Nathan stops in front of the small cairn on the grassy green hillside. The rocks aren't quite arranged the same way that he remembers, but it's been a while and it's not like he memorized the position of each one. He sets a paper bag down next to the cairn, and then sits on the ground, patting one of the rocks briefly as if in greeting. A bottle of whiskey comes out of the bag, followed by two short glasses. He fills each glass halfway, setting one on a rock that's somewhat level and keeping the other for himself.
Sipping the whiskey, he stares into the distance for a while.
"I wanted to let you know that I'm sorry," he starts, looking at the other glass of whiskey. "We didn't always get along, but you were always my father. I only brought up Max Hansen because I thought it would help me get in with the Guard. I didn't know he was my father when I was a kid, and I certainly don't think of him that way now. You know that."
A seagull cries overhead, as if in response.
"If I can find out who these people are, and what they're up to, if I can find the tattooed man that killed those women and abducted Audrey, then maybe I can figure out what's going on around here."
He pauses, as though listening to a reply. He knew his father well enough to imagine what the Chief would say even though he's not here to say it.
"I know it's not the best plan in the world, but I need to do something to protect Audrey. They know that I'm the Police Chief, but they don't know everything. That woman, Jordan, will want to keep me around because she can touch me. I understand that all too well. And with her on my side, I have a real shot at the Guard."
Nathan thinks that if his father were really here, one of them would have said something to antagonize the other by now, and one of them (Nathan, probably) would already have left in a huff. He misses it, in a way.
"You were wrong about one thing. I can be in love with Audrey. I can do my best to protect her from whatever's happening, even though I've never met a woman more capable of protecting herself in my life. But she doesn't love me, she's made that clear. So you don't have to worry about her endangering Haven just to protect me."
Nathan is aware that he sounds bitter, and is almost glad that the Chief isn't actually here to comment on it. He goes quiet, looking out over the countryside, enjoying the view. If something goes terribly wrong with his plan to infiltrate the Guard, if he ever has to be put in the ground, in a box, then this wouldn't be such a bad place. He gets a mental image of Duke digging a second grave, next to his father's, and wonders how it is that Duke, whom he doesn't trust to do anything right, is the first person he thinks of to give him a decent burial.
He finishes his whiskey, and pours the contents of the second glass over the cairn. He gathers up the glasses and the bottle in the bag, and stands, looking down at his father's gravesite.
"Bye, Dad. See you soon." And without a backward glance, he turns and walks back down the hill.