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CHAPTERS

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN

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Part Two

There was no question about the way the victim currently lying facedown on the ash colored asphalt had died. The knife in his back painted a grisly, but clear picture.

At the very least it left them with a murder weapon.

Thank goodness for small favors, Lindsay Boxer supposed, because she was finding it incredibly difficult to focus on the poor man sprawled out in front of her.

She wanted really badly to attribute that to exhaustion.

The wheeze and a burst of light from a flash exploded in front of her, and brown eyes lifting, she pushed up from her squatted position, moving back to allow Claire to snap another photo.

"What are you thinking?"

She blinked, sighing at the already forming crowd gathering along the taped off crime scene, peeking over and whispering to each other worriedly.

Lips brought together in a grimace, Lindsay folded her arms and tried to force her attention back to the body. "I'm thinking this guy and the last guy are related."

"Wouldn't be a big leap of logic, considering the method of killing," Claire agreed, and settled down on her knees, careful to skirt around the markers to set up another shot. "But I mean, what are you really thinking? Because I know you're not thinking about this body."

Sometimes the way Claire could read her was absolutely frightening.

Mouth pulling into a bittersweet smile, Lindsay crossed her arms. "I'm thinking I should have checked in on Jill and Cindy last night."

"Wha'd they do now?" Claire seemed more amused than concerned, and that wasn't the appropriate response.

"I called Cindy last night to ask her to look in on Martha and Jill picked up the phone." Claire glanced at her from behind the camera. "Cindy doesn’t ever let anyone answer her phone."

"Jill's quick. Fast hands."

"She was drunk."

"At a bar?"

"Yeah."

"It's been known to happen." Claire lowered the camera, and with a small grunt of effort, pushed herself up from her knees, sounding less than concerned.

"Okay, but why would she not even let me talk to Cindy? I needed her to take out Martha for the night and-"

"Did she say what Cindy was doing?"

A hot flush shivered up her spine, and Lindsay fought the annoyed twinge that threatened to overwhelm her again.

"Something about meeting some… hottie."

Claire smiled too widely at that. "Good for her."

"Claire, they were drunk."

"They're big girls, Lindsay. They don't need a keeper."

That was so not the point. Disturbed, Lindsay scratched erratically at a nonexistent bug behind her ear, shifting uneasily on her booted heels. "Okay, but don't you think they've been doing that a lot?"

"What? Going out?" Claire clearly wasn't even close to approaching the level of concern Lindsay was hoping for. "Lindsay, they're two attractive, single women, who obviously thrive on meeting people." Claire shouldered the camera and glanced thoughtfully down at the body. "Hell, with those two cutting a swathe through the single ranks of San Francisco, the men don't stand a chance. Lindsay," she began again, firmer now and brimming with some unspoken warning. "Let them have their fun."

Fun wasn't exactly what Lindsay thought was happening, and yet she knew she didn't have much of a leg to stand on when it came to enunciating why this was bothering her so much.

Teeth sinking thoughtfully into her lower lip, she glanced away, looking for a distraction from the knowing glance of her friend when she caught the flash of red hair slipping out of an unfamiliar car.

For the moment, she was confused, unable to do much else but zone in on Cindy like a bulls-eye, something she had gotten quite good at doing. Cindy regularly caught her attention, she was impossible to ignore. And even if Lindsay knew it wasn't smart, she found herself always waving the redhead through, allowing the crime reporter to duck the tape. Tom didn't like it, but was similarly resigned – Cindy would always find a way to duck the tape. Better to monitor it than let the spunky woman catch something they would miss and then risk life and limb to go rescue Cindy later, when she would have undoubtedly gotten herself in a good fix searching down the key to their murder and her story.

Her friend wore clothes too dressy for an early morning crime scene. Her hair was too mussed. She shut the car door and didn't nearly have the same usual hyperspeed that she usually displayed when it came to one of their murders. She oddly, seemed to linger, her attention not on the crowd, but on the woman slipping out of the door on the other side.

Without thinking, Lindsay began to move, brown eyes darkening in concern as she headed toward the tape, ready to see what was going on.

The other brunette came around the front of the car, and after a too long, too familiar hug, leaned back and pressed a kiss against the redhead's mouth.

Lindsay's steps screeched to a halt.

It was impossible to misinterpret what had happened. Lindsay suspected she had just discovered Cindy Thomas' hottie from last night.

"What's wrong?" Claire suddenly materialized, looking concerned at the look on Lindsay's face, before glancing at the direction to which Lindsay was suddenly glowering. "Oh."

Cindy was now extricating herself from the other woman's arms, offering a smile that caused an unwilling grind of Lindsay's teeth, before stepping away and watching the other woman get in her car.

"She got lucky," Lindsay heard Claire murmur. "Good for her."

The cavalier tone was more than she could handle. "Good for her?!" she sputtered, head swiveling to glare at her friend. "Did you know about this?!"

"Did I know about what?"

"…. You know." Lindsay's insides had tightened considerably, and it was disturbing. "About Cindy."

Lindsay hated HATED that expression on Claire's face. Her stupid 'I know more than I'm letting on but I'm just going to humor you' expression. It was stupid and made absolutely no sense.

"You mean her appreciation for the ladies?" Claire glanced once again in Cindy's direction, and smiled. "Not really, but it's not entirely surprising, is it?"

With that, she left Lindsay's side, turning back once more to the body.

--

"Cindy Thomas!"

Officer Cho wore a sweet familiar smile, and it wasn't difficult to return it, despite the unpleasant feeling of a pick axe hacking away at her temple.

"Heeey," she said, fumbling with her sunglasses. It felt infinitely better than she finally got them on. At the very least, it didn't feel like the sun light was stabbing her in her retinas. "Fancy meeting you here."

He didn't even wait for her to ask. Already, large hands were drifting down to the crime scene tape, lifting up, waiting for her to pass under it. "Late night?"

She shot him a grateful smile. "You could say that. Thanks."

"You owe me a coffee," he said, and smiled at her brightly, white teeth flashing. "I'm off tonight."

Ah yes, the ever present promise of coffee with the good officer, which would have already happened had Cindy not understood that, in this case, coffee was code word for 'date', and the distinct impression that Lindsay would not appreciate her dating a uniform.

For all the wrong reasons, of course. Or the right ones. Lindsay wouldn't get jealous or possessive or any of those petty human emotions. Lindsay was a cop, and knew the uncomfortable issues that would arise at crime scenes such as these, if Cindy ever went above innocent flirting into full on dating.

And yet…

There was something a little reckless about her this morning.

Maybe it was the hangover.

Maybe it was the fact that she had had sex for the first time in months, and that… made her feel good.

Because even if it hadn't been Lindsay… it had been pretty damned hot.

She wasn't sure why that had surprised her, but it did.

It was oddly empowering.

"I don't think I'll be in the mood for anything other than sleep tonight," she began, a smile quirking on her lips, "But raincheck? I won't forget."

His resulting smile was almost comical in it's exuberance. "Deal."

"Cindy."

Immediately, Cho's expression straightened, and ducking his head, he moved fast away from Lindsay Boxer, headed her way with a scowl on her face that could only mean she had witnessed his little liberty with the tape.

Eesh.

Sucking in a breath, Cindy managed as charming a smile as she could under the circumstances.

"Hey…" she managed, trying hard to sound apologetic and genuine. "I'm sorry about that- I shouldn't have ducked the tape."

But Lindsay didn't look furious. Instead, there was another expression on her face, one Cindy couldn't quite interpret. Her friend came closer, and stared down at her as if she were looking for something.

And then she saw it, the smallest glimmer of a smile, that got her heart beating again and made her exhale.

"Like you wouldn't have hollered my name until I let you in."

An embarrassing flush coursed down her cheeks. "Right."

Dark orbs once again eyed her intently. "So who was your friend?"

The statement was soft, inquiring. To Cindy, she may as well have shouted an accusation.

Blanching, Cindy felt her heart drop into her stomach, and of course, because it was Lindsay, completely lost any ability to lie. Immediately, she jerked back to where Megan had driven away.

"Oh…" God-dammit. Her voice actually quivered. "Right. That was… Megan?"

Fingers buried into her bangs, and suddenly, unexplainably mortified, Cindy exhaled slowly. "She's not really a friend, actually. She kinda just … gave me a ride…"

The soft pressure of a palm against her shoulder alerted her to a reassuring squeeze from Lindsay.

Thankfully, she was still wearing her sunglasses, and therefore her completely predictable swooning at the touch of her friend was mostly hidden.

Steeling herself, she glanced up, and discovered, with some surprise, Lindsay's smile had only widened, sunk deeper into her dimples. Dark eyes appeared bottomless, but it was the knowing expression that caught her breath.

"So that was the hottie from last night?"

Tone low, her friend again touched her, rendering her breathless, insides tightening. Lindsay's affectionate gesture was meant to comfort, Cindy was sure, but this was not how she envisioned coming out to someone like Lindsay.

Unable to do much else, she could only shrug. "I got a little drunk..."

Lindsay's palm, smoothing along her forearm, didn't move much, other than to offer a squeeze. "She was pretty."

The behavior was confusing, and rather than drive herself crazy with false hopes and imagined sounds of longing or confliction, she offered a sweet smile and rubbed distractedly at her cheek, pulling out her notepad.

"So what have we got?"

She could feel Lindsay's gaze burning into her, and prayed that somehow, her friend would understand the need to just pretend this was casual, every day, okay for her.

"Cindy-"

"Lindsay!"

Oh, Thank God. The masculine voice of Jacobi was a godsend, and Cindy pressed her lips together and offered a smile at Lindsay's frustrated glance to her partner.

"Duty calls?" she asked helpfully.

Lindsay's gaze moved from her to the crime scene. "Yeah," her friend grudgingly agreed. "See what you can dig up out here and then wait for me? Claire and I want to meet up at Papa Joe's later for a pow-wow."

Lindsay was just so damned beautiful.

Swallowing, Cindy bobbed her head, and tried as best she could to keep her voice even. "Sure."

Another fleeting press against her shoulder, and then Lindsay was gone.

Breathless, Cindy forced herself not to rub the area, but she could still feel the touch, imprinted on her skin, as if she were branded.

--

"There she is!"

With a squeal, Jill Bernhardt jerked out of her seat and threw her arms around the smaller woman at her side.

Lindsay Boxer found herself supremely irritated at the sight.

Sighing, she ducked her head and slid into the booth, crossing eyes with a smiling Claire as Jill smiled proudly, arm slung around Cindy's shoulder, oblivious to the pained grin on Cindy's face.

"She hooked up!" Announcing it proudly, Jill gleefully smacked her lips against the top of Cindy's head. "You two should have seen her last night. She was hot. She was sexy. I shall call her Minime."

The soft laugh that came from Claire's side of the table did nothing to alleviate the tension that was now actively cramping Lindsay's body.

Her smile was stale, and her brow couldn't help furrowing in concern as Cindy shook her head and squeezed Jill back, beet red from her proclamation.

"Yeah, yeah. Cindy got some, good for her." Lindsay sucked in her breath, fingers threading through her hair as Cindy rolled her eyes and thumbed to the direction of the bathroom. "Okay, Barney, can I head to the bathroom? I don't think the attendant in there heard you. Just wanted to make sure she heard the happy news that Cindy got laid."

Shoving her away, Jill swept the bangs across her forehead and settled into the empty spot beside Lindsay, her best friend offering her a cheery smile.

Despite the fact that she loved her best friend, Lindsay felt the uncharacteristic urge to pop her. "What are you doing?"

"Lindsay." Claire's tone was unmistakable, but Lindsay wasn't quite sure she cared.

Jill arched a brow, and didn't shrink from her glare. "I'm having some fun. With Cindy. Who deserves it."

"One night stands and getting drunk at night isn't her style."

"You don't know that." Jill settled into the seat and carelessly reached over the table to pluck a menu from the corner.

"I do know that." Lindsay's fingers rapped lightly on the tabletop. "Look, I'm not saying she doesn’t deserve to have fun…"

"Then what's the problem?" Jill was being deliberately vague, but the hard look in the lawyer's eyes told her she knew exactly what the problem was.

The issue with that was, Lindsay wasn't sure what the problem was herself.

"There is no problem," Claire enunciated, determined not to take her side. "As long as Cindy's being responsible and Jill's looking out for her, I think there's nothing wrong with blowing off a little steam."

"Exactly," Jill said, waving a manicured palm proudly. "And do you have any idea how cute she is?" Lindsay had some idea. "It's like… it's almost not fair, what we do in those clubs. Like shooting fish in a barrel."

"Sounds like you got yourself a wingman," Claire said, with an obnoxiously happy grin. "Congratulations."

"Thank you!" Jill laughed, clinking water glasses, before Lindsay felt a heated glance in her direction. "Besides, Cindy and I don't have a Pete. And as much fun as walking Martha all the time is, there is something to be said for tall dark strangers, hot bodies, and a sleepless night."

Wrinkling her napkin in her palm, Lindsay couldn't hide her grimace.

Annoyingly, Jill ignored it.

-- end chapter two

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