The Cheeto Puff Case (or Chloe helps Out)
Both Calleigh and Eric were working late today so their daughter was at the lab. At the moment she was sitting on breakroom sofa eating a bag of cheeto puffs and watching Lady & the Tramp on the portable DVD player Horatio got for her.
"Our burglar had some kind of bright orange powder on his fingers. It came off on the inside of his gloves. I can't tell what it is, though," Natalia said.
"It's cheesy puff dust," Ryan said.
"How can you be sure?"
"Give me a few minutes and I'll prove it," Ryan said, heading out of the lab, grabbing a plastic evidence bag off the shelf on the way.
"You know the machine is out of cheese puffs," Natalia called after him.
Ryan headed to the breakroom. He walked over to Chloe, kneeling down in front of her with a smile.
"Hi," he said to her.
"Hi 'Yan," Chloe said.
"How would you like to help me solve a case?" He asked her.
"Otay. What do I do?"
"All I need from you, is this bag," he said, pointing to her cheese puffs "and one," he said holding up one finger, "one cheesie puff. You can put your cheesies in this bag."
"Otay," Chloe said, handing Ryan the bag and he emptied the contents into the clear bag.
"Thank you, Chloe," Ryan said.
Back in the lab several minutes later Calleigh walked in.
"Ryan, can you explain to me why my daughter is eating cheese puffs from an evidence bag?"
Ryan blushed.
"Sorry, Cal. But I needed the bag, and a cheese puff, to prove that's what's inside these gloves. I told she's helping me solve the case."
"She told me that. You're going to end up buying her ice cream if you're right."
Mommy and daddy knew Chloe was getting a cold. She had been coughing, sneezing and had a runny nose all the past day. Her parents and Horatio went to the breakroom to check on her periodically. By 7:45pm Chloe was falling asleep but neither of her parents could leave for another hour and a half. Horatio told both of them that he was putting Chloe in his office so she could sleep in the couch. He put a pillow there and covered the girl with a small fleece blanket. He felt her forehead, she was warm.
Eric had told his boss that there was children's cold medication in his daughter's backpack if Chloe had a temperature. Horatio gently woke the little girl and she took the strawberry-flavored liquid without protest and promptly started to fall back to sleep.
"Go back to sleep, honey," he said softly to the child, kissing her forehead. "Uncle Horatio will be right here." Horatio turned off the room light and he did paperwork by the lamp at his desk.
"Thanks, Horatio," Eric said when Calleigh was getting Chloe ready to leave to go home.
"No problem at all, Eric. I'm sorry I had to keep you guys here. Hope peanut feels better."
Up next: Jake's sentencing hearing & his troubles beyond that!