Author's Notes: I appreciate everyone who reviewed the last chapter...to those of you I couldn't reply to, sorry! I really do appreciate your comments though. Please continue to let me know what you think.
This story's taking me a lot longer to write than I anticipated, so I'm thinking we'll be closer to 5 or 6 chapters instead of the three I originally planned. Enjoy!
Jenny
Chapter Two:
"What's going on?"
Sara looked up into Grissom's expectant eyes, blinking rapidly as she tried to comprehend the question he had just asked. Her body was numb from head to toe, except for the twinge of butterflies in her stomach. After a few minutes of trying to formulate a coherent answer, she decided to just keep her mouth shut. How could she explain what was going on when she barely had a clue?
Grissom reached for the metal chair, the sound of metal grating against tile echoing loudly through the silent interrogation room as he pulled it towards him. Sara looked up towards him once more, her hands trembling slightly. She wanted to scream, to cry, but she couldn't let him see her falling apart. She was Sara Sidle, she never fell apart.
"How do you know Alexander and Molly Sawyer?"
Sara let her gaze drop back to the table, shaking her head with a bitter laugh, "I thought I knew Alex, but boy was I mistaken."
"You need to tell me everything you know." Grissom stated calmly, "If you're tied to this case, we need to know about it."
"I haven't seen either of them in four years, since the night before I came to Vegas." Sara whispered softly, "I...I convinced myself they were dead. Anything to keep from facing the truth..."
Sara drummed her fingers on the table lightly, glancing up into her supervisor's eyes, "Am I a suspect?"
"Not right now...this isn't an interrogation, Sara, we just need to know everything that you know about Alexander Sawyer." Grissom replied patiently, "You're obviously upset, but I need you to cooperate with me. If you don't, you'll start looking guilty."
Sara shook her head, "As much as I am thrilled to see that he got what he deserved, I'd never actually kill the bastard."
"Tell me everything you know."
"Everything?" Sara asked with a hollow laugh, "Okay, Alex was born in Eureka, California, to Mary and Hayden Sawyer on June 11th, 1967. He joined the military when he was 18 years old, served some time in Iraq in the early 1990s. He came home and made the decision to go back to college and start a new life. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in General Studies, and ended up on the San Francisco police force."
Sara's voice wavered a bit as she struggled to keep back tears, "I met him for the first time when I was working in the coroner's office, he and some of his macho-tough-cop buddies were coming in to check the status of some high profile murder. I was a lowly tech at the time, barely trusted to do anything besides cleaning and sterilization on a high profile case. They came in laughing and joking about one of their buddies who was caught cheating on his wife or something, total macho guy talk. They were such pigs. The deputy coroner retrieved the body to show his findings, and the stench of a decomp was enough to shut the whole group of them up. After a few minutes, Alex couldn't take it anymore and had to excuse himself. I bumped into him in the hallway and gave him a hard time about being a macho man...he brushed me off, but a week later he called to ask me out on a date."
"So you dated Mr. Saywer?"
Sara laughed again, the bitter tone sounding foreign to her ears, "Not only did I date him, I married that...that...him." She wiped away a tear that had made it's way onto her cheek, "He helped me get a job in the San Francisco crime lab, and he moved from a detective to captain. We were still dating, and decided to get married. What a stupid decision that was..." Sara shook her head sadly, "I thought I knew him so well. I thought he loved me, but I was sorely mistaken on that one."
She glanced up at Grissom, then back down at the table, "There's got to be something wrong with me, something repelling guys away, you know?" She ran her fingers through her hair nervously as she continued, "We were married, and a year later, I was pregnant. We had a beautiful baby girl, and everyone couldn't resist commenting on how good we looked together, as a family. We worked opposite shifts so one of us could stay home with Molly at all times, and things were going so well...too well, I guess. I should have known he was planning something, he had become so generous and so sugary sweet, bringing home flowers and jewelry for no reason at all. I thought he was just really happy to have the baby in our lives, I thought we were happy."
She stifled a sob, furiously wiping away her tears as she spat out, "But it wasn't enough for him. I came home from work one day to find his closet empty, and her nursery ransacked. He had taken everything he would need -- diapers, clothes, a few toys, her blankets, bottles... She was three months old. I knew he had her, I just knew it." She slammed her hand down on the table, "I couldn't do anything, Grissom! I wanted to, but there was nothing I could do. Alex and I weren't separated or divorced, so when I filed a report, I couldn't very well say he kidnaped her...they told me it wasn't kidnaping if the child was in the care of her father. They made me wait 24 hours to file a missing persons report...and that was the last I saw of Alex or Molly."
"Molly is your daughter?" Grissom asked softly, the surprise evident in his voice, "The same little girl we found at the crime scene?"
Sara nodded, tears now flowing freely down her pale cheeks as she brought her hands to cover her face, sobbing earnestly. She struggled to calm herself down as the door slowly swung open, but found herself unable to stop the onslaught of tears that had now consumed her body. She was vaguely aware as Grissom stood, his chair once again scraping against the floor. She kept her hands pressed against her face, trying to stop herself from completely melting down...the last thing she wanted was rumors circulating about how she had suffered a nervous breakdown at the police station.
She heard the chair scrape once more, and she rubbed her eyes, opening them to find not only Grissom, but Brass and two others she didn't recognize.
"Sara, this is Joanne Plaisance from Social Services, and Special Agent Marcus Wright, FBI." Grissom spoke gently, "They have a few questions for you."
Sara nodded, placing her trembling hands in her lap, "What can I do for you?"
"Has Mr. Sawyer made any contact with you over the last two months?"
Sara's eyes traveled to the FBI agent, surprised by the anxious tone he had spoken with, "No...I haven't spoken to him in 4 years. I didn't even know he was in Las Vegas."
"Are you sure? Have you had any unexplained prank calls? Any correspondence through mail?"
"I'm positive...I didn't even know if he and Molly were alive, I have no idea what's happening." Sara responded, her voice raising slightly as she started to panic. Was she under suspicion from the FBI? What had Alex gotten in to? What was going on? "My hus...Alex disappeared from our home in California in the middle of the day four years ago, and I haven't had any contact with him since. What's going on?"
"So you weren't aware of any aliases your husband may have been using? You were not aware of any of his locations? Any of his friends or business partners?"
"I've told you, I don't know anything!" Sara exclaimed, her temper flaring slightly, "Would someone please tell me what is going on here!"
The FBI agent's tone was a little softer as he responded, "Mrs. Sawyer--"
"Sidle, I go by my maiden name."
"Miss Sidle, there's no easy way to tell you this...While working in San Francisco, your husband to uncover a massive drug smuggling ring, with heavy connections to various gangs in the area. The main target of this raid was put on trial, and he was found innocent due to a lapse in procedure related to the chain-of-custody with the evidence. While in court there were several threats made to your husband by this suspect, and our office thought it would be in Mr. Sawyer's best interest to go into protective custody. He refused to leave without the child, fearing her safety, so we arranged for both Alexander and Molly to disappear."
Sara's fist hit the desk with a resounding thud as she yelled, "What?"
"Miss Sidle, please calm down--"
"You arranged for my husband and my daughter to be taken from me without a word? I thought I'd never see my daughter again! I thought something had happened to them, I have spent four years waiting on some sort of word that they were alive, that they were healthy. You've kept my child from me, she needed me! And you want me to calm down? Are you insane?" Sara asked as tears once again began to spill on to her cheeks, "It nearly killed me when Molly was taken, I spent years searching for her, and all along they were off somewhere safe and healthy and happy while I was alone and miserable!"
Agent Wright held his hand up, "It was essential to keep their location confidential. We had reason to believe someone from the crime lab had tampered with the evidence to ensure a mistrial, we couldn't jeopardize their safety, we had to keep you out of the loop."
"You had no right to take my child from me, to let me think she had been kidnaped by my husband..." Sara's voice trailed off as her head started to clear, "Wait a minute..."
She brought her gaze from Brass to Agent Wright, "Brass said his license read 'Alexander Sawyer'...that can't be right. You would have secured him a new identity, right? Living undercover with your given name is pointless."
"He and Molly were living under an assumed identity, until 2 months ago. Both disappeared from their home in Abilene, Texas without a trace. During a routine check, our agents discovered they were missing, and after searching their home, we found your contact information. We were able to trace them through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona over the last 6 weeks, and two weeks ago Mr. Sawyer signed paperwork on the house you found them in tonight."
Sara ran her fingers through her hair once more as she whispered, "So they abandoned the witness protection program?"
"We're assuming Mr. Sawyer felt the danger had passed and was trying to reconnect his family." Agent Wright concluded, "Three months ago the person your husband had apprehended started a new trial, the day before Mr. Sawyer and your child disappeared, he was found guilty on all charges."
Sara shook her head, "Alex was smart enough to know that organized crime has a long arm, he wouldn't just come out of hiding."
"With his background, we thought the same thing, but the fact remains that he abandoned the program and is now dead."
Sara swallowed back a wave of nausea as his words began to sink in. Her husband was dead. He was involved with the FBI. He had been living a secret life with their child. And more likely than not, he was killed by a gang member, which means it would be even harder to catch their murderer. She shut her eyes tightly, drawing in a shaky breath. Many, many times she had hoped he would get what was coming to him for taking away their precious daughter without a word, but she had never thought it would hurt this bad when it actually happened.
"Do you want some water or coffee or something?" Brass asked gently, watching Sara's face pale as her head bobbed slightly. He met her desperate gaze with concern as she nodded slightly, then motioned for the officer at the door to get her a cup of coffee.
Sara met Agent Wright's gaze after taking a sip of the warm black liquid, "Is Molly in danger?"
"We don't believe that your daughter is a target, but to err on the side of caution, we would like to keep both you and your daughter under surveillance." Agent Wright responded, staring into Sara's eyes to gauge her reaction.
Sara's gaze drifted from Agent Wright to the social worker, "Am I going to be able to keep Molly with me?"
"You're her mother, there's no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to go home with you." Joanne replied gently, "Both you and little Molly have been through a lot, though, and I'd recommend counseling for the both of you...and associate of mine is outside with Molly right now, and I have a few calls in to see if we can get you some supplies needed for Molly's care--everything from Mr. Sawyer's home is being logged in as evidence. I can't guarantee much more than a booster seat for your car and a few changes of clothes, but it will be enough to get you started."
Joanne handed Sara a business card, "This is my card, I have my home phone number listed as well. Please feel free to call me if you need anything. This will be a difficult transition for both you and your child."
"I'm going to have an officer to a sweep of your apartment before you and Molly enter, and I will keep him posted in 24-hour rotations. If there is a breech of security or a reason to believe that you and your daughter are in immediate danger, I will need you to agree you will vacate the house and stay in one of our secure locations." Agent Wright spoke firmly, "Is that something you can agree to?"
Sara nodded, her hand trembling as she laid Joanne's card on the table. Her head throbbed with the revelations of the last few hours. Her daughter was alive and safe, and she was coming home. Alex was dead. They were now under FBI protection. When did her life turn into a plot from the 'Lifetime Movie of the Week'?
"Would you like to see Molly now?" Joanne asked softly, with a quick glance to Brass and Wright for their approval.
Sara nodded, taking a deep breath and standing on shaky legs, "I've been waiting for this moment for four years." she whispered with a soft smile, her stomach fluttering with anticipation.
Joanne led Sara down the corridor to a separate questioning room, where Molly and another lady were coloring. Sara stopped in the doorway, taking in Molly's appearance. Now that she knew the truth, she could definitely see the resemblance to both herself and Alex. Molly had dark brown hair that fell in ringlets over her shoulders, and wide, warm brown eyes. Her skin tone was a bit darker than Sara's, a trait she had probably inherited from her tanned father, as well as a byproduct of living under the Texas sun.
An anxious smile tugged on her lips as she followed Joanne into the room, unsure of how to interact with her child after so long. It still felt unreal, like she was about to awake from the most peculiar dream. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull Molly in for a gigantic hug, to tell her everything was going to be okay and that she was going to take her home, but how do you comfort your child if you don't know the first thing about her? How could you tell her that her father was gone, and now she was going to have to live with a complete stranger?
Taking a deep breath, Sara tried to push her anger at the situation away, it was time to focus on Molly and her well-being. She looked from Joanne to Molly, her heart pounding wildly as Joanne began to speak, "Molly, there's someone we want you to meet."
"That's Sara." Molly replied, "She rescued me from the bad guys at the house."
"Molly, sweetie, remember when we talked about Mommies and Daddies?" The other social worker spoke gently, "Remember?"
Molly nodded uncertainly, looking from Sara to the social worker with a questioning gaze.
"Well, Molly, Sara is your Mommy."
TBC