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Emily felt bad for the two men. It happened every time she pulled the investigator card. Most people thought that people like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were fiction, but the few exceptional people out there surprised most ignorant folks. "Sorry to break it to you guys like this", she said. "But I can legally ask for the details concerning the whole case. Anything you found, saw, heard; it would helpful in my investigation. I will work with you two so I don't step on the up-in-up's toes". She smiled softly, her eyes sparkling. "Though I could jump through all the legal hoops to legally work on the case without you, but I wouldn't hand over the info I have then". While it was true she had info, she wouldn't give it all away. When it came to working with the police, she knew you needed something to bargain with most of the time.

Alfred knew he didn't like this girl. Stepping forward, he took the card out of Jeff's hand, and reviewed it. "We'll have to double check this, of course," His smile looked more like a grimace as he held his hand out, "Why don't you have a seat?"

Jeff could read his partner's coloring, to know they weren't planning on sharing any information right off the bat. "Our autopsy reports haven't come in yet, why don't you tell us what you know?" His smile was true and friendly, as was his tone.

Eric nodded, though he couldn't keep the thought, 'If he doesn't he'll think I'm crazy' from filtering through his mind. Picking up his pace so that he was up to a slight jog (his humbling experience convinced him he needed more exercise) he hurried on his way home.

Eric laughed, running a hand through his hair. /Of course he does, he loves you!/ He exclaimed confident of the fact. He knew Jack was aware how close to his sister he was, so of course he felt a connection with her through Eric.

((Curiosity, and I'm okay with it being me, but who's playing Jack?))

Eric wished he could actually hug his sister, that he could tell her everything would be okay. But that was never something he could give his sister. All he could say now was that she was safe, safe from their dad's rage. Safe from their mother's negligence. He wasn't sure if it was enough, but he tried to show her mentally that she was safe: no one could hurt her again. In a quiet voice he just responded, "Yeah, it's hard to deal with." He reached the rickety steps to their apartment; climbing them two at a time he hurried inside, the deeper part of him just wanting to be held in Jake's arms. Opening the door, he called out, "I'm back," figuring if his boyfriend actually was home from work he'd respond, but if not only Amy was there to laugh at him for talking to himself.

Eric opened his mouth to try and explain, and instantly his eyes watered. It was as if in Jack's arms he was allowed to cry. Pressing his tongue hard against the top of his mouth to hold it back, he stepped away from the comforting embrace. "I'm good, sorry, I completely forgot about my phone otherwise I would have called to tell you we were on our way home." He stared hard at the beautiful green eyes that he'd fallen in love with, trying desperately to figure out how to explain to him that Amy was gone, but not completely. Not yet anyway. Sighing softly, he raised his hand up, squeezing tightly on the bridge of his nose to keep the tears at bay and whispered, "It's Ams, she's...she's a ghost." It wasn't exactly the most tactful explanation, but it worked...right?

Jeff resisted the urge to glance at Alfred: she thought what they'd already decided. Still, they were playing around so he asked, "what makes you say it wasn't him? He's a b*****d if I've ever met one." Jeff absentmindedly bit at a nail, "Definitely abused her, maybe his other kids--those parents were a damn factory. Who knows, maybe he wasn't getting enough from the wife and moved on to Amy?" He said it with a straight face, as if it was a possibility. Which it was, a lot of physical abuse cases escalate further. Still, he knew that Alfred wanted him to test Emily, to see how her emotions affect her. Emotions were a balancing act: in order to be a good cop, you had to care but stay apart.

Jeff blushed fully, but he was pleased that Alfred let him continue. With a glance back towards his partner, and a serious 'go on,' he looked back at Emily and sighed. "Okay...you see," he scratched the tip of his ear, and continued, "You're cute, but you're way too old for me, and my girlfriend would kill me." as an after thought he added, "Or you." He looked sufficiently embarrassed but he glanced back up at her, "How about we both pretend I'm not blushing and go back to Amy, hm?"

Eric shook his head, not wanting to say the exact words aloud either. "I just got back fr" He murmured, staring into Jack's eyes imploringly. He had to believe him; had to understand.