Here's another.
Chapter 10.
Anita and Gottlieb watched Garcia storm out of the diner. She glanced at Hadley, sending a message with her eyes to stay where she was at the diner counter.
"What got into him?" Gottlieb asked.
Anita turned her attention back to him "Haven't the slightest."
"I've worked with Tomas before, and he's never reacted like this, as if he's not sure whether he's disappointing you or himself."
"He's disappointing the bureau," she said. "By now he should have made progress getting the goods on the pharma company, but he's come up with zilch. Even less than the two civilians I had infiltrate the lab before you guys arrived."
"We're trying, you know." Gottlieb looked at the table.
"You're doing great. Some of those shots you got of the manufacturing plant will be useful. So why can't Garcia find anything in the labs?" Anita placed both palms on the table an leaned forward.
Gottlieb shrugged. "Maybe there's nothing to find."
She shook her head. "There has to be lots. We have samples of defective drugs. Just don't know why they'd make them on purpose, especially the flu vaccine."
"Yeah, you'd have to realize that would be caught by the doctors administering it, right? With so many patients, they'd notice."
"Yet Garcia can't find any sign of a conspiracy." She rubbed her face. "Maybe you and he should switch assignments."
"We could." He sat back in his seat. "Let me propose it to him so he doesn't take it poorly."
"Thanks." She reached out a hand and he shook it before standing and leaving.
Hadley waited a few minutes before joining Anita. "Everything okay? Why did one of them storm out of here?"
"I called him on not finding any more than Jessica or Mortimer. He's experienced, yet those civilians brought me more."
House and Cameron approached Anderson's deputies who were guarding the new house.
"We haven't seen anyone lurking nearby," the taller one said.
Cameron remembered his name was Walt Avery. He'd worked with Anderson on the investigation of Phyllis's nephew. "Thanks."
A car drove up, and they all turned to look. It was Will, bringing an uncharacteristic grin to House's face. "Just the man I wanted to see."
"Everything quiet here?" the contractor asked.
"So far," Avery replied and walked back to his station at the back of the house.
"I have another job for you," House said. "That is, if you're willing. I understand you built the dental office for the house I just purchased in town."
"The Fitzgerald house. Yes, I constructed the office for Dr. Fitz. Nice man."
"I want to convert that into a medical office with a lab and more exam rooms."
Will looked at the new house then back at Cameron and House. "I could do that when the last touches are done on this one, say a week or ten days."
"Perfect. Also, the third floor consists of a studio apartment and a room. Needs to be an apartment as nice as the one on the second floor."
Cameron smiled.
Will took a deep breath and held it long enough to think that over, then let it out. "Sure. I'd have to see the premises and draw up a plan, but sure, I can do that too."
"The future occupants will want some say on those plans." House took his own deep breath but didn't hold it as long. "They can be reasonable, I think."
"You'll find them easy to work with," Cameron said.
After Will left, House and Cameron drove back into town. "I want to take another look at the dental office," House said.
He drove to Hanbury St. For once they were able to park in front of the house. They climbed the steps to the front door, and House opened it. The air inside didn't smell as stale as it had the first time he was there. He strolled directly to the office and sat down in the dental chair to think. Cameron followed at a slower pace.
"I think I may keep this." House stood suddenly and strolled to the door.
When House and Cameron returned to the diner they found Anita and Hadley sitting in a different booth than usual. House would have left them there, but of course Cameron had to approach and ask them to come to their booth.
But before Cameron, Hadley and Anita reached House, Owen Marshall stopped at the booth. "We need to talk," he told House.
"What about? Cameron's campaign?"
Marshall pointed at his chest. "You're spying on me."
"Why would I?"
"Because you found out I own the property next to yours." Marshall glared at House.
"As I remember, you objected to me purchasing that property. We're beginning to realize why. But for the life of me I can't understand why you'd send thugs to vandalize the construction or attack the men guarding it."
Marshall's brows drew together and his mouth hung open. He blustered, "You think that was my doing?"
"Someone had it done, and the cops traced tire tracks from the first incident to trucks on your property."
Marshall sat down and slumped.
"That seat's taken," House said.
Marshall looked at him with a blank expression then stood and walked away in a seeming daze.
Finally, Cameron and the other two women came over.
"What was that all about?" Anita asked.
"You hear any of it?" He countered. "I'm beginning to think Marshall knew nothing about the events at the new house."
"You may be right. I don't like him, but that doesn't make him guilty of anything," Cameron said.
"Even if he's unaware of the events out at your house, it doesn't mean he knows nothing about what's happening at his plant and lab," Anita said.
House glared at the her. Then he turned his expression on Cameron. "I liked it better when this was our booth, and we weren't sharing it with everyone and their brothers."
"I don't have a brother," Hadley said. "Unless you're talking about Jess and Bart."
Cameron rolled her eyes. "I enjoy having others share the booth with us. If you didn't want to have anything to do with anyone, why did you agree to rent them apartments in your office building?"
"No fair, all three of you ganging up against me." He frowned.
"How do you put up with him?" Hadley asked Cameron.
"He has his moments." Cameron suppressed a big grin. She was saved from elaborating by the arrival of Wilson and Jessica.
"House, I don't know whether you've tried to arrange the delivery of the furniture and other items you have in storage, but know it'll take a looonnng time." Wilson collapsed on the end of the seat at the booth.
"He's right," Jessica said. "You'd think it would be simple, but nooo. The storage companies act like they own your stuff and don't want to let it go."
"And then there's the coordination of deliveries." Wilson rolled his eyes.
"Thanks for the advice," Cameron said. "It won't be long before we have to go through that too."
"Yes, us, too," Anita said. "But at least we now have a place to put our stuff."
"Not so fast." House held up a hand. "If you put your stuff in your apartment before Will does his magic, it'll be harder for him."
"But his magic, as you call it, won't take long, right? You have spoken to him, haven't you?"
"Yeah, yeah. He's agreed to do the work, but he'll renovate the ground floor first." House smirked at Wilson. "And I bet you don't want to live there with all the construction going on."
"I've lived through worse." Wilson smirked back. "The furniture won't be delivered for two weeks, so we'll move in then, construction or not."
"We can help Will with the changes to our apartment," Anita said. "I can swing a hammer with the best of them."
Hadley nodded. "Me too."
"Don't you each have other things to do?" House stared at Hadley.
"I was thinking evenings and weekends."
"How long does Will think it'll all take?" Anita asked.
"He hasn't even seen the place yet. And we don't know what you two ladies want on the third floor."
"Mostly to combine the rooms and maybe modernize the kitchen," Hadley said. "We'll take care of decorating later." She glanced at Anita.
"We don't need any work in our place." Jessica smiled.
"You still haven't told me how much you're soaking us for." Wilson sipped his coffee.
"How much are you willing to pay?" House asked.
Wilson looked puzzled. "And if I said nothing?"
"C'mon, you have to do better than that." House started writing number on a paper napkin. He handed it to Wilson. "Pick one."
Wilson laughed. "You're kidding, right?"
"What did he write?" Jess reached for the napkin. "Let me see."
"Okay, eight hundred." Wilson stared at House.
"But that's the highest number on this." Jessica's eyes were wide.
The other two agents entered the diner and took seats at another table. Anita excused herself to go talk to them. Hadley watched her go with worry in her eyes.
Before she sat down, Gottlieb said, "Anita, I spoke to Garcia and he understands why you were so upset with him earlier."
Garcia held out a hand. Anita shook it and then sat. "Any news? Either of you?" She looked from one to the other eagerly.
"I think I have something," Garcia said. "I was scheduled to work this afternoon, some kind of emergency testing, but we were met at the door by one of the higher ups, guy named Tolliver stood outside the doors to tell anyone who arrived that the emergency was over. Seemed fishy to me."
"Tolliver's a fishy guy." Anita nodded. "He's an executive but his bank accounts and portfolio are those of a man owning a multi-billion dollar enterprise."
"You should have told me. Because I questioned his right to keep us from doing our jobs." Garcia shook his head. "I think the only reason he didn't fire me was because I'm new and 'didn't know the rules yet'."
"Keep an eye on him, but don't do anything that draws attention to you." Anita shook hands with the two men and returned to House and Cameron's booth.
"Anything?" Hadley asked.
Anita looked at everyone present, settling eventually on Jessica. "Tolliver again."
"Why am I not surprised?" House asked. "Wonder whether Marshall's aware of some of Tolliver's activities."
"What I want to know is why, I mean, what do they get out of marketing defective products?" Cameron shook her head then suddenly stopped. "Could this be a campaign against Owen Marshall?" She emphasized the name.
Anita's eyebrows went up. "That's an angle I hadn't thought of. Tolliver could be trying to make Marshall and his company look bad."
"And pets and people suffer," Jessica said.
"People like Tolliver don't care about that." Hadley pushed her plate toward the center of the table. "Anyone want my French fries?"
"Is that even a question?" House pulled the plate toward his own. "Interesting explanation for what's happened." He munched a fry as he said, "How do we prove it? And what does it have to do with the incidents at the new house, or Marshall's opposition to the construction?"
"Garcia will try to find out more about Tolliver, and meanwhile I'll look further into his background," Anita said.
"And I'm going to talk to Owen about him," Cameron decided.
"Are you sure that's safe?" Jess asked.
"He wanted to know whether we were spying on him. I'll tell him what we found and ask whether he knew about it. Watch his reactions."
"Cameron, please wait until we give you the go ahead, okay?" Anita reached a hand out to grip hers. "I want to be sure that Owen Marshall isn't involved in anything happening at his plant and labs."
Cameron took a deep breath, glanced at House who gave a slight nod, and exhaled slowly. "I guess so. But let me know as soon as you do."
Hadley and Anita were the last of the group to leave the diner. "Listening to Wilson and Jess yesterday got me thinking about moving my things down here." Anita sipped the remaining gulps of her coffee.
"How large a place do you have? I never asked."
"It's a furnished studio apartment, the most I could afford at Washington prices." "How about you? Do you have a lot left in Princeton?"
"I have a full apartment worth." Hadley laughed. "I left it all because I didn't think I'd be sticking around there this longer, and now I guess I won't leave."
"That's good, because the thought of going out and buying furniture didn't thrill me."
Hadley smirked. "Don't go expecting high-class stuff. It's mostly furniture from my aunt's home and a few thrift shop pieces."
"Guess we'll see what we still need when it gets here."