What makes courage wither? Part 4

Late afternoon, Andy found his Captain in the orange hallway. Her stature was rigid as she stood with her arms crossed and stared at a spot on the wall; she had her phone clutched in one hand. The small furrow between her eyebrows had progressively deepened into a frown during the day. Andy had to fight an urge to smooth it out with his thumb. Truth be told, he generally fought the urge to touch her, but today, with the threat of Stroh and a second serial killer running rampant, he felt it even more intensely.

"Hey, there you are," Andy greeted her as he walked towards her, mindful that she was far off. He kept his voice low and shrugged off any annoyance he felt toward the cases.

Sharon turned around to regard him, the frown swiftly dissipating as she laid her face in more neutral tones.

"Hmm?" she hummed, her look turning questioning.

"SID have combed through the State Park and the beach again."

"And?" she prodded.

"Nothing that seems to be of any interest to us and our case," Andy replied with a downturned mouth.

She gave a vague nod and then again she seemed to be staring off into space. She seemed uncharacteristically distracted, not that Andy could blame her. The cases were a lot to juggle and he figured she did not like feeling vulnerable.

"Deputy Wilton should be here in an hour," Sharon told him as she looked at her watch.

"The deputy called you?"

She shook her head, her eyes narrowing, "No. The man circumvented every standard protocol and called the Mayor and Chief Pope. Apparently he doesn't think Major Crimes will be up to par on investigating his son's death. He says, and I quote; major crimes' fixating on the false rape charges against his son instead of using our time to find a vicious killer, is a colossal waste of effort."

Andy gritted his teeth, "So the idiot wanna play it like that, huh?"

Sharon gave him a small smile, "He wants an update, and he's not shy about using his resources. Understandable when your child is dead."

Andy sighed, "Yeah, understandable maybe, but I just had a very depressing conversation with Desmond's parents."

"They called you?" she pursed her mouth.

Andy nodded, "The mother called me. She was pretty upset and wanted a clarification. Wilton told her we found her son murdered in the State Park."

"So," Sharon stated in a low voice she usually reserved for speaking to people who were being obstinate, her eyes narrowing in annoyance, "Deputy Wilton gave the notification to the Desmonds - without clearing it with us? Without understanding it can affect the whole investigation? Not to mention, I'm not sure the deputy is well versed in giving bad news."

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, her exasperation clear.

Andy nodded and once he had eye contact with her again, he spoke "The Desmonds are on their way here as well. They're pretty angry that they had to hear it from Deputy Wilton and not from us."

Sharon sighed, "What a mess."

"Yeah," Andy agreed, his eyes holding hers, "I couldn't lie to Mrs. Desmond and say it wasn't true."

Sharon placed her hand on his shoulder, a soft smile, "It's okay, Andy. It's always hard to keep information to ourselves when other police departments are involved, and especially when grieving parents intervene. We'll figure it out, have a quiet talk with both parties and take it from there."

Andy nodded, "Okay, but meanwhile, I thought we could grab a cup of tea, or something, before they all arrive and it will be chaos come to life."

Sharon gave a tired, miniature nod, and when Andy gestured in the direction of the break room, she set in motion.

"You wanna do the interview with the deputy?" Andy asked her as they walked.

Sharon nodded with a strangely dark smile, "Oh yes. I read up on him and made a few calls around."

"That sounds ominous," Andy commented with a small chuckle, "he got a record?"

"The man has some… spots," she replied vaguely.

Andy was certain 'spots' had to be more in Sharon Raydor's book than simple misunderstandings.

"What do you mean, spots? Freckles?" he teased her.

That brought out a genuine smile. The first smile of the day directed at him that held enough warmth to tingle underneath his skin. He couldn't stop a smile forming on his on lips in return.

She held the break room door open for him and shook her head, the small smile turning rueful, "The deputy appears to have a reputation of letting serious matters slide in his department whenever it is in his favor. It's on public record and their department is being audited at the moment. The local newspaper wrote a chronic about corruption and nepotism a few months back, detailing and highlighting the rape charges against his son and how those were swept under the rug."

"That must not have gone over well?" Andy wagered.

She shook her head, her mouth pursed in half-veiled disgust, "No. Tension seems to run high between the local police and the journalists of the paper; the reason, actually, for the audit. The deputy and some of his subordinates had been conducting illegal raids against the journalists; giving them speeding tickets, signing them up for misdemeanors that never happened and so on."

"Christ," Andy uttered, "that's some spots, huh."

She nodded in agreement.

In the break room they filled the boiler kettle with water and then found teabags and cups. As they waited, Andy tried to not stare too much at her, and he held back asking her about the bouquet of roses again. It must be on her mind for sure; it was on his mind, heavy and fearful, ever since he had seen the bouquet in her arms. It irked him that the day they discovered Rothman murdered, Stroh chose to send Sharon an identical bouquet of roses. Truth be told; it scared the shit out of him.

"You alright?" he ended up asking her, turning his body around to face her fully. Andy knew all about not poking a sleeping dragon, but he needed a bit of reassurance from her. Their conversation this morning had not gone over well, and he just needed her to know he was on her side.

She looked up, her expression more open than earlier, "I'm fine."

Andy arched an eyebrow. Fine was never fine; at least not from what he had learned in the last decades.

She smiled knowingly and corrected herself, "I will be fine."

Andy leaned forward, his expression sincere and concerned, "Anything I can do?"

The smile grew bigger, "You're already doing it, Andy."

"Oh," he smiled back, feeling inexplicably happy, "well, in that case."

She shook her head, "Don't let it go to your head."

"Too late," he grinned.

"Hmm," she hummed, and then with a smile she teased, "Yes, I think your head have gotten bigger."

Andy let the comment slide and instead he grinned mischievously with a shrug and playful look, making her words seem like an innuendo and making her well aware of it.

Her smile stayed on and the way she briefly looked away from him, the small tell of a blush on her cheeks, made him smile more. What were the odds, that of all people, she could turn his whole day around with a simple smile?

"I'm sorry about this morning," she said, giving him a small hesitant look, her fingers fiddling with a teabag.

"Hey," he took a step closer and latched onto her hand, her slender fingers intertwining in his, "Nothing to apologize about. I was being an ass."

He hung unto her fingers, his thumb circling a small caress on her knuckles.

She smiled.

In any other setting, Andy would have kissed her. Full on the mouth, both hands on the sides of her head. In a way it was fortunate they were at the office; he had promised himself that he would let her set the pace of their relationship even if it meant she set it at a snail's pace. And despite the two steps forward and the three steps back, he treasured spending time with her, no matter what that time consisted of. But that did not mean he could not think about it though, the quick, small kisses they had shared a month back and the exultant emotions he had felt, replaying in his mind.

Andy smiled back at her.

…