Rory snuggled deeper into the blankets as she slowly awakened to the sound of wind and something hitting the windows. She opened one eye to see the gloomy grey light and tried to go back to sleep. The unmistakable aroma of coffee caught her attention and the realization that she was not in her own bed slammed home. Both eyes flew open and she looked around, remembering the last two days with a rush of anxiety. She was in Tristan's guest room!

She quickly took stock of her position, of how she was dressed and what time it was. "At least I'm in my own clothes." She mumbled, and then shook her head. Why did she still expect the worst from Tristan? She threw back the blankets and grinned as she unlocked the door and followed the scent of coffee.

Rory saw him from the hall that ran beside the stairs. Tristan was sitting at the table reading his tablet and drinking coffee. Dressed in well worn sweatpants and a thermal tee shirt that did nothing to hide his build he gave a vague wave as he continued to read and tug at his hair.

He looked adorable.

When Rory entered the kitchen he looked up and smiled that lazy, charming smile she remembered from Chilton. "Good Morning. Would you like some coffee?" he asked as he rose from his seat.

"Yes please" Rory answered softly as she took a seat at the table. Tristan placed a heavy mug of coffee and a teaspoon in front of her. There was a creamer and sugar bowl in the center of the table. "Thank you" she sighed and closed her eyes a she took a sip. She hummed her appreciation as she tasted the rich brew. Tristan watched her and grinned. Rory opened her eyes and actually blushed. "Coffee is essential to my well being"

"So I see."

'This is good, points for you."

"Glad to hear it." Tristan walked over to the 'fridge. "I am going to make some breakfast. Would you care for eggs and bacon?"

"Ooo, yes please I am starving." Rory grinned and did a little chair dance. Tristan was enchanted.

Tristan worked quickly as he cooked bacon, scrambled eggs, toasted bread and refilled the coffee.

"You make a great short order cook and waiter" Rory said.

"If you live alone and want to eat without having to rely on take out all the time you learn." He said. "I can handle breakfast and lunch and simple suppers. I do make a great Bolognese sauce however."

"I can make coffee and call for takeout." Rory said.

"Let's figure out what is going on here, okay?" he said as he put the wonderfully laden plates on the table.

"Going on here?" Rory asked

"Yes. Let's see if we can't figure out who broke in to your house and killed Madelyn instead of you" Tristan was in cop mode.

Rory stopped, fork in mid air and squeaked "You think someone was after me?"

"Yes. There were clues to indicate the killer made an error. He covered her face and then destroyed your room.. YOUR room. The rest of the house was untouched. There was frustration and rage in the way he trashed everything."

She swallowed her food without tasting it. She placed her fork on the plate, then pushed the plate away. Sorrow and fear showed in her expression.

"Have you written any expose or article that got someone into deep shit?" he asked gently.

"There was one recently" and she told him the tale of one Henry Caulfield. "He bilked thousands out of their retirement, bankrupted pension funds and pocketed millions. He ended up getting disbarred, the SEC seized his assets and got his wife to turn over the offshore accounts rather than face jail time herself, and then she divorced him."

"I remember that case. Nice piece of writing." Rory nodded and just looked at her hands.

"Anyone else who may be holding a grudge?" Tristan asked as he cleared the table.

"No one I can think of." Rory replied.

"Okay. Let's see what Mr. Caulfield is up to." He typed a series of commands into his laptop and read the information that he called up.

"Well well well.." he said mysteriously. Rory just looked at him.

"It seems that Mr. Caulfield was supposed to report for sentencing yesterday. However, he had a close encounter with a snowplow during the storm. The snowplow won. His body is in the morgue and his car, or what was left of it, was taken to the impound lot." Tristan paused and looked directly at Rory. "He was killed one block from your address."

Rory processed this information. Silence reigned in the kitchen as the wind continued to beat the icy sleet against the windows.

"Then who went through my place if Caulfield was already dead?" Rory asked.

"That is the question, isn't it? " Tristan answered

"Let's play with this line of thinking" Rory said, her eyes narrowing."I was the target, Madelyn was the victim. My house was ransacked AFTER her body was taken away. Caulfield may have been the perpetrator, but he was killed in a collision with a very unforgiving snowplow BEFORE the crime was discovered. I know I didn't have anything worth stealing in such a spook manner. So, that leaves something that Madelyn was carrying or hiding or working on. She told me that she just got a new job and needed to look in the DC area for new digs. The questions now are what was she working on and who was she working for?"

Tristan sat back in his chair and listened to her quick, concise appraisal of the situation. He grinned. She was brilliant. Rory looked at him and blushed. "What?" she said, suddenly self-conscious.

"Spook manner?" He said as he leaned in.

Rory grimaced and said "Yes. You know, like Jason Bourne."

Tristan grinned again and shook his head. "It's plausible."

"So, how do we check this angle out? Do you have any spook contacts?" Rory asked.

"Spook contacts?" Tristan laughed

"Yes, do you have any contacts in the FBI? The CIA? The NSA?" Now, he really laughed.

"Do you?" he managed to ask

"As a matter of fact I do." Rory's voice was calm and level. She looked Tristan in the eye. He stopped laughing.

"I do also." He said softly. I think you are right, as you always were back at Chilton" he said softly.

"So, who calls first?" Rory said. She felt a little breathless.

Tristan picked up his phone.

Outside, a grey car drove slowly by the house again.