It's been a week since Esteban killed Schauffer and he's found himself wanting to visit Leigh once more. It's funny how I didn't even know the man's real name until it was splattered across the news. His patient, another degenerate he has written down to become a toy, came in for another treatment and testing done, he was bored. Giving her a rundown before dismissing her from his office, the bright red hair doesn't fail to catch his attention. "Lieutenant" he addresses plainly. This man is more than persistent. This is harassment at this point. Better harassment than brutality as the gossip in the streets have been telling me.
The red head smiles slyly at him. "It seems you've been keeping yourself out of trouble Esteban. As much as I wish I was here for you, I'm actually here about a client of yours." with a raised eyebrow, Esteban can only scoff. "Really? Am I to blame for this one or…"
"As I said, I wish." Caine glares. "We've got a missing person's report. Rebecca Trujillio was last seen leaving Corale strip in a black car. She was commonly seen coming here. We looked it up and she's a patient of yours."
"She is. She came in on… Wednesday I believe. Sweet girl turned to drugs and selling her body to fund the habit. Like so many others" Esteban tried to keep his voice light. Trujillo is currently tied down on a table in one of his warehouses, a few days away from being disposed of. And yet I am not a suspect, but clearly I have piqued his interest if Caine is coming to see me himself.
"She fits your MO it seems and as much as I want to look into you, your dad has made his influence clear. But it is part of our job to trace her last steps. And by your own words, you were one of the last few to see her. She was reported missing not even two days ago, the same night she went missing." Caine hadn't changed his face from that sly smile the entire time. It's like he thinks he caught me in a bind, shame. And here I thought I had finally met a worthy adversary.
"It seems influence really does let you get away with quite a lot huh?" It's Esteban's time to smile as Caine's lips close tight. Surely this quip about his reputation is a sensitive topic. The lieutenant likes to keep a facade of being well put together and morally righteous. Without missing a beat, Esteban continues on "I have no idea what you're speaking about. I treated her for her ailments and sent her on her way. She was upset about having to keep away from her drugs as they can interact with the treatment, but other than that. She was fine. I'm hoping she didn't do any drugs other than the ones I prescribed. Because that would be terrible for her. They will mix and her heart could shut down. I can only hope she's keeping quiet to avoid her pimp. But you never know". Now if you'll excuse me, I have a patient to attend to."
Horatio watches as Navarro swaggers away, not an ounce of worry coming off the man. The lieutenant can't help but feel annoyed. That was a dig at me, what could he possibly know? Diego has O'Shay in his pocket, it's possible the Navarros are getting gossip from him. This isn't good. Horatio wasn't too worried, because after this woman went missing with a connection to Esteban, surveillance was ordered. O'Shay clearly is pulling strings because it's been approved for three weeks from now and God knows how many will fall prey to this man beforehand.
Hopefully it'll stay quiet for Esteban not to catch wind but three weeks is surely more than enough for the Navarros to plan. "Oh, Lieutenant, I forgot." Horatio turns around to face the man shuffling back towards him. "Since I'm no longer a suspect, I'm free to… pursue one of your officers, no?"
Horatio couldn't keep the disgust or anger from his face or voice. "Excuse me? And who do you plan on harassing?" Esteban gives a slimy smile, one that snaked across his face slowly. "That's personal. I wanted to hear from you about whether or not it's okay legally. They are on your team. I'd hate to create a conflict of interest."
"Leave my CSIs alone. Leave my officers out of your nonsense. This isn't the Lieutenant speaking, it's ME". The anger rolls off in waves and Esteban shakes his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk Caine. I would take great care of her don't worry. I'll ask O'Shay, your answer will be biased anyway. Have a good day." As Esteban turns, Horatio grabs his arm… roughly.
"You touch a hair on Calleigh's head and I will make sure that's the last thing you do" Horatio all but growls. Esteban tugs his arm out of his grasp before leaning in, his voice low and deep, the implications clear. "And what if she wants me to touch her?" Before Horatio could stop himself, Esteban is flying back with his hand covering his nose. The blood running down his hands.
"You touch her and it's over for you." Without another word Horatio leaves the office, there might be consequences for this but the anger he felt shooting through him meant he didn't care. Esteban knows what he was doing, he won't report it.
Esteban on the other hand was enraged. Enraged enough to speed up this conquest of his. Horatio clearly lives up to the hype and suddemly, that rush Esteban has always been looking for reached him. Finally, worthy opponent.