Chapter 7

It took Calleigh the better part of an hour to shake off the last vestiges of her anger at John. She still carried the worry tight in her chest for Eric, too, so in all, she felt like a big, messy jumble of emotions.

Stressing over things she couldn't control wouldn't expedite the resolution of their case, though, so she summoned the cheery disposition the outside world expected from her, and she forced herself to focus on the details of the case.

"I heard you're bidding on the Cross of Santiago," Calleigh said in greeting to Speedle as she entered the lab.

Tim sighed. "I'm trying to. I can't get into this art site."

He clicked furiously on a computer screen where Calleigh saw an error message pop up again and again.

She smiled, her ever-present sense of competition getting the better of her, temporarily edging out most of the concern and frustration that took hold of her the last two days.

"I got in on the old PDA," she said, rubbing in her success just a little. "The Cross of Santiago could have been ours yesterday for a mere $80,000."

Speed gawked at her. "Somebody bought it?"

"Yep. Looks like we're making a trip to see a local art collector," Calleigh said before she paused.

"You're biting your lips, Cal. What's up?" Speed asked shrewdly.

She hesitated, not sure if she should invade Eric's privacy further or push her worries beyond her own conversations with him. But, then again, she already talked to Tim once, and he had also seen the changes in their partner. And he'd texted her about it, hadn't he?

"It's Eric," she said slowly. "Just keep an eye on him, will you?"

"You think he's compromised?" Speed asked.

Calleigh shook her head. "Not in the lab. But…" she chose her words carefully. "Horatio removed him from a dive today. I think Eric is still dealing with side-effects from that deep dive."

Speed groaned and ran a hand over his eyes. "You had him pulled, didn't you?"

He wasn't judging, Calleigh knew, but Speed was fully aware of how thin a line Calleigh walked, and he was as good as chastising her.

"I stand by it," she defended herself.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't have said something to H," Speed told her in as gentle a tone as he could muster, "but you know Delko will never forgive you if he finds out."

"Yes, he would," she countered a little less confidently this time. "Eventually."

Speed reconsidered. Knowing what he did of Delko's feelings for the woman before him, he figured she was actually right, and a mischievous grin slowly spread on his face.

"You may be onto something there, Cal."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, scrutinizing the gleam in his eye.

"Nothing," his wicked smile only growing wider as he shrugged a nonchalant shoulder. "Just that he'd basically do anything for you, including forgive you for calling his competence into question with his direct superior."

"First, I am Chief of Staff, so I'm Eric's direct superior, not Horatio. Second, I never called his abilities into question. Third…third…"

She could attempt no argument against Tim's declaration that Eric would do anything for her. Calleigh knew he would, even to his own detriment.

"That's what best friends do," she finished lamely.

Speed laughed gruffly. "Yeah, sure. Best friends."

"I'm going to pretend you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting, Tim."

Calleigh's sharp tone caused the man to think twice about pushing her further. He knew when to accelerate and when to brake.

Nevertheless, Speed decided to risk one last jab, and he said with a laugh, "Whatever you say, Cal."

"Let's just go track down this art collector," Calleigh griped. He'd pushed the right buttons today, and she didn't have time to deal with his side comments when her heart was a mess and they had a killer on the loose.

Speed smirked as he gathered his things and followed her out the door.