Hunters and Collectors
Disclaimer: CBS owns CSI
A/N In no way does this have anything to do with the band.
It includes Sara, Catherine, Sofia, a little Grissom and a few others, as for ships, you'll have to wait and see.
Sara, being Sara, always has theories about things. This time is no exception, however she may end up regretting this one.
Chapter 2
Catherine was curious as to what Sara meant and quickly, but carefully made her way up the wide stairway to where Sara was and was sickened at the sight.
"Yes well I can certainly see why you'd need help with this, waiting for David is a good idea."
Catherine noticed that Sara's face was now as white as a sheet, she knew she hated cases that involved children and decided to get Sara outside for some air while waiting for the coroner to arrive.
"Come on Sara, take a break outside with me for a bit, we'll wait for David outside and get some air."
The rain had let up momentarily as she led Sara outside, where the brunette promptly ran into the bushes beside the fence and threw up then just stood there shaking violently. All Catherine could do was hold her up and get her some water, there were no words that could be said, they had both seen it, both understood each others position and neither of them wanted to go back in there but it was their job and their professionalism wouldn't allow anyone else to take over for them, thus putting someone else through that horror.
"I'm going to call Jim and see how Sofia is doing Sara, you going to be ok for a bit?"
"Yeah I'll be fine, just let me know too ok, if that guy they caught did all those things I'd like to personally kill him, slowly."
"Ok I'll help you hide the body," she grinned as she flipped open her phone.
"Jim it's Catherine, any news on Sofia? Oh that's not good, she'll make it though won't she? Well that's one small blessing, but she's strong Jim, better call her mother though, we'll be in as soon as we are done here." She closed her phone and turned to Sara.
"Sofia is alive but still critical, flat lined twice in the ambulance, and twice in surgery, they say she has a 50/50 chance of survival but the longer she hangs in there, the better her odds. We'll head in there after we've dropped everything off at the lab. You right to continue now?"
"Yeah we have a job to do and looks like David is here so let's get to work."
Greg and Nick drove up behind the coroner's van and got out their kits. "Hear you ladies need a little bit of help on this one," grinned Greg in his usual way.
"Greg, this time we need help because Sofia was shot and you get to process her scene but it is in the middle of the main scene, so you'll have to work around us, first rule, do not go upstairs without asking us first. Then we may get you to give us some help with the rest of the house. Nick can you take the perimeter of the house, neither of us has had time for that yet, Greg you do the base of the stairs, then come up and into the alcove following a blood trail."
Both men nodded and got to work. David came in and checked both husband and wife's temp for TOD then allowed the CSIs to move the bodies for further evidence. Sara was clicking away madly with the camera taking shots of the turned bodies.
"How on earth did this guy manage to do all this damage without anyone hearing or calling for help?" Sara asked to no one in particular.
"Any theories Sara?"
"None come to mind right now, I can't see how it happened, kids undisturbed, father decapitated, mother bludgeoned, kids stabbed and no one seemed to have known. Unless…."
"Ok I'd know that Sidle 'mind in gear and thinking of ways' look anywhere, what are you thinking?"
"Drugged. It's the only thing that makes sense, I mean there are no defensive wounds on any of the vics, put that together with everyone's placement and you get two potential types of drugging, food which I doubt as it was past any meal time or possibly something airborne. I'm heading down to the basement where the air conditioning system for the ducts should be. Back shortly."
Sara headed off down to the basement leaving a stunned Catherine waiting and wondering at her colleagues thought processes. Sara may have hit the nail on the head but still there was work to be done and David came back for the mother and the same routine started over. "David when you get them back to the lab, check their blood for any drug content, Sara thinks they may have been drugged prior to all this."
"Sure, where is Sara, upstairs yet?"
"No she's checking the basement for any toxins or drug introduced into the air conditioning system."
Which indeed was what she was doing, slowly but surely she was dismantling the system looking for ways of introduction. Everything seemed pretty much fine, filter a little dirty but clean otherwise, the whole unit looked clean, busting her theory. Then she looked at the pump, a small box was attached to the side of it, it wasn't a unit she was familiar with and so undid the screws holding it on. The residual compressed air left in the pump blew out into the room quickly and carried with it a white vapour, not quite odourless, it had a smell of onions. The small box, containing a small explosive charge that hadn't exploded due to the air pressure, she had been working on slammed heavily into her forehead leaving a deep gash. The last thought through Sara's mind when she passed out on the floor, at least she was right. 'Brilliant Sidle you proved your point by knocking yourself out, way to go.'
Catherine was getting worried, she knew Sara could take care of herself, in a secure house as well. David had taken the mother and father away and was coming back for the kids, That was 20 minutes ago, surely Sara would have said something by now. She decided to check on her colleague, even though she knew Sara would hate being 'checked up on' by anyone.
"Hey Sara how are doing down there, find anything?"
Silence greeted her question, this didn't sound good, actually it didn't sound of anything. A faint odour touched her nostrils, she knew that smell, thiopentone and nitrous oxide, the smell of onions. She knew then what had happened and called Nick and Greg.
"Guys I need your help in the basement, grab some gasmasks and some oxygen and follow me. I swear this case gets weirder by the minute."
The three of them gingerly went down the basement steps, gasmasks on, Nick carrying the small oxygen cylinder with attached mask, and spied Sara lying face down inches from the air conditioner pump, a small pool of blood by her head.
A/N Ah that wonderful smell of anaesthetic gas, well Sara did need some sleep anyway, not so sure she needed the headache as well though.
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