Chapter 8

"Hey, H, got a minute?"

"Always Eric. What have you got?"

"Deeshawn's friends didn't have a whole lot to say yesterday. From their point of view, almost everyone in the school was no friend of theirs. This included the other members of the math club, especially Letitia."

"Then she did express some animosity toward Deeshawn?"

"From what I got, not actually in so many words. We had already talked to Ms. Huerta, the math club supervisor, and she said Letitia took anything as a negative. According to Tad, Melvin, and Winton, she was a crybaby who couldn't take a loss. Worse, she wouldn't acknowledge the competitor if she won. When she did win, you'd think she was all that and a bag of chips."

"Did they think she was deserving of any of the wins in the competitions they set up?"

"They said she was almost as good as Deeshawn unless she lost her concentration. It was easy to throw her off by making noises, slamming doors, even clearing their throats. If she was more than half way through a problem, she couldn't get back on track and would be beat to the solution every time. They couldn't understand why she left the room in tears."

"I don't think it takes a math genius to miss those clues."

"I checked and none of them have sisters. Mine were always ready to teach me about why girls cry."

Horatio thought about his brother and himself growing up in a dysfunctional household. He thought, 'many of us were in the dark about such mysteries'

Recovering from the speculations, Horatio went on. "What is your next step on that angle?"

"I want to get into Letitia's back yard. You got any ideas?"

"As a matter of fact I do. I found us a doohickey."

One side of Eric's mouth twisted up into a grin. "A what?"

"And someone who knows all about operating one from several hundred feet in the air." Horatio was enjoying the intrigue he was setting up.

"Okay, is this someone a member of the police force?" Eric loved to play twenty questions.

"No, she's not."

"But she knows how to operate something that will allow us to go into the Odobescu yard?"

"And without setting foot on it."

"One of those flying robots?"

"Nope, better. We take pictures similar to the ones taken from the space shuttle only of a smaller area and from an aircraft."

"So she's a scientist or an astronaut?" Eric's voice rang with hope on the latter.

"A scientist from the Florida Museum of Natural History, Dr. Sonnier. She has access to a machine that will take photographs of the land and show any disturbances and perhaps what is under it. If we can show a judge photographs that are suspicious, we can get a warrant."

"When do we go up?"

"Sorry Eric, we're using a small Bell helicopter and there is only room for the pilot and two passengers with the machine."

Recovering smoothly from his disappointment, Eric asked, "What's next on the to-do list?"

"Go to the Beeks warehouse and retrieve an import shipping list if you would please. When you have it here, examine it for anything that looks peculiar."

"You mean like children's clothes going to an old folks' home?"

"Exactly."

"Want me to take Wolfe?"

"I would rather he looks at the Deeshawn evidence some more. He is good at noting discrepancies in what people say so have him go over what the members of the math club told us. Tell him that, if he feels it necessary to return to talk to Ms. Lorento or even the students."

"Will do."

# # #

"Dr. Sonnier?"

The slowly turning helicopter's 'wings' on the rotor stirred up more than just a gentle breeze as Horatio extended his hand to clasp the more delicate one held out to him.

"Yes. I am glad to meet you Detective Caine. I am very interested in this project. It could open an entirely new aspect for this camera's use."

Horatio detected a bayou Cajun accent to the woman's voice.

"Here, let's get in and get going." Her voice carried a child-like excitement.

Though he sat alone in the back seat, his headset with the microphone allowed him to hear and talk to the anthropologist with little problem. Her purpose up front was to operate the specialized camera while he could give her directions from the back. The pilot, saying little, could hear them both.

Once up in the air, Horatio asked, "How long will it be before the pictures are analyzed?"

"Before we get to the museum lab. They will be put through several light spectrums to give as much contrast as possible. If my staff thinks there is anything more than disturbed ground, they will do what they can to show what it is. It is just a matter of computer graphics which doesn't take long at all."

"I suppose it's too much to ask to be able to see a gun in the ground or even a box?"

The long dark hair lifted with her shoulders as she shrugged. "Who can say?" At the height we'll be flying we never know. The ancient structures next to the pyramids seen from space for the first time were not what they were expecting either. It was an exercise in what would happen using the pyramids as visible edifices from space. Everyone was blown away at the sight of the outlines of buildings near them. Later when we saw ancient waterways in northern Africa where now there is only desert, we were speechless. The science is still new."

"Do you use this technique very often?"

"Mon Dieu, mais non, our little museum does not have the money for such nice equipment. I was taught how to use it when I went out on a field study to Chiapas in Mexico. The space station crew had noted a bunch of old structures and Dr. Ophelia Zuna set up a research study hoping to find new Aztec ruins. I did a short stint flying over the area using this machine and then analyzing the findings. I have borrowed this from the Florida Anthropological Research Center in Tampa. It was only on the say so of the Miami-Dade Police that we get to use it. If so, after three hours it goes home."

"And I suppose if we break it, we buy it."

The doctor's dark eyes twinkled merrily as she said, "I don't think you have a budget large enough to afford it either."

Horatio shuddered at the thought of the cost. The people of Miami would have to fend off criminals on their own because there would be no budget for police. He didn't have long to dwell on that unpleasant concept. "There, that lone house at the end of the road."

The day lit exterior of the home from the air didn't look much more inviting than the night view had. The roof looked like it didn't do much for keeping out the rain and any wind no doubt lifted shingles up more and more with each puff. The object of his curiosity was sadder yet. The back yard was surrounded in name only by a brick wall. A gap about three feet wide on the back side showed a rough path into the forested area in back. The yard itself was a jumble of discarded junk, bare spots in the tall weeds, a dead tree, and several saplings that didn't show much promise. Weaving among this disarray were signs of paths that the weeds were trying to erase as soon as the feet passed by. On the other side of the wall lay what looked like old wooden barrels, a wheel barrow turned upside down with no wheel, and what could have been several shovels in piles of dirt or leaning against the wall.

"Will it be any more trouble to scan the area beyond the wall in back of the house?"

Dr. Sonnier looked down briefly and shook her head. "No trouble, it is small so it will be included in the photos. We will be swinging over at various heights. I would want to anyway what with those piles of dirt and the shovels."

"Exactly what I was thinking."

She spoke quietly to the helicopter pilot who began following simple grid patterns over the area in back of the house, starting at a thousand feet and then increments of five hundred feet more for the next four passes.

Looking over her shoulder at Horatio, she said, "I think a research scientist is much like a detective, no?"

"In my department, we all have science backgrounds. In our case, the research is looking at how and who."

"Not why?"

He shook his head sadly. "The why is up to the courts, to determine the course of the punishment if any. Once I prove guilt, I'm done."

"Still, is there any excitement for you when you are on a case?"

"There is, but I'll bet it's different from what you feel when looking at artifacts from the past."

Looking slyly at the busy pilot, Dr. Sonnier turned to a notepad and quickly jotted down a few words. She turned with an impish smile on her heart shaped face and handed Horatio a note.

He smiled and after noting that there was no 'rear view mirror' for the pilot to see him in he nodded his head. The note was an invitation to coffee for that evening and signed Manon.

# # #

Horatio supposed that every piece of the planet had sunrises or sunsets or even both to boast of. And yet, looking about at the brightly lit area he wondered what could surpass this. From the west, the setting sun blared its last herald cry of light while from the east the great thunderheads echoed the same just as brightly but with a gleam that was whiter. No one in the outdoor café could have sat in shadow even if they wished to.

Glad he had gotten his hair cut the day before, he had only to hurry home for a quick shower and shave. Dressed in a lightweight powder blue jacket with a slightly darker shirt, open at the neck, he hoped this was going to be a social date, not business.

The results of the flyover were ready as he arrived at the museum, having followed Manon's SUV that was almost as big as the department's hummer. He didn't have a chance to vocally acknowledge her invitation at the air field or as they walked to the lab where the pictures were on display on computer monitors.

As he hoped, several areas in the back yard showed disturbance. Several closest to the house contained undetermined objects giving Horatio just cause to get a warrant to search the grounds. At the same time, Dr. Sonnier was even more excited at seeing other disturbed areas.

She called for a couple of members of her staff and hurriedly discussed what she saw. Finally, turning to Horatio, she declared, "Unless I am greatly mistaken, we are looking at graves, both recent and of some age. We know that the Miami area has long been occupied by native Americans, even some from Mexico and points south. We think the Mound Builders of Ohio, Wisconsin and Indiana were part of the same people. This could be part of an undiscovered village if not of the Mound Builders then the descendants."

"I know remains have been found by construction crews in past years."

"They are naturally all over. These people moved frequently even if just a few miles. Then, as the Europeans came in, they were forced to move to get away from ways they didn't understand. When they were moved en masse to Oklahoma we all but forgot they had ever been here."

"But, you said some were recent graves?"

"I find that very puzzling. Would something like that be covered in your warrant?"

Without replying, Horatio had pulled out his phone and called Frank Tripp. "Frank, I know the courts are closed now but first thing in the morning, I'd like you to get a warrant to search Odobescu's back yard. We may have something more than a gun to look for." He paused for the expected question. "Dr. Sonnier is fairly sure she is looking at graves both ancient and recent." He paused again. "Just post a car out there for the night. Tell the men that if Odobescu tries to leave tonight, to discourage him from doing so, but don't alarm him. I'll bet Letitia wouldn't be with him if he leaves so let him know that leaving her alone isn't a good idea. They can take the story from there." After one more pause he said, "That's right and I'll see you first thing after you get the warrant." With that he slid the phone into his jacket pocket.

"Now we'll be able to dig just about anywhere."

"What time will you start?"

"That will depend on how soon Sergeant Tripp will be able to get the warrant. I'll have to call you in the morning."

Lowering her voice in a conspiratorial fashion Manon answered, "We'll talk about it over coffee, alright?"

As soon as he could get printouts of the pictures, he headed back to the lab to get reports from his team and to give them a heads up on what was to come.

Calleigh and Tripp had arrested Baggy, Doyle Larabee, for gun possession without proper licensing. He had sixteen guns from an a.k.a. rifle to five Saturday night specials in the backseat of his car. After looking at the house with all of the chimes, they decided that they would have to survey the owner, Marcus Trap, to decide when he was at home and when they could rush the house with SWAT.

Meanwhile they spent the afternoon with Doyle, finding out what he remembered of his customers. Once he was convinced it would be a simple matter of showing a picture of him to a couple of witnesses, he said that he might have sold a gun or two to some young people. Then he hedged his confession with saying he had no idea of their ages since he looked more closely at money than I.D.s. This was enough for Tripp to hold the man for seventy-two hours until he got a positive I.D. from the Detention Center kids.

Wolfe had found no identifiable fingerprints in Deeshawn's room except for the family and friends. After going over the notes on what the kids had said, he believed he probably would have had to hear the words spoken since he couldn't see anything wrong with what was said.

Finishing his mental review, Horatio leaned back in the chair and decided that tomorrow was another day. Just at that moment, like an actress appearing onstage in the perfect spotlight, Manon stepped around corner and paused. She was dressed in a simple sleeveless dress of light yellow with a plunging neckline. Fabric bows perched in clips that gathered the material on her shoulders. Facing the sun, the dress glowed peach. Though her dark hair was still hanging loosely as it had during the day, it seemed to have more curl. She also knew how to apply makeup so that every beauty was highlighted.

Rising as if facing royalty, he waited for her glance. Now he knew how peasants of old felt when a ruler passed by; dust driven up by the wheels of the coach was a blessing.

Seeing his hair haloed in a more golden red and emphasized by what was reflected from the clouds, she smiled. Her first thought was, 'and to think I was afraid I wouldn't find him in a crowd.' Her first words were, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting."

"I came early."

"What a great place. Do you come here often?"

"As often as I can. They have very good coffee."

Both quickly looked around to find a barista. Their action brought a young man to the table where he took their orders for two expressos.

As the man left the table, Manon twisted her head. "Of French heritage though I may be, I have never been able to take coffee with cream or sugar. I am the shame of my family."

"And where do they live?"

Her eyebrows wriggled as she looked at Horatio carefully. "No, you are not joking, are you? Is my accent gone? Really?"

Horatio's chin led his head in a circle. "I never guess or assume. I hear an accent but am no expert so I always ask."

"La! The scientist to the last. Alright, my family lives in the Louisiana bayou park, Atchafalaya Basin. My father and brothers are park rangers as were my grandfather and so on since the area was designated."

"And you are the only rebel?"

"Ever since I found a piece of tree sap with a mosquito trapped inside. I looked up what would happen to it in time and I was hooked on old things."

Deep brown eyes met sky blue behind cups to lips.

"And you? Where is your family?"

"My parents and brother are dead."

Her head jerked as if she had been hit. "I am so sorry to hear that."

He gave her a grim smile. "It happens in the best of families."

She returned with a weak upturn of her lips. "Yes, it is still sad. But, how did you get to be a policeman with a leaning to science?"

"I kept hearing about this new way of looking at a crime scene, one thing led to another, I went back to college and here I am."

"Such a path we took to meet."

"Indeed. If there was nothing else to my career, I think this is quite a reward."

He was pleased to see her blush as she ducked her head at the compliment.

Continuing the game, she added, "I am guessing you mean there is more to our careers than who we meet and I agree."

"I have to admit I don't know what your specialty is."

"I am an archaeologist with a particular interest in the anthropological study of the local American Indians."

Horatio leaned back with raised eyebrows making Manon giggle. That is quite a mouthful isn't it?"

"And how would you describe your job to someone who doesn't understand forensics?"

"How do I examine the evidence? Hmm, I burn it to look at the spectrum of elements to identify it, I add chemical agents to see how it reacts to further identify it, and I put it under a microscope to find trace evidence unseen by the naked eye. I examine all of what I find for DNA as well. By putting these results and more together, with the help of my team who either have degrees in science or majored in forensics and the help of the MDPD, we usually find the criminal."

Manon leaned back in her chair with raised eyebrows. "You see, for both of us, it takes less time to do our work than explain it."

Horatio was glad that she got it.

It seemed like barely half an hour later he glanced at his watch to find that it was close to midnight. Had they bothered to eat? Between a fascinating exchange of knowledge and the thrill of flirting that he hadn't felt in a long time, the evening had melted away.

Seeing his glance at his wrist, Manon also looked at a delicate Bulova watch from the 1950's. "Cher, I must go! It is early by Cajun social time but taking a siesta while flying in a helicopter is hard to do." She was trying not to twist her fascinating lips into a smile.

"Isn't it though? Let me walk you to your car." Horatio casually tossed a fifty dollar bill onto the table to cover whatever they might have eaten and to pay for the baristas' overtime.

At her car, they parted with promises to let her know when the search warrant would be carried out so her team could be ready to join them. "If this is an old grave yard, I can only hope that not too much of it was disturbed."

Horatio drove away with his lips pressed firmly together. His hope was just the opposite from hers; that the disturbed ground was as plain as could be and the search for a gun was quick and sweet.