Disclaimer: I enjoy writing stories around the characters and having tea parties with them, but sadly I am only borrowing them. I was kidding about the tea parties.
A/N: I do greatly apologize for taking so long to update. On top of a major writer's block, I had tons of homework and studying for exams. I ended up writing the beginning of this chapter in homeroom, lunch, and during my math class. I hope it won't take me this long to update again. And for those of you who are reading my story Haunting Insanity, I hope to have an update for that soon too.
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Shift started off badly. There was another attack, categorized with their serial rapist. Grissom assigned himself and Sara to the new case while the rest of the team would continue to sift through the evidence for the ten previous attacks. With limited information on the most recent case, Sara and Grissom headed to the scene.
Upon arriving at the crime scene, they saw Brass already waiting for them. As Grissom got out of the Tahoe he asked Sara, "Are you sure you're still okay working these cases?" She just shot him a glare before she, too, exited the vehicle. Brass approached them; notebook already flipped open to the important information.
"What happened this time?" Grissom asked Brass. The three of them had formed a little tight circle now standing in front of Brass's Taurus.
"So far, here's what we know… Susan Jacurisa, the victim, was walking down the alley to the side door of her apartment. A man jumped out from behind the dumpster," Brass said, gesturing to the dumpster down the alleyway behind him. "He wrestled her to the ground, where he the raped her. But, get this," Brass paused for dramatic effect, "her six year old daughter was with her." Sara's mouth fell agape in shock.
"Did you call child services?" Grissom asked, seemingly unaffected by the statement.
"Yeah, a lady will be here soon to take the girl to the hospital and wait for a relative to come," Brass said.
"Where's the girl now?" Sara asked, her question directed at Brass.
"Over there with an officer," Brass pointed over his shoulder. "One of you want to speak with her? Her mother was taken to the hospital; the little girl was examined by the paramedics here. She's uninjured."
"Sara, why don't you speak with her?" Grissom asked.
"You know I'm not good with children," she stated, crossing her arms sort of defensively in front of her.
"Funny, last time you told me that you ended up not wanting to leave the little girl," he said, referring to a case they had worked during her first year in Vegas. She threw him an annoyed glance.
"Fine," she said, following Brass over to where the little girl was.
Grissom looked over the crime scene. There wasn't much to process. A few blood pools, torn clothing, and the dumpster. It wouldn't take long. Since Brass said their vic had already been taken to the hospital, they would interview and process her there.
Brass approached the little girl, Sara following shortly behind him. Brass had already talked to the girl a few times.
"Hi Julie. This is my friend Sara. She wants to talk to you about what you saw so we can find who hurt your mommy." Brass had kneeling down a bit to be more at the little girl's eye level. Julie nodded her head ever so slightly.
Julie was sitting on the hood of a police car wrapped in one of those gray wool blankets. She watched Brass intently, as if trying to concentrate on anything but what had happened to her mother. Sara came a little closer to the girl.
"Hi, I'm Sara," Sara said, kneeling down a bit and giving the girl a small smile. Julie looked up again from studying her pink velcro-strapped shoes; her shoulder length blonde hair had fallen over her sad blue-green eyes that were holding a distant look. Julie tried to smile back but it didn't quite make it, the only acknowledgement that she tried was of the small twitching of the corner of her lips
"I'll let you two talk for awhile," Brass said, backing up. Sara sent him a glare as if saying "I thought you'd help me with this". Brass just shrugged his shoulders. Sara sighed as she looked back at the young girl.
"Julie, can you tell me what you and your mom were doing here so late at night?" Sara asked. Julie studied her intently before answering.
"On Saturdays, I go to my friend Kathy's house till late," Julie said, as here eyes scanned the crime scene behind Sara. "Mommy was taking me home. The door to our house is over there," Julie said, pointing into the alley darkness with her little fingers.
"Did you notice anything different from the nights your mommy usually takes you home?" Sara asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Ummm, there was a black truck that I saw like, a thousand times," Julie said.
"A thousand times?" Sara asked.
Julie shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "I don't know. Ummm, maybe eight," Julie said holding up her fingers but only showing seven. Taking a moment, she counted off her fingers then put up another. "See? Eight," Julie said. Sara smiled, Julie was a cute and smart six year old.
"Do you know what type of truck it was?" Sara asked. They would need more to go on then just a black truck.
"Umm, I think there were two seats in the front, but only one driver," Julie said it like it was the strangest thing ever. "And, ummm, it had one of those opened backs. Like the building trucks have? But it was covered and the cover didn't have windows."
"Could it have been a pick-up truck?" Sara asked.
"Maybe, I umm, not sure," Julie said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Did you notice anything significant about the truck?" Julie looked at her with questioning eyes. "Sorry, did you notice anything special about the black truck?" Sara said.
"The black truck I saw eight times," she said, correcting Sara and holding up her fingers again, emphasizing eight.
"Okay. Did you notice anything special about the black truck you saw eight times?" Sara asked, holding up eight fingers too. Julie giggled at this; big people don't count on their fingers. Sara was glad she got the little girl to smile.
Grissom heard the laughter from where he was bagging a few blonde hairs and looked over to where Sara was. She felt his gaze on her and turned her head to him. Exchanging quick smiles, Grissom noticed a twinkle in her eye that hadn't been there since this serial rapist became known to them.
Turning back to Julie, she smiled at her softly before asking again, "So was there anything special-"
"Yeah, I think so," Julie said. "Ummm, the silver bar in the front-"
"The bumper?"
Julie nodded her head. "On the left side it was all smushed and crumpled and dented. Maybe it hit a pole?" Julie said, putting her hands up in an "I don't know" fashion.
Their conversation was cut short when a lady from social services strutted over, her curly orange hair bouncing with each step.
"You know, you're not supposed to speak with a suspect without a lawyer or child advocate present," the lady said with more anger than necessary, snatching Julie's hand. Sara stood up from her kneeling position.
"She's not a suspect. She's a witness, therefore there is no need for someone to supervise this interview," Sara said, trying to keep her own anger down, though this lady already did piss her off.
Grissom heard their raised voices. Coming over quickly from where he was dusting the dumpster for prints, he knew a pissed off Sara was never a good thing to argue with.
"Tiffany. You're the one they called from child services?" Grissom said, recognizing the woman from previous cases, as he finally got to where they were standing.
With a quick nod of her head, she continued her tirade. "Gil, are you her supervisor?" she asked Grissom, anger still lingering in her voice.
"Yes," Grissom said.
"Well then, I would've expected her to know not to interview a child without a lawyer or child advocate present." Sara crossed her arms defensively, wanting to say something but Grissom shot her a glance, forcing her to stay silent.
"Well Tiffany, I would've thought you'd know the regulations. There was no need for anyone else to be present during this interview. The little girl is not a suspect. And I'm sure you would've been told when you were called her that she is a witness to her mother's rape," Grissom said, a little too harshly for Sara's liking, apparently for Julie's too. Sara quickly turned to the little girl when she heard her sniffle. Again crouching down to Julie's eye level Sara tried to comfort her, Julie obviously didn't like the arguing or raised voices. And Sara knew what that was like, having grown up in a violent household.
"Julie, it's okay. Why don't we have this nice woman take you to the hospital to see your mommy?" Sara asked, hoping to convince Julie that the woman wasn't bad, she just had a temper. Julie violently shook her head.
"You don't want to see your mommy?" Sara asked, more than slightly surprised.
"No, I do. But," Julie casted a quick glance up to Tiffany, her green eyes coated over with fear and unshed tears.
"Okay. Do you want me to come with you?" Sara asked. Julie nodded her head, shaking her hand out of Tiffany's grip.
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A/N: Well, I hope this update was worth the wait. I have to go work on homework now and study for a math test (I mean really, homework on the weekends, a test on Monday?) Puh-leaze Review!!!
PS: I was wondering if any of you have every read the book Carrie by Stephen King. I wanted to know if it's any good in your opinion.