>Julia silently excused herself as Derek started to answer the photographer,
>spotting a nearby juice stand and Amelia reminding her mother she hadn't
>eaten yet and instead of risking getting sick again, she decided a juice
>could very well hold her over until a little later.
>
>She gave Derek a slight wink and pointed to let him know where she was
>headed. Bryce nodded in understanding.
>
>"I figured as much. I just had to ask, even if it was just an exercise in
>futilit-"
>
>He stopped in mid sentence as Derek's words hit him. "Excuse me," he began
>again. "Did you say that she could speak to her?"
>
>Julia had reached the cart and hadn't heard this last part as she ordered a
>glass of apple juice.
>
>The woman running the stand smiled and handed it to her, telling Julia the
>total.
>
>"Whoa.. whoa, watch out...!" came a sudden warning from out of nowhere,
>just as three people ended up at the scene at once - a man on rollerblades
>unable to stop, Detective Jim Ellison and his partner Blair Sandburg.
>
>Julia barely missed tossing the contents of her glass onto the lady she had
>bought it from as she braced for impact but was thankfully barely pushed,
>her hip knocking into the stand as she had moved at an angle in an
>instinctive move to protect Amelia and Ellison practically plucked the guy
>out of his path and moved him so that he was falling in a nearby bush, at
>the same time turning toward Julia.
>
>"HEY!" the rollerblading man yelled in anger, trying to scramble up.
>
>Ellison spared him all of one good glare and a promise "You're damn lucky I
>didn't cold cock you. The woman's pregnant now move on before I arrest you
>for being a pain in my ass."
>
>That immediately shut the guy up and he left, grumbling about police
>brutality under his breath.
>
>Jim looked at Julia "You okay?"
>
>Using his senses he could tell that the baby's heartbeat was accelerated,
>probably in reaction to Julia's scare, but everything was fine, so he
>didn't wait for her answer and instead came straight to the heart of the
>matter, his gaze showing the barely repressed pain and anger he was feeling
>at what he had just found out.
>
>"Who killed my niece?" he asked.
>
>Blair was helping the woman clean up and had gotten Julia another glass,
>handing it to her and taking the empty one as she met Jim's gaze solemnly.
>
>"I don't know." Julia answered.
>
>Jim took one step toward her, voice low, unable to hide the emotion "You
>were there. I found this."
>
>He took the cellphone out from his back pocket and held it out to her "It's
>yours."
>
>Julia nodded and accepted it, again looking at him "I'm sorry, Jim, really
>I am. But.. "
>
>"But what?"
>
>She glanced over at the table, already knowing Derek was on his way over.
>But she answered the detective anyway "I don't know what happened to her.
>The guys that jumped us took us all in different cars..."
Derek looked at Bryce for a moment. "I said "if" she could do anything,
that would be the most she could do. That's not a guarantee? What exactly
is it you're aft...." he broke off as movement caught his attention. He
turned his head and looked up to see Julia and that dective..what was his
name? "Excuse me," he said to Bryce and stood up heading over to the small
group.
"You are nothing if not persistant," he said to Ellison. "What is it this
time?"
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