Well, in cases concerning family-problems Horatio and Eric are an experienced team. Just remember their trip to Rio. Maybe Horatio wants to rely on him again... And Calleigh? Well, just have a look...
Chapter 15Horatio had already booked the two tickets for the trip to New York City, when he heard the soft steps in front of his office.
“Hey Cal,” Horatio said without taking the look from the screen.
“Hello Horatio.” Calleigh walked into his office, went around his desk and with a single glance she knew what he was doing.
“Seems as if Eric told the truth…”
“About going to New York? Yes, he did,” Horatio said literally.
The factual tone irritated Calleigh.
“What has happened, Horatio? – I’ve heard that a fed showed up as soon as I’d sent out my ballistic data for checking the traces this rifle has already left in history.”
Horatio still kept it factual.
“Yeah, your weapon is not a new-built model, but an older one, which created its first traces round about 25 years ago in New York,” he explained.
But Calleigh doubted that this was already everything the fed and Horatio had talked about.
“And…?”
Horatio noticed that he would not be able to brush Calleigh off and this reminded him of the promise he had given himself and to talk to her.
“I… I… There are several reasons, why I must go to New York, Cal.” He paused a little while, but Calleigh did not interrupt him in his train of thoughts.
“There… It seems as if there’s just another link between all these cases besides the rifle. – And it pulls me back to my first steps at the police in New York… and the relationship of my family to the
Jarheads.” Horatio stared down to the surface of his desk.
Calleigh did not dare to breathe, but when the next silence lasted for too long, she asked almost tonelessly: “What did the fed want?”
“He suspects me for these attacks, Cal. – And actually I don’t know how to prove the opposite.” Still Horatio talked more to the surface of his desk than into Calleigh’s direction.
“He thinks that it was me, because of this old relationship to the
Jarhead-gang. And he thinks that I have done self-justice and taken revenge for the killing of my mother and the old cold case I was not able to solve. It was finally also blamed on the
Jarheads… and Honeymaker puts me into the direct line of possible suspects,” he explained.
Suddenly life came to Calleigh and she snapped loud: “Oh gosh, these feds! Don’t they have anything else to do than to develop funny and weird ideas and to kick our unit?!” She turned around in a rush, walked to the door and closed it so nobody else would be able to listen to their talk. Then she got back to her place on the edge of Horatio’s desk and waited for him to continue.
Horatio went on explaining.
“Actually I’m just waiting for the inner revision to show up and to suspend me of my job until everything got cleared. And this will last for weeks, not to say months.”
“But there isn’t Stetler anymore. The guys of the revision would just do their jobs; that’s all. And you did nothing to feel bad about!”
A sad smile went over Horatio’s face. “I love you, Cal.”
Calleigh looked up a little irritated and finally answered in a soft voice: “And I love you, too, Horatio.”
“I don’t have any idea how to carry on with this case,” he confided. “My travel to New York is covered by our boss and Eric’s assisting me, but I don’t know if the revision will think just the same way.”
“Ask them,” Calleigh only said. “Frank Slater is a straight but good guy. And maybe you should talk to Miko Steel, too. Slater likes him as a friend and lawyer and it would give this trip a better taste.”
Horatio smiled for the first time this evening. “The boy-friend of Erin Shaen… You’ve taken over her habit to think in networks.”
“It would be a good protection in any way,” Calleigh nodded.
“I gonna phone them both tomorrow morning,” Horatio finally agreed.
“Does that mean we’ll finally make our way home right now?” Calleigh asked in a teasing tone.
“Uhm, well, …since this early morning… I want to take you into my arms and want to kiss you. And since this early morning several meetings, talks and the visit of the head of an ass just managed to keep me away from you. So, I guess, I gonna have to catch up with quite a lot of things this evening.” Horatio pulled her closer until she finally sat down on his lap.
“You’re right. This glass-made office walls aren’t made for a little privacy,” Calleigh said a little breathless.
“Then we should switch off the lights for today and should leave before it comes to pass that we’ll have to take over the next case of the nightshift.” Horatio whispered these words close to Calleigh’s neck what made her shiver.
“That’s what I call a promising start of the evening, lieutenant.”
TBCBTW: Do you remember Miko Steel and Erin Shaen? They already appeared in
Networks, but for those who don't remember anymore their relationship to the team will be explained in one of the next chapters...