Chapter 2

Cal and Gillian walked the halls of the Lightman Group, practically hip to hip without touching, and feeling much more relaxed than the day before.

"He's doing a lot better, don't you think?"

Cal wanted to get her talking about the toddler, looking to lead the conversation towards the elephant in the room.

"Yeah. He's making really good progress. He didn't even start to hide when you walked in before he properly saw you this time," she smiled. She couldn't help but smile when she thought of little Max, but when she thought of how he had begun to interact with Cal her heart threatened to melt. It was becoming harder and harder to distance herself from her love for the little guy and his baby brother. Sometimes she forgot herself, despite her best efforts.

"Yeah, well. That's 'cause we've bonded now, haven't we? Knows he can trust me."

"I think yesterday was maybe good for him, in a weird sort of way. Maybe he'll start becoming less reliant on-"

"I want to apply."

The mood soured suddenly, and just in time they arrived at the lab.

"Later," she chastised, "We can talk about it later."

They shared a look between them like they were lining up for battle, then moved into the room to see what the day had brought them.

Ria and Mark sat side by side at a single computer terminal. The monitor they shared showed the website for a business, the page they were browsing displayed the biographies of the board of directors.

"Aye aye. While the cat's away…" Lightman spoke as he moved into the room observing his two protégé's.

"While the cats are away, the mice will find a new case to work on and take it on our books without prior approval," Turner replied cheekily.

Gillian couldn't help but duck her head and smile in pride and a little joy at the young man's ability to match Cal blow for blow and always get away with it.

"Will they indeed?" Lightman asked with a half-hearted effort at intimidation before curiosity set in and took over, "Well go on then, what ya got?"

"Check it out", Torres jumped in, gesturing at the screen in front of her now that she knew it was safe.

"Bill Brackly. 'Bill is a respected attorney and partner at Brackly, Madison, and Crawford. Bill is also a successful business man and is known and respected for his philanthropic work with numerous NGO's, Bill has been a board member of The Pickford Family Foundation for seven years'," Cal read aloud. "Yeah? And?"

"This man, is suspected by our client," Turner scrolled up the page, "this man, of embezzling funds from the charity. He wants us to subtly look into it and tell him what we find."

"Actually," Torres interjected, "He wants you to look into it. We told him you were busy."

"Presumptuous."

"Yes, I thought so," she agreed.

"Good for you," Lightman said. "Let me know how it goes."

He turned to walk towards the door, pushing Gillian gently as he went when Torres' voice paused his trek.

"Really? You don't want to take over on this? The client asked for you. It's a really big payday."

"What, you don't think you can manage it?"

"What? No, of course we can han-"

"Well, off you go then. Let us know how you get on."

And then he was gone, taking Foster with him and leaving one confused and one amused protégé in his wake.

Outside the door Gillian turned to him as they walked, "You're really going to let them just go it alone? No interference?" she asked amused.

"For a bit yeah. I want to see how they go. If it's a juicy one we can have a look later. They've handled plenty of cases by themselves that we've handed to them. Let's see if they can handle one now they've stepped out of the box."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said smiling. "Come on, let's get the security cameras up and running in my office, I want to see how they work together."

Shaking her head with fond exasperation, she followed behind for a couple of paces as he moved quicker, catching up quickly and pushing him slightly from behind. At least if this had his interest they could delay the inevitable fight that was brewing.

"This feels like a trap."

"You think? I think it's more like a test."

"Nah. A test would be more subtle. This feels like a trap."

"Like what? You think he set us up with a fake client? Got a website published? Started his own fake charity and planted a respected member of the community in there to steal from it?" Mark openly scoffed at her and the idea.

"You haven't been around as long as I have, Turner. You don't know what he's capable of."

"Trust me. I know what the man is capable of."

They set back to work, and in his office Cal Lightman was practically beside himself with glee. Gillian raised her head from her laptop screen where she worked at his desk to address him. "You're loving this, aren't you?"

"It's brilliant," he cheered from his armchair, "I didn't even have to do anything. They're playing themselves here."

"What if it makes them screw up the case?"

"How? All they have to do is expose a liar for lying. One of the people on that board is almost certainly up to something with the funds, they always are. They just have to find out who, or more likely how many," he said, turning his laptop screen around with a flourish before declaring, "My money's on that one," he finished, pointing at a well dressed older woman's photograph on the same website they had been shown by Torres before.

There were people milling about everywhere in the room. A table at the far side from the entrance displayed an array of glasses and plates of finger foods, while waiters wandered throughout the assembled guests with trays of hors d'oeuvres. To the left of the room, wide double doors opened onto an open garden space where sunlight streamed through. The dress code had said "Smart Casual", but to the eyes of the newest attendee's this looked decidedly formal. Mark had opted for his best light grey suit with a white shirt, but no tie. Ria was wearing a lovely summer dress with a light cardigan and low heels. Everyone else was in full business wear to the point that even Foster would have looked casual here.

"I've never felt this out of place in my life," Mark muttered to his companion beside him.

"I know what you mean. I really wish Foster and Lightman had taken this one."

"We can handle this. We're just a little more underdressed than I expected. Confidence is key, right?"

Torres nodded and they moved together through the space, eyeing up their targets and looking out for Bill Brackly. Whatever game Lightman was playing, she was going to win.