Title: Death and Justice
Author: amejisuto
Fandom: CSI: Miami/Highlander: The Series
Pairing: Horatio Caine/ Methos pre-slash
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. No harm, no foul, no money made.
Warnings/Squicks: Small mention of different methods of death, but nothing real graphic.
Summary: The Miami team gets a new medical examiner. One who is a bit of an expert on death.
Word Count: 2148
Beta'd by the wonderful vinnebatman. Thank you for pinch betaing love! It's also all her fault that I'm now picturing Horatio as a Mountie. Even if he would look bad in serge.
Notes: I've long wanted to make Methos a CSI. Peter Parker too, but Methos would make a great ballistics tech. Then I watched Bolt Action last week and then a Highlander later than night and squeed at the thought of Methos being an ME for Horatio's team. After all, he'd know a hell of a lot about different ways to kill people and if he wanted to changes lives it would be a radical departure. Who would look for Methos working for the police department? Especially if his relationship with MacLeod didn't work out? So yeah, here it is! Just to let y'all know, I'm opening this up for other writers! So if you get a bunny and want to write it or add more to this, go ahead as long as you credit me for this bit. Enjoy the story!

"Horatio."

Horatio heard his name called and turned from looking at the crowd gathering around the crime scene and nodded at his friend. "Frank. What do we have?"

"Sherrie Carter, age 28; Was feeling sick inside the mega-mart there and started shaking and gasping for breath at the check out line. Refused an ambulance and left her cart to drive home but she dropped dead in the middle of the parking lot before that could happen. Surprisingly enough, a couple of Good Samaritans tried to help her, said she was convulsing but they didn't see her head hit the pavement all that hard since one of them caught her when she went down. So we got witnesses inside, witnesses outside, video tapes. Hell, Horatio, for all I know someone's Twittered about what happened and people in Tampa know what happened; witness credibility isn't going to be that good."

Horatio hummed. Sometimes too many witnesses could be a problem, especially when they had a chance to talk about what happened. Add in the fact that people were fascinated with death and stopped to gawk ... he could feel a headache coming on already.

Horatio slipped his sunglasses in place to ward off the afternoon sun. Ryan was talking to a witness who looked like she'd been crying and Jesse was taking pictures of the body. Horatio was glad to have Jesse back, and he was fitting in well with the team. Now all they just needed Eric back from medical leave and everything would be good.

Horatio turned to Frank. "Have you heard anything from the new medical examiner?"

"I called to make sure he didn't get lost. He said he was about ten minutes out and swore in what sounded like British about traffic and people dying during the hottest part of the day. You sure this guy is gonna be okay?"

Horatio fought a wince. The last ME, Dr. Loman, had been less than adequate, although he tried. And the less said about Dr. Price the moment the better.

"He should be, Alexx recommended him. In fact she said she nagged him until he decided to move back down here. Said she knew his father; he was a doctor as well."

Frank chuckled. "Yeah, well, no one can tell that woman no for long. But I gotta admire someone who held out for a year."

"Too true, Frank. Too true."

They quickly got sucked into the scene.

While the Wal-mart had surveillance, it was from cheap cameras on actual VHS tapes. Horatio collected them from the store's assistant manager and sent them with a patrol officer back to AV so Tyler could start going through the footage. As he exited the building, the ME's van was pulling up and Horatio got his first look at their new Medical Examiner.

He was tall, just over six feet and had a lanky look to him. He had a rather prominent nose but carried it well, like a Roman Emperor. He was dressed casually, but professionally, in a pair of jeans and tee shirt with a blazer over it. His eyes, like Horatio's, were hidden behind sunglasses, so Horatio couldn't tell what color they were. For some reason, that made Horatio wonder what they looked like.

"Hello, you must be Lieutenant Caine. I'm Dr. Morgan Adams."

There was an electricity in the air that he hadn't felt in a very long time. "Please, call me Horatio."

They didn't shake hands as they were both gloved up but the man gave him a half-bow and a smile. "Morgan."

Then his entire demeanor changed as he ducked under the yellow tape. He knelt down by the body and sighed. "Poor girl."

Horatio watched him as he checked the body over. He was good; he wasn't trying to rush through the initial examination but was being through without treating the victim like a piece of meat. He reminded Horatio of Alexx, actually. He had a good feeling about this.

Suddenly Morgan straightened up almost nervously and was looking around. Horatio turned as well, wondering what had gotten the other man's hackles up. He saw that Jesse had returned from gathering trace from the victim's cart, carrying a tub full of evidence envelopes and a large, transparent trash bag.

Jesse stopped, his body stiff and entire focus on Morgan. "Hey, Jesse Cardoza."

"Dr. Morgan Adams. I'm the new medical examiner. It looks like we'll be working together."

Jesse's eyes flicked to Horatio for a moment and Horatio had to wonder what the hell was going on. He didn't like mysteries.

"Cool. I can handle that." Then the turned his back to Morgan to speak to Horatio. Jesse couldn't see Morgan relax but Horatio did and tucked that fact into the back of his mind.

"H, I got evidence from the cart, and tried to retrace some of her steps, especially in the pharmacy area. Didn't see anything off hand but we'll see when we get back to the lab. She had lunch in the fast food place in there, and one of the cashiers remembered what trash can she used. It hadn't been dumped yet so we've got a bag of trash but it could have been worse and been six bags."

"Good work. Take a good look in her car as well. Hopefully we'll have a better idea of what happened soon. This does not have the hallmarks of a biological attack, but it doesn't seem normal either."

"I'm betting it was poison." Morgan said. "There's no sign of needle marks anywhere, at least not anywhere convenient. I'll know more once I get her back to the morgue and can look more closely, but there's no evidence of any prior injury. I suppose it's possible a young woman could have had some sort of heart problem or an underlying condition but somehow I doubt that."

"No. No, I don't think so." Horatio said. "It would be too convenient."

Morgan snorted. "And Death is hardly known for being convenient." He stood up and motioned to his helpers. "I'll let you know something as soon as I know, Horatio. Hopefully by tomorrow morning."

With that he was gone, leaving Horatio feeling as if he'd missed something.

"Huh." Jesse said. "He seemed pretty good."

"He did. I hope he works out."

Jesse looked at him and laughed. "You're just jealous because he got a good line in there and stole your thunder."

Horatio looked over his sunglasses at his friend. "Not funny."

"You know Horatio, they're calling me Die Hard now, so that death glare isn't going to kill me." Then Jesse turned walked off to put his evidence in the hummer.

That was the problem with hiring competent people who happened to be friends. You couldn't scare them.

*****

"Selenium."

"Excuse me?" Horatio gave the new medical examiner one of his looks. Apparently he wasn't scaring Morgan either.

"Selenium poisoning. It causes a cardiovascular collapse. It's not something that's normally picked up, unless you're specifically testing for it. I'm still waiting on a few tests, but given how fast it worked, it must have been a massive dose. I was in the Pacific Northwest in 2001 and there was a case of a woman who collapsed to displayed symptoms much like Ms. Carter here. Otherwise I wouldn't even have looked for it."

"It's a good thing you did. Any ideas on how the poison was delivered?"

"There were the remains of gelatin capsules found in her stomach contents, but I was unable to really test them. She had a rather large Coke with her lunch and that wretched stuff can dissolve rust, never mind gelatin. It'll help if I have something to compare it with, so I talked to Cardoza and he is looking for any vitamin and medicines that are gel-caps at her home so we can compare. Depending on thickness, she could have taken the capsules with selenium as early as this morning, had a Coke for lunch and they dissolved and bam, dead on the pavement. A rather nasty way to die."

"I wasn't aware there was a good way."

"In one's sleep from old age. Brain aneurysm. There are several poisons that don't cause the problems this one does, so the victim goes to sleep. A gun shot would to the head is always quicker and less painful than a gun shot would to the gut. Beheading isn't that bad as long as it's done correctly."

Horatio's eyebrows raised at that. "It sounds like you know a lot about the subject."

Morgan snorted. "With this job? Let's just say I've seen a lot over the years."

"Hmmm." Horatio stepped away from the body and looked at Morgan. The man was a mystery. He had a slight accent that Horatio just couldn't place. At the first he had thought British or even Welsh but there was something else ... Horatio was curious. "I wanted to ask you, you and Jesse seemed to know each other?"

"No, it's more like we knew of each other. Sort of like two members of a rather large club meeting for the first time. He seems like a good man though." Morgan took off his gloves and went to wash his hands. "You know Horatio, Alexx has been bugging me to move down here for years. Then she started nagging me to take over this job. Now that she's won on those two fronts, she's got another idea stuck in her head and I've decided just to give in and go with it, especially since I can see where she's coming from."

"Really?" Horatio wasn't sure he wanted to know. He loved Alexx but she could be a horrible busybody.

"Really. She thinks we'd be good together." Morgan finished cleaning up and came to stand in front of Horatio. Horatio noticed he had hazel eyes that were very captivating.

"I ... I don't know what to say." Horatio really hoped it was too dark for Morgan to notice his blushing. It had been a long time since he'd been with a man. Hell, he and Speed had danced around each other until it was too late.

Morgan took a step closer and Horatio admitted to himself that he was attracted. Morgan had a presence about him. The hair on the back of Horatio's neck seemed to stand on end.

"Say you'll go out with me. At the very least, it would be nice to get to know my new co-worker. From then on, whatever happens, happens." He gave Horatio a grin. "Alexx assures me you like smart asses, and pointed out I tend to go for the boy scout, heroic types. She didn't like my last choice and has been bugging me about you for two years now."

Horatio chuckled. "She's been bugging me to start dating again for about the same amount of time."

Horatio considered the offer. Morgan was interesting to say the least. A mystery and that made him curious. Marisol would want him to find happiness and Speed ... Speed would smack him on the back of the head and tell him to not be stupid. "You realize if we do start seeing each other, Alexx will be insufferably smug."

Morgan smirked. "I've known Alexx for a very long time. Don't worry, I have blackmail information on her." Morgan stepped back and Horatio found himself disappointed. "Friday night after shift? You can show me where to buy the best beer in town."

Horatio remembered something just then: Alexx talking about a friend he should meet that had a serious love affair with good beer. "There's a place over in Coral Gables called The Bar. It's been there for over fifty years and has over forty different kinds of bottled beer and ten different kinds on tap, including Guinness Stout, Yuengling, Dale's Pale Ale, Tucher, Köstritzer and Stella Artois."

Morgan gave a shudder, but Horatio couldn't tell if it was real or affected. "I love it when you talk dirty like that."

Horatio found himself smirking. This could be fun. "I'll keep that in mind." Then he had to step away. Time enough for his personal life when the case was solved. "For right now, I have a murderer to bring to justice."

Morgan nodded. "I'll let you know when I've run more tests and if I can find anything else from her death.” He held out a hand. "It's good to be working with you Lt. Caine."

Horatio took his hand and shook it. There was that feeling again, as if he'd touched a live current. "I think it will be a real pleasure, Dr. Adams."

He turned and left the morgue. He had a poisoner to find. But if anyone had looked, they would have seen the extra spring in his step. Horatio found himself looking forward to Friday.

~Fini~