Only Time Will Tell
Part 4
"Here’s the preliminary work-up on Cardinal," Sterling Morton handed the thin file to Cassy and then plopped down in Tom Ryan’s usual space.
"Cause of death?" Cassy opened the manila folder, skimming over the analysis.
"Single stab wound to the chest. Severed the aorta artery. Death was almost instantaneous." The examiner’s voice was coldly analytical.
"Nothing else?" Cassy narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Nothing new. He had a one-inch gash in the back of his head caused by hitting the corner of the fireplace hearth. I found remnants of the white brick imbedded in the scalp."
"Nothing else unusual?" Cassy pressed.
"No, nothing stands out," Morton tilted his head. "Are you looking for something in particular?"
Cassy shook her head, "No. I guess not."
She read the notes in the file once again. Morton shrugged his shoulders, "It appears to be an open and shut matter."
"Yeah. It does appear that way, doesn’t it?" Cassy frowned.
"Well, Cass, do you have her convicted yet?" Tom’s voice surprised both Cassy and Morton. Morton vacated Tom's chair, allowing the tall detective to sit.
Cassy closed the file and slid it over to Tom’s desk. "Looks like your ex-girlfriend is in the clear." The comment was dripping with sarcasm and a hint of anger.
"She wasn't my girlfriend," Tom muttered.
"Janet Cardinal was your girlfriend?" Morton couldn't hide his surprise.
"She wasn't my girlfriend," Tom repeated with more insistence.
"Tom wrote a song for her," Cassy paused with a scowl, "while we were married," Morton looked at the two detectives and suddenly wished he had decided to return to his office as soon as he had handed his report off to Cassy.
"No, I didn't," Tom gave his partner a stern look. "Besides, what do you care now? You keep saying that the best thing we ever did was divorce."
Cassy smiled smugly, "I was right. I'm always right. I would have thought you would have figured that out by now."
"Well, you're not right about Janet." Tom slammed the file down on the desk.
Morton looked uneasily at the two and slowly backed away, deciding it was best to return to the sanctuary of his office. Neither detective noticed his retreat.
"I really don't want to get into this with you again, St. John. It's over. . .finished," Tom growled.
"Yes, it sure is," Cassy muttered a reply.
Both were quiet for a long while. Tom busied himself reading the Cardinal report for himself. Cassy called Assistant District Attorney Sommers and relayed the results.
"It looks like a classic case of self-defense," Cassy said into the phone. "Okay. If anything changes, we'll let you know." She hung up the receiver and looked at Tom, who was hunched over the file.
"Sommers doesn't see a reason to file at this point," she commented.
"Agreed. Based upon what Morton has here and what Janet told me, there's no reason to muddle down the system," Tom said coldly, not looking up at his partner, still miffed at her prior behavior.
Cassy leaned forward, "So where's she been?"
Tom glanced up from the file, "What?"
"Where has Janet been the past two years?"
"I don't have a clue." Tom answered succinctly.
"Really? That surprises me. You two were so close." Cassy pushed.
"Cass. . ." Tom glared at his partner in warning.
"As friends," Cassy clarified.
"Last time I spoke with her was a couple of weeks after our divorce. We had a. . .a disagreement," Tom frowned.
"Oh yeah? Over what?"
Tom was silent for a moment. He then brought his hazel eyes up to meet his partner's blue, "Over you."
"Me? Why me?" Cassy was perplexed.
"Janet couldn't understand why. . . " Tom caught himself before completing the answer. "Forget it. . .it's not important anymore."
Cassy sat back in a huff, "Fine. Whatever." She glanced at her watch. It's almost 5:00. I'm gonna head out. I have a date."
"Again? With whom?" Tom couldn't hide his curiosity.
"Still none of your business," Cassy replied sharply. She stood up from her desk and grabbed her purse. "See you tomorrow." Cassy looked at him with a sly grin, "Tell Janet 'hi' for me." She then turned her back on her partner and strutted out of the squad room.
Tom shook his head in disgust. There seemed to be nothing he could say, nothing he could do, which would convince Cassy that nothing had happened with Janet.
He leaned back in his chair and allowed his mind to drift back in time, to the last few weeks of what Cassy referred to as their 'matrimonial hell.'
Tom had met Janet during one of his workouts at the gym. He used exercise to temporarily escape the problems at home. He found that lifting weights, running on the treadmill until he could barely lift his legs, drove away the depression of a marriage that he could see slowly falling apart.
Janet was an instructor. On various occasions, Tom had seen her watching him when she thought he wasn't looking. One day she decided to speak to Tom, voicing a concern over the intensity of his workout. Tom responded, with a casual air, about needing to keep in shape. She laughed and said that she thought his shape was just fine the way it was. He blushed in embarrassment.
Over the next few workouts, he had found himself drawn to Janet. . .not in a sexual way, but in a friendship way. She provided a release for him. He could no longer talk to Cassy. . .he was losing his best friend. Janet became a substitute. The workouts expanded to lunches. Lunches expanded to suppers.
Cassy used Tom's newly found friend as a weapon. She became increasing hostile over the time Tom spent with Janet. This mystified Tom. Cassy was no longer willing to be with him, and yet she was furious that he was spending time with Janet.
Nothing Tom did seemed to make her happy. Each word brought anger, each touch was met with a flinch, each kiss resulted in being pushed away. So Tom sought refuge with someone he could call friend; with someone who didn't push him away. Janet was that someone.
As the date of the divorce moved closer, so did Janet. Janet made veiled comments about a relationship with Tom, but Tom made it increasingly clear that he was not ready for any relationship. He was still in love with Cassy. Janet would nod, say that she understood and return to her status as a friend.
On the night Tom signed the divorce papers, he and Janet shared a pizza, a six pack and a football game, as Tom tried to forget the failure that was his marriage. Suddenly, Janet's suggestions that she and Tom should move from friends to lovers became less covert
Tom had just put down the remote control when he felt Janet's hand slip under the front of his T-shirt. Her fingers skimmed lightly over his skin, until they rested lightly on his right breast. Tom couldn't hide his surprise. He reached for her hand and held it firm, "Janet, no."
She shifted her position, leaving her hand in place and bringing one long leg over his lap, straddling his legs. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Oh, come on Tommy. I know that you have wanted this for a long time. Why are you fighting it?"
Tom strained to pull his head away from her, "Janet, no. It's. . .it's just too soon."
She wouldn't give up. She extended her tongue until it made contact with his lobe, then she nipped it lightly, "No Tommy. It's been too long." She then moved down to kiss his neck, her hand now massaging his chest, "You don't know how many times I've dreamt of doing this, of being with you."
In spite of his mental turmoil, Tom couldn't help the physical response his body was giving. From her position on his lap, Janet felt the response as well. She gave a passing caress to the front of his jeans and brought her lips to his cheek, "I knew you wanted this, too."
Tom shook his head and started to verbalize another protest, but found his mouth suddenly full with Janet's tongue. Her lips were pressed firmly to his, using enough pressure to bend his neck back into the couch. Her hands were now roaming freely over him, squeezing him at will.
Tom brought his arms up to push her away. He was now battling his own rush of emotions. Admittedly, the release Janet was providing to his body was wonderfully refreshing. He had been so lonely over the past few weeks without Cassy that it would be easy to lose himself in Janet's body.
The thought of Cassy, however, changed his mind. Tom opened his eyes and looked at the woman on top of him, and all he could see was Cassy. . .no Janet. This realization was like a bucket of cold water being thrown over the moment. Mustering more will power than he thought possible, he pushed the woman away, "Janet, stop! No more!" he said gruffly.
Janet's face was filled with shock, pain and anger. Tears filled her eyes. "What? But I thought. . .I thought that. . .With Cassy gone. . ." she stuttered, not completing the sentences.
"Janet, I'm sorry. But it's too soon. I can't do this. . .not yet. I'm sorry." Tom pushed the woman off his lap and stood, retreating to the safety of the kitchenette.
Janet stared dumbfounded at the man. Her hands started to shake and the tears fell faster, "But Tommy, I love you."
Tom heard the words and felt his heart fall into his stomach. He looked at her without knowing what to say. She shook her head, unable to believe that he did not respond in kind. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, it wasn't with words that she wanted to hear, "Janet, I think you'd better leave."
Janet walked numbly to the table where she had left her purse, pulled her car keys out of a side pocket, and walked slowly to the front door. She turned to the man to voice one last protest, but before she could speak, Tom interjected, "No Janet. Just go. Nothing is going to happen here tonight."
Her brown eyes were filled with tears, her face flushed with the rising heat of anger. She opened the front door and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her, leaving an emotionally distraught Tom behind.
End Part 4
To Part 5