Chapter Twenty Seven – On A Mission

When Nick Rowan walked through the door to the police house it was almost eight o'clock in the evening. He casually shrugged out of his coat as Jo walked up to him and helped him out of it. The new and crisp wool coat with sergeant stripes was placed on the regular hook just inside the kitchen door.

"Nick, where have you been?" she asked softly albeit with a slight accusative tone to it. "I was worried about you."

"I had to stay at the station. Took more time than I expected to go through everything that's happened around here," he explained. "I'm almost certain that we have cleared up the burglaries' that has been going on in the area."

"We do have a phone you know," she pointed out.

"I know and I'm so sorry," he said and reached out for her, to take her into his arms.

Jo couldn't help but soften as she let him embrace her. It felt so good to have him next to her again. "You're forgiven," she said and put a small distance between them, tilting her head to look at him. "For now," she added with a smile and then gave into his embrace fully, her head coming to rest on his chest.

"So, what have you been up to today?" Nick asked curiously as he grimaced behind her back. The headache was still bothering him even after having taken his daily dose of painkillers.

"I've been teaching the class about right and wrong, about morals and such," she said.

"Sounds like heavy stuff," he replied.

Jo snuggled a little, enjoying the warmth of him. "The secret is how you tell them," she let on. "You have to make a seemingly boring thing appear fun."

"I take it you managed that?" Nick asked softly.

"It went fairly well until Nelly Martin placed a frog in Sarah Chambers' bag," she added.

"Was that the fun part?" Nick asked amused as he lowered his head to whisper in her ear. "What if I told you I did some really stupid things, at least the teacher thought so anyway, when I was little."

"I wouldn't doubt it for a second, Nick Rowan," Jo replied in mock amazement. "Actually, you're partly right. We did use the frog as a subject about right and wrong but we also started a role play."

Nick nodded, silently thankful for the distraction from the headache. "So," he began as they parted, "anything else interesting?"

This time it was her time to nod. "Yes, I've arranged a double date," she said casually with a cryptic smile.

Nick narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Really and…would you care to elaborate on that?" he asked.

Jo chuckled. "Just you, me and Maggie and Dr. Bolton," she let on.

Nick made a surprised face. "Two married couple, I thought you said date," he teased as he walked over to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair and sat down.

"They have a long way ahead of them," Jo returned seriously. "But I think that's what they both want; to rekindle. To find each other again after everything that's happened in their lives."

Nick nodded and rubbed his tired eyes as Jo sat down next to him. "Let's see if we can push them in the right direction then," he said with a weary smile.

OOOOOO

It was two days later and fairly quiet back at Ashfordly Police Station as Bradley entered a quarter past the time his shift ended, coming directly from division headquarters in Whitby.

Nick, who stood next to Alf, turned to look at him curiously. "Right man?" he asked.

Mike nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "He's posed as a window cleaner everywhere. I'm surprised he didn't get caught sooner."

"Luck, good planning, a lot of studying about people's comings and goings," Nick offered.

"Well, everyone's luck runs out sometime," Alf quipped as he began to peel off the shell of an egg.

"I was to say hallo from the chief constable, Sarge. He congratulates on a job well done," Mike said happily.

"Proves I have a good team," Nick returned. "Now, I better go because I'm already late."

OOOOOO

Jo glanced down at her watch, it was past the time when they'd said they'd meet and there was no sign of Nick. She began to feel embarrassed where she stood outside a restaurant with Maggie and Neil next to her. "Why don't you go ahead?" she said kindly to the rest of the company.

"Oh, I could do with some fresh air," Maggie replied, not really sure she trusted herself going in together with Neil.

Jo put on a polite smile but her cheeks was starting to burn. She was both annoyed at Nick being late and worried that something had happened.

"And here he comes," Doctor Bolton said as he caught sight of the red MG-TA speeding down the lane to Webster's Hotel and restaurant.

"I wonder what the police would say about that?" Maggie hollered in a teasing tone as Nick got out of the car, having parked a few meters away from where they stood waiting.

"Well, I'm not going to tell them," Nick returned with a twinkle in his eyes as he neared.

"Where have you been, Nick?" Jo asked softly, slightly worried.

"Sorry," he apologized and kissed her lightly on the cheek. "I had to sort out some things at work," he explained.

Maggie folded her arms across her chest and glared at him from behind. "Resting, Nick," the nurse admonished. "I thought you were supposed to be resting."

A soft cunning smile appeared on his lips as he felt all eyes on him. "Why don't we just step inside," he suggested. When no one moved he turned to Neil. "Doctor Bolton?" he asked.

"Why not, Sergeant Rowan," he replied.

"Nick," the young sergeant returned.

"Neil," the young doctor said with a smile.

OOOOOO

Bernie Scripps smiled happily, where he stood in the garage, looking at David through the half-opened door. It was business as usual and David had been standing on the doorstep this morning even before him. The younger man was running between the cars outside, trying to be of assistance of everyone at the same time. He filled up petrol in one car as he hastily cleared the windscreen of another. However, both he and the drivers seemed satisfied.

The garage owner and burial entrepreneur sighed with relief as he now had the full help of David like he was supposed to have had all along and Claude hadn't come to him for any help in strange business for several days. No goats or tents or anything else for that matter. After Alsop had bought his goats Bernie hadn't seen the ghost of him but he had a feeling it wouldn't be long until he was back and putting his nose into another project.

Bernie walked back to the car he was working on with a smile. He would enjoy the peace and quiet for as long as it lasted.

OOOOOO

Nick walked slowly toward the cemetery, seemingly deep in thought. It had been a little over two weeks since he had awakened only to find Jo in tears next to his bedside at Ashfordly General Hospital. All those memories of Kate that had resurfaced still lingered on his mind; it had been so real, like it had happened then and not a long time ago. The smile on her face, the stubborn streak, the caring doctor, the scent of her perfume, the wonderful woman he'd called his wife. He had loved her with all his heart and he still loved her.

It would be impossible not to remember and a part of him would be lost forever, gone with Kate. However, he had another love now, someone he cared deeply for in a way he'd never thought possible after Kate had died. Jo was what he needed and he had come to realize that he couldn't live without her. In some strange way it felt like he and Kate had talked about it, that she was happy for him.

"Hello, Nick," the old vicar greeted with a smile.

Nick looked up absentmindedly with a frown before a faint smile creased his lips. "Hello," he replied.

"Come to talk to Kate?" he asked kindly.

"In a way," Nick said.

The vicar nodded. "Something changes in you when you have had a near death experience," he said seriously. "I will not ask you what yours was but I can see it in your eyes that it was a mixture of both joy and sorrow," he said with a faint smile. "I'm glad you're still with us, Nick, it would be a shame for the village to lose you."

"Thanks," the young sergeant said.

He watched the vicar nod before turning away and disappearing between the gravestones. Nick sighed and automatically walked the few meters to where his first wife was buried. A few dried flowers stood in a vase and several leaves lay scattered over the foot of the stone. He knelt down and gently scooped up the flowers and his eyes stopped on the text of the stone.

"Hello, Kate," Nick said sadly. "I'm sorry, it's been so long."

The wind ruffled his hair slightly as he gently put the large, beautiful red roses that he'd carried with him in the vase next to the gravestone.

"It feels like it was yesterday that we talked. I understand now that somehow you're there for me and for that I'm grateful, but I really wish you hadn't left me at all, me and Katie," he said and had anyone else been present they would have heard the undertone of emotional pain in his voice.

Nick turned his head upwards toward the sky and took a deep breath before letting his eyes roam over the surrounding area. "Yes, Kate, you were right, it is beautiful up here," he whispered as he remembered her saying so all those years ago when they'd first arrived to her home village.

"I wanted to thank you," he said suddenly, "for being there for me."

"I'll be with you in your heart Nick, as long as you want me," Kate's voice echoed in his head.

A ghost of a smile spread across the young Ashfordly sergeant's lips as he slowly rose from his position next to the gravestone. He took one last glance at her resting place before turning to leave.

OOOOOO

Mike Bradley gently eased himself down in the armchair, back into the snug, at the Aidensfield Arms. He tiredly let his head come to rest against the wall behind him and narrowed his eyes into slits. It had been a hectic few weeks and to be completely honest he'd never dreamed about the kind of action he'd just been through up here in North Yorkshire. It had almost rivalled London when he had been nestled into an operation called gun smoke.

During his first months in the Aidensfield and Ashfordly district he had come to appreciate the landscape and the people in a way he never thought would have been possible. When he had left London for a tour at the little station, in the middle of nowhere, his former colleagues had teased him about how he would be counting sheep the whole day and maybe if he was lucky solve something that resembled a petty crime. They couldn't have been more wrong. The fact that his sergeant also came from London only served to help him along the way.

At first it was meant as a few months really, an education in rural policing, but he knew already that he wouldn't be going back. Since Sergeant Blaketon had been retired due to medical reasons and Constable Rowan had been assigned as Sergeant Rowan there was a place for him back at the station if he wanted it and he was certain of it, he would take it.

He opened his tired eyes and let the murmuring voices from the pub section take him back to a crowded little pub in London that he used to visit regularly, to a familiar environment. He eased himself slightly upward, his muscles still a bit stiff and parts of his body still sore and he fell into a light sleep.

Gina cast a quick glance at him from where she stood behind the counter and smiled.

OOOOOO

To be continued

27/28