A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read, commented, and liked this story so far. I'm glad you're enjoying it! I hope you all like this chapter.
Kensi arrived back at the mission to find the rest of the team huddled around a computer in the bullpen.
"Elijah's family didn't know of anyone or anything that would have led to his death. They also didn't know about him being a stripper. Boyfriend did though, but he didn't seem to care," Callen told Kenis, catching her up. "The consensus is Elijah Bremmer was a nice guy, didn't cause any problems and didn't have any enemies."
"Did you find out anything interesting at the strip club, Kens?" Sam asked.
"His boss, Simon Coleman, pretty much said the same thing," Kensi said. "Elijah kept to himself and didn't cause any problems. He was a good employee. Although it sounds like he had some possible debt. Maybe he got desperate and he got into something illegal to pay them off."
"I already looked at his financials and while he did have student loans," Eric said, tapping his keyboard until a couple bake statements and other documents appeared on the screen. "he hadn't defaulted on any them. He made small, but steady payments and there's not any suspicious activity in his bank account."
"Ok. Well, see what you can find out about a Marty Deeks."
"Who's that?"
"He's a stripper-"
"Ooh, do tell," Nell interrupted, leaning over from her perch on Sam's desk to look past Callen and wink at Kensi.
"Simon Coleman said he and Elijah were pretty close," Kensi explained, ignoring Nell and trying not to show her lingering embarrassment. "Marty Deeks claimed they mostly had a working relationship though. There's something off about him and I can't get him off my mind."
"Uh-huh," Sam commented, smirking widely, leaning a hip against a desk.
"That's not what I meant," she insisted and dammit, she was blushing now.
"Well let's see what Mr. Deeks has been up to." Eric tapped a bit more, eyes dancing back and forth as he gathered information. "Martin A. Deeks," he announced a couple minutes later, pressing a key with a dramatic flourish.
A picture of Deeks and a driver's license appeared on screen and Kensi's eyes widened in surprise before she could stop herself. In the first picture, which was obviously professional quality, he wore a suit and tie, his hair, still long, curling neatly around his collar. His smile was pleasant, but clearly professional. The difference between the picture and the man she'd met earlier was striking.
According to his license, he was 28, and a California native. She'd assumed he was quite a bit older than her, although he didn't look it.
"Ok, if this is what male strippers look like, I need to get out more," Nell commented, drawing Kensi's attention back to reality. "Look at those blue eyes."
"Not to mention those golden locks. I bet Kensi couldn't keep her eyes off him," Sam added. She rolled her eyes, keeping her head held high. Now more than ever, she was grateful she'd interviewed Deeks on her own. If Sam or Callen had seen the way he'd managed to throw her off balance, she'd never hear the end of it.
"Eric, does he have any priors, anything else suspicious?"
"Nope, no priors. Like Elijah, he has some student loan debt, but nothing outrageous and on the surface, it doesn't look like he's been engaging in anything illegal."
"Dig deeper." Sam gestured to the photo of Deeks. "A guy who works for a strip club can't be that squeaky clean."
"Uh, he started working at Honey's strip club about thirteen months ago, following a nearly two and a half year break from law school," Eric read, scanning and flicking through various pages on his smaller screen.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Sam made an incredulous sound. "This guy's going to be a lawyer?" Spinning around in his chair, Eric nodded, blowing up a copy of transcripts with the Pepperdine heading and Deeks' name at the top..
"According to his transcripts, has almost all straight "A's" and he's been in good standing with the university."
"Ooh, this is interesting," Nell commented, staring at her tablet. "Marty Deeks has sealed court case that took place when he was 11."
"Do you want us to dig deeper and get it unsealed?" Eric asked, glancing back at Callen.
"No," Kensi answered for him, then hurriedly explained. "I doubt something that happened when he was a kid is related to this case." A part of her wanted to know what Deeks was hiding, but she kept remembering his almost panicked expression when she'd threatened to dig through his past. There was no reason to potentially stir up trouble just to satisfy her own curiosity.
"Kensi's right. If Marty Deeks is involved in this, we're not going to find anything in a report that old." Callen said.
"Hey, Kensi, you said Deeks told you he wasn't very close to Elijah, right?" She nodded at Eric's question and he gestured to the screen again. "Based on their phone logs, they contacted each other a minimum of three times a day."
"That is pretty suspicious. Ok, you and Nell keep looking into his history. And screen the other employees at the club. See if anything pops up."
"Will do," Nell said. "Oh, and Simon Coleman is sending us a copy of footage from his video cameras for the last couple weeks. We'll let you know if we find anything interesting."
"Sounds good. We'll go talk to Elijah's former unit captain and a teammates," Callen said, gesturing between himself and Sam. "Maybe they can shed some light on who might have wanted him dead."
"What do you want me to do?" Kensi asked. Smirking again, Callen glanced at Sam and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Well, since he caught your eye, you can keep tabs on Deeks. You're on surveillance duty."
"Is he doing anything?"
"Other than attending classes, buying overpriced avocados, and going on the world's longest run?" Kensi answered, glancing out the window with a disgusted sigh. "Nope."
She'd been watching Deeks for the past two days, discreetly following him from Pepperdine campus, his apartment, and work. Kensi was definitely beginning to think it was a complete waste of time. As far as she could tell, his biggest transgression was sneaking out after the beach was "closed" to surf. It seemed between school, work, and his extracurricular activities, he slept even less than she did.
"Interesting that you've kept track," Sam teased. They'd been goading her the last couple hours and she was just about ready to stuff her comm in a half-filled cup of two day old coffee.
"Hey, in his business, you gotta keep fit for the ladies," Callen said and she could picture his smirk. God, sometimes she hated being the only female agent on the team.
"You guys are just hilarious. Crap, he's coming back." She slid down in her seat and held a hand to partially cover her face as Deeks turned a corner, approaching at a surprising speed.
She watched him run up to the sidewalk that led to his apartment. Overall his form was good, but his hips swiveled a little with every stride. His movements were relaxed and sure, reflecting a body that was in prime condition.
"Hey Kens, you still got eyes on Martin Deeks?" Eric asked a few minutes later, drawing her attention from Deeks, who had slowed to a walk and .
"Yes. Why?"
"We got an alert from LAPD earlier this morning. Three other male dancers have been killed in the last six weeks."
"All blunt force trauma?" Kensi asked.
"No." This time Nell answered, her voice clipped and short. "One was stabbed, another shot, and the third was found drowned in his bathtub. The thing is, two of the men worked at the same club."
"Are we sure they're all linked?" Callen asked.
"LAPD hasn't been able to find a link or any viable suspects. But we did. I was able to get the clubs to send over video footage."
"After watching way too many people get naked, we noticed one woman there several times a night," Eric said. "Within a week of their deaths, she got a lap dance from each of the victims. She received one from Elijah six days ago."
Kensi felt her stomach clench uncomfortably and flicked a glance at Deeks who was doing a series of stretches, apparently oblivious to her presence.
"And Deeks…"
"Two days ago," Nell confirmed. "If we're right, she'll be this woman's next target."
"Do you have an I.D on her?"
"We're still working on it."
"Ok, Kensi, you're officially shifting from surveillance to protection duty," Callen ordered. "Tell him what's going on and question him about our suspect. He might remember something about her."
A/N: I know this chapter was light on Deeks, but he will return in spectacular fashion in the next one.