Familiar Surroundings

A/N: This is my first foray into Law and Order: CI fic. So don't go easy. I want to know if something is wrong with this. Thanks

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own anything to do with any of the Law and Orders. I only wish I did! LOL Wolf, NBC, and others own all the Law and Orders.

Detective Alex Eames walked around the corner and preceded down an alley. As she got closer she could see her partner hunched over the body. She smiled. She just knew he would have some completely gross detail about the body to give her. She got closer and called to him, "Goren. Find anything?"

Alex got right up to him and the body. He had straddled her. Her neck had been slashed. And it looked like she was raped and beaten before. "What a shame. She was a pretty one," thought Eames. She stood waiting for an answer from her partner, but he seemed lost in thought. Alex was getting annoyed. She tried again, "Bobby! Earth to Bobby."

This time she got a response. Bobby noticed the hand in front of his face. He looked over with a worried look on his face. He faked a smile, and answered, "Sorry. You saying something?"

The look wasn't lost on Alex. It worried her. She frowned, and replied, "You OK?"

Bobby nodded. He replied, "Yeah-yeah, I'm fine."

Alex gave a large sigh. She figured he'd tell her later. She decided to change the subject. She asked, "Find anything interesting?"

Bobby noticed the MES approaching. He stood up, and he stepped over her to let them get to work. He answered, "It looks like she was beaten, raped, and then had her throat slit. There's no wallet, ids, credit cards, or money. Who found her?"

Alex was expecting more, but decided that it would come later. She replied, "An employee of the restaurant there. They were taking the trash out. He swears he doesn't remember ever having seen her before. Is it me or does this feel staged? I'm not even sure what we're doing out here."

Alex was now following Bobby back up the alley. Bobby offhandedly answered her questions, "Because this is the seventh in just a little over two weeks. I'm sure the body was moved here. This was definitely staged. They're trying to throw us off."

Alex nodded, accepting this theory as a possibility. She asked, "How do you want to do this then?"

Bobby began to walk faster than Alex. He replied over his shoulder, "I'll get back to you on that. There's something I need to check on, first. Can we just go on back to the office."

Alex watched him get into the SVU. She was a little dumbfounded by his attitude. She walked around the car and got into the driver's seat. She knew she was in for an uncomfortable and quiet ride back. She rolled her eyes as she started the car and drove away, wondering what in the world was going on in that brain of his.