Possessing Morgan:
A Matter of Conviction
by Aurelia
See Part 1 for Disclaimers
Chapter 16
Sitting inside a dark utility closet at the hospital was probably not what Morgan imagined she would be doing that night, but here she was. Despite her best intentions she found herself standing outside Andrea’s room, faltering at the last step when she heard voices, taking refuge in the dark until her family had departed.
This love stuff makes you do stupid things. Love? Couldn’t be. Hey stupid, you’re sitting in a damned closet in the dark. Why else would you be here? Morgan had to finally admit defeat. She had well and truly lost it.
The voice on the intercom announcing the end of visiting hours startled her. Lately, her nerves had taken a severe beating, leaving her a nervous wreck at the slightest sound. She'd always thought of herself as reasonably sane. Now… well, she was completely obsessing over a woman laid up in a hospital bed whom she couldn’t protect from some nut-job hell bent on trying to kill her. Some cop she turned out to be.
Twenty minutes later Morgan found herself back outside Andrea’s doorway doing a double take at the room number on the wall. All thought of seeing her again immediately faded from her mind, her soft features hardening instantly. She pushed through the door to find Andrea sitting up in bed, a male nurse injecting something into her IV. “Where are the police officers assigned to this room?” The nurse ignored her, continuing to feed in the liquid from the syringe. “What are you doing?”
“It’s just something to help me sleep, Morgan.” Andrea watched the agitated woman, wondering what was going through her head.
The detective looked the nurse up and down, taking in the calm demeanor and the crisp look of his scrubs. “Andy, remove your IV.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Just do it, please.” Morgan’s hand reached for her weapon, her attention momentarily diverted from the nurse as she went to remove it from her holster. At the same time the blonde made a move to remove the needle from her hand, not seeing the fist slamming into her temple. Morgan’s heartbeat raced at the quicksilver movement of the fist that sent Andrea into oblivion. Without thought, she lowered her head, running straight into the man with her good shoulder, slamming him against the wall with a thud. The vases rattled with the force, two of them smashing to the floor in protest. Morgan applied Rule One, bringing up her knee into the man’s groin and sending him to the floor in agony. She moved quickly to the unconscious woman, ripped out the IV, and hit the button for the nurse.
Morgan braced herself for the assailant’s attack, tearing away the sling from her arm. The man grunted at the pain, saliva slipping uncontrollably out of his mouth. He tried to stand, one hand covering his groin as he straightened. He said nothing, but the look in his eye told Morgan she was in for a whole heap of pain. Charging her, he wrapped his arms around her torso, squeezing enough to draw an agonized cry from the pain in her wrist. “Now we’re even,” he rumbled, chuckling at her discomfort. His grip shifted down, trying to get at her gun, but the holster was safely tucked underneath her jacket.
He was in the same predicament as her, unable to get to her weapon.
“No, we’re not,” she whispered back. “No where near enough.” The bear hug gave her very little room to move, so she dropped her good hand and grabbed his genitals, squeezing as if her life depended on it, which it did if he got hold of her gun. She was face to face with her nemesis, watching his eyes redden as the blood was cut off to his damaged manhood. His face slowly turned red and the pulse at his temple stood out in sympathy as her hand closed into a fist. The roar that emerged from his mouth nearly deafened her but she held on until he released her. She stepped back, giving herself plenty of room before she deftly side-kicked him upside his head, sending him to the floor out cold.
At that precise moment a nurse arrived in the doorway then, just as quickly, disappeared to summon assistance. Morgan perched herself on the end of Andrea’s bed, nursing her wrist as the pain pulsated through her arm. She quickly checked the counselor, relieved to see her pulse still beating strongly in her neck. Morgan touched her just to reassure herself that things were alright. Her chest hurt from the shock, her pulse jumping in her throat and making her sick. So close… again. How many more times was the counselor going to have to look death in the face only to be snatched back at the last moment? The detective knew that her odds of each successive save would shorten. It was only a matter of time before she would be too late.
The two police officers rushed in only to be met by her fury. “Where the fuck were you!?” She stepped boldly towards them, forcing them to take a step back.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Detective Sergeant O’Callaghan, officers. I was fighting for my fucking life and you two morons were whacking off somewhere. You were supposed to be on duty.”
“The nurse... he told us that you guys had the suspect cornered two floors down. He said…”
“He said. Didn’t you, just for one fuckin' second, think that he could have been...oh... let's say... LYING!? Maybe... just MAYBE he was trying to get you outta the way!?”
“But…”
“No fuckin' excuse! You never EVER leave your post! Your stupidity nearly cost the counselor her life.”
“Sorry…” They mumbled in unison, knowing they were in deep, deep shit. Up to their ears kind of deep.
“This is not over, you hear me?” Morgan was barely keeping her anger in check, her finger jabbing the air in front of their faces. Her assailant had very nearly killed Andrea, and possibly herself as well if given the chance. She started to shake at the thought of what could have happened.
Morgan shifted out of the way as a team of doctors and nurses arrived to survey the damage. “Doctor, this man injected something into the patient’s IV.” The white mass of humanity moved in and hovered over the woman in the bed and the man on the floor. Standing out in the corridor Morgan reached for her cell phone, dialing a number that had been used way too often recently. “Henry, something’s happened at the hospital. How soon can you get here?”
* * *
Twenty minutes later her partner arrived, looking a little disheveled. It had been one long ass day. “Is she okay?”
“That looks like it, thank God. She’s got the headache from hell from where the guy slugged her. They’re still trying to find out what he had put into her IV.”
“How did you know?”
“He was wearing boots. Why is it they never think about the feet?”
“So, where is he?”
“He’s wrapped up ready for delivery. I enjoyed that bit.”
“And what about you, Red? You look like shit.”
Morgan chuckled. If Henry said she looked like shit then she was in serious trouble. “Yeah, I guess I do at that. I’m not really ready for a fight yet, Chinatown.” She reached into her pocket to extract the pain killers, popping one in her mouth and dry swallowing it. The steady throbbing slowly abated while they waited for the doctors to finish with Andrea. The captain arrived a short time later, a look of bulldoggish determination written on his face.
Congregating around the coffee machine, three worried people held a meeting. “So, is this the end of it? They’ve got him in custody, right?”
“Yeah, they do, but he’s not talking. Not even name, rank and serial number.” What Morgan really wanted to do was to find some nice quite alley and beat the information out of him, especially after all the pain he had caused Andrea and herself. It was moments like this that she wished she wasn’t so damned ethical. In a more sane state she would have berated herself for even thinking such a thing but right now, pissed off and in pain, she wanted him to suffer. “The end of it? God, I hope so. I really do.”
Morgan wanted it to be all over so that she and Andrea could get on with their lives. After her mop-closet-revelation she wanted the counselor to know her decision and to see if she was receptive to the news. There was really no doubt how Andrea would react but until she heard those words come from that beautiful mouth she was living in fear that it was all in her head.
“Officer…” Andrea’s treating doctor appeared in the doorway, raising his voice across the corridor to get Morgan’s attention. He strode across the distance with authority, a young clinician who was full of his own importance.
“What did you find, Doc?” Morgan saw him stiffen when she refused to use his name. Live with it.
“You were right to pull the IV. It seems that the intruder was injecting her with morphine. If the patient had gotten a big enough dose, well, she wouldn't have come out of it.”
“And….” Oh God… “And is she alright?” Please, oh please…
“She’s fine.” A whoosh of air escaped Morgan’s lips, attracting Henry’s attention as the air shifted over his face. In his peripheral vision he watched his partner react to the news, her body shifting restlessly with agitation. No more hiding, Red.
“Here,” the doctor handed her a marked zip lock bag. “You may want this.” Morgan held up the bag to see a bloodied bullet. Andrea's death warrant. The red stain sent a shiver through the tall detective, visually reminding her how close she came to losing her.
“Is she up for visitors?” Markham wanted to see with his own eyes that the counselor was safe.
“Yes, but only for a few minutes. She really needs some rest.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Morgan was the first to move, nearly bowling over Henry and Markham in her need to see Andrea. She did not see the exchanged looks as she entered the room as her focus was entirely on the blonde in the bed. Her tiny figure seemed to fade away in the large bed, making her seem even smaller than she actually was. The two men nearly ran into the back of the redhead, who had stopped dead in the doorway. “Hey…” Morgan had never seen anything so wonderful as the counselor sitting up in bed tossing a smile her way.
“Hey…” Twice this woman had laid her life on the line for her. Andrea seemed to be slipping more and more into… what? “Looks like you saved me again.”
“Lucky I was in the neighborhood.”
“Yeah, Red. I thought you weren’t visiting her tonight.” He grinned as Morgan gave him an annoyed look over her shoulder.
“I… changed… my… mind.” Morgan spat out the words, her look telling Henry he was in for it.
Markham stepped around the human traffic jam in the doorway and approached the bed. “So, Counselor, how are you doing?”
“Could be better, Captain. Considering what could have happened, I’m doing okay.”
“Good to hear. Good to hear. I guess you’re wishing now that you had stayed in Charleston, huh?”
“Oh, I don’t know. New York has its charm…” Deep brown eyes slid over to nervous green ones for a split second before returning to the Captain. “So, what’s going on?”
“Morgan nailed him and we have him in custody. Should be the end of it.”
“I’ll be glad to get back to work.”
“Take your time. I got a hold of the District Attorney. He's been out of town as I'm sure you know. It took a bit of fast talking to keep him from running off to the airport in his jammies. I informed him that we have the perpetrator in custody so he will be in to see you tomorrow. And don’t worry about work. It will still be there when you get back. Your recovery comes first, Counselor.” Morgan watched her captain as he spoke to the young woman and she could see the lines of concern around his eyes. No one at the station house ever saw this side of the man, only the snarling, impatient career cop who wanted answers yesterday. Her respect for the man jumped a couple of notches as he patted Andrea’s hand in comfort.
“I will see you two in the morning.” Markham held out his hand for the round. “The bag, Sergeant. I’ll drop it at the police lab since I have to go past there anyway. I’m gonna make sure our villain is safely tucked in for the night. I’ll leave the two officers outside her door for the evening... to finish their shift.”
“If you don’t need me, Sir, I’ll stick around here for a little while.” The benign smiles of the two men never doubted that for a minute.
“If you think you should, Sergeant. Just don’t be late for work.”
“I’m not staying all night, just a few minutes.”
“Uh huh.” Damn!
As she watched the two leave Henry looked over his shoulder at her and gave her a wink. She motioned him to leave and swore she heard a chuckle drifting down the corridor. Morgan turned to the woman lying in the bed and felt her apprehension grow. She perched herself on the edge of the bed.
“So…”
This close she knew the counselor could read her like yesterday's newspaper, discovering all of her secrets and fears. A lone hand touched her cheek, slowly drawing down the freckled plane to reside on her lips.
“Yeah... so... why did you come back tonight?” There it was… THE question.
There was no point in lying. Andrea already knew the answer. All Morgan had to do was voice it. “I was just visiting you. What’s wrong with that?” A tired face studied her, a blonde eyebrow rising slowly, questioning her response. “What? You don’t believe me?” The small woman didn’t flinch, holding her expression. “Okay… okay…I couldn’t stay away from you. But you already suspected that.” There was an imperceptible shake of Andrea’s head. “How are you really feeling?”
“The doctor gave me a shot for the pain so I’m not feeling much right now.”
“Wish he’d given me a shot….,” Morgan muttered.
“I'm sorry, what did you say?”
“Nothing. You seem to be in better shape than me at the moment.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Just got banged up a little. I’ll live.”
“Morgan! We need to have you looked at!”
“Nooooo! Look, I'm fine. Seriously. He got the drop on me, that’ all.”
“That’s not like you.”
“Known me a few days and you know that, huh?
“I knew it from the moment I saw you.”
“Okay… My mind was elsewhere.”
“Where?” Andrea could feel that this was important. Too important to let slip by. “Where was your mind?”
“It…” Those green eyes look deep into the counselor’s. “It was with… you.” Morgan breathed deeply. “I was with you.”
“You were?” Wide eyes looked at Morgan and her heart jumped in her chest as she put two and two together. A shy smile touched those perfect lips as the truth sunk in, her face lit up with joy at the knowledge. The redhead was truly enchanted with her reaction, her inner child jumping for joy at finally finding a playmate. “Wow.”
“Wow? That’s it?”
“Yeah…” she whispered, “…wow.”
“Wow.” Morgan replied. “I guess that says it all.”
“Oh yeah.” They sat quietly for a moment, absorbing one another. That line in the sand had just been removed by mutual consent. “So, what happens now?”
“Well, I’ll have the pleasure of interrogating our little friend tomorrow…”
“No, no, not that.”
“Huh? Oh…” Ohhhh. “Nothing’s gonna happen. At least until this case is over.”
“Why? What’s stopping us?”
“Nothing. It’s just… I don’t need the distraction right now.” As soon as the words left her mouth Morgan knew she was in trouble.
“A… distraction. I’m a… distraction?”
“No… yes… God woman! See what you do to me! I can’t think straight around you.” Morgan pleaded. “Can’t we just wait all this is over? Please sweetie.”
“What? You mean to tell me you finally say ‘yes’ and I’ve got to wait? My mother put you up to this, didn’t she?”
“Good God, Andy! Come on…”
“No. This is so not fair, Morgan. You’re doing this to drive me crazy, aren’t you?”
“I most certainly am not…”
“Well, you’re succeeding.”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down? This is one of the most momentous days of my life and you want me to calm down? Jesus Christ, woman!”
What could she do? Andrea was at full steam and she was unable to get a word in edgewise. “Andy…”
“Yeah, I’m gonna come unglued here…is that what you want?!” she was muttering as if Morgan wasn’t even in the room. “God! Why am I so tired?”
“Andy!”
“I’m stuck in this... this uncomfortable as all hell... bed here and she finally...FINALLY... tells me what I want to hear and I can’t do a single solitary goddamn thing about it…,” a sneer appeared on her lips as she slowly worked herself into a bundle of nervous energy.
“ANDY!”
“Huh?” Finally she noticed Morgan sitting next to her. “What?”
“Will you calm down! You’re gonna blow a gasket. Then where you gonna be, huh?”
“In a friggin' hospital I guess! Just as well I’m here already!”
Morgan sighed. “Look. I didn’t say ‘no’, did I?” She waited for confirmation from Andrea. “So, it’s only a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’. Right? Right!”
“I guess so…” The counselor’s lips turned down, presenting a very cute pout to the detective, who couldn’t help but laugh at the picture in front of her. “Are you laughing at me?” Andrea was just looking for a fight.
Morgan knew this was one argument she was not going to win. “Yeah, but only because you look so adorable with that pout of yours.”
“Pout? I do not pout.”
“Uh huh.” She finally got to use the phrase that had haunted her the last few days. “Now, if you don’t behave yourself woman I may be forced to do something drastic.”
“Drastic? Like what?” The blonde’s mind sifted through a number of possibilities, scared if the detective tried any one of them.
“Well, I was gonna kiss you goodnight…”
“Don’t you dare tease me like that!” Andrea’s heart beat double-time at the thought of being denied.
“Will you stop all this ranting and raving?”
“I will! I will. Pleeaaasssseee.” Andrea wasn’t above begging for what she wanted, drawing a teasing smile from the object of her affection.
Morgan could feel the adrenaline pumping through her in response to Andrea’s reaction. It was turning out even better than she had ever imagined. Her solitary life was coming to a close and, despite her misgivings, she wanted it so badly she could taste it. The redhead was simply content for the moment to ride the wave of excitement at the prospect of a relationship with this woman, dismissing all the problems that she knew would arise for both of them not only at work but in their personal lives.
Presenting a calm exterior to Andrea, Morgan insides were churning. She was feeling a lot of things at that moment. Nausea and excitement were at the top of that list, but a shot of adrenaline that flowed to the sensual heat of her was rising swiftly up that same list. “Alright then…” She leaned over to the expectant lips, barely brushing them with her own.
“That’s it?” Morgan just smiled. She was not prepared for the quick hand that wound her way around her neck, drawing her in to the simple touch. The kiss was not wild or frantic, that was not what this was about. It was an expression of commitment to the journey the two of them were about to embark on. Gentle, slow, thorough and loving.
Morgan withdrew, her eyes still dreamily closed. It was over but it was not nearly enough. Eyelids fluttered as her body came back to earth, jade orbs finally looking at what her mind had imagined, locking with dark brown pools. Deep, dark, beguiling and bottomless.
“Well, I guess I... ah... better go then and let you get some rest.” Neither wanted to separate but common sense reared its head and made the decision for them.
“I suppose so…” Andrea knew she needed her rest but her heart was pounding wildly with the news. She didn’t want it to end just quite yet. “When will I see you again?”
“Ahhh… I’ll probably be busy tomorrow with our little perpetrator.” Morgan had not wanted to broach the subject of her family but she wanted the woman to know why she wouldn’t see her too often in hospital. “Besides, your family will be here to keep you company.”
Andrea could see that the detective was fidgety and nervous. “My family? You’re not scared of them, are you?” Morgan couldn’t look her in the eye. She had publicly backed down in front of Andrea’s mother and everyone knew that she had allowed herself to be beaten. “Just ignore my mother, okay? She still thinks she has a right to make my decisions for me. As far as I am concerned, Morgan, she can go to hell. It’s my decision and I’ve made it. You understand?”
“Yeah, I understand.” But the voice was uncertain.
“You did absolutely nothing wrong. My mother just knows how to read people. And how to exploit the hell out of it, too.”
“But she was right.”
“No! She was not! It’s not your fault, Morgan.”
“Yes, it is.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because I got a call the day after the hit and run saying that he was using you to get to me. It’s about the Vaughan case, Andy. He’s hurting you to make me drop out of the case... drop the case... mess up the case... who the hell knows.”
“You're joking? Really? Wow.” She had been going nuts trying to figure out why in the hell somebody was systematically hunting her down. Three times he's tried to kill her. Three times he could have killed her... but didn’t. Maybe she was no use to this guy if she was dead.
“Yeah, so I am at fault here and I can’t protect you.”
“But don’t you see? You caught him. He can’t hurt me anymore.”
“But look what he’s done to you already.”
“Arrrr, a little scratch here, a little hole there. But what he has given me is far, far more than I could have ever imagined, sweet woman.”
“What?”
“He gave me you. It was worth it, Morgan, if it made you realize what we could have. Don’t you see that?”
“I would have preferred to have kept you in one piece, Andrea.”
“And miss out on all the pampering you're going to bestow on me? Not likely.” That brought a smile to the distressed detective’s face.
“I gotta go.”
“Tomorrow night?”
"Ah yeah... I have a ton of stuff to do...maybe..."
“I’ll get my parents out of here quick, okay?” Andrea could read her like a book.
“Okay. Fine. I'll see you tomorrow evening."
* * *
Morgan arrived at work the next morning all fresh and full of energy. She had the first decent sleep in a long, long time last night, and she finally realized what had been missing from her life all these years. She was happy.
Today was going to be a busy day, she just knew it. A call from the Massachusetts State Police brightened her morning with the news of Perkins’ apprehension. His extradition back home would only take as long as it would for someone to go and get him. It seems the man offered no resistance. In fact, he was rather surprised by the whole operation. Forensics confirmed that the second set of mysterious prints belonged to Perkins, so he had some explaining to do when he was finally in their custody.
Morgan nodded at Henry as they rose to go and begin their questioning of Andrea's assailant. This was the first big break in the case and would hopefully answer some questions.
* * *
In the interrogation room Morgan faced her assailant, a man of average height and weight whose demeanor spoke anger and violence. He hadn’t said a word since he had been arrested, steadfastly refusing to answer even when asked if he wanted a lawyer. Despite his lack of acknowledgement, Morgan arranged from someone from the Public Defender’s Office to represent him. There was no way in hell she was going to allow this bastard to walk on a technicality.
“Now, come on. You can at least give me your name.” The room was sparse but crowded with people. Besides the perp and his lawyer, and Morgan of course, two jail officers stood either side of the door, well aware of the man’s violent nature.
“Screw you.” The deep menacing voice struck a chord in the sergeant, its echo resounding from the threatening phone call she had received.
“Hmmm. Now is that the ‘screw you’s of the Bronx or the ‘screw you’s of Flushing?” Morgan turned her attention to the young lawyer from Legal Aid. “I’m sure that I don’t have to remind your client that his cooperation will greatly help his cause, do I?”
“I’m sorry, Sergeant, but it seems he doesn’t wish to help either you or his cause. I can only remain to guard his interests.” The young man took in the broken arm in the sling. “We wouldn’t want you beating on him, now would we?”
Morgan feigned shock. “Counselor! I’m surprised at you for even suggesting a thing!” She grinned wickedly for all to see, before her demeanor seriously changed. “Now listen to me. There is nothing in this for you if you don’t cooperate, only a long prison sentence. You failed and now you pay.” His stony face told her what he thought of her suggestion.
Her eyes swept to the shadowed wall behind the prisoner. Henry’s dark eyes caught the muted light and glittered menacingly back. He looked like a panther ready to strike. If she failed he was ready to step up to the plate.
Morgan opened a file easily an inch thick. She scanned the contents of the arrest sheets sitting on top. “Well, well, well.” She looked up at the stony-faced accused watching her. “Lenny, Lenny, Lenny. My, my, my. We have been a naughty boy, haven’t we? Breaking and entering, assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, extortion and the list goes on and on. You’ve been busy, Lenny. What's wrong? Couldn't decide on a career?”
No sound came out of Lenny, content to just sit and watch his accuser. “Ahh, Lenny, my fault. Excuse me. You are from the ‘screw you’s of Brooklyn.” Morgan smiled sweetly at the man, studying him with interest. He was obviously an enforcer but his height and build contradicted his chosen profession, which is probably why he managed to slip by the officers at the hospital. He was ordinary, and as such he could pass for anyone.
“What? So you playin' ‘bad cop’ or ‘bad at bein' fuckin' funny cop’?”
“The mute speaks! Guys, it's a miracle. Somebody call the Pope.” Henry had been content to let his partner do the interrogation as she seemed to have an instinctive feel for these things.
“I got fuckin' nuthin’ to say to you.”
“But that’s where you’re wrong, Lenny. You’ve got lots to say.”
A low chuckle barely reached her ears. “Ya think you gonna make me talk? Whatever, bitch.” He looked over at Henry standing against the wall. “She any good in the sack?” When he got no answer, he spoke. “Not interested in you or just dudes in general? She a fuckin' lezzie?” Looking Morgan up and down, he laughed out loud.
“Why the counselor?” Morgan leaned on the desk, trying to make eye contact with her perp.
“Whaaa..? Who?”
“You know damned well who!”
“No idea. Whoever done it, she probably deserved it.” He could see her bristle at the comment. “She your bitch or sumthin’?” He leaned forward. “So how'd she die? Slow and in pain? Did you watch the life drain outta her, huh? Wish I was there to see that!” Lenny grinned, showing his nicotine-stained teeth to his accuser, tormenting her with images that she had already tried to deny to herself.
Morgan had tried very hard to keep in control but he kept pushing her buttons. Swiftly she was behind the desk, leaning in so close to the perp that she could nearly hear his heartbeat. “You listen here you piece of shit. That how you want to play it? Huh?” Her eyes dropped to the cast. “Don’t let this fool you, Lenny. I could kill you ten different ways with this cast on. Don’t fuck around with me!” Morgan’s voice dropped to a menacing growl. She sensed the attorney shift in his seat and Henry move away from the wall. She held up her hand, taking a moment to settle.
Lenny smirked in amusement, enjoying the fact that he had made the woman react. “Fuckin' pathetic.” He murmured, seeing angry sparks in the woman’s eyes.
“O’Callaghan,” Henry whispered. “Outside.”
The redhead reluctantly left the room, standing in the corridor facing her partner. “What? I’m working here!”
“Maybe you should let me have a go at him. You’re too close to this.”
“No! He’s mine.”
“And you’re losing your objectivity here.”
“Don’t tell me my job, Henry!”
“Well, somebody needs to!” Anger tainted his words. “You’re playing right into his hands.”
“That prick shot Andy!”
“Don’t you think I know that? But you’re reacting in there, just like he wants!” Henry stood toe to toe with his boss… well, toe to nose. “He’s gonna keep baiting you until you snap.”
“Oh, no he won’t. I won’t let him.”
“It’s already happened, boss. He’s got you pissed.”
“I… said… I… am… fine.”
He looked long and hard at her, trying to ascertain her state of mind. “Okay.” He walked past her back into the interrogation room, praying that his partner could keep herself together to finish this.
* * *
“So, Lenny, what is your interest in the Vaughan case?” Morgan really didn’t expect the man to answer. He had taken his one chance to throw her off, a chance that nearly worked. But now she was back on track and she plowed on in the hope that he would give something away. ”None that I can see, so that leaves me with one answer. Who hired you, Lenny?”
His dour expression told her what he thought of her questions, and the likely response she was going to get out of him. “Oh, come on. Your boss is going hang you out to dry. You want to go down for this by yourself?”
She tried a different tactic. “Okay then, why ADA Worthington? Why not, say, my partner?” His eyes flickered momentarily and drew the keen interest of his accuser. “What does the counselor mean to you, Lenny?” And there is was again, that muscle twitch on Lenny's face.
It was like the veritable light globe over the head when Morgan realized the deception. “It was about the counselor all along, wasn’t it Lenny?” Greedily, she absorbed his body language, reading it as easily as if he had broken down and confessed all his sins. “The ADA was your intended target. Why, Lenny? Who wants her dead?”
The redhead’s mind sorted through a number of scenarios, one raising a question. “Has this got anything to do with the Vaughan case? It is a coincidence or a smoke screen?” Her face hardened. “You will talk to me. I’m well aware that prison doesn’t scare you Lenny, but how you get there is my responsibility, you got me?” She saw the lawyer shift, interpreting it as a threat. “Hold up Counselor, I’m not threatening him here. I’m just saying that sometimes... paperwork gets misplaced... things happen. It can make that road to prison long and unpleasant. Wouldn’t Lenny like to get settled back into his old routine as quickly as possible? See some old friends, meet some new ones, get his connections in order?”
The prisoner didn’t respond, annoying the hell out of Morgan. “No? Well, back to your cell, Lenny. Let’s hope I can find time in my busy schedule to complete your paperwork for arraignment.”
Uninterested dull gray eyes wandered to the barred window, visually ending the conversation. He was not going to talk. “This is your last chance, Len. Speak now or forever hold your peace.” Morgan glanced towards his lawyer who simply shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, it’s your funeral. Leonard Michael Kamanowicz you will be charged with the attempted murder of Andrea Worthington and the assault of a police officer, namely me.” Those eyes tracked back to her. “Yeah, Lenny, she’s still alive. Three times and you still couldn’t kill her. Pathetic.”
“You have no evidence here for the other two incidents, Sergeant.”
“You’re right, Counselor. That’s why, for the moment, we are laying charges for the one attack that I was witness to.” Morgan leaned over the table, resting her one good hand on the wood. “But Lenny, my friend, I’m very persistent and I will find that evidence to pin the other two attempts on you. You won’t be seeing sunlight for a long, long time.” Morgan gathered the papers from the file and left, not once looking back at the hardened gaze stabbing her in the back.
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