A/N: OK, this is taking a while because I'm trying to figure out a way to work in enough clues so the result of the case isn't a totally ridiculous. Mysteries don't tend to be my forte, so bear with me here. Would really appreciate any comments from people, good or bad.

Also, ffnet won't let me put in rulers anymore! Aargh!

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Horatio called a team meeting at eight o'clock that night. Judging by the exhaustion on the faces of the group before him, it was not a moment too soon. He had no doubt that had there been any form of lead, they would have stuck at it all night, but endless dead ends sap the energy like nothing else.

"Okay, I want everyone's reports on what we've found so far, and then you are all to go home and get some rest." Frankie raised her eyebrows at that. Hypocrisy was not usually Horatio's style, but she had a feeling there would be little rest for him until he had solved this case.

Calleigh started. "Well, most of the toolmarks on the wires are standard. I can find out which tools were used, but that will only give you a brand name. There is one piece of good news: his pair of wire cutters has a scrape on one of the blades, so if you find the guy, I can match his tools to the bomb."

Frankie watched as the rest of the team gave their reports. It turned out that trace off several components suggested the bomber lived or worked near a plant nursery, as Eric and Ryan had found some plant pesticide. Other than that, the boys had the sad tale of six hours work, with no fingerprints, no DNA and nothing other than the pesticides. The signature of the bomber, according to Horatio, was in the way the blasting cap had been wired into the bomb. Not understanding bombs, Frankie could understand little of Horatio said, only that the method was unusual, and suggested a military background.

Alexx, taking great gulps of coffee to help keep awake, gave her report next. It turned out the manager of the Centre was not the closest to the blast, as previously expected. The ex-SEAL, Brent McClain, had been nearest to the seat of detonation, judging by the white butterfly effect on his insides. While his body remained relatively unscathed, McClain's internal organs had turned to soup, which suggested close proximity to the bomb.

Frankie was last to speak. "Victimology is a little weird on this. We have to assume, until we learn otherwise, that there was some personal motive behind this, and that one of the victims was the primary target. Of the six dead victims, I think we can probably rule out Susie Jeffries and Peter Frost. Eight and nine years old respectively, they were only there on a school trip. Their teacher, Mrs Amanda Hardy, also died. Her background has turned up little out of the ordinary. She was educated out of state, in California, and moved here to live with her husband. No criminal past, no children, and no family with a criminal past. The Centre manager, David Barker, was also clean, apart from a couple of parking violations and a speeding ticket. The other Centre employees are slightly more interesting. The maintenance supervisor Charlie Hackford has a couple of drug charges on his sheet, all to do with possession of cocaine, while Brent McClain, the airboat pilot, was an ex-SEAL. I'm waiting on a friend to get back to me with his service record, so we'll know where he served. There may be a terrorist connection, there may not."

Horatio nodded slowly, his eyes staring into nothing as he mentally filed away the new information. Eric slammed his hand into the table in frustration. "So we've basically got nothing!"

"We've got a lot," Horatio corrected firmly. "We just don't know how to use it yet."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------He was silent on the way home, and Frankie let him think in peace. They had picked up some take-out on the drive, and she was surprised to discover she was starving. Horatio picked at his, and barely spoke. After an hour or so, however, she began to question whether or not it was healthy to get so lost in a case. A break from thinking about it would allow him to look at the evidence with fresh eyes in the morning, and perhaps spot something new.

Time for a distraction, she decided. "I was thinking, Horatio," she began, "about the spare bedrooms. The smallest one would be perfect for Madison to have as a play room, don't you think? We could redecorate it so she'd like it, and perhaps even have her over to stay for a couple of weekends." Frankie had met Madison while she was recuperating. Initially, both had been wary of each other, as Madison was a shy child, and Frankie in general didn't like small children. They had got over their suspicions fairly quickly though, especially as Frankie had discovered that Madison was an intelligent girl who wasn't anything like some of the children she had known. Madison, in return, had decided that Auntie Frankie was very cool and a lot of fun.

Horatio didn't look up. Frankie took a deep breath. He must be deep in thought indeed for Madison's name not to get his attention. Still, she tried again. "I was thinking maybe we could get one of those bunk beds that have a desk instead of a bottom bunk. That way, when Madison gets a little older, she could do her homework there. What do you think?" No answer. "Horatio!"

Startled, he looked at her. "What?"

"Were you listening to anything I just said?"

A flash of panic appeared in his eyes. "Uh," he hedged, playing for time. "Something about the case?" Frankie's deliberately blank expression let him know that was wrong. "Or something about …Calleigh and Eric?"

"Not everything in life revolves around that lab!" She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "You need a break, you need to stop thinking about the case." She hung her head, knowing this was a losing battle. "I'm going to bed."

She stood up, leaving Horatio sitting where he was, frowning. "I can't just forget about the case. Six people died today, and maybe if we'd been better at our jobs, that wouldn't have happened."

Frankie blinked a couple of times. "How do you figure that?"

"We should have figured out who the bomber was from that hoax he sent to the lab." The stubborn set of Horatio's jaw let her know that logically pointing out that they had done everything possible to find the hoaxer wouldn't work. Neither would mentioning that there was nothing to connect the two events just yet.

She rolled her eyes and dropped a light kiss on top of his head. "You don't truly believe that. Now, I'm going to bed, and I really think you should join me." She bit her lip, trying to prevent a giggle from escaping as she heard herself. Horatio smiled, and nodded. "And I meant, you need sleep!" His dry chuckle followed her into the bedroom.