Chapter Eight: Suspects, Missing Reports, What Next?

"That's impossible!" Melanie cried.

"Evidence doesn't lie," Agent Casey said.

"Agent Casey, maybe there is a misunderstanding, maybe it was planted." Sophie stepped in. "Melanie made a report that someone was going to take care of Sterling."

Agent Casey looked at Sophie.

"I can't ignore evidence."

"What about your gut, Agent Casey?" Sophie asked.

"I'm going to call Agent Sterling. Don't go anywhere." Agent Casey pulled out her phone.

"I swear I didn't do it!" Melanie pleaded.

"I believe you; I know how it feels to be accused of something that you didn't do." Sophie gave Melanie's shoulder a pat.


Sterling and Nate laid out the files on the conference table to find any clues to help close the case.

"Agent James Sterling, what do I owe the pleasure?" a feminine voice with a southern accent came in.

Sterling stopped sorting and slightly rolled his eyes. Nate looked at the sudden reaction and glanced over at the delicate woman that stood in the doorway.

"Friend of yours?" Nate asked.

Sterling stood up slowly and fixed his disheveled appearance. He glanced over at the woman and gave a smirk.

"I'd say it's been six months since you were in my neck of the woods." The woman smiled.

"Gabrielle," Sterling said

"You look like crap," she said.

"I feel like I'm standing in a pile of it, perhaps that's what you see."

She smirked and walked further into the room.

"And you must be Nathan Ford, side kick?"

"The victim of stalking," Nate remarked as he extended his hand.

"What do we owe the pleasure of your company, Gabrielle?"

"Well, it's not pleasure I'm here for, Jim. I got an interesting call to my office saying that Interpol wanted files on a pending case and that I should come down to the station. Imagine my surprise to find the infamous James Sterling here."

"See your reputation precedes you." Nate smirked.

Sterling looked at Nate and sneered at him before turning back to the exotic woman in the room.

"So, you got that promotion after all," Sterling remarked.

"Thanks to your recommendation I did. But let's not dabble in the past I have questions about why you are in my town. Let's start with Melanie Collins, she's obviously a person of interest for Interpol, so, let me hear you out."

Sterling ran his hands through his hair and Nate slightly smirked. It was obvious that Sterling had some past with the woman. So, Nate's first guess that Sterling pissed someone off was inaccurate. The second guess of someone covering up was becoming clearer.

"I need those files on Melanie Collins. The night she murdered a Caroline Monroe."

"Yes, well, I'm still waiting on them myself." Gabrielle looked at him.

"What do you mean you are waiting on them? You just said it was a pending case." Sterling wrinkled his brow at her.

"It is until I get those files." Gabrielle folded her arms.

"She walked free then?" Sterling raised the question.

"That must be frustrating, Sterling," Nate mentioned.

"Shut up!" Sterling snapped.

Nate watched as Sterling winced in pain. Gabrielle looked at him and smirked.

"I knew you were stubborn man, Jim, but I never realized how stubborn you were. Has he always been like this?"

"Always, checked himself out the hospital."

Gabrielle shook her head and walked over to the conference table. She glanced at the files and picked up one file.

"Raphael Roscoe? Why are you looking into him? He's cleaned up his act." Gabrielle looked at Sterling and Nate. "I've talked to his people and they've made sure he's stayed on the straight and narrow."

"Things like this just don't go away," Sterling said as he pulled the file from her hands. "Plus, I can suggest otherwise. I've made it my purpose to keep tabs on Mr. Roscoe."

"And other people," Nate muttered.

Sterling's gaze darted over at Nate and he rolled his eyes.

"What do you think, Mr. Ford?" Gabrielle asked.

"If you ask me, I think he has motive, but if he's been trying to clear his name from the watch list he'll do anything to stay out of trouble."

Sterling's phone rang and he reached for the phone.

"Agent Casey, another female agent, Jim?" Gabrielle asked.

"No," Sterling said as he lifted the phone to answer it.

He walked off and Nate looked at Gabrielle.

"So, you and Jim, how'd that happen?" Nate asked.

"He was working a case that tied into an ongoing case for me. Corruption case that had a person of interest in his." Gabrielle took a seat.

"And your involvement outside of the case?"

"That's none of your business, Mr. Ford."

"You're his type," Nate said.

"And you're his obsession, Mr. Ford. We all know what happens when obsession gets involved with investigations."

"I keep telling him that, but he doesn't listen. Maybe getting in that accident will help him."

"And how do you two know each other."

"Worked insurance together." Nate looked at Gabrielle. "Things got difficult working with him so I turned to leading a band of thieves, thus where the obsession comes in. So, let me ask you this, Gabrielle, can I get a restraining order?"

Gabrielle smiled and looked over her shoulder. Nate watched her body language change slightly. She was tough, but something told him that that bad ass attitude changed when a certain agent of the law came into town.

"Six months is pretty short to really get to know someone," Nate said.

"What?" Gabrielle looked over at Nate.

"Your body language suggests something else." Nate pointed out to her. "A year at the most."

Gabrielle smirked and leaned forward. "I don't know what you are talking about, Mr. Ford. My relationship with Agent James Sterling is business."

"Does he know that?" Nate leaned forward.

"Casual, that's it." Gabrielle raised her brow. "Job gets stressful we all need a little something to keep it from getting to us."

"Right time right place." Nate smiled.

Sterling walked into the room and looked at them. "Did I miss something?"

"You miss a lot, Jim," Nate said. "What did Agent Casey have to say?"

"Found a strand of hair in the SUV, it was the color of Melanie Collins'. So, Nate, do you believe little Melanie is innocent?"

"Yup," Nate said as he stood up. "How about we go get that report that she filed?"

"Does he do this a lot?" Gabrielle asked.

"Yes, yes, he does." Sterling looked at her.


Melanie sat down in a hard, back chair and shook her head. Sophie handed her a glass of water and took a seat beside her.

"I don't have keys to that vehicle," Melanie said. "You have to believe me."

"Why should we?" Agent Casey remarked. "You nearly killed my partner."

"He's your partner, now, Agent Casey?" Sophie asked.

"Anyone who works together is a partner." Agent Casey looked at Sophie.

Sophie nodded and turned to Melanie.

"So, fill us in what happened that day, Ms. Collins."

"I started my day with Kline at our apartment, off St. Charles," Melanie remarked. "I didn't leave there until eight o'clock."

"Where did you go from there?" Agent Casey asked.

"I came here; Logan needed me to look over the final sketches of our double decker. It had some complications with the detail so he redid it. He can confirm that I was there. Afterwards I went to speak with Mr. Roscoe to discuss the lineup. When I got to the office I heard him and someone in the office. They were talking about some Interpol agents investigating a person of interest."

"Do you know who it was?"

"A woman. She said she knew Jim, she mentioned him by name. I swear I would never in my life hurt Jim Sterling. Nate and Jim got me out of several tight situations when I was younger. If anything I owe him." Melanie's eyes were pleading.

"Don't say you owe him, he'll take you up on that," Sophie mentioned.

Agent Casey looked at Melanie and as Sophie got up. She pulled out her phone from her purse and pressed a button.

"Did you get that, Nate?" Sophie said.

"Yup, sure did, working on the report Melanie was talking about," Nate's voice came through the speaker.

"What did this woman sound like?" Agent Casey asked.

"She's from deep south. Has a bit of a Cajun accent to her speech." Melanie looked at both of them.

"That can be almost anyone." Sophie paced around.

"Nate, tell your partner in crime and Agent Casey to come back to the station," Sterling's voice was heard in the background.

"Heard that?"

"How could we miss it?"

"I'm looking into the report Melanie made. So, come on back."

Sophie shut her phone off and looked at Agent Casey as she stood up.

"We'll be back."

"It'll be alright, Nate's got a handle on this." Sophie gave Melanie's shoulder a squeeze.

The two of them headed out the den and walked to the car.

"How can you tell someone that everything is going to be alright? Aren't you giving her false hope?" Agent Casey asked.

"If there is one thing that is false it's the investigation that's going on. She's innocent."

"Until proven guilty, she's hiding something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know."

They headed back to the station to hear commotion raging through the stations.

"I don't care who ordered it, give me the damn report!" Sterling snapped.

"What the hell is going on?" Agent Casey questioned.

Nate walked over and Sophie wrapped her arm around his.

"Sterling's going to bust another rib."

"What happened?"

"There are some things even he can't crack with that pathetic characteristic." Nate kissed Sophie.

Sophie smiled and watched as Sterling slammed his badge onto the counter top. He pointed to it like he was about to educated the deputy of what it stood for. She glanced over at the exotic looking woman that watched from the sideline.

"Who's that?" Sophie asked.

"The DA," Nate said. "She's also a friend of Sterling's."

"You mean there's someone who's attracted to that hot head?"

"There's someone for everyone these days."

Gabrielle walked over and pulled Sterling away from the counter.

"Agent Casey, before Sterling bust anything else maybe you should tell him to walk it off," Nate suggested.

Agent Casey walked over to aid Gabrielle. Sophie watched as the younger woman and Agent Casey seemed to eye each other.

"Someone is stepping on toes," Sophie remarked.

"A little too obvious." Nate observed.

"I got this, James," Gabrielle said. "Walk it off."

Sophie lightly nudged Nate in the shoulder and pointed out the expression on Agent Casey's face.

"I'll walk it off when I'm ready!" Sterling shouted.

"I didn't think we were going to get this much entertainment," Sophie mentioned.

"Shut up!" Sterling snapped.

Agent Casey managed to pry him far enough for Gabrielle to speak with the deputy. Nate looked at Sterling as he held his ribs.

"Maybe you should go back to your hotel room, Jim. Have some quiet time."

"You would like to see me retire from this case wouldn't you, Ford?"

"Maybe he's right," Agent Casey said.

Sterling pulled away and walked to a chair to have a seat. Nate looked at Gabrielle as she narrowed her eyes at the deputy. He looked at Sterling as he hunched over holding his injuries.

"I think we all need a break," Nate said.

Sterling looked up at Nate and raised a brow.

"No, break," Sterling said. "I want this case closed now."

"I told you, Jim, you don't always get what you want. Sophie and I need a break and we're going indulge on the local cuisine." Nate presented his arm to Sophie. "And if you want your agents to follow us, they're invited. "

Sterling sat up slowly and pushed himself up. Nate knew that Sterling couldn't ignore the pain much longer. Broken ribs were a pain to function properly, especially in his profession.

"Agent Casey, go with them. Make sure they don't do anything they aren't cleared to do," Sterling remarked.

"What about you?" Agent Casey said.

"I'm going to keep looking into the files with Gabrielle," Sterling said.

"The stress getting to you?" Nate remarked.

"Don't make me find a reason to cuff you again, Nate." Sterling narrowed his eyes.

Nate smirked and looked at Sophie. "Shall we?"

Sophie smiled and walked out.

"Agent Casey, did you work the case Sterling was working on six months ago?" Nate looked at her.

"That was before he and I were working together. But I know of it?"

"Good, let's talk about it."