Marshall's morning had taken a surprising turn. He'd mostly managed to avoid Seth, staying holed up in his room until the last possible moment. He was hoping his dad would be gone before he had to leave, but when he opened his bedroom door, he had no such luck. His father was sitting on the couch, staring into space. Marshall was surprised to see no sign of the bottle he'd broken the night before. He looked at his father expectantly.
Finally, Seth spoke. "Look, son. I know I'm tough on you. But to tell you the truth, I just want to see you happy- that's all I've ever wanted. I'd like to see you find the right girl, settle down, maybe have some kids, but if that's not what you want, then it's fine with me. If you want to play the field, or you'd rather be alone- hell, even if you want a boyfriend…"
Here Marshall interrupted. "I'm not gay, Dad," he said, exasperated.
"Oh, thank God," Seth said, with obvious relief, before continuing. "All I'm saying is, I know how it is when you work so closely with someone. That's the only reason I said what I did about your partner. I'm sorry if I stepped on your toes. I just know how happy I've been with your mother all these years, and your Mary reminds me of her. But I know you aren't me."
"Dad…"
"Anyway, I just wanted to say that… that I love you, and whatever makes you happy will make me happy." Here his father stood, overnight bag in hand. "Take care of yourself, son," Seth said, pulling Marshall into a rough hug, before turning to leave.
"Bye, Dad," he called after his father. He watched the man pull away before leaving himself.
When he arrived, Mary was uncharacteristically silent. He suspected that Brandi's sudden reappearance had something to do with her current mood. He only hoped that whatever new wrinkle Mary's sister had undoubtedly ironed into her life was nothing too perilous. "Everything okay?" he asked her, leaning down to refill her coffee mug.
"Yeah, just peachy," Mary muttered sarcastically, shifting her eyes toward Theresa, the funds allocation manager who'd taken up residence in the office. Marshall knew Mary didn't trust her, so he nodded, knowing he wouldn't get the full story until they had a chance to talk alone. Unfortunately, their morning was filled with a mountain of paperwork, and that opportunity didn't come until lunch. Marshall pointed the SUV in the direction of Mary's favorite diner. He'd never particularly cared for it, but he sensed that she needed cheering. Realizing where they were headed, Mary smiled over at him in way of thanks. Marshall met her eyes, then took the opportunity to broach the subject of her distress.
"So, did Brandi bring you back a nice souvenir from Miami?"
"You have no idea…" Mary said, not continuing. Marshall looked over at her. She seemed to be deep in thought.
"Want to talk about it?"
"Remember Lauren?" Mary asked, unnecessarily. She knew he'd remember.
Marshall thought back to Brandi's last run-in with the FBI. Mary had told him about the woman who'd shown up at her house, the woman Jinx had later told her was her sister. Though he'd never met Lauren, he owed the woman a small debt of thanks. In spite of the distress she'd caused Mary, it had landed his partner in his arms, if only for a brief moment of comfort.
"Your supposed half-sister," he said, still remembering that afternoon on the roof.
"Apparently she has a brother. That's where Brandi's been. Fraternizing with this family I never knew I had. God knows, I've got enough family already. More than enough." Mary said, frustration evident in her voice.
"So…"
"So she brought my father's son back here with her. Jimmy. Named after him."
"Do you really believe he's your brother?
"He… He looks just like him, Marshall. Just like Daddy," Mary said, quietly, looking down. He suspected his partner was on the verge of tears. In spite of the overwhelming evidence, he knew Mary had never allowed herself to believe Lauren's claim of kinship was legitimate. The arrival of her new sibling had no doubt forced her to accept that her father had, in fact, had another life after he left her. He reached over and gave Mary's hand a squeeze, then held it gently. He half-expected her to push it away, but she didn't.
"He told us all these stories about how Daddy used to take him fishing, give him piggyback rides, throw birthday parties… I just kept thinking, 'that should've been me,' you know? I was cleaning up my mother's vomit while my father was taking this complete stranger to the state fair." Her voice broke slightly as she continued. "All this time, I thought I was special to him, that we had this unbreakable bond." A single tear slipped down Mary's cheek as they arrived at the restaurant. Marshall reached up and wiped it away. He wanted to find the man who'd caused her all this pain and hurt him. Instead, he told her what he thought she needed to hear.
"Mary, I'm sure your father loved you very much. Maybe he was afraid being close to you would put you in danger somehow. Maybe whoever he robbed that bank with threatened his family."
Mary nodded, then met Marshall's eyes. He could tell he'd restored at least some of her faith in her father. "Maybe so," she said, nodding. She wiped at her face, then, satisfied that she'd erased all signs of weakness, got out and headed for the diner. Marshall followed with a small sigh.
Over lunch, they discussed open cases, their witnesses, anything but the subject of Mary's family. She seemed to have resolved the matter in her brain, and Marshall was loath to upset Mary further than she'd already been.
After lunch, they visited a few witnesses. Their first stop was at the new apartment of an accountant who'd been unwittingly sucked into a securities fraud ring. They went over details and travel arrangements for his impending court testimony, then left. They were both happy to be out in the field and away from the mind-numbing paperwork they both despised, so they decided to check in on a few of their older witnesses, mostly just to keep from going back to the office. Their last stop was at Shoe World to visit Mel. Mary wanted to make sure Johnny Steele hadn't caused any trouble when Mel hadn't shown up for the meeting. When they arrived, the store manager told them that Mel's shift had already ended, so they headed for his apartment just as the sun had begun to set.
After several knocks on Mel's apartment door with no response, Mary grew concerned.
"Maybe he went out for drinks?" Marshall suggested.
"With who? His pals in Anarchy Unlimited?"
"Good point." Marshall said nodding.
Mary pulled out her cell phone and dialed Mel's number. After three rings, the call went to voicemail.
"Mel, this is Mary Shepherd. I need to know where you are. Call me as soon as you get this."
"No answer?"
"No. We should head back to Shoe World. Maybe someone there can tell us what Mel does in his off hours."
