Summary: Soon after Alex Eames takes over the role of lieutenant at the 27th Precinct, new evidence comes to light regarding a well-known 14-year-old vehicular manslaughter case. Meanwhile, a member of Eames' family is tragically murdered. She may need to call on an old friend for help in solving both cases, which appear to be connected.

Author's Notes: I don't own the characters, I'm not making money off of them, I'm just playing with them, etc. and so on.

Spoilers: '95-96 season of L&O mothership (just in case anyone hasn't seen it yet? haha), current season of L&O, and the last three seasons of Criminal Intent, *including* spoilers for the current season premiere in March. This story takes place some months after the incidents that are rumored to take place in the CI season premiere.

Detective Kevin Bernard lifted his eyes from the report he'd been studying. "Lupes," he said, sliding a piece of paper across the desk to his partner, "our victim has priors."

Cyrus Lupo glanced at the paper. "Two DWIs in '95, vehicular manslaughter in '96." He pointed at the last offence. "This is that ADA who was killed. There's a plaque on one of the walls at 100 Centre Street."

"The lieutenant will want to hear about this one." Bernard stood up slowly.

"Why?"

"Do you know who Claire Kincaid was?"

"An ADA who died."

"Trust me, Lupes, the lieutenant is going to want to hear about this."

"All right," Lupo said with an easy shrug. "I'm waiting to hear from CSU on fingerprints. They're working on a theory that the body was moved."

Bernard made his way to Lieutenant Alex Eames' office at the back of the 27th precinct house.

Eames was a warm person and, more importantly, a strong leader, but to the detectives of the two-seven, she was no Anita van Buren, who had retired three months earlier after fifteen years of heading up the precinct. Van Buren was thankfully now cancer free, but too worn out to put in even another year with the NYPD. And, as some of the detectives had suggested, Lieutenant Eames, who'd served as a detective on the Major Case Squad for almost a decade, often seemed more interested in solving puzzles than solving problems.

"Lieutenant?" he asked, peeking his head into her office.

"Detective, come in." Eames now seemed comfortable in her new digs; three months earlier, she was on edge, having recently lost her former squad's captain to a senseless, violent shooting. The detectives had all been warned to take it easy on her while she settled in.

"The body found by the Shakespeare in the Park theater this morning," Bernard said quickly. "CSU's testing the prints they lifted, and I just got a look at our victim's priors. Roger Overland did three months of an eighteen-month sentence for vehicular manslaughter, and his victim was Assistant District Attorney Claire Kincaid."

Eames' eyes widened. "I worked with her a few times years ago, when I was on vice."

"Do you understand why I'm coming to you?"

"Absolutely. Rumor flies. And, we all got a better idea of what had happened when Jack McCoy was brought up on ethics violations a few years later."

"Lupo and I'll head to Centre Street –"

"You know it's better if I talk to him." She stood up and secured her gun in its holster, then put on her blazer and shrugged her shoulders to straighten it out.

"You sure?"

"Brief me on what you guys have so far."

"Nothing, until we hear back from the M.E. and CSU."

"I'll go to McCoy." She wrinkled her forehead and pursed her lips, preparing a justification she'd never offered before.. "Politics," she said.