Chapter 14 – Calleigh

Thursday afternoon, 2:15 pm

"After you pulled Mr. Green outside the door Emily, then what did you do?"

"I went back inside for the animals. There weren't many. Mr. Green said he's been thinking of closing up shop. I know I shouldn't have gone back in," Emily added hastily, "but I couldn't leave them in there to … perish in the fire when they were trapped in their cages."

"How many did you get out Emily?"

"I got the hamster and gerbil cages out first, after I opened the cages for the birds. I went back for the kittens and puppies. That's when Horatio found me." She finished self-consciously. Calleigh smiled at the thought of her boss saving puppies and kittens, however, she guessed he probably had had some sharp words for Emily regarding said actions.

"So… after you rounded up the puppies and kittens, then what?"

"I had them wrapped up in my shirt. We … couldn't get back out because the fire had spread by then. I started to get scared and my throat was really starting to hurt. I followed Horatio up to the front of the store, but we still couldn't get to the door."

"The sprinklers didn't come on?" Calleigh questioned.

Emily shook her head and said, "No." She sighed heavily.

"Mrs. Saunders, what was your husband doing in the Boundary Waters?"

"We didn't find a camera among the items in the truck, Mrs. Saunders. Was he really taking photographs?"

"Who was your husband meeting in the Boundary Waters, Mrs. Saunders? We know his permit was for two people."

"I wish I knew what happened to the animals."

She seemed concerned. Calleigh said, "I can probably find out for you, Emily." She saw the other woman brighten a little.

"Oh, that would be great. I haven't seen them since Horatio gave them to someone to check over."

"Horatio took them?"

"Well, he tried," Emily grinned, looking at Calleigh. "I don't think he spends a lot of time with small animals though."

"Why do say that?"

"Well, the little dachshund got away from him, and ran up his arm. I remember how surprised he was when it bit him on the ear."

"That explains the red marks. He wouldn't tell me." Calleigh explained with a little grin. She noticed that Emily had relaxed a bit when talking about the animals.

Horatio was restless. He resisted the urge to look again at his watch. He couldn't focus on the files piled on his desk – this had to be a first, he though wryly, running his fingers through his hair for the fifth time in as many minutes. Perhaps it was time for him to do some googling of his own. He sat down at his computer and began to type.

"How well do you know Mr. Green, Emily?"

"Not to well. I mean, … I say hi, we talk about dogs when I drop in to pick up treats for my neighbors' cat."

"Did he ever mention having a problem with someone, a disatisfied customer, a supplier?"

"No." Emily shook her head.

"Your friend owns the store next door, correct?"

"Yes."

"Has she ever mentioned problems with anyone like that?"

"No," Emily hesitated, thinking about the strange man in the baseball hat from 10 days ago.

"Did you see someone?"

"It's probably nothing." Emily shook her head, reluctant to tell Calleigh about the man.

"Why don't you tell me anyway? Part of our job is to weed through all the information we get and figure out what's important and what's not." Still Emily seemed reluctant to explain. "You can tell me Emily." Calleigh said encouragingly.

"Does Horatio have to know?" Emily's voice was soft and she glanced at Calleigh and quickly looked away.

"Well, he will read my report." Calleigh paused, beginning to sense the reason for Emily's reluctance to speak. "You haven't told him about this?" At Emily's negative shake of her head, Calleigh's suspicions were confirmed.

"Were you and your husband arguing about something, his affair, perhaps, when you had your accident?"

Emily twisted her fingers in her lap and tried to explain. "It seemed more creepy than anything. And I didn't really know Horatio then. So I just never mentioned it." She looked at Calleigh. "If he hears about it now, well, he'll make a big deal out of it. Then we'll get in an argument…" her voice trailed off.

Calleigh smiled as she thought of this woman arguing with Horatio. Very few people argued with her boss, or even tried to for that matter.

"Emily, why don't you just tell me about what you saw at the book store. He takes the safety of the people he cares about very seriously. It would be better if he knows now, before it turns into something bigger." Emily sighed, knowing Calleigh was right.

"It was this guy, he was wearing sunglasses and a baseball hat and he just kind of … appeared from the P section. When I asked him if I could help him find something, he said he wanted something to read at the beach, but he wasn't really dressed for the beach, you know. After that he just went straight up the main aisle of the store and out the door. I told Jean about him and we've been more careful about keeping track of customers in the store since then."

"Have you seen him again?"

"No, and neither has Jean or Sally." Emily was twisting the bottle around and around on the table. She was finding it more and more difficult to focus on Calleigh's questions. Noticing Emily's anxiety increasing, Calleigh decided it was time to call Horatio.

"I think that's everything I needed, Emily," she said pleasantly. "Thank you for coming in to talk to me."

"Where did your husband keep his guns?"

"Why were you so late leaving the exit point?"

Scrolling through the local Duluth newspaper, Horatio had found several weeks worth of articles regarding Emily's accident up on the Gunflint Trail. There seemed to be little evidence and Emily hadn't been able to remember anything about the accident or immediately before it for that matter. Rumors of an affair between Emily's husband and someone working for the Department of Natural Resources had been hinted at, but there was no evidence.

Horatio's phone chirped and he reached for it immediately. Seeing it was Calleigh, he got up from his desk and headed for the door. "On my way." He wasn't sure why he felt a need to hurry.

As he approached the interview room, he could see Calleigh perched on the edge of the table, talking with Emily.

"Knock, knock," he said, rapping lightly on the open door with his knuckles. The women stopped talking and turned to look at him. He looked from Emily, to Calleigh, and back to Emily. Outwardly she looked calm, but he noticed the whiteness of her knuckles as they clutched the water bottle.

"Everything go alright?" he asked hesitantly.

Calleigh turned to look at him, nodding, her serious expression belying her light tone. "Okay, I'm out of here, then. You have my card. It was nice to meet you Emily." She nodded to her boss and went out the door. Emily seemed like a very nice person, caring, smart, someone who could stand up for herself. It was also pretty evident, to Calleigh anyway, that she was in love with Horatio. Calleigh could only hope that her boss would open himself up to that love. It was obvious he felt something for Emily, that much was clear. She could only hope he would take a chance on those feelings and not let the guilt he carried push Emily away. Perhaps he needed a guardian angel or two to make sure it didn't get mucked up, she thought. Taking out her cell, she punched a number.

"Alexx, hi. Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you."

"Horatio, I need a minute." Emily's brittle voice made him realize the toll the interview had taken on her. She stared straight ahead, not looking at him.

"OK, come on. We'll go back to my office. Let's go. Right this way, now." He kept his tone businesslike, giving her something to hang on to until they could reach the privacy of his office.

Emily focused on his voice, numbly following him through the maze to corridors. Just when she thought she could hold on to her sanity no longer, they arrived at his door. She practically ran inside and went to the furthest wall of glass, staring unseeingly at the scene below. Emily could feel herself beginning to shake as the accusing voices pounded away in her head, until she was afraid she would start screaming. She was unaware of him locking the door and closing the blinds before coming over to where she stood, visibly shaking now.

Horatio felt as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. He would never have put her through the interview, if he had realized she would react like this.

"Emily, it's over sweetheart." He touched her shoulder gently and saw her jump at his touch. Emily's eyes flew up to his and he saw the panic and fright she was no longer able to hide.

"Horatio… I … I'm s….s…sorry," she stuttered and covered her face with her hands, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Horatio took his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Emily it's OK. You're safe now. It's over now. Come here, sweetheart. Let me hold you and keep you safe." Very gently, he put his arms around her, gathering her close. He felt her stiffen at the touch of his hands. Taking the clip from her hair, he loosened it and began to run his hands down the silky length.

At the familiar touch of his hands on her hair, Emily's body slumped against him and her hands slid up to his shoulders, fingers clenching in his shirt. He could feel the hot tears where her face was pressed against his chest. He kissed the top of her golden head, gently rocking her in his arms, whispering that she was safe. Deep inside he felt a growing anger – not at her, mostly at himself. He should have realized how deeply this would affect her. After speaking to Mr. Green earlier in the day, he should have found another way to ask Emily what she remembered from the fire.

Slowly, as the fog of painful memories lifted, Emily's body stopped shaking and she rested her head against his chest, taking comfort in the steady beat of Horatio's heart in her ear. Still he held her close, and Emily took several deep shuddering breaths as she managed to stop her tears. She knew she had to explain her behavior to him. More than anything she wanted him to understand. Emily didn't think she could deal with seeing disappointment in his blue eyes for falling apart from something so simple as answering a few questions. She lifted her head to look at him, ready to confess all the sordid details about her past and was totally unprepared for the anger she saw in those blue eyes.

"Horatio …" her voice faltered and she self-consciously let go of her grip on his shirt, noticing what a mess it was from her tears and her clenched fists. "I'm … s…. sorry … What did I do?" she whispered, pushing away from him, trying to put some distance between them.

Horatio watched her move away, confused by her statement and her quick exit from his arms.

"Emily," his voice was sharper than he intended and he saw her flinch. She turned away from him and looked at his desk. Idly, she glanced at his computer screen, stalling for time, while she tried to figure out what she had done now. "Widow Says She Doesn't Remember What Happened Before The Accident" screamed a headline across the screen. Her picture was below it. Emily felt as if she'd been slapped and grabbed at the desk for support. Her last thought before fainting was that he'd found out about the accident in Minnesota and now he was angry with her, just like all those other law enforcement people.

Too late Horatio realized he hadn't deleted the article he had been reading about her accident. Now she had seen it and he knew he had some explaining to do. Then he watched in horror as she slumped over his desk, fainting dead away.