My buddy is back...
Too Good To Be True
By: Mariel
Chapter 11
Jack sat at his desk, his head bent over a sheaf of papers.
To his left was a pile of papers he had just gone through. Included in that pile was a thin report containing what Danny and Martin had learned in Houston. Though on the surface it looked as though their brief trip had been for naught, he had resolved to discuss it with the team the next morning.
Now he was re-reading a report from forensics. Victoria's prints had been all over the four-bedroom home. So, of course, had Georgina's. That meant that there was the possibility that Georgina had cleared out the house herself before she disappeared. Or, becaue both prints were present, it could mean the two women had cleared it out together. Or it could indicate that, as he had originally suspected, Victoria had taken it upon herself to clear things out herself, in the fear that her sister might not return...
The phone rang. Without looking up from the papers in front of him, Jack reached over and picked up the receiver. "Malone," he said absently, his mind focussed on the ramifications of what he was reading.
"You're stepping on my toes," a voice said.
Jack straightened, then sat back in his chair and smiled. "Well, if your feet weren't so damned big, I wouldn't need to," he retorted.
A chuckle came across the line, then Terry Baldwin's deep voice continued, "How the hell are you?"
Jack paused, suspicions about the reason for this call vying with pleasure at hearing a good friend's voice.
"Why do you want to know? And why are we talking about your feet?"
"Because I hear you're asking questions about missing Filipino women."
"And this surprises you because...?" Jack asked. "I haven't checked recently, but I think looking for missing people is written in my job description somewhere - probably right after the directives to keep my pencils sharpened and my long distance phone charges low."
"I'm just wondering why the sudden interest, that's all. I've been following a series of murders that have occurred over the past three years. All the victims have been female Filipinos. All of them died after having nasty things done to them - and all the bodies were found in New York or in the Houston area."
"And you're wondering if it's just coincidence that I'm suddenly looking into the disappearances of Filipino women in particular."
"Uh huh."
Jack waited for Terry to continue, but when he didn't, he explained, "We had a missing woman turn up dead. She wasn't Filipino, but during the investigation, we met a Filipino woman, Juanita Fiero, who claimed she was helped by our MP to leave her abusive husband and start over under a new identity. The woman inferred that she was not the first nor the last woman helped. In fact, she believed that our MP was due to meet another woman the day she was killed. My gut is telling me that Georgina Blackwell's death - she was our MP - is directly related to her involvement in helping a series of Filipino women escape abusive relationships. I just haven't figured out how, or who, or even exactly, why. I don't know if it's simply because she pissed someone off by helping these women disappear, or if she stumbled upon something bigger she shouldn't have...I dunno, but there's something there, and it's much bigger than simply one murder."
"And you've drummed up the excuse of the missing Filipinos to conduct your own investigation into the Blackwell woman's death," said Terry, getting straight at the crux of the matter.
"Sure, maybe. Why not?"
Terry chuckled. "Careful, you're sounding defensive! And seems to me the last time I saw you, you were also working on a case out of your jurisdiction. This your way of telling us you're looking for a career change?"
"No, I just got curious."
"Well, at the moment, you're curious about something that's in my territory. You don't need to worry any more. It's being investigated."
"I think this Juanita Fiero might be of some help to you. Why don't you come to New York and we can talk about it?"
"I'm already here."
Jack stilled. "You sonofabitch. Where? You owe me a beer. Two, maybe. I keep losing count."
Terry laughed. "Bullshit. You owe me three, and I'm on my cell downstairs. Just getting on the elevator now. Got plans for tonight?"
A movement made Jack look up. He watched as Samantha stepped into his office and then stopped when she saw he was on the phone. He gestured that it was okay for her to come in and have a seat, and then told Terry, "Not exactly, but Janice Spencer is in town."
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, then Terry said, "No kidding! How's she doing?"
Jack's voice became a little less friendly. "From what I hear, you're more likely to know than I - you've certainly been in contact with her more than I have lately. When you get up here, remind me to have a few words with you about that." He looked at the clock on the wall. Allowing his voice to ease somewhat, he said, "She's supposed to be here in about thirty minutes. You can ask her how she's doing yourself." Looking over at Samantha, he said, "I've got someone waiting to talk to me. We can continue this conversation when you get here."
After Terry said goodbye, Jack put the phone down and turned his attention to Samantha, who had settled herself in the chair in front of his desk. "Sorry about that. Got everything written up?"
She nodded. Reaching over, she placed the papers she'd brought in on his desk, then settled back to look at him curiously. A touch of amusement warmed her eyes. "You look like the cat who swallowed the cream. What's made you so pleased?"
Jack smiled. "Remember Terry Baldwin?"
Samantha nodded, her sense of ease sliding away. Terry Baldwin wasn't someone you met and then forgot. Tall, lean, and disturbingly perceptive, he was the FBI's most talented profiler, and he had made her totally uncomfortable with his observations concerning herself and Jack while working with them on a case a few years ago. She wondered uneasily what he would make of their situation now. Deciding she wanted to be as far away as possible when he arrived, she rose.
"I do," she said. "He's not someone easily forgotten." She paused to look at Jack. "You're into all kinds of reunions these days - first your friend from England, now Terry Baldwin. You're going to be busy."
Jack nodded, surprised by how good it felt to look forward to something other than work.
Wondering how long it would take Terry to get upstairs, Samantha made a movement towards the door, but couldn't resist asking, "Terry and Janice know each other?"
"Yeah, they met while Terry and I were in Quantico. Janice was here on assignment at the same time. We shared a place for a few months to save money. I think I mentioned that."
Samantha nodded. He had - just not the Terry part. And his reply hadn't got her the kind of answer she had hoped for, but now at least she knew that Jack and Janice had been close enough to have shared living space. What she really wanted to know, however, was HOW they had shared that space. Knowing there was no way to ask without giving herself away, she smiled. "Better stop in for beer or wine on the way home. And for some food, too. I don't imagine you've got much - we haven't exactly been homebodies these past few weeks."
If Jack thought it odd that she'd thought enough about his living circumstances to consider what he had in the fridge, he didn't show it. "Janice picked up some stuff last night. Good idea about the booze - we polished off my wine last night. The three of us will probably go out somewhere, though. Terry's already claiming I owe him a few beer."
Wondering fleetingly how long it had been since she'd been out with a group of people, she smiled at him. "Confuse him by telling him he owes you," she suggested.
Jack chuckled. "Tried that already. It didn't work. I think he keeps a tally in his wallet or something."
Silence fell between them as they suddenly realised they were smiling at one another. It felt good. Hard on the heels of that realisation came the shadowed discomfort of their present situations. The two days Martin and Danny had been gone had done nothing to ease the tension between them. Jack, disconcerted by her reaction over his suggestion she and Martin go to Houston, had shied away from prolonged contact with her, maintaining a cooly professional attitude during the few times contact was necessary. She, shying away from the realisation of the mess she had got herself into with Martin and the loss of Jack's affections, had done nothing to try to bridge the gap.
Now, shocked by the feelings of longing that were welling up within her, she took another step backwards. "I should go," she said. Turning, she found herself faced with a wall of white cotton, broken by a silk tie in bold colours she couldn't even begin to describe. Taking a step backward, she looked up into Terry Baldwin's amused hazel eyes. He had just rounded the corner and stepped into the office, and she could tell by the look on his face that he was making assumptions about her being here with Jack. She groaned inwardly.
"Hel-lo," he said. His craggy features breaking into a smile, he made himself totally charming and held out his hand. "Samantha, it's good to see you again." He glanced over at Jack. "How is life treating you?"
"Wonderfully," she said, smiling in spite of her discomfort. "And you?"
"I'm doing great," he said, squeezing her hand and then releasing it. After glancing at Jack again, he asked, "I'm sorry for popping up unannounced like this.You don't mind if I tag along with whatever you have planned for tonight, do you?"
Samantha stiffened and involuntarily looked over at Jack. She saw him give Terry a frown, then turned to shake her head. "I'm sorry, I've got other plans."
Terry frowned, sensing something was amiss. "That's too bad. I was looking forward to catching up on things." He looked over at his friend. His eyes holding a newfound uncertainty, he said, "Jack's been very uncommunicative lately!"
Samantha coloured slightly. Obviously Jack hadn't told Terry their status. "I'm sure he can do that himself, with enough prodding," she replied, covering her embarrassment.
Jack cleared his throat. "It looks as though your 'other plans' are waiting," he said, indicating with a nod of his head that Martin had taken up the now-familiar position of leaning on Samantha's desk and covertly gazing in the direction of Jack's office.
Glad to be out of the spotlight and gladder still to have been given an out of this uncomfortable situation, Samantha nodded. A brittle smile plastered on her face, she nodded at Jack. "I'd better not keep him waiting." Turning to Terry, she said, "It's nice to see you again."
Terry, who had followed Jack's gaze to where Martin stood waiting, turned his attention back to Samantha. Looking slightly stunned and uncertain as to what was going on, he nodded vaguely and said, "Yeah. It was good to see you, too."
Samantha escaped before more could be said.
End
Chapter 11