CHAPTER TWO

Carefully, Clara picked up Nick's cell phone and the clip board he'd brought in with him. A quick once around the room and the floor and the china cabinet were back in the place, the rug she'd mess up moving the larger man was back in place and the tea cups were fastidiously rinsed and placed in the dish washer. Content, Clara started the machine and then headed out the front door.

The SUV was an automatic for which Clara was grateful. Clara enjoyed driving. Her daddy didn't like it when she drove. He said there were a lot of bad drivers out there.

Clara was very cautious and tentative behind the wheel which angered some of the people behind her. But, she managed to get eight blocks without incident. From her pocket Clara produced a cloth that she used to remove any finger prints that she might have left behind. Then she used packing tape to remove any hair or cloth fibers from the seat. Satisfied, Clara left the keys in the ignition, the cell phone and clip board on the seat, the gun locked up in the glove compartment and the driver's side door unlocked.

The walk home took longer than Clara wanted. The sun had begun to set, casting long shadows by the time she reached her front door. The CSI should still be drugged. She had had a lot of practice in figuring out the dosages. Happy, Clara dead bolted the front door. Then she followed the hallway to the stairs leading to the basement.

The house was old. One of the first ones built in the area. Unlike most Las Vegas homes, this one had a basement. It was intended more for storage and the usual appliances such as hot water heaters, washers, driers and the like. It was dark and dungeon. Clara never used to go down there until she found the hidden room behind the wall. Someone else had had a penchant for hurting others. The room was sound proof and virtually undetectable.

A small lever, about the size of a pebble released the mechanism. Soundlessly, the huge door swung open. On her way by, Clara switched on the single bare bulb hanging from the cell's ceiling. Inside, Nick was sprawled on the cement. In his boneless tumble from the floor above he had missed the metal framed cot situated directly below the hatch and landed hard on the unprotected concrete.

"Silly, you shouldn't have done that," Clara purred. With moderate effort, she got Nick onto the cot. Breathlessly, she straightened out his long limbs. The anticipation was nearly too much for her.

The shirt came off easily enough to reveal a well formed, smooth chest and abdomen. Tentatively, Clara ran her fingers over his warm skin. She was so intent on her prize that she didn't notice that she was no longer alone.

"Who is he?" a male voice demanded.

Guiltily, Clara jumped. She knew her father's voice so she wasn't concerned about getting caught. Daddy always helped. Silently, she handed over Nick's wallet and badge.

"Damn it, Clara!" Daddy exploded. Fear and frustration burned through him. "This time you've picked a cop! The department is never going to stop looking for him!"

"But he's so beautiful," was Clara's only defence. She could barely take her eyes off her prize. So much to explore!

"Why aren't you content with street people?" Daddy ran his hand through his hair.

"They're dirty and men. He's nice and he smells like you." Clara brushed her finger tips along Nick's strong jaw. The feel of his skin thrilled her.

"How long have you had him?" His daughter's predilections had reared their ugly head after the death of her brother. She'd worshipped him and had been miserable for a very long time. Harry couldn't stand to see his little girl unhappy.

The first one Clara had he'd brought home after accidently hitting the hobo on his way home from work. Rather than tarnish his spotless record, he'd brought the man home for his daughter to take care of. Being homeless, it hadn't really mattered if he'd lived or died. The incident had only whetted her appetite, however. This was the fourth person she'd collected herself.

"About an hour and a half." Under her fingers, Clara could feel Nick begin to stir. That shouldn't be, she'd given him enough sedative to keep him under for at least four hours.

Seeing the man shift on the cot, Harry stepped forward. The handcuffs at each corner of the cot were all ready prepared he simply had to put them on. A moment of indecision and Harry quickly put a blindfold on him. If there was any chance of not having to kill the fellow police officer, it was by making sure he couldn't identify them. It was a faint hope at best.

A quiet groan issued from Nick as he strained against the handcuffs. He wasn't completely aware yet but he knew something was not right. Slowly, his mind fought the effects of the drug and he came fully awake. "What...?"

Nick couldn't see and his hands and feet were being restrained. Fear burned through him.

"He's so gorgeous, Daddy. I want to keep him forever," Nick heard Clara purr. His stomach plunged somewhere down around his ankles.

"I'm a police officer. My friends will be looking for me. You'll never get away with this." It was a long shot, but Nick hoped fervently that he could talk some sense into Clara.

"You didn't find this room before. They won't find it next time," Clara responded.

"Terror spiked through the young criminalist's nervous system. Desperately, he fought against the handcuffs even though he could tell from their cool, smooth surface it was a lost cause.

"Please, just let me go," Nick pleaded. Not again. Not again.

"No," Clara responded simply. The room was chilly, especially with Nick's bare skin. Goose bumps rose on his flesh. A shiver that had begun deep in his soul made its way to the surface.

A heart beat later, warm hands began to run over his chest and abdomen. Revulsion boiled in Nick's mind and stomach. "Don't touch me," he growled reflexively.

"You're mind now. I can do whatever I want to you." There was an evil edge to her words that Nick hadn't thought she was capable of. How could he have so completely misread her?

This had to be all part of a really bad dream. Nick's body continued to shiver, whether from fear or cold he wasn't sure. Not being able to see unnerved him tremendously. Instinctually, he fought against Clara's groping hands. Logically he knew there was nowhere for him to go but to be touched against his will made his skin crawl. Unpleasant childhood memories tried to surface. Desperately, he squashed them. Now was not the time. No longer satisfied with his torso, Clara fumbled with the belt on his pants.

"Clara," a male voice admonished. Harry hated his daughter's need to strip her toys. She always had to see them naked, even when she was a child. Now that Clara was an adult, her intent was no longer innocent curiosity. He wasn't naive. He knew what she did to them when he wasn't around. The thought made Harry's stomach turn.

"I just want to see," Clara responded intent on her prize. Nick kept moving but that just made it more fun.

"Clara!" Harry hated to, but he used the tone of voice usually reserved for when she had done something horribly wrong.

Startled, Clara stood up and stepped away from her father and the cot.

"You're Clara's father," Nick pleaded. The hands were gone. The chill had entered his soul. He couldn't stop shaking. Even his teeth had begun to chatter. "You're a cop. You know you can't keep me here!"

"Nothing you've done so far is so bad that it can't be ignored," Nick continued. "Let me go and I'll forget everything.

Nick hoped that they believed him. This was one time he was glad his eyes were covered. They really were the window to his soul and always told when he was lying. The handcuffs were biting into his wrists and ankles and would probably be leaving deep gashes and probably scars. There was no way he could explain those away, especially around Grissom.

"Be quiet." Anger blaring, Harry picked up a piece of cloth and shoved it into the young man's mouth. "I'll be back. Treat him gently."

Harry needed to go cool down and think this one through. Grunting in frustration, he left the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

"Now, it's just you and me," Clara purred. Grinning, she advanced on the bound man. Just as she reached out to grasp that annoying belt buck, the light above her head blinked three times.

"Damn it," Clara swore. She hated to be interrupted. Looking down at the still struggling Nick, she patted his groin area through the fabric of his jeans. "Don't go anywhere."

CSICSI

"Mr. Grissom, what are you doing here?" Clara smiled shyly. The older CSI made her nervous.

"I was wondering if Nick Stokes was still here." It had been two hours since the junior CSI had stayed behind. There had been no contact since then and he wasn't answering his cell phone. Nick's SUV was not where it had been when Gil left but he had to ask anyway.

"He asked me some questions about that unfortunate young man and then he said he wasn't feeling very well. He said he would have to continue with his questions later." Clara couldn't lie convincingly so she chose not to.

"Did you see him leave?" Something was very wrong here.

"No. I had to clean up the cups after our tea," Clara stated.

"May I see those cups?" Grissom could feel Brass breathing down the back of his neck.

"Certainly." Still smiling, Clara took a step back from her front door to allow the two men entry to her home. Perfectly calm, she led the two men down the main hallway past the sitting room and to the kitchen. "They're in there."

Contentedly, Clara watched as the CSI agent went through her dish washer. The cycles were complete. There would be no residue of the drug she'd used. Humming quietly, she nodded agreement when Grissom asked if he could take the two cups with him. On his way back to the front door, he paused in the door way leading to the sitting room. Everything appeared to be in place. In fact, it was exactly the same as when he and Nick had processed the house.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Grissom said as he left the house.

"I hope he's all right." Clara stood in the door and waved as the two men drove away.

A/N: Thank you very much for the reviews! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter too.