Chapter 2

How many hours had he spent unraveling tennis string with Calleigh and Speed? Just when Eric was ready to give up, Cal whispered so that only he could hear, "Don't, Eric. We'll find it." She sent him a reassuring smile, and that's all he needed to keep going.

Fifteen minutes later, Delko's heart soared in triumph. Quickly, he came around the lab table and placed his findings in front of Calleigh. He'd done it. Calleigh looked up at Eric, beaming. "We need to find Horatio," she said.

With Speedle in tow, they navigated their way through the labyrinth of labs and offices, downstairs to the morgue where Horatio stood intently photographing the string wrapped around Consuela Valdes' severed arm.

"H!" Eric called. The redhead looked up from his work and surveyed his three CSIs.

"Found something?" he inquired, already knowing the answer by the looks on their faces.

"Delko matched the string from the girl's remains to the stuff Kendall uses to re-string his racquets."

"We got him," Calleigh added with a satisfied smile.

Horatio looked to Eric, who appeared even more anxious than the lieutenant had seen him all day. H thought his youngest CSI would be pleased once they confirmed that David Kendall had murdered Consuela Valdes, but it seemed that the exact opposite had occurred. He pushed the thought aside but made a note to himself to talk to Eric when he got the chance.

"Alright, people. Good job. Calleigh, Speedle—I need you to contact Francisco and Milagra Valdes. Eric, you're with me."

"Got it," Tim said as he and Calleigh turned and left the autopsy room.

"David Kendall?" the tall Cuban asked as his boss documented the last of his observations and quickly stowed his work. Eric watched Horatio return the young girl's arm to its place in the refrigerated locker. Anger flared in him for the hundredth time that day.

Horatio turned around just in time to see Delko rearrange his features in an attempt to hide his outrage. Frankly, H knew how these cases gnawed at Eric, and he was surprised that the man had contained his frustration so well up to this point. He debated the wisdom of bringing Eric with him to take Kendall into custody, but eventually he decided to take the risk. Delko was the one to tie the animal to the murder, and he should be the one to bring him in.

"Yes. Let's go."

They hurriedly made their way upstairs and over to the Homicide Unit. "Yelina," Horatio called as he spotted the beautiful detective. "Tell me we have a location on David Kendall."

"You're just in time," she said with a smile, although her brother-in-law could see the concern written on her face. "I just finished talking to Krista Walker. Lana ran away again, and she's convinced her daughter is with Kendall. I've got Jacobsen working on their whereabouts."

Horatio looked away and fiddled with his sunglasses, a grim look in his eyes. "We need to get an arrest warrant, now."

Eric narrowed his eyes as he studied the man beside him. "You think Mrs. Walker will try to deal with this on her own?"

"That's exactly what I think, Mr. Delko."

Yelina frowned and turned to her computer. Within ten minutes, she'd drawn up the warrant and the three of them rushed the two miles to the courthouse to have a judge sign it. They were rapidly losing time as the sun sank closer and closer to the horizon. Apprehending a suspect at night drastically increased the risk for the officers involved. Not to mention they had a vengeful mother on the warpath; they desperately needed to find both David Kendall and Krista Walker before the latter took matters into her own hands.

Yelina's cell phone buzzed to life and she answered it with a practiced flip of her wrist. "Salas. Excellent. Dispatch back-up to meet us there. Twenty minutes."

Eric and Horatio eyed the detective eagerly. She did not disappoint. "That was Jacobsen. Kendall is holed up in a motel in Coconut Grove."

The three of them were already on the move before Yelina finished her debrief. Lana was with the tennis instructor. Eric internally cursed as he thought about another young girl falling victim to this animal.

Twenty minutes later, Yelina, Eric, Horatio, pulled up to the flea-bag motel and were greeted by the worst possible scenario. Kendall stood just outside the door to his room, Lana at his feet. Ten feet away from them stood a gun-wielding Krista Walker. A dozen some-odd officers had taken up various offensive positions around the parking lot, ready to intervene at a moment's notice. The trio leapt from the Hummer, weapons in hand.

"I'll shoot!" the irate woman screamed. "I'll kill you before I let you touch my daughter!" Kendall sent her a pleading look which begged her to believe he was innocent.

"Mrs. Walker," Horatio called calmly. Krista turned swiftly and aimed the gun at his head.

He kept an even voice as he tried again. "Mrs. Walker, don't do this. Mrs. Walker, don't make this mistake."

Her eyes welled up with tears. "He's not going to stop."

"No. That's not true," Horatio said, shaking his head slowly. "We have him. We have him for killing another little girl just like… just like Lana."

The gun shook in the mother's hands as she fought back. "He's going to get away with it!"

Horatio let go of his firearm, holding it in the air in a sign of goodwill. The seasoned detective could see her resolve beginning to waver and made one last plea. Behind him, Eric kept his weapon trained on David Kendall, swearing he'd kill the bastard if he so much as moved. "No, he's not," H said. "But if you make this mistake, Mrs. Walker, Lana loses you, and you lose everything for him. And he's not worth it. Give me the gun."

She finally released her hold on the gun in defeat, and Horatio went forward quickly and removed it from her trembling hand. "Good."

Before anyone could react, Kendall yanked Lana from her position at his feet and held her roughly in front of him. Delko saw red and tightened his grip around his weapon, but he knew he could never get off a clean shot with three people standing between him and the smug predator.

"David, let her go," Horatio called, an edge to his voice.

"There's one thing you're missing. That Lana loves me. Tell him. Tell him you love me."

Lana eyes recognized David's statement as truth. "We're in love. Why can't you just go away? This is none of your business."

Delko's stomach churned at the teenager's words. She didn't know what she was saying. She'd been duped by this man, tricked into believing she was in love. Eric's anger returned at full force as he looked Kendall in the eye and saw no remorse there. He brutally murdered a fourteen-year-old girl, most likely raped her. At the same time, he was having sex with another young girl. There was no doubt in Eric's mind that Lana Walker would have ended up exactly like Consuela Valdes. It was only a matter of time.

Horatio spoke up again. "Lana, tomorrow morning I will be going to a memorial for another little girl your age who was killed by David. Right, David?"

Eric could no longer keep his silence. "Tell Lana how you killed Consuela. You don't have the guts, do you?"

Horatio held out his hand to Lana. "Listen to us, sweetheart. Come on."

Lana was horrified by what she was hearing, and as David realized that she was finally seeing the truth, he relented and let her go. The game was up. The girl headed straight for Horatio, and the two of them met Krista half-way. H handed her to her mother and stood close by, needing to reassure himself that the teen was unharmed.

As soon as Kendall released his hostage, Delko and two other officers rushed forward and seized him. The disgraced tennis pro fell to his knees, patted down and wearing hand cuffs in seconds.

"I guess the tables have turned, Kendall. How does it feel to have your hands bound?" Eric snarled in the man's ear as he marched him to the nearest patrol car.

"No one even missed the little bitch," he responded with fire in his eyes and a vicious grin on his face.

That was the last straw. Eric grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him violently against the police cruiser. "You don't think her parents missed her?" he yelled at Kendall, shoving him hard against the car once more as he resisted.

"You don't think her family misses her? Her friends? You deserve to rot in hell for what you did to that little girl," Eric spat.

"She never mattered," came the unrepentant reply.

"That's enough!" Horatio shouted as he wrapped his arms around Eric in a firm hold from behind. He forcefully drew his CSI away from their suspect just as he was pulling back his fist to knock David Kendall to his ass.

As another officer jumped in to restrain Kendall and push him into the patrol car, Horatio struggled to keep a grasp on Eric.

"Get off me!" he growled, ripping himself from his boss's firm grip. Eric's chest was heaving and his smooth olive skin had become flushed. He fixed Horatio with a death glare, ignoring the officers gawking at him in shock.

The redhead took a careful step forward, and although he was frightened by Delko's uncharacteristic behavior, he didn't let it show on his face. On the outside, Horatio Caine was the picture of composure. His voice, on the other hand, was dangerously low as he cautioned the man standing before him.

"Eric, I suggest you calm down. Fast."

Delko was steaming. Horatio was like a father to him, but he couldn't possibly understand the emotions raging inside Eric right now. He never bothered to ask.

No matter the reason, Eric knew he shouldn't have lost his temper. He'd effectively assaulted his LT with a dozen people there as witnesses, and he knew he'd have to face the consequences. At the moment, however, all he wanted to do was get out of that motel parking lot and forget that monsters like David Kendall ever existed.

He said nothing to Horatio as he stormed past him. When H attempted to grab Eric's elbow, he whipped around and hissed, "Don't touch me." Sparks were flying from his eyes and Horatio knew better than to try and keep him there.

So Eric left. He left Kendall, he left the Walkers, and he left the man he trusted more than almost anyone else on this earth. His heart pounded as he walked away from the motel, and kept walking. The dark road stretched before him, few signs of life greeting him as he moved numbly ahead.

Almost of its own accord, Eric's hand reached down for his cell phone. His fingers hit speed dial and he brought the phone to his ear, listening for the voice that could soothe him in an instant.

"Duquesne."

Eric just listened for a moment, not sure what to say.

"Hello?" Calleigh called over the line.

"Calleigh," Eric said quietly. "I need you to come and get me."

The ballistics expert was immediately on alert. Her friend's voice sounded dead. And why was he calling her when he was supposed to be in the middle of a raid? Calleigh was still with Consuela Valdes' parents, and she was certain Eric knew that.

"Are you okay?" she asked urgently.

Eric had no energy left to lie, and he didn't want to anyway. "No, not really."

Calleigh's radar jumped into overdrive. "Where are you?"

The Cuban man looked around him, not sure exactly where he was. To his right were a convenience store and a pharmacy. To Eric's left lay a residential area, and ahead of him he could see several restaurants and a major intersection. "Uh, I think I'm near Hardee and San Vicente. Make that Hardee and Magglore," he corrected as he came upon the crossroads.

"Stay put," Calleigh commanded. "I'll be there in fifteen."

"'Kay," Eric sighed. The line went dead.

When Calleigh pulled up to the intersection Eric had named, she spied him sitting on a short brick wall in front of the row of restaurants, head in his hands. Silently, she came to sit beside him. Eric felt her presence but didn't acknowledge her.

"Wanna tell me what happened?" the petite blonde asked softly.

He shook his head in his hands. Eric didn't want to face Cal right now. He'd had some time to cool off as he waited for her to arrive, and shame had replaced most of the CSI's anger. Thankfully, Calleigh didn't press him, and she waited patiently until Eric was ready to talk.

He finally raised his head and looked into Calleigh's green eyes. "Take me home?"

Cal grinned and shook her head. "Nope. We're going to my place. It's closer." She did live less than ten minutes from where they now sat, but her primary reason for taking Eric to her place was to prevent him from escaping.

Eric stood wordlessly and turned toward the parking lot to climb in the Hummer, but he was surprised to find that Calleigh had driven her own car here. She was obviously not planning on going back to work tonight. He sent a questioning glance her way.

"I figured we couldn't do much more tonight. Tim said he'd stay," she explained with a shrug of her shoulders. Seeing the look on Eric's face, Calleigh added quickly, "Don't worry, I didn't tell him anything."

"It doesn't matter," he sighed. "The whole department will know about it before the night's up."

Calleigh furrowed her brows. Something serious had obviously happened; from what little she could gather, it seemed like Eric had walked out on the raid. She kicked herself for not realizing just how upset Eric was earlier. Maybe she could have prevented all of this. She stared at him for a brief moment before climbing in her car and starting the engine. They drove in silence.