Monday, August 14
Milo's Cafe 1:15 p.m.
"Thanks, Dr. Rogers. We should get to you by 4:00 p.m. Bye." Alex pressed the 'end' button on her cell phone and closed it. Bobby
held the door to the restaurant open for her. "Thanks," she said as she slipped passed him. "It's my favorite NYPD detectives!" the
blonde haired hostess said as Alex and Bobby approached the hostess station. "Hey, Allison," Bobby and Alex said at the same time.
They looked at each other, shaking their heads. "You know we're going to do this all day," Bobby said. "God, I hope not." Alex said.
Allison laughed as she grabbed a couple of menus and headed towards a window booth near the back. She placed the menus on the
table and said, "Carmine will be with you in a minute. Enjoy your meal." before walking off. Bobby took the side of the booth were he
would be facing the door; Alex got in on the other side. As soon as they had sat down, their server, Carmine, showed up. He poured
some water into the glasses that were already sitting on the table. "Would you guys like to have your usual?" he asked looking from one
detective to the other. "Yeah. I would." Alex said. "Hold the onions, though. I want a chocolate shake this time." "How about you,
Detective Goren?" Bobby nodded his head. "I'll try the banana shake instead." Carmine nodded at them and then walked off to put their
order in.
Alex leaned back in the booth with her arms crossed, looking at Bobby expectantly. Bobby copied her pose. He was trying his best not
to smile. "Alright, Robert Goren. Spill it." "Spill what?" "You know damn well what." Bobby shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea what
you are talking about," he said, toying with her. Alex let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. If you're not going to tell me how you know
Angel, I sure in the hell am not going to tell you how I know her, Janelle and Drew." Alex turned her head and looked out the window.
Bobby looked at her, shaking his head. "Eames, you are no fun." She looked back at him with a smirk on her face. "I know. Now, talk!"
Bobby chuckled and held up his hands. "Ladies first. How do you know them?"
"There used to be this bar called Daddy Fat Cat's on my old man's beat. That place had fights there practically every weekend. Janelle's
dad, Eddie Lee, used to go there to get drunk. He wouldn't start any fights, but he sure was in the middle of them. One Friday night,
Janelle's mom, Loretta, went down there to drag Eddie Lee home. A fight had already broke out when she got there, so the police were
there dragging people out to take them to jail. My dad had Eddie Lee in custody. Loretta begged him to let her take him home." "What
did your dad do?" "Dad felt sorry for her, so he let him go and told her to contact him if Eddie Lee got into any more trouble. Let me tell
ya, Eddie Lee stayed in trouble. Especially if he and his brother-in-law Clyde got to drinking together. One night, they got so drunk, they
left the bar and went to Eddie Lee's house and kicked Loretta and Janelle and her brother Jayson out of the house just so they could
drink with some old buddies." Bobby snorted. "Sounds like a jackass." Alex nodded. "I think Janelle was 5, Jayson was 6. Anyway,
they walked all the way to Dad's precinct to ask him for help. He brought them to our house for a couple of days while he tried setting
Eddie Lee straight about what his priorities should be." "What happened after that?" "Eddie Lee decided to get sober. He quit drinking,
joined AA and kicked Clyde to the curb. We kept in touch with them. Exchanging birthday cards, Christmas cards, stuff like that. Janelle
would write to me every once in a while, letting me know what was going on with her."
"So, when did you meet Angel?" Bobby asked. Alex was about to answer when Carmine came back with their food and drinks. "Here
you go, Detective Eames," he said, "one cheeseburger, no onions, fries and a chocolate shake." He put the same thing down in front of
Bobby. "Detective Goren, here's your cheeseburger, fries and banana shake." Bobby inhaled deeply the smell of the cheeseburger. "This
smells great, Carmine." Alex had already bitten into her burger, so all she could do was nod and give the thumbs up sign. "Enjoy your
food. I'll be back in a bit." Carmine said with a smile. Bobby bit into his burger. He closed his eyes and savored the taste. "This is just
what the doctor ordered," Alex said after taking a sip of her shake. Bobby just nodded. "It's a good thing we only come in here twice a
month." "Why's that?" he asked. "I don't think my waistline could handle it." Alex puffed out her cheeks to make her point. Bobby just
grinned.
After taking a few more bites of his food, Bobby asked again, "When did you meet Angel?" Alex wiped her mouth with a napkin before
answering. " It was some time before I had enrolled in the Academy. I was out on a date with Joe at Ming's when I ran into Janelle and
Drew. Angel and Garvin were with them. They were up here visiting from Tennessee, each of them celebrating their first year
anniversary." Bobby held up his hand to stop Alex. "Angel and Garvin were already married?" Alex nodded. "Yeah. Janelle and Drew
got hitched the day before Valentine's Day; Angel and Garvin got married on Saint Patrick's Day." Bobby laughed. "Angel never told me
she got married on Saint Patrick's Day," he said. Alex said, "Angel told me they did it to be different. Anyway, we all hung out and had a
great time. We kept in touch as best we could. We tried to hang out whenever they came up to visit." "What was Garvin like?" Bobby
asked softly. Alex thought for a minute. "He was really nice, polite and funny. He reminded me of Will Smith when he and Drew would
be cracking jokes on each other. And smart, too. He had this incredible knowledge of music history." Bobby silently nodded. He started
thinking how could he possibly measure up to Angel's late husband. How could he possibly even think he was good enough to be with
someone like her.
"How did you meet Angel?" Alex asked, shaking Bobby out of his thoughts. "You remember when my mom had her hip replacement
surgery a couple of years ago?" Alex nodded. "I met Angel at the hospital on the day of Mom's surgery. She was there because her
friend T. J. was having knee replacement surgery." "You picked her up at the hospital? Man, you are smooth." "No, no, no. I….I wasn't
trying to pick her up. She introduced herself to me while we were in the waiting room. We just talked and got along good." "Good?"
Alex asked, raising an eyebrow. "By the way you were staring at her, I'd say you got along better than 'good.' " Bobby smiled
sheepishly. "Women who are pretty and smart have that effect on me." "Yeah, that's what I thought."
Bobby and Alex continued eating and drinking. Bobby sighed heavily and asked, "Are we going to tell Ross we know people connected
to this case?" Alex looked into her partner's brown eyes for what seemed like an eternity, trying to figure what he was thinking. Finally,
she said, "My gut instinct is telling me if we hand this case over to someone else, it won't get solved." "Do you think they're involved at
all with DeMarco's drug dealing?" Alex shook her head. Bobby ran his hand through hair a couple of times. "I agree with you." "Of
course, if it turns out that he's a big time well known drug dealer, you know we'll have to turn this case over to Narcotics." "So, the
answer to my original question is….." "No, we're not telling Ross we know people connected to this case." Bobby smiled at the sound
of defiance in Alex's voice. He knew what she thinking without her having to say it: Yes, they will probably get in trouble for jeopardizing
the case, but dammit these people were their friends and needed resolution in their friend's murder.
Monday, August 14
1PP Parking Garage, 3:10 p.m.
Angel managed to get the next to last visitor parking space in the 1PP parking garage. She saw that she was 20 minutes early for her
appointment with Detectives Goren and Eames, so she turned off the motor to her Saturn Vue and decided to wait before going inside.
She leaned against the headrest and sighed, wiping the occasional teardrop from her cheek. "Dammit, DeMarco," she said to herself. "I
was not ready for this. Not yet." As soon as she said that, she heard her mom's voice in the back of her head saying, "Just like we
don't know when Jesus is coming back, we can't be ready for Death." Angel shook her head. She looked over at the passenger seat
where the business card Bobby had given her was laying. She picked up it to look at it. "I'm surprised he didn't get a paper cut from
pulling this card out so fast," she thought. Angel smiled to herself as she read the card: Detective Robert Goren, Major Case Squad.
She put the card back down and picked up her cell phone to dial a number.
"Hello," a female voice answered.
"Hola, Mami." Angel said.
"Hola, mi hija. Como esta?"
"I'm good, Mami." Angel replied in English. "How are you?"
"I'm doing good. What's going on, Baby Girl?" Angel smiled. "Not much."
She heard a clanging noise in the background. "Uh, Mama, what are you doing?" Laurel sighed. "I know your daddy and I taught you
and your brothers how to cook. So, why is it I am cooking for your brother James while his wife is out of town?" "Well, don't forget
Tabitha managed to burn water while trying to cook spaghetti on their first date. Maybe James wants some decent meals before she
comes back home." "Then I ought to make him cook at his own house." Angel chuckled a little.
"Mami, I have some bad news to tell you."
"Que es eso, Angel?"
Angel sniffed before answering, "DeMarco's dead." Laurel gasped. "Ay, Dios mio! When? What happened?"
"The police came by the shop and told us. They said he died of a drug overdose."
"A drug overdose?! When did DeMarco start using drugs?!"
"Dee never used drugs, Mami! I think somebody forced him to take them." Angel saw in her mind's eye her mom crossing herself. "Do
they know who did it? Or why?"
Angel said, "The police haven't told me much yet. I'm waiting at the police station now so that I can go with them to the morgue and ID
his body." "Why are you doing it? Why not his aunt or uncle?" "Because I have power of attorney. Remember?"
Laurel clicked her tongue. "I forgot. Are you okay?" Angel picked up the handkerchief Bobby had given her to wipe her eyes. She
looked down at the Superman logo that was on her t-shirt and said, "I guess this 'S' on my chest will have to stand for Superwoman
today." "Do the police think he was killed because he was a drug dealer?"
Laurel knew about DeMarco's secret life. Angel had told her the day before her wedding. Laurel expressed concern about having him
around, but Angel assured her mother Garvin had everything under control. She accepted her only daughter's word that DeMarco would
bring no trouble, but she warned her if any hurt, harm or danger befell them, all hell would break loose.
Angel shrugged despite the fact Laurel couldn't see her. "I don't know. They did find some marijuana stashed in his Explorer and I told
them about him dealing drugs."
"Have you told his family about his death yet?"
"We called and told Miss May and Mr. Albert before leaving the shop. I left Drew and Janelle at Sasha's."
"Do you remember Janelle telling you about a police officer named Johnny Eames?"
"Yeah, I do. He and his wife helped her family when Eddie Lee got drunk, right?" "Yeah, that's him. His daughter Alex is one of the
detectives that came to the shop to tell us about DeMarco. You'll never guess who her partner is."
"Who?"
"Bobby," Angel said softly.
"Bobby?" Laurel asked. "As in he-who-gave-you-the-gold-heart-shaped-locket-you-wear-everyday-which-you-are-playing-with-right-now Bobby?"
Angel stopped moving the locket up and down its chain and smiled to herself. "Yeah, that's him."
"Oh my. How did that go?"
"Well, put it this way, Mama: if it was some other guy besides Bobby undressing me with his eyes, I would have been seriously disgusted."
Laurel chuckled. "I see." Angel looked at her watch. It was 3:25. "I better go, Mami. It's almost time for my meeting with Alex and Bobby."
"Okay, sweetie. Let me know what's going on. I love you, Baby Girl."
"I will. I love you, too, Ma. Bye."
Angel closed her phone. She flipped the sun visor down to look in the mirror. The end of her nose and eyes were red. She sighed heavily
as she dabbed at her eyes with the handkerchief. Angel put on her black framed sunglasses with blue tinted lens and gathered up her
purse and a file folder from the passenger seat and got out of the car.
Angel walked into the Major Case Squad room right at 3:30. She looked around the room, but didn't see Bobby or Alex anywhere. She
stood there wondering if she should go back to the visitor's desk to wait for them when Megan Wheeler walked up to her. "Hi, I'm
Detective Wheeler. Can I help you?" Angel took off her sunglasses and extended her hand. "I'm Angelica Pierson-St. John. I'm suppose
to meet Detectives Goren and Eames here." Megan shook her hand and said, "They haven't made it back in yet, but you can take a seat
near their desks. Follow me." Angel followed her to Bobby and Alex's desks. "Thank you," Angel said as she laid her belongings on
Bobby's desk. "You're welcome." Megan started to walk off, but turned back around and asked Angel, "Did you use to sing with a
group called The Saints?" Angel smiled and nodded. "Yes, I did." "I thought so. I saw you perform at a club in Boston. You have an
amazing voice." Angel blushed slightly. "Thanks, Detective Wheeler." Megan smiled at Angel, then headed back to her desk. "Who's the
pretty lady?" Logan asked, pointing his chin in Angel's direction. Megan replied, "That's Angelica Pierson-St. John. She and her late
husband used to have a band called The Saints in the late 90's." "Wow. A celebrity in our presence. I'm impressed," he said in a
deadpan voice before turning his attention back to his computer.
Bobby saw Angel sitting in the chair next to his desk when he walked in. He stopped to look at her. He noticed she was playing with the
charm attached to her necklace. "That's the locket I got her," he thought. He smiled to himself as he remembered giving her the small
box it came in. Angel was so speechless when she had opened the box, all she did was cry and hug him. Bobby noticed that she had
pulled her hair into a ponytail with a deep part on the side and was biting her bottom lip. He willed himself to not get turned on. "Down,
boy." he told himself. He looked around to see if anyone noticed him getting all hot and bothered. Bobby took a deep breath and
released it as he walked over to his desk.
"Hi," Bobby said to Angel. She looked up at him and smiled. "Hi." He put his binder on his desk and sat down. "Are….are you okay?"
"I'm good. Just a little nervous about going to the morgue." "Don't be. We'll try to be as quick as possible." Angel bit her lip again which
almost caused Bobby to hyperventilate. "You're going to have to stop doing that." Angel looked at him in confusion, but then the light
bulb came on. "Sorry," she said softly. "I forgot my nervous habit is a sexual turn-on for you." Angel looked down at her K-Swiss shoes
to avoid Bobby's eyes. Bobby was about to lean to catch her eye, but Alex walked up. "Hey, Angel."
Angel looked up at Alex. "Hi, Alex." Alex looked from Bobby to Angel and back. She got the impression she interrupted something.
Bobby stood up and said, "I'm gonna hit the men's room before we go." Alex and Angel watched Bobby quickly walk away to the
restroom. Alex turned to Angel and said, "You're gonna make him run into something before too long." Angel chuckled and shook her
head. "I'm not doing anything. At least, I don't think I'm doing anything." Alex pointed to the file folder laying under Angel's purse. "Is
that a copy of the power of attorney?" "Yes, it is." Angel opened the folder and pulled out the paper. She handed it, along with 2
business cards, to Alex. "Mr. Brewster is the lawyer who drew up the power of attorney. Mr. Fisher's the lawyer who drew up
DeMarco's will." "DeMarco had a will?" Angel nodded. "Why 2 different lawyers?" Angel sighed. "You'll think I'm strange when I tell
you." "When you've been on the Goren Express for as long as I have, strange is the rule, not the exception." Alex said with a smile.
"Something about Mr. Brewster didn't seem right. He just….creeped me out." Alex made a mental note of Angel's statement. She
picked up a Post-It note and scribbled on it. She placed it on Bobby's binder. "We can wait for Goren in the SUV." "Okay," Angel said.
She picked up her belongings and followed Alex out the door.
Monday, August 14
M. E.'s Office, 4:00 p.m.
Alex and Bobby arrived at the medical examiner's office with Angel in tow. The ride on the way there had been solemn. Angel sat behind
Alex, leaning her head against the window not saying a word. She would sniff every now and then. Alex and Bobby snuck quick peeks at
her to make sure she was okay. Bobby held the morgue door open as Alex and Angel walked through before him. Dr. Rogers was
looking through a microscope when they waked in. She looked away from it, rubbing her eyes. "Afternoon, detectives," she said as she
stood up and walked over to the trio. "Hey, doc." Alex said. "Dr. Rogers, this is Angelica Pierson-St. John. She's here to ID the
Anderson body." Dr. Rogers and Angel shook hands. "Mrs. Pierson-St. John, please step over here with me." Angel said nothing as Dr.
Rogers took her by the arm and led her to the table where a sheet covered body lay. Bobby and Alex hung back. Dr. Rogers stood on
the side opposite Angel and folded back the sheet.
Angel covered her mouth as she looked at DeMarco's lifeless form. Tears streamed freely down her face. "Oh, my." "Is this DeMarco
Louis Anderson?" Dr. Rogers asked. Angel nodded. She took a deep breath and walked closer to the table. She placed her hand on his
head and stroked his hair. "Oh, sweetie. Garvin's gonna be mad at you for meeting him so soon." She continued looking at him, taking in
his features. She looked down at his arm and saw the needle marks in his arm. Angel then noticed the long, big bruise going across
DeMarco's chest. "Dee, who hurt you?" she asked in disbelief. She half expected him to answer her. Angel looked at Dr. Rogers.
"When will you release his body?" "Sometime Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday morning." "Okay." "There's some paperwork for you to
fill out. My assistant can help you." Dr. Rogers nodded at the dark haired young man who appeared next to Angel. "This way, ma'am."
he said, turning and pointing to the door. Angel didn't say anything as she followed him. She stopped and looked back at DeMarco
before going out the door.
"What killed him, Doctor?" Bobby asked. "A combination of heroin and cocaine." she replied. "A speedball killed him?" Alex asked. Dr.
Rogers nodded. "With the amount of those drugs in his system, I'm surprised he was able to drive. He should have died within a couple
of minutes of injection." "Did he have any other drugs in his system?" "No." Bobby had walked over to DeMarco's body. He lifted up
DeMarco's right hand to look at the burn mark. "This looks like a…a brand of some sort." Dr. Rogers held a magnifying glass over the
mark. "It's the devil's face. And it was done pre-mortem." Alex walked over to get a closer look. "Somebody's going around branding
drug dealers as devils. How ironic," she said. "That's not the only unusual thing. Goren, help me turn him on his left side." Bobby did as
he was instructed. Dr. Rogers pointed to 2 needle marks located on DeMarco's right shoulder. "He was injected here as well. They're
fresh just like the ones in his arm." They placed DeMarco on his back again. "Anything else we need to know?" Alex asked. "Nothing
else stands out right now. I'll write up my report and get it to you by tomorrow afternoon." "Thanks, Dr. Rogers," Bobby said as he and
Alex headed out the door.
Angel was sitting in the waiting room area when Alex and Bobby came out. She was dabbing at her eyes with Bobby's handkerchief
when they walked up to her. She had put her sunglasses on to hide her red eyes. "Angel, you okay?" Alex asked. Angel barely nodded.
"What killed him?" "A combination of heroin and cocaine." Angel looked up at Bobby, then Alex. She looked down at the floor and
started to speak. "I know you guys think we're stupid for being DeMarco's friends because we knew he was a drug dealer. But you've
got to understand, we loved him and prayed he would stop living this dangerous secret life." Bobby squatted down so he could be eye to
eye with Angel. Angel looked at him. "We don't think you and your friends are stupid." Angel stared deeply into his eyes, searching for
the truth to his statement. "Are you going to stay on the case? Try to find his killer?" Bobby nodded. Angel looked to Alex for
confirmation. Alex nodded. "The only way we'd be taken off this case is if our superiors decide this case should go to Narcotics."
"Sounds fair enough." Bobby stood as Angel got up out of her seat. She took his hand and held it in both of hers. "Thank you," she
whispered. Bobby smiled. She let go of his hand and touched Alex's arm. "Thank you."