“Hey, Ms. Williamson.” Vince walked into John’s office with a file. He placed it on John’s desk before continuing. “The Lieutenant should be back any minute.”

“Thanks, Vince. How’s the new baby?” Evangeline sat the bag she carried on John’s desk, before taking a seat in his chair.

A smile covered Vince’s face before the question was completely out of Evangeline’s mouth.

“She’s fine. She’s getting so big so fast.”

“I’ll bet. Tell Denise I said hello and kiss that little girl for me.”

“I’ll do that. Ms. Williamson, I got to tell you, I’m glad that you and the boss are doing so well. He needs a strong woman like you to go home to. This job can be really hard when you’re by yourself. Plus, we all like having you around.”

“Thank you, Vince. I like being around.”

The two smiled at each other, before Vince left the office. Evangeline bent to write a note. Since John had begun working on the Killing Club murders, she’d felt them growing apart. Evangeline was worried about him. Since she knew he wouldn’t really feed himself, she had stopped at the Palace and gotten him some dinner. She wasn’t planning on staying with him; she just wanted to make sure he ate.

A few weeks before he’d snapped at her that while he appreciated her enthusiasm on the case, he needed to figure it out on his own. She’d made herself scarce since then. Evangeline didn’t want John to resent her at some point later; to think that she’d kept him from making some connection to the killer.

While she was extremely confident in her ability as a lawyer; she was still somewhat insecure in the relationship. So, she’d made a decision to let him be. It was a hard decision to make because she really thought she could help him. She was after all an attorney and many of her criminal justice classes covered obtaining evidence and investigating cases. At least this way if he couldn’t see the forest for the trees, he couldn’t blame her.

There were two very big cases on Evangeline’s plate anyway; Jen Rappaport and Antonio Vega. Evangeline thought that she might be making some headway in Jen’s case. One of her sources revealed that Paul had a meeting with someone named Ted right before he was killed. She planned to follow up on herself. If she could find this Ted, she could possibly turn the attention off Jen. With Daniel so adamant that Jen was the killer; Evangeline knew it was only a matter of time before he pressured Bo to file murder charges.

With that in mind, Evangeline finally finished the note and moved to the door to leave.

---------------

“Hey,” John said with a smile coming in the other office door. “What are you doing here?”

“I brought you some dinner, because I know how consumed you’ve been with this case. I left you a note.”

“Why don’t you join me? I haven’t seen much of you lately.”

“I don’t want to distract you while you’re working.”

“You’re a welcome distraction. I’ve missed you.” John moved close to her and ran his hand over her head and pulled her in for a quick kiss. He wanted to lose himself in that kiss. She looked absolutely beautiful and the red suit she wore fit her perfectly. John wished he could just forget about everything else in the world and just be with her.

“I’ve missed you, too. We’ve both been pretty busy lately.”

“Yeah. How are Jen and Antonio’s cases going?”

“Pretty good actually. I’m following up some new information. How’s your case going?”

“Still haven’t found the killer, but we will.”

“I have no doubt.” John leaned back and sat on the edge of his desk. He waited for Evangeline to ask more questions. One thing he knew about his girlfriend was that she was inquisitive; a better word might be nosy, but inquisitive had class and she was definitely classy. She could also process information faster than almost anyone he knew. He was surprised when she said nothing related to the case. “You should eat before your food gets cold. It came from the Palace.”

“You didn’t answer my question earlier. Why don’t you join me?” The two of them had spent very little time together and it was getting to him. Working late hours on the case was driving him crazy. There was something right in his face and he couldn’t see it. It was frustrating. He needed to talk to Evangeline and if she stayed with him, maybe he could get her thoughts on a few things. Many times she helped him put facts in perspective. She also helped him put his life in perspective. Surely she wasn’t going to leave him to eat alone.

“I can’t. I have a dinner meeting at Rodi’s.”

“Oh. How long will the meeting last?” He sensed something different. John didn’t know what had changed, but he knew something had.

“I don’t know. How long are you going to be here?”

“I’m not sure. I’m waiting on a Forensics report. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get home tonight.”

“Well, you need to get some rest. Otherwise, you’ll crash when you least expect it.”

“You keep forgetting about that mask and cape.” She laughed along with him at the silly comment.

“I guess I do. I’m gonna go. I have this meeting and then I have a ton of work to do. I’ll talk to you later.”

John stood and moved closer to Evangeline, running his fingers up her arm.

“I’ll see you later. Call me after your meeting is over. I’ll take a break and meet you.”

“Why don’t you call me when you get ready to take a break? If I’m finished, then I’ll meet you.”

“Okay, I’ll call you.” He slid his fingers in her hair and kissed her deeply. “There’s a killer still out there, so be careful.”

“I will,” she said, stroking his cheek before turning to the door.

---------------

After John closed the door, Evangeline stopped for a moment in the hall in surprise. She was trying to give him the room he needed to get the job done. John had told her earlier that the only thing that mattered was solving the case. The last thing Evangeline wanted was to keep him from that.

Sometimes John could be so confusing. Evangeline knew he had a hero complex. She was just afraid that it would be his down fall before long.

---------------

John was sitting at his desk when Natalie stuck her head in his door.

“John, here’s the file that you asked for.”

“Thanks.” He didn’t look up from the file he was reviewing. He was so close, yet so far from finding this killer and he could feel Natalie standing in the door watching him. “Natalie, is there something I can do for you?”

“I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were alright.” John glanced up at her before responding.

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.” He turned back to the file. He needed to talk to Evangeline, but she was so busy. He hated to admit it to himself, but she helped him process information. Maybe it was because she was a lawyer, but she asked questions that he didn’t think to ask or made comments that forced him to think outside the box. He glanced at his watch and then at the door. He had forgotten that Natalie was standing there. “I’m sorry. I got distracted. What did you need?”

“Nothing. I see that you’re busy, so I guess I’ll just go.”

“Actually, I’m about to go over to Rodi’s. Evangeline had a meeting there and I think I’ll go there and wait for her to finish.” He got up from his desk and headed out the door. “I’ll see you later.”