Chapter 14

John took a picture of Lamontagne shaking hands in his office with a customer, but the second Harold threw the bomb into the conversation, he had to close his eyes for moment to gather himself. He should have known Harold would find out. John was so preoccupied earlier with the amount of information about spinal surgery, he hadn't heard Harold approach.

Maybe it would be better this way, without looking into each other's eyes.

"You told me to sleep with you." John answered with a small hesitation.

"Beg your pardon?"

Thankfully, Harold didn't sound offended, more like confused. "This morning. When I came back from Bangor. You told me to sleep in your bed."

"That part I remember. I'm a little hazy on afterwards, unfortunately."

"There wasn't any. You fell asleep," John clarified with a fond smile.

"And I still remember waking up alone. There has to be a reason why you declined my offer."

John stayed silent. So, Harold really wanted him there.

"John?" the older man inquired.

"I wanted you awake for that conversation. There are times people can't fake honesty. When you're under influence, when you're tortured or when you're almost asleep. People will tell you what they really want, but with a sound mind, when they have a chance to think things through, they almost always decide differently, because they know reality can't permit them what they want." John hated the vulnerability in his voice.

"Did you find out what you were looking for on these message boards?"

"No."

"What did you want to know, John?" Harold asked quietly.

"If it's possible to sleep in your bed." What if John slept too close and aggravated Harold's injuries. What if he had a nightmare and jostled Harold in his sleep. What if he unintentionally hurt him?

"Of course it is."

"You have a lot of experience with it?" John countered quickly. In five years they had know each other, John was sure Harold never taken a lover to their hideouts. He firmly believed Harold always loved Grace and was faithful to his woman even from a distance.

"John." Harold sighed warily in his ear. John didn't know how exactly he knew, but after all these years, he could interpret every slight nuance of Harold's voice. This wasn't Harold's offended exclamation because they had breached a topic that was a little too personal for them. That tone suggested problems on the horizon. John's shoulders straightened.

"What is it?" Lamontagne's appointment for the day was over and he was now on his way from the building. John followed him to a parking structure. "He's on the move again." Thankfully they still used a car Shaw obtained for them.

"I'm afraid I found a loose end," Harold started his explanation. He talked slowly, but his movements on a keyboard spoke a different story. John could hear his aggressive typing. It didn't looked like an easy day.

"What kind?" John continued their small talk and tailed Lamontagne's car to a highway.

"The woman from last Friday night; she wasn't a random conquest. She's the wife of Lamontagne's brother Carl, who's missing. According to local authorities he went fishing last month and never came back. They wanted to rule out suicide, so they searched a local lake, but never found a body. Case is still open."

"Why suicide?"

"Carl was recently dismissed from his job in a construction company. He made a few threats to his supervisor. I'm searching for... oh."

John's mouth tightened. "Let me guess. All the chemicals can be turned into a homemade bomb."

"Yes, that too. But Carl and Paul Lamontagne's are identical twins."

"Carl's living in his brother's apartment. Using his credit cards, making a bomb, while Paul's at work and visiting his farm. Paul's the victim here. I'm tailing the wrong twin." John could easily put things together now.

"No. The Machine gave us his Number, which means Paul is in danger. Probably from his own brother. Maybe it's time for a slightly different approach. I have to contact Sameen. Meanwhile..."

"I have a man to convince about his brother's evil tendencies. Keep in touch."

"Be careful, Mr. Reese."

John's mouth lifted in a smile. They were definitely on a first name basis, but sometimes Harold slipped up and Mr. Reese made its appearance. John really liked these moments. It was such a default conversation between them – so familiar that it warmed John's heart.

Harold cared about John from the beginning. They had been working together only a handful of weeks when Harold crossed half of the town to get to John after he was shot by Snow's partner and bleeding to death in a parking garage.

Now, all John had to do would be confronting Paul Lamontagne and then to get back to Harold to finish their conversation. The day really wasn't that great thanks to their new information, but it could be managed easily.

John parked his car right behind Lamontagne and stepped out. He flashed his badge at the man. "Detective Stills, NYPD. Can we talk?"