Title: Darkness In The Sunlight

Author: Jess

Rating: PG-13, I'm not into that NC-17 stuff. The way I figure it, if it definitely wouldn't happen on the show, it's ain't happenin' in my story. And I've never seen anyone having completely raunchy sex on CBS. (This also means that Speedle won't be appearing, although he will be mentioned. I loved him dearly, and don't know what I'm going to do without him...but he's dead, and we all know that the dead people only talk to Alexx)

Spoilers: Well, you see, it's like this: I don't really know what is going to become of this story or where the plot is going to lead. Therefore, any episode is fair game, including the new season. So, if you're behind and I spoil it for you (hence the term spoilers) -- I apologize, but it's not my fault -- You've been warned.

Disclaimer: If I owned any part of the overly successful CSI franchise I would definitely be spending my time elsewhere doing something more expensive than sitting here, playing out my fantasies. Therefore, please do not sue me. I'm a poor theatre student, which in translation states: I have no money now, and probably never will.

Author's note: I know very little about any kind of science...biological, chemical, or physical, so when I say stupid things that don't exist...just accept it as the magic of fiction. Also, I know that I'm supposed to categorize this as a romance or drama, etc... but at this point I have no idea what it's going to be, so I took a wild guess. I am one of those people, however, who believes that every good show needs a little (okay, a lot of) UST. Meanwhile...I'm definitely not a fan of Horatio/Yelina pairing. (Sorry, mom) If you ask me, it's kind of creepy. You should never marry into the same family twice. Ever.

Enjoy, and leave feedback if you've got the time. (If you have time to read a fanfic, you have time to leave feedback.) wink 

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Two hours had passed. Two. It was entirely unexpected, yet uneventful, and now... now she didn't know what was going to happen. Sighing, she leaned back into the soft couch and buried her face in her hands. She could tell that all Hell was about to break loose, and she was completely unprepared.

"Joley?" It came as no more than a whisper, but was enough to get her attention. She lowered her hands and sat forward, facing the man who crouched before her. "Joley, I'm Lieutenant Horatio Caine, can you tell me what happened?" Her eyes stung with tears as the reality of her situation presented itself. She was being questioned.

"I don't know," she replied frantically. "I didn't see anything. I was just stopping by." Horatio nodded with understanding. He seemed sincere to Joley, but she was afraid of being falsely accused. Something in his eyes told her that he was suspicious.

"Okay," He began, pausing slightly. "Why did you stop by?"

"Anna, um, let me borrow a book. I was bringing it back," She nervously tucked an errant strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "I called earlier to let her know that I was coming, and she sounded fine."

"When was that?" He asked gently. Joley squeezed her eyes shut tightly in frustration and rubbed her temples.

"I don't know exactly," She stammered. "It was earlier this morning; sometime before nine. The news was still on." A lonely tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it away as quickly as it had fallen. "When I got here she was dead. I found her in the closet. She was all taped up." Before Horatio could interrogate her further, Yelina walked briskly up to them. He rose to meet her, sympathetically excusing himself from the conversation with Joley.

"Did you get anything from her?" Yelina wondered, somewhat impatiently.

"Well," Horatio began, glancing back at the young woman, "possible basis to start building a timeline."

"Let's take Joley back with us and complete her questioning then," She said pointedly. "The press has started swarming outside."

"Agreed," He said, noting the number of photographers huddled around the windows. Leading Yelina by the arm, he turned them back toward Joley who remained placidly on the sofa. "Joley," He began, "This is Detective Salas." Yelina offered her hand in greeting, and Joley stood, returning the gesture. "You're going to go with her, and she'll finish taking your statement, okay?"

Joley scanned the room, tentatively. She had been in here so many times before, but today it was so different. Sunlight trickled through the front window like it always had, and the chairs and sofa were still in the same places. Nothing had been disturbed. But everything was wrong. There were strangers swarming around the room, snapping photos, lifting fingerprints, talking in hushed voices, and less than an hour before, her friend had been wheeled out in a body bag. Desperation and fear hung from Joley's shoulders, and she found herself lost in the most familiar of settings.

"Joley?" Yelina asked, taking her by the hand. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," She replied, "Just ready to get out of here." Yelina smiled sadly and led her toward the front door, expecting Horatio to follow.

"Aren't you coming with us?" She asked, confused.

Horatio held the door open as they stepped out onto the porch. "I'll catch up with you in awhile, ladies," he replied. Without an explanation, Horatio closed the door behind them and watched Yelina guide their witness through the deep, hungry sea of reporters to the safety of a car. Eric strode up beside Horatio, watching the car pull away.

"What have you got, Eric?" Horatio asked, not turning around.

Eric frowned slightly; he never enjoyed being the bearer of bad news. "Not much," He replied.

"Elaborate, please," Horatio said, turning to face him.

"We searched the body for fibers, hair, any kind of transfer...nada," He said, sighing. "Alexx said she'd give it another once over before she sends the clothes up to us, but it's obvious that this guy knew what he was doing." Before Horatio's disappointment could grow into pessimism, Eric continued. "Calleigh and I have been lifting prints for half an hour, but the chances are pretty good that all of them belong to our vic."

"And none of them belong to our killer," Horatio mused, looking past Eric toward Calleigh. She was kneeling on the floor, holding a fiber up to the light of the window. He strolled over and knelt beside her, studying the strands she held pinched between the tweezer prongs. "Transfer?" He asked as she tucked the fibers into a small brown evidence envelope.

"Possibly," She replied thoughtfully. "It's a coarse material that doesn't match the victim's clothing, light blue strands... could be wool, and I don't see any blankets or sofa covers the same color in this room."

"Joley found the victim in the hall closet, didn't she?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah," Eric said, mentally scaling the distance, "That's over twenty feet away. How'd she move the body that far?"

"Okay," Horatio began, rising, "Eric, here's what I need. You process the carpet between the closet where the body was found, and this window where the body was when we arrived. Go over it with a fine-toothed comb if you have to, but don't stop until you find more of Calleigh's blue fibers. Then you process the closet and get back to me. Call Wolfe out to help you if you need him."

"Sure thing, H," He nodded, leaning past Calleigh as he reached for his kit. "Guess you're off the hook Cal."

"I deserve the day off," She said grinning, "I found the mystery fibers."

"Actually," Horatio added, "You and I are going to join Alexx for the autopsy."

"Even better," Calleigh chimed, tucking the envelope away in her kit. "I love autopsies. Scraping under fingernails, combing through pubic hair, swabbing for DNA. What more could a girl want?"

Eric chuckled. "You do need more time off."

"You're just jealous because you have to stay here all by yourself and process the scene," Calleigh shot back playfully.

"Maybe," Horatio interjected authoritatively, "we should get going." He walked past his squabbling CSIs, not irritated by their behavior, but anxious to start finding answers. They stood quietly, feeling somewhat guilty as Horatio held the door open. "Calleigh," He said, directing her outside. She obliged, carrying her things toward the door.

"We'll finish this later," Eric said, nodding toward her.

"I can't wait," She replied, ducking under Horatio's arm and into the bright Florida sunlight.

"Watch yourself Eric," Horatio warned as he shut the door. "The uniforms are taking off with the press. Don't be afraid to call for back up if you need it."

"Don't worry," he replied. "I'll let you know when I find something." As the door closed, Eric donned a new pair of gloves and started sectioning off the carpet in six-by-six inch squares. He sighed, wishing for the hundredth time that Speedle was going over the white, non-descript carpet with him.

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"Okay," Calleigh began, resting her head on her hand against the Humvee's window, "So, Joley Nelson talked to the victim this morning sometime before nine. She stops by at noon and no one answers the door. She enters the house..." Calleigh paused. "There weren't any signs of forced entry. Do you think she had a key?"

"That wouldn't make any sense though, would it?' Horatio replied, stopping for a red light.

"Even if Joley had a key of her own, the killer wouldn't have had access to the house unless he was someone she trusted." The thought made Calleigh shudder. Murder was one thing, but betrayal was in a league far beyond. It was the cases like this that made her reluctant to trust anyone. She stared at the sky, wondering at the seeming simplicity of the city. It was so complex, so full of crime and deceit, but from behind the glass window everything seemed safer somehow.

"Calleigh?" The sound of Horatio's voice pulled her wandering mind back into the present.

"Sorry," She said half-heartedly, watching buildings fly past. A sideways glance his direction let her know that he was waiting for a deeper explanation. "It seems like you can't even trust your neighbors anymore."

"Maybe you can," He began. She looked over at him, unsure where he was heading, but let him continue uninterrupted. "What happens when you lock yourself out of your house?" He asked theoretically, pulling into the CSI lot. After a moment of silence, Horatio had parked the car and opened his door. "Well?" He asked again, prompting her response.

She smiled, slightly reassured. "I use a spare key. I keep it hidden on my porch..." Calleigh paused for a moment, knowing what he was thinking. "He was stalking her. He knew her routine."

"Maybe," Horatio replied, climbing out. "Let's go see what she's told Alexx."

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"Hey Alexx," Calleigh called, swinging through the cold morgue doors. From the looks of things, Alexx had just started. She was cutting away the victim's clothing piece-by-piece, and looked up with a gentle grin when Calleigh entered.

"You finished at the scene already?" She asked, returning her attention to the victim on her table.

"Delko's finishing up," Calleigh answered, stopping at the end of the table. "Horatio's on his way in, he's on his cell." Her eyes traced along the young woman's body, noting that all the cuts and bruises were limited to her face. Duct tape still bound the woman's wrists, ankles, and mouth; the skin surrounding was chaffed from her apparent struggle. "Can we remove the tape?" she asked quietly, reaching for a pair of gloves.

Before Alexx could reply, Horatio entered the room, flipping his phone shut as he approached the two of them.

"That was Yelina," He reported. "For one reason or another, our witness is not talking."

"Well that doesn't make sense," Calleigh replied, taking the scissors from Alexx and cutting the tape away from Anna Lawson's ankles. "Joley was her friend, why wouldn't she want to help catch Anna's killer?" Horatio grabbed an evidence bag and held it open as Calleigh dropped the tape inside. No one answered her question, but she continued to wonder as she cut away more tape from the victim's wrists.

"Alexx, is there an obvious cause of death?" Horatio asked, observing as she removed the strip of tape from Anna's mouth and handed it to Calleigh.

"No startling physical trauma," Alexx began. "She's got bruising on her face, neck, and shoulders, suggesting she was held down, but no injury significant enough to suggest something like blunt force trauma. I'll know for sure in a couple hours, but I'm guessing suffocation."

Calleigh sighed in frustration. "This crime has violent overtones. Her hands and feet were bound, her face was battered, she was gagged, and stuffed in a closet. A passive murder, like poison or suffocation, takes time and is more indirect. Perps who restrict their victims like this prefer a hands-on kill; it's what turns them on. They couldn't just sit by and watch her die slowly." While Calleigh spoke, Horatio moved along the table, examining the bruising on Anna's neck. He quickly pulled on a pair of gloves, running his fingers over the victim's skin.

"Take a look at this," He said, drawing Alexx to the other side of the table. "The bruising on her neck's consistent with a pair of hands, but this is not." Horatio pressed his index finger against the line of bruises, but when he pulled away the latex glove stuck briefly to the skin.

"Looks like more tape residue," Alexx said, glancing up at Calleigh. She cradled Anna's head in her hands and felt around the sides and back of her neck. "It goes all the way around." With her eyes focused on the woman's delicate features she added, "What game was he playing with you, honey?"

"She had something taped around her face," Calleigh murmured quietly. "A plastic bag or a pillow case...something like that." She paused briefly before continuing. "She couldn't get any air. But why didn't we find anything at the scene? Joley didn't say anything about a bag or blanket around Anna's face. You think our killer took it with him?"

"I don't know," Horatio mused. "I'm going to speak with our witness again," He said. "See if I can get her to talk. Calleigh, take the tape and her clothes to the lab. Process what you can, and I'll be there to help you in awhile. Call Eric and tell him to look for our discarded murder weapon."

Calleigh nodded, "Okay." She paused thoughtfully as he headed for the door. "Horatio," she called, causing him to turn back, "If she says anything...let me know." He hinted an understanding nod her direction before leaving the morgue.

"What are you looking for?" Alexx questioned, leaning against the side of the table to face Calleigh as she gathered the evidence for processing.

"I don't know," She replied. "There's just something about how she was bound. The way she died, how she was found in the closet but in front of a window twenty feet away when we arrived at the scene. If she had a bag taped around her face the killer wouldn't risk keeping it, but we haven't found it, and our witness isn't talking. Doesn't feel right." With a sigh, Calleigh took her armful of evidence headed for the door, leaving Alexx to autopsy the body in solitude.

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Author's note: I know that this chapter was incredibly short, but it seemed like a relatively appropriate place to stop, so I did. I'm a woman who follows her instincts. Let me know if I'm a lost cause. I promise that there's more excitement on the way and thanks for reading.

--jess