Chapter 3: Getting Hooked

Nancy was eating cereal the next morning when Maggie called to tell her that Face had taken Amy to the hospital, "Her water broke early this morning, so she'll probably have the baby sometime today," Maggie said, and added, "hopefully."

"How's she doing?" Nancy asked.

"Better than Face," Maggie said, laughing, "Mr. Calm, cool and collected sounded pretty stressed when he called this morning. Amy, on the other hand sounded very matter of fact."

Nancy chuckled, "Amy's just relieved to see the light at the end of the tunnel!"

Maggie told her there was probably no hurry, though Amy's water had broken she hadn't started laboring in earnest.  It would be awhile before the baby came.  Nancy promised she'd stop at the hospital that afternoon, after work, and made Maggie promise to call if there were any developments before then.

Nancy finished her cereal, rinsed her dishes, and put them in the dishwasher. She went to her home office and loaded the invoicing she'd completed into her briefcase and then headed out the door for work at Adam's Investigations.

Adam's Investigations was a small private investigation firm located in a second floor suite of offices in downtown Langley.  Riley Adams had started the company ten years before, after retiring from New York City Vice. A middle-aged, rough-looking character with a lopsided grin, that looked more like a grimace, Riley was really a soft touch, and had taken Nancy on as a protégé several years before, training her as a private investigator.  They worked well together, and Riley had been content in the past year, having made Nancy a full partner, to allow her to take over the business end of things, while he handled field operations.  She remained involved in many of the cases, primarily on a consulting basis. But with the pregnancy, she was spending very little time in the field, personally.

She knocked on the door to his office, which was ajar, pushing it open and poking her head in, "Hey, Riley - what's going on today?"

Riley motioned her to a chair, "I understand HM left again last night," he said as she came in.

Nancy dropped into a chair, "Good news travels fast, huh?  Who told you?"

"I heard from a rather unlikely source, actually," Riley admitted, "Your Uncle called last night, said he was on his way to Houston."

"Since when does Uncle keep you informed of his whereabouts?"

Riley shrugged, "He actually was making a business proposition, he wants to acquire your services for an investigation."

Nancy looked surprised, "What does he want our help for?"

Riley shook his head, "Not 'our' help, Nan, yours."

Now she was beginning to get irritated, "So why didn't he talk to me, then?"

Riley tried a soothing tone, "Because he didn't think you'd listen.  He said you tend to shut him off before he gets to finish what he has to say."

"Darn right," Nancy said grumpily, "That's 'cause every time he opens his mouth my life ends up in chaos."

"Well, at least hear it out," Riley suggested, "it's actually a good case for you right now, mostly research.  Shouldn't be impacted by your delicate condition."

"I don't know why I should listen," she said stubbornly, "He's just trying to get control of me, like he has control of my husband."

"Nancy, it's one case, and it's right up your alley," Riley reasoned, "besides, he was offering a hefty fee."

She sighed, "OK, give me the basics, but I'm not saying I'll do it."

Riley was just getting started telling her about the case which involved a CIA operative that had run into some trouble recently, when the phone rang.  Riley picked up, "Adams Investigations."

"You really should change the name to Murdock and Adams Investigations," Murdock said smoothly.

Riley shook his head with a smile, "If anything, it would Adams and Murdock Investigations . . . just a sec, HM, she's right here," he held the phone out to Nancy, "It's for you," he said unnecessarily, getting up and leaving the office without being asked.

Nancy watched him leave before saying, "Hi."

"Hey, Short Cake, how's it goin'?"

"I'm sorry about last night, HM," she said quietly.

"Me too, guess we were both kinda tired and frustrated."

"Yea . . ., Nancy said reflectively, then remembered, "Oh, Amy's in the hospital, her water broke this morning."

"How're they doing?" he asked.

"Amy's OK as far as I know . . ."

"How's Facey handlin' things?"

"Maggie said not so good, but I'm sure they'll be fine."

Murdock chuckled, "Face always does well under pressure, he'll come through."

"How long will you be gone?" Nancy almost dreaded the answer.

"Just a couple days - the General has a meeting in DC on Thursday, so we'll have to be back by then."

"See if you can get back by Wednesday morning, the ultrasound is at 1:30, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, "I'll tell your Uncle. That might be something he'll actually accommodate."

"I don't know about that," Nancy said uncertainly, "it may make him more likely to keep you out of town."

"I really don't think the punishment theory holds water, Nan," Murdock said, "I may not be wild about your uncle, but he cares about you. I just don't think that family matters enter into his consideration priority-wise"

"I suppose you're right," she admitted, "but I still think he's got way too much control over our lives right now.  Did you know he talked to Riley about hiring me for a case?"

"Absolutely not," Murdock said adamantly, "you shouldn't be working in the field."

"It's just a research job, nothing chancy," Nancy countered.

"I don't care," Murdock said quietly, "you can find trouble in the most unlikely places."

She stood up and began pacing, "I do not," she said defensively.

"OK," Murdock conceded, "so trouble finds you, either way you end up in the middle of it."

"Is this about Kennedy, again?"

"You bet," he said, "If we hadn't gotten home when we did you would have been dead.  I don't want to go through that again. I thought I'd lost you."

"I would have been fine, Joe was working on the search warrant.  He'd have made it," she said, adding, "Besides, messing around with Kennedy was hardly an unlikely place to find trouble."

"Joe wouldn't even have been working on the warrant yet - and Riley would still have been tied up on our couch," Murdock argued relentlessly, "You don't know when to back off. Joe and Riley – heck, even Brett Katt had warned you . . ."

Nancy broke in, "Why are we arguing about this?"

Murdock leaned his head against the wall by the phone, and took a deep breath, "I don't know . . . seems like we end up arguing an awful lot lately."

Nancy sat back down, "I think we need to get some control over our life and stop taking our frustrations out on each other," she said thoughtfully.

"You're right," he agreed, "we've got to start making some permanent changes."

"Sounds good," she said, "wish I knew how to make it happen."

"Start by saying 'no' to your Uncle."

"I'll make that decision based on the case details - he can't hold me to anything but results."

"Just think hard about it before you do it, OK?" Murdock asked hopefully

"I will."

Murdock turned to see Jeff Kent getting off the elevator and glancing around.  He knew Jeff was probably looking for him, "I've gotta go," he said hesitantly, "I love you, Short Cake, just promise me you'll be careful."

"I'm always careful."

"For some reason that doesn't make me feel any better," Murdock said uncertainly.

"I love you HM," Nancy said, a smile curving her lips, "I'll be fine - don't worry about anything . . . And be home by Wednesday!"

"Will do."

He hung up as Jeff came walking up, "Talking to Nancy?"

Murdock nodded, "Just letting her know when I might be home.  Is the General done with his meeting?"

"Yes, and looking for you," Jeff said, "He was not too happy when he came out and you were gone."

Murdock shrugged, leaning against the wall, "I've never been real good at sitting still and waiting – drives me nuts," he smiled self-deprecatingly at the reference.

"The may be, Murdock, but he came out to bring you into the meeting and you weren't there.  It made him look kinda foolish," Jeff said quietly, "That is not a good thing."

Murdock's eyes had been on Jeff, but when he focused behind him, he saw the General walking purposely towards them.  He straightened up as Stockwell approached, "What the hell were you thinking walking out like that?" he asked tersely.

"Sorry, General," Murdock said sincerely, "I didn't realize you still needed me. I'd been waiting in the hall for 45 minutes.  I figured that since you were busy, I'd take the chance to call Nan."

"There would have been ample time for that later.  When I tell you to wait somewhere I expect you to be there when I come back."

"Just like an obedient puppy," he said irritably.

"Captain, I wanted you to meet some very important people," Stockwell said, ignoring the sarcastic comment, "and because you wandered off, that will not be possible now.  Next time, stay put." He turned and stalked off towards the door.

Murdock's eyes flashed, and he said under his breath "Then get me a leash," before following the General out the door and to the waiting car.

Riley came back in as Nancy was hanging up the phone, and sat down, "So, how's the hubby?"

"Not here," Nancy said touchily, "Now how about this case Uncle has for us."

Riley decided not to ask any more about Murdock since it seemed to be a sore spot.  Instead he launched into an explanation about the case.  He told her that the General wanted to meet with her to discuss the details, but basically, a CIA associate of his, Phillipe LaSalle, was facing a reprimand and possible dismissal, having to do with a mission that went under internal review.  Her Uncle wanted her to look into it and see if the allegations held any water.

Nancy laughed dryly, "No wonder Uncle wants me to handle this, he does work for the CIA, he certainly wouldn't want to tick them off by personally getting involved in an investigation questioning their judgment."

Riley shrugged, "You knew there had to be a reason he'd take you on."

Nancy looked at Riley, "You make it sound like he's stooping to hire his own niece."

"I didn't mean it that way, exactly," Riley said, "It's just that if your Uncle was so interested in your career, why didn't he hire you himself.  Being an Able agent has a certain prestige these days, he could have given your career a boost."

"Who says my career needed a boost," Nancy replied petulantly.  She shrugged the irritation off, and asked, "When did he want to meet?"

"He said he'd be back in town by the end of the week.  He did have these files dropped off," Riley handed her personnel files for Phillipe LaSalle and a Tristan Caswell, "And said that you could talk to LaSalle yourself, and get his side of the story. His contact information is in there. He did say to steer clear of Caswell, he thinks he may be the real perp."

Nancy took the files and flipped idly through them, "But if Uncle already knows who the real perp is why's he want me involved?"

"He said that there isn't any corroborative evidence – he wants you to find it."

"Oh," she said reflectively, getting up from the chair, "Well, there can't be any harm in looking through the files and talking to LaSalle."  She turned and headed to her office absently, leaving Riley smiling after her.

Riley knew how to get Nancy hooked.  Her Uncle was presenting a challenge, and Riley was sweetening the pot a little by goading her about him not hiring her.  She'd want to prove herself, she always did.  She was predictable when it came to her dealings with Hunt Stockwell.