His Master's Voice, Part 4

By CatMoran

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. I don't own the canon characters or concept; I do own this story.

Summary: We continue with the saga of a guide and his fangs.

Warning: Not beta'd.

His Master's Voice 4
By CatMoran
*****

Jim stood at the balcony doors and watched the sun rise, wondering if his best friend would ever see it again.

He wandered back to the kitchen, and looked at the bowl of carrots Blair had left on the counter. Idly he picked one up, examined it, then tentatively bit into it. //Same texture as trailmix, // he thought. Looking through the bowl, he saw that no fresh carrots were left, so he threw out the contents. Then he checked the vegetable bin in the refrigerator. Empty. //That's right, we were supposed to go grocery shopping last night. I'd better pick up some stuff for Blair. I wonder what he'd like, other than carrots?//

With a sigh, Jim went upstairs to get dressed for work.

*****

At a quarter to seven, Jim was the first detective on dayshift to arrive at the central precinct. He settled at his desk and within moments was oblivious to everything except the stack of paperwork on his desk.

A couple hours later a hand on his shoulder got his attention and he looked up. The worried gaze of his boss, Simon Banks, met his. "Jim, were you zoning?" the large man asked softly. "I called you three times and you didn't respond."

Jim shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sir. I was just caught up in this file and wasn't paying attention." Jim glanced around the room and saw that a number of his friends wore poorly disguised looks of concern. For their benefit as well as Simon's he added, "I'm fine."

Simon took a step back and nodded. "Would you please come to my office, Jim? I have something to tell you."

Jim closed the file he'd been studying, and followed Simon to his office. Taking a seat, he declined the offered cup of coffee.

Simon met Jim's eyes and started. "I'll get right to the point, then. Blair's body is missing from the morgue."

Jim gasped. He hadn't thought about that. Of course they would notice Blair was missing; he was scheduled for an autopsy this morning. What should he tell Simon? What *could* he tell Simon? It wasn't really his decision to make, he'd have to discuss it with Blair. So what should he do now? Simon would expect him to rush out looking for his guide, but he couldn't, knowing that Blair was safe at home.

Simon took Jim's silence as shock. "Jim, we'll start looking for him right now. I've already sent Rafe and Brown down to investigate, they'll let me know as soon as they find something."

Jim nodded, glad for the reprieve.

"Jim, I really think you should reconsider and see the counselor."

"Simon, I'll be fine. I've had worse happen to me."

Simon looked at Jim, examining his body language. Finally he decided. "That's all for now Detective, you can go back to your paperwork."

Jim stood. At the door he turned, and with what he hoped was the appropriate amount of concern he asked, "You'll let me know?"

"As soon as I know."

Jim nodded and walked out.


The End
(c) CatMoran 2000