Си Паради - Dancing With Shadows

Sherman walked into the Renaissance Hotel carrying his suitcase and approached the desk in the lobby.

"Can I help you?" the desk clerk asked looking up.

"Yes. I have reservations for Scott O’Malley," Sherman said. He took a Visa card out of his wallet and handed it to the woman assisting him.

Once the paperwork was completed, he took the key he was given and headed for the second floor. Entering the room, he laid the suitcase on the bed and began unpacking his clothes. Finishing, he took out a map he had picked up before exiting the turnpike. Sitting at the table, he unfolded it and began locating the streets he had written down in his notes from Viglioni’s file.

After he located the street the hotel was on, Sherman circled it and began looking for Edgewater Drive. He found it in a suburb called

Lakewood and circled it. Taking a yellow highlighter, he marked the route from his hotel to the newly marked street on the map, carefully noting that it could be reached off the Route 2 expressway. Next he looked at the downtown area searching for East 9th Street. The Federal

Building was located on this street and Sherman knew this housed the local FBI office. He marked the shortest route from the hotel to the

Federal Building mentally noting it was within walking distance. Committing the directions to memory, he folded up the map and put it in his rear pocket. It would be handy to keep in the car just in case he needed it.

It was still early and not wanting to waste time, Sherman decided to check out both places and become familiar with the routes.

Glancing at the lake while driving down the scenic route, he saw the waves breaking against the shoreline, an indicator that the weather report predicting thunderstorms was probably correct. He loved thunderstorms. The devastating power of lightening had intrigued him since he was a boy. It reminded him of himself. It destroyed what it hit.

Finding the exit for Edgewater, he exited the freeway. At the end of the exit he bore to the right following the well-marked route. The address he was looking for was a half-mile from the exit. Parallel parking on the crowded street, he sat in the car and looked at the apartment building. It was situated between two other apartment buildings and another complex was on the same side of the street he was parked on.

Getting out of the car he sauntered across the street entering the middle building. It had a security system that required you to ring the apartment of the tenant you were visiting. Sherman had already ascertained from the apartment number 412, that it should be on the fourth floor.

He rang the buzzers for two different tenants. He wasn’t surprised when neither answered. Most of the tenants would be a work during the day. He arbitrarily rang two others and smiled at his quick success when the door buzzer released. As was the case in most apartment buildings people often just released the door without checking whom it was.

Entering the lobby, he walked over to the mailboxes. Locating the box for 412 he noticed that in addition to the name he was expecting, Megan Donnovan was also listed on it. This was surprising considering Viglioni hadn’t even been in Cleveland for two months. Sherman decided this could actually work to his advantage.

The operative casually walked over to the elevators. He gave every indication of belonging in the building. Stopping on the fourth floor he walked down the hallway to 412 and stopped. It was the second to the last apartment and faced the north side of the building. This would be perfect if the apartment complex across the street had any vacancies. Smiling at his luck Sherman walked back to the elevator. This job just might turn out to be much easier than he expected.

Sherman took the elevator down to the basement. Looking around to make sure there was no one observing him, he took the electronic pick gun out of his pocket and unlocked the door that gave him access to the telephone and electrical lines. He didn’t expect to need to use anything here, but experience had taught him it was better to cover all contingencies. After checking out how the lines were routed to the various apartments, he returned to the lobby and left the building.

Tony cleared the table and threw out the empty Chinese food containers. After wiping off the table and putting the dishes in the dishwater she opened the cupboard. Raising her voice so Megan could hear her, she asked, "Want something to drink?"

"Iced tea would be great," Megan answered. She was listening to the messages on the answering machine. The first three were from her mother, and the next one was from Ashley.

Playing the last message, she heard, "If you are a homeowner…" quickly pressing the erase button, Megan thought, what’s the use of having an unlisted number? It never stops the telemarketers.

Tony opened the freezer and placed several ice cubes in each glass. Getting the iced tea out of the refrigerator, she filled both glasses and carried them into the living room.

Megan looked up when Tony walked into the room. She unabashedly watched her partner walk across the room with the feline grace that was integral to her.

Tony set the two glasses down on the coffee table before joining Megan on the couch. Leaning over she placed a fleeting kiss on Megan’s lips and said, "You shouldn’t look at me like that. We’ll never get anything done."

"It’s your fault for wearing those short shorts and showing off your legs," Megan said smiling.

"Well I guess I could put on some jeans," Tony said and started to stand. Megan grabbed her arm chuckling and said, "No you don’t. Laying her hand on Tony’s thigh, she continued, "I like what you’re wearing just fine."

"Well ok. If you insist," Tony teased. "Who called?"

"Ashley called once, and my mother called three times. Ashley said to make sure I call her before calling Mom." Musing aloud, she said, "Wonder what’s up with that?"

Tony handed her partner the portable phone and said, "Maybe they want you to visit. You said Ashley mentioned it last time you saw her."

Megan punched in her sister’s number and said, "Yeah. That’s probably it."

"Hello."

"Hi. What’s up?" Megan asked.

"Hey Sis, how's it going? Did you have fun on your vacation? Did you see everything you wanted to?" Ashley asked, the questions pouring forth nonstop.

Smiling into the phone Megan said, "It was great. I don’t think it’s possible to see everything, but I sure tried."

Megan poked Tony in the ribs with her elbow when she heard her partner murmur, "Ain’t that the truth."

Ashley laughed, and said, "I bet you did. Did you get any pictures?"

"Yep. I got some really good ones. Maybe we can do lunch one day next week. I can show them to you then," Megan said, looking forward to seeing her sister.

"Ok. I’ll look at my calendar tomorrow and give you a call. You’ll be at work, right?"

"Uh huh. I can’t believe how fast our vacation went. It sure doesn’t seem like we’ve been off a week and a half. How are John and the twins?"

"John’s fine. Been working long hours though. The kids… now that’s another story. I’ll fill you in on their latest exploits when I see you."

Ashley loved to talk about her children and couldn't wait to tell Megan what they'd been up to lately.

"So why did you want me to call you before calling Mom?" Megan asked, while reaching for the glass of iced tea.

"Dad got back early Monday and Mom showed him the paper with you on the front page." Ashley gave Megan a chance to digest that little nugget of information and then continued, "So of course he’s bursting with pride and wants to see you."

Megan sighed. She should have known. He hadn’t approved of anything she’d done since she entered medical school. But her picture in the paper would be a big ego boost for him.