Page 60 of So Insane

Faith smiled gratefully at him. She reached over and took his hand in hers. He squeezed back and returned her smile. They sat like that for a long while before sleep finally overcame them, and they went to their separate bunks to nap.

***

“No luck on the Florida lead?”

“No, looks like that was a doppelganger,” Michael said over the phone. “You’ll be happy to know that we’re not the only agents to piss off the South African Embassy, though.”

Faith grimaced. In a previous case, Turk had misidentified a South African businessman as a suspect and apprehended him rather aggressively. That had nearly cost Faith her job. “Ouch. How bad is it?”

“Not bad. A couple of bruises when Desrouleaux slammed him to the ground. He’s not pressing charges, but we’re paying his medical bills and buying him tickets to Disneyworld.”

“That sounds like a fair trade to me,” Faith said.

“I mean, we both know Desrouleaux hits like a girl, so yeah, I’d take that trade.”

“Watch it,” Faith warned playfully.

He chuckled and said, “Well, there aren’t any more leads yet that I’m aware of, but the current belief is that he’s somewhere out of the country. The Bureau is talking to Interpol right now to see if we can get some manhunters on him in Europe. We’ll have to work on the rest of the world, but we’ll get him eventually. He can only run for so long.”

Faith was still absolutely certain that West was within a few hours of Philadelphia, but she didn’t argue that point with Michael. “Thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate this.”

“No problem,” he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

She hung up just in time to hear a knock at the door. She frowned and checked the time. Who was visiting her at seven-thirty? She glanced at her new handgun and wondered if she should carry it, just in case.

Then Turk leaped to his feet, wagging his tail and barking exuberantly. He ran for the door and scrambled for the handle, trying to open it, and Faith realized who was at the door.

She smiled and walked for the door. “Hold on, Turk,” she says, “I’ll get it.”

She opened the door, and once more, David took her breath away.

He smiled nervously at her, so kind, so strong, so incredibly handsome. “Hi there,” he said, “I wanted to stop by and see how my favorite patient was doing.”

Turk answered that question himself, leaping into David’s arms and licking him with all the enthusiasm of a puppy. David laughed and carried him inside. “I guess he’s doing okay,” he said wryly. “He’s definitely got his weight back.”

“Yeah, he’s healthy again,” Faith said. “Maybe even a little chunky.”

Turk cast her a wounded look, but it passed an instant later. He leaped off of David and immediately sat in the middle of the couch. He looked expectantly at them, and Faith blushed a little. When she and David were dating, they would sit on either side of Turk and watch movies with him. Those were some of Faith’s favorite memories.

“What the heck,” David said, “I have time. How about that movie with the dog that plays football?”

“You always pick that movie,” Faith said with a laugh.

"Well, how many movies do you know that have dogs who don't die at the end that aren't cartoons or a live-action adaptation of a cartoon?"

“The football movie is fine,” she said with a laugh. “Do you want a beer?”

“What is it with you and beer?” he asked, “Do you never drink anything else?”

“Well, my doctor wants me to cut back on the Everclear, so for now, it’s just beer. Unless you want coffee.”

"The coffee, too," he said, shaking his head. "You know sleep is a thing, right?"

She laughed. “Sleep is not a thing if you’re a law enforcement agent,” she said, “But that’s cute of you to think so.”

“Well, if you insist, I’ll take a beer.”

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