To Catch a Thief

Chapter 8 - Closer Than You Think

It's standard for Alex to rise before Kara, but on a weekend, she will usually find her sibling drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper. They'll chat for a bit, maybe grab brunch or take in a movie. More than just family, Kara and Alex are best friends. However, the apartment is quiet this morning, and there's no sign of Alex's coffee cup in the dishwasher. Kara knows they came home last night, but the real questions are when did they get up, and where are they now?

Dressed for the day in her usual business wear, Kara heads down the hall leading from the apartment to the office. She's unsurprised at a light sneaking out from under the office door and even less so at her sibling working away inside. However, her sibling's appearance is a bit of a shock.

"Have you been here all night?"

When Alex turns, Kara is fairly certain she already has the answer to her question. Her normally pristine sibling is wearing a rumpled dress shirt, their tie discarded... somewhere, and slacks that have long since lost their pressed crease. Their hair is messy and sticking out on one side, likely where Alex has been tugging at it. It's a familiar part of their thought process, but product and regular grooming normally prevent this level of muss. Kara hasn't seen Alex this much of a mess since Jeremiah's death. To say it's concerning would be an understatement.

"Alex, what happened?"

"Nothing," Alex gestures back at the corkboard behind them, "I've been working."

"Working?" Kara's gaze moves from the board, which is covered with easily twice as many pictures and notes as it had been yesterday, over to the couch they rarely use where Alex's jacket and tie are strewn. Their dress shoes sit on the floor near its base, one of them laying on its side. Though hardly Kara's organized chaos, it's a level of disorder that Alex normally doesn't allow themself. "This isn't working. Did you sleep here?"

"No, I didn't sleep."

And Kara knows she really should have seen that coming. "Jesus, Alex—"

"I think I'm getting closer to the thief," Alex says, their back again turned to their sister and their attention on the collection of pictures and notes. "I put up the information you got from Nia, or lack of information, and added what we learned from the lady who lost the painting lawsuit. I created a profile for our thief." Alex's smile when they turn verges on maniacal. "They're a collector."

"A collector," Kara repeats, but her gaze is trained on Alex's glassy-eyed stare and the rings underneath them.

"Yup." Alex doesn't even seem to notice the concern in Kara's voice. They just turn back to the board and begin to point to things pinned there as they say, "They probably travel for work, but they're independently wealthy. These thefts are about justice, not money, or at least, they originally were about seeking justice. The items exchanged for the stolen art, the little clues she's leaving us, she's attention seeking. It's probably something she hasn't gotten in her personal or professional life, but I'm guessing personal."

"This is about Sam, isn't it?"

"What, no?" Alex turns to meet Kara's gaze, and that concerning intensity is staring Kara in the face again. "This is about the thief. She's highly organized, highly intelligent, and well educated. It could be informal education, but I'm guessing she has multiple degrees."

"Alex, stop, just stop." Kara takes Alex's fidgeting hands in hers, thumbs moving soothingly across the back of her sibling's knuckles. It's a motion she learned long ago, learned when Alex held her hand and did the same. It connected Kara when she felt completely alone in the world, and she hopes it can ground Alex in the same way. "What happened with Sam?"

Even as Alex shakes their head, they say, "She left with Edge last night."

"Left with him?"

"He drove her home."