Liz POV

"I'm not sure what I'll be able to tell you."

"Something."

"Something like...there's no way Enzo did it?"

"That'd be nice," Alex answered with a smirk.

She'd come down to the morgue about fifteen minutes ago to see what, if anything, I'd been able to ascertain from the ME's report on Christian Newman, the guy supposedly killed by Enzo Lettiere.

"Well, is he capable of stabbing a guy three times in the chest?"

"Yeah."

"Then he could be your killer."

"Come on, Liz."

"I'm sorry, Alex, but there's not much more to go on. The guy was naked. No usable trace evidence was gathered. The knife was still sticking out of his chest when he was found, and that knife belongs to Enzo."

"And the prints on it?"

"They're…smeared," I admitted.

"So not wiped clean and it's possible that whoever used it wore gloves."

"It's possible."

"What about the angle of entry?"

"The killer was on top of him. See right here?" I asked as I pointed to a spot in the photo. "Bruising around the upper arms, but not from hands. I think your killer was sitting on the victim's chest and he was using his knees to pin down the victim's shoulders."

"I can't picture Enzo sitting on top of a naked guy," she said smartly. "That sounds more like the position of a woman to me, don't you think? Someone smaller, who would need to use her body weight as leverage."

"I don't disagree. I'm just saying that from the evidence…wait a minute."

"What?"

I glanced up at her and rolled my eyes.

"Wait. A minute," I said with a half-smile. I stared hard at the picture again and then flipped over to the written report. "Here."

"What?" she asked again, moving closer so that she could see what I was looking at.

"Additional minor bruising on the mid-bicep of the victim's right arm," I said, pointing to the area on the picture.

"The killer was leaning over, so he had his hand down for additional support," she said.

"Very good, Captain. The light red strips…it coincides with the killer's fingers. The size would indicate someone with small hands. I don't know how big this Enzo guy is, but I might be able to rule him out, if his fingers are too broad to have made the marks."

"And it would've been the killer's left hand, right?"

"Yep."

"Then you don't need to worry about ruling him out," she said with a smile.

"Why not?"

"There are four marks."

"Right. Four fingers."

"Enzo only has three."

I raised my eyebrow at her and she shrugged and said, "Occupational hazard, apparently."

"Well, that's it then. You can clear him."

"It's enough for me, but I'm not sure it'll be enough for the press. It sure would be nice to get a confession out of the real killer."

"Angela the girlfriend?"

"Uh huh. I sent Wyatt and Yuille out to pick her up."

"Yuille's really turned around, hasn't he?"

"So far, so good. He and Wyatt are working well together, and I haven't had any more problems with him. And he went from trying to get me fired to threatening to quit if I get transferred, so…"

"All good signs," I agreed. "That was quite the stunt they pulled, huh?"

"You knew about it, didn't you?"

I nodded and she added, "You know, that's the kind of thing friends tell each other."

"Not when I'm sworn to secrecy. Mike was afraid if you heard about it ahead of time that you'd put an end to it."

"I would have."

"Exactly. And then Danny would be getting photographed for his new ID just because Holt is a sexist moron."

She laughed and shook her head and said, "I don't think he's sexist. It's not that he thinks I can't do the captain's job because I'm a woman."

"No, but he wants to put you in a different position because the press likes the way you look," I reminded her.

"Okay, so he's sort of sexist. But really, that doesn't bother me as much as it probably should. I just wish he'd see the big picture."

"I bet he's seeing it now."

"We'll see. Friday's the day."

"So Wyatt and Yuille are handling Angela. Where are Bobby and Mike? I got a text a little bit ago, but he didn't say what they're up to."

"They got a lead on another suspect. Actually, they think this guy might be responsible for two of the victims."

"Any luck on finding the man behind the curtain?"

"Not so far," she admitted.

She leaned back against a table while I went back to the body I'd been working on when she arrived. She seemed to be in the mood for conversation, and I didn't mind accommodating her.

We don't get nearly enough time to talk, just the two of us, so if she wanted to spend a few extra minutes down here with me, then I'm all for it.

I glanced around the room to make sure we were still alone, and then I asked, "So you and Bobby are really thinking about getting married?"

"That's the plan. And you know, if on Friday we both end up unemployed then maybe we'll just take off somewhere and do it. We'll worry about finding new jobs when we get back."

"Sounds romantic."

"You should try it," she said with a smirk.

"Me? No. I'm not getting married again."

"I thought things were going good between you and Mike."

"They are. Really good. But he doesn't want to be married, and I can appreciate that. And we're happy like we are, so what's the big deal?"

I looked up from my work and found her studying me, but after a moment she nodded her head and said, "I can understand that. I mean, if it doesn't happen with me and Bobby, it won't really change anything."

"Exactly. Although Mike did mention us getting away for the weekend. If work doesn't spoil it."

"This weekend? Where are you going?"

"I made a joke about going to Hershey, but I honestly have no idea. He just said he'd like to go somewhere and I'm not going to turn down the chance to get away from the city for a while."

"So it's just about getting away?"

"Well, that and forty-eight hours of uninterrupted time with Mike," I added with a grin.

"That's what I thought," she said smugly. "Yeah…time with no interruptions. That would be nice."

"It's been a trying couple of weeks, hasn't it?"

"You're not kidding. And now…waiting for Holt to make up his mind…I just really hate this."

"Not to mention that someone spoke with the press about Enzo. Do you have any leads on who might be responsible?"

"Um…yeah," she said hesitantly.

"It's not Danny, is it? I mean, I know he's been acting like a jerk, but I just can't believe he'd stoop that low, to accuse you of something like that. He knows you. He knows you're not on the take."

"Apparently he doesn't know I'm not sleeping with various colleagues, though," she pointed out.

"Yeah," I admitted. "It just floors me that this is who he's become. He was bad before, but he wasn't this bad. So you think it is him?"

"No. I think it's Detective Coleman."

"What? Why?"

"She…desperately wants into Major Case."

"Then why in the world would she want to trash you? I'd think befriending you might've been a better way in."

"Oh, she tried to do that."

"So you met her in person?"

I couldn't help myself.

My curiosity was through the roof.

"I did, yes. Earlier today."

"And?"

"She's okay," she said ambiguously.

"Alex…" I said in a threatening voice.

She looked at me with amusement and crossed her arms over her chest as she asked, "What do you want to know, Liz?"

"Can I take her?"

She barked out a laugh and nodded her head.

"In a second. And I don't just mean that you could kick her ass, although you could."

I raised an eyebrow at her and she continued, "You're smarter than her and you're prettier than her."

"I'm not asking you to make stuff up," I deflected.

"I'm not. I'm just stating the facts. And besides, she's slightly psycho."

"Slightly?"

"I don't think she called Channel 7 because she wanted to hurt my reputation. I think she's trying to ruin Mike's."

"But…then why did she want him back?"

"My best guess? She hit on him before she realized he was Major Case, and then when she figured out that it wasn't going to work, she thought she could accomplish two things at once. Get him back for rejecting her, and take his spot in the department."

"What a little bitch," I muttered.

"Uh huh. I'm not sure she realizes it yet, but she's obviously just screwed herself out of any chance she might have had. To get Major Case, I mean. Not Mike. There was never any chance of that."

"It's always something, isn't it?" I remarked in annoyance.

"But never anything we can't handle," she said confidently. "Honestly, I'm starting to think that a week without some kind of scandal or conflict would just bore me to tears."

I laughed at her sarcasm and then looked up when I heard the door open.

"Hey, Doc," Sarah began as she came in the room, and then she saw Alex and pulled up short. "Oh, hi. Captain Eames, right? I'm Sarah. I saw your press conference this morning."

"Well, don't believe everything you see on TV."

"Oh, no…I didn't mean…I don't think…"

"You don't think I'm on the mafia's payroll? Good to know."

"I definitely don't think that. I know that Dr. Rodgers thinks the world of you, and besides, that bitch on Channel 7 is probably just jealous."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," I added. "So what do you need?"

"We just got a call," she said as she turned sideways and patted the backpack she had over her shoulder. "I'm ready to go if you are."

"Give me just a minute," I told her as I pulled off my gloves. "I'll catch you later, Alex. I think you got what you need, right?"

"You've been helpful, as always," she replied as her phone started buzzing.

"Uh huh. I think it was Enzo who was helpful," I answered as she checked the text. "I bet he never guessed how much it would benefit him when he blew off one of his fingers."

She chuckled at me and held up her phone and said, "Good timing. Wyatt and Yuille are back with Angela. They've got her in an interrogation room."

"Good luck with that," I said, at the same time that Sarah said, "Yuille?"

Alex was almost out the door, but she paused and turned around, looking at Sarah inquisitively.

"Yeah, why? What about him?"

"Oh, nothing," she answered quickly, and then she looked at me guiltily, as though she'd just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"What it is?" I encouraged her.

"I was just wondering if he's…you know. Single," she said at last. "I'm sorry. It's probably unprofessional of me to ask you that."

"Oh," Alex said, breathing out a sigh of relief. "No, it's fine. I thought you were going to say that he'd done something."

"Why? Isn't he a nice guy?"

"He is," she replied. "Or at least, I'm pretty sure he is. Just the way you said his name…I thought maybe something was wrong."

"No. So…is he?"

"Single? Yes, as far as I know."

"Interesting," Sarah said, looking at me with a smile. "Because I don't think he looks that old."

"He's not," Alex confirmed. Then she glanced at me and said, "I'll check in with you later, okay? Maybe we can meet for dinner."

I nodded at her, and then I asked Sarah, "So, where are we going?"

"Lower Manhattan. An alley off Liberty Street."

"Liberty?" Alex asked, stopping again in the doorway, only this time sounding alarmed.

She immediately pulled out her phone and started dialing.

"Yeah, why?" I asked her.

"Dammit, no answer," she said as she started dialing another number. Then she looked at me with concern and said, "That's where Mike and Bobby went to pick up their suspect."

TBC...