"No, no problem. I just don't like the idea of taping people in their homes, you know? I mean, it's one thing to tape someone out on the street or even in a car, but someone's home? It's creepy, that's all," explains Téa.
"Hey, if you're not up to it..."
"I'm up to it, Del. It's not a problem."
"Okay, how about you, Manning? Are you up to it?"
"Up?," questions Todd, with a smirk on his face. "Yeah, you could say that."
"Good. Then, it's settled. I won't be accompanying you two tonight. I've got a ton of paperwork from other cases I have got to catch up on, pronto," explains Del, speaking to Todd. "Normally, I wouldn't let Téa go alone, and since you're here, I don't have to go along. Let's get the equipment ready," says Del.
"I'm standing right here!," exclaims Téa. "Stop talking about me like I'm not in the room! And, by the way, nobody lets me do anything. I..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know, mija. We know," says Del.
"Quit with the dismissal and the condescension. It's not appreciated," declares Téa.
"Oh, you're just pissed because you were hoping for some roof time tonight," teases Del.
"Maybe I was. It has been ages since I had the time to go up there," says Téa.
"Roof time?," asks Todd.
"Yeah, roof time. Téa has turned the apartment's rooftop into her personal oasis. She's got a hot tub up there, and only she has the keys. You know that door at the end of the hallway, just past Téa's apartment?"
"Yeah," says Todd.
"Well, that's the door to the roof, to Téa's o-a-sis," says Del, rolling his eyes to irritate his kid sister.
"Shut up, Del! It's no big deal. And besides, you like it up there, I know you do!," snaps Téa.
"How would you know? You never let me up there," complains Del.
"That's not true."
Todd silently watches, as the Delgado siblings squabble. He is rather amused by it all.
"It is so true. When's the last time I was up there? Hmm?," asks Del.
"Oh, quit whining!"
"Hey! I'm not whining! If you'd just start wearing a damned swimsuit when you sit in that hot tub, I could come up there!"
The brother and sister now have Todd's full attention.
"I don't want to wear a swimsuit, okay? It's like a big bathtub, and I don't wear a swimsuit in a bathtub, okay?," says Téa.
"Fine! Be that way. I don't like hot tubs anyway. They're so goddam...hot! Now, let's get going. We have work to do," declares Del.
"Fine! At least I won't have to freeze my ass off tonight, while you sit in the warm van. I was getting pretty tired of all the whore shit," states Téa.
"Horse shit? Mija, if you want to quit the business, just say so, okay? Maybe you should go back to being a lawyer."
"Not horse shit, Del. Whore shit. You never listen to me!"
Todd struggles not to laugh.
Téa groans. She really doesn't want to do this assignment. Beyond her level of discomfort with the thought of being responsible for such an invasion of privacy, she is also not looking forward to the prospect of being with Todd, while they watch what will probably be a man and a woman having sex. She fully expects Todd to get all weird about it and bolt, leaving her to do all the dirty work.
Todd is looking forward to the night ahead.
~~~
That night
"I see you haven't lost your touch," comments Todd, as he watches Téa quickly set up the surveillance equipment in the van.
"Yeah, I'm still a geek, whatever," says Téa.
"Taught me everything I know," states Todd, proudly.
"Hey, I heard about that virus crap you pulled back in Llanview. I didn't teach you that. You were wrong to have anything to do with spreading a computer virus. That was really low."
"Yeah, well, I was really low. I lost my mind for a while back then, after you left me. I did a lot of stupid things," admits Todd, quietly.
Téa doesn't comment. She finishes setting up everything, while Todd watches her. He knows that she knows about his pathetic conduct, and her silence tells him that she doesn't want to hear another word about his last stay in Llanview, which is fine with him, since he wants to forget all about that unmitigated disaster.
They sit quietly for a long time, waiting for something to happen. It doesn't appear that anybody is home. While they wait, Todd tries to think of something to talk about, as Téa scans the house and grounds through her night vision binoculars.
"Hey, Tea?"
"Hmm?"
"Where did all those photographs come from?"
"What photographs?"
"The ones on that table in your apartment."
"What do you mean where did they come from? They're photographs of my family and friends...and ex-step-daughter."
"Yeah, I know who they are, I was just wondering why I hadn't seen any of them before. You never had them in the penthouse."
"I never had a lot of things in the penthouse."
Todd doesn't know how to respond to Téa's comment. She lets him think about it for a while, before she lowers the binoculars and looks at him.
"They were in storage, at my grandmother's home, during the time I was in Llanview."
"Why didn't you ever have that stuff sent to you in Llanview? I mean, you lived there. You should have had your stuff there."
Téa takes a moment before she responds. "I never had any reason to trust that my stay in Llanview would be a permanent one."
"What? What the hell does that mean? We were married...twice!"
"And neither time had any sense of permanency. Every minute I spent in that town was filled with doubt and uncertainty. My photographs and other personal possessions are permanent and special. They are things I know to be real and true and forever. Llanview and the people in it aren't any of those things to me. Why would I drag my things to that town, since I always knew deep down that my stay there was only temporary? I never felt like I belonged there, no matter how hard I tried, so there was never any reason to bring sentimental stuff to that town. Saved me the trouble of having to go back there to pack them up and bring them back home, to New York, where I do belong."
Téa returns to her watch, and Todd watches her. He is tremendously sad to learn that Téa never felt secure with him or their relationship. He wants so much to be those things for her...security, trust, permanence...but, he knows he failed her. He blew his chances so many times. He is struck by how detached Téa seems now. There was no emotion in her voice when she spoke to him just now. No tears in her eyes. Nothing. She just matter-of-factly told him how it is. She isn't cold or distant, she isn't mean or cruel, but she isn't willing to share her considerable warmth and caring with him anymore, either. Todd can't blame her for that, but he deeply misses the love she once gave him freely. He sadly recalls something Téa recently said to him, when he accused her of turning on him, just like everybody else.
"No, I didn't turn on you. I gave up on you. There's a difference."
"Téa?"
"What?"
"Can you ever...forgive me? I really..."
"Hey! Someone's coming! Get the video camera ready to tape."
Todd is startled and nearly kicks over the tripod, but he recovers and aims the camera at the car that just pulled up in the long driveway of Mrs. Barker's house.
They watch Sheila Barker get out of her car, just as a second car arrives. "That's him. That's David Vickers," announces Todd, as the driver of the second car emerges and walks toward Sheila. The two lovers rush into the house, and before the front door is even closed, they begin tearing at each other's clothes. The door closes, making it impossible to see what is going on inside, but Todd and Téa follow the lights that come on in the house, as Sheila and David enter new rooms, and soon they are in view. The blinds are open, and neither Sheila nor David makes a move to close them.
As David removes his shirt, Téa gasps. Her mouth drops open, and she adjusts the focus on her binoculars. "Dios mio," she whispers, as she admires his gorgeous muscles. Todd notices her reaction and looks down at himself, feeling completely inadequate.
As Todd watches Sheila strip, he is unmoved by what he sees, knowing that this woman has nothing on his Delgado.
When David removes his pants, he reveals that he's not wearing underwear, and Téa inadvertently blurts out, "Holy shit! Sheila is a very lucky woman." She laughs and shakes her head in amazement. Todd focuses in on what Téa is looking at, and he feels a little better about himself. He can't compete with David Vickers' physique, but his body is even more impressive than David's in one certain area.
Moments later, Todd and Téa find themselves in the bizarre situation of sitting right next to each other, in a van, watching David Vickers and Sheila Barker have sex. They're hearing it, too. They both pretend to be unmoved, but Téa notices Todd sweating profusely.
"Are you okay?," asks Téa.
‘Uh, yeah. I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Because, you don't look so good."
"I'm fine. It's just hot in here."
"It's cold in here, Todd. It's early March, and it's cold tonight."
"Whatever."
They complete the remainder of the evening's assignment in silence. After David and Sheila finally tire of their activities, they go to bed and fall asleep. When they are clearly out for the night, Todd and Téa silently pack up and head for home.
Upon reaching the apartment, they go to Del's place to have a meeting about what they saw and heard tonight. Del is disappointed with the report.
"You mean they just screwed all night?," asks Del.
"Pretty much," informs Todd.
"Neither one said anything useful to us? Not one word about Michael Barker, his whereabouts, his activities, the fact that he seems to be missing? Nothing?"
"No, Del, nothing at all," says Téa. "It was just a sex-filled night between two lovers, that's all. They had other things on their minds, obviously, and Michael Barker wasn't one of them."
"Damn. There's no point in bothering with the tapes, I guess. Well, you two will just have to go back tomorrow night. One of them knows something about our Mr. Barker. Maybe they both know something, and you've got to find out what."
"Maybe I should talk to David Vickers?," asks Téa.
"No!," Del and Todd shout at the same time.
"Oh, please," mutters Téa, rolling her eyes. "Look, we can discuss this tomorrow, okay? I'm tired, and I'm going home to bed. See you both in the morning. Del, bring bagels, because I'm sleeping in a little."
"Okay, goodnight, mija," says Del.
"Goodnight." As she turns to leave, Todd says, "Hey, wait up. I'll go with you."
"Okay."
Todd and Téa walk down the hallway toward their respective apartments. As they reach Todd's place, Téa says, "You still don't have a bed, do you?"
"Nope. I haven't had a chance to get one."
She looks at him for a moment, before nodding her head toward her door. "Come on, you can stay on my couch again tonight, but you need to take care of your furniture shortage tomorrow, okay?"
He grins at her. "Okay."
They enter Téa's apartment, and Téa goes directly into her bedroom. Todd quickly makes up the couch with the bedding that was still sitting nearby and collapses onto it. They both stare at the ceiling, going over the events of tonight in their heads. Neither had dared to speak to the other about what they had witnessed together. It was all just too weird. They both decide to themselves that, at this point in their relationship, it's best not to say anything more about it. They both hope that this case will be solved soon, so that a repeat of tonight will not be necessary.
