Chapter 4 Collecting Evidence

Disclaimer: I do not lay claim to any of the characters as seen in CSI Miami, and my fic is written to be fun and enjoyable and not meant to offend the writers/creators of CSI Miami or the actors who play the different characters. I do ask that no one use my original character as she is my own creation. My fic is not to be posted anywhere else unless written permission is obtained from me.

It was a great idea to have his younger colleague along for the investigation. Maybe Eric's company would help him keep his mind on the task at hand. Heaven only knew how Horatio was nervous about seeing her again. It had only been a half dozen hours, and thoughts of her were constantly racing through his mind when his focus lapsed. How a woman could so easily get inside him – he didn't know. His first love was always his job – to protect and serve. Relationships were generally an afterthought even though he would put his heart and soul into them. He closed his eyes envisioning her – she was no taller than Miss Duquesne and very fit – probably from all the hauling and hiking he imagined she must have done over the years. She was strong but so very feminine. Her sassy demeanor was offset by an obvious sensitivity – having a fiery spirit, and yet a kind heart – and this sensitive side was one she obviously guarded strongly.

Eric and Horatio drove their Hummers to the address she had given. The location was rather remote – set way back from the city limits. The dirt road led down to a small house by the beach. This little structure seemed so out of place from the houses typical of the area. However, the area boasted of natural untouched beauty – a large section of pristine beach behind the house, a federally protected salt marsh off to one side, and gardens of native plant life off to the other side, and the waters were off limits to all boating traffic for quite some distance out to allow for untouched areas for research. Both men exited their vehicles after pulling up to the house.

"Interesting place for a house," Eric said. "It's secluded enough to not have anyone know what you are doing."

Horatio scanned the area.

"Always thinking like a CSI," Caine droned out half-heartedly.

"Oh, come on, H. You mean to tell me you wouldn't look around and think this could be one heck of a party site? Nobody around to know what kind of wild, unbridled stuff was going on."

Horatio had to stop the vision from entering his mind again.

The two men stood at the front door as Eric rang the bell.

"She doesn't seem to be home." Eric waited for his boss's next order.

"Walk around back – make sure she's not outside."

Eric complied. When he returned, he had a look of awe on his face.

"H, you should see the back yard. It's incredible. I didn't know there were places like this still left in Miami."

"Maybe later," he said. "Eric, would you do me a favor and call the lab and see if Calleigh has any details on the bullet, please."

"Yeah, sure."

Horatio walked around the side of the house – curiosity had gripped him like a vice. There were several large tubs and a four foot by four foot by two foot cage. Half of the cage was solid plywood while the other half was assembled with a secure mesh fencing. A good stiff wind was beginning to kick up denoting a storm riding in from the Southwest. Storms typically blew in fast and furiously, but this one seemed to be holding off. Inside the cage, something caught his eye – a set of files began blowing around as the wind increased. The CSI in him demanded he check it out – after all, it was in plain sight therefore not needing a warrant, was an odd place for a set of files to be in the first place, the cage was not locked, and the woman was a witness to a murder. It was his job to check out her story therefore allowing a good rationale to his train of thought – he had to make sure she wasn't hiding anything.

He opened the cage door and maneuvered his six foot frame inside. The tight fit was most uncomfortable, but he managed to obtain the files inside the covered portion. In an attempt to exit the cage, the door slammed shut preventing him from pushing it open. The precarious position he was in made him want to yelp in agony.

Just then, Miss Dolante arrived home to find the two Hummers in her driveway. Hopping out, she walked over to Mr. Delko who was completing his call and closing his cell phone.

"Miss, sorry to intrude, but my boss and I are here to discuss what you saw," Eric said in a matter of fact tone.

"Um, Eric. I need a little help." Horatio's voice was stressed as if something were wrong.

Both Eric and Sara ran around the side of the house and to their surprise, there was Lieutenant Caine hunched over most uncomfortably inside the cage. Sara couldn't help but giggle at the sight of the red haired cop trapped in a pitiful position within the enclosure.

"Oh, gosh, H. Don't move," Eric said with concern.

"Eric, I can't move."

Sara composed herself taking on a more serious look.

"The door must have jammed shut. There's no lock to speak of," Sara said.

"I hope you don't mind. I'll repair any damage," Eric said while gripping the door firmly.

Eric pulled hard trying to release the door and after several tries, he determined that there was no use.

"I guess the door has to come off," Sara said. "There's a release bolt on the top of each hinge."

"Eric, hurry up," Horatio pleaded.

It was hard to tell if he was truly in pain or feeling pain due to extreme embarrassment. The younger CSI pulled up on the release bolts allowing the door to be removed. Lieutenant Caine stepped out stretching his aching muscles. Eric figured he had to have been in there a good twenty minutes.

"Oh, so that's where I left those files," Sara said with excitement.

Horatio opened them – there were spreadsheets of daily observations of bird species and counts of individuals seen over the last three weeks. Another file contained fish surveys. Sara felt pretty silly as he glanced them over. Last thing she wanted as a possible future employee was for him to think she was a scatterbrain.

"I had a bird emergency last week. Great Egret slammed into the house with the last storm. Guess I put the files down and neglected to retrieve them."

The Lieutenant handed them back to her.

"Miss, I can help with that door – it does need a better hinge and should really have a lock on it. Would help prevent any unwanted six foot tall Lieutenants from getting stuck inside," Eric said straight-faced.

Horatio shot him an angry glare.

"I'd be grateful if you could assist. I'm a little incapacitated at the moment or I'd do it myself. I had hoped to put a six inch barrel bolt on the door."

Horatio and Eric both looked at her oddly.

"What? You think a female can't swing a hammer or work a screwdriver?"

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant," Eric said with a laugh.

"I'm kidding, boys! Just razzing you," she said with a giggle.

She was indeed playful, and Eric couldn't help but smile when he saw the smitten look on his boss's face.

"So, are you ready to give us the tour?" Horatio asked trying to be serious.

"Sure. Let me grab my scope."

Sara headed back to her truck and hauled out a rather large spotting scope she used for her wildlife observations.

"I'll have to try to find the exact spot where I was, but I am sure you can measure the distances after I determine location from where I was standing and the magnification on the scope."

"How? Where do you…?" Eric asked wondering why she had this piece of equipment.

"Darling, I use a connector between camera and scope to take my photos. This is a cheaper way of having a high power telephoto lens. I drool over some of the equipment available, but my bank roll won't allow such purchases."

"Well, maybe after you become famous. Those photographs we saw are really impressive," Eric said.

"Thank you, kind sir."

Eric jumped into his Hummer as Sara accompanied Horatio. Driving back to the crime scene was like déjà vu. She had been comfortably talking to the Lieutenant until they got closer to the place where she had witnessed the murder. That's when she shut down becoming quiet, and Horatio noticed that fearful look in her eyes. Putting the Hummer in park and turning off the engine, he looked into her eyes.

"You ready?"

Sara took a deep breath. His gentle expression and concern-filled voice offered her the courage to proceed.

"Better to get it over with."

"We haven't much time with that storm coming in."

They met up with Eric who carried her scope. She found her way to the spot from her field notes. Sara hadn't been able to obtain a GPS recorder just yet and had to rely on other methods to determine her location.

"I was here watching several roseate spoonbills when I heard the commotion. It was just awful – I couldn't make out what was being said, but I am sure that poor guy was pleading for his life. His hands were together looking like he was begging for mercy," she said as Eric set up her scope.

Peering through the eyepiece, she determined her line of sight and tried to adjust the scope's magnification. Frustrated with having to work with one hand, she pulled her left arm out of the sling cussing several unlady-like words as she tossed the sling to the ground. Ignoring the slight stinging pain in her shoulder, she focused her scope and made her adjustments.

"I was here using this magnification. There were two trucks there – just in front of that group of tall marsh grasses. The man was made to get on his knees when another man aimed the gun. If I had to guess, he was two arm lengths from the man he shot."

"Eric, Calleigh found evidence of tire tracks. Maybe you can help determine if the treads match the types of trucks Miss Dolante had in her photos," Horatio stated.

"Sure. I'll get on that right away."

"After they dumped the body into the water that's just to the left there, the three guys got into the trucks – two in one truck, one in the other – and they drove off like nothing happened. They didn't speed away at all."

"And you didn't hear anything?" Horatio continued to probe.

"No. I've got decent hearing, Lieutenant. But, even at that distance, I couldn't make out anything they were saying. My video camera is still in Massachusetts or I would have actually recorded video instead of taking stills – and there is a high-powered microphone on that thing."

"Guess it was total luck you were out here to see this so closely," Eric said.

"I have to ask, what were you doing out here alone?" Horatio asked.

"I do all my research alone. I like it that way – just me and Nature."

"Except in this case," Eric added.

Eric recorded all the data and walked from where they were to the actual spot where the murder took place estimating the distance. He recorded several figures on a lined steno pad that he would compare to the photographs later on. Then, he returned to where the others were.

Horatio's cell phone rang.

"Excuse me, please," he said before he answered the call.

"Mr. Wolfe, what do you have for me?"

Horatio seemed upset with whatever it was that Ryan reported. He complimented his CSI for doing a good job and hung up. Walking over to Eric, Horatio whispered to his colleague.

"We have a problem. The vic was DEA and the two other men in the photo with Julio Vargas is his brother, Enrique, and…" Horatio trailed off. The angry look on his face made Eric know it was serious.

"Who's the other guy?"

"Ron Saris. Calleigh confirms Enrique was the shooter – she pulled a print off the bullet Alexx recovered. This is deeper than we expected. Eric, if she was seen, then her life is in danger. Ron Saris will stop at nothing to get what he wants."

Eric recognized the Lieutenant's unmistakable protective mode. He despised Saris. Recently, Eric had become privy to the information that Saris was 'dating' Horatio's ex-girlfriend and mother to his son, Kyle. Anything having to do with Saris was personal to the Lieutenant.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked his boss.

"Get to work on the tire treads. Let's match the vehicles in the photos to the treads Calleigh lifted. I want every bit of evidence we can link to Saris and his boys."

"Got it."

Eric knew this was important – more important than any other case he ever worked on. For Horatio, this was personal and he knew it would be dangerous. He couldn't impress enough upon his younger colleague the importance of covering every single base to pull Saris down.

"Eric, get back to the lab and help with the processing. I'll have Mr. Wolfe take her statement."

"Right. Miss Dolante – it was a pleasure. I'll talk to you later about fixing that cage door."

The wind was beginning to pick up again, and Horatio wanted to get inside before the storm hit. Forecasts said it would be a typical thunderstorm, but it was still not something to be outside in. Ryan took over as Sara wrote out and signed her statement. Horatio read it over before stating he was satisfied. Going back into the conference room, Horatio offered to take her home. While riding back, they engaged in more friendly chat.

"Look, Lieutenant, I've been on my own for a long time. I've learned to take care of myself."

"These folks are dangerous, Miss. If they figure out that they were indeed seen..." he trailed off. His voice was filled with worry.

"I am sure the one who chased me ran into that gator I leaped over before the tree ran into me."

Horatio smiled. He liked how she said the 'tree ran into her.'

"With all the thrashing around, I bet he thought the noise was the gator and not me. I don't think he saw me at all."

"I don't want to chance it. I know one of the men you photographed. He's very dangerous, Miss. I would like to post an officer outside your residence – just to be safe until we catch all of them."

"Lieutenant, if it's all the same. I'm heading out for a few days. As long as I am not needed, I am heading back to Plymouth to get a few more things I need here."

"It's no problem to me." He took off his shades and looked into her eyes. "You move around quite a bit."

"Yeah. It works out well that I have no attachments to anything or anyone. Allows me to remain mobile – go where I'm needed or where research opportunities pop up. I'm fine as long as I have Internet access, my laptop, my camera equipment, and a cell phone."

He drove into her driveway and put the Hummer in park before continuing the conversation.

"No family – friends?"

"My parents are both dead. I don't have any siblings. And my friends – they all do the same kind of work as I – we have all gotten used to keeping in touch by email or cell phones. Sure, we miss each other. Holidays are a just another day to me. Dr. Sampson loves it that I can just pick up and go. My best friend, Shannon, she's married with three kids – it's a project for her to go into the field."

His heart went out to her. Despite her sounding perfectly fine with the life she was leading, he could hear the want in her voice.

"I learned early on to take care of me," she added.

He wanted to ask. A woman with her great personality, beauty, and drive had to have had her share of boyfriends. It would have been completely unprofessional of him, but he was terribly curious.

"Never thought of settling down?" It was an open enough question.

"What for? My work is my life. Guys don't get it – no offense."

"None taken."

"I haven't met a guy who would allow me to balance both sides of the equation."

Sara thought about her life. She wanted to settle down – have a family – and still find a way to do her work. Worse yet, she was afraid to fall in love and never allowed herself to. It was easier to avoid getting deeply involved – and ultimately to not get hurt when things went sour – which in her experience, always did because she loved her work too much. Several times she dated only to have the relationships fall away to only fulfilling physical needs instead of including intellectual needs. She wanted a knight in shining armor – the whole package – and she wouldn't settle unless she found him.

"I know this is going to sound terribly demanding, but the guy who wins me over is one that will treat me like a real person – stimulate me intellectually – accept me for who I am. I will not be somebody's trophy. I've got degrees in Biology and in Education and I do plan to eventually go for a PHD in Marine Biology. I love the ocean and all it offers. And anyone in my life needs to know I might have to take off here and there when work requires it."

Horatio could see that she was a determined woman – but her causes were good ones. She wasn't interested in climbing some ladder to put herself on top for the arrogance of being Number One.

"Lieutenant, I want to make a difference in the world – you know, to leave something behind for all the inhabitants of this planet – not just the humans. At this point, I know that I won't be leaving any progeny behind. My time ran out on that."

"You don't seem…" he trailed off again. Conversation was getting way too personal.

"I just turned forty, Lieutenant. I had thought I would have kids I could teach about all the wonders this planet offers – if people would just open their eyes and look around. But, I'm not cut from that cloth – having a family. It's just too complicated when I'd have to give up what means most to me."

Her voice made him wonder if she was really happy running all over God's green Earth going on jaunts to several continents or spending weeks at sea. Running was easy to do – when life got too complicated, she could pick up and move on to something else. Some would think it immature, but for Sara, it was her way to survive and avoid the emotional hurts attachments could cause. She was happy – at least she kept telling herself that. Deep down inside, there was something so empty in her, and it was that hidden feeling of emptiness that Horatio keyed in on. He knew it was there – the tone of her voice, the things she was saying – all alluding to things she was missing in her life – things she knew she didn't have and wanted and it was that part of her that was very sad.

"Well, I blabbed enough," she said. "I'm sorry. I should learn to shut up."

She knew she needed to stop. Sara had revealed way too much of herself than she ever intended and the good Lieutenant sensed that she hid many demons inside her.

"I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to trust me."

"Lieutenant, you're a cop. I would hope you are trustworthy."

He smiled.

"I'm every good citizen's friend – and the worst enemy to the criminals."

"You sound like a man on a mission."

"I am. My job is to uphold the law – and that's what I do."

"You are obviously good at it, having the rank you do."

"I fell into this position. But, I'm not sorry for it."

"I'm happy you have it." She gazed into his eyes with equal curiosity. "Well, I should go inside."

"Is everything secured down? With this wind kicking up, one never knows what might happen."

"I believe so. The only thing I worry about is the osprey tower behind the house. The birds are nesting and I'd hate to see it topple over."

There was a silence that followed as the Lieutenant became lost in thought. His mind then drifted to his own past – the loves he had – and could have had. He still yearned for his Marisol and the child she wanted to have – with him. He hated knowing his son was somewhere out there – under the watchful eye of a dangerous man. There were times he knew he needed to make room for a life outside of the job, but he was a man possessed and too many times the job was all he focused on. He grew tired of Yelina telling him to move on. She finally had. Yelina met a nice man – another PI like herself. Horatio had only met him in passing, but his finely tuned senses determined he was a good guy – and that was a good thing after the heartaches she suffered. But for Horatio, he wasn't ready to move on – not yet. Despite his curiosity about this new lady, he had to stay focused on his job. It required him to – at least until the case was solved. Caine knew better.

TBC

Author's Note - I need to thank Petra for her inspiring words of encouragement and help in bringing this chapter to life... Thank you!