It was almost lunchtime and they had successfully scheduled fourteen witnesses before the end of the week. They were hoping at least one of them would give them some useful information, but they were not optimistic. Eames grabbed her phone when it rang. "Eames."

Hello, detective.

She sighed softly. "Hello, Major Cressmoor."

Have you made any progress?

"Not over the last two hours. We are in the process of scheduling the witnesses. If we find anything out, we'll let you know."

Be sure that you do.

The line went dead. She looked at the receiver before putting it back in its cradle and turning her attention to her partner in time to see the smirk he was trying to hide. She threw a paperclip at him. "For that, you can buy lunch."

"At least he kind of likes one of us."

"I don't know if that man kind of likes anybody."

He smiled and started to turn back to his half of their witness list. He stopped, thoughtful. "Uh, I'll be right back."

She watched him trot toward the elevators, used to his sudden spurts of energy and random disappearances. He'd be back shortly. She picked up the phone and dialed the number of the next witness on her list.

The chief of detective's secretary looked up, smiling at the tall figure who approached her desk. "Hello, Bobby."

"Hi, Cindy."

She blushed slightly. He was the only one who called her that. To everyone else, she was Cynthia. "How can I help you?"

"Is Denise in?"

"Yes. Go right in."

Watching him disappear into the office behind her, to the right of the chief's, she sighed. She was almost envious. If she were single, and about twenty years younger, the chief's assistant might have some serious competition.

Denise looked up from her desk when he came in and smiled at him. "Hi, Bobby."

He eased himself into a chair in front of her desk. "Hi," he said with a warm smile. "I have a question for you."

She set down her pen. "Okay, shoot."

"Major Hugo Cressmoor. What do you know about him?"

She leaned back. "Not a lot. He and the chief are friends. They went to college together, I think. The chief told me his wife died about seven years ago and he's now remarried. Said he spoils that little girl. He also has an older son by his first marriage."

Goren looked thoughtful. "How old is the son?"

"I don't know. He didn't say. Why? What are you thinking?"

He smiled. "Oh, nothing. Uh, what's the chief's opinion of the major?"

"The chief likes him, but I hear that you don't."

"Not particularly, no."

"He does seem a bit abrasive. He thinks you're arrogant, but he likes Alex. Says she knows how to keep you in line and he admires that." Her eyes glinted, teasing. "At least someone can keep you in line."

"Oh, I don't know," he said softly as he got to his feet. "You do a fair job yourself."

She laughed. "Are you free for lunch?"

His eyes unconsciously strayed from her face. "I wish I was. We have witness interviews all afternoon."

"Maybe later in the week, then. Give me a call. Tell Alex I said hi."

"I will."

She picked up her pen as he headed out of the office. "And Bobby?" He turned in the doorway. "Try not to piss him off again. The chief isn't overly fond of being yelled at, even by an old friend."

"I'll try. Thanks, Denise."

As he passed Cynthia's desk, he lightly touched her shoulder. "Thanks, Cindy," he said with a wink.

"Have a good afternoon, Bobby," she smiled after him.

He leaned against the back wall of the elevator as the door slid closed. He'd been dating Denise casually for more than a year, and she remained his favorite among his dates. She understood the casual nature of their relationship and never pressured him. More importantly, she was not jealous of Eames. She liked his partner and never got upset when something involving work interfered with their plans. She knew he was close to Eames and she seemed to be fine with it. But something had changed recently and he wasn't sure what. He just knew it was something inside him. He had backed off dating, claiming a heavy workload, which was only partially true. The real truth of the matter, had he chosen to analyze it, was that he had begun to prefer his partner's company over anyone else's, and he wasn't sure what to make of that. At first, he thought it was simply because he was so happy to have her back from her maternity leave. Now he was beginning to wonder.

Eames was on the phone when he returned to his desk, and he waited for her to finish. When she hung up, she looked at him. "Where'd you go?"

"I had some questions about the major. He has an older son by a previous marriage. Apparently, Kelly is a product of his union with a new wife."

She looked interested. "And we're interested in him?"

"That's premature. But we need to find out more about him and where he was Sunday."

"And when we find out he's a scrawny, blonde ten-year-old?"

"Then we can rule him out as a suspect."

"I'll flip you for who gets to call his father."

He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. "Call it in the air."

He tossed the coin and she called "Heads."

He looked at it. It was tails. He slid the quarter into his pocket. "Heads, it is. I'll make the call."

He leaned over to grab a file that sat on her desk and flipped it open, locating the major's number and dialing before she could say anything. Cressmoor's voice was even less friendly on the other end of a phone line. Cressmoor.

"Hello, major. This is Detective Goren."

I hope you are calling with information.

"No, sir. Sorry. We need some more information from you."

What else could you possibly need?

"You have an older son."

What about him?

"We need to know where he was on Sunday."

He could almost hear the major's head explode. What the hell for?

"It's routine, sir. We need to account for all family members and it just came to our attention that we haven't accounted for your son's whereabouts."

The major's voice was tight with fury. My son had nothing to do with what happened to his sister.

"I understand that, sir. We are not saying he did. This is a routine part of our investigation."

Go to hell, Goren.

The line went dead. He dropped the receiver back on its cradle and looked at his partner. "I'd anticipate the major's arrival within the hour."

"That will be interesting. I guess that means lunch is out."

"I can run out and grab us something if you're hungry."

She gave it some thought. Maybe it would be a good idea if Bobby wasn't here when the major arrived. "Mexican?"

"I thought spicy gave you heartburn."

"When I was pregnant. I'm not pregnant any more."

He eyed her suspiciously. She just smiled. "Don't forget..."

"Yeah, I know. A vanilla milkshake."

"You're my hero."

"Are you trying to get rid of me, Eames?"

"Why would I do that? Go, Bobby. You need to be back at 1:30 for our first interview."

She watched him leave, smiling when he looked back at her. He finally gave her a smile in return and left the squad room. As soon as he was gone, she headed for the captain's office to warn him of the approaching storm.