by B. D. Gates
I nodded as I walked away.
*****
Watching Baxter walk to the red Jeep parked a few rows over, everything clicked and Hatch realized what she'd set in motion by telling Tess to "go home."
65
Reviewing the file with Kane gave the DEA agents the opportunity to plan their surveillance for Nichols, and Hatch called their point officer with their information and ideas. A second surveillance team was being considered for their location but there was concern that the group would draw attention by staying in the same small motel. Hatch was told to look for separate accomodations for the group, to spread them out as best she could.
"Tess said this was 'the cream of the crop' as far as hotels and motels were concerned. We could go back to Whitmore but that's better than fifteen minutes by highway."
"Yeah, too far," Kane nodded. "Maybe a bed and breakfast?"
"Hm. Possibly. This is a small town, though, I wonder how much speculation we'd draw. I mean, we don't exactly look like the type of couple to stay in a place like that, and those are usually only open for weekenders. Boarding house, maybe? You know, a by-the-week kind of place."
Kane laughed. "A boarding house is a better idea. We could come up with a pretty good cover saying we're in town to scout locations for a major chain store or company, if anyone asks."
Hatch nodded. She pulled the tattered old telephone book from the drawer next to the bed and started flipping through the yellow pages.
There were two bed-and-breakfasts offering accomodations on the river, the rentals including access to swimming pools, boats, and fishing equipment. Hatch shared that information with Kane, who remarked that a weekend spent on the water would be "pure bliss."
She agreed.
Hatch's studio apartment in Baltimore was just a place to crash between assignments, but it could have been in any city, really--no views, the location was sketchy, the closest she got to the harbor was the smell of the water if the wind was blowing in the right direction. She was hardly ever there, in that space, and she didn't miss it when she wasn't.
It wasn't "Home."
"Unfortunately, they're both closed on Mondays and Tuesdays." Hatch noted. "There's a boarding house on Third Street." She called the number listed only to find that it connected with a plumbing supply company.
"Damn."
"Call Tess and ask her if she can recommend anything."
Hatch nodded and pulled up her contact info, then tapped the green icon.
66
Tess's phone buzzed as we were unloading our groceries at the carriage house. I motioned to her that I'd take care of the rest and she nodded, moving on into the kitchen.
She was unpacking the bags we'd already carried in, putting things in their respective places, her phone on speaker when I brought in the last of it, and I heard Hatch's voice.
"...so it seems the number to the boarding house now belongs to a plumbing business, the owner told me the boarding house was closed, and we were wondering if you knew of any places we could use."
Tess laughed. "Yeah, the town shut down the boarding house for good. Too many building and health code violations, and too far gone to save. They bulldozed it about two years ago. Offhand, Hatch, your options are really limited here in town. To find a place for you and Kane is one thing, but to spread your teams out? That would be even harder, I'm afraid. How long before your second team arrives?"
"They should be here by tomorrow afternoon, so I'm kinda on the clock here. If you come up with anything, give me a call, please."
"Will do." She tapped off.
"They trying to find beds for everyone?" I asked.
"Yeah, something where they don't look like a bunch of undercover agents in town for a convention."
I laughed and nodded. "So I'm not the only one who could pick out the UCs in a crowd. I guess it works both ways, huh?"
"Yeah, and you know they'd get made if they all stayed at Dunn's."
"Oh my god, is that where they are? Geez..." I shuddered and Tess laughed.
"So, do you have any good ideas?"
I sat down at the table and looked out the window. Miz Maggie was picking green tomatoes from her garden vines, putting them in the pouch she'd made with her apron. I was wondering, as I had so many times before, about the women who had walked those rows before her, picked vegetables for the meals they would serve in the dining room of that huge Victorian wonder that sprawled on that corner lot for over a century.
"Tess," I said, nodding my head at that rambling old house with the wrap-around porch, five bedrooms, three baths...
She looked out the window and I grinned as she quickly caught on. She smiled, grabbed my face in both hands, and kissed me. "Gawd, I love you. Do you think she'll do it?"
"I don't know, but you didn't know she'd take me until you asked, right?"
"Think we ought to get Hatch over here to talk to her?"
"Definitely."
67
Hatch and Kane arrived fifteen minutes later and Tess left the three of us in the carriage house while she met with Miz Maggie and Jared to ask if they'd consider the use of their house for police business. She'd been down this road before and we left her to scout out the possibility before bringing in Hatch and Kane.
Meanwhile, we three sat at the kitchen table, watching and waiting. Kane went a little nuts when he met Rosie and Sophie, almost like a kid at Christmas.
"Dogs! Oh, boy, dogs! Do you know how long it's been since I've even petted a dog, Hatch? And there's two here, and omigod, they're beautiful!" Kane was literally hugging Sophie, burying his head against her neck. "You smell like dog, Sophie, you smell so good! And, you, Rosie, you just talk and talk!" He looked up at me. "How do you even leave them to go to work?"
"It's hard, Kane, but I work with animals, so..." I answered.
"You work with animals? But I thought you were a cop."
"Used to be a cop. Now I work in an animal hospital."
"Geez, I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat," Kane grinned at me.
"You'd be useless, Kane, you'd spend all your time petting the animals and not doing your work," Hatch laughed, rubbing Rosie behind her ears and stroking her head.
Kane just nodded, still smiling.
We all jumped when Hatch's phone chimed with a text. She'd been asked to join the trio in the main house. She left Kane with me and the dogs, and made her way to the back door where she was greeted by Miz Maggie and shown into the house.
Hatch and Tess were back fifteen minutes later, the deal done. They could move in tomorrow, Miz Maggie saying that it would take her to the afternoon to make their bedrooms "presentable."
Kane was visibly relieved.
"Thank you," he sighed. "I didn't sleep at all last night!" He turned to Tess. "Y'all need to watch that place, people coming and going all night long, shouting in the parking lot, car doors slamming. I was this close to going out there with my gun and telling everybody to go the fuck to sleep!"
Tess laughed at that. "I'm glad you didn't do that, Kane, or we'd have been called for a lunatic waving a gun around and Hatch would have had to come bail you out. We raid them as often as we can but I'll tell Cap, it may be time for another one."
Kane nodded, his face conveying his seriousness.
"Well, so, it's late, I know you two would like to get on with your evening, Kane and I'll get out of your way," Hatch said. "Thanks for your help, Tess, my department owes you a really big favor."
Tess shook her head. "Not me. This was Bishop's idea. I just facilitated it."
Hatch nodded at me. "Thanks, Bish--Baxter...wait, I'm confused. No, that's right. Baxter. I appreciate it."
Kane gave Hatch a questioning look.
"You can call me Baxter or Bax," I said to Kane. "That's what everyone in town uses. Oh, and Miz Maggie calls me 'Lisa,' just so you know."
Hatch took on a surprised look at the 'Lisa,' but not nearly as intense as the look of confusion on Kane's face.
"Wait. What?" he asked.
I looked at Tess. "They don't know?"
She was biting her lip as she shook her head. "Hatch does, but Kane doesn't."
The two DEA agents looked at me.
"I'm in WITSEC. I guess. Technically."
Now Kane really looked confused. "Witness Protection? But that would mean you're a criminal. I thought you were a cop."
"I am. Was. Long story short, my partner was dirty and I blew the whistle, was brought here and given a new identity."
"That's the really short version," Tess said quietly, her eyes cast downward.
I looked over at her. The silence following her comment grew long.
Hatch broke it. "I'm sorry, we're still keeping you. Time to go, Kane." They made their way to the back door.
"See you tomorrow evening, then," Kane said as they passed through. "Can I play with your dogs after we get settled in?"
"Kane, you can play with them any time you want," I laughed. "Y'all have a good night."
"Thanks. See ya," Kane called as he headed for the gate.
Hatch had stopped on the porch and turned to me. "Thanks again," she said, nodding. "We should have a drink some time."
"Well, since we're gonna be neighbors, I think that can be arranged," I agreed. "If the lights are on, I'm home."
Hatch nodded at that and walked on down the steps, headed for the gate.
Back inside, I found Tess leaning against the counter, arms crossed, head down as she inspected her manicure.
"You okay?"
"Yeah..."
I took her in my arms. "You know I love you, right?"
"I love you, too."
I kissed her forehead.
"Tess, when you came back, you told me that you'd made a mistake, that you were sorry. I just realized that I've never apologized to you. For what I did."
I took her hand in mine and grasped it to me, over my heart, my other hand tipping her face up so that I could look in her eyes. "Tess, I am so sorry that I kept my truth a secret from you. I should have told you from the start. You deserved to know."
She looked up at me, her eyes bright with tears. "Bishop, you don't owe me an apology. You were trying to take on a new identity, make a new life, and I know how hard it was for you, I do. You had no choice, you had to make it work any way you could."
She put her arms around me as I pulled her close, her head against my chest, and I rested my cheek against the top of her head. We stood that way, quiet, for a while, Tess listening to my heartbeat while I listened to her breathe.
68
Hatch and Kane settled into the main house the next evening, Miz Maggie and Jared welcoming them and showing them around and Hatch promising that they'd be as unobtrusive as their work would allow. They started their surveillance work that night. After three days, the second team of agents had been diverted to another investigation, Hatch advising her lead agent that she and Kane could handle the work themselves, her assessment showing that most of the activity at Charlie's occurred in the late evening and nighttime hours.
Friday night, just before midnight, I was sitting on the back steps with the dogs. Tess was out on a call when Hatch made her way out the back door and down the steps of the main house, heading in my direction with two short glasses of a dark liquid.
"Evening," she said, handing me one. "Hope you like single-malt."
"I guess we'll find out," I replied as we clinked glasses. Hatch sat down on the step as I took a sip. "Yeah, okay," I nodded, feeling the warmth spread through my gut. "So," I said, leaning back against the railing post, "how was your day, dear?"
"Over. Boring. Activity last night, nothing tonight. Charlie shut off the lights and locked up at about nine, we stayed until about eleven. This is the hardest part, waiting for something to happen."
I nodded. "Yeah, Penny and I didn't go every night, so it was really hit-or-miss. Drove Penny nuts."
Hatch chuckled at that, nodded. "I can imagine. So, she's in charge of the PD's tech, right?"
I nodded. "She is the Media and Tech department."
"Hm. I should have Kane give her a tour of our van."
"She'd love it. Seriously. She loves electronics, the smaller the better."
Hatch nodded. "Cool." There was a pause. "She's cool."
I swallowed. "Dude, you have no idea," I smiled, shaking my head.
We sat quiet for a while, taking sips and watching the dogs wander around the yard, Sophie taking the lead, Rosie following in her tracks.
"So, then, I guess things got a bit sticky when Tess came back."
I sighed as I leaned back against the railing post and took a long look at Hatch. "Well, damn. Ya know, you should be a detective."
I took another sip then leaned forward with my elbows on my knees. "Actually, Penny broke up with me the day after Tess came back. Oh, wait, did you know that Tess stopped what she thought was our wedding?"
Hatch looked at me, amazed and mildly amused. "No. She didn't."
"Oh, yes, she did. Scared the hell out of my friends who were actually the ones tying the knot." I chuckled a bit as I remembered the look on Carole's face.
"Let me let you in on a little secret, Hatch. I love Penny. I always will. If Tess hadn't come back, I'd still be with her. And, honestly, I think I could have spent the rest of my life with her. I think we would have been happy, for the most part, even though she knows, she knows that I don't love her like I love Tess. We both would have settled, when you come down to it, and I'd like to think that maybe we would have been okay with it. But Penny--she deserves someone who loves her wholly and completely for who she is, someone who thinks the sun rises and sets with her, who thinks she's the beginning, the middle, and the end. So I really hope that person finds her. Because I love her and I want her to be happy. She deserves to be happy."
Well.
Damn.
Single-malt scotch makes me run my mouth.
I sighed. "It's hard when you want to pick someone up and comfort them, but you're the one who put them on the ground to start with."
"Conflicted." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah." I looked at Hatch. Just looked.
"She loves you. You were always there, Baxter."
I nodded. We weren't talking about Penny any more. "She left."
"She came back. For you. Do you understand why she left?" Hatch asked.
"I have my ideas. What's your theory?"
"She wanted a new life. In a new place. Where nobody knew her."
"See, I don't get that, Hatch, why would she leave a place where she's got friends, people who love her, for a place where she doesn't know anyone?"
"I don't think she saw it like that. I think she wanted to start over where nobody would know her. And I think it was something she had to do, there was something she had to prove to herself."
We heard the Crown Vic pull up, Tess coming through the gate a minute later, talking and petting the dogs as she made her way around the corner, stopping short when she saw the two of us sitting on the steps. "Oh. Uh, hello."
"Hey." Hatch and I returned the greeting together, in stereo. Then we looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Tess, smiling at the two of us, sniffed the air and tilted her head. "Y'all been drinkin'?"
"Just a little," I chuckled.
"A smidge," Hatch replied. "A nightcap. Do you want one?"
"No," Tess half-laughed. "Thank you, no, I'm on call."
"Ah, well, maybe next time, then," Hatch replied, collecting my empty glass. She pushed off the step and started towards the house. "Nice talking to you, Bax."
"Yeah, same."
Tess watched Hatch walk on up to the main house and disappear through the back door before taking her place on the steps next to me, wrapping her arm through mine and leaning against me. "Hello, you. Did you have a good evening?"
"Yeah, I did. Hatch is...interesting."
Tess was very still.
"This is really weird for you, isn't it?"
I went on, squeezing her arm and nudging her a bit.
It took a minute, then, "Yeah, actually, it is."
I nodded. "I know how you feel."
Tess looked at me, puzzled.
"Hatch is here and we're practically living together, and then there's you and Penny."
Tess laughed. "Good lawd, who'd have ever thought..."
"I know." I chuckled at that, then, "Tess, can I ask you something?"
I could feel her tense up. I supposed she was bracing for a question about her relationship with Hatch, but I would never ask her about that. It was none of my business. "Why did you leave?"
She relaxed as she slipped her hand in mine. "I know you've wanted to ask me this."
She sighed. "After that morning at Dr. Biggs' office, I didn't expect to see you again. Certainly never to hear you tell me you love me, to make love with you. I had made my plans, and, after what had happened at the airport, I knew that you'd be safe, you'd be okay. You were surrounded by people who love you, Bishop, you'd have a good life.
"You'd always been alone but you weren't alone anymore. And I've never been alone. Not really. My parents have always been with me, I'm defined by them, by what happened to them, and I wanted to know who I was. Just me. Do you understand?"
So, maybe I hadn't caught on when Tess and I had talked about her idea, the big 'Do-Over,' that it was really something she wanted to do, since she had presented it as something I got to do.
Like it was a good thing.
In my heart, I think I had always known the answer, and I know that it must have been hard for her to make that decision, but it was the one she'd been heading towards her whole adult life. To break free of her past, to be who she was without the sympathy and the pity that she'd heard or felt from others since her father had been killed, or after her mother had died.
Wouldn't you wonder if you'd gotten to where you were, had what you had, because, just maybe, people felt sorry for you?
Leaving Tenley was the only way she'd learn the truth about herself.
I gave her hand a little squeeze. "Tess, I think the reason it worked for me and not for you is that you can't forget your family. For me...well, I don't remember mine."