Episode 1.14, Forced Entry

"That doesn't look like a prison tat," Speed remarked, staring at the screen, studying a picture of the tattoo they'd found lasered off their latest victim.

"No, it doesn't," Horatio replied. "There's too much detail. Have you run it through the database?"

"Yeah," Speed sighed. "Nothing. I also checked with Ernie, the guy that did Calleigh's."

Horatio shot Speed a surprised look. "Did Calleigh's?"

"Yeah," Speed mumbled. "Not that she's ever going to let anybody see it, but uh, Ernie thinks this is one-of-a-kind."

-/-/-

Eric and Calleigh were on their way back from Club Canvas, what little evidence they could collect without a warrant in tow. She was driving the county Hummer, while he sat in the passenger seat, contemplating a little tidbit of trivia that Speed had enlightened him with earlier. Except, trivia was supposed to be trivial, knowledge one could do without, but this… this was far from trivial.

"So I heard something interesting today," Eric mentioned, choosing his words carefully.

Calleigh gave him a quick glance before turning back to the road. "Okay…"

"Yeah, you know Speed and H's case?" He paused for effect. "Alexx found a tattoo on the vic's arm."

"Oh," she murmured, a tiny smile playing on her lips, "I think I know where this is going."

He grinned. "Mm-hmm."

At the next red light, she turned to him. "Speedle?" she asked.

Eric nodded. "How does he know?"

"I don't know," she chuckled, turning away to watch the traffic light. "It probably came up during an old case."

He nodded again and watched a pedestrian cross the street. "So?"

"So what?" she asked as the Hummer accelerated again.

"Well," he said, hinting obviousness, "where is it?"

"Eric—"

"'Cause I remember seeing you in a bathing suit," he pointed out, "and I don't remember any tattoo."

"I—" She bit her lip. "They're tiny, anyway," she dismissed.

"They?" he asked.

She made a face as she pulled into the MDPD parking lot. "I mean, I just—" She shook her head. "Oh, you're never going to let me live this down."

He waited until she parked the Hummer and cut the engine, then, "Can I see them?"

She turned to him and smiled slightly. "Eric, if you couldn't see them when we went swimming, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be allowed to see them."

"But were they really hidden or did I just miss them?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "You said they were tiny."

"They were… I don't know." She hesitated. "You probably would've noticed them if you'd been looking for them."

"Wanna go swimming again?" he asked sheepishly.

She laughed, and when her laughter died down, something changed in her eyes. She gave him a demure look, then took a quick glance outside to check if anyone was near enough to see them through the tinted windows. Nobody was. She turned to him again and unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Not a word to anyone, got it?"

He nodded eagerly, his pulse suddenly quickening, and he watched in astonishment as her right hand came to rest on her hip. She hooked her thumb onto the waistband of her pants and pulled it an inch and a half, revealing the creamy skin over her hipbone and the beginnings of ink.

"How did I not notice this?" he murmured, unbuckling his own seatbelt and shifting slightly in his seat to get a better look.

She smiled. "Bikini string knot, I guess," she replied, watching him apprehensively.

As she pulled the edge of her trousers a little lower, he made out a tiny tattoo, no larger than an inch wide on the side of her hip. It was a small revolver, delicately woven into her skin, and he wasn't sure if it was the beauty of the art or the intimacy of the placement – the latter, he figured, was more likely – but it took his breath away. He reached out and outlined the image with the pad of his thumb, eliciting a low gasp that she tried in vain to hold back.

His eyes shot up. She was looking out the window, and he briefly wondered if he'd imagined the noise all along, so he lightly stroked her again, this time carefully measuring her reaction. She turned to him, her eyes focused on his wandering hand, but she didn't say anything.

"When'd you get this?" he asked after a pause, still in awe.

"When I first arrived in Miami," she replied, her gaze flashing to his for a split second before returning to her tattoo. "It was more of an impulse than anything."

"It's beautiful," he told her, pressing his thumb gently against it before pulling his hand away.

She smiled and released her waistband, which sprung back to its initial position, effectively covering her tattoo. "Thanks."

"Has Speed seen it?" he couldn't help but ask, male aggression kicking in.

Though she knew the real reason behind his question, she decided to humor him. "Nobody else at the lab has seen it," she reassured him. She shot him a knowing smile. "Which is why you need to keep your mouth shut."

He nodded and held back a grin, his ego soaring. "How many more do you have?"

"Just one," she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Where is it?" he asked, and he couldn't help but let his gaze rake over her body as if he had x-ray vision.

She chuckled. "On my other hip."

"A matching revolver?" he guessed, knowing her compulsion toward symmetry.

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Can I see it?"

She shook her head again and grinned. "A girl's gotta keep some secrets, you know," she teased, opening the door of the Hummer and exiting, leaving Eric's overactive imagination to fill in the missing pieces.

One day, he thought. One day, he'd get her back in the pool, and this time, he'd be ready.