Chapter 23 #2
When George stared at her with widened eyes, DeCapristo shrugged.
“What? It makes sense. I assume the only reason you decided there was a case at all is because your partner could somehow sense it with his ability. And since all these deaths were crawler-related, it’s not a huge leap to think it’s someone like him. ”
“You’re right with most of it. Yes, Andi did sense that the arthropods had been influenced.
That’s how we knew it was murder. The thing is, Andi is pretty unique.
The chances of somebody like him being out there and the two of them meeting—they are microscopic.
I’d say even smaller than buying a lottery ticket. ”
“And yet, every year people win the lottery.”
“Yeah. I guess they do. And Andi can’t sense them. Or, more accurately, he didn’t sense anything from the people we talked to. We honestly have no idea if he could somehow tell if somebody was like him.”
“But he did feel the other person in the bugs’ minds?” The way DeCapristo stressed the last word showed how much she was struggling with the right terminology.
“Minds is as good a word as any. According to Andi, nothing arthropods experience is directly translatable to our reality. He’s had this ability all his life and still sometimes struggles with naming things or translating them correctly. It’s all a bit hit and miss.”
They both looked in the direction of the bed where his partner was doing a great impersonation of a puppet with its strings cut.
“How long will it take till he’s better?”
“Aww, don’t tell me you’re worried?” George was half-teasing and half-serious.
“Since Detective Hayes is currently the only thing standing between me and death by arthropod, I think I have a right to be worried.”
“Fair point. He should be better tomorrow. Going in fast and deep enough to keep the wasps from attacking us has taken its toll.” He sighed. “For what it’s worth, whoever sent them should be in a similar condition.”
“Should?”
“As I said, Andi is the only one of his kind I know. We’re flying blind here.”
“How very reassuring.” DeCapristo’s voice was as dry as a desert. “Do you think it’s safe for me to leave the hotel?”
“I honestly don’t know.” George turned his head in Andi’s direction. “Maybe you should stay a little longer. It’s early afternoon. We can compare notes on the case.”
“Now you’re willing to share?” She sounded skeptical.
“I am. You now know what we had to protect before. Not much reason to keep things close to our chests any longer, is there? I mean, aside from your charming personality.” The words came out with just enough reproach to make George realize he still held a grudge against DeCapristo despite the fact that his animosity against her was slowly dwindling.
She rolled her eyes and then turned serious.
“I apologize for that. I mean it. It was wrong of me to come at you with swinging fists. In my defense, when we met, Chief Savalle had already burned through what little patience and politeness I had left. I’ve been constantly fighting for the last fifteen months and going on the attack is now my default setting.
Plus, PMS is a bitch.” She lifted her hands.
“I’m not using my hormonal status as an excuse.
I’m just trying to explain why my behavior was less than—desirable. ”
George looked at her long and hard. “Less than desirable, huh?”
“I’ve always had a way with words, sue me.”
“Nah, too much effort.” George looked back at Andi again.
“Let me check if we can stay here or if it’s better to go outside.
Though I’m not sure where we could discuss the case privately.
” He neared the bed where Andi was now on his side with his eyes closed.
The washcloth sat askew on his forehead and right ear.
Putting a hand on his lover’s shoulder, George waited for a reaction.
Andi didn’t even stir. “If we keep our voices down, it should be okay to stay here.”
DeCapristo came back from the hall. She sat down on the chair at the narrow desk in front of the window.
George went to the other side of the bed.
Before he sat down, he first went into the bathroom to retrieve an additional towel, which he placed over Andi’s head, careful to leave his face in the open.
He hoped it would further muffle their conversation.
Then he got their notes from the second bed only to realize the flip charts were too big for the desk.
He motioned for the agent to come to the second bed, which she did.
While he put the flip chart sheets back down on the duvet, DeCapristo was watching him intently.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just—the way you care for him.”
“What about it?”
DeCapristo sighed and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Let’s just say I’ve never had that kind of partnership with anybody ever, and it throws me off-balance.”
“Well, I can assure you I’ve never had that kind of partnership with anybody before I met Andi, and it still throws me off-balance sometimes.”
She snorted. “Thank you. I feel weirdly reassured.”
“Then my work here is done.” George found it oddly easy to fall into banter with the agent.
Perhaps it was because, despite her having been a thorn in his side, he admired her tenacity and stubbornness.
Those were, after all, traits he’d seen in his mother all his life and believed to possess them himself.
It also confused him a bit, though that was human relationships in a nutshell.
No wonder Andi tried to avoid them whenever possible.
“You’re not as bad as I made you in my head.”
DeCapristo’s words were proof that she was thinking along similar lines.
“You neither. Which is a bit irritating, I have to admit. I liked you better when I could resent you from the bottom of my heart.”
“Ditto. Now I have this weird urge to be polite. And to actually work with you, not just exploit you for my own gain.”
“I feel honored. I think. Anyway, let’s look at what we have.”
He spread his and Andi’s notes out on the bed, DeCapristo got her cell out to look at her own findings, and they went to work.
Several hours later, without a significant breakthrough, Andi stirred with a soft groan. George immediately went to his side and helped him into a sitting position.
“How are you?”
“Bad. Though getting better.” Andi peered past the towel still draped on his head at Agent DeCapristo. “Huh. You’re still here.”
She waved tiredly from her perch on the ‘work’ bed. “Detective Donovan and I weren’t sure if it’s safe for me to leave, so we decided to work on the case.”
“Oh. So, hell did freeze over. Never thought I’d see the day.”
DeCapristo grimaced. “I apologize for being a bitch. Are you happy now?”
Andi blinked slowly. “You apologize for being a bitch. Not for having been a bitch?”
The agent grinned. “You caught that, hmm? Maybe you are as good as my boss claimed.”
“I can assure you I’m better. When my head isn’t killing me.” Andi winced and closed his eyes for a moment. George checked his watch.
“You can take another dose if you want.”
“Yeah, please. That was intense.”
George dug out another bottle of Tylenol, which Andi immediately swallowed, followed by some huge gulps from the water bottle.
“Better?” George took the towel from Andi’s head.
“Marginally. Give me another fifteen minutes. Now, what were you two up to?”
“We were going over the case, comparing notes.”
“Like team players?” Andi questioned.
“Like good little team players,” DeCapristo affirmed.
“And did your team playing yield any new insights?”
“Unfortunately not.” George sighed. “The only thing we can definitely say is that after the attack earlier today, we’re heading somewhere. I don’t know where, but the killer obviously thinks we’re getting closer.”
Andi leaned back against the headrest of the bed, taking the towel from George’s hands and draping it over his head again. This told George his lover was far from better and also that he wouldn’t get back to resting.
“The wasps were there for DeCapristo.” The statement sounded a bit muffled through the fabric of the towel.
“For me? Why? Before Detective Donovan and I started comparing notes today, I was nowhere near as close to solving this case as you, and don’t take this personally, but it doesn’t seem you’re that far into it either. Farther than me, admittedly, but not far enough.”
“You’re right.” Andi made a wincing sound.
“Damn, my head hurts.” George put his hand on the back of his lover’s neck and started massaging it softly.
Andi groaned. “They were there for you—of which I’m as reasonably sure as is possible under the circumstances—because I think that maybe we’ve been looking at this case wrong. ”
“What do you mean, wrong?” George had found a particularly hard knot on the left side of Andi’s spine and was slowly working it.
“Think about it. DeCapristo was sent here because of the judge.”
“Yeah, because he and his charming buddy were the only reason I could be sent.”
“Exactly. And that’s why we were fixating on them, weren’t we?
And then George and I found out about Suzie and Isabelle, and then we were fixated on finding the connection between all the victims, which, under most circumstances, would have led us on the right path, because a connection means a possible motive and a motive means getting an inkling who the killer might be. ”
“Yeees.” DeCapristo was eyeing Andi wearily.
George had a vague feeling he knew where Andi was going but was content to let his partner work through it because it kept slipping through his fingers.
“You found out that all of the victims were somehow connected to Paradise Home, which was great work, by the way.” DeCapristo sounded genuine, which surprised George more than he thought it should.