I'm very happy that so many of you are trying to figure out the mystery of the four deaths. Some great ideas are being mentioned. I thought I'd throw another chapter up before the weekend. I am already writing chapter 16, so much has happened, as you will find out next week. Thanks for the support. And as one guest reviewer mentioned, reviews are so important to keep writers writing! And please encourage readers to read!

The Bridge of Sighs

Chapter 11

Ssssilky Ssssmooth

Cal and Adrianna sat on a patio in downtown Austin relaxing in the sun with ice cold beers and nacho chips. Each was deep in their own thoughts, their 'date' a strange new development in their relationship. They hadn't been able to do this for years. At first their natural teen rivalry kept them harassing each other, then the death of their grandparents opened an even larger rift of guilt and sadness. The final nail in the coffin of their friendship was the death of their parents. So much had happened in just two and a half years. Cal had turned inward, seeking peace and solace in caring for his harmless snakes and joining a group of concerned citizens who went out on calls to pick up errant snakes that had wandered into the suburbs, terrorizing Moms walking their dogs on sunny afternoons. Some of those wandering snakes had ended up in his vivariums. Once in awhile an actual Coral snake or Copperhead was found too close to populated areas in the city or suburbs, and with great care Cal and his team removed them to the desert. These were venomous snakes. Their bite could do great harm, but not immediately. If bitten, the victim had about an hour to get to medical help, otherwise, the outcome could be terrible. It was an odd hobby, but a beneficial one.

Adrianna, on the other hand, had become a whirlwind of action upon the death of her parents and grandparents. Sublimating her guilt when her grandparents died, she threw herself into her studies and helping her parents at the office. She didn't understand Cal's solitude and ambivalence about Hoekstra Importing and took it to mean he wasn't cut out to be a businessman. Hence their bitter fallout with each other. This business with the FBI had had one great side effect. They were finally talking to each other again. Maybe if nothing else came of it, they would finally feel like a family again. She could even live with the idea that he wanted to keep those damned snakes, if he eventually got his own place to live.

Time to move out and get her own place...the idea was very appealing. Aunt Miriam was almost smothering them with advice and admonishments to do right by their dead parents. Two years had gone by so fast and if Cal agreed, maybe it was time to sell the house, help Miriam find another place to live, smaller and more to her conservative tastes, and finally buy their own homes.

"What'cha thinking 'Dri?" Cal asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Picking up her sweating green beer bottle, Adrianna took a long pull on the cold beer and smiled at her brother.

"Don't laugh! I was just daydreaming about selling the bungalow and moving Aunt Miriam out into her own place."

Cal smiled broadly, perhaps more brightly than she had seen for a very long time.

"I'll drink to that!" he grinned, clinking his bottle against hers. "We need to move on, it's about time."

"Mmmm, it is… How'dya think Tante Miriam will take it? Being told to move out I mean?" Adri asked cautiously.

"It's our house 'Dri. We paid for it and agreed to let Miriam move in until we felt ready to leave and buy something else. If we want to sell it, we have every right to do that. We'll take care of Miriam, the old battle axe!" he snickered.

"Yeah, she is an old battle axe but she's also been a great help since… well since we started to run the business. The least we can do is help her find another place. We can buy it outright or help her with the mortgage, whichever seems best" Adrianna suggested. "Are you OK with that?"

"Totally. I won't throw Tante Miriam out in the street. She's the only family we have left" Cal said quietly.

"OK, good, glad that's settled." The waiter brought over a large order of migas, enchiladas and more nachos with fresh dipping sauces. This would fill them up enough that they wouldn't want supper later.

"How crazy was that today, at the FBI? Did you ever in your wildest imagination ever think you'd be in an interrogation room at the FBI?" said Cal, dunking a nacho chip into avocado sauce.

"No, of course not. I fell apart completely Cal. Just remembering that morning was so sad" Adri answered. "I try not to dwell on it anymore, but Mr. Jane made it all come back again. I know that's his job but, it just seems like we'll never put it behind us."

Cal nodded silently, seeing that hotel room in his mind, his upset Oma and Opa, their disappointment in their grandkids. Taking a giant swig of beer, he tried to banish the thought once and for all.

"Well it's done now. You and I told the exact same story so I don't expect we'll see those agents again any time soon" Cal said, hopefully.

Adrianna nodded thoughtfully. She hoped so too.

(FBI)

Jane and Lisbon pulled into the parking lot and slowly ambled towards the imposing building as the sun slanted low across the expansive front steps. They had tossed ideas around concerning the deaths of the Hoekstra family members on their trip back to the office, and agreed they were both surprised when Miriam was so vocal in her disdain for Henny.

"I'm going to go after that search warrant Jane, we need to cover our asses on this one. If you go digging around and get caught, any one of the family could raise hell and shut us down" Lisbon reminded her rule-defying partner.

"OK" agreed Jane quickly, holding the elevator door open for Teresa.

"OK? Just like that now? With no sarcastic remarks about it only being paper?" she asked in concerned confusion.

"Well that goes without saying Teresa but if it makes life easier for us in the long run, by all means, apply for the warrant. There are specific things I want to find in that house…" he said as he headed for the sofa. Leaning back, he put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

Lisbon followed Jane and stood in front of the sofa waiting for him to finish his sentence. And waited. When he kept his eyes shut, she turned in a snit, heading for the kitchen. She wasn't going to beg him to tell her exactly what he wanted to find. She'd figure it out on her own and then watch the smug smile fall off his face when she mentioned it first. At least that was her game plan.

By the time she was back at her desk with a steaming mug of coffee, Jane was lying prone on the sofa, seemingly asleep. Smiling deeply at the sight of the attractive reclining figure, Lisbon turned and grinned while she typed up her list of reasons why they would need that search warrant. Jane could very well be wide awake and plotting his next step with the Hoekstra family, or he could be asleep. Unless she gave him a sharp poke she wouldn't know for certain, but for now, she had other things to accomplish. They both had their methods.

Jane lay on the sofa listening to the buzz of the office. He felt Lisbon stare at him when she came back from the kitchen but he just wanted a few minutes alone with his thoughts. He ran the interview with Adrianna through his mind and compared it to what Cal had said. They matched up, that wasn't a problem. Jane just had a feeling that there was something Cal was withholding, or lying about. Yes, that was it. Not a lie. There was something more, something disturbing he wasn't telling Jane or Lisbon. Something even Adrianna didn't know. Then there was Tante Miriam, bitter, hard working, disappointed in her father, perhaps even her beloved brother Klaas. All were men who worked side by side with her but never expected her to be as good as them. That would hurt, on a deeply emotional level, day in and day out, year after year. Did she hate men enough to kill them? Even her own father and brother? What about Henny dying? Could she hate her enough to kill her as well?

Henny. Miriam suggested that it might have served Henny's purposes to kill Klaas's parents. So did that make the house fire a tragic accident after all? If Henny killed Herman and Miriam, who killed Henny and Klaas, and why? Jane knew where Cal and Adrianna were the morning their grandparents died, but where were they the night their own parents died? Where was Miriam that night for that matter? Yes, a trip over to the Hoekstra house was definitely in order. The list of questions just grew larger the more he and Lisbon found out.

Snapping his eyes open, Jane stretched and sat up.

"Welcome back mister" smiled Lisbon as her fingers flew over her keyboard. Turning to catch Jane's eye, she hit "Send" and fired off her request for the search warrant. That done, she joined her love on the sofa and ran her hand over his knee.

"Ready to head home and grab a bite? Maybe Thai takeout for a change?"

"You want to leave so early? Why Lisbon, I do believe I have finally destroyed your out-of-control work ethic" Jane smiled, standing and helping Lisbon up from the sofa.

"No, not destroyed, just more balanced. Besides, we can't do much more today until the search warrant comes in. So, Thai?"

"Excellent choice. We can go over some ideas I have before the food arrives…" Jane began to explain to Teresa, but she cut him off.

"And then no more talk about the Hoekstra's for the rest of the night. We can catch a new movie and finally open that bottle of wine Abbott gave us at Christmas. Sound good?" she said.

"You have the best ideas my dear!" smiled Jane as he handed Lisbon her jacket and her purse.

"What do you carry in there...a grenade launcher?" he mumbled as he hefted the large bag.

"Oh hush you…" she grinned as they headed for the bank of elevators, done for the day.

"See you tomorrow!" she called out to Wylie as he came down the hall. He waved them goodbye and headed for his desk, a few more reports to complete before he could leave for the day.

(Hoekstra House)

Miriam almost threw Jane's teacup into the sink with anger once he and Lisbon had left. She stood staring out of her window studying the garden, wilting in the August heat. No matter how much you devoted your time to gardening, by the middle of August everything looked tired, faded and exhausted.

Hmph… just the way she felt most of the time! Cal and Adrianna were still out, maybe for the evening if she was lucky. Sharing this house with them was financially beneficial for Miriam but she ached for her own space, where she could furnish it with items from the warehouse storing furniture and linens she had inherited from Pappa and Mamma's estate when they died. Klaas and Henny didn't really want all that many things as their taste was more modern, and Adrianna and Cal didn't want any of those old antiques. Smiling slightly, Miriam had to admit she was fine with their rejection of her parents personal items. She wanted them all. Maybe it was time to suggest to Cal and Adrianna that she wanted to find her own apartment or condo. When this mess with the FBI was over she would have to sit her nephew and niece down and tell them they were on their own now. Time to grow up. That thought made her feel better and she gently picked up the unbroken teacup, washed it carefully and put it back into the cupboard with Mamma's other lovely china. Yes, time to leave this house and get away from these mindless young people.

Miriam walked down the hall on her way to her bedroom but when she passed the first door on the right, she slowed down and lingered. Behind the door she could hear the hisses from vivariums on the other side of the door. A chill ran up her spine. Ugh...snakes...She took a key from her pocket and turned the lock, opening the door and stepped into Cal's sanctuary. A broad smile crept across her face. She had done a great job of convincing Cal she was terrified of his snakes and that she would never, ever enter this room. How wrong he was. He should have paid attention. She wasn't even the tiniest bit afraid anymore.

Strolling around the glass cases, she stopped every now and then and studied the lazy creatures under their heat lamps. They demanded so little in return for a life of caged happiness. She lifted one lid and carefully extended her index finger to stroke the long back of a particularly pretty snake. It's soft, silky body lay patiently still as she ran her finger slowly down the length of its spine. The snake thought it would be getting a fresh mouse, so it waited for her ministrations to end. Carefully replacing the lid, Miriam made her way around the room and gazed at the rest of the snakes. None of them could harm anyone other than giving someone a fright if found in a garage or in a garden. She had paid attention all these years and had learned when Cal tried to tell Adrianna that only a few snakes were worth being afraid of, not any of his. Yes, she had learned and would use what she had learned, like she always did.

(Jane and Lisbon's House)

Jane and Lisbon pushed away the last of the Thai takeout bags and grabbed their wine glasses, heading for the living room. There was a glut of new movies on Netflix and they were determined to watch one, maybe two of them before they hit the sheets much later tonight. There was now a permanent indentation in the far end of the sofa where Jane reclined with Lisbon in his arms, spooning the length of the generous sofa, wine bottle and filled glasses on the coffee table in front of them. These simple domestic routines were like a balm for Jane's long-ago damaged soul, much as he wouldn't admit to having one, but he loved being with Lisbon, cuddled up and warm, the dangerous world held at bay out there, and simple love flourishing here, inside.

They managed to get through the first movie, and had selected another, when the yawning began, fuelled in part by several glasses of wine and the late hour. A half hour after the second movie began, Jane heard the soft hic hic hic of Lisbon's relaxed snoring, her chin bent in an awkward position on her chest. Smiling at the picture she presented, Jane clicked off the movie and carefully slid his legs off the sofa. Sitting up with his sleeping lover in his arms, he managed to stand without letting her slip from his arms and he bent to lift her up, carrying her to the stairs. A short time later she was nestled under the duvet, still dressed. Jane didn't want to risk waking her. If she awoke in the night he knew she would change into her football jersey and sleep shorts. For now, he just enjoyed seeing her sleep. Planting a soft kiss on her forehead, Jane went downstairs to clean up the remains of their supper and tidy up the wine glasses. When he was finished, he sat in his favourite armchair and gave his day serious thought.

They had learned a lot from Adrianna, Cal and Miriam. Most of it was the truth, but some of it was suspicious testimony. Jane had to admit to himself that overlooking Henny as a possible suspect was a huge mistake, but finding out what part she had to play in the tragic history of the family would be a very difficult thing to accomplish. She was dead, and Klaas was dead as well. No one could question them for corroborating stories. Almost nothing was left of their possessions after the fire torched their home. The kids had been out that night, otherwise they either could have raised an alarm, or they would have been caught in the conflagration themselves. Miriam lived in her own apartment at that time. Where had she been that night? Could she provide proof of her whereabouts? Who would benefit if Klaas and Henny died? Rubbing his hand over his face, Jane had to admit that the search warrant would certainly be welcome. A thorough search of the house currently owned by the Hoekstra siblings would go a long way towards answering some of the questions Jane had brewing in his mind. He wanted to speak to Cal, Adrianna and Miriam together, gauge their reactions to some of his questions and see how they answered in front of each other.

But not tonight. Tonight the only searching Jane wanted to do was for Lisbon's warm body in his arms while they both slept.