MCS, 1PP, NY

Wednesday, May 21

As Alex and Bobby entered the squad room they saw Captain Ross standing in the doorway of his office. He beckoned to them, so they bypassed their desks without pausing.

Inside the office, Ross gestured for them to sit down. As the captain took his seat behind the desk, Alex saw him studying the cut and darkening bruise on Bobby's face. He also did a double-take at his change of clothes.

"What happened to you, Goren?" he asked. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, sir," he replied, touching his wound. "There was a... little accident."

"Accident?" Ross clearly was curious. Alex appreciated his restraint. "Little?"

She said, "While we were interviewing Ben Beldsen at his store, a coffee mug slipped off a shelf."

"A mug. And it landed on your head?" Ross asked, pointing at Bobby. His eyes were wide with concern. "You didn't need stitches?"

Bobby shook his head. "Eames patched me up."

"They had a first aid kit," she added.

Ross looked back and forth between them for a moment, and then said, "Be sure to write this up fully when you do the paperwork. And turn in your dry cleaning bill, Detective. You sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine," Bobby said. "And, uh, Beldsen already asked for the bill."

"Do you suspect him?"

"No, sir," Alex said. "He showed us his store's security videos. He was there Monday evening, along with half a dozen employees, until they turned off the lights around eleven."

"No gaps?"

"He went out about for about fifteen minutes around five-thirty," Bobby said, "and came back with Chinese take-out from a place around the corner."

"What about his law suit against the Winters?" Ross asked.

Bobby said, "Beldsen blames it on Ron – he got a few drinks in him at some trade show last year, and told Beldsen about the Park Slope property."

"Beldsen didn't know the Winters already had a contract when he tried to make a bid," Alex added.

"He sued over that?"

Alex replied, "He got ticked off at Ron, though he says he liked Robert."

"He, he," Bobby said, gesturing with both hands, "he reacted too strongly at the sight of blood to be the killer. The killer was able to detach himself from the event, and wait while Robert Winter bled out and died. Beldsen isn't dispassionate like that."

Ross leaned back in his seat. "Okay, so why did he drop the lawsuit?"

"His lawyer told him he was losing money with no chance of winning," Bobby said. "He's looking at other retail properties in Brooklyn and the Bronx now."

"Captain," Alex said, "we want a search warrant for Ron Winter. There's a discrepancy between Ron's account and his wife's of Monday evening's events. He wasn't home when he said he was - right at the time of the murder."

Bobby added, "Also, some red flags have popped up - money and finances."

Ross sat up straight. "Money's a strong motivator. You think he could have killed his father?"

Alex turned to look at Bobby, and saw in his expression that he wasn't ready to accuse Ron yet. She felt the same hesitation. "Maybe," she answered. "That's why we want to get the warrant for his financials."

"And for his car GPS and cell phone," Bobby added. "We think he sent the shutdown commands to the security system."

"Okay, if you caught him in a lie, that's grounds for a warrant. Write it up, and I'll find a judge to sign off," Ross said, reaching for his phone. "I'll give the ADA a heads-up."

As the two detectives stood to leave, the captain added, "Eames, don't forget what I said yesterday about taking time for your mother."

She turned back. "Thanks. It looks like she got the anti-clotting meds in time."

"That's good news."

As they approached their desks, Bobby asked, "When's your mom expecting us?"

Alex looked across the squad room at the wall clock, then perched on Bobby's desk. "Five-thirty or a little later. Do you think we can sneak out of here in forty-five minutes?"

Bobby sank into his chair and shrugged. "The captain said you can go whenever you want, Eames."

"Yeah, but I need my personal chef to come, too."

"No problem," he said, tapping his temple. "I have this head injury which might, you know..."

"Hey, how are you feeling? It's been a while since you took ibuprofen."

"I'm fine." It must have hurt at least some, because Bobby wouldn't look her in the eye.

Alex leaned closer and frowned at him. "Tell me, really."

He rolled his chair back, as though he was afraid she'd start poking at his wound. "It's a little sore, okay?" he said quietly. "But I'm fine."

"All right," she said, also lowering her voice. "Just asking. So, what do you have in mind for dinner?"

"I thought fish wouldn't take long to cook. Do they like salmon?"

"They love salmon, and so do I. Good idea - except now I'm hungry, thinking about it." Alex stood and rounded the desks to her seat. "I'll type up the warrant request – if it goes through the system at its usual lightning speed, we'll end up back here later tonight."

Bobby opened his binder. "I need to look at those web sites Ricky was talking about."

Alex was returning from the printer when Bobby called to her.

"Eames, look at this," he said, tapping his laptop screen. "Beldsen was right about the two stores creating more business when they're close." He'd dug up a business research website. "There are studies about competitors setting up shop close to each other – like Burger King and McDonald's."

"I've noticed that," she said, leaning on his desk to scan the article. She nudged his arm. "I thought you were shopping for black market apps."

He ignored her last comment as he continued. "It especially applies to city environments – both stores can thrive, and they actually generate business for each other. So it looks like Beldsen did his homework."

"My guess is," she said, "the law suit was a release for Beldsen's anger at Ron, for giving him inside information that turned out to be a dead end."

Bobby nodded. "I wonder if there was more between them than just Ron's loose talk at the organic food convention."

"It's worth looking into."

He switched to a different browser window on the screen. "Oh, and look at this," he said. "This is only the first web site I tried, and I already found two smart phone apps that claim to be compatible with any security system. It's not actually black market, you know." He looked up at her with a grin.

"Are they ninety-nine cents?" she asked.

"One's six ninety-nine, and the other's..." He checked the screen. "...five ninety-nine. If Ron bought any of these it'll show up on his credit card."

"Whenever we get the search warrant." Alex suddenly had a thought. "You know... When we talked to Nancy Winter yesterday," she said, sitting on the edge of Bobby's desk again, "she said her husband hadn't told Frannie that the new store would eventually be hers. They probably didn't tell Ron about that plan, either."

Bobby folded his arms on his chest and leaned back in his chair. "Mark hinted that his brother might not be happy to follow in their father's footsteps. If Ron felt that one store was already more than he wanted to handle..."

"Then two stores – all his - would be cruel and unusual punishment," she said. "It was no slip of the lip when Ron let Ben Beldsen know about the property."

Bobby nodded, and she could see his intensity building by the minute. "He was hoping Beldsen got there first," he said, "so that he wouldn't have his workload doubled."

"But does that put Ron in the store Monday night?" she asked. "He wasn't at home, but was he in Brooklyn, having an argument with his father? Plus, the thing with Beldsen was a year ago."

Before Bobby could reply, Alex's phone rang. She hopped down from his desk and grabbed the phone as she circled back to her side.

It was Mark Winter. She sank slowly into her chair, with a corresponding sinking feeling in her stomach.

"What can we do for you?" she asked, intentionally using "we" instead of "I".

"Well, after I pulled out the laptop for you this morning I went through my father's desk," Mark said. "I thought there might be papers or something that was important..."

"Uh-huh," Alex said, grimacing. Mark's reason for calling sounded pretty thin.

"And I found some correspondence with his lawyer about a law suit with Ben Beldsen of Best Fresh Foods," Mark said. "I think you might want to look at it – I'd be happy to bring it to you."

The papers were probably copies of what they already had. She definitely didn't want Mark Winter hanging around the squad room. "Thanks, but there's no need for that," she said. "I can give you our fax number, or else we'll have a squad car stop by within an hour to pick up the papers."

"Well, actually, I'd like to come," Mark said. "It gives me a chance to see you again. I was hoping for a chance to talk to you - alone."

Alex glanced across the desks at Bobby, who was watching intently. She shook her head slowly. Bobby reached out a hand, offering to take the phone, but she waved him off. "No, Mark, that wouldn't be a good idea. First of all..." She paused. There were so many reasons – which to mention first? "We're in the middle of a murder investigation, and I can't allow it to be compromised by introducing a personal relationship. You understand that, don't you?" She kept her voice calm and tried to speak kindly.

"You're right," Mark said quickly. "I just wish we could-"

"And second," she continued, "this really isn't the time for that. You just lost your father. I'm not trying to offend you, but-"

"Okay, I get the message. But look, maybe sometime in the future..."

Alex tried for another few minutes to convince him that she wasn't going to change her mind. He didn't seem to get the message. It might have been mildly flattering to have such interest coming in her direction, except she couldn't find the same interest for Mark - none at all.

When she finally hung up the phone, she leaned back in her chair and exhaled loudly, rubbing her temple. Bobby was sneaking peeks at her as he pretended to work on his computer.

Alex was annoyed with Mark Winter, but she was afraid she'd snap at Bobby if he started questioning her about the call. The squad room wasn't overly busy at the moment; if she lashed out at her partner everyone would hear.

She took a few moments to calm her breathing, and then picked up her laptop. "Come on, Bobby," she said. "Let's go into the conference room and sort this out."

He followed, carrying his binder and an armful of file folders.

Once the door was closed, Alex sat at the table, staring at her computer screen. Instead of feeling calmer, her anger intensified. She said, "It just ticks me off that he won't take No for an answer. I was pretty clear, wasn't I?"

Bobby took his time answering. He selected a photo and stabbed it onto the wall with a thumb tack. "Maybe he thought you'd appreciate his persistence."

"More like pushiness," she replied. "Am I off base? It seems so improper for Mark to be acting like this only two days after his father was murdered! Is it just me?"

"No." Bobby was still fussing with the papers on the wall. "His timing is bad."

From the tone of Bobby's voice Alex knew what was coming – he was going to suggest that she think it over, and tell Mark to call again in a few months. But that made no sense, especially since she was certain that Bobby wanted her to consider him in the same way! Why else would he have been so forward earlier today in Ben Beldsen's office?

"Yes, it is," she said, "but there's more to it than that. Look at me, Bobby."

He turned, but instead of looking at her, he shuffled through the papers he'd dropped on the table.

"Bobby."

"Okay." He sat down across from her, and finally faced her almost squarely.

Alex forced herself not to smile – Bobby was nervous! Didn't he realize that she was far more open to his advances than to Mark Winter's?

She spoke slowly. "Mark rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. You saw how he stared at me, as though we were in a - a singles bar instead of his mother's house. Is that supposed to flatter me?"

Bobby's eyes flitted around the room as he absorbed her words. "You seemed... annoyed. That was because of Mark?"

"Yes, and he hasn't done anything to change that impression." She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms on her chest. "Are you trying to persuade me to go out with him?"

That brought Bobby's eyes back to her face in a hurry. "No. Not unless you..." She could practically hear the wheels turning in his brain.

He wasn't picking up her hints, so she tried bluntness. "I'm not interested in him. Period. I'd rather cook dinner at my mom's house with you, okay? Let's not talk about Mark Winter any more."

Alex held her breath until Bobby finally relaxed into a smile.