Chapter 74

He made it through the next day okay, and then Ross approached Alex's desk. "Rodgers has the DNA results," was all the man said.

Alex picked up her phone, her face grim.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hi Bobby," she said. "We have the results. I'll meet you at the ME's office."

He hung up and Alex checked the time. It would take him at least twenty minutes to get there. The Captain still stood by her desk. "How is he?" he asked, dryly.

She nodded. "Okay." She took a breath and cleared her throat, "He, uh, he'll be here in twenty."

"I'll expect a text."

"Yes, sir."

Bobby was beside himself when he arrived. He paced nervously in front of her, his hands flitting one way, and then the other.

"Captain wants to be with us," she explained as she sent the text. "Try to calm down, Bobby."

"It's Donny, you know? I mean, I don't know how you expect me to be calm when we both know that—"

He started for the door, and she went to his side. "We need to wait for Ross, she reminded him. No reason to make Rodgers go through it more than once."

Bobby stopped himself, scrubbed his hand over his face, and took a deep breath. He stood still for all of twenty-five seconds, and then the nervous energy kicked in again.

She could see that anger set in his jaw. They stood by the elevator until the doors opened and they saw Ross inside. Goren and Eames stepped in. Bobby put his hands in his pockets to keep them from moving. He still shifted from foot to foot and chewed on his lip.

"It could be someone else," Alex said quietly, as they headed into the hallway.

Bobby was irritated. He stepped around the corner and fought to keep his voice calm. Glancing back at Eames, he spoke. "It's Donny's heart." He kept walking toward the ME's office.

"Why don't we wait for the ME to-"

"She took my brother, went after Declan, and now my nephew." Ross paced along behind them. Bobby extracted a hand from his pocket and swiped it hard over his face.

"Detective," Ross said.

Bobby stopped and turned to face them. He shifted nervously as he spoke. "Look, Nicole survived by having no emotions, all right?" Alex peeked into the window to the ME's office and saw that Elizabeth had seen them coming.

"I-I made her feel. You know, self-doubt, self-loathing. She never forgave me."

Rodgers had heard Bobby's words from the hall. She turned back from her computer monitor and said at once, "It's not Donny's heart." All three were in the room with her, but she directed her words only to Goren. "The DNA wasn't a match."

Bobby allowed himself a quick smile of relief. His heart raced, and he felt confused. This didn't make sense. The puzzle wasn't fitting together. He paused a moment, then found the right question. "But-but you found a-a match, right? Who did Nicole kill?" He asked her.

"No one. The heart belonged to Nicole Wallace."

Bobby shook his head once. "No, that's not hers." This wasn't making sense.

"I ran the test three times."

He shook his head again, and started to bounce on his feet. "No, you don't know her like I do. I mean… if anyone could fake this—"

"It's her DNA." Rodger's voice was softer. She was trying so hard to get through to him.

Bobby's eyes went from the ME to his partner. Alex closed her eyes, waiting for him to accept it. He stared at her, the anger present again in his face. "She can't have a twin," Goren said, trying all possibilities.

"She doesn't. I checked her birth certificate with Melbourne."

Ross bowed his head as he listened. Goren was in denial. The captain still had concerns about his mental state, and this wasn't a good sign.

"She's playing us," he said firmly, looking at each person in the room.

"Or someone's playing you, Detective," Ross told him, "and they killed Nicole Wallace."

"And killed Nicole?!" The anger was at a head now. "She's got nine lives!"

Eames looked over at the Captain. "She ran out!"

"Don't take that side!" Bobby shouted at her. I need you! I need you on my side now! "These tests, they can have false results!" He walked over to the computer and tried to calm himself. "You know, Nicole is still out there. She's got Donny. I-you're wrong!" he said with emphasis as he walked out of the office. "You're all wrong."

Ross turned to Rodgers. "I'm sorry. He's been under—"

"I know."

She ran her tongue over her teeth and avoided looking at the Captain. He frowned. He knew Elizabeth. She knew something she wasn't telling. He took a breath and turned his head. "Eames, can you give us the room?"

Alex looked back and forth between the two of them. She too, had picked up on it, and where Bobby was concerned, she sure as hell didn't want to be left in the dark. Her manner didn't match her words. She was highly upset. "I'll be upstairs," she told him.

As she walked out, Danny shut the door. "My detective's in trouble. What do you know?" he asked her.

Elizabeth lowered her head and shook it slowly. She and the Captain had dated briefly, but it hadn't worked out. Now it seemed he was going to use his position just to make her uncomfortable.

"I'm not threatening you, Elizabeth," Ross said, softening his tone. "I'm trying to warn you. Goren's vulnerable. He has a target on his back. So does anyone who helps him."

She'd worked with Bobby Goren long enough to know Ross' words were true. Goren was most certainly vulnerable. In fact, she'd never seen him like he was a few minutes ago. And everyone knew how much the chief of D's despised him. She looked into Danny's eyes and saw the sincerity there. She didn't want to betray Bobby, but she didn't want to lose her job, either. She pressed her lips together, wondering how she could keep her promise and still answer Danny's question.

With a sigh, she said, "All right. A while back, Goren asked me to run a DNA test. He had me check his DNA against Mark Ford Brady's."

"Brady? The serial killer."

She nodded stiffly.

"What were the results?"

"No," she said. "You'll have to ask him." She stared at Ross, daring him to try and force her to tell.

He saw the resolve in her eyes and turned away slowly. As he rode in the elevator upstairs, his insides were churning. He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. He didn't like it that his detectives had secrets from him, and he didn't like it that he had to find out this way. And Ross was damned sure he didn't want to see the shit hit the fan when Moran found out.

"Eames," he barked as he marched past her desk. She followed him into the office, and he shut the door, a little harder than usual.

"Goren ran a DNA test against Brady," he said, and he sounded like he was accusing her of something.

Alex frowned and shook her head. "This is the first I'm hearing about it," she told the Captain.

He opened his blinds, letting sunlight spill in through the window.

"Your partner actually believes Brady could be his father?"

"Well, he knows Brady's relationship with his mom continued after her marriage," she said, and a hundred conversations with Bobby about this very thing stirred up in her memory.

"And he's lived with that for a year. Now he gets the paternity results…" He opened the other set of blinds and turned back to her angrily. "Suddenly the spree begins." He put his hands on his hips.

Alex's hackles went up. She jumped to her feet. "What are you saying?!"

"The victims, his estranged brother, his former mentor…"

She leaned in, keeping her voice quiet in her rage. "You and I both know he had nothing to do with these murders!"

Ross nodded sadly. "Then rule him out."

Alex said nothing, but the look on her face stated clearly: I will! The door closed after her, and Danny Ross spun around, rubbing one hand through his curly hair.

Moran will eat Goren alive with this. I've got to clear him. Eames has to clear him.