A/N: I have to come to the present to get back to the past. Does that make sense? Ah, you know what I mean.

Chapter Two

November 2007

Eighteen-year-old Mark Allen finds the blood soaked bodies of his parents, Jacob and his wife of twenty years, Stacy.

Jacob Allen worked for the Brooklyn DA's office, the Chief of Detectives sends for his heavy hitters to investigate.

Gallagher's Steakhouse

Manhattan

"Oh I think I ate too much."

"Does that mean you don't want dessert?"

She smiles, "Of course not, did you see the dessert tray?" She turns her head to the left. "First thing I saw when I came in."

He turns to look at the tray and a cell phone rings. He turns slowly to face his date. She smiles shyly, "Eames….Yes sir." She waves her hand at him, "Paul, do you have something to write with?" He opens his jacket and takes out a pen. She jots down the address on her napkin. "Did you call Goren?" She folds the napkin and places it in her pocket, "I'll be there as soon as possible."

She closes the phone, he shakes his head in disgust, "I should have known that's what happens when you date a cop, Christ can't they ever call anyone else besides you and your partner."

She puts her phone away and stands, "They do. I'm sorr…………"

"Yeah I know," he turns his face away. "I'll see you soon."

"Paul……….." she stands by his side.

He takes her hand, "I'll call you tomorrow. Goodnight Alex."

Sal's Restaurant

Brooklyn New York

"Bobby I really love this place, it's so comfortable and………" A cell phone rings. She sets down her fork and a heartrending expression crosses her face. He flips open the phone. "Goren….Yes sir," he digs in his pocket for a piece of paper, jots down the address. "I'll be there as soon as possible." He closes the phone. "I'm…."

She holds up her hand, "Don't say it please." He stands and removes his wallet from his breast pocket, leaves money for the bill and cab fare. He leans down and kisses her cheek, stands erect. "Should I even bother calling you tomorrow?"

She exhales, "I wish you would, I understand. I don't like it but I understand." She grabs his hand, "Be careful."

He leans down and kisses her again, "I will, goodnight Vicky."

The Allen Home

Detectives Alexandra Eames and her partner Robert Goren arrive within seconds of each other, "So Eames did you get dessert?"

She smacks him on the arm, "Bobby……."

"What?….No not that," he holds the door for her to enter. "Someone's mind is in the gutter." She walks past him, "You went to Gallagher's' for dinner, right? I know how much you love your sweets."

Alex exhales, "Didn't get dessert of any kind." He chuckles as he follows her into the house, "Me either."

They stand in the doorway of the Allen's family room; they glance at the situation and then each other. "The scene has been photographed Detectives, its all yours," says Martin Gruber the crime scene photographer. Bobby nods as he enters first.

Detective Peter Leonard greets them and proceeds to fill them in on the situation, "Jacob and Stacy Allen, their son Mark found them." They walk further into the room. "They have multiple stab wounds and each has been shot, Jacob in the temple, Stacy the chest. It looks as if he shot her then himself." He stays behind while Goren and Eames walk closer to the bodies.

Bobby kneels down next to the lifeless and nude body of Stacy Allen, he points, "Eames, look at all these superficial wounds."

"Next to her left hand," Alex says. "There's a knife," she kneels down to get a better view. "Looks like a common steak knife." Alex turns and notices the same style of knife next to Jacob. "This knife," she points. "It is as the other one, it's covered in blood." She picks up both knives, and then stands. She places the knives in an evidence bag and a CSI tags it.

Bobby continues to examine the body, "Shot in the heart, up close, you can see the powder burns." As he tilts his head to the right he notices a pile of clothes on the other side of the room, a few feet from where she is laying. "Behind you," he motions to his partner. Alex turns as he stands. She picks up the articles of clothing, "No tears, she removed them herself?" She replaces the items and motions for a CSI to tag them. They once again turn their attention to the victims.

Lying on the floor about five feet from his wife is Jacob. "He was sitting in the chair?" Bobby picks up the overturned chair, "His zipper is down and he is exposed." He kneels down next to Jacob turning his head slowly. "He has a bullet wound to his temple and some shallow knife wounds," he stares off into the distance. "All these superficial wounds on them," he glances from Jacob to Stacy. "They have sex," he looks up at his partner. "And then he shoots her and then himself?" He turns his attention to Stacy Allen, "She has more knife wounds than he does."

"Talk about weird." Alex says. "Maybe they were playing some bizarre sex game and it got out of hand."

Bobby expels a long breath, "I have to admit I have never seen or heard of anything like this before." Bobby remarks as he stands.

"Well that's a first." She says, smiling at her partner.

He returns the smile, then he asks Detective Leonard, "Any evidence of an intruder?"

"No, Detective, no sign of a break in," replies Leonard.

Bobby starts to walk away from the bodies, "Where is the son?"

"He's in the kitchen."

"His first name is Mark, right?" Alex inquires.

"Yes," the detective nods. "He's eighteen years old and is currently living in the dorm at Hudson University."

Bobby, with Alex at his side find Mark Allen sitting at the kitchen table with his head down, "Mark, I'm Detective Eames this is Detective Goren." He slowly lifts his head, "We're very sorry about your parents. We need to ask you a few questions."

The young man nods his head slowly. "Mark," Bobby says softly. "Did your parents own a gun?"

"Yes Dad had a few, rifles as well. He never hunted; he liked to shoot targets at the gun club."

"When you arrived were the doors locked?"

"Yes sir, not dead bolted but they were locked. I remember I had trouble finding my key."

Alex asks, "Do you usually visit your parents on the weekend?"

"Yes I do, I called this morning and they were fine. I arrived about seven maybe seven-thirty, oh God I don't believe this. This is a fucking nightmare!"

Mark hears a familiar voice from the doorway, "Excuse me," he says. Alex nods. "Uncle Ivan, Aunt Helen." They embrace and with Mark in the middle, they exit the kitchen.

Bobby slowly walks around the kitchen, he points, "There are two knives missing from this knife rack." He waves over a CSI, "Bag that please."

Goren and Eames spend the next few hours speaking with friends, co-workers and family members.

"Well," Alex says. "It's almost three a.m. I need some sleep."

"Yeah I'm kind of beat myself." He says as he opens the car window.

They arrive at 1PP and she parks the SUV. "Hey Bobby," she calls to him as he opens the door. He turns to face her. "Hey what?"

"Are you actually going to get some sleep?"

"I hope so; I need a couple of hours."

10 AM

The Next Morning

They receive a report, "No unknown prints on the doors or anywhere else, seems even Uncle Ivan and Aunt Helen's prints are on file." Alex continues to read. "Gees," she exclaims, "the whole family."

"Why?" Bobby asks.

"About two years ago Jacob Allen received some death threats and an intruder broke in and left piles of garbage in the den, on his desk. "His family's prints were taken to eliminate them, two unknown prints were found."

"Let me guess they never found the intruders."

"Your guess is correct." Alex sets down the report. "Maybe we should go back and do some checking on that old crime."

"What was the significance of the garbage?"

Alex once again reads through the file. "Jacob believed that it was do to the fact that he sided against the union, during the last garbage strike. At that time he was a councilman in Greenpoint, Brooklyn."

Bobby leans forward, "I doubt someone who left piles of garbage would then commit such a heinous crime as what occurred in the Allen home."

"I agree with you," Alex sits back in her chair. "So how about we pay another visit to Stacey's parents?"

The Home Of Justin and Edna Berry

They weren't able to speak with Stacy's parents yesterday. The elderly couple was very distraught. This morning they are just as upset however after a few questions Goren and Eames agree that they have no imperative information to give concerning their daughter or their son-in-law. They thank them for their time and as Bobby opens the front door, Alex's cell phone rings. "Eames," she says as she walks to their vehicle. She opens the driver side door, "Yes Doctor, thank you. We're on our way."

Medical Examiners

Doctor Rodgers relays her findings "Misses Allen has a total of ten knife wounds," she walks between the tables. "He has six. It was of course the bullet that killed them." Rodgers glances at the lifeless bodies, "Tox screen clear, no drugs or alcohol."

Bobby circles the bodies, "What about the knives?"

She opens a folder, "Each knife had blood that belonged to each victim, and their fingerprints are under the blood and over it." She shuffles through some papers, "The two knives match the ones in the knife rack that you discovered in the kitchen. Also," she looks over her notes, "Gun powder residue on his hands."

"Did they have sex?" Bobby asks.

"No, I did find semen on his pants none inside Misses Allen."

Alex says, "It looks like a murder, suicide."

"Ok I can buy that," Bobby scratches the back of his head. "But the knife wounds," he gazes at the Allen's. "They slice each other with knives and this gets them excited."

"To each his own," Alex retorts.

He smiles at his partners' remark, "Doctor." He walks between the two women, "Any old scars on their bodies?"

"No, none. If this was a game," Rodgers closes the folder. "It was the first time they played it." She tosses the file of the table and leaves the room. Bobby and Alex follow her lead and walk toward the exit.

After the door on the elevator closes, Alex says. "Say it, go on say it. You don't believe it was a murder, suicide do you?" He remains silent, he just nods his head.

The Next Afternoon

Crime scene reconstructive investigators are positive that Jacob did indeed fire the gun that killed his wife and himself. The gun was aimed at her heart from a distance of less than three feet. There are traces of his wife's blood on his hand and shirt from the blow back of her blood.

Also traces of his own blood are found on his hand and arm. It is consistent with the placement of the weapon to his temple. When he pulled the trigger, he of course fell off the chair and his body and the gun's placement on the floor is consistent with this movement.

It is believed by everyone, except Bobby, that Jacob Allen shot his wife then turned the gun on him self. Over forty-eight hours have passed since the crime; Goren and Eames are not able to uncover any witnesses to the couple's bizarre game or lifestyle. "If it was a game," Bobby says.

MCS

"Eames," Ross calls to her as he walks toward her desk. He glances to his left and notices Bobby, sitting in an observation room with piles of paper on the table. He stuffs his hands in his pockets, "I take it your partner is not convinced that what occurred in the Allen home was a murder suicide."

Alex nods, "Captain……."

He holds his hand up, "Convince him, Eames. It's time to move on." He turns and walks back to his office.

Alex exhales then makes her way to join her partner; he looks up when she opens the door. "Ross says it's time to move on Bobby."

"What? Why?" he closes the folder he had open and tosses it across the table.

Alex picks up two pieces of paper and glances over them, "Bobby it was a murder suicide." Alex walks over to the board that has papers and photos of the crime pinned up. "Come on, I'll help you clean this up."

They work in silence taking down the evidence, suddenly a sound is heard, "What was that?" Bobby takes a quick gaze at her.

Alex turns her head away, "It was my stomach, I'm starved."

"Jesus," he says as he removes the last photo. "Forget breakfast again, did we?"

"Yes, I know it's the most important meal of the day."

Bobby places the evidence in a box, "Let's get some lunch, my treat."

Casey's Pub

Goren and Eames are a familiar couple to the employees of this Irish Pub. Susan Moore, the hostess, shows them to a table and inquires what they would like to drink. They order ice tea. The waitress, Brenda, returns with their beverages, "You guys ready?"

"Yes," Alex says. "I'll have a chicken salad on rye."

The waitress turns to Bobby, "And for you Detective."

"I'll have….roast beef on a club roll, side order of cole slaw."

"Coming right up." She picks up the menus and puts in their order.

He picks up the glass of tea and a vacant stare comes across his face. Alex has come accustomed to that stare; she tries to lighten up the situation and fails. "So, Bobby," he continues to stare; she calls to him again raising her voice, "Hey Goren."

"What? Huh? Sorry. I was just thinking."

"No shit," Alex takes a sip of tea. "Still brooding about the Allen's?"

"I can't get them out of my mind," he rubs his eyes.

"I know, but it's over," she sits back as the waitress sets down their lunch. "Thank you."

Bobby nods and flashes a smile, "Thank you."

The waitress points to their glasses, "Refills?" They answer yes simultaneously.

He pulls the dish closer, "Something bothers me," he finishes the last of the tea. "I just can't put my finger on it." He shrugs his shoulders, "But I'm sure something will come along to take its place."

The waitress returns with their drinks. They thank her, "Anything else?"

"Not right now Brenda," Bobby answers.

"So," Alex says. "How's Vicky?"

Bobby picks up his sandwich, "Who?"

"Tell me about it."

He responds by asking, "How's Paul?"

She holds up her glass, "Back at ya." They cling their glasses.

They have to laugh at the situation. They keep the conversation light throughout their lunch.

After they finish their meal Bobby gets Brenda's attention, "You guys want anything else."

Bobby asks, "Eames you want anything else?"

"No, I'm good."

"Just the check," Minutes later she returns. "Thank you," he says as he opens his wallet. She proceeds to clear off the table. He hands Brenda money for the tab and her tip. "Thank you Detectives, have a great afternoon."

"Thanks," Alex says.

"We'll try Brenda, thanks," Bobby says.

Alex's cell phone rings. She flips it up, checking the number, "Back to work," she rolls her eyes. "Eames." Bobby watches her as she nods and says yes sir a few times, she wiggles her fingers at him, "Give me a piece of paper." She writes down the address, "Yes sir we'll be right there." She closes the phone hastily and in a huff, she sits back in the chair, "Damnit!"

He frowns, "What's the matter?"

"The same situation," she slams her fist on the table. "Another couple, it's happened to another couple."

"Son of a bitch," Bobby says as he and Alex slide out the booth.

TBC