*I needed help with the male POV so asked OldProf1942 to check this over. He sent copious notes about parts #1 and #3, saying that my usual lovey-dovey technique doesn't hold up well where it concerns Dwayne Myers. Well! How can I ignore a challenge like that? I rewrote #2 to match and here it is. I would say this was a friendly collaboration except for the grumbling that was heard south of my border :)*
S2 E2 - Secrets Old
Part 1 of 3
It's a balmy evening, the air smooth and satiny against the skin, warm and intimate, full of soft music and luscious fragrance. La Kaz's fairy lights twinkle as the candles dance and all is right with the world. Until Elodie Francois aka Sister Marguerite of the former Couvent du Sacré-Coeur stalks in and slams a blue file folder down on the table between liming police officers Dwayne Myers and Fidel Best. Both men jump and spill their beers as they whirl to stare at this most unexpected interloper.
She glares, thin-lipped and pale, "Did you see this file when you did your forensic sweep of our offices after Father John and Mother Superior were arrested?" At their silence, she barks, "Well? Did you?"
Dwayne swipes at the beer before it runs into his lap, "No, it's not our jobs t' read stuff. We jest put alla blue folders in one set o' boxes an' the pinks inna 'nother. The yellows took up the whole backseat of the Defender an' the greens hadda be taken separate inna 'nother trip. It wuz an awful lotta paper jest in case the prosecutor might need it but, since we got confessions, it wuzn't needed so we brought it all back an' left it in yer office."
At her silence, Dwayne looks up, his hands full of wet napkins. He's more than a bit puzzled. It's not like Elodie to come storming in with a hard face. He can tell something's wrong. "We left everthin' in good order fer t' be sorted out. That wuz your job, wuzn't it? T' sort it all out? Is sumpthin' wrong with the files, Elodie? Did we lose sumpthin'?"
She looks at both Fidel and Dwayne with questions in her eyes, "No, you didn't lose anything. I almost wish you had. And, yes, closing down the office came to me… but are you sure you never saw this particular file?" She waves the tattered blue folder at them like an accusation.
Fidel can see Dwayne is struggling to understand what's happening here so he channels his inner-Poole and asks calmly, "Elodie? What's in this file that has you so upset? That case involved murder, attempted murder, and all types of fraud. What else could the guilty parties have done to make matters worse?" He stares at the file, "That looks years old. Is it even relevant?"
His earnest questions seem to focus Elodie. She waits a beat then slumps into a chair. She sets the file down just out of Dwayne's reach and stares at it, "Yes, it's relevant... just not to your case." She sits back, covers her eyes, "I'm very upset . I feel foolish for being so trusting... and cheated too." She looks up and says low, "You have to understand, I thought they were my FAMILY... my sanctuary, my whole life, all I had!" She bows her head and whispers, "And it was all lies, lies and deceit, right from the beginning." She takes a shaky breath, "I thought I had a life, a good life, but now it's all gone." She stabs at the file, "All gone because of THIS!"
Dwayne's voice is low and gentle and very careful, "Elodie, what's in that file?"
Her face twitches, "Lies. Deceit. Old pain made fresh again." He tries to slide the folder out from under her hands but she clutches it tighter, "No, Dwayne, I can't let you see this. Not if you didn't know. It's not fair for you to learn now, after so many years… I can't…"
"C'mon, let me see. Me an' Fidel, whatever it is, we kin help. We're trained police officers an' we been trained by the best." He pulls the folder away from her suddenly nerveless fingers and opens it to reveal two sheets of paper with official church and government seals. He scans the documents with a patient ready-to-be-bored eye… stiffens… and goes gray.
He slams back into his chair and his breath jerks out of him in short gasps, "Elodie! How? How kin this BE?" After a frozen moment, he lurches to his feet, knocking over his chair as he stumbles for the street, leaving fresh spilt beer foaming atop the table.
Elodie moans and covers her face as Fidel reaches out to rescue the file from a yeasty fate just in the nick of time. He quickly scans the information and, with an oath, bolts to his feet, grabs Elodie's arm, and rushes her outside. By the time they reach the street, Dwayne is nowhere.
Hand over her mouth, Elodie turns big eyes onto her companion, "Oh, Fidel, what do I do now?"
Fidel lays a hand on her shoulder, "I'm pretty sure I know where he's gone. Hang on while I call Juliette and let her know what's happened." Elodie waits and watches the young man pace as he talks. When Fidel returns, he announces, "Look, Julie says that ,until we get things straightened out with Dwayne, you're to come have supper and spend the night with us. She doesn't want you staying in that spooky old convent all alone. Is that okay with you?"
Elodie nods thankfully. She doesn't want to be alone either, not in that empty echoing building full of shadows, ghosts, and heartbreak. "Yes, that is very much okay with me." She glances about, "Where are we headed, Fidel?"
Fidel nods, "The marina pier. Dwayne loves boats. Back before I got married, after our shift, we'd grab a six pack and go to the pier to watch the boats coming and going. It was the perfect place to wind down and talk over the day."
They set off with hurried steps and soon see a familiar figure sitting at the end of the pier. As they draw near, Fidel motions for Elodie to stay then proceeds alone. She watches the two men talk quietly before Dwayne stands and walks slowly towards her where she waits in anxious solitude.
When he comes abreast of her, he whispers, "Why, Elodie… WHY?!" His voice cuts like a knife.
She winces but doesn't hear the expected anger and contempt. No, all she hears is anguish and pain. As a nun she has seen much suffering, much anguish, but seldom has she seen such pain. Half of her wants to run in shame. The other half wants to throw her arms around him and try to ease the grief that engulfs him. Instead she stands frozen, locked in her own guilt and sorrow.
Since she is silent, Dwayne must speak, "Why didn' you TELL me? I coulda done sumpthin'...I WOULDA done sumpthin'! I coulda been there fer you." He lifts tortured eyes, "Or wuzn't I good enough? You thought mebee I wuz like my old man, hey? Good fer a laugh but can' be trusted when the goin' gets tough, izzat it?" He covers his face, "I never wanted t' be like him. I SWORE I'd be a better man but here I end up bein' jest the same." His shoulders sag under the weight of his thoughts.
Elodie slips to his side, her hand on his arm, "Oh no, Dwayne, it wasn't you. I didn't even know I was pregnant for several months and couldn't admit it for another month but by then it was too late... I was off the island and wasn't allowed any contact with the outside world." She squeezes his arm, trying to force him to listen.
"They told me the baby was stillborn, Dwayne. Stillborn! I never even saw him. They whisked him away and left me all alone. After that, I needed the support of the sisters more than ever. I didn't think I had any alternative except to take my final vows. As soon as I was strong enough, I was sent to Antigua to begin my nursing and pharmacy training. It was five years before I returned and by then it was almost like it never happened at all. I just got on with my life and tried to forget."
She slides her hand up his arm to his shoulder, "But, Dwayne, I NEVER forgot. Not really. I dreamed about him for years. I confessed so many times but could never absolve myself of the guilt." She pins his sorrowful eyes with her own, "I need to find our son, Dwayne. I have to know what happened to him. Is he still here in the Caribbean? If not, where did he go? Is he still alive? Is he happy? I need to know… and now you need to know too. Please, can you try to forgive me and help me in this?"
Dwayne drops hands to hips and takes in a great calming breath, "Well, me an' Fidel, we're pretty good... the Chief spent time teachin' us 'missin' persons' procedure but… whut if the baby wuz adopted by good people an' has a fantastic life but they never tol' him? Mebee he's in jail or a drug addict or any number a things. We jest can' go crashin' inta his life. We don' own him an' he don' owe us nuthin'!"
He gives her an angry look, "He's a man now, Elodie, same age as Fidel, mebee married, mebee a couple a kids. We don' have the right t' go messin' his life up jest so we kin feel better. I gotta think on this. I… I gotta think." Dwayne pulls away and walks back to the crowded streets of Honoré.
Elodie wheels about to find a silent young man at her side, "Oh, god, Fidel, I've made it worse. He's gone! He's gone and he'll never forgive me."
Fidel shakes his head, "Don't worry, Elodie, he's a good man and he'll be back. He just needs to think, like he said. He's got a couple places he likes to go and do his thinking. When he calms down, we'll start the search for your son. We'll do a complete investigation just like we've been taught. Once we find him then you can decide what the next step will be, okay?"
Elodie stares up at Fidel's face. When the young man is done speaking, she smiles ruefully, "Well, Fidel, you don't have his eyes, certainly not his ears, and definitely not his smile, but you're as good as."
Fidel thinks this over then blinks, "Did you really think I could be Dwayne's son?" At her slow nod, Fidel chuckles, "Well, don't tell Juliette, she's liable to throw me right out into the street!"
END – part 1
