Cat and Mouse

By Terri D. Thomas

Part 10

Tom pulled his shirt collar closed so that the bruising around his neck would be hidden. He couldn't conceal the bluish-purple lump which had taken up residence on his forehead. It was bad enough that Harry was mother-henning him right now. If Cassy figured out what had happened with Murdock, she'd explode. There was no way Cassy would agree to stay in protective custody if she thought her partner was now a potential victim.

Tom shifted from side to side, fighting the overwhelming urge to run away when Harry knocked on the hotel room door. "It's Lipschitz," the older man called out.

While they waited for a response, Harry could hear Tom whisper "Please be asleep, please be asleep. . .."

Harry smirked at his detective. "Not with your luck, Ryan."

The door opened slightly, safety chain in place. Dark eyes peeked through the crack. "Good morning, Captain," the male voice behind the door greeted. The door was closed and the men outside could hear the chain being released. The door was then reopened to allow them entry.

"Morning, Ramirez," Harry said to the plain-clothes detective. He looked at the second officer who was standing behind the door, a few feet away, hand on her holstered gun. "Carter."

The woman nodded her greeting. Tom followed Harry into the living room and glanced around. "Cassy still asleep?" he asked, unable to hide the hope in his voice.

"She's up. I'll go get her," Carter offered and disappeared into the bedroom.

"Don't bother. . .," Tom started to protest and then stopped, realizing it was too late. Instead he tugged at his shirt once again, hoping that he had hidden all signs of the previous night's neck injuries. The head was a lost cause. Perhaps he could convince her he had run into a door.

Harry glanced at the man, as if reading his mind. "You're dreaming if you think you can explain that away."

The bedroom door opened and Carter returned to the living room followed by Tom's petite blond partner. Cassy looked tired. Tom could swear that the woman hadn't slept.

Her blue eyes settled on her ex-husband's face. They widened instantly. "What happened to you?"

'Well, that didn't take long,' Tom muttered to himself. "Nothing. Just a little accident."

Harry frowned at the detective. He then turned to the guards. "You two can take a break. Be back in thirty." The two officers left the hotel room without needing further encouragement.

Cassy watched her two babysitters leave and then approached Tom, doubt in her eyes. "Accident?"

"Uh. . .yeah," Tom stuttered.

Cassy turned to her Captain. "What happened, Harry?" Harry looked from Cassy back to Tom, but did not answer. Cassy's lips pressed together in a tight line. Her eyes drilled into her partner's. "You're a horrible liar, Thomas." The man didn't respond, a guilty look crossing his features. She examined his hazel eyes closely. He was lying to her; there was no doubt. She stepped forward and reached out so her fingers could inspect the damage. Tom gasped slightly with the light contact. Cassy jerked her hand away at the sound. "Sorry. That looks painful. You should learn to be more careful."

"Yeah. . .," Tom mumbled. "I can be a real clutz."

Tom could see the blue eyes drift down his face to his neck. They settled there. Cassy's hand moved to his shirt collar. Tom reached up and gently took her hand in his own, holding it in place. "What are you trying to hide, Thomas."

From behind the two, Harry cleared his throat. "Tom, show her."

Tom sighed and released her hand. She pulled the shirt open as far as the top button would allow and gasped at the livid bruises which were revealed. "What happened?"

Tom turned away from the woman. "I. . .had a visitor last night."

Cassy shot a worried look at Harry. "Harry?"

"It appears that it was Murdock," the Captain answered.

"What?" Cassy gasped.

"He wasn't there to do anything but deliver a message."

Cassy was fuming. "Oh, right. That looks like some message."

Harry stepped between the two. "Cassy, I think he may be right."

Tom's eyes widened with his own shock at his superior's words. "You're kidding."

"I had a lot of time to think about it last night," Harry admitted. "Murdock was delivering a message. I may not like the way he chose to do it, but the fact remains that you're still alive. If he had wanted to kill you I have no doubt that he would have done it."

Cassy shook her head and walked away from the two. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. You're trying to rationally explain his actions when he's a psychotic murderer. The guy's nuts. He doesn't act rationally, or have you forgotten what he did to me?"

"I haven't forgotten, Cassy," Harry said gently. "But you have to admit that if Murdock wanted Tom dead, he would have done it."

"He had me, Cass," Tom added. "Dead to rights. There would have been nothing I could have done to stop him."

Nausea settled in Cassy's stomach. The realization of how close she had come to losing her best friend hit home. Cassy said nothing for a long while, keeping her back to the two men, fighting the suffocating fear which threatened to overtake her. When she did finally choose to speak, the words were barely audible. "So what was the message?"

"That we weren't on the right track," Tom answered.

"Right track to what?" Cassy's confusion was evident. She turned to face the man.

"Sara McCarthy's murderer."

"He said that?"

"Well, no. But I'm sure that's what he was referring to."

Cassy looked suspiciously at her partner. "So you're guessing?" She shook her head and again walked away. The she turned to Harry. "How do you now it was even him?"

"We don't for certain, but nothing else makes sense at the present," Harry explained calmly.

"Oh, yeah, like that does make sense," the woman responded harshly, irrational anger flooding her. "If it was Murdock, Tom would be dead," she spat. She swallowed, realizing that she was very close to losing control. She made a conscious effort to maintain some semblance of coherency.

Tom shook his head, making sure his words remained even. "No, Cass. I don't think so. He said. . ." Tom stopped, changing his mind about revealing more about the confrontation with his assailant.

"What? What did he say?" Cassy's eyes narrowed.

Tom glanced at Harry. "Never mind. Let's just say that I know it had to be him."

"What did he say?" Cassy repeated, her voice more insistent.

"Thomas." Harry said his detective's name with a tone that left no doubt that he expected an answer.

Tom sighed. "He said that I wasn't to be disciplined." Tom's words trailed off.

"And?" Cassy pushed.

"And that now was not the time to punish you."

Cassy nodded her head, defeated. "It was him."

Tom nodded his agreement. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and could feel a slight trembling beneath his palm. "I know how hard this must be for you," he whispered. "But I don't think we can just assume Murdock is our primary suspect anymore."

Harry's voice interrupted. "There is one thing that is bothering me about that."

"Only one thing?" Tom scoffed as he moved away from Cassy, concerned and frustrated that she didn't respond to his words.

"Okay, lots of things," Harry corrected. "But one thing strikes me as odd now. If Murdock wasn't behind Sara McCarthy and his father's death, then how did the real murderer know to put that 'consequences of your behavior' line in the notes."

"Notes?" Cassy interrupted, emphasizing the 's'.

"Yeah, 'notes,'" Tom confirmed. "You received a second one last night with a picture of Burt Murdock. . . maybe unconscious, probably dead."

"Damn it," Cassy growled. "I've had enough of this Harry." She spun on her partner, feeling betrayed by the fact he had not previously revealed the existence of a second note. "How in the hell can you think that it's not Murdock behind this?"

"Cassy, I know this is hard for you. . .," Tom started to gently say.

Harry interrupted again, his voice calm and professional. "Let's focus here, people. Let's presume for the moment that Tom is right about Murdock. Like I was saying, how would someone else know to put that phrase in the letters?"

Tom shrugged, defeat shading his words. "Unless the murderer heard Murdock say it, it doesn't make any sense."

Cassy was quiet for a moment, clearly pensive. Finally a look of revelation crossed her face. "Anyone could have read about it."