Chapter 13:
Nick caught up to Grissom in the break room, pouring another cup of coffee.
"Hey Gil!" he said. Grissom turned around,
"Hey Nick – how are you doing? How's Sara?" Nick gave a small, attempt at a reassuring smile.
"She's doing okay. Still upset, but hopefully she'll just sleep tonight. She knows not to open up the door to anyone." Grissom nodded. Nick looked at him curiously. "You know, shift just started – you look like you haven't been home in days. How long have you been here?"
"I've just been working on a few cases." Nick looked at him suspiciously but left it at that as Grissom almost drained his cup of coffee.
"So where is everyone? What cases have we got?" Nick asked as he sat down. Catherine walked in before Grissom could answer. Once Catherine had finished asking about Sara, they both turned to look at their supervisor.
"You two will be working together – DB out in the desert." Nick nodded.
"Where's Warrick?" Grissom cast Catherine a quick, but meaningful glance.
"He and Greg are working on another case – they're out right now with Brass." Catherine knew which case Grissom was talking about. Sara's case. She had no idea where they were however, after deciding to stay out of the whole deal. She was too personally involved. They gathered their things and started to leave when Nick turned around.
"Hey Gil – which case are you working?" He asked out of curiosity. Catherine stared at Grissom. How long could they hide everything from Nick? He would have to find out at some point, and when he did – who knows how he would react.
"I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on, and I'll be backup incase anyone else needs me. We still have that girl from Days helping out. Katrina – she's working a simple burglary. I told her if she needs my help I'll be around." Nick seemed content with this answer.
"Well, I told Sara to call my cell if she needs anything, but at least someone will be around here just in case…" He walked out the room, as Grissom sighed. Catherine watched him for a few moments, comprehension shooting between their eyes – words without sound, before she followed Nick out the door. Grissom made his way over to his office. He did have a lot of paperwork to go through. He wanted to go over the rape case again, read through the note again – he would go insane before he let this case go.
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Sara curled up on the couch in a warm blanket, and popped in a movie. Half asleep, but to comfortable to move, she half slept, half watched. She didn't want to miss Nick's phone call. She wished he would sleep beside her, help chase her nightmares away, but she couldn't expect that of him. He was doing enough for her. Still, just hearing his voice before her unconscious claimed her might help. Precisely at that moment, the phone rang. She picked it up without hesitation.
"Hello." She said quietly, expecting to hear that familiar Texan voice greet her back.
"Where the hell have you been bitch?" Her insides froze. She could feel herself trembling, but unable to move.
"What do you want?" she whispered.
"I've been looking for you everywhere – why haven't you contacted me? I left 5 messages and I even went to your work. Your friends wouldn't tell me where you went. Don't play games with me Sara." His voice was dangerous. Sara prayed that this was just a joke. He was going to haunt her the rest of her life. And she was terrified.
"Please – please, just leave me alone." She begged. This only incensed him more.
"It's too late for that. Don't pull a stunt like that ever again – you hear me?" She heard the click on his end and sat there in a trance for a few moments. Her hands were trembling so bad she could barely put the phone back into the cradle. Immediately she dialed Nick's cell number. No response. Who knows where he could be – she had been on a case many times where there was no reception.
There wasn't any time, however, to waste. She felt alone and scared. She feared for her life knowing what he could do to her. She ran into her bedroom and threw some clothes on, before grabbing her purse and running out the door to her SUV.
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"Shoot. No signal." Nick announced. Catherine glanced at him as she was driving. His face was panicked.
"It's the desert Nick – we always lose reception out here."
"I promised Sara I would call." Catherine sat and contemplated for a few moments, but after noticing how worried Nick was, she made an unexpected turn. Nick just looked at her.
"You want reception – we'll find you some reception. Let me know when to stop – that dead body isn't going anywhere."
"Thanks Catherine." Finally, about 10 minutes later, Nick had a strong enough signal to be able to call. Catherine stopped on the side of the road as Nick dialed the number. No answer – but to his surprise, the machine kicked in. He looked quizzically at Catherine.
"Maybe she's asleep?" she offered as a possible explanation.
"Maybe, but she's normally never asleep by now. What if something happened? Maybe I should call again?"
"Call once more – you don't want to wake her up if she's asleep. If she doesn't answer, call Grissom and let him know. He's closer to her place than we are – maybe someone can peek in and make sure she's okay." Nick nodded and dialed. Same thing. Instead, he called up the crime lab.
"Grissom." He heard over the phone.
"Gil – it's Nick."
"What's the matter?" he answered, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Nothing, as far as I know. I tried calling Sara's place. The machines on. Catherine thinks she might have just gone to bed, but we just wanted to let you know. We're getting bad reception out here. Maybe if someone's around the area they can just check in on her? I'll call later in case you find out anything, once we're back among civilization." Grissom couldn't blame Nick for being worried and overly cautious.
"I'll make sure she's fine. I'll be around the lab all evening – we'll call you, and if you don't answer we'll leave a voice message if we find out anything. If I have the chance, I'll swing by her place quickly – if it makes you feel better. I have a spare key too."
"Thanks Grissom." They hung up and Catherine looked over at Nick.
"Better?"
"Yah – thanks. Let's go." They headed down the dusty road back in the direction they came from, the desert sun long set behind the horizon.
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The noise outside his office was disturbing his concentration. Didn't anyone appreciate the stillness of silence? Grissom got up and closed his office door. His desk was strewn with all the documents he could find about Chris. He hadn't been home in hours, nor had he slept in days. This case was impounded into his mind, and he knew he wouldn't rest until it was solved.
Suddenly, like a burst of wind, his door flew open. He looked up quickly and saw the skinny and pale brunette standing in front of him, shaking. He sat for a moment, shocked before he registered what was going on and shot up from his desk over towards her. Tears were streaming down her face. She hadn't said a word. He quickly closed the office door, for privacy's sake, before going over to and holding her by the shoulders, as if to steady her.
"Sara? What's the matter Sara?" She continued to stare, her brown eyes watery with tears, shaking back and forth. He said a bit louder, his eyes begging her to answer. "Sara! You need to answer me. What happened?" Grissom was about ready to call an ambulance. Her face was drained of almost all her life, her eyes filled with fear, her breathing ragged. Then, in a voice barely higher than a whisper, she said,
"He called me." Grissom stared at her for a few moments before he noticed her knees starting to give way. She continued to stare at him, as if she was pleading for him to make this go away. He took her hand, and put his other arm around her back and gently led her towards a chair, and helped her sit down, before pulling up another chair in front of her. He grabbed her hands in his, like he had in the hospital when she had had her breakdown. Only this time, her eyes were locked with his.
"Calm down Sara. You need to calm down okay?" She nodded slowly and closed her eyes, desperately trying to regulate her breathing. She finally got her breathing under control and opened her eyes. Grissom's gaze was intent on hers, overwhelmed with concern. "We should get you to the hospital." He said quickly. He knew he wasn't trained well enough to deal with this. He couldn't help her, as much as he wanted too. She shook her head violently no and started to gasp for breath again, still not talking. "Okay, okay. We'll stay here for now. Sara – you've got to calm down. What can I do to help? Are you worried he'll find you at the hospital?" She nodded slowly. At least she wasn't catatonic. Grissom kept watching her in silence, never looking away. Finally a few words passed through her lips, her eyes filled with more fear than ever,
"Don't let him find me. Please." With that, she burst into sobs. Grissom wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She rested her head against him and cried.