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Retribution
This
is the fifth in the series. For those who have skipped ahead, you might be a
little lost. Here are the most important things to know:
Grissom
and Sara are a couple now, but she has left Vegas to see her mother and attempt
to lay her past to rest.
Grissom
quit his job because he felt that Ecklie forced Sara out.
In
the first story of the series, an old college friend of Sara’s - Jill - killed
Hank Pettigrew and attempted to frame Sara. This was because she had been
obsessed with Tom Haviland (the movie star/murderer from The Accused is
Entitled) and blamed Sara, Grissom and Hank for him being sent to prison. She
then kidnapped Sara, but was arrested and brought to trial.
During
the trial (in Infliction), Jill’s
lawyer stirred up a lot of ‘reasonable doubt’, suggesting that an experienced
criminalist like Sara might have been able to set Jill up. This, in part,
contributed to Sara’s decision to leave Vegas.
Authors Note: According to the profile
for Sara Sidle provided by CSB, Sara grew up in
Many
thanks to wobbear for acting as beta for this story. I don’t
know what I’d do without you.
Prologue
Sweet is revenge –
especially to women.
Lord
Byron (Don Juan, 1819-24)
---
Methodical,
careful fingers worked on a pair of gloves and picked up a pen. Black ink
trailed out over creamy white paper, gleaming and damp like blood. There was
arrogance in the penmanship; a self confidence born of equal parts achievement
and insanity. She had already won. It was time for the final act.
Your life is mine. You
are nothing now, except my victim. I will make you bleed. I will destroy your
soul. I will make you beg before the end.
It is time for
Retribution. Vengeance will be mine…
---
The
early morning mist rolled over the bay as the sun began its majestic ascent in
the sky. Sara cradled a mug of tea between her hands and thought of him.
It
was wonderfully peaceful here, isolated and set apart from the hustle and
bustle of San Francisco, just twenty miles away. It was a good place for her to
be right now - a fitting place. She, like her small home town, felt isolated
and set apart from everything else. She wrapped herself in the peace and quiet,
relishing the change of pace after so many years of working non-stop. She had
finally given herself the space she needed to think, to deal with everything
she had avoided for so long.
But
mostly -- she just missed him.
His
last text message was still saved on her phone -- a technological hug whenever
she needed it. And lately, she needed it at least once a day.
She
had arrived in Tamales Bay two weeks ago and, since then, she had met with her
mother several times. Each meeting had been difficult for Sara -- for both of
them, in truth -- but she was relieved to find that it was, slowly, becoming
easier.
There
was so much to cover. Twenty-two missing years, all told. So much pain and
damage to sift through, to repair and to let go of.
Letting
go. It had always been difficult for her. She had found it near impossible to
let go of certain cases at work -- ones that involved domestic abuse, or any
sort of violence against women, really. Those cases would haunt her for weeks,
months even, creeping up on her when she least expected it and closing around
her throat like a fist, waking her up in the middle of the night in a cold
sweat.
Now
a new specter haunted her sleep. A specter that, in her vivid dreams, took over
her life, annihilating everything she cared about -- everyone she cared about. Decimating her world until there was nothing
left. Nothing except Sara, the victim, broken and sobbing in a dark place.
Every night, she woke up retching, barely making it to the bathroom in time
before her stomach contents left her body.
She
had left Vegas to distance herself from Jill, from the events of the past few
months. Stupid, she thought. She should have known she’d only take it
with her. And, what was even worse, here she was without his soothing
touch, the safety of his embrace.
Rolling
her head to stretch out the kinks in her neck, she glanced across to the small
travel alarm clock which sat on the bedside table of her room in the guest
house. If he wasn’t working a double, Grissom would be getting home right about
now.
The
temptation to call him was strong. Just to hear the sound of his voice. Just to
reassure him that she missed him and would be home as soon as she could.
Again,
she resisted. If she spoke to him, she didn’t think she’d be able to stop
herself from grabbing the next flight back to Vegas.
Shaking
the notion out of her head, she reminded herself of why she was here. She had
demons to face here in
Soon. She told herself. She’d
go home soon.
TBC.
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