A/N:  Thanks to everyone for the encouraging, helpful reviews.  I know you can empathize with my joy at receiving them.  So continue reviewing.  As far as "flames" are concerned, my take is entirely this:  "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." (Proverbs 15:1)  Mary, my friend, I'm gonna love you whether you like it or not.  And on with the show.

Getting to Know You (Part Two)

            Jesse stood behind the glass partition, nervously watching Steve talk with Miss. Nelson.

            "Would you like something to drink?  Coffee?"

            "That would be nice; thank you."

            Steve nodded to the other officer in the room who left to get the coffee.  "We don't think Mr. Harrow had a heart attack."

            "Not a heart attack?  Then how did he die?"

            "We believe he was given a fatal drug that caused his heart to stop."

            "Drugs?  Did the doctor kill him; malpractice?"

            Steve's eyes narrowed.  He could just imagine Jesse cringing behind the mirror.  "No, we believe he was murdered."

            Julie looked shocked.  "Murdered?  Who on earth would murder Mr. Harrow?  I don't think he had an enemy in the entire world."

            Steve just nodded and looked down at his notes.  "I understand you worked in Boston before here; is it a nice city?"

            "Yes."

            "Your last boss—he died of a heart attack, too, didn't he?"

            "Well, yes…but it's not as though he was given any drugs.  One minute he was dictating me a memo and the next I was giving him CPR.  I should have known it would happen, you know?  I mean, he had cholesterol like you wouldn't believe.  And now Mr. Harrow—I feel like a jinx."

            "And your last boss—he was involved in an embezzling scam, I understand."

            Miss. Nelson frowned but nodded.  "After he died, some of the embezzled funds were traced to an account of his in the Caymans.  But I don't think he did it; they were looking for a scapegoat and Mr. Robinson couldn't exactly defend himself.  Frankly, I think they just took advantage of his death."

            "I thought the same thing."

            Julie's brow furrowed.  "Why exactly did you call me in here, Detective?  You don't possibly think I had anything to do with this?"

            "Actually, you're our prime suspect at the moment."  Steve loved interrogations; there was a perverse pleasure in playing people.  He should have been a psychiatrist.

            "How can you even accuse me of something like that?" she asked indignantly.  "I would never hurt Mr. Harrow.  Ever!"

            Behind the glass, Mark turned to Jesse.  "She's very convincing."

            "What if she's telling the truth?"

            Mark's eyes widened in surprise.  "Do you think she's innocent now?"

            "I don't know.  Maybe.  When we talked with her before, I felt so sure she had done something.  It was a gut feeling, y'know?  But now, I guess I'm having doubts."

            "Jesse, I have always relied on my gut feelings, and often in opposition to others.  I can't even count the number of times I've pursued something to Steve's great annoyance, although I'm sure he could.  Go with that gut feeling, Jess.  It'll rarely steer you wrong."

            The younger man laughed sadly.  "I guess I'm just having doubts about everything, huh?  At least I can be sure she lied about his drinking and smoking; Amanda's report said his liver and lungs were in perfect shape.  Well, as great as they could be considering his weight and age."

            Back in the interrogation room, Julie was incensed.  "I cannot believe this!  Somebody drugs my boss and you think I had something to do with it; those problems on his admittance forms were just mistakes!"

            "How do you "accidentally" say that someone smokes and drinks?"

            "I don't know!  I was scared and confused; Mr. Harrow was throwing up and doubled over—he said there was blood in his diarrhea!  How can you expect me to answer a couple of questions correctly when my boss looked like he was going to die?"

            Steve raised an eyebrow.  "It's funny, because you said that you had answered them correctly and that Mrs. Harrow was mistaken."

            Julie's face fell.  "Well, I—I mean…"

            "See, the thing is, we know that Mr. Harrow didn't smoke or drink.  The pathologist's report indicated that both his lungs and his liver were in excellent condition.  There was no indication of smoking or excessive drinking."

            "Look, I did make a mistake on his forms.  I just didn't want to admit it because I thought it might have contributed to what happened.  Y'know, maybe because I didn't get down his information correctly, the doctors screwed up.  I didn't want to be responsible."

            Mark smiled at his friend.  "Tell me she isn't lying through her teeth."

            Jesse didn't say anything but continued watching intently.  It was the next question and answer that did away with all his doubts.

            "That could be possible," Steve observed slowly (there really was nothing as enjoyable as a good interrogation).  "But you also had the means of killing him—Pete Cummings.  He's your boyfriend, he has medical knowledge, and he has access to drugs.  And I think that if we look into the accounts at your brokerage company, we're going to find some misdirected funds.  Don't you?"

            Miss. Nelson's face suddenly hardened.  "I think I'd like my lawyer now, please."

            They couldn't hold her.  There wasn't any real evidence; the financial accounts hadn't been processed fully and lying does not constitute murder (much to Jesse's dismay).  After being released, Julie sat in her apartment with Pete.

            "This is insane!  Everything seemed so simple, and now it's unraveling!"

            "It's gonna be okay, honey.  I'm telling you, we should just leave—go to Mexico or Canada or anywhere that isn't here.  Please, Julie, let's just go."

            That only infuriated her.  "No!  I will not just go.  I don't care what they do or say or where they look, they can't pin Bill's death on me.  They can't!  Pete, what are we gonna do?  I sent that letter to Dr. Travis and it only landed me in an interrogation room; it's that stupid doctor.  He's the one who started this whole mess.  He should have taken the hint and dropped the matter."

            "Jule, Mark Sloan is famous solving crimes and Travis is his little protégé.  There's no way a letter is gonna get them to stop looking.  They're gonna hound us, baby.  I'm telling you we need to leave."

            There was a long pause while Julie considered her boyfriend's words.  Sadly, her response was not what Pete had hoped for.  "So, a letter's not gonna do the trick, huh?  Maybe Dr. Travis needs more incentive.  Maybe he needs to get out of the way; voluntarily or not."