Chapter Eight:

Susannah looked at Nora, “What do you mean?” She’s seen this look in her sister’s eyes before, “Nora…”

“Can you stay here with the baby?” She walked over to the closet and pulled out her jacket, “Oh, Matthew should be home by 2:30, his soccer practice was cancelled.” She grabs her keys and purse off the desk, “There’s some pudding in the fridge for a snack…”

Susannah knew her sister was on overload now by the way she was jumping from thought to thought, “Nora…Nora…”

She turned abruptly, “What!”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the station.”

“What for?”

“I’m going to find out who murdered my husband…and why.”

*~*

They looked over at Bo, surprised by his outburst, “I’m sorry…I have no idea where that came from. It’s just when you called her that something, well it felt familiar. Again, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, really.” He sets the tray across Bo’s lap, “You should eat. I know you have got to be starving.”

“I am; thank you.” He looked at the red-haired woman standing by the door and he felt a tug, he felt something familiar just like he had a few minutes before, when Michael called his wife by her nickname, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. It was as though it was right there for him to grab on to but he just couldn’t reach it.

Michael returned a half hour later with a change of clothes and some shaving supplies. He placed them on the table beside the bed. He picked the tray up and placed it on the dresser by the door. He walked back over to the bed, “I’m sure you would like to get cleaned up. There’s

a bathroom down the hall.”

“Thank you.”

Bo reached over and picked up a pair of rubber gloves and held them up, Michael smiled, “For your hands, to put over the bandages so you can shower. Oh and if you want I can give you a hand shaving.”

“Thanks again, Michael; for everything.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Bo picks up the clothes and tucks them under his arm. He walks into the bathroom and stands in front of the mirror. He definitely needed a shave, and a shower. He looked at his reflection, wondering exactly who was staring back at him.

*~*

Susannah just stared at her sister. Nora knew that look, “No…you’re NOT talking me out of this, Suze, don’t even try it.”

“Nora, listen to me, obviously this case involves some extremely dangerous individuals; it’s already cost your husband his life. Don’t let it cost you yours.”

“I’m not going to do that. I just need to know what happened…why he was killed. I need to make sure they pay for what they did. I need to make sure Bo’s death counts for something.”

“He wouldn’t want you risking your life to make that happen, Nora…”

“I know that and once again I am NOT going to put myself in any danger. I am the DA, Susannah; I can bring them to justice.”

She walks over to Nora and lays her hands on her shoulders, “Just leave the police work to the boys in blue, okay…Promise me, Nora.”

“I promise.” Nora kissed her sister’s cheek and hugged her. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

*~*

Bo walked out of the bathroom, clean shaven and he had to admit he felt better. He walked down the hallway passed the office and towards the back door. He saw Michael sitting out on the terrace and he decided to join him. He walked over and sat down in the patio chair next to him. Michael looked up from the file he was reading, “I’m glad to see you up and around.”

“It feels good to be outside.” He looked around, “It’s beautiful here. It must be nice to be able to have this place to come to after the hustle and bustle of New York City.”

“Oh, Bridget and I are only here on vacation, well actually we’re here for me to recuperate. We live in a town outside of Dublin, Ireland. It’s called Bray.”

“Ireland, I just assumed you were based out of New York.”

“I haven’t worked in New York for years. I love living and working in Ireland. It’s where I met Bridget. I was on special assignment, undercover in the high school that she taught in,” he laughs, “It was definitely not love at first sight.” He smiled at the memories, “Eventually we both stopped fighting it, and the rest is history. We’ve been married for almost ten years.”

Bo stared ahead for a few minutes lost in thought. He turned and looked over at Michael, “You know, it’s strange, but I can’t help but shake this feeling that there is someone out there waiting for me,” he shrugs, “Maybe it’s just wishful thinking.”

“I’m really sorry. I tried everything I could think of to find out who you are. I called in all my sources, checked through all the missing persons and John Does in the tri-state area. I came up with nothing.”

“Maybe they think I’m dead,” he said matter of factly.

“That’s always a possibility. I wish I could help.”

“You and your wife have already done so much for me. You took me in and you’ve given me a place to rest and recuperate. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

“No repayment is necessary.”

The two men spent the rest of the afternoon talking, reading, and soaking in the peace and quiet.

*~*

Nora opened his office door and looked around; she hadn’t been here since the Friday before Bo’s death. She turned and walked over to his desk, flipping on the lamp as she made her way over to the chair. She sat down, glancing over at the picture of the two of them on the corner of his desk. She picked it up and ran her finger over the glass, “I miss you so much, Buchanan.” She continued to look around, he was everywhere. His coffee mug covered with fish, the pictures on the wall, the spare clothes he always kept in the closet, there was even a suit coat still hanging over the back of his chair.

She looked out at the hustle of the station, things were moving on, almost as though nothing ever happened. She turned on his computer, opening his desk drawers to look for something to write on. She reached down and pulled on the bottom drawer. It was locked, “That’s weird. He never used to lock his drawers, unless his gun was in there. She picked up her purse and pulled out his spare set of keys. For some reason she had taken to using his keys instead of her own, just a way to have something of him with here when she left the house. Maybe there was a spare to the desk drawer. She flipped through the keys discarding the ones she knew, leaving three…she tried the first two with no luck, “Well, hopefully the third time is the charm. Here goes nothing.” She inserted the key and smiled when the key turned. She rustled through the papers, finding an envelope stashed in the back. She pulled it out and opened it, dumping the contents on the desk.

She picked up the first picture and read the note. She set that picture down and picked up the other one, the same message accompanied it, “They were threatening him.” She reached down and pulled a file out of the drawer, scanning each page, her fear and anger, growing with each piece of paper she read, “Damn you, Buchanan…why, why did you keep this from me…”

“Because he wanted to protect you…” A voice said from the doorway.

~*~

Bo tossed and turned in his sleep; his dreams full of images that were just out of sight. Bridget walked passed the half opened door, stopping when she heard him mumbling in his sleep. She quietly walked through the door, noticing he had kicked the blankets onto the floor. She picked them up and covered him back up. She was halfway across the room when she heard him mumble again, “I’ll always find my way back, Red…always.”