"... In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior ..." (Sir Francis Bacon)
Stalking through the lab, Horatio was incensed. He had let Hamill goad him, and what was more infuriating; he knew that Hamill was right.
They had nothing on him for the murder of Kate O'Garr. They could get him for Rebecca, but so far, there was nothing to point to closure for Kate's family. The Lee's would have their pound of flesh, but not for their daughter's ex-lover, who was also close to their heart.
Making his way around the corner towards DNA, he caught some of the lab techs staring at him. "Speed," He called out as he saw the dark haired man emerge from the glass lab.
"Hey H," he replied, waiting for his supervisor to catch up with him.
"Have you processed the buccal swab yet?" H asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"Valera is doing it as we speak, but it'll be a while before we get the results." He replied, sensing the urgency in Horatio.
"Alright, have you done verified all the evidence from the Glades yet?" Speed nodded, as he fiddled with the folder in his hands.
"I'm just waiting for Calleigh to come back to see where we are now." Horatio frowned, shifting slightly.
"Didn't she come back with you?" He asked, dropped his head to the side, fixing his eyes on Speed. Tim glanced to the ground.
"She stayed behind at the scene to drag the area for the gun. We didn't find it in the boat; Calleigh thought that he might have dumped the weapon in the water when we got there. So, she was going to search for it."
Horatio sighed, "How long has it been since she contacted you?"
Speed shifted nervously, "I haven't talked to her since she drove away on the airboat to head back to the scene." Horatio shifted his gaze to the ground, Speed watching him carefully.
"Okay, try and contact Calleigh, see where she is. Then I need you to go through all the evidence from the alley scene, I need evidence that confirms whether or not Hamill killed Kate O'Garr."
"The ex-girlfriend?" Speed verified as Horatio nodded. "What are you going to do?" He asked, as Horatio moved off.
"I'm going to talk to Alexx about the autopsy reports. Ring me when you get through the Calleigh," he called behind him as he headed towards the elevator.
"Sure H," Speed replied, before moving off towards the layout room.
Horatio walked past the reception desk to the elevator, pressing the down button impatiently. As he stood at the door, he kept his gaze on the ground, trying to organise his thoughts quickly.
As the elevator dinged, he pulled his gaze up to see a dripping Calleigh Duquesne standing there, holding two gun boxes in one hand and holding her cell phone to her ear with the other, "Don't worry Tim, found him." She smiled, closing her phone and tucking it back into her jacket.
He stared at her, cocking a bemused and bewildered eyebrow. "Don't say a word Horatio. I am in serious need of a shower and a tetanus shot. Lord knows what's in that water!" She said moving out of the elevator to stand next to him.
Her hair was matted into the bun at the back of her neck, which was dripping water down the back of her shirt. She had a forensics jacket on, over her wet clothes, and was considerably shorter without her boots on. "But the good news is, I have found the Beretta, and a rifle. So, if we don't get him on both the murders, we can tack on possession an unregistered firearm." She said smiling. Horatio softly returned her smile.
"Happy hunting?" He asked, his whole demeanour having softened with her arrival.
"You bet handsome," she replied, "Two for one, though I could have done without the impromptu swim." He chuckled softly as she smoothed a spare hand over her hair. "Never again Horatio. Next time, Eric can go. I am done with swimming in the sloughs."
"Not for the fainthearted," He shot back, ducking his gaze.
"Definitely. It's even worse when every little noise in the dark leaves you with premonitions of death." Horatio smiled gently at her comments, looking back up to meet her eyes.
"Well done Calleigh." He said softly.
"Thank you," she said, blushing softly. She sighed before shifting the guns in her grip. "How did it go with Hamill?" She asked, seeing the troubled look in Horatio.
"He didn't confess, but the iron deposit on the inside of his hand says it all."
"But," she said, as Horatio glanced away. He paused a minute, considering the next sentence. "He got to you, didn't he?" She said, her head dropping to the side to consider Horatio. Her blue eyes sought his out, something, which was a little harder without the extra inches to her height.
He smiled wryly before meet her questioning gaze. "What did he say?" Calleigh asked, continuing to press him.
"You're dripping on the floor," he murmured softly, not quite ready to answer.
"I don't care Horatio. What did he say?" She said firmly, tucking the rifle against her hip and placing her free hand on the other one. She stood resolute, regarding him with inquiring eyes.
"He said that we can't pin the second murder on him. With the evidence we have, we can only charge him for the murder of Rebecca Lee, not both her and Kate."
"And you want him for the double?" She asked, softening slightly. "What if the evidence points away from him Horatio?" H frowned momentarily at her question before squaring his gaze.
"I know he did it. And I know we have the evidence to prove it." She smiled.
"Then go get him." Calleigh touched his arm gently before turning away towards her beloved lab, her arms clutching her new toys.
Horatio smiled softly as he followed her path, laughter colouring his eyes at the appearance of Calleigh sized wet footprints marking the way towards Ballistics. He pressed the elevator button again, which had long since moved on during his conversation. He turned back to reception to spot the woman standing there.
"Claudia," he called out. She turned from her work to face him,
"Yes Lieutenant," she replied, smiling softly.
"Could you please call clean-up to come to Reception? Tell them we had a water spill." He turned as the elevator opened and he made his way towards the morgue.
Sunday morning dawned brightly, as Eric made his way towards a small café/restaurant downtown. He pulled the Hummer around the corner, sighing.
His mother had called him the night before, just as he had arrived home from the lab, to admonish him for not visiting. Granted it had only been a week since he last had dinner with his family, and as the only son, he had been expected to be there.
But as per usual, a murder had prevented him from being there. And now, here he was, on the day that God had off, working hard on the case.
He parked the Hummer across the road from the café, and got out, bringing a folder with him. Crossing the road, he made his way to the door of the coffee house, pulling off his sunglasses and made his way towards the counter. "Good morning sir, how may I help you?"
The waitress asked, smiling brightly at him. "Hello, I'm Eric Delko from the Miami Dade Crime Lab, may I please speak with your manager?" He flashed his badge and a tired smile.
She stood shocked for a moment before blinked and recovering with a tense grin. "Sure, I'll just be a minute." She replied before turning on her heel and walking away.
Another waitress nervously walked up and manned the counter. "May I get you anything while you wait?" The small blonde asked, fiddling nervously with her pen.
"I would love a coffee, thank you." He said, smiling. The girl took his order with a soft smile and walked off to make it.
Just as she came back with his drink the manager, an older woman made her way towards him with the original serving girl. "Hello, I am Hilary McCullum, I own this café. How may I help you Officer?"
The professional woman extended her well-manicured hand. Eric shook her hand before glancing down to his file. "I'm from the Crime Lab. I am investigating a murder, in which the victim made a phone call from this café the day he died. Do you recognise this man? He would have been here about Wednesday afternoon." He held out a photo of Mr Johannsen, as he appeared in the morgue.
"Oh my god," the woman paused, her hand flying up to cover her mouth, "No, I wasn't working then, but Melissa," she called out to the waitress who had made Eric's coffee. "Would you please come over here for a minute?" The young blonde made her way over to the manager. "You worked Wednesday afternoon, didn't you?"
The girl nodded nervously, "Yeah, I worked restaurant."
Eric held out the photo, "Notice this guy, and who he was with?" He asked Melissa.
She studied the photo quickly before nodding. "Sure yeah, he came in by himself. This woman was already sitting down over there, waiting for him." She pointed over to the front window of the restaurant.
"Can you describe the woman?" He asked, leafing quickly through the file.
"Sure, yeah. She was dark haired, rich looking with a really expensive bag. She paid with a gold credit card." He nodded, pulling out another photo.
"This her?" The girl nodded.
"Yep definitely."
"Do you remember what they ordered?"
Melissa frowned, "Hang on," she said, pulling out her receipt book and flicking through it. "A Caesar Salad minus bacon, a green salad with a side order of fruit, one orange juice, one skinny café latte." She reeled off the order, before looking back up at Eric. He glanced around to the ceiling, turning back to the manager.
"Do you have security cameras here?"
Hilary nodded, "Of course, in case we ever get held up. Why?"
"Is there any facing in that direction of where they sat?" She glanced around before shaking her head.
"I am not sure, I can't remember which way we faced them. I'm sorry," she said contritely.
Eric shook his head, "It's alright. But I am going to have to take the footage from Wednesday afternoon, if that's alright?"
The manager nodded, "Sure, anything to help."
"If you could just show me where you keep the tapes," Hilary turned and motioned for Eric to follow her.
Minutes later, he walked out of the café with the tapes, Melissa's receipt book and his much-needed caffeine.
Calleigh stood in the ballistics lab, priming the Beretta for test firing. Loading the gun, she placed on the earmuffs and fired twice into the water chest. Sighing happily, she pulled off the protective gear and walked over to the side of the metal barrel.
Lifting the lid, she picked up the magnetised rod and extracted the two bullets. She headed back to her table, where the comparison microscope sat waiting for her. Just as she went to place the exemplar into the view, she heard a voice from the door. "I would have thought that after your adventures yesterday, you would have wanted to avoid water."
She turned and smiled at Horatio who was leaning against the doorjamb. "Well, I did have a shower or two, I needed to clean myself up. And I have to determine whether or not this was the gun that killed our girls, so sadly, avoidance was not an option."
She placed the bullets under the scope, and focussed the new one into line with the one taken from Kate. "Got it," she said, turning to H with a large grin on her face. He walked over the table, as Calleigh stepped back to let him take a look. He bent down, studying the specimens, Calleigh watching him intently with a small smile on her face.
He stood back up, anxiety still clouding his features. "Which bullet is this?"
"The one Alexx pulled from Kate O'Garr," she said, with grin.
"Have you tested the one from Rebecca?"
Calleigh shook her head, "It impacted when it ricocheted around in her skull, no such luck. Although I can match the firing pin impressions on the casings we found at the scene." Horatio nodded, glancing down at the microscope before looking back up to Calleigh.
"Thank you, call me when you have the results. I'll see you later," He said before moving away.
"No problems handsome." She called out to his retreating form.
Shifting through the mountain of results in front of him, Speed turned back to pin up the crime scene photos from the initial crime scene. He walked back to the table and started to pull the larger evidence pieces out of their envelopes.
Out came the victims' clothing, complete with trace reports, the broken glass from the scene, all of the DNA evidence taken throughout the case, the security tapes from the nightclub and every piece of paperwork they had amassed throughout the last week. Stopping to look over the whole case spread out in front of him, Tim sighed, running a hand over his face.
Shaking his head softly, he picked up the trace file, rummaging through it to match the evidence to the report. Turning around, he became illuminated by the large pictures in front of him, the light board projecting their shadows onto the room.
Standing at the door, Horatio watched Speed, as the younger man sighed dejectedly, his quick eyes scanning the photos for any missed clues. "Speed," H said, startling him out of his thoughts.
"Hey H," he replied, turning back to the table and facing his supervisor.
"What have we got?" Horatio asked, moving forward to stand opposite Speed.
"I've checked all the reports, double checked the trace. The oily smudge that Alexx found on Kate's hand was make-up, matched to the samples we took from Rebecca. The DNA isn't back from Valera yet, so we can't match the saliva to Hamill and the broken glass found in Rebecca Lee's wounds match the glass from the nightclub, density grading test confirms that."
"Okay, is there anything else?" H asked, placing his hands on his hips with a slight frown.
"I'm beginning to think that he's right, Hamill." Speed said, dropping his gaze quickly, "We have nothing on him." He pulled his gaze back up to Horatio, who was staring at the table. "Sorry H," Speed shot off, compelled to apologise by the silence. Horatio shook his head, his steady blue eyes meeting Speed's troubled, dark ones.
"It's fine, just take a minute and then you can take another look at these pictures with me, alright?" Speed dropped his eyes to the table as H moved around to stand next to him.
Studying the light board, Horatio waited patiently as his colleague sighed deeply before turning around to join him. They stood in silence as each carefully examined the scene, as captured by the camera. Analysing them with their eyes, they saw the bullet casings, the body positions, the blood splatter patterns against the dark ground and pale chest of Kate O'Garr, and dark stippling on the mocha coloured temple of Rebecca Lee.
Horatio shifted, as Speed tucked his hands into his lab coat pockets. "Did we find any G.S.R on the victims?" Horatio asked, glancing quickly at Speed. The younger man turned around to sift his way through the mass of files on the table to pick up the autopsy and trace reports.
"Gun shot residue was found on the left hand, head and shoulders of Rebecca Lee, and trace amounts were found on the blouse of Kate O'Garr. That's it. Why?" He turned to Horatio.
"Rebecca used her left hand to try and pry the gun away from her head. If she was right-handed and she shot her ex-girlfriend, then she would have residue on both hands. Call her parents, ask them to confirm whether or not she was left handed," Speed nodded, before pulling out his cell phone and moving away. As H was continuing to study the photos, there was a small knock from the door.
"Lieutenant?" H turned around to see Valera standing at the door holding a folder. H raised in eyebrows in reply, as he eyed the folder anxiously.
"Are they the results from the buccal swab?" He asked as the technician made her way over to him. Valera nodded, smiling quickly at him as she handed over the report.
He opened the file and scanned quickly down the page, "Sample matches all the others from the scene. The fingernail scraping, hair and saliva are all from your suspect, Scott Hamill. The blood that Speed found in the boat was Rebecca Lee's." She glanced up to Horatio, who was nodding softly.
"Thank you," He said, smiling gently at her. She nodded at him, and then Speed before turning and heading back to the DNA lab.
Tim walked back to stand next to Horatio, "Parent's confirmed that Rebecca was right handed. Is that enough to get him for killing them both?" He said, studying Horatio as his supervisor was caught deep in thought. H broke out of his silence at Speed's question, turning his gaze back to the younger criminalist.
"I think it's time that we had another chat with our Mr Hamill. But for the moment, I need you to go back to the security footage. Check every frame, there is something we are missing."
Speed sighed, "Alright, but I don't know what else he could be hiding there." He turned and headed out of the room, shrugging off his lab coat as he went and pulling out his cell phone.
Horatio stayed, studying the photos carefully, trying not to let the taunting words of their suspect distract him too far from his quest.
Jo sat curled up on the hospital bed, her legs folded neatly beneath her. Tucked into herself, she was flicking through the television stations impatiently.
Eric walked up the doorway, watching her for a moment before knocking. "Hi, am I interrupting anything?" He said, tapping his knuckles on the open door. Jo turned around, seemingly surprised to see him standing there.
"Oh hi Delko. Sure, come in." She said, waving him in. She had changed into her own pyjamas within the last two days (Alexx had gone around to her motel room the night of her hospitalisation and collected a few of her things for her). He also noticed that there was a box sitting on the table next to the bed.
"How's it going?" Eric asked, moving to stand next to the bed.
"Alright, they said they'll let me out soon, tomorrow morning at the latest." Jo replied with a look of impatient distaste on her face.
"You really don't like hospitals do you?" He said, smiling.
"They're not my most favourite place in the world to be." Jo replied, her smile falling momentarily before she quickly changed subjects. "So, did you check out that café?"
He smiled, waving a folder before pulling it open and handing her a photo. "One of the waitresses positively identified her. Said that she was there with our victim the afternoon he died. Even gave me a receipt of what they ordered."
"So, you got her?" She said, looking up at Eric.
"Not quite yet. I haven't got all the evidence together, but it looks like she did it. I've got to study the security footage, just to determine when she slipped him the drug, otherwise yeah. She killed him." He said as she handed him back the photo.
She nodded, smiling, "Well done."
Eric ducked his head, "We haven't got her yet."
"Yet," She shot back. Eric smiled, before glancing quickly around the room. He settled his dark gaze on the colourful box sitting on her bedside table.
"So, who's the box from?" he asked, smiling softly.
She shrugged, "I don't know, it was sitting there when I woke up. Can you get the card for me?" Jo asked, turning off the television and shifting to sit cross-legged.
Eric shot her a suspicious look at her before walking over and picking up the card. Opening it, his eyes quickly flittered over the words before coming up quickly to meet hers. `Eric, thank you, Jo.'
"Open it," she said softly, her voice tinged with nervous excitement. He turned to lift the top of the box off, frowning at what his eyes saw inside. He turned back to her, bewildered.
"Beer?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion and amusement.
She smiled faintly, dropping her gaze to the bed, clearing her throat gently. "I had this tutor, at university back home, who had this, sort of rule in class. If ever our pagers went off whilst he was talking, because of the disrespect that it caused, whoever's phone it was, owed him a case of beer. Consider this a token of my extreme respect, gratitude and most sincerest of apologies for what I did, or didn't do as the case may be."
She glanced back up at him, a small, earnest look on her face. He stayed silent, not quite sure what to say. She smiled, a small dismissing laugh escaping her. "You don't have to drink it all, but please, accept it. Hell, if you don't want it, just hand it to nearest bum you find, or throw a party or whatever, but please Eric, I would be so grateful if you would accept it."
She sighed out deeply, her fingers fiddling nervously with her pyjama sleeve. Eric glanced down before looking back to her, nodding.
"Thank you Jo," he replied smiling gently at her. He turned his attention back to his present, frowning slightly. "Hey, how did you get this up here? Wouldn't they confiscate it?"
Jo smiled, "I bribed Jennifer, the nurse that you saw here yesterday. She brought it up this morning." Eric laughed, his eyes smiling for the first time all week. They lapsed into silence for a moment before Eric cleared his throat gently.
"Well, I had better get going. I've got to finalize the evidence before getting Yelina to order a warrant for her arrest."
She nodded, "Anything I can do to help?"
Eric nodded, "Yeah, can you call Tyler for me, he's the A/V technician at the lab. Ask him about the trace on the cell phone I asked him for, and then check it against the victim's phone records, alright?"
Jo smiled, "No problem."
"Alright, then I'll see you later then. Take care of yourself," Eric said, moving to the table and picking up his `gift'. "This is strange," he commented as he made his way back to the door.
"What?" Jo asked in confusion.
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone leave the hospital with a gift, without them having been a patient." She smiled, laughing softly.
"Lucky you, Delko. See you later. Good luck," she called out as he nodded and headed out the door.
"Bye Jo," he called back over his shoulder as he made his way down the hall, his brightly wrapped box tucked under one arm.
Shutting the door loudly behind him, Horatio walked over to the interrogation room table and placed a folder down in front of Scott Hamill.
The soldier was sitting back in the metal chair, his feet propped up on the edge of the table. Tripp was standing on the opposite wall, his hands crossed against his chest.
The midday sun was shining brightly through the windows, causing Hamill to squint softly. "Any chance you guys have any blinds to shut out some of the light in here?" He said, glancing between the two officers.
"Sorry, you don't get to make demands here," Tripp said darkly, standing across from the man.
"What happens to my civil rights?" Hamill shot back, crossing his arms across his chest.
"What makes you think you have any?" Horatio replied, his voice dropping dangerously.
His azure eyes penetrated the soldier's, causing them to engage in a battle of wills, each as defiant and accusing as the other. Tripp watched them, waiting on edge. After a tense silence, Tripp cleared his throat.
"Is there anything that you would like to say in regards to your statement Mr Hamill?"
"What statement is that, Detective?" Scott replied dismissively.
"The statement you made about your involvement in the deaths of Rebecca Lee and Kate O'Garr at the Beatbox nightclub on Monday night." Tripp replied.
"Oh, that." Hamill said sarcastically. Tripp nodded, taking a few steps towards the table and the two warring men.
"Yeah that. You told Lieutenant Caine and myself that you watched Ms Lee follow her ex-girlfriend out back, that you sure as hell didn't follow her, and later, you didn't see either woman re-enter the club, right?" The man nodded at Tripp's summary. "Then, minutes later, you all but told us that you killed Rebecca Lee, but that we couldn't pin the other murder on you. So if you didn't kill Ms O'Garr, Scott," the name was spat out, loaded with sarcasm and hate, "Who did?"
Hamill shrugged dismissively, his mouth pulling into a nasty smirk. "Beats me, could have been any fucker that was out there that night. I'm pretty sure I saw a homeless man sitting there, eyeing her purse. But she was already dead when I got out back. So, maybe the tranny killed her. Shot her because she didn't take to her new identity too well."
"What did she shoot her with? We didn't find any gun on her." Horatio said, moving to perch on the edge of the table.
"I don't know, maybe she stashed it somewhere under her dress, or threw it in a trashcan before I got out there." Scott shrugged again, shifting slightly to readjust his position on the chair.
"This is where we have a difference of opinion, because there is no evidence of another gun at the scene, or at the victim's house, or anywhere."
"Can you turn guns invisible now as well?" Tripp asked, stepping in next to Horatio. Hamill paused, his mouth twisting into a tight thin line; his serious, threatening eyes jumping anxiously between the two officers. His eyes narrowed, as he shook his head in silence.
"We retrieved the bullets from Kate's chest, and Rebecca's skull. See, you weren't smart enough to remove the casings from the alley when you shot them both. We can match the casings to the gun, confirming that they were shot from the same weapon. Don't they teach you that in the army?" Horatio mocked, leaning in closer to the soldier, who was staring back at him with a dark look.
In the silence, they all stood, engaged in a tense face off. All of a sudden, Horatio's cell phone vibrated against his chest, shaking happily in his breast pocket.
Shooting Hamill a final dark look, he walked over to the window, to see that he had received a message from Calleigh, simply stating, `Casings Match Beretta'.
Horatio smiled gently before placing his phone back in his pocket and staring out the window. "Well, Mr Hamill, it looks like it's not your day. My ballistics expert just determined that both victims' were shot with your gun. Can you tell me how or is that just another thing you don't know?" He turned to pin the man to the table with his eyes, his hands moving to his hips.
"Rebecca Lee didn't shoot the other woman, you did. Ms Lee didn't touch the gun except to try and prevent you from blowing out her head; gun shot residue proves that. You see, Ms Lee was right handed. Had she planned to and then shot Kate O'Garr, she would have used her dominant hand. The problem is, we didn't find any residue on her right hand; only on her left, where she tried to pry her life from out of your sick hands."
"And at one point, you even licked her, violating her chest with your saliva. Which you then spat at Kate O'Garr," Horatio said, opening the file in front of him. He walked around the table to stand next to Hamill before throwing a photo of Kate O'Garr down in front of him.
"Why did you kill her Scott?" H said darkly, leaning right into the man's personal space. "Was it because, even after you took the time to know her, all that time and money you spent on emailing Rebecca Lee, all the hours spent spilling your heart to her," He bent down to speak tauntingly at soldier's face, "she still loved a woman more than you?"
Scott growled threateningly, but Horatio didn't move from his position. His clear eyes stared menacingly at the soldier, slowly tearing his resistance away under his study.
"It wasn't like that," the soldier replied solemnly, his voice laced with anger.
"Then what?" Horatio threw back at him, standing up and pushing Hamill's feet on the table. He leant over and pulled out another photo. "You didn't like that a beautiful woman like her," H held Rebecca's autopsy photo to Hamill's face, forcing the man to take in the dark beauty's mutilated skull, a dark, stencilled hole outlining where he had taken her life. "Blew you- an upstanding, good-looking, All American soldier- off to get with her former love. A woman. Imagine what all your little Army buddies would have to say about that?" Horatio continued, leaning in again. "About you getting it on with another man. Technically she wasn't, but to you, she was everything you hate."
"Rebecca Lee lied to you, she hid her little secret. But you see; she was starting her new life, a life she was finally happy with. And you took all that away from her. You overheard her tell Kate who she was, who she used to be, so you killed her one true love in front of her eyes." Tripp watched as Horatio's voice dropped to a frightening low tone. "And then, you took hers."
Horatio pulled back to study the soldier, who was shaking with rage, his face pulled into a gruesome scowl. "As I was trained to do." He turned to Horatio and muttered slowly.
"But all that training, didn't feel half as good as it was to hear the ex choking in her own blood. To see the tranny scream and beg and cry for her life." Hamill shook his head smiling, "there's nothing like killing the enemy." He turned to fix his eyes on Horatio.
"Yes there is. There's nothing like putting scum like you away for life. Knowing Scott," Horatio spat out, "that you will spent the rest of your days rotting in a dark little room with nothing but the stench of your own urine to keep you company. There is nothing like that." He finished, his eyes and voice frightening dark.
He pulled back, glanced quickly at Tripp, who was watching him with mild shock. "Book him." He said as he pulled out his sunglasses and made his way out of the interrogation room.
Head down, Horatio walked through the door and down the halls of the Police Department, failing to see Calleigh standing there, at the window of Interrogation. She had been there, watching, the whole time. As her troubled eyes followed his path away from the room, and her, she sighed deeply. "Oh, Horatio."
The yellow crime scene tape had long since been moved from the porch, Eric noticed as he walked up the front path of the McKenna residence.
Walking to his left, Yelina was talking softly on her cell phone. "Thank you for your time Mr McKenna, I will be sure to talk to you later. Goodbye." She clicked off her cell phone, placing it back on her belt. "He says that there was a visitor on Wednesday night. Louise told him it was a wrong address for a delivery." Eric nodded as they walked up the now clean steps and knocked on the door.
"And neither of them told you about that when you questioned them?" He asked. Yelina shook her head, smiling at his comment, as they waited for someone to answer the door. Eric sighed, impatient.
Yelina leant forward and knocked again, "Ms McKenna, Miami Dade Police, please open the door." She called out, glancing behind to the officers behind her. "Go around the back and check the back door for me." The young man nodded, obeying his superior and walking off the porch. Yelina knocked again, annoyed by the silence.
Suddenly, Louise McKenna opened the door with a flourish, puffing slightly. She was dressed in gym clothes, and was glistening with sweat. Both Eric and Yelina paused, staring at her in silence.
"Hello officers, nice to see you again, what can I do for you?" She said, placing one hand on her hip and leaning against the door.
"Ms McKenna, did you know it was an offence to not open the door to the police?" Yelina said, cocking an irritated eyebrow at the woman.
"Oh, I am so sorry, I was listening to the radio whilst running on my treadmill. I honestly didn't hear you." She smiled contritely at the two, pushing a few invisible strands of hair off her forehead.
"Can we come in?" Eric asked, gesturing inside with his arm. The woman nodded, opening the door wider.
"Sure, don't mind the mess, my maid has the day off," Louise said, escorting Eric and Yelina, followed by a uniform through the hall, and into the lounge. They glanced around the new spotless house, bewildered at the woman's description of `mess', before they both sat down on the lounge. Eric shot a bemused look at Yelina before turning to the woman opposite them, who was gently towelling the sweat from her chest.
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure Officers?" she said, picking up her water bottle from the table and sitting down on the seat across from him.
"I have a few questions I wanted to ask you in regards to Seton Johannsen's death." Eric replied.
She nodded, crossing her legs casually. "Yes, Jeanne called me this morning, told me of your talk with her last night. So I can't say I am surprised at your being here." Eric shot Yelina a worried glance, before clearing his throat and placing the folder he was holding on the coffee table in front of them.
"Ms McKenna, when was the last time you met with Mr Johannsen?" Eric asked, looking down to snap open his field kit. Yelina watched Louise as she paused, nervously glancing between the two.
"I don't remember. I've been so busy recently that I can hardly keep track of all the appointments I have."
"That's strange, because we know that five days ago, on the afternoon of Mr Johannsen's death, you met with him at the Versailles Restaurant on South West 8th Street."
Eric opened the file and threw the security photo's down in front of her. The older woman regarded the incriminating photo with mild disinterest, feigning ignorance. "I had lunch with Seton, yes."
"Why? From what we can gather, you didn't like the guy," Eric commented, studying the photo.
"I met up with him in the vain effort of trying to leave Jeanne and us alone. I was sick of him interfering in our lives." She crossed her arms across her body, defensive.
"So, when was it that you sent him the threatening letters?" Yelina asked, keeping her eyes on the floundering woman across from her.
Louise McKenna shook her head, "How did you?" She trailed off, momentarily shocked. Eric placed another photo in front of the woman, this time, it showed the letter he had found, printed and marked as evidence.
Louise picked up the picture, quickly considering it before throwing back down on the table. "Those silly things, they were just a joke. I never meant any harm." She kept her eyes on Eric and Yelina, as she squared her jaw defiantly.
"Then why did you send them?" Yelina asked, as Eric pulled out his latex clubs and pulled them on. Ms McKenna eyed his practices before looking back to the detective.
"He wouldn't listen. Jason kept asking and begging and arguing with him about Jeanne. Telling him that we wanted him to leave us alone, that both none of us wanted anything more to do with him. But he kept persisting, so I sent him the letters."
Yelina shot Delko a disbelieving look before reaching inside her jacket and pulling out a warrant. "We have a warrant to search your premises for any prescription medications. Officer Delko will conduct the search, feel free to call your lawyer." She handed the woman the papers, as Eric stood up, heading off to start his search.
Wandering down the hall, he turned left and found a bathroom. He walked into the stark white bathroom, neutral tones fitting out the room with a few stark candles and a pristine cabinet.
He sighed, not holding any hopes, as he bent down to open the small cabinet. Methodically searching the drawers, he found nothing.
Eric kept going, room for room around the house until he walked into what seemed like the master bedroom. Taking a quick scan around the room, he found an adjoining bathroom, this time with some actual colour in it.
Emerald green towels accentuated the feature tiles, which were offset by again, white tiles. He made his way over the large mirror which hung on the left wall, below it the basin and cabinet.
Opening each door and drawer, he scanned through the contents, finding only hoards of make-up, soaps, beauty products (for both men and women, he noted) and all the hygiene products; not one prescription medicine in sight. Standing slowly, Eric walked back into the bedroom, gazing slowly around the room. `This is ridiculous, we know that this prescription is somewhere around here,' he thought angrily.
His eyes stopped on the chest of draws against the right wall, across from the door. "Most women hide things they don't want found in their intimates draw," came the voice from the door.
Turning around quickly, he found Jo standing there, his field kit in her hand, a small smile on her face, "Makes it awkward for strangers to go digging." She continued, taking a step in the door.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, recovering from her sudden appearance.
"Got sprung early, found a few things that I thought you might want to see. So, when I called the lab and they told me you were here, I made my way over. Didn't want you to get have all the fun." She said casually, meeting Eric at the drawers.
Placing his kit on the ground, she pulled a pair of gloves from her jacket pocket, before turning back to the wooden chest. "So, you haven't found the prescription yet. Did the security footage show up anything of interest?" She asked, pulling on her gloves, as they both turned and started to go through the draws.
"Yes, but it all means nothing if we can't find the medication," Eric replied.
They worked silently until Jo smiled, pulling back, "Got something," She bent down and retrieved the camera from the kit, before standing back up and snapping off the double shots.
She stepped back, reaching in to pull out a prescription bottle, turning it around to read the label. "Nifedipine tablets, commonly used to treat high blood pressure. They are also sometimes used as an antidote to tranylcypromine, patients are required to carry it at all times in case they accidentally react to any foods they happen to eat."
Eric smiled at her, "You've been doing your research."
"Well, when you are in the hospital, it's kind of a good place to start." She said, pulling out a plastic bag, "You want to print this before I bag it?" Jo turned to Eric, holding the bottle by the bottom.
He nodded, "Yeah," Eric replied, bending down to gather the printing brush and powder, as Jo set down the bag on the draw top and placing the bottle on top of it.
She stepped away; watching him carefully as he delicately moved the brush around the whole surface of the bottle, painting it with the dark powder. "We've got a few good friction ridges, one clear print, and a couple of smudges."
Jo leaned back in to photograph the bottle as Eric returned the tools to the kit and pulled out the ruler, holding it up against the evidence.
"So," Jo said, snapping off the shot, "we have the antidote, but no poison. Where do you think she's hidden it?" She let the camera fall back against her chest.
Eric pulled out the lifters, peeling the good prints off the bottle carefully. "Could be anywhere in this house," he commented, pulled the clear plastic off the bottle carefully and then pressing it back down to the white card.
Once finished, Eric scanned his eyes around the room, before he paused and walked over to the chair in the corner. "You keep your medication in your handbag, right?" He said, over his shoulder to Jo.
She nodded, crossing her arms, still awkward at the topic. "Only out of necessity, why? You think she's still got them stashed in the handbag she used on Wednesday?"
"Just a theory," He replied, going through the pile of clothes and bags that lay on the chair. Jo leant down to the field kit and pulled out the stills taken from the café security. She flicked through them to find one of Louise leaving the café; her bag slung over one shoulder.
She walked over to Eric, watching him search fruitlessly for the tan leather shoulder bag that the suspect was sporting in the still. She glanced around the room, before heading over to the walk in robe in the corner.
Pulling her mag light off her belt and pulling the sheer curtain aside, Jo shone her torch around the dark corners of the closet. Taking a step in, she heard Eric walk up behind her.
"Anything?" He asked, as Jo continued to meticulously scan around.
"Maybe," she said, her eyes narrowing as she stepped left, shining the light beam in the corner before picking up the camera and taking two photos. She then bent down to reach behind the draws that were against the wall to her left. Stepping back to her teammate, she was clutching the prized bag in her left hand. "Here," she said, handing the new evidence over to Eric as they stepped back into the bedroom.
He placed it down on the ground as she picked the camera back up and snapped off the evidence shots. Eric walked over to the kit and came back with the scale ruler, putting it down next to the bag and waited in anxious silence as Jo snapped another double shot.
"Alright, take a look," Jo said, holding the camera down as Eric bent down to open the bag, Jo following soon after, holding the torch up to illuminate the inside of the bag.
Eric carefully rummaged around in the bag, pulling out all the contents one by one. Receipts, lipsticks, small mirror, address book, a comb, her appointment book, and then finally after much searching, a small silver pillbox. He held it up, Jo photographing it smiling.
He pried open the engraved box, to find six small pills staring back at him. "Those our murder weapons?" She asked him, as he frowned.
"I don't know; we still need to find that prescription bottle." He said, as they both stood back up.
"Does she have a side table or even a study maybe?" Jo asked him, glancing around the room again.
Eric walked across from her to the bed, standing at the end to look at the two tables framing the bed, "Which one do you want to bet is hers?" Eric said, as Jo moved to stand next to him.
"I don't know, maybe the side that is reading `Bride Stripped Bare'?" She replied, shooting him an amused look. He walked to the left side of the bed, opening the small draw on the table.
"Here we go," Eric said, pulling out an orange bottle, pharmacist label facing up at him. "Mrs Louise McKenna, prescription for Parnate tablets. Take one daily at night, filled on August 24th, last month."
"Want to print that too?" He nodded, as they repeated the whole process over with the new evidence. "We've got her," He said minutes later, pulling up from comparing the prints on the letter, to the ones on the bottles.
Making their way downstairs, they met back up with the waiting women in the kitchen. Louise McKenna was standing against the counter top, nursing a cup of coffee. Yelina was standing opposite her, watching the woman carefully.
"Ms McKenna, we have found a few things that we would like to talk to you about." The woman nodded, smiling brusquely at the two CSI's.
They stood at the kitchen counter, as Jo and Eric placed the two medication bottles, the pillbox (which they had also printed) and the photograph of the letter and highlighted prints found on it.
"Ms McKenna, we know that you drugged Mr Johannsen with your anti-depressants," Eric placed a series of photographs from the security footage down in front of her, showing Seton leaving the table, her gathering up her handbag, rifling around in it, pulling out the pillbox and finally her with her hand over his drink.
He continued, "And we matched the fingerprints on the pillbox and medicine bottles to the prints taken from you when you were arrested 20 years ago for shop lifting."
Jo placed her ten card and arrest record down in front of her.
"Drugging someone, knowing that the medication could kill him, is criminal negligence resulting in homicide. But we can arrest you for first degree murder." He kept his dark, hard eyes on the woman, who was clearly struggling to maintain her composure.
Yelina walked over, "He came here, that night, after you met with him for lunch. He knew something was wrong."
Jo cut her off, "You watched him, from the front door, as he struggled up the steps, vomiting and barely able to walk. He was feverish, sweating and had a severe headache. And you stood at the door as he died, right there on your doorstep."
All three officers watched her in silence, each with barely concealed disgust on her face. The woman shook her head slowly, swallowing hard. "No I didn't..."
"Your husband sold you out Mrs McKenna," Yelina told her, crossing her arms across her chest. "He told us that you had a visitor that night. That you saw your security light go on out the front and you said you would go and have a look. Jason said that you were away for about 20 minutes, during that time, he heard the doorbell. He said that you told him that it was a delivery person, who had the wrong house."
Louise was now twitching, her arms crossed tightly around her body, her eyes refusing to meet any of their vehement stares.
"You had the antidote, you knew what was wrong and all you did was stand there and watch." Eric pressed her, knowing she couldn't keep silent for much longer.
The woman smiled up at him, her teary gaze finally meeting his. "I just wanted him out of her life. That was all. She was too good for him, and who had to clean up the mess when he dumped her?"
Her voice rose, fury colouring her face, "I did! And Jeanne was so close to just jumping back into bed with that bastard! He treated her like shit, and she was just going to forgive him!"
Louise was staring at him in a compassionate plea. "I couldn't let her make the same mistake. I just couldn't!" She said, as Yelina walked over and pulled her hands behind her back, handcuffing her.
Eric and Jo watched silently as the Detective escorted the woman out. "Takes a special breed of person to just watch someone die," Jo said softly, a frown pulling her face down.
Eric nodded, "Yeah, and it takes a special kind of breed to catch them at their own game." He turned to her to throw her a small smile.
"What do you say we pack up, head back to the lab and have one of those drinks you gave me?"
Jo smiled back, "You can, I'll just stick to water."
"You're no fun," he teased back, slowly collecting up all their evidence into his kit.
"Get used to it Delko." Jo replied, snapping off her gloves with a smile.
Horatio walked slowly into the break room, having emerged from his office after hours of self induced confinement. It was still Sunday, he noted, as he walked over to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup.
"Making coffee handsome?" Calleigh said from the door, walking in smiling. He turned around to capture her small, catching grin, her eyes shining (but not to their brightest, he noticed).
"For you," He said, offering another cup, as he poured the hot beverage into it. She smiled graciously, murmuring a soft "thank you" before picking up the sugar.
Heaping a teaspoon into her mug, she then sipped her coffee, sighing almost thankfully. "That good huh?" Horatio teased, sipping his own.
"Not as good was watching Scott Hamill get booked. That was a joyous sight," she replied, smiling at the memory.
"I can imagine," He said softly, dropping his gaze to his coffee. She looked up to study him, concern flooding her features.
"Are you alright Horatio?" she asked earnestly, causing him to look back to her. He paused, before smiling softly, a small nod.
"I'm doing much better than I was," he replied honestly.
"Must be the coffee," she teased, smiling softly.
"More like the company," He shot back. She blushed softly at his comment.
"Thank you Horatio." She replied softly, ducking her head to avoid his clear, watching eyes, studying her softly.
"No Calleigh, thank you." Her head shot back up, her eyes meeting his.
"You are very welcome," she replied, a bright smile capturing him.
"Hey, do you guys know whose beer that is in the refrigerator?" Speed said, walking in the door and sitting down at the table.
Horatio broke his gaze from Calleigh's, furrowing his eyebrows. "What beer?" He asked the younger man, who had pulled off his lab coat and slung it over the chair next to him.
"There's like, a whole case of beer in the fridge, hidden in the back."
"That's mine Speed, and don't even think I'm going to share it with you," Eric said from the door, walking in to cross over to where H and Calleigh were.
"Eric, why do you have beer in the office refrigerator?" Horatio asked, moving down the bench a little so Eric could make a coffee.
"Sorry H, it was a present, and I didn't have time to drop it at my apartment, so I put it in the fridge, just to store it until I was heading home." He replied, turning back to his supervisor.
Horatio nodded before looking back to Eric. "Next time, I would appreciate it not being kept there,"
"Not going to be one H," Eric replied.
"How did your case finish up?" Calleigh asked, crossing over to the table and sitting down opposite Speed.
"The best friend did it. She didn't like that her friend was thinking about dating our vic again, so she killed him."
The others nodded, "How's Jo?" Speed asked.
"Fine thank you," Jo said, making her way into the room to stand just inside the door.
"Hey, what are you doing here? I thought that you were going to be kept in hospital until tomorrow?" Calleigh said, smiling at the younger woman.
"I played nice, got the all clear and went and helped Eric finish up the case." Jo replied.
Speed frowned, "I thought that you were meant to take it easy?"
"I was, but I needed something to keep me busy in hospital." She said, smiling.
"Right," Speed shrugged, shooting Calleigh a confused look.
"Who wants to go for a drink?" Eric asked, placing his now empty coffee cup in the sink and turning back to the others.
"Are they any places open on a Sunday night?" Jo asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Sure, this is Miami, there's always some place open." Speed shot back.
Jo raised her eyebrows, "this city is going to take some getting used to." She said, sighing.
"Don't worry, it grows on you," Calleigh said, standing up and taking her cup to join Eric's in the sink.
They started to filter out of the room, one by one; "I'll meet you out the front, alright?" Speed said, picking up his lab coat and moving out.
"Hey man, wait up," Eric said, quickly ducking over to the refrigerator, removing his case of beer before following his friend out towards the locker room.
Calleigh glanced at Horatio before making her way to the door. "I'll just finish my report for you to sign Horatio, then I'll get going, see you tomorrow," She said, looking quickly at Horatio before turning to Jo, "See you Jo."
The serologist smiled softly at her. "See you later Calleigh," Jo replied. Calleigh smiled brightly at Horatio before heading off towards her lab. Jo sighed, frowning before turning to Horatio, "Lieutenant," she started, before pausing again.
Horatio smiled softly at her, waiting for her to continue.
"I just wanted to tell you again, how sorry I am about what happened, it's just," Jo stopped, her eyes narrowed before she dropped his gaze, "September is just not a good time of the year for me." She finished, meeting Horatio's compassionate blue gaze.
He smiled softly at her, "Me either." He replied, before placing the mug down on the counter and moving out of the room.
Jo followed his exit with her eyes, even more confused and amazed by her enigmatic supervisor. She smiled softly, before heading off towards the locker room.
As she reached the locker room, she bumped into Speed and Eric, who were now making their way out. "Are we going to see you later?" Eric asked, trailing behind Speed who was holding a motorcycle helmet.
Jo smiled before shaking her head softly, "Sorry, I'm still under orders to take it easy, so I'll see you tomorrow morning."
The two men nodded, smiling softly at her. "Yeah, see you tomorrow," Speed said, as he and Eric started to walk down the hall.
Sitting on the bench, Jo leaned against her locker, closing her eyes momentarily. "Hey, don't fall asleep on me, I'm not half as strong as Eric, so don't rely on me to carry you out to your car," Calleigh said from the door, as she made her way in.
"Sorry, it's just kind of hit me, that's all," Jo said, pulling herself upright. The blonde smiled, heading over to her locker just down from Jo. "Calleigh, I'm sorry if I offended you on Tuesday. When I made a few harsh comments about the whole gun-loving thing you guys have here. I didn't mean to discount you or your job; you are very good at what you do. But it's something I just don't understand or like all that much. Even after four years, I still don't get it." She said contritely. "I'm sorry Calleigh."
Jo dropped her gaze, sighing. Calleigh paused, before walking over and sitting down next to her. "You didn't really offend me, I understand that some people just aren't as obsessive as I am." Jo smiled at her comment, "but thank you anyway."
Jo looked up to meet Calleigh's blue gaze. "Hey, between my saliva and your shooting, who has the worse obsession?" Jo commented flippantly.
Calleigh smiled brightly, "To each their own," she said, walking back to her locker and taking out her bag. Jo smiled at her comment, her eyes dropping back down to the floor. "See you Jo," Calleigh said from the door, pausing.
"Bye," Jo replied, not really looking back to the blonde.
"Hey Jo," Calleigh called from the door, causing the brunette to pull her eyes up to hers, "Now that you're here, we are finally gaining on the boys. I sure that, between you and me, we could take them."
Jo laughed softly, "I'm sure we could," she shot back as Calleigh smiled at her before making her way out of the locker room.
The new CSI sighed out, staring at the now empty room. She smiled softly before leaning back against her locker, closing her eyes again.
"Hey, you still here?"
Horatio looked up from his desk to see Calleigh standing in the doorway, ready to head home. He bowed his head before moving back up to regard her again.
"Just finishing up, sorting out a few reports," He said, motioning to the pile of papers to his left.
"Well, by all means," she said, walking forward to place her report on top. "The ballistics and firearms report for the Hamill case." She said, keeping her place in front of his desk and crossing her arms gently around her body.
"I will read it before I leave tonight," He said softly, glancing quickly over it.
"You had better, I went swimming in the Glades for there to be one." She said indignantly, smiling at him.
"And I will be forever grateful for your tenacity Calleigh Duquesne," Horatio said, his soft azure gaze pulling up to meet hers.
She paused, caught out by his comment before her lips pulled slowly into an embarrassed smile. "Lord you are not good for my ego Horatio Caine," she said jovially, her accent thick with teasing.
He smiled at her, studying her blushing cheeks and self-conscious stance tenderly. She looked back at him uncomfortably before clearing her throat. She nodded at him as she moved back to the door.
"Take care Calleigh," He called to her back, just as she reached the door. She turned back to him, a confused frown on her face.
Pausing, she then smiled; "You too handsome," Calleigh went to turn back around, before reconsidering and meeting his questioning gaze. "Horatio, if you ever need to talk," She trailed off, uncertain.
He nodded softly, smiling gratefully, "I'll be sure to take you up your offer."
She threw him a bright smile before nodding and heading out the door. Horatio smiled gently, savouring the light left by her presence.
He glanced back down to what he was doing before she had entered. He traced gently over the picture of Raymond and the remaining members of the Caine family, a bittersweet smile etching his features.
He righted the picture back on the desk, before gathering his belongings, and walking out, switching off the light as he went.
THE END