So sorry for the delay

There are drives, and then there are DRIVES, Part I

Tristan stuffed his gloved hand into his coat pocket and held onto the drive. Rory unlocked the door and started to whine.

"I can't believe I have to come back in here. I don't think I will ever wear anything that is in this house again!" Tristan grinned.

"Wait here for a moment please. I have to check the house before we go any further." Tristan sounded aggravated.

"Hurry, please! I just want to get out of here." Rory said. Tristan sighed audibly. "I cannot believe this. She hasn't changed a bit still —a whining princess just like she was at school." He said under his breath. He knew there were listening devices somewhere. Rory looked around her front hall and living room. Could she come back here? Could all evidence of the tragedy be removed? She shuddered.

Tristan appeared at the top of the stairs. He signaled her to come up. "All right princess, let's get a move on. Grab your stuff and we can get out of here." He shepherded the reluctant woman into the bedroom. It was still a destroyed mess. Rory stopped in the doorway. Tristan directed her around the area where Madelyn had lain.

"Here, take this suitcase and load it up" he said. He bent to pick up a zipped case from the floor, opened the case and winked at Rory as they continued with the charade. Neatly folded clothes were in the case. "What do you want from here?" he asked aloud.

"That's not my suitcase. I had mine with me. Those are Madelyn's things." Rory replied, playing along.

"Okay, get a pillowcase then! I'll call the Captain to arrange for these to be delivered to the family."

Tristan slid his pocket knife into the lining and silently worked open a seam. After carefully opening a small area close to the bottom he slid the thumb drive into space then piled her clothes neatly back into place. He zipped the bag and put the case back where he found it.

Rory methodically opened drawers and the closet door. She watched Tristan and choreographed each noisy move to mask any sound he made. "There is too much for me to take now. I don't know if I can wear any of these things ever again. A murder! Here! How am I going to sell this place? I certainly won't live here…" She rambled on and moved about the room until Tristan was finished.

"Mary! Will you please just take what you need for a week, you know, clean underwear, socks, jeans...that kind of shit?!" Tristan exclaimed. The aggravation in his voice was nearly losing to the humor bubbling below the surface. He made a circling motion with his hand. Rory turned with a pillowcase stuffed with clothes and headed for the door.

"Did you get what you need?" Tristan asked as he stood to the side.

"I guess so. " Rory replied petulantly. Tristan almost lost his grip on the part he was playing. To regain control of himself he took out his cell and dialed his Captain.

"Yeah, Sir. This is Dugray. I brought Miss Gilmore back to her place to get some things. Yes, I accompanied her inside. She touched nothing but her bureau and her closet door. She stuffed her things into a pillowcase. Sir, we found a suitcase that doesn't belong to her. It appears to belong to the victim. I opened it to give it to Ms. Gilmore to use. She looked at the clothes still folded inside and told me it wasn't her case… No, I didn't go through it, I just closed it and we finished. Yes sir. We are leaving now. I'll come back with the forensics team and take care of the bag".

Tristan snapped his phone shut and they moved down the stairs. He put a finger to his lips to tell Rory to stay silent. They left the house, Tristan locked the door and they got into his car. He silently indicated she should remain in character.

"Now what?" She whined "Where am I going to stay? What if the hotels are still full? Can I go to my Mom's house? "What about my job?" She then sighed aloud.

Tristan clamped his teeth together to keep from bursting out laughing. Once they were out of sight of the house he did laugh. "You were perfect! You have a back up career as an actress." Rory grinned.

They rode on in silence for a moment or two and she asked "What now?"

"We will ditch this car in the police parking lot and you will get a cab to the farthest hotel from the station. I am getting my other car and drive in the opposite direction, meet you there and pick you up at the side entrance. We will then go for a drive."

"A drive? Where?"

"I'll let the Captain think I am taking you to your Mom's. " Tristan replied

"Okay…." She said, letting her thought just hang in the air. "Why let the Captain think you're doing that?"

"Plausible deniability. If the alphabet boys come asking about you or me, we are safely out of the way. If they were listening at your house, they heard you whine like a first class pain-in-the-ass. Hopefully, we can get the case to the evidence locker and whoever she was working for will claim it to return it to her family. In the mean time, the Snow Plow of Death angle should gain traction and the drive in the luggage continues to indicate WE know nothing about anything spook like, especially since there are no breaking news stories anywhere."

Rory swallowed a chuckle then became serious again. "Will it work?"

"I don't see why not."

Rory leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you Tristan. Okay, let's take this drive."