A/N - I have to stop writing this. Spending way too much time on this
sucker. Okay, this chapter is very - all over the place. Just don't blink,
or you'll miss something. Once again, thanks for the fantastic response
guys. It is very encouraging. Rock on!
Oh I don't own starbucks, cambridge or NYU. Or the characters.
~~~~~
"Is there a party going on or what?" asked Danny as he took a seat at his desk. His gaze followed Sam as she walked towards Vivian who was waiting outside Jack's office.
Martin smiled, "I wish. Jack called me back to run background checks on the professors and he and Vivian came back wanting half the school."
"He should've interviewed them there. I don't understand why he's bringing them all in," said Danny.
"It's only four people. The professors kept claiming they were busy and wouldn't speak with us, and the kid, well, he figured he'd get them up in one foul swoop."
"I get that, I just grow tired of this process every time," said Danny. "We talk to the people, they hold back information. Something happens and 'Oh, I never told you that. Whoops.' We could work so much faster if they would be straight with us the first time around." He leaned back in his chair and stretched. This case was getting on his nerves. He couldn't tell if she ran away, or if she was kidnapped and these people weren't giving him what he wanted.
"No kidding," agreed Martin. "Did you hear what Samantha found?" Danny shook his head. "She finally got in touch with the grandmother. The woman hasn't seen her in a year, and wasn't worried in the slightest. She told Samantha to 'hold tight. She'll show up. She always does.'"
"So the girl has done this before?"
"Apparently, but this was when she lived back at home. She would have to have completely different circumstances this time around for her to just pick up and go. You should have seen Sam. She almost threw the phone across the room when she was done talking with the old bag. Quite humorous," smirked Martin.
"I don't know," said Danny, shaking his head. "Sam's in a funk. You know how she gets. 'No man can do right' in that kind of mood. Whatever, I will never in my life understand women."
"I don't think we're meant to," said Martin, glancing in Sam's direction.
Sam waited for Vivian to come back out of Jack's office. Vivian opened the door shaking her head.
"We can't get a thing on any of the men. This girl has all but vanished. Did you get a trace on when she was last at her apartment?" she asked.
"I tried speaking with forensics but one of the techs kept talking about getting this machine to detect the smells in her apartment and he was trying to match up her scent to what they found and by that they could try to date when she was there last," Sam stopped at the perplexed look on Vivian's face. She smiled and shook her head, "I got lost so he told me to check back in an hour."
"Sounds good to me. I'm going to recheck all the hospitals again to make sure she hasn't come in recently."
"Yeah, I'm waiting for Jack to finish up with the boyfriend," she said as she looked in at the young man sitting in one of Jack's black leather chairs.
"So, Troy. I understand you want to become a minister."
"Yes that's right."
"And Melanie was looking at becoming a political analyst? Interesting combination."
"Actually, Anna thinks that Melanie should. She'd be great at it, but I really think that Melanie is going to be a lobbyist. She interned briefly with one of those non-profit organizations for children in D.C. over the summer. Kids are her passion," Troy smiled. "We don't have that much spare time, but when we do, we go to our church and help out with the day care program. The kids love her a lot, they're always drawing her pictures to take home and everything. She keeps a notebook with every single drawing," he started to frown, blinking back tears.
"Did you know she had an apartment in the city?" asked Jack quietly. He wanted to remain as casual and non-confrontational as possible. The young man furrowed his brow as if remembering.
"Oh my gosh. I didn't even think about it. I've only been there once and that was almost a year ago."
"Did you stay the night?"
"Goodness no. We are both strong advocates for no premarital sex. It wouldn't do much for my image either as a minister if we gave into our temptations now."
"So were you two looking at getting married?"
He grinned sheepishly. "We haven't spoken of it directly, I mean we talk about the future, but never in that much detail."
"You're afraid?" offered Jack.
"No, we uh, well. I think it was more on her part. At least, from what I could tell recently,"
"How so?"
"I keep replaying this over and over in my mind and I still can't get the gist of it. The last time I saw her we had this big argument about her wanting to transfer to NYU. I kept asking her why she wanted to leave and she wouldn't tell me. I asked if we were still going to stay together and she kept saying yes, but that she had to leave."
"You have no idea why she wanted to transfer?"
"All this mess started around the end of that wretched project. The stress, anger, isolation - all of it," he said with a huff.
"Do you know which professor she worked more closely with?"
"During different times it was different ones, Dr. Raymond was more hands on with their subjects, always out there, a very congenial man. Dr. Mackenzie was more the brains behind the whole thing. She's one of the most brilliant people I've ever met. But yeah, Mel worked closely with both of them, but its not like they were great friends or anything."
"Do you know anything about Dr. Thompson?"
"Yeah he's a cool guy, he'll play pick-up soccer games with me and the guys occasionally. Melanie had him last quarter I think. They got along really well from what I could tell."
Jack glanced at the door and saw Sam waiting for him.
"Excuse me a moment, I'll be right back," Jack got up from his chair and quickly opened the door.
Sam looked up over her file and smiled. "How's it going in there?" she asked.
"Pretty good. I think the kid is good to go. My youngest looks more guilty than he does."
"Yeah, I just came to tell you that both he and Thompson checked out for the Wednesday night. Harris' roommates and RA said they were studying that night, and Thompson's hotel buddy checked on him every hour to make sure he was doing all right."
"Thanks. I already spoke with Raymond and I have Mackenzie and that Hodges guy next," he said leaning against the wall.
"How was Raymond?" she asked with a sideways look. She'd been at the lab when he was interviewed. "I haven't heard much on him."
"He checked out all right, but I can't quite put a finger on what it is about him. He is very skilled in dealing with people. Knows what to say, when to say it, the proper display of emotion. He had a very calculated, deliberate in response. I can see where that would come off as being charismatic, but I think it is much more of a learned trait than natural."
Sam nodded her head, remaining quiet.
"I want him followed tonight. We'll figure that out once I'm done. Hey, I know Viv went to check on the hospitals, but can you tell her to come in here when she's done?"
"Will do," Sam strode away, heading towards her desk.
"I have a present for you," said Martin, leaning over her desk.
"If it barks or requires water I don't want it," she shot back with a grin.
"Well, I'm glad I kept my receipt. Just in case you rejected me, I brought you an angst-filled CD. Enjoy," he plopped it down on her desk and walked back to the conference table.
Sam relayed Jack's message to Vivian and got ready to listen to the song that was playing in Melanie's apartment.
"Hey Sam?" said Danny as he unglued his eyes from the computer screen.
"Yeah?"
"Have you taken a break in a while?"
"Nope."
"Do you want to take it now?" he asked with the right amount of sweetness.
Knowing where this was headed, she rolled her eyes. "What do you want from Starbucks?"
"Grande Toffee Nut Frappaccino. You're great Sam," he said while handing her a five and giving her a 100 watt smile.
"I know I am. Does anyone want anything else?" she asked. She took Martin and Vivian's orders and made her way to the exit of the building. Danny knew her way too well. She knew he just wanted her to get out of there and take a break. Who knew men had intuition?
She walked into the shop full of caffeine addicts and coffee fiends, scanning the room as she always did when she entered a new atmosphere. It was sad the way someone becomes so used to their job that it carries over into outside life - little things like scanning a room for suspicious people or looking for all available exits when entering a building.
She placed her order and got Jack an expresso. She stood off to the side waiting for the drinks with her eyes transfixed to a cranberry orange muffin; her mind slowly falling back into the abyss of which it had just climbed out hour before.
"Samantha Spade," said a familiar voice from behind her, sending shivers up her spine. She turned around with a guarded look.
"Hello Clay."
~~~~~~~
Jack sat with Dr. Mackenzie for ten minutes, learning briefly about the project and what exactly it entailed; how involved it was and how much Melanie did.
"She's a great kid, Agent Malone. When she won that award she was completely shocked. Melanie earned it though, every bit of respect and esteem, she deserved it."
"This award, it went along with the fellowship?" Jack asked, easing back into his chair.
"Not always. The Dubois Fellowship awards students who are nationally recognized as exemplary scholars who have made extraordinary advances in their field of study. Only ten students out of the nation receive this fellowship, and spend the summer at Cambridge University with the world's leading scientists and doctors. It basically writes your future for you. The Parker Achievement award normally goes with the Dubois Fellowship, but has been awarded separately in the past. Parker and Dubois were two rich old men who did a lot of scientific research in about ten areas of medicine and psychology. They died, and now their money goes for the cause of improving the future."
"Sounds wonderful in theory," Jack said.
Dr. Mackenzie laughed. For a woman nearing her sixties, she appeared to be on the early end of her forties. "No, it really is. I've had the opportunity to meet with some of these students who win awards like this. They are utterly devoted to their work, making advances in areas that have sometimes been deemed obsolete."
"Didn't you have a student win a while ago?"
"Yes. She was outstanding. She had this ability to empathize with patients and those she worked with in the study. It was insane - the amount of compassion she had for others," she said wistfully. "She'd come back wracked with sobbing just from staying around these women, even men, who were abuse victims."
"Sounds like a great girl. What happened to her?"
"I can't really tell you. She ended up turning down the fellowship and transferring to another school. We lost contact after that," she ended with a frown.
"Must have been hard, seeing that kind of effort and talent wasted."
"Oh it wasn't wasted. I can assure you she turned out all right. Most of my students do wonderfully once they get out and find their feet."
"I bet they do," he agreed. He looked at the clock, 3:15. "I have a few more questions for you and I think we'll be finished here," he said, opening up a notebook that contained his notes. "Do you and Dr. Raymond work closely on many projects?"
"I work as closely with him as I do my other associates. Sometimes we co- write articles together and submit them to various journals. But I've done that with all my colleagues. He is an excellent teacher, I assure you."
"Have you ever had any reports against him?"
"Never. The faculty at this school adheres to a strict conduct code with students. The rules are rarely broken."
"I am merely covering the bases, Dr. Mackenzie. And his graduate assistant Clayton Hodges, what about him?"
"Clayton used to go to school here about ten years ago, graduated, earned a lot of money and started his own business in investigating or research. Very bright man," she said, crossing her arms. "He closed up shop and came back in search of a new beginning and Dr. Raymond gladly took him as a pupil."
"And when is the last time you saw Melanie?"
"I was coming out of my office headed towards a meeting," she recollected. "I guess in the hallway with Clayton. She was speaking with him about something."
"About what time would you say that was?"
"I usually get out of there rather late. I want to say close to seven. Yes it was about ten of seven be cause I was running late," she looked away. "I'm not the most punctual person in the world."
Jack finished up with Dr. Mackenzie then went out to check on the crew. Hodges was next up, but Jack wanted a break. "Hey Viv how you coming with the hospital check?"
"I've had three different places say they've seen her. The problem is that none of the accounts are accurate, and the person I'm with right now has kindly let me listen to Kenny G for the last five minutes."
"Lucky you," he grinned. "Come give me a hand in a couple of minutes will ya?"
"Sure."
"Danny, what's going on?"
"Martin and I were brainstorming. I think she ran away. She couldn't handle the stress and all the expectations, so she up and left."
"Nah, I think something happened at that school to trigger her leaving like that," said Martin. "Everyone says she was a responsible girl. Some of those professors seem a little off, but its all a matter of perspective."
"I think you are right about the trigger," said Jack resting on the table. "I have a pretty good idea as to what it was. I just need to wait to see if my hunch is confirmed."
"You think Hodges had something to do with this?"
"I'm about to find out," said Jack. He glanced in the direction of his office when he saw Samantha walking down the hallway, hands full and a blank expression.
"Samantha to the rescue," said Danny as he received his drink.
"Hey what can I say, I'm here to serve," she replied with a sarcastic tone. She passed out the rest of the drinks, receiving gratuitous smiles and 'thank yous' in return. Jack returned to his office shortly thereafter and commenced questioning Clayton Hodges, who happened to arrive no more than five minutes after Sam.
She sat down at her desk and just sort of stared. She couldn't quite focus on anything because the thoughts in her mind kept bouncing back and forth, telling her contradicting things. She felt herself wandering back 15 minutes to her not brief enough conversation with Clayton Hodges.
"Long time no see," he smiled, offering his hand. She took it briefly and tried to disregard the fleeting sensation to get out of coffee shop as soon as possible.
"Not long enough," she replied archly. Feigning ignorance, she asked for his reason on being in that part of the city at such an odd hour."
"I have a meeting," he replied. Just as enigmatic as always. Things never change. His glasses were gone, his suit fit him perfectly and he had taken a shower. Amazing what a couple hours could do for a person. "What brings you up north? Last time I checked you were in Washington."
"Well, let's just say I'm here on business," she was glad her badge was on the inside of her jacket, hidden from the general public and curious eyes.
They maintained a civil conversation until her order was called up. "Listen, I have to get back. Caffeine junkies at work won't wait."
"I always knew you'd make a great secretary," he said, giving her another once over.
"Don't you know it. Well, have a great day," she said, grabbing the cardboard tray quickly.
Her hands went to her temples and massaged as she tried to work away the oncoming headache. She sighed quietly and sat back in her chair, taking a sip of her drink. She knew what she was supposed to do when an agent could be traced to a case. Remove herself immediately. Putting the earphones on and pushing play, she brushed her thoughts aside and let the music sink in. She listened to the song over and over again, getting different feelings each time around.
The song opened up with a dark melody and then went straight to a crashing chorus. A heavy beat kept the pulse with electronica flow peppering the song, and the girls voice was pure, but tormented.
Watching me wanting me
I can feel you pull me down
Saving me raping me
Watching me
Sam listened to the rest of the cd, and feeling a tear escape, she pulled off the earphones and quickly wiped the tear away. She knew what she had to do. It was now or never. Her phone rang causing her to jump slightly. It was forensics. They couldn't find a match with any scent from her apartment to her dorm that was recent. They did find however, tobacco and physical traces of it around her apartment. A specific tobacco blend - Black Cavendish- for pipes. They called around and followed it to a local shop. She swallowed the huge knot forming in her throat as she hung up the phone.
Danny got up from the table and walked over to his desk, grabbing his other favorite pen. He stopped when he got a look at Sam.
"Hey you okay?" he asked quietly.
Without blinking or betraying any feeling, she looked him straight in the eye. "I'm fine," she offered with a small smile.
~~~~~
"Is there a party going on or what?" asked Danny as he took a seat at his desk. His gaze followed Sam as she walked towards Vivian who was waiting outside Jack's office.
Martin smiled, "I wish. Jack called me back to run background checks on the professors and he and Vivian came back wanting half the school."
"He should've interviewed them there. I don't understand why he's bringing them all in," said Danny.
"It's only four people. The professors kept claiming they were busy and wouldn't speak with us, and the kid, well, he figured he'd get them up in one foul swoop."
"I get that, I just grow tired of this process every time," said Danny. "We talk to the people, they hold back information. Something happens and 'Oh, I never told you that. Whoops.' We could work so much faster if they would be straight with us the first time around." He leaned back in his chair and stretched. This case was getting on his nerves. He couldn't tell if she ran away, or if she was kidnapped and these people weren't giving him what he wanted.
"No kidding," agreed Martin. "Did you hear what Samantha found?" Danny shook his head. "She finally got in touch with the grandmother. The woman hasn't seen her in a year, and wasn't worried in the slightest. She told Samantha to 'hold tight. She'll show up. She always does.'"
"So the girl has done this before?"
"Apparently, but this was when she lived back at home. She would have to have completely different circumstances this time around for her to just pick up and go. You should have seen Sam. She almost threw the phone across the room when she was done talking with the old bag. Quite humorous," smirked Martin.
"I don't know," said Danny, shaking his head. "Sam's in a funk. You know how she gets. 'No man can do right' in that kind of mood. Whatever, I will never in my life understand women."
"I don't think we're meant to," said Martin, glancing in Sam's direction.
Sam waited for Vivian to come back out of Jack's office. Vivian opened the door shaking her head.
"We can't get a thing on any of the men. This girl has all but vanished. Did you get a trace on when she was last at her apartment?" she asked.
"I tried speaking with forensics but one of the techs kept talking about getting this machine to detect the smells in her apartment and he was trying to match up her scent to what they found and by that they could try to date when she was there last," Sam stopped at the perplexed look on Vivian's face. She smiled and shook her head, "I got lost so he told me to check back in an hour."
"Sounds good to me. I'm going to recheck all the hospitals again to make sure she hasn't come in recently."
"Yeah, I'm waiting for Jack to finish up with the boyfriend," she said as she looked in at the young man sitting in one of Jack's black leather chairs.
"So, Troy. I understand you want to become a minister."
"Yes that's right."
"And Melanie was looking at becoming a political analyst? Interesting combination."
"Actually, Anna thinks that Melanie should. She'd be great at it, but I really think that Melanie is going to be a lobbyist. She interned briefly with one of those non-profit organizations for children in D.C. over the summer. Kids are her passion," Troy smiled. "We don't have that much spare time, but when we do, we go to our church and help out with the day care program. The kids love her a lot, they're always drawing her pictures to take home and everything. She keeps a notebook with every single drawing," he started to frown, blinking back tears.
"Did you know she had an apartment in the city?" asked Jack quietly. He wanted to remain as casual and non-confrontational as possible. The young man furrowed his brow as if remembering.
"Oh my gosh. I didn't even think about it. I've only been there once and that was almost a year ago."
"Did you stay the night?"
"Goodness no. We are both strong advocates for no premarital sex. It wouldn't do much for my image either as a minister if we gave into our temptations now."
"So were you two looking at getting married?"
He grinned sheepishly. "We haven't spoken of it directly, I mean we talk about the future, but never in that much detail."
"You're afraid?" offered Jack.
"No, we uh, well. I think it was more on her part. At least, from what I could tell recently,"
"How so?"
"I keep replaying this over and over in my mind and I still can't get the gist of it. The last time I saw her we had this big argument about her wanting to transfer to NYU. I kept asking her why she wanted to leave and she wouldn't tell me. I asked if we were still going to stay together and she kept saying yes, but that she had to leave."
"You have no idea why she wanted to transfer?"
"All this mess started around the end of that wretched project. The stress, anger, isolation - all of it," he said with a huff.
"Do you know which professor she worked more closely with?"
"During different times it was different ones, Dr. Raymond was more hands on with their subjects, always out there, a very congenial man. Dr. Mackenzie was more the brains behind the whole thing. She's one of the most brilliant people I've ever met. But yeah, Mel worked closely with both of them, but its not like they were great friends or anything."
"Do you know anything about Dr. Thompson?"
"Yeah he's a cool guy, he'll play pick-up soccer games with me and the guys occasionally. Melanie had him last quarter I think. They got along really well from what I could tell."
Jack glanced at the door and saw Sam waiting for him.
"Excuse me a moment, I'll be right back," Jack got up from his chair and quickly opened the door.
Sam looked up over her file and smiled. "How's it going in there?" she asked.
"Pretty good. I think the kid is good to go. My youngest looks more guilty than he does."
"Yeah, I just came to tell you that both he and Thompson checked out for the Wednesday night. Harris' roommates and RA said they were studying that night, and Thompson's hotel buddy checked on him every hour to make sure he was doing all right."
"Thanks. I already spoke with Raymond and I have Mackenzie and that Hodges guy next," he said leaning against the wall.
"How was Raymond?" she asked with a sideways look. She'd been at the lab when he was interviewed. "I haven't heard much on him."
"He checked out all right, but I can't quite put a finger on what it is about him. He is very skilled in dealing with people. Knows what to say, when to say it, the proper display of emotion. He had a very calculated, deliberate in response. I can see where that would come off as being charismatic, but I think it is much more of a learned trait than natural."
Sam nodded her head, remaining quiet.
"I want him followed tonight. We'll figure that out once I'm done. Hey, I know Viv went to check on the hospitals, but can you tell her to come in here when she's done?"
"Will do," Sam strode away, heading towards her desk.
"I have a present for you," said Martin, leaning over her desk.
"If it barks or requires water I don't want it," she shot back with a grin.
"Well, I'm glad I kept my receipt. Just in case you rejected me, I brought you an angst-filled CD. Enjoy," he plopped it down on her desk and walked back to the conference table.
Sam relayed Jack's message to Vivian and got ready to listen to the song that was playing in Melanie's apartment.
"Hey Sam?" said Danny as he unglued his eyes from the computer screen.
"Yeah?"
"Have you taken a break in a while?"
"Nope."
"Do you want to take it now?" he asked with the right amount of sweetness.
Knowing where this was headed, she rolled her eyes. "What do you want from Starbucks?"
"Grande Toffee Nut Frappaccino. You're great Sam," he said while handing her a five and giving her a 100 watt smile.
"I know I am. Does anyone want anything else?" she asked. She took Martin and Vivian's orders and made her way to the exit of the building. Danny knew her way too well. She knew he just wanted her to get out of there and take a break. Who knew men had intuition?
She walked into the shop full of caffeine addicts and coffee fiends, scanning the room as she always did when she entered a new atmosphere. It was sad the way someone becomes so used to their job that it carries over into outside life - little things like scanning a room for suspicious people or looking for all available exits when entering a building.
She placed her order and got Jack an expresso. She stood off to the side waiting for the drinks with her eyes transfixed to a cranberry orange muffin; her mind slowly falling back into the abyss of which it had just climbed out hour before.
"Samantha Spade," said a familiar voice from behind her, sending shivers up her spine. She turned around with a guarded look.
"Hello Clay."
~~~~~~~
Jack sat with Dr. Mackenzie for ten minutes, learning briefly about the project and what exactly it entailed; how involved it was and how much Melanie did.
"She's a great kid, Agent Malone. When she won that award she was completely shocked. Melanie earned it though, every bit of respect and esteem, she deserved it."
"This award, it went along with the fellowship?" Jack asked, easing back into his chair.
"Not always. The Dubois Fellowship awards students who are nationally recognized as exemplary scholars who have made extraordinary advances in their field of study. Only ten students out of the nation receive this fellowship, and spend the summer at Cambridge University with the world's leading scientists and doctors. It basically writes your future for you. The Parker Achievement award normally goes with the Dubois Fellowship, but has been awarded separately in the past. Parker and Dubois were two rich old men who did a lot of scientific research in about ten areas of medicine and psychology. They died, and now their money goes for the cause of improving the future."
"Sounds wonderful in theory," Jack said.
Dr. Mackenzie laughed. For a woman nearing her sixties, she appeared to be on the early end of her forties. "No, it really is. I've had the opportunity to meet with some of these students who win awards like this. They are utterly devoted to their work, making advances in areas that have sometimes been deemed obsolete."
"Didn't you have a student win a while ago?"
"Yes. She was outstanding. She had this ability to empathize with patients and those she worked with in the study. It was insane - the amount of compassion she had for others," she said wistfully. "She'd come back wracked with sobbing just from staying around these women, even men, who were abuse victims."
"Sounds like a great girl. What happened to her?"
"I can't really tell you. She ended up turning down the fellowship and transferring to another school. We lost contact after that," she ended with a frown.
"Must have been hard, seeing that kind of effort and talent wasted."
"Oh it wasn't wasted. I can assure you she turned out all right. Most of my students do wonderfully once they get out and find their feet."
"I bet they do," he agreed. He looked at the clock, 3:15. "I have a few more questions for you and I think we'll be finished here," he said, opening up a notebook that contained his notes. "Do you and Dr. Raymond work closely on many projects?"
"I work as closely with him as I do my other associates. Sometimes we co- write articles together and submit them to various journals. But I've done that with all my colleagues. He is an excellent teacher, I assure you."
"Have you ever had any reports against him?"
"Never. The faculty at this school adheres to a strict conduct code with students. The rules are rarely broken."
"I am merely covering the bases, Dr. Mackenzie. And his graduate assistant Clayton Hodges, what about him?"
"Clayton used to go to school here about ten years ago, graduated, earned a lot of money and started his own business in investigating or research. Very bright man," she said, crossing her arms. "He closed up shop and came back in search of a new beginning and Dr. Raymond gladly took him as a pupil."
"And when is the last time you saw Melanie?"
"I was coming out of my office headed towards a meeting," she recollected. "I guess in the hallway with Clayton. She was speaking with him about something."
"About what time would you say that was?"
"I usually get out of there rather late. I want to say close to seven. Yes it was about ten of seven be cause I was running late," she looked away. "I'm not the most punctual person in the world."
Jack finished up with Dr. Mackenzie then went out to check on the crew. Hodges was next up, but Jack wanted a break. "Hey Viv how you coming with the hospital check?"
"I've had three different places say they've seen her. The problem is that none of the accounts are accurate, and the person I'm with right now has kindly let me listen to Kenny G for the last five minutes."
"Lucky you," he grinned. "Come give me a hand in a couple of minutes will ya?"
"Sure."
"Danny, what's going on?"
"Martin and I were brainstorming. I think she ran away. She couldn't handle the stress and all the expectations, so she up and left."
"Nah, I think something happened at that school to trigger her leaving like that," said Martin. "Everyone says she was a responsible girl. Some of those professors seem a little off, but its all a matter of perspective."
"I think you are right about the trigger," said Jack resting on the table. "I have a pretty good idea as to what it was. I just need to wait to see if my hunch is confirmed."
"You think Hodges had something to do with this?"
"I'm about to find out," said Jack. He glanced in the direction of his office when he saw Samantha walking down the hallway, hands full and a blank expression.
"Samantha to the rescue," said Danny as he received his drink.
"Hey what can I say, I'm here to serve," she replied with a sarcastic tone. She passed out the rest of the drinks, receiving gratuitous smiles and 'thank yous' in return. Jack returned to his office shortly thereafter and commenced questioning Clayton Hodges, who happened to arrive no more than five minutes after Sam.
She sat down at her desk and just sort of stared. She couldn't quite focus on anything because the thoughts in her mind kept bouncing back and forth, telling her contradicting things. She felt herself wandering back 15 minutes to her not brief enough conversation with Clayton Hodges.
"Long time no see," he smiled, offering his hand. She took it briefly and tried to disregard the fleeting sensation to get out of coffee shop as soon as possible.
"Not long enough," she replied archly. Feigning ignorance, she asked for his reason on being in that part of the city at such an odd hour."
"I have a meeting," he replied. Just as enigmatic as always. Things never change. His glasses were gone, his suit fit him perfectly and he had taken a shower. Amazing what a couple hours could do for a person. "What brings you up north? Last time I checked you were in Washington."
"Well, let's just say I'm here on business," she was glad her badge was on the inside of her jacket, hidden from the general public and curious eyes.
They maintained a civil conversation until her order was called up. "Listen, I have to get back. Caffeine junkies at work won't wait."
"I always knew you'd make a great secretary," he said, giving her another once over.
"Don't you know it. Well, have a great day," she said, grabbing the cardboard tray quickly.
Her hands went to her temples and massaged as she tried to work away the oncoming headache. She sighed quietly and sat back in her chair, taking a sip of her drink. She knew what she was supposed to do when an agent could be traced to a case. Remove herself immediately. Putting the earphones on and pushing play, she brushed her thoughts aside and let the music sink in. She listened to the song over and over again, getting different feelings each time around.
The song opened up with a dark melody and then went straight to a crashing chorus. A heavy beat kept the pulse with electronica flow peppering the song, and the girls voice was pure, but tormented.
Watching me wanting me
I can feel you pull me down
Saving me raping me
Watching me
Sam listened to the rest of the cd, and feeling a tear escape, she pulled off the earphones and quickly wiped the tear away. She knew what she had to do. It was now or never. Her phone rang causing her to jump slightly. It was forensics. They couldn't find a match with any scent from her apartment to her dorm that was recent. They did find however, tobacco and physical traces of it around her apartment. A specific tobacco blend - Black Cavendish- for pipes. They called around and followed it to a local shop. She swallowed the huge knot forming in her throat as she hung up the phone.
Danny got up from the table and walked over to his desk, grabbing his other favorite pen. He stopped when he got a look at Sam.
"Hey you okay?" he asked quietly.
Without blinking or betraying any feeling, she looked him straight in the eye. "I'm fine," she offered with a small smile.