Chapter 7

Gil Grissom and Greg Sanders arrived promptly and, once the situation had been explained, began to work the room. The silent but general understanding was that this was Las Vegas, thus it was the Las Vegas CSI's turf. In the mean time, Mac alerted Flack and Sheldon of the situation and they, including Calleigh, went hunting.

For Mac, that meant the security cameras. For Flack and Calleigh, that meant speaking to the front desk and hotel security, and Sheldon began speaking to everyone else, including the valets. Savannah remained behind to answer any questions Grissom might have for her.

"When was the last time you saw Horatio?" Grissom asked, studying the laptop.

"About four hours ago. He was supposed to attend a conference in an hour and said he was going to go back to the room and work on some work before going to the conference," Savannah said. "I went to about two conferences and we were supposed to meet up for lunch an hour ago."

"Did you try calling him?" Grissom asked.

"Repeatedly," Savannah said. "He's pretty good with appointments and just as good about answering his cell."

Grissom nodded.

"Looks like you're not the only one who's tried calling him," Gregg said, having found Horatio's cell. "Someone named Wolfe called twice, and so has someone named Delko. No answer to either, messages left."

"Ryan Wolfe and Eric Delko, CSI's who work with my Dad," Savannah explained.

"Are these Horatio's?" Grissom asked, holding up a familiar pair of dark sunglasses.

Savannah nodded. "Dad's Ray Bans. He never leaves without them, especially if he's going outside. They're kinda like his trademark; that and his red hair."

Then a man Savannah recognized as being CSI Nick Stokes exited the elevator and joined them, case in hand. "I hear we have a possibly missing officer," he said to Grissom.

"Yes, it seems Horatio Caine has disappeared under rather unusual circumstances," Grissom said.

Nick nodded. He looked at Savannah and asked gently, "How are you holding up?"

She smiled tiredly. "I'll be okay once we know what happened to Dad."

"Anything I can do to help?" he asked.

"You can take this cup and the contents back to the lab and find out what's in them," Grissom said, holding up the coffee cup that Savannah had spotted earlier.

"Not only is Dad the head of the Miami-Dade crime lab, he's also a former NYPD officer, veteran of the Homicide department, and a former member of the Miami bomb squad," Savannah said. "He's also a damn good shot with his gun, when he has it on him, that is."

"So not a man that lets someone get the drop on him very easily," Nick said as he took care of the coffee cup and its contents.

"No. Between him and Calleigh, I've learned how to shoot and get my weapon licence."

"What weapon do you favour?" Gregg asked curiously.

"A .45 caliber Glock 30," she said. "Lightweight, more compact than a Glock 21, but similar enough in terms of caliber and power."

"Good choice," Nick said. "Do you have it with you?"

"No; I left it at home, just like Dad did with his gun, 'cause neither of us thought we'd need them on this trip. Now I'm starting to wonder if we should have brought our guns with us," Savannah said sourly.

"What gun does your dad use?" Gregg asked.

"He favours a SIG-Sauer P226 these days but he did use a Beretta Cougar for a while," Savannah admitted. "I can use them if I have to, but I'm not a cop, just a forensic artist."

"Certified?" Grissom asked.

"Working on it."

"Good; we don't have enough of them as it is," Grissom said, "especially the really good ones."

"Oh yeah," Gregg said, having just found Savannah's sketch pad and was flipping through it with an appreciative and admiring eye.

In the security video monitor room, Mac was working with a video operator and studying the video cameras in the areas of the floor of Horatio and Savannah's room. The video time stamp was approximately three and a half hours ago when Mac spotted something unusual; a dark-haired man wearing a suit knocking on the room door. The door opened a moment later, Horatio Caine all but fell into the man's arms. The man then shut the door and dragged Horatio down the hallway, arm across Horatio's back and one of Horatio's arms across his shoulders; a buddy carrying his rather drunk friend.

"Can you follow them?" Mac asked the operator, a friendly college student working part-time at the hotel in the security department.

The operator nodded and the monitor in front of them changed as they followed Horatio and the unknown man down the hall to the elevator, up one floor, down the hall to the service elevator, where a laundry cart waited. The unknown man unceremoniously dumped Horatio into the laundry cart, covered him up, changed his suit to that of a hotel worker, and took his 'laundry' down to the service area in the basement of the hotel. Once there, he loaded his 'laundry' on to the back of a truck, secured it, covered it with a large tarp, and left. Before he did, however, he looked directly at one camera and flipped the bird, a nasty grin on his face.

"So he knew he was being watched," Mac said. "He wants us to know who he is."

"I'll print that up for you," the operator volunteered.

"Do so. Can you get a plate number as well?"

The operator nodded. It took a bit of work and a bit of searching, but they found it.

"Why would he want to kidnap a cop?" the operator wondered out-loud as he handed Mac the licence plate number. "Especially here?"

"More specifically, why that particular cop?" Mac asked. "Copy those videos and splice them together for me, would you?"

"Yes sir," the operator said. "I hope you find the cop in time."

"So do I," Mac said. "So do I."