Eric's gaze roamed over a list of recently logged missing persons that matched the vague description of five feet eight, dirty fair haired, and Caucasian. It was Calleigh who had suggested cheerfully that Eric cast a fresh look at the list in case a new input matched his John Doe. Eric had been checking it for a while now, highlighting plausible identities before bringing up their photographs and trying to rule them out.

He glanced to his right sharply as the glass door was pushed open and Ryan intruded with a grin.

"Visitor for you Delko," he said chirpily.

Eric pushed back from his computer as he stared up at Ryan in confusion. "Visitor," he repeated dryly.

Ryan nodded. "Yep, upstairs."

Ryan hurried back out of the room before Eric could pry any further.

More suspicious than intrigued, Eric sighed as he locked his computer and stepped away from it. He glanced at his watch before heading out of the room and for the stairs, it was early afternoon and probably time for a lunch break. Eric had been so determined to identify his John Doe he hadn't really considered food but now when he thought his lunch might be delayed by an unwanted intrusion suddenly he was hungry.

Eric's warm, brown stare filled with surprise as he reached the lobby and saw a familiar blonde standing there.

Cassandra Silverstone waved and gave Eric a small smile before she stepped towards him, confirming that she was his visitor.

Eric gazed back at the woman questioningly, waiting for her to explain herself. He folded his arms and his eyes widened as she bent a bangle decorated wrist to point to a wicker basket in her right hand.

"Hi Eric," she greeted softly. "I came to ask you to lunch and I figured if I brought the lunch you'd be less likely to say no."

Eric was at a loss for words. His arms slackened as he continued to stare questioningly at the woman. He sensed the eyes of curious staff members upon them and felt a sliver of embarrassment as he knew it would feed the gossip mills for today's lunch hour.

"Why?" Eric queried bluntly.

"I want to talk," Cassandra explained. "Please," she added hopefully.

Eric contemplated a refusal but considered that it was lunch and the woman had seemingly gone to some effort. He frowned slightly as he realised Ryan must be aware of it considering the grin he had given when advising Eric of his visitor.

"Alright."

"Great," Cassandra said enthusiastically. "There's a nice patch of grass with some benches not far from here."

The blonde turned and led the way out of the M.D.P.D headquarters. Eric followed after her with some noticeable reluctance. He slipped on his sunglasses before they headed outside to the bright, sunny afternoon and dipped his head as if that would somehow conceal his identity from his colleagues.

Cassandra led them to a secluded patch of palm trees, genetically aided grass and the promised, wooden benches. She took a seat on one, placed the picnic basket beside her and then gestured to Eric to sit on the other side of it.

Eric considered if she wasn't wearing denim shorts and a faded charcoal t-shirt with a logo of rainbows and sunshine on it then she might have presented a fairytale like image with her long, flowing blonde hair, bright gaze, soft smile and of course, the picnic basket.

Eric sat reluctantly, ready to question her until she held up a hand.

"Wait until you see the food first," Cassandra insisted.

Cassandra opened up the basket and presented Eric with a paper plate weighted down with food and sealed cling film.

Eric accepted it and found himself looking at a plump, Cuban sandwich, layered with generous slices of roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles with a spread of mustard. Coupled with the sandwich was a helping of rice and corn.

Eric looked at the woman curiously as she handed him cutlery. "You make Cuban food?" he remarked dryly.

"No but I do find good Cuban delis," she retorted happily before tugging out her own plate. "I used to live in Cuba for a while, nice food."

"Well I didn't exactly spend a lot of time there," Eric pointed out as he unwrapped his dish.

"Well try the food anyway, you'll probably still like it."

Eric gave a brief smile, amused by her efforts in spite of himself. He turned his attention to the food, it did smell good and he was hungry.

Cassandra insisted they ate first before talking. Eric figured it was a part of a ploy as he was definitely in a better mood once he finished the lunch.

"Good?" the blonde pried brightly as she grinned at him and glanced to his empty plate pointedly.

Eric nodded. "It was," he admitted, "thanks."

"Great."

Cassandra took his plate back and returned it to the basket.

"So what's this all about Cassandra?" Eric pried as he fixed a serious stare upon her that went partially concealed by his shades.

"Horatio," she retorted quietly.

Eric waited for the blonde to elaborate. She had placed her palms down on the bench and was swinging her legs back and forth slightly causing a silver anklet on her right ankle to jingle lightly.

"He doesn't say it but he really cares about you," the blonde explained. "Look, I get that you and Rick have a history and hey, I've called him an asshole more than anyone and I get that Horatio was married to your sister but I...I don't want to replace her. I couldn't but I do want to make Horatio happy."

Cassandra gave Eric her own serious stare that had his lip rising up slightly in a hint of a snarl as he was immediately put in mind of her brother.

"I love him Eric, I promise you and I know you love him too, you're family, so please don't shut him out. He'd love you at the wedding, we both would. I know I have flaws but I will always treat him right."

Eric sighed as his mood soured slightly. He tried to take in what Cassandra was saying but it was difficult to try and stop comparing her unfavourably to his deceased sister.

"He will always have Marisol in some part of his heart," Cassandra assured quietly, "just as I will always keep Jasper in part of mine. I'm not competing with her Eric and Rick is not competing with you. He isn't going to replace you in Horatio's life anymore than I will replace Marisol."

Eric nodded even as he felt grief with Cassandra's words. "Alright."

"Alright you'll come to the wedding?" She gave him an encouraging smile.

Eric nodded again. "Sure."

"And you'll maybe give Horatio more of a chance?" she quipped hopefully. "I know he'll never say anything to you, he's reluctant to let people in, he doesn't think he deserves happiness."

Eric was surprised by this revelation from Cassandra, sure he'd always kind of known it about his boss but he'd never thought Cassandra had picked up on it. Horatio was always setting himself up as the repentant avenger, solving crimes in some warped attempt to atone for his own sins except sometimes to solve the crime he had to toe that line between saviour and sinner.

Eric offered the blonde a small but sincere smile. "Sure but your brother is a different matter."

Cassandra laughed at this. "Well I can't work miracles however, much as kills me to say it, Rick's really not all that bad a guy." She held up a hand before Eric could snap a retort. "I know, there's history there with you and him, and I'm not going to excuse it all on a bad childhood, sometimes he's just an asshole." Cassandra shrugged. "Sometimes I am too but he is trying to be better. Anyway, I came here for Horatio."

Cassandra smiled again before standing up. "Well I'd better get going, I'll have to collect the girls soon but this was nice."

Eric stood up as well. "It was," he agreed with a small smile. "Thanks again for lunch Cassandra."

Eric headed back to the station leaving the blonde to go on her way. He returned back down to the lab, ignored Ryan's prying gaze and resumed his business of studying missing persons.

Going through the list, he hesitated as he brought up the photograph for a Gary O'Connell.

Eric leaned forward to the screen to study the image, wondering morbidly what it would look like without eyes. The hair parting was the same and the shade, the build looked similar and the jawline. Eric brought up the image of the John Doe for comparison and ran a match on the images. The screen flashed with a 97% match.

Eric brought up the details for Gary O'Connell. He was a lawyer, logged as missing three days ago by colleagues who had decided he wasn't on an unplanned break. They had taken a couple of days to figure that out so it fit with the timeline Tara Price had provided for a time of death for the John Doe on the beach.

Wondering if or how Gary O'Connell might connect to the Bracker business, Eric searched for him online. He felt a sudden chill as he came upon a five year old article and realised that the beach John Doe was definitely Gary O'Connell.

Horatio tugged out his phone and glanced at it curiously. He answered it with some reluctance, tearing his gaze away from the paused CCTV footage on the screen before him. He knew he needed to be better involved in the Watkins case, especially when they had the threat of a cop potentially being linked to it. Even if it was a man disguised as a cop the imagery of it would be damaging enough and for a force already sullied with inside corruption, Horatio wasn't sure how many would survive this potential scandal. He had shared the information he and Ryan had learned about the supposed cop who had met a drugged Kara Watkins and offered to take her home with Rick and his team. Rick's team were back to searching CCTV both around the bar Kara had left and around the beach their John Doe had turned up at hoping they might find imagery of this supposed cop. Horatio was focused on something else.

"Hi Eric," Horatio greeted politely.

"H where are you?" Eric quipped. "I have important news."

"What is it Eric?" Horatio pried, smoothly bypassing Eric's question.

The redhead was in his office just two floors up from Eric but he didn't want to leave just yet if he didn't have to.

"Our John Doe from the beach," Eric explained, "it's Henry Bracker's old lawyer, Gary O'Connell."

"Everything you can get on him Eric, now," Horatio ordered firmly.

Horatio ended the call before Eric could answer and readied to make a call to Frank to start the process for a warrant to search this Gary O'Connell's abode. Before he could start the call his office door was opened without warning.

"So this is where you've been hiding," Rick remarked as he stepped into the office brazenly. "You know I just passed Cassie carrying a picnic basket, you've got to make her stop with buying eccentric crap."

Rick hesitated as he stared at the same screen Horatio had been focused on until Eric's call. It was a blown up projection on a blank wall of a masked figure at night.

"What in the hell is that?" Rick demanded as he pointed to it.

Horatio suppressed a sigh as the taller man stepped up to the wall, frowning as he studied the image.

"Thanks for knocking Rick," he said dryly.

"Horatio is that your front lawn?" Rick demanded. "Jesus I can see that stupid seal ornament you have," he accused as he pointed a blob that was in the bottom corner. He turned quickly to face the redhead with a glower. "What the hell is going on?"

"Later Rick, we have our meeting with the Watkins soon," Horatio tried to dismiss the issue. "I assume it's why you're here. And Eric has just identified our John Doe-"
"Horatio cut the crap," Rick admonished him. He folded his arms and faced the man with a fresh glare. "You and I aren't leaving here until you explain that." He pointed with his left hand to the image on the wall.

"I can't," Horatio admitted. "It's from three nights ago, I noticed our lantern's glass was broken so I went through the CCTV footage last night and found this."

"This," Rick repeated dryly.

The redhead nodded. "I've got Ryan checking the lantern in the labs but as you can see this person is wearing gloves so I'm not expecting much."

Rick cocked a glance to the eerie image of the masked figure. They were svelte and clad in tight, black clothing giving them an androgynous appearance. His hand reached up to the knot of his bronze and gold striped tie and he gave it a squeeze. "Does Cassie know?"

"Not yet. I don't know how to tell her," Horatio admitted.

"Masked figures it's a little...too familiar," Rick grumbled quietly as his hand fell away from his tie. "You can't keep it from her."

Horatio nodded as he gave the younger male an exasperated look. "I know Rick but I don't want her scared, especially not in her own home. I'm still processing it but I'll get Frank to arrange for some officers to watch the house discreetly."

"You did that before," Rick retorted hotly, "and it didn't work so well. She needs to know to be on guard. Do you have any suspects?"

"Just about anyone I've arrested," Horatio responded sardonically.

The redhead gave the taller man a stare of displeasure, irritated to be reminded of his previous inability to keep Cassandra and Rick safe in his home from masked assailants.

"It's not going to be the same people," Horatio remarked defensively.

Rick placed his hands on his hips and raised his dark eyebrows slightly. "No but until you figure out who it is and what the hell they're playing at you have to assume the threat is severe." He gestured his left hand outwards in anger. "Jesus we've got cops losing their heads, drugged women potentially getting abducted by cops and turning up dead, people with their eyes just obliterated, we don't need some freak at your door adding to it!"

"Rick I know." Horatio responded with a brittle calm, refusing to give into the emotions building within him.

Horatio headed to the CCTV footage and shut it down.

"We need to head to the Watkins' house," he said quietly.

Horatio glanced over to Rick and saw that he was still bearing a heated look of rage.

"Eric identified the John Doe on the beach as well, he's Henry Bracker's old lawyer Gary O'Connell."

Rick's eyes widened slightly at this revelation. "Someone definitely has something to say about the Bracker case."

Horatio nodded grimly. "We need a list of everyone connected to it- police personnel, CSIs, lawyers, anyone who made a statement and we need to find out from Mrs. Watkins what she and her daughter quarrelled about the night before Kara died, and why it had Kara talking about Benjamin to her friend before she turned up stained with his blood."

Rick nodded agreeably. "I doubt they'll give anything on Henry's suggestion that Kara visited the Bracker household to play with his father and not his brother."

Horatio gave a faint flicker of a bitter grin at this. "I would very much doubt it and I don't think we should mention it just yet, it's hearsay and they may not like our source."

To say it had been a long day was a huge understatement. Senator Watkins had delayed again but he hadn't bothered to call, instead it had been delegated to an all too delighted Bianca who had invited Rick and Horatio in with a smirk only to abandon them in a sitting room for over half an hour.

When an impatient Rick had gotten up to investigate he had been silenced by the arrival of Catorina who had offered coolly to be questioned first.

So here they were sitting hidden out of the way in a small sitting room in the senator's house spending an afternoon questioning his aide.

Horatio had taken the lead, leaving Rick to sit shooting awkward glances at his ex-wife.

"You wanted to know the names of the people Kara and Benjamin socialised with," Catorina remarked calmly.

Horatio nodded. "Yes, if you have them."

"It took me a while," she admitted as she gave Rick a brief glance, "I didn't really know them. It was when the senator was campaigning for his seat so I was occupied."

Catorina reached into the pocket of her smart, cream blazer and produced a small sheet of paper. "I can't even guarantee this is accurate," she said as she held it out to Horatio.

Horatio accepted it gratefully.

"When can we speak with the senator and his wife?" Rick pried bluntly.

Catorina looked his way again, holding his heated stare this time. "Lydia will speak with you in a moment," she advised calmly. "Is there anything else I can help with?"

"Do you remember Benjamin?" Horatio pried.

"Only through his death," she retorted calmly. "I was busy with the campaign, those kids were part of Kara's life, they came and went as teenagers do. After Benjamin's death, whatever group they had fell apart and Kara moved on to new people."

"Like Lydia Wright," Rick murmured. He glanced up at Catorina with a cool expression. "How well do you know her?"

Catorina gave a slight frown. "Not very, she and Kara would party together, always pushing the boundaries of scandal. Not a good influence but not the worst either I suppose, why?"

"Kara and Lydia were meant to meet that morning," Rick explained, "but the plans got changed."

"Oh. Well I wasn't here, I was in D.C with Tom," Catorina explained swiftly.

Rick raised his dark eyebrows slightly at this, suspicious as to how Catorina said Tom.

Catorina seemed to pick up on the curiosity in Rick's dark stare as her cheeks darkened to a beguiling violet. "I'll see if Mrs Watkins will see you now," she said softly.

Catorina turned swiftly and hastened from the room.

While she was gone Horatio took the chance to peer at the list she had handed him. None of the names were familiar, five names minus Kara and Benjamin's, all names to investigate and consider as possible suspects or potential victims.

It took ten minutes for Catorina to return, entering followed by a cold faced, entirely unapologetic Lydia Watkins who had a snarl to her lip and a glaze to her eyes suggesting she bore an influence outside her own emotions.

Catorina glanced over her shoulder nervously to the taller woman as she heard her heels wobble slightly on the wooden floor.

"Detectives if you aren't here to give me a murder's name why have to endure your presence again?" Lydia quipped icily as her grey gaze rolled from Horatio to Rick with an equal measure of displeasure for both.

Rick stood up from the sofa to address her. "We have been informed you had a quarrel with your daughter the night before she disappeared."

Lydia shrugged as she stopped in the middle of the room, resisting the urge to sit as it involved putting herself closer to either Horatio or Rick.

Horatio fixed his blue stare upon Catorina noting how nervous the woman suddenly seemed as her brown gaze flitted from person to person repeatedly.

"Daughters and mothers fight," Lydia dismissed the remark.

"You fought about Benjamin Bracker," Rick accused. "Something you surely should have considered worth informing us of."

Lydia frowned as she focused her scorn upon Rick. It was ineffective as her head bobbed slightly and her pupils couldn't quite fix upon his.

"Who told you that?" she snapped. "It was hardly Kara."

"You're not denying it then?" Rick mused.

Catorina frowned at Rick as well, folding her arms as she gave him a glance of irritation, unimpressed with his sarcasm.

"Why are you interrogating Mrs. Watkins?" Catorina demanded.

"I'm following evidence and making enquiries," Rick retorted heatedly. He kept his dark stare upon Lydia as if fearful to look at Catorina.

"Kara was in one of her moods," Lydia murmured carelessly with a wave of her hand, "she'd probably been drinking. She looked sad and I made the mistake of asking her what was wrong. What started as another long winded sorrow spiel about how she missed her the Brackers turned into this accusation that we should have done more for them. She said things about closed doors and her father wearing blinkers." Lydia shrugged and then laughed. "You'd think Tom was a demon the way she talked, sure a senator's not far off but not intervening in the Brackers affairs was no sin of his."

"What affairs?" Horatio pried curiously.

"Oh nothing out of the norm," Lydia answered quickly. "The Brackers were new money, meaning they acquired a lifestyle they had no experience to handle, it led to problems and it was suggested the parents had a rough hand at times for the children but I have no proof of such vulgarity and I know myself how hard children can push."

"You heard their children might be abused by their parents and you didn't do anything about it?" Rick snarled as he took a step towards her. He stretched his arms out in disbelief. "You didn't stop Kara visiting there? Didn't report it to anyone?"

"It was a rumour," Lydia retorted coldly. "Detectives, really what is this? If we knew something sordid about that family that would explain my daughter's death we would have told you by now."

"Do you even care that your daughter's dead?" Rick snapped.

"Rick!" Catorina scorned him before Horatio could. "That's out of line!"

Rick's dark stare darted to Catorina. He saw only anger and loathing on the woman's face and felt a pang of pain at it. It surprised him to feel such an ache, after so many years he had thought he would be immune to this woman by now. Why was she had never let go of her anger for him? Why had she not left the blame at Garrett's door but instead passed him to him and Cassandra?

Horatio's mobile ringing jolted them from the sudden tension that had filled the room. The redhead tugged it out hastily and answered as it rang for a fourth time.

"Eric," Horatio greeted.

"Horatio, I was gathering up a list of everyone connected with the Bracker case like you asked and I noticed something," Eric started to talk quickly, demonstrating a tension in his voice that had Horatio uneasy.

"Well whilst trying to guide an accurate list of people there I went looking at some of the articles to get the names of journalists writing about it," Eric explained, "and I saw a typo in one of the headlines. It was McCoy, he was listed as an attending officer repeatedly. Some journalist got it wrong and it caught on but he was one of the attending detectives."

Horatio felt a sudden knot in his stomach, an unexpected and entirely unwanted feeling of sickness that let him know he had lost control. He knew why Eric was concerned and now he was too. Was it really possible that Officer Quentin McCoy's death had come about because of a typo?

Horatio considered the facts quickly, Quentin McCoy had died at night, assaulted in the shadows of a park from behind. He was Bill's younger brother and bore a resemblance to him. Had the killer been so clumsy?

"Thank you Eric, we'll get in touch with Detective McCoy."

Horatio hung up the phone and looked to Rick with a warning gaze before turning a slightly calmer stare upon Lydia and Catorina.

"I apologise but we need to cut this meeting short, we have an urgent call to attend," the redhead advised them.