Stras and Horatio sat in wooden chairs with their feet up on their
desks.  The only light came from two small desk lamps that lit their
feet, but not the papers they were reading.  It made it difficult to
read, but they figured it was better for the image.  That was also the
reasoning behind calling their business "Spade and Hunter, Private
Investigators." Business was slow - only an unfaithful husband to be
trailed now and then - and they thought this might attract more
clients (and perhaps some repeat business).

Today it seemed to work.  They were both so startled that they almost
fell over backwards in their chairs when they heard an actual customer
knock on the door.  They looked at eachother, then Stras called, "Come
on in, it's open."

A woman walked in.  Stras pulled at his collar and Horatio adjusted
his hat.  She dressed all in black except for white gloves, and was so
beautiful that neither of them could think of anything to say.

"I want to hire a private investigator," she said.  They both thought
they'd like to investigate her privately.

Horatio got up from his chair and went around to sit on the corner of
his desk. "That's what we're here for." He stumbled briefly over the
words. "What can we do for you today?"

She hesitated.  She looked at Stras, then back to Horatio.

Stras got up and pulled Horatio's chair over to where she was
standing. "Please, have a seat." He went back to sit behind his desk
and pulled out a pad of paper.

She sat down and seemed a bit more relaxed. "I've been involved with
this man for some time now, and..." she began.  Once again she looked
back and forth between them.

"You want us to follow him around, see if he's all he tells you, that
kind of thing," Horatio finished for her.

"No, that's not it," she said.  Her voice wavered.  Stras tapped his
pen.  Horatio folded his arms.  She looked down and tugged at her
glove. "He was murdered yesterday."

Horatio and Stras looked at eachother.  They had never had a case that
involved anyone dying.  They were both uneasy and it showed.  Stras
quickly looked back at the client. "Go on," he said.  Right now he was
more worried about her walking out of their office than he was about
dealing with a murder case.

"Well, you see, nobody knew about our relationship.  And I'd like to
keep it that way.  But I gave him some gifts recently, and I'd like to
get them back before they start giving his things to his family."

"Wait.  Don't tell me he moved you to New York and got you a job at
Revlon, too," Horatio joked.  She didn't get it.  Stras shot him a
dirty look. "Sorry, go on, Miss, uh, I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't give it.  If you want, you can call me Tiff.  I'd like to
leave it at that.  My friend's name was Zander, he worked at First
Union Bank.  This should help you out.  She pulled an envelope out of
her jacket and handed it to Horatio.  He opened it to find a photo of
Zander, a copy of his business card and a stack of $50 bills.  He
pulled out the photo and card and passed the cash to Stras, who put it
in a desk drawer and locked it.

"I think we'll be able to help you," said Stras. "Now what exactly
should we be looking for?"

"Just this past weekend I gave him a Led Zeppelin boxed set, a copy of
Genius, by James Gleick and a Timex Ironman with Indiglo.  I've seen
the police report, and he was wearing the watch when he..." she broke
off.  She took a deep breath and went on. "When he was killed.  I
don't expect you to get that, but if you could get me the book and the
CDs, I'd really appreciate it."

Stras tapped his pen.  Something didn't quite sit right.  They'd never
had a client who wouldn't give their name.  Why was she paying like
this to retrieve some gifts that weren't worth $300 from a dead
banker?  He knew better than to question a client about their motives,
especially one with a lot of money.  He looked over at Horatio.
Horatio gave him the nod - they would take the client.  Stras hoped
they weren't making a big, hormone-blinded mistake.  He nodded back.

Horatio put on his best PI manner. "We'll take the case!" he beamed.

Tiff smiled. "Thank you so much," she said. "Here's some information
to get you started." She pulled out another envelope and handed it to
Horatio.  Stras watched expectantly as Horatio pulled out a few sheets
of paper and handed him the envelope which, sure enough, contained
another stack of 50s.

"And thank you," Stras replied, getting up and moving around to sit on
his desk opposite Horatio. "Is there some way we can get in touch with
you if we find anything?"

"No," she said quickly. "I'll be in touch.  If you'd kindly hold on to
my things for me until I return..."

"Certainly," answered Horatio.  With that they shook hands and showed
Tiff to the door.  When she had left they both sighed and gave
eachother knowing smiles.

"There's something not quite right," said Stras as he returned to his
desk, pulled out the envelopes and started counting money.

"Nothing another envelope of money can't fix," replied Horatio,
grinning.  He looked over the papers he had taken from the second
envelope.  They were hand written notes detailing where Zander lived,
where his office was at the bank, where and when the murder had
occurred, who was in charge of the investigation and so forth.  He
gave a low whistle. "Looks like she's already got her own little
investigation going."

"I think we ought to find out what her story is, just in case there's
real trouble behind this." Stras didn't mind breaking the law now and
then.  Petty theft was one thing, but he wasn't going to do something
that was bound to land him in prison, not even for a woman like that
who was giving him piles of money.

They flipped a coin.  Horatio won.  That meant he got to follow Tiff,
while Stras headed down to White and Main to check out the scene of
the crime and to pay a visit to the bank.