Warrick turned onto Catherine's street and encountered a blaze of police lights. His heart felt like it quit stop beating. His mind raced with a flurry of thoughts due to life experience. Time stood still… a deafening silence was all he heard though the radio played loudly. He had come here to find solace but stumbled across more chaos. As his instincts had declared, the police were at Catherine's house. Warrick jumped out to find Cath's mom, Lily, talking to an officer. She stopped in mid sentence when she saw Warrick.
"Warrick!" shouted the older woman.
He ran up to her.
"Lindsey's gone. I don't know where. I think she was taken. She was just supposed to take the trash out… I called Catherine. She was on some case, almost over in Henderson. –Did she send you? Oh Warrick, please… Lindsey's only 11. She's just a little girl. People are sick. I'd die if something happened to her. Find her! Please, you must find her," Lily sobbed.
As she clutched on to Warrick, Brass had arrived with Grissom unknown to Warrick until a voice came over his shoulder.
"Warrick, I thought you had gone off the clock?" inquired Grissom.
Warrick spun around with one hand still on the distraught grandmother's shoulder.
"I came by to pay Lindsey a visit and came across all this. I just got here," he answered Grissom and turned back to Lily.
"Tell me what happened. You said Lindsey was taking out the trash. Then what happened?" Warrick asked.
Grissom interjected.
"Ok Warrick you're back on the clock. Find out what you can and let me know. I have an extra kit in the truck and might need you to process the interior. I want to start on the outside right away. Catherine and Greg were in Whitney. I sent Sara and Nick to replace them. And as soon as they can tie up that case to a stopping point, we're all on this," he said in an urgent voice.
"K Grissom," acknowledged Warrick as he turned his attention back to Lily.
She gave Grissom an appreciative look before turning her attention back to Warrick. Brass stated he was going to interrogate the neighbors. Both men walked off leaving Warrick to get the rest of the story from Lily.
"It was about nine o'clock, around the time Lindsey gets ready for bed. I reminded her that she was supposed to take the trash out. My God, I would've done it myself –it's just my back–"
"It's ok, just tell me what happened next," Warrick prompted her.
"Uhm, she just said 'Ok, Grandma' and took it out. I got involved in that new show 'Threshold' and didn't check on her until it was over, an hour later. I just didn't think of anything. It was just the trash. And Lindsey's such a good girl. She would've never run off. She should've come right back in, but she didn't," Lily's voice cracked with pain.
Tears flowed freely as her face displayed the pain her voice transmitted. Warrick looked upon her with much compassion as he felt his heart fall to the pit of his stomach.
"How do you know she didn't come back in?" he asked.
"Because she always puts a new bag in the can. She knows I have a bad back and she's such a good girl. There wasn't a new bag. She didn't come back in. She didn't…" her voice trailed off as she clutched her face and sobbed.
"We'll find her. We're gonna find her. And if someone took her, they just made the biggest mistake in their life," Warrick started with agony but ended with a tamed ferocity.
Catherine's black Denali pulled up like a bat out of hell. Catherine raced out toward Warrick before Greg's door was even fully open.
"WHAT THE HELL MOM! WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'SHE'S GONE'? YOU CAN'T WATCH YOUR OWN GRANDCHILD! YOU CAN'T EVEN CORRECT THE MISTAKES YOU MADE WITH ME? HOW–" Catherine bellowed as she darted at her mother and Warrick.
Warrick grabbed Cath as Lily sobbed.
"Hey! Hey! CATH!" Warrick called
He had stepped directly in front of Lily, trying to deflect Catherine's anger. He attempted to embrace Cath but she pushed him away.
"Don't… I need to find her. I just need to find her…" Catherine's voice cracked as she crumbled to the ground.
Warrick scooped her up as if on cue. Catherine buried her face in his chest. Greg walked up with kit in hand.
"Why did you let her drive, Man? She could've gotten you both killed. You shouldn't have let her drive," Warrick scolded Greg as he held Cath tightly.
Greg looked sheepishly.
"I tried but she wouldn't let me. I almost didn't make it in the passenger seat. She started to take off as I barely got one foot in the door," Greg responded somberly.
Warrick's scowl left his countenance. He understood clearly.
"Grissom's out back. Lindsey had gone to take out the trash. See where he wants you," he directed to Greg.
Warrick could feel Catherine regaining her composure in his arms. Lily moaned apologies from behind them.
"We're gonna find her. Grissom's putting everyone on this. Let's get to work; the sooner we do, the sooner we find her. 'K?" he spoke in an almost whisper as he cupped Catherine's face and lifted her eyes to his.