Just before nine o'clock, Cody strolled into the lobby of the hotel to find his mother waiting for him. As usual. Even when he was early, he was late. Just another way he'd failed as a son. "How'd you sleep?"

"Oh bother. It's not my bed, and I still have a little jet lag, so I rather expected to have trouble sleeping. I was somewhat surprised by how preoccupied I was, though."

"Something bothering you?"

"In a good way." She glanced around the lobby. "Would you like to eat here or is there somewhere else you'd prefer to go?"

"Here's fine." He led her across the room to the hotel restaurant and requested a table.

After they were seated and had placed their orders, he found himself the object of her close inspection.

It was time.

"What is it, Mom?"

"You look happy, son. Much more so than when you come to visit me. Seeing you at dinner last night, so relaxed and content, it pleased me."

"Well, this is home. When I go East, I'm kind of out of my element."

"Coming to see me is such a burden?"

"It's not that. You know I was never really happy there." He didn't mention that her unmet expectations were like an anchor around his neck, making him feel like a bad son whenever he went to visit.

"Yes, I understand that, but it really couldn't be avoided with your father's job. And while I knew you missed California, you seemed to adjust when we moved; you made friends and did well in school. When you came back from Vietnam, I expected you to return to our life there. I hoped that fighting in that horrid war would get that girl out of your system. I was terribly disappointed when you went back to the army to become an MP. It was such a waste of your potential."

"Janet was really just the final straw, Mom. I didn't understand it at the time, but I wasn't happy. I didn't enjoy school, didn't really like my classes. Maybe Dad was happy with his life, but I knew when I came home that I didn't want to be a lawyer. I'm more of a 'hands-on' kind of guy."

She nodded slightly, "So you've told me many times, and I see that now. It's taken me a while, but I've finally come around to see your point of view."

Cody sat in disbelief, not sure how to respond. Did that mean that she was finally going to give up on her quest to change him and his life? Fortunately, their food arrived, giving him an opportune break in the conversation.

Once the waitress left and they'd taken a few bites, his mother took a sip of water. "Now, to what I came out here to discuss with you."

Cody wiped his mouth and sat back to hear what she had to say. With his nerves stretched taut, he wasn't very hungry anyway, and his mother wasn't the only one who'd had a long, sleepless night.

"I must confess that I came to talk you into moving back East. I had a plan that seemed full proof, and I believed you would not be able to refuse."

"Mom, we've had this discussion in the past—"

"On multiple occasions; I do recall. I had much better incentives this time, but…I've changed my mind."

Cody began to hope he'd finally gotten through to her.

"Having dinner with you last night was enlightening."

He smiled a little.

"All those gizmos in Murray's room. And that robot. The world has truly changed."

"Murray's always coming up with something new and amazing. His mind goes a million miles a minute."

"Conversation with him can be exhausting."

Cody snorted, "Try living with him twenty-four seven."

"I can see that it would be trying. But living in such close quarters would be difficult for any two people, much less three."

"We make it work. You gotta remember, we were all in the army. We kind of got used to it."

"But you're not soldiers any longer. You could make other arrangements that are more comfortable."

"I suppose." Cody decided not to commit himself to this thread of conversation. It felt like she was leading him to one of her inescapable, logical conclusions that he would, no doubt, absolutely refuse. And come off sounding like a jerk in the process.

"I enjoyed hearing about your cases last night. You don't really talk about them when you come to visit me. Or when we speak on the phone."

"I guess I'd rather hear about what's going on with you."

"You're straying back to flattery, son."

He grinned, "Only flattery if it's not true."

She smiled at him skeptically. "Never mind. Hearing about those cases rather inspired me. That and seeing you so happy."

Cody was a little intrigued.

"As I said, I came out here to convince you to come home with me, but now I see that California is where you really belong. You could never be so happy back East. Not like you were last night. And a mother wants her son to be happy."

"Good—"

"I'm not done." She took a deep breath. "I've thought about this most of the night, and here's what I've decided: If you're going to stay here and become a success, you need to increase the profile of your agency. With clients the caliber of Helen Howell and Baxter Bernard, people should be beating down your doors. But then, you have no doors. You need to move the agency into a real office. An office inspires confidence and implies respectability. Right now, you meet potential clients on your boat, in the middle of very cramped living quarters that are frankly too small to house three adults. It's no wonder to me that your business is still struggling."

Cody bit his lip to keep from saying anything he would regret later. Of course, she didn't give him time to get in a word anyway.

"You should phone all of your old clients—especially ones like Helen Howell and Baxter Bernard that have resources and know people. Discuss with them if they might have any more business you can assist with. Or if they know anyone who might need your services."

"That's not how we work, Mom."

"Well, it should be. That's how a successful business is built. On good work, referrals, and word of mouth."

"Mom, we're doing all right, but we can't afford to lease office space. And we don't really—"

"I'll front you the money."

Cody was stunned, "What?"

"I'm offering to be an investor. I want you to hire a business consultant, someone with expertise in this area and type of business. He'll get you set up with appropriate space, advise you on hiring help, assist with advertising, and so forth."

Cody almost swallowed his tongue, "Hiring help?"

"I rather like the name Allen Private Investigations and Security. What do you think?"

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"Cody, the Riptide Detective Agency looks and sounds like a nickel and dime operation, and any potential client with half a brain will think exactly that and take their business to a more professional looking agency. You just need to improve the image you project to become a major player."

"Mom—"

"You've somehow managed to attract some impressive clients, so you're clearly quite good at this type of work. You only need a better business plan for it to take off and finally make some money. To be a real success."

"Just let me say—"

"The name change is vital. I really think having one key person up front will be important. With your looks and personal charm, you're the natural choice—I'm sure the consultant will agree with me. Murray and his computers could factor into the advertising as I am aware that he has some name recognition in his field. Now, Nicholas…does he still fly that horrid pink monstrosity? As an agency asset, I'm sure the consultant will insist on a new paint job. Something not pastel with eyes and a mouth. A serious agency should have a serious helicopter. Black or dark gray, I would think."

"Mom, the Mimi—"

"I won't even discuss the name, son; that goes without saying. Now, Cody, as I said, I'm willing to front you the money for this, but in exchange, I must insist that the partnership paperwork be adjusted."

Cody just stared at her for a minute, but it seemed she finally expected a response. All he could come up with was, "What paperwork?"

"The agency partnership contract, of course."

Cody felt like he'd been thrown out in open water. With sharks. "We don't have a partnership contract."

His mother seemed to be waiting for the punch line. He shrugged slightly, not knowing else what to say.

She blinked several times, "There's no legal documentation that the three of you are partners in the agency?"

Cody felt the dread climbing up his throat. "No, but—"

She stared at him like she couldn't believe her senses. "Three years of pre-law and this is how you set up your business? If your father were still alive, he'd demand his money back from the school. Son, where was your brain when you started all this?" She took a deep breath and shook her head in resignation. "Of course, I suppose I should be grateful; it will make all these changes that much simpler. We can call my west coast attorney when we get upstairs. Since there's no binding partnership, he can write the incorporation language however we choose at this point."

"Wait, what you're talking about is—"

"For that matter, you could simply start from scratch with all new employees. I know that Murray has some name recognition, but he is rather…well, personally, he's a bit awkward—even you must acknowledge that. While I'm sure he's quite talented, our business consultant could research computer investigations and come up with any equipment you need and hire a qualified person who could fill Murray's role for far less money, I'm sure.

"And I know that Nicholas is a very good pilot, but—well, he'd have to be to make that helicopter fly on a regular basis. But now that I consider it, I think hiring a pilot and helicopter as needed would be more cost effective. While he's a lovely boy and I am quite fond of him, I'm sure he'll understand that you going out on your own isn't personal; this is strictly business."

Cody stared at his uneaten food, gripping the silverware. The enormity of what his mother was suggesting made him nauseated. He looked over at her as she smiled back in pleasure and excitement.

"Shall we go upstairs and start making phone calls? Oh, you didn't eat very much, dear."

"Mom—"

"Perhaps you'd like to think about it. I did rather spring this on you, didn't I?"

"I don't have to think about it."

"Well, good. Let's go up and get started."

"No, Mom."

"No? To what part? You don't like the name? Well, it was only a suggestion."

"Mom—"

"That's not it at all, is it? It's your friends. Cody, if you want to hire them on, then of course you should. Or if you want to give them a share of the new agency, then I suppose I can accept that, but, as the principle investor, I must insist that you have controlling interest."

"Mom! Listen to me. For once, just stop with the plans and listen. I appreciate your suggestions and I know you love me, but I don't want any of that."

"But—"

"Mom! Just listen." Cody took a deep breath and grasped his mother's hand. There were so many things she didn't know, didn't understand about the three of them and how they worked. Maybe some details about another case would make it clear. "I didn't tell you this before, but last year, we actually sold the agency."

She blinked and stared at him. "I don't understand; how could you sell it and still own it?"

"I got it in my head that we should go corporate. That I needed a real career. You would have been so proud." He bit his lip at the bitter taste in his throat, remembering that some of his ideas about the agency's image were pretty close to his mother's suggestions. "The agency was in serious trouble financially, and Murray and I didn't see any other way out. We had an offer on the table—a good offer—from Tricor Security, one of the biggest security firms in the country. Not just Southern California or even the west coast, but one of the biggest in the country. Their building had like twenty stories. They offered to buy our agency and employ the three of us as investigators."

Cody fought to keep his voice steady. "But Nick said 'No way.' He was difficult and uncooperative, and it was all we could do to get him to discuss the problem rationally. He absolutely refused to address our financial issues with any degree of logic. And let me tell you, living on a boat the size of the Riptide—heck, sharing a cabin—with someone who won't discuss the giant elephant in the room, it's pretty uncomfortable. That week before we sold the business was one of the longest of my life. We argued every day."

He glanced at his mother and found she was actually listening to him, very intently following his tale. But then, it involved money, so of course she was listening.

"Finally, Nick threw in the towel."

"He agreed to sell?"

Cody felt his lips twist in remorse. "No, he agreed that it was a good offer and would solve our problems. But he refused to be part of it. He suspected that those Tricor guys were playing us for some reason and said he couldn't go along with the line of hogwash they were shoveling.

"And he was right. They were a bunch of crooks; they were blackmailing their clients and stealing from them. It turned out that we had the proof against them in our case files and didn't even know it. That's why they bought us out—to get that proof. And I almost lost my best friend in the process."

"Cody, you couldn't have known—"

"I almost lost him twice, Mom. See, after a week of arguing, he said he'd move out so that Murray and I could accept the offer and take the fancy jobs; he didn't want to hold us back. And he never once asked for his share of the buyout."

"Cody—"

"I almost lost him a second time when those Tricor bastards…" Cody had to take a deep breath to steady himself, "…shot him. He was trying to help the man that had given us the proof about the company, but they'd already killed him."

"They shot Nicholas? Oh, no."

"Yeah. Murray and I were getting our Tricor orientation—which was a complete sham by the way; those fancy corporate jobs were ridiculous—and, meanwhile, our new bosses almost killed my best friend."

"Oh, Cody."

Cody sat quiet for a moment, hating the memory of that awful time. "So see? I'm pretty anti-office building, anti-big firm right now."

She sat quietly, and Cody decided to keep going with another topic. "Ya know, when we were talking about our cases last night, we didn't mention how Helen and Baxter came to be our clients. Helen was a crazy old bag lady as far as I was concerned, but Nick recognized her. He'd seen all her movies and could even quote dialogue with her." Cody grinned, remembering. "He's kind of a sap about that kind of thing.

"Baxter came to us because Murray Bozinsky never met a stranger in his life, and he wants to help everybody. The security guy at the Patent Office tried to throw out a homeless guy that everybody around here knew as 'Larry, the bum,' but Murray objected. And then he sat down and helped this scraggly inventor fix a design problem. That dirty old bum was Baxter Bernard. Mom, my point is I had nothing to do with securing them as clients and would've gone right past them without a second thought.

"And we kind of glossed over some of the not so nice details of their cases. The mobster who stole all of Helen's property? He had her committed to an insane asylum for forty years so he could steal King Harbor from her. He ruined her life for a bunch of real estate.

"And the corporate executives at Baxter Aviation, they had already killed one man and were going to let hundreds or thousands of people die in badly designed helicopters just to make a little more money. They were going to destroy Baxter and his company."

"Cody, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, Mom. Almost all of our cases are connected to money in some way or other. And what I've learned over the years, is that I don't really care much about it. That old saying about the love of money being the root of all evil—it's really true. And as long as I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and good friends around me, I'm pretty happy. But I almost lost the most important of those key ingredients when I went corporate and tried to grab the brass ring."

His mother was regarding him thoughtfully.

"Mom, I don't think I've ever just told you flat out, but I wouldn't here without Nick. He saved my life countless times in Vietnam. And he saved my sanity because he kept me from losing myself in the craziness of that place. And since we started the agency, he's kept right on doing it. He and Murray, they take far better care of me than I've ever been able to take care of myself. And I hope they can say the same about me.

"Nick and I started the agency on my suggestion and his agreement. We got licenses, printed up some flyers and business cards, and said we were in business. And after a couple of weeks, I suggested bringing in Murray to give us something extra that our competitors didn't have—a certified computer genius. And surprisingly enough, Murray thought it was a great idea, too. And just like that, we were three partners in a detective agency. We didn't need a partnership contract because…we didn't need it.

"I know you want me to be successful, and I appreciate that you're willing to do all of this. But this plan would only produce the opposite effect—it would make me miserable. Right now, we're doing okay. We've got a good reputation around here for getting the job done right. We take cases and work together, and as long as we make enough to keep the boat and the chopper, computer parts and food on the table, I'm happy. That's all I need. That's all I want."

His mother sat there for a moment, hopefully taking it all in. "What about a wife? Children? Having a family would be hard to fit into such a lackadaisical lifestyle."

Lackadaisical? Well, that told him what she thought of his explanation. He'd done his best, but it was clear that she would never completely get it. Would never get him. "Mom, sometimes I think I've dated half the girls in Southern California; at this point, either they're too screwed up or I am. I'm not sure which."

She sighed, "Well, I thought I'd finally come up with a mutually agreeable solution."

"I'm not a problem that needs to be fixed."

"That is still up for debate, son."

He fought the smile trying to break out. Nick was right; she loved her son, and she would never stop trying to help him have the kind of life she thought was best. "Maybe it is, Mom, but as I'm technically an adult, I think we'll just have to agree to disagree."

She looked at him shrewdly. "I believe I'll adjourn to my chambers and try to figure out another plan of attack."

"You can try, but I'm thinking I might be hopeless."

Her smile was fond. "Never hopeless, not my boy. He's an odd little duck, but he's mine."

He felt his lips twitch. She'd called him 'Little Duck' when he was small. "No ultimatum?"

"Oh, son, don't be crude. That would never work on you."

He laughed out loud, and it felt good when she joined him.

"I don't suppose you have time to take your mother sightseeing?"

He remembered their appointment with Joanna to follow up on the swindle operation from yesterday. "We've got something at one o'clock, but I'm free till then."

"Then let's get that waitress back over here so we can go."

He leaned back in his chair when his mother insisted on paying the check. He wondered briefly how they could be so different. But then, on the surface, he and Nick and Murray didn't have all that much in common either, yet none of them were very effective without the other two. Joanna's experiment the previous year had proven that beyond a doubt.

Most people on the outside probably wondered how and why they were together just as Cody's mother obviously did. And that was okay; they could wonder all they wanted. What was important was what the three of them needed and felt. In the end, that was really all that mattered.

End