Day and Night (6)
Title: Day and Night (6)
Rating: R
Pairings: Nick/Sara, Warrick/Cathering, Ryan/Natalia, Eric/Calleigh
Summary: The kidnapper takes their final victims...
A/N: Thanks as always to
tidbit2008 for the beta. Also, not a lot of Nick and Sara in this one, but I promise there will be more by the end.
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.
"Dammit," Grissom cursed as he flipped his phone shut. "Her mother hasn't heard from her either."
"So what's our next move?" Warrick asked, his voice tight and his eyes full of worry.
Gil looked at him intently. "We find her." Walking over to the others, he raised his voice. "Alright, everybody, this isn't over yet."
"What do you mean?" Sara asked.
He took a deep breath. "We can't find Catherine." As fear settled over them, he continued. "She got a call from Lindsey earlier and went to see her. But she's not answering her cell phone, and her mother has no idea where she is."
"It's a pattern," Nick said quietly. "One half of each…" His eyes glanced over to Sara momentarily before finishing. "…pair."
Grissom nodded. "Exactly. So until we know differently, we're assuming that Catherine has been taken as well." He turned to Warrick. "Warrick, I want you to take Ryan and Natalia and go to Catherine's house. Look for any evidence that you can find. The rest of us are going back to the lab to look over whatever else we have. It's time we found out who this person is and put an end to their games."
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The three C.S.I.s got to Catherine's house in record time, Warrick behind the wheel. He drove with a frightening determination, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel. Ryan watched him out of the corner of his eye, knowing exactly what his colleague was going through. It had only been a few short hours ago that he had been staring at a clue that held the key to where Natalia was being held. As they turned into Catherine's driveway, he said the only thing he could think of.
"We found the others, man…we'll find her, too."
Warrick looked over at him for a moment, and Ryan could see how close he was to losing it. But the bigger man just nodded before opening the door and jumping out of the SUV.
It was immediately obvious that something was very wrong. As they stood on Catherine's front step, they could see that her door was ajar, and debris littered the area just inside the house. Moving closer, they saw that the debris consisted of a broken chair that Warrick knew matched the other three from her dining room table, glass from a shattered lamp, and a picture frame lying upside down on the floor.
"She put up one hell of a fight," Natalia murmured.
Glancing over at Warrick, Ryan nodded. "Then let's see what clues she left us."
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They worked thoroughly, but quickly. Natalia went immediately to the broken glass of the lamp, photographing it and then searching it for any blood or fibers. Ryan picked the picture frame up off the floor, while Warrick went to the chair and its pieces. They worked silently, all three focused on finding whatever they could from the few clues that they had.
"I've got a partial print!" Ryan called after awhile.
Warrick looked up sharply. "On what?"
"The edge of the picture frame. Could be our perp."
"Could be Cath, too," Warrick pointed out.
"Let's try a little optimism, Warrick." He nodded at the chair. "Did you find anything?"
The other man shrugged. "A few hairs, but I'm almost certain that they're Cath's. I'll take 'em back to the lab anyway, see if we get any hits."
"Well I've got a big nothing," Natalia sighed. "This lamp was shattered, and then the glass stepped on repeatedly. The pieces are so small…I'm not sure I'll be able to get any prints off of it. But I'll try."
Ryan looked around. "Is that it? Do we head back to the lab with what we have?"
Warrick stood up, his shoulders sagging as he looked around the house one last time. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, his eyes landed on the answering machine, and he stopped. Frowning, the two C.S.I.s from Miami followed his gaze.
"She has a message," Natalia said.
Warrick nodded, reaching out and pressing the 'play' button.
"Hey Mom…I just wanted to let you know that I'd be staying at Deanna's tonight. If that's not okay, just call the cell. I…I love you, Mom."
Taking a deep breath, Warrick looked at the other two. "At least we know Lindsey is safe. The time stamp on that is after the we found Eric."
The three C.S.I.s moved out of the house, heading back to the SVU. As they went down the front walk, something caught Warrick's eye. Turning aside, he squatted by the pavement.
"You got something?" Ryan asked.
"A footprint."
A small smile on his face, the younger man nodded. "Then let's get it and get back to the lab."
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Warrick looked up expectantly when Sara walked into the lab. "Did you get anything off the print?"
She shook his head. "I’m sorry, Warrick. It's not in the system."
He sighed. "Well, at least we know it isn't Catherine's. Makes it more likely that it's the kidnapper's."
"What about you?" she asked, nodding at the footprint mold. "Get anywhere with that?"
Warrick shrugged. "Not much. The shoe is nondescript - a Nike sneaker that you could buy anywhere. From its depth, I can tell you that the person isn't very big…it's only a size five in men's. There's nothing else, really. The way the treads are worn, I might be able to match the shoe to the print once we have it, but until then…"
His thoughts were interrupted as Nick walked into the room.
"Sara, did you get anything on that print?"
"No. I was just telling Warrick."
"I have a print I need you to check it against."
"Okay. Whose is it?"
Nick took a deep breath. "Lindsey's."
Warrick frowned. "But the message…"
His friend nodded. "I know. But Wolfe's been working with it. There's background noise, and it sounds like someone is prodding her, giving her a script. I think the message is a trick to make us think Lindsey's safe."
"You got a print for me to run it against?" Sara asked, seeing the fear building in Warrick's eyes.
Nick nodded. "Catherine had one of those rescue kits for Lindsey when she was younger. I had an officer go get it. It's got her fingerprints, her DNA, her dental records…whatever would be needed to identify her."
"Then let's go run it."
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"Well?" Warrick asked, his anxiety getting the better of him.
Sara read over the results again, her stomach twisting knots. "It's her, Warrick," she said quietly. "It's Lindsey."
He shook his head. "That doesn't necessarily mean…Those prints could have been from a long time ago."
"The way the print was positioned…" Sara picked up the frame, holding it face down and then lifting it over her head. "She held it like this, probably smashing it down on her attacker's head. I'm sorry, Warrick…the message was staged."
Unable to think of anymore arguments, Warrick slammed his fist down onto the table, his eyes focused on the floor as he tried to keep control of his emotions. He didn't look up again until Horatio and Calleigh came into the room, followed quickly by the rest of the team. Looking at each of their faces, he knew that something had happened.
"We got the note," Horatio said.
He passed it to Warrick, and Sara moved until she could read it over his shoulder.
A parent's worst nightmare.
Sara frowned. "That's it?"
Horatio nodded. "That's it. I think it's pretty clear what they mean, though." When she just kept looking at him, he continued. "A parent's worst nightmare is watching their child get hurt, and being powerless to do anything about it."
She shook her head. "But…there's nothing else. No hint at their location, or a clue, or…"
Warrick closed his eyes, his hands shaking slightly. "He doesn't want us to find them," he said quietly. "He wants them to die."
Rating: R
Pairings: Nick/Sara, Warrick/Cathering, Ryan/Natalia, Eric/Calleigh
Summary: The kidnapper takes their final victims...
A/N: Thanks as always to
tidbit2008 for the beta. Also, not a lot of Nick and Sara in this one, but I promise there will be more by the end.
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.
"Dammit," Grissom cursed as he flipped his phone shut. "Her mother hasn't heard from her either."
"So what's our next move?" Warrick asked, his voice tight and his eyes full of worry.
Gil looked at him intently. "We find her." Walking over to the others, he raised his voice. "Alright, everybody, this isn't over yet."
"What do you mean?" Sara asked.
He took a deep breath. "We can't find Catherine." As fear settled over them, he continued. "She got a call from Lindsey earlier and went to see her. But she's not answering her cell phone, and her mother has no idea where she is."
"It's a pattern," Nick said quietly. "One half of each…" His eyes glanced over to Sara momentarily before finishing. "…pair."
Grissom nodded. "Exactly. So until we know differently, we're assuming that Catherine has been taken as well." He turned to Warrick. "Warrick, I want you to take Ryan and Natalia and go to Catherine's house. Look for any evidence that you can find. The rest of us are going back to the lab to look over whatever else we have. It's time we found out who this person is and put an end to their games."
88888888888888888888
The three C.S.I.s got to Catherine's house in record time, Warrick behind the wheel. He drove with a frightening determination, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel. Ryan watched him out of the corner of his eye, knowing exactly what his colleague was going through. It had only been a few short hours ago that he had been staring at a clue that held the key to where Natalia was being held. As they turned into Catherine's driveway, he said the only thing he could think of.
"We found the others, man…we'll find her, too."
Warrick looked over at him for a moment, and Ryan could see how close he was to losing it. But the bigger man just nodded before opening the door and jumping out of the SUV.
It was immediately obvious that something was very wrong. As they stood on Catherine's front step, they could see that her door was ajar, and debris littered the area just inside the house. Moving closer, they saw that the debris consisted of a broken chair that Warrick knew matched the other three from her dining room table, glass from a shattered lamp, and a picture frame lying upside down on the floor.
"She put up one hell of a fight," Natalia murmured.
Glancing over at Warrick, Ryan nodded. "Then let's see what clues she left us."
888888888888888888
They worked thoroughly, but quickly. Natalia went immediately to the broken glass of the lamp, photographing it and then searching it for any blood or fibers. Ryan picked the picture frame up off the floor, while Warrick went to the chair and its pieces. They worked silently, all three focused on finding whatever they could from the few clues that they had.
"I've got a partial print!" Ryan called after awhile.
Warrick looked up sharply. "On what?"
"The edge of the picture frame. Could be our perp."
"Could be Cath, too," Warrick pointed out.
"Let's try a little optimism, Warrick." He nodded at the chair. "Did you find anything?"
The other man shrugged. "A few hairs, but I'm almost certain that they're Cath's. I'll take 'em back to the lab anyway, see if we get any hits."
"Well I've got a big nothing," Natalia sighed. "This lamp was shattered, and then the glass stepped on repeatedly. The pieces are so small…I'm not sure I'll be able to get any prints off of it. But I'll try."
Ryan looked around. "Is that it? Do we head back to the lab with what we have?"
Warrick stood up, his shoulders sagging as he looked around the house one last time. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, his eyes landed on the answering machine, and he stopped. Frowning, the two C.S.I.s from Miami followed his gaze.
"She has a message," Natalia said.
Warrick nodded, reaching out and pressing the 'play' button.
"Hey Mom…I just wanted to let you know that I'd be staying at Deanna's tonight. If that's not okay, just call the cell. I…I love you, Mom."
Taking a deep breath, Warrick looked at the other two. "At least we know Lindsey is safe. The time stamp on that is after the we found Eric."
The three C.S.I.s moved out of the house, heading back to the SVU. As they went down the front walk, something caught Warrick's eye. Turning aside, he squatted by the pavement.
"You got something?" Ryan asked.
"A footprint."
A small smile on his face, the younger man nodded. "Then let's get it and get back to the lab."
8888888888888888
Warrick looked up expectantly when Sara walked into the lab. "Did you get anything off the print?"
She shook his head. "I’m sorry, Warrick. It's not in the system."
He sighed. "Well, at least we know it isn't Catherine's. Makes it more likely that it's the kidnapper's."
"What about you?" she asked, nodding at the footprint mold. "Get anywhere with that?"
Warrick shrugged. "Not much. The shoe is nondescript - a Nike sneaker that you could buy anywhere. From its depth, I can tell you that the person isn't very big…it's only a size five in men's. There's nothing else, really. The way the treads are worn, I might be able to match the shoe to the print once we have it, but until then…"
His thoughts were interrupted as Nick walked into the room.
"Sara, did you get anything on that print?"
"No. I was just telling Warrick."
"I have a print I need you to check it against."
"Okay. Whose is it?"
Nick took a deep breath. "Lindsey's."
Warrick frowned. "But the message…"
His friend nodded. "I know. But Wolfe's been working with it. There's background noise, and it sounds like someone is prodding her, giving her a script. I think the message is a trick to make us think Lindsey's safe."
"You got a print for me to run it against?" Sara asked, seeing the fear building in Warrick's eyes.
Nick nodded. "Catherine had one of those rescue kits for Lindsey when she was younger. I had an officer go get it. It's got her fingerprints, her DNA, her dental records…whatever would be needed to identify her."
"Then let's go run it."
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"Well?" Warrick asked, his anxiety getting the better of him.
Sara read over the results again, her stomach twisting knots. "It's her, Warrick," she said quietly. "It's Lindsey."
He shook his head. "That doesn't necessarily mean…Those prints could have been from a long time ago."
"The way the print was positioned…" Sara picked up the frame, holding it face down and then lifting it over her head. "She held it like this, probably smashing it down on her attacker's head. I'm sorry, Warrick…the message was staged."
Unable to think of anymore arguments, Warrick slammed his fist down onto the table, his eyes focused on the floor as he tried to keep control of his emotions. He didn't look up again until Horatio and Calleigh came into the room, followed quickly by the rest of the team. Looking at each of their faces, he knew that something had happened.
"We got the note," Horatio said.
He passed it to Warrick, and Sara moved until she could read it over his shoulder.
A parent's worst nightmare.
Sara frowned. "That's it?"
Horatio nodded. "That's it. I think it's pretty clear what they mean, though." When she just kept looking at him, he continued. "A parent's worst nightmare is watching their child get hurt, and being powerless to do anything about it."
She shook her head. "But…there's nothing else. No hint at their location, or a clue, or…"
Warrick closed his eyes, his hands shaking slightly. "He doesn't want us to find them," he said quietly. "He wants them to die."