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Chapter 6: The Story

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"So, you're the infamous Todd Owen… Somehow I expected more."

Catherine sneered at the man sitting in the chair as she came into the interrogation room. His freckled features were hard as stone, his unruly auburn hair hanging down in front of his cold, unfeeling eyes. He stared at her as she moved to the chair opposite the table from him.

"Tell me, Todd," Brass said, leaning on the chair next to Catherine. "Did you have fun with your little shootout?"

When he didn't answer, Cath gave a dry chuckle. "I really hope you did, cause you're gonna spend the rest of your life behind bars with nothing to show for it."

At that comment, he lunged forward, knocking his chair over in the process and causing the guard in the corner to come out of the shadows to restrain him.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger," Catherine said in an innocent voice. "Oh, wait… You already did."

"We know someone else you shot, too," Brass said flatly. "Why don't you tell us about Sara Sidle?"

"That bitch got what she deserved!" Owen yelled. "And you can tell her family I said that!"

"Why don't you tell her yourself, Todd? She didn't die…"

Silence engulfed the room for a moment, as his eyes grew wide with shock and fear.

"That's right... You left a witness. See, here's what we know." Brass laid out the photos from the scene. "You followed her from the diner where you saw her that morning. You took her to a warehouse in Henderson, where you handcuffed her to a chair and beat her. After that, you tied her to a bed where you raped her, and when she tried to run, you shot her in the leg and then stabbed her twice in the back."

"And then you ran, like the coward you are, and you left her there to die." Catherine stared at him in disgust. "Lucky for you, she got to the hospital on time, or we'd've been really pissed."

"Good news is we're willing to make a deal. You tell us what really happened, and you might get some time off your sentence." Brass picked up the pictures and put them back in the file as Catherine held a staring contest with Owen. Anger burned in his eyes as the battle went on.

"So, what's the deal?" Brass probed. "You willing to save yourself some trouble and talk to us?"

His only response was to stand and spit at their feet.

"Alright, get him out of here," said Brass, as the officer restrained him once again and led him out of the interrogation room.

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"That was him," Sara affirmed, as Catherine stepped into the observation room and stood beside Grissom.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I could never forget that face… After fifteen years, I still can't forget that face."

Catherine sighed. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Sara… It's not fair."

"But it's over," Sara said firmly. She turned from the mirrored glass and wheeled herself into the corridor.

"Where are you going?" Grissom asked.

"To find Nick and Warrick. They deserve to know what's happened."

She found them in the break room, sour looks on their faces as they ate in silence.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Sar- Sara, what happened?" Nick jumped up from his seat, concern obvious in his voice and in his eyes.

Warrick followed suit. "I thought you were on vacation!"

She scoffed. "Do me a favor: Next time I even mention the word 'vacation', remind me of this." Seeing their worry, she put on a smile. "Don't worry about it… It's over, and I'm back. So I heard you guys have an interesting case on your hands," she said, her expression turning serious again.

"We wouldn't really know," Nick snorted. "Grissom's been gone for days and Catherine is hogging all the evidence. We don't even know who the vic is, or what the hell happened."

She looked at the floor. "I do."

Both Nick and Warrick stared at her in disbelief as she wheeled herself to the table. Catherine and Grissom silently made their way into the room, blending into the background as focus centered on Sara and the story she was about to tell.

"I've known her all my life… and I know her better than anyone. She was embarrassed by what happened, that's why she didn't want anyone to know." Looking up, and blinking back tears, Sara gathered her strength and continued. "She took a few days off of work to regroup after a hard week, and decided to go to a nearby diner for breakfast, but while she was there she ran into someone from her past… Someone she didn't want anything to do with. She'd known the man in high school, and she'd never told anyone about what had happened between them… that he'd raped her on the night of their junior prom, and gotten away with it. So, when she saw him again in the diner, she got nervous. She told him that she had to go, but he followed her out… The next thing she remembered was being chased down and a cloth being put over her face, then waking up handcuffed to a chair in the middle of a warehouse."

Stopping to take a breath, she looked to the others. Grissom and Catherine stood against the wall, sympathy and compassion in their eyes. Nick and Warrick had opted for the chairs on either side of her and were listening intently to her every word; hungry for any information that would solve the mystery of the case they'd been working blindly.

"He was sitting nearby, staring at her with a hunger in his eyes. He told her that she deserved this for what she had done to him. He said that she was his, and had been for fifteen years, ever since that night in high school. When she defied him, he… he beat her and moved her to a bed in the corner." Anger slowly crept into her voice as she remembered every painful detail, tears freely flowing now. "He tied her down with linen straps, and he raped her."

Catherine looked down to Sara's wrists to see the scabs from where she had obviously fought against the linen straps. Her mind flew back to the photographs. Closing her eyes, she tried to wipe the images from her mind as she heard Sara continue.

"When she screamed for help, he beat her till he knocked her out. She woke up in the chair again. The next time he tried to move her to the bed, she managed to free her arm from his grip and elbowed him in the stomach." She grew louder, swiping at her tears. "When his grip loosened, she ran… but before she could reach the door he pulled his gun and shot her in the leg. She fell, and when she started screaming, he decided to end it all… He pulled out a knife and stabbed her twice in the back, then leaned over and whispered in her ear, saying that she had brought it upon herself and that if she hadn't run then she could've been his forever… and he left her there! He just left her there to die!"

By now, Sara was shouting, her face screwed up in pain and anger. While the boys were left to wonder how she knew so many of the details, Grissom hurried from his place by the door and took her hands in his in an attempt to comfort her.

"It's alright, Sara," he whispered, drying her tears and pulling her into a hug. "It's over."

She held tight to him, drawing from his strength. Catherine joined him at her side and put a hand on her shoulder for comfort. A moment later, when she composed herself enough to speak again, she looked to the others and saw understanding dawn.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Warrick asked, sorrow overshadowing his normally bright green eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she managed. "I shouldn't've had them keep it secret, but I didn't want you to worry… You needed to focus on the case, and you couldn't do that if you were worried about me."

Nick turned to Catherine. "You couldn't even tell us that Sara was hurt?"

She looked up in shock and hurt. "How can you ask me that after everything she just told you!"

"You didn't have to tell us she had anything to do with the case, but you could at least have said something!" Warrick said bitterly.

"I wanted to, believe me, but she asked me not to tell anyone, especially you guys!"

Seeing the anger in their eyes as they argued, Sara's once again filled with tears. Not being able to stand watching the team fall apart because of her actions, she quickly wheeled herself out of the room and down the hall.

"Now look what you did!" Nick shouted.

Grissom started after her, but Catherine held him back. "Let her go, Gil. She needs to work through this on her own."

"No, Catherine!" He shook himself free of her. "I will not have her leave here thinking that this is anyone's fault, let alone hers!"

With that, he left the others to their bickering and ran after Sara.

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A/N: After so long, I finally finished this chapter... This one was hard, much harder than I thought it would be. See, I had everything worked out until this point, so I didn't really know what was going to happen after the shootout scene, and I really don't know what will happen next, other than what I've put in the teaser. So, I really need your help from here on out... I NEED YOUR REVIEWS! And I need your ideas. Keep 'em comin'!

Wiccamage: Of course I didn't kill off Cath! How dare you even suggest such a thing! j/k. I love Catherine, too. Her character just has so many sides, and therefore, endless possibilities. I love exploring all of her different angles. Besides, I think that one of the many wonderful challenges of being an author is stretching your characters to new limits. Don't worry, there's much more to come, regarding Catherine and the others as well...

Teaser: "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Shhh..." he hushed her and cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb over her soft skin. Taking her by the hand, he led her through the house to the bedroom.

"What about-?"

"We had a fight," he answered, anticipating her question. "She left this morning." Giving her a reassuring smile, he closed the door. ...