Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with "Without a Trace". I make no profit from this!

A/N: Many many thanks to my first reviewers – is it pathetic that you really made my night! Mariel3, I really love your WAT stories. I hope I can live up to all your high standards…! Apologies, in advance, for any glaring errors, I have no beta, so as many times as I check this myself, they'll probably be there!

Chapter Two

As they rode the elevator up the twenty-six floors, Sam took the opportunity to surreptitiously study her employer. He looked tired, as always, and his white shirt was slightly crumpled under his black suit. She knew he hadn't been sleeping at the office too often since Marie had left for Chicago, but there was something about him that just seemed worn. She couldn't say for certain if it was merely a 'one-day deal', or whether Jack had maybe looked this way for quite some time. This, in itself, bothered her more than she cared to admit. It wasn't so long ago that she could have sensed even the slightest shift in his mood, reflexively. And now, they were standing two feet apart and she really had no idea what to say. Although she was somewhat relieved she could still elicit a smile from him, she couldn't help but feel that a part of him just seemed to be… missing.

Well, you know, he did just sign the divorce papers on his marriage. Oh, and his daughters now live in Chicago and he'll get to see them every other holiday… if he's lucky. And yeah, he doesn't really have anything outside of work apart from taking care of his semi-estranged sick father. That's great Sam. Maybe you should just go ahead and tell him he looks old, too.

Before she could berate herself further, her thoughts were cut short by the sharp bell of the elevator announcing their arrival. Once again, Jack guided her in front as they stepped out into a deceptively calm flurry of activity.

The area the doors had opened onto was a large, almost square, open plan showcase. Symmetrical clusters of identical desks and cubicles littered the plain tiled floor. The furnishing was of light wood, with grey partitions separating the endless stretch of impersonalised work spaces. Either the more lowly employees of Redding, Phillips and Hurst had to adhere to a strictly minimalist policy when it came to work place design, or they really didn't have time to care. All across the room, people in dark suits, carrying large mounds of loose leaf files and heavy bound volumes, scurried urgently between desks, like dedicated, overly-sized ants. As the two agents took a closer look, they could see that most of these ants were in fact young men and women in their mid twenties. Probably fresh out of the more exclusive law schools, it seemed that if you were going to push paper, you may as well do it for the richest, if not the best.

Samantha caught Jack's eye and signalled to a large, marble and stone, arched doorway on the far side of the room. On the other side of the arch, a deep-maroon shag-pile carpeted corridor stretched around the corner and out of sight. The opulence of the structure stood in sharp contrast to the clinical quarters in which the elevator had deposited them.

"The Partners and Associates are through there." She pointed, discretely lowering her voice. "Why work in a chain-gang when you can pretend you're in a palace?"

Jack scoffed. "I'm just amazed they haven't put up some sort of gate, you know, to keep the peasants from storming the Bastille."

"Yeah," Sam considered. "It's not hard to see where their clients' fees go. And I'm guessing they probably wouldn't care too much if some of their minions got crushed in the stampede." She took a long breathe, before exhaling. "Ah, you can practically smell the money."

Jack regarded his partner with amusement. "And here I thought it was me who had the repressed anger issues with the esteemed legal community."

This time it was Sam's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Repressed? I think I could find a janitor and a rather large window who would refute that statement. And anyway, I'm simply being empathetic."

Already heading across the floor, Samantha missed the appreciative smile he threw in her direction at that last comment. As he watched her walk away, he realised that his feelings ran much deeper than the involuntary smile she had a habit of bringing to his lips. Without even attempting to dig too deeply into the myriad of memories and emotions that he would forever associate with his blonde co-worker, the realization hit him that, sometimes, it was enough just to know that someone did understand; that, without having to ask, someone was on your side. A lot of things have changed in recent months, thought Jack, but despite everything that had happened, he at that moment, couldn't imagine how he'd feel about his chosen profession if Sam Spade hadn't come along when she did.

Smiling to herself, Samantha could sense Jack in step behind her, as she subconsciously enjoyed the feel of his eyes intently on her back. "Well, let them eat cake," she thought she heard him mutter before their voices were drowned out by the wave of bureaucratic activity.

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As their feet sank into the inch deep carpet of the deserted Partner's corridor, Sam began a running commentary of the information she'd gleaned from her visit earlier that morning.

"Adam Walker arrived in his department, which deals with the firm's own…", she paused searching for a suitably diplomatic term… "um, legal issues, just after nine am on Monday." She looked up at Jack for confirmation and he nodded as she continued. "Adam's a Junior Partner, which seems to mean that while he's not exactly a big shot with five secretaries and a corner office, he's also not a bottom-feeder. His fellow Juniors were already in morning meetings when I got here, but should be free to talk now."

Jack made a face to indicate that talking with them would not be optional, as Samantha pressed on with her diatribe. "According to the secretarial pool by his office… who, by the way, I'll take a wild guess and suggest might be our best bet if we're looking for any office scandal behind our guy's disappearance… Adam normally gets in around eight am. But no-one thought it was too unusual that he was in a bit later after the weekend. The secretary, Melissa… someone, Thompson, maybe… who he tends to deal with was off sick yesterday, but 'the girls' are expecting her in anytime…" she glanced down at her watch, "now."

At this last snippet of information, Jack looked up, a sceptical smile gracing his lips. Samantha caught it and smiled back, her expression mirroring his own.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. I was about to call you and Danny to tell you not to even bother coming over, but her co-workers are adamant that it's legit. Apparently Melissa's been suffering on and off with the flu for the last three weeks… must be the damn weather." She glanced at Jack and was again rewarded by the amused glint in his eye. "Anyway, she's got quite a reputation as the serious, hardworking type, not the kind who thinks that promotion means skipping town with her married boss, even if he were that much of a creep…"

As the words flew out of her mouth, hanging precariously in the air between them, Samantha visibly cringed. Shit.

With some trepidation, she looked across at her partner. Oh God, did I really just say that? Please say something… Anything?

She watched as Jack's face registered some sort of shock as he realised what she'd just said. He seemed to be scrutinising her expression, but just as she was about to blurt out either a lame joke or guilty apology, to her complete amazement, Jack began to laugh, deep guffaws that resonated from his stomach. As he in turn took in her look of bemusement, it only made him laugh harder.

Sam watched him closely as he desperately attempted to regain control. When he finally did so, she smiled guiltily and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'm glad to see we're finally passed that awkward stage," she offered.

"I'm sorry," Jack managed, "I think today's just bringing something out of me."

A fleeting expression passed over Samantha's face, which failed to go unnoticed by her colleague. As she regarded him once again, there was a subtle change also in her tone, as it took on a more solemn quality than she had initially intended.

"I've missed that sound."

Jack appraised her, taking in the look in her eyes, which for a minute he could have sworn was almost… sorrow?

"Yeah," he said softly. "Me too."

For a couple of seconds they continued to watch each other, until they heard footsteps approaching from ahead. The spell was immediately broken as they remembered where they were and snapped effortlessly back into their professional personas.

"Excuse me?"

The agents turned as a young, attractive, snub-nosed red-head appeared in front of them. She turned toward Samantha.

"Excuse me. Are you Agent Spade?"

Samantha paused, as if performing a visual appraisal of the woman before responding, taking in the slightly out-dated attire, and the severe manner in which her hair was secured from her face. Despite the youthful energy that radiated from her in waves, all she needed was a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles and she'd be the model of secretarial excellence. However, when Sam met her eyes, she could see a concern that cut through any stereotype she found herself building. Silently reprimanding herself, she flashed the woman a confident, yet sympathetic smile.

"Yes, I'm Agent Spade. And you are…?"

The woman smiled apprehensively, as if unsure whether she wanted her name known to the FBI. She appeared to be studying Samantha in much the same way that the blonde agent had regarded her. Eventually she spoke up.

"I'm sorry. I mean, I only just got here… and they were all talking about Adam, and… sorry." She extended her hand and Sam took it. "I'm Melissa Thomas."

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As Melissa escorted the two agents down the corridor towards Adam's office and the inner sanctum of Redding, Phillips and Hurst, Jack took a moment to observe his surroundings and make a mental note of any queries he may have. The walls were lined with what he could only assume were portraits of the founding partners. The firm had been established in the early eighteen hundreds and despite their current role as advocates for poor, misunderstood big-business, they appeared to be clinging tightly to any last vestige of 'old money' status. The portraits were housed in gilded frames and were as much a homage to white male authority as he had ever seen. While the pictures continued ahead of him, he followed the two women into a sub-corridor on the right where they came to a stop outside the office of Adam Walker. Samantha pushed open the door and Melissa cautiously followed her.

Once all three were inside, Jack pushed the door closed. Whilst Samantha took a seat and encouraged Melissa to do the same, Jack wandered around the tiny room, trying to get a feel for who exactly Adam Walker was. Ignoring the small talk he sensed Sam was making purely to set the nervous secretary at ease, he let his gaze wander to a small shelving unit behind the desk. Unlike the rest of the area which was fastidiously neat, with mounds of paper and books set out in clearly demarcated piles, the three shelves looked conspicuously 'homely'. On the bottom two were a mixture of CDs and various knick-knacks obviously meant to distract from the hours spent at the workplace. But on the top-shelf, pride of place was a large, framed family photograph. The snapshot was obviously taken on some sort of holiday, as all three figures were wearing regulation shorts and sunglasses. On one side was a tanned, dark-haired, attractive, in a reassuringly average way, early middle aged man. On the other side was a naturally blonde, bubbly looking woman of about the same age. In between them was a young boy, as Sam had suggested, probably around eight or nine years old, almost as blonde as his mother. The two adults were swinging the child enthusiastically toward the camera and all three were grinning wildly. Jack couldn't help but contrast it with the portraits he'd been accosted with just outside the door.

Melissa caught Jack staring at the picture and sighed. "That's Adam with his family. That's Laura, his wife, and their son David. That must have been taken when they were on vacation in Florida last year. They all look so happy…." She trailed off, sadly before looking at Samantha. "Do you think something could have happened to him?"

Sensing that Melissa's apprehension had more to do with the unexpectedness of the situation, and not a sign of guilt, Samantha guessed that her best approach would be one of reassurance. Putting on her best, comforting expression, she addressed Melissa honestly.

"We were hoping that you may be able to shed some light on that for us. Out of everyone I've spoken to this morning, you're the first one who's been able to tell me his wife's name." She paused, gauging the younger woman's reaction, before pursuing this. "Were you and Adam close?"

Melissa looked like she were about to freeze up again but her posture suddenly relaxed and she cracked her first genuine smile. "You've been talking to the other secretaries, haven't you?"

The comment took Samantha by surprise, as did the genuine compassion she felt for the young woman in front of her. Her forehead creased in consternation. "What makes you say that?"

The secretary eyed her with mock scepticism and this time Sam was forced to laugh. Making the most of the current rapport, she held her hands up in defeat before conspiratorially leaning forward.

"Yeah, okay. You got me. I guess I should know better than to listen to office gossip."

Melissa's demeanour shifted again as her tone became flat. "Yeah."

More earnestly this time, Samantha tried again. "Okay. So what can you tell me about Adam?"

At first it seemed that the young woman was being evasive, but as her brow furrowed, it became clear to Sam that she was honestly thinking about the question. When her response came it was composed and sincere.

"Well, for one thing, he really loves his wife and son." Sam silently nodded her encouragement. "He talks about them all the time. To anyone who'll listen, that is." She quickly added. "Which, of course, discounts around ninety-nine percent of the people here." Her expression hardened. "In case you hadn't noticed, this isn't exactly the kind of place which excels in the family-picnic department. For most of them, their wives are like their income, you know? Disposable."

Samantha nodded again, as Melissa pressed on, now seemingly intent on saying her piece.

"I've been working in this department, with Adam, for two years, and before that I worked on the floor," she pointed back in the direction of the elevator, "for almost three years before that." She sighed quietly. "This was my first job, right out of secretarial school, and it wasn't exactly what I dreamed of doing with my life." Sam smiled understandingly. "But the pay was pretty good, and everyone said it'd look good on my resume if I stuck it out." She lifted her eyes to meet Samantha's. "Some of the guys down there were real jerks, you know? Straight out of law school, thought they had a license to do whatever the hell they wanted." Her thoughts seemed to drift off for a second. "I was so relieved when I got moved up here. There was some other stuff in my life that wasn't going so great. So, I figured at least up here when the guys were jerks, at least I had a better office, right?" She paused again. "Then I met Adam."

Samantha's voice was soft. "How's Adam different?"

Melissa smiled shyly, and for a moment Sam was sure that if Adam wasn't so happily married, at least in the eyes of this young woman, she may have been hearing an entirely different story.

"He just is." She stated quietly. "For one thing, he didn't always work in a place like this." She elaborated. "Most of the people here, they're here because they think that if they pay their dues, they can retire at thirty-five, or die happy, or something." The undercurrent of scorn in her voice was hard to miss, but Samantha didn't get the impression that there was any jealousy behind it. "Adam came here for the money, I mean, he's not a saint or anything. I think he just wanted to know his family would be taken care of. But before he came here, he used to work for some kind of charity. I think it had something to do with the environment. Whatever, it was, I think he really cared about it." Her tone became wistful. "That must be nice," she pondered. "To do something that actually matters."

Sam left her to her melancholy for a moment, before gently broaching her next subject. "Did Adam have any problems with anyone in the firm that you know of?"

Again, Melissa considered her response carefully. "Well, I think a lot of the people around here think he's a bit weird. But that's only because he cares about different stuff from them," she hastily added. "If he wanted to, I bet he could make partner, he's just not so good with office politics, you know?"

At that comment Sam glanced up at Jack and their eyes met briefly, causing the corners of Sam's mouth to turn up on their own accord.

Melissa continued. "Most people seem to respect him. I mean, how couldn't they? He's really good at his job, and if it wasn't for him, this whole lawsuit thing would be an even bigger mess than it already is."

With that comment, Sam's eyes jumped up from the notepad on her lap. "Lawsuit?"

The secretary drew breathe as she realized what she'd just said. She tried to backtrack but sensing it was too late, smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, we're… um… they just don't really like us talking about it, I guess. It's not a big deal really. To tell you the truth, I don't really understand what it's all about. Adam was pretty involved in it though, I think. I mean I was always copying documents and stuff for him." She indicated the piles of paper that Jack had taken note of earlier.

Samantha watched her, noting her reactions. "Well, is there anything you can tell us?"

Knowing that there was no way around the subject, Melissa sighed again and shrugged. "I'm only telling you this because I really want you to find Adam, okay? You didn't find out about this from me." Sam nodded her acquiescence. "You know Adam works in the firm's own legal section, right? It's his job to check that what the firm does is acceptable under state and federal law."

Sam couldn't help but interrupt. "That must make him a pretty busy guy around here then."

Melissa smiled appreciatively. "Yes it does. Anyway, I really don't know any details, but I think two of the departments are representing major clients who had some sort of dispute and now they're both suing us for conflict of interest, or something. I'm not positive, but I think Adam might have known about this for a while, but nobody wanted to listen to him. Maybe they were just hoping it'd go away? The Partners were in and out of here all day Monday, and some of them sounded pretty pissed…" She stopped herself, obviously nervous. "That's all I know, honestly."

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09.30 am. Adam Walker's Office, Redding, Phillips and Hurst.

As Melissa retreated hastily back to her work station, Samantha mulled over the new information they had gotten. If the secretary's, somewhat polemical, opinion was to be taken literally, Adam may not be a saint but he was probably the closest thing they'd get to one in this crowd. They'd know more about his home life when they'd spoken to Vivian and Martin, but until then the possibility of Adam as a corporate whistle-blower gave them their strongest lead, their only lead…

Having been silent for so long, Sam was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of Jack's voice.

"So, what do we think of the wholesome secretary?"

"You mean apart from the fact she's in love Adam Walker?" Sam smirked as Jack gave her a questioning look. "Oh come on," she smiled knowingly. "How could you not see it!"

Jack shrugged dismissively, but Sam could tell he'd drawn the same conclusion. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets as he turned and steeled himself. "Alright, let's go find us some Patriarchs, and see why no-one saw fit to mention this little lawsuit right away."

Before he made it to the door, his forward momentum was interrupted by the sharp trilling of his cell phone.

"Malone." He answered gruffly.

When he heard the voice on the other end, his tone relaxed.

"Danny. Got anything good for us down there?"

There was a pause, and the rustle of static, as he waited for his reply. When it came, Samantha could just about make out the tinny words as they echoed around Adam Walker's empty office.

"Well, I'm not sure it's good," Agent Taylor muttered. "But there's definitely something funky going on around here…"

TBC

A/N Okay, that second chapter was a lot tougher to get on paper than the first! Not having done this before I'm struggling a little bit with balancing the character stuff, and scene-setting with the dialogue and progression of the plot. So, if anyone has any comments on the pace I'm setting – too slow? too much character time/not enough character time! – please please feel free to tell me what you think! Hope you're still sticking with this, and appreciate the feedback. C.O. :)