In the Light
of Day
Tim rolled over in his bed and groaned. The last glass of red
wine had seemed like a good idea the night before, but the reality of the
morning after was hitting him squarely between the eyes like a 2x4. He reached
over for the clock, bringing it up so he could see it. 6:43 am. Time to get
up and face the music. He reached for his glasses and slipped them on, tucking
the tips behind his ears. He was too damned old for this.
Crawling out of bed, he made his way over to the shower. The warm water felt
good on his aching body. He must have slept like the dead, barely moving.
It was the only thing that could account for the inordinate amount of stiffness
he felt in his limbs.
Forgoing his usual morning routine of cereal and the morning Sun, he grabbed
an untoasted bagel and headed out the door. Hopefully Munch had put the coffee
on when he got in and Tim wouldn't have to suffer the assault of caffeine
depravation as well.
The new color scheme in the squad room did nothing for Tim's spirits. Quite
frankly, he had never gotten used to it. Coming back from his gunshot wound
he had been stunned to discover the transformation. Everything was different.
Frank was gone, Mike was gone, hell--for all intents and purposes the Box was
even gone. How were they supposed to interrogate a suspect at a prissy little
round table? Tim shook the thought off; he had more important matters to address.
Crossing the room, he hung his coat up and made his way to Gee's office. Tapping
the door, he stuck his head in the office.
"You have a minute?" he asked the lieutenant. Gee looked up over his glasses
and gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. Bayliss entered the office
and sat down. He took a deep breath and feigned a sudden interest in the backs
of his hands.
"I'm presuming you came in here because you have something to say," Gee stated,
looking intently at his detective. Bayliss tipped his head up, looked at his
superior and swallowed.
"Yeah, well--I took the site down, deleted it." Gee nodded. "But, the thing
is, I shouldn't have done it. It wasn't breaking any laws and I should be allowed
to have a private life. I don't see anyone harassing anybody else in this squad
for what they do in their private lives. Why am I any different?"
Gee looked at Bayliss. He had always been complicated, from the very beginning,
when he caught the Adena Watson case. But, he was a good detective and Gee sensed
that he was reaching his breaking point.
"It's the lifestyle. You know that, don't you, Bayliss? It--it makes people
uncomfortable."
"It's not like I'm hurting anybody. I mean except myself," Bayliss responded,
his voice filled with irony.
"For whatever reason it's the thing they can't accept. The question is, do you
want to continue in the face of this new pressure?"
"Are you telling me to quit?" Bayliss asked.
"I have no problem with your choices, Tim, but I do sense that you are unhappy.
Maybe you came back too soon. Maybe taking some time to get your head together
would be better."
Bayliss shook his head. "I'm not ready to quit and if I leave now I might as
well. Do you feel like I'm not getting the job done?"
"No. I'm just thinking--" Bayliss cut him off by standing up and turning to
leave.
"I just wanted you to know that I'm not giving up here. I'm not planning the
gay rights rally, but I'm not going to go slinking off into the night. That's
never been me and I can't change now."
He walked out of the office and headed for the coffee room. Entering he heard
Lewis and Munch discussing the call they'd gone out on that morning. A Buddhist
murdered? It didn't sound right, but maybe he could help.