Chapter 13

It was another typical morning for Max and Daniel as they sat for breakfast except for one minor thing.

Daniel wasn't his usual self; he wasn't even up to working on his crossword puzzle. Instead he merely concentrated on eating his cottage cheese and fresh fruits in utter silence. It was driving Max crazy. He felt he had to say something.

"Hey, Doc," Max said, "I've got another joke for you."

"No thanks," Daniel said, forking a kiwi in his mouth.

"No, you'll love this one! It's educationally related!" Max cleared his voice, "Okay, here goes. What did the English teacher say when she discovered she had three Marys in her class?"

"Nope," Daniel answered.

Max looked frustrated, "What kind of answer is that?"

"The kind of answer I give when I'm not in the mood."

"Come on, Doc! Just give it one try. You won't be disappointed, I promise! So...What did the English teacher say when she discovered she had three Marys in her class?"

"Hmmm," but Daniel really didn't seem to be thinking very hard, "...how about, 'I'm sick and tired of all these bloody Marys!'?"

Max rolled his eyes.

"No, Doc!...when I said 'English' teacher, I didn't mean as in 'British'! I meant as in the subject of 'English'! So let's try that again: What did the English teacher say when she discovered she had three Marys in her class?"

Daniel looked disinterested, "Oh, who knows?...How about, 'the more, the merrier!'?"

Max's face fell, "I don't believe it, you've actually got the answer right!"

"Good, so can I eat in silence?" Daniel was unimpressed.

But Max was determined to have a good morning.

"How about card tricks?" Max asked as he reached for his back pocket.

"No, Lewicki, I don't think I really want to..."

Max held out the stack like a fan, "Go ahead; pick a card, any card!"

"I pick...credit card." Daniel stated.

Max put away the cards, knowing it was useless to engage Daniel in anything.

"You know, Doc, you shouldn't let the idea of Kate getting married be such a downer for you."

Daniel looked directly at Max,who had managed to hit the nail on its head, "Sorry, Max."

Max did a double take, "Did you just apologize to me, Doc?"

"I'm not sure."

Max looked pleased, "I never thought-"

"-Max?" Daniel interrupted.

"Yeah, Doc?"

"I only apologized so that I could have the last word."

Nevertheless, Max was satisfied and Daniel had to hide his smile as he took a bite of his kiwi.

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It was noontime and Daniel was now in his office, correcting papers. He had always liked the quietude of his office with its hundreds of books lined against the wall and his solid oak desk. This time of the day was especially appealing when the rays of the afternoon sun spilled into the room, giving it a nice, saturated color.

Yet Daniel was having trouble concentrating on the paper in front of him.

"Affairs of the heart are most complicated, est-ce pas?" asked Poirot, who suddenly appeared across from Daniel's desk. This time he had a rose boutonnière in his hand and sniffed it before pinning it on his lapel.

"You again," Daniel stated with little emotions.

"Yes, certainement, moi," he took off his hat and made a bow, so that all Daniel could see is the top of his slightly balding head, "and I am here to say that love is something we try to avoid, yet it keeps calling us back. But perhaps we keep yearning for it because to be alone means the mind will shrink away, leaving a person with to only hear his own thoughts. Or his own illusions."

Daniel picked up his pen and pretended to be immersed in writing, "if I wanted romance advice, I'd be hallucinating Natalie or Dr. Phil at this moment."

Poirot politely replaced his hat on his head, "Let me remind you of one thing, Dr. Pierce. It is you who have summoned me, and not the other way around," he pointedly told him.

Daniel put his pen down to concentrate on his hallucination.

"Alright," he acknowledged, "If I had purposely summoned you, to what purpose did I do that, Inspector Poirot?"

Poirot broke out in a big smile, "Ahhh, now we are getting somewhere, my friend!" He held out his hand and pointed to the sunny part of Daniel's desk while exclaiming these opaque words, "You've summoned me for the next clue in the Yuss investigation!"

Daniel lifted a brow, "Which is?"

Poirot pointed to the window,"Look to the sunshine for your next clue!"

Daniel squelched his face, "What the hell am I trying to tell myself?"

"We think it is easy to see in the sunlight," Poirot explained further, "but sometimes it's the backlit shadows that can hide the most!"

Daniel scowled at the words. He knew he was on the verge of figuring out something, but what that was, he didn't know.

"Sunlight...backlit shadows..." Daniel murmured to himself the key words as he looked out the window and caught sight of a tree, its shadow plastered against the wall of the building. As he again mumbled the word 'backlit shadows' something clicked in his memory banks.

And then he got it.

He remembered that Donnie, when he had been in the hospital the first day, had claimed that at first he did not recognize Yuss entering the building because Yuss had been backlit from the sun coming through the large window. Yet, at that early morning, the sun was not high enough in the sky yet, so there was no way it could stream through the window and cause a backlit shadow on a person.

Why had Donnie lied about that? Daniel pondered to himself.

Whatever the reason, it once again pointed to his guilt.

He should tell Kate.

The image of how Donnie and Kate looked at one another made him not want to call her. But she deserved to know everything about the investigation, even if it meant alienating herself more from him.

He picked up the phone and dial her desk. Surprisingly, a male voice answered her phone.

"Agent Moretti's desk. This is Agent Anderson speaking."

Daniel felt like hanging up immediately, but his determination overcame his instincts.

"Yes," Daniel said, "is Agent Moretti there?"

"Who is this?" Agent Anderson asked curtly.

"I'm Dr. Pierce," Daniel told him, "I often consult with Agent Moretti on FBI cases, and I have some information regarding the Yuss investigation."

"Ah, yes, Dr. Pierce, I've heard of you," Anderson acknowledged. Daniel couldn't tell from the agent's tone if he heard good or bad things about him, "so I think it's fine that I can tell you. She's not here, Dr. Pierce. She took a leave of absence."

"WHAT!?" Daniel sounded incredulous, "but why?"

"Sorry, that's all I am allowed to tell you."

"Does this have to do with the Yuss investigation?"

"I don't think-"

Daniel tried a new approach, "Please! This is very important! You KNOW Kate how much wants to close the Yuss investigation! I have a new clue for her! Is she gone because of the Yuss investigation?"

"Well..." the agent was considering it, "I'm not saying you're wrong..."

Daniel sounded desperate, "So where might I locate Agent Moretti now?"

"That answer I honestly do not know," Agent Anderson shrugged, "but she's being internally investigated so she's relieved of her duties. Anything else I can help you with?"

"No. Goodbye."

Daniel hung up, totally at a loss.

Where would Kate go?

He thought of calling the apartment, but feared Donnie might be there. Of course, Donnie could be visiting Stacy at the hospital. Or Kate and Donnie could be visiting her together. As a couple.

Why is he even still involved in all of this?

Disgusted with himself, he walked over to the main window to look out over the campus. As he looked at the lush green grass and winding pathways, his eyes widened at what he saw directly below, underneath the large elm tree.

To his amazement, sitting on the bench was Kate, all by herself.

Daniel rushed out.

.

Sitting on the campus bench, Kate momentarily shutting her eyes, she allowed the light Chicago breeze to caress her face. It was the first time since the Yuss investigation that her mind felt cleared and her body relaxed. She regretted not coming here earlier.

"Kate."

She had been in such deep thought, she hadn't heard the footsteps approaching her. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by Daniel's familiar form. It was a welcome sight.

"Daniel; Care to sit awhile?"

"Kate, I've tried calling you, but they didn't know where you were," Daniel began as he sat next to her, "What are you doing here?"

"Getting some well deserved down time, I guess," she stated casually. Her expression became serious, "I guess you didn't hear," she seemed reluctant to inform him, "Yesterday, the FBI director announced a review board to look into the department's botched response to the Yuss case in which, as you know, I was the lead agent. So technically, I've been taken off the task force, pending the results of the review board."

Daniel looked at her with hope, "You stated 'technically'."

She gave him a mischievous smirk, "They didn't specifically state that I couldn't stop working the case, now, did they?"

Daniel smiled back, "No, they never said that."

"Good, then that issue is settled," she told him. She now stared straight ahead, looking out towards the familiar campus, zooming in on a couple walking off in the distance, "but you had stated you had called me," she looked directly at him, "why?"

Now that Kate was officially off the case and back with Donnie, Daniel realized that this little piece of information he had, which hinted at Donnie possibly lying about the day of the tragedy, wasn't worth mentioning.

"Nothing, really," Daniel stated, "I just..." he tried again, "it's just...that was really crazy with what happened yesterday at the hospital."

It wasn't exactly what he wanted to discuss, but at least they weren't discussing the case.

"Yeah," Kate agreed, "truthfully, I was at first devastated to learn that Donnie had a second marriage I knew nothing about, but, we had a long talk about it, and I understand why he kept it from me. I really admired how he took the responsibility for the care of her instead of abandoning her."

She sighed and this time Daniel noticed how tired she looked; she certainly have been under quite a strain lately.

He knew he held an attraction for her, but this time as he awkwardly reached out for her, he was doing it in the role as a friend. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him as a means to comfort her.

"Daniel, what-" she sounded confused at Daniel's gesture.

"Ssssshhhh," Daniel stated, "You've always been strong and independent, Kate. For once, let someone else help you ease the load."

Kate didn't protest, but instead closed her eyes, savoring the comforting human contact. After a while she realized it wasn't just human contact she was reveling in, it was being held by Daniel. She could feel the softness of his shirt, smell the masculine aftershave he wore. Though she hated to admit it, she had imagined being in his arm in her fantasies, and often it would lead to something more. In her wildest dreams, she felt his mouth on her lips and his hands gently moving all over her. She blushed with a mixture of embarrassment and awareness at the imagery.

It also caused her to make an effort to pull away and sit up again. Immediately Daniel released her, though every part of his body was protesting it.

"I...hope you didn't feel awkward about what just happened, Kate," he stated hesitantly, not able to look at her, "I was just being a friend to you. I realize you're with someone else and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."

There was a pause.

"I broke off my engagement with Donnie," she announced at last.

Was he hallucinating again?

Daniel turned slowly to look directly at her, "You broke off the engagement? But yesterday, when Donnie was explaining the situation, you seemed so...open to his thoughtfulness."

"I did appreciate those qualities, Daniel," Kate said, "but being thoughtful should not be the only reason why I should marry someone, right?"

A myriad of emotions ran through him, "I-I guess not, Kate."

"So let's move on then," she said.

He gulped, "Move on?"

She cleared her throat, "Yes...move on to the investigation. I think I know why you called me. You found out something suspicious about Donnie regarding the Yuss killings, didn't you?"

Daniel couldn't help feeling relieved they were on safe ground again.

"I won't deny it."

"And it was regarding that 911 call that victim Larry Stevenson made, wasn't it?"

Now it was Daniel's turn to look puzzled, "The 911 call? What do you mean?"

Kate opened her pocketbook, took out the recorder, and again pressed the 'play' button and they listened to the call Larry Stevenson had made to 911:

"911. What's your emergency?"

(There is a sound of footsteps. A door slams.)

Larry's desperate voice came through loud and clear, "This is Larry Stevenson at the DA's office, building B. One of our workers, Gene Yuss has gone mad and he's shooting at us! Help us!"

"I'm sending units now. Can you get somewhere safe?"

(There is some yelling, followed by the sound of a door bursting open)

Larry sounded frantic, "He's already shot Mary Ann, Donnie...(there is the sound of a shot fired) nooooooooo!"

(Another shot fired.)

.

At this point, she turned off the recorder.

"I've always felt there was something not quite right with that recording," Kate told him, "the victim, Larry Stevenson, was definitely scared for his life, but his last words bothered me. Or at least the phrasing of it. So I kept playing the recording over and over again so that and now I can hear the entire recording, even in my sleep."

Which was another reason why she wasn't sleeping well.

"And what conclusion did you come to?" Daniel asked, curious.

"That I was right. It was his phrasing of the words that were wrong," Kate told him, "We all heard him yelling, 'He's already shot Mary Ann, Donnie... Noooooo!'...but what if what he REALLY meant was, 'He's already shot Mary Ann;Donnie, noooooo!"

Daniel sat in stunned silence as his eyes widened.

My god.

So Donnie's the shooter?

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