A/N: This picks up immediately post-In from the Cold. You probably need to have read that one to get this one, and if it's been awhile, you MIGHT want to reread at least the last chapter.

A/N2: This story is NOT MC. I love Barek, and I love Barek WITH Logan, but she's not in this story (yet), and he's too cute to stay alone for long.

Bobby POV

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Logan and I were in the car, heading for the crime scene.

He was driving, but not because he'd won the argument. It was just that I preferred to be a passenger.

It gave me time to think without the stress of dealing with traffic.

And for the moment, I was thinking about how worried I'd been about who I might get as a partner.

"He asked me not to," Logan replied "Although I only found out for sure last week, while you guys were gone."

"So Moran asked you to keep it quiet and you did? That's not exactly the best way to start a partnership."

"I think he wanted to know if he could trust me."

"So you've proven yourself to him…"

"And now we have no more secrets between us," he finished firmly. "My first priority is to my partner, not the brass. You know me better than that."

And I did.

I trusted Logan.

As partners went, if I couldn't have Alex, then he was without a doubt the next best thing.

"Well, as long as we're being honest, then I've got to tell you…I do have a little bit of loyalty to the brass."

"I know," he said with a nod. Then he grinned and added, "So does Moran know that you're knocking boots with the boss?"

"No," I said quickly, unable to keep from chuckling at Logan's colorful choice of wording. "Or at least, I don't think so. And we're going to keep it that way."

"Hey, you don't have to worry about me. I think it's great. And maybe this time around, since I have an in, I won't get into quite so much trouble."

"You think Alex is going to go easy on you?"

"You mean Captain Eames, right?" he asked with a smirk.

He had me there.

I was going to have to work a little harder on keeping her roles separate in my mind.

"Yeah," I agreed quickly. "Sorry. This past year has been…well, different."

"There's going to be an adjustment period. I get it. For me, too. Don't forget, I worked in a small-town police department for a year, and then I was unemployed for a year. It might take me a couple of cases to get my Major Case legs back, too."

By this time, we were nearing the scene, so Logan pulled the car to the side of the road and cut off the engine.

"Hey, Goren…I've got your back, okay? Personally and professionally."

"I appreciate that," I replied.

And I really did.

I'd been concerned about who might be my partner, not only because it would be who I'd have to work with, but also because partners spent a lot of time together, and personal lives often became unveiled.

If I'd been paired with anyone but Logan, I would've had a tough time making sure that I never let on about my relationship with Alex.

Captain Eames, I corrected.

But since it was Logan and he already knew...well, it would make things a lot easier. And it's not like I planned to throw her across the desk in her office, but it was still nice to know that I wouldn't have to censor every single conversation.

Although I did have to admit to having this nice little fantasy worked out in my head where the two of us were alone in her office late at night…

Focus, Goren, I reminded myself. Now wasn't the time for indulging in that type of thing.

Right now, I had a job to do.

I knew that Alex was relieved about this latest development, too.

The one downside to her accepting the captain job was that she would no longer have my back.

But with Logan…again, it was really a best-case scenario. I could almost kiss Moran for having come up with the idea.

"So," Logan said as we got out of the car. "The vic is a councilman's son."

"Yeah. The press is going to be all over it," I agreed.

"Well, we'd better do it right then. We want to make the new boss look good, right?"

We flashed our badges to the officer manning the barricade and then slipped beneath the tape and headed for the dumpster.

We got to the receptacle and looked over the edge.

Dr. Rodgers was inside, crouched in the filth, apparently wanting to check out the body before moving it from where it had been found.

She was nothing if not thorough and I found myself grateful for the fact that she was the ME assigned to this case.

"Detective Goren," she greeted as she stood up, grabbing onto the edge with one gloved hand. "I see the powers that be didn't waste any time throwing you back into the ring."

"We didn't even sit down at our desks yet," I agreed.

"And Detective Logan. I need to get better sources. I had no idea that you were coming back."

"Good to see you, too, Doc," he told her, holding out his hand to help her out of the dumpster. "What have you got for us?"

"Aside from the fact that this dumpster should be emptied more often?" she replied as she shook her foot in an attempt to remove a stuck-on piece of…something unidentifiable. "Your vic is eighteen-year-old Adam McIvor, son of Councilman Garrett McIvor. Although I'm sure you already know that, since it's been deemed a Major Case."

"We didn't know which one," I told her. "From what I've heard, McIvor's a decent guy, isn't he?"

"He's a politician," Rodgers replied with a shrug. "Anyway, the cause of death seems fairly obvious, so I don't expect to find any surprises there."

Because it was hard to miss the fact that the victim had a neat bullet hole in the middle of his forehead.

"Looks like small caliber," I stated.

"If I had to guess, I'd say a twenty-two, but I didn't see any casings while I was dumpster diving, so I'll leave the searching up to you two."

"What about the TOD?" Logan asked.

"I'd say approximately twelve hours ago, which would put it at about ten or eleven o'clock last night."

"You're going to run a full tox screen," I stated.

"Of course. I know you boys are going to be getting a lot of pressure to solve this one, so I'll be as quick as possible to give you the complete rundown. As soon as you're done with him, I'll have my guys get him back to the morgue so that I can get started. I should know something in a few hours."

"Thanks, Doc," Logan told her. He pulled a business card from his wallet and jotted down his cell phone number. He handed it to her, flashing her a smile, and said, "Call us when you have something."

Rodgers took the card and then gathered her supplies as I climbed into the dumpster.

"If that's what you get out of being the senior partner, then you can have it," Logan remarked as my foot slid down into the muck.

"We need to get CSU to bag everything in here," I told him.

"They're going to love you."

"No defensive wounds," I commented as I bent down to get a closer look. "Stippling on the entrance wound, but no bruising."

"So he didn't have the gun jammed against his head for long," Logan remarked. "Whoever popped him wasn't trying to get information out of him. And it wasn't for money, either. The kid still has his wallet."

"Yeah, but check this out," I said, pointing to the right hand of the victim. There was an indentation on his ring finger.

"Someone stole his class ring?"

"Some kind of ring," I agreed.

"How much cash in the wallet?"

"Eighty-seven dollars."

"So he's killed at close range, the ring is stolen, but the cash is left behind."

"And the killer took the time to toss him in the dumpster."

"Okay," Logan said speculatively as I climbed back out of the dumpster. "So…political or random?"

"Uh…Detectives?"

I looked up to see a uniformed officer approaching us.

"What is it?"

"The victim's father is here. Councilman McIvor," he clarified, as though we didn't know. "He insists on seeing his son."

"Now isn't really the time, Broderick," I said after scanning the officer's name tag. "Keep him behind the tape. We'll be right there to speak with him."

"I want to see my son!" came the shout from twenty yards away.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate politicians?" Logan mumbled. "They think they're so entitled…"

"I'll handle him," I said, and it didn't escape my notice that I'd turned into the good will ambassador of the partnership. It seemed as though I'd completely taken on Alex's role while Logan assumed mine.

"Be my guest," he replied as I walked away from him in an effort to meet the councilman on neutral territory.

"I want to see my son," he repeated. "You have no right to keep me from him."

"Sir, I'm Detective Goren with Major Case," I said smoothly. "Why don't you step over here with me for a moment so that I can ask you a few questions."

"Are you deaf? I want to see Adam! Don't make me call the commissioner."

"Sir…" I said again. He attempted to shove past me, but Logan stepped up next to me and together we prevented him from going to the dumpster.

"You really don't want to see him like this," Logan told him. "Give our colleagues a chance to get him out of there and onto a gurney and then we'll give you a moment."

He stopped fighting us and I took the opportunity to give him the once-over.

He was probably in his mid-forties, well-dressed, and had an athletic build. I hadn't heard too much about him, and when politics were involved that was a good sign. There must not be any scandals involving him or his family. Otherwise I would've seen it on the news.

He ran his hands over his face, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Logan cast me a worried glance and then looked back at the progress of the ME assistants who were pulling the body from the dumpster.

"So…your son," I began. "Does he live with you?"

"He's eighteen," he snapped back.

"He's in college?" Logan asked.

"NYU."

"He lives in the dorms?" I asked him. He scoffed at me and shook his head as though I was an idiot.

"He's a freshman. What do you think?"

I thought he was being a complete asshole, but I kept that observation to myself.

"Was he having any trouble with anyone lately?"

"My son was a textbook child," he answered haughtily. "He made straight A's, he had plenty of friends, plenty of girlfriends, and he didn't get into trouble."

"Plenty of girlfriends," Logan said. "Did he bounce around a lot?"

I caught Logan's eye and he shrugged fractionally. Neither one of this thought this crime looked like that of a scorned lover, but I figured that Logan was just trying to get him to talk.

However, what he did was piss him off.

"Are you saying my son was a dog? What's your name, Detective? I think the commissioner would be interested to hear about how his employees are treating bereaved family members. My son was murdered and you're trying to say that it was his fault?"

"No, sir," he said quickly. "I didn't mean that."

"Councilman, we're just trying to get a feel for who might have wanted your son dead," I spoke up.

McIvor continued to stare at Logan, and then I noticed that he narrowed his eyes slightly and took a step closer to him.

"You still didn't mention your name," McIvor said.

"Detective Logan," he answered as he showed him his badge. "I believe my partner already mentioned that we're with Major Case and we're going to do everything in our power to…"

"Logan," McIvor interrupted. "I should've known. You son of a bitch."

And from nowhere, McIvor took a swing at my partner.

Logan ducked the blow and I grabbed onto McIvor, wrapping both arms around him from behind in an effort to get him under control.

But like I said, he was in pretty good shape and for some reason, he really wanted to hit Logan. I ended up having to wrestle him against the wall where I pushed him into the bricks, holding him in place with my body.

"Sir, please. Don't make me put cuffs on you," I said.

"Detective, you'd better get off of me right this minute. Your job depends on it," McIvor spat.

"Not if you're going after my partner, I'm not. Now settle down and I'll let you go."

I kept him in place for another minute while he apparently decided to take the high road.

"Okay. Fine. Let me go."

I eased off of him and he turned around, leaning his back against the wall.

"Sir, I think there's been some kind of mistake," Logan said in confusion.

"There's no mistake," McIvor replied derisively. He made no move to go after him physically, but the venom was still in his voice. "I believe you've met my uncle."

"Your uncle? I have no idea who you're talking about."

"Kevin Crossley," McIvor stated.

I glanced back at Logan and was surprised to see the instant recognition.

"My apologies," Logan said.

"You think I want your apology? You damn near ruined his life!"

"I'm not apologizing for going after him for murder," Logan said. "I'm apologizing that you have the misfortune of being that bigot's nephew."

"Logan," I warned, shaking my head. I wasn't sure who Crossley was, but I didn't need him to get into a verbal sparring match with the councilman.

"Your investigation cost him his career," McIvor continued.

"Yeah, well he got his payback. I spent ten years on Staten Island."

Oh…now I was finally on the same page. Crossley was the councilman who Logan had punched, live on TV. It had prompted his removal from the 2-7.

"You should've spent ten years in Rikers," McIvor argued. "And I don't want you anywhere near my son's case."

"Sir, I can assure you that Detective Logan is one of the best in Major Case," I said calmly. "We'll find your son's killer."

McIvor turned his condescending gaze onto me and he shook his head.

"Uh uh. I don't think so. If you're partnered with him, then you must be just as bad. I want someone else. I'm calling the commissioner."

He pulled his phone from his pocket, apparently his desire to see his son's body now a thing of the past.

Which was a good thing because I just realized that during our scuffle, the body had been removed from the dumpster and was now loaded in the back of the OCME van, already on its way to the morgue.

"Can you believe that guy?" Logan asked as McIvor walked out of earshot.

"This is bad, Logan," I said, shaking my head. "This is exactly what we didn't want to have happen."

"Hey, I didn't do anything to provoke the guy."

"I know," I agreed. "Except that you called his uncle a bigot."

"Well…he is," he insisted. "He's homophobic, and he got away with the murder of a fellow councilman. I'm telling you…it was worth the ten years on the island."

"You might get another ten if we don't fix this," I said. "Moran's not going to like the bad PR."

Logan nodded and looked down at the ground for a minute and then he mumbled, "Hey, Goren. Check it out."

I looked in the direction of his gaze. On the sidewalk, where McIvor had been standing, there was some kind of unidentifiable sludge.

"Did that come from his shoes?" Logan asked carefully.

"You don't think…" I began as I bent down to get a closer look. "You can't start throwing around accusations just because you don't like the man."

"Goren…it's from the dumpster. Look at your own shoes."

"I know. So maybe we're a little off with exactly where we were standing. Maybe that came from mine."

"We need another look at his shoes."

I caught Logan's gaze and he nodded at me slowly.

"You know I don't work that way," he said. "I'm not trying to pin anything on him. I'm just saying…we need to check it out."

I knew that he was right. And in the old days, I wouldn't have had any problem investigating a councilman for the murder of his own son.

But right now, all we had was the gunk on the ground. It wasn't hard evidence, but Logan was right. We needed to get another look at his shoes.

I nodded my agreement and together we headed in the direction in which the councilman had gone, but he was nowhere to be found. My eyes tracked the sidewalk, looking for additional evidence of something that may have come off of his shoes, but I didn't see anything.

"Where's McIvor?" Logan asked Broderick.

"He left," he answered. "He said something about a meeting with the commissioner."

"Shit," Logan muttered.

"Let's get CSU to photograph that mess on the sidewalk and then bag it up."

"Uh huh," he agreed. He whistled to one of the techs and then directed him to the designated spot.

I looked down at my shoes again. Had that come from mine?

They were dirty, that was for sure.

But I hadn't been standing so close to the wall. McIvor had been the one right next to it.

But still…a gunshot to the head? Of his own son? And for what reason?

It just didn't make sense.

"This doesn't mean that it's McIvor," I said to Logan when after he finished instructing the tech. "It just means that we need to check out the possibility," I reminded him.

"I know. I can be objective."

"Can you?"

"Yeah," he said sincerely. "I mean, I don't even know this guy. And I don't like the idea of a father killing his own son any more than you do. So let's look at him and rule him out and then we can find out who really did it. Are you with me?"

"I'm with you," I agreed. "But we need to call Al…um…Captain Eames and fill her in on the situation before she gets a call from Moran."

"Good idea. I think I'll let you handle that one."

"Me?" I questioned, although I'd already planned to do so.

He just grinned at me and said, "You are the senior partner, right?"

TBC...