A/N: Just so no lawyer can get all excited about copyright infringement, the song quoted in this chapter (Meatloaf's 'I would do anything for love) is simply a guilty pleasure of mine, and is not in any way owned by me.
Dan Cooper found Horatio just before he was about to go with Frankie and confront Kathryn. The AV tech was bubbling over with excitement, his eyes sparkling. "I enlarged the reflection like you suggested H, and look who I found!" Jubilantly, he handed over the photo. Horatio exchanged a thoughtful look with Frankie.
"Ten out of ten for Eric," Frankie smiled. "Give that man a gold star." The reflection clearly and unequivocally showed David Barker, the late manager of the Everglades Open Centre.
"Now that is interesting," Horatio commented. "Nice work Mr Cooper."
Kathryn Ellison was fiddling nervously with the clasp on her handbag when they walked in. When she saw them, however, she straightened in her chair and stilled her hands, causing Frankie to once more admire her acting skills.
"Thank you for being so patient," Horatio said smoothly as they sat down. "We have just a few more questions."
"I hope you're going to be more polite than the last man," she snapped. "After all, I am the victim here. How many times do I need to say it?"
"Do you know David Barker?"
Kathryn frowned. "Isn't that one of the people who died at the Open Centre bomb?" Both Frankie and Horatio nodded. "I've already told you that I don't know anyone from there!" A hint of exasperation found her voice – a nice touch, Frankie considered sourly.
"Then why can we prove that you and he robbed a bank in Raleigh, North Carolina, together six years ago?" Horatio's voice had taken on that deceptively soft tone that usually meant he knew he held all the aces. Kathryn took a sharp breath, her eyes suddenly very wide. Carelessly, almost, Horatio tossed down the two CCTV images: one of Kathryn's birthmark and once of David Barker.
"You know," she breathed incredulously. "Oh my God!" It was half-exclamation, half-prayer.
"We know," Horatio confirmed. Frankie watched as Kathryn seemed to visibly age ten years before their eyes. Her shoulders sagged and her face lost its sharp focus. She seemed to almost blur at the ages as she let go of the mask she had been wearing. Kathryn buried her head in her hands and gave a choking sob.
"I knew you'd find us one day. David said no, but I knew." Even her voice had changed. No longer full of confidence, she instead sounded broken. Frankie watched her warily. She knew full well how good an actress Kathryn Ellison was.
"David?"
"David Barker's real name was David Hobart," Kathryn replied wearily. "We've been together for ten years now."
"Bonnie and Clyde Mark 2," Frankie murmured, earning her a spiteful glare from Kathryn and an amused smile from Horatio.
"What would you know?" Kathryn snapped. "I loved him. And now he's dead!" She started to cry, and Frankie knew that this, at least, was not an act. Shoulders shaking, Kathryn sobbed disconsolately, tears streaming down her face.
Horatio shifted uncomfortably in his chair before handing her a clean, white handkerchief. Kathryn gave Frankie a look that clearly read 'is he playing me?', to which Frankie shrugged hopelessly. "In your own time," Horatio prompted Kathryn gently.
"It was Marty and David's idea." Kathryn spoke tiredly, defeatedly. "They had been colleagues at the advertising business before they were both sacked. The company was downsizing, and several people were let go. David couldn't find another job, and neither could Marty. David started joking around, saying things like they might as well start robbing banks. Marty said that it was a brilliant idea, and he knew just the person to help. Jason and he had been at school together, and Jason had always been a trouble-maker. They got the guns, and made the plans. I only got involved because they needed a fourth person."
"What about the last job in Raleigh?" Frankie asked softly, unwilling to break the flow of words.
"It all just went horribly wrong. It was the security guard's fault. We'd never hurt anyone before, just threatened to." Kathryn's eyes welled up with fresh tears. "David grabbed my arm and we just ran out of there. I was so scared that we would get caught, but David kept calm, said we needed to get out of town. I always had wanted to come to Miami," she said wistfully. "The money from the other robberies was enough to start our new lives. We never lived together just in case anyone was tracking us, and I know he saw other women, but we were together. That was all that mattered."
Having signed a full confession, Horatio and Frankie left Kathryn in the interview room. Walking back through CSI together, Frankie linked her arm through his. "So would you rob a bank if I suggested it? And then run away to a new state, just so we could be together?" she asked him jokingly.
He considered the question a lot more seriously than she had intended him to. "You know what Chess? Love is a powerful thing. And it can be very destructive. Who knows what people will do in the name of love?"
"I would do anything for love, but I won't do that," Frankie sang quietly, not wanting the whole of CSI to hear her singing Meatloaf. Horatio chuckled and kissed her.
"I would do anything for you," he promised.
Leaving Frankie to get yet another cup of coffee, Horatio set off to find Detective Fraser. Unable to help himself, he was looking forward to pointing out how much better his lab had fared in catching the bank robbers. Looking forward to it, that was, until he saw Fraser chatting amicably with someone who looked suspiciously like Mark Nelson.
Subduing the internal groan, he made his way over to the two men. "Good afternoon gentlemen. Detective Fraser, I have some good news."
Mark raised an eyebrow, but Fraser looked impatient. "Solved the case have you?"
"Actually yes," Horatio replied, trying not to sound too triumphant. From the suppressed smile on Mark's face, he might not have succeeded. Fraser goggled at him and he continued, "Kathryn Ellison has made a full confession regarding her part in the robberies, as well as that of David Hobart. I assume you'll want to try them in North Carolina?"
Stunned into silence momentarily, Fraser could only nod his head. As he turned away, pulling out his cell phone, presumably to call his superiors in Raleigh to tell them the result, he muttered audibly, "Damn Yankee. Come down here acting all smart. Damn Yankee. He should go back to New York, or wherever the hell he's from."
Mark smirked and followed Horatio to a different corner of the lobby for a little privacy. "I don't know whether he's referring to me or you there Horatio."
"I think it might be me sir," he replied, looking back over at the still-muttering Fraser.
"You can drop the sir now," Mark commented dryly. "You've impressed me enough without going overboard. Not that you're up against much competition when it comes to my son-in-law. Still, you'll do. Just remember what I said."
"I'm not sure I'll ever forget," Horatio rejoined with a smile.
"I realise you're very busy, but we'd like to invite you and Frankie out for a meal with the whole family tonight. I think it's about time you had to suffer Darren's company. Do you think you'll be able to make it?"
Horatio nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem."
"Do you know a restaurant that's nice, but that you don't ever want to go back to?" Mark grinned as he saw the other man's confusion. "You'll understand by the end of the night, I promise you. Well, we'll see you later. Take care of my little girl Horatio."
"Always."