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Murphy Michaels sat back from his desk and stretched the entire length of his long, six foot plus frame. It didn't help. The kinks from sitting buried in paperwork for the last five hours were not going to be chased away by a mere two minute break.
He glanced up at the clock on the office wall. It was after six; well past a decent quitting time. Even a sweatshop like Hayvenhurst couldn't expect you to work forever. No, it was definitely time to blow this place.
He closed the file he'd been working on and shoved it to one side of his over-burdened desk. For a moment he felt a pang of guilt for the report left half-done. It was due on Cooper's desk tomorrow. He quickly pushed aside any thoughts of staying one minute longer. The work would be here in the morning. It wasn't going anywhere. He could come in a little early and get it done before he went out into the field.
His sport coat lay discarded across the file cabinet behind him. He grabbed it and hung it over his shoulder as he left his cramped cubicle, loosening his tie as he walked. What he really needed right now was some physical activity; something to work the office stiffness from his muscles. Maybe he could find someone who would be up for a quick set of tennis.
Almost automatically he glanced over toward the other end of the room. Just as expected, the light was still on in the last cube. Leave it to Laura to be the last die-hard in the office. Well, maybe he could convince her she'd put in enough hard time for one day. He sauntered over, a smile played across his face as he caught sight of her brown head bent studiously over some pictures on her desk.
He didn't know what it was about her that affected him like this. She was pretty but not stunningly so. She wore her hair simply most of the time; like it was now, merely pulled back in a shoulder length pony tail. A fringe of bangs framed her sun-
freckled face. Her clothes were business-like but never solemn. Whatever it was though, of all the women who'd started as apprentices this year under Hayvenhurst's bow to women's lib, Laura Holt was the one who'd captured Murphy's imagination.
Not that they were anything more than just friends. He never really fancied himself much of a ladies man. Oh sure, he'd dated in college but none of the girls at USC ever held his interest for more than a few dinners or dances. Then suddenly he met Laura Holt, the pride of Stanford's class of '75, but for some reason he hadn't been able to figure out yet, he held his tongue. He was content to sit back; to cultivate a growing friendship and comradery with this vivacious and intelligent lady.
So engrossed was she, she didn't notice Murphy's approach until he rapped lightly on her cubicle wall. Her head came up with a start then she relaxed and smiled when she saw who it was leaning over the partition.
"Hiya, Murph," she greeted brightly then bent over her work again. "Still hanging around?" she asked distractedly.
"Not anymore," Murphy answered. "I've burned my brain out long enough. Time to indulge the purely physical beast. Care to join me?" he asked. He raised his sandy eyebrows suggestively.
Laura glanced up at him sideways; suspicion plain on her face.
Murphy laughed. "I'm talking about a set of tennis. Really, Laura. Where's your mind?"
"Unfortunately on this case." Laura sighed. "It's one Alan dumped on me and I've got a lot of background to go over."
"Even Alan Greavy wouldn't want you to kill yourself," Murphy argued. "Come on. It'll do you good...refresh the mind."
He was getting to her, he could tell. She leaned back from the desk and her eyes moved between the cumbersome file and the clock on the wall.
"Come on," he urged. "Pizza at Tony's after?"
He hit the right spot. The appreciative grin that spread over her face told him he'd won her over. Before she could answer him the sound of the main telephone rang shrilly through the empty office. Laura moved to answer it but Murphy reached down to take her hand.
"The office is closed, Laura. They can call back tomorrow."
"What if it's important?" Laura countered. "We're here, Murph. I can't just let it ring."
Murphy reluctantly released his hold on her and damned her workaholic devotion to this place...a place that didn't care one whit for her efforts. He sighed in weary resignation and prayed the call would be short. It would be too much to hope for a wrong number.
Laura picked up the phone; her voice all business and efficiency.
"Hayvenhurst Detective Agency. How may I help you?" She paused then glanced up at Murphy. "Murphy Michaels? Well, I don't know..."
Murphy shook his head emphatically then mouthed an elaborate "no way" when Laura only grinned mischievously.
"I'll see if he's still here. May I ask who's calling?"
There was another pause then the grin left Laura's face. She covered the phone with her hand as she turned to Murphy.
"It's someone named Allie. He says he's your cousin."
"Allie?"
Murphy's eyes widened in surprise. His mind filled with questions as he reached for the receiver. Allie was Alister Carmichael and he was Murphy's cousin. Why his sixteen year old relative would be calling him here at work Murphy couldn't even begin to guess.
"Allie?" he asked into the phone. "Is this Allie-gator?" he teased, automatically using his old nickname for the boy.
"Murph...yeah this is me."
Something wasn't right. Even over the phone Murphy could hear the strangled quality to the boy's voice. Murphy was instantly all business.
"What's wrong, Allie?"
"I'm not sure, Murph." Allie sounded bewildered. "I got a call from the police. They said Mom and Dad were in an accident and I better come to the hospital. They said they were hurt and I didn't know what to do. I can't reach Skip or Jeffers or anybody and Mom and Dad have the car so I can't even go down there and I didn't know who else to call...and"
Allie suddenly seemed to run out of gas and his frightened voice trailed off into silence.
"All right, Allie. Hold on. I'll be over to pick you up as soon as I can. We'll go see what's happening. Just hang tight, okay?"
"Okay, Murph." The voice on the other end of the phone was quiet and calm now there was someone else to handle things.
"Okay. See you in about half an hour."
Murphy handed the phone back to Laura, only just now remembering she was there.
"Trouble?" she asked quietly.
"My aunt and uncle," Murphy told her as he straightened up to go. "I guess they've been in a car accident. I'm not sure how bad. Allie didn't really know. He's pretty scared. I've got to go get him."
Laura stood up and grabbed her purse. "I'm going with you," she declared.
"You don't have to..." Murphy started to protest but she interrupted him with a wave of her hand.
"I know I don't have to. What are we waiting for?"
He couldn't think of anything so he didn't argue. Together they rushed out of the office to his car. They didn't say much during the ride to Westwood but it didn't matter. He was glad she was with him. It helped to know he didn't have to face whatever lay ahead by himself; especially since he would have to be strong for his young cousin.
Laura sat in the waiting area of UCLA Medical Center's emergency room and fidgeted restlessly. It was not in her nature to sit by and be calm. She needed to be on her feet; to move, to do something besides just sitting here. But Murphy had gone to the phone to contact his cousins and Laura was left to try to comfort Allie.
He sat next to her silently staring down at the floor. There must have been a million thoughts racing through his head. Laura watched him as he ran a nervous hand through his long, blond hair for at least the fiftieth time. He was a pleasant-looking kid even if his nose was a bit large for his face. He would probably grow into it in time, Laura decided. She felt for him as each time a doctor would come out of a room or walk by his head would come up sharply and his anxious eyes search the face for any news of his parents.
Drunk driver, that's what they'd been told. Going the wrong way. That and little else. Laura wondered what it was about doctors that made them feel the family of patients had to be kept in total darkness about their condition. This poor boy badly needed to know something right now; anything at all.
A door shut down the hall. Laura and Allie both looked up to see Murphy hurry back to them. He sat down next to his cousin and put a reassuring arm around the boy's shoulders.
"Okay, I got a hold of Polly and Jen. Polly's coming down. Jen's going to wait 'til we know something. It's a long flight from Pennsylvania. She wants to be sure she should come."
"What about Skip and Jeffers?" Allie asked quietly.
"Polly said Jeffers is out on some rock hunt in the hills. She's going to swing by and leave a note on his door to get down here as soon as he gets back. I couldn't find Skip."
Laura listened to the account and marveled at the size of Allie's family. She never knew Murphy had these kinds of family ties.
Allie nodded thoughtfully. "He's probably off working on his book. He's never home anymore."
Murphy sighed resignedly. "That book's going to get him into trouble."
Allie gave Murphy a small smile. "He says he doesn't care what NASA thinks. He says he's right."
Murphy just shook his head.
Laura wondered at the exchange but never had a chance to question Murphy about it. They were interrupted just then by a solemn-faced doctor.
"Mr. Carmichael?" the doctor asked.
Allie swallowed hard, looking to Murphy for support, then stood up to face the doctor's report.
"It appears your father is going to be all right."
Allie let go a big breath of relief.
"He's got a some fractured ribs and a slight concussion but he should be fine. We want to keep him here a few days for observation."
Allie nodded."What about Mom?"
The doctor paused noticeably and glanced over at Laura and Murphy.
"What is it?" Murphy asked as he got to his feet as well.
"Mrs. Carmichael is in surgery right now." He paused again. "It seems your father swerved to avoid a head-on collision which probably is what saved their lives." He kept looking between Allie and Murphy like he wasn't sure which one to address.
"Go on," Murphy said in an even tone.
"Well...they got broadsided on your mother's side of the car." The doctor looked back at Allie. "I'm afraid her back was broken along with some other serious internal injuries. We're doing all we can but...I can't promise anything."
Allie's face went white. Laura reached out instinctively to take his hand in support. Beside her she heard Murphy's strangled sound and she saw him turn away.
"C-can I see my dad?" Allie asked in a small voice.
"Certainly," the doctor replied. "You can come with me. We've moved him up to a ward."
Allie looked back at Laura and Murphy.
"You go on," Laura told him with an encouraging smile. "We'll wait here for your sister."
Allie nodded and followed after the doctor.
Laura reached out to lay a hand on Murphy's shoulder. He turned back toward her, his face working hard to keep in control.
"You want a cup of coffee or something?" Laura asked kindly.
Murphy shook his head.
"You want to talk?"
Murphy breathed in a deep, uneven breath and nodded. Laura took his hand and led him out the door of the E.R.
"We can watch for your cousin out here," she told him.
The night was warm and pleasant as they walked. Laura watched Murphy in the light spilling out from the hospital. Of all the men she had met and worked with since coming to Hayvenhurst, she liked Murphy the best. She never had to worry about him pawing or fawning over her. He respected her abilities as a detective which few of the other members of the staff did. Not that he had never shown any interest in her personally. But he never pushed it and she was grateful. In a work environment she was fast learning to hate, she was glad she had at least one person she could count as a friend. She wanted to be able to help him now that he was so obviously troubled but she wasn't sure how.
"You must be very close to your aunt and uncle," she began tentatively.
Murphy nodded. "Their house was like a home away from home for me. I spent a lot of time there. My own mom split when I was a kid and my dad and I have never hit it off too well."
Laura's heart went out to him. She never would have guessed this about him. It seemed they had a lot in common.
"I know how that goes," she replied. "My dad left us when I was in high school."
Murphy turned to study her face. "I never knew that."
Laura laughed softly. "I don't go around telling everybody I meet."
Murphy chuckled. "Me neither. Anyway, Aunt Elizabeth was kind of like a mom to me. They had such a big, fun house. It was always full of their kids and everybody else's kids. They never cared how many mouths they fed. It was always happy there. Not like at home."
Laura nodded. She knew what it was like to wonder why your own home couldn't be as happy as others else seemed to be.
"She'll be all right," she announced suddenly to Murphy. "You'll see. She'll be all right."
"I sure hope so," Murphy replied wistfully.
"She just has to be," Laura declared.
"She's going to make it," the doctor announced with a huge smile on his face. "She's going to pull through."
The number of people in the waiting area had increased in the last few hours. Murphy watched as his cousin's all hugged each other joyfully. Pauline had shown up with her husband, Doug. Jeffers had raced in filthy from head to toe from his rock hunt. Murphy's own father had shown up as well, unable to wait at home for news of his sister.
"Now wait, please," the doctor was trying to restore some order. "Hold on a minute, please."
The noisy celebration quieted and the family waited to hear what else the doctor was going to tell them.
"Your mother's going to live. But remember, her spine was fractured. We don't know yet how that's going to come out."
A subdued hush fell over the group.
"When will we know, Doc?" came a voice from the doorway.
Murphy turned to see Skip standing there in his dress blues. Someone must have finally gotten in touch with him.
"She won't be coherent until tomorrow at least," the doctor informed them. "You may as well all go home and get some rest."
There were murmurs of consent and everyone began milling around, making plans to go home as well as welcoming Skip.
Murphy walked over and gave Skip a big hug. They hadn't seen each other in nearly a year but that never seemed to matter.
"Thanks for taking care of Allie," Skip told Murphy gratefully. "He must have been pretty scared."
"We all were," Murphy commented. "I'm just glad I could be here to help."
Skip took him in an embrace again then moved over to join his family. Murphy quietly withdrew to let them be together. As he stood there a moment watching them; envying their closeness, he felt someone come up to stand beside him. He turned and saw his father.
Murphy didn't know what to say. They'd never been able to talk, not since he could remember. Something always came between them like a barrier. Neither one knew how to break it down.
"I'm glad you were here, Son," Robert Michaels said. "You were a big help."
Murphy shrugged uncomfortably and looked around for a way to escape. He was always trying to escape from his father.
He noticed Laura apart from the main
group, waiting for him.
"I, uh...I gotta go now, Dad," he said
and backed away.
His father nodded his understanding and moved away towards the rest of the family.
Murphy swore softly as he watched the retreating figure. Then, determined to put it out of his mind he turned back towards Laura. He smiled at her and walked over.
"Tired?" he asked.
She shrugged. "A little."
"Hungry?"
Her smile widened.
"I promised you Tony's. He glanced at his watch. It was nearly midnight. "They should still be open. Are you game?"
"You bet I am."
They walked outside and headed toward Murphy's car. As they started to get in, Murphy paused. Laura had come through for him tonight in more ways than one. Besides helping him out with Allie and sticking around until the crisis was over, she'd tactfully avoided any mention of his encounter with his father. This lady had class, no doubt about it.
"Hey, Laura?"
"Yeah, Murph?"
"Thanks. For everything."
Laura flashed him a smile. "That's okay, Murph. What are friends for?"