AN: Thank you for still reading this story and for the wonderful reviews. I really enjoy reading what you think about my story. Also a big thank you to the new story followers!

Thank you glistening sun for being a wonderful beta. All mistakes left are mine.

rated M.

Chapter five

They had called it a night the other day. Sharon had insisted on working through the last of the files. She was a die hard. That was one of the things he had admired in her when she had still been his rookie. The urge not to give up, no matter how tired she was, no matter whether the crime scene was a dumping ground and she was wearing her high heels and her pencil skirt. That's what had earned her his initial respect, and that respect had only grown.

"Hi…" she greeted him with a warm and loving smile, a twinkle in her emerald eyes. They seemed to light up as she looked at him. Her smile, too, seemed more heartfelt now that she looked at him - or were that just his feelings for her making his imagination run wild?

Andy's massage last night had done her good, his warm, strong hands on her shoulders kneading away all the tension. He had a nice touch. It all had come so naturally, so easily. No time to overthink the gesture. It was nice to have someone genuinely care for her, knowing what she needed without asking her difficult questions. It was nice that Andy simply seemed to understand.

"Anything new?"

"Just came in myself."

Andy sighed. He had no idea what they should do next. Find Mitchell, question him? He doubted the woman used her own name, even if he was a regular. Not doing anything was out of option as well. They had hit a big brick wall.

Sharon handed him a cup of coffee. His fingers brief brushed hers, their eyes meeting for a friction of a second. They gazed at one another unsure of what the other was thinking or feeling.

What was Andy looking at? What was that look in his eyes? Had he always looked at her like that? So much love and kindness. She felt her cheeks flush. The other guys would never let her hear the end of it if they caught her blushing. She couldn't even blame them. It was ridiculous to blush like some schoolgirl simply because a man looked at her.

"Flynn."

The gaze broke and so did the moment.

"Got someone here for you."

The young woman looked a bit insecure, visibly relieved when Sharon was the first to approach her.

"Hello…. I'm Officer Elliot.. This is my partner, Detective Flynn. "

"Carmen Dacosta"

Andy tried his best smile so as not to scare the young woman off. She already seemed tentative enough. He knew why she had came when he registered the shock on her face. Her eyes had caught the picture on the murder board. He silently cursed the moron who directed her here without warning.

"Oh my God...oh my…" Her voice broke. Sharon caught her, instinctively bringing her to one of the interrogation rooms while whispering soothing words. A woman's touch is what the men called it, usually not a compliment. He was the first one to admit he wasn't good at these things. He relied on Sharon's tact, gave her the lead, stayed in the background because he trusted her to handle these situations.

Sharon rubbed her back, handing her a glass of water. The silence was agony for Andy, he didn't have the patience.

"This can't be…This can't…I…"

"Easy… try taking deep breaths. There you go."

"I was worried... She stayed away at night sometimes, but never longer."

"Can you tell us her name?"

"Andrea, Andrea Bockston."

"Was she your friend?"

"She was my roommate. We're both in med school. She missed an important exam. That's not at all like Andrea."

"Was she a good student?"

"Yes, Andrea did everything to achieve her goals. She wanted to become a surgeon and show her father she was more than just a pretty face."

"Was she at odds with her father?"

"Andrea had…had a strong mind. Her father somewhat old-fashioned. If you ask me they were both just stubborn."

"What's her father's name?"

"Adrian Bockston. Andrea last spoke with him a couple of months ago. He appeared at our apartment."

"Did they argue?"

She shrugged. "The usual, he wanted her to come home and stop being difficult and left all worked up telling her he'd talk to her once she'd calmed down, which only made Andrea more angry. It ended with her walking to the balcony and tearing up the check he left her."

"Check?"

"I thought it was stupid, but Andrea refused to take any money from her father, not even to pay for her tuition. She wanted to do it all by her own means."

"Do you know how she paid her tuition if she wouldn't take her father's money?"

The young woman looked down, avoiding their eyes.

"This guy called her when he could use her…"

"Use her for what?"

"Andrea was always very laconical about it. Said she would just have to keep a guy company for a little while, share a few drinks, earn herself a few hundred."

Andy whistled, a few hundred for keeping a guy company … Sharon shot him an angry look.

"Andrea tried to persuade me once to take over on the nights she couldn't do the job for Mario, but that sort of thing is nothing for me and I'm afraid my dad would kill me."

"Does Mario have a last name?"

The young woman shook her head. It didn't matter, Mario probably wasn't his real name anyway.

"Do you know how Andrea met Mario?"

"I guess she met him in a bar once. He approached her. They came to some sort of understanding. Andrea didn't see any harm in it. Just a way to easy money. The perfect way to get her through med school."

"Did she ever tell you about arguments with Mario, or with another customer?"

"No. Andrea was strong, she never did anything she didn't want to do. When she left it was like any other evening… and now…"

"Do you have Mario's phone number? Do you know where Andrea kept it?"

"She never called him, he always called her."

Sharon smiled tight-lipped.

"If anything else comes to mind please call us." Carmen nodded and Sharon walked her out.

Andy remained behind. Now they would have to find a guy named Mario. He had no idea how and he didn't know whether finding him alone would solve this murder case. There wasn't any evidence that tied him to her death.

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Andy sat down on his chair, legs crossed at the ankles. He focused on a stain on the floor. Hamilton wanted to be briefed. There wasn't much they could tell him. All they had were dead ends.

"She was killed in that hotel."

"There was no blood, so we don't know exactly where she was killed."

"Her customer?"

"She was still alive when he left the hotel."

"So we can take him off the list?"

"Maybe."

"Alright what about this 'Mario' guy? Is that his real name?"

"We don't know. We've got nothing on him other than the name and that could be fake. No number, no last name, no address."

"So no way of finding him?"

Sharon wanted to reply, but Andy was first.

"No, we've only found dead ends here. We don't even know how to find this guy."

"I think we should go to several hotel bars."

Andy raised his eyebrow.

"I don't think he would come over to talk to us or even stay once we enter. I'm sure he will try to avoid cops."

"Carmen told us Mario approached Andrea in a hotel bar."

"Yeah, so? She was an attractive young woman. I don't believe he's interested in approaching men."

"I wasn't talking about you guys, waiting for him at the bar."

Andy's eyes focused, he immediately sat up straight in his chair.

Sharon could tell by Andy's body language alone that he was going to be against this. They locked eyes for a moment. She stared him down sending a silent message that she would fight for this. He wouldn't let go off her eyes either. He would not back down easily. He shook his head.

"You're not going to talk to that guy alone in some bar."

Hamilton frowned at the silent conversation that had obviously just happened between the two of them: staring each other down, the way their eyes seemed to have talked to noone but each other.

"This guy won't just talk to the police. We need someone on the inside."

"And that someone is not going to be you."

"Do you see another woman inside of this room, Andy?"

Frustrated with her he walked away, away from her gaze, away from those piercing green eyes. Pacing in front of their desks he tried to get rid of some of his frustration.

"Commander, he'll be more likely to talk to a woman. He lost one of his girls, he'll need a replacement."

Sanders choked in his coffee and Dixon snorted. The idea of Little Miss Conservative trying to pass herself off as a call girl was utterly laughable. Who would buy that?

"I'm the only one who would be able to do it."

"I don't believe he's looking for the librarian type, Elliot."

Sharon pressed her lips into a tight line, her eyes shooting daggers at Dixon.

"I'm the only woman around here."

"Stop talking, it's not going to happen."

Andy gazed at her intently trying to let her know that he would not back off.

Hamilton raised his eyebrow. Had somebody promoted Andy all of a sudden? His words sounded so final. To a certain extent he was inclined to agree with Dixon. Sharon Elliot was kind of conservative. She had a pretty face, but she wasn't exactly screaming the word 'call girl'.

"We're at a dead end, we need a breakthrough."

"You putting yourself up as bait is not going to solve anything. It's dangerous."

"It's the only chance we've got."

Andy shook his head pacing even faster, his face taking on an angry red hue.

"It's not happening."

"Commander?"

Sharon ignored Andy and addressed the Commander directly. He might be persuaded to agree with her logic.

Hamilton took deep breaths. She was right, they were at a dead end and for now, this was the only chance they had. He could tell by Andy's reaction that Sharon was right. Andy was this angry because he felt cornered. There wasn't any other option and he knew it.

"Are you sure?"

Andy's head spun towards him, eyes narrowed in disbelief. "You can't be serious! This guy was the girl's pimp, he might have gotten rid of her, he's on the top of our suspect list.. and you want her to be his next intended victim? Send her to this guy all alone?"

"She won't be alone. One of you will always be in the room with her."

"You're setting her up to be a fucking call girl! What do you think will happen when he finds her a customer?"

Hamilton observed Andy's outburst calmly. The younger man was beside himself and he had never seen him like this. Even Sharon seemed shocked by her partner's reaction.

"Relax Flynn, there won't be any customers."

"Don't you believe this guy will find it odd when she refuses to go up to a room with someone?"

"She'll have customers, just not real ones. You guys will be her customers."

Sanders and Dixon both choked on their coffee this time earning them an angry look from Hamilton.

"As soon as this guy takes the bait, one of you will be buying her drinks all evening."

Hamilton looked serious when he turned towards Sharon. "You'll make it clear to him that you'll only do the keeping company part, nothing more, we don't need strange customers."

Sharon gave him a quick nod. To be honest, she hadn't thought about the customer part of the role of call girl. She hadn't thought much about whether she'd be able to pull it off. She wasn't easy going with men. In fact, she was very shy and Jack had been her only serious partner. She dressed conservatively because she didn't want to draw attention to herself, especially not at work. Being taken seriously was her first goal. She wanted people looking at her to see a police officer and not a sex object.

All of a sudden anxiety set in. The idea that those guys would have to play her customers - that would be so uncomfortable. She really hoped Andy would play her first customer, he was her partner after all. Right now, he seemed so frustrated, but surely he would come around, right? For now she would first have to get changed, get into this role.

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Sharon felt her stomach turn when she entered the elevator at the station. It had taken her a while to find the right dress. One that had been in the back of her closet. The cleavage had never quite worked for hospital fundraisers or one of her parents' dinner parties. In the end she hadn't found it suitable for Jack's corporate events either, but for this occasion it might just work. She had looked at herself in the mirror at least a dozen times before deciding this would be the dress. If the guy took the bait she would have to buy a few more outfits.

Sharon took a deep breath while staring at herself in the elevator mirror. She had been bolder with her make- up. Bright coral lips, an extra layer of mascara, bolder, but not trashy. Andrea had looked classy to a certain degree. This guy had chosen her and she wanted him to be drawn to her as well.

She fluffed her hair one more time. She had curled it a bit to give it more body. For a moment she had considered putting it up, but then decided to just let it fall freely over her shoulders.

It would have to do. Her stomach turned at the thought of Sanders' and Dixon's reactions. They made her feel so insecure. For a moment she wasn't sure of Andy's support either. He had been so frustrated before. He didn't like her plan at all. She couldn't blame him either. It wasn't that he doubted her lack of ability, he was just worried about her safety. She couldn't hold that against him.

Taking a deep breath she walked out of the elevator and heading to the murder room at a fast pace. She had better be ready. Cohen dropped his pen when she saw her walk in, his mouth hanging ajar, gazing at her in such a way that Zygerski turned around curiously. Guess she had managed not to look like an uptight librarian. At this point the reaction of Sanders and Dixon was no longer important. She looked at Andy trying to read him. He was still irritated. He didn't even look up from the papers on his desk, a deep frown still between his eyebrows. She had never seen him this frustrated with her. Not even in the beginning of their partnership. It wasn't like they never argued, quite the contrary, but their arguments never lasted long. The total silence from his part gave her an uneasy feeling.

Hamilton stood in the doorway of his office staring at Elliot, who had just walked in. He had definitely never seen her like this. Cohen and Zygerski couldn't keep their eyes off her and it was hard for him to think of her as one of his officers now. Flynn hadn't looked up yet. He was still frustrated, he definitely would not send him with Elliot to the hotel bar. He had known Flynn for long enough to be sure that he would go against orders. He would blow this operation if he felt he was right about this, about keeping his partner safe. He would not give a damn about the consequences it would have for his own career. Flynn was a great cop, but in the end he would not be controlled by his superiors. He wouldn't send Flynn with her, that would be like sending her into this operation with a ticking time bomb.

"Well done, Elliot…"

She smiled still looking a little insecure, but he knew she would be fine.

"Dixon, you're going with her. Stay within a safe distance."

For a moment Sharon looked confused, because of his choice of Dixon. She looked over at Andy when she couldn't hear any words of protest from him. She had figured he would say something. Instead he didn't even look up from his papers. Sharon felt a strange ache in her heart, sadness, loss. He was her friend, her rock, she could always count on his support. It hurt immensely that he wouldn't even look at her now. She felt tears stinging in her eyes, but she didn't have the luxury to cry. Still she couldn't shake the feeling of being so alone.