Author's notes: My apologies for not posting sooner. I have been traveling (YAY!) and have not been near a computer for a while. I have to give thanks and credit to MARY T for the Mr. Honest label Bobby receives in this chapter. She called him that in one of her reviews. I had to use it, too. Any mistakes made are my own. As always, the LO:CI characters don't belong to me; I'm just borrowing them for a little while. So, no suing. Please read, review and enjoy :o)
Tuesday, August 15
Courthouse Parking Garage, 8:25 a.m.
"Well, that was a show stopper," Alex said as she buckled up and started the SUV. Bobby nodded as he buckled up. "I'd put that in the
top ten of unusual courtroom proceedings," he said. They were referring to the case of the art smuggler that they were going to testify
against this morning. When Judge Harold Carlson entered the courtroom, the defendant, Isaac Jameson, jumped up and declared his
undying love for the judge. The twist? Judge Carlson declared his undying love for the defendant back. Needless to say, pandemonium
broke out in the courtroom. Once everything had settled down, they called Captain Ross to let him know they were coming in. "I had
always heard rumors that Judge Carlson was gay," Alex said as she pulled into traffic, "I guess this definitely confirms those rumors."
Alex merged into the morning traffic without too much trouble. She briefly glanced at Bobby, who had opened his binder to pull out some
pictures. "What are you looking at?" she asked. "These are pictures of the brand on DeMarco's hand," he replied. "I'm trying to see if the
maker left a signature of some kind." "Well, what do you see?" After a few minutes of looking through the pictures, Bobby shook his
head. "Nothing is jumping out at me. I can say that this was a homemade branding stamp. I don't think you'd be able to order this
anywhere." "So, what do you think? DeMarco got too close to somebody's turf?" "If he had got on somebody's turf, why not take the
drugs that were in the back of his Explorer? And why not dump him somewhere in public where his buddies would get the message? And
then there's the 2nd cell phone. Why take it? Why not take the valuable stuff?" Alex shrugged. "Maybe they took the 2nd cell phone
because they wanted his contacts." "Maybe. But if DeMarco was a smart man, he'd know his contacts' numbers by heart, not have them
stored in the cell phone." "There's too many questions and not enough answers. Let's wait to see what we get when we talk to his ex-
girlfriend and employer."
"How did dinner with your folks go last night?" Bobby asked. "It went well. Shane and Jill were there, too. You'll be happy to know I
told Mom that you'll show up for your birthday party on Sunday." Bobby rolled his eyes and sighed. "Of course I'm going to show up for
my own party. You had doubts?" "No, not really. Just wondered how well you handle a right hook." Bobby snorted. "I'm thinking about
getting your mom a thank you gift. Any ideas on what she might like?" he asked. Alex sighed, then shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe a nice
pin or bangle bracelet." He nodded as he took in this information. "I saw a nice bangle bracelet set in the window of Rossi's Jewelry Shop
the other day." He glanced at the dashboard clock. "They'll be open in 5 minutes. You can drop me off there before going back to the
squad room. I'll walk back." Alex nodded and said, "Okay." She took a deep breath and said, "I told them that some of your friends
would be coming to the party." Bobby gave her a sideways glance. "Oh? Did you mention names?" "Yeah." "Was Alannah's name one of
them?" "Yeah." "Oh," Bobby said softly. "I may have given them the impression that you two were dating." "Alex, what did you tell your
family about me and Alannah?" "I told them that she was someone you had been seeing off and on for a while."
Bobby leaned his head against the headrest. "Oh God," was all he muttered. "Well, it was either tell them that or tell them she was your
fuck buddy. I KNOW you didn't want them to know that." Alex said. He sighed heavily. "Is there anything else I need to know?" Alex
cleared her throat and said, "As a matter of fact, the almost crisis of Alannah and Angel meeting each other has been averted." Bobby
knitted his brow. "What do you mean?" "Mom said she was going to call Janelle's mom to ask her to make your birthday cake and invite
her and the family to the party. That would have meant Angel would have been coming with them. Mom called Loretta after dinner.
Loretta told her that she couldn't make the cake or come to the party due to prior family commitments." Bobby grunted and said, "The
almost crisis may become an actual crisis then." "What are you talking about?" "I invited Angel to the party." "You did what!?" Bobby
lifted his head off of the headrest and turned to Alex and said a little loudly, "I said I invited Angel to the party."
Alex rolled her eyes. "Why would you do that? You want some drama at this party?" "No, I…I don't want any drama. I invited Angel
because it was the right thing to do," Bobby answered, slightly annoyed. "Besides, she probably won't come if Alannah's there." Alex
was quiet for a couple of minutes, thinking about what Bobby just said and the meaning behind it. She finally asked, "Did you tell Angel
about Alannah?" A quiet "yeah" is all Bobby said before turning to look out of the window. Alex let out a heavy sigh. Mr. Honest had
struck again. She was tempted to snap at him and ask why in the world would he tell Angel about Alannah, but she decided to let it slide
for the time being. Alex knew without having to ask that Bobby was feeling conflicted because he didn't want to be anything like his
abusive womanizing father. If there was one thing Bobby always strived to do in his relationships with women, it was that he would treat
them with the utmost respect and honesty.
Alex and Bobby hadn't said anything else to each other when they pulled up in front of the store. Bobby turned to Alex and quietly said,
"Thanks for….for understanding." She smiled. "You're welcome." He got out of the car, placing his binder on the seat. "Take this in for
me?" Alex nodded. He closed the door and walked towards the building. Alex sat there for a couple of minutes, shaking her head in
amazement at the walking mystery that was her partner and best friend.
Tuesday, August 15
Rossi's Jewelry Shop, 8:32 a.m.
A bell made a tinkling noise as Bobby opened the door to Rossi's Jewelry Shop. A stocky older olive skinned man with salt and pepper
hair came out from the back at the sound of the bell. "Detective Goren! Welcome!" he said with a slight accent. "Hey, Mr. Rossi, how are
you?" Bobby said as he shook the man's hand. "I'm doing well. How are you?" "I'm good." Mr. Rossi stepped away from Bobby and
headed towards the curtain that led to the back of the store. He pushed it aside and said, "Emma, Detective Bobby is here." A woman
with the same olive skin tone stepped from behind the curtain. She had black hair with a white streak in the front pulled into a bun. Her
eyes crinkled as she smiled at Bobby. "Detective Bobby!" she exclaimed as she walked over to Bobby to give him a hug. He leaned
down a little so that Mrs. Rossi could kiss him on both cheeks. "How are you?" she asked as she stepped to look up at him. "I'm doing
good, Mrs. Rossi. How are you?" She shrugged. "My knee still hurts a little from the surgery. Other than that, I have no complaints.
How's your mama?" "She's good."
Bobby had met Carlo and Emma Rossi on an elevator at Carmel Ridge 4 years ago. They were heading to the same floor. They were
going to visit a niece of theirs who was Bobby's age at the time. She was a schizophrenic as well. Bobby kept running into them every
time at the same time he was going to visit his mother. One day Mrs. Rossi asked Bobby to have dinner with them after visiting hours
were over. He gladly accepted. After that, they started having dinner together after their respective visits. When Logan and Barek had
caught that case of the mother and son thieves who were robbing mom and pop jewelry stores, Bobby had been afraid they would
become the next set of victims. His fears were calmed however, when they called him from their vacation timeshare in Florida. Some
relatives of theirs had called them to tell them what was going on and to check on them. Bobby really liked this older couple. He imagined
sometimes that this is what his parents would have been like if they hadn't been so fucked up.
"What can we help you with today, Detective?" Mr. Rossi asked. "I'm looking to get a couple of thank you gifts for my partner and her
mother," Bobby replied. He walked over to the window display and pulled out the bangle bracelet trio set. "I'd like to get this," he said as
he handed it to Mr. Rossi. "Very good," Mr. Rossi said. He went back behind the counter to ring up the purchase. He handed it to his
wife for her to gift wrap. "May I ask what you are thanking them for?" Mrs. Rossi said. "For throwing a birthday party for me on this
upcoming Sunday," he replied sheepishly. Her smile got bigger as she said, "Happy early birthday, Bobby!" Mr. Rossi came from behind
the counter and shook his hand. "Happy birthday!" Bobby blushed slightly at all this fuss over his birthday. "Thank you both," he said. Mr.
Rossi said, "You'll have to come over to the house next week for dinner to celebrate." "You don't have to do that," Bobby protested.
Mr. Rossi shook a finger at him. "Oh, no! We insist. Besides, you're like a son to us." Bobby ran his fingers through his hair and smiled.
"Okay." Mr. Rossi clapped him on the shoulder. "Look around to see what else catches your eye."
Bobby walked over to the women's watch case. He looked up and down each row carefully before seeing the perfect watch for Alex.
"I'd like to get this one," he said. Mr. Rossi came over, unlocked the case and pulled out the watch Bobby was pointing to. It was a
medium size silver watch with a stretch wristband, blue crystal face and silver numbers. Mrs. Rossi came over and took the watch from
Mr. Rossi. She headed back to her gift wrapping station. "Anything else, Detective?" Mr. Rossi asked. Bobby shook his head. "That's
it." "Alright then. Let me ring up everything." Bobby idly looked through the rest of the jewelry cases while he waited. When he got to the
women's ring case, he saw a very pretty ring. It was a simple gold band, about the same size as a man's wedding ring. It had the word
"LOVE" engraved on it in block letters. "Mr. Rossi, what size is this ring?"
Mr. Rossi went over to the case Bobby was standing at. "Which one, Bobby?" Bobby pointed and said, "The gold band with "love" on
it." Mr. Rossi unlocked the case and took the ring out. "It's a size 7," he said after reading the tag attached to it. He put the ring in
Bobby's hand. Bobby picked the ring up with two fingers to examine it. He started wondering how Angel would react if he gave it to her.
"I'm guessing that you're going to give that to the same young lady you bought the necklace for," Mr. Rossi said with a chuckle. Bobby
looked from the ring at Mr. Rossi in surprise. "How…how did you know?" "You had the exact same look on your face 2 years ago when
you decided to buy the necklace." Bobby's ears turned red. "I'm that transparent, huh?" he asked. Mr. Rossi shook his head. "Nah. I
know the beginnings of amore when I see it." Bobby shook his head and laughed. "You getting the ring?" Bobby looked at the ring
thoughtfully and sighed. "Yeah. I think I will." Mr. Rossi smiled at him as he took the ring from Bobby and headed towards Mrs. Rossi.
Bobby mentally chided himself as he watched Mrs. Rossi begin to wrap the ring. "What if Angel doesn't want anything to do with
me?" he thought. "What do I do to win her heart?" Bobby looked up at the ceiling, then cast his eyes down to the floor. He whispered
to himself, "Help me."
Tuesday, August 15
Major Case Squad Room, 9:00 a.m.
Alex was reading a file when Bobby walked into the squad room. She looked up at him and asked, "Get what you were looking for?"
"Yep. I did," he replied, holding up the dark blue bag before putting it in his bottom desk drawer. Alex could have sworn she saw the
outlines of 3 boxes in the bag. She shook her head, dismissing the thought. "Has Ross been looking for me?" "No, he hasn't," she
answered. "He went to a meeting as soon as I walked in." "What are you reading?" "DeMarco Anderson's financial records. Man, this
guy was an upstanding citizen on paper at least. Look at this." Alex handed the file to Bobby. He pursed his lips as he read the file. "I see
he's got some CDs, real estate investments, savings account set up for his daughter. Hell, he even paid his taxes on time." He handed the
file back to Alex and picked up another one to start reading. "What's that?" Alex asked. "DeMarco's juvie arrest record from New
Jersey. It looks like getting busted for possession was the only trouble he got into." Alex handed Bobby another folder. "Well then his
brother must have been taking up the slack for the both of them. Look at his record." Bobby let out a low whistle. "Drug possession and
disorderly conduct arrests as long as my arm," he said. "Yeah. I didn't think records could get that long." Bobby rolled his eyes at Alex's
smart ass comment.
"Hey, Detectives." Alex and Bobby looked up from the files to see Angel standing there. "Hey, Angel. How are you?" Alex asked as she
stood up and walked over to Angel. "I'm fine." Bobby stood up and shook her hand. "Hello, Angelica." Angel smiled and blushed. "I
must be in trouble," she said. "That's the only time anyone ever uses my whole name." Bobby smiled at her before he licked his lips.
"No…no trouble. Yet." Alex and Angel both raised their eyebrows at the sexual innuendo behind his comment. "Lord, please do not let
him start anything here in front of all these people," Angel thought as she recovered from that statement "Damn! My partner is Mr.
Smooth Talker," Alex thought. Bobby chuckled to himself at the desired effect his play on words had on Angel.
Bobby let go of her hand and pulled out a chair for Angel. "Please have a seat," he said to her. Angel shook her head. "I can't stay long. I
came by to give you this." She reached into her pants pocket to pull out the handkerchief Bobby had given to her yesterday. She placed it
in his hand, giving it a light squeeze before letting go. He put it in his jacket pocket. "Thank you." "You're welcome. And, I wanted to give
you these." Angel reached into her vest pocket and took out 2 business cards, handing one to each detective. Alex quickly glanced over
the card. "Martin, Baker and Martin? You moonlighting?" she asked. "No," Angel replied. "I work for them from home." "Oh, okay." "I
wanted you to know where I can be reached today. In case you needed me for something." Alex picked up her notepad and a pen,
handing them to Angel. "Janelle called and left message yesterday saying DeMarco's family is coming into town to stay with his uncle
Todd. Could you write down his name and address." "Sure." Angel scribbled on the notepad and handed it back to Alex. "Anything
else?" she asked, looking Alex, then at Bobby, then back at Alex.
"Actually, there is something we need to know," Bobby said. Angel and Alex turned their attention towards him. "Alex mentioned that the
lawyer who drew up DeMarco's power of attorney creeped you out. Can you elaborate?" Angel pressed her lips together while looking
at the floor. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find the right words to say. Finally she said, "If I could file a sexual
assault report against Mr. Brewster without him actually sexually assaulting me, I would." Alex and Bobby exchanged glances. "Go on,"
Bobby said softly. Angel sighed and sat down. Alex sat in her chair, Bobby sat on the edge of his desk. "DeMarco paid a pilot friend of
my parents to fly me up here for a day to sign the power of attorney, with Janelle and Drew as witnesses. I don't know how or why
DeMarco picked this man as his lawyer. When DeMarco and I met him at his office, his whole demeanor towards me changed. He
become…lecherous for lack of a better word." "How so?" Alex asked. "I could almost see the sexual positions he was putting me in.
DeMarco made a point of making sure Mr. Brewster and I were never alone together. When I was getting ready to leave, to head back
to the airport, he offered to take me there. He tried to get close to me, but DeMarco stepped in between us."
"When DeMarco and I left Mr. Brewster's office, we went and had lunch at Ming's. Ten minutes later, Mr. Brewster showed up with his
secretary. They were seated next to us. DeMarco drove to JFK after we left Ming's. I came into New York on private airstrip near Long
Island somewhere on a private plane. Anyway, when we walked into JFK, DeMarco spotted Brewster. DeMarco gave me money to get
a cab to my true destination . He walked up to Brewster to distract him and give me a chance to get the hell outta Dodge." "Does Mr.
Brewster know you're living here now?" Bobby asked. Angel shook her head. She looked up at Bobby with a question on her lips.
"We're not going to tell him," he answered. Angel visibly relaxed. "Do you think Mr. Brewster could be one of DeMarco's drug
associates?" Alex asked. Angel thought for a minute. "If I were a betting person, I'd put money on it," she replied. Alex nodded, jotting
something down in her notebook. "I can't think of anything else right now. Can you?" she asked Bobby. He shook his head. Angel stood
up, taking her keys out of her pants pocket. Alex stood up while Bobby slid off his desk. Angel shook their hands and said, "Let me
know if y'all need anything else." Alex said, "We will. Thanks for stopping by." "May I walk you to your car?" Bobby asked. Angel
smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Sure," she said as she headed towards the elevator. "I'll be right back," Bobby said
absently to Alex as he walked off.
As soon as Bobby appeared by her side, Angel pressed the down button for the elevator. Bobby stepped close to her and inhaled her
scent. She smelled like Ylang Rose. Damn this woman for driving him crazy with that scent. Bobby took Angel by the arm and said,
"Follow me," leading her towards to the. Angel had a confused look on her face as he held the door open for her. She put her keys back
in her pocket and stepped through the door. She leaned against the wall nearest the door, hands behind her back. She watched Bobby as
he closed the door behind him. Angel nervously bit her bottom lip as he invaded her personal space by standing so close to her, she could
feel the slight erection he had. Angel arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh, my! It seems someone is awake," she said seductively.
Bobby leaned down and put his mouth near Angel's ear. In a low voice, he said, "You smell nice." Angel let out a small gasp before she
pressed her lips together. Angel cursed at herself for reacting like that. But she enjoyed it at the same time. Bobby was the only man she
knew who could get his voice low enough to cause a mini orgasm to course through her body. "Thank you," she managed to say. Bobby
hooked his index finger over the top button of Angel's vest, slightly pulling her away from the wall. Bobby could feel the warmth of her
breath against his ear, which just turned him on even more. He could practically feel her heart racing. "What did you dream about last
night, Angel?" he asked huskily. Angel took a couple of deep breaths before saying, "Nothing."
"No, you dreamt about something. You dreamt about me, didn't you? You dreamt about all the special places I would put my mouth and
tongue on your body. Am I right?" Angel's mind starting racing with all sorts of erotic images Bobby had just planted in her head. She
started panting heavily, trying to think of a good answer. She hooked her finger over the top of his pants, running her thumb up and down
the zipper. "Depends," she replied, "on whether you dreamt about all the special places I would touch on your body." Bobby pulled back
to look at Angel. He smiled at the devilish grin she had. Before he could say anything, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave
him the most deep and passionate kiss he had experienced in a long time. He slid his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him.
When they came up for air, Bobby laid his forehead on hers. "Is that what you wanted?" Angel asked. Bobby just nodded. She smiled as
she kissed his nose and pushed him arm's length away. "Alex is probably wondering what's taking you so long." "Probably, but who
cares?" he said. He stepped towards Angel to pull her into his arms again, but she put a hand in the middle of his chest to stop him.
"Robert, you HAVE to do some work today," she said with a smile. "Walk me to my car, please." With that, she opened the door and
stepped through, heading towards the elevator. Bobby stood there for a minute, running his fingers through his hair and collecting his
thoughts. "Fuck it," he said in a declarative voice. "What the hell have I got to lose?" Right then and there, he decided he would do
whatever it takes to get that wonderful woman to become his Angel.
Bobby opened the driver's side door of the black Saturn Vue for Angel. She slid behind the wheel with ease and closed the door. She
started the engine and rolled the window down. Bobby leaned in, placing his arms on the roof. Bobby and Angel looked at each in
silence. Bobby was thinking how clear her eyes were when he saw it: a small cloud of insecurity and fear. He made a face. "What are you
thinking?" he asked. Angel quickly looked away, reaching for the glove compartment. She knew he had seen what she was thinking: her
fear of getting her heart broken because Bobby didn't want to be with her. Angel opened the door, pulled out a napkin and closed it. She
shook her head and replied, "Nothing," as she wiped her lipstick off of Bobby's mouth. He was going to push her to tell him what was
going on in her head, but he decided not to. "There's a time and place for everything," he thought.
Angel placed the used napkin in the small trash bag that was hanging from the back of the passenger seat. She turned to Bobby and
smiled. "I better get going. I need to be at the office before our client gets there." "Yeah, I better get back to my desk before Alex puts
out an APB for me." Angel chuckled. Bobby stepped away from the car and waved at her. "Be…be careful." "I will. See ya later." She
slipped on a pair of dark shades and waved at him before rolling the window up. Bobby watched as she backed up and then went
forward. Angel waved again as she drove away. Bobby raised his hand, then lowered. As he walked back into the building and headed
towards the elevator, he relived in his mind what happened in the stairwell and smiled as he got on the elevator. Then he remembered
small look of insecurity and fear that he had seen in her eyes. He mentally kicked himself for not saying anything to calm her fear. "I do
want you, Angel," he said aloud to himself as the elevator doors closed.