The Mystery at Summerset Manor

Written By: D’be-D’be

Pairing: Horatio and Eric


The call came in just as Eric Delko pulled into his parking space. He didn’t even have time to undo his seatbelt, when fellow CSI member, Ryan Wolfe, jumped into the passenger seat with kit in hand.

“Let’s hit it, Eric,” he snapped out the order like he was in charge. “There’s been a body found on the grounds of Summerset Manor on Palm Street.”

Eric gave his colleague a ‘who-died-and-made-you-boss’ look, but kept his thoughts to himself as he replaced his seatbelt and put the Hummer in reverse.

“Is Horatio already on the scene?’ Delko asked as he made his way through the morning traffic.

“He and Calleigh are on the way: they left about five minutes ago. Frank is already there.”

Eric just nodded then a little smile came to his lips as he asked, “How are you and Big Tex getting along?”

“Just fine thank you, as long as I watch my P’s and Q’s. How about you and the boss?”

“Alright,” Eric sighed. “He’s still treating me with kid gloves though.”

“Well that’s understandable, Delko. I mean after all, he lost Speedle then his wife, your sister, so it’s no wonder he’s a little concerned about you.”

“I know what your saying is right, but it doesn’t change how I feel about it.”

“Well hang in there, it will get better.”

Delko just shrugged his shoulders as he manoeuvred the CSI vehicle into the long drive that led to the senior citizens home. The Summerset Manor was one of the more luxurious seniors’ dwellings in Miami. Its’ grounds were littered with trees and flowers. It even had an outdoor pool, hot tub and sauna in the back of the premises used for both recreation and therapy sessions. The residence were among the most influent and wealthy citizens of Miami. They ranged from lawyers, judges, bankers as well as high society matrons.

Eric wasn’t looking forward to dealing with that type because most of the time they were very uncooperative and stuck up. The fact that some of them were one sandwich short of a picnic basket didn’t help matters either.

He pulled the Hummer in next to Horatio’s, then grabbing his kit from the back seat he jumped out and walked over to stand at Horatio’s side. Ryan did the same with Frank Tripp. Calleigh smiled to herself as she wondered if the two young men were even aware of their actions. They were unconsciously drawn to their Tops no matter where they were or what the occasion may be.

Resisting the urge to give his partner a kiss, Delko turned to Caine and simply enquired, “What’s up, H?”

“This morning the Superintendant, Max Hughes, was making his walk about and spotted a man lying face down on the path that leads to the pool. When he turned him over him over, he was not only surprised to see that the man had a bullet hole in his chest but that the man was not a permanent residence of the Manor.”

“Who is he?” Wolfe asked.

“According to both his ID and Mr. Hughes over there,” Tripp answered, “his name is Percy Likon, a former business partner to Hal Christian, who does happen to be a residence of this lovely establishment.”

Caine couldn’t help but chuckle at the big detective’s sarcastic tone of voice. There was no doubt that Tripp was pure Texan.

“And who pray tell, is Hal Christian?” Delko posed the question before Ryan had a change to.

“My God, boys, don’t you keep up with the social scene of greater Miami?” Calleigh laughed. “Hal Christian was one of the biggest show business agents in the industry. At some point in his career, he handled almost anyone that was anyone in Hollywood.”

Wolfe and Delko looked at each other and just shrugged there shoulders in a ‘big deal’ sort of way. Calleigh let out a grunt of disgust as she rolled her eyes at her fellow investigators.

Both Delko and Wolfe burst out laughing at Calleigh’s attitude, but quickly settled down when Caine and Tripp gave them “the look’.

Horatio Caine pulled his sunglasses off his face as he began to issue orders. “Frank, could you please stay here with the body until the ME gets here then meet me in the superintendent’s office?” Tripp nodded agreement. “Calleigh, Mr. Wolfe, please search the grounds for any evidence and Eric, please pay a visit to Mr. Christian and find out what you can about his business partner.”

Everyone went about their various assignments except Eric, who seemed a little hesitant to carry out his orders.

“What’s the matter, Eric?” Horatio asked.

“Uh, H, hmm, is this Mr. Christian all there? I mean, is he working on all cylinders?”

“Mr. Hughes advised me that Mr. Christian is suffering from the first signs of Alzheimer’s but he is just in the early stages, so he can still be questioned. Okay?”

“Okay, H, if you think it’s alright?”

Horatio moved in closer so he could whisper into his Brat’s ear. “Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll be close if you need me.”

“I appreciate that, but I’m sure I can handle whatever comes up.”

“I know you can; now go do your job.”

Eric found the agent to the stars in his room, reading the National Inquirer. He knocked on the open door before walking in and softly introducing himself and making an inquiry. “Mr. Christian, my name is Eric Delko and I’m a Crime Scene Investigator. Would it be alright to ask you a few questions about your old business partner?”

Christian placed the gossip rag on his lap and looked Delko up and down, then let out a slow whistle. “My, my, my; if I was still in the business what I could do for you, Sunshine. You are a real cutie, you are. You’re a cop, you said?”

Blushing deeply, Eric stated he was but he was also a crime scene investigator

“Yes, Sunshine, you already told me that. I’m not fully loopy yet, you know.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that you were, sir,” Eric apologized to the older man, “I was just trying to explain what my particular job is.”

“Don’t get yourself all worked up, Sunshine. I’m not mad at you. Now come sit down next to me on the bed and ask me your questions.”

Although reluctant to do so, Eric did as he was asked but sat as close to the edge as humanly possible.

Christian reached out and placing a giant hand on Delko’s arm, pulled him closer. “Are you afraid of me, Sunshine?” he asked

“No, sir, I just didn’t want to crowd you.”

“Oh you are precious, and if I was a little younger I’d love to crowd you if you get my drift.”

Eric did and once more felt his face go red, much to the delight of the agent. The younger man cleared his throat and enquired, “Mr. Christian, was Mr. Likon here this morning?”

“Yes he was. As a matter of fact, he was here all night.” Christian gave Eric a wink.

“I see. You and he were lovers?”

“Hell no! He was just a piece of ass to me, that’s all. I may be in a seniors’ home, young man, but I still have needs from time to time. I’m not about to fuck anyone here, so when I get horny I call up Percy and tell him to get his ass and pecker over here.”

If Christian was trying to shock Eric, he wasn’t succeeding. As a matter of fact, Eric found the old man amusing and his smile relayed that to the man sitting next to him. “Okay, so after your roll in the hay,” Eric continued his questioning, “Likon just left; is that right?”

“Not right away. He started telling me about an old client of ours that was giving him some grieve and after a little tongue wagging, he left.”

“Do you know which way he went? I mean, did he go straight out or did he stop somewhere?”

“Well now that you mention it, I did see him go into Potter’s room.”

“Potter’s?” Eric asked.

“Yeah, Harry Potter; the man who resides in the room just down the corridor. And no, young man, I am not crazy. That is his real name, Harry Potter,” Christian replied shortly as he saw the look of doubt on the young man’s face.

“Why would he go in there?”

“Hell if I know; I guess you’ll have to ask old Harry that.”

“I’ll do just that and thank you, Mr. Christian, for all your help.” Eric started to get up but was stopped when the agent placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Now that Likon is no longer with us, Sunshine, why don’t you give me your number and when I get horny again I can give you a call?” Christian whispered suggestively.

“I think you’d be too much of a man for me, Max.” Eric shook his head and made his way out the door to the sound of laughter coming from behind him.

Delko moved down the corridor to Harry Potter’s room. Finding no one there, he placed his kit on the floor and opened it. The first thing he did was pull out the list he kept with him. The one that Calleigh helped him put together after he recovered from the gun shot to his head. It gave him step-by-step instructions on how to search for and recover evidence for the lab. He didn’t need it as much as he did a few months ago, but he still used it just in case he forgot something which in turn could damage the whole case.

He put on rubber gloves, so as not to tamper with anything he may find, and began to take a look around. He knew he couldn’t fingerprint, or do a full scale search without a warrant or Mr. Potter’s permission so he just looked around at what was in plain sight. He was just completing a 360 degree turn when an object caught his well-trained eye. It was a pair of sunglasses lying under the bed. He knelt down to take a closer look and noticed initials on the arms; ‘PL’. “Percy Likon,” Delko whispered to himself. He took out his camera to photograph the evidence and then he moved the glasses further under the bed in hope of coming back later to recover them.

“What are you doing there, sonny?” a deep voice boomed out at Delko, who was still on the floor.

Eric was so startled by the voice he jumped back in alarm, causing his foot to hit his kit and spill black fingerprint powder on the white mat lying next to the bed. “Aah, Mr. Potter, I assume. My name is……”

“I know what your name is, Kitten, and I also know you just made a big mess on our floor.”

“Yes, sir, I’m sorry about that. I’ll clean it right up.”

“You may be sorry now, Kitten, but not as sorry as you’re going to be five minutes from now!”

All Eric could get out was “What?” before he found himself being lifted off the floor and put face-down on the bed. Before he could react, he found his pants being pulled down and this stranger was spanking him. “Oww, please, sir, stop! I said I was sorry.”

“You always say that, Kitten, after the fact and I know you’re sincere, but you also know you have rules to follow and if you break one of them, you are punished.”

‘Oh my God,’ Eric thought, as the man laid down three more slaps on his cotton-covered behind. ‘This man is a Top and he thinks I’m his Brat.’ For reasons unknown to him, Eric stopped his struggling and took the punishment. Soon it was over and he quickly found himself wrapped up in the old man’s arms and being rocked back and forth.

“There, there, Kitten; it’s all over and all is forgiven. I still and will, always love you.” Tears cursed down his face as he held who he believed was his long lost Brat.

Tears welled up in Eric’s eyes as he felt the compassion coming from this older gentleman, whose mind was betraying him. He gave the man a hug then pulled away. The old man lay down on the bed and turned his back to the young Cuban. With silent tears rolling down his face, Delko pulled up his pants, stuffed the list in his shirt pocket , closed his kit and made his way outside. He found a staff bathroom on his way out so he slipped inside to wash his face and take a few minutes to compose himself. He rubbed his still burning backside and he knew all he wanted now was Horatio’s arms around him, but he also knew that would have to wait until tonight.

He walked into the sunlight and looked around until he found Calliegh and Ryan near the pool. “Hi guys, any luck?” he asked, hoping they didn’t hear a slight tremor to his voice. If they did, they didn’t let on.

“Yeah, there are signs of a struggle and Alexx said the COD was strangulation. What about you; discover anything? How did your meeting go with Max?” Calleigh enquired.

“Well, let me tell you. It was a very interesting meeting. I also found our Vic’s sunglasses under the bed of another residence; a Mr. Harry Potter.”

“Harry Potter? You’re kidding right, Delko?” Wolfe snickered

“I swear to God that’s his name. I left the sunglasses there but I took a picture of them until we can retrieve them legally.”

“Very good, Eric.” Calleigh smiled her approval. “Now if you can assist Mr. Wolfe here with the rest of the search, I’ll take what evidence we did find back to trace. And, Eric, I’ll let H know about the sunglasses so he can obtain a warrant.”

“Thanks, Calleigh, I appreciate that.”

The two CSI’s watched the blond for a moment as she made her way down the path, then turned back to recovering more evidence. They were almost done around the pool when Eric bent down to pick up an object, causing the list he’d hurriedly stuffed into his shirt pocket to fall unto the ceramic tiling. He quickly tried to retrieve it but Wolfe was quicker.

“What’s this, Delko?” Ryan asked as he unfolded the paper. “Don’t tell me you still have to use this list?”

“No, I just forgot it was in there.” Delko tried to bluff his way out of the situation, but bluffing wasn’t something he was good at so Wolfe saw right through him.

“Bullshit, Delko, you still need this and seeing as you do, it proves what I stated before. You’re still not ready to be back in the field.”

“Come on, Ryan, you’re over reacting.”

“I don’t think so, Delko. Does H know you’re still using this list?”

“No, and please don’t tell him,Ryan.” Eric knew he was getting emotional but couldn’t help himself. ”Please, Ryan, I hardly need it now so H doesn’t have to know.”

“Oh yes he does. He also has to come to the conclusion that you should be re-trained for field duty.”

“Come off it, Ryan, now you’re stretching it.”

Ryan grabbed Delko by the shirt front and pulled him close as he snarled with curled lip. “I always suspected you weren’t ready to come back and before long you will jeopardize an investigation. I can’t allow that to happen so I guess I’ll just have to take matters into my own hands and speak to Horatio.”

“Please, Ryan,” Delko began to beg, his eyes filling with tears. “I promise I’ll talk to H tonight about it, please.”

“Sorry, no can do.”

“Oh yes you will, young man!” A voice with a strong Texan twang came from behind him. Wolfe let go of Delko and spun around to find his Top walking up to them.

“Frank! I-I-I didn’t know you were there.”

“Apparently not, but I’m glad I was. How many times have we discussed the topic of bullying and snitching? I guess just discussing it is not getting the message across.” The detective kept a tight reign on his anger. “This is what you are going to do now. First, you are going to apologize to Eric for your behaviour. Second, you’re going to make your way to the private dressing room in the corner over there and wait for me. Is that clear?”

Wolfe opened his mouth to argue his case but the cold look in Tripp’s eyes made him think twice about that action. After telling Eric he was sorry and that he wouldn’t talk to Horatio, he made his way to the dressing room as he was ordered to do.

Tripp turned to Delko. “Are you okay, Eric?” he asked in a gentle tone that Eric rarely heard from the big man.

“I guess so. It’s been kind of a weird day.”

“Do you want me to call Horatio?”

Suddenly feeling very vulnerable, Eric sat down on a lounge chair and stated he would very much appreciate that.

Tripp dialled Caine’s cell and after a short conversation that Delko couldn’t make out, he closed his tiny phone and placed it back into his pocket.

“Horatio is on his way. He was still in Hughes’ office but he’ll be here in a couple of minutes.”

“Thank you.” It was all Eric managed to mumble because of the lump beginning to form in his throat.

Tripp stayed with the young man until he spotted Horatio making his way to them. He walked over to him and whispered, “Take your Brat home, Horatio. I think he needs time alone with you to discuss a few things. The investigation can wait a few hours.”

“Thank you, Frank. Can you see that Eric’s Hummer gets back to the lab, please?”

“Yeah, I’ll get Ryan to drive it back.”

Thanking his chief detective, Horatio placed a secure arm around his Brat and led him to his own vehicle. He could feel the tension in the young man’s shoulders and knew he was in distress. Rubbing Eric’s back and with a soothing, calming voice, H stated, “It’s all right, baby. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together. Let’s get you home so we can talk.”

Eric melted into his Top as they made their way to Horatio’s Hummer and home.

Meanwhile, in the dressing room Tripp was giving Wolfe a lesson in the consequences of being a bully and a tattletale. The young CSI found himself where he never dreamt he would be today; bare-assed and over his Top’s knees, on the receiving end of a very hard spanking.

As Tripp laid down the law, he questioned his Brat to see if he understood why he was being punished. “Why are you being spanked, Ryan?”

“Because I was bullying Eric.”

“And what did I tell you about the way you treat Delko and other members of the team at times?” Frank asked as he soundly smacked one cheek then the other.

“You told me that I have a tendency to act superior to them and that is not the way to get along and work as a team.”

“And?”

“You don’t approve of that sort of behavior and I have to mend my ways. Oww, okay, now that you’ve made it perfectly clear, I will. Oww, honest, Frank, I really will.”

Tripp could hear mixed with the sounds of sobbing, true sincerity in his Brat’s voice. He stopped the punishment and pulled Ryan into his arms and held him close. “Okay now, Tiger, it’s over and forgiven. Let’s get you cleaned up and back to the lab. Take Delko’s Hummer because he left with Horatio for their own little talk.”

After ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you’ were exchanged, Wolfe made his way to the Hummer. Tripp let out a chuckle as he watched his young Brat manoeuvre his sore backside into the seat of the Hummer.

Meanwhile, back at Caine’s apartment Eric was wrapped up in his Top’s arms discussing the events of the day. “H, there’s something I have to confess. I have to use a list to process a scene to reassure myself that I’m not forgetting anything. I don’t use it as often as I did a month ago, but I still use it. I’m sorry I was dishonest with you by keeping this a secret. You’re already handling me with kid gloves and I thought if I told you I had to use the list, you would keep me in the lap and that would just about kill me.”

“Is that it?”

“Uh no; this afternoon I was spanked by a total stranger.”

“What are you talking about, baby?”

Eric commenced to tell Horatio about Harry Potter, how the man had reacted to the dirty rug and how Eric had submitted to the spanking but didn’t quite understand why.

“Oh, baby.” Horatio lovingly stroked Eric’s back. “I’m so proud of you for not fighting that old man. As a Brat, you instinctively knew to submit to a Top and you also knew that this old Top didn’t know any better. His mind was telling him you were his long lost Brat and by letting him do what came natural to a Top, you showed respect to this gentleman. I know it couldn’t have been easy on you and for that I am truly sorry, but know you handled the situation perfectly and for that I am very pleased.”

Before he continued he placed his lips on Delko’s and gave him a loving, passionate kiss. Finally pulling away, he stated, “Now, as far as you using a list; I want you to know I’ve been aware of it for some time now and was just waiting for you to confess. I am a little disappointed with the fact that if Mr. Wolfe had not confronted you, you probably would have still kept it from me. Because of that I have no other course but to punish you. Since you already got a spanking today, I will forfeit that kind of punishment and replace it with a grounding of two weeks. I also expect an essay on my desk in two days on the consequences of being dishonest with the one you love. Is that acceptable?”

“Oh, H, I love you; and yes it is.”

“Good! Now let’s grab a bite to eat so we can get back to the lab and try to solve the mystery of Summerset Manor.”

Epilogue:

After a few days of investigation, Horatio Caine and his team obtained a search warrant for Harry Potter’s room. They discovered that Percy Likon was strangled to death by his ex-partner and sometimes bed-mate, Max Christian, who when finding him in the arms of Harry Potter, became extremely jealous. He followed him out to the pool area where he confronted him of sleeping around behind his back and in a jealous rage, grabbed his ex-partner by the throat and broke his larynx.

In his defence, Christian pleaded not guilty by reasons of mental illness. A jury of his peers found him guilty; but because of his obvious senility, placed him back into the care of Mr. Hughes where he will remain in the locked up section of Summerset Manor.

Case Closed

The End