it would take his partner to ask the first question. They ’ d barely cleared the curb .
John tossed Rick a warning glance. “ So what? ”
Rick blew out an exaggerated breath. “ Oh come on. You ’ re gonna play dumb with me? Give me a break . The village idiot could pick up on all the tension between you two. “
John decided to give it one last try. “ She blames me for Aaron ’ s death —”
“ You know what I mean. I want to know how long you and she were— ”
“ Watch it… ”
“ An item. ” Rick amended. “ How long were you and Anna sleeping together? ”
The judgment in Rick ’ s tone was easy to pick up on. John glanced over at him. He never would have pictured Rick being conservative. “ Look, it ’ s complicated. ”
“ By that you mean you have feelings for her. Oh, I get that. Still. ”
“ You don ’ t approve , ” John answered for him. "Does it help you to know she was divorced at the time?"
Rick shrugged in an effort to convey neutrality but John caught the hardening around his mouth. “ Can ’ t say that I approve . But then, I don ’ t know the circumstances , do I? ”
“ No you don ’ t. ”
“ And you ’ re not going to talk about it are you? ”
“ Nope. ”
“ Al l right, then maybe you ’ d care to tell me what the AD had to say. You know it ’ s my butt in the sling along with yours , buddy. ”
John slanted another assessing glance Rick ’ s way. “ You ’ re right. About everything. I screwed things up with her, should have done things differently, but I love her. ”
Rick was at a loss for words for a moment. “ I see. And does she… ”
“ I don ’ t know. She ’ s still so angry with me, with the world. Herself. " He shook his head. " I d on ’ t know. ”
“ Well, if it ’ s any consolation, all that anger has to be masking something more. What lead were you talking about back there ? Where are we going? ”
“ I think we should re-interview some of the victims’ families. See if perhaps they remember something they didn’t in the past. And to answer your previous question, the AD is pissed, but with what happened last night, well, let’s just say we have a job, at least for the time being. ”
John spotted a coffee shop and whipped into a vacant parking spot. Rick cocked an eyebrow at his partner's motives .
"I think I owe you something in the way of an explanation. You deserve to know the truth. Everything that led up to Aaron's death."
They ordered coffee and found an empty booth away from the few patrons in the place .
R ick drummed his fingers and whistled under breath to get his point across.
“ Al l right, give me a second. This is hard ,” John finally told him. “ Look, Aaron Sorenson was not only my mentor , he was my friend. I respected the hell out of him. I was just a cocky rookie who thought he knew everything when Aaron recruited me. He made me into the agent I am today. I owe him everything . ” That certainly was true enough . It was the way he ’ d repaid his friend that stuck in his head, torturing him every single day that he lived and his partner didn ’ t.
“ I get that. Sorenson was a legend at the academy and around the Bureau halls. Everything I heard about him spoke of a stellar reputation. So why all the secrecy? ”
John couldn ’ t hold onto the intensity in Rick ’ s gaze. He suspected his partner had figured out a whole lot more than he was letting on. “ Aaron let th e case get personal. He was having an affair with Cheryl Larsen . ”
Rick didn’t seem surprised. “ I guessed as much. Why else would he go after Peterson the way he did. What I don’t understand is w hy? Did Peterson catch him with Cheryl Larsen ? Was he worried about how it would look if the Bureau found out he was screwing a witness ? It wouldn’t be good, but I doubt he’s the first person to have an affair with a witness. He and Anna were divorced by then , right. ”
John gave him a “bingo” look .
John tossed Rick a warning glance. “ So what? ”
Rick blew out an exaggerated breath. “ Oh come on. You ’ re gonna play dumb with me? Give me a break . The village idiot could pick up on all the tension between you two. “
John decided to give it one last try. “ She blames me for Aaron ’ s death —”
“ You know what I mean. I want to know how long you and she were— ”
“ Watch it… ”
“ An item. ” Rick amended. “ How long were you and Anna sleeping together? ”
The judgment in Rick ’ s tone was easy to pick up on. John glanced over at him. He never would have pictured Rick being conservative. “ Look, it ’ s complicated. ”
“ By that you mean you have feelings for her. Oh, I get that. Still. ”
“ You don ’ t approve , ” John answered for him. "Does it help you to know she was divorced at the time?"
Rick shrugged in an effort to convey neutrality but John caught the hardening around his mouth. “ Can ’ t say that I approve . But then, I don ’ t know the circumstances , do I? ”
“ No you don ’ t. ”
“ And you ’ re not going to talk about it are you? ”
“ Nope. ”
“ Al l right, then maybe you ’ d care to tell me what the AD had to say. You know it ’ s my butt in the sling along with yours , buddy. ”
John slanted another assessing glance Rick ’ s way. “ You ’ re right. About everything. I screwed things up with her, should have done things differently, but I love her. ”
Rick was at a loss for words for a moment. “ I see. And does she… ”
“ I don ’ t know. She ’ s still so angry with me, with the world. Herself. " He shook his head. " I d on ’ t know. ”
“ Well, if it ’ s any consolation, all that anger has to be masking something more. What lead were you talking about back there ? Where are we going? ”
“ I think we should re-interview some of the victims’ families. See if perhaps they remember something they didn’t in the past. And to answer your previous question, the AD is pissed, but with what happened last night, well, let’s just say we have a job, at least for the time being. ”
John spotted a coffee shop and whipped into a vacant parking spot. Rick cocked an eyebrow at his partner's motives .
"I think I owe you something in the way of an explanation. You deserve to know the truth. Everything that led up to Aaron's death."
They ordered coffee and found an empty booth away from the few patrons in the place .
R ick drummed his fingers and whistled under breath to get his point across.
“ Al l right, give me a second. This is hard ,” John finally told him. “ Look, Aaron Sorenson was not only my mentor , he was my friend. I respected the hell out of him. I was just a cocky rookie who thought he knew everything when Aaron recruited me. He made me into the agent I am today. I owe him everything . ” That certainly was true enough . It was the way he ’ d repaid his friend that stuck in his head, torturing him every single day that he lived and his partner didn ’ t.
“ I get that. Sorenson was a legend at the academy and around the Bureau halls. Everything I heard about him spoke of a stellar reputation. So why all the secrecy? ”
John couldn ’ t hold onto the intensity in Rick ’ s gaze. He suspected his partner had figured out a whole lot more than he was letting on. “ Aaron let th e case get personal. He was having an affair with Cheryl Larsen . ”
Rick didn’t seem surprised. “ I guessed as much. Why else would he go after Peterson the way he did. What I don’t understand is w hy? Did Peterson catch him with Cheryl Larsen ? Was he worried about how it would look if the Bureau found out he was screwing a witness ? It wouldn’t be good, but I doubt he’s the first person to have an affair with a witness. He and Anna were divorced by then , right. ”
John gave him a “bingo” look .
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