Wow it's been a while. I don't have an excuse. I've just been busy with school and haven't felt like writing. Sorry. I'm going to try and get another chapter up for you shortly. Hopefully in the few days after Christmas. This isn't a very Linstead heavy chapter. Just trying to move the plot along. Anyway's enjoy.

The sun was beating down on the top deck of the yacht producing the kind of heat that made everything seem sticky and foggy. Typically, Erin would despise this type of heat wave. She was positive that she and Jay were currently missing Hank's "stop bitching and moaning about the weather" speech the unit needed every year when it got into the 90's. Appropriate appeal for detectives was not appropriate for temperatures greater than the mid seventies. For that exact reason, she preferred the Chicago winter. Sure, the cold could be bitter, but a hot July day in jeans and combat boots was actual hell. Being in a bikini on the lake was a welcomed change of pace for the weekend, even if she was sure she'd come out of it with a sunburn.

She headed in the direction of the lounge chairs where Claire was tanning beside her sleeping boyfriend. Jay took a seat at the table a few feet away.

"Still no Madison?" Erin bent to sit in the open chair beside Clarice, and the plastic burned the exposed skin of her thighs, causing her to wince as she sat.

"Not yet. I wouldn't expect her for a while. She was pretty far gone when she called me last night, so I imagine she's in bad shape today."

"Yeah she was still pretty hysterical this morning. Do you know what set her off? Besides the obvious."

There was a brief pause before Clarice replied with a shake of the head, and a simple one-word answer. "No."

Erin noted the pause as an indication of a lie. Maybe she needed to keep a closer eye on Clarice than she had originally thought.

"She was trying to tell me something, but was just so belligerent. I couldn't quite catch what she was trying to get across." Erin pushed forward to see what response she'd get.

Another pause. "She gets like that when she's wasted."

Maybe this girl was smarter that Erin had given her credit for. If she knew something, she knew better than to spill. With Clair tight-lipped Erin realized what her next move had to be. She didn't like it, hated it even, and the fact that Jay would be around made it especially uncomfortable, but Colin Ellis was her best chance at gaining information. If she had to flirt to solve the case, she'd do it, despite how sleazy it'd inevitably make her feel afterwards.

When she'd passed the bar on board on her way to the top deck, she'd noticed Colin was there having a drink. That's where she needed to head. "I need a drink do you want one?" She made an excuse for leaving so soon after sitting down.

"No, I've got one already."

"I'll be back then." She made her way to Jay who was sitting a few feet away under an umbrella.

"We're going to the bar." She nodded in the direction and watched Jay's face screw in confusion.

"I thought you were going to work over Clarice today?" He followed her down a flight of stairs, and then inside the air-conditioned lower level of the boat. They'd only been outside less than twenty minutes, but a break from the heat already felt impeccable.

"She's not going to talk, so plan B is Colin. She's smarter than I originally thought. We need to keep an eye on her."

"And how do you plan to get him talking? He seems like the smarter of the two."

"Maybe Burgess did know what she was doing when she packed for me." Jay looked down at her lack of clothing, immediately knowing her plan. His jaw involuntarily tightened at the idea.

"You said yourself that this bathing suit makes me look hot."

"There are other ways, and I don't recall saying that."

"You didn't have to say it." She grinned slyly, before swinging the door open to the barroom. "Now let me work." She whispered before beginning her prowl towards the bar and her unsuspecting victim.

"I'll just have a water." Erin addressed the bartender as she saddled up beside Colin.

"Water?" The blonde beside her questioned, kinked eyebrow included.

"I'm being good this weekend."

"Well that sucks for me." He winked.

Erin did everything possible to suppress the disgusted expression begging to cover her features. "Maybe you should try it."

"I think I'm about three drinks to far in to try and be good now. I never saw the fun in being good anyhow. Are you sure you don't want just one?"

The mere smell of alcohol was intoxicating. She was craving just one satisfying sip, but she knew better. One sip would be one drink, and one drink would never be just one. She took in a deep breath. "I'm sure. I need to take care of Maddy. After this morning it's obvious she needs it."

"Well you're a good cousin. I'll just have to drink for the both of us then. Another, please." He held his near empty glass up towards the bartender.

An hour later they were all back on the top deck, excluding Madison who had not yet risen for her hangover induced sleep. Operation flirt information out of Colin was going fairly successfully. He was tipsy but not drunk, which fed right into Erin's plan. He'd be more likely to talk while under the influence, and he was definitely interested in her. Between the pickup lines she could tell he'd used many a time before, and the frequent flirty touches, it was obvious that he falling right into her trap.

He placed a hand on her bare shoulder. "You're burning. Do you want to go inside?"

Erin could see her partner's muscles go visibly rigid when Colin touched her.

"I wanna work on my tan a little bit longer. It's relaxing out here." She lied. Her skin was on fire despite the sunscreen she'd applied earlier, but if they went inside she knew Colin had more on his mind than just escaping the sun.

He nodded in agreement and reached for the tanning lotion his sister had sitting beside her. "Then at least let me get your back?"

Agreeing, she pulled her hair over one shoulder. While Colin's hands massaged the oil into her skin, she quickly gave Jay a glance. He wouldn't meet her eyes though, and was fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat.

"When do you think Madison will be up? Should someone go check on her? She was in pretty bad shape earlier." Erin asked taking her attention away from her partner. She didn't have time to worry about if he was jealous or what his body language meant, despite how curious she was.

Colin chuckled and Erin noted the fact that he had a nice laugh. It was full and rounded like Jays. "I've dealt with a hung-over Madison before. There's nothing pretty about it. Did you have to shower her and get her dressed?"

"Yeah. Thankfully I had Jay's help."

"That's your security guard?"

"Yeah. I think cleaning up vomit is probably out of his job description, but he knew I couldn't handle it."

"I haven't had anyone care about me like that's since Clare and I outgrew the nanny."

"Don't let him fool you." Clarice piped up. "I outgrow the nanny by the time I reached high school. She had to stick around to take care of my brother up until we went off to college."

"Like I said, it's rare to find people that care about more than just the money. When I do find them, I like to keep them around." He answered. "That's why all of my friends have their own money. That way I don't have to worry about them coming after ours. Right sis?" Erin made note of that particular sentence, remembering that Vanessa had blown through her trust fund, and was broke at the time of her murder.

"I think you're tipsy and just like to her yourself talk now, Colin." She teased her twin.

"If anyone enjoys hearing themselves talk it's you. Dad always said—"

Clarice interrupted him before he could finish. "Just go get yourself some water and sober up. You're embarrassing now. I'm sure Madison could use some water too. Someone should wake her up to get around for dinner tonight." She began to stand and wake up Joshua who was still napping. "We'll see you at six for dinner Erin."

The remainder of the afternoon was uneventful. Madison never showed to dinner. Colin fell asleep and didn't attend either. It ended up just being Erin, Clarice, and Joshua making meaningless small talk. Clarice's guard was observably up, making her seem even more suspicious to Erin as time went on. Erin was sure she knew the "He" Madison had been referring to that morning. Now she just needed to figure out to use that fact to her advantage.

After dinner Jay walked her to her room for the night. She couldn't help but feel bad about Jay's designated sleeping arrangement, and they did need to talk about the plan for the rest of the weekend, so she caved. "Just come back in twenty minutes and knock once. I'll let you in, and only because your bunk was built for a twelve year old and I'm nice."

"You're a lifesaver."

"So I've been told." She joked as he made his way down the hall.

Twenty minutes later he knocked once as instructed, and Erin answered immediately.

"I take it Burgess didn't pack you any t-shirts to sleep in either?" First she'd packed her the tiny bikinis, and then for pajamas she'd packed some sort of satin slip that Erin found to be completely ridiculous.

"Yeah, I'm pissed." Her eyes narrowed. "She's never in charge of wardrobe for any undercover missions I'm involved in again. Apparently she wants me to be half naked all the time."

"I'm not complaining." Jay teased.

"Well neither was Colin."

With that, Jay's face went stone. His grin became a straight line across his lips. "That pervert was practically groping you on the deck earlier. It was disgusting."

"I don't remember it quite like that"

"It was sick. I still don't get why you couldn't just stick with the plan and work on Clarice."

"Jealous much?"

"Like you wouldn't be pissed if Madison was in her bikini rubbing sunscreen all over me the way he was touching you today."

Erin's eyes narrowed once again. "Why would you even say that? Madison is a child."

"She's the same age as Colin!"

"It's different."

"How?"

"It just is, Jay." She sighed heavily. "Why are we even having this conversation? It was just part of the act. I didn't decide to let you sleep in here just to argue about Colin."

"You're right." He pulled the blankets back on the bed. "Do you want my t-shirt?"

"Huh?"

"I know you, and I know you won't be able to sleep in that thing. Do you want my shirt?"

She pursed her lips contemplating for a split second before nodding. "Please."

He yanked it off and tossed it her way before stripping to his boxers and getting in bed.

"Thank you." She spoke barely above a whisper. Then retreated to the bathroom to change.

When she reentered the room, the room was already dark, and Jay was beneath the covers silently. She crawled in beside him and took a minute to decipher if he was awake by the sound of his breathing.

"It was just part of the mission, Jay." She whispered. His breaths were always more evened out when he slept, and on occasion a single faint snore would escape him. She remembered that about sleeping next to him, and it was how she determined that he was still awake.

"I know." It was so quiet that his first word hadn't actually been an audible sound.

"And you're right, I wouldn't want to watch either if positions were reversed, but I need to solve this."

"I know you do. That's why I have your back—even if that means I have to watch Colin Ellis rubbing tanning oil all over it."