Chapter Two
Well, that was an interesting experience, Jordan thought as she left the staff meeting to go back to her hotel room. She had told Garret she'd take a cab….the morgue employees had a million questions after the staff meeting that he needed to address. She reflected on the gathering…and the reactions she had seen in their faces when Garret announced that she would be the new chief ME. Bug and Nigel had a mixture of relief and disbelief on their face. She knew Nigel thought that she'd never return to Boston. Neither did she. Sydney remembered her…but hadn't known her well before she left. Bug, as usual, was quiet. Jordan wondered what he thought about Garret and Lily getting married. When she had left Boston for DC, Bug and Lily had just started dating. Jordan wondered what had happened.
Garret had introduced her as Dr. McDermont. Nigel's head had snapped up to attention when that came out, noting the wedding band and large diamond solitaire on her left ring finger. She had caught the look in Nigel's eyes…We need to talk, love," was written all over his face.
She had missed Nigel. Far more than she realized…their late night talks…rides on his bike…his comfort both when Max had died and when Woody decided he wanted Julie instead of her. She had pushed back these thoughts when Garret turned the meeting over to her. She had briefly reiterated her former job….as a federal inspector of morgues and state crime labs. She said she was so happy and proud that Boston had always exceeded the federal levels of excellence, and that Garret was leaving large shoes to fill. She made sure that everyone knew she had worked there before and under the leadership of Garret.
She went on to reassure that as of the present, she had no plans to reassign or fire anyone. Things would go on as they normally were while she reassessed the situation. She was certain there may be one or two procedural changes, but other than that, she really didn't want to cause any alarm or gossip among the morgue staff. From what she could tell, Garret had developed a finely tuned team of workers. Their record was nearly spotless. She'd be damned if she'd mess that up. She knew a good thing when she saw it. That was one of the "perks" that drew her back to Boston…she didn't have a mess to clean up…unlike some of the other labs and morgues she had inspected.
She took the elevator back to her room and settled in. She'd be living here, compliments of the city of Boston, until she could find a house. That was her next move. After changing out of her red business suit and into jeans and a blouse, she phoned a realtor that had been recommended to her and arranged to look at some houses in Boston.
After years of living in apartments and townhouses, Jordan was now used to living in a house. She liked them. She liked decorating them. She appreciated the spaciousness of a home…the comfort….the warmth. And even though she'd be living alone in Boston, she still wanted her own four walls and roof. She told the realtor she was interested in the posh Beacon Hill section of the city.
In the past, despite thumbing her nose at the monied privileged of Boston, she had always secretly dreamed of living in the toney Beacon Hill section of the city. It was plush. It was luxurious….it was beautiful…the houses and the lawns. Jon made sure she was well-taken of monetarily. Between her "allowance" from him and the fact that her salary was hers, she was a wealthy woman. She had invested most of what she made, taking advantage of Jon's knowledge of stocks, bonds, and funds. She could afford to live in this section now…a dream she had always had since she was a girl. She and Max would ride through Beacon Hill at Christmas…admiring the lights and decorations. She always thought she would feel like a fairy princess…or even Cinderella in one of these homes.
She grimaced at the thought. She definitely was no princess…or even Cinderella…but one of these houses would more than likely become her home in the weeks ahead.
Within the next week, she had found a house she liked…a gracious, large residence, with a sweeping front porch and back veranda. It had a pool she planned on enclosing so she could swim year around. Five bedrooms. Six baths. A security system. Gourmet kitchen. She was set. She phoned her household staff in DC and told them to pack her things up and send them to Boston. "Are you sure, Dr. McDermont?" Virginia had asked. Virginia was her housekeeper both in DC and in Texas.
"I'm sure, Ginny," she had replied. "It's time for me to start over. Although my offer for you still stands." Jordan had tried her best to get Virginia to move to Boston with her. While the lady looked after Jordan's two households, Jordan had great affection for the older woman and wanted to make sure she was well taken care of.
"Ah, now, Miss….Boston's far to cold for me and too far away from my grandbabies. I'm going to live near my son for the time being. But don't be a stranger. Let me hear from you from time to time. I'll miss you and Mr. McDermont."
Two days later, her furniture and the rest of her things arrived. She had hired an interior decorator, housekeeper and a maid through one of the recommended agencies in Boston and put them to work straightening out her home. She dug in at the morgue, working with Garret to be brought up to speed on all the pressing cases and allowing him to introduce her to the new DA and his staff….and the seemingly hundreds of homicide detectives she no longer knew…
"I'm glad at least you'll be in town … that way if I have any questions, I can call you. I can do that, can't I?"
"Of course, Jo. And I will be available on a consulting basis…so if things get out of hand, call me."
"Think you're going to like teaching?" While Garret was retiring from the morgue, he was going to teach forensics part-time at the university.
"It will be different….but it will give me more time with Lily."
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Lil yet."
"She's been busy with the wedding. She wanted to know if you'd like to have dinner with us on Saturday, though."
Jordan thought for a minute. It wasn't like she had plans… "Sure. Just let me know when and where."
"Seven. My house. We're going to live there. She's redecorated to make it her own….it's nice, actually."
Jordan nodded. Somehow with Lily, she got the feeling there was going to be lots of incense and scented candles involved. "Let me know if I need to bring anything."
"No. Just yourself. But speaking of bringing something, need to leave and go home. I promised Lily I'd stop and pick up a few things she needs on the way home from work."
Jordan grinned at Garret. "You are so whipped. Do you know that?"
Garret grinned back. "Yeah. I know. But I like it."
She continued to work on the active files after he had left, trying to get a good grasp of what was taking priority in the morgue right now….what was really important and what could wait, when there was a knock on her door. "Come in," she said absent-mindedly, assuming it was Nigel, taking advantage of the fact that she was alone now and wanted to talk to her.
"They told me you were back as the new Chief ME. I didn't believe them. I had to come and see for myself." His quiet voice caught her off-guard, but his blue eyes still made her knees go slightly weak.
"Woody…." Her voice nearly trailed off. She pushed her professional persona to the forefront. "How are you?" Her voice had a warm ring, but was strictly on a business basis with her former lover.
"I'm fine. I really didn't believe them when they said you were back…"
"I never thought I'd be back in Boston….but time changes things and people, so here I am." She extended her hand for him to shake it.
Completely ignoring her gesture, he pulled her into a brief hug. "It's so good to see you again. You look wonderful." But you're too thin…and look tired, he thought to himself. And there's something else…something I can't quite put my finger on.
"You look well, too, Woody." And he did. A light sprinkling of gray was at his temples now…but he was still as tall and broad shouldered as she remembered and his eyes were still the color of the ocean after a storm.
"Dad…." A voice called from the doorway. "If you don't hurry…."
"We're going to be late," finished a second voice.
Jordan peeked around Woody to see two sets of blue eyes…identical to their father's….staring at them. "Allow me to introduce my twin sons," Woody said, pride edging its way in his voice. "The one on the left is Brad and Bryan is on the right."
Jordan did a double take…the boys were identical. Not only in looks, but in dress….they were in soccer uniforms. "How do you do?" said Brad, walking up to her and extending his hand to her. She shook it, surprised at the young boy's firm grip.
"Nice to meet you…." continued Bryan, looking at his father, while holding out his hand, too.
"Dr. Cavanaugh. The lady's name is Dr. Cavanaugh. She's the new chief ME…she's taking Dr. Macy's place," Wood told his sons.
"Actually, the name is now Dr. McDermont. But you can call me Jordan," she said, noting a surprised look on Woody's face. He hadn't noticed her wedding band. "So you two play soccer….on the same team. Do you ever fake your team mates or coaches out pretending to be the other twin? Or can they tell you two apart?"
"We used to be able to," said Bryan. "But I have a mole on my left cheek. That's the only way people can tell us apart. Once they find that out, we can't fool them."
"Yeah…and the mole didn't pop up until he was nearly three….until then, I had to paint one of Brad's toenails red so I could tell the difference," Woody said.
"Dad!" said Brad. "That's embarrassing…."
"Sorry." Woody glanced at his watch. "We need to go guys or you'll be late for the game. It's been nice seeing you again, Jordan. For the record, I'm glad Garret got you back as chief ME. It will be good working with you…it will seem like old times."
Jordan watched as he herded both boys through the door and into the elevator. His boys looked just like him…unruly hair and blue eyes. She shook her head and went back to work.
