Alex walked back into the squad room. She had gone for coffee while Goren was-. What was he doing? She felt her face pinch up at the question then shook it away. She sat her coffee down on her desk when she heard someone call for her. "Detective." Alex looked up. "In my office."

She got rid of her coat and did as she was told. "What is it, Captain?"

"What happened at the prison?" Not wasting anytime, huh? Alex took a breath.

"Manny Delgado was found dead in his cell. It was originally thought to be a suicide."

"Originally? Meaning?"

"He wasn't tall enough to hang himself. Someone had to do it for him." Hannah could already feel the tension headache coming.

"Where's your partner?" The captain asked his detective even though he a feeling she didn't know.

"Uh, he's tracking down a lead." Very cool, Alex. Like he isn't already wanting to take you off this case. You don't even know where your 'partner' is. She sighed inwardly.

"Well, go track him down and work the case."

Taking this as being dismissed, she grabbed her coat and headed out. Pulling her cell phone out, she dialed his number as she entered the elevator. "Bobby, You need to call me." She ended the call. I need you to call me. I need you.

Dr. Robert Goren has retreated to sanctuary. His office. There, all of the noise outside silenced and he could focus. Focus on the case. Focus on finding the killer. Focus on helping his friend. Papers were scattered everywhere. To anyone else, it looked like chaos and a disorganized filing system. To Bobby, it was as organized as it could get. He quickly, but gracefully, moved from pile to pile. Picking up different papers as we did. He thought he heard his phone ring but ignored. I'm busy. They can call back later. I'm on to something. I know it. The phone now forgotten, continued to ring.

Eames ended up in the place where she was sure he would be. Hopefully.

Entering the outer office, Alex noted the same young women occupied the desk as before. She mustered up as genuine a smile as she could under the circumstances and was greeted warmly.

"Detective Eames, nice to see you again. Is he expecting you?" She asked politely.

"Probably. Who really knows with him." They nodded to each other like it was an inside joke.

"Go on in, Detective." She smiled. Alex opened the door.

The paper and wood being scraped together cause the detective to stop about a third of the way into the door. Surprise and confusion were adjective that first came to mind. "What in the-" Alex didn't finished the question because a certain someone had cut her off.

"Alex. Hey, so I've been going over the visitors logs for Queensboro." Bobby was going a mile a minute and not even Eames could slow him down. She didn't even try as she completely entered the room. "Nothing too concerning for the most part until I noticed this." The professor jumped his sizable frame in the gaps between the papers as to take care not to step on them as he made his way to her. She held in a laugh. All he's missing is a rock. Then, he could be playing hopscotch.

Goren handed over the pieces of paper he'd been reading. "Look, his lawyer visited him nearly everyday for at least two hours after he plead guilty for almost a year. Then, he stops." He puts both hand in the air, bending his arms at his elbow, as if to say 'Why?".

"Maybe he quit or was fired by Delgado."

Bobby quickly shook his head. "No. No, I don't think so." He grabbed the sheet of paper that was on top out of Alex's hand and pointed to the next page, using his index finger as a guide to show his findings. "The same week he stopped visiting, AnaMarie signed lease on a new apartment." Eames took in the information.

"Delgado was paid for his silence." Alex said to nobody in particular. Bobby kept going.

"She paid for her first six months rent in cash. 4800 dollars." The rushing sound was blaring in Eames' ears. She didn't notice Goren had stopped talking and taken the papers from her hands.

"Are you okay?" Alex's ears cleared. Did he say something?

"Alex, are you okay?" He did. Am I okay? That's a good one. She looked at him. He genuinely wants to known. Ever since Joe, she was only ever asked that when people felt they needed to say something but were clueless. It only made it worse. Bobby actually wanted to hear the answer and for the first time in what seemed like forever, Detective Alexandra Eames would be honest.

"No."

A/N: Ok, so here it is. Life sucks. COVIDland is not and will never be on my list of favorite destinations and yet here we are. I didn't realize it had been this long since I posted anything. If by some miracle there are people who are still interested in this story, please leave a review and let me know what you think. I hope you and your family and friends are safe, happy, and healthy.

-dj89