By Any Other Name, by Cathy C
"Do you still owe me a favor, Hawk?"
Dan McGraw looked up from his computer to see his chief investigator, Justin DeWit, leaning in the doorway. From bloodshot eyes to rumpled clothing, it was obvious he’d spent yet another night in the office. The multiple holes that crawled up his ears were barren of jewelry, but it appeared he’d added another tattoo to the colorful collection on his forearms.
"Oh, probably," Dan replied and closed the screen on the brief he was writing for Monday. "C’mon in and pull up a chair. It looks like you could use a break. What’s up?" He nodded toward the file folder under Justin’s arm, already stained by splashes of coffee. "Is that Michaels case giving you fits again? Do you need some help getting ready for the evidentiary hearing?"
Justin shrugged wearily. "Nah, I’m all ready for it, and the dozen other assorted cases. No, the favor is a
personal one."
Leaning back in his chair, Dan managed to suppress his initial surprise. In the entire year they’d worked together in the Eagle County District Attorney’s office, Justin had never asked for a personal favor. He picked up an oversized, cobalt blue coffee mug emblazoned with the scales of justice in gold leaf and took a sip of slightly cool sweetened coffee. "I’ll help if I can. What’s the favor?"
Crossing the room in a few short steps, Justin flopped down in one of the leather wingback chairs across from Dan. He leaned back into the thick padding with a contented sigh. "I can’t believe you moved these all the way to Colorado from New York, but I’m sure glad you did. I missed these chairs. A person could nod off to sleep in one."
Dan chuckled. "Is that the favor? You want to sleep in my chair over the weekend? I’d think you’d prefer your own bed."
The reply began with a sad, nearly bitter snort of air. "Yeah, I sure would — if I could just figure out how to get Barbara
out of it."
Another sip of coffee hopefully covered a wince. "Sorry, Justin. I know you guys haven’t been getting along too well lately. If you need to crash at my place, you’re welcome. I’ll be watching the game on Sunday, but other than that, you can have the couch."
Justin waved off the suggestion as Dan set the mug back on his desk. "No, it’s fine. We’re trying counseling. Hopefully, it’ll work. But that is part of the
reason for asking for the favor."
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Thanks for the challenge! I've been trying to start a new short story for an anthology, and this gave me the oomph to do a bit of BIC!