WPCTS1

Harvey caught Rachel’s arm when she started off down the pier. “You’re suppose to be resting, woman,” he scolded her.

She looped her arms around his waist and continued to walk at a much slower pace down the pier at his side. “But this is restful,” she argued. “Tell me honestly, don’t you feel great right now?” she asked. “Think about it. We’ve had the last twenty-four hours to ourselves. No raids. No paperwork. No phone calls. Just you and me and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

“You just had to get yourself shot to make that happen. Let’s not do that again.”

“That was a bit extreme, wasn’t it,” she returned playfully. She was in such a good mood that she had completely forgotten why she had such a perfect day off, but she was quickly reminded when she bumped into Harvey. She let her arms slip from around his waist and took his hand instead. The right side of her chest was still exceedingly tender.

Harvey hadn’t missed the flinch even though he didn’t say anything. “But you’re right. I do feel really good right now. It’s a shame that I have to head into work soon. I could sure use a couple more days like today.”

She got a mischievous look in her eye. “Do you feel so good that you feel like dancing?” she asked, a smile blooming when he gave her a suspicious look. “Sitting in the morning sun.” As she sang, her feet started to shuffle as she began to dance as well. “I’ll be sitting when the evening’s comes....” She felt like she was moving in slow motion, but her wound wouldn’t allow quick movements. Still, she couldn’t keep herself from dancing.

Harvey shook his head as he glanced around at the people on the dock. “If you think I’m going to dance with you on the pier in front of all these people, you’re crazy.”

She nodded her head as she continued to sing. “...watching the ships roll in. Then I’ll watch them roll away again....”

“Real men don’t dance, you know,” he told her.

“So what does that have to do with you?” she shot back, then had to laugh.

“Oh, that’s cold.” He looked at her with exaggerated pain.

“Hey, if you’re going to play the macho card, I’ve got to trump it. Now, I know it’s not Skin Your Face, but loosen up and sing with me. I’m sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away.”

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as she continued her slow dance. “Come on. You know you want to,” she teased, then began to sing again.

Harvey shook his head again, but he couldn’t keep from smiling as she raised their joined hands and slowly walked under them. “You’re nuts, you know.”

She nodded her head in time with the song she was singing. “Sitting on the dock of the bay wasting time.” The lazy song was perfect for that time, that place. She could feel the sunshine warming her face. It was a glorious day and she wanted to share it. Her smile grew even larger when he joined in with her.

“I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay. I had nothing to live for, look like nothing going to come my way. So, I’m just gonna sit on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away. I’m sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time.”

Before long, they were drawing a small audience, then two other couples joined in with their singing and dancing. Harvey just marveled at her. Rachel had a way of making magic that, not only enveloped him, but everyone around them.

* * *

Nash typed in the final details from the Montipinia fiasco and was moving his cursor to the save icon when his computer went blank. His mouth dropped open, then eyes darted around the room to the others at their desks. He could tell from their reactions that were having similar problems with their terminals. “Harv?” Nash closed his eyes briefly.

“Yeah boss,” Harvey returned from his desk after a muttered curse.

“We are suppose to be exempt from the rolling blackouts, right?”

Harvey smiled. He knew that someone down at the power company was going to be hearing from Nash. “We’re suppose to be,” he returned.

“I knew we should have had the generator primed and ready when they assured us that we wouldn’t be affected. All right,” he sighed as he rubbed his fingers against his forehead to ease the ache. “See what you can do about getting the backup generator running. Call in a tech if you need to.”

“I’m on it,” he returned as he stood from his chair and headed for the back of the barge. “Hey Barry,” he called out to one of the plain clothed officer. “Wanna give me a hand with this?”

Nash tossed him a wave in appreciation as he looked at his blank monitor once more. He couldn’t remember the last time he had saved his report, but he was fairly certain that the majority was lost. He shook his head at the thought of having to go over the details from the restaurant shooting again. That was all that he had been able to think about for the last few hours. Every detail from the surprise at seeing the DEA screeching to a halt outside the restaurant to the look of hate in Victoria’s eyes as she leaned over her brother’s body. He should have known that Truitt and Ogden would pull something as idiotic as storming the restaurant. He should have been ready for it, but he didn’t even see it coming.

Russell Craig had paid for that mistake with his life.

Joe stepped up to Nash’s desk with his hands shoved in his pocket. “I just got word. Victoria is having Russell’s funeral today at two.” He saw his friend look at his watch and knew what his next thoughts would be. “We probably won’t make the service with traffic, but we could make it to the cemetery,” Joe informed him. He knew that Nash wanted to be there if he could.

“Thanks,” Nash returned distractedly as he looked at the computer. With the equipment out, there was no excuse to keep him there. He could just finish up the report later. And yet, he hesitated. He was a little wary at what sort of reception to expect from Victoria. She couldn’t even look at him the last time they were together. And he couldn’t blame her for it.

“Don’t you think that this is happening rather fast?” Joe remarked as he and Nash started out of the SIU.

“What’s happening fast?” he returned in confusion.

“The funeral,” he clarified. “Craig is dead barely more than forty-eight hours and she’s already planting him?”

Nash looked over at his partner with a stunned expression. “Don’t tell me you think this is a scam?” he shot back.

“Victoria Castle isn’t exactly a stupid woman,” Joe returned. “And she had stressed from the beginning that she wanted Russell Craig taken care of.”

“Yeah? So?” he prompted, still waiting for the reason. He knew better than to assume anything with Joe.

“What if this whole death scene was a setup?” he asked.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me?”

“Think about it, Nash man,” he continued. “She sets the whole thing up, gets us as reliable witnesses, then after the funeral, Craig disappears. No one is looking for him. He’s free and clear. I know I didn’t think to check his pulse at the restaurant. Did you?”

“Of course I...” he began, then hesitated. He hadn’t checked for a pulse because he knew from one look that he would never survive the wounds.

“Uh huh!” he said in triumph.

“Are you out of your mind?” he demanded, brushing that one minor detail aside.

“Look, all I’m saying is that I wouldn’t mind having a look in that casket before it’s covered over.”

“This one really takes the cake, Joe. You’ve come up with some wild stuff in your time, but this one really takes it.”

* * *

Rachel was surprised when she opened the front door at Harvey’s and saw Cassidy standing on his stoop. “Hi Cassidy,” she said cautiously. Even though she was a police officer herself, it always made her a little wary when another officer stopped by unexpectedly. She had to deliver bad news to fellow officers too many times herself.

“Hey Rach,” she returned with little emotion. “Is Harvey here?”

Rachel shook her head as she let out a small sigh in relief. “No. He went down to the SIU for a couple of hours.” She eyed Cassidy speculatively. Something was definitely troubling her and Rachel wondered if it had anything to do with the Greco bust. She knew that Cassidy was having some problems dealing with the fact that she had killed someone. Harvey had told her that much, but he was a little vague on the details. Rachel gestured back into the house. “Actually, I’m expecting him any second. Would you like to come in for a few?”

“That would be great,” she said as she hesitantly entered the house. She glanced back over her shoulder at Rachel after looking around quickly. “This isn’t what I expected,” she said, a little of her old self coming through. “This is nice.” She nodded. “Dad told me about the Grateful Dead shrine and I just sort of assumed that it affected the entire house.

“Oh no. Harvey actually has great taste.” She smiled. “Believe it or not, he kind of has a thing for Martha Stewart.”

“You’re kidding?” she returned, completely shocked. That surprised her more than the Dead shrine.

“Don’t ask.” That was one quirk of Harvey’s that she didn’t quite understand herself. Silence hung in the air for several seconds before she gestured to a door across the room. “You can have a look at the Grateful Dead stuff if you want,” she suggested, hoping to break the stiff atmosphere between them.

“Sure,” Cassidy returned and followed her over to the tiny room. Tie dye shirts and scarves, photographs, albums, lava lamps and mementoes of every sort filled every inch of space. “Wow,” she said in awe. She had thought that her dad had been exaggerating, but it actually was worse than her bedroom as a teen. “This is obviously the reason that fan is short for fanatic.”

Rachel chuckled. “That’s Harvey. He tends to go all out when he likes something.”

She smiled at her. “Yeah, I noticed the way he was watching out for you.” She was a little surprised when she thought she detected a blush. She had never thought of Rachel as cold, but she knew that she didn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve either. It actually gave Cassidy a good feeling inside to know that Rachel was just as attracted to Harvey as he obviously was to her. They definitely made a good pair.

In the next instant, Cassidy realized with a shock that Rachel was just the person that she should have been talking to all along. Rachel had several years of experience as a cop and even some as a doctor. Undoubtedly, she had been faced with the same life-altering events at some point in her career. She he didn’t know why she didn’t think of it before. “Do you think that you and I could have a talk?” she asked.

“Sure Cass,” she returned, a little surprised that she would even ask. The two of them had never really been close mainly because they had never taken the time to get to know one another.

As Cassidy recounted the story of the Greco bust, the two of them sat down in the middle of the Grateful Dead room. The soft lights and psychedelic atmosphere encouraged the flow of conversation. Before she knew it, Cassidy had spilled her guts about everything that she had been feeling, something that she hadn’t been able to do with anyone. It felt good just to get it off her chest. “All I kept thinking was, I killed him. I ended another human being’s life.” She shook her head to try to stay out of that dark place. “Now, when I think back on it,” Cassidy concluded, “I have to keep reminding myself that I did what I was suppose to do.”

“Why reminding yourself?” she asked.

“Because if I don’t, all I can think about is the fact that this guy had a family.”

“Everyone’s got a family,” Rachel countered. “That guys business was destroying other people’s families and if you didn’t shoot him, he would have taken out Nash or Joe or one of the other guys. One of our family.”

Cassidy nodded, then laid back on the floor as she stared up at the slowly revolving lights dancing over the tie-dye drapes hung from the ceiling. “How do you do it, Rach?” she asked. She had a feeling she was missing something somewhere. “How do you get past something like this? I mean, I’m sure that you’ve had some major stuff happen to you before. And yet you seem like you have it so together.”

Rachel laughed out loud. “You’ve got to be kidding?” she asked. She suddenly remembered that Harvey kept a stash of suckers in that room for Jerry and started rooting around on one of the shelves while she spoke. “With the exception of my work, my life is an absolute mess. Ah hah!” she added when she found the loot. She tossed one over to Cassidy, then pulled one out for herself.

“You and Harvey seem to be doing okay,” she remarked as a sucker landed on her chest. She opened it and popped it into her mouth without a second thought.

“Harvey and I are a totally different story,” Rachel said after pulling the sucker from her mouth, then immediately popped it back in as she lay down on the floor next to Cassidy. She pulled the sucker out once more to continue. “Harvey may seem like he’s really out there sometimes, but he is the most together guy I have ever met.”

“How so?” Cassidy encouraged her.

“Just look at his philosophy for life,” she said. “It’s so simple. As far as he is concerned, if you’re honest, do your job and be kind to others, then the world would be a totally different place. And he’s right. It shouldn’t make any difference what color you are or what sex or what age or even if you have a different opinion. So what if he likes the Grateful Dead and I like N’Sync.”

Cassidy’s head popped up and she looked down at her in astonishment. “No way!”

Rachel cringed. “That shocking, huh?”

“You like N’Sync and you haven’t told Harvey yet?” she asked in innocence. Completely unaware that she had reverted back into her old persona. “Harvey is criminally addicted to the Dead.” Her eyes glazed over as she thought back on the many times that Evan had complained about Harvey subjecting him to hours of bootleg Grateful Dead tapes. “Oh this could be good,” she whispered as she thought about what would happen when he found out that Rachel liked a pop band. “Can I tell him?” she asked hopefully.

“No you can’t tell him!” she insisted as she rose up on her elbows. “Besides, it’s not like I have an N’Sync shrine and, for the most part, I love sixties and seventies music. I just happen to like them too.” She sucked on her candy for a moment, then she smiled. “And that’s how you get through it without losing yourself,” she said softly.

Cassidy looked at her blankly. “Huh?”

“Just now, you weren’t thinking about that guy from the bust. You weren’t pitying yourself. You were thinking about how to burn a confidant with her boyfriend.” She gave her a nudge for her betrayal. When Cassidy began to chuckle, Rachel did as well.

Rachel reached over and lightly punched Cassidy in the arm before lying back on the floor once more. They had never really been best buddies, but it was nice that they could share a moment. “It was a part of your life, Cassidy. You can’t deny that. It happened. But that’s not all that has happened in your life. You can’t let that one event dominate you or it’s going to define who you will be for the rest of your life. You haven’t let anything else in your past do that. Why let this?”

“So you don’t think that I should let the fact that I killed a man change me at all?” she questioned as she continued to stare at the ceiling.

“Oh no!” she returned. “I don’t mean that. If it doesn’t change you, then I would be concerned. I’m just saying that you need to stop wearing it like an albatross around your neck and move on.”

Rachel looked over at her then to make sure that her words didn’t do more harm then good and she saw Cassidy’s eyes dancing as her mind processed the information. She had figured that Cassidy was ready for some straight talk. She had dwelt in the misery long enough. “It’s okay to feel bad,” Rachel concluded. “But if you stay in it, it’s going to destroy you.”

Cassidy was quiet for a long moment. The answer was so simple. One day at a time needed to be one step at a time for her. One breath at a time. If she could take just one moment to not think about the death, then put that together with another moment, she would eventually moved past that dark period in her life. She had reached a turning point and it was her choice as to how to proceed.

Cassidy gestured up to a tie-dyed scarf in the corner of the room. “I like the red one,” she said distractedly.

“Oh no,” Rachel argued, pointing in the opposite direction. “The green one is the best. It’s not particularly my favorite color, but the design is so intricate.” Cassidy’s inane chatter didn’t fool her for one minute. Rachel glanced at Cassidy’s profile as she continued to search the room. She knew that Cassidy had gotten the message and the idle talk was merely her first step to get past the pain. She was going to be all right.

Harvey wasn’t sure if he should be upset, intrigued or excited when he came upon two beautiful women rolling around on the floor sucking on lollipops. No one down at the SIU is going to believe this one. “Ladies,” Harvey said tentatively as he stepped into the doorway of his sanctuary.

“Hi honey,” Rachel said with a smile as she propped herself up on her elbows once more.

“Hello,” he said slowly, still wondering if anyone was going to enlighten him as to why they were in his Dead room, not to mention in such a provocative pose.

“This is a great room, Harvey,” Cassidy commented as she rose to her feet. “It has a very comforting vibe.”

He wasn’t sure how to take her comment as he helped Rachel to her feet, but decided that it was best to accept it as a compliment considering the last time they talked, she tore his head off. “How are you holding up?” he asked Rachel attentively. The last place that she needed to be so soon after getting out of the hospital was in the middle of the floor.

“Better than you, apparently,” she said as she noticed the grease on his shirt and slacks for the first time. “What happened?”

“We lost power on the barge,” he explained. “Barry and I spent twenty minutes on the backup generator before we finally got it working.”

“I’ll bet Dad wasn’t in the best of moods.”

“For more reasons than one,” Harvey returned in a confidential whisper. He was certain that she hadn’t heard. “Joe and Nash went down to Pacifica this afternoon. Russell Craig’s funeral.”

Cassidy nodded. “I wondered if he would go.” She should have known that her dad would do the right thing, just as she needed to do. “Well, I need to get going. Harv, would you mind walking me out?” she asked expectantly.

“Sure Cassidy,” he returned, glancing over at Rachel curiously.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Rach,” she said as she walked out. “And thanks for the talk”

Harvey leaned in and gave Rachel a swift peck on the lips. “I’ll be right back,” he whispered and gave her a smile before following Cassidy out onto the front porch.

“Listen,” she said without preamble. “I just wanted to come by and apologize for the way that I acted the other day.”

“It’s all right,” he returned quickly.

“No it wasn’t,” she corrected him. “I was way out of line.”

“It’s not like you didn’t have a reason,” he argued.

“But you didn’t deserve to get the heat,” she countered, then sighed. “I’m not here to get into another argument with you. I just wanted you to know that I didn’t mean anything that I said. I actually kind of like your psychedelic side.”

He chuckled softly as he waved the compliment aside. “It’s over,” he assured her. “Forgotten.”

Cassidy smiled as she thought about the last few minutes with Rachel. She did more for her in a couple of minutes than the psychiatrist had done in several visits. Everything seemed so much clearer now. “You’ve got one heck of a lady in there,” she told him.

Harvey’s smile broadened. “I know.” He wasn’t sure what to expect when Cassidy closed the distance between them, then he leaned in when he realized that she wanted to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“You’re the best, Harv,” she said with conviction, then strolled down the walkway.

Harvey watched her until she climbed into her car to be sure she was safe, then he went back into the house. He looked at Rachel curiously as she stood in the entry hall, twirling her sucker in her mouth. “She was actually acting like her old self again,” he remarked as he walked over to her. “How did you do it?” he asked in awe.

“Just a little girl talk,” Rachel returned with a shrug.

“In the Dead room?” he asked tentatively.

“I had to do something to break the ice and she was curious.” She gave her sucker another quick lick. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, no. That’s okay.”

“Cool. I was afraid that I might be overstepping my bounds a bit, but I didn’t think that I could manage a discussion on Martha Stewart.” She smiled when he shook his head in confusion. “Are you here to take me home or is this just a changing run?” she asked, effectively changing the topic.

He shook his head. “I’m really not happy about you going back to your apartment this soon,” he said, reaffirming his argument.

“I know you’re not, but I feel like all I’ve been is added weight around here. Besides, you’ve got to get back to work, so I’m left hanging. I’ve got to do something even if it’s just messing around on my computer.”

“Can’t stay away from that Yahoo euchre, can you?” he teased. “You know I’m going to call you in the middle of the night to make sure you’re okay,” he warned her.

Rachel glanced at his oily attire as she smiled. “Good. Then I’ll get the chance to talk dirty to you.”

Harvey closed his eyes. She just loved to torment him. “My nice guy persona is about to go right out the window.”

* * *

Nash adjusted his jacket as he leaned back against the Cuda next to Joe. He had spotted Victoria the moment she had stepped out of the limousine. She looked absolutely regal in black and a little frail as Steve gave her a hand out of the car. Her head had barely moved, but he knew that she had seen him as well.

“Maybe we should have had someone here to take pictures,” Joe whispered as he looked around at the crowd. “There’s more crime bosses here than in the first two Godfather’s.”

“We’re not going down that road again, bubba,” Nash returned softly. “I’m here for Tory and that’s it.”

Joe looked around once more. Several people had taken note of their presence and were openly staring in their direction. “Do I have mustard on my shirt or something?”

Nash looked down at his partner’s shirt, then looked again. The erratic pattern included a mustard yellow color. “Even if you had mustard on your shirt, you could never tell.”

“Oh. That’s good to know,” he mumbled as he smoothed down the front of his clothes, then he looked around again. “You don’t suppose that Victoria told everyone about us being SIU, do you?”

He gave his head a slight shake. “I don’t think so. She couldn’t give out that kind of information without putting the focus on her involvement.” He scanned the crowd as well and several people bowed their heads slightly at him when they caught his attention. The entire atmosphere was strange. Everyone treated Victoria with an odd kind of reverence, which she barely acknowledged. “Something else is going on here, bubba.” His eyes locked onto Victoria’s statuesque form and he knew, even with the dark glasses she wore, that she was staring right at him. “And Tory doesn’t look too happy about it.”

* * *

Harvey stretched out on top of the covers facing Rachel as they stared into each other’s eyes. He had made sure that she had everything she needed and was tucked into bed before he even considered leaving her apartment.

“You know you don’t have to go,” she whispered as her fingers laced through his.

“Yes I do,” he returned, then smiled. “If I stay here, I can’t promise to keep my hands to myself.”

“And the problem with that is?” she asked, drawing a complete blank.

His smile broadened. “Doing the right thing around you is getting harder and harder.”

“Really?” she asked curiously.

He shook his head. “Have a little patience and a little pity,” he told her. “I’m not going anywhere. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“Sometimes that just seems so fleeting,” she said in a whisper as if voicing the fear would make it come true.

His fingers tightened around hers. He knew exactly what she meant. “We’re going to have it, Rach,” he promised her. “We’re going to have it all.”

She smiled at his passion. “I don’t want it all,” she told him. “I just want you.”

He brought their joined hands close to give her finger a kiss. “Then that’s everything,” he returned with a smile. “What do you say about finding a little hideaway somewhere and getting away for the weekend? Just the two of us.”

Her heart rate increased at the mere suggestion. “I can have my bags packed in ten minutes,” she told him enthusiastically.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he chuckled. “Preferences?” he asked. “Ocean view? Bed and breakfast? Luxury suite?”

“Surprise me,” she encouraged him. “You’re getting good at that.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ve got my work cut out for me in the future, coming up with new and interesting things to keep you on your toes.”

She smiled wantonly. “But I can make it worth your while.”

“Oh yeah?” he questioned as he moved closer. “It sounds like we’re going to have a very agreeable partnership.”

“Very,” she returned as she eliminated the distance between them to receive his kiss. Her libido was working overtime. She was more than ready to forget about getaway plans and move their partnership onto the next level that night. Then she winced when she rolled toward him and knew that Harvey was right to wait. She didn’t want to hold anything back when she finally got the chance to make him hers. “All right. You win,” she told him as she readjusted herself to a more comfortable position. “And I appreciate you not saying ‘I told you so’ the dozen or so times that you wanted to today.”

His smile broadened. There were times when he actually believed that she could read his mind. “It wouldn’t have done any good,” he returned. “You’re still as stubborn as a mule.”

“Stubborn enough to wait around until you noticed that I wasn’t just one of the guys,” she shot back.

“Thank God for that,” he said softly.

She lost herself in the blue of his eyes. There was nothing in the world that could move her like the sound of his voice or the touch of his hand. “Have I told you lately how utterly consumed I am with love for you?”

“Utterly consumed?” he returned, then nodded thoughtfully. “I like the sound of that.”

“I don’t remember seeing until I looked into your eyes. I don’t remember breathing until I kissed your lips. I don’t remember being until I held your heart.”

“That’s beautiful,” he whispered. “Is it a poem?”

She smiled a little shyly. “Actually, it’s from a poem that I wrote for you about three years ago. I’m surprised that I still remember part of it.” She gave his hand a light squeeze when he didn’t speak. “Don’t look so shocked. I can be creative, you know.”

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least. I’m just trying to think if anyone has ever written a poem for me before.”

“It’s past due, I’m sure.” She looked around the room briefly. “I’m not entirely sure where I put it. I’ll have to dig it out for you later because I definitely want you to have it since no one has ever written one for you before.”

“I’m tingling in anticipation,” he teased.

“I’ll try not to keep you in suspense too long,” she promised as she covered a yawn. “Now go away so that I can dream about you.”

“As long as the dreams are all naughty.”

“Is there any other kind?”

* * *