Си Паради - Dancing With Shadows

"I am. Agents don't go after each other because of personal agendas," Tony said, before adding very quietly, "no matter what."

Megan didn't know what to say to that. "There's nothing you can do about it right now. Why don’t you go lay down? We can talk about it when you get up. I’ll get you up if anything unusual happens."

Tony knew there wasn’t anything she could do right now, but she had one more thing on her agenda for the day. "Would you mind calling

Brian and getting the name of the best locksmith he knows? I want an electronic lock installed today. We also need to call the security company and see if they can upgrade our alarm and change the code. Tell them it's an emergency and it has to be done today."

Megan was once again hit with the seriousness of their situation. They had no idea when or how he might strike again. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it," she said, happy to have something to keep her busy so she wouldn't have as much time to worry.

Seeing the worried expression on Megan's face, she did not have the heart to tell her that it probably wouldn't do any good. With the right equipment, a lock or an alarm could be disabled in seconds. Her hope was that since Sherman was acting on his own, he might not have the latest equipment. Until Sherman was apprehended, she would just make sure Megan was never in the apartment by herself.

"Thanks, Love." Leaning over and softly kissing her partner, Tony said, "I'm going to bed now."

Megan smiled at David and Mike, and said, "That was fun. I better get going now. I don’t want to be late."

"You’re a good player." David said, grinning at her. It had been fun having Megan over. They didn't see her much now that she had met

Tony. He was very happy for both of them, but he did miss her visits.

"Nah. No better that you guys. We all won once," Megan said, chuckling. She’d always liked Pictionary. It was fun to see who could guess what you were drawing.

David and Mike walked with her to the door. "See you Monday," David said.

Smiling, Megan said, "Ok. Bye."

Pulling out of the drive and into the street, Megan looked around her. Tony had followed her to David and Mike’s house to make sure she wasn’t followed. Her partner had assured her no one had followed them, but the fact that Tony had thought it was necessary made her nervous.

Arriving at her parents' house, Megan got out of her car and walked to the side door of the two-story colonial. The house sat on a large lot with the deck facing a large pond. Woods bordered the back yard, and the front yard was gorgeously landscaped with flowers adorning the front of the house bordered by decorative stones.

With a light touch to the doorbell to announce her arrival, she opened the door and walked in.

Barbara walked into the foyer, smiled and said, "Hi, Megan," and then hugged her. "It’s good to see you."

"It’s good to see you too, Mom," Megan said, returning the hug with a smile.

"Your father’s in the living room. Why don’t you go join him while I finish dinner? It should be ready in about a half-hour. Would you like something to drink?"

Megan grinned, caught up in her mother's cheerfulness. "Do you have any iced tea?"

"Made some just for you," her mother, unable to wipe the smile from her face. She had missed her daughter. "Go on. I’ll bring it in."

"Thanks."

Megan walked into the living room. Her father was sitting in the recliner in an upright position. Even when he was off work, he had a professional appearance about him. He wore khakis and a sports shirt with the creases still intact.

"Hi Dad."

"Hello Megan." Waving his arm toward the couch, he said, "Make yourself comfortable."

Megan walked over and sat down. Knowing her father lived for his job, she said, "How’s work?"

"Very busy. We’ve had to add some associates because the firm is in such high demand," Charles said, proudly.

Megan smiled, and said, "That’s great. I know you’ve wanted to expand for a while now. What do Ken and Gene think about the new associates?"

Megan knew the other two senior partners had been reluctant to add more associates. They were concerned about their own profit margins.

"They’re ok with it. We’ve picked up some major new clients, and it allows us time to properly set them up. The associates can handle the routine clients."

Megan’s mother walked in and handed her a glass of iced tea. "Here you go."

"Thanks Mom."

"You’re welcome."

Looking at her husband and daughter, Barbara said, "Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes," before turning around and walking back to the kitchen. Barbara was pleased. It looked like Megan and her father were doing just fine.

"I saw your picture in the paper. That was quite an impressive write up. It seems like a hard way to get a little recognition, though." Charles said, thinking of his personal agenda for his daughter.

"I like my job, Dad. It’s challenging to try and find evidence and clues to link together what happened to the victim." Megan smiled, warming to a topic she enjoyed. "It’s never boring, and I never stop learning."

She had decided to elaborate so her father would understand what she found fascinating about her job. Maybe then he would realize that she really was doing what she liked.

Charles looked at his daughter. She did seem happy. How could be make her understand that the Donnovan’s just didn’t work in public service? That detracted from the powerful image he had spent years developing. It was a constant source of embarrassment to him that his daughter was a pathologist. If she had to choose medicine, she could have at least chosen a field that was respected like surgery.

Charles stated his argument eloquently, the same way he addressed the court. "But Megan, that’s a gruesome job. I don’t see why you would want to work as a public servant for a pittance of money and little recognition, when you could be sitting in a nice clean office meeting with clients and making real money. It’s not too late to go back to school. With your brains you could probably finish in three years."

Megan looked at the earnest expression on her father’s face. "Dad, I don’t want to be a lawyer," Megan smiled, and continued, "I’d rather do the behind the scenes work. My picture getting in the paper was more of a fluke than anything else."

"If you call almost getting killed a fluke, then yes, it was. You put your life at risk helping to solve that case. You don’t make enough money to be put in that situation." Charles retorted.

"That was an exception. For the most part, my job is quite safe. A sociopath could just as easily target a lawyer," Megan said, watching her father intently.

Before Charles had time to formulate an answer, Barbara called from the dining room, "Dinner’s ready."

Charles and Megan walked into the dining room, and Charles assumed his seat at the head of the table.

Megan looked at the lavishly set table and delicious entrees her mother had made and smiled. There was stuffed Cornish hens, wild rice, asparagus and Cucumber salad.

"This looks great!" Megan said, smiling at her mother.

"I thought you might like it," Barbara said, pleased.

Megan ate, thoroughly enjoying the meal. She knew her mother spent a lot of time and effort in preparing savory meals and was an accomplished cook. She always enjoyed her mother’s creations.

Megan realized how much she missed this part of her relationship with her parents. Serious talk had always been avoided at the dinner table and the conversation revolved around their friends and family.

She listened to her mother talking about her plans for redecorating the den and offered her opinion. Even her father had a few ideas to contribute. Megan relaxed and began enjoying herself.