The Return
Chapter 8
Calleigh stood barefoot in the sand, gazing out across the ocean, lost in thought, toward the darkening horizon. The ever-present clouds, ablaze with the colors of gold and orange from the setting sun behind her painted a beautiful picture, just as she and Horatio had enjoyed many times. The wind ever steadily blowing out from land to water this time of evening pushed her long flowing blond hair across her face at times, causing her to sweep it back periodically. The cool fall breeze felt refreshing against her warm skin.
It had been a tough day at work, one that she knew would have bothered Horatio deeply. A four-year old boy had supposedly fallen from a sixteenth floor condo in South Beach early that morning requiring the team to investigate whether it was a tragic accident, or something more sinister. They were in the first stage of their investigation, but already she was uneasy about what they might find. This new case just reinforced her decision. All she had to do now was tell the team.
Horatio's father had left for New Jersey a week ago. He said he would be back, but she wouldn't be here when he returned. He did have the decency to not get involved with the task of clearing out Horatio's things, saying he was not as close to his son as the team. He felt she should be the one to carry out those decisions.
Calleigh's eyes watered as her thoughts turned back to the events of just over a month ago. Calling September bittersweet was a profound understatement. Not a day, or especially a night, had passed that she didn't think about what happened. Restful nights were a thing of the past. Most of the time, nightmares filled what little sleep she could catch. Remembering now caused her to shiver. She hugged herself tightly.
She thought about Ryan. He especially had had a hard time dealing with the events of that tragic afternoon. Guilt filled his days, and nights until the horrible physical and mental toll it was taking on him became obvious. The sessions with a department counselor were not working. A week ago, she took matters into her own hands. She called the stubborn young man to come to the office for a heart to heart talk; just the two of them. Finally succeeding in making him realize that he was not the cause of Horatio being killed, released much of his guilt. It had been a very emotional two hours, coming to grips with their anger, sadness and guilt from their terrible loss. Lots of tears had been shed. In actuality, their talk had helped her somewhat as well. After that talk, Ryan has functioned better on the job.
Her thoughts then turned back to that stormy afternoon when she stood beside Frank with the rest of the team, Horatio's father, the chief, and so many of the officers in the department paying their last respects to Horatio at the cemetery. She couldn't remember a lot of it, everything was a blur. His service had been the most difficult thing she'd ever had to do. Last year, she buried her father. Her last remaining parent, but it wasn't as much as a shock. It's the natural order for parents to precede their children in death… especially considering he'd literally been killing himself with copious amounts of alcohol for years. No, burying Horatio was far more devastating.
The one thing that she'd never forget was the mournful sound of Taps… then the twenty-one gun salute; it all came rushing back. Each gunshot caused her to jump then and replaying it again in her mind caused her to jump now.
Deep in the memory of Horatio's funeral, she felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder and a voice called out,
"Calleigh… you alright?"
Startled, she spun around, her eyes open wide, she screamed.
"CALLEIGH…. it's ME!" Eric called out to her trying to reassure her. She then collapsed in his arms and sobbed, burying her face in his shoulder.
Eric knew she was still haunted by the relentless memories, just as he and all who had been close to Horatio were. They were all waiting for the day when the pain would ease, but he knew it was even harder on Calleigh.
"Shhh… I'm here Calleigh… I'm here," he whispered as he gently rubbed her back.
Giving her a few minutes to calm down, he thought that the fact of where they were didn't help much. Calleigh had asked him to meet her here at Horatio's after finishing at the lab, assuming she wanted him to help her go through things and dispose of what they didn't want to keep.
Her revelation after Horatio's death that they were seeing each other, hit him hard at the time. He had held out hopes that perhaps there was still a chance to rekindle his and Calleigh's relationship from a few years ago, but now he knew there would be little chance of that happening. He couldn't compete with a memory.
Calleigh's sobs were slowing and he leaned back slightly, offering her a handkerchief.
Her voice rough and halting she said, "I'm… sorry. Just suddenly… the memory of the graveside service… the…"
Eric cut her off, "Hey… you don't have to explain to me. I know how you feel, believe me."
A few minutes later, satisfied she was better; he relinquished his hold on her.
Calleigh dabbed the tears from her cheeks and smiled slightly, "Thanks… um, guess you don't want this back?" holding the handkerchief out toward him.
He laughed softly, "That's ok… you can keep it. Guess you wanted me to come and help go through the house?"
Calleigh looked down for a moment, then back to his questioning brown eyes.
"No… I… I can't do that yet. I don't know when I'll be able to – there's no hurry about getting to that, is there?"
Eric quickly answered, "No… no, I guess there isn't. Tell you the truth, I couldn't do it yet either. Why did you want me to come to Horatio's?"
Finding it hard to say the words she hesitated.
"Calleigh, what is it?" Eric asked, his face having taken on a serious expression.
"Eric… I'm… I'm leaving," she finally stammered.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Leaving…" his voice expressing the total shock of her news."What are you talking about Calleigh… you're resigning?"
"No, not yet anyway, just an extended leave. I've talked to the chief… Lieutenant Naylor will move up from the night shift until…"
Eric couldn't keep the anger from his voice as he responded, "Where are you going… home to Louisiana? We can make out for a couple of weeks if you…"
"NO," Calleigh abruptly answered in a firmer tone, "There's nothing there for me now… I don't know where I'm going. I just need to get away from here." She turned toward the water as more tears threatened to fall. "Horatio… is everywhere… I…" she couldn't finish.
Eric's lips tightened, then his mouth opened to speak, but quickly closed. He took a deep breath of the salty air to calm down. He diverted his eyes toward the beach as a man walked his dog at the water's edge. Returning his attention back to the woman he cared about, he watched as she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, finally using the handkerchief to dry her tears, and then he softly began,
"He'll always be with us Calleigh." Eric swallowed hard before continuing, "We knew there was a chance of this happening one day… it's just harder than I ever imagined it would be. We all loved him you know."
Calleigh offered a strained smile as she turned toward her colleague she replying, "I know."
They stood silently for several minutes, watching the water turn into an inky darkness, seamlessly blending with the black sky, loaded with its blanket of stars. He always understood why Horatio wanted to live on the water… it tended to sooth away your troubles.
Without turning toward her he asked, "When are you leaving?"
"Friday; I'd like to get the case in South Beach wrapped up before I go… It'd help me to have closure; to know how that little boy died."
"You really don't know where you're going?" he asked half-heartedly.
Calleigh shook her head indicating she didn't, then took a couple of steps away from him before turning back saying,
"Please understand… it's just something I have to do."
Later in the week the lab was hectic. Everyone working to complete the tests on the evidence they had gathered involving the death of little boy. Around mid-day, two CSIs returned to the condo where the child had fallen.
Calleigh and Natalia wanted to re-examine the area, to make sure they didn't over-look any clues in the initial search. They had to be sure they were correct. A man's reputation depended on their accuracy.
As each woman searched, Natalia stopped a minute to glance over at her friend and colleague. She understood why Calleigh felt the need to leave, but it still didn't ease the sorrow of losing a friend.
"Cal… you seriously don't have any idea where you want to go when you leave in the morning?"
The blond smiled as she braced herself on the balcony railing. Turning to face her friend, she answered,
"Pretty much have to go north," she chuckled slightly after the comment before adding, "I can't go very far south." She turned back to gaze out across the area. A few moments passed before she continued, "I know one thing, it will be far away from the beach and ocean. Both remind me so much of Horatio."
Natalia closed her eyes and looked down at the floor briefly before she joined Calleigh scanning the view below.
"Look, I know you need to get away from here, but will you at least stay in touch? Call me when you can? I'd like to hear from you."
Calleigh reached over squeezed the brunette's hand gently and smiled.
"I promise I'll stay in touch with you. It might be a little while before you hear from me… I just need time Nat." They exchanged a friendly hug.
Calleigh's cell phone rang, noticing that it was Eric she quickly answered.
"What's up?"
His voice filled with anxiousness, Eric replied, "We've got him Cal… we have proof Ed Martin killed the child."
"What did you find?"
"Ryan thought about security cameras in the condo building across the plaza from our crime scene. He and Frank took a court order over to the super for access to the camera's footage and bingo. Davy enhanced the image and it showed the step-father, struggling with the boy as he walked out on the balcony. The sick bastard threw him over Cal."
Calleigh drew in a breath and squeezed her eyes closed before responding.
"Get a BOLO on Martin…"
"Already done; Frank's on his way to check out the marina where the man has a boat. It's the Sandpiper over on Shell Avenue, below the Seafood Shack Bar. Ryan, Walter and I are leaving now."
"OK, Nat and I will meet y'all there."
Hanging up, she closed her kit while Natalia did the same. As they walked to the parking lot, Calleigh explained the latest findings to her colleague.
"It's just beyond comprehension how anyone could do that to a child," Natalia exclaimed after hearing about the camera footage.
They arrived at the marina fairly quickly since the condo was just a couple of miles away. Frank walked toward their Hummer as it came to a stop.
As Calleigh exited the vehicle Frank asked, "How do you want to handle this? The dock manager said Martin was preparing to leave. He's down at the boat now, slip one forty-four. Eric and the other guys haven't gotten here yet."
"They're probably held up in traffic on the causeway," she offered while her eyes scanned the area. "We can't let him get away so here's what we'll do." Calleigh then began explaining how they could handle the situation without spooking the guy.
Frank casually walked down the dock alone. No suit coat just rolled up shirtsleeves. His gun concealed behind him. in the waist of his pants. Calleigh and Natalia were a few yards behind him, chatting and laughing appearing as two women out having a good time. Frank could see the man on his boat as he approached the slip; Martin was hurriedly loading supplies on the boat.
Stopping next to the supplies still on the dock, Frank shouted, "Need some help, friend?"
The black headed man, concentrating on securing the supplies he'd already taken on the boat, spun around at the sound of Frank's question.
Shocked at finding a man standing near, he glared at Frank as he responded, "No thanks. I can handle it."
Frank pointed to the items beside him and began insisting, "You still got a bit to load… don't mind helping so you can make the tide." The bastard's nervous.
Meanwhile, the girls were getting closer and were keeping an eye on Frank.
"Hey look mister… I don't need your help so…" Martin turned to look at the women approaching chatting loudly, then back at Frank.
Suddenly the man raised an automatic pistol pointed at Frank, but Calleigh saw the man's reaction. Quickly drawing her weapon from a beach bag she fired at the same time as Martin and the impact of the bullet caused the man slam into the back of the cockpit. Frank hit the deck.
Calleigh and Natalia rushed to where Frank had fallen concerned that he'd been hit.
"Frank…" Calleigh called out as she reached him first. Quickly she grabbed his arm, shaken that he'd been shot, something unfathomable so soon after Horatio.
Just as Natalia went down on her knees beside the detective on the other side, he exhaled loudly and smiled.
"I'm ok… I didn't get hit. Just met the deck a little too hard… shook me up's all."
Calleigh sank down on the wooden deck in relief as she raked her hair back from her face.
Realizing Frank was alright, Natalia boarded the boat with her gun pointed at the man slumped against the seat in the cockpit. She kicked the man's gun away, even though there was no mistaking the death stare on his face. She felt for a pulse. There was none.
Later that evening, Calleigh walked toward a young brunette woman sitting on a bench in the hallway of the lab. She observed the woman was crying.
"Lynette Martin?" Calleigh softly asked.
The woman looked up at the person inquiring, with teary red eyes and answered questioningly, "Yes?"
Calleigh eased down on the bench beside the upset woman. Taking a moment before breaking the news that her husband had been killed, Calleigh reached out and placed her hand on top of Lynette's.
"It's over. We found Ed at his boat this afternoon. He was preparing to leave and… he resisted arrest. I'm sorry."
The woman just stared at Calleigh. Then, she looked down at her hands and whispered,
"I can't believe Ed could have possibly done such a thing. Before we married, he loved playing with Ian. I… I just don't understand. I've lost my only child… if I hadn't married…" the woman began weeping softly into her tissue as she covered her face.
Calleigh knew the woman was feeling guilty for the death of her child and wanted to comfort her as much as she could, she tucked her lips and her own eyes began to water, feeling Lynette's pain.
"It's hard to explain why things like this happen," Calleigh offered, feeling the sting of her own loss; the raw emotions were still strong enabling her to identify with the woman in a way. They talked for some time.
It was Friday morning. Calleigh walked out of her condo with her suitcase and locked the door. Hesitating for a moment, recalling how Horatio had said good night at her door last Christmas, after bringing her home from a team get together. All evening at the party, they danced around each other trying to determine the other's feelings; they had shared a laugh when they both realized what they were doing. Horatio Caine seldom smiled or laughed, but when he did, his smile could light up the world. She missed that so much.
As she reached her car, she took one last look around and knew she'd made the right decision. She had to leave. Forty minutes later, she was out of Miami and Dade County heading north, still thinking about Lynette. How in the world did Horatio handle confronting the victims? No wonder he was in a melancholy mood most of the time.
After she'd driven for a couple of hours, she took an exit where there were some stores. She needed coffee. Pulling into a convenience store she locked her car and walked inside. Paying the clerk, she exited the store with a large coffee and small sweet roll. As she approached her car parked on the side of the business, she sensed someone walking behind her. Beginning to turn her head to glance back, she felt a sting in her neck. Her hand released the coffee and roll and everything began spinning. She heard a man's deep voice giving instructions to someone else realizing she was being placed in a vehicle. Her brain was trying to make her arms move… to fight back, but it was as if they were made out of lead. They wouldn't move. At one point, it felt as if she was drifting. Briefly, she heard a different sound, but couldn't comprehend well enough to discern what it was before succumbing to the darkness once again.
As the private jet climbed to gain altitude, two men sat facing each other, across the aisle from Calleigh.
"Tell me again why we're doing this," one of the men asked the other.
His companion looked up and answered, "Because he demanded it. The boss said for us to do it, so we just do it." He then closed his eyes and rested his head back on the seat. "Gonna be a long flight, I'd suggest you get some rest."
TBC…