Tina reached out and held Bette’s hand, "You are anything but a disappointment.  You are an amazing woman."

Bette sighed and then changed the subject back to their case, "Do me a favor?  Call Shane and see if she can get any information on this Wills guy.    We lost track of him so I have no idea what he’s been up to these last 3 years."

"He was cleared as a suspect, wasn’t he?"

"Yeah, he was."  Bette backed out of the driveway and headed out toward the main road, "The detective cleared him mostly because of the alibi.  He had interviewed the kid and talked to people who knew him.  Everyone said that he was a normal, quiet, geeky kid who hung around Katherine and Ellie all the time.  There were no alarms. Nothing seemed off."

Tina picked up her mobile and dialed Shane’s number at the precinct,

"Hey Shane, it’s Tina.  Look, I need a favor.  Can you pull up anything you can find on a man by the name of Andrew Wills of New Jersey?  I can give you the address.  Yeah.  Last known address, employment history, anything.  Yup.  And call me as soon as you get anything, okay?  Yeah, Bette and I are heading up to his place now.  Okay.  Bye"

"I take it Shane’s on board?"

"That she is" Tina flipped her phone shut and stared at the brunette, "So we’re skipping the visit to Katherine’s mom?"

"For now.  I want to talk to this Wills guy before it gets too late in the day."

"You think we’ll be able to shake anything loose?"

"Well, he doesn’t know we’re coming," Bette theorized, "So that’s an advantage"

"Assuming Ellie doesn’t tell him we’re on our way."

"Did you see her face when his name came up, Tina?  She looked like she saw a ghost."

"More like the devil, if you ask me."

Bette nodded, "Exactly, I don’t particularly think she wants anything to do with him."

***

The women drove in silence with Bette concentrating on the road and Tina flipping through Katherine’s case file.  Bette knew she should be thinking about how she was going to question Wills, but with Tina in such close proximity, that task seemed entirely too difficult to manage.  Bette could smell the blonde’s light perfume and there was something about Tina’s concentrated stare that turned her on.

"Eyes on the road, Porter." Tina smiled; she could see Bette checking her out from the corner of her eye. 

"My eyes are on the road, Kennard."  Bette shook her head.  "Huh, we’re almost there.  It didn’t take as long as Ellie seemed to think it would take."

"That’s because Ellie and the rest of the world obey the speed limit," Tina closed the file and looked up the agent.

"So now you’re going to criticize my driving?  I happen to be a very good driver."

"I can think of some things you’re better at."  Tina laughed shyly and Bette blushed.

"Real classy, Kennard.  We’re working a homicide and your mind is in the gutter."

"My mind is always in the gutter, Porter.  You’ll learn that soon enough."

***

"Wow this is a pretty big place, huh?"  Bette stared up at the towering edifice before her.  The old Victorian home was set off a considerable distance from the road.

"One person lives here?"  Tina looked up and whistled, "It looks like the goddamn house from the Addams Family."  The hairs on the back of Tina’s neck stood at attention.  Something didn’t feel right, but she tried to push the thought away.

Tina and Bette exited the car together and made their way to the front porch,

"So, good cop bad cop, again?"  Tina questioned.

"This time I get to be the bad cop"

"And why is that?"

"I am older than you and meaner than you.  And this was my case before it was yours."

Tina rolled her eyes, "Please. Meaner than me, my ass."

"Besides," Bette leaned over and lowered her tone, "If you let me be bad cop now, I’ll let you be bad cop tonight."

Tina nearly tripped on a loose stone in the gravel driveway.

"You’re not the only one with a mind in the gutter."  Bette raised her eyebrows and grinned with a satisfied smirk before ringing the bell.