Chapter Thirty Four
Everyone was in the break room. Sara sat with Warrick and Nick by her sides. Brass sat on the other side along with Sofia and Greg. Grissom and Catherine stood at the two opposite heads of the table. Catherine had refused any offer of a temporary leave and slipped back into her supervisor duties with ease. Even Sara hadn't wanted time off to recuperate. None could rest until the case was solved.
"So, here is what we do know." Warrick began. "Someone kidnapped Catherine and paid off her look-a-like to impersonate her."
"They could have easily gotten hold of my credit card when they abducted me." Catherine spoke. "I wish I could remember more of what happened, but I can't."
"Hey Cath, it's ok." Nick smiled at her benevolently.
"This girl, Joyce Dreyson, is wanted for possession in Texas. She might have been blackmailed, or just simply paid, to do the job. At this point we don't know." Brass muttered.
"Then we come to Courtney Andrews." Grissom put in. "Her real name is Rachel. She is fleeing from the gang world responsible for her husband's murder. Our evidence suggests that she was the one who had purchased the bomb materials and it was her car that had caused the explosion."
"Yeah, but except she died in it too." Greg pointed out. "Was it her intention to die all along?"
"Maybe not." Grissom gave Sara a sideways glance. "She doesn't strike as someone who had a death wish."
"So, there's someone who might have paid off both Rachel and Joyce." Warrick suggested. "They were both dopies. They might have needed drugs or money to buy drugs. It's easy to tempt someone who has an addiction into doing anything."
"We come to Sean." Catherine said. "He definitely had the money. Rocky pointed towards him as the boss and Sofia found Kristen in his house, dead. I remember Kristen as one of my abductors." Sara noticed how she paled at the memory.
"His wife had witnessed him killing Kristen." Sofia informed. "She also remembered Rocky stopping by their house many times."
"So, even if we all assume that it was Sean who is behind all this, there is still one problem." Brass stated. "We don't have a motive. Why kidnap Catherine, stage a bomb and her death?"
"Why keep me alive at all?" Catherine questioned. "He had no reason to. It would have been much easier to dispose off me. There would be lesser trails leading up to him."
"He wanted to see me suffer." Sara spoke for the first time. Everyone stopped to face her.
"Why would he want that? He's your brother." Nick reasoned.
"I don't know who he is. Not anymore." Sara murmured. "All I know is that there are way too many evidences pointing towards him and yet we don't have any clue where he is."
Ecklie cleared his throat from the doorway. "Guys, if I may have your attention."
"Yeah?"
"We have Special Agent Riley Bosco from the FBI here. He wants to speak to you." Ecklie looked at Grissom.
"The Feds?" Warrick scoffed. "What the hell do they want?"
"There's nothing he has to say to me that he can't say in front of my team." Grissom's tone had a finality in them.
"Ah, you must be Gil Grissom. I have heard a lot about you." A large, muscular man entered the break room from behind Ecklie. His suit was stretched tight across his bulky muscles. But for a man that big, there was a stealthy grace about him. His smile was polite but far from friendly. Here was a man who didn't tolerate nonsense at all. "Captain Brass, a pleasure to make your acquaintance again."
Brass only glared back in reply.
"Mr. Bosco." Grissom nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm sorry, but we are rather busy with a current case of ours."
"I understand." Bosco's sharp gaze took in the room, and its occupants, in a sweep. "What I have to say pertains to this, ah, current case of yours."
"Okay." Brass uttered dubiously.
"I believe you are searching for a man by the name of Sheridan Hastings?"
Everyone straightened. "That's one of his aliases." Grissom replied after a moment's silence.
"We are well aware of that." Bosco smiled again, arrogantly this time.
"So, what do you want?" Warrick snapped.
"All I want is for all of you to stop this ridiculous search for Mr. Hastings."
"Excuse me?" Grissom raised a single eyebrow.
"Your Director has been ordered to end any further investigations on this matter."
"Mr. Bosco, with all due respects, we can't do this." Catherine was syrupy courteous, but the contempt was unmistakable. "There is evidence that he was involved in the explosion at the La Boulevard, not to mention murder."
"Evidence, Ms. Willows?" The agent tilted his head mockingly. "If you had evidence, you won't be sitting here doing nothing. The fact of the matter is that all you have are shaky testimonies from less-than-reliable people. You yourself cannot connect him as your abductor."
"We found a body in his house." Sofia spat.
"And we have evidence that he wasn't even in the city at the TOD."
"What are you, his lawyer?"
Bosco sighed. "Look, I'm not disputing the fact that he is a very dangerous man and possibly responsible for all the crimes you want to convict him for. But there are matters that are far more serious than what has happened in Las Vegas. All I'm saying is that this case with Mr. Hastings is a little above all your payrolls."
Grissom gave a matching sour smile. "It's good to aspire high."
"I have come here out of respect for the LVPD." Bosco shot them all a derisory look. "But do understand that this is not a request. You have been ordered to shut the case and leave it to us."
When Bosco marched away, they all looked at each other.
"Well, that was weird." Greg slowly said.
Ecklie went up to them. "Not that any of you ever listen to me, but it will be wise to not take Bosco's words lightly. You know you cannot override the FBI."
"Why are they so eager to have us to stop this investigation?" Brass inquired.
"From what I gathered, this Sean is an assassin. He works for anyone and everyone who can pay him."
"Including the FBI." Grissom whispered.
"Including them." Ecklie agreed. "If Sean has ever worked for them, he could be privy to a lot of things they don't want leaked out to the local police, and hence the public."
"So, they are protecting their interests while we have people to answer to?" Sofia lashed out bitterly.
"Not the first time they did something like this." Ecklie let out a breath. "But at the very least you know that they'll hunt down Sean and eliminate him."
"Killing someone isn't justice." Sara stated.
"I agree. Sean deserves to be put on trial. He deserves to be in prison." Nick said.
"Our job isn't to decide that." Ecklie said firmly. "Our job is to find the evidence and analyze them. All of you have done your job as best as you could. You have to know when to stop."
"Tell that to the families who have lost their loved in ones in the bomb." Catherine snarled. "Tell that to the newly wed wife of our officer who was shot down by Rocky."
Sara stared at the sun sinking below the horizon. Day was fading away into the purple of twilight. Already the birds had begun flying back to their nests.
She could feel the even breathing from Catherine beside her. The blonde's arm was protectively holding her. Her head rested in the crook of Sara's neck.
She gently touched her lover's face and felt the rush of joy to find that it was real. She kissed her finger and then ran it gently along the sleeping lashes. She still felt as if everything was a magical dream from which she'll wake up any minute, all alone.
They hadn't had time to talk much. Everyone had wanted to meet Catherine. Even the media, once they got catch of her being alive, had hounded them incessantly. Sara was just incredibly content to find her in her arms. There was nothing she wanted or desired more in the world. She wished she could keep Catherine by her side, like this, for the rest of her life.
But her happiness would never be entirely complete and they would never entirely be rid of the haunting memories. Not until Sara knew the reasons. Not until she found out why Sean, her only brother, had did what he did.
There was just this much Grissom could do under the Director's pressure to shut the case. If they didn't find Sean soon, that is exactly what they'll all have to do. They'll have to label it as unsolved and discard it into the file room.
No, she had to find her brother and get her answers. Otherwise, she would forever be chased by the demons of his presence. For the sake of her own peace of mind, for the sake of justice, she needed to search for Sean.
And she knew just the place to start.
She slowly disentangled herself from Catherine. The very act left her cold and miserable. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay by her lover forever. But sound reason told her that as long as Sean was out there, he might strike again. Who knows how many more people he would kill? Who knows how many more would suffer his ruthless disregard for human life?
Catherine groaned sleepily as Sara stepped off from the bed. She quietly opened her closet and took out a pair of jeans and shirt. She then got a duffel, threw in another pair of clothes and softly made her way into the bathroom. There she filled the duffel with her necessary toiletries and then changed out of her nightdress. Sara took her wallet, phone and any other items she might need and shoved it inside the bag. She didn't know for how long she would be gone, but the trip to San Francisco itself will consume a good part of a day.
Sara took a notepad from the bedside table and scribbled on two pages. She tore both out and placed one on her pillow, beside Catherine. She secured it with a rose she plucked out from the vase.
Sara bent down and kissed Catherine's hair gently.
Lindsay wasn't due back from her softball practice until late in the evening. Sara went into the girl's room. The study desk was cluttered with various pieces of stationery. Finally, she put the second piece of note beside a photo frame. It was of last summer. Sara and Catherine had their arms around each other, with Lindsay stuck in between. They were kissing the girl on either cheek when the picture was taken.
Sara felt a sob rise in her throat. She picked up the frame and brushed her lips lightly against the glass.
When she closed the front door behind her, she knew she was taking a huge step. Her brother had killed many for a reason and he might very well kill her if she tried to find him.
She might never return.
