THE THERAPIST

11

𝐂 𝐡 𝐚 𝐩 𝐭 𝐞 𝐫  𝟏𝟏

     “I can’t believe you told her to her face she was hiding something,” Meredith murmured as she opened the door to the diner.

     “I had to set things straight. She wasn’t being cooperative. I don’t see anything wrong telling her what I thought,” Spade said and followed behind her.

     They entered the teeming diner. Meredith did a quick sweep and spotted an empty booth.

     “You made her feel uncomfortable. No wonder she wanted to see a warrant. If you had treated her nicely, she could’ve told us what she’s hiding.”

     Meredith slid into a booth. Spade plopped down across from her.

     “What’s your point?”

     “My point is, you’re treating her like a suspect and making her think we’re her enemies. If she’s got something to tell us, she won’t because she doesn’t trust us. And it’s all because of you.” Meredith put on a scowl.

     Spade shrugged. “I don’t care.”

     “Yeah, you don’t. If you go about treating everyone like a suspect, no one is gonna want to talk to us, you know.”

     Spade’s face dropped. “You talk too much. Maybe it is a bad idea for Director Hotchner to put you on the case.”

     “It isn’t, and you know it.”

     Their bickering continued until a waitress lumbered to their booth and took down their orders. A while later, they sat in silence, busily eating.

     “You know something,” Meredith said with food in her mouth.

     Spade sipped from a mug. “Save it. I don’t want to hear.”

     “You’re pissed already?”

     “Yes.”

     “Good. I like it when you’re pissed.”

     “Could you keep quiet for just a second?”

     Meredith swallowed a morsel, then went for the glass of water. “Nope. I noticed the sexual tension back at Dr. Avery’s office.”

     The food in his mouth nearly choked him. He grabbed the glass and gulped water.

     Meredith stifled a laugh. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to cause a stir.”

     Spade picked up a floral napkin and dabbed at his lips. “Where did you get that preposterous idea from?”

     She winked at him, her fingers curled around the mug. “You don’t have to pretend with me. I saw the way you looked at her. The weird questions you were asking her. You wanted to anger her, didn’t you?”

     Spade scoffed. “I was just doing my job.”

     “I was just doing my job,” she mimicked. “You sound like a workaholic.”

     Spade sat back on the sofa. “Why are you suddenly on me?”

     Meredith set the chinawares aside and pushed forward. “You’ve been tensed lately,” she said. “I know you wanna catch this guy, but you need to chill out, buddy.

     Spade just stared at her. “Can we leave now? This Lucas guy isn’t goin’ to stay at one place forever.”

     Meredith shrugged. “Sure.”