"And is there?" Alex asked.
"No, not that I'm aware. The small safe in his den was emptied during the investigation after his arrest. There was some money and guns and any paperwork was seized by the police."
"Yes, I remember."
"They've been back several times and I've let them look around the house and the hunting camp we have up in the mountains. They even wanted to search the house out in Colorado which I arranged before it was sold, but I don't believe they've found what they're looking for because the man was back again yesterday."
"Why haven't you come to the police sooner?" Alex asked, leaning forward and pushing back the pain searing into his neck.
"These are very scary men, Alex. I worry even coming to see you. If they knew, I don't know what might happen."
Alex thought about the relentless efforts Hanna had endured when her husband had been caught up with this crime syndicate and ultimately killed. They had kidnapped her son and the boy may likely have been killed if the FBI and Charleston Police Department hadn't intervened in time. God knows what would have happened to Hanna, he thought. "What do you think I can help with?"
"During the investigation, was there anything seized, any papers these men may think are of value?" she asked, leaning forward, expectantly.
Alex thought for a moment about the thick file of evidence gathered in the arrest and conviction of Beau Richards and his son, Connor. None of it had any reference to or direct ties to Asa Dellahousaye. The old gangster had covered his tracks very well in this particular case, but obviously he was worried about something Richards must have hidden away. He shook his head as he looked at the face of Amelia Richards. "I wouldn't be able to share any of the specifics with you anyway," he said, "but I don't recall anything that had to do with Dellahousaye, or we would have pursued it."
He watched her expression sag and she sat back in the chair.
"I'm sorry to bother you, Alex. I shouldn't have come." She stood to leave, and Alex pushed up from his chair trying to minimize the pain shooting through his neck.
"Let me think about it some more," he said.
"Thank you." She walked over to the screen door and then turned. "Again, I'm sorry about your friends in the department."
He nodded as she turned to walk down the steps. He decided it was best not to tell her that Asa Dellahousaye was behind the police shootings in Charleston. He watched her walk down the path to her car in the dim glow of the porch light and then drive away.
And what does Asa D think Beau Richards had on him?
Chapter Twenty-six
Sam Collins stood as Hanna walked up to his table at the restaurant. She noticed he had changed into a pressed white shirt open at the neck and rolled up at the sleeves. His hair was combed back wet and he had shaved the few days of beard she had seen earlier that day. His bright smile stood out on his tanned face and she suddenly felt a swirl of conflicting emotions... pleasure in seeing him again after so many years, uncertainty about her feelings for the man after all the years apart, guilt in meeting Sam without telling Alex yet. She scolded herself for even acknowledging there was anything to feel guilty about, dinner with a long-lost friend... and former lover?
He opened his arms to give her a hug and she turned her face so they could kiss each other's cheeks. She had showered and dressed quickly, running behind as usual at the office. And why did you take so much time in front of the mirror doing your face? she thought, angry at herself for worrying about how she would look at dinner with him.
"I'm sorry I'm running a little behind..." she started.
"Not a problem. I should have given you more notice," Sam said. "Thank you again for making time. I really am looking forward to catching up."
He held her chair and then sat across from her. The restaurant was near full as always and Hanna quickly looked around the room for familiar faces, not because she was concerned with being seen with another man, she thought. Right? Why am I so worried about this?
She heard Sam say, "You must be awfully proud of the work you're doing down there at the clinic."
Turning back to him, she smiled and said, "It's wonderful and challenging and frightening at times.
"Oh, I'm sure."
"I also work for a small law firm up near our beach house on Pawleys Island. It helps pay the bills."
"I remember visiting the beach house when we were back in school," Sam said.
Her mind suddenly brought back images of their times together on the beach, around a beach fire, making love in the dunes on dark nights.
"Hanna?"
She focused on his face across the table from her and pushed the past from her thoughts. "Yes, it's a marvelous place," she said.
"I'd love to see it again sometime," he said. "I wish I was going to be in town longer on this trip."
"Maybe the next time."
Sam turned the conversation to her son, Jonathan, and she brought him up to date on his time now in Chapel Hill at UNC. The conversation inevitably led to her husband and his tragic death. Hanna had long ago come to grips with the loss, and the discovery of his infidelities and illegal dealings had left her with only the nagging irritation of not seeing through the man's faults earlier before it all fell apart.
Wine and then dinner were served as they continued to talk about Hanna's path since they had last been together. As the waiter was clearing their plates, it occurred to her she hadn't mentioned Alex Frank. Without hesitating, she said, "You'll have to meet the man I'm seeing now. He's a detective with the Charleston Police Department. He helped me through all the mess with Ben and then Jonathan's abduction."
Sam quickly said, "I'd like to meet him. He's a lucky man."
Hanna smiled back at him trying to read his face. Deciding to change the subject she asked, "I read somewhere you had married?"
He nodded and waited for the waiter to take his plate and step away before saying, "Yes, we were married nearly ten years. She finally got tired of the travel and my time away. It's better for both of us really."
So, you're divorced now?"
"Yes, nearly a year. She lives back in Paris where she grew up. She is a wonderful woman and a saint really for putting up with my crazy schedule as long as she did. We left on very good terms. I've seen her a couple of times when I've been back to that part of Europe."
The waiter came and asked about dessert. They both declined but agreed to another glass of wine. When the man walked away, Sam said, "I wanted to talk to you about that last night back in Chapel Hill."
Hanna felt a rush of nervous apprehension.
He continued, "I've always felt there was something you wanted to tell me that night, but I couldn't get you to talk about it. I know you were upset, but..."
Hanna felt tears start to well-up in her eyes and she wiped at them with her napkin. She had often wondered if they would ever have this conversation and if she would have the courage to tell him what had happened.
She had missed her period for the second time just a week earlier and hadn't been to the doctor yet. When Sam had told her that night he was leaving school to take a photo assistant's job in Europe, it had broken her heart. She was so upset she couldn't bring herself to tell him she might be pregnant. He left a few days later and never came back. When she confirmed she was pregnant, she was in such a downward spiral from the emotions of Sam's leaving and the prospect of a child when she was only twenty at the time, it had all overwhelmed her. Two weeks later she had an abortion. There were so many times she could recall wanting to contact Sam and let him know what had happened, but she could never bring herself to do it. They had exchanged letters and an occasional phone call from some remote location he was working for a few months and then the contacts became less frequent. Eventually, she knew in her heart it was over and she began the process of moving ahead. The guilt in not telling him about their child though had never gone away.
She heard him say, "Hanna, what is it?"
"Hanna, please. Let's just get this all on the table."
She let all her emotions flow out. "If you hadn't left, it would have all been okay."
"What are you talking about?"
She hesitated again and took another sip from the wine. "I just didn't know what to do."
"About what?"
She put her napkin on the table and crossed her hands on it, trying to stop the tears welling up in her eyes. "I was pregnant, Sam."
Her words hung in the air and she watched as he absorbed what she had just revealed. He leaned back in his chair. He just looked at her for a few moments, the expression on his face both confused and then angry. "When I left school?"
Hanna nodded.
"So, when... ?" Sam started.
"I had an abortion, Sam," she said softly, not really caring what the others at nearby tables might hear but finding it difficult to say the words out loud.
She watched as he stared back at her intently, blinking a couple of times as he tried to absorb what she had just told him. Finally, he asked, "And why didn't you come to me? Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"You were gone!" she said more forcefully. "You had left me!"
"Hanna..."
"Please," she interrupted. "It was a long time ago. I've given up debating whether I made the right decision. It's done."
Sam pulled his hand back and looked down at his plate for a few moments, then took a drink from his wine glass.
"I'm sorry I've never told you about this," Hanna said. "I should have come to you, but you were so far away, and I knew you weren't coming back."
She watched as he looked back at her and said, "Hanna, I'm so sorry you had to go through this alone. I wish you had told me, but I understand."
"It was a long time ago."
"Yes, it was. We were still kids, weren't we?"
Hanna nodded, searching his face for what he might really be feeling. She could tell his mind was swirling through the implications of it all.
"And if you had told me?" he finally said, clearly thinking outload. "Where would we be today? Where would our child...?"
"Sam, please don't!" she pleaded.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"I think we should go," Hanna said, pushing her chair back.
Sam walked Hanna back to her office and apartment through the dark streets of Charleston. It was near 10:00 when they reached the front steps to her building. They had walked in silence the whole way. At one point, Sam had reached to take her hand, as if in apology for raising the question of what might have become of them as a couple and of their child together. She had pulled her hand away and continued on without speaking.
She turned to him and could see his face in the dim light from a lamp across the street. This time when he reached for her hand she didn't pull away.
"Hanna, I didn't expect this evening to bring back so many difficult memories. I'm sorry."
She didn't reply.
"I've always felt badly about how it ended between us," Sam continued. "I was stupid for leaving the way I did, but one thing led to another with my work and then so much time had passed between us."
"You don't need to apologize for anything," Hanna said.
"I knew something was bothering you that night I told you I was leaving. It's always nagged at me even after all these years. Again, I'm so sorry."
He pulled her close and she didn't resist. She reached around to hold him near. They stood together in silence for a few moments. The tears came again, and she felt them on her cheeks, dripping onto his shoulder. She pulled back to go up the stairs.
Sam held her arms softly and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "I'm sorry it's been so long, Hanna. "I'm sorry..."
"Please, no more apologies."
"Okay." He stepped back to leave.
"It's been nice to see you," Hanna said. "I hope you have a good shoot here in Charleston."
"Thank you," he replied. "I wish I had more time while I'm here, but..."
"Sam, let's leave it at this, okay."
He nodded back and then turned to walk away. "Goodbye, Hanna."
Hanna closed the door to her apartment and locked the bolt on the door. She turned on the kitchen light and opened the refrigerator. A half empty bottle of white wine was in one of the door shelves and she pulled it out and poured herself a glass before sitting at the small table. Her evening with Sam Collins was sending a rush of mixed emotions through her brain and her hand trembled as she took a sip from the wine. She felt some relief in finally telling him about what she had done. Then there was the guilt again in having seen him and not telling Alex yet, and what had she felt when Sam Collins had walked away, leaving her again? No, let's not go there, she thought.
She reached for the phone in her bag and didn't see any messages. She pushed the link to Alex's phone and heard it ring four times before going to voice mail. The meds, she thought. Hopefully, he's getting some sleep. She didn't leave a message.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Alex woke the next morning when he heard his father crashing around in the kitchen of their small house. He tried to shake off the haze of the night's deep and drug-induced sleep. The pain in his neck was an instant reminder of where he was and why. He managed to sit up, still feeling groggy. The bottle of painkillers was on the nightstand beside him and he took another, washing it down with the half-empty glass of water sitting there. The smell of dark rich coffee drifted in from down the hall.
He reached for his phone and saw a call from Hanna the previous night. She hadn't left a message. He pressed the entry to return her call, but it went to her voice mailbox. He was then informed by the maddening robotic voice that it was full. He looked at the time on the phone... 8:30.
After breakfast and a few calls back to the department in Charleston, he tried Hanna again and couldn't connect or leave a message. He called her office and her assistant, Molly, told him Hanna had not come in yet. She had already missed her first appointment. Molly had gone up to the apartment and knocked, but Hanna wasn't there.
Alex's senses immediately went on full alert. His captain had told him yesterday that he was pulling the protection detail. The department was stretched too thin already and the threat to Hanna from Lonnie Smith's killer had thankfully not materialized.
He had expressed his concern but couldn't convince the man to keep the men on assignment to watch Hanna's back.
He felt a sick feeling in his stomach, seeing the twisted face of the killer, Caine, in the kitchen where Lonnie was killed and then again in the doorway of his hospital room.
He called Hanna's cell again and was surprised and relieved when he heard her answer, "Good morning."
"Hanna, where are you?"
"I'm finishing up a run and heading back to the office."
"I've been trying to reach you. Molly didn't know where you were and... "
"I'm fine," she said, "just needed to clear my head. I have this hearing today on the abortion case and..."
Alex waited for her to continue but there was only silence on the call.
"Hanna, what is it?"
Again, she didn't answer right away.
"Hanna?"
"I need to talk to you about something, but it can wait."
"No, I don't think it can," Alex said. "What's going on?"
He could hear Hanna breathing heavily from her run and hesitating, then she said, "I had dinner last night with an old friend."
"An old friend?"
"I've told you about the boy back in school I was seeing, the boy who left."
Alex couldn't suppress the doubt and jealousy already creeping
into his thoughts. "Yes, you've told me. I assume he's also the father of the baby..."
Hanna cut in, "Yes, he was."
Alex walked out the front door of the house and down toward the docks across the street. "And he didn't know?"
"No, I never told him... until last night."
"And how did that go?"
"I'm glad I finally had the chance to tell him about all that. He was surprised of course and had a lot of questions..."
"So, how did you leave it with him?"
"He walked me home and we said goodbye."
"He walked you home. That's it?" Alex asked, regretting immediately that he was sounding like the typical jealous boyfriend.
Hanna said, "He's only in town for a few days. He's doing a photo shoot and I won't see him again."
Alex's mind was racing. Hanna sees this man she was madly in love with in college, the man who fathered her first child, the child she had aborted without telling him, and they were both going to just walk away for another twenty years?
"Alex, please don't be upset. I'm sorry I didn't tell you yesterday I was meeting Sam for dinner. I should have called."
He swallowed and took a moment to calm down. "It's okay, really. I didn't mean to sound like a jerk."
"You're not a jerk."
Alex couldn't help thinking again about what a burden he was to Hanna, and even a danger. He knew his mind was clouded by the painkillers he was on and he tried to push the thought aside. He quickly decided to move on and change the subject. "I hope your hearing with this young girl goes okay today."
"Thank you. I'm really struggling with all of that, actually, but I think we're doing the right thing."
"Well again, good luck."
"What are you doing today"? he heard her ask.
"I spoke with one of our men back in Charleston this morning. Seems your old friend, Phillip Holloway, was seen with Asa Dellahousaye. Did you know he was working with the man or that they were acquaintances?"
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