Horatio
The call came in just after 6am. The body of a woman had been found in her apartment. Horatio took the call, spun his hummer in the road, and headed to the crime scene. His mind was working on the case before he even got there. Was this an early morning domestic turned murder? Had she been there all night? Horatio Caine lived for this.
It was a small apartment, just two rooms. Crime Scene tape was attached to the door frame – patrol officers were hovering around outside, not sure whether they were needed or not. Horatio ducked under the tape. In four strides, he was at the body, standing next to Tripp.
"Tripp? What do we have?" A young woman lay face down on the floor, blood pooled around her.
"Patrol were called out just after 4am, neighbours said they heard gunshots. Looks like three bullet wounds in her back."
"Any ID?"
"Drivers Licence says she's Adele Hutchins. 24 years old. From the look of her I'd say she's been turning tricks."
"Let's not jump to conclusions. Have patrol managed to track down next of kin yet?"
"Not yet. I'll get on it"
Tripp turned to leave the cramped apartment, just as a second CSI ducked under the tape. Calleigh Duquesne had already pulled on a pair of latex gloves and carried a case of investigative equipment.
"Calleigh." Horatio was always pleased to have Calleigh on scene. He knew he could rely on her to be thorough.
"Hi Horatio. What do we know?"
"Not a lot. Three bullet wounds. Judging by the amount of blood under her they're through-and-through. I'll take a look around."
"I'll see if I can find those bullets." Calleigh turned and walked towards the wall, but her attention was distracted.
"Hey, Horatio, did Patrol say they found a kid?"
"Not that I know of. What do you have?"
Calleigh bent down to pick something up. "A stuffed toy. She doesn't seem the type to have a room full of teddy-bears."
"No, Calleigh, she doesn't" Horatio glanced around the room. There wasn't much evidence that a child lived here, but then again, there wasn't much of anything. If this girl had been turning tricks, she wasn't doing very well out of it.
Calleigh walked around the apartment, until she reached the open door to the bedroom. Her gaze fell on the wardrobe.
"You know, Horatio, when children get scared, they usually hide somewhere."
"They do, Calleigh." The pair walked into the bedroom. Slowly, Calleigh opened the wardrobe door. A girl was crouched in the dark, hugging her knees. She couldn't have been more than six years old.
"Hi, Sweetie" Calleigh bent down to be eye level with the child. "You're safe now. We're police officers. Everything's going to be OK."
The child looked silently from Calleigh to Horatio. Then her eye was drawn past the pair, into the living room. Where her mother lay dead. Horatio moved quickly to block her view.
"Calleigh, why don't you two stay in here. See if she can tell you anything. I'll hurry things along in here."
"Sure" Calleigh smiled at Horatio, then turned back to the girl. "Come on, sweetie, let's get you out of there."