ZOONOTIC: MISSING SCENES

"Well," Alex Eames thought. "Add protective to the adjectives that can describe Bobby Goren." She glanced at Bobby, who was lost in a study of several papers balanced on his open binder. She was both touched and irritated that her partner had moved to protect her from Scott Borman's loutish behavior. "Borman," she thought. "What a perfect name for the man…"

"I'm sorry." Bobby's voice broke into her thoughts.

Alex was glad they had stopped at a red light. It wouldn't be good if she slammed on the brakes in surprise and caused a major accident.

"What?"

"Well, first, a huge apology on behalf of my gender for Scott Borman," Bobby said.

"On behalf of my gender, thank you," Alex replied.

Bobby half smiled. "And…And for protecting you…You don't need protection from anyone, especially a jerk like that…I'm afraid the protective gene on my Y chromosome kicked in. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," Alex said after a moment. She was touched by his apology and honesty. "I gotta admit…It was nice to have a big, strong, sensitive guy protecting me from the big, bad Tarzan."

"Tarzan," Bobby said thoughtfully. "Wasn't a thug. Or the dumb guy from some of the movies. In the books, he was an intelligent, articulate man. There was a reason why he was called the Lord of the Jungle."

"You apologizing for Tarzan, too?"

"Maybe…"

"I remember one of my brothers read those books," Alex said. "He was the science fiction, adventure, fantasy fan in the family. He stood in line overnight to see one of the STAR WAR movies. I remember him reading Edgar Rice Burroughs and…Who was the guy who wrote Conan the Barbarian?"

"Uh…Howard…Robert E. Howard," Bobby said. "I'm impressed, Eames. Most people only know Conan from those movies with Schwarzeneger."

"I remember the covers," Alex said. "Lots of almost naked men with big muscles surrounded by women who were even closer to being naked with big breasts. My brother snuck them in past my Mom. I tried to read some of them, but the testosterone level was too high for me."

"You might give them another chance," Bobby said. "They certainly appeal to teenage boys, but Burroughs could tell a great story. So could Howard, who had a real crude power to his writing. But I'm prejudiced. Burroughs, Howard, Haggard, Doyle…They got me through some rough spots."

"I'll add them to my reading list," Alex said. "Which has gotten longer and more interesting since we've become partners. Which is a good thing, by the way."

"If…If I'm influencing what you read…I…I don't know what that means to you," Bobby said. "But…It means a lot to me. Thank you."

For the second time in a few minutes, Bobby left Alex momentarily speechless. "You're welcome," she said and chuckled.

"What?"

"Well…I don't mean to embarrass you any more," she said. "But…At the zoo…Even while you were protecting me…I think you were more embarrassed by Borman than I was."

She glanced at Bobby and saw him reddened. "I'm sorry," Alex said. "You really were embarrassed, weren't you?"

"Guys like that…I…Well, I've never liked them…Never understood them…Guess I spent too much time in the library and not enough hanging out with guys…"

Alex remembered their encounter with Elizabeth Hitchens/Nicole Wallace/the Evil Blonde and how she'd stabbed Bobby with her knowledge about his family. "Your…Your father too much like Borman?" she asked tentatively.

Bobby looked out the SUV's window.

"I'm sorry," Alex said. "It's none of my business."

"Yes…It is…If it affects my work…How I view suspects…Then it's your business…"

"Maybe," Alex said. "But don't worry…You were right on target with Borman. I wonder how he got through vet school. I always heard they were hard to get in…"

"Wondered that myself," Bobby said. "We need to check if there have been any harassment suits against him."

"I get to put the handcuffs on him if we arrest him, right," Alex asked.

Bobby smiled. "I'd enjoy seeing that."

She didn't have the pleasure of arresting Scott Borman, but Alex did have a first row seat to his confrontation with Dr. Stern. She later confessed to Bobby that she greatly enjoyed watching Borman wrestle with the uniforms as they dragged him away.

"Well," Alex said as she and Bobby returned to their desks. "The divide and conquer theory worked very well. It's in Carver's hands now."

Bobby nodded. "I don't think Carver will have to wait long for them to turn on each other officially."

"You seemed to have Stern's number," Alex said as she sat at her desk.

"It's not an uncommon scenario…The mother as a civilizing force…The father as a brute…" Bobby explained. "There's lots of literature…D. H. Lawrence's SONS AND LOVERS for example…"

"One of the nuns at Our Lady of Angels warned the students against Lawrence…But our English teacher—also a nun—had us read several of his short stories…There was one…About a little boy who could predict the winner of horse races…"

"THE ROCKING HORSE WINNER," Bobby said in a slightly uneasy tone.

"Yea…Not what I expected from what I'd heard about Lawrence and that banning," Alex smiled. "I remember it was very sad…A mother using her son's gifts…" She glanced at Bobby, who intently studied his computer screen. She turned to her own and pretended to be engrossed in what was on it. Her efforts might have been better if she had turned on her computer.

"My family," Bobby said deliberately and softly. "Wasn't like that. I didn't drive myself into a breakdown riding a hobby horse. And it wasn't like Stern's…At least…Not too much…"

"Sorry," Alex said. "I didn't mean to…"

"I know you didn't," Bobby said evenly. "There's nothing to apologize for."

In spite of his reassurances, Alex felt as if she'd stepped on some forbidden ground. She decided to change the subject.

"Bobby…"

"Uh…Yea…"

"Davis…Is there some way we can get him some credit in this case?"

He leaned back in his chair and looked at her in some surprise. "Eames…He wasn't a good cop…"

"I know… But he wasn't an awful one…He was trying…For his kid…"

Bobby considered how many times in their short partnership Alex Eames had accepted his ideas and listened to him and stepped between him and their superiors.

"Well…" He twirled his pen as he spoke. "It was his investigation that pointed us in the right direction…And like Deakins said…He is family. We can emphasize his work in our reports…And talk to Carver…"

"I'll talk to Carver," Alex said. "If you could just back me up…Thank you…"

"You're welcome." Bobby returned to his report. As he wrote, his thoughts returned to Alex Eames.

"Maybe," he thought. "Maybe this one will last."

END