Chapter Seven
Sara couldn't help feeling a bit surprised when she saw who had asked for her to come down by the bar. If the shock of white hair, the weathered skin and the bent posture bore testimony to his age; his blue eyes, alert and intelligent, defined the stature that was Sam Braun.
"Sara." He acknowledged for her to join him.
"Hi Sam." She sat opposite the powerful casino owner, who was also Catherine's biological father.
"You must be wondering why I've asked you to come here." He gave her a little smile.
"I admit I'm curious, yes."
"Tomorrow is going to be a big day in Mugs' life. You happen to be a part of it."
Sara flinched at the unfeeling way he spoke. Sam was one person in Catherine's life she had never entirely warmed up to. She was sure the sentiment was returned if Sam's frequent snide remarks were anything to go by.
"You make my daughter happy." He sounded almost regretful.
"And she makes me happy."
"I'm sure she does. Mugs is a very sweet girl." Sam took a sip from his drink. "But she is also very sensitive. She has been through a lot."
Sara wrung her hands impatiently. "If this is your way of asking me to make sure I'll never hurt Catherine…"
He raised his hands to stop whatever she was about to say. "Do you know why I never married?"
"Beats me." She murmured sarcastically.
He let it slide. "Being married means you need to be responsible in making the right decision not only for yourself but also for the person you are married to."
Sara didn't know what to say so she kept quiet.
"I want you to tell me that when the time comes, I can trust you to make the right decision for Catherine and Lindsay." His gaze was intense.
Sara frowned. "Their interests are above mine, Sam. I will always look out for them."
"Even at the cost of yourself?"
"Even at the cost of myself." Sara returned without hesitation.
"Good." He raised his glass. "To Catherine."
Sofia felt her heart palpitate in her ears as she entered the ward where Helen Williams was resting. A pretty woman, in her mid-twenties, looked up and smiled at Sofia.
"Hi, I'm Detective Curtis." Sofia softly said. "I have to ask you a few questions about the explosion."
"Sure." Helen's smile faded.
"I understand that you saw a woman step into the parking lot before…" Sofia swallowed hard. "Before the explosion."
"Yes."
"And can you tell me about her?"
Helen looked away. "She was such a beautiful woman. Pretty blonde hair, nice voice and looked so happy…"
Sofia saw Helen shudder.
"She was picking up her bridal gown from the store. She gave her credit card for payment but then forgot to take it back. And then I noticed her card lying there. So I ran after her to return it. I was in the second floor and I looked down and saw her making her way towards the parking lot. I called after her but she didn't listen. I tried to race down and that's when…" Helen's ebony face paled considerably. "That's when I saw a big explosion and the next thing I knew, there was this huge sound… and then people started shouting… glass flew all over."
Sofia struggled to maintain her composure. "Are you sure the woman would have been… affected?"
Helen shut her eyes. "I'll never forget that scene. It looked like one of those really graphic action movies where you can actually see the body blow up." She paused, trying to speak through her dry throat. "I saw it. It all happened in front of me and I'll never forget that till I live."
Tears began streaming down Helen's face. Sofia could only imagine how horrific such an experience would be to a woman like her. Even after years in police service, she was still sickened by the violence that she had to witness sometimes.
"Y-you know the name of the woman?"
"I was calling her name out several times." Helen sobbed. "I read it from the credit card. It was… Catherine Willows."
Sofia held on to one of the bed posts to steady herself. She didn't know how she felt. But she did know that in a few seconds, she would be on the ground writhing in nausea.
"It was terrible. She was such a beautiful person… and she was… she was getting married… that's why she was there… she was picking up her dress… it was one of our store's special designs… and… oh Lord…." A fresh round of whimper broke from Helen.
Married… dress… Sara! – Sofia found her heart breaking and she tried to stabilize herself – No, I can't jump to conclusions. I have to remain calm. I have to make sure that Helen is indeed talking about Catherine. After all, people can steal credit cards. There are probably thousands of beautiful women with nice blonde hair…
…Thousands of beautiful women with nice blonde hair who is getting married tomorrow…? - Sofia gasped.
Stop it, Sofia – She chided herself -You can't break down now!
"Can you recognize the woman if I showed you her picture?" Sofia's voice sounded entirely foreign to her.
"I-I guess." Helen wiped her face.
Sofia retrieved a snapshot of Catherine she had printed from the LVPD Employee Database. It was a few years old but it didn't look all that different from the Catherine of now. She showed the picture to the woman, praying with everything she had.
Helen squinted and tilted her head. She then gave a small shrug. "I can't be too sure… but I think that's her. She had the same color hair and the same style too. The face… can't be too certain… but I think she had the same structure…"
Sofia's gut was sinking to her feet. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Of course, I'm not absolutely sure!" Helen snapped. "I hardly got to see her.'
Sofia exhaled. "I'm sorry, Helen. Is there anything you can tell me about her?"
"She had on a green sweater… I remember coz I have the same sweater but in red."
"Anything else?"
Helen shook her head.
Catherine's face stared back at her when Sofia looked at the picture in her hands. Smiling, gorgeous and poised – Catherine was an embodiment of strength and beauty.
And she was also possibly dead.
"I never got a chance to be her friend …" Sofia was hardly aware that she was murmuring.
Sara collapsed exhaustedly on one of the large couches. She propped her head on her knuckles and watched the crowds of people feeling and rubbing against each other. Some she recognized – they were her own guests. Many she didn't. Those were random strangers who were now intermingling with each other, in the hopes of getting laid later that night. The arc lights, bouncing off the walls and waving across sweat-slicked bodies, were giving her a headache. The music pounding in her eardrums didn't help either. But she couldn't leave yet.
"Hey!" Nancy yelled through the ruckus.
Sara smiled up at her friend and soon-to-be-sister-in-law.
"Want a beer?" Nancy asked.
"What?"
"A beer!" Nancy waved the said bottle in front of her. Sara took it and nodded her thanks.
"Are you tired?"
"Very!" Sara shouted.
Nancy looked around. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll manage here."
She shook her head. "Thanks but not yet!"
"Did you try the dance floor?"
"Yes!" Sara grimaced. "Little wonder I'm tired."
"Sara!" Nancy leant forward so that she was almost speaking into the woman's ears. "You have a long, long day ahead of you. Get some rest. But in case, you are waiting up for Catherine, you could do that with Lindsay."
Sara grinned at the last sentence. "No, I'm not waiting for Catherine. Besides, Lily is probably guarding her room as we speak."
"Knowing my mom, that's very much possible."
"But you are right; I need to talk with Lindsay. I've hardly spoken to her since she arrived."
"You do that! I'll tell the others you are catching up on your beauty sleep." Nancy patted her shoulders. "Not that you need any."
"Charm is genetic." Sara kissed Nancy on the cheek. "Thanks and goodnight."
Sofia found Grissom standing outside the ward room. He threw her a brief glance.
"Vartann called Catherine's cell phone and her home number. The first gives a busy signal. The second rings without anyone picking up. The airport officials reported that Catherine hadn't boarded her flight." He informed her.
A pregnant silence passed between them. Any spark of distant hope they had was slowly dying.
"The sheriff sent men to her house. No one answered the door…" He looked away.
Sofia noticed the dispassion in Grissom's face. Anyone else would have assumed that he didn't care much. But the manner, in which he was avoiding her gaze and the forced slowness in his speech, showed her that every word was being wrenched from within him.
"We need to get everyone back here… even…" She exhaled. "Sara."
Mentioning Sara's name seemed to have shaken him out of his tightly controlled emotions. He fell against the wall, his head raised upwards. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, desperately trying to force voice out. But only his lips managed to move.
Sofia placed a hand on his shoulder, well aware that no matter what she did, she couldn't lessen the sorrow.
"What am I going to tell Sara?" He croaked. "How will I tell her?"
"Someone has to." Sofia struggled to not break. "We need the team back here. They need to know."
"Yes. They are all waiting… for tomorrow… for celebration… for festivity. And we need to tell them that none of that is going to happen." Grissom's voice broke.
This time Sofia didn't try to stop the tears running down her cheeks.
Sara opened her room and found Lindsay standing by herself in the balcony.
They were sharing a double room for that night. Catherine had insisted on having their honeymoon suite for the night. She wanted to, in her own words; put some "finishing touches".
"Hey kiddo, what are you doing?" Sara walked up to the girl.
"Hey Sara." Lindsay surreptitiously wiped her face with the back of her sleeve. Sara didn't miss it.
"Honey, why are you crying?" She knelt down and then noticed the picture in the girl's hand. Sara realized, wincing, that it was of Eddie's.
"I was just talking to Daddy." Lindsay gave a wry smile. "I know it sounds silly, but…"
"No, it doesn't sound silly." Sara carefully rubbed the tear stains from Lindsay's cheek.
"I talk to him… sometimes." Lindsay hung her head. "Mom doesn't know."
"I won't tell her."
"Sara?" Lindsay slouched down. "What do you think happens to people when they die?"
Sara sat down cross-legged. "You know, when I was a little younger than you, I went to live with a really sweet lady. She took good care of me and kids like me. Anyways, one day I found a dog in the wilds. He was so badly wounded that I brought him home. He stayed with me for a couple of months and became my pet. But he never really got better and he died." Sara licked her lips. "I cried for a long time. But then this lady came up to me and do you know what she said? She said that people who love you never really die. A part of them remains alive, with you, loving you, looking out for you."
"Daddy never really looked out for me. Not like the way you and Mom do." Lindsay whispered.
"He must have loved you. Some people have different ways of showing it.'
"He was nice to me and gave me everything only because he and Mom were like, in some kinda competition. He was good to me but he used to hurt Mom. I don't think I can forgive him for that."
"Lindsay…" Sara brought the girl close for a hug.
"I didn't know that time… I thought he loved me." The girl rested her head on Sara's shoulder. "But how could he have loved me and yet never been there for me?"
Sara understood what Lindsay was going through. She knew, from personal experience, the internal conflict of having a parent whose actions were worst than an enemy's.
"When Mom told me you guys were dating, I hated it."
Sara froze. She never knew that.
"If you and Mom were just friends; that would mean you'll be around forever. But the people Mom dates, don't stay for long. I was afraid that very soon you guys would get tired of dating and you would… leave us."
Sara was touched at those heartfelt words. She stroked Lindsay's blonde tresses and kissed her on the brow. "Lindsay, I can't speak for the future. I can't say what's going to happen. But I can promise you this much that no matter what happens, I'll always be there when you need me."
"I don't ever want you and Mom to leave me, ever." Lindsay wrapped her arms tight around Sara. "But I'm so scared, Sara…"
"Shhh… honey." Sara looked out into the night. "Know that wherever we are, your Mom and I love you… we always will."
Brass was trying out the suit he was to wear the next day. He ran a hand across his hairline and noticed how it had receded even more. The wrinkles on his face had deepened and his bones and muscles had started to complain after only a little exertion. In short, with every day, he was getting close to the "elderly age".
Not that he specifically resented aging. He had been in the police force for decades now and it had become his entire life, to the exclusion of even his family. But now, he did look forward to retiring and spend his days fishing or reading.
His cellphone rang. He contemplated whether to pick it up or leave it. But his cop instincts were shaped for responding to all calls, regardless of where he was or what he was doing.
Brass relaxed when he saw Grissom's number flash in his display.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Jim, Gil here." Brass almost thought it was someone else. Grissom sounded different.
"Are you alone?" Grissom asked.
"Yeah… was just about to go and catch a wink."
"There's something I have to tell you."
Seconds later, Brass' phone fell from his benumbed hands. His legs wobbled as he felt the ground drop from beneath them. His friend's words faded into a blur and the only thing that appeared in front of him was Catherine's face.
The big question: Is Catherine dead?
Answer: I still love happy endings... (smiles) but happy endings come in so many different packages... (smiles turn mischievous)
Thank you for reading and reviewing! Keep comin', keep comin' !
