-1Hey Guys,

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Chapter Ten

December 24th

"So what did you get her for Christmas?"

Flack smiled, reaching into his coat, and pulled out a slim, narrow box. "I got her this." He flipped it open, studying it again for a second, before handing it across to Danny.

"Oh man." Danny lifted the necklace up carefully, holding it up to the light, letting the fine silver chain trickle through his fingers. "That's beautiful. You've got it bad."

He shrugged, not bothering to argue with him. "You think she'll like it?"

"She'll love it." Danny closed the box and handed it back to him. "Did your mother pick it?"

"My mother? What makes you think I didn't pick that myself?"

"Cos I've seen the sort of presents you've picked before."

"Like what?"

"Well there was that lab tech. What was her name? Samantha? What did you get her for her birthday again? Refresh my memory."

Flack shook his head, his cheeks colouring with embarrassment, lifting his drink. "Fuck you, man"

Danny laughed, enjoying his friend's discomfort. "I'm just saying, man…"

His phone rang, cutting Danny off like a knife. He fished it out of his pocket, staring at her number, illuminated on the screen. "It's Lindsay. I gotta take this."

Danny sipped his beer, waving his hand vaguely in the air. "Do what you gotta do, man."

Flack nodded, signalling at the bar man. "Two more." He pulled some money out of his pocket, dropping it on the bar. "Thanks, Danny." He clapped him on the shoulder, stepping away from the bar.

"Anytime. Oh and Flack?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell her we're going to nail this bastard."

XxxXXXxxx

"Look, Zeke, you're not in any trouble here." Hawkes spread his hands, keeping his voice soft and even. "We just want to ask you a few questions, that's all.

"About what?"

"About Aaron Reiners."

Zeke Michael's eyes darted between Hawkes and Ali, his mouth curling in a sneer. "What about him?"

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"A few days ago, at Rikers. I went to wish him a Merry Christmas."

Hawkes nodded, seeming to accept the answer at face value. "We're looking for a friend of Aarons, someone that shared his interests. Do you have any ideas who that could be?"

"No." His eyes fell on Ali, then flashed away, aggressively, nervously. Darting back to focus on her. Lingering.

"No drinking buddies or poker buddies? Anything like that?"

"Aaron wasn't like that…"

Ali's phone started to ring, sudden and loud, jarring through the conversation. "Excuse me a second." She pulled the phone from her pocket, turning away from them, conscious of Zeke Michaels staring at her.

"What was he like?" Hawkes tried to draw Zeke's attention away from Ali.

"Different." Zeke's mouth curled in a coldly, arrogant smile. "You wouldn't understand."

"Okay, I'll do that." Ali tucked the phone back in her pocket and turned around. "Mr Michaels, I'm going to have to ask you to come with us."

"What?"

"We're going to have to continue this chat down at our precinct house." Ali's cold smile was almost a match for the one that Mac wore when he closed in on a suspect. "We've got a few more questions for you."

XxxXXXxxx

November 4th

"Can you state your name and occupation for the record?"

"Detective Lindsay Munroe. I'm currently assigned to the Crime Lab, New York." She swallowed heavily, nervously, moistening her lips with a class of water.

"Have you ever seen the defendant before?"

"Yes. He was arrested on suspicion of murder."

"What evidence led to his arrest?"

"We found his fingerprints at the scene, left on a wall in blood."

"Who found that evidence?"

"I did."

"Who interviewed the defendant when he was arrested?"

"Detective Don Flack and Detective Ali Convery of NYPD Homicide."

"Did the defendant make a confession about the homicides?"

"Yes. He confessed to me."

"Thank you, Detective Munroe." Steele gave her a quick, encouraging smile as he turned away. "Your witness."

Lindsay sighed, reaching again for her glass of water, trying to ignore James Sinclair, adjusting his jacket as he stood up, trying to block out the courtroom, the jury, everything, just concentrate on what Steele had told her about Sinclair's tactics.

Trying to forget that Aaron Reiners had not taken his eyes off her since she had taken the stand.

XxxXXXxxx

December 24th 1400

"I want to speak to my lawyer."

"He's on his way." Mac threw a folder down on the table, leaning across the table while Ali pulled out the other chair sitting down opposite Zeke. "We got a few more questions to ask you first."

"I aint saying nothing til my lawyer gets here." Zeke Michaels sat back in his chair, smirking at them. "I know my rights."

"Do you know Darren Mead?"

"Never heard of him."

"That's funny, Zeke." Mac opened the file, turning the page around, tapping his finger against a name on the page. "We ran his name through the computer, and he doesn't exist. No social security number. No employment record, No criminal record."

"So?"

"Darren Mead is also supposed to have visited Aaron Reiners several times in the last month."

"So?"

Ali leaned forward. "The last time he visited, Zeke, was a few days ago. The same day that you were supposed to have visited Aaron Reiners."

"And your name doesn't show up in the visitors log, Zeke. Anything you want to tell us?"

"Yeah." Zeke's smile was chillingly, coldly familiar. "I want my lawyer."

XxxXXXxxxx

November 10th

"All rise."

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have, Your Honour."

"What say you?"

"In the matter of State of New York versus Aaron Reiners, we, the Jury find the defendant, Aaron Reiners, guilty as charged."

XxxXXXxxx

December 24th

He walked back to the bar, feeling better now that he had spoken to her, now that he knew she was okay. Tomorrow, tomorrow, he'd make everything up to her, he'd make sure that she had the sort of Christmas she deserved, the sort of Christmas that helped her forget about today.

He walked back to the bar, just as Danny hung up his phone, looking nervously, guiltily around.

"Who was on the phone?"

Danny flinched at the sound of his voice. "No one. Just my girlfriend, making sure that I was coming for dinner tomorrow."

Flack smiled, slipping back onto his stool. "Come on, Danny, I'm a cop and you're a lousy liar. Who was on the phone?"

"Stella."

"What did she want?"

"They've got somebody, a friend of Reiners. Ali and Mac are interrogating him now."

XxxXXXxxx

November 15th

"Linds?"

He walked through the apartment. "You hungry? I thought we might go out, maybe go to Nicos….Linds? What's wrong?"

She was sitting on the windowsill, staring out across the city, a letter clutched in her hand, crying.

"Linds?"

She shook her head, unable to speak, moving on the windowsill so he could sit behind her, wrap his arms around her, still clutching the letter. Leaning back in his embrace, her body shaking with the force of her tears. He could read some of the letter over her shoulder, the handwriting elegant, forceful.

Tearing into the page, tearing into her heart.

Detective Munroe,

Can I call you Lindsay…

End of Chapter Ten

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