Law & Order CI: Riddle Me This

Chapter Three

Author's Notes: Thought I'd try and get this started early. If I don't, well, you know me! I'll never get it finished! Kudos to those who are following this new chapter of Bobby and Maria's relationship. I really do appreciate it. Thanks also go to my C2 staff: TriStateCopFan, blucougar57 and MariskaRose. You guys are awesome!

Bobby Goren opened the door to his apartment and dropped into the chair nearest to the door. Massaging his forehead, he sighed.

'Bobby? Is that you?'

'Yeah, it's me.'

Maria came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel. She smiled at him.

'Got home early. I decided to do the dishes before you got home, 'cause I called Deakins and he said you would be late.'

'Typical. Damn case has everyone tied up in knots.'

'Are you sure that wasn't a suicide?'

'I'm not sure of anything anymore.'

Maria sat on the arm of the chair, took his jacket and hung it up. Returning to Bobby's side, she rubbed his shoulders. Bobby threw his head back and grinned.

'Baby, that's soooooo good... wanna continue this in our bedroom?'

'Now, now, Bobby, you just got home. Don't you wanna eat first?'

Goren laughed and tugged her into his lap.

'Depends. What's for dinner?'

'Leftovers.'

Goren stood up swiftly, his arms locked under his wife's body. Maria's arms snaked around his neck. He kissed her softly on the lips.

'Then I think I can wait a few hours longer.'

Bobby woke up to the sound of early morning darkness, one bearish arm tightly wrapped around his wife, who was bound tightly against his chest. Gingerly, he removed his arm and stuffed a pillow under her head so as not to wake her. He crept quietly into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. He yawned, rubbing his hands through his tussled curls. He looked himself over in reflection from the fridge. Butt naked, save for the shirt he had worn to work yesterday. Goren ran a hand over the two-day growth on his chin. Maybe I should shave this morning...

Out of nowhere, a pillow came whizzing through the air and hit him in the back with a dull thud. Goren bent down and picked it up curiously.

'You honestly can't have thought that a pillow feels anything like your arm, could you?' came a soft voice from around the corner. Bobby grinned.

'One hoped that it did,' he replied, sneaking around the corner into the lounge room. Maria ducked into the kitchen quickly, but not before the pillow in Bobby's hand came flying after her and hit her squarely in the shoulder. Maria gave a squeal and pegged it back in his direction. Bobby caught it and laughed, racing into the kitchen and pinning her against the sink. Maria pummelled his naked front playfully as her husband grasped her wrists. He lowered his head and kissed her powerfully on the lips. His hands left her wrists and rose to her shoulders and into her hair. Maria pulled him to her and stroked his hips, causing him to wriggle slightly.

'Did that tickle, sweetheart?' she whispered against Goren's lips. Bobby moaned softly against her mouth. He traced the outline of her lips with his tongue.

'You know very well what happens when you do that to me.'

'Do I, now? I can't quite remember...'

In one, swift movement, Bobby lifted her onto the edge of the sink, her arms still around his neck. Bobby pushed aside her hair and nipped at her earlobe. Maria gasped slightly as Bobby moved his lips to her neck, his hands sliding down her arms, across her hips to her thighs.

'Do you remember now?' he murmured, kissing the hollow of her throat.

'Bobby... no... not... not here...'

'Yes here. Now. Right now.'

Bobby moved closer to Maria and wrapped her legs around his waist. He looked up into her eyes through the darkness, his eyes begging hers.

'I want to start a family with you. Right here, right now,' he said seriously.

'I've waited far too long as it is to have kids. It's now or never.'

Maria threaded her fingers through his silver curls and looked deep into his eyes. Her aunt hadn't lied; Bobby had wanted everything from life. His only problem was finding a way to get it. She smiled at him.

'I love you, Bobby Goren. I want to have your kids,' she whispered. Bobby braced himself for the but, but it never came. Maria leant down and kissed his forehead.

'I think we've waited long enough,' she said. Bobby's eyes shone in the dark, a boyish grin spreading across his face.

'Let's get to starting this family.'

Alex didn't notice that Bobby had come to work dishevelled. She had got so used to it before he married Maria that when he arrived at work with tussled, rumpled curls and unshaven for two days, she simply handed him the latest case files without even looking up.

'What's this?' he asked, dropping into his chair. Alex grabbed her coffee and took a swig.

'Another murder,' she said simply, finishing her report with a swift stab at the paper. Bobby raised an eyebrow then looked at the file. His eyes widened.

'Surely not...' he said.

Mr. Leon Barkley's body lay at odd angles in his office on the twelfth floor of BARKLEY AND BARKLEY PUBLISHING. Goren shook his head as he stepped lightly around the new corpse.

'New evidence... huh,' he said quietly to himself. Alex stood to the side, taking down the statement from the security guard who had discovered the dead publisher.

'... I just got off from night shift, noticed Mr Barkley's door was open. T'wasn't like him to leave his office unlocked. So I said "Jim, you go check on Mr Barkley's office" and I just pushed on the door and I found Mr. Barkley right there.'

'Did you touch him at all? See anyone come in or out of the building last night?'

'No, miss, not even young Miss Jackman. She's always in and out of here. But these last two week, she ain't. Didn't touch him, neither.'

'Thanks, we'll be in touch.'

Alex re-read the statement as she approached her partner, who was hopping around the corpse like a little boy around his presents at christmas.

'So what's the deal?' she asked as Bobby looked up from where he was kneeling next to the body.

'Apart from the connection to the Whitfield death, it's not the same. Different cause of death. This guy... he was hit in the head from behind. With this,' Goren said, lifting a bloodied paperweight from beside the body. Alex held out an evidence bag and he dropped the heavy object in. As she sealed it, Goren knelt down and pushed the body slightly. Wriggling his hand under the body, he retrieved a clutch of papers.

'Eames, look,' Goren said, holding the blood-covered papers out to her. Alex took them from her partner.

'Well, well, well, whaddya know, Mr Barkley's accounting. And look, it appears that he was embezzling funds,' Alex cracked dryly. Bobby pursed his lips.

'Motive for the kill. At least now we know why Whitfield couldn't leave his wife.'

Alex looked down at her partner.

'Let's have a little chat with Carver.'

'What do you need the warrant for?' Carver asked, leaning back in his chair at 1, Hogan Place. Goren leant forward.

'We need to have our accountants check the books for Barkley and Barkley Publishing. We have every reason to believe that Barkley was murdered over an embezzling dispute.'

'Embezzling dispute? From whom?'

'Tommy Whitfield,' said Alex, handing Carver a copy of the papers they had retrieved from the crime scene.

'We believe that Whitfield had made a lot more than what he was getting, that Barkley was skimming the profits.'

'It's a motive for murder. If his wife or mistress discovered the embezzlement, either would be in a position to commit the crime,' Bobby continued, rocking impatiently in his chair. Carver looked at the pair over the top of his glasses.

'Just the records? No search warrant for the murder weapon?'

'Oh, we found that. Murder by paperweight doesn't strike a heavy blow with many killers,' Alex quipped. Carver rolled his eyes.

'Alright, I'll get you the paperwork straightaway.'

'You were right, detectives, there was embezzling goin' on here. BIG time. Grand scale, whatever you want to call it. Barkley had skimmed over one hundred g's from the company profits,' said the accountant, handing copies of the findings to the two detectives. Goren seized his and began rifling through it. Alex flicked through it slowly, before returning her eyes to the accountant.

'So tell us what was going on here,' she asked. The accountant shrugged.

'Okay, here's the thing; the profits that the book stores make? They get sent to the company account. From there, it gets divided up into smaller payments: the publisher's fee, the lit agent's fee, publishing costs and then the author's royalties. According to Whitfield's contract, he was supposed to get thirty percent minimum from the profits, with that amount to increase to up to forty percent should the sales of the book reach best-seller. Unfortunately, Barkley switched the contract with a bogus one that stated that Whitfield would get the publisher's fee, around ten percent, while the publisher would get the royalties "to cover publishing costs".'

'And Whitfield never had the sense to have it checked out with a lawyer?'

'He was a first-time published writer. He never thought to check, I s'pose.'

'uh... thanks, we'll take it from here,' Goren said, standing up to open the door. The accountant crossed to the door and stepped out into the squad room. The tall detective closed the door behind him and leant against it, facing his partner.

'So? What do you think?' he asked. Alex pondered for a moment.

'Mistress?'

'Too obvious.'

'Obvious isn't one of your strong points, Bobby. You thought that Whitfield was murdered.'

'I still am considering that possibility. But I don't think that Jackman is the perp.'

'Circumstantial evidence... we could bring her in for questioning?'

Goren turned and opened the door.

'Better go ask our good friend Carver. I know he'll be thrilled to see us again.'

Major Case Squad Interrogation Room

Bobby Goren hovered in a corner of the room while Harriet Jackman sat irritably in a metal chair across from Alex, tapping her foot impatiently.

'Look, I gave you all the information I knew. If you wanted to know something, why didn't you just ask me instead of arresting me like some common criminal?' Harriet snarled at Alex. Eames glanced at her partner.

'We're sorry, Miss Jackman, it wasn't our idea, it was the D.A's. We just have a few questions for you in relation to Mr Barkley's murder last night.'

Harriet looked unnerved.

'I think I should have a lawyer here, don't you?'

'We can't make that decision for you, Miss Jackman.'

'I think I should. I don't want to answer questions that may incriminate me.'

'Why? Do you think we might implicate you?'

The question came out of the blue. Harriet spun on her chair to face Goren, who had been speaking to the wall. He turned, locking his brown eyes on her blue.

'Where were you last night, Miss Jackman?' Goren asked softly. Harriet shifted slightly on her chair.

'I... I was at home,' she replied as Goren moved fluidly across the room, his head tilted gently to the left.

'And I take it that, since you live alone, there's no-one who can verify that you were there?'

'No! I mean... yes, there's no-one, but... wait... you can't... no, there is one person!' Harriet yelled. Goren sat down to Harriet's right and pushed across a photo from the crime scene.

'Is this him?'

Harriet peered at the photo, then jumped.

'No! That's Mr Barkley! He... he visited me last night, but I didn't kill him.'

'The D.A's office thinks you did.'

Harriet slammed her fists against the table and threw her chair backwards. She brought her face so close to Goren's that Eames half-stood up. Bobby raised a hand to his partner. He let his other hand rest under his chin as Harriet sneered at him

'Now you listen to me, detective and listen well. Barkley was at my house last night because I discovered that he had been embezzling. He threatened to tell Tommy's wife that he was cheating on her with me, but I said that I didn't care. Why would I? Tommy's dead. It's not like she could divorce him over adultery now he's six feet under. He left just after nine. I ordered pizza about a half hour later, the pizza guy can verify my story,' Jackman hissed in the detective's blank face. Goren shot a look over at Eames. The door opened and a harassed-looking woman entered the room.

'Who're you?' Goren asked, standing up and stepping back. The woman gave him a sharp look.

'I, detective, am Miss Jackman's attorney. She is invoking her right to remain silent. Now I'm going to ask you to run along while I speak to my client,' the lawyer said stiffly. Goren rolled his eyes and looked at Eames. Alex stood up and picked up the report with the crime scene photos. As she passed Goren, she muttered under her breath;

'And we're back to square one.'

Goren grinned as he closed the door to the interrogation room.