Alexx couldn't afford the luxury of allowing death to affect her. If she cried for every single body that passed through her autopsy lab, she would lose her mind. But every now and then, one case stood out from the rest. She would never forget little Ruthie Crighton, dead too soon at the hands of a pedophile. As she looked at the first body on her table, she knew she would never forget this case either.

As she began the Y-incision, she remembered that she and her husband had considered sending their kids to Jacob's Ladder. They'd eventually settled on a kindergarten closer to their house; not that it mattered now. The kids were both in elementary school.

"Oh, honey." She noticed the girl's ears were newly pierced and had to choke back a sudden sob.

* * *

By unspoken agreement, Calleigh and Horatio kept their relationship out of the office. Since her return, they had taken things slowly, neither wanting to push the other too hard. Because she had only been back for two weeks, Horatio was concerned that she was overworking herself. This was her first big case and he could see she was already taking strain. He didn't blame her; the crime scene was a picture straight from hell.

"Are you okay?" he asked for what felt like the thousandth time.

She nodded and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "The kids are always the worst. Let's do this." She began setting up the dummies.

Horatio's phone rang. He moved to the edge of the room to answer it, out of Calleigh's way. His indrawn breath caught her attention and she looked up in concern. He hung up and put the phone away.

"That was Adele. One of the kids died on the operating table." His mind quickly recalled the seating plan and he crossed to one of the front desks. "Susan Fox. Her sister was Abby, the girl with the paramedic."

When Calleigh didn't respond, he looked at her, and frowned. She was staring at the bloody desk, a faraway look in her eyes.

"Calleigh?"

Her lips formed a word and Horatio knew what she was thinking. He reached for her hand.

"I know about Clayton," he said, remembering the conversation he'd had with her mother. Clayton, Calleigh's dead twin.

Calleigh snapped back to the present, her expression hardening. "Clay is none of your business."

Her tone surprised him. "Calleigh, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." She pulled her hand away. "We've got work to do."

* * *

Charles Reyes pulled up outside the offices of Sanchez, Sanchez and Harris. Lawyers, he thought disdainfully. Jenny had chosen a lawyer over him. Well, he'd made her pay, and now he would make Matthew Sanchez pay for stealing Jenny. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and climbed out of the car. He left the Browning on the passenger seat; he wouldn't need it here, it had another purpose.

Calmly, he strode towards the entrance. As he stepped through the doors, he opened fire. The people he hit were just faceless obstacles. He found himself outside Sanchez's office and kicked the door open. Sanchez was cowering behind his desk, his phone in his hand. Reyes could hear a woman's voice on the other side.

"Sir, sir, are you still there? Sir, if you can get out of the building, do so as quickly as you can. The police are on their way—"

Reyes smiled and shot the phone out of Sanchez's hand. Sanchez screamed. Reyes held the barrel of the shotgun to Sanchez's forehead and pulled the trigger.

He bet that now Sanchez was sorry he'd stolen someone else's girlfriend.

Still smiling, he left the way he came, paying no attention to the mess he'd created. He was gone long before the police arrived on the scene.

* * *

Delko, Speed and Alexx got out of the Hummer and slipped under the yellow police tape. Adele met them halfway.

"From eyewitness accounts, it seems this is the same guy who was at the kindergarten." She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose to keep her headache at bay. "How is it possible that this guy managed to just walk away from two crime scenes?"

No one had an answer for her.

"This is a law firm," Delko observed. "How is he deciding where he kills?"

"Not where, who." Speed squinted at the building. "Let's go see who works here."

* * *

Horatio had seen enough of hospitals to last a lifetime. As he and Calleigh walked into the waiting room, he was reminded of Calleigh's hospital stay. He remembered those awful hours while he waited for news from the operating room, and he could see his feelings mirrored in the faces of the parents. Abby Fox sat in a corner of the room with her parents. A doctor stood and turned, leaving them with their grief.

Horatio glanced at Calleigh, worried about her. She'd closed off and shut him out, and he wondered if he should take her off the case. It was possible, he thought, that she was only now dealing with what had happened to her. He was familiar with post-traumatic stress disorder, and it wasn't unusual to manifest itself months later.

Horatio crossed the room and sat on the floor next to Abby. Her parents didn't even notice his presence.

"Hi, Abby. Do you remember me? I'm Horatio."

She nodded.

"Abby, I need your help. Will you help me?"

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and looked up at him. He took it as encouragement to continue.

"I want to catch the man who hurt your sister. Do you think you could tell me what happened?"

Fresh tears welled up in her eyes at the mention of Susan. She sniffed. "You promise you'll catch him?"

"I promise."

Abby closed her eyes. "We were drawing space. I was drawing an alien and this man just came in and he had all these guns. Miss Alvarez started speaking to him but I wasn't listening 'cause Susie was telling me to get under the desk so I did. And then I heard this real loud noise and everyone was screaming and then there was this noise next to me and I looked and it was Susie." She faltered, choking back a sob.

"You're doing great, Abby. Did you see his face?"

She scrunched up her forehead and shook her head. "Nuh-uh. I was looking at Susie and she was hurt and I just stayed where I was. And then the noise stopped but I still stayed where I was. And then these other men came and took her away. Mommy says she's in heaven now."

Horatio nodded, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Abby."

"Mr. Horatio, will that help you catch him?" Abby clutched his shirtsleeve, her eyes earnest, pleading. Horatio noticed they were the exact shade of blue as Calleigh's.

"Yes," he said.

Mrs. Fox suddenly noticed a stranger talking to her child. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice sharp with fear.

Horatio showed her his badge. "Horatio Caine, Miami crime lab."

Mrs. Fox softened instantly. "Oh . . . When you find him, you ask him why . . . why . . ." She dabbed her eyes with a crumpled Kleenex.

Horatio stood and went to Calleigh, risking putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine," she said before he could ask. Her eyes told a different story.

"Why don't you go back to the lab? See how Aaron's doing with those bullets." He pulled the keys for the Hummer from his pants pocket and held them out. Calleigh deliberated for a moment, then took them.

"How will you get back?"

"I'll make a plan."

He watched her leave, his heart torn between wanting to be with her and knowing he needed to be here. He had to speak to the other children before he could return to the lab.

As he headed towards another set of parents, his phone rang. It was Speed, telling him about the shooting at Sanchez, Sanchez and Harris.

* * *

There had been too much death today, Alexx thought. She tied the plastic sheet over Jennifer Alvarez's body then pulled off her gloves and dropped them in the bin.

In the break room, she poured herself a cup of coffee and switched the TV on, then flopped onto a couch, exhausted. A pretty young reporter was on the screen. Alexx recognized the kindergarten behind her and decided not to turn the volume up. It seemed like she couldn't escape this case.

The camera panned to the front steps of the school, where people had already begun to leave flowers and gifts. Alexx closed her eyes and sent a silent prayer heavenward. Then she reached for the phone.

"Hey, honey," she said when her daughter answered. "I just wanted to say hi."

On the screen, the reporter was speaking to one of the parents. Alexx turned the TV off. She made herself comfortable on the couch. "Janie, baby, how's your day been? How was school?"