To Know A Man

Part 11

"I thought you two understood this was our investigation." Det. Vic Gibson was not pleased.

Tom turned away from watching the technician who was dusting for fingerprints to face the man, "It was an emergency. There was no time to try to find you."

Ellen O'Malley entered the small hotel room behind her partner. "So what happened?"

Medical Examiner Sterling Morton looked up from the body he was examining on the bed, "Suffocated. Lipstick marks indicate it was done with the pillow. There's some heavy bruising on the face and chest. She was slapped around first."

"How come you're here?" Ellen directed towards Tom.

"A woman called in to the station. Indicated that she knew who shot Harry. She was frantic before she hung up. Said that whomever it was had returned."

Cassy continued, "We traced the call to here."

Vic stepped forward to get a better view of the woman's body before Morton zipped up the plastic cover. "So you think who ever shot Harry and took a pot shot at you also killed her."

Cassy nodded, "It certainly makes sense."

"Have you seen her before?" Ellen asked Tom.

Tom shook his head, "Never. According to her driver's license, her name's Amanda Jacobs. She has a Jacksonville address."

"So we have no idea why she was in town," Vic concluded.

"To warn Harry?" Cassy guessed.

"If that was the case, she didn't do a very good job did she," Ellen responded sarcastically.

"Maybe she didn't know how to find him," Cassy countered.

Tom nodded, "Maybe by the time she figured it out, it was too late."

Morton motioned for his assistants to remove the body from the room. "I'll have time of death to you in an hour or so, but she hasn't been dead for longer than forty-five minutes or so. You had to have just missed the killer."

Before either Gibson or O'Malley could respond, Tom interjected, "We have Jackson and Guerrero and two other units searching the area. We told them to contact either you or us if they came up with a lead."

"Did the manager see anything?" Ellen fingered through the contents of the suitcase.

"No. But the room is hard to see from the motel lobby." Cassy answered.

"So we have nothing." Gibson leaned heavily against the wall.

Tom held up the driver's license, "Nothing but a Jacksonville address."

"Prints?" Ellen asked.

The technician, who had been listening to the exchange between the officers, nodded. "Lots. They don't do a lot of cleaning here."

"Great. That's probably a bust," the detective groaned in defeat.

"Well, Partner," Vic turned to the woman, "I say it's time for us to make a trip to Jacksonville." He reached out and took the driver's license from Tom. "We'll let you know what we find out." The two exited the room. Cassy and Tom followed them outside.

"Did you find anything in the parking lot?" Tom asked as the two climbed into their department issue sedan.

Vic grinned at Tom, "Yep. Your shooter is getting careless. We found casings in the alley across from the station."

"And?" Cassy pressed.

"And nothing," Ellen finished. "No leads from them."

Gibson started the engine to the car. Ellen rolled down the window after shutting the door. "We'll call you tonight and let you know what we found out. You'll be at home?"

Tom nodded his head, "Probably. It's been a long day."

The car pulled out of the motel parking lot. "Well that seals it. This isn't a professional hitter. A professional wouldn't leave casings behind," Cassy commented as she walked with Tom to their car.

"Nope." Tom was silent for a moment. He opened the driver's side door and climbed in. "Nothing about this makes sense, Cass. Nothing at all." He shut the door and started the engine. "What do you want to do now?"

"I'd like to go check on Harry. See if Frannie is okay."

Tom nodded in agreement and headed the car in the direction of the hospital.

Within a half-hour, the detectives had made their way to the hospital's ICU. The nurse working the main desk looked up as they approached. "Good afternoon," she greeted them pleasantly. "Are you looking for Mrs. Lipschitz?"

Cassy nodded, "We looked in the waiting room but she wasn't there. We figured she was here."

The woman shook her head, "No, I'm sorry. Her sister finally talked her into going home and getting some rest." The woman looked at her watch. "They left about an hour ago. I do expect them back early this evening."

"How's the Captain doing?" Tom glanced behind the woman in the direction of the glassed-in ICU rooms. The armed officer guarding one of the rooms gave an immediate indication of which room held Harry.

"He's stable. We have him sedated."

"Can we see him?" Cassy asked.

The woman nodded, "Sure, for a few minutes. Follow me." She turned to lead them back to Harry's small room.

"You can talk to him, but don't expect any response."

Cassy entered the room cautiously, Tom following close behind. The sounds of the heart monitor and respirator assaulted their ears as soon as they entered.

Cassy approached Harry's bedside. Her eyes took in the pale features of the unconscious man. Her hands were fisted tightly at her side, her anger welling up at the unknown assailant who had caused this pain.

Tom's eyes were torn between watching the still form of his captain and watching the barely controlled fury he could see building in Cassy. "You okay?" he asked with some worry.

Cassy gave a quick nod, but said nothing. Tom placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it affectionately. "He's gonna be okay."

"Maybe," she whispered. "He looks so sick. . .so weak."

"I know. It's hard to see him like this."

Cassy reached a hand slowly towards Harry's. Tom could see a slight tremble in her fingers. When her it made contact, she closed her grip around the injured man's, but said nothing.

Tom watched his partner from behind. He knew her body language too well. Without seeing her face he knew she was fighting to hold back unshed tears. Frankly, he felt the same way.

"You know, I didn't have a. . .a close relationship with my father. Being with Harry. . .it's like. . .it's like having a father close by," she stumbled through the words. Tom knew how hard it was for Cassy to express feelings which came from her heart.

"I know." He pulled Cassy to him and wrapped his arms around her so that she could rest her head back against his chest. At first he figured she would push away, assert her independence and hide her pain, but she didn't. Instead, she leaned against him and stayed within the warmth of the contact. He felt her body jerk slightly and knew that she had lost the battle to fight back the tears. He didn't comment. . .he didn't move. He let her release her pain quietly, without calling attention to it. After a few moments, he rested his chin on the top of her head, "I think we should both go home and get some sleep. We would both function better if we had some rest."

Cassy nodded silently, grateful that Tom had chosen to ignore her emotional release. There were times that she truly appreciated his sensitivity to her feelings.

Cassy leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on Harry's forehead, "Take care." She turned and left the room to wait for Tom in the hallway.

Tom reached out a hand to make contact with Harry's. His other hand touched the journal which he still carried in his pocket, "Thank you," he whispered.

End Part 11