Chapter 5

He had the best of intentions. Bobby ran the first flight, then stopped and hunched over with his hands on his knees. His chest was heaving, and for a moment, he thought he felt the pain again. He staggered back to the corner of the landing and leaned heavily against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

How did I get this out of shape?!

Once he felt he could stand without falling, he began the long walk up the stairs to his floor. Walking. He would start with walking. Maybe in a week or so he could run.

He caught a glimpse of her when she first came in, sweaty from her morning run. Alex headed for the locker room, unaware she was being watched.

Bobby had always admired her figure, but today he had a new appreciation. It was hard work, and he knew it. He finished refilling his coffee cup and headed back to his desk.

He was engrossed in the autopsy report when she intruded into his thoughts. "Good morning!" Her voice was bright and cheerful.

Bobby looked up and smiled at her, noticing her still-damp hair. "Good run?" He asked.

"Yeah. You?" she prodded.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Don't ask."

"But you tried, right?"

"Yeah, I tried." He held the report up where she could see it. "Rodgers catalogued every bruise, every healed bone with an approximate date for us." He watched while Alex read it over. "Sometimes I just want to kiss her."

"For a list of bruises? I could show you my grocery list, what'll that get me?!" Her teasing culminated with a wink, and his eyes sparkled when he gave her a smile.

"On his… uh… on his arrest report, that was when he got that broken wrist." Bobby dropped the tip of his pencil in the right spot on the autopsy report. "On his arrest report, it says that was a defensive injury when the other guy whacked him with a pool cue."

She listened, then looked up, waiting for his finale.

"Hockey players… uh… fight with sticks. It's what they're used to."

Brandon Filipek was on his way out the door when Bobby hooked his arm around him and headed him back inside. "You got a few minutes, right, Brandon?" Bobby asked as they walked into his small living room.

"Actually, I have to get to the Garden. I've got weight training in an hour."

Alex and Bobby showed their badges. "I think Coach will be okay with it if you're a little late today," she said.

Brandon sighed and sank into his easy chair. "It's about Mack, ain't it?"

Bobby looked at Alex. "You know," he grinned, "I'm starting to think it's funny, how every time we show our badges, people always think we're here about Mack Thornton. Was he that rowdy?"

"Aw, man, who else would you be here about? I heard he was killed."

"Where'd you hear that?" Alex asked.

"I-uh, I don't know. Uh, Coach, I think." The detectives shared a glance.

Bobby leaned forward. "Let's talk about Mack. You were friends with him, right?"

"Yeah."

"He had his ex, Tammy, and he had little Dani, and he had Michelle Garner."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Any other girls in his life?"

"Wha-I don't know."

"You don't know," Alex repeated.

Bobby took charge again. "You know. He stepped up to the big leagues, and he left Michelle at home watching a little girl that wasn't even hers. He was at the rink every night, wasn't he?"

Reluctantly, Brandon nodded. "Yeah. He would practice his shots with me. Sometimes we'd stay out on the ice until midnight."

"And Michelle was having a hard time with that."

"I guess so. I know he started coming in with a black cloud over his head. Took him a while to shake it off, to concentrate on his game."

"So who did he turn to, Brandon? You?"

Alex leaned in and whispered in Brandon's ear. "You don't seem like the type a man would take his problems to."

"I-uh, well, all right. We went out a couple times, to a bar. He met this girl there, Cynthia."

Bobby grinned. "And Cynthia helped him feel better about himself."

"Well, she made him feel better."

"Michelle found out?"

"I don't know. Really. I honestly don't know. All I know is, Mack said he and Michelle were working things out. I didn't hear any more about Cynthia after those first couple of weeks."

Bobby handed him a notepad and his pencil. "Write it down," he said, waggling his finger over the paper. "Everything you can remember. Her name, the name of the bar, wherever Mack said he went with her."

Obediently, Brandon scratched the pencil against the paper.

When they arrived at 1PP, Alex started off in the direction of the elevators. After a few steps, she realized he wasn't with her. She turned on her heel and went back to his side.

"I… uh… I gotta take the stairs," he explained.

"Good idea! I'll take them with you."

"Eames. That's not… you don't have to."

"C'mon, Goren, if you're that out of shape, I better be there to scrape you up off the steps when you collapse." She opened the stairwell door and held it open for him.

He hung his head and went inside.

As the door swung slowly shut, Alex followed him up the stairs. He was already halfway up the first flight, and she could hear him breathing.

"Tell you what, Bobby," she said easily.

He didn't answer, just turned to look at her for a moment, to let her know he was listening.

"You make it from bottom to top without stopping, and I'll take you out on Friday night."

"Make it up… how?" He asked between breaths.

"Walking is fine, just no stopping until we get to the 11th floor."

"You're trying to kill me," he complained.

Alex smiled. She stayed a few steps behind him the whole way up.