Chapter 19

Agent Turner felt very pleased with himself as he ended his conversation with Dean Boland. But of course, he thought, I should have approached Dean from the start: jilted ex-husband with an axe to grind… if I play this right, I can kill two birds with one stone. I might not even have to go spook the younger sister. Turner smiled and chuckled aloud to himself, "I'm going to enjoy this".

Dean sat waiting in a park for Agent Turner. He felt nervous. Unsure of himself. I'm not sure I can go through with this, he thought. He stood up, just about to walk away from it all when he heard a voice call, "Mr. Boland! Going somewhere?". Dean turned around, it was Agent Turner, a self-satisfied smirk on his face, Ah fuck, thought Dean, "I thought maybe you weren't going to show", he replied instead.

"Sorry", smiled Agent Turner, "didn't mean to keep you waiting". In fact, that was exactly what he had intended to do. One of the tricks of the trade: it paid to keep people nervous. Nervous people tend to make mistakes.

Dean nodded "no problem. By the way… is there a reason we aren't meeting in your office?", he asked hesitantly.

"It's a beautiful day, Mr. Boland. I'm cooped up in that office all day. I thought we could enjoy some sunshine and fresh air. Don't you agree?", asked Turner, sitting on the bench Dean had just vacated.

Dean twisted uncomfortably, "it's just that… someone might see", he replied in a hushed voice.

Turner swept his gaze across the park, "don't worry, Rio isn't here, Mr. Boland. Or can I call you Dean?"

Dean looked startled at the mention of Rio's name, "uh, yeah sure", eyes still darting around the park vista.

"Look", began Turner, "we're just two guys having a chat. So. Let's chat", he said in a friendly voice. He patted the empty space next to him invitingly.

Dean sat down reluctantly. Despite Dean's recent shower, Turner could smell the stench of booze, he noticed the stubble on his chin, the weariness in Dean's eyes. He smiled to himself. This was going to be a piece of cake. Beth Boland's days were numbered.

Ruby sighed, trying to write her shopping list. But she kept getting distracted, the chore ahead of her weighed heavy on her mind. She kept staring at the cell phone next to her, he's gonna be so pissed, she thought with a shake of her head.

She cast her mind back to the discussion she had with Anne and Noah. It had to be her. Ruby had to be the one to reach out. Noah had insisted she get a new burner phone in case Turner was able to access her calls.

She grabbed the new phone with a sudden determination, let's rip this goddamn band-aid off then, she thought and dialed the number they'd been given for emergencies. She drummed her fingers against the table nervously as she waited for someone to answer.

"Bob's convenient store, how can I help you?" came a reedy voice through the receiver. "Hi, yes I need to make a complaint, I need to speak with your manager" said Ruby sweetly.

"Oh, okay", replied the voice, "just hang on". Strange rustling noises and footsteps ensued followed by muffled voices. Ruby waited patiently, breathing deeply, trying to gather her thoughts.

Rio sat silently, head in his hands. He had hoped he had managed to get through to Dean and that Dean would do the right thing. But he wasn't sure. At this point it's 50/50, he thought.

He picked up his phone again, looking at the message from Elizabeth. He still couldn't get her out of his head. He would need to go see her soon he supposed, but he didn't trust himself around her. She did something to him, twisted his thoughts and desires… he ended up doing things he just couldn't explain or justify.

She was dangerous. If he had any sense, he'd haul ass now and disappear, leave her to Agent Turner to deal with. But as soon as those thoughts materialized, they evaporated like smoke. Instead he thought of her big blue eyes, her mouth, her smile, the way she moved, the way she tasted. He could feel himself becoming aroused at the mere thought of her. He sighed deeply and stood up to go hit the showers. A cold shower would help wash away the thoughts of her - or so he hoped.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Rio sat back down again with a sigh. "Yo", he called, indicating the person could enter. Dags appeared as the door opened, along with the strange man who worked in the store upstairs. Rio raised his eyebrow to signal he was waiting for an explanation. The man from upstairs squeaked "excuse me boss- I mean sir- there's a phone call. A lady. With a complaint". Dags folded his arms and kept his face neutral.

Elizabeth, whispered his inner voice. She'd called the emergency number, probably pissed at him for not replying. He took a deep breath. He couldn't face talking to her right now. Not like this. He needed to calm down first, think about what he needed to say. The thought of hearing her voice might push him over the edge. He'd end up doing something stupid and reckless. Like just grabbing her pregnant ass and hitting the road, getting the hell outta here.

This was another daydream that sometimes surfaced when he felt like this: they could just run away from everything. Head off somewhere and disappear. Together. Away from Turner, away from it all. Live in some cabin somewhere and spend their days and nights driving each other crazy, shutting out the rest of the world.

In the latest version of this daydream the duo had become a trio, a little girl who had Elizabeth's big blue eyes. He shook his head to escape the seductive dream. Elizabeth could never run away with him. She had her other children to think of, and he had his son to think of too.

He sighed, shoulders sagging, "tell her I'll call her back". He waved his hand to dismiss them both. He had important stuff to do and he couldn't get distracted right now.

Ruby was staring into space, her mind elsewhere. She almost dropped the phone when the reedy voice suddenly returned and spoke again, "sorry, he is busy right now can I take a number and he can call you back?"

Damn it, thought Ruby. She had been hoping she could just get this over with, instead she bit back her frustration and replied "of course" and read out the new number she could be contacted on. Her stomach felt like it was on fire. She returned her attention to her shopping list and added the word "Tums".

Beth lay in her hospital bed with nothing but strange dreams to comfort her. The lights were dimmed which gave it an eerie, dreamlike setting. Rio's beautiful face kept appearing in her dream, smiling at her, eyes smoldering, reappearing, and disappearing. Suddenly his face morphed into Agent Turner who laughed mockingly at her, eyes like steel.

Beth turned to run away but she ran headlong into Dean who just stood, staring at her, his eyes filled with sadness and disappointment. Beth whimpered slightly, moisture collecting in the corner of her eyes as she twisted and turned in the hospital bed.

Nearby a nurse looked on, his face colored with concern. He walked off to the reception area and called up Beth's details. Doctor Evans walked up, engrossed in the recent test results displayed on the tablet she was holding. "So, Mrs. Boland… I think we might need to contact her family and discuss the options. Could you give them a call, Steve?", the doctor asked, without looking up.

"Already on it", replied Steve, "looks like her sister is down as next of kin". Doctor Evans looked up, "okay let's see if they can come in for a consultation". Steve nodded as he dialed the number.

Annie was pacing. She just couldn't sit still. Things seemed more manageable, less disastrous, when moving. Like she was actually doing something. Noah sat working at his laptop, having realized a while ago that nothing could stop Annie's anxious too-ing and fro-ing.

"Why hasn't he called?", she hissed, frustration and rage bubbling to the surface.

"Look", sighed Noah patiently, "we can't do anything other than wait. We need intel before we just rush off and do something. Trust me on this."

Annie made an exasperated noise in reply, indicating that rushing off and doing something was exactly what she wanted to do.

Noah looked at Annie while she resumed her pacing. A smile crept onto his face and his eyes twinkled, "you know", he said, folding his laptop shut, "if you're feeling frustrated and unable to keep still, there are other ways we can pass the time", he continued seductively, eyebrows raised.

Annie snorted and rolled her eyes, but in one swift movement Noah was in front of her, arms around her waist, his mouth suddenly possessing hers so urgently it made her gasp with excitement. Noah broke away, breath shuddering, his eyes alight with passion. He looked deep into her eyes, "I need you", he muttered, "I want you. All the time".

Annie felt her desire stirring and the urge to rip his clothes off then and there. She moved in to kiss him but was interrupted by her phone ringing. Noah swore under his breath, "typical", he muttered. Annie gave him an apologetic smile and answered the phone.

"Yes, this is she", she said warily, her face creasing with concern. That doesn't sound like Rio, Noah thought. "What? Now? Okay, I'm on my way", said Annie, concern having now reached her voice.

"What's wrong?", asked Noah once Annie had hung up, grasping her shoulders, forcing her to meet his gaze. Annie looked at Noah, face like death, eyes hollow. "It's Beth", she whispered, "I need to go see her. Now".