Samantha pinched the bridge of her nose in a useless attempt to keep her headache at bay. The conference had ended yesterday and most of the people who'd attended it had already left New York. Which only made Samantha's life more difficult. She stood up, stretched and made herself a cup of coffee before returning to her task of tracking people down.
"Du Pree," a deep voice answered.
"Lieutenant Du Pree? My name is Samantha Spade; I'm with the FBI's Missing Persons Unit. You were just in New York for a forensics conference, is that correct?"
"Yes." He drew the word out. "Why?"
"You wouldn't by any chance still be in New York, would you? I'd like to meet with you."
"As a matter of fact I am, Agent Spade. I thought I'd get a little sightseeing done before I head back to New Orleans." He pronounced it N'Awlens, something Samantha found charming. "Do you mind me asking why?"
She shook her head, then realized he couldn't see her. "It's about a missing person. I'd rather discuss it in person."
He chuckled. "Of course. Well, name a time and place and I'll be there."
Which is how, three hours later, Samantha found herself at a bar, a bowl of rapidly decreasing peanuts on the counter in front of her, waiting.
"Agent Spade?" A good-looking man slipped onto the seat next to her. He ran his fingers through his hair and offered a smile. "Sorry I'm late. I'm not used to the traffic. We're a little more laid back in New Orleans." His smile widened, displaying a dimple. "I'm Andrew Du Pree."
Samantha dusted salty fingers on her thigh and shook his hand. "Samantha Spade. Thanks for coming."
"Not a problem. So, how can I help you?"
"One of the speakers from the conference has gone missing. Calleigh Duquesne, from Miami. I was wondering if you'd seen her at all this week."
"Calleigh's missing?" Andrew's smile disappeared. "How long?"
"Since Wednesday morning."
Andrew got the barman's attention and ordered a beer. "I saw her on Tuesday, after she spoke. We went for a couple of drinks. When I didn't see her again I thought she'd gone home early."
"What was she like on Tuesday?"
Andrew smiled. "She was . . . Calleigh. Same as always. We were at New Orleans PD together before Miami stole her."
"So you knew her pretty well?"
"Yeah."
"And she seemed fine when you saw her?"
Andrew nodded, then his expression clouded and he shook his head. "We got talking later in the evening, about work. She wasn't happy in Miami. She told me she missed New Orleans and then kept talking about some of our old cases. Hey, you want anything else to drink?" He gestured to Samantha's empty glass.
"No, thank you."
Andrew called the barman back. "Get the lady another of whatever she's having."
When the Coke arrived, Andrew raised an eyebrow. "I'm working," Samantha said in explanation. "So, Calleigh was unhappy with her job? Did she talk about leaving at all?"
Andrew sipped his beer. "Not in so many words. But she seemed . . . I don't know, wistful, I guess."
Samantha jotted a few notes, noting the differences to Horatio's explanation. According to him, Calleigh loved her job. And Jack had said she couldn't wait to get back to Miami. "Where did you and Calleigh go for drinks?"
"Stones. It's a pool hall—"
"I know it." Samantha closed her notebook and stood. "Thanks for your time, Lieutenant."
"Andrew." He clasped her hand, his grip firm and warm. "It was my pleasure. I hope we meet again."
Leaving the bar, Samantha reflected on the conversation. She was surprised to realize that she liked Andrew Du Pree, and if they happened to meet again, she wouldn't complain.
Besides, she told herself, it's about time you stopped pining after Jack.
Horatio had to admit there was nothing in Calleigh's hotel room. He hadn't honestly expected to find anything, but he had hoped. Calleigh had left the hotel of her own free will. What happened after that was anyone's guess.
Jack hung up his cell phone and turned to Horatio. "That was Danny. Calleigh's not at any of the hospitals. No one matching her description boarded a plane or a bus." He paused, and Horatio held his breath.
"There's a body at the morgue. It needs to be identified." Jack's tone was gentle; he knew this was horrible news.
"It can't be her." Logically, Horatio knew it could be, but his heart refused to entertain the possibility. He had not come all this way to find her dead.
"It's been three days."
Horatio nodded. He knew the statistics, knew the longer he put this off the worse it would be. "Let's go."
They drove to the morgue in silence. Horatio thought about how often he was in Jack's position, accompanying people to view bodies. If this was Calleigh, he didn't know how he was going to tell everyone at home.
The body was covered with a blue sheet. Horatio's heart stopped beating as the ME pulled the plastic back. The woman's blonde hair was matted with blood and dark purple bruises disfigured her face. Yet Horatio knew at once that it wasn't Calleigh – he spent enough time observing her to know every feature. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"It isn't her." Horatio's thoughts turned immediately to the family of this girl. He sympathized with whoever they were and hoped her death would not go unpunished. But this was not his fight and he followed Jack back to the car.
Samantha found Jack at his desk long after everyone had left for the day. She leaned against the doorframe and watched him poring over Calleigh's file. He looked exhausted.
"Why don't you go home?"
He looked up and gave a weak smile. "I can't go home."
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask why but then she remembered it wasn't any of her business. She thought of Andrew's hand on hers, of his charming accent, and felt something in her chest contract. It was time to let go of Jack. When this case was over, when Calleigh had been found, hopefully alive, she would give Andrew a call.
"Get some rest, okay?"
He nodded, distracted. Samantha sighed and left without disturbing him.
Horatio lay on his hotel bed, staring up at the ceiling. There were very few times in his life when he had felt completely useless – his mother's murder, his brother's death, and now.
Before he left Miami, Alexx had made him promise to call. It was the only reason he rolled over and picked up the phone. She answered on the fifth ring.
"She's been missing since Wednesday." He had no strength for pleasantries and hoped Alexx would understand.
"What is the investigating team like?" Alexx, bless her, kept the conversation professional.
"Nice enough, I suppose. They're good people. They're working hard to find her but . . ."
"But it's been three days already."
He exhaled softly. "Yes."
"How much do you know?"
"She just walked out of the hotel and disappeared."
"No one just disappears, Horatio. You know that as well as I do."
"I know. And I know we'll find her. I just don't want to find h—" He choked, unable to finish the thought.
"You don't want to find her body." Alexx's voice was warm, but she couldn't hide the worry. She, too, wanted her friend found alive and well.
"Was she unhappy?"
"Unhappy? Why do you ask?"
Horatio closed his eyes and cursed Andrew Du Pree, whoever he was. "Samantha – one of the FBI agents – spoke to someone Calleigh worked with in New Orleans. He said she was unhappy in Miami. Do you think—?"
Alexx's no-nonsense tone dispelled any doubts. "You know Calleigh loves Miami. She loves what she does – you know what a workaholic she is." Alexx paused. When she spoke again, her voice was gentler. "Besides, you and Calleigh are close. You'd have known if she was unhappy."
Her words brought a smile to Horatio's face. Alexx was right. He and Calleigh had a good working relationship. They were almost unnaturally attuned to each other. If Calleigh were as unhappy as Andrew Du Pree claimed, Horatio would have known.
"Thanks, Alexx. Good night."
"Good night, Horatio. Bring her home."
Samantha was already at work when Horatio arrived the next morning. She sat at the conference table, reading over her interview notes. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a lock of it falling loose across her cheek. Horatio smiled, thought of Calleigh's hair, and a sharp pain in his chest reminded him why he was there.
"Do you want some coffee?"
Samantha looked up, distracted and gave a half-nod. "Morning, Horatio. Coffee, yeah, that'd be great."
"How do you take it?"
"With sugar." She turned back to her notes and missed the look on Horatio's face. She had no way of knowing that Calleigh had said almost identical words to him once.
When Horatio returned a few minutes later with two cups of coffee, Samantha smiled. "Thanks. Just what I needed."
"Have you got anything useful?"
She scratched her head and grimaced. "I don't know. I'm going over to Stones in about an hour. You're welcome to join me."
"Sure." Horatio hesitated for a second, then pressed on. "Andrew Du Pree is wrong. Calleigh wasn't . . . isn't unhappy."
"Maybe it was something she wasn't comfortable sharing." Samantha stared at Horatio over the rim of her cup. If that was the case, she thought, she had more in common with Calleigh than anyone knew. "What's been happening in her life lately?"
"Her best friend was murdered a few weeks ago but Calleigh caught the man who did it. I know she misses Janet but . . . she wouldn't run away."
"What's her family like?"
"She doesn't talk about them much. They're not close. The team at CSI are more like a family. Samantha, I know you're trying to help, but trust me when I say this: Calleigh would never just disappear. She would have contacted one of us if she were planning on staying here longer. She knows we'd worry."
Samantha didn't want to ask this question, but she had to. "Just how close were you?"
"We're friends. Good friends. That's all."
She wondered whom he was trying to convince. "You have to face the possibility that we might not find her."
He said nothing, but his jaw tensed. Samantha covered his hand with hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "That doesn't mean we're going to stop looking," she said.