Sorry for the wait but very busy and unable to do much writing. This is

a very short chapter that I hope will tide people over until I can write a longer one.

Please be patient - busy time of year!

"So when did they let you out?"

"A couple of hours ago. Jennifer picked me up."

"You should've given me a call. I could've picked you up."

"I thought you weren't allowed to drive for a few more days?"

"Well, I'm sure I could've driven to your place from the hospital. It's not that far, you know." There was a snort and a laugh on the other end of the line. "What?"

"Okay, I can tell you need a few more days off. You have no idea what you just said, do you?"

"What? I said I could've driven to your place from the hospital. So?"

"Think about it." There was a couple of very long seconds of silence. "So…? How were you going to get to the hospital…?"

There was another long silence then, "Oh yeah…. I guess I would've had to drive to the hospital from here…"

"Unh-hunh… and then after dropping me off at my home, you would've had to drive all the way back to yours…"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh well, it was a thought."

"It was a nice thought, and I appreciate it. It just wasn't a… practical thought."

"Yeah, well, I would've had to get my keys back from Attila the Hun anyway, and I don't think that would've happened either."

There was a short, confused pause. "What?"

"She, ah, she took my car keys."

"Who took your car keys? Sandra? You call her Attila the Hun?"

"Yeah. Well, not to her face, of course. But she's turned out to be a real… dictator. She said I was told not to drive and she was going to make sure I didn't. So she took my keys."

"Is she still staying with you?"

"No. She moved home this morning, but she told me she would be stopping by every night after dinner to check on me - whether I like it or not, were her exact words - until she was satisfied I was okay and that's when she would give me my keys back."

"You, ah, you sound kinda… sanguine about it."

"If that means I've resigned myself to my fate and I've decided not to fight it for the time being, then, yes, I'm sanguine about it." They both chuckled. "So how are you feeling?"

"Well, my chest is still pretty sore, so I won't be going anywhere for awhile either. I've been told to get as much rest as I can for the next few days but to 'stay active'. My doctor suggested going for walks but when I told him where I live I thought he was going to have a heart attack. So Jennifer's going to drive me to Golden Gate Park tomorrow and we're gonna go for a slow walk around the lake."

"That sounds nice. Make sure you just walk though, right?"

"Ha ha, very funny. To be honest, I can't do much more than just walk for awhile anyway. At least not if I want to get back to work before the end of the year."

"Has she moved in with you?"

"Yeah… but she's going to sleep on the couch."

'Yeah… right… that's gonna happen…"

"It's just gonna be for a couple of days."

"Unh-hunh. So… you want me to try to find a supply of saltpeter?" The question was punctuated with a snort and a chuckle.

"You know that's an old wives' tale, right?"

"It is? Damn, and I thought it was true. Oh well, I guess you're just going to have to depend on your… self-control…"

There was a telling pause. "You sound skeptical."

"I know you."

"Point taken." They shared another laugh. "So, have you heard anything about Sykes and Stayner?"

"Not much. I do believe there's a concerted effort to keep everything from me during 'my recovery', which is, you know, pissing me off more than I can say…. But I managed to wheedle a couple of things out of Dan last night when he came by to pick his wife up."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Well, he wouldn't give me any details but he did say Gerry is almost ready to charge them with the homeless murders."

"What did they find?"

"He wouldn't tell me, even though I'm the boss and I ordered him to." There was a short, sharp harrumph.

"Did it work?"

"No…. I'm on sick leave, remember…? I've got all the authority of a paper bag at the moment." There was a warm chuckle on the other end of the line. "Anyway, look, ah, I'll let you go so you can get some rest. I'm glad you're home. And, ah, and if I can swing it, I'm gonna try to see if they'll get together with us sometime in the next few days and fill us in on what's happening."

"That sounds good."

"So, ah, I'm pretty sure they don't want us coming into the Hall and I don't want you to even try my stairs here… so are you up to maybe having a little get together at your place so they can bring us up to speed?"

"Sure, of course. When do you think?"

"I don't know. I'll find out and let you know as soon as I can, okay?"

"Okay, sounds good."

"Okay. So, ah, you take care of yourself, and make sure Jennifer doesn't give you too much… attention… and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Ooooo, it's so hard not to give in to that… attention, you know…"

"I know, but I have faith in you, hang in there, buddy boy…" They shared a warm chuckle. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight, Mike."

"Goodnight."