Horatio pulled up at the kerbside and glanced over at his passenger. Grace hadn't stopped fidgeting for the whole journey, shifting in her seat, wringing her hands, drawing breath like she was about to say something, but at the last minute couldn't find the words. Horatio didn't try to push her to say anything; he knew that she was caught up in her own thoughts and reminiscences about her sister right now and in a way he didn't want to intrude on what he saw as a very personal and private moment. He ignored the no parking sign clearly displayed on the nearby wall, one of the advantages of driving a Police Department Hummer was that no-one questioned your right to be anywhere.
Horatio had easily located the address of the strip club that Sarah Turner's parole officer had given him as her charge's place of work. The rather dowdy looking building was located on one of the side streets leading off from the less attractive end of Collins Avenue. Horatio was always surprised that the city's drive to attract tourists hadn't led to the establishments in this area being issued with enforcement notices to ensure they cleaned up the appearance of their properties. But then again, he thought, perhaps such seedy backwater clubs spoke of Miami's more infamous past reputation as a metropolis of vice, a city built from the proceeds of drug running and murder and were in their own way a tourist attraction.
As he turned off the engine the sudden lack of noise pulled Grace out of her internal musings and she looked around, eyes wide, apparently surprised that they had reached their destination and yet she had no recollection of the journey.
"You sure you want to do this?" Horatio asked softly.
She paused.
"Yeah, I've been waiting years to do this." She smiled faintly at him, a kind of queasy smile that told him her insides were churned up with nerves.
"Ok then, let's go."
He jumped down from the driver's seat and strode around the vehicle to help Grace out of her seat. She took his hand and hopped down. Horatio held onto her hand a little longer than was necessary, giving it a little squeeze. She looked at him, emerald green eyes locking with his deep blue ones for the briefest of seconds and a silent message passed between them, just knowing that Horatio was right by her side gave her a little more strength and confidence.
A neon sign above the door declared the club's name in a less than subtle way, the word 'Flames' still shone out, despite the fact that it wasn't yet dark enough to have any kind of visual impact on the surrounding area. Glancing up towards the sign Grace noticed that at one time the club's name had been accompanied by animated flames, flickering in their neon splendour, but apparently maintenance wasn't particularly high on the agenda here, and the tubes filled with the neon gas flashed sporadically in a pattern that wasn't particularly recognisable as a representation of fire in the slightest. Inside her stomach clenched a little tighter as she considered that if the owner wasn't inclined to maintain the building they were even less likely to treat the girls that worked within with any kind of respect.
Going to the back door of the club Horatio pulled out his police identification, and the bouncer let them through with a curious glance. Once inside they were greeted by an atmosphere of smoke and alcohol fumes, perforated by a club beat to which a couple of girls gyrated on stage at the far end of the club. Several other, barely dressed women either walked between the groups of men, carrying trays or danced seductively in a private show. Horatio asked the next woman to come close to them where they would find Phoenix.
"Oh she's out back in the dressing room, honey. She's not due on stage for another half hour, but if you want some fun in the meantime…" She pouted and arranged her body in a way that rather obviously, considering she was wearing only a bikini, displayed her assets.
Horatio quickly declined her offer, a slight blush coming to his cheeks, which, despite the darkened surroundings Grace apparently noticed, and Horatio heard her attempting to suppress her laughter. Offended slightly at Horatio's apparent ambivalence towards her; the young woman walked away to find a more willing patron. With a quick flick of her hips and a flutter of her eyelashes she vanished into the murk of the club.
Horatio glanced over at Grace, who had regained her composure and now stood staring around with a wide-eyed expression on her face.
"C'mon." He steered her in the direction the young woman had indicated for the dressing rooms. As they reached the door Grace paused.
"You want me to come in with you?" He asked gently.
"No, thanks. I guess this is something I've got to do on my own." She replied. Then, taking a deep breath she pushed open the door and walked inside.
It had been over twenty minutes since Grace had vanished through the door leading to the dressing rooms. Horatio was brimming with curiosity, and was just a little bit apprehensive. There hadn't been any screaming or yelling, so that had to be a good sign, but then again there hadn't been any noise at all, that might be a bad sign, he was just considering whether he should check if everything was ok when finally she reappeared at the door. He could tell she'd been crying, there were mascara smudges under her eyes, but she was smiling, that had to be good. He let a breath, that he hadn't realised he'd been holding, out in a long relieved hiss. Grace was followed out of the dressing room by a slim, curvaceous woman, the kind that wouldn't be out of place on a catwalk, she was wearing only a red and gold bikini embroidered with a flame motif and staggeringly tall high heels that prompted Horatio to wonder how on earth she could even stand up. This must be Phoenix, he thought, and his assumption was validated when the stranger turned and gave Grace a hug. The skin of her back was covered with a huge inked phoenix design, the majestic creature emerged from tattooed flames erupting from her waist, it's illustrated wings of red and gold spreading out over her shoulders and it's head reaching right up to her neck.
Grace shuffled over to where Horatio was waiting and led him away, throwing a quick wave and a smile over her shoulder.
Grace revealed little about the reunion as he drove her back to her temporary home, just that Sarah had been a little defensive at first, but when she'd told her that she didn't care what she did for a living or what she'd done in the past Sarah had hugged her and they'd both descended into tears. Grace revealed that the two sisters were meeting tomorrow for lunch to talk through some things. He was glad it had gone well, but from his point of view, the best part of the day for Horatio came as he dropped Grace outside her apartment building. She pulled on the Hummer's door release catch, opening the door a little, before changing her mind, and turning in her seat to face Horatio. She leaned over and gave him a little kiss on the cheek.
"You have no idea what you've done means to me. Thank-you Horatio." She gave a little smile as she raised her eyes to meet his. Horatio didn't need her to say thank-you, the sentiment was written in her eyes, eyes that lit up with happiness and contentment. As she jumped down from the passenger seat and closed the door she gave him a little wave.
The tingly feeling that started at the point where Grace's lips had touched his skin quickly washed over Horatio and lulled him into a kind of euphoria that lasted for hours.
To be continued…
