Closer

Horatio Caine stared at the information in his hand. He had been handed it three minutes earlier. After he read it over a third time, he looked up at Calleigh.

“You’re sure about this?”

Calleigh nodded, “They called yesterday about it, wanting our help.”

“It’s the same, right down to the doll and pose of the body.”

“Are you going to send Ryan?”

Horatio sighed and stared out the window as if it help the answer to the question.

“It was his case,” he said before he walked away.


~*~


Ryan Wolfe looked through the microscope attempting to match a torn piece of duct tape with its source. He shook his head and tossed the roll to the table and picked up another.

He still couldn’t believe he had been pulled from the serial. He had no idea why other than they hadn’t had a real break through in weeks. Everyone was antsy and he had nothing to show them.

He sighed and tossed another roll of tape aside and grabbed a third roll. He was now working with Delko on a kidnapping gone wrong. The victim had been found, but the kidnapper had vanished. They hoped to find him or her before the kidnapper disappeared.

“Mr. Wolfe,” Horatio’s voice brought Ryan out of the microscope.

Horatio stood in the doorway, a folder in his hand. Ryan raised an eyebrow wondering if he was about to be taken off this case as well.

“What?” Ryan asked, giving Horatio his full attention.

Horatio stepped forward and slapped the folder on the table.

“It was your case. I think you should go.”

Ryan stared at him then at the folder. Unsure of what was going on, he opened the folder and saw to his amazement it was the serial. He looked back at Horatio, surprised.

“You’re giving it back to me?”

Horatio placed his hands on his hips and nodded. Ryan still couldn’t believe it.

“What changed?”

“The location and the fact you know more than they do right now.”

“He changed location? Where?”

“Las Vegas. You leave tomorrow morning.

Horatio walked away, leaving a stunned Ryan Wolfe.


~*~

The next day and three time zones later, Ryan Wolfe stepped off the plane and into Las Vegas. He looked around, scanning the mass of people in search of one in particular. Horatio had told him someone would meet him and fill him in on what had happened.

“Wish he told me what the guy looked like,” Ryan grumbled as he strode through the crowd.

“Mr. Wolfe?” A voice brought him up short and he turned to see an older bearded man.

“Yes?” Ryan asked cautiously.

“Gil Grissom. Las Vegas Crime Lab.”

“I’m Ryan Wolfe,” he said, glad to finally meet his contact. Ryan held out his hand, but the man only smiled and nodded.

“This way,” Grissom said, heading through the crowd as if the people weren’t there.

Ryan shook his head and followed him.

“I take it all the victims have been blonde and posed?” Ryan asked as they made their way to the baggage claim.

“Yes. There have been three so far. We hope to get him before there’s a fourth.”

“Or he moves on.”

“That too.”

Ryan gathered his luggage and followed Grissom to a SUV. He tossed his bags in the back and climbed into the front.

“You’ll be working with Sara Sidle and Greg Sanders. I want you to tell them all you know and to help them catch this guy.”

“Right,” Ryan agreed as he stared out the window and watched the scenery pass by.


~*~
Ryan stepped into CSI headquarters and felt the anxiety he had been feeling slowly melt away. This was familiar territory even if it wasn’t in a familiar location. He smiled slightly as he followed Grissom into what he suspected was a break room.

Two people were sitting at a table in the center of the room, talking. They appeared to be quite cozy with each other, their heads together about something. The two stopped talking and looked up as Grissom cleared his throat.

“This is Ryan Wolfe,” he told them. “He’s the primary on the serial from Miami.”

“Great,” the brunette woman said, her voice interested. “What’s he got for us?”

Ryan handed her the folder as he talked, “Four weeks ago, a blonde woman was found in an alley, posed. Beside her, a Barbie doll, with her hair cut was found. Same pose.”

“We found a similar doll near our third victim,” the male, Greg Sanders said.

Ryan raised an eyebrow, “The other victims didn’t have dolls?”

Greg shook his head, “Unless someone removed the dolls, thinking they were trash.”

“Could be,” Ryan said with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, not knowing what to make of the change. He placed it in the back of his mind to be sorted through later. He needed to catch these people up and compare notes.

“The second victim was found in a park, same pose, doll and strangled. The third victim was found near her car in the back of a restaurant, same. After that, he disappears.”

“And appears here,” Sara said as she picked up her folder and handed it to him. “We’re thinking he might be using a rope. He takes it with him when he leaves.”

“The first two victims didn’t have a doll, but they were all posed,” Greg said. “The doll of the third victim had Miami beach sand in the crevices.”

“Which led us to you,” Sara finished. “Which tells us he had the doll with him the entire trip here.”

Ryan nodded, impressed by their work. Maybe with their help they could bring this killer down.

“All we need is to find the rope and we’ve got him,” Greg said enthusiastically.

“That’s the problem, he takes it with him. All we’ve got is the marks it leaves behind,” Sara said, her tone not as enthused.

“So they sent you after all,” a familiar voice startled him.

He spun around and saw Maxine Valera standing in the doorway to the break room. He stared at her, completely dumbfounded to see her.

“Maxine?” Ryan asked not hiding the surprise he felt.

“You two know each other?” Sara asked, interest in her voice.

“Very well,” Maxine said as she stared at him. “He’s the reason I moved here.”