Chapter 15: There's always more than one reason to celebrate your birthday...
Summary:
Together (including the Loas) they figure out the best way to dispel those pesky obscurities ...
Chapter Text
The next day comes full of vibes...not necessarily good or positive ones, but Richard reckons something can be made of it all.
At least he got to sleep in his own bed. As he dresses the next morning Richard exchanged a few words with the lizard...with the lizard...
Someday he'll have to give him a name!
Of course, while he's finishing with his tie, he goes back to thinking about Camille's father. And he ends up realizing that what hurt her the most was that emptiness that possibly made her feel different from the other children, that made her always strive not to need anyone, to be as strong as possible... A strange emptiness.
Like his own. He too had lived much of his life with a strange emptiness, though in his case he was overlooked instead of abandoned. Richard had already taken it for granted that he would die alone, that he would have no one by his side. Not even his parents or any other member of his family.
Richard and Camille, Camille and Richard...
He realizes now that they were fated to find each other, to love each other, to adore each other, to complement each other... Two souls who desperately needed each other without being aware of it.
The magical world is full of such disparate families...
"Thank you, little lizard, for listening and not judging. For that alone I'll find you a special name! And you have to convey my gratitude to the rest of your family as well. "
When DI Richard Poole says this to him like that, anyone could swear that a succession of different emotions and expressions have pass through the lizard, at first of surprise, passing through understanding, through recognition and ending with that of a certain affection towards this very strange human.
When he enters the door of the Police Station, he sees that all his people are already working at full capacity. In fact, he is the one who has arrived late.
That and the sight of a tired Camille, yes, but more herself, calm behind her desk, makes him promise himself that he will leave his bad mood and frustration of the previous day buried and forgotten.
Richard has a serious problem, but he has capable people, friends who have his back. He's going to have to learn to relax more often.
"The internet is down, Richard, in ten minutes they'll fix it. Then we can see the toxicology report."
"Very good, Camille."
"Then we should focus on those who lost the most money on that real estate fraud, the big investors."
Camille is already getting up with her little bag already slung over her shoulder. "We need the bank's reports, I can call them while we go to the airport."
"To the airport?" asks Richard in confusion.
"Hamilton's wife, Richard.
"Ah, yes, of course."
Dwayne and Fidel half-smile tiredly behind their backs.
The Chief is the prototypical clueless genius.
When the phone rings and everyone listens in amazement and smiles as his parents sing happy birthday to Richard, even Richard can't help but smile a little sheepishly. He knows that his birthday party has been cancelled because of the disaster that happened to him on the boat, so an idea is forming in his brain.
For once he will be the one to amaze them and not the other way around!
"Happy birthday," says Dwayne.
"Happy birthday, sir" says the always more respectful Fidel.
They think they won't have another occasion to congratulate their boss.
Camille keeps quiet with a beautiful smile on her face. She has already congratulated him suitably.
"How many years down, Chief?" asks Dwayne recklessly. His age compared to Camille's, is one of his worst worries. The relaxation is fading by the minute...
Richard and Camille are now sitting by the beach. Both have finished doing the most urgent things for the moment, Camille has spoken to the widow, Richard has exchanged impressions with Carter and ...
"Camille, please, that Ms. Park is crazy! She was delighted to be questioned and she almost didn't let me speak! That woman is a stalker! I've been with you long enough to finally know when a woman is looking at me with malicious intent..."
Camille is laughing out loud. When she finally manages to control herself a little, she answers him by grabbing his arm a little too confidently:
"Naughty, is she? I told you she was going to come after you. It's inevitable!" When Richard looks away somewhat uncomfortably, even though he is half smiling, she continues: "But you wouldn't be you if you didn't get something out of that tortuous interrogation."
"Right. In her own words, she would have killed him herself if she'd known! And I believe her. Her grandparents were among those who lost all their money. But it wasn't her, even though she'd be happy to go to prison and write a book about it!"
"And she could add certain torrid scenes with the DI who investigated the case locking her up...", added Camille laughing again.
Richard sighs, he can't help it. At least Camille is back to her old self and that's good enough for him. Even if it's at his expense!
When Camille calms down, he asks her if she's okay.
"You know, honey, I know there's something I'm missing about the case... And regarding your mother, I know it, shes really angry because the party was cancelled. It's no surprise. Im sorry because despite everything I appreciate her, her life must not have been very easy."
Camille hates it when Richard goes off the deep end...
"Yes?..."
"When I talked to Carter, I got the feeling that he was too reserved, he wasn't telling me anything concrete, he was too vague and ... he didn't look at you once, Camille. For a divorced man on an island paradise, thats no normal. He hasn't even made a pass at your mother."
"Richard?" Camille is shocked.
"Camille..." he says staring at her, "I know who I'm dating, I know you're very attractive and that you leave a string of broken hearts behind. I'm not arresting you because... because I don't want to."
Camille squeezes his arm tighter.
"And... Camille, you told me that Hamilton's widow wants the body left here because her husband sailed around Saint Marie a lot, it was his favorite island. And Hamilton himself told me on the boat that he didn't like sailing and that he got seasick."
Camille looks at him and understands him very well. There is indeed something strange going on here.
"Richard, we're missing something. Let's get back to work!"
Both of them, even if they don't say it out loud, already have their suspicions and are finding loose threads to pull. Sooner or later it will all unravel.
Richard waits for Camille sitting up in bed. It must be three or four in the morning or... none at all. The team has solved the case thanks to Fidel and his zeal to catch that "poor old lady" pickpocket who looked like a woman and was in fact a young man. Carter was Hamilton and Hamilton was Carter. Almost, almost a masterstroke.
But the real Leon Hamilton hadnt gauged "poor" DI Richard Poole and his team very well...
"Richard, you know I can read your thoughts in this state." Warns Camille from the bathroom, feigning a seriousness she doesn't feel, at least not entirely.
Richard shouts:
"It's just that I don't know what you're doing in the shower, I promise. You know perfectly well too that it's not so hot when we enjoy these moments - another blessed gift from the Loas!"
When Camille comes out all dolled up just for him, Richard is speechless.
Of course, she immediately covers herself when their lizard-Loa plus two or three more make their presence known.
"Is something wrong?" asks Camille irritably.
"No, of course not, dear Camille." Richard says in a strange voice. It is Erzulie speaking through Richard who looks very surprised. "We just wanted to make sure you are feeling well and we see that you are. And to explain why we did what we did ."
"I know, I know. I shouldn't waste time worrying someone who hasn't loved me or cared about me."
"Its something else." This time it's a third Loa, sounded more serious than the other two." When we studied your life, Camille and Richard, we observed that there was a very high risk that the potential you had at your disposal would be lost because of resentment or loneliness. You already knew that your life was incomplete without knowing each other. Do you know what happens to those who cannot accept or understand the gift of love, of service, who refuse to understand the value of good and light?
Richard and Camille cannot answer, they know that this Loa is speaking of the more than certain fate of Camille's father and others like him.
The lizard - Loa smiles at them indicating reassurance, "That will not happen to you."
"They simply disappear," the third Loa continues. "It is possible that someone in the mortal world remembers such people or talks about them but mostly the memory of these people fade away, they disappear. They lack the one thing necessary that makes you, and ourselves, eternal. That which allows us to exist forever in the state in which we happen to exist".
Camille is astonished.
"Don't lose all that you are for people like that, Camille." Now it is Richard who speaks to her. He has risen from the bed and is now hugging her.
"And neither do you, Richard! Remember you have me now."
When they stop looking at each other they discover that they are alone, as far as they can be in this kind of world or dream.
Then she notices Richard suddenly go mute.
"Richard, are you all right?"
"I felt like a medium, Camille. Not only did Erzulie speak through me, at first I couldn't move!"
Camille hugs him.
"Well, you needn't have been afraid at any time. They don't want to hurt us. But I'll try to talk to them another time so they won't do it again. If that will do any good, of course."
Richard kisses Camille on the crown of her head and hugs her tightly.
"If you get something, fine, if you don't... it's OK. I'm much happier now, I really was convinced I'd never make it! And I think you should listen to them and be happy too, we could disappear!" Richard tries to joke.
"I have to stop you disappearing then. You know Maman was very angry with you, and you know it. So let's celebrate your birthday. You can choose: at La Kaz or right here."
He now hugs her tighter giving an exaggerated sigh.
"Camille You know I love your mother's tea! I've already spoken to her and shell have already asked Fidel, Juliette and Dwayne for help. It will be at La Kaz. I wanted to give you a little surprise for a change. Let's take the occasions to celebrate life when they arise. And... after what the Loa have told us, because I want to share my eternity with you into the very, very distant future. "
Notes:
As always, thanks to Sweepeaspatch. Some scenes were more difficult than others and I didn't have as much time as I would have liked. I can assure you that there are some great details in this story and they are hers. Thank you!