26th of December

Carefully Sara embraced her lover from behind and kissed her neck. It was six in the morning, too early for the blonde to be awake and nevertheless she was there, sat in the big kitchen, had a coffee in front of her and some scrambled eggs.

"Mhm, lovely lips on my body in the early morning, this must be a good day."

"I hope so." Sara knew her lover didn't have a good night, slept badly. When they went to bed after eleven, the blonde had very soon a nightmare. From what Sara heard it was a mix between the explosion and Ellen's death. She woke her lover up, who couldn't remember much of her dream and didn't want to talk about what she remembered. Not then.

"I slept better after the nightmare."

"Better and still poor."

"Have you been awake for a long time?"

"I woke up a few times and all the times when I was awake, you didn't sleep relaxed."

"There are some pictures I can't get out of my head. And so many questions. I know, I shouldn't care so much, should stay professional but…I can't help it."

"I don't expect you to be ice cold when you see your ex dead on the street. If that was the case I'd worry about you."

"For what it's worth, I try to be back earlier today and when William doesn't insist on me working tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I'll be here with you."

"You have a case, a brutal murder case."

"True and I'll give this case another twelve hours today. If we can't find the killer, there are colleagues, who are very talented and they can work the case as well." Would she say the same when the victim was somebody else? Did she care less because it was Ellen?

"Exactly. You'll take your two days off." Greg said when he heard the last sentences after he came into the kitchen. "Ellen gets all the help she needs, we'll get her killer, but you will have your time off. It's not like you have insider knowledge we need."

"No. So don't worry, we'll have our Christmas party tomorrow, our days off and I'll get my head off work." At least that was her plan, lets see what reality did with it. "Does Shane come over for lunch?"

"Late lunch. We can sleep in, have breakfast in bed and… explain the dogs why we forgot them."

"I take them out, don't worry about them." Greg offered. "A little walk before work is a good way to wake up."

"Thanks. We'll take your fiancé and twins out for a walk after lunch, the weather is supposed to be good. And your parents can join us too."

"They'll be at the Universal Studios tomorrow, don't worry about them. It's time for some sightseeing."

"Universal Studios? They'll be busy the whole day. Are they here for dinner or are you with Jules's parents again?"

"No, they've to work, we'll be out for dinner. Or here if that's okay."

"Sure. We'll have our late Christmas dinner, you can join us. Salad, potatoes and turkey, ice cream as dessert. And a lot of wine."

"We'll be drunk the whole time." Sara planed to surprise Sofia with a bottle of champagne for breakfast. When they had the chance to stay in bed, be lazy, it was a good chance to celebrate. Maybe she could drink the champagne out of the blonde's bellybutton.


Sofia overlooked the evidence. Nothing new. Nightshift didn't work Ellen's case, nobody added something. For them it was an ordinary murder case. What was it for her? A murder of her ex, it was…was it personal? Kind of. She knew about her nightmares, she knew she had dreamed about her ex last night, dreamed of them, pictures she had in her mind of them, of the time when they were together, after the break-up. The one night stand two years ago. Ellen hurting her last week. The blonde was sure it was the other woman's way to handle their separation. Sofia refused to give Ellen another chance, ignored the flirtation. Not many people rejected the model and actress. And when people did, it was very bad for Ellen's ego and she could be very insulting. Was very insulting and mean.

"We've got a wit…damn, you look like shit!" Don said when he came into the room. "Your night must have been horrible."

"It wasn't nice. We've got a witness?"

"Kind of…are you all right?" He stepped in her personal space.

"Yes." She got up. "I…" Before she could continue he pulled her in his arms.

"Don't forget to look after yourself."

"I do and so does Sara. Who is the witness?"

"A barkeeper who saw Ellen leaving with a man last night. Since when did she date men?"

"She dated everybody if this person could help her in any way."

"Okay. Do you want to join me in interrogation or shall I ask Greg?"

"I come with you. Don't treat me like china."

"I worry about you and nothing you say will change that. You're my friend, I love you."

She took his hand to stop him. "I love you too and I promise I let you know when it's all too much for me. Right now I feel like I've to do this, have to close the case to make…to make me feel better. I don't do it only for her, I do it mostly for myself."

"All right. Promise me you'll talk about how you feel with Sara or me or whoever you feel like talking to. And don't forget your appointment with your therapist today. That's important. Now more than ever. Let him know about your new case, how you feel and how much your friends worry."

"You sound like William and Greg."

"Because we all worry about you." He let his hand ran softly over her arm.

"I'm fine. Better than I though I would be, actually. Lets talk to the witness." She followed him into interrogation. A man in his late twenties sat at the table. When she entered the room she knew exactly who he was.

"Darren."

"Hello Sofia, what are you doing here?" His green eyes looked surprised at her and for a moment it looked like he was about to get up to greet the blonde.

"I'm working here...are you our witness?"

"Yes...I'm sorry...for your loss?"

"You know Ellen and me weren't together anymore."

"You know each other?" Don asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's been a while that I saw Sofia...almost two years? Over two years?"

"Something like that, yes. Darren worked in a club I was quite often with Ellen. Are you still working there?"

"No, I changed a few months ago, it's the 'Change' now. An expensive club, quite famous with young actors and producer at the moment. Ellen was there at least once a week."

"She was there two nights ago?"

"Yes. I saw her around midnight, she was dancing with a man, let him be in his thirties. I haven't seen him around."

"Can anybody get into the club? You said it's popular with stars, you must have a few rules about who can come in."

"We do, you need an invitation. They're given away inside the club, so once you were there, you can get an invitation for the next time. As far as I know a couple of actors bought the club, started the system, now there is a guest list with around hundred names on it, these people can come in whenever they want, the rest has to get the invitations. The more popular you are, the bigger is your chance your name might end up on the list. Ellen's name is on the list, it was put on there from a producer, she worked with. But I'm sure she worked more for his personal pleasure than for his projects. We both know she never had a big part in a movie or a show, but had other qualities."

"Can you give us the name of the guy?" She needed more, more to get the man. There was a very reliable witness sitting in front of her, she had to get everything she could out of him. That he had a good memory was something she knew. Now it was the time to use this memory for their case.

"No, they don't write down who put whom on the list, sorry."

"And the man she was with two nights ago came in with an invitation?"

"I never saw him before, he must have had an invitation or his name is new on the list. I'm not allowed to give you the names of the people on the list without a warrant, so if you want the list, give me a warrant and I'll send you the list ASAP. Sorry."

"Not your club, not your rules. Thanks for the information. Tell us more about the man, how did he look? Beside being in his thirties."

"Tall, six four, six five. Long brown hair, ponytail, slim. Not a good dancer. He wore black pants and a black shirt. There was a tattoo on his left arm, I can't tell you what it was, I was too far away. We do have security cameras, but the tape gets deleted every morning, just after the club closes. By the time you guys asked for her, everything was gone."

"When we ask a colleague to draw a picture of the man Ellen was with, can you describe him for him? So we have a better imagination for whom we're looking." And could send the photo to all colleagues, airport, port and bus station.

"Sure. Uhm...we do have guests, who takes photos of them celebrating, maybe when you have the warrant and the list, you can contact them and asked for photos too. My colleagues and I are more than happy to help you out with, who was there. We might not remember everybody, but most of the regulars."

"That's a good idea...Don?"

"I get the warrant. It doesn't look like you need me here anyway. Our witness is very cooperative."

"When it were me, who was killed, I'd like people to help the police to find my killer too."

"Good spirit." Don got up and left the room.

"You should come along, Sofia." Darren said. "You might like the music."

"I don't have famous friends. There are two actors living with me, but they aren't important enough for your club."

"You know the bartender, he can get you an invitation if you want."

"Make it two and we have a deal, I want my girlfriend with me. Besides, I can't really dance anymore."

"What's wrong with your leg? I noticed you don't walk the way you did two years ago."

"I lost my left leg from beneath the knee. The Hollywood and Highland explosion last year."

"Shit. I'm sorry."

"It's getting better. Uhm...can you remember anything else about the night? About Ellen and her company? Did he dance with somebody else? What drinks did he order?"

"He sat at the other side of the bar, I wasn't responsible for him, it looked like he ordered coke with whiskey or rum. When I recall the glass correctly. Ask Billy, he worked there. As far as I remember he danced only with Ellen. No idea if they met at the bar the dance floor. Sorry."

"You gave us a lot of information, Darren. I'll go and ask for a colleague so you can work with him on the identikit picture."

"Okay. And you come along soon? I write your name on the list and make a note, you'll be there with company."

"We'll do that. If we have more question, I'll contact you. I've your phone number now." She smiled.

"Sofia, one word two years ago and you had gotten it sooner." He smiled softly at her. "Go and get whoever did this to Ellen. She wasn't a saint but she didn't deserve to die."

"No, she didn't." Sofia got up and walked out of the room.