Natalia made her way to Horatio's office, the printout from the fingernail in her hand. She opened the door, finding her boss patiently clicking on the computer screen and entering reports into the database. She extended the file. "Our guy was in CODIS, an Arthur Hunt. Arrested once for burglary, he got entered into the system when we matched a blood smear on a window to him."
Horatio considered the file for a moment. "Did you already ask Tripp to bring him in?"
"Yeah, he's sitting in an interview room right now."
"Good." Horatio smiled, pleased. Natalia was quickly learning the ins and outs of the lab. Plus, she had a good head on her shoulders. He collected Grace's file and made his way over to the room, nodding to the uniform standing in the back. Arthur Hunt was a rarity for Miami. Pale and dark haired, he blinked a set of ocher eyes at Horatio as he walked in. Horatio noted his body language, cringing and on the edge of his seat. Horatio had dealt with so many overconfident trust fund babies it was strange to see a man actually scared. He could well be a killer though.
"Officer, um, why am I here?" Arthur's voice cracked noticeably on the last word, and he looked down in embarrassment.
Horatio sighed. "Do you recognize this woman?" He slid Grace's picture over to him, her flesh pale and wan against the backdrop of Alexx's autopsy table. Arthur's fingers hovered over the picture, tracing Grace's face.
"Grace, oh my God. Jesus Christ what happened?" Arthur whispered, gently touching the picture. "Baby, baby I told you to leave."
"She was drowned, last night at her work. And your fingernail was in her hair." Horatio leaned over. "Did it rip off when you were holding her underwater? Or maybe when you were posing her body?"
"I didn't kill her." Arthur's voice was so firm for a moment Horatio forgot how awkward the man was. "Grace and I, we were in love."
"She had a husband."
"Yeah, I know. She was running out of her house one day all bloody. I took her to my place to clean her up and we just started seeing each other. We were planning to leave today, to go to Paris. Your guys found me waiting at the airport." Arthur looked down. "Now I know why she was taking so long."
"And your fingernail?"
"We met up before her shift okay? It probably just ripped off in her hair." Arthur looked at his thumb, the nail ragged. "It was her husband, I know it was. He hated that she worked there, but she loved it. She loved the water and her friends." He smiled sadly. "She said they were like a school of fish, that they would all turn at the same time during the show. I saw them once, they were beautiful. And afterwards she sat on the rocks, singing. I stood there watching her for hours as everyone else got autographs. She asked me what I wanted, why I was there." Horatio watched as he rubbed his nose, sniffing loudly. "I said I loved her. And we planned to run to Paris, away from her husband." Arthur's head jerked up, his eyes alight with a passion Horatio recognized. "He beat her so badly she lost a baby once, did you know that? She told me he left her on the floor, bloody. You have to arrest him."
"Our investigation is into her murder." Horatio spoke slowly, knowing that Padraig couldn't be arrested for this right now.
"So he just walks away?" Arthur stood up, causing Horatio to jerk back.
"For now."
"Alright, now zoom in on her face. Sweetie, lift your hand up like you're holding an apple." Sheri directed from the sidelines, as the photographer did as she asked. Brittney stood there, awkwardly posing. "No, no. Relax. Breathe, in fact close your eyes. You're on a beach, the waves are rolling in and out. Now, slowly open your eyes." The camera went off as Brittney languorously opened her eyes. Laila looked at the photo as it appeared on her laptop. It was sultry, seductive. A dozen more pictures surrounded it, evidence of the rest of the photo shoot. With a few simple clicks Laila imposed the Miss Spring Break logo above her palm, the date, time and place written below.
"Sheri, take a look." She called, bringing the black haired boss over. Sheri considered her work for a moment.
"Make it black and white, classier." She ordered. Laila applied the filter, pleased with the result. Laila watched as Sheri ordered Brittney to change into her bathing suit, sending her scurrying to the bathroom. The studio they were at belonged to a friend of Sheri's, who was quite willing to work them in for the proper compensation. Sheri turned around. "Go get in your bathing suit, you've got five minutes." Brittney nodded, shuffling away in her evening wear.
"Can't believe I'm doing this." Laila muttered, swiping through the evening wear pictures.
"Well she's a royal pain the ass." Sheri growled as she sat down next to her. "You're lucky I'm such a good friend."
"Yeah, well I'm lucky you've got a photo hookup." Laila gestured to the photographer, who was currently adjusting some of the flash lamps.
"I'm breaking up with him soon, guy's to clingy." Sheri said, sipping a water bottle. Laila shook her head, instead leaning back and contemplating the ceiling tiles. Sheri had always been flighty, but Laila was sure she would find the right guy. Since she had known her Laila figured Sheri had been through about twenty guys. Not that she was mean, she was just picky.
"And the next one will be to distant." She replied, looking at the blue in Sheri's hair.
"Hey, you're my girlfriend. You're supposed to talk shit about my exes, drink with me when I get broken up with, not make fun of me, and you haven't done any of that lately." Sheri rubbed her temple, unwilling to meet Laila's eyes.
"Well, I've just been busy and you know how that gets."
"Busy what? Hanging out with your amazing boyfriend?"
Damn. "Shit Sheri. It's not like I've actively tried to avoid you. You're my friend, and I guess I just haven't been a very good friend lately."
"It's alright." Sheri mumbled, punching her shoulder lightly. "But we're going out tonight. And no complaining."
"Aye aye."
Horatio stood among the many screens of their audio visual lab, contemplating the edited together video of the murder that Benton had left out for him. The beginning was rather normal, the girls bringing out their tails and sitting down to pull them on. Katya went in first, her fin flicking as it entered the water. The angle switched, showing a dark shadow in the water that followed her as she dove deeper. He paused the video, squinting at the figure. Benton must not have been able to find an angle where you could see him enter. There was a sudden rush of bubbles, then the surface of the lagoon was still as usual. Grace and Quinn dove in after. A minute later Quinn's head broke the surface, Grace after. Quinn gestured for Grace to get away as the killer pulled her back under. Grace darted away, toward the edge of the lagoon. She clawed at the decking, pulling herself out slowly. The tail was weighing her down. The angle switched, showing a hand shoot out and grab the tail, pulling her back. The camera switched again, the time stamp showing two hours later.
The killer emerged, his fins slapping against the floor. The guy was smooth, he didn't remove his mask and kept his head down. Still, Horatio caught a few things. The guy was large, easily topping six feet. He walked with a slight limp, hitching his left leg. The diver disappeared out of view, the tape shutting off as well. Horatio stood there, considering what he had seen. The guy was quick, taking down three girls inside of fifteen minutes. What he took awhile on was the posing. He thinks he's an artist, that his art is the most important thing.
"H, did you get anything off the tape?" Eric asked, opening the door.
"Our guy didn't show his face, but that doesn't mean we're out of options." Horatio told him, glancing down at the file in Eric's hand. "Results of the goggle lens?"
"Yeah, there were a few people with the same prescription but look at this guy." Eric opened the file. "Jonathan Winters, pool boy at Mel's Mermaid Lagoon. Want to head over?" Horatio merely raised his eyebrows at Eric, gesturing for him to follow.
AN: Ugh, sorry for the wait and the fact that this is short. I'm facing some writer's block, schoolwork and well, Game of Thrones is back on in like a month. My pre-gaming for that is reading all the books again so I've been a little short on my CSI: Miami. Don't worry about me abandoning the story, I don't think I'd do that. But it may take longer for less and that seriously bothers me. Sorry.