A/N: Just a quick warning about the next few chapters. They contain some upsetting themes, like child abuse and rape. Nothing detailed, but I just wanted to warn everyone that everything is about to get a lot darker, especially for our favourite Lieutenant. Don't worry, I'll bring him out the other side too. Or Frankie will at least. (PS: no more disclaimers, just read the earlier chapters.)


Horatio was uncharacteristically nervous as he drove to CSI the next day. What did Frankie know about him? Any attempt to find out might only result in letting out another secret though. Whatever it was, he got the feeling that she only wanted to help. That probably ruled out Raymond. Possibly even the events in New York, but if she knew about the background to that case, that might have made her sympathetic. Sympathy was something Horatio had never sought, though, and he did not want it now. And certainly not from Francesca Nelson. She all but ignored him for the first four months she worked with him, and now seemed to be following him around constantly. That was unfair, Horatio knew, but he wasn't in the mood for fairness.

It was not to be Horatio's day. He had barely made it up to the lab, when Tripp came up, with the news of a murdered cop. Summoning the whole team, including Frankie, he led the convoy out to the crime scene. It was generally never a good sign if Frankie was needed on the scene.

The crime scene was Officer Anders' apartment. The whole team stopped for a moment, when they walked in, shocked by the amount of destruction. Someone had really trashed the place. There wasn't a whole piece of furniture left, and the devastation continued into the bedroom. Leaving Calleigh and Ryan to begin collecting evidence in the living room, Horatio stopped short as he saw Alexx crouched over the naked body of Anders.

"This wasn't what you wanted to come home to, was it sugar?" she said tenderly to the corpse.

"Time of death Alexx?"

"Four to six hours ago, perhaps around four a.m. Cause of death was probably exsanguination, caused by internal bleeding."

"There's not much blood," Eric said, starting to take the crime scene photos.

"I have a feeling most of it's in his chest cavity. He's got at least six broken ribs, maybe more, and he's been beaten severely." Alexx looked back to the victim.

"Initial thoughts, Frankie?" Horatio turned to the profiler.

Frankie was staring at the position of the corpse on the bed. He was lying close to the edge, his legs as bruised as the rest of him. "Was he raped Alexx?"

Both men looked around sharply, but Frankie had eyes only for the ME. Alexx nodded slowly. Frankie sighed as she spoke, "This amount of violence, this level of destruction, this is someone he knew. Someone he knew well, or someone who was deeply obsessed with Officer Anders. I'd go with the former. This is a very personal crime. Was he beaten with a weapon of some sort, or with someone's fists?"

"There's no evidence of a weapon, but I'll let you know after the post. Why?"

"This amount of damage: if it was done without a weapon, it would have taken a long time. Anders may have died at 4am, but he was dead as soon as this guy got his hands on him. To have raped him as well – whoever did this was full of rage. I don't think this is going to be a serial though, this is too personal. This was a settling of a personal grudge, a righting of a perceived wrong. Whoever did it," she said, turning to Horatio, "whoever it was, is a scary customer."

"Not very bright though," Horatio said, watching Eric work. "What have you got Eric?"

"Fingerprints, lots of them H. I doubt they all belong to Anders either."

"Good. Scary, yes, but not smart enough to worry about evidence."

"That's the point. I don't think he cares about evidence. He cared about committing the crime, about putting Anders through this, not about the aftermath. He probably doesn't realise how much evidence he's left behind."

"Good, that means he definitely won't outsmart us. I'll see how Calleigh and Ryan are doing. Thank you ladies, Eric," Horatio said as he left the room.

Frankie watched him go sadly. "Is there anyone who's smart enough to outwit him?" Eric snorted with laughter, and even Alexx smiled, before turning back to her latest customer.