Chapter One
Sara woke up with a start. Her heart was beating so hard, she could hear the thudding in her ears. A layer of perspiration blanketed her forehead and her fingers were tightly curled into a ball. She released one of them and frantically spread it around the bed.
Catherine? Catherine! – Her mind shouted – Where is Catherine? Why isn't she here? What's that noise?
Sara moved her head around from side to side, searching for her lover, panic gripping her fiercely. That's when she recognized the sound. A tiny device shuddered as it beeped repeatedly. She picked it up and glanced into it. It took her a while to process the digital words on the display.
She gradually unsuspended herself from the nightmare she was having. Sara ran a hand through her hair and allowed herself to calm down. Back in reality, she remembered that she was in her own apartment and Catherine wasn't there. She once again looked back into the pager.
Grissom had issued an emergency call for all his CSIs. Sara picked up the phone and called Grissom.
"Sara, I want you down here immediately. There's been a multiple homicide." Grissom answered without any greeting.
"Okay, give me the address."
Minutes later, Sara had showered and dressed herself in her usual work jeans and shirt. She was hurrying more than usual. It wasn't just because Grissom sounded urgent. She knew that Catherine would be there too. She needed to see the blonde.
Mainly to reassure herself that her nightmare wasn't true.
The location of the crime was a palatial Victorian complex rising above expansive manicured lawns and tended gardens. A swimming pool shimmered under the pale moonlight. Sara picked up her crime kit from the back of her Prius . The yellow tape had sealed off a vast area of property from the intrusion of outsiders. She was a little surprised that the media hadn't arrived yet. A multiple homicide in a rich neighborhood was like a meat scent for ravenous dogs.
Uniformed police officers stood at a safe distance from the crime scene. She spotted Grissom by the patio. He was conversing with someone. Sara got a better look and recognized the sleek form of Detective Sofia Curtis.
As she was approaching them, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Greg marching behind her.
"Hey." She shot him a smile.
"I had to cancel my dinner midway." Greg grumbled.
"I had to cancel my sleep midway."
"It must have been really bad. You look terrible."
"Gee, thanks Greg."
"No, I mean…" He raised both of his hands. "Not in a really bad way. You just look tired."
"I would too if I were getting married this Saturday." Nick teased as he ran up from behind.
"Aah, now that I forgot." Greg smirked. "I wonder what's making her tired. The fact that her future mother-in-law has barred her from visiting her future bride on account of traditions. Or the fact that she is getting one of those, uh, wedding shiverings?"
"I would bet my money on the former, pal. To remain one week separate from Catherine? Man, that must be really hard, huh Sara?"
"I would say the latter." Greg assumed an all-knowing tone. "The knowledge that you are going to be committed to one person for the rest of your life is… creepy! But again, if that person is Catherine…"
"Nick. Greg." Sara tried to hide her blush. "Shut up!"
She fumed as she heard them snicker.
Grissom turned towards them when he saw them approach. His face was set in the same stoic expression he donned 24/7. Detective Sofia Curtis acknowledged the CSIs with a brief nod.
"Marjorie Callaghan." Sofia began. "She and her two adopted children were killed in the bedroom. PSAP got an anonymous 911 tip made from a telephone booth half a mile from here."
"What did the coroner say?" Nick asked.
"TOD is around 8 PM." Grissom answered.
"Around the same time that we got the anonymous call." Sofia added.
Sara looked around. "How soon before the media gets hold of this?"
"Information might be reaching them as we speak." The detective shrugged. "As soon as the neighbors notice the crime tape and police, they'll notify the reporters."
"Then we should hurry." Greg said grimly.
"Sara and Nick, I want you guys in the house." Grissom assigned. "Greg, Warrick is waiting for you by the perimeters."
Sara wanted to ask where Catherine was since she hadn't caught sight of the blonde. But after the ribbing from Nick and Greg, she decided to keep the question to herself.
David was crouched down by the body, his face rapt with concentration. He looked up when Sara and Nick arrived.
"Hey David." Sara gave him a warm greeting.
"Hey." David quickly looked away to cover the flush that always crept up whenever he saw Sara.
"What do the bodies say?" Nick knelt down on one leg and snapped his latex gloves on.
"Multiple stab wounds on the woman." David pointed at the deep injuries on the chest. "According to the body temperature, I would say she's been dead for at least two hours."
"What are these?" Nick gestured towards a bluish mark around the woman's neck. "Ligature marks?"
David peered closer. "Sure looks like that. But I'm fairly certain she didn't die from strangulation. The marks are too faint."
"And there is significant blood loss from the stabbing." Sara waved her finger in a circle around the blood pool. "She was definitely alive before she was stabbed."
Nick retrieved his camera and took a couple of shots from various angles. Sara, however, noticed the two other bodies further away.
"The children?"
David nodded and moved towards them. "Gunshot wounds."
"Standard .22 caliber." Sara picked up a bullet casing.
"The children were shot and the mother was stabbed." Nick's expression was grim. "This was definitely no crime of passion. The killer came prepared for a kill."
While Nick volunteered to take the ground floor, Sara processed the upstairs.
The many years of working as a CSI had taught her to remain totally detached from the victims and the crime scene. She knew that people weren't subjective creatures and they ended up finding what they wanted to find. As a crime investigator, she couldn't afford to do that.
However, when she opened the closet door, she felt her knees buckling in numbness. Staring right in front of her was a pristine white gown, the intricate lace patterns appearing like wispy clouds on milky moonlight. It was a wedding dress in all its finest.
Sara walked towards it in a trance. She brought forth her hands and slowly fingered the soft material. She wished that she didn't have her gloves on for she had an overwhelming urge to feel the fabric. The beauty of the dress wasn't what captivated her. It was the very fact that she had seen it before. The last time she saw this wedding gown, she had been in a bridal gown boutique. This looked like the very same dress Catherine was about to wear for their wedding.
Sara suddenly felt sick. She rushed to the open terrace and leant against the balustrade. She took deep breaths of the cool night air. There had been several cases where she had lost her appetite by just looking at the evidence. But this went far beyond squeamish. She was positively sick in the pit of her stomach.
"Damn tradition!" She flipped open her phone and punched the speed dial number for Catherine. To her horror, Sara got a busy signal. After trying unsuccessfully another four times, she gave up.
The chilled marble of the railing clung to her palm like a second skin and Sara mentally tried to push the fear away. If there was any reason to worry, Grissom would have definitely told her. She was getting edgy over a nightmare, of all things. She knew better than to let such things cloud her reason.
The sky was a navy blue on top but the horizon was still illuminated in striae of orange and azure. Sara could make out the faint twinkling of stars which were otherwise overshadowed by the brighter city lights of Vegas.
Finally, feeling a little more relaxed, she went back inside. She opened her kit and with restored professionalism, arranged her mind frame into processing.
Catherine had just turned around the corner of the mansion when she noticed Sara's form moving inside from the terrace. For a moment, she thought about giving the brunette a shout. Lord knows how much she craved to even hear the voice of her soon-to-be wife. Her mother had wanted all traditions to be observed and had put them both on a week's curfew from seeing each other. Not that Catherine remembered ever reading anywhere that the future married couple should refrain from meeting each other for a week. But Lily was adamant. Sara, who had become a darling in Catherine's family, of course agreed and much to Catherine's annoyance sweetly moved back into her apartment until the wedding.
This restriction had just begun the previous day and Catherine was already finding herself unable to sleep without Sara's familiar body beside her. Not to mention, all the marriage preparations were driving her crazy. Her mother, Nancy and Lindsay would spend endless hours planning the details to the last flower. The next day, they would repeat the same discussion over again until they were assured it would work. Much as they insisted that she take the rest of the few days off, Catherine knew she would lose her remaining sanity if she joined them. Plus, coming to work gave her an opportunity to see Sara.
She noticed a piece of cloth stuck by the hedge. It looked like a patch torn from someone's jeans. She bagged it and roved her keen eyes around the lawn. She had been the first one to arrive when Grissom had called her in. Normally, she would be processing the indoor scene. Her expertise lay in blood patterns. Though as all top level CSIs, she was now equally adept at handling all kinds of evidences. But today, the idea of being cloistered inside a palatial crime scene wasn't appealing.
The grass bed squished underneath her boots. She could hear car horns blare in the distance. A crowd was gathering by the front porch. Catherine wouldn't be surprised if reporters had already started making assumptions and throwing them. She sympathized with what Det. Curtis would have to endure until the case was solved.
Once again, she looked up towards the balcony. The lights had been turned off. Sara had undoubtedly retrieved her UV lamp out and was beginning to scan the room for signs of body fluids. Catherine smiled. She had known Sara for 90 months. They had been lovers for 18 months. During this period, she had known Sara to be a painstakingly dedicated person. Whether she was analyzing evidence as a CSI, or having fun with Catherine's daughter, or assuming the role of both mother and friend when they were together as a family, or simply being free from the world to engage in hours of erotic lovemaking, Sara applied her 100 percent devotion.
Catherine swung her light in an arc around the backyard. For many days now, she had found it really difficult to concentrate on her cases. She absolutely loved her job and hardly ever allowed her personal emotions to elevate to the degree where it would interfere with it. All through the emotional rollercoaster of her days with Eddie and then his sudden death, she had managed to keep herself in check and throw herself into her work.
But this was so very different. She was giddily excited and she recognized the fluttering butterflies inside her stomach as something she had felt in her teenage years. The blush reddening her cheeks whenever anyone mentioned the brunette was embarrassing. Catherine could write a bestselling book about her sexual escapades and yet only Sara made her feel like an awkward, head-over-heels-in-love, virgin.
Tapping her head lightly, she scolded herself to return back to the case on hand. She always felt as if she owed it to the victims and their families to find and declare the truth of what had happened. She couldn't afford to disappoint them.
Besides, six days from now and Sara will be hers for life.
