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Nathan & Elizabeth: An Epic Love

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Chapter Sixty-six

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Thursday of Wedding Week

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Part I

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Early on Thursday morning, with only an hour before the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner were planning to join him, the Chief Inspector settled in at his huge desk, to tie up a few loose ends while hoping to review his notes from King Marius, that had been previously delivered by his number two chieftain.

But a knock interrupted his plan.

"Sir, Governor Bouchard is on line two," announced Alex.

"Thank you, Alex."

Nathan picked up the earpiece.

"Governor! What can I do for you?"

"Actually, Nathan, this is a personal call, so I'm hoping it's more about what I can do for you! First of all, I wanted to wish you well on the day before your Wedding. And though I'm not supposed to tell you this, Henry is on his way there to celebrate your Big Day! The truth is, I debated on whether or not to join him. But even with your kind invitation, the bottom line is, I feel it would be easier on Elizabeth for me not to be there, especially since we didn't leave things on the best of terms."

"Lucas, both of us meant it when we said you are more than welcome to attend, that we were leaving it up to you to decide what was most comfortable for you."

"I know that, and I appreciate your consideration very much, but another truth is that I hated to leave and be so far away from…well, from Capital City."

"I understand! We all do, and we all send our love, as well, from Hope Valley and others," responded Nathan, doing his best to relay Jeanette's message.

"I'm also sending our love from Capital City in another way, as Henry's bringing my Wedding Gift along with his."

"As long as it's not excessive, I look forward to it!" teased Nathan, knowing very well the gift would probably be much too much, not to mention expensive.

The Groom was just thankful to know that neither his new Father-in-Law nor his new friend, the Governor, had thought about paying for the first three nights of their Honeymoon, as it had been important to Nathan for him to take care of that, either personally or the way it ended up being handled.

"Well, you know me, 'over the top' is my middle name, so get prepared!"

Nathan chuckled while shaking his head.

"Will do! Though it better not be a hot air balloon, as I have no idea how to pilot one of those things! Though, Lucas, seriously, teaching me to finally play darts decently would do the trick in my book! Hey, I have something quick I'd like to run by you, but it's only in the 'what if' stage. First, how are the National Park Plans coming?"

"Progressing, but not as quickly as I'd like; getting quite a bit of opposition because of our country's vast natural lands already available to explore free of charge! The opposition is saying that it's a waste to throw dollars at what we already naturally have."

"I thought that might be the case! Again this is a purely 'what if' scenario, but what if the Mounties sponsored a community initiative along with your bill, where instead of one National Park, as many communities as possible developed local campgrounds with cooking and showering capabilities that could be used by the Gypsies when traveling through, but could also be used by the locals after they moved on, which would mean it would belong to the individual communities for most of the year to use as they pleased."

"That's a novel idea!"

"Each community would assimilate or rehab the Gypsies into their community when passing through, whether it be educating their children in some way, raising a garden, or just sharing their local community resources instead of treating them like pariahs."

Lucas was quiet.

"That has merit. A lot of merit, actually! Especially since the Gypsies are a recurring problem everywhere they go. Let me think about it and get a committee to research various options as opposed to the National Park Concept, but a local approach just might prove doable. It sure would solve our problems as to a single location for the National Park, as all communities would benefit this way."

"I want you to know that I can't take credit for the idea, as it was another Mountie colleague who came up with the concept, though he and I have brainstormed through it a bit. I plan to discuss the matter today with my Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, so can you hold off until they contact you?"

"Happy to, especially since everything here on the National Park project is at a standstill."

Lucas thought a moment, choosing his words carefully.

"Nathan, with friendship, care, and respect, I really do wish you and Elizabeth the best tomorrow as well as your whole lives through. And Nathan, this is exactly how fate meant everything to be! Please accept my continued apology for interfering. The implication of all that still haunts me at times. Also, I would be remiss not to mention how very much we appreciate what you're doing for those of us on this end."

"Happy to help, Lucas! There will be brighter days for you, too, and don't forget that. When that time comes, Elizabeth and I will be there, ready to celebrate right along with you!"

"That, my friend, means more than you can imagine! Happy Wedding…"

"Chief Inspector, Commissioner Donaghy, and Deputy Commissioner Blevins are here to see you, Sir!"

"Please show them in, Special Sergeant."

Nathan instantly stood at attention and immediately saluted as the two men walked in.

His superior Officers returned his formal salute, and then the Commissioner crisply dropped his own, leaving his Deputy Commissioner and Chief Inspector to do the same.

"At ease, Chief Inspector. It's an honor for Hal and me to get to spend the morning with you. And for the business at hand, it's Conrad and Hal, Nathan, if you are not averse to us using your first name."

"Of course not, Sir!"

"We are a core team of three, and we have a lot to discuss. Hal invited Patrick as well, as we didn't want him to feel left out, but since he has already been briefed on the parts that pertain to him, the Chief Superintendent felt it was better for the three of us to have our first working session privately, as we did with him. I trust that is alright?"

"Of course, Sir! Please, be seated, Sirs. May I offer you both a cup of coffee?"

Hal nodded yes with a smile, knowing Nathan would remember his coffee preference.

"Yes, please, Nathan! And while you get that, I'll enjoy this gorgeous view! Just toss in a splash of cream for mine, please," requested Conrad.

"Of course, Sir!"

As one would expect, the Commissioner was a serious man, but his eyes sifted through his tough persona, shining with compassion and an almost inherent gentleness. Though Nathan knew the Commissioner had a reputation for being strictly by the book and quite stern as well as extremely tough when the situation demanded it, never once faltering or hesitating in a crisis when critical decisions had to be made instantly.

The Deputy Commissioner, on the other hand, though also capable of being very decisive and tough when required, was more relaxed in his overall approach, with a joy of life that shone through whatever task was at hand.

"When we move to our permanent campus, this view will be the one thing I'll miss most, Sir! Well, that, and of course, Judge Avery, who's been with me from the beginning of my tenure in Hope Valley!"

"The same Judge who locked you up on your first night in Hope Vally?" asked Conrad with twinkling eyes.

"You heard about that, Sir?"

"Oh, that little jewel made it all the way to the top within a week of its occurrence!" chuckled Conrad. "One of my favorites, actually! Though I must say, I liked that you wanted to get the lay of the land minus the Serge! Wish more of our young men took that sort of initiative!"

"You've just given me a reprieve from my embarrassment, Sir. So, thank you for that," grinned Nathan. "Although I doubt I will be able to keep the man away!"

"Given my best friend's omnipresence, not sure how you're going to navigate that one, Son. But, somehow, I've got a strong feeling your days will still be filled with a whole lot of bossiness and grumpiness!" teased Hal. "And you can tell our curmudgeonly Judge I said so!"

All three men chuckled. They loved Bill and highly respected his expertise, yet they pretty much had the man pegged.

"Speaking of the land for the new campus, Nathan, Bill, and Hal showed me the two choices before our dinner last night, and we all agree with the synopses you submitted. Property #1 is the clear choice. And that will be confirmed via purchase by end of day. However, I do want to hold off on any planning till after you return from your Honeymoon, as I want you actively involved in every aspect of the development from the very beginning, as well as hiring. Hal and I have informed my assistant, Victor Ellis, and, of course, Hal's assistant, Christian, that all documentation regarding this project goes straight to you. We are giving you singular authority to sign off on all documents within the same guidelines, which would be mine or Hal's. In turn, Victor and Christian will be giving us copies of everything so we can also stay abreast of your decisions in real-time. Know you can call either one of us at any time you need our input. Of course, we don't mean to overwhelm you with all this. But we do want to make it very clear, you have the sole authority for this project within the board guidelines, which means you also have the authority to stop and alter anything you don't agree with as the project gets off the ground and throughout. Understood?" asked Conrad.

"Completely understood, Sir! I appreciate being given that authority very much! This is a huge investment, and we want it done right from the beginning without any costly and unnecessary changes."

"Exactly, Nathan! Thank you for understanding that."

"Nathan," began Hal. "We want to cover our other loose ends before we move on to Hargreaves if that's alright with you. You'll understand why as we get there."

Nathan noticed the fleeting frustrated, almost ominous look exchanged by Conrad and Hal, as he could feel them shifting to safer ground.

"Then, why don't we start with Staff Sergeant Garrett McKenzie's proposal regarding the Mounties' sponsoring a national-wide community effort to provide local campsites and support to the Gypsies, as the Governor just called me this morning and seems receptive to the idea," suggested Nathan.

"Though I only presented it as a what-if scenario and asked him to hold off till further contact from one of you," he quickly clarified.

"Hal and I are in complete agreement with you on this. The plan could cut down significantly on our man hours dealing with all the Gypsy discourse we handle daily. We also like the idea of the Mounties being identified as spearheading a community change that would not only promote advancement and cooperation between communities and the Gypsies but would also offer an area for recreation that each community would benefit from. If King Marius agrees and the Governor will fund us, it's a total go from our end!"

"Good to know, Sir! King Marius sent his second in command as a courier yesterday with all the information he had agreed to send me. We plan to meet in person when I return with more details. His people's needs include food, water, and education. They also need temporary access to land that they can call home so they won't be invading the properties of others, followed by a legal mandate to leave. They also need jobs they can be trained on as a way to make a living other than stealing. His council of tribes is now up to an even dozen, and he is very busy traveling to meet with each one of them personally. But the information he has received via his own couriers is that they all agree with him to try something new, as their way of life had become very harsh under King Llewellyn, which is understandable as he was keeping everything for himself and his own family," explained Nathan. "At the same time, the Governor is getting pushback on developing a National Park, as there is so much of nature already available to our citizens. Also, the issue of where to locate said park is a tricky one, whereas whatever location is chosen, that particular area would be favored over all the others. He's at a stalemate and is clearly open to working with us."

"Thanks, Son, great job! We'll follow up from our end," assured Hal.

"Sirs! There is something else that both of you need to know from the packet King Marius sent me. I poured over all of the contents earlier this morning, and there is clearly a second crime syndicate beyond Casimir Shaw and Hargreaves, whom they have been dealing with. The Gypsies logged all their interactions by SSS, which I'm assuming refers to Shaw's Secondary Syndicate. They are frequent, at least weekly, sometimes twice, relating to both stolen goods, rum, and opium. They are not as heavy in quantities as Shaw's primary operation, but they do feed to ports on both sides of the country in significant volume. It's almost like they appear to be operating as a shadow operation beneath Shaw's primary syndicate."

Hal pulled out a classified file.

"This is our most current update on the Shaw arrests, broken down by Mounties vs non-Mounties."

"That's a phenomenal rate of captures, Sir," complimented Nathan.

"But you look concerned, Son. What are you thinking?"

"What if this SSS is a secondary arm of Shaw's to take over when the lead arm goes down? You can clearly tell here that they've ramped up their activity since his arrest."

"Full disclosure: we became aware of this SSS group the day we arrested Hargreaves, which we've got to go over in detail. But what led you to make the possible link you just mentioned, Nathan," asked Conrad. "As I'll admit, special forces didn't even consider that possibility."

"Two things, Sir. Shaw is too complacent about all these arrests. He's still pulling the strings, though in an indirect way, and after reading these documents this morning, I am almost certain it's through his wife. The only request he had was to leave her out of all this. I thought it odd at the time, as he didn't even ask to see her, though he clearly adores her. I offered to let her know of his arrest, but he said there was no need - he was sure his attorney would let her know of his arrest. He didn't even mention about letting her know of her son's arrest, another oddity."

Conrad nodded at Hal, who picked up the secure phone line directly to Christian.

"Christian, Conrad, Nathan, and I are all here together. Have special forces to tail Mrs. Casimir Shaw around the clock, and don't let her out of their site. Have a second team to link anything they can find related to SSS back to Casimir Shaw, specifically through his wife."

"But we haven't been able to locate her period, Sir, as it is our routine to always at least locate the wife for easy access. But no one seems to know who or where she is."

"All the more reason to find her, Christian! Tail Shaw's attorney if you have to, but she must be found no matter what!"

"Yes, Sir! Will do."

"And keep us posted here! Have Special Sergeant O'Reilly notify us when you call or need us to call."

"Yes, Sir!"

Hal hung up the phone, and Conrad stood, moving first to look out the window but then turning back toward Nathan.

"Now, I understand, Nathan; Hal is right; your logic is phenomenal in that you see things differently. What you just linked has to be correct, given the wife is apparently a complete unknown. I'm embarrassed that our men didn't catch that, Hal! Which brings us to something that is just as ugly and, as far as I'm concerned, perhaps even uglier, as I'm ashamed to say this is within the Mounties…"

At The Queen of Hearts, preparation was intense, and it was related to a special lunch about to be held.

"Rosemary, there is no way in this world we are fitting all these people into our Private Dining Room," insisted Mike. "You just can't go promising people everything at the drop of a hat, especially when we don't have the room!"

"Then we just have to think outside of the box, Mike! Because I've already promised that we'll take care of this!" insisted Rosemary. "And I'm sorry, but as my father always said, my word is as good as my bond!"

"But what does that have to do with your Staff?"

Rosemary just rolled her eyes and continued checking her list while Mike tallied his own.

"Let's see, there are six Top Brass, well really eight including Nathan and Elizabeth; six Local Mounties; three Thatchers; two Grants; and two Thornton-Grant Children. Oh, and Bill! That's twenty-two, Rosemary, and that doesn't even include you and Lee, which makes twenty-four. That's our whole Main Dining Room!"

"That's it! You're a genius, Mike. We squish the tables together and take the entire Main Dining Room for our Military Luncheon Extravaganza, and the rest of our customers will eat in the Private Dining Room! See, Mike, as I always say, 'Where there is a strong enough will, there is always a perfect way!'"

"But you said the entire affair had to be private! It can't be private if we are parading our regular customers back and forth throughout the luncheon!"

"Then take them in and out through the side door! There, the problem is solved! Oh, and the entire area has to be decorated to look very patriotic!"

"Rosemary, you should have told us that last night! But for today, what about our regulars who want to be served their lunch from the Bar?"

"Serve them from the Private Dining Room, instead, of course!"

"You know you are running Gustave and me around in circles, right, Rosemary?"

"Better than an old boring straight line any old day, Mike! Hop to it! We've got work to do, and where's Gustave? All the food for our party of twenty-four is to be from our exclusive menu. Oh, and Mike, have him prepare a tray of spectacular munchies for everyone when they arrive."

"What kind of munchies?"

"I don't know. Anything, as long as it's deliciously gourmet and elegantly served! My goodness! Can't you two do anything without my input…"

Back in Nathan's office, the three men were getting to know each other both personally and professionally. At the same time, they were learning each other's thought processes and preferred methods for working as they systematically covered each of their current cases and concerns.

"Your theory today, Nathan, also explains why Hargreaves was trying with all his might to infiltrate this SSS group without any success," began Conrad. "As you surmised and verified in your part of the investigation, Shaw wasn't at all impressed with Hargreaves and didn't want him anywhere near his main organization after he had personally worked with him on a few deals. When that didn't work, the hidden ledger we found in Hargreaves's rental apartment told us he intensified his efforts to join this secondary group, probably not realizing it also belonged to Shaw. But again, the ledger showed no name, just the initials SSS. Although we do have dates when the attempts were made, that could prove helpful at some point."

"Curious, Sirs! How did Hargreaves respond when first confronted upon arrest?"

"He immediately threw out threats of all kinds! We were maligning his rights, etc., etc., with no just cause whatsoever. He would sue not only to get his job back but also to take each and every one of us down in the process. However, the arresting officers noticed that underneath his torrent of malicious threats, there was pure fear on his face that slowly turned into panic. And when the murder charges were actually enumerated, that panic turned into sheer terror. Hargreaves clearly was not expecting those charges at all. Like those murders were his darkest, innermost hidden secrets. Sadly, the ones we uncovered fell into a group with many others, which we'll get into later. I do know, however, that he remained combative during transport and even after lock-up," noted Hal, the grief etched on his face, along with the Commissioner's.

"One of the most difficult things was finding that the highly decorated Officer at Headquarters, whom we suspected to be in cahoots with Hargreaves, was indeed involved, even more significantly than we had suspected. I personally led that particular arrest of a man I often have passed in the halls and shared a cup of coffee with. Of all the arrests of hardened criminals I've conducted over the years, this was the one that tore at my heart. I know his family. He was one of us. Yet because of someone as weak as Hargreaves, this man I once respected and promoted has fallen so deeply into the mire of criminality."

"Additionally, there were two other Field Officers who were clearly implicated in Hargreaves ledger, who had totally been able to hide their nefarious connection to him as well as their corruption," added Hal, who paused a moment to allow Conrad to continue.

"Sadly, beyond that, we have an entire bevy of roughly 20-30 young-to-middle-aged Constables under the former Superintendent, all spread out across his previous jurisdiction, who were apparently either blackmailed or coerced to assist in his criminal activity via a bevy of various manners over the years. Thankfully, we have a team that is now interrogating them, trying to differentiate the degree of blackmail or coercion used and in what manner versus uncovering any possible corruption that might have inherently and previously existed. We are hoping to salvage these younger men who were under him, as they shouldn't have to pay for following their Superintendent's orders if they were indeed forced. Fortunately, most of them, like Jack, kept copious documentation which significantly helps us in accurately determining that differentiation," briefed Conrad. "I'm also pleased to announce on their behalf that as of this morning, every one of those Constables who are impacted has stated they are willing to turn over all evidence they have to be used against Hargreaves, as well as, testify. Obviously, they are beyond devastated over having been involved and just want their names cleared as quickly as possible so that they can get back to their families and jobs."

As though the Commissioner needed a break from his weariness of discussing the personal betrayal of his officers, he stood, resolutely walking across to the large office's wall of windows, once again, as though he required the beauty of nature as a sort of solace as opposed to all this ugliness.

Nathan rose too, standing silently, shoulder-to-shoulder with the Commissioner, both watching the view in an attempt to distract their minds, which were still heavily encumbered, mired in the tragic realities of this devastating and intimate case that soiled the very root of their existence, their honor and their purpose; the onslaught of questions still figuratively surrounding them, emblazoned on their hearts and minds.

How could this have been identified and stopped early on, prior to the desecration and even loss of so many good men?

Across, the room, Hal busied himself in getting second cups of coffee for everyone. And though, many in their shoes would be taking a well-deserved victory lap, how could the mayhem that had resulted in potential reasons for victory, possibly be celebrated? Most certainly not by these men whose moral code was held to a much higher standard than most, who clearly felt the devastation caused by one of their own enigmatic officers.

"Let's all sit down again," suggested Conrad, who paused before continuing.

"This is the most difficult part for Hal and me, Nathan, as it will be for you. We uncovered a list of men who have gone missing or died under mysterious circumstances during Hargreaves's tenure."

Nathan's face hardened. All three men in this room had prayed and hoped against hope the number of deaths in this case had been limited to those they already knew, which in and of itself had been tragic enough. But the damage had already been done, and that was not at all what they had been finding.

"Where was the list found, Sir?"

"Surprisingly, between the mattress and springs of his own bed in his permanent home. Almost as though he was proud of what he had done and was keeping them close in some macabre way."

Sickening shivers shot down the spines of all three men.

"Did the list include Jack and his men?"

"Yes, sadly it did, Son," answered Hal. "And though we didn't need it, we now have double verification for the guilt of those deaths, this time in Hargreaves's own handwriting."

"How many men total?" asked Nathan, literally seething at the very thought of having to have this discussion about his former superior officer, who had shown his recruit and later Constable nothing but disdain simply because that young man had chosen to uphold the honor of the Mounties, which he had committed his life to and become a part of.

"Twelve definitive; thirty-two presumptive," answered Hal from memory.

"Fourty-four Mounties?" asked Nathan incredulously aghast.

"They include men he slaughtered by sending them needlessly to the Northern Territories," explained Conrad. "To areas we had restricted, yet he ignored those directives without our knowledge, falsifying their documents. But there's more, and we are completely stumped."

"I don't understand, Sir."

Conrad's face was grim, as solemn a face as Nathan had ever seen, even for the Commissioner.

"Neither do we. But we believe, based on a separate ledger full of complex and extensive codes, that in addition to his vast personal gain of riches, Hargreaves is somehow connected to a broader conspiracy within the Canadian Government and possibly the Mounties."

Even Hal's normally relaxed features were tense as he added to that statement.

"And we haven't a clue how, Son! That will be your top priority to determine when you return from your Honeymoon!"

"Hal and I both realize that we are asking a lot, Nathan. In fact, we were hoping to prevent this altogether due to the many conflicts of interest in the current cases against Hargreaves, which we understand are highly significant," began Conrad. "And we'll still try to keep you out of those as much as possible. But, given the imperative connotations in the presumed direction of this relatively new and ominous development, and since you are obviously our best, as you have proven over and over in your short tenure as Chief Inspector, we are going to need you to conduct a series of one-on-one interrogations with Hargreaves on this new matter, as well as our Governor Bouchard, his cabinet members, and our former Governor Balfour along with his cabinet members. All of these interrogations will automatically be classified at the highest level, as they are of the utmost importance to our country and our organization, which means they must occur sequentially as soon as you can schedule them when you get back…"