by C Paradee
Tony heard the hurt in Megan's voice as she discussed her father, instantly disliking him. She listened silently, knowing it was something Megan needed to talk about. Tony decided that anyone who would hurt Megan, especially her own father, should be shot.
Megan continued, "Dad was pretty upset at me for breaking the engagement to Ray. He's a lawyer and since Ray was going to law school when we met, in his mind it was a perfect match." Megan continued, feeling very comfortable with Tony, "But, I always figured when the right person came along I would know, and I didn't feel that way about Ray," thinking, but I do about you. "What about you? Don't you think you'll know when you meet the right person?"
"Uh... yeah," Tony had not been expecting the question and was caught off guard, while her mind warned her, don't go there. Megan noticed Tony's discomfort and thought, guess that was a little too personal.
So changing the subject, she asked, "What was your father like?"
"I don't know. Mom divorced him when I was 3, and I never saw him again," Tony answered, and deciding to elaborate, continued, "I asked my mother one time who the tall guy with the mustache was that I remembered coming up the sidewalk carrying a black rocker," looking at Megan and adding, "we had a small black child's rocking chair when we were kids." Continuing, she said, "Mom was really surprised. She couldn't believe I remembered that. Turned out it was my father. That's the only memory I have of him."
"You mean he never came and saw you and your brothers?"
"No."
"Were you ever curious... I mean... haven't you ever wanted to find him, just to see what he's like?"
"Nope. Didn't seem much point to it."
"What about your Mom? What's she like?" Megan asked, changing course yet again
Tony remember the last time she saw her mother. The pain filled, grief stricken face, looking at her through tear filled eyes at the funeral. That picture was burned into the recesses of her mind. Shutting her eyes forcefully, trying to stop the memories, Tony clenched her jaw and said, "Can we talk later? I'm really tired. I'm gonna lay down for awhile."
"Sure," Megan said not fooled at all by Tony's evasion. Mom is off limits... Mm
The day passed quickly and Megan realized for only the second time in her short career, she was not looking forward to going to work. The first time had been Monday. Tony refused to do anything but enjoy Megan's company. She was sticking firmly to a 'one day at a time' maxim.
PART 3
DAVID WAS GLAD to see Megan when she arrived and quickly bought her up to date on events in the Coroner's office. He told her about the cases that had come in and who had been assigned what. He related that overall it had been pretty quiet
"You look a lot better," David began, shifting conversation away from the office
"Yeah, I feel better too," Megan said. "I was pretty wrung out Monday."
"How's Tony?"
"Oh she's doing really good. She's a really interesting person. It's kind of hard sometimes to get her listen to reason, though. She can be really stubborn. But I'm just glad I met her." Megan stated the last comment with more feeling than she realized
"Sounds like you two have become pretty good friends. I'd really like to meet her sometime."
"How about you guys come over for dinner tomorrow night?" Megan really wanted David to meet Tony. She knew he'd like her
David wondered aloud, "Is she staying with you?"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot you didn't know," adding, "until she finds her own place," which Megan hoped was never
David mused, well now that's interesting. Megan does seem happy though. Yes, I definitely want to meet this woman who seems to be making such an impact on my friend.
"Ok, what time?"
"How about 7pm?"
"We'll be there," David answered with a smile
Tony was bored and realized just how quickly she had fallen into a routine, and that routine included Megan. With sudden insight, she thought, I miss her, quickly dismissing the notion as ludicrous
Her back was still bothering her, but if she was careful about how she did things, it wasn't too bad. She flipped through the TV channels finding nothing that interested her. Walking over to where Megan kept her collection of videos, she looked at those. There was quite a variety, everything from 'Gone With the Wind' to 'Homeward Bound.' Talk about a diverse collection. But she didn't feel like watching a movie. Eyeing the computer, she decided to see what she could get into on that. Why not. Noticing a couple of game disks, she picked them up. Let’s see, we got Pitfall, nah too easy. Oh, good ole Tomb Raider - that would do. Putting the CD in, she began to play, quickly advancing through the different levels
The phone interrupted her game. Picking it up, she said, "Hello."
"Hi, what ya doing?" Megan asked
Without thinking, Tony responded, "waiting for you to get home," surprised at the comment. Megan paused and then figured Tony just must be pretty bored, so she answered, "I'll be there in a couple of hours. Did you eat lunch?"
Adroitly side stepping the question, and knowing Megan liked Chinese, she said, "how about you pick up some Chinese on the way home. I'm buying."
"Sounds good to me. Gotta go. See ya later."
"Bye," Tony's mood perceptibly brightened with the phone call
When they sat down to eat, Tony asked, "How was work?"
"Ok. It was fairly quiet. I only had one case, so I got a lot of the paperwork that had piled up in the last couple of days done."
"Did you take it easy?"
"Yeah. I played Tomb Raider for a while, but you know, I could never understand why they have Lara whosit killing animals. Seems to me she should be killing the bad guys," Tony quipped with a grin
"Tony... I'm sure," Megan replied rolling her eyes
"Well, what did the animals ever do to anyone? At least the bad guys deserve it."
"You're hopeless," Megan bantered back
"Ok, maybe androids," Tony amended, "or evil sci-fi monsters."
Megan just shook her head, smiling at Tony's teasing
"What would ya think about company for dinner tomorrow night?"
"It's your place. I can make myself scarce," Tony replied
"I'd like you to be there Tony. David wants to meet you. I told him about you and he's a very good friend of mine."
Feigning nonchalance, Tony asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"
"God, no," said Megan chuckling. He's coming over with his partner Mike. They're Gay."
An almost imperceptible expression flickered across Tony's face. Megan asked, "You don't have a problem with that do you? I mean... well... I could tell them no. But they're really nice. They're no different than anyone else," praying to herself that Tony's reaction didn't mean she was homophobic
It was everything Tony could do to keep from choking on her food for the second time in as many days. Problem with that... oh yeah right... ... damn, woman, if you even knew... swallow before you choke, dummy... now say something. "I'd love to meet them," Tony finally managed to say, her mind continuing to torment her with the irony of the situation.
Megan was performing her work functions on automatic pilot. Although she would never allow her work to suffer, she found her thoughts frequently on Tony. Not wanting to interfere with her rest, she limited herself to one phone call, looking forward to it as a junkie looks forward to a fix. She worried about the day Tony would start looking for an apartment. She couldn't bear the thought of going home to an empty apartment... without Tony. Her mind warned her, don't go there. Just take one day at a time.
David noticed how distracted his friend was and wished she'd come and talk to him. He'd always be there for her and he knew she knew it. But until she came to him, there was nothing he could do. Even though he had a few suspicions, he wasn't sure. He figured he'd find out if he was right that night
Tony was disgusted with her limitations. Even though her back felt better each day, she tired easily, and still spent a lot of time sleeping. She had quit taking the
pain pills deciding they were no longer necessary and all she did was sleep when she took them. The ensuing result was she had more time on her hands. Tony wasn't used to free time. She willed the phone to ring, hoping Megan would call. It was the one highpoint of her day. Tony had decided back in the hospital to take things one day at a time. There was no sense in worrying about things she couldn't control. She was willing to enjoy being around Megan in any way she could. It was better than the alternative which she wouldn't even think about. The last two mornings, she got up before Megan, made coffee and waited for her to appear. Tony relished their time together before she went to work, knowing how long the day would be until she got home. She knew if she called Brian one more time to find out if they'd made any progress on the case he would probably hang up on her
Megan had prepared dinner the night before, so all she had to do was put it in the oven when she got home. Chatting with Tony the time passed quickly, and David and Mike arrived right on time
Megan made introductions and shortly thereafter they sat down to eat. David lost no time starting the conversation rolling. Having a very charismatic personality and being naturally inquisitive, he immediately focused on Tony and asked, "Megan says you're new to Cleveland. Where did you move here from?"
"I was assigned to Washington, D.C.," she replied, giving her base of operations
"What's it like? I've never been there," David asked, a mutual assessment playing out
"It's actually quite an interesting place. We always referred to DC as cement city. You had to drive 20 miles in any given direction before you saw anything green. It has some great attractions. Besides all the monuments, and other tourist attractions, there are the Smithsonian Museums. Those were one of my favorite places to go. I don't think, no matter how many times you go through them, you could ever see everything. On the down side, everyone is so tied up in their career, or politics they don't have time for anything else except the nightlife. That's pretty wild. The city itself is very expensive to live in and has a very high crime rate, one of the worst in the country. Most of the people in the know choose to live in Maryland or Northern Virginia. Fairfax, in particular, is an exceptionally nice suburb."
Megan was amazed. She had never heard such a long oration from Tony. Megan realized she hadn't even scratched the surface of this eclectic woman
David turned out to be quite the conversationalist and all four found themselves enjoying the evening. Tony decided she liked the two men, particularly David. She could tell by his easy bantering with Megan that they were actually quite close
David, for his part, had watched the interaction between Tony and Megan all evening. He watched the surreptitious glances each lavished on the other, always taking care to make sure the other didn't notice. They were both so discreet that David realized had he not been specifically looking for it, he might not have noticed. But what neither one could hide was the spark that seemed to flow between them whenever they addressed each other. David decided he seen enough. But the question was, what to do about it, if anything
After David and Mike left, Megan asked, "What'd you think of them?" Megan had already determined by the easy interaction between Tony and David that she didn't have a problem with his lifestyle
"They're nice. Mike's a little quiet, but David certainly makes up for it. He's quite a charmer," she smiled over at Megan, instinctively knowing her answer was important to Megan.
When Tony got up the next morning, her first thought was, Megan's off today, which immediately catapulted her into an extraordinarily good mood. Getting up she headed for the kitchen to start the coffee
Finishing that, she took a bath and got dressed. Today she planned to escape the apartment. Going back to the kitchen, she found Megan reading the paper. "Mornin'," she said with a grin. Megan looked up at the smiling woman, greeted her in kind, thinking, I could get used to this.
"Wanna go out to breakfast?"
Tony's good mood was contagious and Megan was quickly caught up in it, but not wanting to take any chances, she asked "Are you sure you're up to it?"
"Yep. Besides, I really think I should get my car before they tow it."
"Oh, I forgot..."
"It's not your responsibility. Anyway, you've always driven, so why would you think about my car?"
"I guess you’re right."
"Course I'm right," Tony smirked. "So, where's a good place to eat?"
"George's, unless you want something more like Perkins or Bob Evans."
Tony didn't really care where they went as long as they went somewhere. "Georges sounds interesting."
"Ok, I'll be ready in a few," Megan said, leaving to shower and change
They enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, which Tony insisted on paying for, telling Megan, "Let me do something for you for a change." Megan couldn't stop the thought from running through her head, you already have.
After picking up Tony's car, they returned to the apartment complex to drop it off. Tony talked Megan into a tour of the Cleveland suburbs.
* * *
The nightmares had been occurring every night. Someone had to pay. It was time. Tonight. He had already picked three likely candidates. Now it just depended on who accepted first. Placing the first call, he hung up when the answering machine came on. The second call ended the same way. Making the third call, he heard the welcoming, "Hello." Putting on the charm, he invited her out for the evening, feeling his heart rate quicken when she accepted. He made arrangements to pick her up at 9pm, their destination the Flats. His disguise was ready, the only other thing he had to do was park his second car down in the Flats. He would use the transit system to transport him and his date to her meeting with fate.
* * *
"That's not fair," Megan complained
"What's not fair about it? Just cuz I got it right..
"You get all those right..."
"So. You get all the science and entertainment right," Tony parleyed back
"Well, I know some sports too, but I get all the hard ones," Megan griped affecting a pout.
"Oh, poor baby," Tony said, trying to look contrite, but unable to keep her smile hidden and they both erupted into laughter. They had been playing Trivial Pursuit and had found themselves very evenly matched. Megan, tiring of the game, said, "The X-Files is on at 7pm. Wanna watch it?"
"What - you don't want to play anymore?" Tony asked innocently. Megan glared at her. "Ok, ok, the X-Files is good."
Tony and Megan had grown quite comfortable around each other. Each had found ways to be near the other, without being obvious. Tony no longer used the recliner, preferring to sit on the couch near Megan. With her height advantage she could watch the smaller woman without being observed. She committed to memory everything about Megan, from every curve to every nuance of expression. Megan, who had always used her hands expressively, found herself touching Tony more and more frequently to make a point. She figured Tony didn't even notice because she never said anything. Both women wanted more, but neither was willing to take the risk it entailed, and so the charade continued.
* * *
He spent the evening totally charming his date with witticisms, and embracing her in a false shroud of safety. Suggesting they visit the other side of the Flats around Midnight, they departed the nightclub and began a slow, leisurely walk toward one of the water taxi landings. Turning down one of the alleys, they followed it around the first curve, entering the second. He stopped, and pulled her close as if to kiss her instead spraying her in the face with the small bottle in his hand careful to divert his face first. She pulled back in anger, before her body went limp. He held the small woman up in a lover's embrace, watching the panic in her eyes as her body's muscles shut down. Just before she suffocated, from lungs that no longer worked, he placed his hands around her neck, finishing the macabre death rite. Releasing her, he quickly made his way to his car, and departed the area. Securing the car in his garage, along with his disguise, he returned to his other car, turned on the p
olice scanner and began driving around.
* * *
Tony was awakened by the phone ringing and got up to answer it. But Megan had already picked it up
"Hello."
"Brian here. We got another one. South pier of the Flats again."
"Shit," muttered Megan.
"I hear ya. See ya there."
"Ok."
Tony who had looked at Megan when the mild expletive was uttered, asked, "What?"
"I gotta go. He killed another one," she answered. She stood and began to make her way past Tony before she was abruptly stopped by a hand on her arm. "Wait for me. I'm coming too."
"Oh no you're not," Megan said and knew an argument was brewing when she saw Tony's eyes narrow
"Megan, listen to me. I'm going back to work in a couple of days. There is no reason for me not to go with you to the crime scene. It is my case too. I feel fine," Tony patiently explained, holding a rein on her temper
Megan knew Tony had been an extremely cooperative patient. For the most part she had listened to her advice, even though Megan knew there were times when she walked a very thin line between anger and compliance. It was time for a compromise
"You are going back to *light duty*. That means sitting at a desk, not walking a crime scene." Megan paused to make her point, before continuing, "But I guess it'd be ok if you promise we'll leave when I want."
Pleased to avoid what would have been a major disagreement, Tony said, "Sure."
Tony and Megan approached the scene, the disjointed flashing of blue and red lights pierced the darkness, lighting their way. The crime scene ribbon, already in place, was being guarded by patrolmen. Both women flashed their respective badges and gained entry.