Colin sank wearily into his chair, rubbing his eyelids with his fingers. The phone rang, startling him from his moment of inactivity. He cursed inwardly and forced himself to answer the phone. "Now what?" His tone sounded snappish and he regretted it right away.

            The dry voice of Chief of Police David Hudson, his former superior, came over the phone. "Long night, Everton?"

            "Sir! Yes, sir, it has been a long night. But it's morning now, sir."

            "I'm aware of that. I'm also aware that there's been a murder down on Schuler Street."

            Colin blinked, held the receiver away from his face, and looked at it the way he looked at his electrical bill. Sullenly. He held the phone back to his ear. "And...that means?"

            "That means that I want you to get over there and check it out."

            Colin again stared at the receiver, this time with a shocked look on his face. "Chief, I seem to remember that I'm not on the force anymore. I'm a private eye." He stressed the word "private," perhaps unnecessarily.

            "And how is that working out for you?" Hudson chuckled.

            Colin glanced at his most recent electric bill and the bill for his rent - both unpaid -  before answering. "Well...it's not the force."

            Hudson chuckled again. "You mean you're making less than you used to make on the force."

            Colin half-closed his eyes, wanting to drop the phone on the floor and let it sit there. "You...could say that," he hedged.

            "Could, can, and will. Already have."

            "So you said it. What else are you trying to say?" Colin tapped his foot on the floor.

            "Come work on this murder, Everton." Hudson's voice held a note of something that kept Colin from hanging up the phone.

            He hesitated, his frustration somehow growing and evaporating at the same time. "Chief...I can't work anything pro bono...not even a case for you."

            "That bad?" Colin heard a sigh from the other end of the line. "Look, Everton, I can't promise you much more than this...but I'll cover any costs you have while you're on the case. Food, taxis, you've got it."

            Colin narrowed his eyes. "It's not that. I'm sorry, Chief. I just can't. I have to make a profit."

            Hudson sighed. "I'm sorry to hear you say that. I'd rather work with someone I already know. But I suppose a new face will have to do..." He trailed off, sounding like Colin had robbed him of his last cent.

            Colin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who are you getting, then?" He asked flatly. "Because you're not getting me."

            Hudson coughed and harrumphed into the phone, sounding suspiciously close to laughter. "Ah...ah...Bonnie Taylor."

            Colin's receiver hit the floor.

***

Thirty minutes later,  Colin stood in Hudson's office, a scowl on his face as he stood in front  of Bonnie Taylor. "I don't believe it. You're not a real P.I."

            Bonnie  arched one eyebrow and eyed him from her perch on Hudson's desk. "You  better believe it, Everton." She crossed one leg over the other and  kicked Colin lightly. "I'm as real as they come."

            Colin took a  half-step back and turned to Hudson. "Chief, you're not going to hire  her, are you? This is all some sort of joke."

            Hudson shook  his head, his thick eyebrows almost covering his eyes. "I wish it was a  joke, Everton. But you were my last resort...and you turned me down."

            "If I'd known you were going to get her, I wouldn't have!"

            Bonnie  slipped off the desk and walked straight up to Colin, narrowing her dark  eyes dangerously. "All right, Everton. What's your problem with me?  Besides the fact that I'm a woman - because I'm sure that's part of it."

            "You've never solved a case before!" Colin burst out.

            "Have you?"

            Colin tilted his head to one side and counted to ten. "As a matter of fact, I have."

            Bonnie drew  herself up, her lips parting in a knowing smile. "So Colin Everton  solves a case and thinks he's the next Sherlock."

            Stung by her remark, Colin retorted, "So Bonnie Taylor thinks she can become the next Sherlock by stealing a case."

            Hudson  stood, clearing his throat loudly. "Ahem! Ahem...Everton, you turned  down the case, so Miss Taylor here isn't stealing."

            "What!" Colin put his hands on Hudson's desk. "Chief, you're going to choose her over me?"

            "If you keep this act up, yes." Hudson crossed his arms like a disappointed father.

            Colin took a  step back from the desk and sucked in a breath. "All right...all right.  I'm sorry, Chief." He turned to Bonnie, running a hand through his hair  and not meeting her eyes. "Take the case, okay? You can have it." He  finally met her eyes and saw them gleaming with satisfaction.

            "Thank you,  Mr. Everton," Bonnie said coolly. She deliberately turned her back on  Colin, who was left staring at her glossy dark curls and the trenchcoat  that concealed whatever figure she might have had. Bonnie reached into  her pocket and pulled out a cigarette. "Do you have a light, Chief?"

            Hudson  raised an eyebrow. "A what? Oh, a light. Yes..." He dug in his pocket,  pulled out a lighter, and handed it to Bonnie.

            Colin shook  his head once and walked out, slamming the door behind him. He headed  for his flat, jamming his hands into the pockets of his coat. "Why  didn't you just take the case?" He muttered, kicking at a piece of trash  in his path.

            "Mr. Everton!"

            Colin glanced back and saw Bonnie hurrying after him. He kept walking.

            "Mr. Everton! Wait!"

            Colin heard the clicking of Bonnie's shoes on the ground and turned to face her. "What do you want?"

            Bonnie  walked up to him, her brows lowered. "Mr. Everton!" She stopped to catch  her breath and pulled her coat tighter around her waist. "I want to  talk to you." She looked down at the cigarette in her hand and dropped  it, crushing it under the heel of her shoe.

            "Then talk. I might be listening." Colin started to walk again.

            Bonnie's heels clicked again as she took quick steps to catch up with Colin, then grabbed his arm. "You are going to listen."

            Colin sighed and turned to face Bonnie once again. "Fine, I'm listening."

            She began with no introduction. "I'm new in this business. This is my first break." Oh, brother, here comes the sob story. "I know I won't be able to pull this off. People will make things difficult for me."

            Colin let his eyes close halfway. "Tough luck."

            Bonnie  pressed her lips together, forming a thin, bright red line. "I know that  Hudson wanted to work with you...and you wanted to work with him.  Though I don't understand why you turned him down..." She trailed off,  waved a hand in the air, and focused on Colin again. "I'm not passing  this opportunity up."

            "Fine, fine," Colin said, reaching out to pat her on the back. "Take control of your life and all that."

            Bonnie's  eyes narrowed and she grabbed Colin's hand. Her red-lacquered nails  pressed lightly into the top of his hand as she said in a low voice,  "Mr. Everton, please refrain from treating me like a child. I'm severely  tempted not to let you in on this."

            Now Colin's eyes were narrowed. "Let me in on what?"

            Bonnie watched him for a long moment, her eyes roving over his face. "Buy me dinner and I'll tell you."