A/N: I'm pretty sure I came up with this idea on my own. I was reading someone else's fic recently with Mike listing all the possible nicknames Carolyn could have, but they didn't list this one. I think it's appropriate. If you don't get it right away, review and I'll explain it. J Also, still don't have a beta, but as I'm not sure I'm going to write more in the future, I'm not looking for one. I think I did a pretty good job editing this myself but if you see any glaring errors, review and let me know and I'll fix it ASAP.
Disclaimer: Is Carolyn still on the show? Is Julianne Nicholson still doing a bang-up job as Chris on Conviction? No? Well then, the characters are obviously not mine.
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The day had been off to a (relatively) normal start. Dead body dumped overnight in a tea cup at Coney Island. High profile, public location, hence the call for MCS. Disturbing, yes, but nothing that would outright suggest that by mid-afternoon, Carolyn Barek's relationship with her partner, which up until this point had retained a certain level of professional civility, would (in her opinion) take a decidedly unpleasant and unwelcome turn.
The body was IDed at the scene as a Mr. Byron Chase of Rockaway. An initial records search on the victim was her first tip-off that her day was not going to go well. He worked in Human Resources for a private investment firm: the same firm her cousin worked for. She shot her partner an off-handed comment that maybe they should split up this time, she taking the vic's work, while he interviewed the family. Mike cocked an eyebrow, his curiosity peaked. It wasn't like her to suggest going solo...what exactly it was about her cousin that she wanted to hide? And so, of course, he shot down her plan, instead insisting on a brief visit with the wife and a stop by the investment firm before grabbing lunch. Together.
The interview with the wife went as well as such a thing could be expected to go. Carolyn was strangely quiet throughout the interview and the car rides. Questions he asked about her cousin were fielded with short, concise responses. Late 20's. Second cousin, mother's side. Not his type and don't even think about it. Wouldn't hurt a fly, but with ears more sensitive and accurate than Bobby's nose, she may have an inkling of who might have had it out for Chase.
On arriving at the firm, Carolyn made one last-ditch, desperate effort to lose her partner. She tried to in vain to convince him to remain behind and chat up the flirty secretary for information while she went ahead to her cousin's office. He saw right through her attempt at diversion, and with a boyish gleam in his eyes, his trademark cheshire grin, and a juvenile but well-timed diversion of his own, he managed to briefly catch Carolyn off-guard. He trotted down the hallway toward the woman's office, his long legs quickly distancing him from his partner, leaving her behind with no hope of catching him before he reached the room.
A sharp knock on the door produced a muffled "come in" from the occupant inside. Mike opened the door to see a young, pretty, petite brunette with Carolyn's eyes sitting at a desk, pen in her mouth, angrily glaring at a computer screen. Her gaze shifted to Mike, clearly irritated at being interrupted. Her mouth had just dropped open to tell Mike to get lost when Carolyn finally caught up and appeared from behind her partner.
Immediately the woman's eyes lit up, and in that second, Carolyn realized she made a huge mistake; she would have been better off letting Mike interview her cousin without her. Instead, she unwittingly instigated what she had been attempting to avoid all morning.
The woman let out a small gasp followed by an enthusiastic shout of greeting, jumped up from her seat, rushed over to Carolyn, and pulled her into a hug. Upon hearing the endearment in the woman's exclamation, Mike's eyes went wide as saucers and his grin burst into a huge devilish smile. Carolyn could see the muscles in his abdomen vibrating as he tried to stifle his laughter, and she knew that he would never, ever let her live it down.
Her cousin had not been close to the victim, but as Carolyn suspected, she had a few solid leads to offer. With another hug and promises of coffee in the future, Carolyn braced herself as they turned to leave. That damned smile had yet to leave her partner's face, and she knew that it wouldn't be long now before it started. She waited for it as they walked down the hall and rode the elevator down 15 floors to the parking garage. Nothing. During the walk to the car, he began to speak, but only about tracking down the leads her cousin had mentioned. As she climbed into the passenger seat, she started to relax. Maybe her partner was more mature than she gave him credit for. Maybe he wouldn't take the bait after all.
Until he started the engine and turned to her with that impish smile on his face that told her she was all but doomed.
"So, where should we go for lunch, Care Bear?"