Swerve

"Are you sure this is it?" AJ asked as she warily climbed out of Punk's SUV. They were going to Charles Palanski and the address Punk found was here- a trailer park.

"Yup." he said getting out of the car himself and slamming the door shut. "You can wait in the car if you want."

"No it's not that." She said walking next to him as they approached the small trailer. "It's just he used to have money. This doesn't seem like him, are you sure you have the right name?"

"Yea. He lost a lot in the divorce." Punk told her. "Also lawyer fees for the case in Texas."

"Oh, right." She said.

Before they reached the door a young girl walked out of the trailer. It didn't go unnoticed by Punk that the girl has long dark hair just like April and was of Spanish decent.

"How old did she look to you?" AJ whispered to Punk who looked back at the car who walked across the lot into the trailer across the way.

"20." He shrugged. "Definitely over 18."

"Good." She said relieved.

Punk banged on the door loudly twice and they both waited. A few minutes later Punk banged again and the door was pushed open, the man looked annoyed until he saw AJ.

"AJ Mendez?" He asked. He looked the same to AJ except with a little more facial hair and bags under his eyes.

"Hi Charlie." She greeted bouncing on the balls of her feet nervously.

"You look amazing." he smiled.

"Hello." Punk smiled holding up his badge.

"Oh fuck." Charles groaned. "Whatever it is, I didn't fucking do it."

"It's nothing like that." AJ said before Punk could respond. "Can we come in for a few minutes? Just to talk?"

"Is your daddy alright?" he asked concerned.

"Yea. He's better than ever actually." She smiled.

"I don't just invite cops into my home anymore." Charles informed her nodding at Punk. "You're more than welcome though."

"We're a team." Punk remarked.

"It's not bad, please?" She asked.

"Alright." Charles nodded and walked into the trailer and they followed him in.

The place as as mess, but it reminded AJ of New Jersey strangely.

"I've seen you on TV AJ." Charles said to her. "You aged beautifully."

"Thank you." She responded tucking her hair behind her ear.

"It's been a very long time. Years." He said checking her out. "You're truly all grown up."

"Yea we got that." Punk forced out a laugh. "Do you know why we're here?"

"I was hoping it was because AJ missed me." Charles grinned looking at her.

"Detective Brooks is my boyfriend."A J told Charles before Punk snapped.

"Of course he is." Charles said looking over to Punk. "I don't know why you're here."

"I've been-" AJ began.

"Have you tried to contact April since moving here?" Punk asked taking the lead.

"Ask her yourself." Charles chuckled but Punk wasn't amused.

"I'm asking you." Punk snapped.

"I actually did try to look you up." He said to AJ. "But I couldn't find your number or anything. When I saw you on TV and heard you were shot I was worried."

"That's the first and only time you tried to contact her?" Punk asked.

"Yea." Charles said averting his eyes.

"You're lying." Punk spat.

"Phil." AJ whispered.

"I tried to call you when I heard about Tiffany." Charles admitted. "I know you two were very close."

"Yea." AJ said quietly.

"Did you try to reach out to April and feel ignored?" Punk asked and Charles smirked.

"AJ wouldn't ignore me, we're family friends." Charles told him.

"You sleep with all of your friends daughters?" Punk questioned.

"That was a one time thing." Charles told him. "I also don't owe you explanation, AJ was of age."

"Well, that makes it better." Punk mocked.

"What are you getting at officer?" Charles asked folding his arms.

"I want to know if you've been harassing April." Punk spat.

"Get out of here with that shit." Charles laughed.

The men began to argue but AJ was zoned in on something on his floor towards the back. It was small but it caught her eye.

"Is your bathroom back there?" she asked Charles interrupting.

"Yea straight back." Charles said stepping aside for her to get through.

Punk continued arguing with Charles and saw April lift something and slip it into her purse before heading into the bathroom.

"I'm not harassing AJ." Charles said to him. "I don't need to."

"You admitted to trying to reach out to her." Punk pointed out.

"You're grasping at straws Detective." Charles grinned. "I don't have to harass April, if I want to be around her I would be. We have a past."

"You fucked her behind her fathers back." Punk mocked. "That's not much of a connection."

"She was always a beautiful girl." Charles pointed out with a grin. "She used to crush on me. Her father had issues-"

"Don't tell me a story about how you used my girlfriends daddy issues to get her into your bed." Punk warned.

"Ok I'm ready." AJ announced walking out of the bathroom and grabbed Punk's hand. "Nice seeing you again Charlie."

"AJ-" Charles began but she rushed out the door pulling Punk out with her.

"What did you steal from in there?" He asked her.

"I didn't steal I borrowed." She sighed as she climbed into the car.

"What is it?" Punk asked.

"This was on his floor." She said pulling a necklace out of her purse.

"Is that yours? Did he take it from your place?" He asked.

"No this is Tiffany's." She told him holding the locket up. "It was I mean."

"Are you sure?" Punk asked before starting the car.

"I gave this to her." AJ told him. "It was a graduation present from high school. Our picture is still inside of it." She said opening it. One side said 'Best Friends' the other side was a photo of the two as kids.

"Woah." He said. "I wish you didn't take this out of there."

"Why?" She asked.

"Because now it can't be used as evidence since it's stolen." Punk said taking it from her and looking at it.

"Why did he have this?" She asked him.

"Maybe she gave it to him?" Punk questioned. "Did they have a relationship?"

"Everyone had a crush on Charlie back in the day." she said to him. "And everyone had a thing for Tiffany." she told him. "She was a teen dream, blonde and looked like a super model. But if she had any kind of relationship with him I would have known about it."

"Are you sure?" He asked. "There has to be an explanation for him having this in his home."

"I want to know what it is." She said to him seriously.

"Bret Walsh killed Tiffany." Punk reminded her. "Why do you want to dig into her past like this?"

"Something is fishy." She said shaking her head. "I plan on getting to the bottom of it."

"Can't we just get to the bottom of one thing first?" he asked and she glared at him.

"This is more important. This should not have been in his house, she wouldn't just give it to him." She told him.

"You're more important." he argued. "Let's not get distracted here."

"It's too late for that." She said to him.

Punk and AJ walked into their apartment and as soon as they did there was a knock at the door. Punk groaned when he saw a man holding a vase of flowers.

"For April Mendez?" Punk asked and the man nodded.

"She's popular, gets a ton of deliveries." the man shrugged and Punk tipped him.

"Flowers?" She groaned as Punk walked in with them.

"Yup. Note too." He said grabbing her envelope.

"I don't have the energy to read it." She sighed.

"Go take a nice hot bath." he insisted. "I'll take care of this, I'll call Kofi to come pick it up."

"Kofi? You're just freezing out Detective Reid all together?" She asked.

"I can't take any chances where you're concerned." Punk said to her. "I spoke to my sergeant and he agreed to transfer the case to Kofi."

"She's going to be mad." she said to him.

"I don't give a fuck." He said to her simply. "Kofi can work it as long as I promise to not involve myself."

"Going to keep that promise?" She asked.

"Going to try." He told her honestly.

"I'm going to take that bath." She said to him. "You'll take care of this?" She asked about the flowers and he nodded. "Thank you." She smiled and then disappeared.

Alan doesn't love you like I do.

That's all the note said. He grabbed his phone and texted Kofi as somebody else knocked on his door. Punk let out a groan and swung the door open and Claire Reid walked in.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded. "Why did you request I get taken off of April's case?"

"You're going through a divorce, I didn't want you distracted." Punk shrugged.

"Fuck off with that." Claire scoffed. "I can do my job! You think I'm a suspect don't you?"

"I think everyone is a suspect." Punk defended lightly.

"I'm getting somewhere with this-" She began.

"You told me yesterday it was a cold case." Punk countered. "You didn't tell me you were getting divorced either."

"My personal life is none of your damn business." Claire argued.

"It is if it's interfering in your ability to do your job which is to keep April safe." Punk told her. "I don't care who's feelings I hurt, I want her to be the first priority."

"The world doesn't revolve around her Punk. I'm doing the best I can." Claire argued. "This case has kept my mind off of my personal problems. I need to see it through to the end."

"I think it's best Kofi handles it from here on out." Punk shrugged.

"You're unbelievable." Claire said to him. "Me of all people isn't stalking your girlfriend."

"I didn't say that but you're awfully defensive." Punk remarked.

"Are you just going to accuse every single person that your girlfriend speaks to of stalking her?" Claire asked. "This is why I told you to stay out of this investigation. The only one fucking this up is you!"

"Are you done?" Punk asked opening the door.

"You're crossing lines and accusing anyone who breaths near her, you're giving this guy a clear path to her by distracting everyone with your accusations. I'm going to keep working this case whether you like it or not." she warned him then stormed out.

Punk walked into the bathroom and scrunched up his nose at the aroma. She had all candles lit and no lights on.

"Done arguing with Claire?" She asked keeping her eyes closed.

"Not arguing. Difference of opinion." he said to her.

"Are you in here to look at me naked?" She teased opening her eyes and looking over to him.

"I actually had something to say but I lost my thought." he admitted.

"Come in." She offered sitting up.

"I don't want to intrude." He said to her licking his lips and now she stood up.

"Then help me dry off." She said stepping out of the bath.

"You just got in..." He trailed off. "But I'll gladly help you dry off." he said grabbing a towel and holding it open.

Punk wrapped the towel around her and leaned down to kiss her. The towel dropped almost immediately and Punk didn't even care her wet body was drenching his dry clothes. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist and he placed her on the counter in the bathroom. AJ spread her legs and he stepped in between them as he kissed her deeply then began to kiss down her neck.

Punk's hands were now planted on her breasts as he bent over and kissed down her cleavage. His mouth mounted one of her breasts and suckled on the sensitive nipples. AJ moaned as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She groaned as his other hand moved down her body and he slipped two fingers inside of her body and she buckled her hips.

AJ's hands moved to his pants and tugged down his shorts with ease and he sprung free she licked her hand and then used the same hand to stroke him. Punk's mouth moved off of her and they pleasured each other for a few minutes as they sloppily open mouthed kissed each other. Punk's thumb began to massage her clit and her body already began to quiver.

"Now." She moaned moving away from the kiss.

Punk grabbed himself and slid into her body. He jerked into her slowly at first as she slid on the counter. The fingers that were inside of her were now placed into her mouth and she sucked on them greedily. He kept his eyes locked on hers. The intensity of her sucking on his fingers and matching his thrusts but trying to move faster was a lot for him and he began to move faster. AJ placed both hands on the walls to perch herself as he moved into her faster and faster.

Punk lifted her off of the counter without separating from her body and pressed her into the back of the bathroom door. He used all of his strength to thrust into her, sliding her body up the door in the process. AJ was afraid he would fuck her right through the door but she didn't care. She was on cloud nine. Her nails were digging into his shoulders and she was gasping while he was grunting with every thrust. AJ moved her hand down her own body and massaged herself until she came. She knew Punk wasn't far behind when he abruptly pulled out of her body. They had agreed to be more careful when it came to sex after their scare.

AJ dropped to her knees and took his rock hard shaft into her mouth and began to suck on him. Punk placed his hands against the door to keep himself standing while he looked down at AJ. He moved hand to her head and began to guide her pace and push her hair out of her face. He held her face in place and went as deep as he could go as he ejaculated into her mouth. He pulled out of her mouth and she choked a bit before standing up.

"I need another bath." She said as she felt a little light headed from the intense session.

"Me too." he said seriously.

"There's plenty of room for you." She said kissing the corner of his mouth. "You can massage my shoulders for me."

"How could I turn that down?" He remarked seriously.

"I'll refill the bath, you can lose the rest of your clothes." She told him with a wink.

Later that night they were in the living room on the couch watching a hockey game, well Punk was watching AJ was on her laptop.

"Are you working on an article?" he asked her.

"No. I'm reading through old e-mails with Tiffany." She said to him.

"This Charlie thing is bugging you, huh?" he asked.

"She wouldn't have had sex with him, she wouldn't have been in his place." She insisted.

"Maybe the bumped into each other and one thing lead to another." He shrugged. "They were both new to Illinois and maybe found comfort in each other."

"Best friends would never sleep with each others exes." she told him.

"Did you have feelings for him?" he asked her.

"No." She said shaking her head. "She was mortified when I told her. He was married and she thought he was disgusting for sleeping with me. Not just because he was married but because he was friends with my dad. Girls are different then guys, we don't share like that."

"Excuse me." He laughed. "It's just not a big deal in my eyes."

"Really? If you and I broke up and I slept with Kofi you wouldn't be bothered?" she asked him.

"You're not a one night stand, you're my girlfriend." He pointed out.

"Girls are just different." AJ shrugged. "Also, she would have at least mentioned to seeing him."

"What do you think happened?" he asked her.

"There was no DNA on the first few victims, right? You only got DNA off of the last few victims and that's how you matched it to Bret." She pointed out.

"Yea..." He trailed off. "So? He admitted to killing Tiffany."

"Bret Walsh would admit to killing Tupac and Biggie if you would have asked. He wanted the fame and attention." She said to him.

"She was missing hair just like Bret's other victims." Punk pointed out. "Bret taunted you with her."

"Bret looked into me. Tiffany was just assumed to be one of his victims but what if somebody else killed her and covered it up by copying Bret. She wasn't the first victim and the pattern was publicized." She reminded him.

"You're really reaching Ape." He said to her. "Let this go."

"I can't." She said simply.

"Charlie did not kill Tiffany." Punk assured her. "Finding her necklace doesn't mean he committed a crime. A few days ago you said this guy was harmless and now you're accusing of him an already solved murder with barely any evidence."

"Ok, even if he didn't I still want to know why she was there and why he had her necklace." AJ said to him. "Something is just not right and I want to know what the hell is going on."

"How about we focus on the ball." he suggested.

"I already ordered my dress." She told him. "Called it in yesterday and your tux. I'm picking it up tomorrow."

"Don't I get a say in what I wear?" he asked her.

"You don't care what you wear." She giggled.

"You're right, I only care that you take it off of me at the end of the night." he said to her grinning.

"You know I will." She assured him. "I think you'll like my dress."

"Don't care what you wear either." He said to her in a simple tone. "As long as I'm the one taking it off of you at the end of the night."

A knock at the door stopped AJ from responding.

"What is with this place tonight?" he groaned getting up and walking to the door. "Alan." Punk greeted.

"Punk." Alan smirked. "April home?"

"I really hope you're not here to give her a hard time." Punk warned.

"I called him." She said walking over to the door.

"I'll be watching the Hawks." Punk said stepping away and back into the living room.

AJ stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

"First things first, I'm so sorry." She said to him. "I had a weak moment-"

"I understand." Alan assured her.

"You shouldn't be so kind-" She began.

"I would have thought the same." Alan said to her. "Let's agree to never talk about it again."

"Agreed." she said relieved.

"So what's the big story you need help with?" Alan asked. "Finally realizing Claire Reid isn't who she seems to be?"

"No but now I know why Punk had her removed from my case." she said to him. "This is about Tiffany."

"Your friend?" Alan asked and she nodded.

"I don't think she was killed by Bret Walsh." AJ told him.

"What?" Alan asked. "April he admitted to it."

"I know and I want to believe that was the case but I found something of hers today at an old friends place that I didn't know was in Illinois." she told him.
"Help me dig into Tiffany's final days here?"

"The police have already done that." Alan told her.

"They were looking for strange man approaching her, she would have known this one." AJ argued. "Something doesn't add up and Phil thinks I'm crazy."

"You are." Alan agreed quickly and she glared at him. "But, you're smart so I'm going to entertain this theory. What's the name of the friend?"

"Charles Palanski." She told him as he typed it into his phone. "You can dig deeper than the cops. It's not just Tiffany's final days I want to know what he was doing. I want to know why she was in his trailer."

"You know this could be a huge waste of time, right?" Alan asked. "Maybe she bumped into him and they hung out."

"She would have told me." AJ told him.

"Maybe it was so insignificant that she didn't even think to tell you." Alan shrugged.

"Trust me." AJ said seriously. "She would have told me. We spoke everyday and she would tell me about random people she bumped into, let alone an old neighbor."

"Alright." Alan said to her. "Oh, and Rebecca said since you cost me a night at the station you owe us one night of babysitting."

"She doesn't hate me?" AJ asked hopefully referring to his fiancee.

"Obviously she does if she wants you to watch our kid for an evening." Alan said seriously and she laughed.

"Any night but Friday, I'm going to the policeman's ball." She told him.

"Fancy." Alan whistled. "Try to have fun and let loose a bit." he said to her.

"That's the plan." She said to him.

"I'll get back to you as soon as I hear something." He assured her.

"Thank you." She said then walked back into the apartment and Punk was on the edge of his seat watching the game.

"Everything good?" he asked not taking his eyes off of the TV.

"Yea, everything is all good." She promised.