Title: Misdemeanors
Disclaimer: Angst, violence, slash, and language.
POV: Speed
Intro
The wind ruffles my hair. I snap a photo of a blood pool that has stained the cement. It is only ten in the morning and already we have a crime scene. People move to Florida to retire and enjoy the sunshine. Not to die before they get to eat lunch. I close my eyes as the wind sweeps the leaves into a frenzied dance. The sun does feel warm today. A stronger gust of wind nearly knocks me from me feet and I open my eyes. A few feet away I hear Delko swear. The offshore hurricane may not be heading our way but the high winds are enough to mess things up.
I turn to look at my co-work. He's bent over the body of our deceased, the only victim in a mysterious crime. Our boss walks over to him with a small clear bag in hand. I smile. The gust of wind must have taken Delko by surprise, thus ripping the bag from his grip. He takes the bag from Horatio and smiles a thank-you. Calleigh, my closest female friend, is working a few feet away from Delko. She's busy trying to write on a piece of paper but the wind isn't being very helpful. Typical weather for Florida.
Horatio standing beside Detective Tripp next time I look his way. Tripp has out his notebook and is most likely telling H what facts he's gotten from the small amount of witnesses in the area. It's always funny how tons of people are willing to admit they saw an embarrassing act happen to someone; but when a crime happens, everyone goes blind. On the opposite side of the police cruiser that H is standing near, Detective Hagen is busy talking on the phone. Whatever the topic of conversation it is clear that Hagen is not happy. Life goes on. At least he's not lying on the pavement dead to the world.
Delko's laugh is a bit off. No one should cry at a crime scene. I looked over my buddy trying to figure out what he held to be so funny. In his hands is a small black leather wallet. Being the truly curious person I am, I stroll over to see what has tickled his funny bone.
"Don't let H catch you laughing," I remark. "He may be an easy-going guy, but he'll see this as disrespectful; especially with people wondering about."
Delko shakes his head. "I know, man. At the time I couldn't help myself. Here, see for yourself," he says as he hands me the wallet.
I try my best to suppress a laugh as my eyes graze over the wallet. The license inside identifies the victim as one Miss Slovesky. I giggle. Calleigh stops by my side to read over my shoulder. I guess the little exchange between Delko and I had not gone unnoticed by everyone.
She frowns. "How interesting. How very interesting."
"What is so interesting that it's keeping my best CSI's from doing their jobs?" Horatio asks.
Calleigh is the only one who doesn't jump at the sound of his voice. She hands him the wallet. "I think the case just got a bit more mysterious. Where did this wallet come from?"
"Miss Slovesky," Horatio reads. "Well, either our victim had a sex change or this isn't his wallet. Is this the only identification found on the guy?"
Delko nods. "Yep. The only other item in his pockets is a set of car keys. He doesn't even have any spare change. And there's no cash in the wallet."
"That kind of rules out pick-pocketing," Calleigh says.
"Not really," I voice. "Maybe he took the wallet and was unhappy to find there wasn't any money. Perhaps he got killed trying to beat up this Miss Slovesky."
"Guess work may keep the brain fresh but it doesn't solve the case," Horatio says. "Continue looking for evidence. I'm going to see if Hagen is done with his personal call and willing to help out with crowd control."
I shrug. "Back to work. I'm sure the jokes will be flying later, though."
Delko resumes retrieving trace from the victim. Calleigh takes baby steps around the body looking for bullet casings. Unless someone picked them up they should be nearby. I begin to take photographs of the quickly disappearing crowd. Hagen is doing a great job at crowd control. Threatening to arrest people for loitering is a good way to go; although it's not the best. I snap a photo. And then another. A drop of water hits the lens of my camera. My eyes instantly turn to the sky. The once blue sky has turned a rather ugly shade of gray-black.
"Oh, shit," I mutter.
The crime is about to be washed away with a freak noontime storm. Florida is well known for having a high rate of lightning strikes. More than three-hundred-and-fifty people have been killed by lightning in the state and over a thousand others have been injured. I turn to yell at my co-workers about the impending rain but the heavens beat me to it.
A loud clap of thunder shakes the ground before the clouds let loose. Rain pours down in sheets. Delko grabs up his evidence bags and runs for the shelter of a building overhang. Calleigh is right behind him. Tripp and Horatio act fast and grab a tarp from the back of the crime Hummer. They toss it over the body before they too head for the overhang. I begin to follow them. Horatio won't be happy about me being out in the rain. It was only a month ago that I had been shot and nearly killed. My immune system is still recovering. Getting soaked and catching chill would be enough to make me sick.
Lightning flashes across the sky. The unexpected sudden burst of color makes me jump. I nearly drop the camera. I manage to reach the team before the next roll of thunder is heard. Delko giggles as he wrings out his T-shirt. My mood is heavier. Nothing like the rain to ruin a crime scene. It washes away all the evidence. I turn and look at the tarp covered body. Lightning flashes across the sky again. In the wake of the light I catch the shine of something metallic. A key piece of evidence? No one else seems to have noticed it. I put my camera on the ground.
Calleigh yells my name as I run toward the street. The rain starts to fall harder and I can hardly see the road. I pass under the yellow crime scene tape as it bounces in the wind. Another flash of lightning. Again, I see the shine of something metallic. It's near the center of the street. I take a step toward it.
Horatio yells my name. I turn to look back at him but can barely see him. He's become just a shadow in the falling water. My attention returns to the task at hand. I take a few more steps until I see the object. By now everyone is yelling my name. What is wrong with them? A noise to my left floats to my ear. It's a familiar sound but one I can't quite make out. I bend down to pick up the piece of evidence.
The sound of shoes on wet pavement force their way into my mind. Horatio grabs me by the waist and pulls me backward. I slip and stumble on the wet pavement. We both fall to the ground. The look on his face is frantic as we both try to regain our footing. Delko races out into the rain. He pulls me by the arm while Horatio finds his footing. I have no idea why they're acting so crazy. Delko gives one more good pull as I climb to my feet. I stumble into him. He braces himself and neither one of us falls. Horatio stands beside us a car goes racing through street. Right through the crime. Right over the spot I had been standing on. Just seconds later a police cruiser drives by in hot pursuit.