Author's note: Hey all! Well, that's a little sooner then last time, so yay! Hey, and a little longer, so, double yay! I hope you all like it!
……….
Catherine sat down for the third time that evening and opened the worn case file in front of her. Her hands gripped the steaming cup of coffee as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Usually, she wouldn't allow herself to get pulled this deep into a case, but after she saw how important it was to Grissom… well, this guy needed to be caught.
Sara deserved justice as quickly as possible.
Her keen eyes skimmed over the report for anything she might have missed earlier. Flipping the page, she focused on the pictures of Sara's injuries, pictures that had been taken just a half hour before Sara had left the station. Catherine bit her lip as she studied the deep cuts and scars that littered Sara's thin arms, the bruises that dotted her torso. She searched spots that seemed untouched by Sara's kidnapper, the rare patch of smooth skin that came between injuries.
It wasn't long until Catherine saw the small red spot on Sara's shoulder, what appeared to be just a bump, but was something much more.
Catherine picked up her phone.
"Denver medical, how may I help you?"
"Yes, this is Catherine Willows, I'm investigating the Sidle case. May I speak to Dr. Anderson please?"
"Yes, ma'am, one moment."
The phone clicked and rang in Catherine's ear. After one ring, the phone clicked again, and a deep male voice spoke into the receiver.
"Dr. Anderson."
"Dr. Anderson, this is Catherine Willows. We met earlier, I'm working the Sidle case?"
The doctor cleared his throat, "Ah, yes. I just got done reviewing the nurses notes, and my own. What can I do for you?"
Catherine picked up the picture and held it closer, "I'm reviewing the pictures that were taken during the examination, and I found an interesting spot on the patients left shoulder. It looks like an injection was given to her. Did you administer that injection?"
In the background Catherine could hear papers flipping and the doctor cleared his throat again, "I know I didn't give the patient anything other then a Motrin for the pain, and according to the nurse's notes, she didn't administer anything either."
"Were you able to get a blood sample?" Catherine asked as she made a note.
"No. We asked the patient and she got extremely agitated. But after the examination I saw no need for a blood sample anyway. I came to the conclusion that her loss of consciousness when she was found was caused by a concussion bought about when she received that nasty head wound."
"Alright. Thank you, doctor. I'll be in touch."
Catherine hung up without waiting for a reply and stared down at the picture. The redness on Sara's shoulder must have been caused by an injection. A small round bump almost hidden beneath fading bruises. But there would only be one way to prove that, if too much time hadn't gone by.
"Catherine, I found something that might be helpful."
Catherine looked up as Detective Warner walked in. Sitting down across from her, he set a file on the table and smiled.
"What's this?" Catherine asked.
"I thought I'd go over some kidnapping cases to see if maybe Sara's kidnapper was a serial, you know, any cases that matched hers where maybe there was a suspect we could look at, match to the profile. Anyway, I'm looking through the files and I start to see an interesting increase in the number of brunettes that had been kidnapped in the last two years in the Denver/Hudson area. So, I started to focus on those. Here, take a look at this one."
Warner pushed the file towards Catherine, who took them reluctantly. She opened it, and started to read.
"You know, detective, just because there is an increase in brunettes being kidnapped doesn't mean…"
"Just keep reading," he said, and as she did, he explained, "This case happened within the last two years. The girl is a young brunette, within an inch or two of Sara's height, about the same weight, same build. But, what makes this cases stand out is…"
Catherine straightened in her seat as she continued to read, "Grissom came in to id the girl?"
"Yep. Surprised me too; he didn't even stop in to say hello."
"The coroner called him in because the girl matched the description of Sara Sidle, close enough to need someone to make an identification. Why didn't they just do a fingerprint identification, instead of calling Gil?"
"We were told to call him directly if we found anything, and to wait for him."
Catherine grabbed the file and took a drink of her now cold coffee, then headed for the door.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to review the evidence in this kidnapping, go over more notes. Do me a favor, call Grissom and tell him he needs to get Sara to a doctor for a blood sample asap."
"Why the rush?" asked Warner as he stood up.
"Because Sara may have been injected with something and there may still be a chance there is a trace of it in her system. Hopefully I'll find something with this girl. I'll be in touch."
And with that, Catherine left the room, leaving Warner scratching his head, and pulling out his phone.
……….
"And this one. A, uh, private celebration right after Ecklie was fired. Of course, Greg had just gotten a new apartment too with the pay raise when he became a level two, so…"
"God, I miss all of them. When do you think I'll be able to see them?"
Grissom looked over at Sara and shrugged, "Whenever you're ready."
Sara nodded and flipped the page, "What the heck?"
Grissom laughed and got up as his cell phone started to ring, "Don't ask."
Sara smiled and looked back down at the picture. Silently she admitted that shirtless Grissom was definitely a sight for soar eyes… even if he was wearing a puffy pink wig.
"Grissom," she heard behind her as she set the album down and slowly stood.
"I'm going to take a shower," she whispered to Grissom, and he quickly nodded as he went back to his conversation.
"Blood sample?"
"Catherine found something in one of the pictures. She thinks Sara was injected with something. Look, you're the scientist, I don't think I have to explain why it needs to be done soon."
Grissom heard the bathroom door shut, and the water turn on, "No, you don't. I'll see to it. If we can find a chemical in her blood stream, maybe we can trace purchases of it to a suspect."
"If Catherine finds one. I'll let her know."
"Thanks," and with that, Grissom hung up.
Grissom sat on the couch and closed his eyes. He listened to the water in the background, and as he did, tried to figure out a way to get Sara to go to a doctor.
……….
If the pain in her head wasn't enough, the feel of wet clothes hanging on her tired body really did the trick in waking her up. So, in the instant she was conscious to it all, the familiar feeling of fear was something she was also very aware of. Then the panic.
She jumped to her feet, grabbing at the wall next to her, but her fingers only met with slick tiling, and her feet fell away beneath her, sending her crashing back onto the wet floor. She could hear the echo of her head cracking against the side of the bath tub as she cried out in pain. But even as her eyesight faded in and out and the searing throb pulsed in her skull, the laugh coming from behind the curtain was still the only thing she could focus on.
"Watch out, the floors wet."
"You bastard. Get the hell away from me!"
Matthew chuckled, and clicked his tongue as he pulled back the shower curtain, "But Sara, you know that we have to clean up before you go. You don't want to be to dirty for your big welcome home. No evidence of where you've been. We wouldn't want that, that'd ruin all my fun."
Sara opened her eyes against the blinding pain, and stared down at the water that filled the tub. It was turning pink with the blood coming from her forehead, and slowly danced around the drain in thin wisps before disappearing. She struggled to sit up.
"The shower has been on, and the walls are wet. Do be careful, wouldn't want another fall today, or else that would make three times you've been knocked out."
"Three times? I may have a concussion, but I think you've only hit me enough today to knock me out once, and then I woke up in a tub. I hope you used conditioner, you bastard."
Before she could react, Matthew's large hand reached out and grabbed her wet neck, squeezing tightly and pulling her up. She clawed at it, gasping for breath, and crying out when she felt the needle being jabbing into her shoulder. Matthew threw her back down and tossed the needle aside, so he could lean over the tub and stare down at Sara as she struggled to remain conscious.
"Just a few parting words before you black out. It's been fun Sara, but the fun has just begun. Don't think this last look is the last you'll see of me. You know, they say two heads are better then one. So, I figure, I'll head to Vegas to see it that's true. See if killing both you and Grissom is better then just having you here. I don't know, we'll see."
Sara started to cry, still trying to stay awake, but the blackness started to invade her eyes, and as everything finally went dark, she heard Matthew's last words.
"Viva Las Vegas, baby. Here I come."
……….
Sara gasped and reached for the metal bar on the side wall. She looked around, her eyes skimming the enclosed space, then peeked behind the curtain to make sure nobody was waiting for her one the other side. She sighed as she turned off the steaming water. There was a knock on the door.
"Sara, is everything ok? I heard bottles falling." came Grissom's muffled voice.
Sara looked down. Sure enough, the shampoo and soap bottles sat below her. She turned her eyes when she saw the pink shampoo spilling out around, slowly following the water down the drain.
"Sara?"
"I'm fine, Grissom, it was just… an accident."
She looked around once more, and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel tightly around her shivering form. She looked out of the half drawn curtains on the window, staring at the bright view of Vegas.
"I'm fine," she whispered to herself, "I'm fine."
And then she started to cry.
……….
He walked silently down the dark sidewalk, scanning the girls who stood there, studying him as he walked by. A few smiled, a welcome invitation, others turned away, hiding smirks the quickly spread across their faces. A blonde, a red head, too tall, too big. Perfect.
She was just the right height, and her hair was just the right length. She smiled at him, running a shy hand across her creamy skin. It was all just right. The perfect girl to set all his plans into motion.
He walked slowly up to her, and smiled politely at her, pulling out his wallet.
"Hey. What can I do for you tonight, stud?"
"Oh, more then you know," he said as he took out a hundred and placed it in her hands, then took her arm. She smiled, and pulled herself closer.
"Tell me, do you like crime shows?"
TBC…