I woke up about 9 and noticed the bed was empty. I left the bedroom and followed the smell of coffee and *sniff* bacon. When I got to the kitchen threshold, I heard Chris talking to someone.

"I can see why she talks to you. You like to listen." Then I heard a familiar meow. I smiled at the interaction and continued to listen.

"So it's wet food with coffee, right?" Another meow, "Okay, wet food it is."

"Do you see why I talk to Chubbs?" I asked and he jumped. "And how it's not cool to sneak up on people?"

"Well mornin' sunshine." I walked over to help, but Chris shooed me away. "I told you, I got this. I made some breakfast. It's not a lot, just bacon and eggs. I hope that's okay."

I stared at Chris for a minute, mainly in disbelief. Damn, he cooks too? "Can I keep you?"

He sat a steaming cup of coffee in front of me and gave me a peck. "As long as you want. Especially if you keep doing what you did last night." I hit him and he went back to the stove to grab the food.

While we were eating, my cell phone rang.

"Hello?"
"Maxine? It's Detective O'Connell."

"Hey Detective, what can I do for you this fine morning?"

He chuckled slightly into the phone. "Well, it sounds like you're in a better mood. I just wanted to give you an update on the break-in. We should be done in there and your apartment will be released so you can get some more things. Continue staying where you are right now and once we're completely done, you can go back."

"Well, that's good. Was anything taken? Is everything okay?"

"Well", he hesitated. Obviously, there was something he wasn't telling me.

"What's wrong?"

"I would have rather told you this in person. There wasn't anything taken, but there was something left there. It was a note and I shouldn't even be telling you that. But when you go back, let me know so I can have a patrol car outside in case..."

"In case what?"

"In case the intruder comes back." Well, there goes my good morning.

"Is there a chance they will come back?"
"There's a chance they could."

Great. "Detective, I need a little time to digest all this. Can I call you back?"
"Yeah, I understand. If you have any questions, give me a call, alright?" We said our goodbyes. Chris was watching me intently as I hung up.

"So what did he say?"

"Well the good news is I should be able to go back to my apartment soon. The bad news is that whoever it was that broke in left a calling card and may come back." 

I sat there thinking about this. I could go out like a sucker and wait or I can find out who the hell this is.

And if this is all connected in some way.

As I contemplated my next move, Chris looked over at me and immediately knew what was going on in my head.

"No. Whatever it is your thinking, no!"

"Relax, I just need to go back and let my landlady know what's going on. That's all." Okay, that's kinda true; I should let Mrs. Stuber in on what's happening. I can also ask her some questions. She's a sweet older lady who also is the nosiest person in Chicago and rarely leaves the building. So I know she saw something. I talked Chris into letting me go back by myself, hopped in the shower with him which got nothing accomplished but more sex, took one by myself, got dressed and headed off.

When I got back to my building, Mrs. Stuber was in her window tending to her flowers.

"Hey Mrs. S."

"Maxine! How are you hon? I heard all the commotion and was worried about you and your kitty. Come on up, I just made some peppermint tea."

You gotta love Mrs. Stuber; she's our neighborhood grandma. She bakes, keeps you updated on all the soaps and knows all the gossip. I walked into her apartment and sat down on her huge, floral couch.

"So did they find the bastard yet?"  She asked as she sat down a tray with cookies and tea. I grabbed a cookie and shook my head.

"Not yet but I know they're working on it."

"Not hard enough if you ask me. They asked everyone in the building if they saw anything and, of course, no one did. But you know I saw something."

I took my notebook out of my bag. "What did you see, Mrs. S? I can tell the police."

"Well I told them already, but who listens to an old lady?"

"I'll make them listen Mrs. S."

She patted my hand. "That's right honey, you make them hear you. You're just like my Hannah, tough as nails and gorgeous too. But you want to know what I saw. I was taking out the trash and was going to go over to see Mrs. Davis so we can talk about our soaps like we do when I noticed a bicycle sitting in the alleyway. I was thinking, who would throw away a perfectly good bicycle?"

"Did it have anything on it? Something that made you think it was still being used?"

"Yeah, it was locked. It was turquoise with odd black markings on it and it had a miniature license plate on it. I couldn't really see what was on it, but I think it said ‘Kris' on it. Chris with a ‘K', hon." She said as she watched me jot everything down.

"Did you see anything else Mrs. S?"

"Not right away, since I was headed to Vivian's. But I had to come back because I forgot the dish I was going to give her. As I was walking around the kitchen, I heard someone running down the front steps, like they were coming from your place. I know you're at work around this time so I went up to check and see who it was. I saw the door jimmied open so I rushed back down to call the police. But then I heard you and your friend heading upstairs and then I heard your friend calling."

Mrs. Stuber and I talked a little while longer. As I was heading out, she handed me a tin.

"What's this Mrs. S?"

"Just some more of the cookies I made hon for you and that cutie pie I saw you with a few days ago. He looked a bit skinny so I thought he might like them. He kind of reminded me of Mr. Stuber, God bless him."

"Thanks Mrs. S for everything."

As I drove back to Chris' apartment, I was trying to think why that bike description sounded so familiar. I racked my brain and as I walked up the front steps, it hit me. I've seen that mini plate before. ‘Kris DC' is on Darren's bike, which fits the description Mrs. S gave. Kris DC; Kristopher Darren Cross. Son of a bitch! It's Darren!

I ran back down the stairs and headed to my car to grab my cell phone. I tried calling Chris but I got his voicemail.

"Why do have a cell phone if you're not going to answer? I know who it is so when you get this, meet me at the office. Oh and it's Max, by the way."

After trying to call Detective O'Connell and leaving a message with the desk sergeant, I drove to the office. I got there and there were only a handful of people there. Our bullpen area was completely empty, which was odd. I walked over to my desk to see if I could put all this together and gather some information. Before I could sit, something heavy connected with the back of my head. Then the room went black.