Chapter 16

Lecturing before a theatre full of eager young minds helped him find the focus he'd needed to push Laura from his mind, at least from the forefront. Like most brilliant people Malcolm Tucker never thought about just one thing. While he was talking, debating, lecturing, arguing, thoroughly enjoying himself, his mind was formulating a game plan.

He finished the lecture with a flourish and was instantly surrounded by a bevy of students wanting to pick his brain, curry favor. It was a salve for his wounded ego. He chatted with a few of the ones he deemed more promising as he exited the building.

Even as distracted as he was by the coterie lingering as he walked towards his car, his brain registered the threat. A tingling on the back of his neck let him know he was being observed in a non-casual way. As casually as he could he looked around the courtyard. It didn't take him long to spot the source of the threat.

He thought briefly of simply heading to his car, keeping a few of the menagerie around, knowing his watcher wouldn't want an audience. But just as quickly as the idea occurred it was dismissed. His brain had taken in the new information and decided it could make it work into his game plan.

Smiling at his new fan club he made an excuse about needing to go back to the lecture hall. A few offered to come with him but he charmingly declined. He made mental notes of those, they might be useful in the future. Once they had wandered away he casually made his way back to the lecture hall. He feigned an air of confusion as if he was looking for something.

From the corner of his eye he saw his watcher take notice, take an interest. He smiled to himself. His watcher was making it entirely too easy. It was like taking candy from a baby. He entered the lecture hall deliberately letting the door close behind him. He set his things on the desk at the front of the room, sat in the chair, propped his feet on the desk and waited.

He didn't have to wait long. He heard the door open and waited making the watcher come to him. As the person drew nearer Malcolm smiled charmingly, "Step into my parlor."

James took a seat in the front row, "Does that make me the fly in your little game?"

"I think you are probably just about as useful as a fly. And if your tidy little gang has sent you out to chat with me they must agree."

Casually crossing his legs James blandly looked at Malcolm, "What makes you so sure they know I'm here?"

"Because you are the faithful little choir boy. The loyal sergeant to Robbie Lewis, the deceitful little spy for Jean Innocent, the devoted little Boy Scout that saved Laura Hobson's life and helped push her and the Inspector together."

James paused for a moment, wondering how much Malcolm actually knew and how much was speculation. He decided to push him, "I guess that's what being in prison does for you. Gets you outdated information."

"Oh it's not so outdated, you might be an Inspector in title but we both know you'll always be a sergeant. You even had to have the Inspector come back for a bit to help you cut your teeth. And let's be honest, a woman like Jean Innocent wouldn't have gone to all of that trouble if she didn't feel like she owed you something." Malcolm watched James, he could see the seeds of doubt starting to form so he pushed, "It's true about saving Laura though, wait no it isn't. It was the real Inspector that figured that out. You just jumped into the grave while he went off to play hero."

James tried to maintain a neutral look on his face. All of Malcolm's words seemed to hit home. He forced himself to take a deep breath, he relaxed his hands they had, unknowingly, clenched into fists.

Malcolm watched all of the physical cues from James and laughed, "You know now that I think about it you might be right. I mean you were even out of town when the Inspector and the lovely Doctor declared their love for one another. Perhaps you were just in the way all of that time."

"I know what you are trying to do."

Malcolm stretched, enjoying his game, "What is it you think I am doing?"

"You're trying to make me doubt…"

"Doubt what? You came to me. I'm the innocent bystander in all of this."

James stood, anger finally winning, "Innocent? Is that what you call barging into Laura's office yesterday and disrupting her life?"

"I did nothing of the sort. I stopped by my ex-wife's office yesterday to let her know I was in town. I wanted to apologize for that horrible reporter stalking her after I was released. I asked nicely at the desk and they let me wait in her office."

"That's your version of the story."

Malcolm shrugged, "It's not a version; it's what happened. We had a somewhat volatile marriage. Since I'm going to be in town I thought it best to let her know. That way there are no nasty surprises if we bump into each other. I was trying to be courteous."

"Courteous, that's not generally a word that people associate with you."

Nodding Malcolm smiled, "Probably not. I have a curious question for you." He waited for James to nod before continuing, "Why are you here? Is it to warn me to stay away from my wife?"

James glared at him, "She's your ex-wife. And, yes, I am here to tell you to stay away from her."

Malcolm sat up in his chair and leaned towards James, "You sound more like a jealous lover. Is there something between the two of you?" Malcolm could barely contain his glee when he saw the look on James' face. "You have a thing for her don't you, unrequited I bet."

Shaking his head James answered, "No, I don't have a thing for her. We are friends, Robbie and I are friends and Jean and I are friends. I don't like seeing my friends hurt."

"You have a thing for her. I can see it. She's brilliant, funny, beautiful. Lord knows she's closer in age to you than the aged Inspector. But she never saw you, did she? You were just the faithful sidekick, good for a drink or two here or there but never more. It must have killed you to have jumped into that grave and held her so close. To have comforted her only to have her turn around and fall into the arms of the Inspector. That's when she started falling in love with him you know."

James smiled triumphantly, "You don't know everything. She was in love with him when he came back from the BVI."

"No, that's when she finally decided to divorce me. She didn't start falling in love with him until he saved her from those twins. You might have been in the grave with her but she knew how and why you got there in time."

"You can't possibly know that? You hadn't seen her in years before then."

Malcolm smiled, he watched the seeds of doubt wind through the mind of James Hathaway. He was somewhat disappointed. He'd expected him to be a more worthy adversary, "Can't I? Just because we didn't live in the same city doesn't mean I didn't know what was going on. She was still my wife."

"On paper only. She left you and clearly you didn't want her because you never came after her."

"Is that what she told you? That I never came after her. How very revisionist of Laura."

James looked at him skeptically, "She told me you came here to give her the divorce papers."

Malcolm stood and picked up his bag. One of his greatest strengths was knowing when to make an exit, "One thing you should probably know about Laura Hobson. She may look innocent but she is as duplicitous as they come."

Malcolm walked casually past James towards the exit. At the door he turned back to James, "I'll tell you like I told Jean last night. I might not be the guilty party you want to paint me as." Using his back to push open the door he backed out of the room leaving James alone and questioning everything he knew.

Hate him all you want... He's a lot of fun...