In this chapter, a new bit of information has House thinking in a new direction.

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Chapter 127.

I expected Jake to answer when I called the number for Boomers, but the female voice on the other end of the line was definitely not his. "May I speak to Jake?"

"Who's asking?" The belligerent tone was strange since I'd been quite pleasant. Or as pleasant as I get.

"Dr. Gregory House." Stating my name usually got results, although sometimes not what I wanted.

"He's not here. I'll tell him you called."

I gave her my number, although it probably showed on their caller ID. "And whom am I speaking with?" She could have been someone off the streets, in which case he might never get the message.

"I'm Fran. That's all you need to know."

It wasn't really, but I didn't want to press the point. "I'll expect to hear from him, then. Thank you."

She slammed down the phone without another word. I didn't want to think about the odds she'd tell Jake I wanted to talk to him. But Jake wasn't the only one I knew who worked at Boomers. I glanced at the conference room. Chase and Foreman were both reading the newspaper, so I sauntered in.

"Do you know where your girlfriend is?"

Foreman shot me a questioning look, but Chase knew I was talking to him. "Ellie said she was taking the baby to the park."

Christopher wasn't really a baby. In fact, he was becoming more of a person every time I saw him. I nodded and left them to what passed for news in the local paper. It wasn't far to the park. The playground was another matter. By the time I reached it, my right leg was throbbing, and then it took a couple of minutes to find Ellie and Christopher. He was on one of the toddler swings, laughing as his mother pushed him.

"Ellie, I have some questions for you."

She slowed the swing, but the little one cried, "Faster, Mommy." She shrugged and resumed pushing him. "I can talk while I do this, I guess. Otherwise, you'll have to wait until he gets tired of the swing."

"Its about your time as a waitress at Boomers. Did you ever meet Mike Morgan?"

Her hand stopped, she stiffened and ignored her son's wails of complaint. "Why are you asking about him?"

"So, you do know him."

"I did." She grimaced. "It was a long time ago. He used to come into Boomers to drink." Ellie finally took Christopher out of the swing, held him in her arms and told him. "We'll swing more later, okay?" She kissed his forehead before turning back to me. "He came onto me a few times, even though Jake warned him off, saying I was too young for him."

"You know he was the one who killed Petey, Jess and Nina's mother."

She nodded. "I was glad they put him in jail."

"Was he that obnoxious?"

"Oh, yeah!"

I started putting two and two together. "Were you dating Petey at the time?"

Her brows knit. "I guess so. We saw each other most of the way through senior year, although we tried to keep it quiet because we knew his father wouldn't approve."

"What about his mother?"

"Her too, I guess." She looked at her son, shaking her head. "What are you saying? That my relationship with Petey had something to do with the accident?"

I looked around for a place to sit. A bench was nearby and I led Ellie to it. It was one of those wooden jobs with curved, wrought iron arms and very uncomfortable but it beat the grass. "I still don't know what to think, but it's a strong possibility that Morgan was after Petey when he hit the car with his truck."

"Oh." Little Christopher must have sensed his mother's alarm, because he pouted and squirmed on her lap.

"At least it explains that incident and gives Morgan a motive." I rubbed the back of my head.

"But that means Petey's mother is dead because of me." She looked alarmed.

I shook my head. "You didn't flirt with Morgan or encourage him, did you?"

"No, but my rejection may have pushed him..."

I interrupted her self-recriminations. "Ellie, the man's a drunk and maybe even delusional."

Her son leaned over and started gnawing on the top of my cane.

I gently removed his mouth from the wood. "That probably doesn't taste as good as whatever your mother has for you in her bag," I told him.

He looked at me with big eyes.

Ellie took the hint and rummaged in the huge tote next to her, pulling out a plastic container. She removed the lid and gave it to the boy, who promptly stuffed his mouth with Cheerios.

"How's he doing?" I studied the child. He'd gained some weight and seemed happier than he'd been only a month before.

"Great." Ellie smiled and kissed his forehead.

The boy held up a cereal ring to her. "Mama."

She laughed. "No those are for you."

He looked at me and then held his chubby hand out. "House."

"He remembers you." Ellie grinned at him and kissed his forehead again. "Yes, Chris. That's Dr. House. He's the one who made you all better."

"Maybe not all, but he does seem to be doing well." I continued to study the child.

"I'm not looking forward to the terrible twos, but that's still a few months off, and we've lived through worse, haven't we sweetheart?" Ellie nuzzled Christopher's stomach and he laughed. She turned back to me. "Nina says they'll be ready to start the business next week. It'll be fun working with her and Jess."

"You know Petey's going to be working for them, too." I watched her face.

She nodded. "That's not a problem. I think we both realize we've grown up and our relationship has changed. He's still a friend, and Christopher's father, but I've moved on and I think he has, too."

"Oh? Is he dating someone?"

One shoulder went up. "I think he's kinda playing the field."

The little boy finished his cereal. "Down." He looked up at his mother and slid off her lap to stand, holding onto her leg. He took a couple of tentative steps, then plopped down on the cement walk.He was still slightly behind kids his age in development, but had made tremendous progress since I saw him last.

I stood too, slightly more steadily than Chris. "Thanks, Ellie. I'll be seeing you."

"Bye, Dr. House. Chris, tell House 'goodbye'."

He looked up at me with his big brown eyes. "Bye."

I nodded at him and walked away, back toward the hospital. I had a lot to think about, but was certain one question was answered, and it would exonerate Peter Senior. Still, I didn't know what his connection to Molino was. I'd have to wait for the next day to question him about it. I did wonder if he'd ever met Morgan at Boomers.

Just before I reached the hospital, my phone rang. It was Jake calling me back. Fran had given him my message after all. "How can I help you, Doctor House?"

"I had some questions about Mike Morgan. Ellie already answered some of them, but what can you tell me about the guy?"

Jake snorted. "What a loser! And a drunk. I don't know what she told you, but I had to warn him off her several times. She was just a kid at the time, you understand. A pretty kid with curves, if you know what I mean. But still a kid."

"She said something about that. How about Mr. Giordano. Did he know Morgan?"

There was a short pause. "I don't think so. The boss never ate here, didn't come in during mealtimes."

"What else do you know about Morgan?"

"He worked at the factory. I think he drove a truck for them. Had his own pickup, too. You know he was the one who smashed into the Giordano's car."

"Yeah." I couldn't think of any other questions for Jake, but he'd confirmed a lot of what I knew. Still, on the off chance, I asked one more. "Do you remember anyone coming into the restaurant with an Italian accent?"

"Let me see." Another pause. "I don't think so. We get some Hispanics but I don't remember anyone from Italy."

That shot down another theory. "Well, thanks for calling me back."

"Hope to see you back in Dorsey some time. Jess and Nina, too. How's Ellie doin'?"

I noticed he didn't include Petey or his father. "She's fine and little Christopher is doing better. I'm surprised you haven't asked about your boss."

"The longer Mr. G stays away, the better I like it." He chuckled. "I heard he's settling in Princeton, too."

"So it seems." I ended the call and continued on to the hospital, stopping in the now empty conference room to add a few things to the white board before entering my office.

Ten minutes later Chase came in, frowning. "Ellie never told me about Mike Morgan harassing her."

"She probably didn't think it was something you needed to know. Or maybe she just forgot." I smirked at him. "Don't get your knickers in a twist over it. It was ten years ago."

He took a deep breath and let it out. "So you think Morgan crashed his pickup into the car because he was jealous of Petey?"

"It's as good a reason as I've been able to confirm so far." I shrugged.

He shook his head. "The things some people do for love."

"Or lust." I grinned. "Ellie's pretty and voluptuous in her own way. Why shouldn't he have the hots for her?"

"But she was only seventeen or eighteen at the time."

"And you think that would stop someone like Morgan?" I rolled my eyes.

"I don't know what Morgan's like and neither do you." His eyes narrowed.

"He's a hot head. He killed two women with his truck. How much more do I need to know?"

Chase frowned. "I guess he's living in Princeton now."

"You think he'd go after Ellie again? He's probably forgotten all about her. And there's no way he could know she was living here now, too."

"Just the same, I have to warn her." He sounded concerned.

"You can be her knight in shining armor and protect her." I smirked.

"It's not a joke, House." He turned and left.

I wondered whether he had any cause for alarm. I believed what I said, but Princeton wasn't all that big. Could Morgan still have the hots for Ellie after all that time?