For today we gonna leave New York for a moment and go back to Miami. There are still two team-members left who are keen on solving these cases as well. And... do you remember Calleigh's last order? Stay away from the fed...
Chapter 31The next morning at the MDPD of Miami started with the most boring work this job was able to offer to a CSI:
“At this very moment I’m feeling more like a data-compiler than a CSI,” Natalia said moody. She was integrating the data the New Yorker colleagues had sent over: fabric traces which did not match with any trace in Miami, video-sequences which were horribly blurry and made Ryan curse silently, and photos of the bullet-fragments. They were still the only reliable connection between the different murders and the killer.
When no answer from the other desk came back, Natalia turned around, stared at the backside of Ryan’s head for a certain time and finally threw a pencil at him to get his attention.
“HEY!” Ryan had sunken quite deep into his work to get the best out of these blurry pictures and now was startled by this unexpected attack of his colleague. “Going crackers?”
“Ryan, I guess we can be sure that it is the same sniper, can’t we?” Natalia’s question sounded a bit rhetorically.
“We aren’t allowed to guess, we must prove it,” was the short answer of Ryan, who did not turn around at all, but had locked his look at the screen right in front of him.
“So the sniper must have traveled to New York shortly after Eric and Horatio had left. Right?” Again this question sounded more like a statement.
Now Ryan’s head twisted up from his work and he turned around in his chair to face Natalia. Now he knew where her questions were leading them to.
“And…?”
“I guess we gonna have to check several travelers’ lists: Miami International Airport, Greyhound Station Miami and Miami Central. All of them offer trips to New York.” Natalia could not help but grin.
Ryan got quite enthusiastic when he said: “And just remember the time frame: two hours flight from here to NY, Horatio and Eric arrived in the early morning with one of the first flights, and the murder took place at 6 o’clock in the evening. That reduces the possible connections to the planes…”
And Natalia added: “So we gonna have to check the passengers’ lists of all flights between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.”
But just before they were able to have a look at them, they were disturbed by Agent Honeymaker. He sneaked along the floor and did not announce his coming at all. For the members of Horatio’s unit this was quite an old trick and so the effect Honeymaker hoped for, failed.
“Where’s Miss Duquesne?” he asked false friendly.
Ryan turned around to him and did not make any effort not to show him his disgust.
“I’m the leader of the dayshift at the moment, Agent Honeymaker. What can I do for you?”
“Why your chief didn’t tell me that you’re changing the lead of a shift more frequently than I change my shirts?” This question sounded like a very good assist and Ryan took the opportunity at once.
“I don’t know how often you change your shirts, but we’re just responding to the necessities of our entire case.”
Natalia had to turn away from Honeymaker to hide the wide grin on her face, but the agent did not seem to realize that this joke had been made on his bill.
“But what the chief told me is that Horatio Caine left for New York in a case of cross-jurisdiction without asking the FBI…”
Ryan interrupted him quite unfriendly: “Sorry, Sir, but that’s nothing of any interest for the FBI. This cross-jurisdiction is only related with our entire case. One of the next days Lt. Caine and Det. Calleigh Duquesne will be back.”
“That’s what I’m really hoping for… for their own sake!” Honeymaker tried to sound dangerous and turned around to Natalia who was still biting on her lips to suppress her laughter.
But before Honeymaker was able to make a comment, his look got locked on the huge box on the layout-table, which content had made Calleigh head for New York as fast as possible.
“What’s that?” he asked without a tone.
Ryan followed his glance and asked astonished: “A box with some FBI-info about an old case, which might be related to this one. – I thought the FBI had sent it over to us?”
Honeymaker went pale at once.
“These are very internal information and not of any use for your investigation.”
“So, you didn’t send them over to us?” Ryan already knew the answer, but wanted to hear it in Honeymaker’s own words.
“I never would. – I… I’ll take this box with me at once… at once,” Honeymaker stammered.
“O.K., but first of all, you’ll have to sign this document to prove that we’ve given you this box with the content we’ve listed here.” Suddenly Ryan was happy that he had spent some time on the box, too.
Honeymaker signed the material out, grabbed it and left the room as being hunted by various devils.
“What does that mean, Ryan?” The sudden twist had made Natalia stop her silent laughing. Now she was completely serious again.
“Dunno yet,” Ryan said thoughtfully. “But I’m glad that I’ve copied all these files and I’ve taken the fingerprints on the files AND on the box.”
TBC