After the incident at my office, we all knew it was no longer safe there. Nobody was in any doubt that it had something to do with the case, so I'd had to move into one of the rooms at the hotel. With Chad as my escort, I'd gone back to my apartment a few days later to pick up everything I'd need.

The forensics team had already cleaned up the office, which I was grateful for. I didn't need any lingering reminders of what had happened – the horrific images still in my head already had that job covered.

Luckily, whoever had broken into my office hadn't been able to get into my apartment upstairs. The damage had been limited to the ground floor. They hadn't even gotten into my desk, so my laptop that I kept locked inside was still intact.

I hadn't really known how long I'd have to stay at the hotel for – and how much stuff I'd need – so I'd just grabbed the suitcase that I always used to visit my family in Osaka and filled it with clothes, toiletries, books, my laptop, some perfumes and my three favourite cuddly wolves. Surely that would keep me going for a while.

I didn't like staying at the hotel. It could take months for me to get used to living in a new place. My sleeping pattern was even more messed up than usual. Which was why I was still sat up in bed at three in the morning, attempting to finish the next Georgina Kincaid book I'd started.

I wasn't the only one still awake though. From the sounds I could hear through the walls, at least two other members of the team were up and about. The rooms we were using were all adjoining and Gibson had insisted that we keep the doors unlocked for extra vigilance. Mad-Eye Moody much?

I was cool with his idea though. My fears generally stemmed more from getting locked in a room than having somebody else intrude on me, so I didn't mind leaving my door unlocked. Plus I always slept with my gun under my pillow, so I didn't really have to worry much about the latter.

Eventually, I put my book away, conceding that it was time to at least try and sleep. I clicked the light off from the switch above my bed and lay back down, staring up at the dark ceiling. I really did hate sleeping in strange places. It always made me feel far too on edge. That was why I'd been putting it off by reading to keep my mind occupied.

But I knew I wouldn't function properly if I didn't get enough sleep. And if we wanted to solve this case anytime soon, I'd definitely need to be functioning properly. I settled into my usual sleeping position – one arm cuddling my Jerry wolf and the other free above the covers, ready to go for my gun if needed.

I started to doze on and off, not quite sleeping, but not entirely awake either. I kept hearing noises, but they sounded far away, seeming to reside in my dreams rather than reality...

But then I sensed movement that felt far too close to me and I jerked awake with the same swooping sensation in my stomach that you get if you miss a step while walking down some stairs. It wasn't a dream or any other figment of my imagination – somebody was in my room!

My eyes flew open to see a dark shadow loom over me... Crap. No time to go for my gun – I'd never get the safety off in time. So I did the next best thing that came to mind, curling my hand into a fist and striking out with as much force as I could muster.

It connected with a satisfying smack, followed by a surprised yelp. I sat up quickly, grabbing my gun from underneath my pillow and jamming my other hand onto the light switch in the same movement. I flicked the gun's safety catch off as light filled the room and swung it round, ready to fire, only to find that I wasn't facing the sinister type of intruder I'd expected.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in here?" I spluttered.

"I was trying to see if you were awake," L explained quite calmly, his hand over his face. He looked a little shocked, despite his tone, like he hadn't known what had hit him. I softened a little.

"Idiot," I still chastised him, flicking the safety back up on the Browning. "Make some noise next time – don't just loom over me like that." I tucked the gun back into its bed under my pillow.

L seemed to have ignored everything I'd just said. He still looked stunned. "You punched me," he said obviously.

It took everything I had not to laugh at him. "Yeah, I did," I smiled. "Just be grateful I didn't shoot you instead."

He was still clearly not listening to me and gingerly rubbing his face. I hadn't ever seen him look more human. Damn. I hoped I hadn't done any permanent damage to him. I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed – I'd never been so grateful to be wearing boxer shorts.

"Here, let me have a look," I said, moving over to him. L dropped his hand, but I couldn't see properly in the light – his face was still half in shadow. I frowned. "The light's no good here; you'll have to sit down."

Without giving him the option, I pulled him over to the bed, then pushed him down onto it. The slightest flicker of surprise flitted across his face. I was willing to bet he'd never had a girl force him onto a bed before... Oh shut up, Gee. Not the time!

Trying to ignore the distracting rambling in my head, I studied L's face under the light. The skin around his eye was red and already a little swollen. Oh, man, I'd hit him a lot harder than I'd thought. "Well, I'm guessing you'll have one hell of a black eye tomorrow... Do you want me to get you some ice?"

"No. Thank you," said L, his voice back to his usual flat tone. Aww. I thought I'd been making some progress too.

"Erm, sorry about that," I said, even though I didn't feel like I should be apologising. He was the one who'd crept into my room in the middle of the night after all. "What were you even doing in here at this time?"

"Oh. I actually wanted to talk to you."

At this time? Just because he was an insomniac didn't mean that the rest of us didn't sleep. Okay, so I'd been struggling to sleep myself, but still... That wasn't the point.

I didn't say any of that though. What I did say was, "Um... Okay." I tentatively sat down on the bed beside him, wondering what was so important that it couldn't have waited till daylight. "What's up?"

"I know why you were targeted," said L. "And I believe it's my fault."

Wow. That wasn't what I was expecting. My stomach twisted in fearful anticipation. "What makes you say that?" I asked shakily.

"Your library card got left behind," explained L.

I felt shock shoot through me. Of course. It had disappeared amongst all that stationary crap when I'd knocked those boxes over. I'd tried to find it, but the whole nearly getting burnt alive thing had kinda distracted me.

Oh god... Did that mean it was my fault that Kyo had been killed? If I hadn't have freaked out so bad and had found my library card, then they wouldn't have known who I was and wouldn't have been able to target me.

I bit my lip. "No. It's my fault. Not yours... If I'd kept it together, I could have concentrated on finding my card."

L clearly didn't agree. "You were incapacitated. I should have found your library card."

"You were concentrating more on getting us out safe," I pointed out. No need to remind him that he'd had to carry me. Urgh, that still bugged me. "That's hardly a bad thing."

"It doesn't matter. I'm an experienced detective. To forget something so important – to leave behind a means of identification – is unacceptable."

I didn't know what to say. I could see where he was coming from, even if I didn't agree with it. I didn't want him to keep blaming himself. It was actually really big of him to admit to me why I'd been targeted. It would have actually been so easy for me to just get angry and pass the blame onto him, but I couldn't do it.

"Am I gonna have to punch you again to make you stop blaming yourself?" I joked.

"I'd rather you didn't," said L stiffly.

"You do realise I'm joking, don't you?" I asked, feeling sceptical. Surely he couldn't be that socially clueless.

"Well, you've already hit me once. I wouldn't put it past you to do it again," L pointed out.

"Hey, I apologised, didn't I?" I protested. "Besides, you were the one who came sneaking into my room like a creeper. That was just self defence."

"Perhaps you should install a doorbell," L suggested.

"Perhaps you should just knock first," I replied sarcastically. "If I had a doorbell, you'd just ignore it like you always do."

I swear he almost cracked a smile. "You have a point."

"And just for future reference, I sleep with a gun under my pillow," I added, though teasingly.

"Duly noted," said L. "Though I think I may rather take a bullet than another punch."

"Now you're just milking it," I joked. But I still felt guilty, so I added, "Are you sure you don't want some ice or anything?"

"I'll be fine," said L. "I suppose I should be grateful that it was an accident and not a result of what I came here to tell you."

"Trust me; that wouldn't have even been a possibility," I said truthfully.

Yes, I was still heartbroken over what had happened to Kyo, but that didn't mean I was going to just take the easy route and let L carry the blame. Especially after he'd been bold enough to tell me the truth. And I knew that at the same time, I couldn't blame myself either. It was done. There was no changing that. If I let that guilt eat me up, then we'd never get this case solved.

"I'm glad," said L smoothly, getting to his feet. "Now that my conscience is clear, I'll leave you to sleep."

The way he said it was strange – almost sincere, but not quite. It made me wonder just how often he lied and how rarely he told the truth. With his perfect poker face and blank tone, I couldn't imagine anyone having an easier time deceiving people.

But of course, I didn't mention that. Instead, I just asked jokingly, "You have a conscience?"

Either he knew I was joking this time or he wasn't offended by my question. "I do. It may not be the same as yours or anyone else's, but it's still there."

And with that, he left, leaving me to mull over that last weird comment. Huh. Why did I always seem to pick the strange ones?

Still pondering, I climbed back into bed. As I did, I realised two things. One, my boxer shorts were a lot shorter than I'd actually thought. Two, I wasn't wearing a bra underneath my flimsy top.

I pulled the covers up over my head with a groan. At some point this week, I was definitely going to have to invest in some pyjamas.

XXX

The next morning, I was woken up by an early phone call from Johnny. I stared at the phone in disbelief, then at my alarm clock, then back at the phone before answering.

"Either hell has frozen over or The Weather Girls were right and it is raining men."

"Very cute," said Johnny, sounding amused. "I like the personal touch."

"Seriously, what are you doing up so early?" I asked.

"There are only three acceptable excuses for me to be woken up so early in the morning," explained Johnny. "Either if it's snowing, a celebrity has died or... I'm being served delicious breakfast in bed by an even more delicious guy."

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help a smile. "I'm taking it on good faith that it's sunny outside and that Ryan Reynolds is still alive." Johnny was a big Ryan Reynolds fan. One of the rare times I could actually agree with him on a guy.

"Ah, Ryan Reynolds... No man on this earth could compare to such a godlike body..." Oh dear. Just one mention of Ryan Reynolds was sending Johnny into la-la land.

"Is said guy okay with you talking about another guy like that while he's in the room?" I asked.

"He's more interested in other things right now," said Johnny.

I was horrified. "Wait a minute!" I spluttered. "You'd better not be doing anything while I'm on the phone to you!"

"Relax, Gee, I'm talking about breakfast," said Johnny sardonically. "Pancakes require two hands to eat with, you know."

"So how are you managing to hold the phone?" I pointed out.

"I'm being fed," said Johnny smugly.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Slut."

"You're just jealous, honey," replied Johnny loftily, now sounding like his mouth was full of what I was hoping was definitely pancake.

"Maybe I am," I agreed. Pancakes in bed did sound appealing. Unfortunately, I'd have to actually get up and make them myself first. "So did you just call me to gloat or was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Yes, actually. Let's go out somewhere tonight," he said enthusiastically.

No 'would you like to...' Typical Johnny way of phrasing things. I sighed. "I think I'll pass."

"Come onnnn, don't be miserable!" Johnny whined.

"I'm not!" I protested. "You know as well as I do that I'm in the middle of a big case right now."

"And you already told me that you've hit another dead end," Johnny reminded. "One night won't kill you. And I'm sure Gibson won't mind."

It wasn't Gibson I was worried about. So far, L had already had to carry me through a window, put up with my crying on him and had taken one of my punches. I didn't want him to think I was a drunken party animal/slacker detective on top of all that.

"I just don't think it's the best idea right now," I concluded.

"It's the perfect idea!" argued Johnny. "Plus I even booked the night off for this."

"You booked the night off specifically just to go out with me?" I repeated sceptically.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you could do with some cheering up," replied Johnny. He knew about the whole Kyo ordeal. "And that's why I'm betting Gibson won't mind you having a night off too."

I softened immediately. I could feel my resolve wavering. He was being super nice and that was difficult to argue with. "I don't have any nice clothes with me," I said lamely.

"I'll buy you a new top while I'm in town today," offered Johnny. Goddamn, he really was a force to be reckoned with. When I didn't reply, he took my silence to be a good thing and suddenly sounded more eager. "Well?"

I sighed again. "Can you get me something in green?"

XXX

I told Johnny that I wasn't going to drink much and that I didn't want to stay out too late. Of course, he ended up twisting my arm on both.

But I wasn't complaining – I was having too much of a good time. Johnny had gotten me a cute green top that had virtually no back, besides the halter-neck fastening. He'd left it at the front desk of the hotel for me on the afternoon, so I hadn't had to worry about getting to his place first to get ready.

Getting more than a little tipsy meant that the secrets were starting to spill out. I complained about work for a while, then ended up telling Johnny quite a bit about my thoughts over L – more than I'd even realised myself.

Of course, Johnny lapped it all up. He'd been pestering me about guys for quite a while now. His advice was only half as good as his enthusiasm though. Mainly that I should just go for it and not worry about coming across as forward. Apparently, all the guys were into that these days.

He didn't seem to understand when I tried to point out that it wasn't me who was the problem with that plan. But trying to explain what I'm sure was complete asexuality on L's part turned out to be futile and I ended up turning to more drinks instead.

After a while, Johnny found a new friend to occupy himself with. Male, obviously. Even though I was roaring drunk, I still knew that having Johnny abandon me would soon result in me being bored. So I collared him as soon as his new friend went to get more drinks.

"What happened to your Ryan Reynolds runner-up guy?" I asked, slurring my words maybe a little too much. Hey, at least I was still forming coherent sentences.

"He's still on the cards," reassured Johnny, nowhere near as drunk as I was. Bastard. "I've gotta play the field though to find out who makes the best pancakes."

"Go see Kay and Laura. Their cakes are better than any pancakes," I said stupidly.

Johnny gave me a withering look. "When I say pancakes, I don't actually mean pancakes."

If I'd have been any less drunk, I would have understood instantly. As it was, I didn't. I just stared at him in confusion. Had he been lying when he'd told me that he'd had pancakes in bed?

Johnny just laughed at the look on my face. "I think it's time to send you home."

"I don't want to," I said stubbornly. Another drink was starting to sound appealing again.

"What's your favourite TV show?"

I stared at him again. What did that have to do with anything? I thought we'd been talking about food. "Are we still talking about pancakes?"

"The correct answer is Psych," Johnny corrected. He put both hands on my shoulders. "Come on, I'll call you a cab."

Ever the gentleman – get rid of the girl first, then continue to play with the new guy. Though at least I didn't have to wait outside on my own. If he'd have left me to it, I probably would have wandered off somewhere.

As it was, he had to physically help me crawl into the taxi that appeared. He gave me a bill of money, which I spent several minutes looking at in confusion, and told me to keep it in my hand. He then seemed to spend a long time talking to the driver.

It took me a while to realise that Johnny wasn't in the car with us. Maybe he'd gone to eat pancakes somewhere? By the time I noticed his absence, the taxi was pulling up outside the hotel I'd been staying at.

"I live here!" I told the driver excitedly. What a coincidence!

The driver looked amused when he turned to look at me over the back of his seat, though I couldn't understand what was funny. "Do you really? How strange. Now have you still got that bill that your friend gave you?"

I nodded and waved it at him. "Is this for you?"

"Yes, it is," chuckled the driver. He took the bill from my fingers and then gave me a different one in return.

I stared at it. "What do I do with this one?"

"Why don't you buy yourself some pancakes in the morning?" he suggested, still chuckling. "Seeing as you can't seem to stop talking about them."

"Okay!" I agreed brightly. Maybe I could win Johnny's game of trying to find the best pancakes.

"Do you need help getting out?" offered the driver.

"No, it's okay!" I insisted cheerily as I opened the door. "See you later!" I then promptly fell out onto the sidewalk.

The driver ended up helping me into the hotel and up to the front desk. The receptionist on duty watched me with a worried look on his face, then hurriedly directed me towards the elevator. As soon as the elevator started to ascend, it made me feel dizzy, so I quickly sat down on the floor in the corner. I stayed in the elevator for a while as other nocturnal types made their way up and down throughout the hotel. It was fun – almost like a rollercoaster.

But when the same security guard on one of the floors saw me for the third time, he told me to go back to my room. In response, I simply showed him my key, which I'd found out of my pocket whilst I'd been joyriding in the elevator. I knew I needed it, but I wasn't quite sure what for.

Grumbling, the guard joined me in the elevator and pushed one of the buttons in the wall. When we reached the top floor, he led me down towards one of the doors. He took my key off me and used it to unlock the door before handing it back.

"Now don't come out until morning," he told me gruffly. He clearly thought I was going to try and find my way back to the elevator again.

"Do you want some pancakes?" I offered instead, giving him the bill that the nice taxi driver had given me.

The guard stared at me, bewildered. "Um, thank you?"

I told him I'd see him later – which probably injected some dread into him – then let myself in through the door he'd unlocked for me. I found myself in the main room that we'd all been working the case from. I looked around in wonder, amazed at how I'd ended up back here. How had the guard known where to bring me?

I was interrupted from staring at the ceiling by a rather awkward-sounding, "Good morning."

My heart gave a happy leap when I saw that it was L, but my mind felt confused at his words. "It's not morning. It's still dark outside."

"Technically, it's morning, seeing as it's almost three o'clock," L pointed out flatly.

I shook my head adamantly. "It's not morning till there's birds out."

L just stared blankly at me. Eventually, he said, "I'm going to make you some coffee."

"I don't drink coffee," I said, swaying slightly on the spot.

"Yes, you do," L insisted.

I frowned to myself. Did I drink coffee? Now I wasn't so sure... Either way, I followed L through to the kitchen. He seemed a little uncomfortable at how close I was standing, but as far as I could recall, he did this to me all the time.

"Do we have pancakes?" I asked.

"I don't believe we do," said L, giving me a bewildered look whilst I leant against the counter.

"Oh... Okay," I said vaguely, unable to remember what I'd even just asked. I was starting to feel really unbalanced and weird.

"Maybe you should sit down," suggested L, now watching me with a scrutinising expression.

"I'm okay," I said uncertainly. I couldn't tell if this was me sobering up or just another sign that I was more drunk than I'd realised. My thoughts seemed a little more coherent at least. "I think I need some water."

Unwilling to wait for the coffee that I didn't even want, I straightened up as best as I could and made to move round towards the sink. The sudden movement made my head spin and I fell sideways before I could even attempt to catch myself.

Luckily, L was a lot quicker and managed to grab me before I hit the floor. I clung to him as he pulled me back up so that I was standing again. "You really should sit down."

But right now, sitting down was the last thing on my mind. I was more aware of the fact that I'd never been so close to his face before. His expression was completely blank, as always, but being able to study him up so close, I could appreciate the startling contrast between raven hair and alabaster skin, the intensity of his large black eyes, how flawless his face was...

I'd always regarded him as an unusual and awkward-looking person. How had I never realised just how beautiful he actually was?

Suddenly, Johnny's advice that I could just about remember from earlier on in the night didn't seem like such a bad idea. Without stopping to think, I pulled L towards me and pressed my lips against his.

His lips were cold and smooth, but it suddenly didn't seem as heartfelt as I'd imagined it would be. I'd wanted to taste him ,but all I could taste was the remnants from all the alcohol I'd already consumed. And that wasn't the worst part... I realised then that L had stiffened and completely frozen up. His arms were no longer holding onto me – they were hanging loose and awkwardly at his sides.

The realisation sobered me up in an instant and I quickly pulled back. But the damage was already done. L's eyes were wide and staring and, for the first time, his face was showing raw emotion, not just a shadow of it. But it wasn't an emotion I'd been hoping to see.

Love. Happiness. Even amusement. Any of those would have done. But no. It was shock. I could see that he was completely and utterly astounded by what I'd just done. Nothing else. The look on his face showed that it was in no way a positive thing for him.

Colour flooded my face and I could think of no excuse for what I'd done. "Erm... I'm going to bed," I stuttered. "I... I'm sorry."

I pushed past him and got out of the room as quickly as I could, still staggering, but doing pretty well considering how drunk I'd been . Nothing like an arrow through the heart to sober you up. L didn't say anything and he didn't try to stop me.

As soon as I was in my room, I managed to drag the dresser – with some difficulty – across so that it was blocking the doorway. I definitely didn't want any intruders tonight. Practically falling onto my bed, I wrenched my boots off, then buried myself in the covers without bothering to undress.

Now what the hell had I gone and done?

XXX

The following morning was agonising.

When you're hungover, it's really difficult to concentrate on something other than the fact that you're hungover. So it showed that my mind was in serious turmoil when my hangover was only my secondary issue.

Don't get me wrong – I felt like total crap. Which was why I'd stayed in bed and hadn't moved an inch for at least a good hour since I'd woken up. My theory was that the less I moved, the less likely I was to throw up.

I was trying really hard not to address the main issue in my head.

But I couldn't just stay in bed forever. For one thing, I was in desperate need of water. And I knew that the longer I took to surface, the more stick I'd get from the guys. Especially Chad.

I took my morning in baby steps. Rolling over was hard. Sitting up was even harder. Eventually, I managed to make it to the bathroom without throwing up, though it was still a definite possibility. I filled the glass I'd had on my nightstand with water and sipped at it tentatively whilst I sat on the edge of the bathtub, still trying not to think too much.

After what had to have been another half an hour, I decided I may as well face the music. My hangover wasn't going to clear any time soon and I didn't want to increase the level of torment I was going to get from the police officers. And – I finally allowed myself to address the matter – no length of time was going to make it any less awkward for me to face L.

My brave decision was delayed, however, when I realised I had to shift the dresser back out of the doorway – why in the hell had I decided that was a good idea? Manual labour is definitely not good for a hangover, so I loitered around the toilet for another twenty minutes afterwards just to be on the safe side.

Eventually, I did show my face and, as I'd predicted, Chad took one look at me and burst out laughing. "Wow, Gee, you look like shit."

"Can't look worse than I feel," I replied, taking a seat next to Kenichi. Even he looked like he was trying to hide a smile. "If anyone makes any loud noises, I swear I'll put a bullet in them later."

"Hey, you poisoned yourself. Accept your fate, Gee," grinned Chad. There was no sympathy for the self-inflicted.

"I swear to god, Chad..."

I was actually grateful that the banter went on for a while. It took my mind off my uneasy stomach and my pounding head. Plus I was trying as hard as I could not to interact with L. I was scared to even look at him. For once, I was grateful that he was the quieter one in the group.

After another hour, I was starting to feel better. The banter had ceased and we'd crossed over into more discussion over the case. I found that I could even respond to L, so long as I didn't meet his gaze directly. I knew that was unprofessional of me and that I wouldn't be able to continue doing so for long, but I decided that I was allowed today. My fragile state just really wasn't up to it right now.

But, as always, my luck ran out. Gibson's cell phone rang and he left the room to take the call. Chad used the opportunity to go outside for a smoking break and Kenichi disappeared to make coffee. Before I'd even realised what was happening, I found myself alone in the room with L.

Well, hell.

Whilst I was trying to think of an excuse to make a break for it, L actually decided he was going to quit being an introvert and break the silence himself. Bully for him.

"So are you feeling any better now?" he asked, his usual poker face firmly in place.

"Well, I'm feeling a little more like I may survive now," I replied, purposely overdramatic. When feeling awkward, turn everything into a joke. That was my best defence.

"Did you find any pancakes in the end?"

I frowned. Was he making fun of me somehow? I couldn't tell – his tone was as flat as ever. Not to mention I didn't get the reference. Maybe this was what everyone else felt like every time I made Psych or wacky movie related comments. "What are you talking about?"

"You seemed to want pancakes earlier this morning," explained L.

My frown deepened, though this time, because it actually sounded familiar. I was pretty sure that hadn't been the first time pancakes had come up last night. I'd have to ask Johnny about that one. "No, I didn't... To be honest, I can't really remember the relevance."

"I take it you don't want any now?"

Oh, great, now even he was making fun of my delicate condition. "Why? Are you offering?" I asked, finding myself slipping into my teasing tone without even meaning to.

L stiffened and a flicker of something crossed his face. I wasn't sure what it was, but I doubted it was something good. What the hell was wrong with me? Now I was inadvertently flirting with him and freaking him out even more. My stomach turned unpleasantly. Although now I was sure that it was more hangover related.

L's expression changed again. "Are you alright? You look quite green."

I managed to scramble rather ungainly out of my chair. "I'll let you know on that one," I told him in an odd tone before dashing off towards my room.

I managed to make it to the toilet in time, but it still didn't make the act of throwing up any less unpleasant. I spat bitterly into the bowl. I was not touching another drop of alcohol as long as I was on this case. And I was seriously going to have to watch what I was saying to L or he was going to think I was some crazy woman constantly trying to jump him.

Okay, that wasn't entirely untrue, but he didn't need to know that. It would probably send him running for the hills.

Or maybe 'jump him' wasn't the right phrase. I'd never had sex in my life and it certainly wasn't something I was looking to explore anytime soon. But I definitely had some kind of weird attraction towards L, whether I liked it or not, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I groaned. I really didn't want to deal with this right now. These kind of thoughts were going to just have to be put on hold, I decided firmly.

Once I was sure I wasn't going to be sick again, I rinsed my mouth out thoroughly and then brushed my teeth. The minty toothpaste didn't make me want to hurl, so I took that to be a sign that the worst was over.

When I went back to the main room, it was full again. As soon as Gibson saw me enter, he asked, "Are you feeling any better now?"

I was sure he was asking partly out of concern, but his tone seemed businesslike. Oh god... I had a feeling I wasn't going to like whatever I was going to hear next. "Sort of... Why?"

"Because if you're feeling up to it, I think you should come with us. There's been another murder. We've got a crime scene to get to."

Really? While I was hungover?

"Son of a bitch..."