The Line That Must Not Be Crossed

"Eighty."

"What?"

"He spent $80 on a DVD player. We didn't find a DVD player in his apartment. Not this brand, anyway."

"A gift for someone?"

"Someone special?"

"Bobby, none of our interviews have revealed that he had any relationships outside of work."

"Still, that DVD player had to go somewhere."

"Toys for Tots?"

"A DVD player?"

"I'm postulating. Play along."

"Okay, fine, he buys an $80 gift for a stranger. I don't think Toys for Tots is the right…venue for that sort of gift."

"Lots of people collect gifts for people at the holidays. Churches, civic clubs, schools… Could take a long time to track it down."

"So we find out which church, civic club, or schools he was affiliated with."

Alex rubbed her temples, but offered him a smile. He was right, it was the only avenue that might lead them somewhere at this point. Headache or not, it was a trail worthy of following.

"You okay?" he asked, noting that she'd been rubbing her temples almost a solid minute.

Alex sighed. "Just a headache. I'll take something for it."

He nodded. "I'll start making some calls."

"The DVD player wasn't the only thing on this charge we couldn't account for."

"Oh?" Bobby said, pausing with the phone hanging between his ear and his shoulder. He was reorganizing his binder with his hands.

"There are two DVD movies, a cell phone case, a couple of gift cards for clothing stores, and a handful of toys. You get anything yet?"

"How much did he spend… on all that?" Bobby asked, waving his hands in the air.

"Uhm… about $200. Why?"

"He wasn't well off, had a lot of debt… That's a lot of money for a guy like him."

"So you gonna answer my question?" Eames rubbed her temple again.

"Oh, uh… not really. He wasn't a college grad. There's his former high school, and he didn't attend church, but there is a Presbyterian Church down the corner from his building."

"And the guy had no family…"

"None that he was in contact with. His cousin is flying in from Vermont to handle the burial and all. She said she hasn't seen him in 20 years." He shifted in his chair and dialed his phone. After a few moments of waiting, Bobby spoke. "Yeah, I was wondering if you have any, uh, you know, programs going on where someone could donate gifts for a family in need this Christmas?" He stopped and listened. "Okay, thank you. Uh, no, no, that's all right. I'll let my friend know about it. Thank you." He dropped the handset onto the base and looked up at Alex. "I guess we start at the school."

"The Church doesn't…?"

"They collect for Toys for Tots, Senior Services, that kind of thing. Nothing where you would adopt an entire family for Christmas."

"Okay, then. We go to the school." She was a little slower than usual gathering up her things, but they were soon on their way out the door.

"Headache still there?" Bobby asked in the elevator.

"I can't seem to shake it."

"Maybe you're coming down with something."

"God, I hope not. I'm supposed to help my sister cook for Christmas."

Christmas was four days away. They had both been on call for Christmas for the last two years, and Ross had promised them a real holiday this year.

At the SUV, Bobby followed her to the driver's side, which earned him a glare.

"I thought maybe if you didn't feel up to it…" Bobby explained.

Alex shook her head and scoffed. "I'm fine, Goren."

He held up his hands. "Okay, okay." Bobby circled around to his own side of the car and got in.

They met briefly with the principal, who directed them to the school counselor. She was giving a small group of students a cheerful goodbye as she sent them back to their classrooms.

"Mrs. Dietrich, these are detectives Goren and Eames from NYPD. They would like to speak with you about the Christmas donations."

"Of course, thank you, Ms. Wall." She watched the principal turn to leave and shook both Bobby and Alex's hands. Then she invited them into her office.

It was small and crowded with books and in place of the usual knick-knacks, there were unusual toys in occasional spots on the shelves. They sat in one of the hard chairs around a small table where she led her group sessions with her students.

"How can I help you?"

"We understand that people in the community can adopt a family for Christmas, donate the gifts they want…"

"Yes, we've been doing that for years. Most of the recipients are students who qualify for the grant program which provides food and clothing to homeless children. A few of the families are recommended by teachers, due to poverty, or unusual family circumstances—health crises, that sort of thing."

"That's wonderful that you can help them like that," Bobby told her with a smile.

"I wish we could provide more throughout the year instead of only during the holiday season. We do what we can—we send backpacks full of food home with kids every Friday… provide winter coats, hats, and gloves when the weather turns…"

"I'm afraid we've come here under grim circumstances." Alex rubbed her temple, then flicked her eyes Goren's way and abruptly tilted her hand to comb through her hair.

"We're investigating a homicide," Bobby continued for his partner. "And it appears that our victim… may have been… one of your donors."

Her eyes widened. "Oh my God."

"Do you have any records that could link our victim to your program?"

"I write a receipt for the donors, an in-kind donation, and then they can use the information for their taxes…"

Bobby told her the victim's name, and watched her carefully for her response. She didn't seem to react at all to the name, but produced a copy of the receipt and invited them to contact her if they needed anything else.

Alex handed the receipt to her partner and led the way out of the school to the SUV.

Bobby read the receipt and trailed along after her. He did not offer to drive.

"Anything?" she asked as they piled into the car.

"All of our missing items," he announced.

"She didn't seem to know him."

"No, she didn't."

Alex pulled out into traffic, cutting her turn a little close. Bobby looked at her with concern. The headache was affecting her driving.

"Where does that leave us?" Alex asked him. She was happy to let him do all of the thinking. Her head was pounding.

He was quiet a moment, then surprised her by smacking the dash. "Go back to the school," he told her.

Alex was still shaking off the shock of what he'd just done. She glared at him.

"S-sorry," Bobby said meekly. "Maybe the counselor didn't know our victim, but maybe she knew someone else in his circle. Maybe he wasn't the only donor to her program. Maybe someone turned him on to it."

She circled the block and pulled up in front of the school once more. "Okay, but you take this one on your own, okay? I'm gonna try and… you know…" She took a deep breath and rubbed her temples again.

He nodded, stared at her a moment, then quickly got out of the car, closing the door behind him.

Alex left at the close of the business day. She was getting grumpier by the minute, and Bobby was glad to see her head home. Maybe after a good night's rest she would feel better.

He stayed until 8:00 p.m., researching into the backgrounds of Hugh Paloma's coworkers.