Chapter 19: It's my home
Summary:
Richard Poole is already thinking about changes to his not-so-future plans. He can't help it, magic doesn't stop him from wanting to keep planning his life! Camille and Richard will find out if they will be possible or not... Enjoy!
Chapter Text
Richard, very, very gently, is blowing in Camille's ear. But she, very, very annoyingly, doesn't wake up.
Richard has been awake for over an hour. To Dwayne's disappointment, and Camille's, Richard has decided to discuss the case with her. He wants it solved as soon as possible, he doesn't want any more not-so-adorable nocturnal pets in his shack.
And he has other plans. He was squatting next to the beautiful and delicate, to his liking, head of Camille. But seeing that she doesn't wake up and that there are still two hours left before going to the station to interview Curtis, he decides to finish dressing, he had already showered earlier, and prepare something for breakfast.
Of course, all that can wait five or ten minutes. Before that, he has a pending phone call with his parents, in particular his mother. Camille's reproach that he hadn't told them about her earlier is eating him up inside.
Going out onto the veranda with his mobile phone in his hand, he prepares to dial the number. Richard hesitates again, after all, in the UK it's now five to six hours later... And he doesn't know if he will catch them at home and it's almost seven o'clock in the morning on the island of Saint Marie!
In the UK it must be midnight or thereabouts. So his father must be relaxing quietly in his favourite armchair in the library that the DI envies so much. That's the thing about retirement. Most likely his mother is in bed or about to be in bed. She prefers to read in bed.
Without thinking twice, he decides to get up the courage to call his parents. One ring, two, three, four... until his father's voice answers in a bad mood:
"Who's calling at this hour?"
"Its me, Richard"
"Richard?"
"Darling, did something happen to Richard?" Its his mother's voice, sounding alarmed.
Immediately Richard tries to calm them down.
"No, Dad, tell her I'm fine. I have to talk to Mom, it's important. It's a little errand I ran for her, something I need to get to her as soon as possible. I'm immersed in a case and then it will be impossible for me to talk calmly without being surrounded by... people."
Richard thinks for a second or two and asks curiously:
"Is something wrong? You both seem to be very upset."
"The boiler is dead, Richard. That's what's going on. We're up to our ears in water. So you call at a very inopportune time. I pass you to your mother. It's good to hear your voice and to know that you are well. But right now I have a lot to take care of."
His father grumpily hands the phone to his wife:
"Richard, darling! I haven't finished packing it up yet. Is there something else you need? Are you sure you're okay?
He answers the second question first:
"I'm fine, I just wanted to clarify something. When I spoke to you a few days ago, you asked me if there was any news, and I didn't say anything about... about Camille, about my Detective Sergeant. And I'm afraid she's a little upset with me."
His mother says nothing. It seems like very good news, long overdue news, but this is Richard...
"She asked you for a favour, you needed us for that favour and..."
"No, it's not that, really. It's about us, me and Camille… we're serious."
"Richard, honey, start at the beginning. Your father could murder me right now. Are you trying to tell me you have a ladyfriend?"
"Lady friend?" The DI is stunned. Lady friend? Girl friend? Words he's never associated with himself before. "Yes, you could say that."
"Okay. Are you two happy? Does she already know you well? You've been living alone for a long time and it takes time to get used to living or dealing with another person. She loves you well, doesn't she?"
He looks at the phone in surprise.
"Of course she does. And yes, we're happy." He is silent for a second or two and decides to speak from the heart. "When you met dad didn't you get the feeling you'd known him before, I mean, like you'd always been waiting for him? Him and not someone else? Well, it's the same for me with Camille. And, strange as it may seem to you, I think it's the same for her".
Now it's his mother who is staring at the phone dumbfounded. A romantic Richard means only one thing: the world is about to collapse or... he's very much in love.
His father picks up the phone. It's the strangest midnight conversation, and the word "ladyfriend" has totally shocked him.
"You'll have to introduce us to this Caribbean Venus, Richard."
"Of course I will. She really is a Caribbean Venus, a very special Venus."
A woman who started out as a dream and then became his reality.
Her mother has taken the phone away from her husband.
"Richard, so what do you want me to add to the package?"
He is speechless. He closes his eyes and tries to explain decisively what he needs so badly, that which cannot wait.
Detective Inspector Poole has already shaved, dressed properly and his detective sergeant still won't wake up, so he takes the drastic decision to grab her feet and start dragging her around to see if he can wake her up.
Now that he has solved what was troubling him so much, he is feeling much better.
Camille, alarmed, stops him with a slap.
"That's enough, Richard, I'm getting up!"
Camille is up quickly, showered, hastily dressed in the same clothes as yesterday and had a quick breakfast.
"You're a heavy sleeper, sweetheart." Richard says to her as he kisses her on the neck.
"Last night I had other plans, honey, but you were working... Besides, it's hot as hell in here. "
He looks thoughtfully at her and replies:
"I suffer from it every night except when we meet in the other dimension. We need to get to the station quickly, we need to talk to Curtis. His little joke about the snake wasn't bloody funny. And... about the shack, I've got some changes in mind. I'll talk to Commissioner Patterson. You and I both know I'm staying here with you, but he doesn't know that so he keeps me in these precarious conditions. This shack is a living hell and I think I need a real home."
Camille glances around at her surroundings and comments to him:
"Well, I'd suggest more than one change."
"Well talk about it tonight. Now we must go."
And so they do.
Richard and Camille arrive at the station on time and ready for work. But the first thing the DI wants to do is question Curtis. He can't get over that terrifying snake noise.
But before rushing off to resolve the matter, and as Dwayne and Fidel are not yet at work, Richard allows himself to give Camille a discreet kiss on the lips before saying to her:
"I owed you for last night. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise."
Just in time, because at that moment Officers Best and Myers arrive to take over the station.
The interview with Curtis turns out to be a cluster of surprises. The poor musician was going mad looking for his 'girl', and when Richard gives him the good news, far from realizing that this might incriminate him in some way, he can only feel tremendous joy and can't help but give the Inspector a bear hug, which Richard dislikes very much.
Another reason to smile for Camille.
Curtis is obviously clueless, and when Camille later tells him that Avita might still be in love with him, the snake's friend grins from ear to ear.
So much sappy sweetness succeeds in scaring Richard away, even if deep down he is happy for the man. But until he solves the case, nothing is definite.
Although Curtis is the prime murder suspect, the musician is delighted that the police visited him that day. What happiness they brought him!
Much later, at the station, Fidel receives a little scare, a false alarm about Juliette's pregnancy. The baby will be delayed a little longer, things don't always happen when you expect them too.. and that is the spark Richard needs to start unravelling the snarl of the case. In addition, as the Saint Marie team reveals in the final unravelling of the case in front of all the witnesses, it is discovered that Eddie co-wrote the songs with Solly, everything is cleared up.
In the end it's all about money. Solly was worth more dead than alive. Terrible but true.
And Eddie lost his patience. He just moved the dressing room clock forward a quarter of an hour. He didn't need any more than that.
While all of Honoré goes out to say goodbye to poor Solly as he deserves, that is, with a big party full of dancing and music, Richard and Camille, seeing how lovey-dovey Avita and Curtis are, decide to continue the party in the shack.
There, in privacy, Richard has no problem dancing with Camille, whether the music is slow or fast. They are now too busy to talk. And they don't manage to finish any dance.
They have to be thankful, because unlike Curtis, they haven't had to wait years to enjoy their love. No one has come between them. Maybe some Loa tried, but failed. That's the important thing.
Before they fall asleep, Richard manages to tell Camille:
"I've told my parents about you. And they want to meet you. But for the record, I didn't ask them for any approval. I just stated a fact."
She laughs.
"How romantic! Mama, Papa, these are the facts!"
"Well yes, I was romantic enough to get their attention..."
"Richard, we fell asleep while we were talking!
Camille is stunned.
As is Richard.
"It must be a gift from our friends. I was just getting back to baking in your arms, my love. Now this is paradise!"
Camille nods, now she can read his mind and knows that he, at that moment, feels relaxed and happy. But he is also hiding something from her.
"Do you have something to tell me, Richard?"
He sighs, he should have guessed. At the moment he can't tell her everything he is thinking, but something does need to be said...
"You know me well, don't' you? And despite that, do you still love me? For the record, I'm only passing on the question my mother asked me."
She laughs.
"Of course I love you, Richard. You may be a total stiff, but you're my total stiff."
They kiss hard and he continues to ask:
"Is it all right if we talk to Patterson tomorrow about expanding the shack? What do you have in mind?"
Camille has forgotten that Richard has another surprise in store that he doesn't want to reveal at the moment. She half reluctantly gets up, she was very comfortable in his arms, and looks around the room.
"It can be extended by the ridiculous kitchen area you have, and also by that wall over there. I'd like the electrical installation to be completely renewed. I want air conditioning! If we had the money..." Richard thinks about selling his house in Croydon "...maybe you could put solar panels on the roof, even if you had to replace it, renovate the bathroom..."
"Have any of you thought of consulting us on such interesting plans?" it is the lizard - the Loa who is interrupting them.
The couple comfortably seated on the bed look at him and, looking at each other, know that they will not let him change their minds.
"This shack is hell." Richard declares. "I have no objection to going along with those interesting plans of yours. But that doesn't mean that she and I have to live in a hovel."
"I have some very interesting plans that will raise the value of this cottage quite a bit."
The lizard looks at her and says:
"That has never mattered to us." Richard and Camille look at each other in alarm. "But... we understand that you humans need some decent comforts. And we need both of you at full capacity. And that won't be possible if this shack doesn't meet your needs. But the tree stays."
Richard looks at the tree curiously.
"Is it perhaps a special connection to the spirit world of the Loas?"
The lizard looks at him smiling.
"Not at all, it is my home."
Notes:
As always, thanks to Sweepeaspatch. Especially for some very important points in the story. I hope you like the changes necessary to get around certain time differences!