Steeling My Haart (16 page)

        
Sleep
had come pretty quickly after she had gone to bed and as she woke she realized
that it was full daylight.
 
Glancing
at the clock she was startled to see it was already ten thirty. It had been a
long time since she has slept for so long and with the mountain of paperwork
tackled the previous day she had little by way of work to do this weekend. She
got out of bed and took a leisurely bath, enjoying the time to unwind.
 

        
Her
mind kept drifting to the fact she was heading home soon and that everything
was just slotting into place for her. Yet again, a vision of Charlie jumped
back into her mind as she remembered what living back in Oklahoma might mean.
Her guess was he had moved on, and hopefully had made something of himself. He
needed to realize that he was good enough to take care of someone else and if
he had the opportunity to do just that she hoped that he would take it. He
deserved a shot at happiness, and although she still couldn’t understand quite
why he left her like he did, she was beginning to feel less ill feeling towards
him.

He had been right and
she had been able to carve a career that she enjoyed for herself and perhaps
had he moved with her to Harvard, things may had turned out a lot differently.
Like would he have followed her to New York and settled here? Would he have
been happy to live so far away from his mom? Still, she had found it almost
impossible to move on from the feelings she still held for him. Quietly
admitting to herself she finally realized that he had held her back from
settling into a relationship.

        
As
she got out of the bath and dried herself off, she resolved to make an effort
when she moved back home to find someone to share the rest of her life with.
She was still young enough at twenty-eight to be able to have it all and she
realized that had Charlie still been interested, he would have come for her
long before now.
 
Her parents were
still reasonably local. Although they had sold the plot of land where her home had
been and bought a house in the neighboring town, he knew where her dad’s
business was so he
 
had every opportunity
to find her had he wanted to. She needed to stop the one-woman pity party and
move on.

        
After
dressing and tidying up around the apartment, she headed down to the laundry
room in the building and got herself up to date with the laundry.
 
While she was waiting on the clothing to
finish drying, she headed out to M’s Place and grabbed a few sandwiches and
sodas for her lunch with the guys. She had hoped to have a chat with George and
fill him in on her plans. He was a gentle father-figure in her life and she was
going to badly miss him when she left but vowed she would make an effort to
return at every opportunity during her visits to New York. He was taking a rare
Saturday off from the diner because, as she suddenly remembered, it was his
middle son’s birthday weekend. So she would have to catch up with him next
week.

       
She
had just finished folding the last of the laundry as her buzzer rang out, announcing
Lou and Bruce’s arrival. She jumped up and jogged to the door to let them in.
Both swallowed her in a big hug as she showed them in. It was the first time
Bruce had actually been inside her apartment and she could tell by the look on
his face he was impressed with the space of the place.

        
“Wow,
this is definitely not what I was expecting, Emma, this place is amazing.
 
I’ve always loved the building though
and I’m regretting not asking you sooner where you lived. I might have been
able to beg an invite in sooner,” he laughed out loud at himself.

        
“It’s
somethin’, darlin’, and I love it already,” Lou replied.
 

        
“Thanks,
guys. Here, I can show you around, but would either of you like a drink first?
I’ve got soda and coffee.”

        
“No,
thanks, not for me, I’ll wait until we eat,” Bruce mumbled as he strode over to
the windows at the far end of the living area and took in the pleasant views
across the park. He seemed miles away.

        
“It’s
where we used to meet in the early days, darlin’. I’ve spent many a happy
evenin’, wandering the footpaths of that park with him, just chattin’ and
getting’ to know him. You don’t know just how perfect this place is for us both,”
Lou said as he headed over to Bruce and put his arms over his shoulders in a
sweet embrace. Emma quietly moved towards the kitchen, leaving the two of them
to reflect on what must have been a hard time in their lives. She busied
herself getting the food ready as they wandered over.
 
She gave them a quick tour of the rest
of the apartment and they sat down at her dining table to have lunch.

        
Bruce
glanced at Lou then to Emma and smiled sincerely as he spoke, “Emma, this place
will be just perfect for us. Can we say we’ll take it? The spare room would be
perfect as a studio for Lou and the master bedroom is just amazing as it is.
You have a real eye for decoration. And I speak for both of us when I say you
will be welcome here anytime you are in New York. Don’t be spending money on a
hotel when you can have a place here,” he offered.

        
“Hell
yes, darlin’, I’ll make sure that we put a decent bed in the studio and it’s
your place whenever you need a place to stay. I love the condo, I really do.”
Lou’s smile was as broad as Bruce’s at that moment and she realized that this
was just fate. She was happy to have found two ready-made tenants whom she
trusted to take care of the place for her. Her mind was set and moving home was
now in motion.

        
Shortly
after they had finished eating, the apartment buzzer sounded again.
 
“Excuse me, guys, I think that may be
the realtor, but she’s a bit early.” Emma scowled as she headed to the door. As
Emma glanced back, she took in the sight of her new tenants clearing the table
and washing up. A simple domestic action that a lot of people took for granted
seemed to be a novelty for the two of them and it was nice to see them both so relaxed.

        
As
Emma reached the intercom, the doorman’s voice came across as clear as day,
“Miss McKellan? I have Officer Walters and Sergeant Davis here in the lobby for
you. They are asking if you are available to speak to them as a matter of
urgency. They have some news for you, and I don’t think you will want to be
alone for this.” All the color drained from Emma’s face, and Lou ran across the
apartment to take hold of her as the doorman’s words echoed around the open
space. Lou stepped to the intercom as he handed a shaky Emma over to Bruce.
 
“Hello, sir, it’s Lou here, I’m here
with my boyfriend visiting with Miss McKellan. Is it possible for you to send
the officers up to the apartment? We will be more than happy to stay with her while
they speak to her.”

        
“Of
course, sir, I’ll send them right up,” came the detached response. Emma felt a
chill creep up her back as goose bumps erupted across her exposed flesh. Lou
quickly got her a glass of water and knelt in front of her as Bruce held her in
a tight embrace. “It’s mom and dad I know it is. They’ve gone haven’t they? Why
else would they be here?” she murmured the sadness seeping with every word.

        
“Hush
now, darlin’.” Lou’s voice soothed as he took her cheeks in his hands and wiped
the stray tears away. “Whatever it is, sweetheart, we’ve got you,” he tried to reassure
her just as the knocking from the door resonated around the now silent
apartment.

        
Lou
stood and strode over to the door purposefully and let the two officers in.

        
“Good
afternoon, sir, I’m Officer Walters, and this is Sergeant Davis. We’re from the
homicide special-ops team at NYPD. May we come in and speak with Miss McKellan
for a moment?”

        
Emma
glanced over to the pair standing awkwardly at the door. Officer Walters was a
well-presented officer probably, not much older than Emma with a chiseled jaw
and close-shaven dark hair. He wasn’t overly tall, but well-built and wore a
harsh expression.
 
Sergeant Davis
was probably ten years or so older and slightly taller with greying mousy brown
hair desperately in need of a trim.
 
He wore a smart grey suit and she noticed quite randomly that he was
wearing tan loafers. Something about this fact made her almost burst out
laughing until she remembered why they were here.

        
“Hi,
I’m Emma McKellan,” she answered, still scared of what they had to say. “How
can I help you? It’s my parents, isn’t it?” She shook as sobs began to
involuntarily take over her fragile body.

        
“I
can confirm, Miss McKellan, as far as we are aware, your parents are safe. Although
I’d urge you to call them after our visit just to check,” he quickly reassured
her as the relief flooded over her.
 
“Let me explain why we are here. As my colleague Officer Walters here
mentioned, we work for a specialist Task Force within the NYPD dealing with homicide.
We are also attached to the team specifically trained to deal with gang warfare.
We were called to the scene of what we believe to be a double homicide early
this morning over at the other side of the city.
 
The victims were a married couple who
appear to have been caught in the crossfire of a particularly notorious gang
dispute. At this stage we have no reason to believe that they have any
involvement on the actual activities of either of the rival entities. But I do
need to ask, do you know of a Liliya Clearwater and an Gary Johnston
Clearwater?”

        
“Oh
my God… No, not Lily and Gary. No. NO. NO!” Emma began to wail, screaming out
like a wounded animal and tears flooding down her cheeks as the reality of the
situation sank in. “Lily? No, it’s not possible. No, I won’t believe it.” She
shook her head frantically as she jumped up to grab her cell phone. “Look,” she
shouted frantically scrolling through her messaged to find the one that had
come in from Gary just yesterday. “Look, she’s fine. Gary said so. No, there
must be a mistake.” She cried and thrust the cell towards the officers.

        
“Emma,
darlin’,” Lou soothed as Bruce took hold of her fragile body and steered her to
the couch. He sat her down and took her face into his hands, “Just calm down,
Emma, and listen to what the officers have to say, please.” Bruce begged, his face
visibly falling as he watched her crumbling. They all gave Emma a few minutes
to try and compose herself.

Just when she was
almost there, she remembered the conversation with Lily about Adie and Leo. “Oh,
no, the kids, what about the kids?” she managed to scream out as she lurched up
from the couch, slapping her hand over her mouth quickly as she ran to the
bathroom where she proceeded to throw up her entire lunch.

        
Lou
followed her and began holding back her hair whilst offering her water to sip.
He soothingly rubbed her back as she retched time and time again into the bowl,
finally stopping enough to catch her breath and take a drink of water. He
managed to get her to sit and gently wiped the vomit from her face and hands as
he let her finally compose herself.

        
After
a while, she was composed enough to be led back to the main living room, where Bruce
had provided the officers with hot coffee as they talked to him in hushed
voices. They quickly stopped as Emma and Lou returned to the room and took up
their perch on the couch. She was shaking but needed to know more.

        
“I’m
sorry, officers,” she said. “Please carry on.”

        
“Thank
you, Miss McKellan, are you sure you are all right to continue?” Sergeant Davis
asked. “We can leave for a while and let you compose yourself, if you’d prefer.”

        
“No.
Please continue. I need to know what’s happening. The kids? Please tell me they
are okay.”

        
“Yes,
ma’am. The children are fine. We found them this morning safe and sound in the
care of one of the neighbors of their apartment building.”

        
“Oh
thank God,” Emma breathed out. “But what has happened to Lil and Gary?” she
croaked out, trying hard to maintain her composure.

        
“We
don’t really know much other than they have both perished in a fire that
engulfed a vehicle that we later found to be registered to one Gary
Clearwater.” Emma gasped, again clamping her hand to her mouth. “We also found
evidence of identification for both of them close to the scene.
 
We will be investigating this further,
but at this stage we believe they were simply at the wrong place at the wrong
time. Unless we can find evidence to suggest otherwise and pending formal
identification of them both, it would appear that they were innocent victims.”

        
“I
can’t believe this. I really can’t. Not Lily and Gary. No.” She sniffed as Lou
handed her another tissue. “So what now? Is there anything I can do to help?”