Chapter 21

To the reader: Sorry for the delay. Real life can be annoying sometimes.

Cheers! Archijenn

As they exited the hospital, Teresa inhaled as deeply as she possibly could. It was the first time in DAYS that she had been outdoors. Patrick stood beside her and quietly let her have this moment. After all, she had been very nice about conceding to the hospital's demand that she use a wheelchair all the way to the exit.

She put on her sunglasses as much to keep people from noticing her black eye as to protect her against the sun, and said, "I think we should go straight to the office."

"Sweetheart, don't you think you should go home and rest?" He asked in a gentle concerned voice.

Teresa was done with feeling like a delicate flower. She was a federal agent who had an assignment to complete. The look she gave him expressed all of this as she said, "I have been resting for over a day. I have no broken bones or internal bleeding. Even the doctor said I can get back to my normal life."

She began walking toward the parking lot as Patrick muttered, "That's only because the doctor has no idea what our NORMAL lives are like."

She turned and asked, "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Nope, no, not a thing," he replied innocently.

They arrived in the bullpen and as agents turned and saw them, the applause began. By the time, Lisbon dropped her bag on her desk everyone was standing and cheering. Slightly embarrassed she waved, said thank you, and headed to Abbott's office with Jane.

Abbott smiled as the partners walked in, "It sounds like the return of conquering heroes out there."

"More like, congratulations on surviving," Lisbon only half joked in response before starting to get down to business. "Sir, do you know if my gun is still in that little apartment?"

Abbott opened a drawer of his desk, shook his head, and produced her weapon, badge, and Jane's official I.D. "Wylie cleared it out for you last night. Your personal items are in the trunk of his car."

"Thank you," they both said as they took their items off the desk.

Abbott got back to business. "Now then, we have Tom's confession and we're also amending the charges against Melinda Sparks since she knew what they were doing with the drugs they bought from her. At this point, we need to go after Davey."

Lisbon nodded and looked to both Abbott and Jane, "I take it there's already a plan in place?"

Abbott, looking at Jane, answered. "Yes, sort of. We don't know exactly what it's going to take to get him to crack so we're first going to go in with Cho, again and give him a chance to confess. When that doesn't work, Jane and I are going to go in and talk to him. He still has no idea that the three of us are FBI."

Lisbon smiled, "Ahh. Then may I make a suggestion?"

Jane cocked his head and said, "By all means, please do."

"Don't let him know that I'm here. Let him think that I'm still in the hospital. Wait and let me be the final push," she suggested.

Abbott and Jane looked to one another and agreed as Abbott's phone rang. It was Cho. They had Davey back in the box.

Cho, Abbott, Jane, and Lisbon met in the observation room and Abbott let Cho in on the plan. Cho agreed and left.

They watched as he entered the room where Davey was sitting with a cup of coffee. "Agent Cho, I really must protest. I've been here all night and I still don't know why."

Cho sat down, opened his notebook, and clicked his pen. "Sure you do, Mr. Murray. You're here because we have questions about your activities in and around the tunnels, the Noted Lady Night Club, and the Honky TexaTonk. Now are you prepared to explain yourself?"

Davey gave him a sad smile, "I'm afraid that no matter how many times you ask, I'll still have the same answers. I use the tunnels to get around. I know about them from my days selling insurance. I have no idea what else I can tell you."

Cho looked at him for a minute and then said, "We have reason to believe that those tunnels were used to transport women who were kidnapped and assaulted. Are you saying you saw no evidence of this?"

Davey gave Cho a sad sigh, "No, Agent Cho, I'm afraid I didn't know about it."

Cho scribbled in his notebook before his next question. "Do you know Melinda Sparks?"

Davey stared at Cho and for a minute, perhaps weighing his response, "I believe that she is, or was, Tom McNolt's girlfriend. I thought I heard Tom say that he hadn't seen her in a few days. That she had disappeared around the time that there was a drug bust in the parking lot of the Noted Lady. Maybe you should talk with the Austin Police Department?"

Cho scribbled again. "Does the name Eileen Harrington mean anything to you?"

Davey sat back and narrowed his stare at Cho. "I believe you're referring to my ex-wife."

"When did you get divorced? I could find no record of that," Cho said with his hand poised to write down the information.

Davey shrugged, "We might as well be divorced. I haven't seen her in years."

"Why is that?" Cho asked.

Davey rolled his eyes, "Agent Cho, my - wife - is prone to fits and hysterics. I finally gave up on figuring out what her problems are. She was there and then she wasn't. End of story."

Cho looked at his notebook and back to Davey. "Doesn't she have a half-brother? From her mother's remarriage to a man named McNolt?"

Davey froze. Cho believed that he could see the wheels in Davey's brain stop moving. However, he managed to pull himself together and smile, "Agent Cho, you are thorough. I guess I should confess now."

It was Cho's turn to become cautious and the three people standing in the observation room become completely still.

Davey continued. "I confess that I lied about knowing Tom McNolt. He is my wife's half-brother. Given the current relationship between my wife and myself, it's confusing for Tom, so we don't talk about it."

Davey finished with a benevolent smile that Cho wanted to wipe off his face. However, Cho continued his stoic form. "You taught English before you sold insurance, is that correct?"

Davey nodded. "Yes, I taught writing."

Cho asked, "Did your students like you?"

Davey snorted with laughter, "My dear sir, no professor is universally liked. If you're doing your job right, someone will always dislike you."

Cho nodded. "Why did you stop teaching?"

Davey explained, "I was an adjunct. I was hired to teach classes when faculty didn't have time to cover a course. As such, I only got paid per course and I needed a steadier income."

Cho closed his notebook. The best he had hoped was to make Davey nervous regarding all the background information they had, and he believed he had done that. The next step was to let Abbott and Jane have a crack at him.

"If you'll excuse me, Mr. Murray," Cho said as he got up.

"Agent Cho, I'm cooperating fully, but this has become ridiculous. How long will we be doing this?" Davey asked irritably.

Cho let himself have the faintest hint of a smirk. "It shouldn't be much longer."

Cho left and the group in observation watched as Davey carefully sat there and stared at the mirror. He knew that he was being watched so he was overly concerned with the idea of behaving suspiciously.

Cho closed the door and said to Abbott and Jane, "I think he's ready for you."

Before he left, Lisbon grabbed Jane's hand to stop him. He looked back at her and she said, "Remember, I want to get a chance to share in the fun, too, so no trying to kill him, okay?"

Jane winked, "I think there will be plenty of fun for everyone."

TBC