Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. The characters from CSI: Miami belong to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer productions, and probably a few other people I've forgotten to mention. Lily Montalvo, however, is my creation and I'd like to be consulted before she's used in anything else.

Dedications: To my tireless Beta-reader, Ithil-Valon, who gave me the courage to branch out past the Lord of the Rings fandom I've been writing in for a while now. She also occasionally gives me the necessary kick in the pants to keep me going. Thanks for that, hon. Also for Evendim, who gave me the courage to post that first LOTR story, and has graciously invited me to play in her playground anytime I like. Thank you so much. And last, but certainly not least, my partner AJ who is my strength and my rock, and provides interference when I'm writing so I can concentrate on plotlines… and helps me brainstorm when I run out of them. Usually with chocolate and late night movie-fests to, you know, research. Lots of eye candy.

THIS STORY IS SET IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE. This means that some features, places, and faces from canon won't fit. It is set sometime after the season 3 ender, 10-7, so Tim Speedle is no longer in the picture… but it is also set after Calleigh's return to Ballistics, so sometime during Season 4… I hope. I just can't see her anywhere else.

All that said, enjoy! If you like it, leave a review! If you don't like it, Leave a review! If you hate it and think I should be shot, leave a review! Get the hint?

Chapter Five

Horatio Caine was a troubled man. He was a trained investigator, a logical, rational, methodical man. What Lily had done… it passed the boundaries of everything he understood to be real, and it had shaken him badly.

How had she known? No one had known what passed between Tim Speedle and himself on that final day. No one had known about Speed's careless maintenance of his weapon, except for himself and Calleigh, and maybe Eric. Most likely, Eric had known; he and Speed were best friends. But certainly it hadn't been in the official report.

Occam's Razor theorized that the simplest of explanations was most likely the true. In this case, however, Horatio had difficulty accepting the simplest explanation. There was no hard evidence, no physical evidence, to prove the existence of psychic visions. And without something tangible to refer to, Caine couldn't accept it.

There lay the dilemma.

Step back, examine the events again, search for something that might explain Lily's knowledge. But no matter how he looked at things, no matter how many times he replayed the incident in his mind, he could find no rational, logical explanation for it. She could not have known; yet she had. The only explanation, rational or otherwise, was that she had been telling the truth.

Caine took a deep breath. Once accepted, his course of action was clear. He needed to hear what she had to say…

… and this time he would listen.

(Scene Break)

Alexx Woods was about to begin her autopsy on Victor Busfield, and so far, none of the CSI's had appeared. She always waited on a CSI to be present; hopefully they hadn't forgotten again. Granted, it had only happened once, but once was enough.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Calleigh breezed through the door. "Alexx, have you seen Horatio?" she asked as she came to stand beside the body. "I've looked for him everywhere and can't find him."

"Did you try paging him?" Alexx was carefully checking the body as she spoke. "I've got penetrating wounds, three, consistent with gunshots. Entry points between the atlas and axis vertebrae, C1 and C2, between the T5 and T6, just behind the heart, and between the T8 and T9, just below the heart. Poor man didn't stand a chance." She carefully rolled the body to lie on its back once more. "Corresponding exit wounds on the front. Preliminary findings indicate COD to be gunshot trauma to the spinal column."

"I did page him, Alexx, but he didn't answer and that's just not like him." Calleigh watched carefully. "Why shoot three times, why not just one? The cervical shot would have killed him instantly."

"It would have," Alexx agreed quietly. "Severed the spinal cord and destroyed the brain stem with the first shot. My guess is that the others were just insurance." She touched Busfield's cheek gently. "Poor guy. Whoever did this didn't take any chances." She continued her examination of the body. "No, that isn't like Horatio. Maybe he got held up somewhere." She carefully examined the skin, but found no trace evidence. "Nothing else of interest on the external examination. Fairly straightforward, looks like. One shot to the base of the skull, shattered the brainstem, one shot to the chest area, exploded his heart, and one just below the heart to finish the job. I'll let you know if I find anything else on the internal exam." She looked up at Calleigh for a moment. "You go find Horatio."

Calleigh nodded and left the room quickly. She hadn't really expected anything more than Alexx had found; but she had been hoping. The wound size and tracks were consistent with the casings she had recovered; but the casings she had found had never been fired. It was simply another piece to a puzzle they were still finding pieces to.

Those casings from the scene had been deliberately placed. Either it was a challenge to the authorities, or a challenge directly to the lab itself. They simply needed more information, and Calleigh had no idea where it was going to come from at this point. Everything had been processed from the apartment; there had been nothing of interest there except the casings. No trace to be found, nothing. Either their shooter was an expert in crime scene cleanup – which led to its own set of complications – or he had been the most careful person on the planet.

Calleigh didn't believe anyone could be that careful. People were constantly shedding skin cells and hair, even the best groomed people. It was an unavoidable fact of nature. To have found no trace indicated certain precautions that the general public just didn't think of. So, their high-priced assassin was deliberately challenging someone by leaving the casings.

She spotted Horatio coming down the hall toward her and called out. "Hey, handsome, I've been looking for you. Got some information off those casings." She handed him the report and watched while he scanned it. "They've never been inside a weapon. Someone left them there deliberately for us to find."

"That isn't much of a surprise, is it?" Horatio responded as he handed the report back to her. "No trace, the scene destroyed… and a victim with no record, no visible motive for his death. A high-end shooter takes out a small businessman, but there's no motive."

"And there's no question he was the intended victim, either. I just talked to Alexx and she confirmed the shots were placed to insure a kill. She found no trace evidence on the victim at all, which isn't surprising since he was shot from a distance in his own home. First shot shattered the brainstem; instant kill. No need for the other two, except for added insurance. One directly through the heart, one directly beneath. Overkill."

"Overkill. And no visible motive." Caine was getting a headache.

"I think we've got that for you," Eric said as he and Wolfe approached. He handed over a sheaf of paper and Wolfe spoke up.

"International calls, mostly to South America. Huge bank drops, cash deposits. Suggests a possible drug connection; that'd make a good motive."

Caine took the offered paperwork with a slight smile. "Very good, very good indeed. Stay on this, guys. These deposits were routed through another bank directly to his account; find out where they came from. Backtrack it all the way; and see if you can find out who that international number belongs to." He turned back to Calleigh. "Overkill. And those casings deliberately left for us to find." He let his mind wander for a moment. A decision was reached; a Rubicon crossed. "Calleigh, we need to talk to Miss Montalvo."

"You believe her?" Calleigh asked quietly.

"I do. It's a long story, Calleigh, and we don't have time for it right now, but yes, I do believe her. And I believe she might have more useful information that she hasn't given us yet. She might not even realize she has it." Caine headed toward Interrogation, without waiting for her to catch up.

She had to stretch her legs, but she managed to catch him before he went inside. "You didn't answer your page, Horatio, or your cell, and that's not like you," she said quietly as she took hold of his arm to slow him down. "Talk to me. Tell me what's going on. Why do you believe this woman? Visions are bunk, they don't exist."

"Calleigh, I promise to explain everything when I understand it," he replied, his voice soft but intense. He held her eyes for a long moment. "I need you to trust me. I need you to trust me on this."

"I do trust you, you know that," she replied, stung by the implied criticism. "But I need to know what's going on, too. I need to know how this woman convinced you she can see the future."

Caine sighed and looked down. "She knew something that no one else knows, Calleigh, no one but you and I," he said slowly. "She knew about Speed." He hoped she understood; but he was certain from her expression that she didn't. "She described the scene to me, Calleigh, the entire scene from the day Speed was shot. She told me he hadn't cleaned his weapon and that's what caused the misfire." He knew she couldn't misunderstand the significance of that revelation.

Calleigh's eyes widened. No one had known the true cause of that misfire, no one except her and Horatio. "It's impossible."

"I thought so, too. But her knowledge has been incredibly accurate so far. It either went to involvement in this case, or accurate foreknowledge. The evidence clears her of being at the scene, and you know it. You processed her." Caine gave Calleigh a shrewd glance. "She knows things, things that she can't possibly have access to. And if her knowledge will help break this case, then I will use it." His eyes bored into hers, intense with his desire for her to understand.

She nodded slowly. "And you were taking time to think it through," she said softly, but her voice was firm. "Honestly, Horatio, you've never been irresponsible. Why didn't you answer your page?"

"Because I was thinking it through, Calleigh." He lowered his eyes once more, studying the floor. "A mistake in judgment, maybe, but I needed the time." He looked up at her again, his eyes intense. "We need to talk to Lily, see what else she knows."

Calleigh held his eyes for a moment more, and then nodded slowly. There was no way this woman could have known about Speed; it was a very compelling argument for her honesty. "All right. But stop shutting us out, Horatio. We're in this together. Now let's go talk to her."

He nodded and held the door for her. "Thank you for waiting," he said to Lily as they came in. "We need to talk a bit about what you know. What can you tell me about this Eduardo Dominguez?"

Lily slumped slightly in her seat. She had been watching the exchange between the two criminalists with a wary eye. He believed her; he had to believe her, he was asking for clarification. Her sense of relief was overwhelming. "I don't know much more than I 'ave already told you," she replied quietly. "I 'ave not seen a face to go with the name. Truthfully, I am not certain where the name comes in; but it is connected with Monsieur Busfield in some fashion. The connection is very clear."

"That's good to know." Caine was watching her closely. "Tell me about Busfield, please. I need to hear exactly what you know, and how you knew it. Don't spare anything, please."

Lily took a deep breath. "The firs' vision I 'ad was four days ago. I saw Monsieur Busfield in 'is 'ome, speaking on the telephone. 'e was very agitated, but I could not 'ear what 'e was saying, but 'e was definitely angry. Then there were three shots. The first one came out through his throat, the others from his chest. 'e was shot from be'ind. Three shots, all deadly. They came from the apartment across the alleyway. The killer destroyed the apartment to keep you from finding any evidence. 'e did, 'owever, leave three shell casings for you to find. 'e wants your attention, Monsieur Caine, but I do not yet know why."

"Can you tell me the condition of the casings found?" Calleigh asked quickly. She was still having difficulty believing in visions, and sympathized with Horatio's dilemma.

"They were unfired," Lily answered firmly. "They had never been in the weapon. They were deliberately placed for you to find."

"And what weapons are they compatible with?" Calleigh wasn't giving up on this. "Can you tell us that?"

"I don' know that," Lily responded slowly. "I do not know guns, no matter what I see. I am not even certain the gunman was male. I could not see more than the outline."

Calleigh pulled a photograph out of the folder she was carrying. "Can you tell me who this man is?" she asked as she slid it across the table.

Lily scanned it for barely a moment. "Of course. This is Monsieur Busfield."

"And this one?" Calleigh was playing a gamble. If the woman could identify this photo…

Lily studied this one for a bit longer. "Your brother," she said softly as she twitched it back across the table. "Younger, I think." She arched an eyebrow in Calleigh's direction, waiting for the return salvo. This was not a game she played; and she was well aware that she could have muffed the identification. Her gift had chosen a very good time to help her.

Calleigh felt the blood drain from her face and fought to cover it. Of course, everyone at the lab knew she had brothers, but it wasn't common knowledge. "Very good. What else can you tell us?" She was as near to convinced as she could get. Not even Horatio had seen that picture; she had received it only that morning. She supposed it could be just shrewd guesswork on Lily's part; but she didn't think so. For one thing, Bobby didn't look anything like her. Dark hair, dark eyes… he looked much more like their father had when he was younger.

"Nothing from my first vision. I saw something else while I was in 'olding, but it wasn't a true vision," Lily replied evenly. "But I will not discuss it without 'is permission." She indicated Horatio.

Caine nodded. "No secrets, Lily."

Lily took a deep breath and focused her attention on Calleigh once more. "The vision… there was no visual to it, only sound. I 'eard two voices, both male. I could not clearly 'ear the words… but one of the voices was Monsieur Caine. He was angry, per'aps even defiant for some reason; an' then there was a single shot fired. I do not know who fired, nor whether anyone was hit. It was very vague."

"Well, then, we're just going to have to keep an eye on you, Horatio," Calleigh said firmly. She would have said more, but both pagers began to sound off.

"Lily, I'd like you to stay here a while longer," Caine said quietly as he checked the display. "Calleigh, let's get to work."