Chapter 14: Strange darkness...
Summary:
We must never let certain not-so-good fogs invade our lives. Or so Richard and Camille seem to think...
Chapter Text
That day should have been special. It was Richard's birthday. He had told Camille earlier that morning as soon as they had woken up together in Richard's shack-sauna.
It had been two days since Camille had told Fidel and Dwayne. The big news. She and Richard were in a relationship. And Fidel and Dwayne had failed miserably to show any surprise, however slight.
"Camille, Dwayne told me." Fidel had to admit with his usual coy smile.
"And I heard it from the great Stella, who in turn heard it from the beautiful Debby, who heard it from Therese ... The whole island has followed in your romantic footsteps..." Dwayne paused at that moment at Camille's dumbfounded look and then continued with one of his bright smiles "...unintentionally, of course. You can't have secrets on the island, precious."
And Dwayne winked at the precious Camille. She couldn't be angry with them. She just asked them not to embarrass Richard too much, as he was going to need time to come to terms with the fact that his life was a public matter.
That was two days ago. And Richard, before fetching Leon Hamilton to Guadeloupe to serve the rest of his sentence in Saint Marie, had made a special request to Camille, before saying his goodbye with a quick kiss:
"And I don't want any birthday parties, darling." When he sees Camille's own half-joking gesture of annoyance, he tries to soften his point of view. "Maybe in a year or two. Right now it's bad enough that everyone's staring at me because you and I are together. That makes me uncomfortable! Its just once my parents threw me a birthday party and it was a disaster! No one knew how to talk to me or how to treat me! And I was getting more and more nervous!"
Camille looks at him quizzically. His mother throwing him a birthday party?
"How old were you, Richard?"
He answers half-embarrassed:
"Seven."
She grins from ear to ear before answering:
"I've already seen a picture of you when you were that age, Richard. When you weren't around to catch me snooping, of course. And you were such a cute little boy. No wonder your mother threw you that birthday party."
"Camille..." Richard starts to get overwhelmed.
"Can you imagine if we had a son? I'd want him to bring out your eyes and your smile, and your intelligence, and your sense of humour..."
Richard, who had turned away to pack his briefcase and fix his tie, turns back quickly.
"Do you have something to say to me, Camille?"
She quickly denies.
"But know that I wouldn't mind, my love. I promise you. A magical baby from a magical union. Surely he or she would be special."
He smiles and answers her:
"I'd settle for just that magical baby to look like you. That's more than enough magic for me. But don't forget one thing..."
"Yes?" she asks curiously.
"I don't want birthday parties."
And he leaves before she can convince him. Goodness knows she could do it without any trouble.
Camille sighs as she thinks back. So far so positive. Then it all went wrong.
Because Leon Hamilton was stabbed right under Richard's nose and the Commissioner was giving DI Richard Poole the bollocking of the century.
Camille, who would like to be with Richard so that he would feel her unconditional support, had to make do with being outside on the veranda of Saint Marie Police Station.
That's where Fidel and Dwayne, who had just come from patrolling the market, met her. And the three of them waited outside until Commissioner Selwyn Patterson stampeded out to his official vehicle.
"Right." Richard replied once they had rushed inside to ask him how he was. "I certainly haven't covered myself in glory, but..." he replied, looking at Camille. "He told me, verbatim, that if I hadnt informed him of our current relationship, Camille, he would have thought that I had arranged this whole wretched affair just to get off the island."
"But, sir!" Fidel protests in astonishment and anger.
"Chief, the Commissioner was very angry." Dwayne tries to explain.
"Of course, Richard. You are all about professionalism. And I would add that you love your profession. Not to mention your respect for the victims. The Commissioner was really angry."
"Normal. The Commissioner is understandably furious. The day couldn't have gone any worse. That proves what you and I talked about before I went to Guadeloupe. I guess it just goes to show that there's no room for celebration." Said Richard rather tensely.
Camille could only nod. To hell with everything Camille and the boys had prepared at her mother's bar as a surprise for him this evening. Maman was going to be very angry too!
Of course, at the moment, the one who is feeling very, very angry is Richard. Angry, humiliated and extremely irritable.
So the team begins to investigate the whole thing to try to understand what the hell has happened.
Everyone is working flat out with the data available at the time. Richard reads, no, he memorizes every letter, every comma, every dot in the report on Leon Hamilton.
Until the moment comes when they discover that there are at least a thousand people who wanted the late Hamilton dead. Thanks to yet another urban fraud.
Always the money!
Perhaps it's just for a bit of air, but Camille, Richard, Fidel and Dwayne (who couldn't be more equal in feeling to the gravity of poor DI Richard Poole's situation) head off to where the famous development was to have been built.
Yet another tragedy.
They hurry back to the station and it gets dark as they continue looking for the impossible. It is, after all, the first day. But Richard discovers something, a seemingly silly thing, how is it possible that Leon Hamilton got seasick on the ferry if he was an experienced sailor?
And Camille tells him something about the statement of this woman who loves Agatha Christie's books.
Camille tells him what she told the officers at the Police Station. "That she liked a good murder."
Richard, who is now standing next to her with a cup of coffee in his hands poured by Dwayne, stares at her and clarifies:
"I think I remember her saying that when she was staring at me slightly angrily. Let's not hold that against her."
Camille laughs lightly. She understands how stuffy Richard can be at times. But also...
"I don't know, Richard, something tells me you're not going to shake that woman off. You have a certain attraction for the ladies... And Suzie Park could be another one of your victims..."
"Camille..."
It's too late now. Too late. Knowing that Leon Hamilton's wife is flying in from Guadeloupe to identify her husband's body and that they have a lot of work to do tomorrow, Richard decides to call it a day.
The phone rings again. Camille picks it up as everyone is packing up. Richard is already preparing a pile of paperwork.
"Maman! I told you we'd be late. I'll be right there."
Richard stares at her.
"Is something wrong, Camille? Is it serious?"
Camille shrugs.
"Could be. She wouldn't tell me over the phone. Maman was slightly upset."
"Then I'll take you to La Kaz and then I'll take the truck. I'll pick you up tomorrow. "
"Richard..."
"I can assure you I doubt very much if I'll get any sleep tonight. I'll go through all these documents again. What I want to tell you is to call me if you need help with anything. I'll be awake."
Dwayne and Fidel note Richard's concern for Camille. This man definitely seems to love her very much. They both look at each other with a sly smile.
As Camille says goodbye to Richard with a soft, quick kiss on the lips, she enters La Kaz and approaches her mother with some concern.
Fortunately Catherine looks a little serious, but not as worried or upset as Camille thought she was.
The rest of the La Kaz staff are taking care of business.
Camille sits down next to her mother and asks her, holding her hand:
"What is it, Maman?"
Catherine looks at her and blurts out:
"Your father is dead."
Camille is a little shocked. But not too shocked. It had been so many years since she'd heard from him...
"He's been cremated and everything. But even his sisters didn't want much to do with him."
Camille replies to her mother:
"You don't expect me to be sorry he's dead, do you? Maman, he didn't love us. It's strange, I just don't feel anything at the moment."
"I lived longer with him than you did, darling. Your feeling is normal. He missed all that possible love."
Catherine decides at that moment to move on with her life. She doesn't want her daughter to feel bad for not feeling anything for this man. And so she lets Camille know.
Inevitably, Richard falls asleep in that uncomfortable chair. He is only human after all, and now that is clearer than ever. But then he discovers Camille sitting in the chair he has outside the shack.
"Camille! We didn't agree on anything, but I thought we couldn't see each other... or chat tonight."
When Camille turns to look at him, he sees a confused
expression on her face.
"My God, what did Catherine tell you, why didn't you call me?" Richard feels guilty. "I should have called you then..."
Camille stands up and hugs him now with a smile on her lips.
"Richard, Richard. There's really nothing wrong. It's just that I don't know what I should think or feel, because some people think I should be sad and I'm not. Not at all."
"I don't understand you, Camille."
"My father is dead, Richard. A perfect stranger who never loved me is dead. And, unsurprisingly, I feel nothing."
Richard doesn't know what to say.
"Maman, before I went home, told me that I could pray for him, as one does for any stranger. I think she said that more for my sake than for his."
Camille breaks off and sits down again, this time on the steps leading down to the beach.
"I didn't seek to come here tonight, my love. But when I started to think about the people I really loved and who love me, I remembered you. And here I am! Maman immediately set about getting on with her life. And she has given me to
understand with that strength that only she has, that I will always have her."
"I can assure you that your mother's power and character is impressive, Camille." Richard says to her.
Camille laughs.
"Suddenly I felt a kind of strange fog. Until I realized that life is short, my life, you have to make the most of it. I'm not going to waste my time with people like him. Especially not feeling guilty for something I never did, it's absurd. I just want to live my life with people like my friends, Maman or... you by my side. And help with my work, of course, whoever needs it. And you and I know that we have very special friends who will never leave us alone."
Richard sits down beside her to whisper in her ear.
"I can think of no better blessing for you and for all of us, Camille. In our work we encounter a lot of darkness, an evil darkness indeed. Let us face it, but never, never live with it."
When Richard becomes thoughtful and uncomfortable, Camille asks him:
"Are you all right, Richard?"
"Certainly, my love. But we have a lot of work tomorrow and you know..."
Camille is almost fading away when he stands up laughing loudly.
But she is strong enough to say in his ear like a fairy who can only be heard, but not seen.
"But I'll be back, Richard, I'll be back..."
Notes:
As always, thanks to Sweepeastach, for her great help in getting my crazy ideas off the ground. And for OldProf, of course, for his always valuable and very, very kind comments. And thanks everyone for your reading and comments. Enjoy!