Chapter Five

Without Jordan, without Max, Baker was stonewalled…there was nowhere he could go. Just because the DNA results did or did not conclude that Malden was her father, it did nothing to prove her culpability, or lack of it, in the murder. In fact, all the past evidence pointed elsewhere.

An APB remained out on Max. After months of hoping and praying Max would come home for his daughter, now everyone was hoping and praying he would stay out of Boston for a while longer. Whether Max had somehow heard or not, he made no appearance in Massachusetts. In fact, no one was sure where he was at. And now his daughter had followed suit.

But word about an impending murder investigation gets out…especially one with the notoriety that Malden's had. It was on the news. It even made the cable news shows occasionally. And it kept percolating through the press even after three more months passed by. Baker kept pushing the issue, pushing his detectives to find Max. Woody had always thought it odd that the DA did not do nearly as much to find James. Of course, James had no paper trail…he was harder to find. And one virtue Baker did not have was patience. Max would be easier to find…maybe.

It was fall…October to be exact. Jordan had been gone nine months. Nine months with no word from her. Woody would call her lawyer, Bill, every week to find out if she was okay. Bill's answer was always the same, "She's fine, she's safe, she's well….she's coping. I'll tell her you called." Woody got no more out of him. He knew why Jordan had chosen this man to be her lawyer. Bill Crahen was short, stout man, but would fight like a pit bull for his clients. Woody had seen Douglas Baker back down from Bill numerous times over Jordan.

So Woody and the others would go to the Pogue occasionally, just to feel like they could be near her…just in case she might call the bar to see how things were going there…just to pretend things were normal. It was heart-wrenching. Five people pretending that their lives were going on as normal when the one person they missed most wasn't able to contact them for fear of the DA hurting them. Woody finally had given up on the bar. His heart couldn't take it. Besides, he had the El Camino and her dress…which still hung in his closet….and still smelt faintly like her.

He wasn't sure where it was all going to go…no one was. He just knew he missed her a little more each day. The time kept slipping by until now it was close to Christmas. He didn't want to be alone this holiday, so he had volunteered to work. So did Nigel. Nigel was going to take some time off after Christmas and go back to England. London, actually, to visit family and friends he hadn't seen for years. Woody stopped by Nigel's office one quiet evening during the holidays before the Englishman left for home.

"Have a good trip," he told Nigel. "Be careful. Send me a postcard?"

"Ever been to England, Woody?"

"No. I've always wanted to go. Just never had the opportunity."

"Make the opportunity. Go. You have nothing holding you here. It would do you good to get away."

"Yeah." Woody ran his fingers through his hair. "It's just….just…"

"I know mate. I still miss her, too. Macy still hasn't given her office up. Says he's holding it for her. Told me when she had been gone two years, he would know that she really wasn't coming back."

Woody nodded. "Have a safe flight, Nige. I'll see you when you get home." And with that, Woody turned and went back to his lonely office. Nigel watched him walk away. He had never seen the detective looking so despondent. He was missing her even more now.

"Are you sure you want to go by yourself?" Kathleen asked Jordan, as she watched her cousin throw some things in a suitcase.

"Yeah. I need some time away. The travel agency is offering a special package and I don't have to be back for classes until January 15. I can be gone for a week or so and then come home, refreshed and ready for the next semester."

"Have you ever been to London, Jordan?"

"No. But I've always wanted to go. The crown jewels are going to be on display then. I want to see them. And the Tower of London."

"The pubs are good, too."

"That's what I've heard."

Jordan zipped her suitcase closed and put it in her jeep and began her long drive into London.

She had never seen so many people in her life. Like most "Yanks," she had assumed that the crown jewels were on display regularly enough that the native Londoners wouldn't be so captivated by them. She had assumed wrong. The museum was wall-to-wall people. She managed to wiggle her way out of the lobby…when she thought she saw a familiar form. She mentally shook herself. It couldn't be. It was her mind playing tricks on her because she was so homesick and missed everyone so much. Then she heard the voice… "Sweet Mary in the manger, who do we have here?"

"Nigel!"

He caught her up in a tight hug, completely disregarding the people around them. "Jordan…as I live and breathe, I never expected to see you here. Let me look at you, lass."

She looked good…a little thinner, looked like she may need a little more sleep, but her hair was still long and wavy… and her eyes were still just as beautiful. "Jordan….what…where…do I want to know?"

Jordan couldn't help but laugh at his confusion. "Buy me a pint at the pub down the street and I'll tell you all I can."

Nigel nodded and steered her out the door, his hand tightly clinging to her arm, as if he was afraid she was going to run away again.

"So that's the whole story?" Nigel asked, working on his second pint.

"Most of it. All I can tell you, anyway," she replied, still working on her first.

Jordan had given Nigel an extremely sanitized version of what had happened to her. He knew about the DA questioning her. Garret had told him about the DNA samples he had to pull. And Woody had filled him in about her coming to his apartment and then leaving the next morning. She had told him what had happened from there. Yes, she had called Bill Crahen and cleared it by him that it was okay for her to leave Boston. She had run…She was living in Europe, but not England. She was only there for a holiday before she had to go back to work. Yes, she had a job, but no, she wasn't a medical examiner right now.

"That's all you're going to tell me?"

"Nige, that's all I can tell you. It's still better that you don't know. Especially since Baker still is trying to find Malden's murderer and probably still thinks it's me."

"But you're okay and happy?"

"I'm okay…but I miss everyone so much…it hurts, you know?" Nigel saw the tears that threatened her eyes. God knows he didn't want her crying now.

"What's say, that since we both have about four days left on our holiday, that we spend them together…I won't ask any questions, but you can ask as many as you want about us…let's just enjoy it? What do you say, love?"

"I'd like that….very much."

So for the next four days, that's exactly what happened. Nigel took Jordan to all the out of the way places that weren't so "touristy" in London. He was just simply glad to see her…be with her… hold her hand. He even stayed with her at her hotel. About the second day, she began to ask questions…about Bug, about Lily…about Garret.

"Garret worries that you blame him for the DNA tests," Nigel had told her.

Jordan shook her head. "That was the DA, not Garret. And I can't believe he hasn't let the new ME take my old office."

"He says if you're not back in two years, then he knows you're not coming home. Should I tell him to go ahead and let someone use it?"

Jordan had looked down at her hands then. "I don't know…I hope I might be back someday…but that's not my decision."

Nigel had nodded in understanding.

"Nigel, what about Woody? How is he?"

"He misses you, lass….something awful. I've never seen him look so bad…he's lost weight, Jordan. And doesn't look like he sleeps well."

"My lawyer says he asks about me every week."

"That he does. He loves you, Jordan. He wants you to come home."

She fought to keep the tears back then. She missed him…so much. The dreams of him kept coming….more frequently now. She kept thinking she heard his voice….felt his touch, only to realize it was just a vision in the night that was cruelly playing with her emotions.

"Tell him…" she began, her voice faltering… "Tell him I miss him, too….so much. And I haven't stopped loving him…and I hope I can come home and be with him one day."

Nigel nodded. Woody would hate that he didn't take Nigel up on his offer to come to London after the holidays.