i"How is that guy still alive?" Hanson asked, totally confused.
"Henry can explain," Jo said, staring him down. "Can't you, Henry?"
VVVVVVVV
Henry eyed the squad car wheeling away with Adam in it. "I can but I also think we should not let Adam out of our sight," he replied and began jogging toward Jo's car.
The others, including Lucas, followed him and they all piled in. Jo gunned the engine and caught up with the squad car.
"And to answer your question, Det. Hanson," he began, breathless after his short run and struggle in the water with Adam, "what you saw in his hospital room is what always occurs when he dies. He returns to life, naked, in a large body of water that happens to be nearest him."
"You've seen this before?" Hanson asked.
"Yes," he reluctantly replied as he recalled when he had witnessed the troubled Immortal deliberately take his own life twice. "If ever he gets a moment alone," he cautioned them, "it may happen again. A most brutal but highly effective form of escape." He knew all too well of that from more than one escape-by-death card he'd played over the past two centuries.
"You knew exactly where he would be," Lucas said still spellbound, his eyes roaming over Henry's face. "Same spot almost where you … uh …" His voice trailed off but the look of wonder remained on his face. Then he chuckled nervously. "You, you must h-have seen him there when you were, uh, skinny dipping," he reasoned.
"No, Lucas," Henry replied, lowering his eyes. Here it was. The moment for him to reveal his secret to them. He sincerely hoped with all his heart that they would understand what he was to say next and why he had kept it hidden for so long. "I have never seen Adam in or near the river whenever I've … reawakened there myself."
His eyes traveled between the three of his companions as he assessed their reactions. They arrived at the Manhattan South precinct but he remained in the car with Lucas as Jo and Mike hurriedly exited the car.
"I'll wait for you guys here, if you don't mind," Lucas told them. "Still a little … shaky," he added apologetically. Shaky from recuperating but also from having just witnessed his mild-mannered boss dive into the murky river and drag a struggling, naked, apparent psycho out of it; and from what Henry had told them during the short drive from the river to the precinct.
"I shall do likewise," Henry told them sheepishly. "My water-drenched appearance in there again may hinder your progress in taking custody of Adam."
The two detectives nodded mutely and entered the building, focusing on the task at hand instead of the fact that their world had just been turned on its ear after Henry's fantastic claims of not only Farber/Adam being an Immortal but he, himself, as well! Jo and Hanson, however, both knew that any further questions for Henry had to be tabled for now. They had to get inside and make sure that the strange, resurrected prisoner didn't take the "easy" way out and escape. They flashed their badges and ID'd themselves to the desk sergeant.
"From Lt. Reece's squad," Sgt. Hastings noted. "How may I help you, Detectives?"
"The prisoner that was just brought in," Jo replied, fighting to keep her voice calm.
"The other skinny dipper," Hastings smirked. "We've gotten him in here a few times before but not as often as your ME, Dr. Morgan."
"Listen, Laughin' Jack," Hanson interrupted. "He's also a POI in a string of cold case murders and we want him remanded to our custody after he's booked."
Hastings wiped the smirk off of his face and replied in a more professional manner. "Murder? Uh, I'll get right on it, Detective."
"You do that," Hanson said, irritated. He then hesitantly turned to face Jo. "Sorry, Jo. The guy's a jerk."
The thought of Henry having actually died more than once only to be arrested and hauled in for public nudity by the likes of Hastings and his crew saddened her. If he had only trusted her or someone earlier, he may have been able to avoid all those arrests and public embarrassment.
"He's not as much of a jerk as you and I were," she sadly admitted. "We teased Henry all the time about that, too."
Hanson pressed his lips together and sighed, hanging his head a bit. "Yeah," he quietly agreed. "Wouldn't blame 'im if he strangled me with those red speedos I gave 'im last year."
The memory evoked a groan of embarrassment from Jo. "Still - if that sergeant makes one more crack about Henry, I'll -" She abruptly stopped talking when they saw Captain Laurie Hemecker coming toward them.
vvvv
Outside the precinct in Jo's assigned car …
Henry had seen the guilt in their eyes; but there were no hard feelings. People usually reacted in a condescending or even threatening manner when he'd been caught emerging from the river in his natural state. Some had chosen to either ridicule, shun, or punish him for it. Law enforcement personnel invariably reacted no differently from regular citizens in that regard. But the fact that Jo, Hanson, and Lucas did feel guilty, made him happy. It meant that they believed him; accepted him. But how accepting would they remain after he revealed more of his long story to them? He fixated on the look in Jo's eyes and he realized that he was more concerned about how accepting she would be.
Jo joined them again in the car but she was alone. She informed them that Mike was going to ride along with Adam when he was transported over to their precinct, the 11th. Her phone buzzed and she recognized Abe's Antiques on the Caller ID.
"Martinez."
("What's the update?" an anxious Abe asked.)
"I'll let you talk to Henry," she replied and handed the phone to him.
"Hello, Abraham … Yes, I'm fine. Everyone's fine; and Adam is back in custody … Yes, ah, everyone's taking in the information I shared with them very well." Henry smiled and nodded. "Alright, see you in a little while." He bid him goodbye and ended the call, handing the phone back to Jo. He then asked if she could drop him off at the shop so that he could shower and change.
"Sure, no problem," she replied. After a few moments, she said, "So, his full name is Abraham." As she drove, she eyed him in the rearview mirror.
"Yes."
"And his last name is Morgan, too," she stated further.
"Yes," he replied, smiling proudly. He knew where this was going.
"And how is he really connected to you?" Jo asked.
"May I … wait until you've safely parked the car before I respond?" he asked. "The answer may startle you while you're driving."
"Henry, everything that's happened today has been startling," she impatiently responded. "I haven't crashed yet."
"Alright, then." He paused to glance at Lucas then said, "Let's just say that every Father's Day, he gifts me with a scarf instead of a tie."
"He gifts you," Lucas said while he pointed to his right then at Henry while he worked it out in his head. Then his eyes popped open wide and his jaw dropped. "You're the Dad, he's the son!"
Henry simply beamed proudly in response.
vvvv
It would take a while for Adam to be processed and then transported over to the 11th. So, while Henry showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes, Jo and Lucas waited in the kitchen. They both eyed Abe as another slice of the miracle pie that Henry Morgan had just popped out of. Lucas tried to question him about his childhood with Henry as a father. Abe, although happy that his Pops had finally come clean with them, was reluctant to give out any answers behind his father's back.
"I will tell you this, though," Abe said. "Mom was the best Mom. Henry was and still is the best Dad. Best parents any kid could ever have."
Henry had just left his bedroom and was poised in the hallway just outside the kitchen entrance, and beamed proudly when he'd heard Abe's remarks. God knows that he and Abigail had always tried to do their best for their beloved son. He quickly entered the kitchen and shortly thereafter, Jo, Lucas, and he returned to the precinct.
VVVVVVVV
Notes:
Sorry. I couldn't resist making the Captain at Manhattan South a Hemecker. But is she related in some way to Pvt. Carl Hemecker, who recognized Henry in the park in the mid-50's? Hmmm, maybe. Maybe not. Think I'll put that in another fic that's forming in my mind.
The character, Carl Hemecker, appeared briefly in Forever TV show 2014 episode, "The Man in the Killer Suit", S01/E10.
The next chapter will be devoted more to Adam. Thank you all for your patience and your continued interest and support.