"Good, Dear." Now how were they going to get through these next two weeks?

It was time for a subject change. "They opened up a new Vietnamese restaurant near my apartment. It's really good. We should go the next time you visit."

Sharon and Sammie continued to chat as Charlie and Bobby sat side by side, not talking, just drinking beer.

"The Falcons look pretty good this year."

"Yep. Maybe they'll make it past the first round."

There was a large falcon elephant in the room, but no one wanted to bring it up. Must speak, Bobby thought. Must speak.

"Remember when you were a little kid and I thought you would make a great baker, but you said you wanted to be a scientist."

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't really care what you do, I just want you to be happy, and safe."

"Thanks Dad."

Message delivered. Now they can both go back to watching Sports-center.

Kyle couldn't believe what he was reading on his cell phone. It sounded like this vacation was going to be a hot mess.

It was late. One by one, everyone got ready for bed. Bobby followed Sharon into one bedroom and Charlie followed Sammie into another. Sammie gave Charlie a quick kiss. "Goodnight," she said as she pulled the covers over them. Charlie was usually not much of a cuddler, but Sammie smelt really good. She slipped her arm around Sammie's stomach and fell asleep.

Sharon had a lot on her mind. Bobby seemed to be pretty relaxed. He started to nuzzle on her neck. "Wanna go under the covers?"

"Bobby!" Sharon said with a laugh.

"What? Am I missing something?"

Sharon sighed. "I'm just nervous."

"About what?"

Sharon didn't answer.

"Oh them! It'll be fine."

"What if they break up or something and we get caught in the middle?"

"Charlie's a grownup. Her relationships are her business, not mine. It does kind of make sense in a way."

"What?"

"Your daughter is probably like you. Charlie is like me. I like you. You like me. It's not inconceivable that they would like each other."

"I never thought about it that way."

"Also, we won't become accidental grandparents"

"Bobby!" Sharon started cracking up.

"I knew I could get you to smile."

"So you did."

"Under the covers time?"

Sharon turned off the light and joined her lover under the sheets.

They went slow and easy. It had been a rather exciting day for both of them. Now it was time to unwind. Bobby's strong arms wrapped themselves around Sharon's torso, and he pulled her close. Her lips found his and her hands went through his hair as she kissed his jaw. She moaned softly against him, her voice finding its way to his ear as he thrusted into her. He let low grunts escape his mouth as his teeth sank into her shoulder.

Major Crimes

The next day, the team finally had a lead on their John Doe. They had a name both for him and the man he argued with at the restaurant.

Their victim was Jeremy Winter and his dinner associate was Michael Phillips.

"Do we know where Mr. Phillips is now?" The Captain started.

"He's staying at the Weston," Tao answered.

"Let's invite him for an interview."

When Flynn and Provenza went to the Weston, Mr. Phillips was on his way out. They followed him to the airport and detained him when he tried to board a flight back to Atlanta. He was supposed to fly out two days later, but he paid $500 to advance his flight.

While he was being brought to the precinct, Tao and Sykes were looking for every connection they could draw between their victim and Mr. Phillips.

"Winter and Phillips were co-investors in an Atlanta band," Sykes started. "They had one hit song, but their later releases were bombs. Phillips sank a lot of money into this group."

"How much?" Sanchez asked.

"He put about $200,000 into this band alone and has almost almost 1M in debt."

Money is a strong motive for murder. Let's see what he has to say.

Michael was anxious. He got scared when he saw Jeremy's picture on the tv, and thought it was best for him to just go home. The police beat him to it, however.

"Mr. Phillips," Sharon started. "We have some questions for you."

Michael nodded.

"Could you tell me about your relationship with Mr. Winter."

"My what?" Surely, they don't think we were lovers.

"How did you know him?"

"Oh! We were business partners."

"And what was the business."

"We were managing a band, Topic Thunder. You may have seen them on MTV."

"Sorry, but I'm not a TV person. Could you tell me about last Saturday?"

"Well, we met with some studios, met with a videographer about potentially making a music video, went to dinner, and then headed home."

"And what happened at dinner?"

"Uh Nothing."

"Really. We heard you two were arguing."

"Oh that was nothing."

"Was it not. He did die a few hours later."

"Am I under arrest?"

"No." Now this was odd. He didn't want to say why they were arguing.

It finally sank in how bad this looked. "I think it's time I get a lawyer."

They waited for an attorney to appear.

"Why are you holding my client?"

"Well, he and our victim sank all of their money into a band. The band's on the verge of going belly up and hours after they get into it at a restaurant, his business partner is dead, and when we ask for information about the victim, your client tries to skip town."

"So. None of that proves anything."

"No, but life insurance does. Many businesses have policies in case an integral part of the business expires. How much does your client get in the event of Mr. Winter's debt. Enough to save his house from foreclosure."

The lawyer sighed. This was an ugly looking case. He went inside to talk to his client.

After they deliberated, the lawyer came out. "My client will tell you everything he knows. Then it will be clear that he had nothing to do with this."

Sharon was curious as to what he had to say.

"Jeremy and I went to talk to some studios that day, but they wanted more assurance that Topic Thunder would make it before they signed a deal. They suggested a successful music video could help. We went to talk to a videographer to get a quote on prices, maybe some ideas as to how to pitch the video to the networks. He talked to us for a while, and showed us a standard form of the contracts. Jeremy looked a bit weird in the face. I asked him what was wrong, but he didn't say anything. Finally, at dinner, he told me that we couldn't shoot a video for their song. I asked him why, and he said that there was an issue with the copyright."

"An issue?" Sharon asked him.

"Apparently, they had ripped off part of the song from the Kinks. If we made the video, then the borrowing would be exposed and we could get sued for big bucks. I was pissed. I sank a lot of money into this band, and their only promising feature was unusable. He promised me that he had a plan, and he knew how to save the band."

How did this exonerate him? It gave him a clear motive for murder. He now got the cash and he didn't have to expose himself to liability by releasing the song, just keep the money and fold the business. "What do you think happened to Jeremy?"

"I think that he messed with the wrong people and his 'brilliant plan' got him killed. What it was, I have no idea."

They needed more than a motive to keep Mr. Phillips in custody. They let him go, but advised him not to try and leave town. They also notified the TSA about him, in case he tried to fly out anyway and border control in case he tried to drive away.

Sharon was about to go home for the day, when she got a call from Morales. "I'll be right down."

"So I re-examined the body, once I got a copy of his medical reports, and I think the gunshot was a red herring."

"What do you mean?"

"So Jeremy here had brittle bones disease, and the back of his skull was shattered. I thought it had been from the gunshot, but the pattern doesn't quite work. I think he got into an argument, someone slammed him into a wall or something. He died, and then they shot him to try and cover up how he died."

"The gunshot was fired after he died."

"Minutes after."

"Which would suggest this was a crime of passion and not a planned execution."

"Exactly."

"Now to figure out who he met up with."

Sharon went back upstairs and ran through the timeline in her head once again. Their victim confessed to his business partner that they had a big problem. They argue. Partner leaves. Victim supposedly meets with someone else, who shoves him, then shoots him to cover up the fact that he shoved him? Now, that's the odd part. Why make an accident look like a planned murder? To create confusion?

Well who would he have met with after his partner?

Sanchez looked at the news on the tv screen. Isn't that the band that our victim was representing. Sure enough, Mick Giles, the lead singer of Topic Thunder was on tv. Why didn't Michael tell me he was in LA?

Sharon managed to arrange an interview with him first thing tomorrow. Now it was time to go home.

Bobby beat her home and when he walked in the door, he smelled pasta and beef. "Dinner smells amazing," he commented as he walked towards the kitchen.

Charlie was whisking a sauce. She turned around and Sammie gave her a kiss. Bobby blushed and tiptoed into his bedroom. He ditched his work clothes and took a shower

The two women were making handmade ravioli and Alfredo sauce. The ravioli were stuffed with ground beef and mushrooms and they had broccoli and pancetta to go with it. Charlie loved to cook and she and Sammie had all afternoon to make dinner. It also served as a good chance to talk. They chatted about their friends, about life in DC vs. life in San Francisco.

"Should we put the breadsticks in the oven?" Sammie asked her.

"Let's wait until your mom's home. I want them to be just out of the oven when we eat them."

Sammie pulled her in for another kiss. Rusty was just around the corner. "Get a room," he said as he went back to his room with a soda.

A few minutes later, Sharon was home. Charlie stuck the dough into the oven. "Dinner in 10 minutes," she called. Sammie began to prepare the salad. Charlie made the dressing. Soon, everyone appeared in the dining room. The Caesar salads came first. Bobby grabbed a beer. Then the bread sticks and then the pasta.

"This ravioli is very good," Rusty said, mouth full of food.

"Charlie made it herself," Sammie answered as she went for another breadstick.

"I didn't know you could make pasta," Bobby learned something new every day.

"I had an Italian roommate last year. She taught me how to make a few things."

Sharon was as happy as a clam. The breadsticks were delicious. The ravioli was tasty, the sauce was homemade, and the pancetta was crispy.

"How was work Boo?"

"Same old. A guy is dead and we have no idea who killed him."

"Who was he?" Sammie asked.

"He was an investor in this band, Topic Thunder."

"Never heard of them," said Bobby.

"Neither had I," answered Sharon.

"Maybe this was a publicity stunt," added Rusty

Sharon sighed. She remembered the last publicity stunt that ended in murder. Crazy ass mother.

After dinner, Rusty put away the dishes. Sammie and Charlie washed the kitchenware and Bobby retired in front of the TV.