Mannix

Town Without Pity

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters from the show are not mine. The other characters and the story are! The time period has been moved to the present day. This is season 1-ish, but Peggy will play a small supporting role. Joe must have known her sometime before season 2, after all, since he and her husband were friends.

Chapter One

It started out like a typical day at Intertect. Lew had selected a case he wanted Joe to take. And Joe really wasn't interested.

The secretaries and other agents didn't bat an eye when the arguing began. It was business as usual.

Sometimes they really wondered why Lew kept Joe on. Not even the men's close friendship could make Lew hold on to Joe if he felt he wasn't giving an adequate performance. But in spite of all of Joe's eccentricities, he always got the job done.

When he finally took it, of course.

"Lew, there's nothing to this case!" Joe exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. "Why not give it to a younger agent who needs to lick his chops on a simple appetizer?"

"Because I'm not so sure it is simple," Lew retorted, leaning on the desk with both hands. "You remember all the trouble Gus Fenwick got into before."

"Yeah, and that's exactly why I don't want anything to do with his latest problems," Joe retorted. "Last year. Remember last year? He thought someone was stalking him. It was an ex-boyfriend of his sister's, and he'd mistakenly got the idea that she and Gus were lovers instead of relations. He came after them with a high-powered rifle!" His hands went to his hips. "I barely got out of that one alive."

"And you can stand there and tell me to give a Gus Fenwick case to a green agent," Lew said, flatly staring at him. "Joe, you're the one who convinced me to relax and start hiring detective-wannabes who needed to get their mandatory years of experience under their belt. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give them cases that might very well be out of their league!"

"Every now and then there have been some false alarms," Joe said. "That time Gus thought somebody was staring at him in a café and instead the guy was just trying to read the menu board from halfway across the room. Lew, I don't want to get mixed up in something like that again. Gus started a brawl and was kicked out of the place for life!"

"Alright, so Gus is paranoid," Lew said, adjusting his glasses. "Do you really think he's paranoid this time, too?"

Joe sighed in exasperation. "I don't know! So he's in some dinky town and thinks the whole population is against him. A lot of those small towns are really close-knit and don't like strangers. It doesn't mean they're all out to get anyone who rides in."

"It's more than a little strange that Gus's car disappeared that first night and then everyone started behaving as though he had the plague," Lew said. "I spoke to the sheriff on the phone and he was convinced—so he said—that Gus had hid his car and was deliberately trying to make the town look bad. Now, either the sheriff is paranoid or maybe, just maybe, he's part of whatever seems to be going on there. That's not our problem. All Gus wants is for you to drive in, pick him up, and drive out again. He asked specifically for you."

"They always do," Joe grunted.

"Gus knows you're my best agent," Lew said.

"He asked for me because I'm the one who always ends up doing business with him," Joe said. "If it was Mallory or Liza or Swanson, he would have asked for them instead."

Lew sighed in weary exasperation. "Well, it isn't them, Mannix. It's you. Are you going to go pick Gus up or not?"

"What happens if I don't?" Joe asked. "Will you fire me over a little case like this?"

"No. I think I'd take the case myself to prove that nothing would go wrong," Lew answered, dryly.

"Fine. Then why don't you?" Joe returned.

Lew stared at him. "You really mean that."

Joe shrugged. "You're the one who brought up the idea. Anyway, it'd be good for you to get out in the field."

"And what would you do here in the meantime?" Lew wondered.

"Oh, mind the store, talk to Chris, wait for a better case to come along," Joe said airily.

Lew gave him a hard look. "I have a mind to give you every dull case we get from now on," he declared. "You get into too many disastrous situations anyway. One of these days, you're not going to come out of one of them alive!"

"Well, you're so convinced that picking Gus up might not be a cakewalk," Joe said. "You say that, and yet you're trying to plug it to me by saying you don't really think anything will go wrong."

"I don't!" Lew exclaimed. "But just in case something does, I want an experienced agent there to handle it."

"Alright, Lew. Alright!" Joe headed for the door. "I'll take the stupid case. But if I'm not back in a couple of hours, don't say I didn't warn you!"

Lew gave him a look that said Don't be so overdramatic!

At the door, Joe paused. "What's the name of this place anyway?"

"Pine Lake," Lew said. "Talk to Pender; he'll get you directions."

"Thanks." Joe headed out of the office, shutting the door behind him.

Sighing to himself, Lew shook his head and sank down at his desk, shuffling through his papers.

A fond smile came over his features in spite of himself. Trying to get Joe to take a case he didn't want was always an adventure. It was frustrating, but Lew had to admire Joe's tenacity and stubbornness, even though as his boss he really shouldn't.

xxxx

The day proceeded without incident—at least until Joe did not return by the specified time.

At first Lew was not that concerned. Even things that were going alright often took longer than thought. But Joe hadn't checked in once, even to say that he had found Gus, and after another hour Lew actually was growing worried.

"He was just supposed to pick up Gus and come back to Los Angeles!" he ranted at Chris. "Unless he's deliberately trying to make me worry, something's gone wrong!"

Chris frowned. "And you can't reach him by phone, Mr. Wickersham?"

"No, I can't!" Lew ran a hand over his face. "And I tried calling the sheriff again. He claims he hasn't seen Mannix!"

"What are you going to do, Sir?"

Lew started to pace. "I'll give him another hour. After that, I don't know."

Chris regarded him in sympathy. She knew how many headaches Joe Mannix gave him. But she also knew Lew wouldn't want it any other way. And she could scarcely imagine Intertect without Joe around. In her heart she hoped the next hour would bring the positive result they both wanted.

xxxx

The hour passed, still with no word. Lew was busy typing away at his laptop when the phone rang towards evening. Pausing in his work, he reached over and lifted the receiver with a snap. "Wickersham." Was it Mannix? Please let it be Mannix.

He blinked in surprise and disappointment at the voice that answered him. "Mr. Wickersham, this is Peggy Fair. Mr. Mannix is a friend of my husband's. He isn't still there, is he?"

Lew frowned, leaning back in the chair with the receiver. "No, he isn't, Mrs. Fair. I sent him on assignment."

"Oh." Peggy sounded oddly lost.

Lew certainly picked up on it. "Is something wrong, Mrs. Fair?"

"Well, yes," Peggy replied. "He was supposed to join us for an early dinner tonight. Then my husband had to go to work right after and Mr. Mannix still hadn't called to say why he was late. It isn't like him. Frankly, Mr. Wickersham, I'm worried."

Lew sat up straight. "You're right, Mrs. Fair," he said. "It isn't like him. He hasn't checked in here, either."

"If you don't mind my asking, what kind of assignment is he on?" Peggy demanded. "Maybe he's hurt."

"I'm sorry; I can't divulge that information," Lew said.

"Oh. Of course. It's confidential." Peggy's weak smile could be sensed over the phone. "That was stupid of me. I'm just so worried."

"Not at all. When it's Mannix, you probably have a legitimate reason to worry." Lew glanced at the clock. "I'll tell you what, Mrs. Fair. I'll try to locate him and let him know he should check in with you."

"Would you?" Peggy sounded as though a weight was being lifted from her shoulders. "Thank you!"

"Don't thank me until I have some luck," Lew cautioned. "I might not."

"If you can't . . ." Peggy trailed off. "Maybe he really is lying hurt somewhere."

Lew certainly wasn't about to admit that such thoughts had been dancing through his mind with increasing frequency. "He might be perfectly fine," he answered. "Maybe he simply isn't near his phone right now. I'll call you back in a few minutes, Mrs. Fair."

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Lew immediately lifted the receiver again and dialed Joe's car phone number for the umpteenth time. And for the umpteenth time, the phone rang and rang without being picked up. He slammed it down, worry flashing in his eyes.

"It was a simple assignment," he said aloud to nothing in particular. "He should have been done with it in a couple of hours and come back. Why is it that when he's involved, the smoothest case can turn into a second St. Valentine's Massacre?!"

He was about to grab the phone and ask for the Pine Lake police department when the door suddenly opened and a pale and horrified Chris entered the room. "Mr. Wickersham!"

Lew looked up with a start. "Yes? What is it?" He stared at his secretary. "What's wrong?!"

Chris suddenly choked. "Oh, Mr. Wickersham . . . !" She laid a telegram on Lew's desk. "This just came in. I can hardly believe it, but . . ." She hiccupped.

Lew looked from her down at the paper. Suddenly he was pale himself.

YOUR AGENT DEAD. SHOT IN BRAWL. WILL RETURN PERSONAL EFFECTS.

It was signed the sheriff of Pine Lake.

"Joe," Lew whispered in disbelief.

"Mr. Mannix, dead!" Chris moaned. "This is awful!" When Lew was unusually quiet, she looked to him with questioning eyes. "Mr. Wickersham?"

Lew slumped back. "It certainly sounds like Mannix," he said, reeling from the shock.

"'Sounds'?" Chris studied her boss in confusion.

"It's the sort of trouble he'd get into," Lew elaborated. "But is it legitimate? I don't know." He got up and started to pace. "It's too pat, too vague. And why a telegram? Did the sheriff not want to call and speak to me or someone else from Intertect? Did he think someone would pick up on something in his voice or in the background?" Coming back to the desk, he grabbed up the telegram and shoved it in his pocket. Then he headed for the door.

"Mr. Wickersham, where are you going?" Chris frowned.

"To Pine Lake," Lew replied. "Chris, call Mrs. Fair, will you? Tell her I'm still trying to find Mr. Mannix and that she had better not wait up for information. It could take several hours."

Worried, Chris nevertheless nodded. "I'll call right now," she promised. "But Mr. Wickersham? Why would they say Mr. Mannix is dead if he isn't?"

"That's what I'm going to find out," Lew vowed as he went out the door.