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NOTES: see part one
Part Three: Darkness
After even one day off, Jordan felt lighter in some way. No small part of it had to do with the fact that she'd spent the remainder of the previous day – and night – in bed, doing things she'd only vaguely remembered. Four years is a long dry spell and an impulsive quickie didn't really count. At the time the dry spell had seemed worth it…. At the time. She felt her heart skip a beat and pushed away the thoughts that wanted to assail her. Woody had made it all perfectly clear how he felt. Perfectly clear. Jordan marshaled her thoughts back to J.D. as she walked into the break room for a cup of coffee. She gave Nigel a goofy grin.
"Good morning, sunshine!" The Brit greeted her, his tone a bit befuddled. "You are exceedingly cheery this morning."
"It's a great day, Nige," Jordan replied.
"Enjoyed your day off, did you?"
She smiled over the rim of her mug. "What makes you think that?"
"Well, you're here before the morning meeting starts, for one thing."
She grinned. "Oh, that. Dead giveaway, huh? Did I miss anything yesterday?"
Nigel thought about the tantrum Hoyt had thrown when Dr. M had informed him of several things yesterday morning. The first was that the autopsy was complete – Hoyt had a copy of the report. The second was that unless Hoyt brought them a suspect or additional evidence, there was nothing their lab could do for him. The third was that if Hoyt ever made a verbal, personal attack on any of Garret's employees again, the detective would not be welcome at the morgue. Period. End of discussion. "No, nothing much," he told his friend. She didn't need to know about the drama. With Woody lately it had all been drama and, despite Dr. M's attempt to shield Jordan from Woody, the detective would probably create more turmoil the next time his path crossed hers.
"All right then. I'm gonna go stun Garret." Her face wore a conspiratorial smile even though she knew Nigel had held back on her. She let it go. She had to.
XXXXX
In five weeks – between the tenth of November and Christmas – three blizzards roared over the Eastern seaboard. A fourth big blow was predicted right on the heels of the third. Jordan stood, looking out the window in her office. The morgue was practically deserted. She'd had a hell of a time getting in to work and it didn't surprise her to find herself almost alone. She unclipped her cell phone and dialed J.D.
"You get to work all right, love?"
She grinned. What was not to like about Caller I.D.? "I did."
"Did anyone else?"
"Lily's here." She licked her lips. "So what's the weather like today in Sydney?"
He laughed. "Ah, let me check… hmm, high of – oh, same as here. Twenty-eight. Oh, wait. That's Celsius! Silly of me."
"Shut up." She scraped the carpet with one boot-clad toe. "Twenty-eight, huh?"
"With sunny skies and – oh, yeah, look at this – waves from two to three meters." His voice told her how much he was enjoying this conversation.
"Wow. That sounds – I have no idea how that sounds."
"So, Cavanaugh, is there a reason you wanted a meteorological report from my homeland?"
"Is that offer still open?"
"To play tourist in Oz?"
She smiled. "With you as my tour guide, right?"
"Absolutely, love."
"And how long is the flight?"
"I'll tell you when we get on the plane," he teased.
"Why then?"
His chuckle rumbled through the phone. "Because it's so long that if I tell you now you might view it as a long term commitment and change your mind."
Laughing, she rung off.
XXXXX
Jordan stood on the balcony of the tiny flat in Manly, across the harbor from Sydney proper, a cup of tea in her hand, her gaze drifting out toward the haze of that harbor. J.D. came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulders. "Not bad, huh?"
She nodded. "Mmm. The view alone is stunning. You've got friends with great real estate instincts."
He kissed her neck, working his way up to her ear. "The view doesn't even begin to compare to you, Cavanaugh."
She chuckled and turned in his embrace. "What do you suppose it's like in Boston today?"
He pretended to ponder that. "You know, I don't really care."
They had been in Sydney nearly a week. J.D. had shown her the sights of the city, from climbing the famous Harbour Bridge to attending a concert at the renowned Opera House. They had gone out to Taronga Zoo and he'd gotten some lovely shots of Jordan holding one of the koalas in the sanctuary. He'd taken her up to the Blue Mountains, staying at a romantic bed and breakfast and waking her just before dawn to see the sun rise over the Three Sisters. They'd spent two days in the Hunter Valley, driving from winery to winery, tasting a tremendous variety of wines, staying with his brother, his girlfriend and their daughters. In the afternoon they were leaving for Cairns, where he'd show her the Daintree rainforest and then they'd go sailing in the Great Barrier Reef. Before that he needed to talk to her. He dreaded the conversation.
"What's up, J.D.?"
He smiled at her, his lopsided grin not masking the anxiety in his eyes. "Why do you ask, love?"
"You're tense, for one thing." She rubbed his shoulders. "And you were jumpy last night."
He sighed. "All right, Cavanaugh. You got me."
"Well?"
"I – uh – I…." He released her and leaned against the railing. "You know that bloke we ran into at lunch?"
"After the bridge?"
He nodded.
She shrugged. "He was your editor in Melbourne."
His eyes widened.
"Oh, come on. I was jet lagged, not given a lobotomy."
He grinned. "Yeah, all right."
She smiled at him and pinned him against the railing with her body. "He offered you a job here."
J.D. nodded. He laid his hand on her head and then stroked his fingers through her hair. "I told him I'd give him my answer today."
"You had to think about it?" Her eyes registered surprise.
"I had to think about it." His expression was serious, nearly grave. "I'm going to take it."
"Good. You should."
For a long moment he regarded her, his eyes searching her face. "Jordan, I'm not going to ask you to stay." She started to speak and he held up a hand. "I know what that little voice in your head is likely to say if I do. But I want you to know – if you decided to stay, I'd – I'd – Well, I reckon I wouldn't complain."
She hesitated for a long moment. "J.D.-"
"Shh, love, don't. I know. I've always known."
"Known what?"
"Hoyt."
"What…?"
His smile was soft, sad. "You love him, Cavanaugh. And you don't – you don't fall in love easily. Once you're there, you're there for the duration, even when it hurts." He brushed her hair again. "And he loves you."
She snorted. "Hardly."
"No," J.D. shook his head. "He does. I can't blame him."
She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." One side of his mouth quirked up. "I knew the score. I wanted to play the game anyway. Didn't intend to take it quite so seriously."
"Maybe I should change my flight…?"
He shook his head. "No. We've another week, Jordan. I want to show you the Daintree and the Reef. I want to spend one more week making love to you, falling asleep with you, waking up next to you. And when you get on that plane back to cold, snowy Boston, we'll go our own ways. No regrets, just a lot of good memories."
Slowly, biting her lip, she nodded.
XXXXX
"Oh, my God, Jordan, that is too cute!" Lily's squeal made Jordan smile. "I can't believe you actually got to hold a koala!"
The M.E. nodded. "I wanted to box one of the 'roos, but J.D. was afraid I'd get hurt."
"He never heard about your boss in L.A.?" Lily's grin was wide and teasing.
Jordan shook her head, grinning too.
"Wow, how beautiful is that?" The new exclamation was prompted by a picture of Jordan on a white sand beach on one of the Reef's small islands. Jordan continued handing over pictures as she sat with her friend in the break room, drinking coffee and trying not to wish she'd stayed. It's being alone again, that's all. You got used to having someone around, Jordan.
"Jordan! You're here," Nigel observed as he came into the room.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
He smiled. "Jet lag, rotten weather, one more day of freedom with Mr. Pollack…."
Jordan's mouth tightened into a thin line.
"Jordan?" Lily reached out a hand and laid it over one of Jordan's.
"J.D. stayed in Sydney."
"Oh," Nigel commented. "Catching a later flight?"
Jordan shook her head. "He's not coming back."
Lily's eyes went wide. "Really? Why not?"
"He got a job offer. A good job offer, writing for the Sydney Herald. Investigative journalism." She shrugged. "It's the right thing for him."
"Are you okay?" Lily asked.
"I'm fine. Really," she promised them. "I could have stayed…." She smiled. "I thought about it, but how could I leave all this?"
"Yeah," the Brit agreed. "Dead bodies, blizzards, traffic jams…."
"You guys, Boston in the Spring, the Red Sox… you guys…." Jordan smiled. "It's all good, Nige."
XXXXX
March had roared in like a lion and out like a lamb, giving way to one of the nicest Aprils on record that glided gently into a gorgeous May with forecasts looking good for June. Jordan's friends awaited the implosion they assumed was inevitable. Although she hadn't run from Boston after Woody's rejection of her, she'd retreated into herself. The erosion of her friendship with the detective had worried everyone. The fact that Pollack's presence in her life seemed to offer some happiness and healing had not gone unnoticed. His sudden absence was, they were all certain, going to be the proverbial straw.
Garret stood in the hallway, looking out the window at the street below. Lily brought him a cup of coffee. He thanked her. "I'm worried about Jordan."
"You know, Garret, I think Jordan's doing a lot better than any of us expected. I think - well, I know this sounds… patronizing? Weird? Like psychobabble? Anyway, I think she really matured a lot, got past some of her demons."
Macy looked at his employee. "Yeah, I agree."
"Oh." Lily tilted her head just slightly. "Then – uh – why are you worried?"
"Because our new Jordan is never this late. And she's not answering her phone or her cell."
"Oh." Lily's face crinkled in concern. "Really? Neither?"
"Yeah. I've just got this – this feeling. You ever get those?"
She nodded.
"Look," Garret said. "I've got that meeting in fifteen minutes. Would you mind just going and – and checking on her?"
"Sure. Not a problem."
XXXXX
An hour later, his meeting mercifully cancelled, Garret was in Autopsy One with Bug, Nigel and Detective Hoyt, going over the corpse of a victim of strangulation. His cell phone rang. "Macy."
"Garret. It's Lily."
"Lily, where are you?" He checked his watch, that feeling he'd had earlier poking chill fingers of anxiety into his gut.
"The hospital. With Jordan."
"What?" His tone got the attention of the other three men.
"Garret, can you come down here? You're listed as her emergency contact and – and – can you just come down here?"
"Yeah, sure. Where?" He listened. "Lily, what's wrong?"
"That's just it, Garret. They won't tell me! All I know is I found her in her apartment. She was unconscious and lying in a pool of blood." Her voice broke. "Hurry. Please. It's – It's bad. I think. I'm pretty sure."
"I'm on my way."
"What's the matter with Lily?" Bug asked, his usual concern for her evident in his tone.
Macy shook his head. "Not Lily. Jordan."
"What's wrong with Jordan?" Nigel's usual concern for Jordan was evident in his tone.
"Lily doesn't know. They won't tell her. I sent her to Jordan's because – because Jordan hadn't shown up and I had this weird feeling."
Woody let out a ragged breath. "Is she all right? Jordan?"
"No. Lily thinks it's bad. She found Jordan unconscious." He stopped. "And lying in a pool of blood."
END Part Three