Chapter One: Survivor's Guilt
Present Day
Audrey looked at the coffee table where the beer and liquor bottles sat. She counted seven beers and at least six shots of bourbon for Nathan. He rarely allowed himself to lose control and get drunk, but did this time.
Audrey, on the other hand, knew her limitations.
"I think it was guilt," Nathan slurred.
"No," Audrey countered. "The Chief loved you." She then paused to watch his slowed reaction.
"He said that we used to be close, but I can't remember having too many of those times he was talking about." Nathan then paused and guzzled down the remainder of his beer and slammed the bottle on the coffee table. "And then when my mom died…" Nathan trailed off. Tears formed in his eyes, and he looked away.
"I know, Nathan," Audrey said as she scooted closer to him and put her arm across his back. She rubbed his back in small circular motions.
He reacted to her physical touch. He loved her touch, loved feeling normal in those moments they had together.
"Do you want to crash here?" Audrey asked as she looked at the clock. "We have to work tomorrow. Haven's troubles stop for no one."
Nathan squinted at his watch. He couldn't see the hands, but he guessed from Audrey's fatigued eyes that it was late and that it would be best for her that he went home. "Naw, I wanna go back to my place."
"Okay. But I'll drive you and get Duke to bring me back."
Nathan didn't protest. He knew better than to drive while drunk. "You know…" Nathan started to say then hesitated.
"What?" Audrey asked.
"My mom...was killed...by a drunk driver."
Audrey put her hand back on his shoulder. She hadn't known what killed his mother.
"She was here one day...and then she wasn't."
"Oh my God. I am so sorry. I didn't know."
"The Chief was never the same after that. He loved her...so...much."
"I know, but he loved you, too. Maybe he didn't quite know how to express it after your mom died, but I know he loved you, Nathan," Audrey said in a quiet voice close up to his ear.
Nathan got up from the couch and attempted to pick up the empties he had left on the table. He stumbled as he leaned forward.
Audrey braced him and kept him from falling forward.
"No worries. I'll take care of this. Let's get you home...okay?"
"Yep," Nathan agreed then inhaled deeply and turned to kiss Audrey.
Despite being quite intoxicated, he was still an excellent kisser, Audrey thought to herself. She had wanted him to stay but understood his need to be alone. He was still not completely open to her, still somewhat guarded. But she understood that in him.
"Thank you, Parker," Nathan said softly as he pulled back from her lips.
Audrey smiled at him as she fished his truck keys from his pocket.
They made their way down the steps of the Grey Gull. Audrey held on to Nathan's back and caught Duke's eyes as they continued walking. She held up the keys and dangled them in the air for Duke to see.
Duke, seeing Nathan's condition, shook his head in the affirmative then put down on the bar the cup towel he had been using to dry the glasses. He grabbed his keys and followed Audrey out into the parking lot. He, too, knew that Nathan was having a rough day. It was, after all, the Chief's birthday. Nathan needed this time to grieve his father's death because he had, in Duke and Audrey's opinions, never fully acknowledged the Chief's death or his grief. Typical Nathan, Duke would say.
They arrived at Nathan's apartment, and Audrey followed Nathan inside. He didn't bother with lights and fell onto the couch and into sleep before his head literally hit the arm of the couch. Audrey found a blanket and put it around him and smiled at the man she loved before leaving.
She and Duke said very little to one another on their return to the Grey Gull. When she returned to her apartment above the Grey Gull, she went to sleep almost immediately as well. It had been an incredibly long day.
The next morning, Audrey's phone began ringing before her alarm even had an opportunity to buzz. She jumped up.
It was Dwight. A fire had completely leveled a home.
"Give me a few moments to get dressed," she asked Dwight. "And please leave Nathan out of this one. He had a little too much last night, and I'm sure he needs this time to get all the way sobered.
20 minutes later Audrey met up with Dwight at the scene of the burned down home. There was nothing left except the charcoaled remnants of what used to be a typically beautiful Haven home.
"Marj Sinclair," Dwight said to Audrey as he saw her looking at the bones near what used to be the home's front door. "Yep. She almost made it out."
"Only occupant?"
"Yep. Marj lived alone. She was just a year or so older than us. Had no one in her life except her dog," Dwight responded, pointing to the skeletal remains of a large dog lying near Marj's remains.
"How horrible," Audrey added.
"You can say that again," Dwight responded.
"I'll call the coroner to come and get her remains," Audrey said as she began to turn back to her car. Then she added, "What a terrible way to start our day...but I don't think it's anything more than a horrible tragedy. Doesn't seem to be related to the Troubles."
"Agreed," Dwight said as he went to his truck to get the caution tape. "Nathan okay?
"Yeah...it was the Chief's birthday yesterday. Had a little too much to drink last night."
"Understood," Dwight said as he went about taping off the perimeter of what used to be Marj Sinclair's home.
Audrey headed back to the office. "But first coffee," she said to herself. Her head hurt a little even though she certainly didn't have the volume Nathan had consumed. She then dialed Nathan to check on him.
No answer.
"Okay Nathan, I'll give you another hour. I can't do this without you," she said aloud, but not as a voicemail. She knew the reliance she had on him was mutual.
Audrey went back to the station and began working on reports. Her phone then rang, and she looked at the clock to see that 45 minutes had already passed. It was Dwight again, and he was filling her in on the next tragedy that had hit Haven. A man had apparently drowned in his own bathtub, but Dwight believed that this case, too, was not suspicious. It looked like the man had just fallen and had hit his head and was unable to get out of the tub before drowning.
"Okay...how weird," Audrey said. "Just call me if you need me." She then rang Nathan's number again. Again, he didn't answer. "You should be up by now," Audrey said to herself. She contemplated going to Nathan's place but didn't want to appear to be overly dramatic. As Audrey pondered what she should do, her phone rang again. She jumped slightly. Checking caller ID, she saw that it was Dwight again. "Another one?" Audrey asked incredulously into her phone.
'Yep," Dwight answered. "Another seemingly innocent accident."
"I'm beginning to wonder just how innocent and unconnected they are," Audrey responded.
"I agree," Dwight answered. "But I certainly can't see any connection. This one is a guy who apparently fell off a cliff. We don't know if he jumped, fell, or was pushed."
"Damn," Audrey answered. "I'll get to the beach to investigate."
"I'll meet you there," Dwight offered. "Is that partner of yours in yet?"
"Uhh...not yet," Audrey confessed. "I'll call him to check on him on my way to the beach." Audrey tried to keep her tone of voice nonchalant so Dwight would not know she was worried about Nathan. They both tried very hard to keep their personal lives personal and their work lives separate.
"We need him, Audrey," Dwight replied.
"I know," Audrey said. "I'll get him in here. Don't worry, Dwight." As she drove, she tried Nathan again. She had no experience with how Nathan responded to hangovers, so she wasn't sure whether or not she should be worried.
As she arrived at the beach, a small crowd had gathered around the man's body. Men stood with their arms folded over their chests while the women had their hands over their mouths in despair.
"Everyone loved Steve," one of the women offered to Audrey as she approached them.
"And Steve loved everyone," a man added.
"Oh…okay. So what are you saying?" Audrey asked.
"It had to have been an accident," another bystander said.
Audrey examined the man's hands. He appeared to have been holding on to the sharp rocks. Sharp pieces were embedded in his hands. "What would he have been doing up there?" Audrey asked the group.
They all looked away.
Audrey continued to stare at them.
Finally one answered, "He was troubled."
"How so?" Audrey asked.
"It started when he was a kid," the woman said.
Another woman came forward. "He almost died as a boy by falling off a cliff. But his father saved him and fell himself."
Audrey frowned.
"Maybe the troubles got him this time around," a man asserted.
"Okay. So clear back so I can do my job. Thank you for the information," Audrey said to the crowd. "If you have any additional information that could help me solve this case, please let me know." Audrey took pictures and called the coroner. She then called Dwight to tell him that this one was under control and not to bother driving out to the beach.
"Good," Dwight answered. "Cause we have another one."
"Shit," Audrey instinctively answered. She needed Nathan badly. "What now?"
"Woman got mowed down right on Main Street."
In a normal town and under normal circumstance, Audrey would have asked what the hell was going on. But in Haven's case, she understood these events to be normal Haven. "I'll be right there," Audrey said to Dwight as she clicked her cellphone closed and inserted it in her jacket pocket.
She arrived at the car accident scene and found Dwight. She waited for him to fill her in.
"Looks like a complete accident. The woman stepped out in front of the driver. She wasn't paying attention. The driver's over there," Dwight said as he motioned to the man sitting on the curb by his torn up car.
"What the hell is happening?" Audrey asked Dwight.
"I don't know," Dwight answered. "But my guess is that those two do." He pointed behind Audrey to Vince and Dave who were standing on the sidewalk by the caution tape.
tbc
