A very long day


Chapter three: Cornering the Davies


//Damnit, Davis, not now...// Tru almost didn’t look at the caller id on her cell. She knew who it
was. It was Davis calling again... to get more information from her so together they could solve the
murder... but today they might not be able to. Tonight she might die in his arms, see him cry over
her. And she couldn’t, couldn’t hold back the real truth if she talked to him again right now. He’d
say her name in that half frustrated, half pleading way he could... and she’d crumble. Even over the
phone. “I’m not picking up this time, Davis. I can’t.” But somehow, her hand moved on its own to
her pocket and her eyes stared at the phone as it kept ringing. Forcing her fingers to curl around
the cell, Tru moved to shove it back into her pocket, when her eyes helplessly saw the number. It
wasn’t Davis. It was Harrison. “Yeah, Harry, what is it?”

“Hey, my lovely sister Tru... what, not answering the phone today?” He laughed in her ear, typical
Harrison. “You wouldn’t do that to me, would you? If it’s a rewind, it’s your job to tell me what I
did wrong yesterday and help me fix it.” Even over the phone, Tru could see the earnest expression
on his face, the slight shrug to his shoulders as he talked. It was typical Harrison... seeing this thing
as a way to take back the things he should have known better than to do the first time. But at least it
wasn’t Davis. Harrison was a lot easier to say no to... she had more practice. “So, do I need help
today, sis?”

//Harry, Harry, Harry... // “Uh, I don’t know what you did yesterday, Harrison. You didn’t call me
for help or anything. I’m guessing you didn’t lose too much or I would have heard something.”

“You’d tell me wouldn’t you? I mean, none of this... ‘I won’t pick the horses for you, Harrison.
No, Harry, I won’t tell you the lotto numbers’ right?” He had the just the right urgency in his voice
and Tru felt the protective sister gene kicking in.

“Harrison, nothing bad happened to you yesterday.” //just to me, and Davis.// “So relax already.
For once my rewinding isn’t hurting you. It’s what you’ve been wanting for a long time, so enjoy it
already.” Tru could hear the stress in her own voice. She didn’t mean to bite Harry’s head off,
but ....she was going to get shot tonight and be held bleeding in Davis’s arms unless she could stop
it. And Tru didn’t know who was going to shoot her or why. It just wasn’t a good day and
Harrison’s little meltdown wasn’t helping either.

“Tru... you’re all right, aren’t you? Can I help? You don’t sound too good. Where are you and I’ll
come meet you.” //Harrison...// If he started asking the right questions, could she lie to him? “I’ve
helped you before... let me help.” //No,// She couldn’t lie to him, not with that earnest look that
would be on his face to match the considerate note in his voice. Harrison might be, hell was, a
real jerk sometimes, but he cared. He would be devastated if anything happened to her.

“I’m at the Standard Diner, but Harry, I’m fine,” //for now.// “So you don’t need to worry about
me, ‘kay?” Tru hadn’t gotten far when she’d run from Davis, and now... she didn’t know what to
do. And the urge to head back to the morgue and spill the truth out over Davis’s desk... wasn’t
getting easier to resist.

“Let me help, I’ll meet you at the diner and we can go track down your would-be body.” His voice
perked up, though part of Tru’s brain said it wasn’t real, Harrison the actor... or would that be liar.
“At the least I’m a set of wheels, and I can be hands and eyes too. And with Davis manning the
office, you could use a field man.” //Davis...//

“Fine, Harry, I’ll wait for you here at the diner, but I don’t know how much good we’ll do.”
Harrison could at least keep her from breaking down the next time Davis called, and he would call
again. Her boss wasn’t the kind of man that gave up, especially with someone’s life on the line.

“Great, be right there... sides, with you waking up with another man’s name... I should get some
sister time in before I get a new brother in law to take you away from me...” The dial tone cut into
what would have been a lovely denial just forming on Tru’s lips. She and Davis weren’t like that...
even if she’d started thinking about the possibility lately. The looks he gave her and the little signs
of concern like calling the cops or giving her a st. benedict medal. The way his arms around her
had felt right even as her blood slipped out between his fingers.

//That’s right, Harrison, distraction... not thinking about Davis, I remember... gotta keep me from
dying and then it’s like he never really touched me at all like that... really.//

***

Davis stood outside Meredith’s law office, hesitating near the door of the morgue van. Should he
leave his lab coat here or would it give him more credibility as Tru’s boss. How that would help
him get her trust though was another question. Meredith didn’t know about the rewinds and telling
would only make her call to security land him in a straight jacket instead of a jail cell. Tru was so
much better than he was at lying and getting into people’s trust. But for her... Davis could do
anything. Stripping off the lab coat, he straightened his tie and walked into the building. Davis had
a Davies to save and he wasn’t about to let Tru down.

“Meredith Davies, please,”

“Do you have an appointment, sir?” First question, first decision to lie or not. Might as well start
with as much truth as possible. Meredith wouldn’t believe it all anyway.

“No, I ... uh... I don’t. But it’s a family emergency, I work with her sister Tru.”

“Well, sir, if you’ll take seat, I’ll let miss Davies know you’re here, Mr....” The secretary looked
at him blankly, folding her arms on the desk in front of her. She wasn’t going to help him, start at
him like he was crazy. Davis wished for the lab coat lying over the seat in the van.

“Davis, city coroner.” He pulled his id out and flipped it at her like it was a badge and fought back
a grin. Two could play the status game. Straightening his shoulders and tried to lean in an
imposing way on the counter. “Which way to Miss Davies’ office?” He held back a smile as the
secretary reached for the phone with one hand and pointed down a hallway with the other. “Thank
you, I’ll see myself there.” Some of his confidence leaked away as he stood in front of her door.
There simply wasn’t a chance in hell that he could explain what danger she was in without ending
up in a completely different white jacket... or a jail cell. Meredith, who Tru hadn’t even tried to
tell about do over days, didn’t seem like the open-minded and accepting person her sister was.
What Davis wouldn’t give for a little of Tru or Harrison in her.

Meredith was confident and assertive woman. She certainly wouldn’t respond well to a weak man.
Davis had learned that from Tru.

Squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin, he reached for the doorknob before he could hesitate or
knock. Flipping out his morgue id, Davis strode into the room to find Meredith hanging up the
phone on her desk. “Meredith Davies, I’m Davis, city coroner. I need to speak with you.”

She turned to him, leaning back on the edge of her desk with a haughty pose. The expression on her
face didn’t quite match. Worry tightened lines near her mouth and eyes. Davis remembered with a
sudden flash the sight of her and Harrison huddled on a bench in his morgue as a young Tru tried to
follow her father into the viewing room. Meredith had tried to look strong then too. “What is this
about, Mr. Davis?”

Uh...shit. He should have thought this out a little better. //What to tell her since it can’t be the
truth.// Davis stood there a second just imagining what her reaction to the truth would be... talk
about straight-jacket-time. Taking a deep breath, he hoped for a little Harrison in Tru’s sister. “I
need your help, Meredith. It’s about Tru.”

“Yeah, I sorta figured that. What’s wrong with her?”

Okay, not as much Harrison as he’d expected. And now it was time for the lie. Davis sent a little
prayer skyward for a fraction of Tu’s people skills. “Tru’s in danger. She’s been receiving
threatening letters and phone calls at work, but she won’t let me help her.” That was the truth, at
least part of it was. Now to get Meredith out of the line of danger. “Could you come down to the
morgue and help me talk to her. Tru might listen to you.” //She’s certainly not talking to me right
now.// Mentally crossing his fingers, Davis waited through a thoughtful but not particularly
worried expression on Meredith’s face. No wonder Tru was closer to Harrison...

“All right, I’ll try to talk to her, but don’t expect too much.” Purse in hand, Meredith stood and
moved toward the door. “I can’t leave work for too long, so let’s get this over with.”

Without those high heels, the blonde had to be about Tru’s height. //Dammit, Tru, why couldn’t you
tell me!// “I’ll make this as ... quick... as possible. I know Tru wouldn’t want to get you into a tight
place. //She’d want you safe whether you like it or not.// “My van is right downstairs.”

***

Tru wrapped both hand around the almost too hot mug of coffee on the counter before her. The
slight pain in her skin was oddly comforting. It meant she wasn’t bleeding out on the morgue floor
in Davis’s arms. The heat in her palms, however, wasn’t doing anything to help her skin forget the
warmth of Davis’s hair between her fingers. //Stop it, Tru. Stop thinking about Davis.// “Come
on, Har, you’re supposed to be here by now.”

In the middle of another sip, Tru heard the door open behind her. “Tru,” //Finally,//

“I’m here, Har...” Turning on the stool, she watched Harrison walk toward her with a sigh of
relief.

“You look horrible, sis.” Tru allowed and relaxed into Harry’s hug, resting her check against his.
He was good at this, at this kind of selfless concern and comfort. She tried to ignore the was her
skin missed the soft warmth of a beard along her cheek. “Come on, Tru, talk to your little brother.
Let me help.”

“I....” //I can’t....// “I don’t know if you can help. I don’t know if *I* can.” Tru started to pull
back, afraid that being comforted any more would shatter her reserve, spilling the truth out in a
flood over Harrison’s shoulder. But he wasn’t about to let her too far out of reach.

“Tru, it is going to be all right.” The words were whispered against her ear before he pulled back
enough to catch her face in his hands. “We have always saved people before. And we’ll do it
again.”

“Really, Harrison. You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. We’ve pulled it off before and we’re gonna do it today.” Tru started to let herself be
comforted as Harrison tucked an arm around her shoulders. “All three of us.” //....Three... three of
us? Davis.// Tru moved to jerk out of his grip but his hand tightened just a little faster. “Come on,
Tru, I’m taking you back to Davis.” //Damnit, Har!//

“No, Har, I... I don’t need to go to the morgue right now, really.” Struggling a little against the grip
of his arm, Tru felt herself being led out to his car, her words having no effect on him whatsoever.
“Harry, please, I can’t talk to Davis right now.”

“I know, Tru, that’s the first thing we’re gonna get out of the way. Just let me help, okay?”

There were times when Tru hated having family and this was so one of those times.

***