Disclaimer—I do not own Harry Potter, the Closer, nor any of the characters therein. And, sadly, I do not earn any moneys from the posting of this fanfiction.

Here we are, the next chapter. Hope you like it. Enjoy!

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Chapter Eleven

Brenda and Fritz woke to the scent of coffee and bacon. Moaning at the smell of food filled temptation, they both got to their feet. They both were yawning as they made their way over to the kitchen. Hermione quietly handed over a black coffee over to Fritz.

Looking over to Brenda, she said, "I don't have any idea how you take your coffee."

"Cream and sugar, please?" And soon enough the mug was in her hands.

"I made a simple egg bake," she told them. "Chopped potatoes, bacon, cheese and scrambled egg baked up with some herbs. It's not a masterpiece, but it beats starvation. I'm not any sort of cook. If not for the help of several friends of mine taking the time to show me how to cook enough to survive on my own, I would truly be in a sorry state."

"You didn't have to do this," Brenda told her, even as Hermione was serving up plates of food.

"I know I didn't," she murmured. "It's just that with everything—the way I was intruding on your investigation, you allowing me to use the guestroom, and now me about to ask if I can stay on with the investigation—well, I almost feel this is a thank you and a bribe."

"A bribe?" Brenda asked her.

"From the sounds of what you said last night my reasoning for being here is less valid than before. I'm sure that the British Conciliate would be appeased once it's known that Harry isn't involved thanks to Ron no longer being even thought of as a suspect." She looked over to Brenda, saying, "But I would really like to aid you in finishing off the case if I could. Doing anything less would feel incomplete in a way."

Brenda thought this over and said, "The British Conciliate doesn't know yet about your friend Harry is no longer concerned about the case?"

Hermione thought it over. "No, they more than likely won't find out for another day."

"Then I don't see an issue," she answered with a smile, taking her first bite of her egg bake. Letting out a groan of appreciation, she chewed and swallowed. "And you can bribe me with breakfast any time you want."

…

Brenda and Hermione went into the department with the first going straight into her personal office and the latter joining up with Sanchez. Hermione bumped fists with Julio, who had showed her the greeting the day before. The rest of the Priority Homicide department gathered together, during this time putting away their things and getting their morning coffee.

"So what's to happen now?" Hermione asked Sanchez.

"Morning meeting to outline what's been done and what will we'll have to be doing next," he answered her quietly.

"Sounds like fun," she said, as she got to her feet. "Coffee?"

"No thanks," he answered, as he watched as she went over and grabbed a hot drink for herself.

Once she got this, she was back to sitting next to Julio. Brenda was walking briskly back into the bullpen and straight over to the white board.

"I just spoke very briefly to the victim's mother. She told me that the man was a church going, kind man that would never hurt a fly. And given what Sergeant Gabriel found out yesterday during the background search, this interview supports everything we know about him. Even so, I'm still going to be speaking to both her and his widow in person later today." Brenda looked towards the others. "The man was an Eagle Scout and was looking forward to being a troop leader once he had a son. So the question is who set up our victim to be killed as he had?"

Hermione kept looking at the board, calculations of what could have happened and why flashed through her head as she did as much. Then she hit the solution and knew she was correct. Nodding to herself, as she was satisfied with her answer. She ended up looking over to Brenda who was watching her with a frown.

"I strongly suspect the nephew of Jack Green," she told her. "And it wasn't so much what Kurt Gunderson did, but what Jack Green's nephew perceived he did."

Brenda looked over the board and saw what she was speaking of. "He paid for the rehab."

"He bought the promises his uncle told him," Hermione said. "That this time he wasn't going to drink or do drugs or any of the myriad of things he did that got him to the bottom of the barrel again." She thought it over. "Someone needs to interview Jack Green's father. He knew what was what within the family dynamic."

A brisk young man came into the bullpen, snapping, "Excuse me! I am from the law firm of Clinton, Reagan, and Taft and I want to know who went to speak to the Golden Shelter Rest Home and questioned the staff under false pretenses."

Brenda frowned for a millisecond before plastering on a smile and was fast talking him into her office.

Provenza went up to Hermione and Sanchez. "Did you forget to mention something yesterday?"

"It was in the report," Hermione said absently. "I strongly suspect that the Green family is planning a lawsuit against the victim's family. Which when you think of it, makes no sense whatsoever given Jack Green's history." She looked over to Provenza. "We didn't lie and we were able to get more information than we would have otherwise."

"Didn't lie?" He looked to Sanchez.

"She can't lie for anything, sir," the younger man said to him. "We may not have been forthcoming, but we didn't say anything that wasn't the truth."

Provenza thought that over and said, "Good work. With any luck we won't be sued about this."

"I don't think that will be an issue," Hermione said, going back to sipping on her coffee as she went about looking over the case board. "Seeing as the young man who came charging in here isn't even a solicitor."

"How do you know that?" Flynn was the one to ask.

Sanchez leaned over towards Tao and said, "Watch this."

She looked over to Flynn, saying, "His suit is seven years old at the very least and was originally purchased for the use as a Sunday suit for church. You can tell it is old not only from the wear and tear on it, but the fact that he has since grown taller in the years from the time it was bought. The legs and arms are too short by about an inch or so." She took a sip of coffee and finished with, "And if you look at the knees of the pants, it's clear that they've been patched repeatedly. True, boys are rough on pants, but the wear is specifically to the knees. That in partnership with the strategic water stains at the abdomen and shoulders on the shirt and jacket present evidence as to the religious aspect to its use."

"But that doesn't answer the question as to the man being a lawyer or not," Gabriel said.

She looked to him, asking, "What high priced lawyer do you know dons an old suit, as if it's the most expensive thing in his or her closet and act as this man did walking in here?" Realization dawned on his face. "They don't." She looked to Sanchez, who was grinning before looking back over to Gabriel. "And just as a reminder, Detective, he said he was from the firm, but he didn't say he was a solicitor from said firm, now did he?"

Tao smiled, as he leaned back in his chair. "She's right. He didn't say he was a lawyer."

"Dr. Granger! Sanchez! In my office right now!" Chief Johnson roared from the doorway.

Hermione and Julio walked over and through the door. The rest of the detectives watched as Chief Johnson rolled her eyes and went back into the office as cheerful as can be.

"If Granger is half as good as Julio think she is, questioning that guy should prove entertaining," Flynn said to the other two men.

"Yeah, yeah," Provenza said. "But can she get us what we need to nail that nephew if he is the one we're after?"

"I think she'll get us answers," Tao said thoughtfully. "Whether they're the ones we want or need that's another thing entirely."

TBC…

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There you go another chapter into the till that is the Internet. Thank you so much for reading and I hope that you're having a fabulous day.