Chapter 11 – Vengeance

"What are we looking for?"

"Deaths by hanging. For now, let's stick with the Northeast in say… the last three months."

Bobby had rolled a chair up behind Eames where she sat at her desk working her magic with the computer. With one arm draped along the back of her chair, he leaned an elbow on her desk and propped his head in his hand as he watched her fingers fly over the keyboard. He then began reading the resultant list displayed on the monitor.

"This list includes movies, stories and snuff porn," Eames grumbled.

"Add 'news articles' to the search," Bobby suppressed a smile at her frustration.

"Here we go…"

He leaned in closer to get a better look at the brief descriptions following each item on the list. 'Pennsylvania. Vermont. Rhode Island.' More than he'd expected. "Try this one," he pointed to the Pennsylvania article first.

"Eames." They both looked up to where Jeffries called her name from the elevator lobby. "You have a visitor." Jeffries stepped away to reveal Eric Geddes standing behind him, scowling. Bobby leaned back and removed his arm from the back of Eames' chair. She hesitated and glanced at Bobby before getting up and going to Eric. While trying to surreptitiously watch them out of the corner of his eye, Bobby idly scrolled with the mouse. After only a few moments of conversation, it was clear that Eric was definitely not happy, which resulted in a definitely-not-happy Eames.

"I can't tonight." The fact that her voice carried over to where Bobby was sitting in the squad room was evidence of her growing anger.

"You're with him more than you're with me!" At that exclamation, everyone in the squad room looked up at the couple. Eames grabbed Eric's arm and angrily dragged him around the corner. Bobby thought he'd be lucky to get away uninjured.

Less than two minutes later, Eames was walking back to her desk, head held high and fire in her eyes. Without a word, she sat down in her chair, clicked on the Pennsylvania article and began scrolling through it – much too quickly to actually be reading it.

"Anything I can do?" Bobby asked.

She shook her head and Bobby knew her annoyance wasn't directed at him. Scrolling back up to the top of the article, Eames seemed determined to focus on it while Bobby was still watching her. With a deep sigh, she released the mouse and stood up.

"I need a cup of coffee. Do you want some?" she finally looked directly at him.

"Yeah… sure," he answered quietly.

Bobby watched her walk away, noting the stiff set of her spine and her angry stride. He knew they all walked down this path at one point or another in relationships. Dating a cop was not easy. Their job required long hours, last minute cancellations, and unexpected interruptions of personal plans. A relationship with one of them required patience and understanding, more so if the cop's partner was the opposite sex. Eric Geddes didn't seem to possess either requirement.

Bobby got up and walked into the break room where Eames was furiously stirring her cup of coffee. She looked up when he entered the room.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" he offered.

She tapped the wooden stirrer against the rim of her cup then tossed it in the trash. "No need," she picked up his cup of black coffee and handed it to him. "I told him it's over."

Stunned, Bobby hesitated before reaching for his cup. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." She took a sip of her coffee before stepping around him and heading back toward their desks.

He realized that Eames was a woman who knew her own mind, but this seemed impulsive, even for her. As Bobby settled back into his chair behind her, he once again leaned in close, this time so only she would hear him.

"Are you sure about this, Eames? He's just frustrated…"

"I'm sure, Bobby," she cut him off. She turned to look at him and that's when Bobby realized just how close he was. He saw more gold in her eyes than he'd ever noticed before, and he caught the scent of coffee on her breath and perfume from her hair. He heard her breath catch and for the space of a heartbeat, neither one of them moved. Bobby imperceptibly pulled back to a more acceptable distance, and Alex released the breath she'd been holding. He saw something – disappointment? – flash in her brown-gold depths before she turned back to the computer.

"Not everyone can be as happy as you and Denise."

Bobby blinked at the bitterness he heard in her voice. He didn't understand what just happened, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something important had passed between them. His own recent thoughts about possession and caring flickered through his mind, and he wondered if Eames was struggling with the same feelings. They did spend a lot of time together. Partnership loyalty combined with their additional dimension of affectionate friendship could account for their jumbled emotions.

However, that mental argument quickly disintegrated as he recalled his imagined lovemaking with her. He would be hard-pressed to pass that off as 'loyalty' or 'affection.'

Bobby backed a little further away from Eames and focused his attention on the computer screen. This is definitely not the time or place to remember those images.

They were both silent for a minute, reading (or pretending to read) the Pennsylvania article. Something in the words before his eyes finally caught Bobby's attention. "Eames… scroll back up here," he pointed to a sentence in the paragraph before.

'Pennsylvania State Troopers suspect a child's presence at the murder scene and have added Corruption of a Minor to the charges.'

"Now, why do you suppose they suspect a child was present?" he asked unnecessarily.

"They found a toy," Eames smirked back at him.

"Uh… we need to go to Pennsylvania… tomorrow. What time is our meeting with Moreno's employer?"

"Nine o'clock. His parents are supposed to be at the morgue in the morning. If we can schedule time with them right after that…"

"We can meet with the State Troopers tomorrow afternoon."

TBC…