Eames was convinced that if it were possible to slam an elevator door, Cressmoor would have done just that. She purposely kept her head down, preparing to contact the next witness, as the major blasted into the squad room. She didn't have to look up; she knew he was there. She also knew when he stopped by Goren's desk, snorting like an angry bull. "Where is he, detective?" he growled.
She looked up, struggling to keep her expression blank. Whether amusement or annoyance would have been first to show, she could not predict, but she guessed either would have been unwelcome and probably deemed inappropriate by the Powers That Be. "Excuse me, major?" she asked placidly. "Are you referring to my partner?"
She could swear she saw steam coming from the man's ears. "Yes, I mean your partner!"
"He isn't here at the moment. Would you like me to give him a message?"
"I am certain you would not relay the message I have for him."
He stormed off, heading for Deakins' office. Ah, well...that was the captain's job, to run interference. At least she gave him a head's up so he knew what to expect, and he knew that it wasn't Bobby's fault this time. She crossed her fingers and hoped it would take Goren a little longer to get back...just until the major was safely gone from the building. She cringed inwardly as she heard the major shouting from behind the closed door of the captain's office, until the door opened and Deakins hollared, "Eames, get in here!"
Oh, Goren was so going to owe her for this.
She stepped into the office, where Cressmoor was huffing like a freight train. For a moment, she worried the man was going to have a stroke. The moment he opened his mouth, though, she stopped worrying and started hoping. Cressmoor glared at her. "How could you let him make an accusation like that!"
Her eyebrows rose in genuine surprise. "Let him? Major Cressmoor, my partner is not a child. He is a very competent police officer investigating a crime against a child...your child. And he did not accuse you of anything."
"Not me. My son!"
"He made no accusations. He made a perfectly legitimate request as a routine part of our investigation. Had I been the one to call you with the same request, I would wager we would not be here having this conversation."
The major sputtered as Deakins struggled to hide his amusement and keep a serious face. When Cressmoor looked at him, he sighed. "Major, I realize you do not like Goren. But the man is doing his job, and I will stand behind him for that. His request was not out of line."
Cressmoor's reply was cut off by a booming knock on the door. Deakins knew exactly who it was and exactly why he was there. "Come in," he said, hoping he would not regret those words.
The door opened and Goren came in, his face dark and stormy. Shit, Eames thought. This was not going to go well. Her gut clenched and she got a really bad feeling. Glancing at Deakins, who came around his desk, she could tell he was feeling the same way.
Cressmoor glared at him, his face gradually going from red to purple as his rage increased. "You do not know my son," he growled as he turned fully toward Goren.
"An hour and a half ago I didn't even know you had a son," Goren answered, his voice tight but controlled.
Deakins looked at Eames and met her eyes as he discretely stepped closer to the major. She moved a few steps closer to her partner. Neither man noticed; they were focused solely on each other. Goren's anger was controlled, but Eames knew he was furious. The soft timbre of his voice did nothing to hide his anger. "If you have a problem with me, major, you take it up with me. You do not drag my captain into it and you do not take it out on my partner. If you want to find out who hurt your little girl, then let us do our damn job and stay the hell out of the way."
When Cressmoor stepped toward him, Deakins stepped into his path. "Okay...Goren, Eames, out."
He didn't have to tell them twice. Eames grabbed Goren's arm and hustled him out the door. When the door closed behind them, Cressmoor's shouting resumed, but it didn't last long. A few minutes later, the captain's door opened and Cressmoor left the office, slamming the door behind him. He headed straight for the elevators. Deakins came out a few minutes later and approached Goren and Eames. "Well, you did a great job of thoroughly pissing him off."
Goren looked up at him. "You didn't deserve that. All I did was tell him we needed to account for the whereabouts of all family members during the time the little girl was attacked. Routine investigative procedure."
Deakins nodded and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I already talked to the chief. He knows you did nothing out of line. Have you gotten all the witnesses scheduled?"
"Almost."
Eames added, "The first interview is in a half hour."
Deakins nodded. "Make it good, guys. I want to close the book on this case, and if it unravels, I do not want it coming back on us."
He headed back toward his office. "If we're lucky," Eames commented dryly. "The major will explode before the case is over and we won't have to deal with him any more."
A soft smile touched Goren's mouth and he handed her a tall styrofoam cup. "Eat your lunch, Eames."
Taking the cup from him, she touched his fingers and gave him a smile. When she turned to her lunch, he exhaled softly and picked up the phone to call the next witness.
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Eames was preparing for their fifth interview of the day while Goren finished up the preliminary paperwork from their last interview. "Detective Goren?"
He looked up into the worried face of a tall, well-dressed woman. She was young and pretty, but her eyes were tired and red-rimmed. "My name is Patrice Cressmoor, Kelly's mother."
He got to his feet, accepting her extended hand. He motioned to his chair. "Hello, Mrs. Cressmoor. Please, sit down."
"Thank you." She sat in the chair he had just vacated and he waited for her to continue. She sighed. "I understand you have some questions about my stepson that Hugo was unwilling to answer."
"Just routine questions. We need to know the whereabouts of everyone in the family."
"Please forgive him for his temper, detective. Do you have children?"
"No, ma'am. I don't."
"Try to understand. Kelly is his baby girl. Since the day she was born, she has been the apple of his eye. He feels...impotent right now. Somebody hurt his baby and he can't do a thing about it. He feels like you are spinning your wheels and the man who did this is going to get away with it. He's not used to feeling that way and he simply can't tolerate a situation he cannot control."
Goren nodded and leaned against the desk. "I assure you, we're doing everything we can, but we don't have a lot to go on."
"I understand that." She handed him a piece of paper. "My stepson's name is Jeffrey. He was out with friends on Sunday. Those are the names and numbers of the friends he said he was with."
"You don't believe him."
"I don't know. Jeff is alot like his father and he has always been jealous of Kelly. But he has also always been a good boy, and I don't know what to think. If you can confirm his whereabouts, that's fine. I don't have any other information."
"How old is Jeff?"
"Seventeen. Hugo and I have been married since he was eleven, about a year after his mother died of cancer. I have done my best to be a good mother to him and he always seemed to appreciate it. But he is close to his father and I think he resents having to share him with Kelly after twelve years of being an only child. He has always been kind to Kelly, and he never yelled at her or anything, but there was always an undercurrent of jealousy there that Hugo refuses to acknowledge."
Goren absently studied the paper in his hand. She seemed to be a sensitive and perceptive woman. Tilting his head slightly to the side, he asked, "Do you think Jeff could have done this?"
"Under other circumstances, I would say absolutely not. But..." She sighed heavily. "I don't like the crowd he's running with, detective. They are troublemakers. The one boy there, George Hunter, has been in trouble with the police...drugs, I think. I don't know about the other boys."
"Does Jeff have a girlfriend?"
"Not that I know, but I think he had his eye on Gloria. That was another scenario Hugo refused to address, even as a possibility. But it's one reason I think that Jeff may not have been involved. He does like Gloria. And I have trouble seeing him do something like that to any child, especially his sister."
"How did Kelly react to him? Was she ever afraid of him?"
"No. Never. She loves Jeff. She loves...everyone.."
She covered her mouth with a hand as tears welled in her eyes. Goren reached forward and touched her shoulder. She struggled for a few moments before she was able to compose herself. His eyes showed concern. "Is there anything I can do? Would you like something to drink?"
She shook her head. "No, thank you. I really need to...get back to the hospital."
"How is Kelly doing?"
"She's...okay, right now." She rested her hand on his arm. "They told me you and your partner came to see her. Thank you for that."
He nodded. "Let us know how she does."
She rose to her feet. "I will. Thank you, Detective Goren. Please...find the person who did this...and...try not to judge my husband too harshly. His bark really is much worse than his bite."
He smiled kindly. "Don't worry."
She took a deep breath and reached into her purse. Taking out a small picture, she handed it to him. "Keep this. When Hugo is at his worst, you can remember why you're doing this."
Then she moved past him toward the elevators. He studied the picture in his hand and let his thoughts wander over the conversation until a voice behind him brought him back. "Something wrong with your chair?"
"What?" He looked around. "No...oh, uh, we just had a visitor."
"Well, you're not bleeding so I can assume it wasn't the major."
He smiled. "No, it was his wife. She's very different from her husband."
She nodded her head toward his hand. "She give you her number?"
He smiled slightly. "No. Phone numbers of the kids her stepson said he was with on Sunday."
"Oh. More interviews. Oh, goody."
"And this." He showed her the picture. "So we won't forget why we're doing this when we have to deal with the major."
It was almost painful to look at the picture, knowing what someone had done to that little girl. The picture certainly served the purpose the mother intended it to. He slid it into his shirt pocket. Eames sighed. "Did she have much to say about her stepson?"
"No. Just that he's 17 and hanging with the wrong crowd. And the major doesn't like to consider any scenarios that don't mesh with his worldview."
"Really? I never would have gotten that."
He finally smiled. Slipping the paper with the numbers into his binder, he said, "Are we ready for Mr. Carruthers?"
"He's ready and waiting."
"Let's go then."
He followed her toward the interview room.
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By the time they were done interviewing the last witness of the day, it was after eight. They were tired and frustrated. Six interviews and they had gotten nowhere. So far, no one had seen anyone matching the description of the man the nanny described. The composite she'd worked up with the sketch artist they'd sent up hadn't helped either.
Goren scrubbed his face and leaned back in his chair. "Go home, Eames. I'll finish up here."
"I'm not going to stick you with all the work."
He laughed. "As if. Go on home. I'll see you in the morning."
"Are you sure?"
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't tell you to leave." He smiled. "Good night, Eames."
She wasn't going to sit and argue the point. "Okay, then. Good night, Bobby." She got up and hesitated. "Promise me you'll get some rest?"
He nodded. "I'll get some rest."
He watched her until she got on the elevator. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back and reached into his pocket. Pulling the picture out, he studied the sweet face of their child victim. Very softly, he whispered, "I'm sorry." And he closed his eyes.
