Law & Order: Criminal Intent – Redemption Song Part Two

A/N: Thank you, loyal followers! To my reviewers:

Blucougar57: Thank you so much for being a big supporter of Maria! Lol! Maybe he will, maybe he won't, but I assure you, there's something fishy going on….

lallyb1743: Not sure how long it will be (chapter-wise) but I like to stick to about 2-3k per chapter. Something decent to read…

MariskaRose: Yes, a lot of people are jealous of Maria. Lol! Thanks for your review. Glad you like subplots!

TriStateCopFan: My faithful friend and reviewer! Hurrah! I see A LOT of problems cropping up in the near future, I actually got the idea from a review of yours; i.e., Alex's tantrum. Thanks for the inspiration! Glad you like the new story!

Well, get set, readers, because here is part two! The usual disclaimers apply, but I own Maria, Angel, Sarah and Rogers. Redemption Song belongs to Stevie Wonder, the brilliant singer who influenced Guy Sebastian. I am in awe.

Alex woke up the following morning with a horrendous headache. Groaning, she dragged the memories of the previous night out from the foggy depths of her mind, recalling that Deakins drove her home after she passed out in the back seat of his car. She wondered groggily if he had told Bobby about her temper tantrum at the bar.

Staggering to her feet, Alex found herself locked securely in her apartment. Deakins had locked the door from the outside, then slid the key under the door. Alex smiled at his kind gesture. She picked up the keys off the floor and padded into the kitchen and made herself some strong coffee. While it brewed, she checked her cell. Five missed calls, all from the same number. Bobby. Alex grinned. She looked at her bed-haired reflection in the TV.

'Evidence enough for me,' she said softly. She jogged back into the bedroom, changed into clean slacks and a pale blue shirt and grabbed her jacket. Making up her coffee to go, she locked up the quiet apartment and headed down to the precinct, realising that no matter what happened in their lives, she and Bobby would always be a part of each other's lives.

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Bobby was already there, clean-shaven as was his custom now. Alex smiled and plonked his morning coffee down on the table. He jerked his head up and smiled at her.

'Hey there,' he said softly. Alex smiled back at him.

'Hey back,' she replied. Bobby rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. Alex tilted her head and observed her partner.

'Any leads yet?' she asked. Bobby shook his head.

'I talked it over with Maria, which was very useful. We came up with a few plans to get around this. We need to put a call through to Utah MCS.'

Alex grabbed the phone on her desk.

'Why?'

'Maria believes that Delafontaine's mother wasn't married when she had her,' Bobby said with a grim smile. Alex replaced the receiver slowly and leant forward.

'Not married?' Alex repeated incredulously. Bobby nodded.

'Best excuse for leaving Utah; pregnant and unmarried,' Goren said quietly. Alex nodded.

'Sounds like you and Maria really got into it last night,' she said carefully. Goren noticed the subtle change in his partner's voice.

'Alex… Deakins told me what happened last night,' he said softly. Alex swallowed. Oh God, she thought, but stood steady.

'So?' she replied, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. Bobby took her hands in his and looked at her seriously.

'Alex, just because I'm marrying Maria doesn't mean that I've forgotten you,' he whispered. Alex felt the tears rising, but forced them back.

'I don't know what you're talking about,' she replied. She could tell he hadn't bought the blatant lie. Bobby squeezed her hands gently.

'You will always be important to me, no matter what happens. I want you to know that,' he said. Alex felt relief wash over her as her partner grinned his dopey grin and picked up his phone.

'Hello? Yeah, Detective Robert Goren here. Is this Utah MCS…?'

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Eames and Goren stood on the doorstep of Robert Strickland's house. Well, to be specific, it wasn't his house. It was his parent's house and judging by the 2004 model jaguar parked in the sweeping driveway, Goren thought, they weren't badly off.

'What do you reckon?' Eames murmured as they made their way up the drive-way. Goren thought about it.

'Real Estate agents, maybe executive lawyers. Some big firm. Bet Strickland, Jr. was an honours student,' he muttered in response. Eames nodded.

'Certainly seems the type.'

The door was large and made of a heavy wood that Goren identified as oak, as Eames slammed the heavy brass knocker down three times and rang the tinny-sounding bell. Goren looked around.

'You know, this is the kind of place every kid dreams about owning when he gets older,' he noted. Eames looked at him.

'Right before his father turns out to be a womaniser and his mother becomes an alcoholic,' she replied sarcastically. Goren shrugged.

'No-one's perfect.'

The door swung open and a timid maid in a black and white dress stood in its place.

'Can I help you?' she asked in slightly gasped English. Goren tilted his head.

'Yes, we're looking for the young Mr. Robert Strickland. We were wondering if he was home at all,' he asked softly. The maid raised an eyebrow.

'Robby's home, yes sir. May I inquire as to who is looking for him?'

Eames stepped forward.

'Senior Detective Eames. This is my partner, Senior Detective Goren,' she said, indicating Bobby, who was intrigued by the door knocker. The maid rolled her eyes.

'Please come in. I will call Robby down for you in a minute,' she replied and showed them in. The house was huge; even Goren, who would normally dwarf a room, appeared tiny in the spacious, marble-floored hall. The maid led them into the kitchen and offered them drinks. Eames declined, but Goren took a glass of water. He glugged it down so rapidly that the maid simply stared wide-eyed at him, before leaving to fetch Strickland. Eames thumped his shoulder.

'What d-did I do to deserve that?' he asked.

'Remember your manners. Didn't they teach you anything in the army?'

'I learnt to stay in line but colour outside.'

'Typical.'

The maid returned with Robert Strickland. Goren, had he been drinking the water, would have spluttered it out. Robert Strickland was almost as tall as himself, with short dark brown hair and brown eyes. He also had fair skin and was very slightly built. Eames raised an eyebrow.

'Robert Strickland?' she asked. The boy gave a winning smile.

'Please, detective, my father is Robert Strickland. Just call me Robby,' he replied, extending a hand to Goren.

'And you are?'

'Detective Robert Goren,' Goren replied, shaking the young man's hand. Robby's face lit up.

'Another Robert, huh? Pleased to meet to you!' Robby exclaimed. Goren nodded uncomfortably. He turned to Eames.

'To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, detectives?' he asked pleasantly, ushering them into the living room.

'We're here about the murder of your girlfriend, Sarah Delafontaine,' Eames said sharply, clearly annoyed at the boy's utterly cheery attitude. She needn't have worried. As soon as she mentioned Sarah's name, Robby's face lost all colour in it.

'I-I don't know what you m-mean. I-I don't know any S-Sarah,' he stuttered. Goren swung into action.

'Really? Because we were under the impression that you two were together, at least, that's what Father Rogers and Sarah's step-sister Angel told us,' he said, dipping his head to creep Robby out. The boy gulped and sighed.

'My… my parents, they don't know that I was with Sarah, understand?' he whispered. Goren sat forward on the armchair he was in.

'So you did know Sarah?'

'Yeah, she was at my college. Music major. We met at a concert she was performing at. She was a lovely girl, so I asked her out. She said yes and I brought her back here to meet my parents. They disapproved and told me that I needed to get rid of her. So I staged a break-up with her at college, but continued to see her in private,' Robby said quietly, his eyes reddening with tears.

'Do you have any idea who might have wanted her dead?' Eames asked him impatiently. Robby looked up.

'There were only three people who knew that Sarah and I were still together. Her sister Angel, her mother and Father Rogers,' he replied.

'If anyone wanted my Sarah dead, it would have been one of them.'

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'So the boy didn't do it?' Eames asked her partner as they got back into the car. Goren shook his head.

'He was too upset. Even when we broached the subject of Sarah's death, he was still trying to hide his relationship,' Goren replied, sliding into the car. Eames followed suit.

'Okay, then that still leaves us with Angel, the mother and the priest as suspects,' Eames ticked off the names on her hands. She looked tiredly at her partner. He gave her a lop-sided grin and tapped her on the shoulder.

'Let's head back to the precinct and find out if Deakins and Maria have those records I asked for,' Goren smiled. Eames started the car.

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Deakins and Maria were still frowning over the files when Eames and Goren returned. Deakins straightened up and looked levelly at them He didn't need to say anything before Goren knew what the matter was.

'There's been another murder, hasn't there?' he asked quietly. Maria nodded.

'Another soprano, but she's not related to the Delafontaines. Found this morning in the same place as Sarah,' she replied. Eames snatched the files from under Deakins' arm and flicked through them. She looked up.

'When did these come in?' she asked. Maria shrugged.

'Three, maybe four hours. You and Goren were out at the Strickland place, so Deakins asked me to take a look at them.' She turned to Goren.

'Wounds on the vic match the ones we found on Sarah, so we know we're dealing with the same perp,' she said. Goren nodded.

'Or perps,' he muttered. Maria looked at him, a smile spreading across her face.

'More than one perp? Can you verify that?' she asked. Goren grinned.

'I'm working on it,' he said. Eames rolled her eyes.

'Yes, we are at work, so can you two keep your hands off each other long enough to solve a case?' she barked. Goren got a 'naughty-boy' look on his face and looked sheepishly at Maria.

'Guess she's right,' he mumbled. Maria giggled.

'Alright, I'll get the rest of the files together. Goren, Maria, go down to the church and have another talk with Rogers. I think that maybe he can give us some more information,' Eames said sharply. Goren offered his arm and the pair left the office. Deakins grinned at Eames, who rolled her eyes.

'I guess there really is a time and place for everything,' he said, before heading back to his office.

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Father Rogers was beside himself when Goren and Maria arrived. When he saw them, he turned a nasty shade of grey and began to retch. While Goren took him to the bath room, Maria had a poke around the old clergyman's office. It was neatly kept, wallpapered and had large portraits of former priests hanging on the walls. She examined his desk. It was neatly ordered, with an A4 sized timetable of the church's regular events. She picked it up and noted that the gospel choir rehearsed two nights a week.

Goren returned from the bathroom with the priest looking slightly better than he had when she had seen him last. Maria quickly dropped the schedule and bade him to sit down.

When he felt prepared, Goren asked the first question.

'Who was it?'

Father Rogers looked up.

'Sarah's replacement, Darla Richards. She is… was normally a second soprano, but after Sarah was… was…' he began to shake. Goren looked at Maria. This isn't good, Maria thought.

'Any thoughts, Father?'

'None. This was just as senseless as the last. We'll be forced to close the church if this keeps up.'

Maria suddenly felt Goren's hand close over her own and squeeze it tightly. She knew what he meant. No church, no wedding.

'Father, I was wondering if you could lend us a copy of the church's roster of events,' Maria said. Father Rogers nodded, got up from his seat and rummaged on the desk.

'Now where did I… oh, yes, here we are,' he muttered, pulling out an A4-sized piece of paper. He handed it to her.

'I shall leave the church open at your discretion, detectives. You are free to investigate,' he said sadly. Goren thanked him and left with Maria.

As the pair slid into the car, Goren noticed that Maria was staring intently at the paper.

'What is it?' he asked. Maria shot him a grim expression.

'This is a schedule, alright, but it isn't for this church,' she said darkly. Goren looked incredulous.

'You mean…?'

'Rogers gave me a fake. I read the original on his desk while you were in the bathroom with him.'

'But why?'

Maria slammed the Holden into first.

'I don't know, but I intent to find out.'