Chapter 21

(Friday night/Saturday)

Alex was in the right area, but it would take a lot of side trips to check the place thoroughly. She turned from one gravel road to another, going slowly so she wouldn't draw anyone's attention. She drove past one cabin, then another.

Turning down another road she checked three more cabins. Again, nothing.

It was almost midnight when she pulled onto her 12th or 13th gravel road of the evening. The far cabin hosted a dark Ford Explorer in the drive. She stopped the car and turned off the lights.

Bobby was still at work. With Alex so far away, knowing she was following the lead he gave her, he worried. He asked Captain Ross to let him join her, but the Captain refused, and countered by asking for his progress. Bobby hadn't found enough yet. He had to stay back and keep putting the pieces together. He had to find the motive.

The weary detective stood and stretched his back. Then he grabbed his empty coffee cup and headed for the machine. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Captain returning to the squad room from home. If it hadn't have been for the eye contact, Bobby might have thought he came back because of one of the other cases. But he looked straight at Goren, and kept walking, in the direction of his office.

"Ow! Shit!" Bobby said, wiping the spilled liquid off the back of his hand. He straightened and followed the Captain. Without a knock, he entered the office.

"I got a call from State Patrol," Ross said. "They're moving in on a cabin outside of Lake George."

Bobby nodded, his face drawn with concern. He looked at his watch, then turned in a slow circle before heading back to his desk. As he sat back down, he set the coffee on the surface. Bobby looked at the open binder in front of him, and saw nothing. He sat like a statue and his coffee slowly cooled.

She wasn't in the cabin. Alex moved quickly through the rooms, searching for something, anything, that would lead to Debra Faranski's whereabouts. She went out the back door and walked smartly across the deck. The cool night air made her shiver, but she hardly noticed. She shone her flashlight out against the trees.

She hadn't seen a thing, but something in her gut compelled her forward. Alex walked through the fallen leaves into the edge of the stand of trees. She stopped and let her flashlight illuminate a wide circumference around her.

At the far edge of her light, she saw movement in the blanket of leaves. Alex ran.

"Goren."

Bobby went quickly to the Captain's door.

"She did it. Caught Gnau, found Faranski alive." Ross paused to clear his throat. "Clean and quick. No casualties."

At last, Bobby found the relief that had eluded him for the last hour. He allowed himself a smile. "Thanks, Captain." He turned and went back to his desk. His phone rang before he'd finished putting everything away.

EAMES, the display read. "Hey!" Bobby said as he pushed the button.

"Hi Bobby."
"Captain told me. Good work, there."

"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you."

"You okay? You sound-"

"Tired. I'm really, really tired."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital. I couldn't leave her," Alex said.

He nodded into the phone. Of course she couldn't. "Try and get some rest," he said.

"Okay," she said. There was a pregnant pause, and she said, "Bye, Bobby."

"Bye, Alex."

He slept until the afternoon, and then went into work to tidy up his files. This case would take care of itself, even without solid evidence of the financial arrangement he suspected was the motive. Bobby organized it all, anyway. If the DA's office wanted more, they could get their investigators on it.

It was almost 6 when he checked his watch. Bobby pulled out his cell and dialed. "Hey," he said quietly.

"Hi."

"How are things up there?"

"Paperwork's done, but it won't go through until Monday. These people actually take weekends off."

"No."

"Yes."

He could hear her smile in her tone. "And the victim?"

"Her husband arrived this morning. She's doing better now. She said she'd write me into her next story."

"I'll make sure and read it."

"Just not at work, right?"

"I'll take a cold shower afterward."

They shared a quiet grin, then Alex said, "It's pretty here. I'm staying by the lake."

"See you soon?" he asked.

"Probably not until Monday. I'm bringing him back to the city with me."

Sunday found Bobby in sweats with a junior sized football in his hands. He walked to the apartment and rang the bell. No one answered, so he slid down the hall to the next door and rang the bell again.

"Good morning, Detective!"

"Good morning, Mrs. Kohl. I was hoping to take the boys out… to toss a ball around? Nobody's home."

"They're here." She opened the door wide and he followed her inside. "Cisco, Felipe!" she called.

They emerged from the hall and ran straight to him. "Bobby!" They shouted.

He returned their hugs and stood up tall, football palmed in one hand. "You know how to throw a spiral?" he asked.

Both boys shook their heads.

"Wanna come play with me? I'll show you how," he said.

They shouted excitedly, and Mrs. Kohl shouted over them. "Get your jackets first! And Cisco, You make sure your brother keeps his zipped!"

"I'll have them back by noon," Bobby said. The older woman nodded. "Maybe Bella will be home by then."