Colin watched her go, shaking his head. "Dang broad," he muttered. While one part of him was irritated at how quickly Bonnie had jumped to a conclusion, the other part of him was proud of her for standing up for herself. He looked down at the table and saw the faint pinkish stain that remained where Whelan's wife had been sitting.

"Stabbed...must have been," he muttered. "And he took the knife with him, I bet." That was another tidbit he'd have to get from Hudson.

Hudson. He smacked his hand on the back of the chair angrily. He knew I wouldn't be able to stand by and let a dame take the case. He knew exactly what he was doing when he called me, and now I'm stuck here with nothing to go on.

Colin took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus. He glanced around the kitchen again and peered into the sink. A few dishes, but no knife. He found the knife block sitting on the counter and lifted each knife out, inspecting it carefully. There were no traces of blood on any of them.

Next Colin began opening drawers around where Whelan's wife had been sitting. He happened to pick the silverware drawer first out of sheer luck and let out a noise of satisfaction, which was followed by a frustrated grunt as there was no sign of anything resembling a murder weapon.

He glanced inside the garbage can before trudging up the stairs. Bonnie met him in the hall, her face showing excitement.

"There's a window and a fire escape!" She led him to the open window at the end of the hall.

"Did you touch anything?" Colin demanded, sticking his head through the window without touching the frame.

"No," she answered quickly. "I'm not stupid."

Colin peered down at the fire escape for a moment, then withdrew his head. "Well...not much to go on. No other open windows?" Bonnie shook her head and Colin started back down the stairs.

"All the doors to the rooms off the hall were closed," Bonnie volunteered, falling into step behind him.

"Mm." Colin furrowed his brows, his thoughts bouncing around in his head like tennis balls. "Mr. Whelan?" He called as they came back into the living room.

Whelan glanced up. "Huh?"

Colin heard the small noise of disapproval Bonnie made in her throat. He put a hand on Whelan's shoulder. "We're heading to the station to...well...report to the chief. We'll let you know if we need anything else."

Whelan nodded dully, settling back in his chair carefully as though he expected his bones to crack at any moment.

Colin tightened his grip momentarily, then released Whelan's shoulder and jerked his head toward the door. Just as they were about to leave, Suzie ran to the door and grabbed Bonnie's coat.

"Will you come back?"

Colin closed his eyes briefly. I hope we don't have to. He raised an eyebrow and waited.

"I...I don't know, Suzie," Bonnie said after a long pause. She bit her lip and continued. "Look out for your father, all right? Show him that you love him."

Suzie nodded solemnly. "I will." She gave Bonnie a small smile. "'Bye."

"'Bye." Bonnie gave the girl's hand a squeeze and shut the door behind her and Colin.

They walked silently for a block, then Bonnie spoke. "It seems completely random, doesn't it? No weapon, no enemies. There's no reason why she shouldn't still be alive!"

Colin sighed and shifted his hands in his pockets. "Why would she have been in the bathroom?" He was startled by Bonnie's laugh.

"Why wouldn't she have been in the bathroom? You obviously don't have much experience with women, Colin. With domestic life, I mean," she amended when Colin glanced at her with a frown. "For one, women feel the call of nature in the mornings just as much as men do. For another, women are supposed to be perfect. Mrs. Whelan probably makes...made...the habit of getting up before her husband, doing her hair and make-up, and then going down to cook breakfast. The perfect wife," she finished sardonically, tossing her head.

"Uh...huh." Colin had a hard time comprehending everything Bonnie had just said to him. "So you didn't think there was anything suspicious about Whelan not knowing she was downstairs?"

She shook her head. "Nothing suspicious."

"Huh." Colin shook his head and kept walking. "I'm going to give Hudson a piece of my mind when-" He realized Bonnie wasn't paying attention. She was watching a man who was crossing the street, hurrying towards them with a purposeful step.

"Bonnie?" The man stopped in front of them and glanced from Bonnie to Colin. "Who is this?"

Bonnie her breath out in a little huff, her face showing resignation. "This is Colin Everton. He's my associate and we're on a case."

"A case!" The man's eyebrows rose. "Oh, no, baby, you didn't actually take a case? Someone actually asked you to take a case?"

Colin felt his jaw tighten as he shifted uncomfortably, feeling like he was being shown how he had treated Bonnie earlier in a mirror. Only this man talking to Bonnie had dark hair instead of blond hair like he did.

Bonnie lifted her chin. "The chief of police asked me to take a case, yes." She put her hand on the man's arm and turned to Colin. "Mr. Everton, this is Jesse. My...boyfriend."

Colin held out his hand to Jesse and shook it brusquely, feeling inexplicably ungracious.

"Hey." Jesse seemed polite enough, but quickly turned his attention back to Bonnie. "So, baby, I was thinking we'd catch a movie tonight. What do you say?" He took Bonnie's arm and started walking down the street. Colin followed, his mood souring even further.

"Actually..." Bonnie glanced back at Colin, something like mischief flickering in her eyes, before she slid her arm out from Jesse's and planted her feet. "I'm busy tonight. All night."

Jesse scoffed in disbelief. "All night?" He seemed about to offer more protest, but Bonnie crossed her arms and fixed him with a challenging stare. "Fine," he said finally, shrugging to conceal what he was thinking. "Give me a ring when you're not busy." He bent slightly to kiss Bonnie on the temple, then crossed the street and went into a shop.

Bonnie turned to him, that mischievous look now very clear in her eyes and upturned lips. "You mentioned drinks after we get done at the police station?"

***

When Colin opened the door to the bar, Bonnie breathed a loud sigh of relief.

"Finally! Do things always take this long with the police?"

Colin guided her to a table. "Pretty much." He sank into the chair with a sigh. "But it was worse this time."

Bonnie slid out of her coat and hung it over the back of her chair. "Do you think they were trying to make it difficult because of me?"

Colin let out a laugh. "Nah, I doubt it. It's just the way things worked out. The fact that we went to Whelan's before we got the report from the guys who'd already been there." He went to the bar, ordered two drinks, and brought them back to the table. "Here you go, toots."

Bonnie picked up her glass and sipped. "So she was stabbed," she said thoughtfully. "And they didn't find a knife anywhere?"

"That's right. At least they noticed the open window, though." Colin tilted his head back and took a long drink. "So we still don't have a lot to go on. But it's something."

Bonnie shifted in her seat. "But...why do you think Mrs. Whelan was killed?"

"We can't know that unless Whelan tells us something or unless we find something that points to a reason. It seems like they were just a normal family. But...you never know." He shrugged and glanced out the window at the darkened streets. "Why'd you change your mind about the drinks?"

Bonnie pursed her lips. "In case you haven't noticed, I like to make my own way. I just decided that I wanted a drink tonight...without Jesse."

"How long have you been together?" Colin found that he didn't want to think about the Whelan murder. He wanted to think about something else; anything else. Even Bonnie would do.

"A month or so." Bonnie tapped each of her fingers on her glass. "But...I'm not sure about him."

Colin raised an eyebrow. "Wait...you're not sure about him? Are you telling me that you maybe actually wanted to have a drink with me?"

Bonnie's lips tightened. "Maybe. I'm not sure. But you'd better not try anything," she warned.

Colin held up his hands, leaning back in his seat. "Cool it. I'm just curious. Puzzled, too."

"Puzzled? Because of the case?"

"No, because of you." Colin grinned. "This is after-hours. Whelan can wait."

"Oh." Bonnie's eyes flitted down to the table, then back up at him. "Why are you curious about me?"

"It's not every day you meet a female P.I. And not every day you get to work with one, either."

"Hm. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."

"I'm not sure either." Colin took another drink. "You haven't been in the business long, right?"

She nodded. "That's right."

"Then what made you want to go into a man's world?"

"It's not a man's world now that I'm here, is it?" She smiled briefly. "I don't know, really. I've always been fascinated by mysteries."

"Well, you've got yourself in a mystery for sure. Most murders I've worked on are pretty clear-cut. There's always a reason for it. But this one..." He shook his head ruefully.

"I thought we weren't talking about the case right now," Bonnie said archly.

"Fine, fine." Colin waved a hand in the air. "No more about Whelan until tomorrow." He swirled the liquid in his glass around. "So...Jesse. He's a good guy?"

Bonnie nodded, moving her head back and forth at the same in a manner that showed some hesitation. "He's all right. Not Prince Charming..."

"Then why are you with him?"

"Because I wanted to be."

"Ha - wanted past tense. So you're looking to break up with him."

"Not so fast, Sherlock," Bonnie laughed. "You are rather curious about me, aren't you?"

"Well, you haven't asked me anything about myself." Colin crossed his arms in mock offense. "I'm having to carry this conversation."

"Something about yourself...hm...how long have you been a P.I.?"

"A month or two. As you gathered from my interaction with Hudson, it hasn't been a very good business."

Bonnie raised a finger to stop him. "Hudson! How do you know him?"

"I worked under him on the force for about three years."

"Ah. And you like him?"

Colin grinned wryly. "He's not Prince Charming..."

Bonnie laughed appreciatively at his reference to Jesse. "But he's not a monster, either, is he?"

"He's not a monster, no. He's just controlling."

"Controlling?"

"You saw what he did this morning. He got me to come down to the station because he knew that seeing you would set me off."

"And why did it set you off?"

Colin frowned. "Is this an interrogation now?"

"Sorry." Bonnie set her glass down. "Too many questions?"

"That was a question."

She rolled her eyes. "Come on."

"Sorry, sorry. I don't know exactly what made me come down. Look, I've been running myself ragged trying to drum up business." The leather seat of the chair creaked as Colin shifted. "And maybe...you...getting what I had...well..."

"What you threw away?" Bonnie finished bluntly. Colin glanced up at her, startled. "I was there, Colin. I heard the phone call."

"See!" Colin smacked the table for emphasis. "He was playing me."

Bonnie frowned thoughtfully into her drink. "Well...I'd say you played right into his hands."

Colin rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot, toots. I'm well aware of what I did, because the reminder is staring me in the face right now."

Bonnie laughed. "At least I'm not bad to look at."

Colin's eyebrows shot up. "Who told you that?"

"Oh, everyone does. Jesse does, I'm sure Hudson mentioned it at least once." Bonnie was still staring Colin in the face, something odd flitting through her eyes.

Colin suddenly felt as though he was treading on thin ice. He ran a finger around the collar of his shirt and searched for something to say. "He did? Well...he's not wrong." The odd look was still there in Bonnie's eyes, her expression guarded. Colin glanced at her face again and narrowed his eyes. She looked...hopeful. Hopeful about what? He decided not to say anything else.

"Not wrong?" The look intensified and Colin frowned

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just...different. You actually care about the case. Not just...me." Bonnie smiled, a genuine smile that made Colin glad he had kept his mouth shut.

He leaned forward and rested an elbow on the table. "What if I'm just faking?"

Bonnie arched an eyebrow. "Are you?"

Colin drew back a bit. Wow. "I don't think so."

She smiled. "You sound unsure."

"Because I am." Colin slid his glass back and forth between his hands, watching it instead of Bonnie's face.

"Hm." He glanced to find her watching him once again, the hopeful look replaced with one more assured and decisive. "I hope you're more sure about the murder than you are about this."

"I can't be sure until we do more investigating."

Bonnie pushed away from the table and threw her coat over one arm. "Then you'd better get home and get some sleep." She flashed him a smile and left.