CSI Miami: Targeted
Part Two
Horatio made his way to the gun lab. Calleigh had been at court earlier this morning which meant she had missed out on the beginning of the case. As always the gun lab held the smell of gun oil and the sharp, stinging smell of gunpowder.
Calleigh stood bent over a microscope at the table. Behind her on the screen, bullet striations were being matched with a computer program. Calleigh's long hair was tied back today, keeping it out of her face as she worked.
"Calleigh." Horatio said softly as not to scare her.
"Horatio." Calleigh greeted him cheerfully not looking up from the microscope. "I assume you're here about your bullets that Alexx pulled out of Greg Jennings."
"Yes, ma'am." Horatio replied.
"And I assume you want to know if they match the gun that you found on Roger Gallagher." Calleigh continued.
Horatio smiled. As always, she was anticipating his needs. "What do you have for me, Calleigh?" He asked.
Calleigh took her eyes away from the scope and looked up at him. "I can tell you the bullets are nines. Most common gun on the street." She told him and then smiled. "But I assume you already knew that."
She turned to the screen and pointed. "I've lined up the bullets from our victim's body and the bullets from Gallagher's gun. As you can see they don't match. This isn't our gun."
Horatio nodded. He has suspected as much. Gallagher had been truthful when he'd told Horatio he didn't do it. "How about the muzzle stamp?" He asked.
"That took a little more digging." Calleigh replied. "I had to go old school and look through my books. The muzzle stamp is from a Sig Sauer P226; it's a semi-automatic pistol. What's puzzling is that this type of gun is usually used by law-enforcement."
"You're saying the shooter could be a police officer?" Horatio asked raising an eyebrow.
"Or ex-military." Calleigh replied. "I know that there are several branches of the military that use this type of gun. But anyone who knows gun dealer could get their hands on one of them. There's plenty floating around on the street."
Horatio nodded. "How was court?" He asked.
"Good." Calleigh replied with a smile turning back to her microscope. "Thanks for asking."
Horatio watched her for a moment and then his phone rang. He picked up and turned away from Calleigh. "Yeah? Where? I'm on my way."
"What's up?" Calleigh asked looking up on hearing the professional tone creep back in Horatio's tone.
"They found another body." Horatio replied.
The house was in one of the better parts of Miami and it looked lived in; a home. Horatio looked down at the body of the young woman. She looked young even though her driver's license placed her at more then thirty. She had been doing well for herself with a husband and a young boy still in grade school. A cell phone lay in her outstretched hand, half a phone number dialed; one last ditch effort to save herself.
Horatio looked up at Eric entered the small bathroom. It was already crowded with Alexx and Horatio inside. Eric took a quick glance at the body on the floor and then fixed his gaze on Horatio.
"It's Erika James." Eric told Horatio. "She was the secretary for the DA's office; Jennings's office."
"Poor girl." Alexx murmured from her place kneeling on the cold tile floor. "What was your boss into?"
"Cause of death, Alexx?" Horatio asked.
"Same as our other victim." Alexx replied. "Two gunshot wounds to the back and one to the head; close range. She had her whole life ahead of her, Horatio. Whoever did this deserves whatever you throw at him."
"We're going to get him, Alexx." Horatio promised, looking at Erika's blood spattered body. "We're going to get him."
Horatio sent Eric to processing the bathroom after Alexx had removed Erika James's body and went into the living room where Calleigh was taking a walk-through of the home.
Calleigh had stopped at the fireplace mantle and was looking at the pictures of the James family when Horatio walked in. Calleigh returned the family photo to the mantle and turned around.
"Calleigh." Horatio greeted her. "What do you got?"
"Killer came in the backdoor." Calleigh replied pointing towards the entrance and walking closer to it. "There's no sign of forced entry; the killer had a key or picked the lock."
"Just like the Jennings home." Horatio confirmed.
"The first shot happened here." Calleigh said. She turned and faced the hallway that lead to the bathroom and bedrooms. "We have high velocity blood spatter on the wall here." She pointed. "This side table has blood on it; she touched this and then continued down the hall."
"Erika was holding a cell phone." Horatio said. "She probably grabbed it from the hall table on her way to the bathroom."
"The second shot happened in the entrance to the bathroom." Calleigh continued as she walked down the hall. "The spatter looks like happened on an angle. I'm guessing she turned as the shooter fired."
"Then the third shot; close range." Horatio finished as they reached the bathroom where Eric was. He looked up at them. "Bang." Horatio said visualizing the final shot.
All three of them fell silent for a moment.
"I'm going to look for shell casings." Calleigh said finally. "The officer's first on scene said that the neighbours reported hearing gunshots. Maybe the killer didn't have time to clean up after himself this time."
Horatio slipped on his sunglasses as he stepped from the house into the bright sunlight. The usual onlookers were held back by the officers and the yellow, crime scene tape that was stretched along the driveway of the house. But there was one man who shoved his way through the crowd and was stopped by an officer.
"That's my house!" The dark haired man shouted trying to look past the officer. "My wife's inside!"
Horatio quickly made his way down the stairs. "Let him pass, officer."
The officer glanced back once and then let go of the man.
"Are you in charge here?" The man asked straightening his jacket. He was tall and clean shaven, handsome if he hadn't had the concerned look on his face. "Is my wife alright?"
"Sir. I need you to take a deep breath and and calm down for me. Can you do that?" Horatio asked.
"Yeah." The man took a breath.
"I'm Lt. Caine from the Crime Lab. Are you Mark James?" Horatio asked.
"Yes, I'm Mark James. Excuse me, Crime Lab? What's going on here? Is my wife alright?" James looked scared.
"Your wife is the reason we're here, sir." Horatio replied gently. "She's been murdered."
"What?" The look on James's face could only be described as shock and then pain. "Oh god, no. No, no, no." James repeated running a hand through his hair. "I just talked to her an hour ago. She stayed home today because she wasn't feeling well. She asked me to pick Cody up from school. Oh, god. Cody!"
Jame spun towards the street.
"Cody? That's your son?" Horatio interrupted, stepping back into James's line of sight.
"Yes." Jame replied turning back to Horatio. "He's in the car. Murdered?" James still looked shocked. "How? When? I told her working at the DA's office wasn't safe. I should've made her quit." His reaction switched from shock to denial and quickly back again.
"Quit? Was your wife thinking about leaving the DA's office?" Horatio asked.
"No. I mean, I wanted her to leave, but she said she couldn't. Something about a important case they were working on."
James was compartmentalizing things, focusing on anything besides the news he had just received. Horatio saw the signs. "Did she say anything about what that might be?" He asked, hoping to keep the man talking.
"She couldn't." James replied. "The office doesn't allow it. Besides we have a strict rule. We never talk about our work, Lt. Caine."
"Our work?" Horatio asked.
"I'm in private security." James replied. His tone lowered. "I can't believe this is happening."
Horatio looked up and saw that Alexx was preparing to bring the body out of the house. He moved to block James's view. "I'm going to get this officer to stay with you. Officer." Horatio motioned an officer over.
Meanwhile, Alana and Speed arrived and ducking under the tape, walked up to the house. They walked past Alexx wheeling the body out of the house and went inside.
Calleigh was in the living room photographing the first blood spatter pattern. She threw a quick smile at Alana and Speed as they walked in. "About time you two showed up."
Speed shot a quick look at Alana. "Someone turned off their cell phone and I had to hunt them down."
Alana shot a glare at Speed. "It died." She replied. "You know some of us are human and forget to charge our phones once and awhile."
"What happened?" Speed asked ignoring Alana's jibe.
"Jennings's secretary Erika James was murdered." Eric informed them coming in from the hallway. "Same MO as Jennings. She had a husband and a kid."
"Damn." Speed muttered.
"I need you to take a look at this trace I found in the bathroom." Eric said to Speed. "I think it's the same stuff you found at Jennings's home." The two men took their kits and went into the small bathroom.
"What's going on with you two?" Calleigh asked Alana after Speed was out of earshot.
Alana glanced down the hallway when Speed has disappeared into the bathroom. "Remember the 'dead body' prank that he and Eric pulled?" Alana made air quotes around the word.
Calleigh nodded. She had come in on the tail end of the joke and Alana had assumed she had been in on it. There had been some tension until Calleigh had explained that she had known nothing about the prank. Since then they had become fast friends.
"Well payback's a bitch." Alana finished using the simplest explanation. "So far it's me two; Speed one. The back door's point of entry, right?" Alana asked walking over to the back door, signalling that the conversation was over.
"Yeah; I found some scratches along the lock." Calleigh replied. She eyed Alana for a moment. Ever since transferring in from patrol three months ago, Alana had quickly picked up the skills and proven her worth as a fingerprint tech. But Calleigh kept getting the feeling that Alana was keeping more something hidden. It wasn't an out of place feeling. Most cops kept their personal lives to themselves; Calleigh included.
Alana took her camera and kit over to the backdoor and set them down. She pulled on her gloves and got out her fingerprinting kit, preparing to dust the entire back door for prints. "How was court this morning?" She asked Calleigh as she picked up her brush.
"Good." Calleigh replied. "He was convicted; life in prison."
"Good." Alana said simply as she set to work.
Calleigh photographed the blood spatter around the house and processed the side table, taking a sample of the blood to make sure that it was their victims.
Alana worked quietly as well. The back door was completely dusted for fingerprints and she photographed a couple different sets. She lifted them and placed the prints into her kit for safekeeping. The lock was also photographed and then Alana searched around the yard.
Calleigh searched for casings next. She knelt down to look under the couch and chair to see if any casing had rolled underneath them. The floor under the couch was surprisingly clean. There was a sock and a toy train, but other then that was free of dust. Calleigh's light hit something that reflected and looking harder, she saw that a computer disc had been taped to the underside of the couch.
Calleigh pulled it off and drew back, holding the disc in her hand. "Hello." She muttered softly.
"Calleigh?" Horatio asked from behind her.
Calleigh turned and rose to her feet. "It's a computer disc." She replied. "I found it taped underneath the couch." Now why would a mom go to all the trouble of hiding a computer disc?"
"Maybe there's something on that disc that no one is supposed to see." Horatio suggested.
Eric and Speed walked into the living room, carrying their kits. "We're done." Eric announced. He turned slightly to include Horatio in the conversation. "I collected some prints from the bathroom. I'll run them when we get back to the lab, see if we get a hit."
"I found some more trace on the floor." Speed continued. "It looks like the same stuff I found on the walkway at Jennings's house."
All four of them turned as Alana re-entered the house through the backdoor. She was carrying a bag and a box in one hand and in the other was her kit. Her camera hung around her neck and she had a pleased grin on her face. "I found a footprint." She announced. "It isn't much, but I doubt that secretaries or kids wear combat boots. What does her husband do?"
"He's in private security." Horatio replied. His answer gave everyone pause.
"So he could be involved in both murders." Speed stated finally. "Maybe Jennings was having an affair with his secretary?"
"Then why break in?" Calleigh asked. "I found scratches along the lock."
Alana nodded, confirming Calleigh statement. "I also found another can of WD-40. It looks like the same kind used at Jennings's house. It doesn't make any sense for her husband to make it look like a break in."
"He could've staged the entire thing. Make it look like there's an unknown killer running around Miami." Eric suggested.
"Let's check him out." Horatio ordered. "I'll get the officers to bring him in. Calleigh, Eric. Stay here and look for anything that connects Mark James to either murders. Speed, Alana. Take the evidence back to the lab. Alana, I want you to look at the computer disc that Calleigh found. Mr. James told me that his wife was working on a important case but she didn't give him details. That disc might contain them."
The ride back to the Crime Lab was silent; both Speed and Alana were content to ignore one another. They worked well with each other in the field, because it was their job and both of them weren't about to let a little prank war ruin their careers. But the silence was heavy and thick.
Both were glad when they finally reached the lab. Speed stuck the Hummer into park and Alana jumped out. She pulled open the back of the Hummer to grab the evidence. There were two boxes and she grabbed the one that held the prints and casts.
Speed came around and grabbed the second box as Alana started to walk away.
"What, you're not talking to me now?" Speed asked grabbing the second box as Alana turned towards the building.
Alana turned around. "You want me to say something?" She asked shifting the box to her hip. "Ok. I'll say something. You pretended to be a dead body and then half scared me to death. You were lucky that I wasn't armed. I would have shot you, Speedle."
"That was two months ago, Alana." Speed replied tucking his box under his arm so he could close the back of Hummer. "Are you really that petty that you have to hold a grudge?"
"I'm not holding a grudge." Alana replied walking closer to her colleague.
"Then what do you call those two times you scared me today?" Speed asked. He shrugged. "Were you bored?"
Alana held up her finger pinched close together. "Maybe a little." She replied.
"Jeez, Alana! Can you please give me at least one honest answer?" Speed exclaimed.
They stood there for a moment, looking each other in the eye.
"Ok." Alana said finally. "When you scared me I become afraid of what I could have done. Horatio gave me a second chance and I was scared I could've screwed it up because of what you did. It was easier for me to get sarcastic and angry with you then to admit I was scared."
There was another moment of silence as Speed digested what she had said. "I'm sorry." He replied finally. "I didn't know. It was just a prank."
"I get it. Just...working patrol tends to make you a little jumpy." Alana said. Her voice held a sad note that Speed wondered at. "How about I forgive you and we move on?" Alana continued on a lighter note.
"Deal. Truce." Speed held out his free hand, Alana took it and they shook.
Together, they headed towards the lab. Speed eyed Alana as they walked. Had something happened to her on patrol? He had picked up the feeling that she was a little high-strung when they had first met on a case last year and had mentioned this to Horatio when Alana had come to work with them only to find out that Horatio already knew.
"She's a good cop." Horatio had told him. "She deserves a second chance."
Speed had taken that explanation without question, setting aside his suspicions. He had been the beneficiary of Horatio's second chances once or twice. All CSIs knew that Horatio had their back no matter what and that he would give them the benefit of the doubt in any situation. He was jerked out of his thoughts as Alana spoke again.
"And just for the record, the first time today was an accident." Alana said turning slightly towards Speed as they walked up the steps. "The second time was for fun." She grinned. "If you give it out, you have to be willing to take it back."
Alana took a moment to compose herself before walking into the Fingerprint Lab. That had been a lot harder then she had thought, but she felt better for it. She liked Speed and was glad that they had been able to come to an understanding.
Joesph Kayle was bent over the table with a magnifying glass comparing two prints by hand.
"You know they have machines for that now." Alana quipped as she set down the box down on the tabletop.
Kayle looked up with a grin. "But the machines don't have my awesome eyes. How you doing, Alana?"
"Good." Alana replied. "I have some prints for you to run."
"Alright." Kayle said. "Let's see them."
Alana broke the seal on the box and explained where the prints had come from to Kayle. The two of them started the process of the running the prints through the system.
"Let's see if we can find any unknowns." Alana said as she pulled up a chair.
Back at the James's house, Eric and Calleigh were busy searching the house from top to bottom. Eric took the bedroom and Calleigh the closets. It didn't take them long to find what they were looking for.
"Look what I found." Eric said coming into the hallway from the master bedroom. He held up a Sig Sauer P226 semi-automatic pistol.
Calleigh stood from where she had been kneeling in front of the hall closet. "That's our gun alright." She replied and then held up a pair of black combat boots. "Want to trade?" She asked with a quick grin.
Eric grinned back. "Sure."
At Miami-Dade Police Department, Horatio stared through the glass at Mark James. They had keep him in the conference room for about an hour now. Horatio wanted to talk to him, but he needed more evidence. At the moment, they had nothing on James except for his job and that wasn't enough evidence for Horatio.
He turned as Calleigh walked towards him, heels clicking on the floor. "What do you got?" Horatio asked as Calleigh reached his side.
"Eric found a gun that matches the same type used to murder Erika and Jennings." Calleigh replied. "I also found a pair of combats boots in the closet and Alana confirmed that they match the footprints that she found in the backyard. Now the footprint can be easily explained, but the gun it going to be a little harder. I'm going to run so tests to make sure it's the same gun."
"Thank you, ma'am." Horatio replied.
Calleigh nodded and then turned back towards the lab.
Horatio turned back to the glass. He had something now.
"Mr. James." Horatio greeted the man as he walked into the conference room.
"What's going on here?" James wanted to know rising as Horatio entered the room. "You've kept me waiting for over an hour. Do I need a lawyer?"
"Do you?" Horatio asked setting the folder down on the table in front of him.
"Do I...No. Of course not." James replied. "Just tell me what's going on here, Lt. I was a cop for five years before I got in private security. I know how the game works so cut the crap and tell me why the hell I'm here."
Horatio eyed James as he waited for the man to finish his rant. "Sit down, Mr. James."
With a internal sigh, James did as he was asked.
Horatio looked down at the folder on the table in front of him and opened it, pulling out a couple photos. "You wife was murdered with a Sig Sauer P226 semi-automatic pistol. The same kind of gun that you own." Horatio placed the photo in front of James.
James glanced down at the picture and then back up at Horatio. "You think I did this." He stated. His voice turned cold. "You are dead wrong. I love my wife."
"We also found a combat boot print in the grass in the backyard." Horatio continued. "It matches the boots that you wear."
"I didn't kill my wife." James insisted between clenched teeth. "That boot print could've gotten there anytime when I was outside."
"What about the gun?" Horatio asked.
"Many military and police departments use that kind of gun." James replied, dismissing the evidence. "I'm not the only one in Miami. I imagine some of your officers carry them."
Horatio slowly gathered the photos. He didn't like Jame's insinuation that a cop could've done this; let alone one of the officers in this department.
"Where were you this afternoon?" Horatio asked.
"I was at my office until three o'clock." James replied. "That's when I left to pick up my son from school. Check with my office."
"We will." Horatio replied as he turned away from James, preparing to leave the room.
"I didn't murder my wife." James protested one last time. "You have to believe me."
"I don't have to believe anything except the evidence." Horatio replied before pushing open the door and leaving the interrogation room.
An hour later, Mark James walked out of the Miami Police Department as a free man. Horatio had to let James go. Calleigh had confirmed that the gun James owned was not the gun used to murder Erika even though it was the same type. James's alibi had also checked out. He had been at his office all until three; video surveillance confirmed it.
In lieu of their prime suspect being cleared, Horatio gathered his CSIs together to go through their evidence. All four of them met in the Layout room and presented their findings.
Speed has recovered the same sticky residue from the walkway outside the home and a tiny bit more in the bathroom. The killer had been the same one.
The slugs from Erika James's body had matched the ones from Jennings's body and even though there was no muzzle stamp, Calleigh was sure they had come from the same gun.
Alana had ran all the prints and found no-unknowns. All the prints recovered had matched Erika, her husband and Cody, their son.
"We missing our motive, people." Horatio said looking at the evidence spread out on the layout table in front of him. "Why kill Greg Jennings and Erika James?"
"Well we know that it wasn't because Erika and Jennings were having an affair." Speed replied. "Besides the husband has an alibi."
"And an airtight one at that." Alana commented.
"And it wasn't revenge." Eric said. "If someone had a grudge against Jennings for putting them in prison, killing Erika doesn't make any sense."
Calleigh nodded in agreement with Speed and Eric. "It's looking like a professional kill. No evidence, nothing left out of place. The killer even took the time to clean up his casings."
Horatio glanced towards the conference room where the boxes from Jennings's office sat. Papers from Alana's previous attempt to comb through the boxes sat on the table.
"The answer has to be in Jennings's active cases." Horatio said aloud. "We need to go through these boxes."