Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of CSI: Miami.
It was a bright sunny morning in the quiet gated community of Westwood. Security guard Matt Howe was making his rounds near the country club when he found a man floating face down in the swimming pool. Immediately, he called 911.
Horatio Caine squinted in the mid morning sunlight and looked around at the crime scene.
"Our victim is Stephen Circo, a twenty six year old investment banker," Frank Tripp told him, "And a resident here."
"A young investment banker at that," Horatio observed, looking at the man's pale ashy face, "Who did he work for?"
"Security said he just lost his job with Cason-Whitt Investments," Tripp replied, "They went under after the foreclosure crisis hit Miami hard."
"I guess the banks aren't the only ones under water in Miami…."
The medical examiner arrived quickly and went to work on the body.
"I see here he has a gunshot wound," the M.E. noticed, pointing to a hole in the victim's chest. He turned the body over. "Here's the exit. Someone shot him at close range."
"Calleigh, do you see any casings? We have a GSW here," Horatio called out.
"Yeah I found some near the pool," she replied, "I'm gonna take them to the lab."
Horatio looked around at the country club and found several security cameras stationed around the pool area.
"Frank, talk to the security team and tell them I want what's on those tapes," he said.
"Will do Horatio."
Frank Tripp walked up behind the gatehouse where the security guards work and tapped on the glass. A startled young guard jumped up and opened the door for him. Frank attempted to walk in but the young guard stopped him.
"Sir you can't come in here. It's authorized access only."
"Son, I'm MDPD, " he said holding up a badge, "This is all the authorization you need. Now I want to see your security tapes of the pool area by the country club."
"Oh you're gonna have to talk to my Captain about that," the young guard said, his voice shaky, "She's real strict about who we let in and what people have access to."
"Son, what's your name?"
"Danny, sir."
"Danny, do you realize that you are obstructing justice right now? I can bring you in for interfering with an active investigation?"
Danny shook his head.
"Then show me those damn tapes."
"Ok sir."
Danny rewound the tapes from midnight all the way to seven thirty am, when the security guard on patrol first noticed the body. All they could see was Stephen Circo stumbling and falling into the pool. They could not see the shooter.
"Who was on duty last night?" Tripp asked.
Suddenly they both heard screeching tires pull up behind the gatehouse.
"What in the hell-?" Tripp said, looking behind him as an angry young security guard marched into the gatehouse, and slammed the door.
"Danny, don't show him another thing. Sir I'm gonna have you to ask you to leave this gatehouse," she yelled.
"And who are you, young lady?" Tripp asked her flippantly.
"I'm Captain Megan North," she said sternly, "I'm in charge of this post and you can't look at anything without a warrant."
"But this is a murder investigation, Ms. North…"
"It doesn't trump the constitution. Come back with a search warrant and I'll show you anything you want to see but for now I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, sir. You can take it up with my Colonel." She handed Tripp a business card.
Frank unwillingly left. As he walked back toward the country club, he noticed the security team had a very nice Hummer as their patrol vehicle. The company was called Elite Security Services. They had a monopoly on the gated communities in Miami. They were number one in security for the Miami area.