His Savior, Her Hero (A Tim Gutterson Story)

The Polygraph

Harper voiced the question on Tim's mind, "Why the hell is our relationship so important? Tim isn't on trial. I have been here for almost a month and this happened nearly ten months ago. What do you think could happen between us that is going to mess up this trial?"

"It's not Tim being sued, but the marshals," Vasquez explained.

"David, I'm a marshal."

Vasquez looked stunned she would address him so familiarly. "Well, yes, but you're the medical examiner, also."

"Then call that other guy back in for this."

"We can't." He sighed, "Trust me, Dr. Delaney, if I could avoid putting you on the stand, I would. Putting you on the stand is going to be a shit show."

"Look, Vasquez, I was cleared of all those charges ten years ago. My past doesn't apply."

David groaned, "You're not understanding. If you and Tim are in a relationship, that will put a bad light on the marshals service."

"How? Tim and I are just deputies. He isn't my supervisor and has no authority over me. There is no reason for us to be under investigation like this. What the hell did we do to you and Slade that's made you come at us like this?"

"We aren't coming after you and Tim," Vasquez sighed.

"You have all the original files. All I have to do is explain what the reports say. I'm not going to lie to save Tim's ass."

"Does Tim's ass need to be saved?" Vasquez questioned.

"No," she almost yelled. "You, my friend, are pushing your luck with my patience."

He sighed, "It's my job."

Tim put his hand on Harper's shoulder, "Hey, it's okay."

"It would be if it made sense," she brushed him off. "What are you going to do next time Tim kills someone? What if we get together and there's another one of these situations? You just gonna get another medical examiner?"

"Or a new deputy. Now, if you keep up this argument, I'll have to take it to Art and Judge Reardon. That won't look good on you."

Harper shrugged, "Then, hire your PI. Tim can take the polygraph if he wants, but I'm not."

Vasquez groaned, "Dr. Delaney-"

"All of my answers will come back inconclusive. Besides, it's fun to see just how upset Slade is that there's rumor of Tim and me sleeping together when he turned her down."

Vasquez looked at Tim, "Please, talk some sense into her."

"She's pretty set on that being her answer. I think you should accept it. I'll do the polygraph."

Vasquez sighed in relief, "Thank you."

He left, leaving the deputies to think about the polygraph.

"They're going to ask some serious questions...questions I'm not entirely sure I know the answer to," Harper told Tim.

"I know my answers. I'll pass the test and we can move on."

She rested her head on his shoulder, "I'm putting all my faith in you."

He kissed her head, "It'll be alright."

She looked at the evidence board, "And so it begins. This is going to be insane."

"You know you can't do any investigating without Art's approval."

"I got hired to be the medical examiner and to start the take down of the Delaney empire. We're just going to take down everyone else, as well. I've got to find records of everyone, figure out our dead ends and who's already dead. We'll take cut the dead ends and work our way in."