Chapter 4

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Martin opened the door to his apartment carrying Chinese take-out. He tossed his keys on the table and plopped down on the sofa, completely exhausted. It was a hellish first week back. They had to conduct two investigations back to back. Both cases involved young women but resulted in two very different outcomes. In the first case the missing daughter had eloped to Puerto Rico with a boy the parents didn't approve of but it was still a pretty happy ending. The second case was much tougher; the missing person was a young co-ed at Columbia who was reported missing by her parents. It turned out she had checked into sleazy hotel and committed suicide. Since it was such a cheap hotel, house-keeping was happy to adhere to the 'Do Not Disturb' sign so it was Martin and Sam who tracked her down and discovered the body.

It was a tough week for any agent but for Martin's first week back it was brutal.

To top it off, tonight was supposed to be his and Sam's 'first date' but at the end of the day today they looked at one another and knew that it wasn't going to happen.

So, he was going to spend his first Friday night back in New York sitting on his sofa, eating takeout and watching Sports Center. All in all, not that different from how he usually spent his weekends since before he and Sam got together. When he was finished eating, he headed to the kitchen to throw the empty white cartons away. As he padded down the hall he wondered if maybe he should reconsider his career choice, maybe find a nice ordinary job where he could work nine-to-five and the odds of encountering a corpse was minimal.

He entered the kitchen and spotted the trash can in the corner. He aimed and tossed one of the empty cartons into the trash can. Score! Maybe he could look into a career with the NBA. He aimed the second and it hit the rim, bounced against the wall before landing on the floor, splashing sauce. Okay, so maybe not. Sighing, Martin grabbed a sponge from under the sink and crouched down to wipe off the brown, sticky goo when he heard his doorbell ring. There was only one person who would show up at his apartment uninvited this late on Friday. Smiling, he walked to his front door and opened it to find a morose looking blonde agent on the other side.

"Hey, what are doing here?" He moved aside so Sam could enter. "What's wrong?"

Sam shrugged and said, "I'm sorry to show up so late. I just didn't feel like being alone. Is it okay if I hang out here for awhile?"

"Of course, I already ate but I can make you something?" Martin made a move to the kitchen.

"I'm not hungry but I wouldn't mind a beer."

"You got it. Sit down, I'll be right back." Martin said as he walked into the kitchen. He returned to find Sam leaning back on the sofa with her eyes closed. He put her bottle down on the coffee table and joined her on the couch. He took a drink of his beer, not saying a word.

The sat in companionable silence before Sam finally spoke up. "This was a hard week."

"Yes, it was." Martin softly responded.

"What a waste of a life. I can't get the image of her out of my mind. It was horrible."

"I know. I don't think I'll be getting to sleep anytime soon."

"Yeah," Sam opened her eyes to pick up her beer and took a long drink. She leaned back again, holding the beer to her.

He sensed that the cases weren't the only thing on her mind but if he learned one thing during his relationship with Sam is that if you just give her time she will open up eventually.

"I talked to my sister tonight." Sam opened her eyes to look at Martin. "She wants me to go home to Kenosha for Thanksgiving."

"You don't want to go?" Martin asked, as far as he knew she and her mom had been talking at least once every few weeks and seemed to be getting along well.

Sam blew out a breath and tilted her head back and forth. "Yes and no. I haven't been home in I don't know how long. Talking on the phone is one thing but having to spend an entire weekend there is another. I just don't know if I can handle it. I don't like how I feel when I am there."

Martin didn't respond but just nodded his head and took a drink.

"What do you think?" Sam asked. "Should I go?"

"Sam, I can't answer that for you."

"I'm not asking you to tell me what to do but what you think."

Martin eyed her carefully, hesitating. He really wanted her to go home to try and fix some of her family issues. He honestly thought it might help her see the value of family but it had to be her choice. But she did ask what he thought. "I think you should go. You haven't seen them in awhile and you did tell me that you missed them. In the end it is only four days tops."

Sam nodded her head and said, "True. I don't know. I'll have to think about it." She turned her attention to the TV, seemingly intrigued by the sports highlights. She watched for a few minutes before turning to him and saying, "You know, they're showing Rear Window on AMC."

Martin smiled and reached for the remote.