Rating: T for now, may turn M later.
Warnings: This story is SLASH. If you don't like that then don't read any further.
Summary: There is a serial killer loose in Miami who is preying on young gay men. As they investigate, the case becomes personal for Horatio and Speed, threatening to expose their relationship to the rest of the team.
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Calliegh and Eric pulled up to the club and parked in the lot. The front of the place was not remarkable, a plain white façade with a neon sign above the entrance reading 'Vanity'. Calliegh looked up at the sign then over at Eric. She opened the door and walked in, stopping dead in her tracks. Eric almost bumped in to her.
She looked around the room. First of all, the place was active at 3pm, which was unusual for a club. Music was playing and people were drinking at the bar. Calliegh stood wide-eyed as she took in the décor. The place was dimly lit. The walls were painted a dark blue, almost black. There were medieval weapons hung as decorations; whips, flails, a ball and chain. The patrons, mostly men but a few women, were dressed mainly in leather. Some wore cuffs or spiked collars. There was one man, all in leather, being lead around by a leash around his neck.
She looked back at Eric, at a loss for words. Eric just stared back before saying, "Speed knew about this place?" Calliegh just nodded.
One of the club's employees saw the newcomers at the door. Noticing that they looked out of place, she walked over and said, "You two look like you walked into the wrong club."
Calliegh looked at her for a moment. She was almost as tall as Eric, probably because of three inch heals. She was wearing leather pants and a leather halter top revealing an onyx bellybutton ring. Her hair was short and spiked, colored pink and blue.
Calliegh regained her composure quickly. "I don't think so. We're from the Miami-Dade crime lab. Were you working last night?"
The woman shook her head. "Jesse was. He's around here somewhere." She turned and scanned the patrons until she made eye contact with a young man toward the back of the club. He was tall and thin with curly brown hair. Like most of the others he was wearing leather pants but no shirt and he was barefoot. The woman waived him over. As he got closer Eric noticed that he had a nipple ring and he winced.
"Jess, these two want to talk to you," the woman said.
"Ah, yeah. You see this kid in here last night," Eric said holding out a picture of their victim.
Jesse looked a the picture. "Yeah, that's Jason. He's in here most nights, with different guys."
"Jason got a last name?" Eric asked.
"Greene, I think. We didn't talk much."
Calliegh asked, "Do you know who he was with last night?"
"Some guy. Don't really know. Is Jason in some kind of trouble?" he asked.
"He's dead," Eric replied flatly.
"Oh, my god," the man replied. "I just saw him this morning."
Eric asked, "Around what time?"
Jesse shook his head. "Maybe three-ish. He was on his way out. Mentioned heading out to stay with a friend. What happened?"
"That's what we're trying to determine," Eric answered.
"What about the man he came in with?" Calliegh asked.
Jesse shrugged. "Guess he got what he wanted and left." Calliegh and Eric looked at each other. "Jason was a submissive, you know?"
"No I don't. Why don't you educate me," Eric replied, a bit annoyed.
"Follow me," Jesse said and headed toward the back of the club. "There are two types in here. Dominants and submissives. The submissives allow the dominants do what ever they want to them."
They reached a set of doors at the back of the club. "All the rooms are basically the same." He reached for a door. "I think Jason was in this one last night." He opened the door and let the two CSI's in.
Inside the room there was a table about seven feet long and four feet wide in the center with shackles at each of the four corners. At the back of the room there was a chain hanging from the ceiling with a pair of handcuffs at the end. Scattered around the room were various sex toys as well as a flail.
Calliegh could feel the blush working its way up her neck and into her cheeks. She ducked her head. "Thank you. I think we get the idea." She pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to Jesse. "Call us if you think of anything else, will you," she said and she and Eric left, quickly.
Once outside, Calliegh took a deep breath, shaking her head. "It still amazes me what people will do and call it fun."
Eric let out a breath then asked, "And Speed knew about this place?"
"Right down to the rooms in back," Calliegh answered.
Eric shook his head. "Well, hopefully he and Horatio had more luck than we did 'cus this was a dead end."
Horatio pulled the Hummer up to a building on a dock at the Port of Miami shipyards. They had called ahead and the owner of Seacrest Enterprises walked out to meet them. After introductions, he took the two CSI's over to his loading docks and found Peter Tolbert. Horatio approached him.
"Mr. Tolbert, we meet again," he said as he removed his sunglasses.
Tolbert looked at him. It took him a moment to remember. "Yeah, the cop from that thing this morning. What can I do for you?"
"Well, you see Mr. Tolbert," Horatio said, "you were the one who found the body this morning, and on that body we found a piece of paper with your home address on it. Can you explain that, sir?"
Tolbert just shook his head. "No idea. Should probably ask my son, PJ."
"Now why is that Mr. Tolbert?" Horatio asked.
"'Cus he's one of them," Tolbert answered. Horatio cocked his head. "You know, a queer. Don't like it but he's my son. What're ya gonna do?"
Horatio and Speed exchanged a look. "Maybe we'll do that," he said as they turned to leave.
As they got back into the Hummer, Speed's cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and smiled. Opening the phone he said, "Hey Sky." Horatio looked over at him and smiled. "Let me check, hang on," Tim said to the phone. Then he turned to Horatio. "They want to know if we want to have dinner with them tonight around seven."
"Sound great," Horatio replied. "Tell Sky to dust of the chess set."
"Did you hear that?" Tim asked into the phone. After a moment he said, "Okay, see you then," and hung up.
"What did he say?" Horatio asked.
Tim laughed. "He said, 'If your sure you're ready to get your ass kicked again.'"
They made their way to downtown and found Bob's Surf Shop. Parking the car out front, they exited just as Horatio's cell phone rang. He opened the phone and said, "Horatio." After a moment he said, "Yeah, okay I understand. We'll be back soon. Got one more lead to follow up on." He closed his phone then turned to Speed. "They struck out at the club."
They found PJ Tolbert inside and showed him the photo of their victim. "Yeah, I know him. That's Jason. Is he in some kind of trouble?" PJ asked.
"The worst kind," Horatio replied. "We found his body this morning and we're trying to determine what happened."
PJ's hand flew to his mouth. "Oh, god," escaped his lips as a single tear ran down his face.
Horatio and Speed exchanged a glance. "We're terribly sorry," Horatio said softly. "Is there somewhere private we can go to talk?"
PJ nodded and led them to the back office. Once they were inside, Speed asked, "Were you two lovers?"
The young man's head shot up and he looked into Speed's eyes. Seeing sympathy instead of accusation he shook his head. "No, we were friends. It," his head fell, "it hadn't reached that point yet."
Horatio sighed. "What can you tell us about him. We need to know if he has any family we can notify."
"As far as I know, he doesn't," PJ said still a little shaky. "Jason was homeless, moved around the shelters," PJ informed them.
"Homeless?" Horatio asked. "How is it you know him?"
PJ too a deep breath and a moment to compose himself. When he continued his voice was steady and calm. "I volunteer with an organization called MAGALY. Jason was a member."
Horatio looked over at Speed questioningly. Speed informed him, "Miami Area Gay and Lesbian Youth. It's an organization for gay teens and young adults. They provide a safe place for kids to gather. They have events, concerts, provide counseling, college scholarships. Sky's a member."
Horatio nodded. PJ continued, "Jason came to us after his parents were killed in a boating accident two years ago. He'd lost everything and was living on the street. He'd started doing drugs and turning tricks to earn money. We gave him drug counseling and tried to find him a place to live, a job. But the pull of the streets was too strong. He would relapse and disappear for months at a time."
PJ paused for a moment looking down at his hands. "I wanted so badly to help him. We were the same age. I realized how lucky I was. My father doesn't like that I'm gay, but he accepts it. I've seen so many kids disowned by their families when they find out. I needed to do something." He looked up at Horatio. "Please find out what happened to him."
Horatio nodded. "We will," he promised.
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MAGALY is based on a real organization here on Long Island that provides services to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth in the greater New York area. For more information, check out their website by Googling LIGALY. I will continue this story when I return from Florida next week.