Thanks to Caranath, max2013, hollyboo2001, ukfan101, Xenitha, Zenfrodo, Paulina Ann, SnowPrincess88, LazyPanther, Paaps, and MaddyR for their reviews.
There was a long moment of silence, then a quiet splashing sound as a handful of silverware slid back into the soapy water.
"You did what?" Joe's voice sounded louder than usual in the sudden quiet of the room.
"We shut down a homegrown terrorist cell." Frank's eyes turned back toward Kara, the muscles in his jaw suddenly tight. He let out a breath and leaned back against the counter. "It wasn't..." His voice broke off.
"It wasn't what we expected." Kara sat back in her chair. "We went in just thinking the guy was just selling fake IDs to underage college kids. It ended up being a whole lot more."
Joe looked from Kara's expression back to his brother's face. It was a carefully constructed blank. Looks like there's more this than he's letting on. I wonder...
"Can you tell us about it, or is it classified?" Anna was twisting her hair in a loop around her wrist. Her voice had a tentative note in it, and Joe noticed her watching Frank as well.
He turned his gaze back toward Kara. "Can you, babe?"
Kara nodded. "It's been long enough. It shouldn't be a problem."
Frank was now staring into space, the muscles around his jaw flexing almost imperceptibly. Anna stood from the table and walked over to him, the loop of hair floating down to her side. "I have an idea," she said, putting a hand on Frank's shoulder and pretending not to notice when he flinched ever so slightly at her touch, "why don't we have dessert in the living room? You and Kara can tell us what happened, and you guys can finish the dishes after. How does that sound?"
"Sounds great!" Joe forced a note of enthusiasm into his voice. The look on Frank's face bothered him. "What did you bring?"
"Well, you seemed to like the pie I brought for Thanksgiving..." Anna's words trailed off, her eyes still on Frank's face.
"Pie?" This time the enthusiasm wasn't feigned. Joe's mouth was practically watering at the memory of the last pie Anna had made. "Is it apple? Please tell me it's apple."
"I told you, Anna." Kara's voice held a wry note. "It was the only thing he talked about after Thanksgiving. For almost two weeks. He seems to have this thing about food." She shook her head and smiled fondly at him. "Fortunately, he also has a few other redeeming qualities."
"Of course, I do." Joe tossed the sponge into the sink sending droplets of water shooting up toward the ceiling, then froze, a frown forming on his lips. "Wait. Just a few?"
Kara snorted. "Well, maybe more than a few. Why don't you and your brother go sit on the sofa, and I'll make some coffee." She looked at Frank, raising her voice a bit. "Sound good?"
Frank shook his head, looking for a moment as if he were coming out of a trance. "Yeah. Sure. Coffee."
"We'll just take this with us. To keep it… safe." Joe reached out for the pie, but Anna snatched it out of his reach.
"No, you don't," she said, her dark eyes snapping. "I spent a long time on this pie and would like to eat some of it."
Joe sighed and slung an arm around Frank's shoulders, guiding him to the sofa. "Nobody trusts me," he said, making his voice sound small and pathetic.
"Not around food they don't." Frank's voice sounded strained even as the words automatically left his mouth. "Not if they've ever met you."
"Very funny, 'bro." He pushed his brother gently down on the sofa. "Now spill. I want to hear all about this case."
Frank shifted on the cushion, leaning forward until his elbows touched his knees. "It's more Kara's story than mine."
"What do you…?" A plate holding a generous slice of apple pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream appeared in front of Joe's face, making him lose his train of thought. He grabbed the plate and held it close to his nose. "Oh, yeah. Lots of cinnamon. Just the way I like it." Kara's immediate chuckle brought back what he had been going to say. "Kara's story? I thought the two of you were working together?"
Kara perched next to Joe on the arm of the couch, a much smaller piece of pie on a plate in her hands. "We were, so I beg to differ on that point. The coffee will be a few minutes. Anna and I figured you'd want to wait for your pie until it was ready."
"What? Oh, thanks.. I just meant..." Frank's words dropped off. "It was your first big assignment… I was just..."
"My partner," she said, her voice softening. "You were my partner. And it wasn't my case. It was our case." Her eyes locked on to Frank's, staying focused on his face even after his gaze fell.
"I know." Frank let out a breath.
Joe swallowed the large bite of pie he had put in his mouth without tasting it. "All right," he said, "one of you needs to tell me what happened on this case sometime in the next few seconds, or I'm going to go ballistic." He scooped up a fork full of ice cream and lifted it to his lips. "And go easy on the cryptic stuff. I'd like to concentrate on this," he gestured to the plate with his chin, "rather than trying to figure out what you're saying, or – given that it's the two of you who are going to be telling this story – what you're not saying. Deal?"
"Deal." Kara rolled her eyes at Frank. "Has he always been like this?"
Frank nodded, his eyes still focused on the braided rug under the coffee table. "Yeah, pretty much." His voice still sounded flat in Joe's ears. "Where's Anna?"
"Bathroom," Kara said. "She said she'd be along in a minute or two."
"We can wait," Joe said. "It gives me a chance to finish this and get started on slice number two." And so I can focus on what you're not saying, 'bro. If the way you're acting is any indication, it's going to be something big.