A/N: This is clearly a shorter chapter. I could have made it longer, but I needed it to end where it ended. Please review!

Hidden Agenda

"This better be really good Daryl. I was deep in thought about...something important," Chuck stated.

"Most of the results have not been sent to our department yet, but Janice was able to reveal a very odd aspect of the murder," Daryl replied.

Chuck sighed into his phone. "You want to tell me what that odd aspect is before I lose my patience Daryl?"

"Well, they found multiple stab wounds on the body..." he trailed off for an added effect.

"Do we actually pay these people to figure these things out? I could have told you that."

Daryl ignored his comment. He had worked as an intern for long enough to know that Chuck was not the most pleasant man in the world, especially when his patience was being tested.

"Two of those wounds were made after his death," Daryl finished.

Suddenly, Chuck became much more interested in their conversation.

"Were they made with a different weapon?" Chuck queried.

There was a slight pause from Daryl. "Yes, but how did you know that?"

Chuck laughed. "Here's your lesson for the day Daryl. There are two possibilities I can think of for a scenario like this. Either we have someone with a really twisted mind on our hands or the killer wants us to think that two people were involved in the death of the victim."

"How do you know that?" Daryl asked.

"When you have solved as many homicides as I have, the cases tend to repeat themselves. Just keep me posted on those results Daryl."

Chuck would not deny that Daryl was one of the smartest interns working in their department. He would always be able to detect the hidden scenarios behind each of his well thought out lessons.

"I will Detective Bass."

Chuck remained on the line, knowing full well that Daryl would unearth the scenario very soon.

"I think I have the hidden scenario!" Daryl shouted in excitement.

Chuck smirked. "Well done. That was actually a whole minute faster than I expected."

"Mr. Humphrey could have been the intended target. The killer could have been oblivious to the room switch that had occurred only moments before. He could have mistaken Mr. Fairmont for Mr. Humphrey and killed him in the heat of the moment. He later covered up for his crime. Hence, the immaculate crime scene as well as the misleading wounds on the dead body."

Chuck smiled. He had thought of this particular scenario much earlier of course, but he was genuinely ecstatic that Daryl had figured it out as well. When he was an intern, he loved the rush of uncovering the hidden scenarios that his supervisor had hinted at through his numerous lessons.

"Great work Daryl, but Mr. Humphrey could still very well be our murderer. He has no alibi. Anyway, hold down the fort and call me right away when those reports come in."

Daryl responded eagerly. "You got it Detective Bass!"

Chuck put his cell phone back in his pocket, shaking his head. There were so many scenarios to consider, but the intent of the killer in each and every scenario was hard to ignore. He or she would evidently stop at nothing to keep their identity hidden. Blair Waldorf had absolutely no idea what kind of heartless killer she was up against. He would have to keep tabs on her in order to keep her safe because he knew better than to ask her to stop investigating the case again.

Blair stepped out of the cab and hurried up the short flight of stairs. The house was absolutely stunning. Robert had clearly done well for himself, since his parents had disowned him not too long ago. She knew that it was only a matter of time. After all, Robert was highly independent. He would have refused to inherit the fortune that his parents would have left him with anyway.

She took a deep breath as she rang the door bell. She had tried to tail Serena, but she had been so caught up with her inappropriate thoughts of Chuck that she had lost track of her best friend. This was the next best thing, even though she had initially been dead set against contacting Robert in the cab. She desperately yearned to catch the killer before Chuck Bass. She would show him what Blair Waldorf was truly capable of.

The door swung open and Blair found herself staring at the sight of a shirtless Robert. She shielded her eyes as a healthy blush formed across her cheeks.

"I am so sorry R. Do you have company?" Blair inquired, turning her head to the side to avoid surveying his well-toned upper body.

"Relax B. You've seen me shirtless before," Robert reminded her, winking in her direction.

Blair blushed even deeper still. "May I come in?"

Robert nodded and guided her up the stairs towards his bedroom. He put his hand on the small of her back as they made their way down the hall and she tensed beneath his touch.

He chuckled. "Blair, I am not interested in you. You need to relax. I have a fiancée."

Blair looked up at him in shock. "You have a fiancée?"

Robert shrugged in response. "Is that so hard to believe? You moved on and I moved on! Anyway, I have the information you wanted. I have it all saved on my trusty computer."

Blair nodded numbly in his direction as he booted the machine. She was still trying to wrap her head around the very fact that Robert was engaged. The announcement had thrown her off of course. She had no feelings whatsoever for Robert anymore, but she had always figured that she would be the one to get married before him even after the two had gone their separate ways. Of course, this was also coming from the same woman who had always imagined herself as his future fiancée, ever since she was a little girl. Her dreams and desires had most certainly changed since then and she was confident that his had too.

Blair skipped over to her boyfriend and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I love you," she whispered as she pulled away from their kiss.

Robert smiled. "I love you too."

They settled onto the soft blanket that he had lain on the grass and he immediately enveloped her in his strong arms, holding her close. Blair sighed contently as she rested her head in the crook of his neck. She loved their Saturday tradition. She would spend the night at his house and they would sleep peacefully under the starry night sky as long as the current season would allow for such a ritual.

"Robert? Have you ever thought about our future?" she asked, observing the illuminated stars that were currently embedded in the night sky.

Blair loved the bright stars that lit up the night. Robert had told her on their first date that a star would appear in the night sky for every time he thought of her. She knew the very idea was ridiculous now, but she had believed it then. The sentiment of what he had said was still endearing though. She would never forget the words that he had spoken to her that night for as long as she lived. It was the first time she had felt truly loved.

"I know I want you to be my wife," he answered without hesitation.

Blair smiled at his response. "I know that R, but have you ever envisioned our wedding day?"

"I figured you would be the one planning the wedding B," he said as-a-matter-of-factly. "Besides, who cares what the wedding is like as long as both of us are there to exchange our vows?"

Blair snuggled closer to him then and he held her tighter than he had before. Neither of them said another word that night as they fell asleep in each other's arms. Neither of them was willing to dispel the magic of the moment that they both prayed would last for a lifetime.

"Blair? Are you even listening to me?" Robert shouted, snapping his fingers in her face to get her attention.

Blair sighed. They had definitely changed a lot since those romantic nights. Robert wasn't the same person anymore and neither was she. She no longer held onto her ridiculously high expectations of love and he was well...engaged to another woman.

"Sorry Robert. What were we talking about?"

Robert groaned in frustration. "You were talking about nothing. I, however, was briefing you on the victim of that murder that for some reason you're so keen on investigating. I swear men will never understand the female psyche."

Blair rolled her eyes. "That's because they would actually need brains to achieve that oh so simple task. Now, stop being so dramatic R. What's the scoop?"

"You know I hate repeating myself Blair, but I'll make an exception for you given...our history," he teased.

Blair growled. "You're lucky I let you keep your balls after that whole sleeping with my best friend ordeal. I thank God everyday that I never slept with you. I would have been even more devastated. Furthermore, I wouldn't even have come here if I didn't know you were the best of the best. You can dig up absolutely anything about anyone! Have you ever considered becoming a PI?"

"Nah! I do this for fun," Robert answered as he continued to type on his keyboard. "Anyway, Pete ran with a shady crowd."

"Wow. Thanks R. Tell me something I don't know," she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I see your love for sarcasm hasn't worn off after all this time. Chill B. I'm getting to the good stuff. I like to build my momentum with these reports, you know? By the way, has anyone ever told you that you're a total bitch when you get impatient?"

Blair scoffed. "I'm a total bitch anyway. Now, please continue before I lose it Robert."

He let out a loud laugh before continuing. "You might want to get in touch with Jonathan. You know Eric Bass right? Jonathan is his current boyfriend. Pete may have had multiple competent people working for him, but he trusted Jonathan and only Jonathan when it came to the details of his personal dirty work. You could probably get quite a bit out of this kid."

"Jonathan is his current boyfriend? I didn't even know Eric was gay," Blair stated, pushing the rest of what Robert had said temporarily to the back of her mind.

Robert shrugged. "Well, he doesn't exactly go around parading his sexual orientation. In fact, his own brother doesn't even know about this. You remember Chuck Bass, right B? You know, the one guy who dared to reject you in high school or ever for that matter?"

"That was your fault. You were the one who ditched me to escort your I-can't-find-a-suitable-date cousin to the charity ball," Blair shot back at him.

He raised his arms in defeat. "You win B. I surrender."

Blair remained motionless, waiting for him to finish his report on Pete.

"Alright, so Pete was a drug dealer, but you know that already. What you may not know though is that his favorite past time came in the scandalous form of blackmail, which entails that you have a long suspect list ahead of you."

Blair frowned at the news. "Do any one of these blackmailing incidents seem super suspicious to you or do any of them seem relevant to this particular case?"

"I would say Rufus Humphrey and his wife. Pete blackmailed them recently. I have no idea with what, but I have a feeling you'll figure it out. I mean, Mr. Humphrey did initiate the room switch only moments before the homicide had occurred. On top of that, he has no alibi. The only flaw in suspecting the Humphreys though is that they actually paid Pete the amount that he had asked for to keep his mouth shut without any complications. I just can't see why they would kill him off after that."

"Pete could have been greedy and asked for more money. I mean, you never know," Blair offered.

"Whatever the reason, I'm sure a smart girl like you will figure it out. I'm just here to provide you with the initial information."

"Anyone else?" Blair asked, leaning over to peer at his computer screen.

Robert shielded the screen from her view just as Blair caught a glimpse of the last name on the list – Serena van der Woodsen.

Blair stepped back in shock. Pete had been blackmailing Serena? Why?

"No one else we knew too well Blair. I think you should just stick to investigating the Humphreys for now," he suggested.

Blair knew that she would gain nothing by aggravating Robert about what she had seen, so she said her goodbyes and left, leaving her head swarming with all kinds of questions. Why was Robert trying to protect Serena? Did he still have feelings for her or was Robert somehow involved in all of this chaos? Blair held her already throbbing head in her hands as she climbed into the waiting cab. There were so many unanswered questions, but Blair knew as did everyone on the Upper East Side that secrets are never buried for long.

Serena made her way carefully down the hall towards the dreaded room, praying that Pete would not come back from the dead to haunt her. She had managed to convince the concierge to lend her the card key to the suite. He was too trusting to question her motives, but she had explained to him that Bart Fairmont had asked her to check up on the condition of the refurnished room. It made perfect sense to the concierge, since her mother had been the one to introduce the interior designer, Amelia, to Bart in the first place. Serena did have to admit though that it was slightly odd that Mr. Fairmont would want to refurnish the suite so soon after the death of his son. She supposed Bart had always shown an evident disdain towards Pete, but what parent wouldn't mourn the death of their child?

She slowly opened the door and stepped inside. The suite was in perfect condition. It was almost as if the events of last night had not transpired. She knew her efforts would be pointless, but she rummaged through the drawers in search of her cell phone. There was nothing on the floor or on top of the bed. There was nothing beneath it either. She even checked the bathroom, but her cell phone still refused to turn up. She had tried calling herself earlier as well, but she had been referred directly to her voice mail.

Serena was so engrossed in her futile search for the mobile device that she did not hear the door gently creaking open nor did she hear the sound of the footsteps that were coming her way.

"I have to say the refurnished room is breathtaking Serena and that I am an avid fan of Amelia's work, but what exactly are you doing here?" a strangely familiar voice inquired.

He motioned towards the open drawers and crumpled bed sheet, raising an eyebrow in her direction. Serena could only stare at him in shock. What was he doing here? She was cold, hard busted and this time around there would probably be no escape.