Chapter 4

Nick walked up the steps towards Sofia's apartment. The front door was protected by a strip of yellow police tape. He didn't have a key so he tried the door but it was locked. He walked around to the side and spotted a small sash window. Reaching into his forensics kit he retrieved a long screwdriver, inserted it into the window lock and jiggled it around. After a few minutes he head a click as the lock was released. Nick pulled open the window and looked around to be sure no-one saw him before he climbed in. He found himself in the bathroom and wasted no time priming his camera to document his visit. His technique was methodical; he scouted around for anything unusual, marked it, photographed it before studying it for physical evidence. It didn't take very long to process the bathroom. "He fingerprinted the surfaces, took hair samples and swabbed the sink drain. No sign of trace blood.

Next Nick made his way into the bedroom. He knew Sofia's blood-spattered shirt was found in the laundry hamper so he processed the room with extra care. He carefully photographed and printed the entire room. It was turned over extensively by the investigating team so there was very little new evidence to find. Trace blood in the hamper was no surprise. There was only one set of prints in the room and Nick guessed they could only belong to the occupant.

When he was finished in the bedroom Nick made his way into the living room. Again this area had been well dusted and sampled by the investigators so Nick traced their mark around the room, taking samples of his own. He did the same in the kitchen. When he was done he packed up his kit and took one last look around the empty apartment. Sofia's home resembled every other crime scene, fingerprint dust-covered every surface and it was clear that stuff had been moved around and displaced. Nick made a mental note to come back and tidy up so that Sofia wouldn't have to face the clean-up when she was released. He remembered from his conversation with Sofia that she didn't have her keys when she was arrested. That meant they should still be in the apartment. Nick looked around recalling that she had a spot for them on the hall table. He rummaged around for a few minutes but they weren't in their unusual spot. He thought for a moment and remembered he has seen a set of keys when he was processing the bedroom. It struck him as unusual that Sofia would have left them so out-of-place. No matter how drunk she was, certain actions are subconscious. He went back into the bedroom and set down his kit on the floor in front of the bedside locker. Taking out a swab Nick dabbed it on the key ring before adding indicator solution. The swab turned pink signalling blood. No major surprise there, after all there was plenty of blood evidence already available. He dusted the front door key and pulled off a partial print. Happy that he had fully processed the key ring Nick picked up and pocketed the bunch. He exited the apartment through the front door, printing it front and back before he left. Walking back down the steps towards his SUV he noticed the flowerbed flanking the pathway had been disturbed. It was most likely from all the police traffic but he documented it nonetheless. He took photos and soil samples as well as a couple of shoe print casts. As he was hunched over one such cast Nick tilted his head and spotted some scuff marks on the pathway leading towards the apartment. Unsure what could have caused these marks he took photos from various angles as well as some samples.

Once done he packed everything up and headed back towards the lab.

Sofia sat alone on a gurney in the PD medical bay, dressed in a surgical gown. She had taken Nick's advice and requested an examination. After several minutes two women walked into the room. Sofia groaned inwardly when she saw that one of them was Sara. The first woman introduced herself as Nurse Collins. She was a short, stocky woman with dark hair tied up in a bun. Her features were kind and she spoke softly as she explained the procedure. Sara stayed in the background, preparing her camera equipment while the nurse set up the rape kit before asking Sofia to lie back on the gurney and spread her legs. Sofia sighed heavily, she was clearly uncomfortable having Sara in the room and she wondered if it was completely necessary. Almost as if Sara could sense Sofia's unease she spoke up.

"Look Sofia, I know this is awkward, but you know procedure, I have to maintain chain of custody of the evidence. Also, I'll need to take some pictures once the nurse is done."

Sofia didn't reply, she just lay there staring at the ceiling. The nurse worked efficiently, carefully swabbing her sensitive area and combing through the hair. She also took scrapings from under Sofia's fingernails before taking more comb samples from her head. Before too long the nurse had finished and she packed up all the samples into the kit box while Sara began taking the photographs. She started at Sofia's feet, working upwards methodically. There was no sign of bruising around the legs or thighs and Sara diligently documented this. Next she moved to Sofia's arms. She noted some bruising around the wrists and upper arms. Next she needed to photograph the bruising around the ribs.

"Can you remove your gown so I can take a look at your ribs please?" she asked in a steady tone.

Sofia rolled her eyes but slipped the gown down along her arms so that the upper half of her body was exposed.

Sara froze and took in a quiet gasp. She had often wondered how Sofia looked naked and the reality was better than anything her mind had conjured. Her muscles were perfectly toned and exhibited strength, despite her slender frame. Her breasts were perfectly formed and rose and fell gently with each breath. She had spent many sleepless nights fantasizing about Sofia, but never like this, the circumstances were all wrong. Sara was suddenly shaken out of her thoughts by Sofia.

"Are you alright Sara?" she asked self-consciously.

"Um, yeah, sorry," replied Sara. "I've done this hundreds of times but it's never been someone I know before. I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I'll pull it together."

"It's okay Sara," said Sofia. "This whole situation is a bit unreal. I just need you to do your job as well as I know you can. I need you to find out the truth so I can get the hell out of here."

Sofia's shoulders were slumped and she looked tired. Sara studied Sofia intently for a moment. Any doubts she may have had about Sofia's innocence quickly evaporated. Sara grabbed the camera and with renewed purpose and began taking the last photographs. She noted the bruising around the ribs as well as an unusual mark on Sofia's back. She couldn't make out what it was so she took extra close-ups. When she was done she spoke.

"I'm finished now, you can put your gown back on."

As she packed up her camera continued, "Look Sofia, I owe you an apology. When I first heard about the judge's murder, I thought you were guilty."

"It's okay Sara," said Sofia. "Traynor did a good job. In fact, I don't think you or I could've done better."

Sara scowled, "What do you mean?"

"Um, I don't know really. It's just that it took a lot of knowledge of our protocols and procedures to complete the frame-up so precisely," replied Sofia.

"Are you saying he had some help?" asked Sara quickly.

Sofia paused, "Maybe. I mean, it would make sense."

The more Sofia thought about it the more likely it seemed. They had planted a lot of very technical evidence; blood spatter, fibres, finger prints. They had planned the timeline perfectly and had established motive, means and opportunity. As it stood it was a perfect frame-up and Sofia's guilt looked absolute.

"Sofia, if this is true then this is big," said Sara as the cogs worked in her brain. "We need to be careful who we confide in. Keep it to yourself for now, I'll talk to Grissom."

"Look Sara, there's something else I need to tell you," said Sofia. "Nick came to visit me in my cell and he's been gathering evidence on his own.

"That's good," said Sara. "It means that it's not part of the official investigation and not subject to scrutiny by our potential mole. I'll see what he's got and let you know. In the meantime stay alert, it may not be safe for you here."

Sofia was surprised by the level of concern in Sara's voice. They had never exactly been friends. In fact Sofia would describe their relationship as strained at best. She wondered now if there was more to it than she realised. But that was a question for another time.

"I'll be okay Sara, they won't try anything while I'm in here, it'll blow their cover."

"Okay," said Sara, unsure. "I'll be back to see you as soon as I have something concrete. But I'm taking you back to the cell, I can't trust the guard. And don't bother arguing with me. "

Sofia nodded and changed back into her clothes while Sara averted her gaze. They walked back to the cell in silence. As the guard approached to lock in Sofia, Sara said, "Don't worry, we'll figure this out."

With that Sofia was alone again. Only this time she didn't feel alone.