Alex reached her car and realized that she was missing something. "Shit, I knew this would happen." Too lazy and tired to go back to look for it (aren't we all) she climbed into her car and drove home barefoot.
She pulled into the garage, clambered to the elevator, and fell inside her tiny apartment. She threw her purse and remaining shoe on the counter, picked up the phone and called Anna. It was at least midnight, but she didn't care. She knew Anna'dprobably be uppartying with her roommate.
Her assumptions were correct. Anna answered the phone and there was booming music in the background. "Hey, Anna, it's Alex. I just got back!" she shouted into the telephone.
"Shit, girl! I'm coming over and you can tell me all about it."
About 20 minutes later Anna showed up and let herself in. She found Eames passed out cold on the couch with her feet up on the coffee table and wrapped in a heating pad.
"Alex, honey, wakeup." She nudged the shoulder of her partner, who then grumbled and rolled over into a ball on the couch. "Ah, she's tired. I'll let her sleep," Anna said. She turned and began to pick up around the apartment. She folded and hung up the purple sash, she pulled out a fresh pair of Pajamas- she made herself a bourbon and coke- then she got to the purse with the one shoe attached to it. "Where's its mate?" Anna delicately removed the shoe from the bag and began to search for the other shoe, but she couldn't find it.
She finally decided it was time to wake her partner. "Alex, honey. Where's your other shoe?"
Eames groaned and rolled over, opening her eyes slightly. "Lost it… dancing… Goren…" and she passed out again with a peaceful look on her face.
Anna shook her head with a smile and started cleaning up again. She was half way through the kitchen when she heard a knock at the door. "What the hell?" Anna crossed the room and took a look through the peephole. She saw the distorted figure of an extremely tall and handsome man with salt and pepper hair and a button nose who was dressed in a tux and had a badge clipped to the jacket pocket.
Anna bounded across the room with the biggest grin on her face. "Alex! Alex!" she whispered. "It's a Grecian God! Get up! Get up!" She shook her shoulders harder this time.
"Wha- what?" Alex mumbled.
"Alex, it's a hot cop in a tux!"
Alex immediate rolled off of the couch and ran haphazardly across the room to look through the peephole. "It's Goren!" she whispered.
Anna was trying to look through the peephole again. "Who?"
"Detective Goren, from the banquet- Anna, get lost!"
Anna ran across the room and into the bathroom, where she left the door cracked open so she could watch.
Taking a deep breath, Alex unlocked and opened the door. Right there was standing Detective Goren with a slight smile on his face and one hand behind his back. "Hi, Eames," he said. "I believe you lost this," he held up her left shoe.
"Oh, thanks," She said, taking the shoe. She examined it. "I had a feelingthe strap broke."
"Yah, those are cheap shoes," he said, though he almost instantly regretted it.
"I paid $60 for those, thank you very much!"
"Sorry- I only meant-" he tilted his head a little and awkwardly reached for the shoe. "See, the leather is sewn under the lining," he said, pointing to the strap with his double-jointed index finger. "It's a tell-tale sign of fake leather. That, and there's a loose thread here." He apologized to her with his eyes and withdrew his hand. After giving him a 'how'd you know that?' look, Alex carefully examined the shoe and saw that there was a piece of paper folded up inside the toe.
She carefully removed it, unfolded it a read it aloud. "Bobby, I think you and Detective Eames will be just fine together. Deakins."
She looked up at Goren, who didn't do or say anything at first. "Well, you've got your shoe back, I'm gonna go. See you Monday," he said. He turned and walked away.
"See you Monday," she called after him, "Partner…"
fin.