"I'm fine!" she spat. "We just need to focus on catching him, so he can't do this to anyone else."

"No, Sara, I'd rather focus on what he did to you," he said as he turned back to face her, his voice raising. He pointed to the body. "Did he-"

"He damn well tried!" she yelled back, her voice cracking.

By this time, Nick had made his way to the hallway, amazed at the scene before him. Sara was at her wit's end, leaning against the window at the end of the hall. Grissom stared at her from the doorway, guilt and shock crossing his face. Nick watched as the scene continued to play out.

"Sara..."

"I fought him!" she sputtered, the tears breaking free. "I fought like hell to get him off me, but the last thing I remember is him punching me to get me to shut up... I turned my head and tried to block him, but he hit my temple and I blacked out..." She dropped to her knees, the memory proving too much for her to handle alone.

Speech was lost to Grissom as he watched her break down. After all that she had weathered in the past, life had dealt her yet another losing hand and she was collapsing under the weight of such a heavy burden.

"After that, all I remember is being cold, hearing him drive away, and then waking up in the hospital with you telling me that I've been there for a week..." She looked up at him with fear behind her eyes. "Do you know what that did to me? Do you!"

He moved closer, tears welling in his own eyes, and tried to comfort her. But she would have none of it, shuddering at his touch and backing away in a quick jerk.

"No, I can't..." She ran down the hall, past Nick and out the back door onto the porch.

Sighing, Grissom blinked back what wetness had gathered and met Nick at the end of the hall. "Call Ecklie and let him know we've got a high profile case on our hands, FBI assistance." He turned to follow Sara.

"Griss..." Nick hesitated. "Ecklie's gone."

He turned back, not believing what he had just heard. "What!"

"He's gone," Nick repeated. "He was blackmailing Catherine, holding the promotion over her head, so she went to Brass. They had her wear a mic and plant a camera in his office... What they saw brought the FBI in for close to two weeks, sniffin' around everywhere. They caught him grafting and embezzling lab funds, and they let it go for a while to see if he could lead them to any other sources, but after what he did to Cath..."

"What happened to Catherine?" he asked incredulously, suddenly remembering her nervousness when he'd mentioned the FBI.

"He had her in his office a few days ago, telling her that she'd better find you soon or he'd fire you both. She tried to fight back, calling him a monster... He accused her of insubordination and damn near strangled her. Warrick burst in just as Ecklie tried to leave, two agents on his tail, and punched him square in the nose.While they hauled him out of here, 'Rick went straight to Catherine."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah. A few bruises, but she's alright."

"Great," he breathed. "Just great... What else could go wrong?"

"They want you to take over."

Grissom's jaw dropped. "Please tell me you're joking."

Nick shrugged. "I wish I was."

"Ugh..." he heaved a sigh in frustration. "I don't have time for this. I have to find Sara."

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Leaning against the railing, Sara took a deep breath. She had to pull herself together. She'd lived through that hell more than once and she could do it again, but to break down in front of the crew was unacceptable. After her suspension, she'd promised herself that she'd find another way to deal with her past, and she had. She'd left Vegas and started over, only to find that she couldn't escape it. She'd come back home to friends that were more like family,but the horrorhad followed her yet again, snapping at her heels... and now it had come to bite her in the ass. How much more abuse could she take?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the back door opened. Determined to stay strong, she collected herself and set her mind to the case.

Grissom, seeing Sarastruggling to regain composure, tried to be delicate about approaching her. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her even more. Still not quite sure what he was going to say, he closed the door gently and started toward her, but he didn't make it further than a few feet before he heard her voice.

"They call him the Widower," she stated blankly, her back towards him.

Stung by the fact that she would hide her hurt from him after all they'd been through, he moved forward again to stand beside her. Taking her hand, he whispered, "Sara, you don't have to-"

She spun and faced him. "Grissom, after my suspension, I promised myself that I wouldn't go back to that place. If there's anything I can tell you about Rory McNabb, it's this: He takes pride in making his victims relive their worst nightmares... He dragged me back into my childhood, and it nearly killed me. All I ask is that you help me scrape my way back out by catching that son of a bitch."

Giving a small smile for reassurance, he nodded and squeezed her hand.

"So let's go get him."

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While Sara negotiated details of sharing FBI jurisdiction with theVegas lab, Grissom took Nick into the bedroom to analyze the situation hands off. By the time she was off the phone and back in the room, they were ready to begin the investigation in earnest. Shoe prints were lifted, all surfaces were printed, hairs and fibers put into bindles, and casings collected. Blood stains were swabbed, and both bodies were sent to the morgue. But the most interesting part came after all the evidence was logged in and the autopsies performed, when Sara pulled the case file for Nick and Grissom.

"This is what we're up against," she said, tossing the open file on the break room table. "He's a smart son of a bitch and he'll do anything to keep from getting caught."

Looking at photos of several scenes, Nick frowned. "This all seems so familiar... I thought you said that he killed all of his victims in Virginia."

Sara nodded. "Virginia and Vermont, but he's got homes in New Hampshire, Virginia, Arizona, Louisiana, Colorado, Nebraska, and Vegas. That's how he gets all of his planted evidence. He wants us to chase the lie... As for familiar, this is where he gets his ideas." She pulled out another file and dropped it on the table. When it flipped open to the crime scene photos, Grissom leaned back in his chair and took off his glasses.

"Strip Strangler... That's why they assigned you to the case. McNabb is a copycat."

She nodded again. "And a damn good one. That's why we haven't found much evidence against him. Lucky for us, he's not as smart as he thinks he is. He forgot about the semen stains outside the last two victims' windows, which is how we caught him the first time. He just got to me before I could get to him."

"What about the husband? None of the other spouses were killed," Nick observed.

"That's because he's evolving. This scene is different from the others."

"He left too much behind this time," Grissom said, leaning forward and staring at the photos. "It's almost as if this time were spontaneous... Shooting a victim isn't his style. Using a shotgun against an unarmed man suggests anger."

"Well, of course he's angry," Sara said, finally sitting and glancing over the destruction he'd caused. "His last cover up job didn't go very well, did it?"

Nick's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Sara gave a small smile. "I survived."

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