DISCLAIMER: Seriously, I don't own Twilight.

A/N: Oh, the joys of writing oneself into a corner…I realized as I had started writing chapter 4, why I had originally stopped, and it took me longer than I care to admit to figure out a way for this story to work.

I'm still not pleased with this, but it's not getting any better just sitting here and without a Beta, this is as best I can do.

9:34am

We arrived at Cullen's office just after he was due to be in.

Jake paused once we got in the parking garage, though. "I wanna lead this line," he said, referring to our questions. "I know this case is your lead, but…" he paused and seemed to be trying to pick his words carefully. "He already thinks you're the good cop, but we don't need to make him think you're a soft touch. If you're willing to back me on this…"

"Then I can encourage him to answer you without being played?" I finished archly.

To his credit, Jacob didn't squirm and didn't back down from my gaze, though he looked only slightly apologetic. "'Wasn't gonna say—"

"Yes you were," I cut in. I turned to the window and chewed on my lip as I considered it. "But it's not a bad idea," I agreed slowly. I cut my gaze back to my partner to see him looking at me with an odd expression on his face.

I rolled my eyes. "It's not that surprising that I agree with you, Black."

"…right…" he answered distractedly. He shook his head and opened his door. "Come on."

I sighed and followed suit. Maybe I could write a book: The Many Moods of Jacob Black. That'd be worth publishing.

We rode to the top in silence and were greeted to the bustle of all four girls running around again.

Jacob strolled up to the desk and flashed his gun and badge at his hip to the girl at the desk. "We need to talk to Cullen."

I glanced at him in warning for his attitude, but my partner missed it entirely.

The girl barely looked up from her new monitor. The computer must have been the newest thing on the market, leagues past Angela's old model. "He's in a meeting," she replied coolly.

Jacob opened his mouth to say something detrimental no doubt, when I cut him off. "Would you please tell him that Detective Swan would like to speak with him about an urgent matter? Now?" I added in a tone that meant business.

No sooner than the words had left my lips, the door to Cullen's inner office opened then and my breath caught as two of the most gorgeous men in the world stepped out. One was the CEO, himself, the other was an older gentleman who could only have been his father: Doctor Carlisle Cullen—miracle surgeon.

He'd made international news more than once with several high risk surgeries he performed by stopping the patient's heart on the table. Each time his patients came through alive and cured.

Edward looked only slightly startled to see us again, but greeted us with a small smile. "Ah! Detective Swan…Detective Black…" he nodded to each of us then turned back to his father. "These are the officers who are on Angela's case," he explained to the man. Those bright green eyes turned to us once more and made introductions. "Detectives: my father Doctor Carlisle Cullen."

Dr. Cullen extended a hand and a polite smile. "A pleasure," he insisted. He glanced at his son. "I'm glad to know this is being investigated by Seattle's finest."

Edward didn't say anything, but there was sorrow in his face before he quickly schooled his features. "Father, I will see you later."

Doctor Cullen clapped him on the shoulder. "Of course, son. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help." He left and we had Edward's attention again.

I wondered about calling him so familiarly, even in my own head, but rationalized that having met yet another Cullen; it would be easier to differentiate the two by first names. Right?

Edward ushered us into his office and back to where we had tea before. "My father highly respects the Law Enforcement and the work you do," he began conversationally. He sent me a little smile and I felt warm.

Jake got right down to it. "Why didn't you tell us that Angela Weber called you on the night of her death, around the time of her attack?" he demanded.

"Because I missed her call, Detective Black," Edward replied crisply. He softened a breath later. "I don't think I'm ever going to forgive myself for that."

Purposeful or not, there was real conflict on his face as he appeared to try to keep his own grief and self-loathing from showing. I did my best to keep my hands from twitching in attempt to reach out to him.

"Records show she was on the phone long enough to talk to someone," Jake continued. "If you missed her call, did she leave a message?"

"No. If she'd left a message, then I would have been filing a different report and not a Missing Persons, or calling 911."

Instead of conceding the point, my partner shrugged it off. He tilted his head back towards the waiting area.

"Where's the old computer?"

"Hopefully sitting in a rubbish heap somewhere," Edward huffed. "I begged Angela to let me replace that behemoth with something newer, but she had nearly an unholy attachment to the thing. She said it would be a waste of time for me to try to upgrade because then she would have to take forever to learn all the ins and outs of a new model." He shook his head.

"If that's what it took to keep the most efficient woman on the planet happy and running my schedule like a Swiss clock, then I could let the matter lie. But that model was horrendously outdated and bulky. And those young ladies in the waiting room need something they're more familiar with if we have a hope of being as productive as Angela."

"So you just scrapped the thing?" Jacob asked incredulously. "Overnight? Do you know how suspicious that looks?"

"This company is dependent on racing the clock, as it were, Detective Black," Edward said. "We pulled everything from Angela's old computer last night and had a new model this morning."

My partner's eyebrows rose to his hairline and I just knew he was about to say something that could blow this for us. I cleared my throat, gaining both men's attention.

"Including her new projects?"

The CEO froze and I pressed on. "We were told she'd been distracted by a new project at work. What was it?"

There was a slight hesitation before realization dawned in his gorgeous eyes and Edward Cullen shook his head. "I was her only project, technically. She kept my schedule, meeting notes, phone calls and had access to the entire network as a precaution if my personal computer went down."

"Any back-ups?" Jake pressed.

"A few," Mr. Cullen admitted. "Again, as a precaution."

"We'll need copies everything she had on her old computer," Black told him.

After a deep breath, Edward nodded. "I will give you what I can, of course…but there are government contracts that I'm not at liberty to share." He turned his gaze to me in a silent plea for me to understand.

My heart skipped a beat. "We need everything you can give us, Mr. Cullen," I breathed. "Anything that can help us solve Angela's murder."

A tiny frown appeared on his face at that and I wanted to smooth it away.

"Do we need a warrant for the rest?" Jake asked in an arch tone.

"I should think a subpoena shall do, Detective," the other man returned.

I could tell Edward offering advice on how to conduct his job was making Black bristle, so I hurriedly thanked the CEO for his extra time and hustled my partner out of there.

"You can't tell me that whole thing wasn't sketchy!" he demanded as we got back in the car. "Scrapping the old model barely a day after the vic's dead, withholding files, missing a call the night she died?!"

"Okay, it's sketchy," I agreed irritably.

I'd noticed that Edward had been choosing his words carefully and my stomach had sunk when I realized he probably had something to hide. I knew logically that Jacob was correct about everyone being a suspect, but a very feminine part of me had held out a little hope for the devastatingly beautiful Edward Cullen.

"We'll get a warrant and come back to get the files."

"And his phone," Jacob added. "I don't trust him about that call. Something's not sittin' right with me on that," he added at my questioning glance.

I worried my bottom lip as I mentally replayed that part of the conversation. "I dunno…I think he might be telling the truth on that."

"You kidding? This is like, prime opportunity for you to get his phone number and you're not jumping at the chance?"

He may have been teasing, but his voice was a little too incredulous for my liking. "Stuff it, Black," I snapped.

10:40am

Angela's parents, Rev. and Mrs. Weber, were waiting at the station for us when we arrived and after a brief but tearful interview, I could safely conclude that there were no personal grudges anyone seemed to have for their daughter that they knew of.

"That was bust," Jake sighed after they left, but it wasn't unkind. Even he hadn't been unaffected by the obvious heartache of Angela's parents.

I said nothing as I finished typing up the warrant. Contrary to what Mr. Cullen seemed to think, a warrant was the means we would have to use to obtain all the files on Angela's computer…and his phone.

"You got any siblings, Swan?" Jake asked casually.

I knew where his thoughts lay. The Webers had shown us a picture of their family when we had talked to them. Angela had been the older sister of twin boys and had been captured with an arm around each brother with a beaming smile.

"No," I told him. "I'm an only child." Though sometimes dealing with my mother had made me feel that I had a younger sister. "You?"

"Yeah," Jake said. "Twin sisters. Older." He huffed a laugh, caught up in a memory. "They used to try to dress me up in their clothes. I must've been the only boy on the rez wearing a bedazzled jean jacket and jelly shoes."

I smiled at the mental picture he painted. Jake was a large man with a dominant demeanor to match. It was hard to picture him getting bullied into anything, but thought of him in girls' clothes was amusing.

I glanced at the clock on my computer and frowned. Judge Hardaway presided over court during this time and wouldn't be out for another few hours. I scanned my mental rolodex to see who else I could get to sign off on the warrant and came up empty. All the judges I knew were either busy or unlikely to do me the "favor" of giving me their signature because I didn't play their games. I hated politics.

Still, I wasn't completely done with my bag of tricks…

I pulled out my cell phone and scrolled through my contacts. "How do you feel about early lunch, Black?"

11:29am

"I think it's safe to say I did not peg you for this kinda place," Jacob said as we pulled into the diner.

I say diner, but the place was more a greasy spoon than a decent dining establishment. I fought not to wrinkle my nose at it and exited the car.

"Don't know why you stopped by ATM," he continued. "There can't be anything on the menu more than six or seven bucks."

We both knew that he had to be joking. No one could make detective without connecting the dots. And it was pretty obvious that this was not my first pick to eat. We were here for me to meet a source of mine.

"You want me to sit at the counter?" Jacob muttered as we walked in.

"Please," replied gratefully, spotting my target. "Jazz spooks easily."

"Jazz?" Jake repeated. I could hear the amusement in his voice.

I rolled my eyes and fished out a twenty. "Go eat."

Jacob plucked the bill out of my hand and picked a spot at the far end of the counter while I made my way to a booth in the opposite corner, where my contact sat. We probably weren't more than 30 feet apart, but the diner was tiny.

Jazz appeared to be enjoying a cup of coffee and reading some kind of book on the Civil War, but I wasn't fooled for a second. His eyes had probably been on me since we stepped out of the car.

I slid into the booth. "Hey, Jazz."

He inclined his head in greeting. "Swan."

As it always did, Jasper Hale's Texas twang made me want to madly dial Rosalie with the news that I had mysteriously found her missing twin, who had disappeared since finishing from Cornell. It hadn't been too hard to figure out who he was giving the obvious physical similarities both of them bore, plus the accent and the last name kind of gave it away. I never told Jasper who my roommate in college was. As much as I would love to be able to spark a family reunion for one of my good friends, I respected Jasper's obvious desire to get away from his past—whatever it was. He was too good a source for me to just give him up.

He smirked as he set aside his book. "New partner, I see."

"What makes you think he's my new partner?" I quizzed.

"Besides the fact he was basically body crowding you the second you got in the door? Or the set of your shoulders like you think he's watching you? He is, by the way, but he's a little better at being subtle than you are, I think."

I struggled not to fidget and glared at his knowing look. "I never brought anyone before," I pointed out.

"Exactly. Either your old partner knew well enough to leave you alone or didn't care. Newbie might not know any better or won't let you out of his sight."

I narrowed my eyes at his reasoning, but gave him that. I waived away the waitress that came to check on us and got down to business. "I need to know if you've heard of a new super-drug on or off the market."

"You know I don't deal, Swan," Jazz said with a shrug. He sipped his coffee.

"You're the go-to guy, aren't you?" I challenged.

Once of the reasons Jasper had never been charged or convicted was the fact that he was a third-party player. He only set up the connection for contacts, never having to touch any of the merchandise while still being able to make a profit for his finder's fee.

"Come on, Jazz," I needled.

It wasn't a whine, but there was just something about the blond man that made me think of him as an older brother, sometimes, even though he was my age and an informant who wasn't aware of my personal relationship with his sister.

To combat the familiarity, he just looked at me and I sighed in disgust as I forked over a wad of cash that amounted to a month's rent. I hated it but Jasper Hale never did anything for free.

"You're gonna have to be more specific," he answered, calmly pocketing the cash.

I slid the folder I had brought with me across the table and watched as the laid back demeanor he wore slid off his face for a look of surprise. He whistled lowly. "So this isn't just the streets," he gleaned, studying the copy of the report Roger had given us.

"No," I agreed. "Whatever you can find and wherever you can find it," I charged.

He bobbed his head once. "I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Jazz." I left him to his book and joined Jake at the counter.

He was enjoying a greasy burger and a ridiculous amount of fries. "Got what you need?"

"I will," I told him.

Jacob nodded and slid a laminated menu to me. "Whadda want?"

How about some hand sanitizer?

7:14pm

We finally got Judge Hardaway to sign the warrant, and even though Edward Cullen was out of the office (which annoyed Jake to no end, I'm sure); I let my partner have his fun by rubbing it in the faces of the girls. I knew it was petty, but I hadn't cared for them one bit and Jake was easier to deal with when he was in a good mood.

The files, however, didn't seem to be anything special and I felt we had hit a dead end. I sighed.

Quil and Embry came back to their desks from wherever they had been for the day and looked to be headed home soon.

"So!" Quil said brightly, as he rubbed his hands together. "Claire's birthday tonight…"

It took a second for me to process that he was addressing me and my eyes flew to the calendar on my desk, where a cheerful little red square reminded me that I had promised to attend tonight's festivities. "Quil," I groaned.

"Nuh-uh, Bella," he interrupted. The firm tone in his voice stopped me from arguing. "You promised me and Claire you'd be there and she's been cackling all week how she's gonna get 'Straight-laced-Swan' smashed off her ass." He was amused at that, but it was clear how serious Quil was. He did everything in his power to keep his girlfriend happy.

I could feel the weight of Jacob's interested gaze and did my best to ignore that he was there. "That was one time, Quil," I pointed out. "And we weren't in the middle of a case."

"Are you really gonna let the birthday girl down?" Quil wasn't pulling any punches. He knew how much I hated disappointing anyone I'd given my word to.

"Fine," I huffed. "But, I'm probably gonna be there late."

"It's all good. Party doesn't start swinging 'til ten. We've got a reservation on the mezz at Trinity. You come too, Black. Come see how your partner can shake her thang."

"Really…." Jacob drawled, sounding way too interested.

I felt myself growing hot. "I am not dancing, Quil."

"That wasn't the story last time, Swan," Embry jeered.

"Shut it, Call."

"Sure, sure," Jacob answered easily, as he appraised me in a way that had my stomach start sprouting butterflies. "I've got nothing else tonight."

Terrific.

9:40pm

I dug aggravatedly through my closet for something-anything-to wear for tonight. It was a hopeless task. I wasn't much into the social scene of Seattle and I certainly wasn't a club-goer, a fact painfully reflected by my wardrobe. I sighed. I didn't even begin to have an idea of what was acceptable to wear to this kind of party. There was nothing for it; I was going to have to call my best friend Alice-a Buyer for several exclusive boutiques and the fashion expert of my life.

"Bella!" Alice cried after only one ring. Her voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper. "Who, what, when and where?"

"Hello, Alice," I intoned. I had long ago gotten used to her uncanny ability to discern whether I had called to just talk or dial for a fashion emergency.

"Sweetheart, are we facing a time limit?" Alice prodded in a chiding sort of tone. Small talk and social pleasantries were wasted on my best friend if there was a 'victim' in need of Alice's help.

I rolled my eyes and cited the info. "Quil's girlfriend, Claire, is having her birthday at the Trinity. I'm joining the party late."

"Claire: the girlfriend in college?"

"Yeah." I heard Alice's humming over the phone as she probably flipped through a filed index of every article of clothing I owned.

"Let's do that red knotted blouse and dark washed skinny jeans you've got. Pair it with that black corduroy jacket you love and those cork wedge heels I bought you."

Forced on me, was more like. "Those heels are uncomfortable Alice," I half whined, as I eyed my closet for something more comfortable. I spotted my silver ballet flats….

"Bella, don't you dare think about wearing those silver flats. You'll ruin the look." Crap, she was good.

"What look?" I challenged.

"The effortlessly-classy-but-casually-sexy-look," she retorted. "Those flats will not do you any justice in skinny jeans. Also, no headbands or ponytails. Just clip some of your front strands back and curl the ends."

Ugh. I wasn't sure how much I cared for this 'look' that Alice had probably just named out of the blue and I really didn't like how Nazish she got about my appearance. But I couldn't deny that her touch had me looking….well, less like me and more like someone who actually got a date more than once or twice a year.

"Fine….we need to get together soon so I can tell you all about the new man in my life."

Like Pavlov's dogs, I could hear her visibly perk up. "What? New man?"

I grinned evilly, even though she couldn't see it. "Oh look, I've got to go! Bye, Alice!" I gleefully called as I hung up over her cry of "Bella!"

That was for the shoes...

10:35pm

The music was already pumping and the club was beginning to look packed when I stepped inside the main room.

"Swan!" I heard Call's voice over the din of the crowd. He reached my side a second later, holding three beers. "You clean up nice."

"Thanks," I drawled, eyeing his handful. "Are you drinking all of those yourself?"

Em laughed. "Takes more than a couple beers to knock me down, light-weight," he teased. "But it's easier than going back to the bar for every bottle. Come on, party girl's upstairs."

I followed my old partner up to the mezz, which had been blocked off for our private party.

"Bella!" Claire cried as she tossed her arms around me.

"Happy Birthday, Claire," I greeted as I returned the hug.

"Thanks! We're doing shots," she said matter-of-factly.

"Claire…" But she was already handing me a glowing vial and holding one up for herself.

"Happy birthday to me!" She tapped her plastic tube into mine and knocked back her shot.

I braced myself and followed suit with trepidation. I had no need to worry though, as the drink went down smoothly with a slightly minty aftertaste at the back of my tongue. "Do I want to know what was in those?"

"Probably not." The birthday girl led me over to a couch where Quil, Embry and several college aged kids were sitting. After everyone had been introduced Claire plopped down in Quil's lap and people shifted around so that I ended up between Embry and a boy named Seth.

After a few minutes of small talk, I was informed by Claire that all the girls were going down to group dance so the DJ could announce the birthday girl in the house. I glared at Quil's grin and began quietly plotting my escape to the ladies' room. The wedges Alice had me wear were fine on my feet as long I moved as little as possible and stayed sober. Otherwise, all bets were off and no amount of straps would keep me upright.

I was just about to make my excuse when Quil's greeting diverted my attention. "Jake, man, you made it!"

Handshakes went around as Jacob greeted the guys. He had traded his white button down for a black one (ha ha) and a pair of fitted jeans. The black leather jacket made him look like the stereotypical bad boy, but it made him look incredibly appealing.

I frowned internally at that and stood to make good on my retreat but Jake's gaze caught mine.

"Bella…"

Perhaps the alcohol was starting to kick in because I could have sworn that my name rolled off his tongue like dark chocolate. The butterflies were making a reappearance at the way he was looking at me. And then suddenly, Jake grinned, pulling the cocky card I was already familiar with. "Lookin' good, Swan."

I wasn't really positive about the best way to reply to that as a blush bloomed across my cheeks. Complimenting him back would undoubtedly give the man an even bigger ego. And that expression on his face made a little nervous for reasons I didn't care to examine too closely.

Thankfully I was saved from saying anything when Seth greeted my partner like an old friend. Apparently they were, I found out a second later as the two reunited.

Quietly I leaned over to Embry. "I'm gonna go powder my nose," I whispered.

He smirked. "Should I tell the girls to wait for you?"

"Don't you dare!" I hissed.

Embry's smirk grew, but I knew he'd cover for me. "You wanna leave your jacket here so they don't think you actually took off?"

He had a good point, but I was hesitant to relinquish the corduroy.

"You gotta be hot in that, anyways," he pointed out.

With a sigh, I shedded the jacket and left it with Call. "Don't you dare spill anything on it."

I left Embry sputtering behind me as I left and fought to keep my shoulders from twitching.

The red knotted blouse that Alice had presented me with was a gorgeous shade that made even my pasty skin look not quite so washed out. It had a demure keyhole in the front and crossed halter neck. I'd been pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of it when I first saw it, until Alice turned the thing around….my cute little blouse had barely any back to speak of and was the very reason I had brought my jacket. My hair was longish, but not long enough to cover the huge expanse of skin I presented in the shirt.

I made my way carefully down the stairs but instead of making my way to the restroom, my feet for some reason wandered in the direction of the bar. It wasn't packed and I picked a spot to be waited on. A few moments later, a strawberry daiquiri was in my hand. I sipped on it quietly until a voice spoke up behind me.

"This doesn't look like the restroom to me."

I jumped at how close Black sounded next to my ear and turned to see my partner with a smirk on his face.

"Now you're spying on me?" I joked, trying my best to ignore the way Jacob's eyes roved over my form. I noticed he was taking in the height difference before glancing at my feet.

He shrugged. "Call was starting to get worried when you didn't return. I just happened to be down here for a drink." He flagged down a bartender and ordered a whiskey drink over my shoulder, before returning to our conversation. "You hidin' from the birthday girl?"

"Claire wanted to dance and I don't dance," I told him. I knew it was ridiculous about how defensive I was about this, but I had no intention of making a fool out of myself.

Jake got his drink and downed in one gulp, before flashing those impossibly white teeth and turning on the charm. "That's just because you've never had the right partner."

I rolled my eyes. How many times had I heard that one? I felt Jake's hand on my arm.

"Come on," he said.

"Jacob!" I cried. "I don't. Dance."

He laughed and I could feel the rumble in his chest. "It's just Jake," he corrected. "And whose toes are you worried about—yours or mine?" He guided the straw of my drink back to my mouth. "Come on, one more big sip for courage."

I couldn't believe I was allowing this, but I did as bade and then my partner set my daiquiri on the bar before leading me to the dance floor.

The sound was louder here, despite the crush of bodies, but Jake kept me close to his larger frame as he navigated through the throng. Once he found a spot to his liking, he pulled me closer to him and spun me around so that he now stood behind me.

"Jake," I warned. I had to shout to even hear my own voice.

"Relax, Bella," he laughed. "Have a little trust in your partner. I'm not gonna let you fall."

That wasn't exactly what I was worried about at this point….

"Feel the beat?"

I nodded. The bass was pounding through my chest.

"Ya gotta let it move, you, Bells."

Bells?

Jake's hand slid to my hips moving them from side to side in time with the beat. My face was on fire at the warmth of his palms, but I followed his instruction, trying to make my body less stiff in its movement.

"Good," he praised, once I'd got the rocking motion down. "Now step forward…" he pressed his right leg so close to the back of mine, that I was forced to move my own appendage as directed. I wobbled for a split second as my gait wasn't even for it, but Jake steadied me, chuckling. "I thought you've done this before?"

"I told you I don't dance!" I tossed back.

The lesson resumed and even though the music was loud and the bass was beating through my body and my incredibly good looking and great smelling partner was pressed a little too intimately behind me, I began to loosen up and get into the music as he intended.

"You got it, Swan!" Jake cheered as I successfully completed the instruction. He spun me around and gathered me close. "Now you can dance!"

I should have protested, but the incredible amount of heat the man was producing made me just want to cuddle into him, or arch into the large sure hand gliding down my very exposed back. And Jacob's smile was all sunshine and good feelings in his enthusiasm.

'Careful, Swan…'

Thankfully the song ended, though Jacob was slow to release me. I can't honestly say I wanted to leave his warmth immediately, either.

"Now you don't have any excuses for Claire," he teased, indicating to the mezzanine where Quil and his girlfriend were watching us like hawks.

"You play dirty, Jacob Black!"

"Don't forget it!" he laughed.

We headed back to the bar for another round for Jake and a fresh daiquiri for me. I gave him a look as the glass was set in front of me.

"I shouldn't…"

"Come on, Bells! Everyone knows booze makes you a better dancer!"

I rolled my eyes but took a sip of the cold concoction and watched as my partner talked to the bartender about a round of shots for the crew upstairs.

"Tell me a pretty lady like yourself isn't alone at a place like this," another voice came from behind me.

I turned to see some guy with blond hair, blue eyes and a baby face, leaning against the bar, trying to look cool.

"I'm, uh…not," I replied flustered.

The blond offered a crooked smile which was charming in its own little boy way. "What a shame. Mike Newton." He offered a hand.

Not wanting to seem rude, I took it. "Bella Swan."

Mike smiled wider. "Think your date'll let me take you out on the floor for a spin?" he asked, nodding to Jake at my side.

"He's not my date," I replied. "And I don't dance."

"I just saw you out on the floor," Mike said.

I turned peered over my shoulder at my partner, who was not facing us, but I had no doubt that he was eavesdropping. "That was…a one-time kinda thing, sorry," I told the kid. I could help but think he was some young college kid out to pick up a one night stand to impress his friends with.

Mike's face fell. "Oh. Well, if you change your mind…."

"Thanks…" Moving off with my drink, I headed back towards the stairs. I could feel Black behind me.

"Thanks for helping," I said sarcastically.

"Hey, you had it well in hand, Swan," he chuckled. "Very smooth."

I hoped he'd tripped with the drinks.

Nearly an hour later, I was ready to call it quits for the night. The alcohol had buzzed through my system, but I felt safe enough to pay my tab and get a taxi home. I wasn't quite so sure about the stairs, though as I eyed them warily.

"Need help down?" Jake asked from his spot next to me on the couch.

I sighed. "Probably," I answered truthfully. "I'm bound to twist my ankle in these shoes at this point.

He stood. "Come on, I'll help you down. I gotta take a leak anyways."

After saying goodnight to the boys and Claire, Jake and I made our way carefully down the metal grating steps with his hand on my elbow and mine griping the stair rail for dear life. We parted ways at the bottom.

I signaled for my tab when I got to the bar, but I had to wait before they could get to me. Unfortunately that gave Mike prime opportunity to strike again.

"So you were with that party upstairs, huh?" he began as he sidled next to me.

"Yeah."

"Looks like a good crowd," he noted, glancing back at the mezz. "Must've been a big deal."

"It was a friend's birthday," I explained, trying to keep the answers short and my eyes on the folks behind the bar.

Mike however, didn't seem to be getting the hint and nodded to carry on the conversation. "Celebrations. That's cool. We're celebrating too. My buddy just got this fat check for his mad skills with computers for Cullen Pharmaceuticals."

I froze. "Cullen Pharmaceuticals?" I parroted.

Mike nodded at my sudden interest. "Yeah. He just did this crazy work for some CEO's computer or something."

"Is he still here—your friend?" I pressed.

My companion looked a little taken aback and then affronted, but he answered me anyways. "Eric? Yeah he's still here."

"Can I talk to him?" I asked sweetly. "I…really like computers."

A shadow passed over his face, but Mike eventually began scanning the club for his friend. "Lemme go see if I can find him," he sighed, when it became apparent that his friend wasn't in sight.

"I'll wait here," I offered.

He shook his head but went off in search.

Jacob returned from the restroom. "Didn't think you were still gonna be here," he said.

"I think we might have a lead on that computer!" I told him excitedly.

He straightened. "Angela Weber's computer?"

I nodded and licked my lips. "Remember the guy that was hitting on me earlier?"

"The baby faced blond boy."

"Yeah! He said he and his friend are celebrating a huge pay check his friend got for computer work for 'some CEO's computer'." I turned out to the crowd to keep watch for Mike and his friend.

There was a rumpus on the dance floor and people were clustering together weirdly.

Jake and I took one look at each other and headed to the floor. The music was still playing but people had stopped dancing and were circled around Mike, who was on all fours and vomiting.

My partner immediately took charge. "Seattle PD," he told the people at large as we pushed through. "Back up, give him some room!"

I went to Mike's side.

"What's going on?" Jacob asked, all business.

The sick kid looked up, pale and shaky. "Eric," he said. "Eric Yorkie's dead in the alley."

Please Review.