A big thanks to my BETA Dragonmaster65 who is indeed a master in weaving stories and has a way with words. Her patience and invaluable advice were key as I wrote this story.

A/N: Frank is 23 & Joe is 22 in this story. They share an apartment in the suburbs of Bayport. There is a bit of violence, death and a description of a dead body. I hope you have just as much fun reading this story as I did writing it. This story is complete and has 13 chapters. I will be posting every Thursday.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 1

Panic gripped Vanessa's heart and she could feel her hands shaking as she dialed 911. She felt faint. Her hands had blood on them – hers or James', she couldn't tell. Vanessa was glad she didn't have to wait alone as her heartbeat increased with every passing minute. Her neighbor, Miss Perkins came to stand with her as they waited for the cops and ambulance. Every few minutes the kindhearted woman would say something soft and conciliatory to Vanessa. She didn't hear most of it as her mind still raced.

Just this morning she'd had Coffee with James, and now… now he was dead!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The welcome scent of coffee wafted through the air of the quaint little café Vanessa Bender was sitting in. It was a gorgeous day and seemed almost immoral to not be outdoors. The sun had heated the chair, and it felt comforting and warm. The attractive woman looked around for a waitress, the need for caffeine consuming her mind.

Birds swooped in from every direction, hoping for a stray crumb to feast on. The pavement was covered with squabbling, pecking pigeons. Children ran at them, squealing with pleasure as they scrambled off into the air.

Just as her coffee arrived, Vanessa looked up to see her co-worker James Obler take a seat across from her. James was wearing a hoodie, a baseball cap on his head and dark sunglasses. Vanessa and James worked together in the IT division at Ophelia Pharmaceuticals.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hey," he mumbled back.

"What is it that you couldn't tell me at work and had to meet me incognito?" Vanessa teased him. Then her eyes widened. "This is not a date I hope because I was pretty clear when I said the last time that I'm not interested in you that way".

"This is serious Vanessa. I- I may have made a huge mistake," James stammered. He looked around furtively, pulling his hat down further over his eyes.

"What did you do? Whatever it is I am sure nobody noticed. Everyone is super busy with the roll out of the new drug," Vanessa said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I came across an audio clip when I was cleaning out the drives from the old computers. He hesitated for a bit before continuing. "I, uh, it sounded like a woman was having an affair with Mr. Emerson."

Michael Emerson was the Chief Operating Officer at the company, in line to run Ophelia Pharmaceuticals which was currently headed by his father in law, Robert Virtanen. If this information came to light, Mr. Emerson would be in a world of pain.

Vanessa's eyes widened in alarm."Oh No! What did you do?"she cried.

James rubbed his face "I'm hard up on cash, Van. I just wanted to make a little money," he explained. His face twisted before continuing."I may have sent Mr. Emerson a copy of the audio file and a letter asking for cash. Or else I was going to give the audio to Cipla pharmaceutical company."

Vanessa stared at her co-worker in shock. Cipla was Ophelia Pharmaceuticals staunch rival. James had certainly gotten himself into quite the situation. Her coffee sat forgotten on the table. The waitress arrived to ask if they needed anything; both shook their heads vehemently.

"Why are you telling me all this? What happened?" Vanessa said once she had found her voice.

"I never said who I was in the letter or where to send the money, but when I went to work the next day the money was there, sitting in my drawer along with a note telling me to leave the audio clip in the filing cabinet room," James said.

He let out a shaky breath before continuing. "I did as I was told, but I have a feeling I'm being followed. I may go on a vacation, get out of here for a while, but I just had to tell someone about all of this." James sighed deeply "What I did is eating away at me and Van; you have been a good friend," he said, reaching out to hold her hand.

Vanessa pulled her hands back as if electrocuted by his touch. "Blackmail?" she cried. "You resorted to blackmail? What you did was horrible! And now you're telling me about it! If you're being followed how do you know they aren't here watching us right now?"

She stood up swiftly. "I don't need this. Please don't talk to me or try to contact me," she insisted. James reached out once more to convince her to stay, but she refused to listen any longer.

Vanessa left the café hurriedly, her heart beating very fast and an unsettling feeling welling inside her. She didn't see James back at work that afternoon.

Later that night Vanessa trudged homeward, tired from the day. Her conversation with James still rattled her, and she was angry that he had sought her out to tell her of his exploit. She struggled with the key for a few moments before realizing that she had been trying to open the door with the wrong key. Her hands were shaking slightly as she opened the door and walked in. She took a few steps inside towards the side table where her lamp stood and turned on the lights.

Vanessa gasped! Her things were all over the place. Her laptop monitor was propped up when she clearly had put her laptop away in the bag; papers were strewn randomly and her sofa throw pillows were on the floor. She slowly realized that her apartment had been ransacked as if someone had been looking for something. Surprisingly her diamond earrings were still on her coffee table where she had removed them the previous day. There was an odd sort of smell - metallic and pungent - in the air as well, though that thought was quickly pushed out as Vanessa came to another.

The intruder might still be here. Her insides ran cold.

No sooner had she turned around to get out of her apartment and call the police when she tripped and fell hard on the floor. Her hands felt warm and sticky, and as she tried to get up her right hand slid across something sharp that cut her.

Yelping with pain from the cut she stood up and saw what had tripped her. Vanessa froze at the sight before her. James Obler lay on his back, not three feet from her front door, in a pool of blood. Now she knew what gave the room that sickly-sweet smell. A bloody knife lay next to the body, probably the murder weapon, and now she had her blood on it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: I am always interested to hear what my readers think. All suggestions are welcome. Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask or PM me. Thanks!