Unexpected Turn of Events

Chapter One

Thirteen year-old Ginny Pierce came back early from her friend's sleep over to her parents' house in Houston, Texas. She entered through the back door that was connected to the car garage, so that she may not wake or disturber her parents. She walked into the connecting kitchen and stopped in her tracks.

Her father, Adam Pierce, was lying on his back sprawled on the floor in front of the stove. Ginny carefully inched her way closer to her father's corpse and gasped at the sight before her, his eyes were missing from his sockets and the room. The handle to her mother's prized butcher knife stuck out of his forehead, like a unicorn's horn.

Ginny immediately knew what she had to do. She left the house the same way she came in, and ran to the pay phone down the street. She snatched up the receiver and shakily dialed 911. When the operator came on and asked for her information, she calmly told the person what had happened and where the crime scene was located.

Fifteen minutes later, Ginny was sitting in the front seat of a police cruiser. The officers had already gotten what they could from her. She was going over in her head how to tell a certain person that she now needed them, when someone tapped her on her shoulder. She looked up to the person who interrupted her train of thought and shakily smiled at her. "Hello, Ginny. My name is Anne Potter. I'm with the CSI team. Do you know what than means?" She asked the small girl.

Ginny took a closer look at the questioning woman. She admired the woman's blonde hair and intense, wise blue eyes. "Yes, Miss Potter, I do. You and your team collects evidence to find out who killed my parents and why."

"You're pretty smart for your age. Ginny, I want you to tell me everything you did when you walked into your house earlier. Plus when you're done, could you tell me if there is anyone you want to notify of your parents death." Anne asked in a concerned tone.

Ginny told her what she did after she walked through the back door in great detail. She also told her that it was the police who found her mother, Eve Pierce, in the master bedroom with her ears and tongue missing. She finished her statement with, "There is someone, but he lives out of state. I'm not sure if you can reach him or not, he could be at home, at work, or on his cell."

"Where does this person work and live? What is his relationship to you?" Anne carefully pried further into her life.

"My uncle lives in Miami, FL. He is a member of the local CSI team. Do you think you can somehow get a hold of him?" Ginny asked in an urgent tone and then gave Anne those numbers. The woman wrote down the numbers that Ginny gave her and decided to call the cell first. She pulls out her own cell phone from her pocket and began to dial the number.

One hour ahead of Houston and 1,000 miles away, a cell phone rang in a man's jacket pocket. He reached in and pulled it out in a swift motion. He hurriedly stated into the phone, "This is Horatio Cane, talk to me."

"Lieutenant Cane, this is Anne Potter with the CSI team in Houston. I'm calling on the behalf of Ginny Pierce. I'm not sure how to sugar coat this but her parents, Adam and Eve Pierce, were found murdered in their home just a few hours ago by her. From what she tells me, you are her only living relative and her mother was your younger sister. What should we do in the best interest of Ginny?" Anne asked quietly into the phone.

Horatio sat speechless for a few moments before he realized that he is now Ginny's legal guardian. He answered in a soft tone, "Put her under protective custody until I arrive Miss Potter. Then I'll take her home with me." After the conversation ended, he sat for a few moments stunned at the news of his sister's death. He really didn't like her husband, but got along with him her sake and Ginny's. He came to a decision, he will leave later in the morning for Houston to retrieve his niece and find out who killed his sister and why. He also promised to give closure to his niece. He first called his boss and told him the situation, and then called the airline and purchased one adult two-way ticket in addition to a child one-way ticket.

Early that afternoon, Horatio Cane stepped off the plane in Houston at Bush Intercontinental Airport and slipped his shades back on when he exited the main building. He took a slow look around like usual, and then got on the shuttle to take him to the car rentals so that he can rent a SUV. Driving a Land Rover, he headed out of the rental lot and headed to the address he jotted down. He followed the directions he had gotten from MapQuest, and successfully arrived at his destination. He parked the SUV and got out to enter the building.

He removed his sunglasses when he walked through the main doors, and proceeded to the front desk. As Horatio approached, an uniformed officer looked up and asked "How may I help you, sir?"

He looked at the owner of the female voice and answered, "I'm Lieutenant Horatio Cane. I'm here to see Detective George Woods. Could you tell him I'm here?"

The young female officer nodded her head and picked up the phone to dial the correct extension. Someone must have picked up on the other end, because she passed on the vital information that he just gave her. She acknowledged the other person's answer and then hung up the receiver. The officer returned her attention back to Horatio. "He's expecting you, sir." She buzzed him through the sally port and gave him detailed instructions on how to get to the office in question. He thanked her and went on his way.

He found the correct office with no trouble at all, and as he rapped his knuckles on the closed door, a distracted voice from with in replied, "Enter." Horatio opened the door and took a quick glance around the room. He looked over the man sitting behind the desk typing away on the computer. He took in the other man's stout build and large frame, and decided he did not want to anger this man if he wanted to stay whole. He took a few more steps into the office and stopped on the other side of the desk from the man.

Horatio held out his hand and introduced himself. "I'm Lieutenant Horatio Cane with the Miami CSI crime lab. I'm here to pick up my niece." He watched as the other man stopped tapping on the keyboard and turned around to face him.

The man behind the desk stood halfway up and reached his hand out to shake Horatio's offered one. "I'm Detective George Woods. Now I know where Ginny gets her looks from. Please sit down, Lieutenant. I'll have someone bring her up, until then I'll tell you what we know so far. Excuse me one moment." Detective Woods picked up the phone and dialed an extension. He told the other person on the other end to bring Ginny up to his office to hand over to her uncle, and then hung up the phone. "Let me give you the run down. At approximately 4:45 am, Ginny came back early from a friend's sleep over. She told us that her friend's parents were fighting just to the point of being violent, and she decided to leave before she became endangered. She entered through the back door to find her father, Adam, lying in front of the stove with his eyes missing. She left the house and ran down the street to a pay phone to call 911. We arrived at the scene at approximately 5:00 am, and continued to look for her mother while the CSI team worked in the kitchen. We moved into the master bedroom to find her mother, Eve, lying in bed with her ears and tongue missing. Both of the victims were in their nightclothes. As of now, there are no leads to go on. We are still waiting on the autopsy report on the victims to be completed." Detective Woods watched Horatio's face for anything that may be given away to help his case, and saw nothing but a stone mask. He was just to ask if the other man had any input to this case, when his office door was thrown open.

Horatio listened as the detective told him what they had gathered. He vaguely remembered something about missing body parts from the past, but he was very careful to keep the same facial expression. Just as the memory started to come back, the office door being banged open distracted him. He turned his attention to the newest addition to their group and immediately recognized the small body with a head full of red hair and blue eyes. He also noticed at the same exact moment the she also recognized him. He held out his arms as if to console her but was taken aback as she rushed rather fast into them and almost knocked him off balance. He heard as well as felt her tears soaking the front of his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and stroked her hair. "It's okay, Ginny. I know how you feel. I'm just glad you were not there, because I couldn't lose the both of you at the same time." He whispered to her.

"Uncle Horatio! I didn't touch anything when I found him. You taught me that." Ginny babbled to her uncle. After she got her emotions under control, she slightly pulled away and asked "How long are you going to be in town, Uncle Horatio?"

He looked to the detective and asked, "How long should we stay in the county? I have plane tickets for the both of us to return to Miami in four days." He wasn't sure how their procedure differ from Miami's, but the police will usually get what they needed from a suspect or witness within four days if they are not backlogged. Houston might take longer than that.

As if to confirm his suspicion, Detective Woods replied to his question. "Seeing that we are already backed logged, better delay your return for a few more days, Lieutenant. Could you give me the number where you will be staying here in town, so I can reach you in case I have anymore questions for Ginny?"

Horatio started to nod his head yes, but remembered that he immediately came here from the airport. "I would do that, Detective, if I had a number to give you. When I arrived, I immediately came here. I didn't have a chance to check into a hotel. How about you give me a number where I can reach you, and I'll call you as soon as I can get a room?" He compromised with Woods.

Woods nodded his head and reached for a pen and paper. He wrote down his office number as well as his cell phone number, and handed it over to Horatio. "I'll keep you posted on our progress, Lieutenant." He saw the other man nod his head in answer, and returned to his work on the computer. He barely noticed the two leaving his office.

Once they were outside, Horatio asked his young charge after replacing his sunglasses on his face, "Do we need to go clothes shopping or do I have to get permission to trespass a crime scene?"

Before Ginny could answer, someone ran out of the building behind them. It was the same person who escorted her up to Detective Woods' office. The woman was carrying a suitcase in her hand. "Ginny, you forgot your suitcase." She huffed out as she approached them.

Ginny took the case from the woman and used her manners, "Thank you." She watched as the woman retreated back inside. She turned back to her guardian and answered him, "Neither now, they let me pack my things before I left the house, Uncle Horatio."

Horatio nodded his head in answer to her statement, "Come on, Short Stuff, let's go find a hotel." He took the young girl's hand and escorted her to his rental Land Rover. Once he made sure she was strapped into the front passenger seat, he buckled up and started the engine. He then took off to nearest interstate to get a hotel room.

Meanwhile:

The murder watched the SUV leave the police parking lot. He decided to follow his query. "Soon, you will pay for your stupidity." He whispered to the otherwise empty vehicle, as the Land Rover pulled into a La Quinta and parked in front of the office. He waited until the red headed man checked in and found his room, before retiring the chase for the day.