Chapter 3: A Step Back

Horatio, after a long 3 and a half hour drive from Miami to Captiva Island, finally pulled up to a small light-blue house. He stepped out of the car, stalling for a moment. Taking another breath of the fresh ocean air, Horatio approached the door.

He knocked a couple times, waiting for an answer, then heard a familiar voice, "One second!"

Finally, the door opened, revealing a young woman, maybe 29 years old. She had hair a little darker than Horatio's, but it was still red-orange tinted, and her eyes were more of a blue-gray color. Her mouth dropped open, "Horatio!"

He got knocked back a little when she threw her arms around him. He chuckled, fixing his crooked sunglasses, "Robin, long time no see, huh?"

She nodded, "…yeah…um, come on in! It's kinda messy inside, I wasn't really expecting any company."

Horatio followed her inside. It was a comfy home, and despite what she had told him, it was pretty clean. There was also a great view of the beach. He spoke as he sat near a glass coffee table, "Nice place you've got here. It's still hard for me to believe you moved so far from Miami."

Robin handed him a cup of coffee, "I kinda miss it, but I'm doing okay out here."

Horatio noticed her expression, remembering the reason why she left the CSI business in the first place. He changed the subject looking around at a bunch of stacked paintings, "I see you've picked up art?"

"Yep," Robin nodded, "It's really relaxing, and it brings in some pretty good money. I opened up my own shop, y'know."

"That's great," he complimented, "You're work's beautiful."

Robin paused, tapping the coffee cup with her nail, "Horatio…this isn't just a friendly visit…is it?"

He sighed, knowing he couldn't avoid the subject, "No, it's not. You were always one of the best when it came to crimes dealing with a major psychological issue…I mean, when you talked to some of those people, you were always able to really connect with them, get all the answers that we needed…"

"Don't say what I think you're gunna say. I'm finished with CSI," she said, walking to a window.

"Just hear me out. The body of a little girl was found in a pile of rocks along Miami Beach…we've got no leads on why she was killed, or who could have done it," he continued, remaining seated.

Robin shook her head, "I told you…after what happened last time, I can't go back. It wasn't meant to be…I mean, you need to see things that people should never see, you need to get used to things that people should never get used to…it just wasn't for me."

He knew she was serious. Horatio remembered a particularly strange case that they had worked on in the past. A man that had killed children, then dressed them up as dolls and painted their faces. After talking to him, Robin learned that his mother had always told him that he should have been a girl who dressed up and played with dolls, instead of a boy who rolled around in the mud and played with bugs. It was too much on her to see things like that, but Horatio knew she was the best bet for figuring out this case.

Horatio approached Robin, she was looking out at the beach, "If you help us, think how many lives you could save…how many families would be grateful."

She was silent.

"Alright…if you don't do it for all those people, and I know you won't do it for yourself…do it for me," Horatio said, looking at her upset face.

"Please…please don't do this to me, Horatio," she said softly, glancing up at his stern face. She closed her eyes, thinking for a moment, then took a breath, "Alright…lemme see the files."

"There's my girl," Horatio smiled.

* * * * *

Hours later, after searching and reading and examining pictures, Robin still had no ideas. The house was quiet--Horatio offered to pick up some groceries while Robin was busy. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying hard to concentrate. Her eyes suddenly opened, and she tore through the files, looking for a particular photograph.

She pulled out a few pictures of the little girl--remembering a heart-shaped cut on her left shoulder. First was her bare shoulder, showing the size and thickness of the cut. Next was the shirt, the blood had soaked through to make the same shape.

"Wait a minute," Robin said, tapping her lip with the folder-edge. She traced the heart from one picture with her fingertip, then did the same on the other picture, "These aren't the same!"

Just then, she heard Horatio's car pull up along the gravel driveway. She rushed outside. He greeted her with a smile, "Don't worry, I got everything."

Not catching his joke, she grabbed his arm, pulling him inside as the bags of produce dropped to the ground.

"Here, look," Robin said, showing Horatio the photos.

"What exactly am I looking for?"

She pointed to the cut and the blood marks, "The cut and the smear--they're not the same! The heart shaped smear is smaller on the clothes than it is on the girl's body… Horatio, she's not our first."

He looked at the pictures, Robin was right. Horatio immediately pulled out his cell phone. Speed answered on the other side.

"Speedle."

"How closely did you examine the girl's clothes?"

"Not much, Alexx has been looking the body over from head to toe. She found some mascara on Sally's eyelashes, so we're trying to figure out what brand it is, and if it possibly was her mother's."

"Listen, you've got to check the clothes again. It's very possible that the killer used another victim's blood to make the heart stain on her clothes."

"What?" Speed said, quickly standing up.

"Yeah, the stain on the clothes looks like it's smaller than the mark on Sally's body, it seems to be a little crooked too--awkwardly placed. If he used his fingers to smear it, there might be a chance we can pick up traces of prints," Horatio added.

"Alright, I'm on it," Speed hung up.

Horatio looked at Robin, "You've picked up our first lead…so what do ya say? Are you gunna just stop here?"

She shook her head slowly, "I guess I'm stuck now."

"Pack up your stuff; we're going to Miami."

**In this chapter, I introduced my original character, Robin Elde (pronounced El-dee): she had briefly worked with Horatio on a case a while back. I talked about it a little bit in the chapter so you could get the main idea of why she was so skeptical of helping out the CSIs. I didn't really make it too clear, but there is a little chemistry between Robin and Horatio. It's mostly shown when Horatio acts more lighthearted when he's around her. I chose Robin's home to be located on Captiva Island--it's pretty much directly west of Miami. I usually get to go there once every 3 years, and it's really a beautiful place! It seemed like a perfect place for a girl like Robin to live!**