-1Missing - CSI:Miami
Chapter 1 - Kidnapping?
Calleigh Duquesne rolled over. She glanced at the luminous alarm clock by her bed. She watched as the time clicked from 6:59 to 7:00 and it started it's rhythmic beeping. With a groan, she dragged herself out of bed and into the shower. As the hot water and steam encased her, Calleigh turned her thoughts to her work. She was due at the crime lab for 9:00am where she had a homicide victim's case file to go over before the trial date next week. Sighing, she turned the shower off and stepped out. Dressing quickly, she grabbed a slice of toast and made her way to work. It was 8:00.
As she arrived she saw the last of the nightshift filtering out. She shuddered, glad she worked dayshift. As she entered, she saw Eric Delko signing in.
"Hey Eric!" She smiled as she walked up to him. He returned her smile with an equally bright one of his own.
"Hey baby. How did you sleep?" He said. Calleigh grinned.
"Never better!" Eric gave her a smile and began to lean in, but at that point Horatio Caine entered the lobby and the pair sprang apart. Although it had been three months since Marisol's death, they felt it prudent to keep their relationship a secret for now. As Horatio made his way towards them, Ryan Wolfe popped up out of nowhere.
"Mister Wolfe." Horatio said as he joined the group.
"Have you picked up those assignments for me?" Ryan nodded and handed Horatio several slips of paper. Horatio examined them for a moment, then looked up at his expectant team.
"Alright then," He smiled.
"Calleigh and Eric, we have a kidnapping in Coconut Grove. I'd like you two to head over and start processing . Mister Wolfe and I have a homicide down at the Marina." The team nodded, both Calleigh and Eric working hard to conceal smiles.
As the team parted ways, Eric and Calleigh headed to the garage to pick up one of the departmental Hummers. As they climbed in, Eric in the drivers seat, they smiled.
"Not often we get to work a case together." Eric said, starting the engine.
"No." Calleigh agreed, leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek. Eric turned to her and their lips brushed for just a moment before they began to drive.
Arriving at the scene, they immediately noticed there was only a small number of squad cars. They spotted Frank Tripp near the door of the house, talking to a middle-aged women. As they approached they caught snippets of the conversation…
"…Her cell phone is off. She's never done this before…."
Just then Tripp turned around and saw them.
"Ma'am, this is CSI's Calleigh Duquesne and Eric Delko. Their going to take a look around and see if they can find anything that might tell us where Gabrielle has gone." Calleigh and Eric nodded at the women who gave them a weak a smile. Tripp then pulled the pair aside.
"We may not have a kidnapping." He said in a low voice. Both Calleigh and Eric stared at him with wide eyes.
"What do you mean may not?" Eric asked in disbelief. Tripp sighed.
"Turns out the kid's a foster child. Ellie Lark" (He indicated the women by the door) "..swears she's never run off before, but…"
"But?" Eric asked, getting annoyed.
"Well come on, Delko!" Tripp exclaimed.
"Fifteen year old girl disappears in the middle of the night from a foster home? Just what you expect from a runaway".
Calleigh rolled her eyes.
"Not just that but there's a bag and a handful of clothes missing!" Tripp finished.
Delko threw him a look.
"Kidnappers are smart, Tripp. In the right situation if they make it look like a runaway, they can call in for a ransom before the cops get called."
Calleigh nodded.
"I'll go in and get started." She picked up her silver kit from the ground and made her way onto the house.
In the girl's room she saw several pictures, showing a small dark haired Hispanic girl. Some pictures also showed her with a blonde girl of about the same age. One of the photo frames bore a sticker saying 'Best Friends'. Calleigh smiled and made a mental note to ask Miss Lark about the second girl. She looked around. As she bent down to open her kit, she heard a creak of floorboards behind her, and a hand clamped itself over her mouth. She immediately reached for her gun, but a hand slapped hers away before jerking the gun from it's holster.
Calleigh stayed very still and thought quickly, her mind racing. She was now unarmed, but as of yet the owner of the hand clamped over her mouth had made no other move. Just then a low voice spoke.
"Stand up." Calleigh stayed as still as a mouse.
"Get up!" the voice commanded, and she felt the barrel of her own gun against her head. She instantly, trying not to make any sudden moves. Following the voice's instructions, she made her way to the house's back door. To her surprise they saw no uniforms on their way out, but remembered Tripp's words and realized that most of the department probably doubted the kidnapping. Well, she didn't think they would now.
They exited the back door, which Calleigh unbolted with trembling hands. She was prodded towards a black SUV that had been parked in front of the Hummer that she and Eric had driven. As they had come round the back of the house, no-one had yet spotted them. It was evident that her captor had relied on this.
Just then she heard Eric's voice, shouting her name. Before she could say a word, a cloth was pushed over her nose and mouth, and she smelt the sickly stench of chloroform. The last thing she heard was Eric's voice as she was flung into the back of the SUV and the doors closed behind her. Then it all went black.
Eric finished up talking to Tripp and made his way to the house. As he entered, his senses kicked in and he wondered why he heard no sound from Calleigh. Quickly he checked the whole house. Seeing no sign of Calleigh, he raced outside and franticly began calling her name. The cops at the scene heard him and came running over. Just then he heard an engine rev and swung around to where they had parked the Hummer, just in time to see a flash of Calleigh's blonde hair as she was flung into the trunk of a black SUV, and the car began to move off. Cops were rushing to their cars in hope of taking up the chase but the SUV took off with a squeal of tyres that told Eric they would find it hard to catch up. He snatched his cell from his pocket and hit a number on the speed-dial.
"Horatio Caine here."
"Horatio,
It's Eric."
"What's going on?" Horatio asked, a worried
tone to his voice.
"It's about Calleigh."
"What about her, Eric?"
Eric struggled to hold back the tears forming in his eyes.
"She's gone."
Chapter 2 - Starting the search
As Horatio and Ryan arrived at the marina, they were approached by a women that neither recognised. As she reached them, Horatio opened his mouth to explain they were to busy to talk, but just then he caught sight of a golden flash by her hip.
Evidently Ryan had noticed it to, as he reached out to shake the women's hand.
"Hello, I'm Ryan Wolfe." The detective nodded at him and went to shake Horatio's hand too. Horatio smiled and introduced himself, and their status. The detective returned his smile and spoke for the first time, with a slight southern accent that reminded both of Calleigh.
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Detective Alexis Martinez. I presume you're here about the DB?" Horatio and Ryan confirmed with a nod. As the three of them began to walk towards the area cordoned off with bright yellow crime scene tape, Detective Martinez quickly explained that she had just transferred in from New Mexico, where she had worked for the last two years as a detective.
Reaching the crime scene Ryan and Horatio ducked the tape and crossed to where they saw Alexx Woods examining the body of a Caucasian male who looked on his early twenties.
"What are we looking at Alexx?" Horatio asked.
"Not a pretty sight." Alexx sighed. "Poor baby's been beaten bad. He's got a crushed skull and so many other broken bones I can't count. We'll know more after the autopsy." Just then Horatio's cell phone rang. Instructing Ryan to begin processing, he answered it.
"Horatio Caine here."
"Horatio,
It's Eric."
"What's
going on?" Horatio asked, a worried tone
to his voice.
"It's about Calleigh."
"What about her, Eric?" Horatio pressed the phone to his ear, trying to hear Eric. It sounded like Eric's throat was clogged. Eric's reply sent a wave of shock through him.
"She's gone".
Groggily, Calleigh opened her eyes. The first thing she realized was that her hands had been bound with a rough piece of rope. Glancing around, she realized she was in the trunk of a car. Shaking her head to get rid of any lingering effects of the chloroform, Calleigh began to remember things thick and fast. She remembered the crime scene… remembered Eric's shouts…. The missing girl!. It quickly dawned on Calleigh that the whole crime scene had been a set up, placed there to draw in a cop. Her captors were obviously under the impression they could get a good ransom for a 'copper'.
Just then she felt the car stop. Quickly she ducked down and tried to look as if she was just coming to. She heard the SUV's doors open and the crunch of feet on gravel. Light flooded in as the trunk was opened and a face leered in at her.
"Get up Blondie!" Calleigh instantly recognized it as the same voice who had pressed her gun to her head.
This time she offered no resistance, and climbed out as quickly as her bound hands allowed. Then she was half-pushed, half-pulled to the door of the house they had parked in front of. She tried to glance over her shoulder, hoping to glimpse anything that might tell her where she was.
A sharp slap forced her to face forward, in time to see the front door open, and a burly man stood in the doorway. He stepped aside, and they continued on down the corridor until they reached a door on the left hand side. One of the men took a firm grip on Calleigh's arm to stop her getting away whilst the other turned a key in the locked door.
The door was flung open to reveal a small room with two beds and little else. A small door at the far end told Calleigh that an even smaller bathroom ran off the room. Another thing she noticed was the girl perched on one of the beds. It was the Hispanic girl from the photos.
Before Calleigh could speak, the rope was pulled from her hands and she was shoved roughly into the room to join the girl. Evidently she recognized the men, for she sprang up and came over to where the two men blocked the doorway.
"Ok, you got what you wanted!" The girl shouted.
"I'm getting out of here." This caused the two men to crack up with laughter.
"How are you planning on doing that?!" one of the men laughed. The girl didn't reply. She seemed to be staring intently at the two men. Then Calleigh saw what she had noticed. The men were so busy laughing, that the gap between them was getting wider.
Before Calleigh could stop her, the girl ran as fast as she could past them and down the corridor. It only took a moment for one of the men to notice, and his faced filled with anger. To Calleigh's horror, he yanked her gun from the waistband of his pants and took aim. She heard the girl's screams of terror as bullets bounced off the walls around her. A louder, more high pitched scream told her that one of the bullets had found it's mark. The scream was followed by a low grunt, and then Calleigh remembered the burly man at the door.
Sure enough a few moments later, his bulky frame consumed the doorway and pushed the girl back into the room with such force, that she fell and spun across the floor coming to rest near Calleigh's feet. Calleigh spotted a faint line of blood on the floor and as the girl leapt to her feet, she saw blood flowing from a bullet graze on the girl's left arm. Regardless of this, the girl still went back towards the men. This time however, there was no messing around, The man who had shot at her grabbed her by her left wrist and used that to pin her to the wall. Calleigh could stand it no more and gave a cry, running forward, but was stopped by the other men. The man holding the girl to the wall drew a knife from his boot and pressed it to the girl's wrist.
"You play with me one more time girl," he snarled "And this knife will be through your wrist holding it to this wall. Get it?!" The girl nodded, her eyes watering with the pain in her arm.
"Good!" The man let go and nodded to his cronies, and they all slunk out the room, one of them snatching Calleigh's cell phone as he left.
The key turned in the lock.
Horatio arrived at the house where he saw Eric, pacing up and down.
"Horatio!" Eric ran over as soon as he saw him.
"Okay Eric, What happened?" Horatio asked. He tried to keep his voice calm, so as to make Eric at ease. It didn't really work. Eric quickly told him the whole story. He finished with
" … the car went so fast we had no chance. Didn't get a plate number or anything!"
Horatio nodded and began to think.
"Okay Eric, you said it drove off fast right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Eric, if they drove fast…."
"They left tire treads. I'm right on it H." At this point Ryan came over to join them.
"Where do you want me to start?"
"Alright Mister Wolfe, I want you inside that house, anything they might have touched walked on, leave no stone unturned okay?"
"You got it Horatio." Ryan nodded and made his way towards the house.
Eric came hurrying back, to tyre tread lifts clutched in his hand.
"I'll take these back to the lab and get going up there, okay H?"
"Alright Eric. While you're there get a tracer on Calleigh's phone, there's a chance the kidnappers left it on."
"Duly noted." As Eric began to move away he stopped.
"H?"
"Yes Eric?"
"This whole thing was a trap wasn't it? The kidnapping - just a ploy to get a cop in here. They even chose the kid - a Hispanic orphan, they knew there would be less of a response. It's just like when Consuela Valdez went missing. If you don't have blonde hair and blue eyes no-one cares."
"That's not true Eric. We care. These guys are smart, but not smart enough. They thought no-one would care, but I'm going to make sure no cop sleeps till Gabrielle Montana is safe again. Now go to the lab, and let's see if we can get these guys. Ok?" Eric gave him a weak smile.
"I'm right on it H. "
Horatio smiled as Eric left and made his way up to the house to meet Ryan and see if he had made any progress. As he entered he saw Ryan dusting the door for prints.
"Mister Wolfe, what have you got?" Ryan sighed.
"Couple of prints off of the locks, but nothing else." Horatio nodded.
"Get those back to the lab and see what we get."
"I'm on it." Ryan gathered up his kit and made his way to the Hummer. Horatio watched ham leave, and then went up the stairs to the girl's room.
As he entered, he spotted Calleigh's untouched kit on the floor. He sighed, and wondered where Calleigh was and what was happening to her. Pushing these images from his head, he took a dusting brush and print powder from his own kit and began to print the whole case, in the hope of finding a foreign print.
When he had finished, he straightened up. He had only managed to collect three prints, all from the handle. Although his head told him they would all come back to Calleigh, his heart hoped that just one would belong to the men who took her. Just then his pager beeped, and Eric's name appeared on the screen. His heart racing, Horatio made his own way back to the lab.
Chapter 3 - Demands
Eric Delko sat in the A/V lab waiting for Dan Cooper to finish typing Calleigh's cell phone number into the computer He looked in time to see the computer flashing 'Cell phone off - Cannot be traced' on the screen. He sighed and sent Horatio a page so he could tell him the result. He was just getting up when Dan stopped him.
"Didn't you want to run the girl's phone?" Delko looked at him quizzically. Dan elaborated.
"Do you want to trace the cell phone from the missing girl, since there's a chance her and Calleigh are being held together?" Eric's face brightened and he grabbed the chair and sat down.
"Run it."
Ryan Wolfe was stuck in the print lab' watching print after print run through AFIS. So far, the three he had run had all come back to Calleigh. He figured the last one would too. It was all making sense. The kidnapper had used some sort of weapon to force Calleigh ahead in front of him. Her prints had got on the lock when she had been forced to open it. The computer beeped. Ryan glanced at the profile that appeared. Calleigh Duquesne. Ryan sighed and made his way over to Delko in A/V. On his way he met Horatio.
"Horatio?" Horatio turned to face him.
"Did you get anything off of those prints?" Ryan shook his head.
"Every single one came back to Calleigh." Horatio nodded and handed him the three he had collected from Calleigh's kit.
"Run these too please."
Ryan nodded.
"They from Calleigh's kit?"
"Yes. Only the handles though. Only prints on the whole thing."
Ryan grimaced.
"Not much hope then."
Horatio shook his head.
"There's always hope. Run these for me please."
"Consider it done." Ryan said, as he went back to the print's lab. Horatio watched him go, then made his own way to the A/V lab
As he entered, he spotted Delko almost jumping for joy.
"Progress?" Horatio smiled. Delko turned.
"Nothing from Calleigh's cell, it's been turned off. Then Dan ran the cell from the girl and we have a location!"
Horatio looked at the screen.
"1130 Tropicana Avenue, thank you gentlemen." As he went to leave, Delko called after him.
"I'm coming too."
Horatio gave to young Cuban a questioning look, but Eric didn't elaborate as he pulled off his lab coat. Together they left the A/V lab. On their way to the CSI garage, Horatio called Tripp down at PD. He requested squad cars.
Once the three men had left the room, the girl slid down the wall till she was sitting on the floor. She seemed to have forgotten that Calleigh was there. A tear trickled out of the corner of her eye, and she held her injured harm to her. After a few moments, Calleigh began to move towards her. The sound seemed to alert the girl. She scrambled to her feet, roughly brushing the tear from her cheek. Without looking at Calleigh, she went back to the bed she had been sitting on and lay back on it.
Calleigh stood still, still not sure what to do. Eventually she went over and perched herself on the other bed. Instantly the girl sat up, still not looking at Calleigh. Calleigh searched her muffled mind for the girl's name. When she decided she couldn't remember, she cleared her throat.
"What's your name?"
The girl scowled at her.
"My foster-mom taught me not to talk to strangers."
Calleigh smiled, unclipped her badge from her belt, and gently tossed it across the gap between the beds. The girl caught it, surprised and without looking up. Calleigh watched her inspect every inch of the badge, fingering the raised numbers. She heard her repeat the numbers, as if trying to commit them to memory. After several minutes the girl looked up at Calleigh and gave her a weak smile.
"You can't be to careful."
Calleigh inclined her head slightly and the girl continued.
"I met the cop whose number is after this one."
When Calleigh raised an eyebrow, the girl chuckled softly.
"Ellie tell you this was the first time?"
"That you disappeared?"
The girl smiled and looked at the floor, wary she was talking to a cop.
"There's five blocks between the house and my school. Sometime I don't fancy going, so I detour down the beach." She paused, chewing her lip.
"If I'm late back from 'school' she knows one of the cops whose patrol route covers the beach."
"She is?"
"Ellie, my foster-mom." the girl sighed. "She probably only called you guys coz I disappeared at night and not on the way to school."
Calleigh nodded and looked around.
"One of our officers mentioned a bag and some clothes were missing…..?"
The girl nodded and slid a bag from under the bed.
"They said it 'looked better'. They let me pack for just that reason." Just then she remembered something.
"I never got your name."
Calleigh flashed her a smile.
"Calleigh Duquesne."
The girl returned her smile.
"Gabrielle Montana."
Calleigh nodded, and a ping in her brain told her this sounded right. Gabrielle was busy digging through her bag, when they heard the click of metal as the key was placed in the lock.
Quickly the bag was shoved back under the bed, and two of the men came into the room. Both Calleigh and Gabrielle exchanged looks. One of the men crossed the room towards them. Gabrielle quickly backed against the far wall. Calleigh turned to her, but when she turned back, she was face to face with the man. He pushed something into her hand. When she took the chance to look down she saw it was her cell phone.
Eric and Horatio where just leaving the garage when Eric's cell began to beep. He looked at the screen.
"It's Calleigh!" He shouted. Horatio snatched the cell and looked for himself. He tossed it back.
"Pick it up."
Eric quickly flipped the phone and put it to his ear.
"Calleigh?"
"Eric!"
"What's going on? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine.. OW!"
"What's wrong? Calleigh?! We're on our way to you!"
"Eric they want a ransom."
"WHAT?!"
Suddenly there was a crackle and another voice spoke.
"1 million dollars by 9 am tomorrow or I kill them both."
Eric was shocked.
"But where? How do we get that kind of money?!"
"You just said you know where we are. You find the money or the blonde cop dies. Her and the girl………………………………..."
Eric listened for a few moments but all he heard was the cell phone static. He turned to Horatio.
" They want a ransom at the house for 9 am tomorrow."
"Ok, listen Eric how much do they want?"
" One mil."
Horatio sighed and closed the Hummer's door. As he began to walk away, Eric shouted after him.
"What are you doing?! We need to go now! We have to help them!"
Horatio shook his head. "They'll have them on the move by now. That house will be empty till we give them the money." Tears formed in Eric's eyes.
"But I can't leave her. I can't."
Horatio nodded. "I understand Eric." Eric shook his head fiercely.
"You don't! We were, we are ,we're dating." He stood and watched Horatio's face. To his shock Horatio smiled.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Eric shrugged and looked at the ground.
"We just thought, you know with Mari and everything. Thought you needed some space."
Horatio nodded. He could see. He felt glad in a way, but sad they felt he might disapprove. One look, and Eric saw Horatio's blessing. He smiled back.
"I want to help them."
"We will Eric." Together they made their way back into the crime lab.
After the men left them alone again, Calleigh began to cry. When the man took the cell back from her, he had jammed her gun into her side, causing her to cry out. She had heard Eric's voice and that had done it for her. As she listened to the men outline their plan to Eric, she was filled with terror as it finally dawned her what kind of trouble they were in. Before the men left however, they had told them both the new plan.
"We're moving girlies." One of the men had said.
"East side of the Grove." Another had said. "Two doors from your little place."
He smiled, running a finger down the side of Gabrielle's face. She shuddered and he laughed. It was then that they had left the alone. The minute they were out the door, Calleigh had begun to sob quietly, and Gabrielle fumbled with her shoes. Calleigh was just wiping the tears from her face when Gabrielle straightened up, triumphant, a small cell phone clutched in her fist. Calleigh blinked at her.
"Where..? How…?"
Gabrielle pressed a finger to her lips and whispered "Slid it in when I packed."
Calleigh stared in amazement. For a few moments Gabrielle typed something into the keypad. Then she stopped and moved closer to Calleigh. She began to punch more buttons. 911.
The men burst into the room before they had a chance to hide it. One of the men hit Gabrielle with such force that she fell to the floor. Calleigh saw blood trickling from her head, before she felt something over her mouth and the smell of chloroform filled her nostrils. In her last conscious thoughts, Calleigh held onto one thing. Eric was coming. He would save her. He had to.
Horatio and Eric were sat in the break room discussing their options, when someone rushed in. They both looked up. The lab tech neither knew looked panicked.
"Lieutenant? PD just got a 911 call from the house you were headed to. Their on their way over now."
The pair leapt to their feet and were out of the door in minutes.
Chapter 4 - Bringing it all together
When Calleigh woke, it only took her a few moments to recognize her surroundings. As she adjusted her eyes to the blackness, the interior of the SUV's trunk became clearer. Unlike the first time, her mind was a lot clearer. The first thing she did was try to move her hands. Tied. She turned herself in the small space, expecting to see Gabrielle, but nothing. Just more blackness. She groaned, and lay back, propping herself up as best she could. Although they had just met, she felt some sort of responsibility for the girl.
As she struggled to keep herself up as the SUV veered round a corner, she wondered fearfully what had happened to Gabrielle. The last time she saw her, the girl had been bleeding badly. It was too much to hope anyone had thought to help her. Just as she thought this, she felt the SUV pull to a stop. She heard the doors slam, and tried to keep as upright as she could. Unfortunately her arm gave way as the men opened the trunk. This raised a few sneers which Calleigh ignored. As one of them pulled her from the car, she spotted Gabrielle's still limp form over the burly mans shoulder. For the second time that day she pushed and prodded to a new place. A sneaked glance at the surroundings told her they were on the edge of the marina. And there was boat. Great. If by any chance they were found before the drop off, the kidnappers could disappear in a moment.
Her train of thought was stopped as they entered the house and she was roughly shoved it into a side room. This room was not as well prepared as the last - there were no beds, just a mattress and a few blankets. The man carrying Gabrielle entered after Calleigh and placed Gabrielle non to gently on the mattress. All three left the room, one of them sliding the rope from Calleigh's wrists.
The moment the door closed, Calleigh rushed across the room and knelt beside Gabrielle. Shaking the girl's shoulder she pressed her hand to the Gabrielle's forehead, then reached to check her pulse. It was faint, but there. She used her sleeve to wipe some of the blood from the girl's face. Then she sat on the floor with her head in her hands. If only they'd been more careful. If only she had fought back. If only Eric had come in the house with her. If only…. So many if only's. She looked back at Gabrielle. Was it a trick of the light, or had her eyelid flickered? She gazed intently into Gabrielle's face. There it was again. She leant back over, shaking her shoulder again. To her relief, Gabrielle cracked open her eyes.
"My head…"
Calleigh smiled soothingly.
"It's ok, it's ok. You're gonna be fine."
Gabrielle looked at her.
"Are we…..?"
"Not yet. Someone will help us. You'll see. Just lie still for a bit."
Gabrielle shook her head, then winced.
" What happened?"
Calleigh smiled weakly.
"You got knocked out."
Gabrielle made a face.
"I kinda figured as much!" For some reason this brought a tear to Calleigh's eye, her smile became watery and widened.
"Do you remember the phone? Calling 911?"
For a moment Gabrielle looked blank. Then her face brightened.
"When your friend's find the other house will they check my phone if it's still there?"
Calleigh nodded.
"Why?"
"They'll check all the memory and stuff?" Gabrielle persisted.
"Yes, but why?"
Gabrielle glanced around, as if the walls had ears.
"Saved a text." She whispered.
"I put this address in it."
Calleigh's jaw dropped.
"Well done!"
Gabrielle shrugged.
"Just gotta hope your cop friends find it."
Calleigh nodded, willing Eric with all her heart, willing that he found it. The phone and the message.
Horatio and Delko wasted no time as they raced to the house. Climbing out the Hummer, both drew their standard issue 9mm's and kicked down the front door. With the help of two officers, they went through the house.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
Eric checked the room he was in, then the small bathroom off it.
"Clear! You'd better come see this H."
Horatio holstered his gun and made his way to Eric. When he got to the room, his eyes took in the small room with two beds and little else. Eric sighed.
"There's a brand new lock on the door. I bet this is where they were held."
Horatio nodded, as his well trained eyes spotted something on the floor.
"Take a look at that Eric."
Eric followed his eye level.
"Looks like blood. I'll get my kit."
"Do that."
Eric nodded, and left Horatio alone. Minutes later he returned, two silver kits in his hand. Handing Horatio his kit, Eric knelt to open his own. Pulling out a swab he took a sample of the blood after waiting for Horatio to take a picture for documentation. As he took the sample, something under one of the beds caught his eye. Sealing the swab, he reached under and pulled a small cell phone from under the bed. Still open, she could clearly see the three numbers on the screen. 911. He sighed and bagged it. Straightening up, he turned to Horatio.
"I know that's not Calleigh's phone, so I guess the girl must have called 911."
Horatio nodded.
"Let's get this house processed, see what we get. We're on the clock here, so call Ryan and anyone spare from Graveyard ok?"
"You got it H."
Together they made a few calls, and within 30 minutes the house was flooded with CSI's. As evidence came in, Eric made runs back and forth to the crime lab in order to get the processing started. After one of these trips, he came to Horatio, a sheaf of papers in his hand.
"Got the result's off the blood and the cell phone."
Horatio looked up with interest.
"Blood came back to the sample reference we got for the girl."
Horatio sighed, bowing his head slightly. Eric continued.
"Prints on the phone were also her's and the phone is registered to her. Dan's still going through it looking for anything significant."
Horatio gave him a brief nod.
"That's a start." Just then Ryan came running up to them.
"Found prints in the back room."
Eric nodded.
"Don't think these guy's care about leaving their prints. Chances is are they know their not in the system."
The others nodded in agreement. Eric glanced back at the papers in his hand.
"Tire treads I collected from outside the first crime scene are defiantly from an SUV. There's a distinctive marking on them we can use if we find the car."
Horatio nodded. Eric continued.
"The bullets Ryan got out these walls came up empty in IBIS. The sample of blood from the one we found in the door came back to the girl."
Ryan frowned.
"Have we found any trace of Calleigh in the house yet?"
Eric nodded.
"Couple of hairs on one of the pillows, long ,blonde, DNA tag on one came back to her."
Both Horatio and Ryan breathed a sign of relief.
"At least we know they were together - for sure." Ryan said.
Just then all three of their beepers went off. Eric looked at the others.
"Dan?"
"Dan." they confirmed. Leaving everyone else, all three rushed out of the house and leapt into one of the Hummers parked outside. Two minutes later they were on their way to the crime lab.
Calleigh glanced at her watch. It was already 6:00pm. She sincerely hoped that Eric and Horatio were almost on their way. There was less than 24 hours till the ransom was due, and then…Well it didn't bear thinking about. She looked over to where Gabrielle lay on the mattress. She'd slept through the last few hours. It seemed like a good idea after what had happened. Every now and again Calleigh went over to check on her, just to make sure. Now she saw the girl begin to stir. Smiling she turned to see her sitting up. Gabrielle flashed her one of her smiles.
"Nothing special happened while I was asleep I take it?"
Calleigh smiled back.
"Nope."
Gabrielle sighed.
"Do you think they found it yet?"
"I don't know." Calleigh bit her lip.
"Eric's a great criminalist. I have every faith in him."
Gabrielle tilted her head to look at Calleigh.
"You like him don't you?"
Calleigh almost laughed out loud.
"No flies on you is there!?"
Gabrielle shook her head.
"So? Think anything will happen?"
"Well we are dating. I hope it works. Our boss doesn't know though."
"Why not?"
"Well, his wife just died, Eric's sister, we didn't want to rub it in ya'know?"
Gabrielle nodded, a pitying look on her face. Calleigh looked at her for a moment, then smiled.
"What about you then? I don't know anything about you."
Gabrielle shrugged.
"Not much to tell really, kinda complicated."
Calleigh raised her eyebrows.
"We've got a bit of time on our hands."
Gabrielle sighed.
"My mom came over from Cuba almost 16 years ago. When she got here, she went straight to the hospital and gave birth to me. Disappeared the next day and all she did was name me and sign the certificate. 15 years later here I am, gone through 3 different foster parents and spent 6 years in some tacky orphanage."
She sighed again.
"That's me."
Calleigh looked at her, a look half of respect, half of sympathy.
"What was your mom's name?"
"Hannah. That was it. No last name."
She looked down, and Calleigh swore she heard her sniff. When Gabrielle looked up though, Calleigh saw nothing in her face to show how unhappy the girl must be. Calleigh made a promise to herself that when they got out, she would do something to help. She couldn't help all the girl's like Gabrielle, but she could help one. Just one could change the world.
Horatio, Ryan and Eric almost scared Dan out of his seat as they all burst into the tiny A/V lab. Dan grinned when he saw them.
"Got something I think you might like."
Horatio gave him a look that told him not to even try and spread this out. Dan quickly looked away and clicked a button on the keyboard. A message appeared on the screen.
"I extracted this from the girl's mobile. It was saved in the drafts folder, which is why I didn't see it at once."
Horatio gave him that look again. Dan smiled and pointed to the screen. The words on there lifted the hearts of all three CSI's
' You can find us at 27 Coconut Grove - G and C'
By the time Dan turned around, a proud look on his face, all he saw was the door closing behind the three men.
"A 'thank you' would be nice." He grumbled, as he got back to work.
Chapter 5 - Revelations for Calleigh
As they sped down the highway, both Ryan and Horatio had their cells out making calls to PD. Since they were on a time limit, they had 'forgotten' to call in to PD before they left. After a few tries, Horatio got through and asked for several squad cars, sirens off, to meet them at the house. He knew how close it was to the Marina and didn't want to give the kidnappers a head start. He just hoped they were in time.
Gabrielle was bored. Since they moved, the men had kept the bag away in case there were anymore 'surprises' inside. She looked over at Calleigh. For the last hour she had watched the blonde cop trying to conceal her tears. She had failed, and lay on the blankets, her face buried in her sleeve. As if sensing her look, Calleigh sat up and wiped her eyes.
"It's silly I know." She smiled, her eyes still brimming.
Gabrielle shook her head.
"Takes a bit to come to terms with having no control over your life."
Calleigh laughed wryly.
"I don't want to come to terms with it!" She hit the wall with her fist.
"I want to get out of here. I'm supposed to protect people and I'm no use stuck in here!"
Throughout this outburst, Gabrielle sat quietly. When Calleigh had finished and dissolved back into tears, she moved to sit beside her. She patted her arm sympathetically.
"They'll find us. Don't worry. They will. You trust them remember?!"
Calleigh looked at her with renewed respect.
"You'd think you were the grown-up here. How are you so calm?"
This time it was Gabrielle's turn to laugh.
"Years of having other people control your life and trying to physc you out teaches you a few things!" She smiled and flicked her hair off her face. For a moment they stared at each other. Then Gabrielle turned to look at the blacked out window and she then turned back to Calleigh.
"How long have we been here?"
Calleigh glanced at her watch.
"Not sure about you, but I've been 'here' since about 9:30am."
"What time is it now?"
Calleigh sighed.
"7:30pm."
Gabrielle closed her eyes.
"13 and a half hours left."
Calleigh nodded wordlessly. She'd tried to keep that thought out of her head. Now she thought. 13 and half hours. That could be the rest of her life. Inside, she prayed it wasn't. A sudden bang made them both jump. Then Calleigh heard a noise that she knew only to well. It shook her to her very core. Gunfire. The pair squeezed each other's hands. It looked like the end might have come early.
Horatio and the rest of the team parked the cars down the road in front of Gabrielle's house. This meant the kidnappers may not see the cars as a threat, until it was to late. All three of them drew their guns as they approached the house and Horatio signalled to the officers to do the same. Horatio mused over whether to knock on the door first. He didn't. Instead he kicked in the door shouting,
"Miami - Dade Police!"
A shot hit the wall near him and they all ducked as a hail of gunfire erupted around them. All three of them got off a few shots and by the cry of pain, at least one had hit. The police team advanced into the house and began to clear each room, the CSI's following behind.
At the end of the corridor they found one of the men. A bullet had penetrated his shoulder, but he was alright. One of the officers forced cuffs on him and pulled him to his feet. Horatio came right up to the man's face.
"Where are they?"
The man shrugged, giving Horatio a look of contempt.
"Who you mean bro?"
Horatio laughed to himself under his breath, then snapped back, his teeth gritted. He was on the verge of slamming the man against the wall.
"My CSI and the girl. We got you so tell me where they are."
The man just grunted. Horatio spotted a key on a piece of string around the man's neck. He yanked it off and began to walk away. The man shouted after him.
"You can't take that! That's an illegal search that is!"
Horatio smiled.
"This key was removed by law enforcement personnel because you are under arrest my friend." He turned to the officers.
"Get him out of here."
Two of the officers dragged the man out, whilst more officers were escorting the other two men through the back door.
"Caught them trying to get on a boat." One officer said. Another handed Horatio a gun.
"Confiscated this Lieutenant."
Horatio smiled and held the gun aloft with one latex-gloved hand in front of the men.
"This gun gentlemen, belongs to my CSI. Your friend wouldn't say anything but maybe you will. Where are they!?"
Neither man answered. Just then Ryan came running.
"Horatio we found a locked door through here!"
Horatio looked back at the men.
"Gentlemen, you just lost your chance." He turned and followed Ryan.
As they approached the door, he showed Ryan and Eric the key he had 'collected'.
"That looks like it might fit." Ryan mused.
All three drew their weapons once more and Horatio placed the key in the lock.
Calleigh and Gabrielle sat together for several minutes as they heard the hail of gunfire erupt across the hall. Neither dared move or make a sound, even after the racket had died down. Moments later they saw the doorknob rattle and heard voices. They clung tighter, not daring to even hope. Calleigh opened her mouth to shout out, but then the voices moved away. She hung her head. They might have missed their chance. They began to move, but then the doorknob rattled again - and the key turned in the lock.
They clung together again as the door cracked open and a gun barrel appeared. Gabrielle screamed and buried her face in Calleigh's shoulder. Calleigh held the girl's head, terrified. Then the door swung fully open and Horatio appeared in the doorway, closely followed by Eric.
Almost instantly both faces broke out in smiles of relief and the pair holstered their guns. Horatio turned to call down the hall to Ryan, but Eric crossed the room and helped Calleigh to her feet. She allowed herself to fall into his arms, the familiarity of it comforting her. Then the four CSI's then all began to talk at once, their words cascading over each other, echoing in the small room.
After a few minutes in this mayhem, Calleigh remembered Gabrielle. She turned, spotting the girl. She had stayed on the mattress, watching the happy reunion in silence, a longing look in her eyes. Calleigh broke away from the others and knelt down beside the girl. Horatio, Ryan and Eric all stopped talking and just watched. Calleigh took Gabrielle by the hand and helped her up, then she drew her over to where the other CSI's stood in silence. She took a breath.
"Everyone, this is Gabrielle Montana." She squeezed the girl's hand, and was relieved when she felt a squeeze in return. To her relief the other's reacted as she hoped they would. Horatio bent his knees a little so he was on Gabrielle's eye level. He smiled.
"Are you ready to go home?"
When she shook her head he looked at her quizzically. Luckily Calleigh jumped in.
"She's going to the hospital first." She indicated the bullet graze and the dried blood on the girl's head.
"She's had a bit of a knocking around."
Horatio nodded, holding out an arm to the pair.
"I think you both need to go."
Calleigh allowed him to lead them both out, but Eric intercepted them.
"I'll take them."
Horatio made no comment, but moved out the way. Eric took Calleigh's other hand and lead them both out to the Hummer. Both he and Calleigh noticed Gabrielle shudder as she passed her house. Calleigh nodded to herself. This confirmed what she had decided. She thought about it the whole way to hospital. She thought about it as she watched nurses apply a gauze to Gabrielle's bullet wound. She thought about it as Eric drove the three of them back to the Crime Lab. Only there did she stop because, as they entered the lobby, Gabrielle let out a strangled cry. Sitting on one of the chairs was Ellie Lark. Before either Calleigh or Eric had time to do anything, Gabrielle had ducked behind them, out of sight of her foster mother. The pair exchanged a look, and Calleigh gently pulled Gabrielle from behind them, pushing her towards her foster mother. Grudgingly, the girl walked to meet the woman. Neither seemed happy to see the other. In fact it appeared that Ellie was reprimanding her young charge. Calleigh moved to go to them, but Eric held her back. She turned to him, and saw the love in his eyes. For a moment, she forgot all else and allowed herself to become lost in his deep eyes. Then Horatio's voice brought them both back to earth.
"Are we doing the right thing here?"
Both Calleigh and Eric looked at him, puzzled. He indicated the reunion.
"She's cared for that kid for years, but shows no emotion when she comes back after such an ordeal."
Calleigh nodded. She dare not tell him her intentions yet. Not yet.
Gabrielle blocked out her foster mothers voice in the hope over overhearing the conversation between Calleigh, Horatio and Eric. They were too far away. She saw Calleigh turn and give her an encouraging smile. She smiled back. Ellie spotted her looking away and pulled her round.
"Are you even listening to me?"
Gabrielle gave the woman her sweetest smile.
"No."
Ellie pulled herself up.
"You can't expect to treat me like this you know. I fostered you, but I can get rid of you you know. One call and I can send you right back you ungrateful little…."
Just then she was interrupted as Calleigh came over. She didn't even look at Ellie, but spoke directly to Gabrielle.
"We need you for a few minutes, okay?"
Gabrielle shot her foster mother a glare, then followed Calleigh into the lab. She never looked back.
Calleigh's mind was racing. She wasn't sure what she was doing, all she knew was that she had to get the girl away from that woman. No child deserved to be treated like that, even one like Gabrielle. Suddenly she stopped, her heart making decisions her head could not. She bent down and spoke to the astonished girl.
"I want to foster you."
Gabrielle stared at her.
"What?!"
Calleigh smiled, mostly with nerves.
"I guess it's a bit of a shock…."
Gabrielle laughed.
"I'll say! No-one ever wanted to foster me before. They just got stuck with me." She smiled sadly. Calleigh gave a sigh.
"You don't have to accept you know. You can stay with Ellie if you like…."
Gabrielle snorted.
"No fear! I'll pick you over her any day. But, what about this boyfriend of yours. What will he think of you being lumped with some one else's kid?"
Calleigh thought. She hadn't even considered Eric's reaction. She shook her head.
"He can cope - or he can run. You mean more to me than a boyfriend. Kid's are something you can keep. Boyfriends come and go."
Gabrielle blinked at her disbelievingly.
"You'd do that - for me?"
Calleigh nodded.
"You up for it?"
Gabrielle didn't even hesitate.
"I'm in!"
Calleigh's smile stretched from ear to ear.
"Now to tell Eric….."
Eric stood by the fridge in the break room looking for a soda. Grabbing the last one he shut the door. He was thinking about his relationship with Calleigh. He loved her so much, did she feel the same. He had never thought before about going all the way with a relationship, but with Calleigh it was different. He loved her. As he drank his soda he wondered about what he should do. This case had taught him one thing. Live every day. Crumpling his empty can, he threw it in the trash and grabbed his coat. He almost bowled over Ryan as he came in, to engrossed in what he was about to do.
As Ryan came into the break room, he was almost bowled over by Eric.
"Sorry would be nice." He muttered and went over to the fridge. No more sodas. He spotted an empty one in the trash. He guessed Delko had finished them, and grabbed a milkshake instead. He knew Delko wouldn't think to get more whilst he was out. He sat down in one of the chairs and took a sip of his milkshake. He screwed his face up at the taste. He glanced at the label. It was still in date.
"Why do we buy this junk?" he asked the air. He sighed and tossed the half full bottle away. He'd go down to the 7/11 and see if they had more soda. After this shift, he felt he needed a good soda. As he was leaving the building, he bumped into Alexx. She gave him a dirty look. His mind raced for what he had done. When nothing jumped to mind, he looked at Alexx. She divulged.
"Are you coming to this autopsy or not?"
Ryan almost laughed with relief.
"You mean the Marina case from yesterday?"
She nodded.
"Where have you been Alexx? Didn't you hear about Calleigh?"
She nodded again.
"I did. And she's back and good as new. So now you can come to this autopsy."
Ryan looked longingly at the door. Just a few yards to freedom…… He looked back to Alexx hopefully.
"Do I have time to run out for soda?"
She almost clubbed him round the head.
"If you run!"
Ryan disappeared in a second.
Alexx laughed as she watched the young CSI sprint out the building. Anyone else might not have believed her, but Ryan was still new enough to be gullible. She began to make her way down to the ME's office to prepare for the autopsy. On her way she saw Calleigh hugging a teenage girl. When the two drew apart she recognized her as the girl from the original missing person's case. She smiled, glad they were both alright. As she passed, she noticed the gauze covering Gabrielle's bullet graze. Almost alright. She nodded to Calleigh who stopped her.
"Alexx, can you keep a secret?"
The ME gave a look, then nodded. Calleigh was beaming, her arm on the shoulder of the girl beside her. The two looked at each other. Calleigh let it burst out of her.
"I'm going to foster Gabrielle!"
Alexx stood in shock for a moment, then looked quizzically at Calleigh.
"What about her current foster mother?"
Here Gabrielle took over.
"She won't care, she wants rid anyway."
Alexx was still shocked. Then she gave herself a shake and realized how great this was. In fact her own daughter was about Gabrielle's age. She smiled.
"I'm pleased for you both."
Calleigh's face broke out in relief.
"You don't think we're mad here?"
Alexx shook her head.
"Honey I think it's great - for both of you."
"You won't tell?"
"My lips are sealed."
Calleigh sighed and hugged Alexx.
"I just had to tell someone ya'know?"
Alexx smiled again. Then she had a thought.
"What does Eric say?"
Calleigh shrugged.
"He doesn't know yet. And if he doesn't like it, well that's tough. It's my life."
Alexx looked at her with renewed respect.
"Good luck."
Calleigh nodded, and she and Gabrielle began to walk back out towards the lobby. They had a job to do.
Eric held his prize tightly in his hand as he came back into the crime lab. His head was buzzing with the thought of what he was about to do. His opportunity came sooner than he had expected. Calleigh was just entering the lobby, Gabrielle in tow. He steeled himself ready.
"Calleigh!"
She turned.
"Can I talk to you?"
She smiled that smile he loved so much.
"Sure," She turned to Gabrielle.
"Sweetie can you go wait over there for a minute?"
Gabrielle nodded, and made her way over to where Paula was minding the reception.
Eric's brain froze for a moment. 'Sweetie'? He knew Calleigh had taken a liking to the girl but….. He shook himself. Calleigh was looking at him expectantly. He handed her the small box in his hand. She opened it, puzzled. Her jaw dropped when she saw the contents. Then she tore her eyes from it, regret in her eyes.
"Eric….."
He took a breath.
"I know you think it's too soon. But I love you Calleigh. I want to spend my life with you." He looked down, couldn't look into her eyes. She lifted his head.
"I might agree."
His face lit up.
"There's just one thing……"
"Anything!" He stood there, on tenterhooks.
Calleigh took a deep breath.
"I was planning to foster Gabrielle."
Eric thought about this for a moment. He smiled.
"No."
Calleigh looked at him again with regret in her green eyes.
"Then that's my answer. I'm sorry Eric." She turned, but he caught her hand.
"I don't mean it like that."
"Then what do you mean?"
"I think we should both adopt her."
Calleigh's eyes gazed up at him again, but this time the look was a different one.
"You do?"
He smiled.
"I do."
As the three of them left the crime lab that sunny evening, to any outsider they looked just like a family. Horatio Caine smiled as he watched them leave. There went two of his team. As with the rest of the lab, he had heard the news. He was pleased of course, but inside he worried. Calleigh and Eric were two of his best and now they were going to marry and have a teenage daughter……It was a lot to happen so soon. He hoped they would stay in Miami. He knew how this would change their lives. He sighed and put on his sunglasses, staring out into the beautiful Florida sunshine.