4

C.J. woke up much later on the couch in the penthouse. Her head didn't hurt as much as it had when she laid down. Roy was in her office on the phone and she could faintly make out some of the conversation.

Roy was saying, "Why would you...oh...oh well, that's different then. Too bad I wasn't there to lend a hand...yes I can handle that, I'll get one of the guys in that pool of lawyers downstairs to take care of it...no, don't worry. I'll tell her you called and help her get home...oh, yeah I didn't tell you, she got a really bad headache and has been sleeping for a few hours now...No I don't think its serious enough to call Carol...I don't think I need to stay the night its just a headache...Talk to you tomorrow then?...ok, see you around noon. Take care, love you boy." Then he hung up.

C.J. was still incredibly tired, sitting on the couch rubbing her face. As she looked out the windows she realized it was dark already and just took a deep breath. Roy walked in, tucking some piece of paper in his pocket. As he stepped down he told her, "So you're up now. That's good. I was starting to get a little worried for a minute."

She smiled a little at him, nodding and said, "Thanks for staying with me. I don't know why I got such a bad headache so fast like that." She started rubbing her neck.

He looked at her for a second and then asked, "It ever happen before?"

C.J. took a deep breath and then said, "Not really...I mean maybe when I was younger a couple of times, but not in the last few years. I had a doctor tell me once it was just a part of growing up and that lots of women my age had migraines. That was way back when I was growing up with Matt back in Texas." She smiled at him then.

Roy then told her, "I just got off the phone with Matlock. He wants me to get you home safe and sound and keep an eye on you, but I'm thinking you will be fine once you get in the beach house." They nodded to each other and left to do just that.

The next morning C.J. felt 100% better. She got her coffee and got in early enough for a quick workout, thinking the exercise would help her feel even better. By 8 when Chris came in she was already in front of Baby with a fresh pot of coffee on. Chris didn't arrive alone though.

Det. Warren had his arm around her as they walked out of the elevator and told her when they got to her desk, "I'll pick you up for lunch then?" She nodded and he continued, "I wish we could go out later tonight, but I have work."

She asked him, "That Macy Raven case?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah, we have more interviews to do today and then Hoyt wants us all in for a briefing tonight. There's also something with that other rock band..." He rubbed his nose against hers as he said, "The one you like so much." Then he pulled back, both smiling.

She asked, "The Bay Boys? What's going on?"

He then rubbed her arms and told her, "Nothing much, I'm sure they're just overreacting. One of them got a threatening letter and they're all freaked out. They don't even know what real danger is." He gave her a quick kiss and then as he got in the elevator said, "See you at noon." She waved as the doors closed.

C.J. walked slowly into the lobby area. Chris didn't see her right away and put her purse down and got out the files she needed to go over this morning before seeing her. "Oh, C.J...I didn't know you were in already."

C.J. smiled back at her and said, "I got in earlier and had a quick workout. I see your detective friend there made sure you got in safely."

The look she shot Chris made her blush just a little before she tried to explain, "He's just, well, he took me to get some coffee before work and then walked me in, that's all. Its not like he stayed at my house or I stayed at his." She looked down for a second as she moved a couple of files around on her desk saying, "He just says he wants to spend as much time with me as he can. He misses me when we aren't together."

C.J. smiled and told her, "I'm sure he does and I'm sure you miss him. Looks like you two are getting serious."

Chris looked up and bit her lip for a second before saying, "It kind of looks that way. I don't know...I mean I love spending time with him and I've never really felt the way I feel about him about anyone else...its just..." She looked away just then.

C.J. told her softly, "Hey...why don't we get a cup of coffee in the penthouse?" Chris nodded and the two went in together.

Chris told her as C.J. poured the coffee from behind the bar, "Look, all I know is I just want to see him all the time. I want to get closer, its just..."

C.J. then speculated, "Its just still a little scary to get that close, physically?"

Chris nodded and continued, "I thought I would forget about what happened, but I can't."

C.J. nodded and told her, "Its not something you will ever forget entirely, and I can't tell you how you should be handling it. I've never been through exactly what you have. Has that Dr. Randolph been helping? You know you can take off whenever you need to, to go see her."

Chris nodded again and then said, "She has helped me a lot, but talking about it is one thing, living it is another."

C.J. then asked her, "Do you trust Warren?"

Chris looked at her surprised, "Of course I trust him. He saved my life, remember?"

C.J. then asked, "Do you love him?"

Chris thought for only a second and then said, "I really think I do, but we haven't said it yet. I thought about telling him when I would stop by his little apartment to check on him while he was recovering and I think he started to say it to me at that concert, but chickened out."

They both smiled before C.J. said, "Well, some men have a hard time just saying the words, trust me." Chris didn't know but C.J. did that Matt had that particular problem for most of his life, until he married C.J. that is. She continued, "Why don't you plan something romantic yourself. It might help you to feel more in control of everything and put him at ease since it won't seem like such a huge risk for him to say those three scary little words."

They both chuckled and Chris told her it sounded like a very good idea and that she was going to start planning right away. Roy came in as Chris got back to her desk and C.J. was heading back to Baby. He told her, "Sorry I'm a little late. I just had an errand to run before I came in. I believe we were talking yesterday about Sam Perkins, Macy Raven's agent."

C.J. clicked on Baby and pulled up another image. "Well, after divorcing Perkins Macy married this man, Joshua Blake. He's the lead singer of the band The Bay Boys and the band was just starting out 4 years ago when they were opening for her. According to the tabloids, they had brief and torrid affair, she left Perkins and married him, just after finding out she was pregnant. All seemed rosy until just one year after the nuptials when The Bay Boys signed with her label and each began touring on opposite sides of the country. Apparently they never really saw each other and after catching Macy with her drummer in the dressing room having a 'private rehearsal' he filed for divorce."

Roy then said, "Well coming home and finding your wife in bed with another man would make one quite angry. Any indication he didn't take the news well? Any threats or harassment?"

C.J. shook her head and replied, "Not really. In fact it seems that the tabloids got frustrated trying to find something to print and then began inventing their own stories. Blake filed libel and slander charges against all three of the big names including Tattletale."

Roy then asked, "What about the lover?"

C.J. then punched more buttons, "Randy Larson. He's been Macy's drummer since she got her big break 10 years ago. He's been a regular in many of the city jails of the places they tour. Nothing really violent though, just bar fights and quite a few drunk and disorderly or public intoxication cases. Most were thrown out, probably due to his celebrity status when Macy would show up to bail him out. He poses for the tabloids and seems to want to live that rock star life. In fact I'd say his rolodex has more names than Matt's ever did back in the day."

Roy digested that and then said, "Seems like he wanted to add you to his little black book."

C.J. chuckled and said, "Yes, not shy was he?"

Roy then said, "Well, that just leaves us with the grieving widower. Statistically speaking, grieving husbands usually make very good suspects. What doesn't help his case really is the fact that he was the one who found the body."

C.J. nodded her head, clicked some more buttons and said, "Darrin Calindis. He's been Macy's bodyguard for the last 8 years. According to various quotes she had given since they married one year ago, they had an affair off and on for the last 7 years. About two months ago though, she quit talking about him and would avoid reporters who asked about them. He also stopped acting as her bodyguard and she got a new one."

Roy then speculated, "I wonder if all was well in paradise? Is there anything to suggest one of them was thinking about getting a divorce or separating?"

C.J. shook her head and said, "Not that Baby has found. Neither filed divorce papers or anything like that. I don't have any quotes, tabloid reports, pictures or anything to suggest they were having problems, but I plan to keep digging and call around later when most of my fellow lawyers take a lunch."

Roy nodded and then said, "So, we should probably go start interviewing people to see what we can learn."

C.J. told him, "I think our first stop should be Hoyt to see if we can't find out exactly how Macy died. He should have the autopsy report by now and I'll try to sweet talk him into letting us look at it."

Roy then said, "Then maybe we'll have a better idea as to what exactly we should be asking our suspects. Find out how each one feels about the others."

C.J. nodded but then asked, "Do you think we should wait until Matt gets back though? I overheard you tell him that you'd see him today..." She looked at her watch, "I thought I heard you say noon and its only in a few hours. I didn't get to tell him all the details about the case and really focused more on the legal side of it..."

Roy smiled and then said, "So you didn't tell him it is essentially a murder investigation."

C.J. bit her lip and said, "No I didn't...I didn't say it wasn't either though. I told him it was a case involving court action over an inheritance and that it was complicated."

Roy looked at her, "Complicated...huh...well, he should be back today if all goes well and I don't see what it would hurt if we just stopped by Hoyt's office and looked over the autopsy report. Then we can give him that information before the three of us set out to solve the biggest mystery to hit Hollywood..."

Before he could finish she did it for him, "since Marilyn Monroe...I know." She started to get up when something hit her and she turned back to ask, "What do you mean, 'if all goes well'. What would keep Matt from leaving if he wanted to? He still hadn't learned exactly what Bo and Lamar wanted from him when he talked to me and because it was a 'man thing' they wouldn't tell me...wait...did he tell you what was going on?"

Roy then looked up and smiled as he looked back at her saying, "He didn't give me too many details. Something about cattle on the wrong side of the river and being tied up sort of speak."

C.J. then shot him the 'I'm not stupid, level with me look, "Tied up? Uncle Roy what exactly did he say was going on? He didn't call last night either. Now I know he talked to you about me, but I still expected him to call last night and he didn't." Then, when Roy tried to avoid making eye contact she asked, "That little errand this morning wouldn't involve getting him a lawyer to bail him out of jail for anything, would it?"

Roy just rolled his jaw and said, "C.J., what makes you think Bo and Lamar would let Matt get into any trouble like that?"

C.J.'s look remained unchanged, "Because they would be right beside him, egging him on, encouraging whatever 'man's thing' they had planned. I couldn't tell you how many times they've done just that because I can't count that high."

Roy just smiled and said, "Yep, Bill was right."

That caught her off guard so she said, "What was Bill right about?"

Roy sighed and told her, "He was right about you probably being the only one who could keep him in line. Said when you two finally figured out you were supposed to be together, you'd have him wrapped around your finger, the way you always had anyway."

C.J. smiled for a second and then said, "Well I don't know about wrapping him around my finger, but its very sweet of him to have said that and you for sharing that with me."

Roy put his arm around her as they started to head out. When they got to the elevator he told her, "You know he called me that week you moved next door. Told me Matlock's efficiency at getting his chores done had gone up exponentially. Didn't know what had gotten into him until he went out looking for him after he had finished his dinner and then snuck out of the house. Told me he found him with you on the other side of that little creek showing you how to rope a calf. Told me he watched you two for about half an hour and he just knew. Wanted to rub it in a little that he was going to get to meet his future daughter-in-law before I would."

They chuckled for a second before she told him, "We never saw him. Matt would meet me there to show me how to do things Floyd wanted me to, that I didn't know how to do. He was really patient with me, I'll never forget it. And don't tell him this, but...I worked as hard as I could to impress him. In some way I just wanted him to be proud of me."

Roy told her as they walked out to Matt's convertible, "You know he was always proud of you, Bill was too. He brought cigars to Arizona when you got your degree. I know you had to clerk right not a week after, but Bill really wanted to throw a Texas size reception, party, just to celebrate."

C.J. smiled as they got in and said, "He came to Boston and took me out to the nicest restaurant after I walked the stage. Matt was still in Vietnam and I didn't really have anyone else. Bill had been calling every month and we would share what we had heard about Matt. He asked when graduation was exactly and I told him I hadn't decided whether or not I was going to walk. I thought, you know, that he was a busy businessman. He had just gotten back from Germany when called that night and he asked. He told me I had to walk because he was coming and had big plans to celebrate." She smiled and wiped away one tear, "He did just that. I can't even tell you what it meant to me to have him there, to have someone there, proud of me like that." They both smiled and drove off.