Alicia cursed softly as her cell phone chirped at her from it's resting place on her bedside table.  Rolling over to grab the offending device, she noticed the time.  "Who ever this is had best have an excellent reason for waking me at four in the morning."  Her voice was gravely quiet.

"Alicia, I'm sorry.  I lost track of the time difference."

Sitting up in bed, raking a hand through her hair and gently pushing Saint Gee off her lap, she came fully awake.  "Hiram?  What is it?  What's going on?"

"I have a name for you."

A predatory grin came over her face, "Who?"

"Detective J.J. Ellison."

"What?!?"  Shock coursed through her body.

"Ellison.  He's a detective with…"

"I know who the hell he is, Hiram!  He's my god damn neighbor!"  Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down.  "Okay, I can deal with this.  But I want a favor from you, Hiram."

"Name it."  The smile came across in the deep male voice.

Shaking her head, Alicia tittered.  "Nothing serious.  I just want to return the favor.  Have Wilhelm or Roberto run a complete background check on Ellison.  Tell them I want no traceable trail left."

Hiram chuckled.  "Ah, Alicia, even when I wake you, you have a deliciously devious mind.  One of the reasons I recruited you into the company."

"Oh, really?  And here I thought it was because I was so, I believe your term was 'angelic' looking?"

"That was just the icing on the cake, my dear.  I'll have both men start the process.  You want the results faxed to you at home or at the office?"

"Office.  And thank Will and Rob in advance for me, will you?"

She concluded the phone call with her overseas friend and, realizing that she was up for the day, went to check on the status of the smoking salmon.  The coals had burned out nicely, which would leave the rest of the cooking to be done later that day.  She made a mental note to drop by on her lunch break and restart the process.  In the meantime, she refilled the steam pan with her concoction, then she dressed for her morning ride.  It would put her about one hour ahead in her daily routine, but change was good. Saint Gee didn't want out this morning, but opted instead to stand guard over the smoker and the fish within.

Alicia was just returning home when Jim and Blair stepped out of the building for their morning run.  Carrying her mountain bike on her shoulder, she greeted them with a cheerful good morning, as if she didn't know what was going on with Ellison digging into her background.  Smiling sweetly, she inquired, "So, Blair are we still on for tonight?  Are you going to come, Jim?"

"We'll be there.  Seven, right?"  Blair answered as he continued with his stretches.

Jim halted his pre-run work out and flashed a brilliant smile at his neighbor.  "Is there anything we should bring?"

Letting the imp within take control for a moment, she flashed her best 'come hither' look at both men. "Just your bodies and a good appetite."  She moved pass them to enter the building, hitching her bike higher onto her shoulders.

Jim and Blair watched her progress up the stairwell appreciatively.   The spandex bike shorts and the matching cropped tank top showed off her trim athletic body to perfection.  The only draw back was the fanny pack she wore around her waist.

When they returned from their run, Alicia had apparently already left for the day, for her car was missing from it's normal spot.

Going through the rest of their morning routine, they wondered what the day would hold for them and both men were looking forward to dinner that night. The smell of the smoking salmon had permeated the loft over night and still lingered in the air, causing both men to simply pick over their breakfast.

Alicia had made arrangements with Bernice Goldwater to handle anything that might come up while she was away, then checking over the offices that were now 'complete', she made her way home.  Stopping off at a local market, she picked up the last few things that she needed for dinner:  Wild rice, almonds, fresh broccoli and cauliflower, carrots, zucchini and yellow squash, and more fresh rosemary and thyme.  Arriving back at her home at just after one pm, she put away the groceries and checked on the salmon.  It was nearly
done.  Adding just a bit more wine to the steaming bowl and a handful of apple wood chips, she rekindled the fire.  She then went about the apartment, getting ready for her visitors and for her upcoming trip.

At four pm, she was finished packing, playing fifty-two pick up, and was cutting up the vegetables.  These she mixed together with a butter mixture of the rosemary and thyme, then wrapped them in foil to be placed in the smoker at five.   Going over to the cabinet that she kept her alcohol in, she selected three bottles of white wine to accompany the upcoming meal.  All the wines were good, well bodied, from different vineyards, and would compliment the fish, rice and vegetables nicely.  She'd let her guests choose the dinner wine. Not knowing whether or not the two men would want desert, she checked her cupboards and found the ingredients for one of her favorite sweets: a flan with a coffee flavored caramel sauce.  After putting the custard dishes in the oven with their 'steam bath' pan, she decided to change out of her work clothes into something a little more, well, if not comfortable, then relaxing.

She had just finished preparations, by putting the flan in the 'fridge to chill, when Saint Gee came streaking back into the apartment from the balcony, where he'd been on guard duty, and watched as he raced to the door.  When the double knock sounded, she merely called out, " It's open!" and finished drying her hands.

One of the first things that Captain Simon Banks noticed when he returned to the bullpen, after an afternoon meeting with the higher brass, was that most of his detectives and uniformed officers of Major Crimes seemed to be avoiding walking near a certain pair of desks. Watching from the doorway, he noticed that Detectives Ellison and Sandburg were apparently being very productive, passing files back and forth with
Sandburg turning to check something on his computer every now and then. Curious, Simon walked up behind Sandburg to see what they were working on.

Jim didn't even look up from the notes he was making, knowing that Simon had walked into the bullpen by the smell of the Captain's cigars and his cologne.  "Afternoon, Captain," he greeted while still writing out his notes.

"Ellison.  Sandburg."  Leaning over the smaller man's shoulders, he looked at the computer screen.  "What are you two working on now?"

Blair pushed his glasses up onto his head, and looked up at his commander. "That background check that Jim was running."

Simon blinked in surprise.  The last he knew, Blair hadn't been too happy about this investigation into the two men's neighbor lady, now it looked as though he was helping Jim out.  Looking closely at the monitor, he said, "And you're looking into this Hallstatt Trust International because…?"

"Alicia works for them."  Rotating his head to relieve the tension in his neck, Blair stood up and picking up his coffee mug, as well as Jim's, walked over to the break room.

Simon sat down in Blair's chair and looked over at Jim.  "Okay, how did you do it, Jim?"

Raising his eyes to meet the Captain's, Jim smiled.  "I didn't do anything. But once he started going over what I had, he got interested on his own. Offered to help."

"And just what have you gotten so far?"

Sighing, Jim pushed back from his desk and stretched out his long legs.  "Not much.  Alicia A. Andreson served in the US Air Force from 1985 to 1995, separated while apparently stationed in Germany, went to work for Hallstatt just two weeks after leaving the service and has been with them ever since. Her passport has more entries than Sandburg's. I think the Chief might be jealous, and outside a few irregularities, her record is clean."

"Irregularities?"

Jim handed over a copy of the woman's discharge paper, her DD-214.  "Check that over and you should see one.  And I can find no information on her prior to her entry into the service."

Scanning over the simple form, he did spot two odd things. "She's on Inactive status indefinitely?  And why can't I find a rank on this?"  Simon handed the paper back to Jim.

"That's just to start.  One thing that I've asked some of my military contacts to look into is why, if she was stationed at Nellis in 95, she separated in Germany."

Blair walked back over to them just as Jim's phone rang, and his computer terminal announced the arrival of electronic mail.  Placing Jim's refilled coffee mug in front of his partner, he reached around his Captain to pull up the document.  Seeing that Simon was about to relinquish his seat, Blair placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "You're fine, Captain." He read the mail.  "Look at this."  He pointed at the monitor.

Reading another man's mail didn't seem right, but the information displayed there was fascinating.  It was a complete listing of subsidiary companies that Hallstatt held controlling interest in as well as other companies that they held over twenty percent of the total public stock.  There were companies from all over the world, most of them in Europe or the United States, with a few in Russia, China and Japan.

Towards the bottom of the list was another category: Grants and Scholarships available from Hallstatt Trust.  Blair gasped as he recognized one of the grants as one that he had received while still a student at Rainier University.  "Whoa, that is so weird."  Feeling two pairs of eyes on him, he ran his hands through his hair in a nervous gesture.  "I was the recipient of one of Hallstatt’s educational/research grants."

Simon stood up and looked his two men square in the eyes. "Well, as interesting as this may be, gentlemen, don't you have other cases to put down?"  He turned and walked back to his office, leaving the two detectives alone in a room full of people.

Jim hung up the phone and beckoned for Blair to follow him out to the hallway.

"What is it?  Was that one of your contacts?"

"Yeah.  Colonel Makavey told me he couldn't find a damn thing on her. Nothing."  Walking over to the break room, he filched a donut out of the box sitting on the counter.  "This is getting frustrating."

Blair walked up beside him and, reaching out, broke the donut in his partner's hand and took half of it for himself. "Maybe it's frustrating because we're expecting to find something that just isn't there, Jim."

"It's there, Chief.  Just buried so deep that it won't see the light of day until well into this century."  Jim polished off the donut half that Blair had left him and wiped his hands on a paper towel.   "I've heard of stuff
like this before.  Her file has probably been locked up by a Congressional Oversight Committee, which may, or may not, let the information there be declassified. Ever."

"Should we drop it then?"

"We may have to."

They returned to their desks and, putting away the files on Alicia Andreson, started in on their other cases.

Blair led the way up to the second floor, Jim lagging behind for some reason, and knocked on Alicia's apartment door at just before seven pm.  Opening the door at her invitation, he was immediately run over by a black buzz saw who somehow managed to climb up to his shoulder without clawing him to death. "Hello, Saint Gee."  He waited for the cat's response to Jim as his friend walked into the apartment behind him.  Surprisingly, all the kitten did was twitch his tail harder and cuddle deeper against Blair's neck.

Walking into the apartment, Jim noticed a few things: The kitten wasn't reacting in its normal fashion, the place was as neat as a pin, and a small packed olive green duffel bag was sitting by the door. And, finally, their hostess was dressed in a typical Northwest outfit: Blue jeans, a light green tee shirt with a dark forest green flannel shirt over a pair of hiking sandals.

"I'm so glad you two decided to come!"  Alicia walked up to both men and gave them both a peck on the cheek.  "Dinner's just about ready, I just need to pull it out.  I wasn't sure what to serve with it, so there are a couple of bottles on the counter.  Pick what ever appeals to you."  Grabbing up a large plate and tongs, she walked out to the balcony.

Since Blair was occupied with the feisty kitten, Jim walked over and inspected the choice of wines.  They were all whites, one from Australia, one from Germany and another that was a California vintage. Picking up the Californian wine, he saw that he couldn't pronounce the name. It looked German in origin: Gewurtztraminer.  Deciding to chance it, since he'd never had a wine that he couldn't pronounce, and not seeing a single Chardonnay in the bunch, he turned back around to see Alicia coming back in
from the balcony.

Alicia smiled as Jim came over to take the large plate of salmon from her over laden hands, leaving her only the foil wrapped packages of vegetables to handle. "Thanks, Jim."  Seeing the bottle of wine that he'd set down before coming to her aid, she smiled.  "Oh, good choice!  Now, go relax. I'll bring the plates out to the table in a second." She 'shooed' him out of her kitchen.

Walking over to the couch where Blair was playing with the kitten, he sat down next to his friend. "How's it going, Chief?"

Blair looked at his friend and smiled.  "Just fine.  Notice how Gee here has managed to place himself between us?"  The cat had settled down on his lap, with his back to Jim, the tail twitching in a rapid motion.  Jim nodded. "Well, if I'm reading his body language right, he's decided to accept you as an inevitable factor in his life, but will refuse to acknowledge your existence."

"In other words, typical cat like behavior."

"Yeah."

"Blair? Jim?  Supper's on the table."  Alicia called to them.

The table was set in simple style, the black dinnerware contrasting against a pale gray table cloth and white cloth place mats with bright red napkins that set off the simple design of the flatware. She was pouring the wine into a sizable goblet with a skill that bespoke of years of familiarity with wine. The plates were loaded with salmon, served over rice and a wonderful vegetable medley.

Handing the first glass of wine to Jim, she waited to pour the rest until he nodded his head after sipping the liquid gold.

The conversation that followed was relaxed.  The three of them asking friendly questions: Alicia answering theirs about her stay in Austria, them answering her questions about Cascade and the surrounding country. After the dishes were cleared from the table, she put a pot of coffee on to brew and they adjourned to the living room.

"I don't know if you two have any room left, but I have a dessert that won't take long to serve."  Alicia curled up in a chair across from the couch where the two men had settled.

Blair moaned, "I'm not sure I'll have room for it, Alicia."

"Chief's got a point.  That was a excellent meal."

"Thank you, Jim.  I don't often have time to cook, but when I do, I love to go all out."  She looked over at Blair who had sunk deeper into the couch cushions while Saint Gee took up residence on his chest.  "Looks like you've made a friend for life, Blair."

Reaching up to give the kitten a couple of strokes down it's long back, he said,  "I don't mind.  Gee's a great little cat."

Smiling, she stood up and walked out to the kitchen to warm up the caramel sauce. "Then, can I ask a favor?"

"Sure."

"I need to go out of town for a few days, can I impose upon you to watch the scamp?" She kept her attention on the saucepan, not wanting to scorch the delicate sugar laden sauce.

"No problem."  Blair watched as Jim got up from the couch and followed their hostess out to her kitchen and smiled as he thought he knew what was about to happen.  The sentinel had behaved himself as long as he could, and now that Alicia had given him an opening, he figured that his partner was going to take it.

"Great!  I'll show you where all his stuff is before you leave.  Oh, and I'll give you a spare key."  She turned around and bumped into Jim who was hovering over her shoulder.  "Oh!  Sorry, Jim.  I didn't hear you."

"My fault.  I should've made more noise or something."  He watched as she pulled out the custard dishes and dumped the contents onto three small plates.  "What is that?"

"Flan.  I fell in love with it while visiting a friend in Spain."  She drizzled the warm sauce over the desert. " It's a wonderful way to clear the palate."

"So, where are you going?  On your trip?"

Alicia looked up into Jim's blue eyes, and realizing that he was digging for information, mentally shrugged and gave her answer.  "I have to travel to Nevada to clear up a snafu that was allowed to develop."

From his place on the couch, Blair called out, "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"No more than five days.  I should be back by Sunday evening."  Placing the desserts on a tray with three full coffee cups and accompanying sugar and cream, she walked back out to the living room, Jim on her heels.

"Blair told me that you're an insurance investigator?  What kind of case can you take care of in five days?"  Jim asked as they settled back into their previous places in the living area.

Picking up her coffee cup, she leaned back in the chair.  "The kind that is driving the primary investigator nuts because he's been working it too long. I'm just going to go down there, look over the case, talk with a few people and see if I can't come up with a different angle."

"Isn't that a bit unusual?"  Jim asked as he picked up his own coffee cup.

"Not really.  Don't you do the same thing, as detectives?  Looking over another's case files, checking to make sure that they don't miss something?"

Blair had to bite his tongue to hold back his laugher.  Alicia had just turned the tables on Jim and he watched as his partner's face flushed with embarrassment.  He and Jim didn't have a chance to respond to her question as she launched into an explanation.

"That's what I do for my company.  I go where an investigation has stalled, to see if I can give a fresh, new perspective.  I love the challenge, but could do without the traveling.  I've been to more places in the past few
years than most people even dream about, but I'm hoping that my boss will let me stay here in Cascade for a while."  Leaning forward, she picked up one of the flan desserts and handed it to Blair, "Here, try this, I promise you, you'll have room for it."

Taking the proffered plate, Blair asked her, "So, where have you been?  In your travels?"

Handing the other plate to Jim before picking up her own, she answered. "Just about everywhere.  I was in Japan just before I came to Cascade.  Lovely country, but you do not want to be a blond, American, female in there."

That comment sparked Jim's interest. "Oh?  Why not?"

"Most of the men I had to deal with thought I was merely a decorative piece of fluff.  Until I proved to them that they were looking in the wrong direction."

Tasting the flan, Blair piped up, "Did they lose 'face'?"

Alicia smiled, "Not too much.  But I think that they were more than happy to see me leave."

The conversation stilled for a few moments as the three of them attacked their desserts.  Jim had to admit, the confection was good, and he thought he detected just a light touch of Kaluha in the sauce, as well as a bit of white chocolate in the custard.  Trying to be a courteous guest, he gathered up the plates and took them out to the kitchen, just as Alicia stood up and announced, "Come on, Blair.  I'll show you where everything is."  She smiled as Gee refused to leave the young man alone and he was forced to carry the
kitten with him as she led Blair towards the back of her apartment.

Keeping his ears tuned to the conversation, Jim wandered around the living area, glancing over the many books that Alicia had on her shelves, and the various paintings and photos on the walls.  One photo, in particular, caught his attention.  It showed Alicia dressed in desert camouflage gear, standing with a large group of men in similar garb.  It looked like a military unit, but none of the people in the photo had any patches on their uniforms.  Not even name tapes over the pockets.  The background of the shot looked to be
desert country, but nothing in the photo gave away where it might have been taken.   Puzzling over the photo, he listened to the conversation between his friend and their hostess.

"You have a whole room set aside, just for Gee?"

"Keeps him out of trouble.  Oh, and keep this glass by the bathroom sink topped off.  Other wise Saint Gee gets it into his head that it's okay for him to drink from the toilet."

"Eww.  Okay.  Uh, does he have a sandbox?"

"Yeah, it’s here under the shelf in the bathroom.  Just check on him in the morning and the evening, leave the balcony door cracked just a little bit and he'll be fine."

They came back into the living area just in time for Jim to actually 'overhear' that last remark of hers.  "Alicia, that's not wise.  That's like asking for someone to come in and rob the place."

Alicia shrugged.  "I know.  But it's not like there's much here to take."

"What about your books?  You've got some classics here."  Jim gestured to the shelves.

"Nothing that can't be replaced."  Reaching over, she extracted Saint Gee from Blair's arms.  "Thanks for agreeing to watch Gee for me, Blair.  I didn't relish the idea of asking Bernie to watch him, or worse, putting him up in a kennel."

"Not a problem.  He's a sweet cat."  Blair smiled at her, bouncing on his heels.

Going up on her toes, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "Thanks.  Now, I hate to do this to you both, but I have a plane to catch at six am, and it's now coming up to ten…"

Jim nodded, "We understand, Alicia.  Thanks for a lovely dinner."

"You're welcome."  She reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a set of keys and detached one from the ring. "Here, Blair.  Don't lose that."

Taking the key, he promised, "I won't.  And I'll take good care of Gee until you get back."

"I know you will."  She escorted the two men to her door and just as Jim made to duck past her, she reached out and stopped him.  "Jim?  I hope that this evening means we can be friends?"

A feeling of guilt came over him.  'If she only knew what I am doing behind her back.'  Smiling as graciously as he could, he said, "I think we can give it a shot."

"Good."  Just as she had followed her impulse to kiss Blair, she now followed it to reach up, pull Jim down towards her and planted a peck on the detective's cheek.  Before letting go of him, she whispered in his ear,
"Sweet dreams."

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