Chapter 6

And effect

Anna emerged from the bathroom fully dressed, makeup and hair completely in order. She let out a sigh and performed a once around for her partner. Damon sat on the bed and smiled as she spun. She felt silly modeling her clothes for him. After all, she was only wearing a pair of old black jeans, a green sweater she had received as a Christmas gift, and a black jacket.

"You look wonderful," Damon said.

"Thank ya, Damon," Anna replied. "Ah really appreciate what ya did for me earlier."

"What? Buy you coffee?" Damon teased, "Don't worry about it. You can pay me back the buck fifty later."

"You know exactly what Ah'm talking about," Anna sighed. "Ah was a hot mess this mornin'. Thanks for sittin' with me through that."

"Hey," Damon started, as he got up and walked over to Anna. "I'm your partner. That's what we're for." He gave her a quick hug before getting down to business. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and quickly scribbled something down. Damon handed the note to Anna.

She scanned the note and replied, "Yes. It's safe ta talk. Ah don't think we're being bugged, if that's what ya'll are worried about."

Damon raised an eyebrow, questioning her judgment.

"Yes! Ah'm sure it's safe ta talk!" She laughed. "Did ya get in touch with Brookes?"

"Yes," Damon finally vocalized. "He just wanted to know if the X-Men suspected anything. I told him that we were pretty confident that our cover was safe. He just said that we should keep in touch, in case anything new came up."

"That sounds good. Were you able to pick up on anything while ya were in town?" Anna inquired.

"Nothing really," Damon replied. "Seems like people are still pretty spooked about the whole thing. No one even wants to talk about it. Most you can get is your typical, 'it's a shame'."

"Maybe we should walk the terrain around the crime scene," Anna suggested. "Let's see if we can find something that the first responders might have missed."

"I was just about to suggest that," Damon replied.

"Ah'll just throw on a pair of boots, and Ah'll be all ready ta go. But," Anna hesitated, looking at Damon's attire, "you might want to change into something more comfortable."

Damon perked up. "Is that code for, 'let me see you change in front of me?'"

Anna just raised an eyebrow in response.

"I was just kidding," Damon immediately responded. "I'll be right out."

It took Damon less than five minutes to change into clothes that were more appropriate to wear in the woods than his Armani. They each grabbed their badges and guns and tucked them under their jackets. It was the beginning of autumn, and the air was beginning to get rather crisp. Anna was glad for this since she could more easily conceal her credentials.

The mansion was fairly quiet, which made Damon and Anna's departure much easier. Anna figured that there would be less explaining if they were to leave without running into anyone. They drove to some wooded area only ten minutes away from the mansion. Damon pulled the black SUV off to the side of the road. He followed Anna as she head to the location the body had been discovered.

"It should be right up here," Damon said as he caught up to Anna. "He was found by a couple of kids messing around in the woods."

Anna and Damon examined the scenery. If it hadn't been for the fact that a gruesome murder had taken place less than fifty feet from where they stood, it would have actually looked like a serene place to take a hike. The two agents combed the woods, scanning for anything out of the ordinary.

As Anna walked the perimeter, she couldn't help but think about Remy. Did he really mean what he said? Was it truly 'done' between them? Anna's train of thought was interrupted when Damon called her name.

Anna walked over to where Damon was standing. "What is it?"

Damon used his pen to push aside some leaves that had already fallen. He looped it through a finger hole of a large hunting knife covered with dried blood. The official autopsy stated that the victim had been stabbed several time before being cut open. The files also mentioned that the murder weapon was never recovered.

"Looks like we may have found whatever killed that poor guy," Anna stated. "We need ta get this info ta Brookes as soon as possible." Damon pulled out his handkerchief and wrapped the knife in it. Just as he finished, they heard a twig snap a few yards behind them. Anna and Damon gave each other a look. Anna stopped Damon's hand as he reached for his gun.

Damon gave her a questioning look.

"Trust me," she mouthed silently.

"What're you two doing here," a voice called from the distance.

"Ah could say the same ta you," Anna replied.

Bobby walked out from behind a couple of bushes. As he came towards them, Anna placed her arms around Damon and whispered. "Slide it under mah holster." Damon followed her lead and carefully put the knife by her gun. Anna had to stand carefully now. Even though it was wrapped in Damon's handkerchief, it was still extremely sharp.

"Aww, come on, Rogue," Bobby complained. "No smoochy smoochy now."

"Bobby," Anna smiled turning carefully in place, "Damon and Ah were just going for a little walk.

"Kinda far from the mansion aren't you," Bobby questioned.

"Well," Anna replied, "we actually just went into town and Ah begged Damon to walk around with me. See, Ah wanted ta show him how beautiful these woods were this time of year. Our car's parked just down a ways."

Bobby wasn't sure if he bought her story, but didn't want to see his old friend get yelled at either. The rest of the team was right behind him. Scott would have a fit if he saw a civilian like Damon walking around so close to where that mutant was murdered.

"You guys better get outta here," Bobby warned. "Scott and the others are on the way."

"Thanks, sugah," Anna whispered as she grabbed Damon's hand. She walked hurriedly back to their SUV. "You better call Brookes. We've gotta arrange for him to get that knife analyzed."

Anna and Damon drove into town. As per their supervisor's order, they were to deliver the knife to the local police department. They would be able to seal the evidence there until Brookes could send one of his other agents to pick it up for analysis. Anna had Damon make the delivery into the Westchester Police Department. She had him wear a cap and sunglasses, so that their cover wouldn't be completely compromised. God forbid one of the students from the mansion were to recognize either of them waiting outside the police station.

As Anna waited in the SUV, she noticed Remy walking down the street. She ducked down and hid her face, even though the windows were tinted completely. She continued to watch him as he walked into a jewelry store. Remy had brought her there once on a whim. They pretended to be a couple looking for an engagement ring. They giggled like school children as they had the saleswoman pull out several different styles. Anna could still picture the saleswoman's face when she told her that she couldn't remove her glove to try on the rings because she had an extremely contagious skin condition. She and Remy bit their cheeks so that they didn't laugh right then and there. Anna remembered how her heart jumped when Remy slid one of the rings on her finger. "One day, chere," he whispered in her ear, "dis Cajun will make you his wife."

Anna smiled at the memory, but was yanked back to reality when she saw the salesman pull something out from the display case. Her heart dropped, remembering exactly the type of jewelry that was in that particular section of the store. She held her breath as she watched the salesman show Remy the ring. Even from this distance, she could swear that she saw it glimmer. The salesman placed the ring in a box as they walked together to the back of the store.

Coming back was a horrible mistake. Anna was sure of that now. She had to maintain her focus and move on from Remy. It was obvious that he had planned on doing the same. Damon knocked on the window for Anna to unlock the doors to the SUV. He hopped into the driver's seat.

"Okay," Damon sighed, "Brookes is sending someone to pick it up. The lab will have it by tonight." He put the car into drive and started to pull away. Remy walked out of the jewelry store just as they drove by. If it hadn't been for the black tinted windows, Anna could have sworn that her eyes met with Remy's. Damon was still talking in the background, but Anna was paying no attention at all.

"We need ta solve this as soon as possible," Anna whispered. "Ah need ta get out of this place and get back ta my life."

"We will," Damon replied. He glanced over at his partner. It pained him to see such sorrow in her eyes. "Listen. I've got an idea." Anna turned to her partner, waiting to see what his plan was. "We need to find out if anyone in town knows what's going on, right?"

"Yeah?" Anna answered.

"Well, why don't we go out tonight? We're not going to find anything out by sitting around the mansion all week. We can tell everyone that we're going on a date," Damon explained. He made perfect sense of course. There was no point just sitting around the mansion. Besides, she didn't want to be around to see Remy. If he was going to propose to Lanie, there was no way Anna wanted to be anywhere near the mansion.

"It's a date," Anna said definitively. It was time to move on.