The New Recruits:Out of Time
Chapter 2
Maddison stood in front of the window that overlooked the labs. Her mind wandered from Yelina to Raymond to Horatio. She felt the tears as they threatened to drop from her weary eyes. How did it come to this? How could she had been so clumsy? A life was taken and she couldn't do anything about it.
Sighing, she walked away from the window and stood behind the desk. Every since she was a little girl, she had seen Horatio behind this desk, and it thrilled her. But standing here now in the darkness of his office, she felt nothing but despair. Yes, it was technically her office now, but she couldn't quite claim it as her own. This would always be Horatio's office, just like this would always be Horatio's lab. She glanced at the picture of her and Horatio and felt anger rising up in her. It can't happen like this. Horatio should be here, Maddison thought. She sat down heavily and picked up the phone, she was going to make this right.
TNR
He walked into the morgue silently and kept his eyes steadied on the body on the slab. Usually, he was able to come in here easily. But today was different. Today, his mother lain on the hard cold slab, covered. A woman of nobility, of compassion, of honor such as his mother, didn't deserve this. Not her. Raymond continued to walk , his footsteps sounding like thunder throughout the eerie stillness of the room. Once he got to her side, he tried to keep the tears at bay, but even as he lifted the sheet, he could feel the salty streams as they traveled down his face. He gazed into her still face that was still radiant but now shown some hints at her age. Her long brown hair flowed behind her, without a trace of gray. She had aged well, and Raymond knew it was due in part to her heritage and the love that she was surrounded by.
Raymond put a shaky hand to her cheek and he flinched slightly as he felt the chill that her body had already started to take. His voice was aching to burst forward, but it was stifled by unending sobs of regret. He didn't say he loved her when he had left the previous night. How something so simple in other situations, was an ominous factor in his grief now. He gathered himself and allowed his voice to work, speaking softly.
" Mama, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't be here," Raymond said as he sat on the stool that was nearby. " There are so many things that I wanted to tell you, so many things that we had left to do, but now we can't. You'll never get to see me get married, or have children. You'll miss the family dinners... All because of one maniac."
Raymond felt his tears turn into fury when he thought about Clavo Cruz. He clutched the sheet tightly in his hand and spoke through clenched teeth, " He won't live to see tomorrow, mama. I promise you that, he won't get away with this."
Instantly , a door opened and Raymond let the sheet go and wiped his tears quickly.
" Raymond? What are you doing here?" Alexx said as she stood in front of him. She had waited to do the post on purpose, so that Raymond wouldn't be there. Now she had to contend with him as well as her own feelings. " Why don't you go home?"
" I can't Alexx. I won't be able to function until that bastard is in jail-or dead," Raymond replied as the anger threatened to return.
" Raymond, you can't mean that. Your mother would've wanted you to do the right thing. Do you think that if you kill Clavo, that it will bring her back?"
" Alexx, I know it won't, but she- she didn't deserve this. He has to pay."
" Ray, ..." Alexx said as she approached him.
" No! I'm going to find him and..."
"And what?" a voice asked from the door way. Raymond looked up to see Maddison standing there with a pained look on her face. " What are you going to do, Ray?"
" Maddison..."
" No , Ray, tell me what you are going to do? I'll need it so that I can tell your superior to take you off the case," Maddison replied as she walked to him . Intensity had taken over where the despair had been.
" What?"
" You heard me, I'll request you get thrown off the case. You don't believe me? Try me."
" He murdered my mother, Maddison! Am I supposed to just overlook that?"
" No, Ray, but you're a cop. Your mother was a cop. Cops don't take out vendettas. They work by procedures, get the facts, then catch the bad guy."
" You're speaking from a CSI's point of view, Maddison. You're right, I am a cop and we do what is necessary. Waiting for some sample to be run in some machine while a murderer runs free in Miami, doesn't seem necessary to me. Seems like a waste of time to me."
" Maybe. But consider this, you have to find him, Ray. And the only way you can do that is to go over the evidence. Follow the leads."
" A waste." Raymond stated bluntly.
Maddison glared at him furiously. She couldn't believe that he would discount everything in sake of revenge. He knew better than that.
" Clavo has Horatio, Raymond. And he has threatened to kill him unless we release his brother. I don't think it wise to waste time."
Alexx stood patiently by as the siblings had their words. She admired the way that Maddison was handling the situation. It was much like the way Horatio would handle it. She could wait until they were finished before she started to prep for Yelina's autopsy.
Maddison glanced over at Alexx and nodded. She then turned her attention back to Raymond who had dropped his head and closed his eyes. Deep down , he knew that she was right. He inhaled deeply then let the breath rush out of his body.
" Alright, Maddie, we'll try it your way," Raymond said as he lifted his head up and opened his eyes slowly.
" Good," Maddison returned as she let a small smile crawl across her face. " Let's get to work then."
Raymond nodded to her then got up off of the stool. As he followed Maddison out of the morgue, he glanced back to see Alexx prepping her tools. I promise , mama, he thought to himself. He was not going to break his promise.
TNR
Tim turned the knob quietly and crept into the house, mindful not to make any noise. He was glad that the lights were off and it seemed that his wife was sleep. But as he walked to the kitchen , and the light flooded the room, he knew he was caught.
" I thought that you said you were coming right home?" Robin said as she walked up behind her. " That was almost two hours ago."
" Robin, I'm fine, I'm here, okay?" Tim said as he threw his keys on the table haphazardly.
" I was worried about you, Tim..."
Tim noticed the deep worry that she wore and he softened a little. He hated to see her like this, but he knew since that day several years ago, that this would be what he would come home to if he wanted to stay on the job.
" Nothing happened at the scene, Robin. She was already dead when we got there."
" I can't help the way I feel, Tim. Every since that day..."
" Robin, that day was a mistake, but it is in the past. I made it through. My shoulder hurts every time it rains, but I made it. There's nothing to worry about."
" Why won't you think about retiring , Tim? You are getting older now."
" What would I do with my time, Robin? I would drive you and Mallory up the wall. Besides, I haven't done enough," Tim said solemnly.
" Timothy, Patrick was not your fault. It was an accident. You have carried that around with you for years. When will enough be enough? When you are six feet under?"
" You haven't lost anyone close to you, you wouldn't know, Robin," Tim said with a hint of anger.
" I've come damn close, Speedle. When you were shot, I thought that I was going to have to spend the rest of my life without you. I couldn't fathom it, Tim. You are my everything."
" I know Robin, but there is just - I don't know how to explain it. I don't think that there will ever be a point when I say that I'm done. I feel like I owe that to Patrick. I couldn't save him, but the work I do now, seems to out weigh that. I hope you can understand this, because I will never quit."
Robin sighed heavily and relented. She knew that this was one battle that she wasn't going to win.
" Can you just promise me that you will be careful?" Robin asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
" I'll promise to try," Tim returned as he looked into her eyes.
" I guess that will have to do then," Robin replied sarcastically.
" Glad you understand," Tim quipped as he leaned in for a kiss. He allowed all the stresses of the day to be pushed behind him as he lost himself in the embrace. When he pulled away, he saw the delight in her eyes and his world turn bright again.
" So what time will you be going back then?"
" You know me so well, Robin. In about two hours," Tim replied with a smile.
" You have time to eat then. Go wash up and I'll prepare you a dish," Robin said as she broke from his grasp and walked into the kitchen. If she couldn't have him home, she would be supportive. Tim nodded and smiled as he walked into the bathroom. He would rest for a moment, then head back to the lab to help find his mentor.
TNR
RJ , Jacinda, and Jen were sitting at the table in the break room when Maddison entered with Raymond behind her. They all stood up and offered their condolences to Raymond , not knowing how he would react.
Maddison then spoke to the three, " Why are you guys sitting around here?"
" We were kicked out of the labs by our parents," RJ replied.
" They told us to go home," Jacinda added.
" I just came back from the labs and there is no one there," Maddison said as she looked between them. " So, if you are ready to work..."
" Well yeah," RJ said enthusiastically as he practically jumped out of his seat.
" Good, meet me in the layout room in an hour. We are going to get started. We have to find Horatio and quickly."
Maddison watched as they filed out of the break room and went to their respective labs. Raymond was quiet, but grateful that Maddison was there. Her strong presence had kept him at bay. Maddison gestured to the door and Raymond pushed it open. This was going to be a long night.
Once they all got into the layout room, Maddison started by motioning to the pictures of the bodies that they had so far. Everyone noticed as Yelina's was missing, and a hushed silence was laid thickly over the room.
Maddison cleared her throat and spoke clearly," Okay, let's start from the beginning. I have already talked to the DA , the judge and the mayor, and they of course, shot me down about Ramon. So we have to work the evidence that we have in front of us. If we look hard, we can find the clues we need to find Horatio. Jen, what have you found in way of trace?"
Jen looked up from the report that she was holding and started, " The vegetation that was found on the body in the pier came from a coco plant. As you know , there are no coco plants in Miami, so it came from an outside source. But that's not the best part. The DNA results came back and that floater was Chet Holloway. The skin cells that were taken from his fingernails match the DNA of one Raoul Dominguez, who just happened to be lying right next to the young Mr. Holloway. So we have three bodies, all connected . The problem is to who?"
" Where are coco plants grown, Jen?" Maddison asked as she looked over the reports. The story was becoming clearer.
" South American countries mainly."
" You mean like Baracas?" Raymond piped up.
" Yes, it's plausible."
" Anything else?" Maddison asked once more.
" Yeah, I found a card in the janitors wallet, with two finger prints. Anyone care to take a guess at who they belong to?" Jacinda said as she stepped up.
" Not really," Raymond returned somberly. Jacinda got the hint and continued to report her findings.
" The card belonged to Scott Mandeville. His prints and the janitors were the only ones found."
" Scott Mandeville,... Hey ,isn't he the prominent model scout or something?" RJ asked.
Jacinda flipped through the file she had and nodded, " Yes , and he is prominent for one more reason. Statutory rape. He served three years . Would be interesting to know why he had given a janitor his card, don't you think?"
" I agree," Maddison said as she turned to RJ. " Anything on the bullets retrieved from either body?"
" The ones from the janitor and Chet's were the same, .45 with three lands and grooves, right hand twist. The one that came out of Detective Salas didn't match. A different gun was used."
At the mention of his mother's name, Raymond felt all eyes on him. He glanced up at them and shrugged slightly. This was something that he didn't want, his counterparts walking on eggshells.
" So, let me get this straight, janitor boy here, shot Chet Holloway then had his own gun turned on him? Talk about hazardous work," Raymond said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
" That's the gist, but the gun that was found earlier at Chaz's house was Chet's. So son kills dad with his gun. I still haven't found the gun that killed the janitor and Chet." RJ explained.
" Okay, this is what's going to happen, Jacinda, you RJ and Jen go and find Mr. Mandeville and Raymond and I will check on the General at the Baracan consulate. Keep me posted," Maddison said as she got up. Raymond followed her out of the layout room and down to the garage. When they were left alone, RJ smiled at Jacinda and Jen.
" You know what this means?"
" What RJ?" Jacinda asked.
" This is our first case without our parents looking over our shoulders," RJ returned as he got up. Jen was typing in something on her laptop and peeked over the screen.
" Guys, don't you think we need to find where Mr. Mandeville is going to be tonight?"
" Yeah, Jen. You got a thought?" Jacinda inquired as she moved to the other side of Jen.
" There's this party at the Continental for the modeling industry."
" The Continental? Swanky. Is it black tie?" RJ asked humorously.
" Nope. And guess who's headlining the bill?"
" Mandeville modeling?" Jacinda piped in.
" Right on the nose," Jen said as she clicked off, " Anyone in the mood to crash a party?"
" Yeah, sure. I call dibs on the Hummer," RJ said quickly.
" That's not fair, RJ."
" Who says life is fair? I'm driving , so let's go." RJ retorted sarcastically as he opened the door for them. They all walked down the corridor to the garage, their excitement running high. Their first case alone. It was going to be an interesting night.
TBC...
A/N: Yes, it is true, I have written another chapter. I promise not to ignore this story any more. Push the magic button and let me know how you feel about it... :)