Fandom: CSI: Miami
Characters: Frank Tripp, Rhonda Morgan and Horatio Caine
Title: I'm Not A Food Group
Word Count: 719
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Rhonda works a high profile murder case with Frank's help.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Miami characters. I own Rhonda. Not making any money off of this.

Not A Food Group

Rhonda Morgan found herself in the inevitable position of being the lead CSI on what the press was calling the Call Girl murders. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in an effort to stop her head from pounding. She hated the fact that she developed headaches in the first place with stress headaches being the worse kind to deal with.

She fixed herself a cup of coffee and chewed on a few aspirin hoping that they would ease the pain in her head. Too many hours chasing down worthless leads, too much caffeine and not enough sleep was taking its toll on her body and mind.

"You know that stuff is lethal, right?" inquired Speed as he walked into the break room carrying a small stack of folders.

"It's better to die from this than disappoint Horatio," she murmured. "So any new wild geese I can chase?"

"Actually, I think I might have a break for ya," Speed replied. He set the folders down on the table before snagging a diet soda from the fridge.

"Please tell me you aren't pulling my leg," Rhonda begged.

"Not this time," Speed answered as he began to spread the folders out. "Eric discovered that these women had one client in common."

"Aaron Zeigler?" Rhonda flipped through each file and saw this politico wannabe's name highlighted in everyone. "My, oh my," she breathed. "If we don't handle this right, it could blow up in our faces in a major way."

"Yup."

"So where's Eric?"

"He's at Judge McCoy's waiting for a warrant on an unrelated case."

Rhonda let out the breath she hadn't realized that she had been holding in a loud whoosh. "I'm going to run this by Horatio," she said collecting the folders. "Tell Eric I owe him dinner."

"Right," Speed answered. "And good luck."

"Thanks."

&/&/&

Rhonda found Frank Tripp at his desk at the station. Horatio had advised her to take Tripp when she went to interview Aaron Zeigler.

"Hey, Frank," she said getting the older man's attention.

"Hi, Rhonda," Frank replied as he looked up from a file he had been reading. "What can I do for you?"

"You wanna go rattle somebody's cage?"

"Whose?"

"Aaron Zeigler."

Frank's eyes lit up causing Rhonda to quietly snicker. "Horatio mentioned something about this guy being one of your 'favorite people' to deal with."

"He's an ass who needs to be taken down a few notches," Frank explained as he stood and slipped on his suit jacket.

"Then let's see if we can do that," Rhonda remarked with a wicked grin.

&/&/&

"Mr. Zeigler, may we have a word with you?" Rhonda asked in her official police officer tone. It had taken a veiled threat to get her and Frank past Zeigler's administrative assistant, so she was in no mood to play games.

"Look cupcake," Zeigler replied, eying Rhonda up like she was a dumb blonde. "Can we do this some other time? I have a business to run."

Calling on her reserve charm, Rhonda smiled sweetly. "Mr. Zeigler, I am not a food group. I am a detective with the Miami-Dade Police Department and will be accorded the respect my position demands. You can either answer my questions now or you can answer them at the station. Your choice."

Frank Tripp stood behind Rhonda and fought to keep a smug smirk off his face. His respect for Rhonda had gone up a notch. He had never met anyone other than Horatio Caine who could politely put a person in their place so quickly.

"Certainly, Detective Morgan," Zeigler replied.

&/&/&

Once they were done and returning to the lab, Frank told her, "You handled yourself well with that over important prick."

"Years of practice," Rhonda explained. "I had a few run-ins with self-inflated commanding officers when I was in the service."

"Hmmm..." Frank murmured. "That back there I must say was a thing of beauty. You had him eating out of your hand and I have only seen Horatio do that."

"It only takes a smile and a kind word to get cooperation, Frank," Rhonda retorted, making light of the situation. She was uncomfortable receiving praise, but being compared to Horatio made her heart beat just a little faster.

Frank threw back his head and roared.

The End