Once again with feeling...

[proshutterbug]

This is my first attempt at a story so let me know what you think..

One:

The day begins as many others have with a phone call from Frank. A DB was found in a dumpster behind a night club by a man on the cleaning crew. Horatio arrives first as he often does and starts by talking to Frank. "What do we have Frank" H. askes as he removes his sunglasses to view the victim. Frank looks grim as he gives his friend the sad news.
"This poor woman in a night gown was found in the dumpster around 6:30 A.M. by a one Juan Martinez. He works on the cleaning crew for the newest hot spot in Miami, a club called Neon Lights. He stated that he was throwing out the trash after closing up when he opened the dumpster and found our victim. He seems to be pretty shaken up."

"A dead body will do that to you." H. replies. "Where is Mr. Martinez now?"

Frank tells H. that Mr. Martinez is inside the club. H. tells Frank to let him know when the rest of the team arrives and moves inside to talk to the witness. Mr. Martinez is indeed clearly shaken. H. talks softly to him as he begins the process of gathering information.

"Mr. Martinez, My name is Horatio Caine. I need to ask you some questions. What time did you start your clean up of the club?"

"Around 5:00 am. The club is open until then and we usually come in about 4:30 to get ready. We bring in the supplies we need and start in the supply room while the last of the party goers clear out of the club and the bartenders close down the till. We work with the staff to get the place back in shape. The wait staff and bartenders handle the money, bar, and tables while we clean the rest of the place. It was an average night and took about an hour to get the place in order. The last thing we do is take the trash out as we leave and lock the place up. That is when I found her...she was just laying there..all pale and ...I just froze for a second..couldn't believe what I was seeing...I started to touch her..you know to see if she would wake up...but I don't know ... something stopped me..it just didn't feel right, You know man?" Mr. Martinez shuttered. "I ran back inside and called the police..and now I am standing here talking to you. I just can't get her face out of my head.."

"How many people were working here tonight?" H. asks quietly.

"Well there were two bartenders and six wait staff with four on my cleaning crew including me. Oh and the manager was in his office going over the receipts for the night so that makes 13 people. The manager left right before I did. Told me good night and make sure to lock the back door when I was finished. Two of the wait staff left first, had classes in the morning at Miami U. I don't know when the others left. I was busy doing my job. Didn't see them go. The rest of my crew left when I did but I had to throw out the trash so I headed for the dumpster while they went to their cars. Man, next time I'm having someone with me when I throw out any trash."

"I am going to need their names and contact information..please give it to this officer." H. said just as Frank poked his head in and motioned that the rest of the team had just arrived.

"Don't go anywhere until I have had a chance to talk to you again..OK?"

Mr. Martinez assured H. he would stay as long as needed. H. headed out back to see what Alexx could tell him about their victim. Alexx was not happy about being in a dumpster..she was standing knee deep in not to pretty smelling garbage next to the body glaring at Eric who was making fun of her new perfume..Ode de garbage bag.
Eric was dusting the lid for prints and teasing Horatio's favorite doctor, but H. had a plan for Eric, soon he would be wearing the same perfume. H. chuckled as he heard her comeback "Bite me dust boy." Eric chuckled himself. "But Alexx wouldn't your husband get mad?" was his comeback.

"So Alexx what is the cause of death?" H. said to get the team back to work, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face. The smile was fleeting though when he looked at the victim again. He felt the old anger building in his stomach for such a waste of life. This woman's killer would soon learn who protected the people of Miami Dade. H. silently promised himself.

"Ligature marks on the neck indicate strangulation and liver temp. says that she died about 4:00 AM. Ligature marks on her wrists indicate that she was bound and tape on the mouth appears to have
trace. I'll take a sample and send it to the lab. I'll also do a sexual assault kit right away." Alexx looks down with sympathy and tells the victim "threw you away like garbage didn't he baby. You should be snug in your bed not stinking in here with me."

H. is quiet for a second as he agrees with Alexx in his mind..then he askes her "Any ID Alexx?"

"No, and she doesn't have any shoes on or anything else on under this gown. I don't think she was killed here Horatio."

"I would agree with you Alexx which means that not only do we need to find out who our victim is but our major crime scene. Eric, once you are done there and Alexx moves our body, you need to bag and tag
all of the garbage that has come in contact with our victim."

Eric lets out a moan for his new shoes.."I knew teasing Alexx wasn't a good idea."

Mr. Wolf, who had been photographing the scene, lets out a chuckle himself.."Why do you think I didn't say anything. H. I found a black tar like substance on the ground in front of the garbage can as well as a shoe print. Calliegh found a tire tread and is lifting it as we speak. I'll lift this print and take the sample of the substance back to the lab once we are finished."

"Very good Mr. Wolf." H says as he turns to find Calliegh lifting said print and walks over to her. Lately it seems that every time he sees her he finds something else to admire. Resently the man she had been seeing , Jake, and she had called it quites and H. didn't know why but he knew she was hurting. She never let anything come between her and her job and she never let it show unless you knew where to look..but H. knew where to look.

"Calliegh, what have you got for me?" H. said as he bent down next to her.

"I have a tire tread from a car with a fairly long wheel base. A Truck or an SUV would be my guess. I'll know more when I get this beauty back to the lab."

"Ok, I'll check in with you later for the results." H. said in a natural voice..in a more quite one he asks
"If there is anything else you would like to talk about..You know you can tell me that too..right?"

Calliegh pauses for a moment and whispers "You see too much with those baby blues of yours. I'm not ready to talk about it yet, besides you know me..I am always OK."

Again H. says "But you know you can tell me anything...right?"

Calliegh says "Right. I'll let you know when I am ready to talk about it." In a louder voice she says " I'll find you when I have a match to this track."

H says " I'll be waiting." his double meaning is not lost on Calliegh.
"In the mean time I have some more questions for the witness and have a chat with the club manager. I'll be on my cell. See you back at the lab.

H. goes back inside to talk to Mr. Martinez. He stops Frank on the way and asks him to run down the list of names the witness gave him. "I'm on it. I 'll call you when I get something."

H. again talks to Mr. Martinez who seems more steady now.
"Mr. Martinez, what can you tell me about any of the cars or trucks you saw in the back lot when you where coming in to work tonight?"

"well the lot was almost empty except for the few cars that the bartender and wait staff drove. Most were parked at the front of the lot but there was a green SUV of some sort parked in the back of the lot..I don't remember what kind though."

"what kind of car do you drive Mr. Martinez?" H. asked him.

"I drive a Ford Tundra." Mr. Martinez replies.

"Ok. That should be all for now..if I have anymore questions for you I will be in touch.."

With that Mr. Martinez leaves as H. picks up his phone and dials Frank..as Frank answers H. says "Frank let me know if any of the people on that list drives a green SUV."

Frank replies that he will let him know. As H. hangs up the phone, he ponders all that he has learned since he came on the scene. The Victim was bound, gaged with tape and strangled somewhere else then dumped in the garbage. She was killed around 4:00 am and the witness saw a green SUV parked by the dumpster around 4:30 am. There was trace on the tape on her mouth and a black tar like substance was found next to a shoe print. There was a tire track probably left by the green SUV. in the lot and a lot of unanswered questions left. Who was this woman who was brutalized and killed? Who could have killed her and why? Where was she killed? Was this a one time crime or just the first one they found? Why here in this dumpster? Then an unexpected question popped into H.'s head..What was going on with Calliegh?..Just another day in Miami.
H. thinks as he puts on his shades.."Ok here we go."






So what do you think of my first installment..is it good enough to continue or should I just stop now before I make things worse?

[sanne]

Well.....I would say........GIVE ME THE NEXT INSTALLMENT.......ASAP, please..........It's great and I too am very curious about all the answers..........

Sandra

[lucymalta]

Hmmm Intriguing.... Keep going...

Lucy

[dragonfly]

We most definitely want MORE!! Great job!!

Dragonfly

[NV Oracle]

You have a great start here, proshutterbug, definitely, please keep going. You have all the characters down really well. The banter between Eric and Alexx was priceless! and Ryan staying out of it was really well done too, and Horatio being aware of some of the problems that Calleigh was having with Jake, again, right on the money.......Very well done, all the way around.

[proshutterbug]

Well since I wasn't booed of the board I guess I will keep going...

Two:

Alexx calls for transportation of the victim to the morgue and is more than ready to get out of the trash. She calls Eric over to help her out with her sweetest smile..not a good sign. "Oh Eric..be a dear and help a lady out.." Eric knows that now he has to go in to collect the trash that has come in contact with the body so he jumps in and helps Alexx out. Once her feet is on solid ground again, she smiles up at him and says "My hero. What should we call him Ryan? I know how about Captain Smelly?"
Ryan smiles and says "Or Super Trash Man, Able to leap into garbage bends in a single bound?"

Ryan and Alexx both look at Eric and grin. Eric chuckles and replies "Yeah and you can be my side kick Alexx..Stink Girl..and Wolf could be our faithful butler." At that, Ryan takes aim and shoots a picture of Eric in the dumpster...Alexx tells him "I want a copy of that." as she grins.

"Me too." They here as Calliegh walks up. "I think you should put a copy in the break room Ryan. Oh Eric, I know a good dry cleaner, I have a feeling you and Alexx are going to need one!"

"Don't encourage him Calliegh and don't get any Ideas Wolf" Eric kids as he starts to gingerly pick up trash and put it into bags. Eric thinks that it is good to see Calliegh smile some, because she hasn't been doing much of that lately. He didn't know what was going on but something has been. If H. couldn't get it out of her soon, he would try his luck.

"Well I am off to the lab with this cast of the tire track. I'll see you soon..have fun Trash Man." Calliegh grins as she heads for her hummer. As soon as she turns around though her grin fades as she sees the body haulers loading the woman into the back of the van. Someone killed this woman in a very nasty way and she was going to make sure she helped catch him. He deserved to spend a lot of time behind bars, and that started with the cast she had in her hands. She continues on to her hummer and heads for the lab.

Back at the dumpster Alexx also heads for the van with the victim in it. She is also headed for the lab and into post. She was as ready to get this creep off the streets as everyone else on the team. It was time to get back to work.

Ryan and Eric finish collecting all the samples and head to the lab themselves. Meanwhile, H. gets a call from Frank that he has located the club manager so H. goes to meet him at the man's house.

Frank is there waiting with some background information on the man they are about to talk to.
Frank tells Horatio "His name is Victor Chandler Jr. as in the son of the head of Chandler Enterprises Mr. Victor Chandler himself. I guess when your daddy owns half of down town Miami you can pretty much pick your hobby. Owning a night club sounds like a nice hobby."

"Yes, Frank, but is it enough to think you can get away with murder?"
H. replies.

"I guess we will know that after we talk to him." Frank responds.

"We will, Frank, we will. Lets go."

As they approach the huge front door to a house that has been on the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous it opens to show a very well dressed Major Domo. "May I assist you officers?"

"CSI Horatio Caine and Detective Frank Tripp here to speak to Mr. Victor Chandler Jr. about a murder victim found in a dumpster behind his club this morning." H. informs the man.

"A murder victim? Behind Mr. Chandler Jr.'s club? I can assure you gentlemen that there was no involvement with Mr. Chandler Jr." The man said without one speck of emotion on his face as he moved slightly into Horatio's path. "Mr. Chandler Jr. is sleeping at the moment sir. Could this wait until later today? He has had a very late night with the club as you know."

"The woman in our morgue doesn't have any more nights sir, so go wake him up or I will." H. replies with a threat in his voice as he gets very close to the man barring the door. Frank thinks that the man just made a mistake thinking he could push Horatio around and now he is going to find out that Horatio pushes back. Sure enough the Major Domo backs down and shows them into the parlor while he hurries upstairs to wake the sleeping prince. Frank takes in there surroundings with a whistle "Nice place."

"That's what Robin Lynch said or so I'm told." H. replies as he removes his shades.

"They could put my whole house in this parlor." Frank says.

"With room to spare I'm sure, but I like your place better Frank, more character." H. tells him.

"Are you trying to say my place is old?" Frank quips.

"Not as old as we are my friend." H. quips back.

"Thanks a lot." Frank says with a huff then grins as H. grins back.

They hear the sound of foot steps on the stairs as they look up. Coming down to join them is Mr. Chandler Jr. himself, not looking to pleased about missing his beauty sleep. "Mitch tells me that you need to speak to me about a dead girl in a dumpster..what has this got to do with me? "

"Mr. Chandler this woman was found murdered today in the dumpster behind your club. We were wondering if you had heard or seen anything this morning, if you knew the woman or know if any of your employees knew her." H. says as he shows the man a picture Frank had brought with him of the victim.

Victor Jr. looks at the picture with a frown. "No, I don't know her nor do I know if any of my employees know her..you will have to ask them. Now if that is all, I am tired and would like to go back to bed."
He says as he hands the picture back to Frank after a glance.

"Look again for more than two seconds Mr. Chandler and I might believe you." H. responds with building anger.

With a sigh of frustration Victor Jr. looks again for a little longer.."No I still don't know her..now if that is all.."

"No that is not all but if you are uncomfortable here we can do this downtown Mr. Chandler. Now lets try this again. Did you hear or see anything this morning as you were closing up?" H. askes with his own frustration starting to peek through

"No." Victor replies.

"Which employees left first this morning?" Frank asks.

"The two bartenders left first, then the wait staff followed by the cleaning crew just like most mornings..why? What does my club have to do with anything? Wasn't she found outside? Anyone could use that dumpster." Victor says with annoyance.

"Do you have security cameras for the back of your club?" H. asks.

"Yes but they are aimed at the back door, I don't care about the dumpster, just who could be sneaking into my club." Victor replies.

"We are going to need those tapes" H. informs him.

"Fine. I'll get them to you this afternoon. Anything else?" Victor says

"Yes. Don't plan any trips soon. We might want to talk to you again." H. tells the man. "Make it before noon on the tapes. This is a murder investigation not a movie. We need to move quickly here."

"Ok Ok before noon then. Mitch show the gentlemen out." Victor orders as he heads upstairs to change. Father wasn't going to like this..not one little bit..Victor thought.

Horatio and Frank head out to their cars as they talk about their interview with Victor Chandler Jr.

"That man is hiding something Horatio." Frank gives his view.

"I agree, Frank, but the question is what?" H. responds as he puts his shades back on.

[sanne]

And you dare to leave us with another cliffhanger?? I'm liking this story.....don't like this "Victor"-guy though..... I DO love the banter between the team, and than again the switch to serious matters again....back to business.......Very well done....

Sandra

[lucymalta]

This is building very nicely.... I'm enjoying it...

Lucy

[proshutterbug]

Three:

Back at the Lab, Calliegh runs the cast of the tire and finds out the make and model of the SUV that was seen at the club. She sees Horatio coming in from his interview with the night club manager who turned out to be the owner as well. A Mr. Victor Chandler Jr. Calliegh was sorry she missed the interview just so she could have been in that house. She flags Horatio over and tells him her news.

"Perfect timing as always, I have just finish running the tire and you are looking for a 2007 Toyata Sequoia. The shoe print is from a Converse Tennis Shoe man size 9, very popular with the college crowd but also very common."

"I see, and the two bartenders both go to Miami U." Horatio picks up his cell phone and calls Frank. "Frank, any luck locating the two bartenders?" H. asks.

Frank tells him that they are in class at the moment and he is headed over there now. Horatio tells him to pick them up and bring them in for questioning. Frank agrees. Horatio tells Frank to find out what kind of car they each drive and get back to him. Frank says he is on it. H. hangs up and turns back to Challiegh. She asks him "So was the house as nice as it looked on TV?"

H. says "It was, but I believe that Jr. is hiding something so lets run him through COTIS and see if we get a hit."

Calliegh does just that and gets the hit.
"Looks like our guy likes to spice up his night life with a little drug habit. He was arrested for possession with the intent to sell Ex. two years ago but daddy must have gotten him one great lawyer. No conviction."

"Maybe he is pushing more than music at his club. Nice work Calliegh.
Anything else you need to tell me?" Horatio asks with concern in his eyes. Calliegh sighs she knows that look, he wasn't going to let up until she told him what was going on...she takes a deep breath and begins.."You know that Jake and I called it quits, and it was my idea. I don't want to say something to my boss and his but to a friend. Understand?"

Horatio tells her "Understood. What you tell me will be kept quiet and off of official reports. But Calliegh if something is going on with Jake that might affect his job, I need to know."

"I know, but it might be me and not him. You know about my Dad and my worry for him. I just feel like Jake is drinking too much, Not at work or anything..I haven't seen him take one drink on the job, but after work and on his days off, well it concerns me. I could be projecting though, that is what Jake said, but it is enough for me to call things off. I care for him and I am worried that he is walking a dangerous slope here. I don't think he has a problem yet but it could become one in the future. I just can't go there for him. I saw what that kind of relationship did to my mother and what it does to me with dad..I just won't stay in a relationship with even a hint of trouble in that direction, but I feel like I have just abandoned him without any support. If he is developing a problem he needs help, but it just can't be me. That sounds cold doesn't it?"

"Calliegh you could never be cold with the people you care about. You sound like a woman who knows what it is like to not be able to depend on the people she should be able to depend on. That isn't cold that is experience. I'll keep an eye on him for you and if he needs help we will get it for him. That is what the counselors are there for. I know what you are feeling, I felt the same way watching what undercover life did to Raymond. If you need to talk to someone about it, know that I will alway be here for you. Anytime. Understood?"

Calliegh smiles a shaky smile and leans her head on Horatio's strong shoulder.."Thanks, and I know that you are here for me. I just hate having to lean on anyone..and you always have so many people who depend on you. I hate to add to that weight on your shoulders." She picks her head up and looks him in the eyes..d**n but he has beautiful eyes. She almost blushes thinking that. She wasn't suppose to think about how pretty his eyes were. He was just being his wonderful self, but she couldn't help it. She had always felt this connection to him but she was sure it was one sided. That was a shame really.

As Horatio looked in Calliegh's eyes he thought of what a fool Jake was. Horatio had always felt connected to Calliegh, she was strong and gentle at the same time. She had a beautiful heart and was always there for the people she cared about. If he was in Jakes shoes there wouldn't be a power strong enough to make him take a drink and risk losing this wonderful woman, but Horatio was sure that his feelings were one sided. It was a shame really. Not since Marisol had he wanted to hold a woman as much as he wanted to hold Calliegh. Yes indeed, Jake was a fool.

"You are no weight at all Calliegh..You lean anytime you need it. I know you would do the same for me." Horatio told her. Just then Horatio's phone rang and broke the quiet moment. Back to work.
He looked at the caller ID. "Frank, what have you got?"

Frank replied that he was bringing in the two bartenders but neither drove a green SUV. He would be at the lab shortly. Horatio hung up and told Calliegh He was headed down to the morgue. Calliegh told him she would head to trace and send Eric to meet him on his way into interview with the results. She was going to the AV lab to see what the tapes he and Frank picked up from Jr. told them. If she found something she would call him.

Down at the morgue, Horatio greeted Alexx. "What have you got Alexx?"

"Our victim is about 24 years old..she was strangled with a cord which left a pattern on the skin..the same pattern is repeated on both wrists so the same type of cord was used. I have photographs of both patterns for comparisons when we get this guy.There is one thing that puzzles me though, There was no indication of rape so this wasn't a sexual assault but the victim is in her nightgown which suggests that this might have been a home invasion. I mean who goes out in there nightgown, right?"

"That is the question Alexx. Did you run a tox yet?"

"Yes and I got some trace under her nails. It wasn't blood though so no DNA but I sent it to trace along with the tape that was covering her mouth. Maybe Eric can get some prints off it or some skin cells. I'll send her DNA to Natalia. Maybe we can get a hit in missing persons."

"Thank you Alexx..Call me if you find anything else." H. told her.

Horatio heads to DNA to see if Natalia got a hit in missing persons.
He finds her there as she gets the results back. No hits in missing persons, so their Jane Doe was still a Jane Doe. Her picture was still on the screen when Valeria walks in and see it. She goes white as a sheet as she asks, "Is that the Jane Doe from this morning?"

Horatio can see she is very upset. "Yes, do you know her?"

"Yes, that is my neighbor from two houses down. Her name is Penny
Griffin. We are good friends. Horatio who could have done this to Penny?" Her eyes were glued to the picture of her friend.

"I am sorry Valeria but I am going to need to ask you some questions..take a deep breath and look at me." Horatio says as he gently turns her away from the screen and Natalia takes her picture off. "What is the address of your friend?"

Clearly shaken to her core, Valeria tries to calm down..she had to help her friend in the only way she could now..with information.
"She lives at 1564 Orange Grove Lane. Two houses on the right from my place. She is single and just graduated from Miami U. last year. She got a job in advertising and works for Chandler Real Estates.
She had just started seeing someone, Jerry Marshal , but broke it off with him after several dates because he was becoming possessive. He would get mad if she even talked to another guy. He was already talking about getting engaged and they had only been dating for about three weeks. I told her that was crazy and she needed to get away from him and she agreed. Moving way to fast for her. She broke it off with him two weeks ago...Oh God, do you think my advise got her killed?" Valeria lifted pain filled eyes to Horatio.

"No Valeria, You did the right thing. I want you to take some time off.
Go home and I will take care of her now. Do you have the number of anyone I need to call about her?" H. told her with sympathy.

"Yes but I need to tell her parents Horatio..I feel they need to hear it from someone they know." Valeria told him.

"Are you sure? Have you ever had to tell someone news like that? I know you want to do what is best for them, but maybe it would be better if it came from me. Let me do this for you. You be there for them afterwards..that is when they will really need you." H. explains to her.

"Ok. If you think it is best..I will go over to their house right now. You can call them and tell them I am on my way." Valeria heads out after giving H. the number.

This is the part of the job that H. finds the hardest but it is also the part of the job he finds the most important...He picks up the phone and dials the number...When a woman answers he says " Mrs. Griffin, My name is Horatio Caine and I am afraid I have some bad news for you...

[lucymalta]

Oh nice.... Poor Valera, and H being there for her too...

*Sigh*.... This board is becoming over run by DuCaine fans...

Lucy

[sanne]

Great part again....I love this story. Love the way H takes care of his team.

@lucy: maybe it's time to change your mind and become a DuCaine-fan as well ;D ;D Took some time, but they got me into it.......

Sandra

[proshutterbug]

I know...sorry Lucy ... but I am a duCaine fan...although I still loved him and Marisol.

[proshutterbug]

Four:

Horatio contacts Frank to pick up the Ex after he drops off the two bartenders...Frank says he is on it as H heads to the lab to get the results from the crime scene

"Eric, what have you got for me?" H. asks

"The black tar like substance turned out to be hydrochloride moroxydine also known as Mexican Tar Heroin. It seems like drinks aren't the only thing being served in this night club." Eric tells him

"Mexican Tar Heroin ...nasty stuff..yes I believe this is cause to bring in Mr. Victor Chandler Jr for a more interesting conversation. The two bartenders just arrived and I believe they may know something about this. Lets go find out." H. and Eric leave to head into interview but before they get there Alexx calls H. on his cell.

"Yes Alexx have you found anything else from post?" H. asks.

"Yes, the tox screen came back from our vic..she has high levels of Hydrochloride Moroxydine in her system..enough to kill her but she was strangled before the drug had a chance to finish the job. Someone really wanted this woman dead." Alexx tells him.

"It does appear that way Alexx..thanks great work..I'll be in interview if you find out anything else." H. hangs up and updates Eric..there were more questions than answers at this point.

Frank was waiting with the two bartenders as Eric and Horatio enter the room and introduce themselves to the two suspects. The first bartenders name was Charlie Young, he was 25 years old, with the beach boy look of sunkissed light brown hair ,nice tan, and blue eyes. The second bartender was also 25 with dark brown hair and brown eyes with a latin look about his features. Not only that but he had converse tennis shoes on...his name was...well what do you know...Enrico Martinez...H. just bet there was a family connection to Juan Martinez...They looked enough alike...

"Mr. Martinez..what size shoe do you ware?"

"size 9, why?"

"Eric could you bring a lifer in here please?" H asks.

"Sure thing H." Eric responds as he leaves to go get the lifter. Frank askes Enrico.."Mr. Martinez are you related to Juan Martinez?"

"Yes, he is my brother..why?" Enrico answers.

"Have either of you ever seen this woman?" Horatio asks as he shows the two of them the picture of Penny Griffin.

"No, I don't know her." Charlie says. "who is she?"

"I don't either." Enrico says as his right leg starts to slightly bounce.

"She was found in the dumpster outside of Neon Lights early this morning by your brother Enrico." H. informs the two. He watches as Enrico's leg continues to bounce.

Eric returns with the lifter and walks over to Enrico.."Please step on this plate. It will give us an imprint to match with the one found by the dumpster." Eric informs him as he shows the photo of the one taken at the crime scene. Enrico slowly lowers his foot onto the plate. Eric takes the sample and sees some black tar residue on the side of the shoe. He takes a sample of that as well. The shoe print is a match. Eric bet the black tar was too.

"You killed her didn't you." Frank says when he sees the match.

"No! I didn't kill anyone!" Enrico tells them..

"Then how do you explain your shoe print by the dumpster?" Eric asks.

"Ok, ok, I was the one who found the body...but well I was high and didn't want to talk to the cops. My brother came out and told me to go and he would tell the cops that he found the body so I would have a chance to come down, but I didn't Kill her..you have to believe me!" Enrico pleads.

"I" Horatio says very softly "only believe the evidence. That shoe print places you at the dumpster...What were you doing out there?"

"I told you. I was getting high. Had some great Mexican Tar and just needed a fix. I wasn't hurting anyone. I lifted the lid to throw away the kit and there she was. Already dead..I freaked and called for Juan. He came out and gave me time to leave then called you guys..That is all I know." Enrico said.

"Where did you get the heroin?" H. asks very softly. "There was a large amount in our victim's system, Did you give it to her?"

"No I didn't give her anything.. if I tell you who I got the tar from then I will be the next one you find in a dumpster." Enrico states.

"You could be facing life behind bars if you don't." H. presses.

"Better behind bars than in the trash." Enrico says.

"Your choice..hook him up Frank..He just admitted to possession of an illegal substance. Felony drug use. Take him." H. tells Frank.

Frank arrests Enrico and leads him to holding. Meanwhile H. talks to Charlie with Eric. "Were you outside with Enrico?" H. asks the young man.

"No way. I don't do drugs and I didn't kill that girl." Charlie says.."I am just working my way through school as a bartender. I am going to Miami U for graphic design. I don't plan on being a bartender forever."Charlie claims.

"Where were you while Enrico was outside?" Eric asks him.

"I was in the supply closet getting stuff to restock the bar. I didn't even know he had slipped out. I come out and he is like , we need to leave so we won't miss class. He seemed a little shaky but I didn't think anything of it at the time."Charlie muses.

"Did you know he was doing heroin?" H. asks.

"I knew he was moody and something wasn't right with him but heroin? No..nothing like that..I thought he might be taking uppers,you know no dose , to stay awake..but nothing illegal." Charlie says.

"Did you see anything when you left?" H. asks.

"No. We left after he came in." Charlie tells H.

"Ok. You are free to go but don't go far. I may need to talk to you again." H. tells him.

"I hope you find the guy who killed that woman." Charlie tells him as he gets up to leave.

"We will." H. Promises him.."We will."

As Charlie leaves, H. tells Frank to go pick up Penny's Ex. Frank heads out with the address that H. got from the ex's drivers license. Horatio heads to the AV lab to find out what Calliegh found on the tapes that Mr. Chandler Jr. dropped off earlier.

"Have you got anything Calliegh?" Horatio asks.

"Yes, I have a dark haired man coming out of the door at 4:45 a.m. He walks off camera for about 10 min. then he comes running back in clearly upset. About 5 min. later he comes out with our witness Juan and they both walk off camera. They stay off camera for about 5 min. then our dark haired man goes back in alone.We see our witness go back in after the dark haired man. Then both the dark haired man and another man comes back out and goes off camera..nothing else happens until you see Mr. Juan come back out around 6:15. Then you see the flashing lights of a patrol car at 6:35 a.m." Calliegh tells Horatio.

"The dark haired man is our bartender Enrico and the other man leaving with him is the second bartender Charlie. Seems Juan and Enrico are brothers." H. continues to fill in Calliegh on the story of the Martinez brothers.

"Looks like our witness was covering for his brother. We'll have him brought in for some tough questions." Calliegh tells him.

"Is Wolf and Natalia back from processing the victim's house?" Horatio asks Calliegh.

"No, and it doesn't look like that is our primary crime scene either, but there were signs of a forced entry. It looks like whoever killed her broke in and kidnapped her, maybe drugged her, and took her somewhere else to kill her, then dropped her body off in the dumpster." Calliegh tells him.

"It seems like she was put there to put the heat on someone at that club..but Mr. Chandler Jr. or Enrico or someone else?" H ponders.

Calliegh thinks that Horatio has that bulldog look in his eyes again. He wasn't going to stop until Penny's killer was behind bars for good.
Calliegh couldn't think of anyone else better for the job than Horatio.
She just wished that he would look at her with half that intensity. She shrugs her shoulders with regret at what she didn't believe she could ever have. It hurt like crazy sometimes to care about this man as much as she did. Her insides were a mess like always when he was near but on the outside she never let it show.

Horatio saw Calliegh shrug her shoulders and wondered how a man like Jake could be such a fool as to hurt her, and she was hurting, he could see..even though she thought he couldn't tell. He wanted to hug her again so bad his insides ached with it. He felt his heart turn over for the pain in her eyes and wanted to take Jake apart for that alone. He was going to talk to him as soon as he got himself under enough control that he wouldn't take the man's head off. Meanwhile he had a murderer to catch, and a drug operation to shut down.

"I am going to have Mr. Chandler Jr. brought in and find out if he is more involved with the heroin than just owning the bar where it is being used." H tells her. "But first I am going to interview Penny's ex. Maybe he did more than scare her."

"And I'll be in trace getting the results from both crime scenes and see if we can narrow down the primary location of the murder." Calliegh tells him.."I'll call you if I find anything."

"I'll be here for you Calliegh." H. tells her with a double promise in his voice.."I am only a phone call away."

"I know and it goes both ways." Calliegh says with the same double promise in her voice as well. Time to find a killer.

[sanne]

Great chap again....Love this story, Proshutterbug. It's really holding me at the edge of my seat.

Sandra

[proshutterbug]

thanks Sandra.. I have a BIG shocker coming up ... just have to get to it... ;D