Chapter 53

After cleaning up the cups, and putting them in the sink, RJ lead Horatio down the street. The men stood there for several minutes, taking in the beehive of activity, when a tall brunette man came around the corner.

RJ called out. "Hey, Ty."

The brunette man looked around for a minute, to see who had called him.

RJ waved to get his attention. "Over here, Ty."

The man smiled and saved back, then walked over to them. "Hey, RJ. Is this the friend that wanted to talk to me?"

RJ looked over at Horatio briefly, then turned back to the brunette. "Yes, it is Ty. This is Lt Horatio Caine with the Miami Dade Crime Lab." Turning again to the red head, RJ continued. "H, this is Ty Pennington with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

The two men exchange hand shakes as well as greetings.

"What can I do for you, Lt." Ty asked.

"I need the help of you and your team, on behalf of a young friend of mine."

"Hold that thought, Lt." Ty held his hand up. "Let me get the team rounded up. We can all hear you out together." Ty turned and walked away. He came back moments later with several people in tow.

"Lt, this is my team." Ty made the introductions.

Horatio shook the hand of each member of the team. "I really do appreciate you taking the time out to meet with me."

"That's not a problem, Lt." Michael replied. "How about we go into the bus, where we can talk in private?"

Ty closed the door behind himself and turned to Horatio. "What was it you needed to speak with us about, Lt?"

"Well, let me first say that I realize that you're working on this house, so I'm not expecting you to just drop this to help my friend." Horatio looked down for just a moment, to gather his thoughts. He looked up to them and explained. "Up until 6 months ago, Stevie, my young friend, was a completely normal, very active preteen."

"What happened, Lt?"

"He and his father were in an automobile accident. His father was killed in the accident, and Stevie was left paralyzed from the waist down."

"Oh, no." Tanya commented. "That poor little boy."

"When Mom was first informed, she had been given the names of both an architect and a construction company that could renovate the house to Stevie's needs, by a 'supposed' friend of her husband's from work. The work is going slow enough that I'm starting to suspect fraud. I've got an architect and a construction that can do the work, but none of us has ever dealt with someone in Stevie's position before and I know we're going to need some help. We're going to need a list of suppliers that provide the furniture and equipment that he's going to need, as well as any contacts that may be able to help get the house built in a reasonable amount of time."

"That may be where we run into a bit of a problem, Lt." Ty remarked. "Although we, normally, are able to get a house completed, and furnished, in a week, normal construction procedures get a house up in a minimum of 4 months."

Horatio's eyes went wide. "4 months?!" He let that hang in the silence for a minute. "Well, on the one hand, Stevie's still going to be in the hospital for a few days, so I don't think it'll be necessary to get it done that fast, but I would really prefer that it not take 4 months. It's already been 2 to 3 since they were given the news and started the reconstruction of the house."

Ty and several of the design team laughed. "I can understand that." He turned to the red head. "Lt, would you please step out for just a minute. We want to discuss this amongst ourselves for a minute."

"Ok." Horatio replied, his uncertainty flared. He opened the door and stepped out to the ground.

Inside the bus, Ty looked around at the team. "Well, gang. What do you think? Can we do this?"

"We almost don't have a choice, Ty." Paige remarked.

"If Lt Caine is suspecting fraud, there probably isn't enough of the new house up to work with." Ed thought out loud.

"Which means we probably should just start back up from scratch." Paige agreed.

Ty looked around at the group. "Does this mean we're taking it?"

Nods from each member of the team are slowly returned.

Ty's grin slowly grew as each person nodded. "Ok. Let me go get Lt Caine and we can give him the good news." He went to the front of the bus, and opened the door, to find Horatio leaning against the side of the bus, with his arms folded across his chest. "Lt Caine. Would you please come back inside. We've made our decision."

Horatio nodded and followed the younger man into the bus.

"We did have a couple of additional questions for you." Ty told him.

"Ok?"

"Where are Stevie and his Mom living if the house is nothing but a frame?"

"Up until just a couple of days ago, both of them had been living in a temporary apartment that is Stevie assessable. Since the robbery, Stevie has been in the hospital, again, and will be for awhile longer."

"We're still probably going to need to see what the apartment looks like, just so we have some idea of what they're used to now."

"That's not necessarily going to help, Mr Pennington." Horatio started to point out.

"Ty." The brunette corrected him.

"Excuse me?" Horatio asked for clarification.

Ty repeated himself with a grin. "My first name. It's Ty."

"Oh, ok." Horatio was pleasantly surprised by the response. "The problem, Ty, is that they have only been living in the apartment approximately 3 to 4 weeks, and that Stevie has only been out of the hospital about 2 weeks of that. When the robbers took the van, they dumped Stevie out of the van and into a broken bottle."

"Oh, no." Michael groaned. "In other words, he's going to be in the hospital for awhile."

"Especially since an infection developed virtually right away, and ran rampant through Stevie's little body." Horatio explained.

"In other words, therapy, workouts, and other physical activities have come to a halt." Ty summed up.

"Exactly." Horatio confirmed.

"We would still want to meet both him and his Mom, primarily so that we know the family." Ty told the red head as they walked out of the bus.

"I understand." Horatio replied. "I just wanted to tell you that this is a very unusual situation."

Ty looked around at the team. "We understand, Lt." He thought for a minute, then asked. "Would you mind giving us a lift to Miami and back?"

"Not a problem." Horatio replied. "My car is right over here." As the group walked toward the Hummer, Horatio turned to RJ. "Thanks for all your help, RJ. Go home and take care of that family." He held his hand out to the younger man.

RJ shook the red head's hand. "You're more than welcome, H. Don't be such a stranger. You'd always be more than welcome in our home."

"I'll try. Take care." Horatio told him with a grin, as he shook the younger man's hand.

RJ went back not the house as Horatio unlocked the Hummer.

"Tanya, you, Michael, and Paulie, come with us. Every one else, continue to work on this one and we'll be back as soon as we can."

"No problem, Ty. We'll hold down the fort until you come back." Ed told him.

"Ok. We'll be back as quick as we can." Ty replied as he climbed into the front seat of the Hummer.

Horatio put the key in the ignition and started the engine. After he began to navigate his way back to Miami. Ty looked over at him.

"Lt, is there anything that you would think you'd want to see in the new house?"

Horatio thought about it for a moment. "Well, it would probably be a good idea if the house had a keyless entry system."

"That is a very good idea." Ty commented, then asked. "Anything else?"

"Well, Stevie would tell you to concentrate on Mom, but in all fairness, the renovations are for him." Horatio thought for a minute. "He's going to need a hospital style bed, an accessible bathroom…."

"Those things are a given, Lt Caine." Tanya interrupted him. "What sorts of interests does he have?"

Horatio had to think on that for a minute. "You know, that's actually a very good question. I'm not sure of all of his interests, but I do know that he likes to watch the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. He also likes to draw, and he likes cartoons, including Justice League and Loony Toons. He also is a 'student' of the artist, MC Escher."

"Wow!" Tonya breathed softly. "This is a young man with quite a few interests."

"Yes, ma'am. Quite a few." Horatio agreed. "Some of his interests have had to change due to the paralysis, but for the most part, he is still your average, hyperactive, almost teenage boy."

They laugh.

"It sounds like it." Tonya replied.

Horatio pulled out his cell phone and opened the lid with his thumb. "Call Calleigh."

"Who's Calleigh?" Ty asked.

"My right hand, at the lab, and also the boy's adopted Aunt and his Godmother."

"I see." Ty replied.

The phone rang twice, then a female voice with a subtle Southern accent came on the line. "Hey, Handsome. Where are you?"

Horatio fought not to blush. "Hey there, yourself, Beautiful. I'm on my way back in to Miami. Do me a favor and check with Paula, see if I left Stevie's gift there."

"Ok. Hold on Handsome. I'll check." They heard her shoes clicking on the tile floor, then she asked. "Hey, Paula. Lt Caine wants to know if he left that present for my nephew, Stevie, from the Harlem Globetrotters here."

"Hey, there, Calleigh. Please tell Lt Caine that yes, he left it here, and that it's been secure." They heard a different female voice on the phone.

"Did you hear?" Calleigh asked.

"I heard." Horatio told her. "I actually meant to grab it as I left. Which would be easier on you to either meet me in front of the lab, so that I can pick it up, or if we're not busy, meet me up in Stevie's room and we can give it to him together."

"How about if I meet you up there. I really want to know what is in that box."

Horatio chuckled. "I think I know, but I'll be interested to see for myself what is in there, too."

"Ok, Handsome. I'll meet you in Stevie's room."

"That sounds like a plan, Beautiful. We'll see you there." He continued to navigate them towards Miami.

Calleigh continued to miss that 'we'. "Yup. Be careful, Horatio."

He chuckled. "Aren't I always? Bye."

She also chuckled. "No comment. Bye." She hung up.

He closed his phone with a shake of his head and put it in his interior jacket pocket. As he continued to navigate toward Miami, Ty looked over at Horatio, then shook his head and chuckled as well.

Horatio looked over at him, puzzled. "What?"

"It sounds like she's a bit more than just a 'right hand' to me." Ty commented.

"I was wondering if that was just my imagination." Tonya agreed.

She can't see the blush on Horatio's face, but Ty can. He chuckled as Horatio explained. "Yes, she is, and becoming more and more every day."

They continue to drive in silence. After a few minutes, Horatio heard his phone ring. He pulled it out and looked at the display. He flipped it open with his thumb and pressed the speakerphone button.

"Horatio."

"H. It's Wolfe." Ryan's voice came over the speaker of the little phone.

"Yes, Mr Wolfe. What do you have for me?"

"Truthfully, I'm not sure, H. All of the fraud cases were settled out of court. The attorney of record is a junior partner of the firm Luthor, Wendover and Associates, Esq. by the name of Connor Menendez."

"I see." Horatio replied, thoughtfully.

"That's not the interesting part, though, H." Ryan noted.

Horatio continued to drive. Ty noticed the quirk of a grin tug on the red head's face.

"Ok? What is the interesting part, Ryan?"

Ryan chuckled. "Well, I did some more digging and it turns out that he's got a female relative that works in the Administrative offices of the Rehab Therapy Dept of University Medical Center."

"I see." That got the red head's attention. He though he knew where this was going. "Who?"

"Mrs Menendez." Ryan told him. "The woman in the Administrative offices that I fought with to get Dennis' file from them. The woman that confirmed your first name when I had to drop your name."

Even Ty can see the light bulb go on over Horatio's head.

"Did we just stumble on the motive?" Horatio thought out loud, mostly to himself.

"What was that, H?" Ryan heard him, though.

"Here's what I need for you to do for me, please, Ryan. I need you to take the entire file, and go over it with a fine tooth comb, ok? Please make sure that every relationship, no matter how small, or tenuous, is completely documented."

"Ok, H. I'm on it."

"Thank you, sir."

Once the phone showed that the call had been disconnected, Horatio replied. "Call Tripp."

After a minute, the phone rang on the other end twice, then a male voice with a Texas twang answered."Tripp."

"Hey, there, Francis. What's going on?" Horatio asked.

"Hey, there, yourself, Horatio. I'm getting ready to go pick up Sammy Henderson. We've had a BOLO out for him all morning, and two units just located him." Frank told him.

Horatio laughed. "Excellent. If he gives you a hard time, tell him that I said I needed to speak with him."

Frank laughed. "Ok, H. I'll tell him."

"Thank you, sir."

"Yup. Bye."

"Bye."

Once the display showed disconnected, Horatio closed his phone and put it in his interior coat pocket.

The remainder of the drive was made in silence.