Chapter 14: Four Months

Hanson finally saw the sign for his exit and hit the blinker on his Mustang. Nothing looked familiar and he felt a little anxiety that he had taken a wrong turn until he entered town and slowly passed the beach. Then, he saw the parking spot where he and Doug had stopped what seemed like ages ago. He could barely make out the old tree stump they had sat against but he could tell that it was there.

Before memories of that day with Doug flooded him, Hanson forced his eyes forward and started scanning the numbers on the homes until he found the one he wanted and parked his car in front of it. He turned the car off and looked at the house. It was a small Victorian two story white house with a porch on the front, almost identical to the other houses on the street except for the copious amounts of flowers adorning the porch and small front yard. Hanson took a deep breath and stepped out of the car using his right hand to open the door as his left arm was still not just right and, if the doctors were right, would probably never be perfect. He grabbed a small backpack and bouquet of flowers from the passenger seat before locking up his baby and heading towards the house. The day was bright and warm, almost hot on the street with the house sheltering the wind off the ocean.

Before he even reached the front porch, the door opened and an older woman with twinkling eyes emerged with her arms outstretched.

"Officer Hanson! It's so good to finally meet you!" she said as she wrapped Hanson in a tight grip.

Not expecting exactly this type of greeting but not wanting to hurt her feelings, Hanson returned the hug as best he could. "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Stokes. Please call me Tom." She let go of him and he shoved the flowers towards her happy to have a little space again. "Um, these are for you. Thanks for having me over and letting me stay for awhile."

Mrs. Stokes took the flowers and smiled. "Of course! Gary will be so happy to see you. Come on in."

Hanson silently followed her into the house as she continued to talk. The house was small but welcoming and smelled of a happy mixture of bacon, syrup and coffee. It was almost 11am on a Thursday and Hanson smiled. He'd always assumed that older generations were all chirpy, morning people - something he definitely was not - and he was happy he wouldn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn only to pretend to be conscious.

Once they reached the kitchen at the back of the house, Mrs. Stokes turned and pointed at the corner, "Sweetheart, go ahead and put your bag down there. We can bring it up later. Gary is out back."

Hanson nodded and did as he was told. When he reached the screen door that led to a large covered porch, he could feel the humid breeze coming off the ocean. It was pleasant on such a warm day, so different from the sharp cold breeze from February. He couldn't see Mr. Stokes until he opened the squeaky door and stepped out. Stokes had been sitting and reading again but had already put the book down and was standing up. Hanson headed towards him, his right arm outstretched for a handshake to prevent Stokes from having to work his way around a small glass table to say hello.

"Tom," Stokes said with a big smile. "Did you have a good trip down?"

"Yes, sir," Hanson replied. "Thank you."

"Please don't call me sir. It makes me feel old," Stokes joked as he sat down again. He motioned towards a chair next to him. "Sit."

Hanson gave a slight smile and obeyed. It was a little surreal sitting next to Stokes again. Hanson felt like eons had passed since they had first met. And, Stokes only knew him as the complete wreck that he had been then. It made him wonder again why they'd invited him to stay the weekend when he had just asked to stop by and why Fuller had pushed him to accept the invitation.

"You're looking better," Stokes said looking over his reading glasses before removing them.

"Thanks," Hanson said not really wanting to go down that road. There was a ring coming from the inside of the house and Hanson heard Mrs. Stokes answer the phone. "And, thanks for having me. This is a nice place. How long have you lived here?"

"Oh, about fifteen years. Sara and I moved here after we both retired."

"Where were you before?"

"Richmond, Virginia. Sara taught at VCU and I was a government contractor. It was a good place for a career and raising a family but its better for the soul out here."

Hanson nodded not knowing if he really believed the soul thing and not ready to leave small talk. He continued to ask Stokes mundane questions and he could tell from Stokes' smile and answers that Stokes was humoring him.

Finally, the screen door opened again and Mrs. Stokes came out carrying a tray of coffee and cookies. Hanson jumped up to hold the door open for her.

"Thank you, dear," she said with a smile and put down the tray. She handed Hanson a cup. "Your partner, Douglas, called to make sure you made it down here okay. He sounded worried but said to have a good time."

Hanson was sure that was an understatement. "Thanks," Hanson said again turning on the sheepish smile. "I told him I'd call when I got here. I guess he beat me to it."

The Stokes' shared a look that Hanson tried to pretend he didn't see by taking a sip of coffee. They each took a cup and Mrs. Stokes sat down.

"I'm so sorry about what you've been going through. Gary and I have thought about you a lot and have been praying for you," Mrs. Stokes said in a sad voice.

Well, so much for the small talk. "Thanks," Hanson answered simply. He hated these conversations.

"How have you been doing?" Mrs. Stokes asked. "How is court progressing?"

Hanson took another sip of coffee. "I'm okay. I've had a lot of help. It's going to take awhile for the cases to be tried. Maybe a couple of years before it's all done but it's far enough along now that we know that Angelo Frisk will probably never get out of prison."

"Probably?" Mr. Stokes asked surprised.

Hanson shrugged his shoulders. "Well, even with strong cases that you think should be open and shut, you never really know. So, it's just easier to be prepared in case something like an insanity plea goes through."

"Is he pleading insanity?" Mrs. Stokes interjected.

"Not yet," Hanson replied.

"But you think he will?"

"I don't know. But, it seems like a logical step for the defense."

This seemed to quiet the Stokes' and the mood of the entire room became somber. Damn. Hanson was also tired of uncomfortable pauses in conversation.

"The DA has a strong case. I'm sure it'll be fine," Hanson added knowing how lame it sounded now but needing to fill in the dark void in the room.

Mrs. Stokes gave him a small smile. "How are the families holding up?"

"As well as can be expected I guess. Some are grateful that he's finally caught and others are very angry that it took so long."

"I saw an interview on TV about a month ago. I think it was with the sister of your girlfriend. She was very distraught. Is she doing better?"

Hanson was taken aback. Mrs. Stokes' questions were very direct. He was used to getting these questions from the group at Jump Street (thanks to Doug's self imposed mission to put him under constant surveillance) but everyone else usually skirted the subject.

Well, if she really wanted to know….

"Beth Petersen won't talk to me but her parents tell me that she is having a hard time. She was very close to Amy. Losing a sister especially how she did is difficult and she has every right to be angry. I hope getting Amy's case done will help things heal a bit more and thankfully, it will be the first one to be fully prosecuted."

"Well, I certainly hope that getting closure will help everyone." Mr. and Mrs. Stokes again shared a look and Mrs. Stokes stood up. "Well, I'm going to get some lunch going. You two have about an hour. I'm very happy you're here, Tom, and I want you to make yourself at home and stay as long as you wish, okay?"

Hanson smiled and nodded, "thank you." Hanson watched Mrs. Stokes go back in the house knowing that the conversation wasn't over yet.

Well, he might as well do what he came to do. This was the easiest thing he's had to do in the last few months anyway. He pulled out the old watch face that he'd religiously carried with him since Stokes had given it to him and handed it over to Stokes. "And, thanks for letting me borrow this. You already know how it helped in the case but…." Hanson's voice trailed off. He'd practiced what he was going to say but it all seemed kind of silly and pointless now. "Well, I always kept it with me," Hanson finished seriously looking directly at Stokes.

"I spoke with Captain Fuller before you came down here," Stokes said turning the watch over in his hand but kept his eyes on Hanson.

Hanson was surprised but not shocked. He knew there had been something going on.

"He said you've been the main contact for the families, that you've been walking them through the process and fielding all of their questions while at the same time trying to get back on your feet yourself. That's a big burden."

Hanson gave an unsure laugh, "Well, someone once told me that doing the hard stuff was a way to help make up for a mistake."

Stokes cursed his thick brows. "You still think you made a mistake?"

Hanson turned serious again. "I know I did. But, I can't change the past. I can only do what I can now."

There was a long pause before Stokes decided to continue. "I'm surprised it's going to take so long for the cases. I'm sorry. Your captain said that you're doing an incredible job and doing much more than he had ever expected from you, even working on other cases. He's very proud but he said it's taking its toll."

"Is that why I'm here for the weekend?"

Stokes chuckled. "Partly. That and we wanted to spend some time with you. I have to confess, I've been in contact with your captain since you and Officer Penhall first showed up down here. Sara and I really have been worried about you and want to help in any way we can. So, hopefully, it'll help to take a break."

Hanson didn't know what to say. He barely knew Stokes and his wife but for some reason even those few minutes together made him feel like they really did care for him.

Stokes turned the watch over in his hand again. "Are you sure you're ready to let this go now?"

Hanson looked at the watch and nodded, "Yeah."

Stokes gave brief nod and slipped the watch into his back pocket. "Okay, then let's go," Stokes said as he put both his hands on the armrests of his chair and boosted himself up. "We're going fishing this afternoon and we need to get the boat ready. Ever fish for tuna?"

Hanson smiled and followed Stokes off the porch. "Only out of a can. To tell the truth, I've never really been on a fishing boat."

Stokes reached over and put an arm around Hanson's shoulders as they walked down the beach together, "Well, Officer Hanson, there's no time like the present."

The End

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