A/N: thanks again for the reviews and as always, hope this is up to your expected standards.

Chapter 25

"Someone killed me," Amy said. "Why?"

"I don't know," Nina replied as she carefully worked her way through burnt debris. After she and Frank had gotten back from their coffee date, they had spoken to Alexx, who had up-dated them on her progress. They had then decided to catch up with Horatio, the idea being that Frank could relay the autopsy results and Nina could try and talk to Horatio's new ghost. The coveralls were meant to deter any questions from anyone who didn't recognize her. "You heard what the guys said though; you were strangled then thrown down the steps, breaking your neck in the process."

"And then my home was burnt down," Amy said sadly.

"Looks like a cover-up to cover a cover-up," Nina said. "If that makes any sense."

"But why?"

"Well, let's start with what you remember," Nina suggested.

Amy got a far-away look on her face, a face that was badly burnt almost to the skull, as was the rest of her body. "My sister, I remember talking to my sister."

"Which sister? Frank said you had two."

"Mary," Amy said. "It was Mary. I think. I think I was talking to Judy, too."

"Okay," Nina said. "So, you were talking to your sisters; what were you talking about?"

"I'm not sure. I remember being angry, though."

Nina nodded. "All right. Do you know why you're following Horatio?" she asked, having learned early on that if a ghost couldn't remember something, then it was best to try to direct the subject elsewhere and hope that they would eventually remember.

"Is that his name?" Amy asked, a smile of sorts coming to her face.

"Yes."

"Horatio Alger, Nelson, Hornblower, or Shakespeare?" Amy asked.

"Don't know; I'll ask," Nina said. "Hey, Horatio?"

"Yes, ma'am?" Horatio asked, also carefully picking his way through debris, looking for evidence while he was at it.

"Amy wants to know who you're named after," she said.

"Horatio Alger, an author who lived in Massachusetts between eighteen-thirty-two to eighteen-ninety-nine," Horatio replied.

Nina glanced at Amy who smiled again. "It's a nice name."

"Why are you following him?" Nina asked again.

"I didn't know his name, but he was kind to me one night, several years ago," Amy said, looking away as she remembered. "He told me he was a cop, that he wouldn't hurt me. I think I was trapped, but it wasn't a bad situation, just an awkward situation."

"Amy says you were kind to her one night, several years ago. You told her you were a cop, that you wouldn't hurt her. She thinks she was trapped and that the situation was more awkward than bad."

Horatio stopped, trying to remember.

"It was on a beach, at night, and I think I was wearing a rubber mermaid suit," Amy said. Nina relayed the information and watched as Horatio started smiling.

"I remember her now," Horatio said.

"You remember Amy?" Eric asked, listening in on the conversation.

"Yes, although I never did get her name," Horatio admitted. "She claimed she was a model and that her photographer was around somewhere. They were doing a night-time shoot and the tide was coming in; she was trapped because of her suit."

"She says she's sorry but she fibbed a bit that night," Nina said. "She knew where Mickey, the photographer was the whole time; apparently, when they saw you, Mickey suggested they bring you into the session without you knowing about it; create a more natural look, as it was. Amy did quite a bit of modeling for this guy and she thinks it may have been the cause of several arguments with her family."

"Okay, that is something to take note of," Horatio said.

"There are copies of the photographs in the safe," Nina said.

"And I think I just struck gold," Eric said, studying what looked like a very dirty box. "Or steel, in this case."

"That's it! That's the safe," Amy said excitedly.

"That's what we're looking for," Nina said.

"Wait a minute," Ryan said, puzzled. "I thought Amy was attending law school to become a lawyer. Why was she modeling?"

"My family expected me to become a lawyer, to uphold the family name," Amy replied, and Nina repeated. "But I wasn't happy. I was bored and lonely; I think I wanted more out of life than the family and its obligations."

"So why modeling?" Ryan asked.

"Mickey was a struggling photographer and a friend, I think, a good friend," Amy replied. "He made me feel good about myself and his work, it was unbelievable. He made me look and feel sexy without sex ever entering the picture or having to do touch-ups on the photographs. He had a real gift and I believed in him."

"Okay, let's get this safe to the lab and get it open," Horatio said. "And hopefully, get some answers."