Alrighty then, Chapter six. Hope ya'll enjoy... I know I had fun writin this one, especially the ending of it.
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I stood there, saying nothing, as the tape played. I listened with what some might call indifference, but that was on the outside... In reality, I was trying to hold everything in. Trying not to look vunerable... That was one of my weaknesses: not wanting to appear weak. But as the tape came close to it's end, and I heard Sara say those three small words that I'd never said to her, I almost lost my control over my feelings. I squeezed my eyes shut, and rubbed my forehead, willing myself to keep control... if not for Sara, then for the rest of the team.
"I love you, Sara," I whispered, not knowing I'd said it aloud. But the way all the others' heads turned towards me, I knew they'd heard. Right then, I didn't care. "I want every inch of this place searched... and every item here processed... We've got six hours people... Let's make them count." I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt.
And so, the race against the clock began... Not a single bit of the house was left unexamined. There were bare spots in the walls filled with pictures. My guess was that Jon had taken pictures of the place he'd taken Sara, down. So it was possible he'd missed something. All the better for us. The thing was, finding what he'd missed in time.
By the time we got done going over the house, and collecting all the things from it, we'd burned through two and a half of our six hours. I took it upon myself to go through every single photograph there was, and also every note... Eventually, though, I had to accept the help that Greg and Nick were constantly offering. Hodges was working on bits of rock and mold we'd found, around a pair of shoes, in one of the bedroom closets. Catherin, Warrick, and Sofia were still at the house making sure nothing had been missed.
"Hey, Grissom," said Hodges, inviting himself in.
I looked up from the notes I was reading, as did Greg and Warrick. "What?"
"Well, I got something off that rock..." he replied, "It's marble. A variety most commonly used in graveyards, or very old buildings. Didn't get much from the mold though. But the fact that it was even growing on the marble suggests that it came from somewhere not quite as dry as here... somewhere in the mountains near here is my guess."
"But there's no old cemetaries up there, is there?" said Nick, "None that he'd get away without being noticed in, anyway."
Right
then, Greg dug a padlocked metal box out from amidst the papers. The
box had been welded shut, even the padlock had been welded too it.
And the padlock itself didn't look like it was going to open any time
soon.
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"Okay... Are we sure that's everything?" I asked for the fifth time. I knew, cuz I'd kept track.
"The answer is the same as it was last four times you asked, Warrick," said Sofia. Appearently, she'd kept track too. "Yes, that's everything. There's not so much as a single speck of dust left in this place that hasn't been checked."
"Well, that one floating by your head might have gotten away from you, Sofia," Catherine said, as she walked by. Sofia gave her a 'don't encourage him' look, before Cath continued. "Warrick, that's everything... Let's get back to the lab, okay?"
I nodded, and grabbed my stuff. Back to the lab it was... Maybe the others had found something by then. I certainly hoped so. All we'd found was a photo of an old moldy tombstone. On the back was written: Where my heart lies dead, and broken.
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Dark, cold, and outdoors. That was all I could tell about my surroundings right then. My vision was all foggy... After he'd recorded that tape, the sleaze-ball of a doctor had drugged me or something, 'cuz I couldn't even move. All my limbs felt like rubber... When it came to trying to move them anyway. When I didn't they just hurt like hell. The scum that called himself a man was dragging me by my hands across moist soil... Which meant we weren't in the desert anymore...Mountains maybe... only place within range of Vegas, to have gotten there so fast. It had only been and hour's drive. Though I had been out of it almost comepletely when we'd arrived. And my captor had woken me up inside a small shed.
When he'd left, to take that tape back into to Vegas, I'd though about trying to leave, but that was when I'd found I couldn't move. When he'd come back, he'd opened the shed door, grabbed me, and started dragging me through the dirt. Finally, he stopped dragging me. I barely kept from sighing in relief. My whole body was screaming by now from the rough handling. I felt him lift me up some, and prop me against something. My vision was clearing now at least. I turned my head to see what was going on, and I found that I was set up against a gravestone. Metal rings had been fastened to the sides of it. To those rings where fastened handcuffs. Into which my hands went.
"That ought to hold you, until Grissom shows up," he said in a self satisfied way.
"He won't be coming," I spat, with more bravery than I felt. "He's smarter than that."
"Oh you think so?" said the doctor, "I think when it comes to his precious, beautiful, Sara," he paused a moment to twist a lock of my hair. "he'll come as fast as is possible... I've been watching you two for a very long time. I know he'll come to try and save you. Even if it costs him his life."
I knew that he was right... But still, I was actually hoping that Grissom would do the one thing I'd always hated him for doing: forget me. If I thought that he would come with the others, I wouldn't be worried... but I knew he wouldn't. He'd come alone, in order to try and protect me. When in reality, it would be the worst thing he could do, for himself, and me. He'd end up dead.
Appearently the asshat kneeling in front of me knew what I was thinking, "Oh don't worry, Sara. I'm not going to kill him... Even if he doesn't follow my instructions. It's only you and I that are going to die. Only you, if they don't get here in approximately three hours. But I have the feeling they'll find us. And your knight in shining armor is going to be the one to kill us both. I'll see to that."
I turned my face away from him, so that he couldn't see the tears that were starting to fill up my eyes... And for no good reason, too. I hated crying. But, he grabbed my chin, and made me look at him. To avoid doing so, I squeezed my eyes shut.
"No need to cry," he said with wicked amusement, "At least he won't be dead... Well not at first anyway. Though I think after losing first your kid, then you..." he drew his finger across his throat.
"You knew?" I hissed.
"I told you I'd been watching you Sara... For months. I'm a doctor... I knew your symptoms from the beginning. Even if you were too much of a coward to admit it to yourself."
I hung my head... He was right. I had been a coward. And now, there was nothing to be done about it. Grissom... if you're going to get here, get here quick, and fill this fucker with all the lead you possibly can...Just for being right.
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I was beginning to get very frustrated with that dratted box. I was having trouble getting the it open. None of us wanted to damage it, or anything that might be in it, so out ways of getting it open were limited. You know what... To hell with it... I'm gonna get this thing open, damamge or no. I thought. Of the various tools that had been gathered to get it open, the hacksaw was one I hadn't used yet. So, to sawing at the welded parts of the box I went.
I was interupted when I got about halfway around the whole box, when everyone crowded into the room. Grissom gave me an odd when he saw what I was doing, "I thought you'd already tried that method, Greg..."
"No, " I said, not stopping, "Nick tried it, put the tiniest scratch in it. and turned the job over to me, when Warrick got back...And then I went on to try other methods."
"Right," was all he said to me. He turned to the others, "What've we got so far?"
"Well, rock, from a gravestone, and mold... Which according to Hodges means it came from the nearby mountains..." said Nick.
"We've got this photo, that says 'where my heart lies dead and broken' " said Warrick. "Ask me, this guy had an 'unhealthy' obessesion with his sister."
They continued on for a long time about what they'd found, while I remained silent... Well, as silent as it is possible to be when you're using a hacksaw. Finally, the box came open, and I picked up the small book that it held. On it, written in the same hand as all the notes, were the words "Vengence is Sweet". I flipped through it, and still no one noticed, they were too busy discussing possible locations. The book was a journal.
"And now," I said, cutting into the 'what do we know' conversation, "We have the guy's journal."
I handed it to Grissom, who was already reaching for it, "Okay okay, don't get so grabby..." I said, as he flipped through it.
He got to the last page, read it, then snapped the small book shut... "Is Adam Hopewell still here? I think I have another question for him..."
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The man was tapping the face of his watch now, as he paced in front of me, "Looks like Grissom's running out of time... " he stopped moving and stared down at me. I stared right back up, meeting his craze-filled grey eyes with my own determined brown ones. "Perhaps all the animals out here will get a meal after all... I'm sure you'll make a rather... delicious dinner." He knelt down in front of me, as he had done several times in the past hour. The look he gave me then was more frightening than the fact that I was most likely going to die. They way his eyes travelled over my body was...Unsettling. It felt like he could see right through the hospital gown I was wearing.
"But... he still has and hour and a half left. So, all the little beasties will have to wait for their meal."
"You're crazy," I muttered. I hadn't meant for him to hear, but he did.
"No... No, I'm heartbroken, Sara... There's a difference," he replied, "My sister Emily, was innocent. She never murdered anyone... and then Grissom found circumstancial evidence that she had been at the scene... that she had been with that kid when he died. And she couldn't take prison...
She killed herself, Sara, did you know that? Ran herself headfirst into a wall... right in front of me. And you helped on that case too... I know you did. I want you, to die, like Emily died... And I want Grissom to suffer like I have, knowing that the one thing he loves is gone, forever, and he'll never get it back. Never get a second chance. That is why you're going to die tonight Sara Sidle, one way, or another."
Without another word, he straightened, and stalked off, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
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Revenge...
The
word that once held no meaning for me is now my whole life. It has
consumed me. I have thought of nothing else in six years. And now,
that one word is all I have.
All I have, along with memories of
the one I must take revenge for.
Emily.
My beautiful, charming, caring, baby sister. I can almost see her face sometimes at night... But then, the happy memory is replaced by that bloody scene in the prison... Gorgeous Emily's head, caved in, from the wall she ran herself into... Her scream as she charged at that blank white wall still haunts my dreams. And when it gets too quiet in the house, or at work, I hear it still, ringing in my ears. Never ceasing, driving me insane. Sometimes, I think it would be easier to kill myself as she did. Maybe then I could escape.
But no... Something keeps me from doing it. That need for revenge... I won't be able to die, until I've caused that man to suffer as much as I have the past years. And I know just how to do it now. I've seen him with that woman. She reminds me of Emily, sometimes... But that doesn't matter... What matters is, he loves her. I can see it. He loves her as much, or maybe even more than I loved Emily. I've gotten their routine down now, and I know exactly what I'm going to do.
It wouldn't have taken so long, but I wanted to watch for a while, and make sure that she wasn't just some brief fling... then my plan would have been ruined
But now I know.
And now, I can finally repay him, for what he did to my sister, and what he did to me... For how he made both of us suffer. For how Emily became weaker and weaker all the time in that hell... And for how my brother looked at me, until the day I decided to leave. The look that said I was no longer wanted with him, or his family... The look that said I never had been in the first place.
It's all his fault. All of it.
And now, it is time to start my plans. I'll seal this up, and begin... Within forty-eight hours, Grissom's precious Sara will be layed to rest, where Emily was, so long ago. And I will finally be free.
Jon Hopewell/Jonathan Grimwell
What I had read stunned me, but I tried not to let it show... I snapped the book shut, and adressed the others around me.
"Is Adam Hopewell still here? I think I have another question for him..."
I hoped he was...
Time was running out.
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Thoughts?
