A Following Sea

by Michael Lindley

  He saw Adrienne coming down the sidewalk and turn up into the park. He stood and waved when she looked his way. She was dressed much differently from the previous day. Her jeans looked like they were loose enough she could actually breathe. She had on a white sleeveless blouse, buttoned up the front with none of yesterday's display of breasts showing. Her hair was down and pulled back behind with a blue ribbon. There was only a trace of make-up on her eyes and lips. For a moment, it was like they were back in high school.

  Alex tried to force a smile as she came up. She didn't hesitate and came into his arms as if nothing had ever come between them. He returned her embrace with a tentative wrap of his arms around her back. She smelled of shampoo and coffee.

  She spoke first. "Thank you for staying to see me."

  "I'll be in town for a while to help with my dad's case."

  She pulled back and looked up into his face. She was just a few inches shorter with flat leather sandals on her feet.

  Alex said, "Let's sit."

  She sat beside him and said, "Alex, I'm so sorry about this...about not telling you."

  Alex couldn't think of anything to say.

  "I found out I was pregnant when I moved down to Florida. For a while, I didn't know what I was going to do. I started seeing Derek a couple weeks after I got there. We were working at the same bar in Ft. Lauderdale. His name is Derek Crandall. Scotty's name is Crandall. I told you we got married."

  "Yes, you did," Alex said. "And now he's left you."

  "It's been bad for a few years. He couldn't keep a job and he drank like a fish. He was good to Scotty, though."

  Alex said, "Thank God for that."

  Adrienne looked back and nodded as if it was time for Alex to share his feelings on the situation.

  Alex looked out across the docks and took a couple of deep breaths. "I want to do the right thing here, Adrienne."

  "The right thing?"

  "I assume he really is my son, unless this Derek guy looks like one of the Frank brothers."

  "No, he has red hair and freckles," she said. "He's not the father."

  Alex was trying to keep his emotions under control. He wanted to come out and challenge her on who else she had been sleeping with in Dugganville before she left town for Florida. He held his tongue.

  "I want you to meet him, Alex... to meet your son."

  Hearing her say it sent his emotions flaring again. He couldn't help himself and he blurted out, "Who else were you with?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "You know what I mean," he said quickly. "Who else were you with before you left town that year?"

  He could see the hurt in her face, but he didn't care at this point. All the frustrations and betrayals with this woman were coming back to the surface.

  She put her hand on his knee and it startled him. He thought of Hanna again and what she was going to think about all of this.

  Adrienne said, "You have to believe me, there was no one else... then."

  Then. There certainly were other men before that, he thought.

  "We can get a test, Alex... a paternity test, if you don't believe me."

  Alex pushed her hand away and stood up.

  "I don't know, Adrienne. How do you expect me to deal with something like this? You go away for ten years and come back and tell me we've had a child together and you decided not to tell me!"

  "I told you I was sorry!"

  "Sorry! I'm afraid that's not good enough."

  "What are you going to do?" she said, a look of panic on her face.

  Alex walked around and held on to the back of the wrought iron bench, looking down at her. He suddenly remembered times when he had enjoyed looking into those beautiful brown eyes. He pushed the thoughts away. "How do you plan to explain this to the boy," he asked.

  She shook her head, looking away.

  "Adrienne?"

  "I don't know!" she said, the panic rising now in her voice. "You're a friend I want him to meet."

  Alex shook his head in disgust. "You're not thinking!"

  "Sooner or later, I'll have to be honest with him. When he's a little older and can understand."

  "And until then?"

  "Alex, I told you I'm alone now. I need help. I can't raise him alone."

  Chapter Sixteen

  The women's shelter in downtown Charleston was just down the street from the Farmer's Market in an old warehouse building that had been renovated years earlier. The fading brown brick building looked well past its prime. There was a very small sign next to the glass door sitting a few steps up from the sidewalk that read, "Women's Home". It was four stories tall and stretched half the block. As Hanna walked up to the building, she thought about all the women taking refuge in this sad place and the devastating issues they were dealing with; homelessness, abuse, addictions. She knew the director of the shelter very well and was grateful they provided a tremendous resource for women and their children who had nowhere else to turn.

  She climbed the steps and pressed the button on the box by the side of the door. She looked up at a security camera pointed down at her as a voice from the box said, "Can I help you?"

  Hanna introduced herself and was buzzed in. She was escorted to the director's office. Greta Muskovicz was away in another part of the building for a moment and Hanna was offered a seat. She had met Greta years ago when one of her clients needed resources and sanctuary. Greta was a tough woman of German descent who ran this establishment with efficiency and a remarkable kind heart. At 52 years of age, she had never wed. Her job was her life and she even lived in an apartment on the top floor of the shelter. They had become close friends over the years. Hanna looked around the sparsely furnished and decorated office. Her desk was cluttered with too many files. This woman is truly a saint for the work she does.

  Greta came in and touched Hanna on the shoulder. Hanna stood and they both hugged before Greta sat behind her desk. "Good morning, counselor," the woman said.

  "Hello, dear."

  "Let me guess. You want to talk about Jenna and her son?"

  Hanna said, "I know they're safe here with you and thank God for that."

  Greta just shook her head.

  "I wanted to make sure you knew her husband has a long and dangerous rap sheet with the Charleston PD," Hanna said.

  "I'm not surprised."

  "There's also an open warrant for his arrest. I met with the police this morning and they're going to step up their efforts to bring him in. Hopefully, they'll be able to put him away for a while."

  Greta asked, "What's that welt on your face?"

  "Courtesy of Moe Hall."

  Greta sighed. "You know Jenna's bent on getting back with this jerk?"

  "I know. That's why I'm here. Can I see her for a few minutes?"

  Jenna Hall and her son, William, walked into the living room area of the shelter where Hanna was waiting for them, looking out a window over the city beyond. Hanna turned when she heard them come in. Jenna nodded and took her son over to a box of toys. When she had him settled there, she joined Hanna on one of the couches.

  Jenna started, "I'm just so sorry about Moe coming after you."

  "Jenna, you need to listen to me carefully," Hanna said. "Your husband is obviously a very dangerous man. The police are looking for him as we speak..."

  The woman started to protest, but Hanna continued. "I know you think you can save this, Jenna."

  "I want my son to have a father. I want us to be together again. We can't live in this place forever. William needs a home and a father. Moe has a new job again."

  Hanna listened patiently, then said, "You need to believe me when I tell you I've seen this same story play out too many times before. It always ends badly. You know your husband is not going to change. You and your son are in grave danger every time you're with him."

  "I know he has a temper and sometimes it's my fault..."

  Hanna interrupted, "No! It's n
ot your fault!"

  Jenna stood up. "You can't stop us from leaving here!"

  "I'm here to plead with you not to. Just give the police a little more time to find your husband."

  "I don't want him locked up!" Jenna pleaded.

  "There may be no choice in the matter. He's wanted on a parole violation and there's some doubt about a past murder investigation your husband was a suspect in, even though he wasn't charged."

  "Can't you please just leave us alone now?"

  "You need to help us find him, Jenna. Can you give us any other possible places he may be staying?"

  She shook her head. Hanna could see the clueless defiance in her eyes.

  On the way back to her office, Hanna continued to think about how she could protect Jenna Hall and her little boy. It broke her heart to think about the two them abused by this wretched husband and father. Greta had promised to keep a close watch on them.

  She remembered she had to leave for Atlanta tomorrow to be there for her father's heart procedure... and a day with her stepmother, the lovely Martha Wellman Moss! It grated on Hanna that the woman continued to use her previous husband's last name, surely because Terrance Wellman was from a prominent family in Georgia and he appeared to be a front-runner for the next governor's race.

  One of her other not so favorite people was on her calendar in a couple of hours. She and Alex were meeting Phillip Holloway at his office at four to discuss Skipper Frank's murder case. The thought of having Holloway anywhere near her made her skin crawl, but she knew he was one of the best in the business in Charleston to handle a case like this. Then, there was the matter of his fee. She planned to ask him about dramatically lowering it. There was no way Alex, or his father, could afford Phillip's normal compensation. Based on the inappropriate way Phillip had behaved during the events surrounding her husband's death and the subsequent drama leading up to the discovery of his wife's crimes, Hanna felt she had some significant leverage. The man should take the case for free, she thought.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sheriff Stokes read through the last page of the Medical Examiner's forensic report and closed the file. He reached for his fifth cup of coffee and shook his head. If the preliminary murder case against Alex's father, Jordan "Skipper" Frank, had already looked bleak, it was now damn near a death sentence for the man. He started typing on the keypad for his laptop to bring up his contact numbers. He got the cell number for Alex Frank and called. On the third ring he heard the man answer.

  "This is Detective Frank."

  "Alex, it's Pepper." He paused for a moment. "You need to get down here to my office, son."

  "What have you got?"

  "Forensics are back. It’s not good."

  "I'll be there in five minutes," Alex said.

  The sheriff heard the call disconnect.

  Alex was putting some groceries away he'd picked up at the Winn Dixie out on the west side of town when Sheriff Stokes' call had come in. When he ended the phone call, he quickly got everything stored away.

  His mind had been swirling with questions and doubts since he'd left his ex-wife in the park. Adrienne's desperate appeal for help now that she had been abandoned by her second husband surely wasn't sitting well with him and yet, he did feel a nagging sense of responsibility for the woman and certainly the son they had together. He had left her in the park with a promise he would come by her mother's house later in the day to meet the boy and discuss the future. And how am I going to explain this to Hanna?

  Alex was led back to Stokes office. The sheriff was on the phone and he motioned for Alex to sit in one of the chairs across from his desk.

  Alex listened as Stokes said, "Right, we'll bring him down first thing." He hung up the phone. "That was the District Court office in Charleston. The preliminary hearing for your dad will be at ten tomorrow morning."

  Alex said, "I'll let Hanna know. We're meeting with another attorney in Charleston this afternoon who may join the defense with her."

  "I'll be taking him down in the morning," Stokes said. "Spoke with Jewel Clarke, the DA, about an hour ago. They have this same Medical Examiner forensics report." He pushed the file across to Alex. "I told you, it looks bad. The prosecutor's office is going to file for murder first degree."

  Alex started looking through the report. "Tell me the worst."

  "The blood evidence puts your old man on the deck of Bayes' shrimp boat. His shoe prints are in the blood on the deck. He's also got Bayes' blood on his clothes."

  "That could be from the fight in Gilly’s," Alex said quickly, looking up from the pages in front of him.

  "Could be. We're still doing interviews with witnesses at the bar."

  "What else?" Alex asked.

  "Remember, we've got that rigging block with Bayes' blood all over it. Could be the murder weapon."

  "Right?"

  "Your old man's fingerprints are on it."

  "You're kidding?" Alex said, closing the file and hanging his head. "Is there a copy of this file I can get to Hanna and this other attorney this afternoon?"

  Stokes said, "That's the second copy for the defense."

  "You see anything in his favor?" Alex asked.

  The sheriff shook his head "no". "Sorry, Alex."

  When Alex parked in front of Adrienne's mother's house, he saw Adrienne hurry out the front door and down to his car. When he got out, she rushed into his arms.

  "Oh Alex, thank you.".

  He stood there with his arms at his sides, surprised and confused, not quite sure what to say.

  "I told Scotty I had a special friend coming over for a visit. When I told him you were a policeman, he got all excited."

  Alex gently pushed her back and looked up to the house to see Ella Moore coming out the front door holding the boy's hand.

  Adrienne yelled out, "Scotty, come on down here. Want you to meet Detective Frank."

  Alex felt a chill as he watched the boy come toward them. Scotty Crandall did indeed look like young versions of him and his brother at the same ages. The resemblance was incredible. The boy started running down the hill toward them. He was barefoot with cut-off jeans and a Miami Dolphins t-shirt. His brown hair was wet and brushed back. Alex could see the sunburn freckles across his nose as he came closer.

  "You really a cop?" Scotty asked as he stopped by the car.

  Alex bent down so they were almost eye-to-eye. "I sure am, Scotty."

  "A detective?"

  "That's right." Alex held out his hand to shake with the boy. "It's really nice to meet you, Scotty."

  "Nice to meet you, sir. Where's your gun?"

  Alex laughed. "It's in the car right now."

  "Can I see it?"

  "Scotty!" Adrienne scolded.

  Alex said, "Maybe a little later."

  Ella Moore had come up beside them all. "Nice of you to come by, Alex." She had a suspicious look on her face and from her tone it wasn't entirely clear if she was really that happy to see him. She did give him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Nice to see you."

  "Hello, Ella," he said and then turned back to Adrienne. "Thought we might walk into town for ice cream. What do you think, Scotty?"

  "Yessir!"

  "You want to come with us, Ella?" Alex asked.

  "No, you all go on ahead. I got to get some dinner going. Not too much ice cream now. Don't want you spoilin' this boy's appetite.”

  "We'll be fine, Ma," Adrienne said and then reached for Alex's hand.

  He pulled away and said, "Let's go."

  Scotty ran up ahead as they walked down the street shaded with tall live oak. The early afternoon heat and humidity was building.

  Adrienne spoke softly so the boy couldn't hear. "So, what do you think?"

  Alex took a deep breath and look over at her. "I think he's a fine boy."

  "I know this a lot to handle all at once," she said.

  He just looked at her.

  "What are
you thinking?" she asked

  Alex thought for a moment before saying, "I think there's a lot of history between you and me that needs to get talked about."

  Adrienne watched her son running ahead. "I was hoping we could put that behind us."

  "It's not that easy," Alex said.

  "I know," she said, putting her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. "You said you're staying in town for a while to help your dad?"

  "A few days," he said. "They're taking him down to Charleston in the morning for a preliminary hearing and charges to be filed. They may keep him down there unless we can get bail. Not very likely."

  "But you'll be back?" she asked.

  "I'll be back later tomorrow. Got a lot of people here I want to talk to about what happened that night."

  "Can you come for dinner tomorrow night?" Adrienne asked. "Ella wants to cook dinner for all of us."

  Alex hesitated, then said, "I'll have to let you know. Not sure yet when I'll be able to get back."

  "Don't you want to get to know your son?"

  Alex stopped, and she turned to look at him. "You need to give me some time on all this."

  "Take as much time as you need," she replied.

  Alex looked up ahead and watched as Scotty Crandall stopped to pick up a rock in the road and then throw it out into the river.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Hanna couldn't remember the last time she had been down to the law offices of Phillip Holloway and her deceased husband, Ben. It may have been shortly after his death when Grace Holloway had helped her clear out Ben's office. That had been one of the most difficult times of the entire ordeal. Ben had a wall of photos with him standing by family and friends, celebrities, sports figures. She wasn't sure at the time what she was going to do with them, but everything went into boxes and then home. She was still struggling hard at the time with the sudden loss of her husband. She would wake and find it impossible to believe he was really gone. That day in his office seemed to begin some closure on the realization she would be living without him now. He was really gone and here was all the stuff of his professional life that needed to be gathered and sorted, discarded or stored.