Maddie went inside the house, feeling as if she was floating. It had been a good evening with John, and oh goodness, she hadn't laughed that hard in ages. She had been sorely tempted to invite him inside, but well, what was the rush? Maybe they could take their time and get to know each other a little before things went any further.

John was a good, kind man, from what she could tell, and she enjoyed his company immensely. That seemed like a good place to start.

Her answering machine was flashing, and she set down her bag to check her messages. The first one was from her mom, and Maddie made a note to call her back in the morning.

The second one was David. " Maddie, call me. I'm on to something."

"Oh, David, honestly." The last thing Maddie wanted to think about was this case.

She put the bag of food away and called David's number. The answering machine picked up, and Maddie waited for the beep. "David, it's Maddie. Call me back."

She hung up the phone and started toward her bedroom to change clothes. Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door. "Maddie?! Open up! It's David!"

Maddie rushed to the door and flung it open. David was a disheveled mess, breathing heavily as he leaned against the door frame.

"Oh my God." Maddie breathed out. "Get in here. What happened?!"

"Tangled up with the son-in-law." David explained as he flopped heavily on to the couch. "He wasn't too thrilled to find me lurking around in his garden."

"David, what on earth did you do that for?" Maddie had found a cloth and wet it, using it to clean David's face. "You could have been killed!"

"I found that sculpture. It was right where you said it was." David answered, his breathing slowing now. He briefly wiped at his nose, which was still bleeding a little.

"Here, hold this." Maddie told him firmly, placing the cloth over his nose.

David did so and continued. "So, he catches me out there, I take off running. He catches up with me, we scrap, I get the hell out of there."

"And the sculpture?"

"It's in the car."

"You brought it with you?!" Maddie couldn't believe it. Of all the dumb things David had done, this was probably right near the top.

"I know, I know." David waved his other hand around. "But I couldn't leave without it. Might be the best piece of evidence we have."

Maddie took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'll go get it."

"No, leave it." David told her firmly. "We'll look it over in the morning."

Maddie chose not to argue with him. "Are you okay? I can get you some ice and some aspirin."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." David nodded before lifting his head and taking the cloth off his nose. "Why does it smell like Chinese food in here?"

"I had dinner with John." Maddie told him from the kitchen. "There's a ton of leftovers if you want something."

"That's okay." David answered. "Just bring the drugs and the ice."

Maddie got a glass of water and wrapped up some ice cubes in a plastic bag and a towel, grabbing a bottle of aspirin before heading back out to the living room. She handed it all to David, who took it with a nod. "Thanks. So, you have a good time with him?"

"I did." Maddie sat down on the couch next to him. "He's an interesting guy. I like him."

"No offense, but he's not your kind of guy."

"And how do you know what kind of my guy is my kind of guy?"

"You know what I mean." David answered as he swallowed the aspirin and leaned back against the couch with the ice on the bridge of his nose. "Uptight big money guys. John's not that kind of guy."

"Well, maybe John's just the kind of guy I need." Maddie pointed out.

David shrugged but otherwise didn't respond right away. After a beat, he commented, "He does seem like a pretty good guy. I told him he'd better be good to you or else."

"Or else, what?" Maddie scoffed.

"Or else…well, that's between me and him." David told her. "If he does you wrong, you'd better tell me, got it?"

"Got it." Maddie replied. "Now, I'll get you a pillow and a blanket. You just rest here tonight."

"Okay." It was apparent David wasn't in the mood for an argument. "Might get into your leftovers."

"That's fine." Maddie answered as she returned with a pillow and a blanket. "Just don't leave a mess."

"I won't." David shifted around so that he lay across the length of the couch. "Scout's honor."

Maddie couldn't help laughing a little. "Good night, David."

She turned out the lights and went to bed herself. Maybe tomorrow would be the day they finally cracked this case.

# # #

"So, that's it?" John asked around a mouthful of hot dog.

"That's it." David replied. "Mister Hawthorne had indeed already donated that sculpture to the private art museum. The no-good son-in-law that Martha supposedly hated so much? In cahoots with Martha to bump off Walter, replace the real sculpture with a fake, and sell off the real one."

"You're kidding me." John scoffed.

"I wish we were." Maddie chimed in. "Martha was upset that Walter was giving all their money and valuables away. He was giving it away almost as fast as he was making it. They were on the verge of losing the house."

"That explains the fire." John nodded. "Insurance money."

"And it explains why Brad came back for the sculpture." Maddie pointed out. "If Martha had tried to report it to insurance, they would have found out it was a fake."

"So, it did end up being insurance fraud." John shook his head.

"Yup, they just got in over their heads when Walter busted them in the act." David told him. "Had to get rid of him."

"Right." John agreed. "So, murder and insurance fraud. Kinda feel bad for their daughter."

"Oh, I wouldn't feel too bad for her." Maddie replied. "She's going to make out just fine once the divorce goes through. She'll be set for life."

"Still, all that money's not gonna replace her family." John answered. "If you ask me, I'd rather have the family over the money."

"Can't disagree with you there, John." David slid down from Maddie's desk and extended a hand. "Really appreciate your help. Couldn't have done this without you."

"Hey, yeah." John rose from the chair and responded likewise. "If I can ever help out again, let me know."

"Sure will."

"Well, suppose I'd better get back to the office." John told them. "Got a whole pile of reports to go through today."

"A detective's work is never done." Maddie teased him lightly. "I'll walk you out."

"Don't be too long, Maddie." David called out. "I'll send out a search party if you're not back in an hour."

Maddie merely sighed while John let out a short laugh, and they made their way to the elevator. John pulled her in close and lightly kissed her. "We make a pretty damn good team."

"You know what?" Maddie looped her arms around his neck. "We do."

"We're still on for Saturday, right?" John asked as the elevator chimed.

"Yes, we're definitely on." Maddie assured him.

"I'll see you then." John kissed her one more time before letting her go and stepping on the elevator, leaving her with a brief wave.

Maddie returned to the office, a warm feeling coursing through her. Soon enough they'd have another case, and they'd be off and running again.

And maybe, just maybe, they'd need to bring John in again. Indeed, they were becoming quite a team. It was a team Maddie had no intention of quitting any time soon.