Chapter 50--Another chapter finished! I hope you enjoy this somewhat long story. Thanks for reading and for the feedback.
Matt and C.J. returned to the bungalow soaked from the rain. He flipped on the light switch and she went into the kitchen to make some tea. She poured some water in the kettle and put it on to boil. Tea usually settled her down before she went to sleep but she wondered if tonight it could shake the uneasiness which had taken hold of her.
She went to change out of her wet clothes and put on some sweats and a long sleeved shirt, which clung to her body. She combed her hair which curled when it rained and brushed it back over her shoulders so it could dry that way. She looked in the mirror and saw how tanned her face had become from her time on the island and then left the room when she heard the kettle calling.
She poured water into her mug and steeped her tea. Matt had changed his clothes also and had gotten himself a beer.
"Are you hungry," he asked.
She shook her head and smiled.
"Maybe later," she said as they walked back in the living room and plopped on the couch together. She leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her. They stayed that way for a while, comfortable in their silence.
She closed her eyes feeling secure in his embrace.
"Houston…"
"Yeah?"
She shifted on the couch to look at him.
"During that time you lost a whole month of your life, how'd you feel about not knowing everything that happened?"
He paused, knowing that she had been in deep thought during the walk back and wondering what she had occupied her thoughts. She waited quietly for his answer.
"I felt very confused," he said, "I also felt really torn between wanting to fill those gaps in my memory and then not wanting to know what I'd forgotten."
She nodded at his response.
"Did you feel scared that you would remember?"
"Yeah I did," he said, slowly, "Especially after they found Veronica's body."
She stroked his arm, knowing that just by asking, she had reminded him of a painful episode in his life.
"You never would have killed anyone like that," she said.
"It was you reminding me of that and who I was that kept me grounded and from going crazy," he said, "When a huge part of your past suddenly becomes a blank slate, you start having all kinds of doubts about what you would and wouldn't do."
"I don't remember everything that happened to me," she said, softly.
"When you were kidnapped?"
She nodded.
"At first, I was glad that I couldn't remember everything because what I could was so awful, but now, I'm thinking that maybe I need to know."
"That's not surprising that you've lost some of your memories," he said, "Are they coming back?"
"No," she said, "But I remembered some conversations I had with Piser…"
He raised his head, recognizing the tone in her voice.
"Like what?"
She fidgeted with her hands.
"He would make insinuations about events that had taken place, as if he knew I wouldn't remember them."
Matt rubbed his forehead.
"Did he say what they were?"
She struggled to remember.
"No, except once, he mentioned that Andre had brought some business partners in to look at the women including me."
"Did he say anything about these men?"
"Not much," she said, "But I got the implication that Andre had some arrangement with them."
"Jonathan mentioned that Andre met with some individuals including a trafficker from Eastern Europe but the recordings of those meetings are going back to forensics to have their audio cleaned up."
She paused.
"I guess I just understand what you mean about being caught in between wanting to know the truth and wanted it to stay buried."
He smiled, then grew serious.
"I think I'm getting a better understanding of what you went through during my last runin with Elgin Cody."
"Thank God for it being your last one. That man wrecked so much havoc in your life."
He pulled her closer.
"But I got through it because I had people who put out all the stops to help me," he said, "C.J., whatever happens and whatever you do remember, it's going to be okay."
"I hope so."
Scott waited for someone to pick up the phone and finally a woman answered.
"Hello, this is Elena."
"Who?"
"I am Andre Duval's personal assistant," she said, "And who is this speaking?"
"An…associate of Mr. Duval."
"Mr. Duval has many associates and all of them have names," she said.
"Scott Prescow."
"Excuse me a moment," she said and put him on hold.
He waited for her to return, tapping his fingers on his desk and looking around every time he thought he heard some noise in the hallway.
"Thank you for waiting," she said, "I looked through our directory sir and I couldn't find your name on it."
"How could that be," Scott said, "I've done business with Mr. Duval for years. Well not the entire time. Our relationship has been mostly on and off."
"That might very well be," Elena said, "But I have to screen Mr. Duval's calls very carefully. He's a very busy man."
"If you tell him who I am, I know he'll remember me."
She paused.
"Okay, I could write him a message to send to him if you wish," she said, "He's not in the office at the moment. In fact, he's on a business trip so it might take him a while to get back to you. That is, if he chooses to do so."
Scott sighed.
"All right, I'll leave him a message."
He gave it to her.
"And your contact information, Mr. Prescow?"
"He'll have it," Scott said, clicking off his phone.
He sat in his darkened office hoping he had made the right decision to save his neck.
Jonathan walked into the conference room where Brad and Sally had been working nonstop with FBI agents on the Washington case.
"How are things going," he asked.
Both of them looked up.
"We're getting there," Sally said, "But we've gone through hundreds of files."
"You've been like pit bulls on this task and it's going to make things much easier down the line."
Brad sighed.
"How's your end coming?"
"I have a meeting with Agent Denton tomorrow," he said, "But the videos went back for audio enhancement so we've stalled there a bit although Andre Duval was seen on a couple of them meeting with that big trafficker out of Russia or the Ukraine."
"Oh my God," Sally said, "Does that mean we finally have him?"
"Not yet," Jonathan cautioned, "But for the first time since this all began, I think we're getting closer."
"So what's next?"
"Well, I've got get some idea from the FBI on how things are going so with Scott Prescow so we'll know if we have enough on him to take to a grand jury some day."
"You've got him associated with Duval don't you?"
"Yeah, about eight or so years ago," Jonathan said, "But we've got to get our hands on something more recent."
"So keep a closer eye on him," Brad said, "If he gets nervous, he's going to break and call his boss to get him out of it."
"We don't have enough for wire taps yet."
"You can't lose this guy," Brad said, "Because he'll break a hell a lot quicker than Duval will."
"We're keeping an eye on him," Jonathan said, "And every once in a while, the FBI will someone in to turn the screws a bit more until we get him."
"And what about the missing witness," Brad said, "We'll need her at some point for the Piser inquest."
Just those words turned Jonathan's stomach. How did the justice system, the same one that employed him become so backwards?
"Matt Houston's no closer to bringing her in or telling us where they are staying," Jonathan said, with a sigh.
"Is that surprising," Brad said, "The man's very stubborn and no one knows where he's located except it's somewhere in the Western Hemisphere."
"She's probably safer with him anyway," Jonathan said, "Let the FBI worry about him. We need to concentrate on the players here."
C.J. began to drift off to sleep, listening to the rain. She felt comfortable with Matt's arms wrapped around her on the couch.
"Did I ever thank you for sticking around through all this…drama?"
"I think you did a time or two," he said, "It's not all that bad of a job really. The weather's nice, even when it rains, the island's beautiful. I needed to get away from L.A. for a while and this is the perfect spot."
She laughed.
"You were there, how long before you took off again?"
"A day or two," he said, "I can't remember."
"Who's watering the plants at your beach house?"
He thought about it.
"I'm not sure," he said, "Oh, I think before I took off, I called that old guy next door, the retired DJ who beach combs to look in on them."
"If you ever feel that this is all too much for you…"
He took her hand and wrapped his fingers around it.
"Hey, all I wanted after six months away from home was to spend some quality time with my very best friend."
She smiled.
"I guess you got that," she said, "And it's been nice when the world's not been falling apart around us."
"Well, when it's quiet like right now, it's really nice to have my arms around such a beautiful woman."
She laughed softly.
"It is really nice to have you here," she agreed, "I just hope that when we nail Andre for good, it's really going to be over."
"It should be," he said, "then we'll go back home again."
Her doubts nagged at her, despite his reassurance.
"I miss my friends, and Uncle Roy and Will…"
"We'll have a big blowout party when we get back," Matt said, "We'll just need to find the right venue."
She smiled.
"Sounds great to me."
Chris knocked on the door of Scott's office and when she received no response, she peeked inside. She saw him passed out on his desk, still dressed in the clothes he had worn the day before.
"Hey, you are sleeping on the job?"
He sat up with a start and looked around his office.
"I must have drifted off," he said, "I was working really late last night on a project Murray sent me."
"I'd say so," Chris said, "Murray sent me to pick up some files?"
He searched the mess of papers on his desk and plucked up two of them.
"Thanks," she said, taking them then gave him a closer look, "You look awful."
"Thanks for that critique," he said, dryly, "Anything else?"
"Yeah that Agent…Denton was his name," Chris said, "He called me and wants to interview me this afternoon about some things. Anything you'd like me to ask or say to him?"
Scott just stared at her.
"No, I can't think of anything," he said, "Why are you asking me?"
She shrugged.
"I just thought that it might have something to do with you because they've talked to you about five times before they even thought of giving me a call."
"I've got nothing to say about the FBI at this point," he said, "or any advice to give you on how to handle them."
She nodded.
"Okay, I'll be fine then," she said, "After all, I don't think it's me that they're after….Ciao."
She waved her fingers at Scott and then walked out of his office. He sighed and put his head back on his hands.
The sun rose over the island and those living on it quickly forgot about the rain storm that crashed over it the day before. C.J. sat on the porch with Bertha and some island java watching the boats go out to sea. Brady and Zeke had invited Vince to go fishing with them and he and Matt had joined their crew. They had set sail about an hour earlier and promised to be back by late afternoon.
"We're going to need to get some beer out of the cellar for those guys when they return," Bertha said.
"Hey, do you mind if I join you," a voice said.
C.J. and Bertha looked up to see Serena walking towards them. She sat down next to C.J. and reached into her bag.
"Here, I got some tapas I made last night after you two left," she said, "The rain always brings out the domestic side of me."
Bertha nodded.
"I baked some cakes yesterday," she said, "I had some rum left over from the last batch."
"I made some tea," C.J. offered, "I'm not sure I have much of a domestic side."
The other two women laughed.
"I wasn't until I got married," Serena said, "I spent my days on the docks packing fish and weighing it."
"I heard about your husband," C.J. said, "I'm really sorry."
Serena smiled.
"We had many good years together," she said, "And the most important rule of the sea is what she gives, she also takes away."
"It must have been difficult," C.J. said.
"You love, there's always a risk of losing," Serena said, "But that's much better than never loving at all as they say."
Bertha nodded.
"The risk is worth it," she said, "Even if I knew how short my time with my husband was going to be, I'd still gone after him."
"Me too," Serena said, "How 'bout you?"
C.J. looked up.
"Me," she said, "Oh, I've never been married. I did lose a man I was starting to love very much. He was killed by an ex-schoolmate of mine."
"That must been awful," Serena said.
"It was," C.J. said, "He was the sweetest man. I felt guilty after he died like it was my fault because the man who killed him, he was obsessed with me since high school."
"What happened to the man who killed your boyfriend," Serena asked, "Did the police catch him?"
C.J. grew silent for a moment.
"Not exactly. I killed him," she said, "He tracked me down to Houston's cabin where I was in hiding and tried to stab me with a fishing knife. So I pushed him off a cliff."
"Oh Jesus," Serena said, "That must have been something to have actually killed someone."
C.J. looked out in the ocean.
"It was, but he wasn't the only man I killed," she said, "I shot a hitman who was going to execute Houston in Colorado and…"
"Houston's a great guy," Serena said, "And he's very lucky to have a woman like you to watch his back."
"I'm very lucky to have him in my life," C.J. said, "He's been the best friend anyone could ever have."
"He was a good friend to me when I needed one."
C.J. hesitated.
"He told me that you two…"
Serena laughed.
"Oh that," she said, "Yeah I was interested in him when he stayed here after getting stung by the stingray but we both knew it never would have worked out. He really wanted at that point to just go home."
"He left to find himself after a woman he loved left him at the altar," C.J. said, "He was trying to find himself again during his travels."
Serena cocked her head.
"Well if that was the case when he left, it certainly didn't seem to be the case when I met him," she said, "No, what I saw was a man who knew exactly what he wanted and where to find it."
Matt and Vince looked out past the glass-spun ocean towards the horizon that lay ahead of their boat.
"So the fishing's really great out here," Vince asked.
"Pretty good," Matt said, "enough to keep a bunch of mercenaries happy between assignments."
"Gotcha."
"Don't most of you cops go fishing when you hang up your badge and holster?"
Vince nodded.
"But most cops dream of bass and trout, maybe salmon or some truly sexy fish like marlin," he said, "not this type of fishing."
"I've always liked deep sea fishing," Matt said, "I used to go out with my father when he had time."
"I love any kind of fishing," Vince said, "I bought my own boat in the Keys and take it out deep sea fishing during the summer with some groups to make some extra money. I just made sure I had extra large refrigeration lockers for the fish and my beer."
"So you're enjoying retirement," Matt said, "Things aren't getting too quiet for you?"
Vince laughed.
"No, because just when things begin to settle down, I have people like you calling me up wanting to take a trip down memory lane."
Matt placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Thanks for coming out when I called you, Vince," he said, "I really needed your help."
"Yeah you did," Vince said, "You really got yourself in some serious trouble this time."
"I know," he said, "But I'm not leaving C.J. to face this all alone and I'm not going home until she can come with me."
Vince nodded.
"And I'm not going back home until both of you can get out of here and go back where you belong," he said, then looked at his watch, "But let's try to get this done before my wife's water breaks in a few months."
Matt grinned.
"You must be excited."
"Yeah that and wondering whether I'm making enough at my new business to put another two Novellis through college."
"That will be a sight," Matt said, "but you'll do just fine especially with Mama's catering service being such a huge success."
"She's already started their college funds," Novelli said.
Matt laughed.
"That sounds like her. She always did believe in being prepared for anything."
Vince looked out at the ocean.
"I'm sorry that things didn't work out for you and your fiancée," he said, "I read about it in the Miami Herald. What a nightmare."
"It was, but it never would have worked out between the two of us," Matt said, "We loved each other but it wasn't enough. She didn't want to marry an investigator who works odd hours and brought danger back to the doorstep. She wanted a man who worked 9-5 and brought home the dry cleaning at the end of the day."
Vince sighed.
"Don't feel bad," he said, "There's not a cop alive who hasn't been through that at one point."
"I guess what bothered me is that maybe she's right," Matt said, "Maybe I'm married to my detective agency."
"That's not true," Vince said, "Okay maybe you could use some time off now and then but you've got a lot to offer a woman, the right woman. Someone who realizes how important your career is to you."
"I get that," Matt said, "It's just a lot harder than it sounds."
"I know that," Vince said, "Did I ever tell you about Crystal?"
"No you haven't," Matt said.
"Crystal was the greatest looking girl in her high school class at The Sacred Chapel of St. Miriam," Vince said, "She was smart, very cultured, one of those women I thought a guy like myself would never have return my phone calls."
"But she did," Matt said.
"It took some persistence on my part but she finally agreed to go out with me," he said, "She was a wonderful date, wore a dress that showed off her great legs, laughed at all my jokes and was very sweet to Mama and god knows that's not always easy…"
"What happened?"
"Everything was fine for a while," Vince said, "We were exclusive for the rest of high school and things were looking great but then before I went into the Air Force, I told Crystal that I wanted to be a cop some day."
"And she couldn't handle that news," Matt guessed.
"She didn't seem to have any problems when I told her but she got really quiet," Vince said, "A week later, she came to my place and gave me back my charm bracelet. Ended it just like that."
Matt raised his eye brows.
"Charm bracelet?"
"Hey, it was high school, okay?"
"So she dumped you," Matt said, "Because she didn't want to see herself someday married to a cop who might die in the line of duty."
"That, and she met some guy during a summer job and he was going to inherit his dad's hardware store," Vince said, "I was devastated, but after a few days, I picked myself right up, went back into the very difficult dating scene and I eventually met a woman who I later married who gave me my wonderful children including the ones on the way."
"So this is your way of saying that there are always other fish in the sea?"
Vince thought about it then nodded.
"Something like that," he said, "My point is that you shouldn't let these setbacks get you down."
"Okay," Matt said, with a smile, "But your advice is about a few months late. I have moved on and I realize that Elizabeth in her own way did me a favor and saved us from a lot of heartbreak down the road. I had my doubts during my own wedding and I'm glad one of us had the courage to break it off."
"That's good," Novelli said, slapping him on the back, "So when are we going to catch us some fish for dinner?"
C.J. sat with the other women, relaxing in the warmth of the mid-day and read a book she had found inside. She heard footsteps approached and looked up to see Antonio approach her.
"What are you doing back so soon," she asked.
"I need to talk to you," he said, "Alone."
C.J. looked at the other two women who nodded and she got up to join Antonio as they walked towards the beach.
"So what happened," she asked, "Who did you meet with?"
He didn't look in her direction.
"Marquis Duval, Sr."
Her blood froze in an instant.
"Oh."
"He's been in close contact with Andre since he's been in prison."
"But his other son said…"
"Marquis, jr. hates his half-brother, but after talking with their father, I'm beginning to realize that there's jealousy involved as well."
C.J. turned to face him.
"You mean, Marquis favors Andre over his own namesake and his other son knows that?"
"That's what it looks like," Antonio said, "but it makes sense to favor the son who's free. After all, Andre's the only hope to pass on the family name."
"So Marquis favors his son's line of work being done in his name?"
Antonio nodded.
"And there's more than that," he said, "Marquis knew his son had plans to kidnap you and may have even helped him to carry it out."
It took time for C.J. to digest that but she knew she shouldn't have been surprised.
"How," she said, "I don't think I need to ask why."
"Marquis still is a powerful man even in prison," Antonio said, "He could find ways to help his son from the inside."
"I know he could," C.J. said, "He must hate Houston and I for ruining his plans to reunite with his son who Houston had put away with his testimony."
"He does," Antonio said, "And he loves Andre for helping carry out his revenge even though his son had his own plans."
She ran her hand through her hair.
"Yeah, well," she said, "His son's been trying to drag me back since I escaped. What's the point in going through all that trouble?"
Antonio hesitated.
"About that," he said, "Duval told me something else."
"What?"
"He said that part of the reason Andre's so desperate to get you back, alive, is that he sold you to a major trafficker who wants his merchandise that he was promised."
C.J. backed away, stunned.
"Who, which one?"
"He didn't know the name, just that he's Eastern European."
"I need to sit down," she said, sitting on a fallen log.
"I'm going to try to find out who…"
"Owns me," C.J. finished angrily.
Antonio nodded.
"Does it matter," she said, "because even if we do succeed in bringing down Andre, this won't all be over. I don't know if it will ever be over."
"We need to talk to Mr. Houston and the others to rework this plan," Antonio said, "and decide what to do next."
She stood up.
"I can't put him in any more danger," she said, "Andre's men nearly killed him twice. He's not seen his family in months. His business…"
"Matters a lot less than you do," Antonio said, "You need his help. My sister needs both of you to help her."
She calmed down and nodded.
"Okay, I…we will get your sister back, we'll do whatever we have to do to end Andre's business and then you all need to go back to your lives," she said, starting to walk away.
"And what about you?"
She turned around to face him.
"I'll have to go find someplace to go to and figure out what to do next before this other guy finds me," she said.
"Houston's not going to let you go," Antonio said.
She stood and looked at him for a long moment.
"He's not going to know and you're not going to tell him," she said, "He's not going to die over this. He's got his life."
"You've got a life too."
She sighed.
"I don't, as long as it's not my own."
He watched her walk away from him down the beach, wondering if he should have told her then realizing he had no choice.
