Chapter 8
itsmeocean@hotmail.com
Homecoming
She was so small, so precious and covered in her mother's blood; however, the blood was not spilled in death but given for life. Her little eyes were squeezed shut and she was bawling loudly, her tiny fingers curled in two little fists. She was crying as if she was afraid of coming into this world, or rather, frightened of this enormous gift presented before her.
Her mother, lovely in her exhaustion at having brought her out to partake in the gift which was the gift of a most beautiful world despite its flaws, lifted her lips in a slight, tired but blissful smile. The nurse carried her over to him. He was so overwhelmed and all flustered- the feelings bubbling in him alternated between causing him to either want to laugh or cry maniacally. He was lost in the most powerful jubilation that he had ever experienced. Holding her close to his chest, he was so afraid he would drop her but he didn't.
"Shh… Hallie… don't cry…. Hallie…" He sung to her softly and exchanged a loving look with his wife. She beckoned him weakly and he gently walked over to her side, fearing if his steps were too hurried in his excitement, he would shock little Hallie into further duress.
He knelt down as Vanessa's limp fingers ran over Hallie's tiny, wrinkled face spilling over with her features which Joe knew would make her the most beautiful girl in the world, next to her mother of course. The couple smiled at each other, or rather, the father grinned goofily at the mother, unable to express his joy verbally. She chuckled at his wide-eyed elation and he kissed her sweat-beaded forehead. They were both adrift in the magic of love; over the moon with the miracle, and oblivious to the doctor, nurses, and green and white sanitary décor of the delivery room.
"I love you, Vanessa Hardy."
"I love you too, Joseph Hardy."
He was a father now. He was blessed with the most precious gift in the world and God forbid that he should drop it. No. He held Hallie close, secured in his strong arms. She would be safe- Hallie would always be safe.
He, Joseph Hardy, was both a husband and a father now.
And it was the most indescribable experience he ever had- an experience he planned to be living for the rest of his life.
***
While Frank and Elle were back at the condominium doing some checks on Lester Demoir, Joe took his Land Rover to make a short trip over to Vanessa's place. Waiting for the traffic to move again while the glaring sun sliced through his expensive, protective shades and hurt his eyes, his worry and desperate yearning to see Hallie safe again caused him to reminisce about the first day Hallie and him met. He had often pondered over what was his daughter's first impression of him- the harried father who almost did not know how to hold a baby properly. And he hoped that the memories would not be a poignant portend to Hallie's dismiss.
He almost swore that the treacherous red lights and dreaming drivers slowing the traffic in front of him were in a conspiracy to antagonize him until he shoot through the roof of his vehicle. Coupled that with a tiny voice niggling him about his intentions to visit Vanessa, Joe was about to burst out screaming from a tension tearing up his chest. He had no idea why he would feel the urge to check on Vanessa- probably because it was a fact that they did share a physical and spiritual bond through Hallie. No matter what happened between the both of them, they helped created something miraculous together. Once, they had love and once, they did believe that their love would conquer everything and triumph against all odds. They thought they were invincible- as long as they had each other.
It was not to be. They were not indomitable and the love they had was a double-edged sword without wisdom and maturity. It veered out of control and exposed the ugliness inside the both of them that they could not face up to nor accept of each other. Because the love once brought Joe so much happiness, it stabbed at his heart with a thousand daggers the moment it soured. As always, when something beautiful and treasured suddenly shattered because no one did anything in time to heal the cracks, there would be nothing left but emptiness- like a mirror smashed to smithereens, revealing only the barren wall behind. For Joe, the emptiness turned into bitterness which smoldered into anger that he was deeply thankful that he had the sense to seek help for.
Apparently not fast enough. The black van was still thrashed, anyway.
He smiled sardonically at the memories. The real motives behind visiting Vanessa were still beyond his comprehension- part of him wanted to blame her for Hallie's disappearance. Part of him, the wiser part, told him it was nobody's fault and it could have happened to him as well.
And most of him just wanted to make sure she was fine, that she would not be too distraught. He gripped his steering wheel tightly. Hallie should be his sole concern. Why was he still caring for Vanessa when he no longer mattered to her?
He reached the barn finally and pulled into the driveway. The gates were opened and a black, Porsche, the same one which came to fetch Vanessa from his place, was already parked in front of the house. Bile rose up his throat- he guessed he never really stopped resenting Vanessa's marriage to Greg Bunhill so soon after the divorce. When she visited him to tell him that she had applied to annul the marriage just so Greg and her could get married in a Catholic Church, he had slammed the door in her face.
He knew it was not only the marriage- no. He was a person full of pride and once Frank cautioned him that his pride would be his downfall if he was not careful. The fact that Greg was such a prominent and distinguished member in the academic field and an upstanding, rich and influential citizen, able to open up many doors for Vanessa's talents in computerized animations to go places, made him feel lower and so much more worthless than the scum worms fed on.
Pulling up next to the Porsche, he got out and knocked on the door, a little apprehensive about how Andrea would receive him. Would she feel injustice for her daughter? But Joe knew he did not do anything to Vanessa- Vanessa was only overreacting.
Was she?
He heard the knob turned and in an instant, the door swung open. Andrea was taken aback, her ponytail loose and untidy. Tired eyes hardened at the sight of him, causing him to bite his lips before greeting her almost inaudibly.
"Hi, Andrea. Is Ness here?"
"She is. What do you want? There's a restraining order which state that you cannot be within five-hundred meters radius from her. She's been very tolerant too about your secret, unsupervised meetings with Hallie but I won't be as patient as her. Please leave."
"Andrea… the order was a bias mistake and Ness knows it as well as you do! It'll be lifted soon and I have never touched a hair on Ness's head. Why don't you ask Ness if she wants to talk to me." Joe squeezed civil words out measurably despite his urge to yell. Andrea narrowed her eyes and was about to shut the door in his face when Vanessa called out.
"Mom, let him in. It's ok. Greg's here."
It's ok. Greg's here. Greg will protect me from scary Joe with the funny earrings and that tattoo on his forearm!
Joe was reminded of how someone once told him that the person who could hurt him the worst was the person who mattered to him the most. Vanessa always got to him. He could not help being suspicious over everything she said; could not help looking out for all the implied meanings behind her words be they real or imagined. His therapist in the class told him that if he could just accept that his marriage with Vanessa was over before he even signed the papers- that he should accept his blame for the failure in the marriage and move on, he could live a much more fulfilling life.
Which was what he tried to do but old habits were hard to break. Andrea scowled at him but she moved aside, letting him in. Joe stepped in and saw Vanessa looking over her shoulder from the couch, huddling up close next to Greg, her left hand clutching the cordless phone tightly.
She clutched my hand tightly that way when we were at the clinic. I was her rock, her support. I was the one who told her to keep Hallie! I was the one who loved her and wanted to take responsibility! I was her everything! Not you, Greg Lumberhead!
"Hello, Joe."
"Hi, Ness."
"Hi, Joe." A solemn, gravelly voice accompanied a grim, unwelcoming smile. Joe did not know if it was because of Greg sharp and cutting nature like a surgeon's scalpel- from his thin, beak nose to his ultra-straight black hair- or just the fact that Greg was now his daughter's official guardian together with Vanessa, but Joe was peeved each time he met Greg. Mercifully, those encounters were not often.
"Hi." He would not even honor the man by speaking his name. If that made him childish, so be it. Now, he would just say his piece and go.
"I just want to let you know, Ness, that we are doing all we can to bring Hallie back. I will get our daughter back, Ness. Don't worry too much." Leave the worrying to me.
"She'll return sooner if you'll give her up." Greg spoke woodenly although his green eyes flashed tauntingly. Joe felt the unquenchable fire in him being stoke to blazing flames again but he would not succumb to the raging inferno that Greg must be hoping to spark in him. He narrowed his eyes coldly instead.
Hallie's my daughter, damn it! Not yours!
"I believe I'm cleared."
"That's your belief. We don't necessary have to agree with it." Greg drawled with hostility. Vanessa, sensing the tension escalating, tapped her husband's broad shoulder.
"I believe now that Joe wouldn't do such a thing…" Vanessa calmed her husband down and smiled shakily at Joe. "If you need help, just call on m… us."
Joe grunted, shoving his hands into his pockets. Andrea was still by the door, now seeing him out. He left without bidding them farewell, incensed by Greg, incensed by himself. Andrea shut the door behind him and shut out hostility.
Well, at least now I know she's fine. Not worried to death or anything.
Before he went to his car, he spotted Greg's shoes just outside the door. Taking a close look at it, he saw that it was a size ten, normal pair of man's dress shoes of an Italian brand. He felt no relief- instead; there was a warped sense of disappointment that Greg's shoes did not match the abductor's.
Looking around, he saw that the windows' were closed and the blinds drawn as the interior was air-conditioned to beat the summer heat. Whistling to himself, he accidentally stamped on Greg's impeccable leather shoes and kicked one side away into the gutter at the side of the house.
Oops.
Next, he took out his keys and as he walked in between the cars to get into the driver's side of his, he made sure he left a nice, pretty scratch on the disgustingly posh Porsche.
Now, Joey. That's not a very nice way to deal with your anger towards a jerk.
So?
He traveled down the expressway back to the downtown area, smiling with some sense of accomplishment and renewed spirits, if only for a moment. After a while, he realized that it was getting too dark and thus he slipped his shades over his head, noticing the gathering clouds overhead and cursing the erratic weather. He sped up, challenging the clouds to gain grounds on him. No, this time, he was going to win.
He was about to turn into Frank's apartment's parking lot when his mobile beeped.
"Who can it be this time?" He groused, not happy with the interruption. It was his father. He could not even register the exact words that Fenton was speaking to him but his blue eyes flared with the radiance of the hottest gas flame and he disconnected the call without muttering a single word.
Making a sharp detour out of the car park, Joe sped all the way back home.
He was speeding, colliding headlong with the path of the heavy, looming clouds. The thunder roared.
And so did his anxiety and hair-ripping frustration soar with the increasingly frantic rhythm of the crashing downpour.
***
"So, you and Joe used to solve cases together in your teens?" Elle peered at Frank from behind her trendy glasses. Frank gazed in anticipation at the phone, willing for it to ring while he smiled deprecatingly.
"Yes. We were, and still are, a great team."
Elle nodded as she listlessly tapped her fingers on the small corner table next to the mini couch in his storeroom-study. "Your police friends are pretty inefficient. It's been an hour since we gave them the name to check out and they haven't called yet. You're on good terms with them? The policemen that Joe and I came across see us competition to be annihilated most of the time."
"You'll need their resources so it's best if you can at least make a friend or two in the force. Of course if Lester would answer his mobile, we would not have to go through so much trouble…" Frank inhaled deeply as he studied Elle from the corner of his eyes, trying to size her up- see if she was feeling more open towards him. "Elle, if you don't mind me asking, do you know anything about Joe and Vanessa? My brother's anger level has rose several notches since he left home… it's a little… well… disconcerting."
Elle bared her teeth in a smile that made her look like bored shark as she folded her arms. "Just great. Here we are, waiting for Joe to show; waiting for your police friend to come up with something; worried sick to death over Hallie; and you want to gossip."
Frank swallowed hard, wondering again how on earth Joe could stand someone as insufferable as Elle. Good looks could only smooth over a trying personality for a short while. "No, I'm not gossiping. I just want to know what happened to my brother which he won't tell me if I ask him…"
"And what makes you think I'll tell you? What makes you think I will know and even if I know, what makes you think I won't doctor my answers with my biasness?" Elle argued, giving him a haughty look. "Ah, so Einstein's speechless."
"Elle, have I offended you in anyway?" Frank smiled as amiably as he could although he wanted to strangle the woman already- the only thing that was stopping him from being brusque with her was that she, well, was a female and he was a gentleman, though a grudging one at that moment.
"Yes though I have to admit that it's not your fault, really. Joe coming back to Bayport means that I'll soon be without a partner. I don't think I should be very pleased with that prospect."
Frank smiled uneasily but there were so much more he wanted to know- so many questions that she held the answers to. Lifting his lips up further in a wider smile and half-shrugging his shoulders with upturned palms in a gesture which he hoped would make him seem more open and less threatening to her, he asked with an ingenuous voice, "What made him leave Chicago in the first place? Now, I think you can fill me in on that."
Elle folded her arms, frowning at the memory. "I cleaned up his apartment looking for a file. He freaked out and ran. But I guess that was only the trigger. He's been homesick for quite some time."
Frank chuckled, finally comprehending what Joe told him earlier that day about how Elle would turn someone's life upside down by cleaning up their place. "That's strange. He never split when mom cleans up his room."
"He has issues with women wanting to get too close to him. The scores of girlfriends he left back in Chicago crying their eyes out because he cannot commit are pretty much evidence. But I can't blame the chap- he has no friends, no trust and no ambition."
"Won't you consider yourself his friend? The both of you seemed pretty tight. He must mean something to you for you to come down all the way."
Elle's arrogance melted into a cautionary glower. "Yes, he's my friend, the poor sod. I'm concern for him but I'm here for our car which he stole."
He nodded, stroking his chin. "Yeah. Right. If that were so, why not just take it and leave?"
"Nope, I can't. Can't leave without my partner. And we need to find his daughter so he doesn't go crazy… as if he isn't crazy enough already."
"He's my partner too."
Elle smiled at him a little tediously, like he was some sullen kid who needed to be corrected. "Joe and I have a firm back in Chicago with cases to look into. Until he finished up all his backdated work, he cannot be released."
"I will beg to differ. I'm his brother- we are bonded by blood. You're his business partner- bonded only by money." Frank matched her condescending smile perfectly; no longer interested in trying to connect with her on any level. She blinked at him and he arched his brows challengingly. The phone rang and they both rushed to pick it up although Frank won by default, given that the phone was just right in front of him on his study desk.
"Hello? Con? Yes… Lester Demoir's out of the country? Booked a one way ticket to Switzerland last month, left and haven't returned? Thanks… yes… I won't breathe a word to Chief but I think he'll understand given the circumstances. ..Information sharing too, you know…Let me get a crack at the guy first. Thanks again." Frank disconnected the call and was about phone the airlines to book three tickets- when he really only wanted to reserve for two- for the earliest flight to Los Angeles when the phone rang again. Elle looked up at him expectantly, not wanting to compete anymore.
"Hello, Frank Hardy here."
"Frank? It's dad. You better come home quickly. The kidnapper just called, saying he will call again in an hour's time because Joe's not here when he did earlier. Joe's on his way… you should be here too."
