Chapter Twenty-One

Teamwork

"Someone is missing," he looks into her eyes. "From the photos, you," he clears his throat. "You checked through the entire house?"

"Yes we did, top to bottom. They," she points to the photos on the table. "They were the only people in the house." He once again stares at the strange yet familiar faces. Alex leans forward, "You didn't do this Bobby." She states firmly but softly.

He arranges the photos into a pile, handing them back to her, "I wasn't thinking that."

Alex turns her attention to the sound of a knock at the door, "Come in," Bobby says without focusing on the figure that has entered the room. "Dinner," Jose announces as he opens the door wider. Bobby notices that the voice is not Jimmy's, who is usually the one to announce mealtime. He casually lifts his head then stands as he exclaims, "Him! He looked like him." Bobby points toward Jose, he in turn steps back. "The dark haired guy, he ah…." He looks from Jose to Alex then towards the window. Alex watches him intently, "Would you excuse us for a minute please." Alex asks, Jose nods as he answers, "Sure."

"This man with the dark hair? What about him?" Alex asks as she stands.

"Nothing really, he was there and he, ah," he scratches the back of his head. "Hungry? I am," he walks across the room toward the door.

"No I'm not and you," she grabs his arm. "Talk to me Bobby, I want to help."

He keeps his focus on the door as he speaks, "He ah, I was sure that he was going to kill me."

"You heard Spencer order him to…." she finds it hard to say the word. She watches him as he shakes his head. "No, Spencer didn't want me hurt and….I remember that he, the dark-haired guy punched me in the gut and it pissed off Spencer. He slapped him a couple of times across the face. He was humiliated, I could see it," he walks back toward the table, retrieving the photos. "Everyone was there, all of them, like little puppets." He tosses the pile of photos back on the table and two of them land on the floor. "How, how much money could they want or need to treat someone the way they…." He looks up at her for the first time, his brown eyes full of sadness. "I was….I felt like an animal in a cage, I tried to keep my mind active but it was….I use to enjoy my own company, but that was because it was my choice." He expels a long breath as he sits down on the chair that faces the window.

He's starting to remember things, Alex thinks as she walks toward him placing her hands on his shoulders, he gazes up at her quickly as he pats her hand, "The dark-haired man, what did he do to you Bobby?"

He wipes his eyes then coughs, "Nothing, I told you," he says sternly. "No one hurt me."

"I don't believe you."

He stands and takes two long strides toward her which forces her to look up at him, his attempt at intimidating her, fail. "What ah, makes you think that he did anything to me?"

"The way you acted when that man came into the room," she points toward the door. "I saw fear in your eyes."

"Fear?" he scoffs. "I wasn't afraid."

She wants to call him on it but lets it go, for now. "Come on," she takes his hand, "Let's get something to eat."

Golden Pines Cafeteria

"Hey, this food isn't bad, not bad at all," Alex says as she watches him stab at the chicken cutlet on his plate. "Ah, yeah," he sets his fork done. "The ah," he sits back in the seat. "You think the dark-haired guy killed them." He states matter of fact.

She nods her head as she swallows, "Yes, now that we know that there was someone else there," she sets her fork down and picks up her glass of ice tea. "The only question is…."

He interjects, "Why?" he pauses as he places his elbows on the table, "Why kill them and why after what he…." He sits back quickly. "Why let me go?"

She smiles at the thought that he is slowly confiding in her but also the fact that he is thinking, "I thought that also, he was probably the one who left the door unlocked and the lights on, for you to escape."

He wipes his mouth with a napkin then tosses it over the leftover food, "I, ah….I was wondering how, how was it proven that I was dead?"

"Doctor Roth, identified your, well he was the one who compared the dental records and…." She pauses.

He sits forward, "What? Alex what is it?"

"Drugs, Roth would be able to get a hold of drugs, especially sedatives."

"You mean the ones that they gave me…." The thought of the men in the photos pass through his mind, "And them? They looked as if they were sleeping at the time, somehow I doubt that."

"You're right, we, Detective Tyler and I believe that they were drugged and that was why none of them appeared to have been aware that they were going to be shot. Their autopsies should tell us that."

"Where is he now?" he stirs the ice cubes in his glass with a straw. "This Roth guy?"

"AWOL, right before I drove out here the first time Ross, you remember the Captain?" he nods. "He called on him and when we went to see him, he was gone."

"What? What does he look like?" he asked timidly.

She immediately responds, "No, he's doesn't have dark hair, he's close to 70 and the last time I saw him he was overweight and had gray hair."

"All these people, what could Spencer have promised them that they could lie and…."

"Most likely Roth was being blackmailed by Spencer; Ross told me yesterday that he was looking for the money trail. As of this morning, nothing but if it's there Ross will find it."

"I'll bet that the others have records and that they may have worked together before."

"Either that or they met up in jail."

"So Spencer hires one guy and he in turn gets the rest of them to join in."

"Yes, as we speak their fingerprints have been sent to AFIS."

He lowers his head, "Automated fingerprint identification system." She smiles as she speaks, "Yes."

He looks up and smiles in return, "Stupid thing to remember isn't it?"

She laughs, "I suppose but look at it this way, it's a start."

'You want another ice tea?" he asks as he stands.

"No, I've had enough." Together they clean off the table and toss their trash into the can. She follows him through the cafeteria and stops when he reaches for the door, holding it open for her to exit first.

As they turn the corner that leads back to his room, she asks. "Bobby have you had enough for one day?"

He shakes his head, "No I want to talk more, I realize that I am the center of all this and it does make me cringe a bit but at the same time I find this fascinating." She smiles, he frowns "Why are you smiling?"

"Because," she lowers her head. He leans down to catch her eye, "Because? Because why?" She lifts her head, "Because you want to talk to me, you're not turning me away." Ally was hoping that I could get to you and it seems as if I have.

"You, ah, you're easy to talk to I don't feel like you're examining my brain every time I open my mouth. Don't get me wrong Ally has been wonderful but she's still a psychiatrist and sometimes I feel like she's heard it all before and though I know she wants to help, things seem too automatic with her, you know her responses." He leans up against the wall, "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it does. You are too focused on what she is going to say that you have a hard time letting go"

"Have we always had such an easy going rapport with each other?" he asks as he opens the door to his room

"No," she answers quickly. He steps to the side allowing her access to enter the room first, "In the beginning of our partnership, you sort of treated me the way you're treating Ally now."

"Really? Was it hard for you?"

"Yes it was but after a time I realized that, that was just the way you work it wasn't personal and in that time I learned that you are one hell of a detective. No one can dispute that, no matter how they might feel about your style."

"That sounds a bit ominous?"

"Maybe a little, it's just that sometimes you don't play by the rules of the game. You will do what you have to do to get to the truth. If you have to step on peoples toes to get there, so be it. If you have to uncover their deepest darkest secrets you do. I believe that you feel that way because of the way your parents treated you. You have to not only know the who, but the why." He doesn't have to ask her what or why, she can see the puzzled look on his face. "They kept many secrets about who they were and what they were doing from you when you were a kid."

"You mean about her illness," he states flatly.

"Yes and….I don't really know too much about your Dad."

"Maybe not much but you know something, tell me." He touches her arm, "I lived through it before I can live through it now."

"He loved the ladies and…." He walks across the room toward the window. "I get it," he says as he turns slowly to face her, "And?"

"He ah," she bites her lip.

"Say it!" He exclaims.

"He never gave you the time of day, no matter how hard you tried to get that man to notice you he always put you aside." Her confidence is gaining, "He would from time to time give you a smidgen of attention but all it did was get your hopes up that he would return and that things would be the way they should but it was ill fated."

"Shit," he runs his fingers through his hair, "I'm not sure I want to remember my family," a nervous laugh escapes him, "But then it's all in the past, right?"

"Right," she says as she nods her head. "All of it is in the past, you're safe now and no one is going to hurt you. Memories, that's all they are now, are memories." Alex takes the seat near the window, "Tell me Bobby," she watches him as he sits in the chair next to her. "Tell me about the dark-haired man." He nods his head slowly. "It may just be a dream, I'm not sure." I hope it is, but I doubt it.

I'm going to end it here.

Later….The Mominator