I'll be away next weekend, so there won't be a chapter on Monday.

Chapter 82.

Anita was disappointed that she couldn't get more out of Steve. She drove back to Shelby, reviewing the interview in her mind. It was 12:30 when she reached the diner, so she stopped for lunch.

House and Jessica were just finishing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Curt, eating at the counter.

She slid into the booth next to Jess. "Hope you're not leaving yet. I'll want to talk to Curt, but first I need food."

"I told Dr. Carter I wouldn't be long, but I still have a few minutes," Jessica said.

"Learn anything new from Steve?" House asked. He stared at her.

Anita shook her head. "He had his lawyer there and clammed up even more than ever."

"So, now what?" Jessica tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

"Now we approach from another angle." Her gaze returned to Curt.

Jessica smiled. "You think Curt knows something?"

"Somebody does. I almost regret quitting the bureau. It's cut me off from sources of information."

Just then, Les entered the diner. He must have caught sight of Curt, because he went straight to him. They spoke briefly, then Les turned and smiled when he saw Anita, Jessica and House. He reversed course and came over to the booth. "Thought you were interrogating Steve today."

"And I thought you were still in the hospital," she countered.

Jess looked from one to the other. "Anita was just telling us she'll have to try another way to find out what's going on."

"Why are you so interested?" Les asked.

"Because I live in Shelby now, Harve was killed here and so were Lorelei's grandparents. As a member of the Shelby PD, I don't like to let cases go cold."

"You know this is all a matter of national security." Les glared at her.

"Yes, but crimes were committed here. I know the people involved. Someone's lying, someone else isn't telling the whole truth."

Les laughed. "You were always tenacious."

"That's me, tenacious Anita."

He grimaced. "But you can't get Steve to talk."

She shook her head. "Don't know what's so secret, but he evades every question. Les, you know I'm a master at interrogation, but he didn't budge this morning. Didn't even bother to claim amnesia like he did before."

"Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten he said he didn't remember how he wound up on the floor in Lorelei's place."

She didn't believe he'd forgotten that or anything else about the case. "He's said repeatedly that he was downstairs in his car, watching for anyone who came to the apartment. He claimed to remember seeing someone at the window."

Les didn't react to that. He sat and revealed he decided to make Shelby his base rather than Snow Hill. He ordered and, once Linda brought his meal, he ate his burger and fries, then left them.

"Why did he even bother to come over?" House asked.

Anita shook her head. "He can be inscrutable." She wondered if he would have been more open if she were alone. "I'll catch him later."

"Dr. Cameron, you examined Mrs. Carson's toenails on October 30th last?" the attorney began.

"Actually, it was the twenty-ninth." Cameron smiled.

"Right. What was your diagnosis?"

"Well, usually I couldn't disclose that because of HIPPA laws." Cameron looked at the judge to make sure she understood. "However, Mrs. Carson gave me permission to reveal she had an advanced case of tinea pedis, commonly called Athlete's Foot."

"And how does one acquire this disease?" Johanson asked.

"Technically, it's not a disease. Rather it's an infection caused by a fungus that burrows under the toenails where it makes a home and grows." Cameron spoke calmly, looking at times to the lawyer and others to the judge. "The fungus can invade under any moist conditions, like the shower at a gym."

"She could also have gotten it during a pedicure, right?"

"Yes. But in this—" Cameron started to say more but was stopped by the lawyer, who said, "That'll be all, Doctor."

The salon's diminutive lawyer stood. "Doctor, please finish what you were about to say."

Cameron smiled. "Gladly. In this case, as I said, the infection was well-established, proving it had been contracted more than a year ago. All the toenails were affected, the fungus had taken a toe-hold."

The judge greeted that with muffled laughter.

"And do you know when the patient went to the salon?"

The other lawyer jumped up. "Objection, hearsay."

"I'll rephrase that. When did the patient first come to you?"

"About six weeks ago." Cameron pulled out a card. "Our records show October first."

"Thank you, Dr. Cameron. No further questions."

The other lawyer called Mrs. Carson to the stand.

"Find anything?" Simpson asked his teammates.

"Nah. Just a lot of straightforward, simple cases," Magnani replied. "You, Heather?"

"Nada. Where were you, Bart?"

"Went to see Amaya. Umm, I invited her for Thanksgiving. Hope that's okay."

"Sure." Jacobs grinned. "I like her."

"Maybe she'll bring her curry," Magnani said.

"She said she would. Speaking of food, wanna grab lunch or go through more of these?" he indicated the remaining piles of files.

"They'll still be here when we get back. Maybe one or two will develop complications."

Joking and laughing, the team headed for the cafeteria.

Wilson motioned them to the table where he ate alone. "Join me.

"Soon as we get lunch," Jacobs said.

The men got sandwiches, and Jacobs got soup and salad. Simpson had to bring over another chair, and they sat at Wilson's table. "How's the senator?" he asked.

"Recovering nicely." Wilson sipped his iced tea. "I might be able to release him tomorrow if I can be sure he'll ease up on work."

"No way you can force him without standing over him here," Magnani said.

Wilson grimaced. "I tried to convince the two aides who came to see him of the importance of him doing less."

"But I guess the aide Anita wanted to talk to never showed up?" Jacobs asked.

"No such luck."

Simpson shook his head. "Anita won't be happy about that."

"A few people won't." Wilson stabbed a French fry and smiled.

"What's so funny?"

"I can enjoy my food in peace since House isn't here." He popped the potatoes into his mouth and chewed.

The others laughed as they realized what he meant.

Mrs. Carson's testimony, if one could call it that, had ended. All she'd done was rant about the nail salon and the manicurist. But the salon's lawyer got her to admit that the manicurist refused to do a pedicure because of the condition of her toenails, telling her to go to a podiatrist instead. That should have been all the lawyer needed to prove that Mrs. Carson hadn't contracted the fungus at the salon.

"Any further witnesses, Miss Johanson?" the judge asked.

Johanson had none, but the salon's lawyer, Miss Nguyen, did. It was after noon.

"Let's call a recess until two this afternoon." The judge stood, banged her gavel and prompting everyone else to stand too.

Cameron noticed the grin on the judge's face, either because she enjoyed using the gavel or because of where the trial was headed. Cameron stopped to speak to the salon's lawyer. "I guess I won't have to come back."

"Yes, that's right, technically, but Johanson can recall you to the stand," Nguyen said.

Cameron bit her lip. "I do want to find out what happens this afternoon. Who will you call to testify?"

"The manicurist and the owner of the salon. Also a state health department inspector."

"I'll probably be back." Cameron made a quick call to Carol to let her know she'd probably be in court all afternoon, but the case should wrap-up then.

She didn't bother to call House. He was likely still at the diner having lunch. She'd see him there.

Sure enough, he sat in his usual place in the diner booth. Jessica was leaving as Cameron arrived, but Anita was only halfway through with a turkey sandwich.

After saying goodbye to Jessica, Cameron pointed to the sandwich. "That looks good."

"It is." Anita wiped mayo off her mouth. She kept glancing toward the counter. Cameron turned to look at who she was watching. Curt. Figured.

"If you want, you can invite him over."

"I wanna finish eating first. It'll prevent me from developing a bad taste in my mouth." Anita took another bite.

Linda came to take Cameron's order.

"I'll have the same as Anita." While she waited for the food, Anita and House caught her up on everything that had happened that morning.

"I took care of all the clinic patients," House said.

"You'll be glad to hear I'm going back to the court this afternoon, then," she told House. "Expect a large influx of new patients."

He looked like he wasn't sure how he felt about that. "But the trial will be over today?"

"I think so. Honestly, I don't even know why it went to trial." She pointed to the door. "Did I scare Jessica off somehow?"

"No. She promised Carter she'd be back soon with lunch for him. He has an appointment with me at two."

Cameron nodded. "Anita, sorry you couldn't get more from Steve. You'd think he'd feel obliged since he's in jail."

"Yeah, well, his attorney convinced him not to say any more, not that he needed much convincing." She pointed her chin at the counter. "I'm going over to find out what Curt thinks about that."

Anita left House and Cameron and sauntered over to the counter. Curt had shot glimpses her way all through lunch.

"You talk to Steve?"

She nodded. "I guess you knew he was in jail in Snow Hill."

"Yeah. So, what'd he say?"

"No more than he revealed in the past." She sat on the stool next to Curt's.

"I'm sure you have a theory about what happened."

"After he poisoned himself, I haven't known what to think." Curt sipped his coffee, then pushed it away. "The waitress has filled this three times already. I've had enough caffeine for the day."

"You're avoiding my question."

Curt smirked. "You didn't actually ask one."

"What do you think happened to Steve at Lorelei's apartment?"

Curt shrugged. "All I know is he was definitely unconscious when I arrived."

Her brows suddenly lowered. "You never really said why you were there?"

"He called. Said someone was in the apartment."

She nodded. That almost agreed with what Steve said, except he never actually said he called Curt. Could Curt have been the one who attacked him? Did they plan it together? She wouldn't put it past either of them.

"What can you tell me about Harve?"

"What's to tell?" Curt sighed. "Everything pointed to him being a double agent, working with Lorelei's grandparents. He and Steve came here, mostly to check out their deaths, but they didn't get much information before Harve was killed and that changed the situation. After the attack on Steve, it looked like he had more to do with whatever was going on, maybe not as an agent for the other side, but caught between them and us."

"That actually makes sense."

"Of course it does. Anita, I know there's no love lost between us..."

"I can trust you only so far." She held her hands several inches apart.

He nodded. "But you have to believe I'm telling you the truth. I have no idea where Les comes into this, or what Steve's game is."

"Okay. I'll accept that."

"Thanks." He studied her face. "And if there's anything you know that I don't, please tell me, because I've been going round and round trying to look at the facts from different angles."

"All I know is Senator Carmichael's aide, Kevin Palmer, was feeding Steve intel and now Palmer is missing."

Curt's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. "What kind of intel?"

"Whatever might have passed through the senator's office. I haven't checked what committees he's on, but according to Les, this puts a dangerous wrinkle into an already complex situation."

"Think I'll give Les a call. Maybe he and I can decide what to do," Curt said.

Anita could see Curt's calculating mind sifting through all of the possible scenarios. The number and variety made her glad she'd quit the bureau, although she was still too curious about what the outcome would be to let it go.