AFTERMATH

Chapter 7

The following morning, in his office, Horatio re-read the statements that Ryan had taken, and turned his attention to the latest photos from the ME. Then he called Ryan.

The young CSI came in, looking awkward.

Horatio smiled. "You're not in trouble. In fact, I've spoken to Calleigh and she put me right… Ryan, you're not the most senior person in the lab… If your supervisor takes you off a case…"

"But I did jump to conclusions…"

"Understandably. Now let's put it right…" He pushed the photo across his desk. "Tell me what you see."

Ryan stared at the picture. "Did I miss this?"

"No. It was missed, but not by you. Tell me what you see."

"Handprint. Someone held her down in the water…"

"What else?"

Ryan looked up. "Is this life-size?"

Horatio nodded.

"Then it's a child's hand. Another child killed her?"

"Looks that way. But… no jumping to conclusions, right? Could be a dainty woman. Tell me about Maria Santos…"

Ryan smiled. "Piece of work. Nothing dainty about her. She'd eat you for breakfast. No, correct that, she'd eat me for breakfast. That said, her story seemed completely credible. The girl went off to go to the bathroom and didn't come back."

"How long before they realised?"

"She was vague…"

"That doesn't surprise me. What about the other adults?"

"Honestly, I think they'd say what she told them to say. I did think that, H. I just didn't get a chance for second interviews."

"They're bringing Ms. Santos in, as we speak. You can have another crack at her."

"Be better if it was you."

"I'll be there."

Ryan nodded. "Okay… Can we interview the kids?"

"I'd like to avoid it, but, unless we get the full story another way, we'll have to…" Horatio sighed. "They're very young… nine…ten…"

"And one might be a killer, H."

"I know. Let's see how far we get with the adults…"

The phone rang, and Horatio answered it. "Okay, we'll be right there."

He collected the files and passed them to Ryan, who took them rather nervously. "Any advice?"

"Yes. Go in hard. You say she's a tough cookie - go for it. Find out why no one checked up on the girl. How long they waited. What they were doing. This was the 'glades, for God's sake… hardly the safest place in the world… I'll back you, if it gets rough…"

"Has she got a lawyer with her? Last time, she said she didn't need one."

"She's still saying that. She may change her mind… Oh, Ryan, one thing… I think you might keep back the fact that we know someone held the girl down… We need to rattle her, but let's not show all our cards just yet…"

"Got it, H."

Horatio had to admit that Maria Santos was a hard nut to crack. It wasn't so much that she tried to appear innocent, more that she simply stuck to her story with unshakeable stubbornness. And he admitted that Ryan was doing well. He allowed her to repeat her story, which she did, with an air of boredom, of 'I've got better things to do'.

Ryan had kept his tone mild, even sympathetic. It was something Horatio himself often did, and he realised he was being copied. "I have to say, Ms. Santos," Ryan said, "I'm surprised no one thought to go with the girl…"

"Even ten year olds like some privacy, Mr. Wolfe."

"Privacy, yes, but in an area infested with snakes… alligators… You were supposed to be the overall supervisor…?"

There was the slightest hint of annoyance. "I was supervising."

"So how long did you supervise her absence?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, you were presumably conscious that she was out-of-sight… So, how long for? Five minutes? Ten?"

"I'm not really sure. There were all the others to watch…"

"Oh, so they weren't sitting in a neat row in front of you then?"

"They were running about. Exploring. It's what children do, Mr. Wolfe."

Horatio put in quietly, "Singularly inappropriate place to do it…"

"There were four adults…"

"I know, supervising. So answer my colleague's question. How long before you went looking for Beth Abbott?"

"I… don't know… Ten minutes… no more…"

Ryan looked at his boss, and raised his eyebrows, then turned back to a now slightly discomfited Maria Santos. "As a matter of interest, what were you four doing at the time?"

"Nothing. Well… talking…"

"But not supervising."

"We weren't standing over them, if that's what you mean."

"And a girl died."

"It was an accident. Why are we going over this again? Accidents happen."

"They do. Especially when people don't do their jobs. We generally call that negligent homicide."

Horatio hid a smile, and the teacher's next comment was predictable. "Do I need a lawyer?"

Horatio stepped in. "That might be a good idea, for next time. We've finished for now. We're going to need to talk to the children."

"You can't do that! They're ten years old."

"I think you'll find we can. Their parents will be there. And they might be interested to hear about what passed as supervision. Meanwhile, Ms. Santos… Don't leave town."

Maria Santos left, muttering something that sounded like 'you people…' under her breath. Horatio turned to Ryan. "Well done."

"Really? I hardly got a confession."

"You got two important admissions. That the supervision was almost non-existent, and that other kids were 'running around' - not necessarily in sight." He stood up. "Right, I'm going to get the authority to talk to the children - it'll take a bit of arranging. I'll keep you in the loop."

Horatio walked back to his office, deep in thought. It was going to be one of those cases that dragged on, he suspected. For now, all he could do was get the necessary warrants to interview nine children… It wasn't something he was looking forward to.

His cell phone chirped. Still thinking about the case, he answered it without looking at the caller ID. He was dragged abruptly away from his thoughts, when he heard Frank Tripp's unmistakeable Texan voice. "We should talk."

"Don't you think we've said enough?" The words came unbidden to his lips.

"Hell, Horatio… I know I said too much…" He sighed heavily - Horatio heard it down the phone. "We've known each other for what? Twelve years? No way did I intend to fall out with you…"

"We haven't fallen out."

"It sure as hell feels like it. Please, Horatio…"

Suddenly, Horatio hated to hear the begging note in his friend's voice. "I'm tied up on a case." He softened his tone. "After work maybe… I'll call you."