| Conversations Chapter 22 |
| An insistent buzzing echoed through the darkened room intruding on Casey and Harvey’s peaceful slumber. Groggily, Casey rolled over and looked around the room. "What is that?" "I forgot to turn my phone off last night," Harvey groaned as he pushed the blankets aside. "Sorry baby, go back to sleep." He reluctantly left the warmth of the bed and snatched the phone from the dresser. "Yeah, Leek here." "Harv, it's Nash. We’re meeting with North Beach this afternoon at two. I need for you to be here and if Casey feels up to it, ask her to come, too.” "Ok Nash. Give us an hour.” Harvey lay back down on the bed, propping up on his elbow as he gazed down at Casey while she slept. He lightly brushed her hair away from her face, taking care not to wake her yet. He draped his arm across her and lay back on the pillow as he recalled the past couple of months. Their relationship had been a roller coaster ride of emotions. They had laughed and loved, shared hopes and dreams, argued and separated only to be brought back together by the unconditional love that they shared. Finally, after all this time, Harvey felt content and happy in a relationship. Thoughts of marriage and family were on his mind but the timing didn’t seem right. For now, he would keep his feelings to himself knowing that the commitment talk would eventually come. He glanced at the clock and saw that he could no longer put off waking Casey. He playfully began nuzzling her neck causing her to stir almost immediately. "What are you doing?” she asked, still not quite awake. "If you have to ask then I must not be doing it right." He said mischievously. “Your beard is scratchy.” She laughed while trying to push him away. Sitting up, she gave him a quick kiss. “Good morning. Who called?” "Nash. There’s a meeting at the SIU this afternoon and he wants us to be there.” Harvey got up and took his clothes from the closet. "I'll get dressed first and make some coffee while you shower." "Fine." Casey mumbled as she burrowed underneath the covers. Harvey came back into the room and stood at the end of the bed staring at the still figure lying underneath the covers. He smiled and shook his head as he stepped over to the window and threw open the curtains. “Come on, sleepyhead. Get up. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and we have a meeting to get to.” "Can't I just listen in to the meeting on the speaker phone?" She moaned while pulling the blankets around her body even tighter. “What? And miss getting the pat on the back from the SFPD Top Brass?” Harvey grabbed the blankets and threw them back. He took her by the hands and pulled her up from the bed. Turning her in the direction of the bathroom, he gave her a gentle push and a little smack on the fanny. “You’ll feel much better after a nice cold shower.” He jokingly clapped his hands for emphasis as he continued his encouragement speech. “Hurry up, woman! Chop, chop.” "Yeah, yeah...chop this!" She groaned as she took an outfit from the closet, dragging it behind her as she shuffled towards the bathroom. Harvey leaned against the bedpost and grinned when he saw how slowly she was moving. “Sweetheart, are you always this grouchy in the mornings? If so then I need to…WHOA!” He had to duck to avoid being hit by the tube of toothpaste that she had flung in his direction. “Was it something I said, dear??” * Antwon and Stephanie were sitting at his desk, deep in conversation and did not notice that Casey and Harvey had arrived. “What are you two up to?” Casey asked while trying to look over Twon’s shoulder at the computer screen. “You have got to check out this computer program.” Stephanie enjoyed working with computers and having the opportunity to learn about new software programs posed an exciting challenge. “I’m going to mention this program to Captain Nelson when I get home.” “Home.” Casey hadn’t realized until now that she would be returning to Amarillo soon. She glanced over at Harvey who was checking messages at his desk. How could she possibly leave him? * The reports were signed and Captain’s Bridges and Jameson gave praise for a job well done. The investigation had taken almost ten weeks to complete and now it was over. Casey, Cassidy and Stephanie decided to celebrate with an afternoon of shopping. Harvey begged off from the shopping trip and hung around at the SIU to catch up on a little work. Nash was upstairs at his desk talking on the telephone. He slowly hung up the phone and took a moment to absorb the information that he had just received. He needed to talk to Joe and Harvey immediately and he walked downstairs to find them. Joe was out of the office but Harvey was working at his computer. Nash walked over and sat down on the edge of the desk. “Hey Harv, got a minute?” “Give me a sec to put the finishing touches on this new profile.” Harvey told him as he continued typing. “When my cover was blown on that last assignment, I didn’t take time to create a new one. I thought that this would be a good time to put one together.” He printed the information and handed it to Nash. “Jeffrey Orion Hunter?” Nash was amused by Harvey’s choice of names. “Where DO you get these names?” “Cop shows.” “Excuse me?” “You know, cop shows.” Harvey explained. “Hunter was the name of this detective show that I use to watch and Jeff is the name of this actor that Casey likes. He’s on that crime drama that’s set here in San Francisco.” Nash thought for a moment. “Is that the one with the womanizing police captain who drives around town in a hyped-up muscle car?” “That’s the one. I’m kinda partial to that ’72 ranchero myself.” Harvey placed the document in his private files and then leaned back in his chair, hands on his head. “Ok, you have my undivided attention. Waz up?” Nash cleared his throat and his mood became serious. “I got a call from David Katz earlier. McNair’s back.” * “Cassidy, your home is beautiful.” ”Thanks but it belongs to my mom. She did all of the decorating.” Casey and Cassidy were relaxing on the back deck of the house. They were sitting on opposite ends of a glider, drinking iced tea and talking about how their lives had changed since Evan’s death. “Casey, I’m sorry that I didn’t contact you after Evan died. I’m afraid that I didn’t handle his death very well. Did you know that I was in Vegas the night he was killed?” “Harvey told me that the two of you were planning to get married that night.” Cassidy ran her hand through her hair pulling it away from her face. She seemed to lose herself in the memory of that night in Las Vegas over a year ago. “We looked through the phone book and found this chapel that had a Elvis impersonator officiating at the weddings. We were going to be married that night when he returned from work. The next think I know, my Dad is telling me that Evan had been shot and died during surgery.” “I just felt numb.” Casey told her. “I didn’t want to believe that I had lost another brother.” The women sat quiet for a moment each remembering Evan in their own way. “Wait here. I have something for you.” Cassidy went inside and came back out with a small box. “Evan said this had belonged to your grandmother and I thought that you should have it back.” Casey opened the box to reveal the diamond engagement ring that had been passed down to Evan with instructions to give it to his true love. “I can’t take this, Cass. Evan gave you this ring as a token of his love for you.” She placed the box in Cassidy’s hand and whispered, “You keep it as a reminder of that love.” Cassidy sat down and looked at the ring lovingly. “I went out on a date with this guy and things were going great until he kissed me. I felt as though I were betraying Evan. I guess it’s going to take a little while to get used to the idea that he’s not coming back to me.” “I’m sorry, Cass. I can tell that you really love my brother.” Cassidy laid her head back against the glider. “I’ve loved him since I was sixteen. We had our share of problems over the years and broke up several times but I never stopped loving him. I don’t think that I ever will.” “It’s going to take time, Cassidy. It’s not easy to let go of someone that we love.” “Thanks, Casey.” Cassidy draped her arm around Casey’s shoulders as they walked to the front door. “You and Harvey will be joining us dinner tonight, right?” “Yes and I’m looking forward to it. Harvey and I both need a night out.” Casey was about to get into her car but hesitated. “Cassidy, if you ever need to talk, I’m just a phone call away.” “Thanks. Don’t be surprised if I do call.” * Harvey paced restlessly around the conference table feeling scared and angry. With McNair back in the country, he feared for the safety of his loved ones. “There has to be something that we can do.” “Relax Harvey. Nothing’s going to happen right away. He’s going to make us sweat it out for a while before he makes his move.” Nash was seated at the table looking over the file that they had been keeping on McNair for over a year. He was assumed dead after the plane crashed and burned on the Las Vegas air strip but in reality, he had survived and escaped from the burning wreckage. With the help of his Triad contacts, he managed to flee the country and over the past seventeen months, had undergone extensive reconstructive surgery. Federal agents had reported seeing McNair at JFK airport earlier in the week and according to Katz’s informant, McNair was back to regain control of his organization while vowing revenge on Nash, Joe and Harvey. Joe sat back in his chair, wishing that he felt as confident about McNair as Nash. “So, what are we supposed to do?” “We wait. Katz is tracking McNair and will be checking in with me on a daily basis with progress reports. The only thing we can do is watch our backs and take a few security precautions for our families.” Nash closed the file and stood up from the table. “For now, we meet the ladies, have a nice dinner and get on with our lives.” * Dinner at Ana Mandara Restaurant was an adventure for Casey. She had never tried Vietnamese food and was pleasantly surprised by the spicy cuisine. The men seemed unusually quiet but the women assumed it was because of a hard day at the office. Still, Casey couldn’t shake this nagging feeling that something was wrong. After dinner, the group stopped by CJ’s bar for a little dancing. Try as she may, Casey could not get Harvey onto the dance floor but she did dance with Chuck and Nash a couple of times. Nash and Cassidy left early with Joe and Inger following soon after. Stephanie had pulled Antwon onto the dance floor leaving Casey and Harvey alone at the table. He put his arm around her and leaned closer. “Looks like Twon and Stephanie have hit it off.” “I think they’re both a little sad that she’s leaving tomorrow.” “Speaking of leaving.” Harvey smiled sweetly. “Why don’t we finish this conversation at home?” “Nice segue, Harv.” Casey looked into his wonderfully expressive eyes and smiled. He wanted to spend some time alone with her but she had one last request. “Dance with me, Leek.” “What? Casey, you know that I can’t line dance.” She took him by the hand and pulled him onto the dance floor as a slow tune began to play. “I’m not asking you to line dance. I’m asking for a slow dance. You know, where two people hold each other close and slowly move in time with the music?” She practically fell into his arms when he slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her close with one swift movement. “Is this close enough for you?” They danced and laughed for a while. Harvey tried to push thoughts of McNair and the danger that he posed to his family from his mind. “Let’s go home, Casey.” He simply wanted to take his lady home, lock out the world and hold her close for the rest of the night. * The roaring fire in the fireplace lit up the front room. Harvey sat on the couch, staring at the fire and looking as though he were miles away. Casey came downstairs and hesitated before joining him. He had seemed so preoccupied this evening and she was worried about him. She walked up behind the couch and slipped her arms around his neck. “Sweetheart, you look like you just lost your best friend.” “No, not yet. I poured a glass of wine for you.” He handed her the glass before taking her hand to guide her around the couch so that she could sit down beside him. He was smiling but Casey could tell that he was hiding something from her. “What’s wrong, Harvey? You have seemed distracted most of the night.” “It’s nothing really, just a case that we’re working on.” He sat the glass down on the table and again stared at the fire. “Is that the only thing that you want to tell me?” “I…realized today that you would be going home soon.” He turned to look into her eyes. “I didn’t realize how hard it would be to let you go.” “I don’t want to leave you, Harvey. The thought of leaving breaks my heart but…” “Shh!” Harvey put his finger to her lips to quiet her. “We won’t talk about it tonight. Let’s just drink our wine and enjoy being with each other.” He gently brushed his lips against her hair when she laid her head against his shoulder. “We’ll resolve this, I promise.” |
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