Alex POV

It was music to my ears.

"It was an accident," Riley said.

"When you killed her," Mike clarified.

"Right."

"But then you rolled out the red carpet for twelve more girls to get killed just so that you wouldn't get caught."

Riley nodded and kept his gaze on the table.

"And yet here you are, so I guess that theory didn't work out so well, did it?"

"You're going to be all smug about it? Because my money says you didn't have shit to do with it, you fucking moron," Riley fired back, finally looking up to glare at Mike.

"You don't have any money, Riley. So why don't you just write down exactly what you did while I go take my magnifying glass to the bathroom so I can take a leak."

I bit back a smile and glanced sideways at Liz, but she was just shaking her head, trying not to laugh.

The whole atmosphere in the room had changed from the moment Bobby and Mike went back into the room after finding the cell numbers.

I practically expected someone to open a bottle of champagne at any moment.

"Go call Theresa," Stanley encouraged.

"Why?"

"Tell her she'll want to go live with this one."

"Live won't be until five," I pointed out. "We'll have to postpone again."

"You can be fashionably late and then b.s. your way through until five before you start talking about the FBK. They're used to you avoiding that topic anyway."

"And if you do that," Yuille spoke up. "Wyatt and I can run down those other cell numbers and have the remaining killers picked up by the local precincts."

"You're right," I agreed. "Go. Get busy, and keep me in the loop."

The two of them left in a hurry, and only a second later, Stanley headed for the door saying, "I'll help them, too."

"Don't mind me," Liz said. "Make your call. I know how to entertain myself."

I glanced at Bobby and Mike one more time, watching as they hovered over Riley while he wrote out his confession based on the suggestion that doing so might help him to get out of prison before he died of old age, and then I left the observation room.

Once in my office, I pulled out Theresa's business card that Stanley had given me on Monday night, and I placed the call.

"It's Captain Eames," I said when she answered.

There was silence on the other end and I could only imagine what might be going through her mind.

"Are we on or off the record?" she asked at last.

"Off."

"Okay."

"I'm just calling to suggest that maybe you go live with the press conference."

"Live? At 4:30?"

"I may be slightly late. And I have a lot to talk about today, so it'll be five before I get around to certain, interesting topics."

"You want me to get my station manager to lead the five o'clock news with your press conference."

It wasn't a question.

It was a declaration, stated with barely contained excitement.

"Yes."

"How many more phone calls do you have to make?"

"None."

Silence again.

Then, "Why?"

"Why did I call you?"

"Yes."

"You have to ask?"

"You think you owe me for yesterday?"

"And Tuesday."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Then I'm going to have to ask you. Why?"

"Believe it or not, I'm interested in the carriage of justice. At first I thought you were just a puppet, doing the mayor's bidding, but you're not. You're real and you're honest, and I can't stand idly by while you get the shaft because some pompous has-been wants his job back."

Now it was my turn for silence.

Then, "And?"

"There has to be an and?"

"No, but I think there is."

She chuckled lightly and said, "And that's exactly my point. You're not window dressing, Captain. You're a detective."

"Yes, I am."

"So maybe Monday, when we talk about your man, I'll fill you in on the and."

So she had motive.

I figured she did and I'm not disenfranchised by the idea.

Most people usually do, but she hadn't used it as leverage to get me to talk, or as bribery for going easy on me.

For some reason, something about me had struck a chord with her, and I'm fine with that.

It won't hurt me to have a friend in the press corps.

"Okay," I agreed. "So you're going live?"

"You bet your ass."

I hung up with Theresa and couldn't stop the smile.

This is it.

Ross is going down today.

Or technically tomorrow, but after this press conference there won't be any doubt in anyone's mind.

Although how sad is it that he's become the enemy?

But he definitely is.

Liz told me earlier that Ross had stopped by the morgue.

Again.

This time sporting a shiny new badge and bearing gifts.

"A badge means nothing," she'd said when I groaned about him having it. "I mean…not nothing. But it doesn't mean Major Case."

"I know. What was the gift?"

"I don't know. Sarah's mailing it back to him."

"You didn't even look?"

"Nope."

"And you're really on vacation? You know, all the years I've known you and I don't remember you ever taking one before."

She laughed and said, "Me neither. But I'm glad I did. With that confession, Mike might actually get off of work at a decent time tomorrow."

"Noon," I said firmly. "I promise. By then either his resignation will be in effect or..."

"That's not going to happen," she interrupted.

"Then he'll be on vacation."

"It pays to know the boss."

"It's not favoritism. He worked Saturday and Sunday last weekend. The least I can do is spring him a few hours early tomorrow."

I'd spring Bobby, too, I thought as I sat down behind my desk.

I had a few more minutes, and I was alone in my office, so I pulled out my ring and slipped it onto my finger.

It felt foreign and yet comfortable all at once.

I had a hard time tearing my eyes away from it.

I can't describe how it makes me feel, knowing that Bobby took the time to shop, with my taste in mind, on the sly…and I don't even want to think about what it cost.

"Captain, I…" Stanley said as he burst into my office.

I quickly moved my hands down to my lap, beneath the surface of my desk, but my startled reaction gave him pause.

"I'm sorry. I should've knocked," he said as he looked at me inquisitively.

"It's fine. What can I do for you?"

"It's just that I…I assumed you were on your way out, and…"

"It's fine," I said again.

"You sure?"

"Captain…"

"Stanley," he corrected as he closed the door.

"Okay. What's up?"

"A couple of things. We've matched the cell numbers to the three missing killers. Uniforms are going to pick up the offenders, and they're all being brought here."

"I can't believe how quickly this thing unraveled," I said, smiling and shaking my head. "I knew they'd do it, but still…"

"I know," he agreed with a grin. "And maintenance texted me a minute ago. Your sprinkler system is fixed. I know the press gave you a hard time about that yesterday, so I figured, you know…one more piece of good news."

"That's really good news," I agreed. "Because I forgot to re-up my stash of extra clothes."

"Rookie mistake, Captain," he joked. "Just like over-reacting when you're caught doing something you shouldn't be doing."

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently.

"I mean what are you hiding behind your desk?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I retorted.

I knew he wouldn't push the issue, although I have to admit that it's very tempting just to tell him.

"Yes, I would," he answered. Then he said, "But seriously. What if I'd been Zaring?"

"He's not sharp enough to catch that I was trying to hide something."

"True," he laughed. "Okay. Moran."

"Point taken," I conceded. "I'll be more careful."

"Careful with what is what I'd like to know."

"You're already keeping secrets for me, Captain," I said as I got up from my desk. The ring was now safely back in my pocket.

"Then what's one more?"

"Pete's. Tonight," I countered as I looked at my watch. "But first let me go put this puppy to bed."

And that's exactly what I did.

It was my best press conference to date, and Theresa had it live: the confession of the original FBK, Riley James Smith, was in our possession, and the Jane Does were on their way to being identified since the cell numbers had allowed us to pick up their killers, and the pipes were fixed…

It went perfectly.

And afterwards, after taking calls from Moran and Zaring who both praised me for my diligence, I got into the SUV and drove to the corner.

Bobby got in and was on me immediately.

"We did it," he murmured as he thrust his hands in my hair and covered my mouth with his.

"You and Mike did it," I countered gently when he moved his lips around to my ear.

"We all did it," he said firmly and then he ran one hand over the front of my blouse before undoing a button and moving beneath the silk, caressing my skin in a way that instantly set me on fire.

With his other hand, he reached for my left hand.

"And where's you ring, Mrs. Goren?"

"In my pocket. And I thought you were going to be Mr. Eames," I teased.

"I'll be anything you want as long as I'm yours," he replied, his voice barely a whisper as his breath brushed across my ear, causing a shiver to run through me.

With his one hand still beneath my blouse and his lips on my ear, he used his other hand to reach into my pocket.

And he didn't take a direct route to get there.

But eventually, he found what he was looking for, and he pulled the ring out.

He stopped his assault on my ear and throat and looked down at the diamond for a moment, and then he brought his lips to mine as he put the ring back on my finger.

Then he slowly withdrew his hand, the one that was under my shirt, and he deftly redid the button while he continued to kiss me with single-minded passion.

The day itself had been rewarding, but capping it off with Bobby just made it down-right intoxicating.

I pulled him closer to me, and he came willingly, mindless of the console that was surely digging into his hip. I slid one hand around to the back of his head, intensifying the kiss, while at the same time, my other hand wandered to the vicinity of his upper thigh.

I felt him tense in anticipation, considering how close my hand was to where he surely wanted it to be, and so then I slowly and purposefully ran my hand over the length of him.

He was fully hard, and while it wasn't completely unexpected, the knowledge still served to send a wave of arousal through me that was nearly impossible to corral.

The intensity between us increased as I moved my hand over him again and again until he grabbed onto my wrist to stop the motion.

But even then he kept kissing me until at last he pulled back and smiled at me and let out a shaky breath before saying, "So…Pete's, right?"

"I don't think so," I answered as my gaze darted between his dark eyes and his delectable lips. "I think we need to go home first."

"Maybe we can borrow Liz's place for a few minutes," he suggested with a mischievous smile.

"A few minutes?" I questioned, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"Hours. Days."

I laughed and grabbed onto his tie, bringing him back to me for another crushing kiss.

"Or we could just do it right here in the car," he posed in a husky voice.

Talk about temptation.

Especially since as he said the words, he moved his hand from my cheek down to my shoulder and then he trailed his fingers up and down my arm, letting his thumb graze along the edge of my breast in a teasing manner.

"Pete's first," I said as I gathered my resolve. "Then you can take me home and have your way with me."

TBC...