MAKING IT THROUGH THE RAIN - CHAPTER 1
A noise woke Brooke from her deep sleep. As the noise persisted, she pushed the covers back and got up.
"I'm coming, Hope. Mommy's coming."
Halfway to Hope's room, she slowly realized that the noise wasn't Hope, but something downstairs. As the fog of sleep slowly drifted away, she realized it was the doorbell and someone was knocking on the door. If Ric forgot his keys again, she was going to kill him. Didn't he remember that there was key hidden next to the light on the porch? Ugh, sometimes she felt marrying Amber had made him stupid and his remaining intelligence was further drained each day he remained with her. Now that they were separated again, maybe the smart Ric would return.
She opened the door, "Ric, how many times- -." She looked up and saw two police officers standing at her door.
"Ma'am, are you Brooke Logan Forrester?" the female officer asked.
Brooke wasn't sure what was going on, but she answered calmly. "Yes, I'm Brooke Logan. How can I help you?"
They all stared at each other for a minute.
"Where are my manners? Come in, have a seat," she offered.
"No, thanks, ma'am, we'll stand. Do you own a 2002 Cadillac Escalade?"
Brooke shook her head. "No, but my son does. I bought it for him last year, he claimed they needed more room now that Little Eric was getting older- -" She realized she was babbling so she stopped talking for a second. Looking at the officers, it finally dawned on her why they were here. "Was the SUV stolen and Ric is too afraid to tell me?" Brooke walked towards the door. "Or were they at some club, it got stolen and they haven't realized it yet?"
"No, the car wasn't stolen," the female officer spoke again.
Brooke let out a sigh of relief, but it was short lived.
"It sunk off the coast of Catalina coming back to LA."
"I told Ric to be careful with that monstrosity. Give me one second and I'll follow you and pick them up." Brooke took the stairs two at a time.
"Ma'am, could you please come sit down?" the male officer asked.
Stopping mid-stride, she turned around and sat down cautiously on the sofa. The officers sat in the chairs opposite of her.
She tried to read their facial expressions, but they both wore impenetrable masks. She was trying not to worry, but they were not being very reassuring.
"Do you know where your son was today?" the male officer asked.
Brooked frowned. "I'm not sure. He was very vague when I talked to him. But he did tell me that he would be coming home late tonight, so I shouldn't wait up for him." She still couldn't read their faces, and she was getting frustrated. "What is this about?"
The female officer handed her a soaking wet purse. She hadn't even noticed the officer bringing it in. Brooke opened the purse that looked similar to Bridget's, but all the girls carried little purses like this now-a-days. She took out the wallet, opened it, and there smiling up at her was Bridget, in her driving licenses photo. She had been so happy to get her license, she couldn't stop smiling. Brooke looked at the officers for an explanation. "How did you get Bridget's purse?"
"I'm sorry to tell you this, Ms Logan, but your son and daughter," he looked to Brooke as if to assure himself that Bridget was her daughter.
She nodded.
"Your son and daughter were last seen boarding a ferry from Catalina Island to LA. They were on the last ferry leaving last night. About 5 miles out the ship sank, a search and recovery team are currently searching for bodies. They've found the bodies of the captain and first mate. They are now searching for your son's and daughter's bodies," he stated as gently as possible.
"Ric and Bridget are both first rate swimmers. They've been swimming longer than they could walk. Bridget was on the swim team in high school," she said hurriedly.
"Ma'am, with the currents, the lack of visibility, and the other two bodies having been found, there is little possibility your children could have survived. I'm sorry," he said.
Brooke shook her head. "You're wrong. Ric and Bridget had no reason to be on Catalina today."
"Ma'am, that purse was found in the Escalade, they are no where to be found on the island, and the maintenance crew remembered two blondes, one male and one female, in their late teens or early twenties getting on the ferry."
Brooke couldn't compute what they were saying. Suddenly, a cry pierced the deafening tension in the living room. Hope's cry grew louder and louder.
"Ms Logan," the female officer asked, "is there anyone we can call for you?"
Brooke did a mental check. Her mom, dad, Storm, and Katie were vacationing in Switzerland. Donna was due to give birth any day now. So she shook her head, "No, there is no one to call."
The officers looked at each other. She was Brooke Logan Forrester, CEO and majority shareholder of Forrester Design, and she had no one to be with her now. They both lowered their heads. How sad.
"If you could let yourselves out, my daughter needs me." Brooke walked up the stairs, and paused halfway up. "If you could leave your cards, so I can contact you about the bodies that would be greatly appreciated." She continued up the stairs to Hope's nursery. She picked up the screaming child and gently rubbed her back. Hope buried her face into her mother's cleavage and Brooke suddenly realized she had spoken to the officers in just her nightgown. She hadn't bothered to put on a robe, she had been so tired. She laughed and laughed and laughed. Hope peered up at her.
She sank down to the carpet and continued laughing and slowly tears leaked from her eyes. Her children were dead and she was laughing. Eric Forrester, Junior and Bridget Forrester were never going to talk to her again. They were never going to walk through the front door again. Ric was never going to see 25, nor Bridget 21. Bridget was never going to be a mother, and neither of them would ever be married to people they truly loved and who loved them back. She had outlived two of her three children. And if it wasn't for this baby in her arms, she would've jumped from the roof of the house already.