Deadly Desire, Chapter Two
Ryan and Calleigh entered Ryan's apartment after picking up some takeout and a bottle of wine. Ryan picked up his mail and set it on the counter. In the pile was a large manilla envelope. After he and Calleigh enjoyed their dinner, Ryan started to sort through his mail. He picked up the large manilla envelope.
"Calleigh, what do you make of this?" he asked her. "There's no return address on it."
She took it from his hands to try and feel what was inside. "Feels like there's some sort of a disk inside, like a DVD", she said. Ryan carefully opened the envelope to find that Calleigh was right. There was an unmarked DVD in a plastic envelope, along with a smaller manilla envelope, also unmarked. He set the envelope down on the counter and placed the DVD into his DVD player. Calleigh and Ryan watched in horror as Ryan's encounter with Erica played on the screen in lurid detail.
"Turn it off!" Ryan shouted, thirty seconds into the film. Calleigh grabbed a remote and shut off the DVD as Ryan stormed over to the counter to see what was left in the envelope. Ryan opened the smaller envelope to find a letter accompanied by several pictures of himself compromised by Erica. Calleigh walked over to him as his hands began to shake. She touched him on the shoulder and took the pictures and the letter from him.
"Wh-what does it say?" Ryan stuttered.
Calleigh continued to rub his shoulder as she read the letter to him. "Enclosed you will find a disk and some pictures that should be of interest to you. Should you wish to keep these out of public view, a payment of $50,000 is required. If you go to the police, or any of your colleagues at the crime lab, the pictures and the video will go public. Payment should be in cash, delivered to PO Box 943 at the post office nearest to the crime lab by noon tomorrow." She paused for a moment. "Ryan, she's blackmailing you from her jail cell."
"It's her bail money I'll bet. Why does she need me? I'm sure she could come up with $50,000. Or that someone at the station could," Ryan said.
"It's all part of her plan to destroy you. This is her big news story. She's looking to embroil you in a sex scandal that you wanted no part of," Calleigh said.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Ryan whispered, rushing towards the rest room. Calleigh followed him, stopping to grab a washcloth and handtowel out of the closet. She ran the washcloth under cool water. When Ryan had finished being sick, Calleigh knelt down beside him and gently washed his face with the cool washcloth. She handed him the towel, but he didn't want it. He lowered the toilet lid and leaned his head and arms against it, sobbing. Calleigh ran her fingers through his hair, trying to soothe him.
"Ryan, let me take the disk and photos with me. I can process them for fingerprints," she whispered.
Ryan's head shot up quickly. "No!" he cried. "If you do that, they'll go public with this. I'll be finished. I'll lose my job, may even go to jail."
"No you won't. She doesn't know I'm here tonight, nobody knows I'm here. I can take the evidence with me to the lab and process it first thing in the morning," Calleigh whispered, stroking his face.
"I don't want Cooper to see this. I don't want anyone to see this," Ryan sobbed. Calleigh reached for him and wrapped her arms around him.
"I know, Baby, I know. But how else are we going to help you? I promise that I will make sure this is treated with the same discretion and respect that every case is," Calleigh whispered.
"How could this happen? She's in jail. I don't remember seeing a camera or anyone else in the house that night," Ryan said.
"She probably had a camera hidden in the closet, probably borrowed it from her camera man. I'll have Delko go back to the house to see if they can find evidence of a camera," Calleigh answered.
"Don't you think that's too risky? What if someone sees Delko snooping around and notifies the blackmailer?" Ryan asked.
"It's still a crime scene. They're still gathering evidence from the initial incident. Now we need to look for evidence of how she's still trying to ruin your life. Don't worry, we'll do our best to protect you Ryan," Calleigh said, putting her hand on his cheek.
"I'm not used to needing to be protected. I'm used to protecting others. That's why I became a cop in the first place. I just feel so helpless," Ryan sighed.
Calleigh brushed Ryan's bangs from his forehead. "We all feel that way at times. I know it's hard when things are out of your control. But things will get better, I promise," she said, kissing him softly. She took his hand and led him back to the couch and covered him with a blanket. She sat beside him and stroked his hair and his face until he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The next morning Calleigh went to Horatio's office to explain the situation.
"We don't have much time," Horatio said. "Get Delko over to Erica Sikes' place quickly to see what he can find. I'll take the photos and the letter, you take the disk over to Cooper in AV."
Calleigh went to AV as Horatio instructed, while he took the photos and the letter to analyze for fingerprints. The fingerprints he found on the photos belonged to a Toby Hansen, a photographer who had been arrested previously on an assault charge.
Delko went back to the crime scene and examined the closet. He didn't find a camera but he did see three marks in the carpet that indicated there was a tripod standing there. As he finished his perusal of the crime scene, he noticed somebody snooping around outside the bedroom window. He notified the cops standing outside of the intruder over the radio and they apprehended him. He was brought back to the station, where it was revealed he was none other than Toby Hansen himself.
"Mr. Hansen," Horatio said, "you've been rather careless. You left your fingerprints all over the photographs and the disk that were sent to Mr. Ryan Wolfe. Not only that, but my CSI catches you returning to the crime scene to retrieve your camera. What is your connection to Miss Erica Sikes?"
"I'm her camera man. We work together," Hansen answered.
"Is your relationship strictly personal, or did she offer you some incentive if you did her this little favor?" Horatio asked.
"She offered me money, said she would split the $50,000 with me, and that maybe things between us might heat up once she got out," Hansen stammered.
"What made her think she was getting out? We have a solid case against her, not only for the assault, but now for extortion. And you, sir, are her accomplice," Horatio said.
"She thought maybe she could intimidate the guy into dropping the charges if she blackmailed him," Hansen said.
"That's not gonna happen. In case you haven't heard, this is Miami, and we never close. Gentlemen, take him outta here," Horatio said.
"She's not done yet," Hansen threatened. "You don't know where she's got the master copies. She could unleash that video over the internet at any time."
"I find that unlikely. And even if she did, we'd make sure the damage is minimal. So, no worries, my friend," Horatio smiled.
The cops led Hansen away. Horatio called Delko and ordered him to search Erica's house and place of employment. for any addition copies of photographs or disks. He also called in a favor to the county jail to have Erica's access to the internet monitored severely. Delko arrived at the news station just in the nick of time to stop Erica's secretary from posting the video on the web. She also had the photographs in her possession. She was apprehended along with the computer and the materials she possessed. Upon questioning it was learned that the secretary was promised money and a possible promotion if she did this favor for Erica. The secretary said that as far as she knew, the copies she possessed were the only ones other than those sent to Ryan. After she was led away, Horatio called Ryan.
"Mr. Wolfe, we are in the clear. No worries," Horatio said.
"It's over? It's really over this time?" Ryan asked.
"It is really over," Horatio said. "See you tomorrow, Ryan."
"See you tomorrow, H". Ryan said. He turned to Calleigh, who had stopped by on her lunch break to see how Ryan was doing. "It's over. It's finally over." Tears brimmed his green eyes, but this time they were tears of joy and relief. Calleigh wrapped her arms around his neck and held his head against her shoulder.
"I'm so glad," Calleigh said. "What should we do to celebrate?"
Ryan lifted his head from Calleigh's shoulder. "I have an idea," he said, kissing her passionately. "Ryan, I have to go back to work," Calleigh protested.
"You've done enough work for the day, now I want to show you my appreciation," Ryan said. He resumed kissing her passionately. She ran her fingers along his neck down to the small area of his chest revealed by the opening of his shirt. She let her fingers linger there, drawing circles as he kissed her. He reached up and undid the buttons of his shirt, and they both gasped as he slid her hand inside to rest against his skin. She peeled his shirt from his shoulders, gazing into his green eyes. She noticed some apprehension and hesitation.
"Are you okay? Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.
"Never more sure in my life," Ryan whispered, kissing her. She laid back on the couch, allowing him to show her his appreciation, and reveling in the chance to do the same.