Chapter 4

Horatio and Calleigh climbed out of the Hummer outside of a small house with a loft over the garage. Calleigh checked the piece of paper she'd written the address on, and then looked at the house.

"This is it."

They followed the drive up to the front walk and passed through a trellis of bright flowers. The two CSI stopped when they saw the door ajar. They drew their sidearms and crept to the door.

"Miami PD," Horatio called out at the door.

There was no answer.

Calleigh moved to the opposite side of the door and tapped it with her gun.

"Is there anyone home?" Calleigh asked.

No one answered.

The two slowly crept into the home.

At the stairs by the door Horatio aimed up the steps. He noticed blood drops along the railing.

"I'll take upstairs," he told her.

"Be careful," Calleigh said as she moved away.

"You too."

Horatio moved up the steps, avoiding the blood and hugging the wall to the top. He turned at the top and was in the master bedroom. There was a man in the bed and a woman laying half on, half off the bed. Blood had turned the carpet under the woman dark red, and the maroon sheet covering the man to his chest almost black. Horatio moved slowly around the corner to the bathroom, waiting until he had it cleared before he relaxed. He walked over to the bed, staring at the two.

"Horatio?" Calleigh called from downstairs.

"It's clear up here."

"Down here too. There's a teenage boy down here, looks like two rounds to the chest."

"I have two victims up here. Man in his forties and woman in her late thirties or early forties. Presumably Doctor Gail Hutchins."

"I'll go call it in."

Horatio didn't respond. This was not how he'd hoped to find Alicia's therapist.

#

Ryan started to scoot out of the closet. He turned when Alicia grabbed his arm. She had found a rolled up sleeping bag under a shelf in the corner – Ryan had forgotten all about it – and used it for a pillow to take a nap.

"I have to use the restroom."

She didn't let go.

"Ali… Amanda, I have to use the restroom. I'll be right back." Ryan gently pulled her hands off him and crawled out. He took a step but stopped when he felt a hand grab the back of his shorts. He turned, finding her standing right behind him. He crouched down in front of her.

"Are you ready to talk to the child advocate?"

She leaned forward, burying her face against his shoulder. Ryan put a hand on the back of her head, gently patting her head.

"Okay. Not yet. But I have to use the restroom. You'll have to wait out here."

"I want to stay with you."

"Not while I'm in the restroom. You have to wait out here."

Alicia walked over to the bathroom door and stood next to it. Ryan stood and went in. He finished, washed his hands and came out, finding her still there.

"Do you need to go?"

She nodded.

"Go ahead."

She went in but didn't close the door. Ryan started to close it and she spun around, grabbing it and pulling back. He let go, the two staring at each other.

"You need to close the door while you're going."

She shook her head.

"Alicia, I ca—"

"Not my name," she quietly told him.

"Amanda, we can't… You know what. I'll stand outside the bedroom door. You call me when you get out. Okay?"

"I want you to stay right there."

"Amanda, that's not appropriate. I can't do that."

"I can stand outside while you go," Natalia said.

Ryan turned, finding her behind him. He looked down at Alicia.

"Can my friend stay here while you go? I'll wait right outside the bedroom."

Alicia looked from one to the other. Slowly she nodded. Ryan turned, mouthing, 'Thank you,' to Natalia as he passed. She smiled, patting his shoulder. Ryan stopped in the short hall that opened into the living room. There was only one officer in the room. The rest had stepped out for a smoke. Jake was sound asleep on the couch, unaffected by all the people. Ryan turned back to watch the bedroom while he waited. He was trying to figure out why Alicia was convinced her parents weren't her parents.

"Where's the girl?"

Ryan turned, staring at Eric.

"She's using the restroom."

"She broke out her bedroom window and ran away from home. You shouldn't leave her alone."

"I didn't. Natalia is with her."

"How is she?"

"Scared and not very vocal."

"Has she said why she ran away?"

Ryan shook his head. He looked up when Natalia walked up.

"She's waiting in the closet for you."

Ryan went back to his closet, sitting down in the spot next to her. He watched Eric walk in and look around the room. He realized it was the first time Eric had ever been to his apartment. Eric finally crouched down, smiling at Alicia.

"Hi. My name's Eric. Your mom and dad said your name is Alicia."

"Don't yell," Ryan quickly said, cutting Alicia off seconds before she yelled at Eric. "We use indoor voices in closets, okay?"

Alicia looked up at him and whispered, "That's not my name."

"I know, but you don't need to yell at him. He doesn't know that."

Alicia looked at Eric, telling him, "My name is Amanda."

Eric smiled. "That's a pretty name too. Where did you come up with that name?"

She didn't answer.

"Tell him where you came up with it?"

She turned her head, hiding her face from Eric. Ryan looked at him.

"She told me her real parents called her that."

"Real parents, Amanda? Who are they?"

She didn't answer. Eric looked at Ryan, who shrugged. He had only been able to get tidbits of information out of her and they hadn't painted a very clear picture.

"Amanda, if you don't talk to Eric, then I'll have to talk to him and tell him everything myself. I might get it wrong."

She didn't move or speak.

Ryan sighed. "She says that the Yates aren't her parents. Natalia mentioned that they said they adopted her in Canada. She told me she lived in Canada once, but not with them. She said that they killed her mother, and she wants to be with her dad, but she won't tell me their names. And she said her father watches her when she goes the restroom or gets dressed, but he's never touched her wrong."

"He's not my father!" Amanda snarled into Ryan's sleeve.

Ryan shrugged a little.

"Where is your real dad?" Eric asked.

She didn't speak.

"Ryan, do something."

Ryan looked up at him. "Like what?"

"We have to get answers."

"You have evidence, don't you?"

"Yes, but—"

"Use it. If she's telling the truth, the evidence will tell us that."

Eric wanted to argue, but he didn't. "I need to get a DNA sample from her."

"Gloves and a swab."

Alicia looked up when Ryan leaned forward to catch the items he tossed to him. She watched him pull on the latex gloves and then looked up when he looked down at her.

"This won't hurt at all. You open your mouth and I brush this swab inside your mouth, right here." Ryan pointed to his cheek. "And that's it. Okay?"

She nodded.

Ryan opened the plastic cap and pushed the swab out. "Open up."

She opened her mouth and he gently swabbed her cheek. He capped the swab and handed it back to Eric.

"If you find out anything else, let me know, okay?" Eric told Ryan.

"Okay."

Eric left.

Ryan pulled the gloves off and sat them on the floor. Alicia picked one up and clumsily worked it around so she could blow into it like a balloon. Ryan smiled when she failed a few times. He gently pulled it away and blew it up for her, tying off the end. He handed it to her, then blew up the second, handing it to her. She laid down, using his thigh as a pillow and played for a few minutes with the gloves-turned-balloons.

"Ryan?"

"Hm?"

"Do you believe me?"

Ryan didn't answer until she looked up at him. He smiled, brushing hair out of her eyes. "Why don't you take a nap? You've been up a very long time."

"Do you believe me?"

"I don't know."

She turned her head, staring at nothing. Jake sauntered into the room and sniffed both of them. He turned a few times in front of Alicia before laid down with a grunt. She wrapped an arm around Jake.

"Ryan?"

"Hm?"

"Can you put your hand on my shoulder? So I know you're there."

He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be right here when you wake up, okay?"

"Okay."

Alicia closed her eyes. Ryan laid his head against the wall, letting his mind wander.

#

Maxine clipped the end of the swab into a tube, added a few drops of solution to the tube. She turned and put the tube into the thermal cycler and started it.

She turned to a screen, pulling up a police record. The man's name on it was Darien Jericho. He was flagged as a Canadian resident and was scheduled for transfer back to Canada in the next few days. She accessed his DNA record and moved it to a side screen. She skimmed his file and stopped at a name: Heidi Jericho.

She pulled up the records for Heidi Jericho. DECEASED was in red at the top of the file. She started working through it in search of a DNA profile for the woman. She finally found it and moved it to the side screen.

Maxine glanced at the thermal cycler when it beeped to let her know it was done. She waited for her computer to compose the DNA profile and then started it working on a comparison between Alicia's sample to the Jericho's. Maxine glanced up when Horatio entered the lab.

"Miss Valera, how are the DNA results coming?"

As if it knew he was there, the computer came back with some answers.

"Well, she's the daughter of Heidi and Darien Jericho, not Betty and Samuel Yates."

"The Yates did say they adopted her, but it appears her biological parents were trying to take her back."

"They shouldn't have even known where she was, Horatio."

"No. They shouldn't have."

Calleigh stopped at the door and pushed it open, standing in the doorway. "Horatio, you have two visitors waiting up front. And Eric just arrived with Gail Hutchins' records. We'll be in the meeting room with them when you're done."

"Thank you." Horatio left the lab through the opposite door.

#

Horatio came around the corner to find two men waiting. The lawyer was easy to recognize in his tailored suit and spotless appearance. He held the handle of a shiny, new briefcase.

The other man was much older and would have stuck out on any Miami street. He wore jeans, worn cowboy boots, a plain red T-shirt under a light jacket with several patches on it for organizations Horatio had never heard of, and held a weather worn cowboy hat in his hands. His sunglasses, hooked into the neck of his shirt, were a large aviator style that were cheap, but probably provided more UV protection than most prescription sunglasses. A leather backpack that had seen years of travel was slung over his shoulder by one strap.

"I was told you gentlemen wanted to see me."

"We're not together," the spotless lawyer said. "I'm Jeff Lambert, the Yates attorney. Am I to understand you know of their daughter's whereabouts?"

"You understand correctly."

"You do realize that it's considered kidnapping by not telling her parents of her whereabouts?"

The older man looked at the young man and when he spoke, Horatio heard the unmistakable accent of a Canadian.

"Unless of course the Lieutenant feels she might be in danger, in which case he as a legal right to retain custody until you can prove your clients aren't putting that li'l girl in jeopardy."

Jeff turned to the man, staring at him. "And who are you?"

"Alicia Yates, or Amanda Jericho's, attorney."

"The Yates never hired an attorney for her."

The Canadian grinned. "You're right. They didn't."

"Then who did?"

"I'm to keep my client's identity withheld until trial… If it comes to that. Is it going to come to that?"

"You aren't even from America."

"On the contrary, I reinstated my citizenship three days ago. I have every right to practice in America."

Horatio smiled. He definitely liked this Canadian who clearly was determined to protect the child in question.

"Your degree wasn't earned in America."

"I do believe that Yale is still in Connecticut. Am I mistaken? Has it moved to foreign soil recently?"

The veins in Jeff's neck were starting to puff out. Horatio decided he should step in before he had a lawyer brawl in the middle of reception – one he was sure the older of the two lawyers would probably win.

"Mister Lambert, we are protecting Alicia until we can sort out the details. She ran away for a reason, and we need to determine what reason that is. She is convinced the Yates are not her parents and when we went to speak to Alicia's therapist, we found her entire family murdered. We have more questions than the Yates are willing to answer, something you might consider convincing your client to do, Mister Lambert."

"Gail Hutchins was murdered?" Lambert asked.

"She and her family were, and until this matter is cleared up, Alicia will remain in protective police custody. That, Mister Lambert, is not kidnapping."

"They would like to see their daughter. Where is she at?"

"Until I know more about what is happening here, I will not divulge that information to you, Mister Lambert."

Fed up by the stonewalling, Jeff turned and stormed to the elevator. He jammed his finger against the call button, and then turned back to Horatio.

"We will sue."

"I look forward to it," Horatio told him with a smile.

The elevator opened and he got on. Horatio waited until the elevator closed and turned to the Canadian.

"You don't look like a lawyer."

The Canadian shrugged with a smile. "I get that a lot."

"Do you have proof you are a citizen and you're a lawyer?"

He dug papers out of his backpack and handed them over. Horatio looked them over and nodded. "Ralph Lohr, is it?"

"Yes."

"Who hired you to represent the child?"

"My son-in-law. Darien Jericho."

"So that would make her your granddaughter."

"Yep. Is my granddaughter okay? Those people can't find her, can they?"

"Physically, I believe she is okay, and no, the Yates cannot find her. She is safe."

"Amanda—" He stopped, offering a smile. "She'll always be Amanda to me, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. She apparently has decided that's her name too."

"You need to understand something, Lieutenant Caine. Amanda is a rarity. She's in that small percentile that blows the top off IQ charts. That little girl was walking when she was five months, and talking when she was nine months."

"Then there's a chance she might have plotted her own escape?"

"If those assholes – pardon the French – didn't rip her intelligence out, yes. They kidnapped her when she was four. We've been looking for her for years. My daughter and son-in-law hired a P.I. and put everything they had into finding their daughter. He finally found her in Fort Lauderdale. I tried to convince them to let me handle getting her back legally, but they were impatient and were on a vendetta to get their little girl back. Cost my little girl her life, and Darien his freedom. So… When I heard she'd run'd away, I got on a plane to come see if I couldn't get her back legally."

"Do you have proof they kidnapped her? They have adoption papers."

"Forged adoption papers." Ralph presented Horatio with a manila folder. "You'll find legal documents with my daughter and Darien's signatures on them. Prove it for yourself."

"I will do that."

"Is there any chance I could see my client?"

"Not yet."

Ralph nodded. "Keep me informed, Lieutenant. I'm prepared to take whatever legal measures are necessary to protect her and bring her home."

Horatio smiled. "So am I, Ralph."

Ralph held out his hand, a surprise move to Horatio. He wasn't used to this kind of behavior in a lawyer. He took Ralph's hand and they shook hands.

"I'm at the Palm Hotel. Room 425."

"I'll be in touch."

Ralph walked to the elevator and tapped the button. He got on the elevator, putting his cowboy hat on as he turned. Horatio heard someone walk up behind him and stop, but he didn't look away from Ralph until the door close.

"Who was that?" Eric asked.

"He says he's Alicia Yates' lawyer and biological grandfather."

"You're kidding."

Horatio smiled as he turned. "I am not. Have you found anything in the therapists records?"

"Yeah. Doctor Hutchins began using hypnosis on Alicia four months ago. That's when things started coming to the surface. At first Doctor Hutchins wrote that she thought the child wasn't actually under hypnosis. She noted that Alicia was highly intelligent and thought she could imitate it. But the last five sessions began changing when Alicia started telling her about a past life she had before she was four. The second to last sessions, she said the Yates kidnapped her from a park. Doctor Hutchins contacted the authorities. The last session was interrupted by the Yates because the police contacted them about the accusation."

"Okay. Were you able to recover the bullets from the scene?"

"Tara called while we were going through the records and Calleigh went to get them."

"Keep working on the records, Eric. Did you drop the adoption papers of at Q.D.?"

"Yeah. What's that?" Eric asked, nodding at the folder Horatio held.

Horatio smiled. "It may be something the Yates never wanted us to find, Eric." Horatio turned and headed into the lab.