Horatio Takes a Vacation

chapter 4

" I'm Tim Speedle. I work with Horatio," Tim said as he offered his hand. He then gestured to the seat in front of the desk. " Forgive me, but Horatio never said anything about having a sister."

Hayden took the seat and smiled brightly, " I'm not his biological sister. His mother took me in when I was nine. My parents were killed in an accident and my aunt was into some illegal things, so Mrs. Caine opened up her heart and her home to me. Horatio and I practically grew up together. He was ten when I came to live with him. His brother, Raymond, was a baby. It was so sad when Mrs. Caine was killed. I was sent to a boarding school in New Hampshire to live , but I always remained in contact with Horatio. I'm glad to see that he is taking care of himself. The last time I talked to him, he said that he hardly ever slept. I think it had a lot to do with Raymond."

" Yeah, he finally took that vacation, but I think he's itching to get back here. Is there anything I can help you with?"

" Well, I was wondering if he could help me get away from someone," Hayden said as she dropped her head. She then pulled up her sleeve to show a nasty bruise that was forming. " It's my ex. He's been coming around and roughing me up."

" How long has this been going on?" Speed asked in shock.

" A year or so. He'd come around then he'd get lost for months at a time. That's why I haven't called on Horatio. I - I thought I could handle this myself," Hayden said as she began to cry. Tim stood up and handed her a tissue. " This time he said he would kill me."

" I think that we can at least get the ball started, but you will have to go to the police department to make a statement."

" Oh no, I thought I could do that here," Hayden said as she dabbed her eyes with the tissue.

" No, Ms.Caine..."

"Hayden."

"Hayden. This is a CSI lab. We only work with the evidence of a crime that has been committed. Domestic issues are dealt with at the police department."

" Mr. Speedle, a crime was committed. I was beaten," Hayden replied sobbing. She lifted her blouse up, showing her stomach which was a sick mixture of blues and blacks. " Maybe you can use this evidence to keep him away from me. I need your help."

Tim glanced at the floor and then back up to her then nodded his head. Here he was , getting ready to start an investigation and Horatio would be back in a week. Things had turned quickly, from bad to worse.

CSI

" So did anyone check out the lady that Speed was talking to in the lobby?" Eric asked as he sat down at the table. It was lunchtime in the CSI lab and they all congregated there in hopes of staying out of Speed's way.

" A lady," Calleigh asked, " what lady?"

" A tall brunette, blue eyes, very nice on the eyes," Eric replied. He glanced at Alexx who was sitting across from Calleigh.

" Does this mystery lady have a name?"

" I didn't catch it, did you ?" Eric asked as he pointed to Alexx. Alexx shook her head and took a bite of her sandwich. The door opened and Speed walked in deep in thought.

" Hey Speed, who was that you were talking to earlier?" Eric called.

" I got a better question, do you ever work?" Speed said obviously irritated.

" Lunch break, workaholic," Eric replied. He couldn't wait until Horatio came back, he missed the easy going friendship he had with Speed.

" Okay, when you are done with your lunch break, there's something I want you to look into. Both you and Calleigh."

" Me? Why me?" Calleigh asked. She didn't like being volunteered for something.

" Because I need you to do this. This needs to get solved quickly."

" Is there another scene we don't know about?" Eric asked.

" No, but this one is strictly off of the books."

"Are we breaking the rules, Speed?" Alexx asked , looking at him sternly.

" Let's just say I am bending them a little. So, guys if you can find the time, I'd like to see you in the lay out room."

" Sure."

"Alright."

"Thanks. And this goes without saying, don't say a word to Stetler." Speed said as he left the room.

Eric , Calleigh and Alexx exchanged glances and shrugged their shoulders. They didn't know what Speed was getting them into, they just hoped that he could get them out of it.

CSI

" This is Horatio's sister?" Eric asked as he took the photo from the brown file folder. " She doesn't look anything like him."

" I said that she was adopted into the family, Delko. She's been assaulted and she came here for help."

" These bruises look extensive," Calleigh said as she tacked the photo of Hayden's stomach up on the lighted board.

" She says that she was beaten on several different occasions."

" Did he use anything, like a pipe or bat?" Calleigh continued.

"I don't know , she didn't say."

" Has she gone to the hospital to be checked out?"

" She didn't say," Speed repeated.

" Well, what do you know?" Calleigh asked raising her voice.

" Calleigh," Eric said calmly.

"What?"

" Why are you yelling?"

Calleigh looked between Speed and Eric and dropped her head. In truth , she didn't really know why she was so upset. Maybe it was because Speed was forcing them into this and had nothing to go on, or maybe she was letting what Valera said to her, get under her skin.

" I apologize. It's just, we really don't have much to go on and you are flying through this blindly."

" I want to finish this , and I want Hayden to be safe. She's Horatio's sister, if he were here , don't you think he would be the same way?" Speed asked. He realized he was asking too much of them and he wanted to kick himself. But this was something that he started and he wanted to finish it, before Horatio returned.

Calleigh looked at the picture that was tacked on the wall and then back down to the picture that was in the folder. Something wasn't connecting right.

" I'm going to need to talk with her, Tim."

" She's in Horatio's office. I told her to cool her heels there."

" You left her in Horatio's office?" Calleigh asked incredulously.

" Yeah, what's the problem?" Speed asked furrowing his brow at her.

" You don't know this woman from a can of paint and you left her with access to god knows how many records."

" She said she was Horatio's sister," Speed said as his temper rose.

" She also said that her ex was beating her. If that were true, Speed, don't you think he would've hit her in the face? At least once?" Calleigh asked as she gestured to the photo. The face was devoid of any signs of abuse. " She's been lying to you, Speed."

" Did you take her fingerprints?" Eric asked as he stood up to get a better look at the photos.

" No. She said she didn't want to involve anyone other than Horatio..."

" Great. So a woman no one knows is up in the supervisor's office having a dandy time. You might want to get up there, Speed."

Speed left the layout room in a rush with both Calleigh and Eric following him. When they got up to Horatio's office, they found Speed standing in the middle of chaos. Papers were strewn everywhere and his file cabinets were jimmied open.

" What did she take?" Calleigh asked as she stood in front of Speed. He was seething underneath the worried look that took residence on his face.

" She knew everything about Horatio, his brother, his mother, everything," Speed said as he bent down on his haunches. He didn't know where to start.

" You'd be surprise what you can come up with if you search a little harder," Calleigh returned softly. She knelt down and faced him. " We need to print this room, Tim. We've got to find out who this lady is and what she wanted from Horatio."

Speed nodded and stood up. Eric left to get his kit and returned promptly, snapping on a pair of gloves. Calleigh grabbed some from Eric and tossed a pair to Speed.

" Let's get to work," Speed said as he gained a second wind. They were on borrowed time.

TBC...