Chapter 4. Crossing the line
Horatio walked out of the jail, unsatisfied by the conversation with it's commandant. He still couldn't believe how incompetent people can be. Especially those, who's duty was to protect the safety of others. One of the guards was taking money from prisoners, the other was provoking them into fights. And the nurse never followed the procedure. As the result of such irresponsibility, mentally unstable and very dangerous prisoner managed to escaped, being pronounced dead.
Horatio put his sunglasses on, moving toward the car. It was time to see what his team managed to find back at the lab. He opened the door of his hummer, preparing to take a sit, when he felt his cell phone vibrating through his jacket's pocket. He hurried to answer the call, preying that it would be from one of his teammates.
"Horatio?" Cold voice asked from the other end of the line. "I have something for you."
Caine couldn't help shivering from fear. It was hard, close to impossible, to ruin his well-build wall of self-confides and calmness. But this Darrel Fogg managed to do that at least twice in one day.
He heard muffled noises, distant "say hello to your boss" and then a sharp cry of pain cut through his tensed nerves like a knife. It was being reducing to a moan soon. Some more noises came before the line went dead, leaving Horatio staring in shock at his phone's monitor, wich was still showing familiar number.
XXX
Calleigh smiled, listening to the few techs' light-hearted chatting while they were waiting for the elevator to come down on the ground level. Frank went to call for some back up to be ready in case they'll need it. They were supposed to meet at the parking lot. With a little luck they'll be able to catch that psycho before he strikes again.
The blond CSI came out the main building of the crime lab and went toward the parked cars, her eyes searching for Speedle. Suddenly a somewhat distant cry echoed through the parking lot making Calleigh stop. She took a look around, trying to detect where the sound came from. Some funny feeling was starting to settle inside her stomach.
With her gun drown and ready, she moved stealthily among the cars, feeling her heart rate speeding up. She passed one vehicle after another, and still there were no signs of anything suspicious. If she hadn't been working as a CSI for so long, she would think that it all was some sort of hallucination. But she was too experienced for that.
Soft moan came from the direction to her left and Calleigh turned to face it. The moment she saw Speedle, she forgot about any possible danger. Somewhere at the back of her mind she knew that the attacker had already left.
"Tim!" She called, kneeling down near her colleague and friend.
Speedle was laying on his side, clenching both arms to his stomach. He was semi-conscious and didn't seem to comprehend what was going on around him. With fear biting at her heart, Calleigh took her cell phone and called Alexx. She knew it was wiser to call an ambulance, but the paramedics needed time to come here in any case, and Alexx was much closer.
"Calleigh, what's going on?" Tripp's voice asked from behind her.
Frank moved to stand near the CSI's, the phone pressed to his ear completely forgotten. Few moments passed in silence, until Frank shook the stupor off and returned to the person on the other end of the line.
"Yes, yes, I'm still here…" He went few steps away, hurrying to end the conversation. And instantly dialing Horatio's number.
Calleigh took one of the Speedle's arm, unsure of what to do. There was blood soaking slowly through the front of his shirt and some covering the man's face.
"Calleigh, where're you?" Alexx asked, the worry clearly noticeable in her voice.
"Over here!" The blond woman called.
"Oh God! Timmy…" Alexx knelt next to the CSI's. "You'd better call an ambulance, she advised, gently prying Speedle's arms away from his abdomen. "And notify Horatio." She added in a soft whisper as three ugly cuts became visible on the CSI's skin.
XXX
"I don't like it, Horatio." Alexx shook her head as they both were standing in the hospital hall. "I'm not a psychologist, but this guy is really progressing. He knocked Delko out just to notify us about his presence. And he cut him while Eric was unconscious. Now he had beaten Tim up right under our noses and he made cuts while the boy was totally awake. I'm afraid to think of what he'll do next."
"Then let's make sure that there would be no next time." Horatio said, cocking his head to the side, his gaze distant.
"Any news yet?" Calleigh asked coming to them, followed by Frank.
"No." Alexx shook her head. "But don't worry, honey. He wasn't hurt greatly. Shaken up mostly. He'll be ok."
"Frank," Horatio turned to face Tripp, determination and confidence in his voice. "I want a couple of your guys to stay here with Eric and Speed. And ask to move them into one room. Calleigh, you and I are going to that restaurant and have a nice talk to it's owner."
"I'll stay here, with boys." Alexx said firmly.
"Ok." Horatio nodded. "Call when you'll talk to doctor. And take Speed's cloths on your way back to the lab."
"Sure. Go and catch that bastard!"
XXX
Horatio pulled the hummer to stop near the small restaurant. Silently both he and Calleigh went out and moved inside the building.
"Oh, lieutenant Caine!" Short and rather fat man came from the back door, cleaning his hands with a towel. "How can I help the police this time?"
"I see that your business isn't going this well, Mr. Gardner." Horatio pointed out, looking the half-empty room.
"No, but we are still holding." The owner said, frowning. "But I see no point in your questions."
"Oh, I just was wondering if you have been saving money using former convicts again." Horatio said, looking right into the other man's eyes.
"I… No… No, mister Caine. I'm checking on my employees , I swear!" Mr. Gardner said, his eyes never stopping on the two CSI's and few droplets of sweat forming on his brow.
"Okay, so you wouldn't mind tell me who this man is?" Horatio said softly, taking the photo from the hotel security, showing the man in the hooded jacket, and the second one, showing the enlarged picture from the label of the jacket's sleeve.
"I… I don't know. It could be anyone from our restaurant."
"Not too much people working here, right?" Horatio said. "I want their names. And allocate those, who were employed this week."
"But…"
"Look here, Mr. Gardner. Two of my men are in hospital and I want to catch the guy who did it. I hope you still want to help me?" His voice was soft and calm, but some dangerous notes could be heard in it.
"Sure, I'll do it right now."
XXX
Calleigh could feel her eyes closing. The lack of rest and all the stress of the past few days were starting to catch up with her. She slowly got up, stretching. Getting out of the lab she made her way to the break room, pouring herself a cup of strong coffee.
"Any news yet?" Frank asked coming to stand near.
"Horatio is working on the list that Mr. Gardner gave him. But it can prove to be a dead end, anyway. The guy could have stolen or borrowed the clothes from on of the workers."
"But it's worse a shot, right?"
"Sure. I processed Tim's clothes as well and found some traces of the building materials. Nothing specific though. The guy could just have walked near the construction site for all we know."
She sighed with frustration, taking a good seep of the coffee.
"Detective Duquesne," A young receptionist called from the doorway. "There's a man asking for you in the hall. Says it's important."
"I'll be right there." Calleigh sighed once more, putting an unfinished cup on the table. She had no idea about who the man was and what he wanted, but she decided that a little break in her work would be good anyway.
Smiling to Tripp she walked out of the room and toward the elevator. Once down she looked around, searching for the familiar faces.
"The man said he'll wait for you outside," The receptionist said, noticing the CSI.
Becoming a bit suspicious, Calleigh walked out the building. Suddenly an arm grabbed her shoulder and something cold and solid was pressed to her back.
"Do no tricks, detective." Cold harsh voice said from behind. "Just walk toward that green van. If you behave, you might get out of this mass alive."
…TBC
