Chapter 5

Calleigh empted the bullets from the envelopes and carefully cleaned them. She put one of the bullets under a microscope, and then walked across to a computer. She brought up a picture of a bullet, and then brought up an image of the bullet under the microscope. Using the computer, she turned them until she had a perfect striation match. The match did not make her happy. She changed screens and ran a search.

The computer came up with a match to a gun and serial number, and attached to both was a picture of Samuel Yates.

"One dirty little secret down," Calleigh told Samuel's photograph.

#

"Alicia," Eric said.

Ryan opened his eyes, pulling himself from sleep. It had finally won after four hours with nothing to do.

"Alicia." Eric called again.

Ryan gently shook her shoulder to wake her.

Eric smiled as soon as she looked at him. "Hi. I've come back with more questions. Will you talk to me this time?"

Alicia didn't answer. Eric looked up at Ryan.

"What questions?" Alicia asked.

Jake jumped up and trotted out of the room. Ryan started to scoot out and she grabbed his arm.

"I'll be right back. Jake needs to potty and wants fed. I promise I won't be gone long."

Alicia didn't let go.

Ryan leaned over, taking her hand. "I promise. I won't go far. I have to take care of Jake too."

She let his arm go. Ryan climbed out and left Eric to his questioning.

In the living room Jake was soaking up the attention officer Anthony Guerro was giving him. Guerro held a cell phone in one hand, doing something on it.

"Guess we should have called for CSI after all," Ryan joked.

Anthony smiled, nodding. "Guess so."

"Eric's in there with her. I'll be right back."

Anthony watched Ryan grab Jake's leash, which signaled the dog to run to him. Ryan clipped on the leash and left the apartment. Anthony glanced at the bedroom, then out the window. He was alone in the room. He dialed a phone number on his phone as he stood and walked to the window. He pulled the curtain back, watching Ryan walk toward the street, and two officers standing outside chatting.

"Yeah. It's me. I verified the transfer. Here's the address."

Anthony moved over to a neat stack of envelopes on a stand by the door and read off Ryan's address.

#

Horatio turned a corner, almost running into Cynthia Wells. She stepped back, smiling as she held up a folder.

"The entire document is a forge," she said.

Horatio took the folder, opening it. She leaned over his arm. "They made some classic errors. There's hesitation marks in the strokes here." She pointed them all out. "And then the J for both the Heidi and Darien, they leaned the wrong way in both cases." Cynthia stepped back. "And there's more. I contacted the adoption agency that this came from and asked them if they have an identifying watermarks or seals on their documents. The paper is missing agency seal watermark in the lower left corner of each page."

"Thank you Ms. Wells."

"No problem." She turned and walked away.

"Horatio," Calleigh called as she hurried down the hall toward him.

He turned toward her.

"The bullets recovered from the Hutchins match the bullet that killed Heidi Jericho. They are from Samuel Yates' nine millimeter."

Horatio pulled his cell phone off, dialing a number. "The Yates are trying to cover that they kidnapped Alicia." To the phone Horatio said, "Tripp, I need you to pick up Betty and Samuel Yates for murder."

#

Tripp and three officers approached the door. Tripp stopped and ran the doorbell. They waited. He hit a fist on the door once and it swung open. He drew his weapon, motioning the officer to draw theirs. The group entered the house. Tripp moved down the hall toward the bedrooms. He paused at the Yates' bedroom, taking a moment to take in the mess the room was in. He moved down the hall toward Alicia's room. It was also a mess, with clothes strewn everywhere. He moved to the last room, the bathroom. The medicine chest was open and items were scattered.

"Clear!" he heard the officers say one at a time. He added, "Clear," and headed back down the hall.

"Why would they leave?" an officer asked another.

Tripp frowned. "They knew we'd figure out Alicia isn't theirs and they'd killed people to hide it."

Tripp stopped in the living room. "Put out an APB. They are to be considered armed and dangerous."

An officer left to obey the order.

Tripp saw something sitting on the floor between a chair and end table. He holstered his gun as he walked over and reached between it, pulling out a notepad of paper. He turned it a little, seeing indentations on it. He looked down at the pen on the table. Tripp walked into the kitchen and looked for a pencil. He found one and shaded the paper with a pencil, careful not to push to hard and destroy the indentations under it. He knew a CSI would have to do this right for court, but right now they had to find the Yates before they hurt someone.

As the last note written revealed itself, his stomach tightened into a cold ball. He dropped the pencil and called Horatio.

As soon as he answered Tripp told him, "Horatio, I found a pad of paper and the last thing written on it was Ryan's address. Someone told them where that little girl is."

"Go to Ryan's immediately!" Horatio ordered.

Tripp dropped the pad, running for the door with the officers right behind.

#

Ryan had left Alicia and Jake sleeping in the closet. He needed to do so he pulled the laundry out of the dryer and started putting it away. He glanced at the two as he folded it and put it away. Jake opened his eyes every so often, watching Ryan. If he caught Ryan watching him, his tail would flop once or twice, but he didn't move. It didn't bother Ryan he was protective of the child. She needed someone she could trust and Jake was best suited for that.

Ryan froze when he heard the all too familiar sound of a gunshot. He dropped the shirt he was folding on the bed and stepped into the door of the bedroom.

The two officers that had been watching television were on their feet. One was standing facing the door. The other was looking outside from the edge of the window. Suddenly he drew his gun and the other followed. Ryan turned and in two steps was at his bedside table. He pulled his gun out of the drawer and cocked it.

He turned as a gunshot exploded in the living room, scaring Jake and Alicia awake. He ran over to Alicia, letting her grab his arm as he latched onto Jake's collar. Jake started barking when another gunshot ripped through the silence.

"Go into the bathroom," Ryan told her.

"No. I don't want—"

"DROP THE GUN! BOTH OF YOU!"

That was Horatio's voice. Ryan pulled hard on Jake's collar, pulling him with him toward the bathroom.

"Bathroom! Now!" Ryan ordered Alicia.

She jumped up and ran into the bathroom. Ryan half drug his upset dog with him. The three ran into the bathroom.

"Get in the tub."

"Why?"

"It's safer there. Get in."

Alicia obeyed. Ryan lifted Jake and laid him next to Alicia.

"Stay. Protect. Stay," he ordered Jake.

Alicia looped her fingers around his collar, watching Ryan slam the door shut. He heard another gunshot in the living room followed by something breaking.

"Keep your head down, Amanda," Ryan ordered.

"I want out!" Alicia said as she started crying.

Ryan turned when the door smashed against the wall and stared down the barrel of Samuel Yates' nine millimeter. Ryan moved, placing himself between the tub and the man, aiming his nine millimeter at Samuel.

"Alicia, come to me," Samuel ordered.

"Stay in there, Alicia," Ryan quietly ordered.

"SHUT UP!" Samuel yelled at Ryan.

Behind him, Jake began growling.

"Jake, stay. Stay," Ryan ordered.

The order confused Samuel, but not enough to distract him.

"Alicia, you will come to me right now. Get out of that tub."

From the bedroom Ryan heard Horatio order, "Put down your weapon, Mister Yates."

Samuel turned so he could watch both rooms. He cocked his gun, staring at someone in the bedroom, presumably Horatio. Horatio was probably staring down the barrel of his gun at Yates, steady and with every intention to kill the man before he would let him leave with Alicia.

"I have this man in my sights. If you don't back off, I'll kill him."

"It's a stalemate," Ryan called out so Horatio could hear. "Neither of us are letting you take her with you."

"She's not even your daughter."

"We adopted her!"

"The adoption papers are forged, most likely by your own hand."

Ryan watched Samuel get nervous. It wasn't good to let this man get nervous, not with his finger on the trigger of a cocked gun. Something fell behind Ryan, crashing on the ceramic. Instinctually Ryan dropped – later he'd think he never should have moved.

Samuel pulled the trigger and the bullet grazed the side of Ryan's temple, searing the nerve ends. The following pain made him instantly dizzy and he grabbed at air as he fell back, lost his balance when his foot hit the tub instead of floor, and fell, whacking the already bleeding wound against the edge of the toilet.

In those seconds it took him to fall six more gunshots boomed in his ears. He heard Jake start barking wildly. He tried to order him to stay, to protect Alicia, but his brain was too busy dealing with the dizzying pain. Ryan looked up, making out the blurry figure of Samuel. Was he moving toward him with his gun aimed at Ryan? Ryan tried to shake off the concussion but it was too stubborn to be shaken away so easily.

Ryan lifted his hand, feeling fur brush across his hand. He closed his eyes, hearing someone scream in pain and Jake growling and barking. Somewhere close a gun went off. Jake yelped, and then continued growling and barking. He heard Horatio and Eric's voices order, "FREEZE!"

Ryan's consciousness slipped from him. If felt like only second passed before he was suddenly aware of pressure against the wound on his head that made it hurt worse than it should have.

"The wound isn't deep. A mild concussion," someone nearby said. "He doesn't need to go to the hospital."

The pressure left and the pain eased. Ryan heard voices around him. Someone was talking to dispatch, but he couldn't make out what was being said. There was someone whispering. He heard the soft creak of leather shoes on one side. On the opposite side, someone softly sniffled. Ryan could feel he wasn't sitting up straight. He opened his yes, staring down at his lap and Jake. The dog was lying on his legs, his head pressed against Ryan's stomach.

"Jake," Ryan said as he blinked away the dizziness. "Get off."

He turned toward the sniffling, looking into Calleigh's face. She was crying. Something had happened.

"Where's Alicia?" Ryan asked. He gently pushed against Jake's back to encourage him to get off. "Jake, get off."

Calleigh looked down at Jake. "Alicia's fine," she whispered.

Ryan looked down at Jake. The dozen seconds he'd stared at Calleigh had given his mind brain time to clear his vision, and now he saw it. Blood wet his legs, the ends of his shorts, and the floor. The blood wet the light colored fur of Jake's stomach, where it had quickly let his life run from him.

Ryan didn't want to believe what he was seeing. He leaned over, pulling Jake into his arms. "Jake?"

Jake didn't move. He didn't lick Ryan's hand. His tail didn't wag. His eyes remained fixed on some infinite point.

"Jake-o? Jake?"

Ryan felt it coming. He felt his anxiety attack building. His world wasn't right. The order was out of whack. Securities he put in place, securities that had been built on his friendship with Jake, were shattering in his mind.

Horatio seemed to sense Ryan was on the verge of losing it. He crouched down in front of Ryan. He laid a hand on his leg, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze. He wanted his CSI to know he was there, and he could understand the loss he was feeling right now.

"Ryan, you have to breath. Long, deep breathes. Can you do that for me? Can you take long deep breaths?"

Ryan looked at him, starting to shake his head. He had lost his senses. He didn't feel himself hyperventilating as the anxiety continued to build.

"Yes you can. You can." Horatio encouraged him. Using his voice to express what he wanted, Horatio said again, "Looooong deep breaths."

Ryan instinctually imitated him. Horatio nodded. "Good. Good. Ryan, I think you might have chosen the wrong law enforcement career path."

The statement did what Horatio wanted. It forced Ryan to focus on something else.

"What?"

Horatio smiled a little. He glanced at Calleigh. She was leaning against the tub. She had her head turned toward the wall with her hand over her mouth with hot tears running down her face.

"Jake did what a good K-9 would do. He protected you. Samuel was going to shoot you and he protected you. He attacked Samuel and brought him down for us, even after he was shot. And when we had Samuel restrained, he came back to make sure you were okay. With a little help." Horatio glanced at Calleigh. "You should be proud of him, Ryan."

Ryan glanced at Calleigh. Now he saw all of her and he understood what she had done. When the shooting had stopped, when Samuel was secured, she must have come in and saw the dying dog trying to crawl to Ryan. She picked him up, staining her shirt and pants with his blood and placed him on Ryan's lap. She had helped grant Jake's one last wish – to be in his owner's arms when he died.

Ryan looked down at Jake, stroking his fur.

Softly he whispered, "I am proud of you."