Chapter 3 – Double take

Sara's POV

In a little less than thirty minutes I have pulled my car up to the entranceway of the Memento. I see Catherine's black Denali parked a few spaces down. Seeing her car and noting its vacancy I walk past it and into the darkened interior of the casino.

I walk the route I was becoming quite familiar with and made my way to the poker lounges. I open the door to the room that contains one of the most disturbing crime scenes I have witnessed in quite a while. Sometimes I wish beyond all wishes that I could go for months without having to process a single scene; not because I hate working, but because maybe then I wouldn't feel like I was living in a constant war zone.

Although the death toll is a lot lower than a war, the animalistic act of killing is all the same. Except these people don't even kill for their country. No…they kill for their own well being: greed, envy, lust…

My job sickens me. The fact that this is what I'm good at, processing a scene of destruction, of one person's will to ruin the life of another, that fact keeps me up at night. Sometimes I just wish I could be good at something else because there was no need for a CSI.

"Lost in space?" a sultry voice calls from the other side of the room. I snap myself from my sordid thoughts and glance at Catherine's kneeling figure. Nope, not lost, just looking for the quickest route to catch a glimpse of Uranus.

"Naw," I say. "Just took a wrong turn a few galaxies back." I saunter up beside my fellow CSI and kneel down to her level. "Find anything good yet?"

"Actually, I think I might have found something we missed. Something very important. Think Sasquatch, er rather Bigfoot." I peer closely at what Catherine was motionaing towards and saw a rather large boot print indented into the soft fluffy carpet of the old casino's floor.

Catherine continues her observation. "After navigating the path of the bullet, I traced it back to this corner of the room. Then I saw the boot print. Looks like our killers were laying in wait for their kill, definitely premeditated. There goes my theory about this just being a random act."

I nod my head in agreement with my strawberry blonde partner. "Find anything else yet?"

Catherine points in the adjacent corner of the room. "Similar boot prints on the other side."

My thoughts click into place. "Confirms the theory of two guys. As if the two bullets shot at the same time weren't enough to prove that."

Doctor Robbins analyzed the body earlier today. He disclosed some startling observations to us. The two bullets were fired within seconds of each other. Each shot was so precise that the bullet exited the other side of her head mere millimeters from the other projectile's entry, adding to the appearance of a single hole in each temple.

The sudden realization that these guys were good, and damn good at that caused my body to shudder involuntarily.

"You ok?" Catherine asks. Her bright eyes meet mine and I try my damndest to shake off the trickle of fear I let enter my head.

"Yeah. Great. Perfect." I respond as I flash a cheesy smile her way.

"Uh huh sure. And you just shivered because it's cold in this wonderful summer day in Nevada."

"Is it suddenly a crime to get a chill and respond to it?" I ask, more sarcastically than I meant to.

"No, but it is unethical to just stand there catching flies while there's a crime scene to process," Catherine bites back.

I knew the peace couldn't last. It never does.

"Fine, then, just let me get out of your hair while I scour the other corner for other evidence."

"Be my guest," Catherine says as she waves her hand in the general direction of the corner I have just ostracized myself to.

"Couldn't be happier." I meander to the isolated corner and begin digging for new clues to help us find the sadistic sons of bitches that killed that girl.

After half an hour of searching, I find a few black fibers inconsistent with the uniforms of the casino employees within a foot radius of the oversized boot print. Other than that though, there really wasn't anything else to discover. I stand wondering if Catherine had been more successful than I had, but I am afraid to break the uncomfortably heavy silence that had fallen between us.

Thankfully, the sound of Catherine's phone going off did that for us. She answers with a quick flick of her hand.

"Willows. Uh huh. Just looking around a little more. Not too sure what else there is to find." Silence. "Oh really? Thanks Gil. See you back at the lab."

The conversation lasts less than two minutes, but I can tell whatever Grissom had told Catherine was good news.

"What's the haps?" I asked from my place in the corner.

Catherine shot me one of those smirks that make me smile before I even know what she is going to say. "Ronnie finished processing that slip of paper we found in Ashlyn's mouth. It's made of the same paper that is used to print the fortunes inside of a fortune cookie. It had a very specific stitch pattern that is only produced in a handful for factories. Nick and Warrick are looking at receipts for recent purchases, but I don't really know what they are expecting to find. There's not quite enough to go on, but hey it's a start."

I'm quiet for a moment as I choose my next words carefully. "Catherine? I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to bite at you so quickly. This case just has me wound so tightly."

Her face lights up again. "It's ok. And for the record, I am too. I just have one favor to ask you."

Hmmm, I wonder what the great Catherine Willows wants of little ol' me.

"Sure, what do you have in mind?"

Catherine looks me straight in the eyes. "Don't shut me out. If we are going to get along on this case we are going to need to be completely honest and open with each other."

"Sure thing. I'll try. It's not exactly my best quality."

Catherine gets that playful glimpse in her eye. "No it's not." My bashful smile fades a little, mentally preparing myself for her to berate me with a catalogue of my flaws. "Being open is not your best quality. Your ass is."

My ears do a double take as my mind tries to comprehend what Catherine just told me. But my brain barely has time to register her words before the next ones knock me senseless.

"Oh and Sara? Bite as hard as you want next time. A little pain is pleasure."

And with that, Catherine Willows turns and swaggers from the room.

AN: Alright. Thanks for staying with me…sorry its taking so long to get these chapters out :) I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think please. It's always greatly appreciated.