Annabelle Duquesne

BY CAITLIN BROOK

'We have ID from the prints' he said

'Name?' Horatio asked

'Er… Annabelle Duquesne' he replied

'What?' He questioned rhetorically

'Annabelle Duquesne, is there something wrong with that?' he queried

'Calleigh Duquesne is a CSI here' he returned

'Hey Horatio, have you got any ID yet?' Calleigh asked

'Calleigh have you got a daughter?' Horatio responded

'Yes, but she went missing years ago, how is this relevant to the case?'

'Is her name Annabelle?' Horatio questioned

'Yes but why do you want to know?' Calleigh queried

'We ran the prints from the crime scene hers were there' Horatio told her

'Oh my god!' Calleigh said in disbelief

'Who's the father?' Horatio questioned

'I don't know?' Calleigh returned

'Run DNA through CODIS please' Horatio commanded

'Sure Horatio' he said 'Wow that was quick' he gasped

'Give me a name' Horatio ordered.

'You!' he replied surprised at the results.

'WHAT?' Horatio and Calleigh gasped in synchronisation.

'You're the father of her missing daughter' he replied.

'How is that possible?' Horatio questioned.

'I don't know' Calleigh replied.

'Wait there's another match for her.' He told them.

'What?' Calleigh posed

'She must've been adopted and given another name' Horatio defined

'Georgia Reeds' he replied

Twenty minutes later they'd tracked her cell and Calleigh and Horatio had gone to visit her. They rang the doorbell.

'I'm Horatio Caine and this is Calleigh Duquesne' Horatio replied

'We're looking for Georgia' Calleigh added

'That's me but I'm adopted' she replied

'We know, you're real name's Annabelle Duquesne' Calleigh acknowledged

'You mean you're my mum?' she understood

'Yes' Calleigh recognised

'Do you know who my father is?' she queried

'According to DNA, him' Calleigh replied

'He's my father?' she asked in disbelief

'Yes' Calleigh sighed

'You make that sound like a bad thing' Horatio said

'Honestly Horatio it isn't I can think of a lot worse' Calleigh accepted

Suddenly there was a loud banging noise and a car screeched away on the road. Annabelle fell to the floor and bled out. Calleigh and Horatio turned their heads away from the road and back to where Annabelle lay in a pool of blood.

'Annabelle' Calleigh and Horatio cried simultaneously.

They called for an ambulance and it pulled up ten minutes later.

'Over here' Horatio beckoned 'She's been shot'

Just then a car pulled into the drive

'Oh my god what happened?' the woman asked

'She was shot in a drive by shooting' Horatio explained 'How do you know this girl?'

'I'm her foster mother and you are?' the woman enquired.

'Horatio Caine, Calleigh Duquesne Miami PD' Horatio informed

'Why are you here?' she invited

'We were working on a case and ran some DNA and it came back as Georgia but it also came back as Annabelle Duquesne they're the same person.' Horatio enlightened

'Wait Duquesne she's your daughter!' she put to the test

'Mm'

'I didn't know she had family out looking for her' she confessed

'We only just found out he was the father and I've been out looking for over ten years' Calleigh stated

Twenty minutes later they were at the hospital, sat by her bed. She lay unconscious. Her long blonde hair half coated in blood and Calleigh's hands were too, Horatio squatted next to her comforting her. Then Horatio's phone rang.

'Caine' Horatio said

'H, where are you? We've got ID on a suspect.'

'Good, name Eric'

'David James, but where are you?'

'At the hospital with Calleigh'

'What happened? Is she ok?'

'Yes she's fine but Annabelle isn't she was shot'

'And Annabelle is?'

'Calleigh's daughter and according to DNA mine too'

'Wait how…?'

'We don't know either'

'Ok, so do you want me to go and see the suspect?'

'Sure, I'll be back in a bit so I'll come and give you a hand, do you have an address for this David James person.'

'Yes he lives just round the corner from the hospital'

'Ok Eric'

He hung up

'Excuse me did you just say David James?'

'Yes I did, what are you implying?'

'He's here' the nurse returned

'Ok, thank you do you know how long he's been here?' Horatio asked

'Two weeks, give or take a couple of days' the nurse told him

'Thank you' Horatio replied

He redialled Eric's phone number

'Eric, David James is in the hospital and has been for roughly two weeks' Horatio informed

'Ok. I'll be there in five' Eric sighed

'Thanks Eric' Horatio Said

He hung up again

Horatio walked over to Calleigh

'You ok?' Horatio quiried

'Mm-Hm' Calleigh sobbed

'Come on I'm buying you a coffee' he ordered putting an arm around her.

She stood and they walked to a coffee machine, he put in the money and the coffee came out. He handed it to her.

'Thanks' she responded while smiling at him.

She lowered her head. Horatio brushed one of Calleigh's hairs aside and tucked it behind her ear. She looked up; her face was reddened from crying. Suddenly there were two loud bangs and Calleigh fell to the floor after only one bullet hit her in the stomach.

'Calleigh!' Horatio shouted pulling out his gun.

He could see the man fleeing he had short black curly locks that were greying he was wearing a hospital gown. He couldn't get a clear shot of the man, so he lowered his weapon and knelt beside Calleigh. He stroked her head running her hair through his fingertips and held her hand with his spare. The doctors and nurses came almost immediately after that and put Calleigh onto a stretcher. He walked beside the stretcher as they pushed it to a room at the side of the corridor; they passed reception just as Eric strolled in.

'Oh my God is Calleigh ok?'

'I don't know she was only just shot.'

Horatio's hands were blood laden from Calleigh's stomach.

'The guy had black curly hair that was partly grey and he was wearing a hospital gown'

'Ok I'll compare it to the photos we have of the suspect. Don't worry we'll catch him'

Two hours later Eric and Horatio awaited news, on Calleigh, at reception. Alexx strolled in, she looked upset.

'What is it?'

'I'm sorry there was nothing we could do, she's in another coma. She's in so deep she may not come out again'

Horatio sighed

'Thanks Alexx'

'Get this guy Horatio'

'Don't worry I will, let's just hope she gets through this'

'Mm'

'Eric we should go and find this guy'

'Wait a second; did you see Annabelle get shot at?'

'Yes so did Calleigh'

'That would be it then you and Calleigh were witnesses so he's trying to take you out and he's tried Calleigh and it'll be you next'

'I was with Calleigh why didn't they do it then'

'Didn't get a clear shot, did and missed could be either'

'He did shoot twice'

'There you go he shot at both of you hit Calleigh missed you'

'I think he'll try again'

'Me too'

Ten minutes later Horatio and Eric were back at the lab. Eric compared the description that Horatio gave with the photo of David James. It was a match.

'How is this possible?'

'How are a lot of things possible?'

'Good question'

Just then Horatio's phone rang.

'Caine'

'Calleigh's getting worse'

He sighed.

'Thanks for informing me'

He hung up.

'How's she doing?'

'Worse'

'Oh, that's bad'

'Mm'

'We should find this guy before he tries to kill you or tries to kill Calleigh again'

'I agree'

Eric traced his cell back to the hospital

'He's at the hospital'

They ran out and into the car. He dialled Alexx's number

'Alexx watch out David James may try to kill Calleigh again'

'Thanks'

Within ten minutes Horatio and Eric were at the hospital talking with Alexx.

'So, he hasn't moved for over two weeks?'

'That's right'

Just then Alexx's was paged

'What is it?'

'Calleigh'

They all raced to her bedside expecting the worst, yet Calleigh was conscious.

'Horatio, Alexx, Eric'

'Calleigh'

'Please tell me you weren't hurt'

'No I'm fine'

'That's good'

They smiled.

'You're doing better than I'd hoped'

'That's good'

'Are you ok? you seem a bit like that time you were dosed'

'She got dosed!'

'With cocaine'

'Okay'

'I feel fine, well you know what I mean I do feel slightly ill though' she started before coughing. Blood started trickling down her chin from her mouth and before long there was a bucket full.

'Wow, take it easy Calleigh' he cautioned before rushing to her side and putting his arm around her.

'Do you know what could've caused that Alexx?'

'Only a few types of drugs or her lungs are punctured, but the gunshot wound is in the wrong place for that'

'Could any of the drugs she's been given by the hospital have caused that?'

'No'

'Did this happen to Annabelle?'

'Now you mention it, yes'

'I think the bullets were dosed'

'That would explain the throwing up blood'

'How is she anyway?' Calleigh asked when she'd finished throwing up blood

'She's doing ok'

'That's good'

'How do you two know her anyway?'

'Her daughter and DNA says mine too' Horatio told her before she looked at him 'we both have no idea' he added

'What about that time when you were undercover together, three years ago'

'We never…anyway that was too late she's about twelve'

'Oh'

'Wait a sec, high school; I had, you know what, with this student in my science classes'

'Yeah that was it I remember'

'So that's how…'

'Mm'

A few hours later they'd found prints on the bullet that had missed Horatio and hit the wall behind him when Calleigh was shot. They'd also matched the prints to David James.

'So he hired someone to kill Annabelle, then was told you and Calleigh witnessed it, then found out you were in the hospital took the gun shot her missed you, then ran.'

'Thing is why and who did he hire?'

'Yeah'

Horatio went out for lunch in a café.

'Mind if I join you there's no other seats'

The man had a black eye and several other bruises

'Sure' obliged Horatio

'David James' he introduced

'That was the biggest mistake of your life'

'What?'

'You shot my friend arranged for my daughter to be shot and barely missed me'

David James started to make a run for it shoving his food into a pocket after wrapping it back up. Horatio sprinted after him and eventually caught up with him and arrested him.

'Who did you hire to kill my daughter?'

'Lawyer'

'Answer this question I'll have the charge reduced unless you want to go down for her attempted murder as well as mine and my colleague's.'

'Greg Kehen'

'Thank you'

Ten minutes later they'd arrested Greg Kehen.

'David gave you up Greg, so why'd you do it?'

'He said if I didn't he'd have my family killed and he said if I did there was a grand in it'

'So you shot the girl, then went back for your prize, and told him about me and my colleague being there, he said you had to kill us or you wouldn't get the money, you told him you were only responsible for the kid and you beat him up cause he wouldn't give you the money'

'That's pretty much it yeah'

'So why'd you do it?'

'Because she wouldn't read us into level one security files when she had access to them'

'Did you ever stop to think that just because her files level one security doesn't mean she is?'

'Come to think of it no'

'There you go'