Chapter 12

Danny and Catherine were already in the Grand Cherokee, facing them as Helen and Steve left the building. Steve gave them a quick nod and then got into the Camaro with Helen. There was a worry line on Danny's forehead, "It's taking a lot out of him, isn't it?"

Catherine nodded, "I've never seen him like this before. He blames himself for not looking further back then, and he thinks he could have prevented her death."

"That's such nonsense. I mean, I'm sure he's to blame for a lot of things, but certainly not this."

"Danny!"

"Sorry."

They followed the Camaro as it drove away. Danny's mind wandered, if Steve was so upset by the death of a past love, what would happen if Catherine ... gruffly Danny shook his head to dispel the negative thoughts. Danny's eyes wandered over to Catherine, her mind seemed to be elsewhere as well.

"Five dollars for your thoughts."

"What?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"I..., he ..., he loved her so much, Danny. Do you think he..., oh, I don't know."

Emphatically, Danny shook his head and placed a reassuring hand on Catherine's forearm.

"Catherine, he loves you. He loves you so much that he's only half a person when you're not around, and that will never change. And it means an incredible amount to him that you're with him now, giving him the support he needs."

Her eyes sought his.

"Thank you, Danny."

"You're welcome."

They approached Moore's address and the Camaro in front of them slowed, then stopped. Steve got out, cell phone to his ear, and joined them at the car. Danny and Catherine got out as well.

"Red paint marks on the back, you say? ... So I guess it wasn't a deer accident after all. ... Can you match them to a make or model? ... Forensics please hurry up with the analysis. ... Thank you, Ben."

Steve hung up the phone and turned to Catherine and Danny.

"That was Ben. They found red paint marks on the back of Liana's car. She was probably run off the road. The paint analysis is still ongoing."

Thoughtfully, Steve looked over at the Donald Moore house. A red Yukon was parked in front of the garage. "Okay, shall we?"

"What about Helen?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She promised me she'd wait in the car."

"Okay, let's go."

As they walked toward Moore's house, Steve's eyes kept lingering on the red GMC. He couldn't see any damage, though. When they got to the house, he knocked on the door.

"Donald Moore? Five-0, we need to talk to you!"

At first there was silence, then they heard a noise in the house, and shortly after that they heard glass breaking. "He's getting away!"

Steve and Danny sprinted off while Catherine kept her eyes on the street. When Moore ran back into the street two houses down, followed by Steve, Catherine sprinted as well. Then she heard the Camaro's engine start, and moments later it sped past her, tires spinning, then cut off Moore. Steve jumped down and took him down for the time being. He gave Helen a thumbs up with his hand, which she noted with a grin. Panting, Danny also arrived at their location. Steve grinned broadly.

"Already here, Detective?"

"Ha ha, the dog didn't think it was funny that I was walking through his yard." "Are you okay?" Concerned, Catherine looked at Danny's torn pants.

"Yes. Luckily his ball was in the way, so now he has to find it."

In a bad mood, he walked over to Steve and grabbed Moore by the collar. "Now, let's have a little talk."

Roughly, he pushed the man back down the street to his house. He opened the front door and walked into Moore's living room. Steve, Catherine and Helen followed. Steve joined Danny in the living room while Catherine and Helen looked around the house.

"What do you want from me?"

"We wanted to ask you some questions about Liana Upton."

His face paled. "Liana? What about her?"

"Don't play dumb, she's dead."

"Oh my God, I didn't know that, honestly."

"Steve! Will you come here?" Steve turned away from Moore and followed Catherine's voice upstairs. Silently, she pointed to a wall in his bedroom. It was plastered with photos of Liana. At work, at the gym, in the sauna, out and about, and even at home, photographed through the windows.

Silently, Helen stood in the corner of the room, hands clenched in fists, staring at a naked photo of her mother, apparently taken through the bathroom window. Then she suddenly took off running down the stairs and lunged at Moore.

"You son of a bitch! What have you done?!"

She drummed on him like a madman. Danny struggled to get her away from Moore, but Steve was already there, pulling her away from Moore and bringing the wildly beating teenager to the door. There he put his arms around her.

"Calm down, Helen. Please calm down."

"Let go of me, Steve."

He let go of her. Tears of rage streamed down her face, and she still held her hands clenched into fists. She turned away, walked out into the street, and sat down on the curb. Uncertain, Steve stopped. A hand from behind rested on his shoulder. "Go inside, I'll do it."

Then Catherine walked past him and sat down wordlessly next to Helen. Basically just as angry as Helen, Steve went back inside. Angrily, he reared up in front of Donald Moore in the living room.

"Why are you lying?"

Moore got even smaller on his couch when he heard the anger in Steve's voice.

"What do you mean?" Steve pointed upstairs to Moore's bedroom.

"You were stalking her and you don't know she's dead?!"

"I, ... I ... ." Moore collapsed further, his shoulders slumping forward.

"It's my fault. I went after her, and that's when she started to speed up. I don't know what got into me, I got closer and closer and then I hit her with the car. I was startled when her car suddenly skidded and she landed in the ditch. I didn't mean to do that and then I got scared and drove away fast."

Stunned, Steve stared at Moore.

"You just let her die."

"I'm, I'm sorry."

Danny saw how much effort it took for Steve not to just go after Moore like Helen. Steve swallowed hard.

"Book him, Danno."

Danny took Moore outside and put him in the back of the Grand Cherokee. When he returned to the house, Steve still wasn't outside. Only Helen and Catherine were sitting on the curb. Catherine had her arm comfortingly around the girl. Danny looked at Catherine questioningly, but she just shook her head. Danny went back to the house. "Steve?"

He got no answer. Danny walked slowly to the second floor. "Steve?"

He found him in the bedroom. Steve had a cardboard box in his hand, and tearfully he slowly removed one photo from the wall and placed it in the box.

About ten minutes later, Danny closed the door behind him. He had still packed the laptop and various storage media to give to forensics. On the computer they had found many more pictures of Liana. Then Danny and Catherine drove with Moore to the CPD and Steve with Helen back to her house.

At the house, Steve drove the Camaro back into the large garage. But instead of getting out, they both sat next to each other in silence.

Finally Steve broke the silence.

"How are things going with you now? Do you have someone taking care of you?"

Helen nodded. "Yes. I just got off the phone with my godmother."

"Good."

"Thank you for believing me and finding my mother's killer."

"You're very welcome."

But Steve didn't sound satisfied, something was bothering him about this, but he couldn't say what.

"Come on, let's go inside. I'm afraid we have to clean up as well, don't we?" "You help me?"

"Sure, I can't leave you alone with the mess in there."

Helen started in the living room while Steve tackled the den. Suddenly he heard loud music coming from the living room. Sighing, he shook his head and closed the nearest drawer, sliding it into the desk. Then he stumbled; the drawer wouldn't slide all the way in. Annoyed, he pulled it out again and knelt down to peer into the opening. Apparently, an envelope had been stuck over the drawer, and his attempt to push it back into the desk had loosened it, leaving it folded like an accordion and stuck to the back wall. Carefully, he untied it and pulled it out. As he carefully smoothed it over his leg, he froze. On the front, in squiggly handwriting he recognized immediately, was the name 'Steve'. With trembling hands, he took the letter opener from the desk, sat down in the chair and opened the envelope. A faint scent of Liana's perfume hit him as he unfolded the letterhead:

'Dear Steve,

You wouldn't believe how many times I've tried to write to you, only to run out of courage again. This letter will probably never reach you because I am now ashamed of having kept your happiness from you.

I am sorry that I just left, if I could I would take it back, because it was one of the worst decisions I have ever made. A few weeks after you left for your deployment, I realized that I was pregnant. I couldn't reach you while you were deployed and had to decide on my own what to do next. We had never talked about having children and we were so young. I had no idea how you would feel about having a child. So I did what I thought was right at the time and went back to live with my mother. I knew you wouldn't find me there because I never told you my stepfather's last name, which my mother took. That's where Helen was born. A wonderful person, Steve. She's my everything. But she definitely got her stubborness from you. I've included some pictures for you.

Steve, I have loved you ever since Freddy put me on your lap and I will always love you. I hope that one day you will forgive me and maybe there will be a chance for you to meet your daughter. I wish it so much for you.

Love, Liana'.

Tears streamed down Steve's cheeks as he carefully smoothed out the two photos Liana had enclosed for him. A baby picture of Helen shortly after she was born and a picture with her mother, she must have been about five then.

"Steve?" He hadn't heard Helen come in and unconsciously jumped.

"What's wrong?" Silently he handed her the letter. She sat down on the edge of the desk and began to read. Then her eyes became moist, too.

"Why didn't she say anything all these years? I've asked so many times and she's always avoided me."

"I don't know, Helen."

Steve's emotional world was turned upside down. Suddenly he had a daughter and he could tell by the look on Helen's face that she was struggling with this information as well.

"Sorry, I need some air."

Then Helen was out the door. Still slightly shocked, Steve continued to pack drawers as if in a trance. When he was done, he sat down in the living room, Helen's music still blaring from the speakers. Over and over he read the letter and looked at the photos. At one point he looked up. Helen still had not returned to the house. Steve got up and walked out of the house. She sat on the curb staring into space. He approached her, "Can I join you?"

Helen nodded and looked up. Her face was impenetrable, almost forbidding.

"Are you going to let the father hang around and tell me what to do?"

Hurt, Steve looked at her. "Is that what you think of me?"

Startled by her own question, Helen backed away a little.

"No, not really."

"Good."

Silently, they sat side by side for quite a while. Suddenly, very quietly, it came from Helen.

"I'd like to know you better."

Steve nodded. "Me too. We probably can't make up for lost time, but we can make the best of the future."

Steve had an idea. "What do you say we go to Maui for a few weeks. Just the two of us?"

"Sounds good." She stood up.

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, pack some things."

Steve grinned and shook his head.

"Okay, let's go. I've got a few things to do, too, and then I'll pick you up. Can I borrow the Camaro again?"

"Sure."

"See you later."

Steve got into Liana's Camaro and drove back to the coroner's office to ask to see Liana one more time. The local coroner opened the box for him and uncovered her enough for Steve to see her face. Steve took the box of photos he had taken from the wall at Donald Moore's and placed it in the tray next to Liana.

"I've met Helen, Liana, and you're right, she's great. I'm looking forward to our time together. And I will always love you, too."

Slowly he covered her face again and left the coroner to close the compartment. He said goodbye and asked that the box be buried with Liana. Then he left the coroner's office and drove to the hotel. It was time for someone else to know the truth.

Because you needed to wait so long, you get 3 Chapters today. I'm sorry it took long, I just have much to do :(

I would be happy about a few reviews, just to know if there are still people out there, who are reading and enjoying the story :)

And I can tell you, that I wrote my first book (a crime novel with a lovestory) and it will come out soon. When the time comes, I'll let you know here :)