Disclaimer: See Chapter 1


Chapter 8—Hunting the Hunter

Alexx caressed the long, black wavy hair as she looked down at Audrey and that telltale bruise under her pale jawline. Normally the compassionate mother could offer up words of tender comfort for each one of her posts, but this was quite different.

"I don't care if you were a lawyer, honey. Beautiful lady like you didn't deserve to die this way" was all she could say.

"Same COD as Bill Schwender, Alexx?" Horatio asked from the overhead viewing area.

The ME looked up to him despondently. "Same thing, Horatio."

"Anything on the tox panel? Wolfe said she smelled like she'd been drinking."

"Zero blood alcohol, Horatio. "Alexx glanced down at Audrey. "But there were small traces of phenol in her system. Chloraseptic."

The Lieutenant raised his eyebrows. "Miss Hennessey wasn't sick, was she?"

Alexx shook her head. "Perfect health."

"I knew she hadn't been drinking" Harm said quietly, arms folded as he watched his dead colleague on the viewing monitor. He leaned toward the microphone. "Thanks, Dr. Woods."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Commander Rabb." Alexx then paused and looked down at Audrey's peaceful face again. "Horatio? We got a monster out there."

"And we're gonna find him, Alexx. Harm" he promised.

Calleigh carried some printouts as she and Mac joined Horatio and Harm in the hallway. "Horatio? Commander Rabb? Got Trace results back on Bill Schwender and Audrey Hennessey.

Horatio and Harm peered over her shoulder. "The cigars and the alcohol?"

Calleigh nodded. The cigar smell was direct contact. Like someone lit a cigar and held it to his clothes. No DNA, no epithelials."

Horatio looked at her. "And Chloraseptic sprayed directly on Audrey Hennessey? Alexx just confirmed that."

"The cigar smoke that we found on Bill Schwender was from a Monte Cristo White. It's a high-end cigar. But we found no ashes of any kind, and there was no evidence that Judge Schwender had been anywhere else. This is the kind of cigar you would find in a cigar bar or a humidor. Also, the scent was on the upper half of his shirt, front and back. "

"Harm, didn't they open a cigar bar in the Homestead Officers' Club?" Mac asked.

"Yeah. Haven't tried it yet. But aren't there cigar bars and humidors all over Miami?"

"Yes, but our two vics were murdered on Homestead. Right now, the Homestead Officers' Club is the only club that sells cigars, and it's open to civilians while the VIP conference is going on. It's the only place on base that both Captain Schwender and Audrey Hennessey could've gotten into."

Horatio looked down the hallway thoughtfully. "I'm going to get with IAB about contacting the Feds and the military police on this one. We can't give Logan any more hiding places."

Harm glanced back in the direction of the morgue. "What can Mac and I do, Horatio?"

Horatio dipped his head and gathered his thoughts. "First of all, get my lab the access to everything NCIS has about Arthur Logan. I want everything. Everything on this KAF group. I want names. And most of all, make sure MDPD has access to Homestead Air Force Base. Arthur Logan knows where to hide and how to get around things. He's not gonna slip away this time."

"The Commander nodded with a resolve. "You got it, Lieutenant."

"Call Admiral Chegwidden and see whether he can pull some favors up in Washington." Horatio now softened his eyes and looked down the hallway. "And let's try to find out whether Dexter Qualls really died in a training accident. I'm sure Emmie would like to know the truth after all these years."

Harm looked in the same direction. "She and I go back a ways, Lieutenant. You're not the only one."

Rick Stetler grunted and cursed under his breath as he knelt down and tugged at the nest of gray computer cables underneath his desk.

"Didn't Emmie just fix that fax machine last week, Rick?" a voice said from across his office.

The miffed IAB agent whipped his head around and stood up slowly, dusting himself off. "Yeah, and it's broken again! Where is she when we need her?"

"She had an appointment this morning, Rick. You'd know that if you checked the calendar she set up for you."

He huffed and shot an angry glare at his shuffled computer equipment. "I'm not a computer tech, and everybody expects me to know that thing inside-out!"

"Miss Stockburne isn't a police officer, and yet we expect her to know procedure, don't we?"

Rick stood in front of the Lieutenant with his arms folded. "Fine. What is it, Horatio?"

Horatio put his hands on his hips and dipped his head. "Rick, I need you to talk to the U.S. Attorney's Office and Homestead Commander's office. We need unfettered access to that base and any information they have on the Logan case. It seems Audrey Hennessey was murdered the same way. Asphyxiation by a thumb to the neck, most likely done by a Navy SEAL. And we have evidence that Arthur Logan is in Miami."

"I've already been doing that."

"No, Rick. I mean it. Some career bureaucrat in Washington can't get in the way this time. Arthur Logan knows how to get around things. He's looking for revenge on anyone who stood against him in his trial. We've found a hit list in our last search and seizure. Anyone on that hit list is as good as dead. Some of those people are in Miami right now."

Rick paused. "Anybody else in town on that list?"

"We're looking into that. But right now two of them are dead. By every right this makes him a serial killer on the loose. If the media gets a hold of this thing with all these VIP's in Miami, you don't need me to tell you what that means." Horatio now looked up at him with more serious eyes. "And Rick, we found out Emmie Stockburne's husband was set to testify against Logan. He was killed just two weeks before the trial."

The IAB agent looked away thoughtfully. "You think Logan had something to do with it?"

"Colonel MacKenzie and Commander Rabb are looking into that now. I don't believe her husband's death was an accident like the Navy says."

Rick gave him a confused smile. "Maybe not, but isn't that the Navy's jurisdiction?"

"Rick, if Arthur Logan was involved, it just became part of our jurisdiction. Besides, the VIP Gala is this Saturday. I want there to be increased security at the Homestead Officers' Club for this thing."

"Horatio, if you're worried about Emmie…."

The Lieutenant glared at him. "I'm worried about more than Emmie, Rick! I'm worried about a cold-blooded killer who doesn't think twice about settling an old score!"

Rick put his hands in his pockets and looked away. "I don't know who else I could call right now."

"Get with Commander Rabb. His supervisor is an Admiral Chegwidden. He reports directly to the Secretary of the Navy. Emmie has contacts, but I'd rather you didn't involve her in any way at this point."

"Conflict of interest."

"Not just that, but she doesn't exactly know her husband was involved in this. And Rick? I'm a little concerned for her safety in all this."

"Why? She wasn't involved. And besides, she changed her name. Logan probably doesn't know she's here."

Horatio now faced him and looked straight into his eyes. "I'm gonna remind you right now that you're gonna have a responsibility to protect her with your life."

He huffed. "No need to tell me how to do my job, Horatio. She'll be fine."

As Horatio walked out, Rick stood with his arms folded and turned his eyes to the shuffled computer equipment on his desk.

Damned fax machine. I can't stand here and wait for Emmie to fix this thing.

Bending down he repositioned the fax machine so that it sat directly in front of the monitor. He then pounded the RETURN key. The CAN'T FIND FAX message flashed on the screen.

He threw his arm up in the air in frustration. "What the hell do you mean you can't find the fax? I put the damned thing right there in front of you! Come on, Emmie! I can't wait all day to send this!" Rick then kneeled down on the floor and tugged on some cables, his head directly under the fax machine. He looked up in horror when he heard a crack and a scrape. The last thing he saw was the fax machine tipping over the table, falling straight at his widened eyes.