*
Pepper was at his desk by six-thirty the next morning. Wallace and McTavish came in minutes later, McTavish heading straight to the coffee machine. He looked scruffy and dishevelled, which was so unlike him.
"Ian, what the hell, man?" Pepper said as McTavish took a greasy donut out of a bag and bit into it. "I thought I was tired, but you look like shit."
"Fuck you, Pepper," McTavish said angrily as he washed down the bite of donut with a slug of coffee.
"What the hell's your problem, McTavish?" Pepper spat back, stepping up close to confront the man.
Wallace jumped up and got between the two of them, grabbing Pepper's arms and pushing him back towards his desk. "Relax, Tee. Sit down. Take it easy." Wallace turned to McTavish, a serious look on his face. "Ian, I know we're all on edge, but what the fuck's going on?"
The anger seemed to wash out of McTavish as he took a deep breath and another gulp of coffee. He looked over to make sure Caruso still wasn't in before pulling up a chair next to Pepper and Wallace's facing desks. "I just had time to go home and change. I was watching Drummond last night."
Both Pepper and Wallace shot a glance at the Inspector's office, and then turned back to McTavish, leaning over their desks and talking quietly. "What the hell, Ian?" Wallace said, his voice barely above a whisper. "If the Inspector catches you, you're in a world of shit. If Drummond's lawyer caught wind of it, they'd probably have your badge."
"I know, but I just have this gut feeling that Drummond's our guy. If he is, I don't know if I could look at myself knowing I might have been able to prevent him from taking another girl."
"How are you doing it?" Wallace said, his eyes flicking over to Pepper, who was still visibly pissed from his confrontation with McTavish. "Drummond's a pretty smart guy, and he was on to us pretty quick last time."
"You know that little extension of Hyde Park Road where it dead ends just past the turnoff onto his street?" Pepper and Wallace both nodded. "There's a small dirt access road at the end of the street that leads into the golf course. I park my car off amongst the trees and walk through the bush up to the side of his house. It's pretty easy to hide in the trees and hedges there and still keep an eye on his house."
"Geez, man," Wallace said, "you're really taking a chance."
"It'll be all right. Don't worry about it. Just do me a favour, okay. Don't mention anything to Chin about it. She'd kick my ass if she knew. You know how by the book she is."
The other two nodded. "Ian, do you want me to spell you off some nights?" Pepper said, having cooled off once he'd heard what McTavish was doing. "You can't keep that up every night?"
"No, absolutely not," McTavish said, shaking his head adamantly. "This is what I've decided to do, and if I get caught, I'll face the consequences. I don't want to bring anybody down with me. And listen, I know what I'm doing-so don't worry."
The squad room door opened and Chin walked in. "Okay guys. Hopefully something comes up from those vehicle lists," McTavish said, loud enough for Chin to hear as he nodded towards her. "Hey, Elizabeth, can I get you a coffee?"
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