Niko and Leni

Chapter 2

A crowd had gathered behind the police tape that lined the river bank. Curious onlookers, concerned towns people, even a few folk from the outer swampy area strained to see.



But there wasn't much to see yet. A pair of divers had entered the water almost a hour before and the only thing anyone on the surface could see was the occasion ripple or bubbles. Local cops milled about anxiously. They'd already had one murder that was unsolved - the thought of another one in their small community terrified them. But more than that, the body that the divers were looking for may be one of their own. What if it was? What if it wasn't?

I knew all the cops standing around the bank. He'd worked closely with Felicia enough to know her co-workers; I'd had drinks with him before and had been to the annual Christmas party a few times even. But I hung back from them. They'd looked my way a few times but since I was flanked by other agents, they'd made no move to join me or invite us to join them. For the moment, that was fine.



72 Hours Earlier
"I don't give a damn about that!" I shouted at his boss. Somewhere inside I knew I should just shut up and follow the rules but Felicia was missing, she'd vanished!

"You know I can't put you on this case Nick - it's too personal to you. A jury would..." Deputy Director Williams said calmly, rationally.



"Then don't put me in front of jury! I just want to help find her!" I leaned in closer and tried to calm myself. "Please" I said through gritted teeth.

Williams seemed to be considering for a moment. He stood and walked around his desk, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Agent Geirson, I think you need to take some time to..."

"Sir," I said, then paused, looking down at my hands. "I need to do something. Please - let me help find Felicia. I can't sit at home doing nothing..."



"I'll leave it up to Agent Ortega, he's heading the missing persons' team working on this." Williams said finally.

I nodded, content with decision. "Thank you sir."

Williams just nodded and returned to his chair behind his desk. I waited for a dismissal, anxious to track down Ortega. "Oh and Geirson?" Williams said as he settled back into his chair. He picked up the file that Felicia had assembled, with the notes I had made during my search. "Good work on this..."

"It was all Felicia's doing sir." I said thinking back to the night before, when she'd slid the file across to me. I'd been able to keep myself out of my aunt's case until that moment. I'd rationalized it all to myself - why I couldn't be involved - even if I'd wanted to be.

"Perhaps, but if she hadn't given it to you, we might never have made any progress." Williams said. "Alright, dismissed - Ortega's team is on the third floor."

"Thank you." I said. I walked quickly through the halls of the Bureau building and bypassed the elevator completely, taking the stairs two at a time until I reached the third floor.

A group of agents were crowded around a board, talking rapidly as I approached. Felicia picture was taped to the board and there were several scrawled annotations around her photograph and a map of Adelbrook.

"She left Shelby's Bar around 10PM." one of the agents said, another reached up to add it to the growing timeline.

"Ten thirty actually." I chimed in. The group turned toward me slowly and I saw a couple pairs of eyes look toward my ID badge.

One of them, I can only assume it was Agent Ortega, stepped forward. "And you know this because?"



"I was there." I said. "Nikolas Geirson, she was working my Aunt's murder case."

"Ah, did you two leave together?" Ortega asked.

"We left at the same time, but she went home; I went to my hotel room." I found myself looking at the picture of Felicia while speaking to them.

Ortega motioned to the other agent to make the appropriate note on the time line. "She was seen by one Sgt. Washington at the Adelbrook Police Station at eleven. She must have gone to PD after leaving the bar." he looked to me for confirmation but I could only shrug. "Right," he said, still looking at me with some suspicion. "She sent an email to Deputy Director Williams at 6:12AM, to confirm a meeting..."

"And then nothing." one of the other agents said as the agent with the dry erase marker continued filling in the time line.

"She often jogs before work, stops for coffee on the way back to her house. At a coffee shop called Soliel's Java." I offered.

All of the agents turned to look at me again. "What exactly was your relationship with Ms. Gianni?" one of them asked.



Ortega and his team were suspicious of me as I explained our relationship and Williams' decision regarding my involvement with the case. Despite his concerns, he ultimately agreed to let me assist - with the stipulation that I kept my mouth shut.

-----

The plane touched down in Adelbrook an hour later and the team divided in order to canvas the town quickly. Dalton and Avery went to Felicia's house, Jackson went to question the staff of the coffee shop to see if she'd come in and Ortega and I went to the police station to talk to Sgt Washington.

"Hey Nick" Washington said with a weak smile as we walked in. "I'm real sorry about your aunt...she was a nice lady. And Felicia..." his voice caught and I nodded, cutting him off.

"Felicia came in last night?" I asked, earning a sharp look from Ortega.

"Yeah, she said she wanted to file a couple things and do a little bit of research. She was in one of the offices for about an hour or so, then left." Washington said, walking us toward the office in question. "She was supposed to be here this morning at 8 and when she didn't arrive..." he trailed off, looking worried. "Well you know how she is." he turned away from us as sadness passed over his face.

I nodded and Ortega looked between us. "How is she?" he asked.




"She's never late...ever." I explained quickly. Before Ortega could shut me down I turned my attention back to Washington. "Did y'all try calling her?"

"Oh yeah, a few times; cell and home and pager. She never answered or called back. Then we called you guys - mostly cause we're a bit overwhelmed here with your aunt and a few other cases....needed some back up." Washington said, he looked over at Ortega "We have a pretty small force here, Felicia is one of only two detectives so..." he tried to explained and Ortega simply nodded in understanding.

Unfortunately we didn't find anything at the police station except confirmation of the time line. Dalton and Avery found no sign of struggle or forced entry at Felicia's house either. Jackson discovered she had stopped by for coffee a little after seven, narrowing the time line further. "So she went missing sometime between seven and eight in the morning." Ortega said as we settled around a table at the Adelbrook Police station.

"Where were YOU at that time?" Avery asked, looking my direction. He seemed to trust me less than Ortega did.

"I was in my office at the Bureau building. Gus saw me come in and Williams saw me this morning around nine." I explained, slowly stirring my coffee slowly.

Avery looked a little disappointed that I had such a firm alibi; they all looked a little disappointed actually but I suspected it was because we had nothing. It was as if she'd simply decided to walk away after getting her coffee that morning.

-----

The others were questioning everyone in Adelbrook as I approached my aunt's house. The crime scene tape was still across the door but I pulled it off and let it flutter away. I pushed the door open and took in the inside for the first time. There was a stain on the floor that hadn't been there before - my aunt was a meticulous cleaner - I imagined her standing beside me clucking about her floor being stained.

I took a wide berth around the blood stain and sat in a chair across from the fireplace. I remembered my aunt bent over the fireplace, starting a fire in the cooler winter months. The first winter I'd been here after my parents had died I'd scared her half to death shrieking when I saw the fire in the fireplace. We didn't have a fire at all that winter.



"What are you doin' here Nick?" a familiar male voice pulled me from my recollection.

I turned to see one of the cops...Jake I think it was. I shrugged and looked back at the empty fireplace.

"You shouldn't be here, it's still considered a crime scene." Jake said, taking a seat next to me. "Although I guess it's your crime scene now - I heard it was turned over to the Feds."

I nodded. "Yeah it has." I said, not looking at him. After several minutes I turned toward him. "Any thing on Felicia?" I asked, unable to think about my aunt any more. Jake just shook his head sadly. Time was slipping away from us - every hour meant it was more likely she was dead.

-----

With little to go on, most of the team left Adelbrook. Avery stayed behind to question more people. The trail was cold and they all knew it. "It's not that we're giving up..." Dalton explained to me on the plane ride back. "It's just that a small town like that...lots of suits tend to make people close ranks...even if they have nothing to hide."

"Right" I said unconvinced. It felt a lot like quitting, not that we had any leads to follow.

She'd been missing for almost three days when the call came in. "Nick?" It was Jake's voice on the other end.



"Yeah it's me. What's up?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes with my free hand.

"We found something..." he sounded distressed as he said it and tried to explain in halted speech what had transpired.

"Wait, Jake - did you call the Feds?" I interjected.

"Aren't you the Feds?" he said confused.

I could have almost chuckled. "Yeah, I am...I meant Ortega..." I told him to continue and jotted down notes as he told me about some kids stumbling over something at the river bank. "Okay, we're on our way." I said running from my office. "Come on!" I shouted to Ortega and the other agents. "I got a call from Jake..."



They were all confused but moved into quick motion as I gave them the details. Kids. Foot. River. Ortega was on the phone with Avery, who was still in Adelbrook, and putting things into motion.

I was jittery during the short flight back to Adelbrook, the idea that Felicia might be in that water had me ill. If she was missing, then I could convince myself she wasn't dead no matter how much time passed.

A crowd had gathered behind the police tape that lined the river bank. Curious onlookers, concerned towns people, even a few folk from the outer swampy area strained to see.

But there was nothing to see. The divers had resurfaced a few times, each with a flurry of activity from the cops and the crowd but they didn't come up with anything until after dark. By then, much of the crowd had dispersed thankfully. "They found something!" Washington called up in my direction. I made my way down the small slope and waited with the cops and the coroner as we waited.

A bloated body was brought ashore slowly and carefully. Around me people were talking about the clothes, the timing, the science of it all "...I would estimated she was in the water three to five days" one person said as he crouched over the body. "Similar height and build as Gianni" another said.

I knelt over the body and looked over it quickly, holding my breath so as not to breathe in the smell emanating from the body.



I didn't have to look long, I didn't even have to touch the poor woman to know. "It's not her." I said quietly. Everyone turned to look at me curiously, "It's not Felicia." I said standing up straighter and walking several feet away.

End Chapter

Lizzie and Wesley - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Making a Fresh Start

"Stacia has turning into quite a little lady hasn't she?" I said with a laugh. Stacia was playing with Hannah in the backyard while Tessa, Sierra and I had a cup of afternoon tea.

"Yes she has." Tessa said with a look of motherly affection. She finished her tea and sighed. "But I think it's time we head on home."



Tessa poked her head out the back door and called for the girls while Sierra and I chatted about Luke and Sarah. They were both fond of each other; or it was obvious that Sarah was fond of Luke anyway. I could only assume from what Sierra said that Luke was also fond of Sarah - the boy rarely showed any outward emotion.

"Lance was just the opposite" she had confided in me one evening while they'd stayed with us. "Very prone to outbursts.." I'd handed her a tissue as her eyes welled with tears.

"Ma!" Sarah ran inside excitedly; pulling me from my memory. "Oh my Ma! You won't hardly believe it!"

Rachel fell in behind her and I saw her roll her eyes. I gave her a quick look of reproach before turning my attention back to Sarah. "Well tell me dearest!" I said with an encouraging smile.



"Ms. Isabelle asked me to write the little play we'll do at the picnic!" Sarah was practically jumping around as she told me. "Me! Oh Ma I'm so very happy!"

"That's wonderful Sarah! What will the play be about?" I asked.

"Oh dear I don't know! Can we go to into town so I can go to the library?" Sarah was now bordering on fretting.

Luke strolled into the house then and stood beside his mother. "I suppose" I said thinking about making a trip in a few days.

"Oh wonderful!" she bounced toward Luke and grabbed his hand happily. "Will you come with us? I would so love for you to be in the play as well!"

Sierra looked troubled then. "Sarah, Luke doesn't go to the town school, I don't think..."

"Oh but it's not a school play - I mean it is...but it's for the town picnic! And you are part of our town." Sarah cut her off. Luke, for his part, said nothing. "Come on Rachel!" she grabbed Rachel's hand with her free hand and kept a firm grip on Luke's and pulled them out toward the barn.

"Wait!" I called realizing she meant to go now; but it was too late; they were across the yard and Luke was already hitching the horses to the wagon.

Wesley came in looking confused and look to me for explanation. "Apparently we're going into town. Would you like to come?"

"I'd rather not" he said with a grin, holding out his dirty shirt. In fact most of him was covered in dirt and grime as he'd just come in from the field.

I smiled and nodded. "Well Hannah is painting," Rachel had bought Hannah her own paint set after Hannah had just about destroyed hers. Then she'd spent hours helping Hannah.



"And Alexander there needs to get to bed, can you..."

Wesley cut me off with a nod. "I think I can handle it. You go on with the girls." he said.

We made it to town with enough time for the girls to have a quick look around the library before closing. Rachel wanted to go over to the store but Sarah kept a firm hold on both her and Luke - insisting that she would need them both.

"What's HE doin' here?" a teen boy said, disgusted. I looked over toward the source of the voice and recognized him as one of the Flynn boys but couldn't remember his name. I was both proud and anxious as I watched my daughters close in ranks behind Luke, the source of the young Flynn's disgust.



Luke, who was never prone to emotional outbursts, looked at the boy with an almost blank stare on his face. The only reason I knew he'd heard the boy was because he was looking right at him.

Young Flynn started hurling all manner of disgusting words at Luke to provoke him but Luke didn't so much as flinch. I waited with stilled breath to see what would happen next, prepare to step in if need arose. When Young Flynn stepped forward, Luke quickly stepped into his path, between him and the girls and my heart swelled.

"Oh so that's what it takes, are they your wh..." Young Flynn leered.



He didn't have a chance to say any other horrible things as Luke screamed and lunged for young Flynn.

The two boys started brawling and I quickly pulled the girls back and then looked toward Sierra feeling helpless. "Luke no!" Sarah screeched, pulling against me to try to get to him.

It wasn't long before the boys broke it up, Mr. Flynn showed up and scowled in Sierra's direction as he took his boy home. Young Flynn had some quickly forming bruises and a few cuts.

Luke's lip had already begun to swell where young Flynn had gotten a hit in. The blood was already starting to clot though and he seemed mostly unscathed. His former serenity had returned.

Back at the homestead, Sarah went into nursing mode; though he wasn't really in need of much tending.



Luke barely flinched as she tended to his wounds. She knelt beside him and he stared into her eyes, although no apparent emotion crossed his face, I wondered what he was thinking as he gazed at her.

Sierra, on the other hand, was showing much of her emotion as she slumped against the wall. She was so tired and weary. Ever since Lance had died, she'd been forced to come into town more often. This shouldn't have been a problem except half the townspeople eyed her with distrust while most of the other half whispered about her behind her back. The fact that she'd been living with - as none of them wanted to believe that they were really married - a white man fueled their fire.

I moved next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. "I think we ought to move on Elizabeth. This town...there's just too much history."

"Oh no, they'll come around!" I said with more conviction than I felt.



Sierra shook her head. "No, no I don't think they will. You and Ms. Tessa seem to be the only ones around here that don't recoil from us. Somewhere else...." she looked over at Sarah and Luke and sighed. "We could make a clean start. Where no one knew us...."

"Oh Sierra." I said hugging her. She'd never been much for personal touch but over the intervening months, I felt like we'd become closer. "I do wish you would stay....but I understand."

Sierra and Luke left not long after and I sent the children up to bed. Alex, for some reason I imagine had to do with the candy Wesley had given him, was up later than he ought to have been. Wesley yawned and stood to go to bed. "Oh no you don't!" I said grabbing his arm and pulling him back onto the couch with me. "This." I pointed to Alex who was playing with his bear, "is your doing and you will stay up with the boy until he's ready for bed."



Wesley groaned and muttered protests until I snuggled into his arm. I fell asleep laying on his chest but he must have stayed up with little Alex because the next morning he was in his crib and I was tucked warmly into our bed.

-----

Sarah spent as much time as she could working on her little play. It was only going to be about ten minutes long and was to include a song of some sort so it didn't take her long to finish the script. Sierra was still talking of leaving town but in the mean time, Sarah claimed Luke's free time. She absolutely insisted that Luke was necessary to the play and no one could argue with her.

The morning of the picnic, Sarah was in a near frenzy as she paced the green meadow. More and more people had arrived and were settling in for the picnic but Sierra and Luke had not arrived yet. "Where is he?!" she cried at Rachel. I saw Rachel roll her eyes again as she shrugged.



Sarah corralled her sisters, her cousins and even one of the younger Flynn children toward the small area they'd selected to perform. At the last minute, Luke showed up and slipped in between her and Rachel. For a fraction of a second, I thought I saw him smile at her before his normal passive gaze returned. The little Flynn eyed him nervously for most of the skit but it went off without further problems. Catherine's triplet girls had beautiful voices and lend them to Sarah's song, wowing the crowd with their skill at such a tender age. I smiled at Catherine and she smiled back - one of the first I'd seen from her since John's death. I was so glad she'd stayed in Sheardin so far.



As the little play ended and the children returned to their own families, the gathered crowd clapped and cheered. I saw Luke garner several looks, but I noticed many of them seemed more curious than hateful. I looked around for Sierra and saw her lingering on the far side of the meadow, clearly weary of the time she'd spent with the towns people. I tried to wave her over but she either didn't see me or ignored me. Luke nodded to Sarah and then toward our family gathering before he left to join his mother. They left the picnic without eating anything.

Sarah, despite her successful play, was glum as we ate our lunch.

End Chapter

School Days: Junior Year

Chapter 8: Memories

I brushed past Erik in the hall and gave him a small smile. Two weeks had passed since James and I had...well since that day at the castle. Two weeks and I hadn't told Erik. In fact, I'd lied to him when he asked me how James was. Well it wasn't a lie so much as withholding the truth - but I kind of consider that lying.

I glanced back at him again and then made my way outside; the juniors were having an assembly to talk about the upcoming SATs, College Fair, Career Fair and so many other things. I'm pretty sure some of the staff thought we should all have our lives planned out by now - or at least before our senior year. Nai'a had gotten there early and I took the seat next to her, scooting down so I could prop my feet on the rail in front of me. "Hey" I said.



"Hey Ginny." Nai'a said giving me a smile. "You have that angst look on your face again."

"I do?" I said self consciously. "Wait...what is an 'angst look'?"

"Like you're fretting about something." Nai'a said. "You still haven't told Erik have you?"

I was beginning to really like Nai'a - aside from being a girl I could talk to - she was a very intuitive person. And she and Timothy had become friends - something he was in need of right now. "What? That James and I are broken up?" I asked even though I knew the answer. "No, I haven't."

"Girl, why not?!" Nai'a rolled her eyes at me. "It's so obvious you're both still...whatever. You just need to tell him. Cause that girl Meghan is trying awfully hard to get her claws in him. And then where will you be huh? You'll be free and he'll be dating someone and we'll repeat this whole cycle over again."

I grimaced at the thought of Erik and Meghan dating. I knew she was interested in him but I was pretty sure he wasn't interested in her. "Can we talk about something else?" I said, feeling like I was about to lose my lunch.

"Sure, that girl Veronica....what's the deal with her?" Nai'a asked. "I know she and Tim dated and all but there's more right?"

"Yeah, there's more." I said a little sadly. "Veronica, Todd, Tim and I have known each other since we were kids. Once we all got past the cooties phase, we were a group. It was always the four of us."



"And Veronica wasn't a total witch then?" Nai'a asked.

"Oh she was sometimes. Veronica has issues - has had for a while. She likes to be the center of attention and the rest of us usually let her." I paused to chuckle a bit. "Mostly because it was easier that way. But when she didn't get her way..."

"Tantrum?" Nai'a interjected when I paused.

"She could beat a three year old in the tantrum department."



"She sounds like a gem." she said sarcastically.

I smirked. "Yeah. She wasn't all bad. Most of the time she was a great friend. She would stick up for Timothy if others would pick on him," I looked over at her, "He was a scrawny kid and an easy mark for bullies that didn't take into account V, Todd and I."

"Anyway, even if we fought about something or she threw one of her tantrums, we always made up and the next day would be back at the playground playing together like nothing had ever happened." I smiled as the memories of those easier childhood days came to mind.



"So, what happened?" Nai'a prompted, bringing my focus back around.

"Middle school. Middle school happened." I answered. "Veronica realized that being able to hang out with the cheerleaders was the ticket to being popular. She's good too, just didn't actually care about the cheerleading. So she started hanging out with this girl named Britney - Brit was the only sixth grader to get on the squad and I guess Veronica figured if she was friends with Britney she could be friends with the rest of them."

"It was about that time that Timothy confessed his love for Veronica to me and I confessed my huge crush on Todd to Veronica..."

"You and Todd?!" Nai'a sputtered while laughing. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh it just seems...."

"I know, this was before Erik mind you, and Todd was the boy next door - literally. We'd known each other forever and he was on the six grade football team and he was perfect in my eleven year old eyes." I said with a laugh.

"So Veronica planned this party - at my house mind you - and invited Britney and Bart and of course Todd. She didn't want to invite Tim - this is about the time she decided he was a little too nerdy for her upward mobility - but I'd insisted considering the party was at my house." I continued.



"Ohhh Bart, wasn't he the one..." Nai'a trailed off when she saw the pain that crossed my face.

"Yeah, same Bart." I said quietly. "We roasted some marshmallows, played on the playground some and danced some. Eventually we were all just hanging out by the fire pit my dad had lit for us and Britney suggested we play Truth or Dare." I said with a cringe.

Nai'a raised an eyebrow but kept her mouth shut so I could continue.

"Eventually it was Veronica's turn and she picked Bart. I've never really understood her motives behind this but she dared him to take me in the playhouse to kiss, with the lights off for five minutes. Bart was really cute and had a dark and broody thing going on but I was, of course, crushing on Todd so I was completely embarrassed when she made this declaration. I avoided looking at Bart because I was absolutely certain that my cheeks were going to be beet red but when I finally did, it was clear from his look that this prospect didn't appeal to him either."



"Oh no!" Nai'a exclaimed.

"Yeah he looked so annoyed and, of course, my face probably got even redder then." I said with a chuckle. "Bart sighed loudly before stomping toward the playhouse, leaving me to shuffle quietly after him. I wanted to smack Veronica for doing this to me - in front of Todd no less."



"So, did you and Bart kiss?" Nai'a asked, a look of anticipation on her face.

I laughed. "Um...no. Well not then anyway. The lights were off so none of the other could really see inside anyway. We stumbled toward the little couch and sat there - as far apart as we could manage - for a bit. Bart broke the silence first...'

'Ya know Ginny - um....we don't have to...' Bart trailed off and looked away awkwardly. 'I mean if you want to we could but....they won't ever know.'



"He was so awkward and clumsy! Nothing like the calm exterior he always showed at school. Of course we were eleven so I think everything at that age is pretty awkward and clumsy." I said with a chuckle. "Turns out he actually DID like me and he was upset because of the way things were happening."

"We talked the whole five minutes and even scooted a little closer together on the couch. He put his arm around my shoulders and I think he complimented my hair." I said trying to recall that night. "I blushed even more than - as if my face could get any more red! I was so happy the lights were out."

"He sounds so sweet." Nai'a said with a smile.



"Yeah he was." I said, sad again. "So the next day Veronica spread all these rumors around school that we'd done way more than really happened and Bart thought I'd spread them because I was the only one in there and then wouldn't talk to me for awhile. And then Veronica started dating Todd - who still had no idea I had any sort of crush on him."

"But Veronica knew you did!" Nai'a said angrily.

"Yeah well, Veronica is who she is." I said.

"But still! Gah she is a hateful crow isn't she?" Nai'a fumed for a moment. "But wait! You said that you didn't kiss Bart that night but you implied...." she grinned hopefully.

I laughed. "Yeah, after he decided that I did not actually spread those rumors - about a year later - we dated....well as much as any seventh grader dates. Ya know we sat at the same lunch table and walked together in the hall holding hands and went to a school dance together."



"He was very sweet and tender." I smiled, thinking about the night I'd gotten my first kiss.

"Was it fabulous? When you first kissed?" Nai'a had a dreamy look in her eyes as well.

"Was your first kiss?" I asked with a laugh. "It was sloppy and awkward - like everything else about that age."

"So what happened to Bart?" Nai'a said after she recovered from laughing. "He doesn't go to school here I don't think..."

I looked away from her across the football field where I saw staff setting up for the assembly. "He moved away the following summer." I paused as a few tears formed in my eyes. "And then he died. He was camping and drowned in a lake. His mom told my dad..." I explained before she could ask.

"Oh I'm so sorry Ginny." Nai'a said looking at her toes. The bleachers around us were quickly filling as more juniors filed out for the assembly and I watched as Principal Watts walked up to the microphone.

End Chapter

Niko and Leni

Chapter 1

My phone was buzzing somewhere. I reached over the edge of the bed and sleepily grasped around the floor until I found my pants, exactly where they'd been discarded the night before. I searched the pocket until my fingers grazed the surface of the phone. By the time my vision cleared enough the read the Caller ID, the incessant buzzing had stopped. I was still debating the merits of returning the call when I felt the bed shift slightly. The sleep induced haze cleared and I grinned. I dropped the phone back into the rumbled pants and rolled over to greet her.

"Morning Detective" I said with a boyish grin. Her back was to me but I could tell she was awake. I traced my finger along her warm skin until I reached the hem of her nightie.

Felicia Gianni slowly turned over to face me. "Morning Nick." she said. I could see she was trying not to smile as well. "How is it, do you think..." she ran her fingers along my chest as she spoke, "That every time you come into town, we end up right here?"



"Good chemistry." I said with a wink. I laid back against the pillows; as I expected, Felicia repositioned herself so she was leaning against me. Her warm, chocolate eyes gazed into mine as she continued to trace her fingers along my skin.

She was the only woman I'd ever been perfectly happy to just lay in bed with. "Mhmm." she replied before laying her head on my chest. Her dark hair brushed against my skin and I couldn't hide the accelerated heart beat from her. Neither could she hide the broad smile I knew was on her face in response.

If my phone hadn't come back to life right then, I sighed heavily as she quickly moved away from me so I could dig the phone out of the pile of pants again. I flipped it open and smiled apologetically at Felicia. "Geirson." I said into the phone, instinctively grabbing a clean pair of pants and shirt from the closet. Before heading into the small hotel room bathroom, I looked over to see that Felicia was doing the same as I was and I couldn't help but feel a little sad about the lost chances.

When I reemerged from the bathroom, shoeless and tie-less, Felicia was the one on the phone this time. Unlike my fairly insignificant call, I could tell from Felicia's expression that she had a new case.



"Okay, I'll be right there." she said and clicked off the phone.

"Duty calls?" I asked while retrieving my shoes and tie.

"Yes..." she said; she looked at me and almost immediately looked away. "And I think you should come with me."

"Federal?" I asked; with a new sense of urgency I finished getting ready and grabbed the suit jacket.

"Not exactly Nick..." she didn't give me any more details until we were halfway across the small town of Adelbrook. She was giving me street by street directions even though I knew the town almost as well as she did but when we got well past the town center and were on an old road, everything clicked into place. I pushed down on the accelerator and sped the rest of the way. To her credit, Felicia didn't comment on my driving or speed. "Let me go inside and see what's going on Nicky." she said as we both climbed out of the vehicle.

I knew she was right but it was hard to watch her walk into the house, past the other cops and the coroner, and not follow her.

--------

"Home invasion gone wrong, I figure." one of the cops said as he looked down on the crumbled body of the victim.

Felicia saw the blood before she saw the face of the victim. There was a large pool of blood - too much to hope that the victim was still alive. She was normally very good at this part - she'd seen enough dead bodies to no longer be particularly squeamish - but the coppery smell of the blood and the slight tinge of death stopped her in her tracks.

"Detective?" the cop nearest her asked. "You okay?"

Felicia nodded slowly and forced herself forward. "What do we know?" she asked as impassively as possible as she finally caught the first glimpse of the victim.



"Our victim is Prudence Wentworth, age 75. The house has been tossed - looking for jewels, money, valuables. I would guess Mrs. Wentworth woke up during the robbery and caught the guy in the act." the cop said.

"Anything taken?" Felicia said without looking away from Prudence Wentworth's face.

"Money is still in the purse." one of the crime scene investigators chimed in. Felicia raised an eyebrow and looked at the cop who had bet on home invasion. Why leave the money?

--------

Almost an hour after Felicia had disappeared into Aunt Pru's house, the coroner came out. I recognized him and I could tell by the look of of sadness and pity in his eyes that he recognized me. "I'm sorry Nick." he said as he passed by me with the gurney and the body bag.

I may have replied, I'm not really sure. The realization that my Aunt Pru, the woman who took me in as an orphan and put up with all my crap, was in that bag sent a wave of nausea through me. I turned toward the flower bed and thought I was going to lose it right in her beautiful flowers.



After the coroner disappeared with Aunt Pru; I paced the front yard. Several times I started for the door, prepared to flash my badge and take over the crime scene. Only the fact that I knew Felicia was one of the best stopped me - any other detective and I would have thrown the full weight of the Bureau around - jurisdiction or relationship to the victim be damned. So I paced.

My phone rang a half dozen times but I couldn't answer it even if I did have my own case I ought to be working on. When it rang three times in a row, I forced myself to answer. "Geirson." I tried to focus on what the agent on the other end was saying but couldn't stop looking at the house; looking for Felicia for some sort of answers. I interrupted the other agent and gave him an abbreviated run down of my morning up to that point. The phone stopped ringing after that.



"Nick..." Felicia said as she walked up behind me. "I'm sorry."

"What happened?" I asked as calmly as I could manage.

"Well we don't know for sure yet. Single gunshot wound....she would have died quickly." Felicia looked uncomfortable as she tried to spare me the details.

"That's what we say to comfort the families." I said. "I know I don't have jurisdiction...and I'm related to her; but you'll keep me informed right?"

"Of course Nick." she said putting a hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you go back to the hotel and get some rest? I'm going to be here for awhile...I'll get a ride back to my car."

"Right...rest...that'll happen" I said sadly. I gave Felicia a quick kiss on the cheek before walking toward my car. With a lot of effort I managed to drive away from my childhood home - now a crime scene.

--------

I was officially released from the case I'd been working on in Adelbrook that afternoon; leaving me with nothing to do but stew. When Felicia hadn't called by dark; I'd seen enough of the inside of my hotel room and decided to go out. Adelbrook had only one real after dark hangout - Shelby's Bar. The idea of seeing people look at me with pity was almost enough to make me stay in the hotel room; hidden from the world until Felicia called or I left town - whichever came first.



Twenty minutes later I was occupying one of Shelby's bar stools and working on my second drink. It was a slow night in the bar; a few strangers and Shelby mostly. Thankfully Shelby had owned her bar long enough to know how to read people. She hid her pity well and just brought me my drinks.

"So this is your plan? Getting piss drunk?" Felicia asked from just behind me. I could see her in the bar mirror, so I didn't bother to turn and look at her.

"That's a good theory for now." I said. "Why? You have a better idea?"



"You could help me solve your Aunt's murder." she said, patting her bag which I had no doubt contained the police report. That would be full of details and pictures from the scene.

"You know I am hands off on this one Felicia. Williams made sure to remind me of that when he called about my case." I motioned to Shelby for another glass.

Felicia nodded. "I know, and I don't want you to handle any evidence or even do anything but listen to a theory."

"A theory?" I said turning toward her. "I thought it was a bad home invasion..."

Felicia looked at me curiously and I just shrugged. I'd heard the talk at the scene; kind of hard not to. "Come on Nicky, just listen and conjecture with me." she grabbed my drink as Shelby put it down and walked toward a table with it.

She had my curiosity peaked so I followed her over to the table. "Okay, what's the theory?"

"Mob." she said bluntly.

"The Mob? Seriously?" I asked, surprised by the leap. She was digging in her bag as I looked at her baffled. To my greater surprise, she came out with not one file, but at least half a dozen. "What possible reason could the Mob have to put a hit on my seventy-five year old aunt?"



"Do they need a reason?" Felicia asked.

"Usually? Yes, they do." I said, I'd had enough dealings with the mob to last me my career and then some. "Explain please."

"These..." she held up the files "Are five other cases in this state alone that are identical to the victim's"

"Aunt Pru." I interjected even though I knew why she stuck with 'the victim'.

"Yes." she said apologetically. "Has all appearance of a home invasion gone wrong - except nothing is taken. At all. It's like he's looking for something in particular."

"He who?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. It's conjecture and no one else seems to think these are linked cases." Felicia said sounding dejected.

"Well it's a pretty big leap Felicia..." I said and she looked stung. "I mean, home invasions go south and maybe the crook lost his nerve after the..." I trailed off unable to finish the sentence. "What makes you think it's the mob?"

"Do you recognize this?" she asked, pulling out a picture of a small moon shaped sculpture. It had what looked like blood splatter on it.

I took the photo and looked at it closely, turning it couple times. "No. Why?"

"Because it was in your Aunt's house, on the table next to the couch. There was a moon knick knack in each of the others as well." she pulled photos out of each file until I'd seen them all.

"Well they could be connected then.." I said sorting through the pictures. "Or maybe the victims all just had a thing for moons."

"Did Aunt Pru?" Felicia asked; already knowing the answer would be no.

"Okay, I accept your theory that the cases are connected. It could be a serial though." I pointed out.

"True....either way, it's yours now - or it can be." Felicia said. She reassembled the files and pushed them over to me.

--------

I tossed and turned for a couple hours that night before I gave up and packed up; eager to get out of Adelbrook. I checked out of the hotel in the middle of the night and drove back to Pennsylvania field office; a few hours from Adelbrook.

Gus, the security guard, was surprised to see me but just waved me through after I showed my ID and badge. Years on the job had taught him that the agents were erratic people and dealt with death differently than he could.

I went straight to my office to start looking over the files. I knew Felicia would hold off on her report until the morning, which is as long as I had before I'd be pulled from the case unless I had something - anything to merit overlooking the fact that I was related to one of the victims.



At some point, the son started shining through the windows of my office. I'm not sure how long I'd been sitting at the computer but I'd found at least a dozen other cases that fit the profile. For a decade he'd been going strong - whoever HE was - and then he'd stopped for almost five years until just picking back up in the last year.

Who was this guy?

I heard the door open but didn't look up. Deputy Director Williams was not known for being overly patient but he didn't push for several minutes. "Agent Geirson." he said finally.

I looked up briefly. "Yeah, I know; you are going to pull me from this case..." I kept typing on the computer.



"It's not that." Williams said, unusually subdued. I looked up from the computer concerned and curious. "Nick..." he never called the agents by their first names unless he was giving news he didn't want to convey. "Detective Gianni - when did you last see her?"

I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.

End Chapter

Niko and Leni

Prologue
This is intended to give the reader some past knowledge that you might find relevant. Enjoy!

Personal Record of Special Agent Nikolas Geirson

Name: Nikolas Jonathan Geirson
Known Aliases: Nick, Niko, Nicky, Ace
DOB (YYYY/MM/DD): 1980/06/23

Clearance: Top Secret
Current Status: Active

Physical Appearance: 73in, 180lbs, see attached photo
Identifying marks: bullet wound scar on right shoulder (REF# 02HTY96A); scars from being cut by knife on left leg (REF# 07NPL53G)



History
On July 7th, 1987, firefighters in Adelbrook, PA were called to 2321 Summons Way; the home of Eric Geirson (age 42), Emily Geirson (age 35) and Nikolas Geirson (age 7). Firefighters on scene reported a large house fire which had consumed much of the home on arrival. A resident on the scene reported that Nikolas had spent the previous night at the house of Gerald Williams (age 7); Williams' parents confirm that both boys were at the house all night.



It took firefighters four and a half hours to extinguish the house fire. Eric Geirson and Emily Geirson perished in the fire. Their remains were found in the master bedroom on the second floor. Remains identified based on approximate age, gender and physical characteristics. Signed by Dr. Janice Harrison, medical examiner, (REF#87LTN98J)

The investigation revealed that the fire originated in the kitchen. Arson was suspected though no accelerate could be determined. Rapid rate of spread suggests accelerate or multiple points of origin. Scene investigated by Leonard O'Donnell, case remains open due to probability of arson. No suspects ever detained due to insufficient evidence. (REF#87ARS62B)

Nikolas Geirson (age 7) placed in care of Prudence Wentworth (age 52), his maternal aunt; also a resident of Adelbrook, PA.



From 1993-1996, Nikolas Geirson implicated in multiple incidents including fighting, petty theft, vandalism and truancy but no formal charges ever pressed.

On August 3rd, 1996, Child Services opened an investigation into the fitness of Prudence Wentworth (age 61) as a guardian for Nikolas Geirson (age 16) due to his behavior. Despite the investigation being closed in favor of Mrs. Wentworth; Nikolas ran away from home on August 18th, 1996. He was reported missing immediately.



On August 21st, 1996, he was spotted in Dalyton, thirty miles from his home, by Officer Rick Leeland of the Dalyton Police Department. Officer Leeland recognized him from the photograph provided by Prudence Wentworth and picked him up. He was returned to Mrs. Wentworth's care. (REF#96JTF02M)

On June 24th, 1998, Nikolas Geirson enlisted in the Army. Following 9/11, he served three year long tours in four years; exemplary service record. (REF#AR-045V81G2; see Army Personal Record). Rank at discharge: E6.

Received Bachelor of Science degree from University of Pennsylvania in May 2005. (REF#05EDU89A)

Recruited by Bureau in January 2006 by Special Agent Franklin Allen and Deputy Director Williams. Officially instated February 17th, 2006; at which point he was formally discharged from military service.

Assigned to State field office in Pennsylvania; at his request.

Had brief relationship with Detective Felicia Gianni of the Adelbrook Police Department, pair cited for inappropriate behavior on a job site on November 8th, 2008 (REF#08LVU67Z). Relationship since ended but does not appear to hinder job performance or working relationship.



Date of file: 2010/01/17

School Days: Junior Year

Chapter 6: The Triple Date

"Ugh! That's all they've done since Mom officially ungrounded Todd!" Meghan said; shooting Mei-Ling and Todd a disgusted look.

It was Family Night at the Anderson house - or it was supposed to be but Mrs. Anderson had to work late. Todd had invited James and I over to hang out; of course James was an hour away in one of his late classes but he promised he would be there before the night was done.

"Please promise me that you and James won't do that when he gets here - there's only so much I can take." Meghan said.



"Hmm?" I asked. On the one hand, I was busy thinking about other things but mostly I'd just become pretty good at tuning Meghan's high speed chatter out. "Sure sure." I said.

Meghan rolled her eyes and turned the volume up on the television. "We are going to do SOMETHING tonight right?" she asked. "I mean I could totally be doing something better than this..."

"Like what?" Todd asked; apparently he and Mei-Ling had come up for air.

"Anything is better than this." Meghan said sulking. The doorbell rang then and she shot up. "I'll get it!" she exclaimed, as Todd and Mei-Ling resumed kissing. I heard her open the door, "Oh you must be James!" she said happily.

I turned to see Meghan had looped her arm with James's and was walking him into the house. I rolled my eyes and bit back the urge to use some of the martial arts I'd learned on her butt - or better yet I'd ask Mei-Ling to do it. I got up to save him from her flirty, freshman clutches. I kept my eyes on his face and my smile for him as I made brief introductions. "James, this is Meghan - Todd's younger sister. Meghan, this is James - my boyfriend." I said placing emphasis on the "my".

James smirked as Meghan rolled her eyes and released his arm. "A little possessive?" James whispered as we sat on the other couch.

"Maybe." I said with a wink. To Meghan's annoyance, James and I did spend a good portion of the evening mirroring Todd and Mei-Ling.



"This is lame." Meghan said. "Can't you guys do this some other time?"

All she got in response were a series of mumbles. James was the first to suggest we actually watch the movie; out of consideration for Meghan. Eventually the rest of us fell in line. The movie was almost over when Todd spoke up. "So this weekend is my first real and full weekend of freedom - what are we going to do?"

"We could all go to a movie." Mei-Ling suggested.

"Yeah right, like y'all would actually watch it." Meghan said; clearly still annoyed.

"How about the Fire Pit?" I suggested. "They just reopened last weekend."

"Sounds great!" Meghan said with a huge grin. "I've never been to the Fire Pit!"

Todd and I exchanged a look. "Um, Meg...."

"Oh come on! I promise, you won't even know I'm there!" she was getting that pleading look in her eyes. "Although I am so not gonna be a fifth wheel again, maybe I'll bring a date as well. I wonder if Erik is busy..."

I involuntarily tensed when she mentioned Erik and felt James shift slightly beside me but I couldn't make myself look. I was sure I would look guilty even if nothing was going on. Across from me Todd was looking at me concerned.

"So the Fire Pit! Saturday night?" Meghan was practically bouncing in her seat at the prospect.

"Sure." Todd and I said at the same time. We laughed awkwardly; I could only hope that it would cover up my tension.

-----

Meghan managed to get Erik in on the evening. It felt like the most awkward triple date in the history of triple dates. At least to me. Every time we were near each other on the dance floor, I found my eyes straying over to Erik; and every time, he was looking at me. He smiled at me and I had to yank my eyes from his.



James didn't say anything, I don't know if he noticed or if he just didn't want to mention it. But I felt sick and guilty all night. After having to excuse myself to try and calm my stomach down a couple times, James started looking at me with such concern in his eyes that I felt new waves of guilt. 'But I didn't do anything!' I reminded myself.

The club was getting busy and the floor was growing more crowded with each song. As another one ended, James placed his hand on my arm and leaned in close. "Care to sit one or two out?" he said over the noise.

I nodded. "Sure."



"You okay Ginny?" he asked as we walked over toward a quieter area.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" I asked, hoping that the bad lighting kept him from being able to read my face.

James shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know, you just seem off."

"Oh" I shrugged. "Just a little queasy, it's really crowded tonight." I lied. Gah, I was lying to him, that's never good.

"Come on, we'll see if the rooms upstairs are a little better; and there are chairs." he said sliding his hand into mine. I followed, grateful to get away from the crowd; to get away from Erik for a few. The second floor was as bad; and worse it was all tables and chairs - everyone of them surrounded by people. The third floor, the Lounge, was pretty mild though. There was Andre hitting on some poor freshman and another couple making out but otherwise it was still quiet. James and I occupied a couch and I felt the fresh evening breeze coming in from the open windows. Leaning against him, the tension and unease left me.

I heard the footsteps crossing the metal floor but I didn't look to see who it was. I didn't have to, somehow, I just knew.

"Hey Erik." James said before pulling me just a little closer and leaning in for a kiss.



By the time the kiss broke, Meghan was standing by Erik like a wolf who'd just found her prey. I gave them each a smile; an entirely fake smile. And my stomach flip flopped as Meghan started flirting with Erik. I could say I was proud of myself - I didn't tense that time.

Of course when Erik flirted back and my stomach flopped again; I'm pretty sure I did tense. I couldn't look directly at James but I suspected he was watching me. 'This has got to end.' I thought not really sure what the 'this' part was but something had to end.

Todd and Mei-Ling found us and took over the couch across from us before Meghan could somehow get Erik on to it. Yeah that was the last thing I needed; to see Erik and Meghan cuddling. The mere thought of it was making me ill. As if trying to push the thoughts from my head, I turned toward James for a long, sensuous kiss. 'There! Take that!' I thought toward myself - the part of me longing for Erik at least.



James was pleasantly startled by the advance but didn't argue.

James wasn't dumb - I knew that. I was absolutely certain he'd felt my tension about Erik. I was absolutely certain he was wondering what exactly was going on to make me act the way I was. Did he think I was cheating on him? I felt a new wave of guilt hit me but tried to smile instead of let it show on my face.

"You sure you're okay?" James asked quietly. "I can take you home."

"I'm okay, thanks." I said with a reassuring, albeit fake, smile.



"Okay." James said, although he didn't look entirely convinced. After a moment he turned his attention to Mei-Ling. "You attend CSU right? I think I've seen you on campus a couple times."

"Yes, I just started this year." Mei-Ling said with a friendly smile.

"Mei-Ling is from China originally; she was here a couple years ago as a transfer student." I explained.

"Which is where we met." Todd said happily. He was a completely different person than he had been last year.

"Well welcome back." James said. "Did you select CSU due to proximity?"

Mei-Ling smiled guiltily. "Partially. I hope to go transfer in a couple years..." she looked at Todd and smiled.



"After I graduate from high school myself." Todd said with a smile.

"And you, Ginny has told me much about you - are you planning to stay at CSU after you graduate high school?" Mei-Ling asked. Part of me was overjoyed; it was one question I simply couldn't bring myself to ask. The other part of me ached because I'm not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"Well, no." James said betraying the slightest bit of awkwardness. "I applied to Yale last year; before I knew I would be graduating early, and was accepted." I knew all this of course. My concern was after December. "I revised my application for a Spring admittance, and actually just got the acceptance letter this week." he didn't look at me as he said it.

"Well that is wonderful!" Mei-Ling said. "Congratulations." She looked at Todd when he didn't say anything and he obliged with an awkward smile and a faint congratulations. He was watching me for my reaction.

"Congrats James." Erik said over Meghan's shoulder; they'd be flirting the whole time so I wasn't even sure they'd be listening.



I smiled at James but couldn't say anything. I wanted to be supportive; I really did but I didn't want him to leave either. On the other hand, I was clearly conflicted about Erik too; which wasn't really fair to James.

Why couldn't I just have them both? Was that too much to ask? 'Yes you nitwit' that obnoxious inside voice said.

End Chapter