Chapter Nineteen: Brotherly Love

Alexx Woods, Horatio Caine, and Calleigh Duquesne stepped under the yellow-and-black police tape, entering their newest crime scene. There was no doubt about what Speedle had said--it was messy. The entire store was trashed: all the shelves were knocked over, paint was spilled across the floor and walls, and supplies were scattered everywhere.

The body was found face-down behind the cashier's desk--it had been a younger man, maybe mid-thirties, with medium length, brown hair and a goatee.

Alexx knelt beside the body, checking over the man's head, "There's a small, circular entrance wound right here at the base of the skull--the skin surrounding it is singed, indicating that the shot was made with the barrel pressed against his head…" She stopped a moment, shaking her head as she looked at what was left of the man's face, "…The place of exit is approximately near the upper lip. Went right through him."

"No signs of the signature heart mark?" Horatio checked.

Alexx simply shook her head, "Nothing."

Calleigh's eyes trailed along the details of the room, "God, Horatio, look at this place…"

Just then, a police officer approached them, ready to share whatever information he had, "Lieutenant, good to see you're here."

"What happened? Were there any witnesses?" Horatio asked.

The officer shook his head, "Unfortunately there were no witnesses, but I did question the man that made the phone call to the police. He said that he walked in here, maybe forty-five minutes after the opening time, and… well…saw exactly what you're seeing now. We've got no immediate leads, but I'm sure you and your crew can pull something from this mess."

"Thank you, officer," Calleigh said sweetly.

She walked around and filed through everything that had been knocked to the floor while Horatio examined everything behind the desk. There was blood spatter on the wall, located just above the spot where Alexx was kneeling--indicating that the man had already been turned around when the killer had entered the store.

Just before taking a closer look, Horatio's cell phone jingled.

"Horatio," he answered.

It was Speedle, "H, I've got news."

"Okay, let's hear it," he said, stepping outside for slightly more privacy.

"I checked him out, and Steven has a brother."

"What," Horatio said, trying to keep the volume low.

"Yeah, says he lives in the Miami area, too. It's almost a given he's, literally, the partner-in-crime."

"Is Steven still around?"

"Time for another talk?" Speedle checked knowingly.

Horatio nodded, "You bet."

* * * * *

Horatio was back in the same, cold interrogation room--this time, aside from the detective, he was one-on-one with Mr. Peters. Calleigh, accompanied by Alexx, remained at the crime scene to further investigate.

He was sitting at a rectangular table, with a new folder placed in front of him--it was filled with certain information on both Steven and Richard, Steven's brother.

"So, Steve…you visit your brother often?"

"When I'm in the area," he commented.

"You're in the area now…maybe you stopped by and, y'know, went out a few nights to have some fun," Horatio said, his pitch lowering.

There was no response from Steven. Horatio, instead, flipped open the folder--taking a look at the first few pages, "Says here that your brother got in some trouble a few years back…wanna tell me what happened?"

"I'd think that those reports would tell you everything, Lieutenant."

"It never hurts to have an extra source."

A few seconds of silence, and then, "Okay, okay…Rich had some problems, but doesn't everyone? He was in therapy and visited a psychologist for a while. He was doin' pretty good, met a girl…and the rest is history."

"Where is he now? At his apartment?"

Peters' blue eyes twinkled again, with a sly smile spreading across his face, "We're brothers…and brothers never sell each other out."

Horatio had a quick flashback of him and his own brother, "…You're right…I guess they don't…Now, you said he met a girl? What was her name?"

Peters' tisked a few times, leaning back in the chair to cross his legs, "What kind of person would I be to spoil that for you? You're so into solving puzzles…I mean, I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for that trait."

"That's right," Horatio said, his voice becoming irritated, "…and pretty soon, that trait is gunna get your brother a little visit with us as well."

He pushed away from the table, ready to head back to the crime scene when Peters stopped him one last time:

"Tick-tock, Lieutenant Caine…"

Horatio turned quickly, reaching over the table and grabbing Steven's lapels, "Listen to me, you son of a bitch…I want you to tell me what kind of game you're playing, or I swear I'll have you locked away for the rest of your life…"

The threat didn't shake him a bit, "You know our style…there's always something for you to find…almost like a little gift. You just need to look harder, to dig deeper…and I know you will."

Horatio quickly let go of the man's shirt before making a heated exit from the room.

"H, what if he's just leading you on? He's trying to get under your skin…" Speed said, noting Horatio's outburst.

"Speed, I know it's a long shot--but I think Robin was right about something…she said that there was more to this case than meets the eye. Peters wanted to get caught when we arrested him…maybe it was just to distract us…that's what I need to find out. I need to know what he's trying to distract us from."

"Calleigh said that there was no makeup on the man and no heart-shaped cut…if there are any more intentional clues that were left behind, maybe they're not on the body this time around."

Horatio paused, remembering the blood spatter on the wall, "…Speed, that's it…Come on, I need you to check something out."

**Wow! I'm so happy that I've been able to update these chapters so quickly! I'm glad that everyone is still reading and reviewing, because that absolutely makes my day! This is the longest story I've ever written…in Microsoft word, it comes out to be 43 pages long so far! My friend Sam wants me to print it out and make a little book for her to read while she's bumming around at the pool. Maybe I can push a few more of my friends to read it : ) Anyways, thanks again for keeping up with my story--hope to update soon!**