A/N: I don't know if anyone saw the Channel 4 documentary "The Murder Workers", about victim support workers for families bereaved by homicide. One of the families included a very young girl who had witnessed her mother being killed. She just chatted about it whilst playing with her dolls, as if it happened to everyone. It was utterly heart breaking. I wish things like that only did happen in stories.
Richard Poole now had a dilemma. Danielle had fallen asleep shortly after she finished eating. He didn't want to wake her, but he could hardly let her spend the night sleeping in a chair in a bar. Apparently his attempts to find a solution must have given him a stupid look because Camille came back from chatting with her mother and just laughed.
"I'll drive you home in the jeep. You can hold her on your lap, right?"
He was pretty sure that wasn't legal, but he trusted Camille and didn't really have that many other options. He was amazed at the fact Danielle didn't wake at any point, even though Camille did hit the odd rut in the road (with a grimace as opposed to her normal glee) and continued chatting to him about rather inane things. In fact he was a little envious of her. But then, he wondered how long this peaceful sleeping would realistically last.
Richard got Danielle tucked in with minimal fuss, and then realised he'd just sacrificed his bed when he could have put her on the couch. Well, he fell asleep on the chair so often it didn't matter really. Camille was out on the veranda fiddling with his telescope again so he went to join her before she broke it.
"What did you learn today?" His curiosity overrode his concern that Danielle might hear, she seemed pretty much conked out.
"Neighbours say that Marie moved in with her mother when she was pregnant with Danielle. They were very close and the mother died about a year ago – from what they know the mother," here Camille consulted her notebook pulled from her bag. "Virginia Labelle, was the only family Marie had – apart from Danielle. Apparently she was very nice, talented violinist but kept a low profile."
"So still no indication of any man on the scene?"
She shook her head in reply, "Fidel found her lesson schedule and spoke to quite a few parents. One of them gave details of a playgroup Marie would take Danielle to at the local Church Hall. It's on tomorrow so perhaps we could drop in and see if we can learn anymore."
Richard leaned against the railing next to her and let out a long breath. "There has to be someone," he said, turning back to face her. "I mean, people must make plans for this sort of eventuality."
Camille frowned, "I don't think people plan to get murdered, Richard."
He gave her a sullen look, "Obviously I'm not suggesting we'll find a lovely set of handwritten instructions written by the victim on what to do in the event of her murder - but she was a single parent who loved her child, she must have had a contingency plan. Even if it was just somebody she felt sure would look after Danielle if anything happened to her."
Camille didn't have a reply, because it was after all a logical conclusion to draw. After a couple of moments of contemplative silence Richard suddenly piped up, "I mean you would look after Harry if something happened to me, right?"
Camille hadn't meant to laugh, but the surprising force of his concern for the little lizard overwhelmed her. He looked at her abashed.
"I'm not saying it's the same as leaving a child behind," she'd been very clear in the past that you cannot equate pets to people and he wasn't making that mistake again. "It's just I realised that I sort of just assumed you would and that I should check."
Camille felt a stab of anxiety when she considered his words, "Nothing is going to happen to you Richard." She knew she couldn't guarantee it, what she meant was 'nothing will happen to you if I have any say in the matter' but that would probably just make him uncomfortable.
"Well, people don't plan to get murdered Camille," he said, throwing her earlier statement back. "Or hit by buses. Though knowing my luck I'll be killed by something as comical as a coconut to the skull."
"Well you survived a hurricane…"
"Two hurricanes!" he interrupted her, but rather than argue she just rolled her eyes.
"You survived two hurricanes, tropical fever and an attempted snake attack, however if the fates decide to do you in with a coconut I promise to look after your lizard. Though I don't think he'd starve, he did survive before you, you know."
"We don't know that! DI Hulme might have been feeding him," a pretty weak argument, but one he knew she couldn't refute. He avoided her gaze, fearing that she was probably laughing at him, and muttered, "Thanks."
She nudged his shoulder with hers, "You're welcome. Though I expect you to look after my mother if anything happens to me."
His head snapped up, "What? Since when would your mother ever need 'looking after'?"
"What, you think she wouldn't be sad if I died?"
"Of course, but she would also probably hunt down whoever was responsible and kill them before I had to chance to offer my condolences."
"Exactly, so you have to stop her so she doesn't end up in jail," Camille acted like this was a reasonable request, as Richard hadn't cottoned on to the fact she was teasing him yet.
"Listen, that woman is a force of nature. I can no more stop a hurricane than Catherine Bordey," he threw up his hands in a despairing gesture to reinforce his point. "All I asked you to do is mash up some mango and in return I have to prevent murder?"
"It is sort of your job." He didn't have a comeback for that, and Camille just responded to his glare with a grin. "Well you can just keep an eye on her and not moan if she fusses over you, mind she's already started."
"Has she?" It was news to Richard.
"You have no idea of what I have talked her out of doing," she whispered conspiringly. "You better hope nothing happens to me."
Richard was tired, and thinking about a worst case scenario where Camille was no longer around was making him feel queasy. As a consequence he had no patience to be teased tonight, "Look, this is a moot argument, I couldn't stay here if something happened to you, everything would remind me of you. It would be…"
He realised what he was saying mid-sentence. He wanted to put his face in his hands and will himself back in time 30 seconds, but since he was 100% certain that wouldn't work he opted for trailing off and looking awkward. A sideways glance at Camille showed her intently studying him, which only increased his discomfit.
"Well it's a good thing neither of us are planning to get murdered," she said after what had seemed very much like an eternity.
"Yeah," he managed, staring at the floor and desperately searching for an alternative topic of conversation that wouldn't be weird to segue into.
Camille rescued him, commenting as she watched Danielle sleeping, "She looks so sweet when she's sleeping."
She turned to look at him, and was taken aback by the serious look on his face.
"What is it? What are you worried about?"
Before Richard could actually explain, what he'd been dreading occurred. Danielle seemingly instantly transformed from a peaceful, sleeping child to a screaming, sobbing wreck. Camille moved with a speed and instinct he concluded he simply didn't have, and had the child in her arms and was comforting her in a matter of seconds. It seemed like an age before the sobbing decreased even minutely. He was standing there without a bloody clue. Should he go in and try to help? Would that only disturb her further, and undo the progress Camille was making? If Camille wanted him there, wouldn't she ask? How the hell would he have coped if she hadn't have been there?
Eventually he decided to stick with the status quo of hiding on the veranda and assuming he'd be asked for if needed. This option had not left him without a guilty feeling in the pit of his stomach and a sense of shame. He must have gotten lost in his own guilt-ridden thoughts, because when he next checked his watch it was just past midnight and he realised he hadn't heard any noise from inside for quite some time.
He risked a glance through the door and faced his second dilemma of the evening. Danielle had been successfully soothed by Camille and was currently sleeping. As was Camille. Since he'd already chosen status quo as his choice of action earlier, he stuck by his decision. He didn't even contemplate the idea of trying to sleep, instead he picked up the text book that had been pressed on him earlier by Eleanor and started to read.