Here's another voice talking about nobody's business. Thanks for the reviews for the first two. There are three more voices left that want to have their say - I'm not sure when I'll finish them, but I'm aiming for before Christmas! Wish me luck - and again, thanks for reading and reviewing!

Nobody's Business

What the Night Doorman Said
by: Mariel

Yeah, I was asked about what I knew. Not that I knew much. But knowing and 'knowing' are two different things, right? I mean, I got no proof they were up to anything, but I wasn't born yesterday. I've seen people you'd never suspect of steppin' over the line jump right over it as nimble as can be.

An' just between you an' me, that's exactly what I saw Jack Malone and Samantha Spade do.

She's a looker. He...well, he's a bit harder to describe. He took over the Missing Persons unit years ago. Can't say I'd take him for a ladies' man, but then, I can't say he ever acted like one. He was always kinda stoney-faced, always all about business. Not rude, or anythin', but there was rarely more than a 'good night' or a tired 'good mornin' when he left for home in the small hours just before dawn. He just seemed like your regular guy, y'know?

He sure as hell must have somethin', though, to pick up Spade's interest.

Far as I c'n see, she picked up his interest pretty damn quick, too.

You just never know about people. But sometimes ya can't help but figure it out, eh?

What? Oh, no. I can't say I knew about them right off - I mean, it's not like I'm up there on the 12th floor, or runnin' around on cases with them. But I did notice that after Spade arrived it wasn't too long before she and Malone almost always worked cases together. Before that, Malone had pretty much rotated between the members of his team. After Spade arrived, that stopped. At first, it was obviously because he was teachin' her the ropes. She was the first rookie he'd had on the team, and it was up to him to make sure she didn't screw up or anythin'. Later though, I figure it was all about somethin' else.

Yeah, yeah... sometimes you get people that just work together better - but this? This was different. I mean, they seemed to make a good team, sure, but somethin' else started up between them, too. Take it from me. I know.

How? Listen, I shouldn't have t'spell it out, okay? I've worked here a lotta years. Sittin' here at this door, you see a lot, ya know? I've picked up a lot about people, watchin' them come and go. It's weird. They know I'm here to keep an eye on the folks who come and go, but people still treat me like I'm invisible half the time- and deaf, dumb, and blind, too - so I see and hear things that'd surprise you.

So trust me - I heard things here and there and saw things here and there that added up. Nothin' big, but put altogether, it told me what was goin' on.

But just 'cause I know what's goin' on doesn't mean I make it my business to spread it around...

So when that guy came snoopin' around, askin' questions and makin' innuendos, I didn't like the smell of it. Ain't no way I was gonna say anything about anything until I knew why he was askin'. Unfortunately, he wasn't tellin'. But I could tell by the questions he asked he was only interested in one thing - dirt.

Now, let me tell ya, that kinda surprised me, 'cause there's dirt flyin' around here all the time. It made me pretty suspicious that someone was suddenly interested in this tiny little piece of it. I knew straight away Malone must have pissed someone off pretty high up t'have them on his tail like that. I mean, there's Kelly and Fisher up on the 14th floor been at it for the past two years. Everybody knows, and no one's even raised an eyebrow over it. (Well, exceptin' for th'talk and kiddin' around about what kinda guy sleeps his way up the ladder like that, but that's a whole other story.) And Smith and Rameriz up in Organized Crime are about as discreet as cats in heat. And hell, Marita on night staff walked right in on Thompson and Collins just a couple weeks ago.

Yeah. Honest to God. Walked in on 'em goin' at it right there on her desk. Sure, I know it's true - got the story from Marita herself! Said she stood there like an idiot for she didn't know how long, not knowin' what to do while they- well, you know. And them too busy to even notice they had an audience! Kinda makes you shake your head, don't it?

So, I ask ya, why were they suddenly interested in Malone and his goings on? Hell. You never heard anythin' about him and Spade. I mean, far as I know, I'm the only one who caught on. He's an okay guy, never done anythin' to me, so why should I help people I don't know give him grief for reasons they ain't willin' to explain? He and Spade were a hell of a lot more discreet than most, and they weren't doin' no one no harm as far as I could see.

Well, yeah, I guess you're right, but I was talkin' about the F.B.I. I know the wife wouldn'ta been too happy, but she wasn't the one lookin' for dirt.

And the guy who was?

Yeah, like I'm gonna tell some out-of-town, snot-nosed slimeball rookie what I know.

Geeze. Let's think cold day in hell and add ice.

And yeah. Of course I know they shouldn'ta been doin' what they was doin', but my mother always said no one cheats in a happy marriage. I don't think Malone planned it or anythin'. And I certainly don't think Spade was particularly lookin' to mess with someone married. It just happened.

Yeah, sure I do! I really believe that. Things just happen sometimes. Malone's been around a long time. If he was one to be out there lookin' for a piece of skirt, he'da had a reputation long before Spade arrived, and I'm tellin' you strait - he ain't never had a reputation for bein' anythin' but a guy who works hard.

No, his wife wouldn'ta been too happy if she knew, but hell, Agent Malone hadn't ever been too happy, either - until he took up with Spade. At least she managed to get a smile out of 'im once in a while. And I never saw a man look at a woman quite the way he looked at her.

It was like she was a miracle he couldn't quite believe had happened to him.

Yeah, yeah. So I'm a romantic. Shoot me.

But if you'd seen what passed between them when they looked at each other, you'd know what I mean. It was kinda warm and fuzzy-like. She was somethin' important to him. And she- well, all's I can say is he seemed to be what she needed, too.

Okay. Fine. You go right ahead and laugh. Yeah, and call me 'cupid' too. But I'm no rat. That's why if it weren't for the damned door card log, that guy wouldn'ta got nothin'. Like I said, I figure there wasn't nothin' they was doin' that hurt anybody. I tried to show the creep that other people left at the same time on a regular basis, too - I mean, when a case is over, a case is over, and everyone goes home, right? And at just about the same time, too.

-I showed 'im right there on the printout how it was, but he didn't wanna hear it. He was looking for trash on Malone and Spade and didn't care about nothin' else. I tell ya, he had an agenda, and fairness wasn't on it. As sure as the day I was born, he was out to lynch the guy.

I sure as hell wasn't gonna help 'im.

Besides, as far as I can see, it's over. And if it's over, it's over - so why bother with it? Why they so interested now? Why stir up trouble when everything's settled? Doesn't make sense.

Nah, I don't know for sure when it ended. But since you ask, I guess I can tell ya that after a while - maybe a year or more after they started gettin' so chummy - I noticed that they weren't workin' together so often. Things cooled off, but when I did see them together, they still kinda acted special towards each other. It was different between them, though. You could tell.

Oh - you heard that story? It was just before you started, right? Yeah, well him goin' into that bookstore to save her was somethin' else. Now, I tell ya - it didn't surprise me one bit. I mean, they were close, ya know? Anyways, I figured that as soon as she was recovered and back at work, things would go back to bein' the way they had been. They'd re-start the affair and be happy again. I mean, that was kinda an obvious thing, wasn't it? For the affair to resume after him rescuing her like that? I kinda took that as a declaration from him, seein' as how I knew what I knew about them. But instead it was like somethin' went really wrong. I don't know what. But they're not together, and he's none too happy, and she's not acting like herself at all anymore.

I'd bet my bottom dollar that this isn't what they really want - and that there's still feelin' there.

Nah. I'd know. I'da seen somethin' at some point or heard them say somethin'. It's over. I don't get it. I don't know how they manage to work together on the same team, not with what's going on between them, not when I see the way they still look at each other sometimes.

How they do that, I figure, would be an interestin' story all by itself.

It's too bad, y'know?

End
What the Night Doorman Said