Possessing Morgan:
A Matter of Conviction
by Aurelia
Part 9
See Part 1 for Disclaimers
Chapter 9
“Jesus, O’Callaghan!” Morelli watched as a scraped and bruised Morgan strolled in, her casted arm in a sling. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Well, you know women shopping, it’s a dangerous sport.”
The short Italian turned to his companions, “I keep telling you guys and you never believe me. Here’s your proof.” Morgan gave a sly smile behind his back towards Lowenstein and Fredericks and they grinned back, sharing in the joke at Morelli’s expense. “What?” He turned back to Morgan, whose smile had slipped smoothly off her face. “What’s going on?”
“Absolutely nothing, Morelli. Nothing's going on…” in your head, thought Morgan. She just couldn't help herself from finishing off that sentence.
“What? What?” The vacant expression mimicked the vacant brain. “What?”
Morgan bit the inside of her cheek from laughing at the moron. She shrugged her shoulders. “Nuthin’.”
“So, ya did this shoppin’, huh?” Well, technically she didn’t but Morgan wasn’t going to tell him that. “So… so… what … where'd ya go, what happened?”
“I tried on some roller skates.”
“Nadda smart move, O’Callaghan.”
“Nope, I’ll have to remember that sound advice, Morelli.” What a friggin’ idiot. How in the name of God did he ever become a detective?
“No, not a smart move at all... Sergeant. In my office now, O'Callaghan.” Morgan grimaced as she passed the captain and dutifully marched into his office. As soon as the door was shut behind her, Markham cornered her. “You gonna tell me what happened or are we going to play twenty questions?”
“I had an accident.”
“Stop screwin’ around, I’m not Morelli, I’m your superior. What the hell happened?”
“There was an incident.”
“An incident?” Morgan heard the door behind her open quietly and she could feel the counselor behind her.
“She saved my life, Captain. Someone tried to run me down.”
“Run you down?”
“Yes. Someone in a big car tried to run me over last night.”
“Soooo, this was an accident?”
“No. The car distinctly came after me, Captain.”
That got his attention. “Someone tried to kill you?”
“Detective O’Callaghan seems to think so.”
He turned to the injured woman holding out his hand. “So? Give me the report I’m supposed to be reading on this.”
“Ahhhhmm. I've sort of had my hands full, Captain.”
“All this happened last night, there's no report and I’m just hearing about it now? You wasted all this time when we could have been looking for this guy?”
“It was an attempted hit and run, Captain. I barely got there in time to get her out of the way. There was no point in reporting it until today. I got nuthin’. No plate, no make, no model. It was dark and I was kinda busy.”
“So you two were out… together… after dark?” He looked from one woman to the other, watching their eyes lower to the floor. “Okaayyyy.”
“Look, nothin’s up.” Morgan made the statement with conviction, trying to make one final commitment to keeping the relationship platonic. “We had dinner and I was escorting the lady home when this car came out of nowhere and headed for the counselor.”
“How do you know it was deliberate?”
“He sped up to get to her, Captain. I barely made it there in time. I broke my wrist hitting the road.”
His lips pursed at this sudden change of events, throwing chaos into the investigation. “Any other injuries?”
“A little black and blue, but otherwise no. We were pretty lucky.”
“Lucky? Detective, you have a broken arm here, okay, and you consider it lucky?”
“Fractured wrist. And it could have been worse… a lot worse, but it wasn’t.” She eyes shifted to the smaller woman beside her, knowing that the captain was watching.
“Well, go home then.”
“Sir! It’s only a fractured wrist. It’s not gonna stop me working. I’m fine for duty. Umm… and… where might Detective Chang be… Sir?” Morgan smiled goofily at him, well aware her dimples would work their magic.
“He’s re-interviewing the delivery boy. Something that you were supposed to be here for… Sergeant.” He knew her better than that. Dimples or no dimples he was still the boss.
“Sorry…”
“Well, now I know why, I won’t be yelling at you. Since you technically prevented a crime, I will try and get you covered by workmen’s comp on this. Fill out the form and have it on my desk for signature before day’s end.”
“Thank you, Sir. I wasn’t expecting that.” His large head nodded at her thanks.
“I don’t know if they'll bite, but we won't know unless we try. That was a brave thing you did, Sergeant. Foolish, but brave.”
“Just doing my job.” He watched a look pass between the two women, adding more questions to the handful he already had.
“Dismissed, Detective.” Both women moved to leave. “Counselor, may I have a word?” Morgan looked anxiously at Andrea, praying that she would be circumspect in her answers to whatever questions she knew the captain would ask.
“Well, I hope I’m not going to get less-than-informative smart-ass remarks out of you too.”
“I will certainly endeavor to answer your questions to the best of my ability, Captain.”
“Is there something you wish to tell me about all of this, Counselor?”
“Not really anything else to add, Captain. Everything happened just as Detective O’Callaghan said.”
“And dinner last night?” Markham felt like he was going around in circles. Why didn’t they just give him a straight answer?
“We finished my errands and the streets were packed. I suggested we get some dinner to pass the time until rush hour was over, that’s all.”
“Why do I have a feeling that there is a ‘but’ in there somewhere?”
“Okay, busted. I had a little too much wine to drink and the detective was just seeing me home safely. I crossed the road when I shouldn’t have and this car came out of nowhere. If it wasn’t for her quick thinking, and her long legs, I’d be in the hospital… or dead.”
That seemed innocent enough, but somehow there was something else, but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. “Then what happened?”
Oh boy. “She dragged me to the hospital and got herself taken care of. And despite everything, Captain, she still got me back to the hotel safely. She was in no state to travel home with all the pain meds in her, so she slept in my hotel room. We went to her place this morning to get her ready for work and here we are. That’s it.” Now they couldn’t be accused of hiding anything. She told him everything… well, everything except the finer details of said evening and morning. As far as she was concerned, that was their business and no one else’s. Well, except maybe Joel's. She knew she was going to have to make a decision or two about him before things got more complicated than they already were. If she could only make herself even think about him, that is. Even thinking about him was becoming harder and harder every day she spent with Morgan.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
“Ahhh… yeah! I will be staying with the detective for the next couple of days until she is able to fend for herself.” She could see the disapproving look in his eye. “What was I supposed to do, Captain? Abandon her? She is injured because of me. I just can’t turn my back on her. We have come to an arrangement that I will help her for the next couple of days until we can work out some way for her to manage on her own. I’m sorry if that’s against departmental procedure, Captain, but I’ve got to make this right.”
Andrea’s pleading tone struck a chord with Markham and as much as the gesture was going to appear highly suspicious, he could certainly understand the reasons behind it. If he were in the same boat he would want to help a fellow officer, maybe not in the same way, but help nonetheless.
“You're asking for trouble, you know that, don't ya? People are going to talk, especially the likes of Morelli. This is not going to help Morgan’s prospects for a promotion at all.”
"It couldn't be any worse than dumping the poor woman at home alone trying to fend for herself!"
“In the immediate future, no, but in the long run, yes. This sort of thing will have long-term ramifications, Counselor, long after you’ve gone. Morgan is a career cop. This is her life, and this is just the thing that can break a career. As innocent as it may be, in their eyes living under the one roof says it all.”
“That’s not fair, Captain.”
“No it’s not, Counselor, but this is the New York City Police Department. Like any other police force in the world, there are certain things that are still not tolerated, fairly or not, and being homosexual is one of them. You either hide it away or you get out. Or move to California.”
“But she has avenues that she can use.”
“She could fight it and she could win, but no one would work with her, Counselor. She would, in effect, become a pariah.”
“But, Captain, you’re talking as if she is gay.”
Markham said nothing for a moment, just staring at the small woman. His silence spoke volumes. “All I am saying is that your actions will give the impression that there is something between you two, and no amount of denial is going to change that. Just watch how you act at work, Counselor. If you wanna help her, you have to stay away from her here.”
“I understand the position she’s in, Captain. I do. But does that mean I have to abandon her to struggle on by herself while she is injured? I’m her friend and surely friends can help each other out when they’re in trouble. She’s gone out of her way to befriend me…” Andrea looked over to see the Captain give her a wry smile. “Okay, so we weren’t on the best of terms when we first met but since then she has been of enormous help to me. If having dinner with a friend is against the law then I suppose I’m guilty as well.” With that final statement, she left, leaving the older man to his questions and his suspicions.
* * *
Morgan sat down at her desk, burying her head in her one good hand. Her life was a mess and getting worse by the minute. Two days ago she had a life, a career and two working hands. And now? Well, now gossip would be running rampant through the precinct, and very soon through the whole network, about her and Andrea. She was going to be chewing pain meds like M & Ms for the next few days. She also had a woman living with her whom she had no right or need to be involved with. Either God was just sitting up there laughing his ass off at her or Satan had finally caught up with her and was making her pay… big time. She grabbed her mug and headed for the coffee maker, looking for her first fix of the day. “Jesus, Morgan, look at you!” Henry was stunned to see his battered and bruised partner.
“A sight to behold I’m so sure.”
“I can’t leave you alone for a minute.”
“Yeah, big help you would have been.” The sarcasm dripped off the words.
“You gonna tell me what happened?” And so she did, at least the part pertaining to the hit and run. Morgan didn’t need to look at him to know what he was thinking. She and Andrea were out together last night, and as far as he was concerned that meant only one thing. Damn him.
“I want you to do something for me.”
“Anything, you know that.”
“I want you to teach Andrea some moves… and fast. Nothing fancy, Henry, just the basics... the most effective ones.”
Henry’s eyes narrowed at the statement. “Was it that serious?”
“Serious enough.” For the first time in a long time she was lost for a solution to this problem. She studied her arm, not wanting to meet her partner’s eyes. “I don’t know what to do here, Henry.” Her shoulders dropped. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“You don’t think this is an isolated incident?”
“I don’t know, but I think we need to take precautions. I asked her to bring in some gym clothes, so you two can go at it. I’ll have to go shopping for some things to wear while I have this.” She looked down at the sling, cursing her bad luck. “C’mon, let’s get to work. I see I have a pile of reports on the Vaughan case, and I may as well work through those.” Back at her desk, Morgan sifted through the pile of paper. “Hey, Morelli, where’s the financial records on Connie Vaughan?”
“They’re for the captain, not you,” he mumbled.
That’s it! She stood up and strode over to his desk. “Did you say something, Detective?”
“I said they’re for the captain, not for you.” His anger spread red across his face.
“That sounds a bit like insubordination, Detective.”
“Yeah, well, I ain’t working for no dyke!”
“Get a life Morelli, would ya! Two girls go out shopping and all of a friggin' sudden they’re dykes? God, you are a piece of work! I wonder what people are saying about the three of you, Morelli. Huh? Three guys... always together... at work... during their off time. Yeah. Very suspicious, if you ask me.”
“Well, soon you ain't gonna have a job and nothin' to worry about no more…”
She moved swiftly around his desk, grabbing his shirt and shoving him against the wall, pinning him in place with her good arm. “Don’t you try that game with me, you sorry piece of shit.”
Henry shifted uneasily, watching the others in the room. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Andrea standing at the door, the captain behind her, all watching the scene play out.
“Two can play that game, Morelli. If you so much as look at me wrong, I'm going to make your life a miserable living hell. You got me?"
“You don’t scare me.” But the look in his eye said it all. This woman scared the hell out of him.
“No? Well, you should be. You have no idea what I’m capable of, Morelli. I don’t give a rat's ass if you like me or not but you WILL respect the job. I earned this and I expect you to toe the line, just like everyone else.”
“Go to hell.”
Morgan let the man go, allowing him to slide down the wall to the floor. “I’m in the neighborhood now,” she muttered as she turned away, rummaging through the mess on the detective’s desk until she found the papers she wanted. Finally, she looked around at the group watching her, spotting the two people standing at the door. While Andrea said nothing she couldn’t help but smile at the redhead’s outburst. Time would tell whether it was effective or not, but she had made her stand and now everybody knew she would take their shit no longer.
Morgan’s eyes slipped over Andrea’s shoulder to her boss, waiting for the call to his office. Instead, he backed away and left without a word. She sat down in her chair with a thump, eyeing the short detective with a certain degree of animosity. This day just keeps getting better and better…
Tired eyes glanced over all the financial records, including those of the Vaughans, widening at the discovery. “What?” Henry plopped himself down in the chair opposite his partner. She handed over the page and watched his reaction. “Whoa!”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. It sort of makes Connie Vaughan look a little suspicious, don’t you think? I’ll have a look through these other reports first, but I think we need to have another little chat with her.”
Slowly and systematically Morgan read the reports, handing them over to Henry one page at a time for him to read also. The phone rang and Morgan lifted the receiver. “Fifth Precinct, Detective Sergeant O’Callaghan.”
“Last night was a warning.” The voice was deep, masculine and menacing. “Quit the Vaughan case.” The buzz on the line indicated the conversation had ended, leaving the tall redhead to look at the receiver in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think the case has just taken off in a whole new direction. It seems that the hit and run was for my benefit, not the counselor’s.”
“Huh?”
“Someone is interested in making sure I quit the case.”
“Interesting. Vaughan didn’t strike me as the sort of man who would resort to violence.”
Me neither, Henry. Me neither. If Vaughan is behind this it's a bit idiotic if you ask me.”
“Last night was not idiotic.”
A grim line of determination replaced the dimples. “No, and I’m gonna make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
* * *
Morgan and Henry spent the morning collating evidence and painting a very interesting picture indeed. Markham approached as they were elbow-deep in paper. “I just had a call from the DA’s office. Worthington is to be included in all interviews from now on.”
“When is she due back from court?”
“After lunch, then her schedule is clear for the rest of the afternoon.”
“Good, because I want to bring in the Vaughans for further questioning. It seems there are some… anomalies…,” Henry quietly snickered at the word, “in recent banking transactions.” Morgan handed over the slips of paper for her boss to peruse, watching as his dark eyebrows rose. “Yeah, but it seems too obvious, don’t you think?”
“I’ve seen much clumsier things done.”
True, but Morgan’s considerable hair was standing up on end. “We’ll see what the wife has to say for herself. Two o’clock okay for you, sir?” He looked at her. “I’m assuming you’ll want to be there for the performance.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
She reached for the phone to make the arrangements, before going back to her reports and trying to build a case.
* * *
Andrea approached Morgan’s desk, gym bag in hand, secretly eager to begin Henry’s lessons. She had never really felt the need to learn self defense, but had to admit the idea was intriguing. Grappling with the tall woman on the mat, all in the name of protection, occupied her thoughts all morning and she barely made herself appear competent in front of the judge. She knew that Morgan wouldn’t be fighting anytime soon but it didn’t stop the images of the two of them groping each other from filling her newly enlightened sexual perspective.
She sighed deeply as she sat in the chair waiting for Henry’s return. Morgan had already disappeared and she was alone. This farce couldn’t go on much longer. It had gone on way too long even before she changed locales. It was still a good six months before Joel’s arrival in New York and there was no way she was going to keep herself in check until then. Andrea wanted this woman with a vengeance, and despite all their denial and procrastinations, she knew it was only a matter of time before they stepped over the invisible line.
Was it just infatuation or something with more substance? Did Morgan represent the forbidden or was the woman getting past her defenses and finding a place in her heart… and other various parts of her anatomy? She needed time to answer these questions and discover the real truth, a truth that she could live her life by. But she suspected that Joel wasn’t part of that truth and she could not, in all conscience, maintain the façade.
Despite her better judgment, Andrea decided to call him that night. Morgan was not going to make a move while she was engaged, and it was pointless to drag it out any longer. Joel deserved better than hearing it over the phone, but once she had made up her mind to end it she just wanted the whole thing to be over. The detective would feel responsible for this breakup, she knew that, but somehow she had to convince Morgan that perhaps her move to New York had been to find Morgan all along.
“You look a little worried there.” Henry’s voice shook Andrea from her deep thoughts. “Anything I can help you with?”
“No, you’ve done more than enough, thank you.” His quiet chuckle brought a smile to her lips.
“Ah, then, I know the source of your confusion.”
“You certainly do, my friend.”
“It looks like you’ve come to a decision then.”
“I have? I think the jury is still out. Maybe they’re not. I… I have no idea.” Her mind drifted away. “I don’t even know why there is a jury at all.” Henry just smiled knowingly. “Do you know something I don’t, Henry?”
“Nah, it’s just an annoying habit of mine, Andy.”
“Besides, why I am talking to you about this? You're an instigator. And you're trouble. Not talking to you any more.”
“Uh huh. Do you have your gym clothes with you?” He would let the matter rest… for now.
“Yes, I have.” Her smile widened as the burden of such a decision lightened, confirming in her mind the rightness of it all. This was meant to be.
“Come on then. Let’s get you started.” Side by side they left the station house, heading to the gym to carry out The Boss’s orders.
* * *
Morgan had never seen so much underwear in her life. She was suddenly thankful she had stopped at the ATM. Underwear normally was not high on her list of priorities, so Morgan was more inclined to go for comfort rather than for fashion, but her disability was going to require something special.
“May I help you?”
She pointedly looked to the sling. “I’m going to need a bra with no clasps.” The older woman studied her in her pants and shirt, expressing her opinion in one look, finally taking in the plaster cast. Morgan mentally rolled her eyes. The people at Walmart never gave her the once-over when she went on her annual pilgrimage for clothes.
“Follow me.” Without a smile, the sales assistant wandered off towards the back of the store, not once looking back to see if Morgan was following. If she wasn’t so desperate for the damned bra, she would have left at the rudeness. The woman stopped at a row of bras, all without clasps, just as she had asked for. “There you go, ma’am,” she muttered, and walked away.
Morgan combed through the rack, finding a suitable bra in her size and an acceptable style, holding it up to study it closer. Getting the thing on was going to be tricky, possibly even trickier than trying to put on a normal bra one-handed. The sports bra was heavily elasticized and was going to test her patience and her strength getting it on her body. For a moment she considered going without one altogether, but decided that was probably not only pushing the boundaries of social acceptance but her embarrassment level could sky-rocket as her breasts jiggled around unfettered.
This left her with one other option and it was not up for discussion. Asking Andrea to regularly do up her bra was just not possible. It was way too dangerous to be so close to the woman every single day, putting temptation in her path on a regular basis. Besides, she was quite capable of looking after herself. It was only a broken wrist after all and it wasn’t going to stop her from living her life.
Reluctantly, she took two bras to the sales assistant to ring up, steadfastly refusing to try them on. She was not going to have some strange woman checking her over as she struggled to get it over her head. Her body was her own private business and not some snobby broad’s who couldn’t have cared less if she strangled herself with the damned thing.
Morgan stepped out onto the street, thankful to be finally free of the snooty purgatory she had just been in. One down, one to go…
* * *
The detective arrived at the gym, eagerly seeking out her two friends and finding them in a quiet area on the matted floor. Henry was busily explaining something to the smaller woman, right before putting the lesson into action. She stood in the shadows, content for the moment to study them from afar.
There Andrea stood, dressed in tank top and shorts. What a sight… That hot pink leotard would have been a distinct improvement, but somehow to Morgan she was just so cute in the baggy shirt and shorts, drawing Morgan’s eyes to those short, muscular legs every time she moved. They were from two different worlds, she knew that, but seeing Andrea in these casual clothes only emphasized their differences.
Cradling her throbbing wrist, Morgan watched as they circled one another, the tiny woman trying to practice her two crude moves on her slightly taller partner who, from time to time, allowed her to land a hit. This exercise was useless really, given the time frame they had to work with. It had taken her years to be able to fight effectively and here they were hoping to enable Andrea to fight off an attacker in a matter of a day or two. Who was Morgan kidding? Certainly not herself, but maybe a little pugilistic confidence for the small blonde wouldn’t hurt.
So, here were her friends. One, her partner, had been her lifesaver over many months of sorrow and loneliness. The other one, well, had come into her life like a Southern tornado, and was causing about as much damage. She had foolishly listened to Henry’s pleas to befriend the woman and now she was standing in the remnants of what was once her well-ordered life. What had happened to her promise to never trust anyone again? It was swept away under the gaze of those brown eyes. She had known the woman was trouble but she didn’t listen, and now… hell, she didn’t know whether to jump for joy or find a quiet corner and slit her wrists.
At that particular moment, she felt the heated stare of the counselor, her eyes meeting those watching her from across the noisy gym. Her face flamed as she saw Andrea’s face soften at her approach, and she knew her dimples were firmly in place on her cheeks. She knew her normally tough façade had slipped by the look in Andrea’s eyes, and she focused intently to re-establish her “no nonsense” demeanor. It obviously didn’t work because Andrea’s smile sweetened as Morgan stopped in front of her. “Stop it. You’re ruining my reputation.”
“What reputation?”
“Exactly. So Henry, how is our little troublemaker here doing?”
“Not bad. I kept it simple, just two moves, and if she can feel confident with those she should be able to get away if she’s attacked.”
“Then, of course, you could always use Rule One.”
“Rule One?”
“Yeah. If all else fails, you kick him in the balls and run like hell.” The two women laughed loudly as Henry’s face cringed and he instinctively moved to cover his own crotch.
Feedback is always appreciated. You can contact me at aurelia_fan@yahoo.com.au