Goren studied the balls on the table and looked at Logan, who frowned. "Call it," he dared.

Goren's mouth twitched. "Three ball, corner pocket."

"Which corner?"

He pointed. Logan shook his head. "You'd have to double bank it to make that."

"And?"

"I'll give you five dollars if you make it."

Goren laughed. Barek and Eames looked up from their game of Chinese checkers. The four of them were actually enjoying the games that were stacked in the cabinet at the far end of the room, although Eames, Barek and Logan refused to play Clue with Goren any more. That was fine with him…he got bored with it quickly. He chalked up the cue stick and leaned over the table. The women heard the cue ball hit the three…then the first bank, the second bank and Logan's "No way!"

Eames said, "You should know better, Mike. That's the third time you've challenged him this morning, and you've lost every time."

Barek didn't look up. "It takes him a few times before he learns his lesson sometimes."

Logan opened his mouth to say something, but fell silent when they heard a car pull up outside the cabin. His hand strayed to the gun on his belt, but Goren held up a hand. "It's Deakins."

"Now how the hell do you know that?"

"First of all it's Sunday. Secondly, Wallace would never be that bold."

Eames frowned. "And she'd never stab you either, right, Goren?"

A dark look crossed his face, shadowing his eyes, but she ignored it, getting up from the table and heading out of the room. "Eames…" he started after her, grabbing her arm gently at the doorway.

"It's Deakins, remember?" she snapped, pulling her arm from his hand and heading for the front door. Every time he said something stupid that showed he still had that tendency to underestimate Nicole, Eames blew up at him. She was already across the porch and at the screen door when he caught her again. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I get your point, ok?"

"You always get it, Bobby, but you never learn from it."

She was gone through the door. Barek came up behind him and laid a comforting hand on his back. "She'll get over it," she soothed.

Logan put his hands on her shoulders and said, "She will, but he won't."

He slipped past her and went out the door after Eames. Goren held the door open for Barek. "I just need to quit talking," he grumbled, following her down the stairs.

Goren was surprised to see Angie had accompanied her husband on the visit. She was standing beside him at the back of the car, where Deakins had the trunk open so they could unload the groceries and supplies he had brought. Eames was already halfway back to the house with an armful of groceries. Normally, Goren would take them for her, but she met his eyes before he got close enough and he knew better. Barek and Logan also grabbed groceries and headed for the cabin. Goren approached the car, and Angie came over to him, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Hello, Bobby."

"Hello, Mrs. Deakins."

She took a bag from the trunk and headed to the cabin. But when Goren started for the last few bags, Deakins laid a hand on his arm and said, "Let them get it. Come with me."

A knot formed in the big detective's gut, but he didn't say anything. He followed the captain away from the cabin, toward the lake. When he was sure they were out of earshot of the others, Deakins said, "A couple of things. First, Angie and I went out to visit your mother twice this week. Wednesday's your normal visit, right?" He nodded. "She was fine on Wednesday, happy to see us. She sent her love. We went back yesterday, and she wasn't having such a good day, but she's ok. We've seen her worse."

"But?"

Deakins took a deep breath. "Someone tried to get in to see her on Thursday."

Goren felt his heart lurch. "Who?"

"A blonde woman pretending to be Alex."

"No…"

"The staff followed your orders and refused to let her in. One of the clerks actually remembered Alex from a previous visit, and she knew that it wasn't her. They called me right after she left, so of course by the time the locals out there responded she was long gone. They've tightened everything down out there, and they know if anyone comes looking to see her, they're to call the police immediately, then me, and do their best to keep her there." He watched several intense emotions play across Goren's face. "She's ok, Bobby. I'm watching out for her, just like I promised."

Goren nodded, agitated. "All right…thanks. What else?"

"She's getting desperate. She also contacted your friend Lewis."

"Is he ok?"

"Yes. She didn't hurt him. Did you ever warn him about her?"

"No. I didn't think she knew anything about him." He'd underestimated her again…

"She tried to seduce him…but took off when she realized he honestly believes you're off on a case in the Midwest someplace. He called me as soon as he realized something wasn't right."

"That probably took a little while." Lewis was a great guy, and a great friend, but he could be a little slow on the uptake, especially where women were concerned.

"He'll let me know if he sees her again, and I warned him to be careful."

"Call him and tell him it might be a good time to take that vacation he's been wanting to take and visit his folks down in Florida."

"I will." Deakins stopped, turning to look at him. "Bobby… Angie refuses to leave but I sent all three of my girls to stay with their grandparents."

"W-Why?"

"Let's just say she's casting a wider net…she is dead serious about finding you four."

"Let's just say you tell me exactly what's going on."

"She talked with Emily after school the other day." Emily was the Deakins' youngest daughter, a high school junior. "I don't know what she thought she was going to get from her, but I won't take any risks with my family." He hesitated. "They're safe, and this is not your fault. Got it?" Goren didn't answer. "I just want you to be careful out here. Just in case. You know better than anyone how crafty and resourceful she is. I've done everything I can to safeguard anyone who is close to you. I warned John Eames so he can protect his family, but he also thinks you are all out in Kansas. Logan and Barek don't have any close family in the area, and I doubt she would target them anyway. Alex is a lot closer to this than they are."

Goren ran his hand over his hair and held the back of his neck. He was trying not to shake too badly, but he was losing his grip on his anger. Deakins could see that, but he wasn't sure what to do. "Let's head back to the cabin."

But Goren shook his head. "No. I…I don't want them to know."

"They're going to know something's up. Alex is going to know. You can't hide from her. You never could."

He was right. He would have to tell them. "All right, but let me tell them, after you've gone."

Deakins agreed. He watched Goren try to burn off some of his anger, pacing and struggling to calm himself down. It was an effort Carver would have called Herculean. He didn't know anyone else who would use that term. After twenty minutes, he could see that Goren had a handle on it, mostly. He also knew that Eames was going to take one look at him and know something was very wrong. Well, he would leave that to them. If nothing else, Eames knew how to handle her partner.

They headed back to the cabin. And Deakins had been right. He could see it in Eames' eyes as soon as she saw them approach. "Ok," he said, offering nothing in the way of explanation for why he and Goren had gone off by themselves. "We're going to take off. We still have a lot to do today, so we can't stay. Remember to call me if you need anything." He looked at Goren. "Be careful."

They watched the car disappear among the trees and three pairs of eyes turned to Goren. "Well?" Logan asked

"Well what?"

"Come on…what did Deakins tell you?"

"Nothing," he insisted. "He just wanted to let me know they went out to see my mother and she wasn't having a very good day. That's all."

Barek looked suspicious, and Eames simply knew better. "Are you sure that's it?" Barek asked.

He nodded. "I'm sure."

They watched him head up the steps on to the porch and heard the cabin door close. Barek looked at Eames. "Do you believe him?"

"No. Well, I think that's just part of it. There's something else he's not telling us, something that's got him all worked up."

Logan frowned. "How can you tell?"

Barek gave him a shove away from the cabin. "Go talk to him, Alex. I'll take Mr. Sensitivity here for a nice walk."

"What?" Logan protested as Barek led him away and Eames headed up the steps and into the cabin.