Chapter 29

McCoy smoothed his tie, the slightly textured fabric unfamiliar under his hand. He shifted on the bench, trying not to stare at the door, then checked his watch again. She still had ten minutes.

It had been more than eight weeks since he had seen her, although he had called her office and spoken with her several times. She had been swamped with work, trying to catch up after the trial and what had followed. It hadn't been easy to persuade her to accept his invitation.

The door opened and he heard her thank the doorman before she walked in. She spotted him immediately and smiled as he stood up.

"Am I late?" Morgan asked.

"Not at all," he assured her. "Would you like to check your coat?"

"Yes, thank you."

He helped her off with it and was about to hand it to the clerk when she stopped him. "Wait a minute." As he held it, she reached into the pocket and pulled out her keys. "I probably shouldn't leave these in it."

He exchanged the coat for a ticket and after slipping it into his pocket, turned back to her. She held the keys out and he took them with a smile, dropping them into his pocket as well.

"I had a table by the windows reserved. I think you’ll enjoy the view of the city from there tonight."

After they were seated McCoy ordered drinks for them both, then studied her for a moment as she took in the sight from the window beside them. Something about her was different. The dark green dress she wore matched her eyes and complimented her slim figure. And her hair was pulled back more loosely than when she was working, so that wisps of it had escaped and framed her face softly. But there was something else that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"You were right about the view. It's beautiful," she noted, turning to look at him.

"This is one of my favorite restaurants. Besides the view, the food is always good." He gave her a smile. "You look great tonight."

"Thanks," Morgan said quietly. "So do you. Nice tie."

He leaned back a little and looked down, smoothing it again. "Do you like it? It's new."

She nodded. "I thought so. It doesn't have any stripes."

"Not all of my ties have stripes," he insisted.

"Oh, I forgot. With this one, you now have three that don't."

Looking into her teasing eyes, McCoy smiled as the waiter brought their drinks and left them with menus.

"What do you recommend here?" she asked.

"You would probably enjoy the vegetable lasagna. Although I'm more of a meat eater, I tried it once. It's very good. But so is everything else I've eaten here."

Closing the menu, she decided, "I'll take your recommendation."

After ordering, Morgan stirred sweetener into her tea. "I saw you on the news the other night. Sounds like you're working on a tough case."

He nodded. "The trial hasn't even started and it's already a media circus. Rich murderers always get great publicity," he added dryly. "How about you? I know you've been busy. Any interesting cases?"

"I suppose that would depend on how you define 'interesting'. I certainly don't have a case that's likely to become a media circus. But I do have a merger coming up that's been kind of fun. It's a case of a big corporation buying out a little mom and pop business. My clients have struggled to make ends meet most of their lives and they really have no concept of how comfortable they're going to be when it's all over."

"Working for the underdog?"

"'Working' is an apt description. The corporation we're dealing with has a whole fleet of lawyers. My clients only have me. Just getting through all the red tape has been unbelievably time consuming. But working alone does have its advantages. I'm familiar with every detail of each proposal and contract." Morgan gave him a smile. "And when the time comes, I don't have to split the fee."

"Sounds like a deal to me," he agreed enthusiastically.

"So besides your upcoming trial, what else is new in your life?"

McCoy shrugged. "Not much personally. Job-wise, Adam Schiff is retiring."

"You're kidding! Abbie didn't say anything to me about that."

"It was kept pretty quiet at first. He's been debating about it for a while and finally made the decision to leave. He says he's tired of all the politics. About three years ago, he and the governor had a difference of opinion about a capital case at the same time his wife had a stroke and eventually passed away. It took a lot out of him. He hasn't been quite the same since."

"That's too bad. I'm sure his experience brought a lot to the office. Do you know anything about the new District Attorney?"

"Not a lot, other than the fact that she's had a lot of experience too."

Her eyebrows arched. "A woman? It's about time!"

"You sound like Abbie. I only hope she can handle the stress of the position." He tried to sound serious, but his eyes were twinkling.

"I'll bet she handles the stress, and you, just fine," Morgan assured him.

He leaned toward her. "And what makes you think I need to be 'handled', Counselor?"

"Personal experience," she replied pointedly.

McCoy shook his head as the waiter appeared with their food.

"This is great," Morgan said upon sampling the lasagna. "Good suggestion."

He felt somewhat pleased with himself. "I'm glad you like it."

"I noticed you eyeing the veal the man at the next table is having," she remarked.

"It looked good, but considering the lecture I got last time, I thought I should stick with a more neutral entree. You don't have any objections to fish, do you? I've never heard anyone describe them as sweet or cuddly."

"No objections," she agreed with a bright smile. "Have you ever given any thought to running for D.A. yourself?"

He shook his head. "No way. The political aspect wouldn't suit me at all. And I love the courtroom too much to give up trial work."

"I guess I can understand that. Representing Peter made me realize how much I missed being in the courtroom."

"Now that you've been part of a trial here in New York, do you think you might take another criminal case?"

"Maybe," she nodded, "if the right one came along. I've had a couple of offers recently, but nothing I wanted to pursue. I would have to believe strongly in the case. I have no interest in representing someone who hacked his neighbor into pieces."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you had been reading my pending files," he quipped. "Sometimes I'd like to be able to pick and choose my cases but I don't have that luxury. The people just expect me to put on my magic suit and fight the forces of evil, whatever form they take and whatever crime they commit."

Morgan shook her head slowly. "What a sad story. And the truth is, you wouldn't have things any other way."

With a grin, he agreed, "You're probably right." He took a sip of water and grew quiet for a few seconds, watching her closely. "I spoke with the person I know at the Justice Department about their case against Tyler."

Morgan looked up, caught off guard at his sudden change of subject. Glancing back at her plate, she asked, "Is this why you invited me to dinner?"

He didn't speak until she finally looked back up at him. "I talked with my friend only yesterday. If you'll recall, I asked you to dinner two weeks ago, as well as tonight. And both times it was for the same reason - I wanted to see you."

She sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"That's okay. I guess I was kind of the bearer of bad news for a while." He gave her a slight smile. "But this time I have what I think is very good news. Tyler was sentenced for his part in Evan Carpelli's death and for his dealings with Harrison. He won't be eligible for parole for seven years and is serving his time in a prison somewhere in the Northwest until he testifies. I know that may not sound like much considering his crimes, but once he's released he'll go into the witness protection program. I'm sure he will want to be located as far away from here and Chicago as possible."

"That is good news," she agreed. "When does he testify against Harrison?"

"The trial won't be for another few months. Harrison has already agreed to testify against others. In all, two major figures in organized crime are waiting to be tried and a lot of people working for them have been indicted as well. Although I would have preferred to put Tyler in prison myself, a lot of good came from his testimony. And he didn't get off scot-free himself."

Morgan studied the table thoughtfully. "You know, I didn't think I cared if he did time or not, as long as he was out of my life. But now that you've told me he will, I feel somewhat relieved. It isn't that I really believe he would risk coming back here but I think I'll sleep a little better for the next seven years or so, knowing he can't."

McCoy bit his lip and looked out of the window. He hadn't realized she was still worried.

"Did you ever find out who killed Evan and why?" Morgan asked, bringing his eyes back to her.

"Yes, I did. You were right. It was someone who was investing with him. When Fairchild put the skids to the Jacobson deal, Carpelli had evidently already committed to investing a million dollars of mob money in the project as a way to get it out of Chicago and clean it up. The investor was pretty upset at the change of plans. He and Carpelli had words and in the course of the argument Carpelli was shot. We didn't find the money because he took it with him. When Tyler found out, he decided their best bet was to frame Fairchild for the murder and had a couple of men from Chicago take care of the details. They're the ones that hired Leatham to plant the murder weapon, threatened you, and one of them shot Leslie. They were both charged with crimes by the Feds, as was Leatham and the man who killed Carpelli, and won't see a parole board for a lot longer than seven year."

Shaking her head, Morgan mused, "All of that from one case. I never expected it to be so complicated."

"The Justice Department has you to thank for a good deal of their success. If you hadn't supplied us with the files from Tyler's home, none of these people may ever have been held accountable. Even though technically you're a defense attorney, you definitely helped out our side."

"Even though I am a defense attorney, I've promised to uphold the same laws as you. I just go about it a little differently. I'm as happy when justice is served as the next guy."

"Even though you are a defense attorney," he stressed.

"Not everyone can work on your side of the courtroom, Jack. Your life would be pretty boring if it weren't for defense attorneys. You can't have an adversarial system without an adversary."

McCoy leaned forward. "Well I think you should come to work for our side. Putting the bad guys away has to be a lot more satisfying than trying to get them off."

"I told you before, I like being my own boss. And there are plenty of people who commit crimes under extenuating circumstances, or innocent people charged with crimes they didn't commit, who need help." She leaned forward as well. "Like Peter Fairchild, for instance."

He smiled at her pointed remark. "Okay, okay. It was only a thought." Sitting back, he regarded her for a moment. "There is something I've been wondering."

"What is it?"

"How did you get the files from Tyler's house? His lawyer said the housekeeper and Mrs. Tyler were the only other ones who could’ve had access to his computer and personal files. If you really didn't take them on your own, who did you get them from?"

Morgan reached for her tea glass. "That information is privileged."

"There is no privilege unless the person is a client of yours." His tone turned persuasive. "And there's no reason not to tell me. The case is over; there's nothing I can do with the information."

She looked at him skeptically. "So you can tell the next woman you meet how we can't keep secrets? If I tell you, I'll only be confirming your erroneous opinion of women."

"That was a poor choice of words on my part, Counselor. I know you can keep a secret," he insisted. As she stared at him unwaveringly, he added, "If it will make you feel better, consider it off the record, just between you and me."

Shaking her head, she said, "I'll bet you got an 'A+' for persistence in prosecutor's school." At his quick smile, she added, "I guess the need for keeping that information to myself is no longer valid since Frank is in prison." She paused a second, then shrugged. "His wife gave it to me."

With a puzzled look he asked, "Tyler's wife approached you with the evidence?"

"Not exactly. I approached her first."

McCoy folded his arms. "Let me get this straight. You asked the woman who had an affair with your husband while you were still married to him to help you? And she did?"

"Yes."

His eyebrows arched. "Why her, of all people?"

Morgan grew quiet, studying her glass. "She had been married to him for almost four years. I thought she might be ready to get out, if someone was willing to help her. And she was."

Trying to ignore the tightening in his stomach, he noted quietly, "So he hadn't changed."

"No," she answered, still avoiding his eyes. "Finding that out has been a mixed blessing, of sorts. For a long time, I thought a lot of what happened in my marriage was my fault, that I brought out the worst in Frank. I never imagined he could be that way with someone else. It's kind of a relief to know I wasn't to blame for his violence. On the other hand, I feel a little responsible for what's happened to his second wife."

He shook his head in disbelief. "How can you possibly think that? You weren't responsible when you were still with him and you certainly aren't responsible for what he's done since. Besides that, she slept with him while he was still married to you. How can you feel any sort of responsibility towards her?"

"If I had turned him in four years ago, or at some point in our marriage before then, maybe he wouldn't have had the opportunity to abuse anyone else. I should’ve at least warned her what he was really like."

"She was already involved with him, Calea. Do you really think she would've listened to you?"

Morgan looked at him thoughtfully, then sighed. "I don't know. It's just hard to think of someone else having to go through that."

"I know," he nodded sympathetically, "but you did help her. And I guess I can understand now why you wouldn't tell us where the information came from."

"At first, she was pretty worried about Frank finding out what she had done. If he had been released, even on bail, he might have gone after her. She asked me to give her a few days before I used the information so she could take some precautions. The day you had Frank arrested she called me. He had gotten a message to her and told her to erase his computer files. When she told me she had, I thought she blew it. Then again, maybe I'm not giving her enough credit. Since the experts were able to recover them, maybe she knew exactly what she was doing."

"Do you think Tyler found out she gave them to you?"

"She finally told him while he was here. She also told him she wanted a divorce. And the second Mrs. Tyler doesn't seem to have any reservations about taking his money or his possessions. When he asked you to arrange our meeting, that's what he wanted to talk to me about. He blamed me for turning her against him." Morgan shook her head. "As if he hadn't done enough on his own. In any case, he wanted me to persuade her not to go through with the divorce. When I said I wouldn't, it kind of pushed him over the edge."

McCoy picked up his water, forcing the image of Tyler gripping her arm from his mind. "I hope she appreciates that you risked your career to put Tyler away while keeping her name out of it. Not many people would have done that, especially given the circumstances."

"We all like to think we would sacrifice ourselves to do the right thing. The truth is I don't know if I would've agreed to go through with it if not for her. Knowing she was counting on me to help her left me with little choice once I had the information she supplied. I kept thinking about how much she had changed in four years. She used to be so bubbly. When I saw her again, she had the same look in her eyes that I used to see in the mirror every morning."

McCoy studied his plate for a moment, thinking of his mother and knowing the exact look Morgan was talking about. After a second he acknowledged quietly, "I think the irony of you and his wife working together to help put him in prison isn't going to be lost on Tyler. It's quite fitting." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Do you think you'll eventually be able to put all of this behind you?"

Morgan nodded. "Lately, I've felt much more at ease. I'm glad I didn't allow Frank to leave without seeing him that last time. It sort of put everything into perspective for me. I don't think about him so much anymore." She shrugged. "And the news you gave me tonight should make me think about him even less."

His eyes were as sincere as his voice. "I'm very glad he's out of your life."

"So am I," she agreed with a smile.

When they had lingered over dinner a while longer, McCoy paid the bill. He collected their coats and helped Morgan into hers, then walked out and down the hallway beside her.

Once inside the elevator, he asked, "Where did you park?"

Morgan answered as she stepped through the opened doors. "Across the street."

"I thought I told you about the valet parking."

"You did, but I wanted to walk. It was nice and clear tonight."

"How do you feel about giving me a ride home?"

"You didn't drive?"

His eyes were twinkling. "I took a cab. I thought I might get to spend a little more time with you that way."

She gave him a slightly surprised look. "And if I hadn't driven either?"

Holding the door leading out to the street open for her, he said, "Then we would've shared a cab home."

Morgan smiled. "Well, we can share my car under one condition: You have to drive."

"It's a deal," he agreed.

***"I'm impressed," Morgan acknowledged when McCoy turned off the engine after successfully squeezing her small car into what had appeared to be an even smaller parking space in front of his building. "I only hope I can get back out of here."

"You'll make it," he assured her, checking the traffic over his shoulder before opening the door.

She didn't wait for him to come around before opening her own. He came to a stop beside her on the sidewalk.

"Would you like to come in? I could make some hot tea," he offered.

"No thanks," she said, holding her hand out for the car keys.

McCoy took a step closer. "What's the matter, Counselor? Haven't you realized by now that you can trust me?"

Morgan shook her head slowly. "It isn't about trusting you. It's about my having to be at the office at 7:00 in the morning to look over some information for a client who's coming in at 8:00."

"On a Saturday? Sure," he retorted, sounding very unconvinced as he placed the keys in her hand.

"One of the drawbacks to working for myself," she noted with a sigh. "No one else to handle those early-bird weekend clients when I'd rather sleep in."

"And like me, you wouldn't have things any other way." He looked down at her as she stood smiling at him. And he finally figured out what was different. It wasn't so much her outward appearance, it was more what he perceived coming from the inside. He no longer saw the tension and fear he had come to expect when he looked into her eyes. What he saw instead was a kind of contentment. She was more at ease, not only with him, but with herself as well. It was a look he found very appealing.

He buried his hands in his pockets.

"Thank you for dinner, Jack," she said quietly. "I had a great time."

"So did I. I'm glad you agreed to go with me. I really enjoyed the company." He looked down at the sidewalk, unsure of whether or not to broach the subject. When he looked back up, he found her studying him intently.

"What?" she asked simply.

He took a deep breath. "At the restaurant, when I asked if you could put everything that's happened behind you, there was something else I wanted to ask. Now that your life is back in order, do you think you might ever change your mind about seeing someone again?"

Morgan looked down and chewed her lip thoughtfully before answering. "If I've learned one thing in the last few months, it's that nothing is absolute, especially not in my life. Before the case against Peter started I thought I was happy with things just as they were. But then it seemed that every corner I turned, Frank was lurking somewhere in the shadows. I finally realized that he had been for a long time, even though I thought I had left him behind. I never thought I could face him again. But I was wrong about that." She shrugged. "And maybe, at some point in the future, I'll know I was wrong about not ever wanting to be with someone again, too."

A slow smile spread across McCoy's face. "Will you do me a favor? If you change your mind, will you let me know?"

Her smile was slight, but in the light of the street lamp he clearly saw the sparkle in her eyes. "If the time ever comes, and if you're still around, I think you'll know."

As his eyebrows arched, she turned to walk around the front of her car. Checking first for traffic, she opened the door. "Good-night, Jack," she said across the top of the car.

"Good-night, Calea," he answered.

He stood on the sidewalk smiling, with his hands in his pockets, until her car was out of sight.