A/N: Finally! Another update! Because it's been so long, this one is a bit lengthier. When you guys come to the part about modern-day technology in the FMA world, please do not become angered. I can do whatever I want, as stated in the first chapter. I just didn't have any idea what else to put there to make the story flow. --' I hope you guys enjoy it! I # reviews!

x x x x x

Within days of the trio returning, everyone Ed knew had already heard of the engagement. He smiled politely when people congratulated him, but his mind raged that he was making a mistake. He shook it off every time, but retreated into work, finding excuses to be away from Central. He had finally been relived of desk duty and had taken up missions again, much to his young fiancé's dismay. He was away from her a lot, but he was fine with that. The more time he spent with her, the more annoying she got; she was always going on about decorations and flowers and baby stuff. A part of him knew he should be happy for the love and family she was offering him. The other part longed for something more than the simple life he knew he would have at her side. He rarely saw Mustang unless it was to report about a mission. The General never talked about anything personal in the office, at least where Ed was concerned. He had not really talked to the man since he had returned. After going on a few odd missions, none lasting more than a few days, Ed found himself on a train heading to the western headquarters. His goal was fairly simple: meet with an affluent general, stay around for a few days to talk with his men, and find evidence of corruption coming out of the office. A tip came in a few days prior, implying that General Caplan had been involved in one of the murders the police had determined was the work of a serial killer. The victim was an officer and the
"anonymous" tip was from the western office. Caplan had been told that the Fullmetal Alchemist was going to work on the case with them for a little while.

After several tiring hours on the train, he reached his destination and was greeted by two men in uniform. They were all around the same height, but noticeably different ages. One soldier looked to be in his mid-twenties. The other man was older and heavier, with graying hair. Ed assumed this was the general. Caplan extended his hand and introduced himself. He shook it briefly.

"I want to thank you for coming all the way out here to help us solve this thing. Bastard got one of our own men. It's too late to brief you on everything tonight. You'll be staying with me." With the command issued, Ed threw his bag over his shoulder and followed the other two men to a waiting car. It was a short drive to the general's house with no words exchanged inside the stuffy car. Ed was glad to get out of the uncomfortable atmosphere. He followed Caplan inside, amazed by the size of the house. He knew the man was wealthy, but he didn't expect so much. They were greeted in the entrance by what looked like a maid. She smiled sweetly and nodded when Caplan told her to show Ed to his room. Caplan turned to Edward, shoulders squared.

"Get some rest, soldier. We're leaving at 0630 tomorrow, so don't be late." He turned and walked away stiffly. The house was eerily quiet. It didn't seem as though anyone else lived there, even though Ed was told Caplan had a wife and daughter.

"This way, please," the young maid stated quietly, turning down a long hallway. She led Ed to a guestroom and waited in the doorway while he unpacked a few items from his bag. She hesitantly spoke up.

"If you need anything, let me know." Ed smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, sure." The girl gave a small courtesy and just about fled from the doorway. Ed swung the door shut behind her and surveyed the room. It was bigger than he was used to, which wasn't a problem. He took off his watch and set it on the table adjacent to the bed. He kicked off his boots and stretched out on the mattress. In minutes, he was asleep.

x x x x x

Ed awoke the next morning to an insistent knocking on his door. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah?" he called out groggily. His door flew open and he saw a brunette standing in the doorway. She had her arms knotted under her breasts and looked angry. He mentally sighed. He was there for less than 24 hours and he had managed to piss someone off.

"Sherry knocked, but she's entirely too mild. I've only been at it for well over five minutes. I have to get ready too, you know. Daddy wants you ready. Now." She turned on her heel without waiting for a response, slamming the door behind her. Sherry, he guessed, was the meek maid he had met last night. Apparently, that had been Caplan's daughter. Bethany or something. Ed threw on some plain clothes, slipped into his boots, and grabbed his pocket watch off of the side table before running out the door. He navigated through the house to the front entrance and saw the general and his daughter waiting. He checked the time. 6:10. Bethany tapped her foot impatiently. She was dressed in a school uniform and kept looking at her wrist, probably at a watch.

"Daddy, can we go now?"

"Patience," he stated sternly, waiting for Ed to reach the two. Bethany huffed, but said nothing more.

"I trust you slept well," Caplan said, ignoring his daughter. Ed nodded. The general led the two out of the house. They climbed into a car which first stopped at an academy to let Bethany out before proceeding to western headquarters. Once inside the office, Ed got to work, reading over files that had been collected on the case thus far. Caplan had only been able to provide the information that Ed saw in the papers: five men dead, one military, all strangled, and all with an 'X' carved into their left hand. There were few other injuries other than the cause of death, and most consisted of bruising or resembled defensive wounds. Ed got bored reading the same thing over and over, tired of biding time to snoop around. He didn't see any opportunities, and by lunch time, he just wanted to get up and move around.

Ed dropped by the cafeteria and grabbed a sandwich. He wandered the mostly desolate hallways as he ate. He considered dropping in on a nearby office to ask about Caplan and his men. Every now and again, he would pass men in uniform standing in the hallway, conversing quietly. He didn't want anyone to overhear him talking about Caplan, so he ambled aimlessly, dreading pouring over papers he had already read through a few times. Ed considered calling Mustang to find out who exactly the tip had come from. Maybe then he could get some kind of lead or be able to talk to someone. Ed's ears perked up at a hushed conversation. He heard a distinct shush and stopped. He doubled back towards the sound, eyeing a men's room door. He swung it open and let it fall shut loudly. As silently as he could, he moved down the hall to try and catch some of the conversation. As he neared, he heard two voices, both male. One sounded frantic and slightly high-pitched. He could hear mumbling, but no words. He kept sliding down the hall, keeping his back pressed to the cool surface. He reached the corner at the end and listened hard.

"Stop freaking out," the deeper voice commanded.

"But they know."

"They will if you don't shut up. Now for the last time- did you get it done?" There were a few seconds of silence. Ed held his breath.

"Yeah," came the quiet reply, "but they won't find it on their own and we can't tell them about it."

"Be patient, they will soon. They're already snooping around him. And everyone knows he's protective."

"But what if they saw us?"

"They didn't, now shut up. Are you going over there today?" The voices grew louder. Their footsteps echoed in the empty hallway. Ed didn't wait for a reply. He darted as quietly as possible to the men's room halfway down the hall and planted himself in front of the sink. He heard the casual conversation of the two men as they passed by the door. He heard the voices fade, then he ducked out of the bathroom. He didn't get out in time to see either one of the men and he debated following them. He decided against it due to the paranoia one exhibited a few minutes beforehand. The last thing he wanted was to have attention drawn to him by the pair. He strolled back to Caplan's office and found the general scanning over a mountain of papers. Ed stood quietly for a few moments in front of the man's desk.

"Uhm, Sir?" Ed shifted, uncomfortable. Caplan looked up.

"Yes?"

"I would like to talk to whoever is in charge of this case. I would like to know their perspective." Caplan considered the option for a couple seconds.

"Do you know where the police station is?" Ed nodded.

"Go there and ask to see Officer Harris. Let them know who you are. They should be more than willing to speak with you." Caplan looked back down at his work without another word. Ed turned and left, replaying in his head the strange conversation he had heard. The station was only a few blocks from headquarters, so Ed had a little time to think about what he would say. He just wanted to see what the police had on the killer.

He arrived at his destination and climbed the small set of stone steps. He walked inside and found a cluster of desks. Ed zeroed in on the one nearest the door where a younger officer sat. The apparent receptionist looked at Ed expectantly as he approached. Ed stopped in front of his desk and cleared his throat.

"I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist and I'm looking for Officer Harris." The young man smiled and reached out to shake his hand.

"Wow, I didn't think I'd get to meet you. You know, my sister's husband's family is from Youswell. They think you're a great alchemist." Ed smiled at the memory.

"Sorry to say, though, that Officer Harris isn't here today. He'll be back in tomorrow, though. I'll let him know you stopped by," he offered helpfully.

"Ok, thanks. I'll come by tomorrow, then." Ed turned to leave, throwing his hand up in a wave as he exited. There were only a couple of hours left in the work day, so Ed headed in the direction of Caplan's house. He wanted to call Mustang, but not over a military line. He hoped he would be able to use the phone there and to at least let him know that something else was going on in the west.

x x x x x

After a lengthy walk, Ed found himself at his temporary residence. He entered without knocking and immediately started searching for a phone. He didn't have to look too hard. He heard rather than saw Bethany gabbing away in the kitchen, talking in an annoyingly high-pitched squealing voice. She talked excitedly until she saw Ed.

"Yeah, yeah. Ok. Yes! Alright. No. I gotta go. Yeah. Right now. Bye." She cradled the receiver and eyed Ed. Then she sighed.

"I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't want to be late. I suppose I've been a tad moody lately." As she talked, Bethany moved to the stool Ed was standing next to. A remark about her menstrual cycle flew into Ed's brain, but he refrained from saying it. Ed shrugged.

"I got up." He leaned on the counter, eyeing the phone.

"It's just been so hard lately," she whined.

"What? Bad grades or something?" Ed inquired distractedly.

"No, my boyfriend died. He was murdered," she stated coldly. Ed's attention snapped to the girl sitting next to him.

"What?"

"The lieutenant who died? I was dating him. Daddy won't even talk to me about him." She pouted. Ed was taken aback. The man who had died was well into his twenties and the girl before him was still in school, early high school if he was guessing correctly. His mind drifted back again to the conversation he overhead.

"I'm glad you're here, at least." Bethany shot Ed a coy smile. He raised an eyebrow.

"Where's your mother, Bethany? And Sherry" Her eyes narrowed.

"Sadie! My name is Sadie." Whoops. She crossed her arms and crossly added: "My mother is visiting my grandmother. She'll be back later this week. Sherry's out grocery shopping or something." Ed considered his options, knowing he couldn't make a call without Sadie hearing everything. He stared at the phone again, thinking. He felt a hand on his arm and he looked down to meet Sadie's gaze. She gave him a half-hearted smile.

"Would you please just keep me company for a little while?" Her soft voice was testament to her ability to change moods in a split second. Ed hesitated.

"Oh, come on. You're not doing anything right now anyway."

"Yeah, but I should be working on this case."

"Then why did you come back here?" she asked sharply. Ed couldn't come up with a reason fast enough.

"Exactly. Come on, let's watch a movie."

"I'm not interested in movies." Sadie sighed dramatically. She pulled on his sleeve as a child would.

"Come on, please?" Ed resigned from thinking up excuses.

"If I can read during the movie." Sadie gave a little squeal and dashed off. Minutes later, Ed found himself in a dim living room, trying to ignore whatever the Hell it was that the girl was watching. He was glad he had taken some books from the library in Central before leaving. He was content sitting on the floor, leaning against a couch, reading about theories behind scientific breakthroughs in the recent past. Sadie sat next to him, silent, eyes glued to the screen across the room. A few pages into the first chapter, he felt Sadie lay her head on his shoulder. He shifted away from her and kept reading. Near the end of the first chapter, he felt a hand on his knee. Without taking his eyes off the page, he brushed it off. Ed was too absorbed in reading to analyze the situation. He saw Sadie move in front of him out of the corner of his eye. He frowned minutely as his eyes scanned the page. She moved her face close to his, effectively eclipsing his reading light. He sighed and put his finger in the book to keep his place.

"What?" he asked, clearly annoyed. The moment he set the book at his side, Sadie straddled his lap and planted a forceful kiss on his lips. Ed grabbed her by the shoulders and held her at arm's length.

"No," he said, as he would scold a puppy. She pouted and settled all of her weight onto his lap. She struggled a little in his grip.

"Oh, why not?" She ground into his lap. He released her arms and placed his hands on her hips. He pushed her back so she was kneeling in front of him.

"Because I'm getting married and we're having a child. Now back off." Sadie planted her hands on either side on Ed and leaned in close.

"Well, no one needs to know," she said seductively. A loud bang sounded at the front door and the two could hear muffled shouts. Sadie jumped up, leaving Ed on the ground, confused. She stopped before she rounded the corner.

"You'll regret this."

x x x x x

The police had found a damning piece of evidence during an investigation of General Caplan's office: the murder weapon. Officers had broken down the door to his home, looking for him. They had found only Ed and Sadie. The two were rounded up and brought to the station Ed had visited earlier. They were thought to have something to do with the murders, which Caplan had been arrested for. Under constant surveillance in a small interrogation room, Ed was allowed to call his commanding officer. Mustang picked up after the first ring.

"Roy Mustang."

"Get me the Hell out of here," Ed ground out.

"What's going on?" Mustang asked wistfully.

"Well, right now I'm being held at the police station by headquarters and the only person I can talk to besides the police is severely pissed at me. Oh, and General Caplan has been arrested."

"Let me talk to whoever is there with you," Mustang commanded. Ed handed over the phone and waited. The next few hours were uneventful, but he was eventually allowed to leave. He was escorted to gather his things from the general's house then jumped on the first train back to Central. Exhausted, he managed to sleep through most of the ride.

x x x x x

None of it made sense at first. Through the next several months, word would spread about what really happened to General Caplan. Central had been tipped off by the murderer. The two men Ed had heard talking were the one who planned and executed the homicides, staging the scene to make it look like a serial killer. In reality, every man who died had had something to do with Sadie. Either they had broken her heart, ignored her, or were simply in the way. One of the two soldiers had known Sadie for years and wanted her to notice him. The other, his friend, wanted to kill. Since Caplan was known for being a very protective father and rarely let Sadie be around males, especially those in the military, he had been set up. It was partially thanks to Ed's knowledge of the conversation, which he told to Mustang, and partially one killer's paranoia and guilt that led to their arrest and trial.

x x x x x

Upon arriving back in Central, Ed was summoned by Mustang. Ed drug himself into the office, still utterly confused about what had happened. He discussed everything he heard and saw, save what happened with Sadie. After Mustang got in touch with others who were proving information on the case, he turned back to Ed, who sat slumped on the couch.

"So, you're getting married." Ed looked up. He shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess." Ed sat forward and placed his elbows on his knees.

"You don't sound too happy about it." Ed shrugged again.

"Just tired." His lack of enthusiasm caused a smile to cross Roy's face.

"Meet me here tomorrow?" he asked casually. Ed's face lit up a little and he nodded. He tried not to show his excitement, but he was overjoyed that things were going to get back to normal.

"I'll see you then." Ed took his cue to leave and got up. He stretched a little, then headed for the door.

"Oh, and Edward?" Ed craned his neck to look back and his superior.

"Yeah?"

"It's nice to have you back." He smiled and left the office.

x x x x x

A/N: A little detour from the main story, but I couldn't not write it after I thought about it a little. Winry's been pushed into the background. No one likes her, anyway