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Crisis & Catharsis -- Part XIV John looked up from his desk at a knock on his door. “What is it, Jenkins?”   Jenkins stepped through the doorway. “I picked up the stuff you requested from the Commissioner’s home.”   John nodded. “Thanks.” Jenkins stayed in the doorway. “Anything else?”   Jenkins walked up to John’s desk. “Sir, Dr. Miller is asking to speak with you.”   “Tell her she’s gonna have to wait until Bo gets here.” Jenkins nodded. “I told her that, sir. She is demanding to talk to you.”   John smiled. “She can wait.”   “Yes, sir. But she is making quite a scene in her holding cell.”   John sighed. “All right. I’ll go down there and talk to her.”   “Thank you, sir,” Jenkins said as he turned and left the office.   John picked up a file and notebook and headed out of his office down the hallway and into the holding cell area. He approached Paige’s cell. “Dr. Miller, I understand you want to see me?”   Paige turned to him with a smile. “Yes, I do Detective McBain. I would like to know why I am still in this cell. What am I being charged with?”   John smirked at her. “You are being held for questioning. When we decide to question you, we’ll get back to you. We do have other cases. There’s no special treatment in here.”   Paige glared at him but the smile never left her face. “I have rights, detective. I want a lawyer.”   John nodded. “And you should have one. Don’t you want to see what we’re going to ask about before you cry for a lawyer?”   “I wouldn’t need a lawyer if Bo would show up.”   As if on cue, Bo walked into the holding cell area. “And here I am,” he said pleasantly. “We’re going to head up to my office and have a little talk.”   Paige smiled at him. “I’m so glad to see you. I knew you would come and sort this all out.”   Bo turned to John. “Where are Spencer and Rex?”   “Spencer is still in the interrogation room. Rex is in your office.”   Bo turned to Jenkins. “I need to speak to Rex. I’ll let you know when you can bring Dr. Miller up to my office.”   Jenkins nodded. “Yes Commissioner, but can you hurry? She’s kinda loud.”   Bo smirked as he turned to Paige. “I’ll be with you shortly. Give my officers a break.”   “You’re not leaving me down here,” she whined. “I need to talk to you so we can sort out this misunderstanding about the diagnostic machine for the hospital.”   Bo just nodded at Jenkins as he walked out of the holding area with Paige yelling his name behind him. Bo never looked back. John followed him out. “Do you want me to sit in?”   Bo stopped and looked at John. “Something up?”   John shook his head. “I’m going to put a rush on the lab to get the results of the cookies from your house. Then I thought maybe I would run out and get some lunch. Leave the fireworks to you.”   “Getting out while the getting’s good?” John smiled as he nodded. Bo grinned back at him. “I think I can handle this. Get me a burger too.”   “I can do that,” John said as he turned to leave the squad room.   Nora was resting quietly when the door opened slightly and Matthew peeked into the room. Nora motioned him in and Matthew jumped on the bed beside her. “How are you feeling?”   Nora smiled as she gathered him in her arms. “I’m much better now that you’re here.”   Matthew watched her closely. “You sure you’re getting better?”   Nora nodded. “Dr. McBain knows what’s wrong and he’s going to fix it and I’ll be home good as new in no time.”   Matthew looked at her doubtfully. “Are they sure this time?” he whispered.   Nora took his face in her hands. “Yes, buddy. They’re sure this time. I’m going to be fine, I promise. “   “What was making you sick?” Matthew asked quietly. Nora looked at Matthew, debating in her mind how much to tell him. “Um… I want to tell you about it but I would rather wait for your dad. He’s at the station right now and when he comes back, we’ll know more about my condition, okay?”   Matthew eyed her cautiously. “I thought dad was on leave of absence. Why would he need to go to the station?”   Nora gently stroked his hair, watching him carefully. “Daddy is helping me get better, remember?” Matthew nodded. “Well, part of his helping involves someone who was brought into the station.”   “Who?”   Nora took a deep breath. “Matthew, I want to be honest with you about this but I would really rather wait until Bo is here. Can we do that?”   Matthew shrugged. “Okay. But you're going to tell me, right? I'm not a little kid."   Nora nodded. "Yes, your dad and I will explain everything to you. Promise."   Matthew nodded slowly, not really convinced. "Okay. Where’s Rachel?”   Nora nodded toward the door. “She’s down in the cafeteria getting some coffee. Why don’t you catch up with her and tell her I said it’s okay for you to have some ice cream.”   “Thanks, mom. I'll be back soon.” Matthew kissed her on the cheek, hopped off the bed and ran out of the room. Nora leaned back in the bed and closed her eyes with a smile on her face.   Bo walked into his office and Rex hastily pulled his feet off Bo’s desk. Bo frowned at him. “Balsom, have a little respect, will you?”   Rex sat up in his chair. “Sorry, Commish. How is DA Hanen?”   Bo sat behind his desk. “She’s doing great. Thanks for your help on this one. Even though I didn’t know it was Nora you were helping, it means a lot to me.”   Rex grinned at him. “No problem, Commish. I like playing sidekick with you.”   “So tell me what you heard in the park.”   Rex shifted in his chair and sat forward. “When I got there, I hid in the bushes like in the movies.”   Bo rolled his eyes. “Balsom, skip the nonsense and just tell me what you heard.”   “Okay, when I got there, Paige was alone, pacing back and forth, smiling uncontrollably. I don’t know why that doesn’t drive you nuts…” He stopped when he saw Bo glaring at him. “Sorry, no more commentary. Spencer came up to her and she handed him the check in an envelope. Spencer looked inside and said that she was short a zero. Paige said that was all she could get from you on such short notice. Spencer was telling her to figure it out when you came up with John.”   Bo nodded. “Anything else?”   Rex looked around nervously. “Not in the park, but remember I said I saw her last night at Rodi’s?” Bo nodded. “Well, she was drinking the hard stuff. Kinda surprised she can put that stuff away…”   Bo crossed his arms as he frowned at Rex. “Come on, Balsom. This is important. What else happened at Rodi’s?”   Rex sat forward in his chair again. “She was having a pretty heated exchange with Spencer. She didn’t notice me because I was being all discreet like.”   Bo rolled his eyes again. “Sure you were. What did you hear?”   “Paige was smiling at Spencer but she seemed annoyed with him. Does she do that when she’s annoyed at you?”   Bo sat forward, putting his hands on the desk. “Balsom, can you see that I am annoyed right now?”   Rex sat back in the chair. “Yeah, I can see that, Commish.”   “Good, then just tell me what I need to know and get out of here.”   Rex popped out of his chair and walked over to the coffeemaker. “I need coffee first, I’ve been waiting a while for you.” He turned to Bo. “You want some?”   When Bo just frowned at him, Rex hurriedly poured his coffee and jumped back in the chair. “As I was saying, she was having a discussion with Spencer about money. Then Spencer asked her about her other project and something about an ingredient.”   Bo sat forward. “Did he use that word? Ingredient?”   Rex nodded. “Yeah. At first Paige didn’t seem to catch his drift but then she brightened up and asked him if he had gotten her more – that she had run out.”   Bo sat back in his chair, thinking. When he didn’t say anything, Rex leaned on the desk, waving his hand in front of Bo’s face. “Hey, Commish! You with me?”   Bo frowned at him. “Knock it off, Balsom. Do you have anything else to add?” Rex shook his head. “Then you can go now. Thanks for your help.”   Rex leaped out of his chair. “Any time, Commish. Looking forward to our next caper. Maybe we should have a name. You know like Batman and Robin or Butch and Sundance…” Rex stopped when Bo simply pointed to the door and frowned at him. “Right, leaving now.” Rex opened the door and quickly exited.   Bo shook his head and picked up the phone, punching in an extension. “Bring Spencer Truman into my office.” Bo replaced the receiver and picked up a file, opening it and flipping through the pages inside. He couldn’t believe he was investigating his latest girlfriend for poisoning his ex wife. I really never do learn, Bo thought. He looked up when the door to his office opened and Spencer Truman sauntered in and took a seat in front of his desk.   Bo nodded to his officer. “Thanks, Jenkins. You can go. Truman and I will be fine.”   “Yes, sir,” Officer Jenkins said as he backed out of the office, closing the door behind him.   Bo turned his attention to Spencer. “Tell me about this cashier’s check Paige gave you this morning.”   Spencer shrugged. “Nothing to tell. It was for equipment for the hospital, just like she said.”   Bo nodded. “So what’s the name of the machine? What does it do?”   Spencer was taken aback. “It’s ah… It’s called a…”   Bo watched him carefully. “Out with it, Spencer. $20,000 is a lot of money for a piece of equipment you can’t name.”   Spencer shrugged again. “I have the information at my office. It’s actually a device to help your nephew’s wife – or ex wife – conceive a child.”   Bo nodded again. “So this is for Kelly?”   Spencer nodded and Bo scribbled a note in his file. “Tell me about the fight you had with Paige at Rodi’s last night.”   Spencer eyed him cautiously. “Who told you I was at Rodi’s with Paige last night?”   Bo shrugged. “I have a witness who says they saw you at the bar in a heated exchange with Paige.”   Spencer crossed his arms. “Your witness is mistaken. I did see Paige at Rodi’s last night and we had a brief conversation. I wouldn’t characterize it as heated.”   Bo scribbled in his file again. “Okay, then how would you characterize it?”   Spencer chose his words carefully. “It was… a pleasant discussion.”   Bo looked at him doubtfully. “About?”   Spencer shrugged. “General hospital things. The usual.” Bo nodded, scribbling again. “And what ingredient were you going to supply Paige?”   Spencer squirmed slightly in his chair. “Ingredient?” Bo nodded. “I don’t recall discussing an ingredient. Maybe you should ask Paige. She may have better recollection.”   Bo nodded as he scribbled in his file again, making Spencer rather nervous. Spencer tried to peer at Bo’s notes and Bo looked up at him with a frown. Spencer sat back in his chair. “Anything else, Commissioner? Wait, it’s not Commissioner anymore, is it? Should you be questioning me in an official capacity when you’re not on the force anymore?”   Bo smiled at him. “Who said this was official? We’re just having a conversation, right?” Spencer nodded. “And you have nothing to hide, do you?”   Spencer smirked. “Of course not. I gave you the check, didn’t I?”   “Yes, you did. And what piece of equipment was that for again? I forgot what you said.”   Spencer looked him in the eye. “I didn’t say. I can’t recall offhand but I would be happy to call you with the information when I return to my office.”   Bo nodded. “I’d appreciate that.”   Spencer stood. “Anything else, Commissioner?”   Bo watched him silently, as Spencer shifted uneasily in front of him. Finally Bo shook his head. “That’s all for now.”   Spencer turned to leave. Bo got up from behind his desk. “Truman…” Spencer paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Don’t go too far. This isn’t over.” Spencer smirked as he pulled the door open. “And don’t forget to call my assistant with the name of that machine.” Spencer closed the door smartly behind him without responding.   Bo sat back behind his desk and looked through the notes he had taken during the interview. He picked up the phone again and punched in an extension. “Bring Dr. Miller into my office now.”   TBC