Chapter 2
Emily was slightly nervous on the car ride out there. She shifted slightly in the passenger seat of Eric Delko's Hummer.
"A triple homicide means a lot of processing," she thought. Oh well this was her new job now and she would just have to do it.
"Nervous?" asked Delko from the driver's seat.
"A little." she replied.
"I'm sure you'll be fine. Just relax and take everything one step at a time," Delko said with an encouraging smile.
Fifteen minutes later they parked just up the street to their new destination. Emily took in the neighborhood around her. It was middle class looking, with nice houses and manicured lawns. It was spring and the flowers were coming into full bloom in the carefully tended gardens. This normally peaceful setting was broken, however, with crime scene tape.
Delko flashed his badge and she showed her I.D. They ducked under the tape and made their way into the house.
"What do we have, H?" Delko asked when they found Horatio.
Horatio was standing over the body of a woman, in her thirties, blonde. Calleigh was pulling out her kit in the hall bathroom. Ryan was taking pictures of the living room.
"Alex has already been here," said Horatio. "Why were you both so late anyway?"
"Traffic sucked," said Delko. "There was like a five car pile up on the highway."
Horatio sighed and pointed to the woman.
"Gunshot wound to the head and chest. Bruises around her face and on her arms show signs of a struggle. There's also some blood on her fingers. I've taken a sample to send to trace."
He led them to the next victim. A man in his thirties lay only a few steps behind the woman. He was tall with brown hair. He was sitting with his back against the wall; one hand was in his lap, covered in blood, his other hand rested on the floor.
"Stab wound to the neck killed him. He also shows signs of a struggle, note the bruising on his arms and face." Horatio said
"He was trying to save himself." Emily said. "Look at the hand covered in blood. Judging by the smear down the front of his shirt and the position of his hand, palm upward, he was holding his hand to his neck to try and stop the bleeding."
"Very good, Emily." Horatio said with a nod of approval.
"We still haven't found the girl yet," he continued. "I am going with the search party. You two help Calleigh and Ryan process the house."
"Got it," said Eric "C'mon Emily lets go."
They took out their crime lights and began searching the other rooms of the house.
"Hey, Eric. I think I have something," Emily called. A trail of small blood droplets led into a small neat kitchen. They ended at the sink cabinet. There was blood on the small door handle and a tiny smear of blood on the bottom of the door. Emily looked at Eric, who had his gun out. Eric nodded. Emily swung open the door.
A little girl was underneath the sink. Trembling, Emily reached out to take the girl's pulse.
"Eric, get H and call 911. She's got a pulse!" Eric nodded and took off, yelling for Horatio.
Carefully, Emily pulled the little girl out and laid her on the floor. Her breathing was shallow and labored; Emily could barely see the rise and fall of her small chest. There was a stab wound in her side. Emily quickly grabbed a towel she had seen by the sink and folded it carefully; pressing it into the wound.
"Hey, sweetheart, can you hear me?" Emily said. "Wake up honey, c'mon. Open your eyes."
The little girl stirred slightly and her eyes fluttered open. Bright green eyes met frightened blue ones as the little girl tried to talk. The girl took a shuddering breath, and then her eyes closed again and she stopped breathing.
"NO!" Emily shouted, as she began to perform CPR. Eric ran back into the room with Horatio, who reapplied pressure to the wound as Emily continued breathing for the girl.
"C'mon, breathe!" she said as she came up to take a few deep breaths as she continued to try and save the little girl's life.
"Where are the paramedics, Eric?" yelled Horatio, as Eric passed him another cloth to cover the girls wound.
"I called them, H. They should be here any second," Eric replied.
They heard the sound of sirens and shouting, and seconds later three paramedics rushed into the room. Emily stepped back as they began working on the girl. A minute later they left with the girl on the stretcher.
Emily was shaking as she watched them leave. She felt lightheaded and dizzy and she swayed slightly. Eric came over and put a firm hand on her shoulder and steered her outside to a bench. She sat down and stared at her blood-covered hands.
"I'll be right back," Eric said. Emily nodded slightly.
A minute later, Eric was back with a wet cloth to help clean Emily's hands. She accepted it gratefully.
"You okay?" he asked as she wiped her hands off.
"Yeah, I'm all right," she said softly.
"Pretty eventful first day huh?"
"Yeah," she replied.
"You want to go back to the lab?"
"No, we have to help Calleigh and Ryan process the scene."
Emily stood up with renewed determination and started back to the house. Eric shook his head, stood up, and followed.
