A/N Please Note…

Chapter 63

It was a once a week ritual now, dinner and a long talk afterward. Sometimes they took a walk in the park, sometimes they shared a piece of couch, but they were talking now.

"How's your family, you know… with all of this?" he asked her. "You haven't said much. I suppose they're none too pleased."

She gave him a longing look. "It doesn't matter what they think. It's my life to live."

"Yeah, but Johnny, I'll bet Johnny has it out for me, huh? I hardly speak to you for months and then suddenly here I am, you know?"

She didn't want to answer him, but he had that look, and that grin, and they were being honest, after all. "Johnny knows it's complicated."

"Complicated." Bobby laughed. "I guess you could say that."

"What about your brother? I haven't heard you breathe a word about him since Tates."

Bobby's face darkened. "Yeah, well, that's… that's over with."

"What, your brother? How can things with your brother be 'over with?'"

"I… I had to… to cut him off. He was using again."

She got that concerned look on her face. "Oh, Bobby, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, it's better this way."

You can't believe that.

He fidgeted under her stare. "Before, you know… we were arguing, and I told him… 'this is us.' It's just… you know, what kind of…? You love your brother but you can't even be friends with him? Every conversation turns into an argument… or worse? What is that, huh?"

She reached out her hand and touched his arm, but she didn't say anything more about it.

Bobby's gaze dropped to where she was touching him, and flashes of memories bombarded him. Memories of that hand against his bare skin. He cleared his throat and slid away. "I, uh… I should go."

She dropped her hand with a nod and whispered "okay." Bobby was already at the door when she got to her feet. "Hey, Bullwinkle," she called, and he turned with a grin. "Same time next week."

Bobby gave her a wink as he left.

It was still cold in the city in March, and a midnight call out meant a winter coat.

The man had been shot in front of his two year old son, the child left alone in the stroller until an officer happened upon the body. The cops had done good work, and the little boy was now safe with his Nanny since his mother was out of town.

The victim's name was Skip, and they figured he must have known his killer. They started in the morning with the Nanny, and tried to piece together the timeline of Skip's last day.

She told them Skip was running late, and she'd left the boy with one of the Moms from the Chinese class until his father could come get him.

This woman seemed to be a good Mom, juggling the baby's busy schedule and taking care of his needs. Her mother-in-law, however, was overbearing. It was clear the woman didn't approve of how she cared for her grandson.

There was a missing hour in Skip's schedule, and they went to his work to see if there might be any clues on his computer as to where he'd gone. The man had answered a hookup ad on Craigslist. There was an email about returning the guy's keys.

"Let's email Kev9, see if he's interested in meeting another discreet married man," Eames said. She smiled. "I'll make sure you're his type."

Bobby blinked at her, then he had to smile.

He waited at the table, flipping the keys absently in his hand. Kev9 saw him and walked up with a wag of his eyebrows and an interested grin. "You're, uh… Bigfoot? Yeah, found my keys."

Bobby nodded and smiled back. "You're Kevin."

"Mmm-hmm. I'd like to give you a reward," he said. "My wallet's downstairs. You want to take a walk with me?"

Bobby grinned. "Sure," he said, and placed his shield on the table for Kevin to see.

Kevin turned to try and bolt, but Eames was behind him with her own badge in the air. They had him brought in for questioning.

It was a subtle grin, but Bobby wore it all the way back to 1PP.

"What's so funny?" she asked him as she parked the car.

The grin widened, and he wagged his head slowly. "Bigfoot, huh?" His eyes met hers, and she smiled back. He'd left it entirely to her to respond to the ad. She'd worked Vice a long time, after all; she'd know how to reel one in.

"Size 13, it seemed fitting," she told him. As she climbed out of the car, she called after him, "What, you don't like it?"

Bobby smiled and turned back a moment. "It's better than Bullwinkle," he said, and they went to the elevator, knocking elbows.

Eames interrogated Kevin, and when she was through, she announced to Bobby and the Captain that she didn't think he was the guy. His system was working for him. His boss alibied him, as well.

Bobby pointed out that Skip's hookups with men was as dark as he got. They were stalled.

Eight hours was a good night's sleep for Bobby, and he hadn't had one in quite a while. His phone rang 15 minutes shy of a good night's sleep.

"Goren," he croaked, and cleared his throat.

"Bobby, we got another victim."

He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Where?"

By the time Alex gave him the address he already had his clothes picked out. "I'll meet you over there."

Again, it seemed that the victim saw her killer and must have recognized him. Again, it was a woman with a toddler. Paloma was her name. A single mom who chose her apartment so she'd be able to walk her baby to preschool.

With a little digging, they found out that Paloma and Skip, though they worked at different places on Wall Street, had crossed paths. They talked to Paloma's boss, and found out the company had an enemy who badmouthed them in a blog.

The guy was an arrogant ass, who admitted that he thought Skip deserved to die, but he had a solid alibi. When they went back to tell Ross, he handed them a report on another victim, and this one was actually the first victim.

She'd been shot by the same gun as the other two. She'd been in the Laundromat parking lot and her daughter was strapped in the carseat. Bobby suggested they might be looking at a hunter, one who likes to shoot parents in front of their kids.

It was too late at night for interviews. The two detectives slipped on their coats and headed down to the elevators.

"This is… bothering you?" Bobby asked her, after noticing she was deep in thought.

She looked up at him. "I know how it would scare my nephew if one of his parents…"

"He's not much older, is he?"

"He's four."

"Look, if it's too much, you know—"

"Bobby." Her face was sour. "This is my job. I'm okay."

He nodded and looked away. "I know that. I was just, you know, offering."

"Thank you." The car doors opened. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Eames."

Her husband was arrested for her murder. Mrs. Miley had an order of protection against him, and he was the most likely suspect. The thing was, he was in Rikers when the other two murders happened. All three victims shot with the same .22.

She worked in a soup kitchen at a church. After they talked to her husband, they went out to talk to the preacher. He told them he'd helped her get the job at the kitchen because they were affiliated with a swanky preschool. The preacher had helped her get her daughter a scholarship to the preschool.

They could connect both female victims to the preschool. They went back to talk to Skip's wife, and found out their son had been at the top of the waiting list when Skip was killed. Now, he'd just been accepted, but because of her husband's death, they were moving out of the area.

The school was their next stop.

"You're the director of the school. You had to realize parents were being targeted," Bobby said. He shook his head at her. "You didn't call the police."

"Targeted? We were told that Denise was shot by her estranged husband, and Paloma was killed by a sniper in the park."

"And what about Skip Lowe?" Asked Alex.

"I don't follow. He's not one of our parents."

Goren spoke next. "Leo, his son, was on the waiting list until Skip was killed."

She reached for her intercom and buzzed in the Admissions Director, Jeanine. "I had no idea Skip Lowe was on that list," she told them. Jeanine came in, however, and admitted that she knew.

"After the shooting, you didn't tell your director," Bobby said.

"I didn't want to alarm you," she said to her boss. Then she directed her words to the detectives. "This is a very exclusive school. I assumed it had to be a terrible coincidence."

"We're going to need to see a class list and your waiting list," Bobby said, looking over at Eames for a moment.

"That's confidential," said Jeanine, her arms folded across her chest.

"Jeanine, get the list," the Director told her. After Jeanine walked out, she said, "If there's anything else we can do…"

"There is," interrupted Alex. "you'll need to put a freeze on next year's admissions. Right now, it looks like your wait list is a hit list."

They picked through the list, and then they presented it to the Captain. "The killer, he's looking for weak spots on the list," Bobby explained.

"I follow your logic, I just find it hard to believe someone would do all of this just to get their kid into preschool."

"Well, not just any preschool. Carnegie Hill Day is the gateway to the Ivy League. These parents, their whole sense of self-worth rides on this."

"Okay, I get it… my grandkids won't be getting in. What do we know about the families on the wait list?"

"They're all in the blue book," Alex said. "Active in charity, pillars of business."

"Citizens above suspicion," Ross said, leaning back. "Start suspecting," he told his detectives.

They ended up back at Marla's place, the woman who had babysat Leo Lowe until his Dad could come pick him up. The grandmother approached on the sidewalk, pushing the stroller, just as Bobby knocked on the door. Alex told her they were looking for Marla and her husband. The old woman said they weren't home, complete with a veiled insult against her daughter in law.

"Would you excuse me?" She asked and pushed the stroller closer to the door as Eames stepped out of the way.

"You just back from the playground?" Bobby asked.

"Yes, and I'm eager to get Henry inside. Why don't you come back after 6:00?" She began rooting for her keys, but couldn't find them in the diaper bag. She set it on the handle of the stroller so she could better rummage through the contents.

"Can I help you, Mrs. Reynolds?" Bobby asked, stepping closer.

"You can help me by not blocking the light." Amused, Bobby stepped back. Just then, she dropped the rolled changing pad and a pistol hit the ground with a clank. "Oh, dear God," the woman said.

Bobby carefully picked up the weapon. They brought her in for questioning.

"Well, I certainly didn't put a gun in the changing pad," she said. "I never diaper Henry in public."

"Then why bring the diaper pad with you?" Alex asked.

The woman told them to talk to the nannies at the park. She saw her son through the window and asked if she could leave.

"Any chance you were in the park last Saturday around 8 a.m.?"

"When Paloma Renzi was killed?"

"Oh, you know her."

"She was always in the playground with that filthy dog."

"You ever talk to Skip Lowe about that? You were in the park with him last Thursday," Alex continued.

"Only briefly. I went home in haste. It was past Henry's dinner time."

"Your daughter-in-law will confirm?" Alex asked.

The old woman stuck her nose in the air. "You'd take her word, over mine?" She rattled off her grandson's schedule.

"You seem very involved with Henry, even though Marla stays at home," Bobby said.

"If I left it to her, Henry would eat potato chips and watch Jerry Springer all day."

"Carnegie Hill Day, that was your idea?" Bobby asked.

"Absolutely. Marla wanted a chain preschool. That's glorified day care." She saw Marla through the window. "What's she doing here?! Well, where's Henry?"

"You're perspiring, Mrs. Reynolds. It is warm in here," Bobby said. "Can I get you a glass of water?"

"No. No water. I need to get home to take my medication."

"Blood pressure pills?"

She looked over at Goren in shock. "Yes. It's urgent."

"Yeah," he whispered, and Alex looked at him. "We're not gonna be much longer."

Marla and Brian were the next to be interviewed. They convinced Brian to go talk to his mother, and got Marla alone in the room.

"Can I just ask you one question?" Bobby asked. "So Eleanor and you walked Henry home?"

She looked through the glass at her family before answering. "Henry wanted salmon for dinner."

"Yeah."

"But I forgot to buy it, so I told Eleanor a white lie and ran to the store."

"And the salmon, that was your mother-in-law's idea? I've just noticed that she's particular."

"She just wants what's best for Henry," Marla said with a smile.

Bobby asked about the school, and they found out that Eleanor had been trying to get him in since before he was born. Marla had made a mistake when she brought him in for his interview, which delayed the process.

The gun that dropped from the diaper bag was a match for all three murders. It all was stacking up against Eleanor, but they had to find out how she knew Denise Miler was a parent at the school. They went back to talk to Jeanine.

"Yes, I'm friends with Eleanor," she said. "But we met long before her grandson applied.

They asked the obvious, and she said she would never divulge information about the wait list; it was confidential. She also said Eleanor would never abuse their friendship in that way.

In interrogation, Eleanor admitted that she sought out her friend. "Is it a crime to worry about my grandson's future?" she asked.

"It is if you shoot the parents you think are standing in the way," Alex smarted back.

"You have your nerve, young lady," the old woman growled, and Alex looked over at Bobby.

The lawyer testified to her character. Alex shared the results of the ballistics report. Reynolds asked about the nannies again, and Bobby explained that they knew she wasn't with Marla the entire time the night Skip was killed.

"Who told you that? Marla? That woman is pure white trash." She explained that Marla was a cocktail waitress who tricked her son into marrying her by getting pregnant. She became upset again, pressing her fingers to her temples and fidgeting in the chair.

"Can I get you a glass of water?" Bobby asked again.

"No… no. I need to go home."

"We could take a break," Alex suggested.

"Let's just get this done with!" The old woman cried.

"The blood pressure medication… that means that you probably take diuretics."

She stood agape, and somewhat horrified.

"Could my partner show you to the ladies room?" Bobby offered.

"I need to go home now," she said firmly.

"Yeah," Bobby said quietly.

The thing that most embarrassed her was the thing that took her off their list. She couldn't have made the drive to kill Miler. She would have had to go to the bathroom.

Ross pointed out that if so, that meant someone framed her.

"Not her son," said Alex. "He's a mama's boy."

"Marla lives in Eleanor's house, under her thumb, under her rules."

"Maybe she found a way out."

"Killing three people, then framing your mother-in-law?" Ross said. "The perfect crime."

When they got to Eleanor's house, Brian was there with Henry, very concerned. He said Marla had left Henry alone in his crib, and left a note which he handed over to Alex.

"She's at Carnegie Hill Day," Alex said quietly. "She thinks they've accepted Henry."

Bobby snatched the note away and read it quickly, as well. They hurried over to the school.

The place was too quiet. Alex checked the knobs on the classroom doors, and they were locked. They finally found an open door, and Marla was inside, sitting in a chair, with a cubby tub in her lap. The children were napping on the floor. "Close the door, you'll wake them," she said quietly. Alex closed the door, and Marla spoke again. "Never wake a sleeping baby."

Bobby noticed something, and stepped closer to Marla, and in front of Alex.

Marla got to her feet, withdrawing a gun from the yellow tub in her hands. "Don't come any closer!" she warned him.

Alex was surprised, but Bobby acted as if he expected it. "I won't," he said. "I'll be right here. You don't need that gun," he said. He was pacing slowly, putting himself between her and the children. "You don't need it." Satisfied that he had gone far enough, he stopped. He turned slightly, so he could see both Marla and Alex.

"Henry's a good boy," the mother told them. "He'll be happy here."

"I'm sure he will," Alex said quietly, and she blocked the children, as well.

"And successful… The friends he makes here will stay with him for the rest of his life. That's the Carnegie Hill Day promise." She kept shifting the gun, aiming first at Eames, and then at Goren, and back again. "I brought his cubby box."

Alex smiled and nodded at the woman, then her eyes went to Bobby. One of the children started to fuss. The woman seemed angry and started ahead. It looked like she might hurt the child. Bobby stepped in. "Okay, just wait, look." He held his hand out in front of his body. "You'll wake them. We don't wanna wake the kids, right? You said it yourself. Maybe we should go talk in the other room." He pointed at the glass in the door.

"It's okay, Marla," Alex piped in. "I can watch the kids." She gave her a friendly smile.

"Okay, but you go first," she said to Bobby.

"Okay." He started to walk.

"Go on," she ordered.

"All right," he said, his open hands up in front of him. Bobby stepped backwards through the doorway. Marla's gun was trained on Eames as she followed him.

"And honey, I've always been a pretty good shot," she said. Then she shifted the gun to Goren.

Alex almost spoke, but the gun on her partner stopped her. She couldn't risk it. She couldn't risk him.

Jeanine and the teacher were tied to chairs in the next room. Bobby was still walking backwards, and Marla introduced him to the women. "Eames," he called. "Jeanine and Miss Chestnut are in here."

"Very good," she called back. Alex opened the door and started waking the children quietly to shoo them out of the room and out of danger.

"So this is gonna be his…his classroom, huh?" Bobby asked Marla. He slid the blinds up on the window so the backup would be able to see them when they arrived. "Yeah, it's gonna be nice and bright in here." Goren kept in between Marla and the hostages. He pointed behind the woman with the gun. "That's good, he's got his cubby box. That's a good place for when… it's good that it's-it's near the door." He was pointing the whole time, and his hand inched closer to the gun. "It'd be easy for him—"

She screamed. "Get over there with them!"

He took a step back, praying she wouldn't pull the trigger. Eames had her eye on him from the doorway in the other classroom.

"Okay," Bobby said.

"Get over there."

He got close to the hostages and lowered himself, bending over. "I'm gonna take care of you," he told them quietly. Bobby sat on a bench near the staff.

Marla slipped her son's yellow box into his cubby. She still had the gun trained on Bobby. He noticed the picture taped to Henry's box. "Family photo," he said. "Is that so he can remember you during the day? He's so beautiful. Your parents must be proud."

"They speak to him on the phone, but they don't really know him."

"They don't visit?"

"Once, for Henry's christening. But they didn't like it here. It's too loud, too crowded. They're from Kentucky."

Bobby's mind raced. He had to keep her talking. "You're a long way from home." She nodded, and looked like she might cry. "Why did you come here?"

She sobbed. "To be a dancer. I had fancy dreams. I ended up waiting tables like everyone else."

Eames had already filled in the backup officers who had arrived. Now she stood with her weapon in her hand, trying to keep a visual on Bobby. She'd had a good view until he sat down. Now she couldn't see anything but Marla with that damn gun pointed in his direction.

"It's a hard place to live."

"Everyone's so busy. Nobody has time to make a new friend."

"Yeah," Bobby agreed with a subtle nod. "But you met Brian."

"I thought he was going to be my Prince Charming. But he's busy, too. And his friends, they're all so smart. I never finished college. I can't keep up."

"You can't keep up, but you're smart, too." Bobby got to his feet. "you know, I don't think people realize how smart you are." He walked toward her, still talking.

"Get back, come on, get back!"

Bobby got a piece of the gun with his hand, but she smacked it away. "Okay, okay, all right," he said quietly, backing off a little. He remained standing, in between the gun and the two women tied up behind him.

"Do you mean that?"

"I do, yeah. I think it's… tough for you. You know, it must be difficult for you to find people to hang out with. Who do you talk to?" He started moving closer again.

"I used to have friends at the women's residence, but Eleanor didn't like them. Now I talk to Henry and the nannies."

"The nannies. Mr. Lowes' nanny, Paloma's nanny."

"I sit on the bench next to them, listen in."

"Yeah, I think that they like you, you know? They saw the way that Eleanor treated you."

"She was so upset when Henry got waitlisted!"

"All you do is try and please her. She would be proud of you now, because Henry got in."

She cried. "It's my fault he didn't get in! Eleanor's right! I can't give Henry what he needs! He's better off without me!" She turned the gun and put it against her own head.

"No, no, no, she's wrong!" Bobby cried.

"Hey!" She screamed, and aimed the gun at him again.

"Look! You know what he needs, you know what he likes. I've seen you with him. His eyes, they-they light up when you're around."

"How can Eleanor love Henry and not love me? I made him."

"Look, it's been tough for you, okay? All you've wanted to do is be a good mom."

She sobbed again and put the gun back to her head.

"No, don't do that!" Bobby cried, holding his hand out in front of him. "You're irreplaceable! You're his mother! He needs you! He needs you, Marla, you have to give me the gun." He paused, and said again, "you've gotta give me the gun."

She cried, and lowered it from her head, but turned it against her abdomen. Bobby watched carefully, ready for anything. Finally, she pushed the gun away from her body and into his outstretched hand.

"Okay," he breathed. Bobby took a moment to press his hand against his forehead. He had a horrendous headache.

"I'm irreplaceable," she said.

"Yeah," he whispered. He walked slowly forward, and when he was close enough, he snatched her by the arm, spun her around, and pressed her against the wall to restrain her. "Clear!" He shouted.

The backup rushed into the room. Alex charged in and arrested Marla, cuffing her. As the unis escorted her out, Marla cried, "What's happening? What's happening?" She looked right at Bobby. "I thought you were my friend!"

Alex watched him closely. He stepped back, almost a stagger. "They had kids, too," Bobby said and walked shakily back to the women, who were slowly becoming untangled from the chairs. Bobby squeezed his temples beneath his thumb and forefinger.

The hostages were freed, and led out of the classroom. One of the unis checked on Goren, and he waved the guy away. Alex took this as her cue to move forward. "You ready?" she asked.

He turned slowly, and made eye contact. Bobby nodded shakily. "Yeah. Yeah."

"Want me to take you home?"

"I, uh, no, uh… no."

"You did a hell of a job, Bobby."

He took a deep breath and let it go. It felt like the first breath he'd had in an hour.

"C'mon," Alex said quietly, and kept her hand on his arm as they left the school.