"Something to be Thankful For"
**Immediately follows "The Magician's Code of Murder"**
"Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year;
to the honest man it comes as frequently as the
heart of gratitude will allow."
Edward Sandford Martin
CHAPTER 1
"CJ, when will Houston be home?" Tony Novelli had spent a large part of his day on his uncle's jet flying from his home in Hawaii to Los Angeles along with his mom, grandmother, and three brothers. His dad, former LAPD lieutenant Vince Novelli, had met them at LAX, having just arrived himself from Pittsburgh. Vince along with Matt's cousin Will had been working on installing security systems for a chain of jewelry stores across the US. The team had originally included Will's dad, Roy Houston, who had flown back to LA a few weeks earlier with Matt and CJ after suffering a mild heart attack. The Novellis had been met at the airport by CJ and were now gathered on the patio at the ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains that the Houston family called home. The only family member not present was Will, who was going to be spending the holiday with his girlfriend and her family in Colorado. In a couple of days' time, they would be flying to Matt's ranch in Texas to celebrate Thanksgiving.
After several months of bugging Lt. Michael Hoyt, Houston had finally convinced him to make the trip to Texas with them to go hunting. Michael had been recuperating from a gunshot wound and would be returning to work when the trip was over.
"He called me just before you guys landed and said he was running a little late. But he should be here in a few minutes." CJ knew Matt was just as anxious to see the boys. He claimed all four of his best friend's sons as his nephews, just as he claimed his other best friend Michael Hoyt's daughter Kathy as his niece. CJ watched as Tony went and jumped back in the pool and went back to playing with his brothers and Kathy.
Michael took a sip of lemonade. "So what did he get tangled up in this time?" After a rocky start, he and Matt had ended up best friends and now relied heavily on each other for help with cases.
"Well, let's see…" CJ took a sip of her drink and leaned back in the lounge chair. "Which entanglement do you want to know about?" She flashed a smile at the cop and tilted her head to the side.
"Oh boy, what's he done this time?" Vince had missed being around Matt and CJ like he used to be in the old days when he had been on the force.
"It's been a long week, Vince." She chuckled.
"I thought he was going to take the week off? After what happened in the fire…" Michael had been extremely worried about Matt when he had been poisoned by hydrogen cyanide gas while rescuing an elderly man from a burning hotel. As part of his new job as a consultant to the Fire Marshal's office, Matt had gone inside the burning building with his friend Rich Holt - the fire captain who was now the newest investigator for the Fire Marshal. The private eye had spent most of the week before last in the hospital.
"That was the plan…of course with Matt…" She shrugged. "We went to bed about ten and he got a call from Lee Jennings Sunday night…no, technically Monday morning about 2:00AM about that kidnapping case. That took up most of Monday and he got home about 10:00 that night and got in bed about 11:00." CJ took another sip of lemonade. "Then he got a call from Fred Tucker about 1:00AM - he wanted some backup at another fire. Needless to say I didn't go back to bed." Vince and Michael both laughed, but knew that even though she was trying to make light of it, CJ had been worried about her husband. "Matt called me about 4:00AM – somehow he knew I would be awake." They all laughed. "He let me know that he was alright and that they were working on running fingerprints and samples from the scene. Then I got a call from him about 1:00 that afternoon and he and Fred were about to bring in the guy that they suspected of starting the fire…and as it turned out he barricaded himself in a house and was taking shots at anyone who came near." Taking another sip she added, "But he didn't call me to tell me that…I saw it for myself on TV." They all chuckled.
"How does he manage to get into so much mischief?" Rosa Novelli shook her head.
"It's always been this way…even when he was a kid he could always find a way to get drug into the middle of something. Anyway, that finally ended about 9:00 and he got home about 10:30 and got in bed about 11:30." CJ looked up at the sky and thought. "Okay, that was Tuesday. Then Wednesday morning he got a call about 3:00AM from one of our clients who didn't take Matt's advice a few weeks ago about changing her security system and she begged him to come set it up for her right then…someone had gotten over the wall around her new home in Beverly Hills and broken in through a sliding glass door…which was exactly what he had warned her about. So he went and took care of that and was headed home at 11:00 when he got a call from Lee Jennings about a bank heist that had just been discovered."
"I heard about that one on the news." Vince shook his head. "The guy had been working there for over twenty years and decided he wanted to retire with more than just his 401K."
"Uh huh. So he finally got back home around midnight." CJ took another sip of lemonade.
"So what did he get into today?" Isabella, Vince's wife, was chuckling.
"Mitchell Gunterson with the ATF called him at 1:00AM – he hadn't even finished his shower when he got the call, much less gotten any sleep."
"He's been up since 3:00AM Wednesday?" Vince and Michael both spoke at the same time.
"Yep." The lawyer turned PI sighed. "I'm turning off every phone in this house when he pulls in. He's getting some sleep tonight."
"I would say so. Geesh!" Vince couldn't believe his ears.
Michael, who had been quietly calculating, spoke up. "Since Sunday night he's had about nine and a half hours of sleep. Good Lord!"
"Uh huh – now you see why I'm turning off all of the phones." She looked out at the kids playing in the pool. "He can't keep on like this. Of course, if Rich wasn't out with his broken leg he most likely wouldn't have gotten the call to the fire. And we had a little uh – "discussion" about the starlet and her security system. I suggested he send her a BB gun and a pit bull the next morning." Everyone at the table cracked up.
They all looked up as they heard Matt coming up the drive in his truck that was covered in dust and mud. All of the kids climbed out of the pool and went to meet him before he even got the engine turned off. "There's my welcoming committee!" Matt smiled at them. He rolled up the window on the truck and got out, his bullet-proof vest still on as well as his tactical holster and pistol. Pulling the ball cap off of his head, he wiped away sweat on his forehead and put the hat back on. Kathy was trying to give him a hug. "Darlin', I don't think you want to do that. I'm a nasty sweaty mess right now." He patted her on the back and the group started over to the table just as Sheila Wentworth, the Houston's nanny for their daughter Catey Rose came out of the house with the baby who squealed with delight when she saw her dad. "Hey there, Lil Miss Whistle Britches!" Matt had barely seen his daughter since Sunday. He made it to the group sitting around the table and leaned down to give CJ a kiss, then Mama, Anne, and Isabella. "Catey, I can't take you right now – I'm too nasty." He gave her a kiss on the cheek as Roy reached up for the baby.
"I'll take that little prize. That's my girl there." Roy Houston was enjoying being a great uncle to Catey Rose – even though Matt and CJ referred to him as Grandpa.
"Where have you been and how many mud holes did you manage to roll in today?" Sheila gave the PI a look. "You were supposed to take this week off you know."
"Yes ma'am that was the plan. It just hasn't worked out that way." Matt's tiredness came through in his voice as he sat down on the lounge chair with his wife.
"Why don't you guys go swim for a while longer and let your Uncle Matt have a chance to catch his breath?" Vince gave the boys a look and they headed back to the pool along with Kathy.
CJ reached up and took off Matt's cap as he took off the vest, holster, and sunglasses. "Boy, you look bushed." She rubbed on his back.
"A little to the left, Babe." The PI leaned back and closed his eyes.
"And you've got a headache to boot." She could always tell. Reaching up, she ran her hands in a line from the base of his neck to the base of his skull, then stopped about midway and kneaded the knotted muscles. Suddenly she popped his head to left and a loud CRACK was heard.
"Ahhh, much better. Thanks, Babe." He twisted his neck around as CJ started scratching on his back. "Hang on a second – you might as well do it right." He pulled off his t-shirt, revealing a couple of tattoos that no one but CJ and Sheila had seen so far. The one on his chest was a heart surrounded by three yellow roses with a banner across it that read "CJ – Babe". He had another on the top of his left arm just below his shoulder that consisted of an H and some filigree decorations with the name Catherine Rose underneath, in honor of his daughter.
"Oh boy – now you've done it!" Vince started laughing. "Mama hates tattoos!"
The matriarch of the Novelli clan spoke up. "I do not! On HIM they look good." She leaned forward to get a better look as Vince rolled his eyes.
"Well I think it's nice!" Sheila nodded her head in approval.
"So when did you get the tats?" Michael was surprised as was everyone else.
"When we were in Florida." Matt and CJ had flown down a few weeks back to help clear Will of murder charges. The PI grinned as he cut his eyes over at his wife. "I guess she hasn't shown you hers yet?"
CJ swatted him with the cap. "Matt!" Everyone cracked up.
Vince leaned forward wiggling his eyebrows. "Yeah CJ, when are you going to show us yours – or can you?" The group of adults all laughed again.
"Yes, I can show it." She started to unbutton her blouse and Vince and Michael simultaneously let out wolf whistles. CJ threw Matt's ball cap at them causing another roar of laughter. There on the left side of her chest was a smaller version of the one that her husband had that read "Matt – Cowboy" in the banner.
"Aww, that's sweet." Anne Hoyt was smiling at the pair.
"Now wait a minute. Why has he got two but you've only got one?" Vince wasn't going to let CJ off the hook too easy.
"I can answer that." Matt grinned. "She was fussing that her tat had more writing than mine…" He motioned to the one on his arm. "So I got this one to make up for it." The pair kissed again.
"I never thought I'd see the day that you two would have tats." The former cop shook his head. "So what do you think, Roy?" The elder Houston was pretty conservative.
"It fits." He smiled at the couple. "Tastefully done." He raised his glass of lemonade in toast.
CJ sat back in the lounge chair Indian style and Matt lay back with his head resting on her legs, his legs stretched out, and let out with a big sigh and a yawn.
"So what did you and Mitchell get into today?" Michael had introduced the ATF agent to Matt and they had worked together a couple of times.
"There was a group of guys that had run several folks off from Topanga State Park. The campers said that they had some pretty heavy hardware and had fired shots at them." He yawned and motioned toward his truck. "That's how the truck got so dirty; we were using fire roads and some of the homemade variety to get to them." The PI closed his eyes as CJ began rubbing his shoulders. "It took some really good acting and a whole lot of luck, but we made them think they were surrounded." He snickered.
"How many were there?" Michael and Vince were both chuckling as the cop asked the question.
Matt yawned again. "Eleven. It turned out pretty good – you shoulda seen them stacked up in the back of that truck when we hauled 'em out. And then the expression on their faces when they figured out it was just the two of us – priceless."
"So how did you do it?" Vince knew it was bound to be a good story. His question, though, didn't get a response. "Ace? How did you do it?"
CJ grinned as she gently stroked her husband's face. "He's asleep, Vince."
"I can't blame him. Good grief." Michael shook his head. "But I do want to hear how they pulled that off." He and Vince exchanged a grin.
Off in the distance the rumble of thunder could be heard. Vince's boys, who were used to sudden storms blowing in on the island, immediately got out of the pool followed by Kathy. As Sheila handed out towels to the kids, CJ was trying to wake Matt up, but it was proving to be a difficult job. "Bless his heart. He is just worn out." She tried gently shaking him again, finally getting a groan out of him. "Come on, Baby, we've got to go in – there's a storm coming."
Without opening his eyes, Matt mumbled, "'Kay. Be right there." A few seconds later he started snoring. Everyone giggled.
"Sweetie, come on…time to go in." CJ felt bad for him but didn't have a choice but to wake the man up.
"Uh huh." Matt finally opened his eyes somewhat, and began getting off of the lounge. Once on his feet, he tottered a little, then turned to the left and headed for his truck.
"Matt." CJ started following him. He stopped and turned to look at her, his eyes almost closed. "You're going the wrong way, baby." She took him by the hand and started leading him to the house as he yawned, his eyes barely open.
"I think she might need some backup, what do ya think?" Vince looked over at Michael and the pair picked up Matt's pistol, holster, and vest as Mama picked up his hat and sunglasses.
Michael nodded. "I'd say that's a certainty." They followed along closely.
In through the kitchen and den, she led him back down the hallway to their bedroom at the end of the hall, where she had him sit down on the bed. "Okay, give me your foot." She reached to help him take off his boots. "Matt?" He didn't respond, but slowly leaned over to his right, half-laying on the bed.
"He's out." Vince chuckled. He and Michael helped CJ with the PI's boots and got his legs up on the bed, causing him to roll over on his back, his left arm flung out across the bed. As she moved the pillow down and put it under his head he started loudly snoring. "Guess he just couldn't take anymore."
"Man, he's loud!" Michael got tickled.
"He doesn't usually snore like that. The only time he does is if he's sick or absolutely worn out – like now."
"That's a good thing – I'm not sure how much the rafters in this house could take." Vince put an arm around the woman. "He's lucky to have you, CJ."
"He is for sure." Michael patted her on the back, before she turned and headed to the walk-in closet and pulled out a quilt and covered up her husband, gently kissing him on the forehead and stroking his cheek. She turned to the phone at the side of the bed and shut off the ringer, pulled his cellphone out of his left front pocket and turned it off, then covered him back up. As the three headed out of the bedroom, an extremely loud clap sounded followed by a long, rolling bit of thunder. All three turned to look at Matt. He never budged and kept right on snoring as the house shook. Snickering, they walked back out to the den where everyone was sitting around.
"Did it hurt to get the tattoo?" Kathy had put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt over her bathing suit and was sitting cross-legged on the floor playing cards with two of the Novelli boys - Michael and Vince, Jr.
"Not really. Not nearly as bad as I was afraid it would." CJ made a face as she sat down in Matt's recliner and tucked her feet up underneath. Tony came and sat down next to her. "Whatcha thinkin' about so hard, pal?" She put an arm around the boy.
"Nothing." He was quiet for a moment. "Is Houston okay?"
"There's nothing wrong with him that a little bit of sleep won't cure." She patted the boy on the back and he scooted up next to her on the recliner. "He's just been working really hard lately. The trip to Texas will be good for him."
"I'm not so sure about that." Tony remembered how Matt had been called away from the fall calving a couple of months earlier when he had gone to Texas with the Houstons.
"It'll be fine, kiddo, don't worry. Your Uncle Matt does this every once in a while." Pulling her nephew in closer and kissing the side of his head, she laughed. "Has he ever told you about the time he and I fell asleep in the boat on the river?"
"You mean the one that he and I went fishing in?"
"Yep, the very same. His dad gave it to him when he was twelve years old. See, a lot of the people around there knew that he was a good fisherman, so they would get him to supply them for fish fries. Well, he and I usually went out every night during the summer to fish – as long as the weather would cooperate. It had been a really busy week…"