Finding North

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  Until she met Marcos.

  Then, she didn’t want to marry anyone. Ever.

  Samantha came up the stairs and stopped on the landing midway. Samantha looked up at Erin and smiled. Erin’s gorgeous sister was wearing a skintight blue dress that made her eyes look voluminous. Erin smiled at how happy Samantha seemed right now.

  “You look beautiful,” Samantha said. “Radiant.”

  “You’re not mad that I’m leaving the sisterhood of the unmarried Hargreaves?” Erin asked.

  “As long as you don’t leave our sisterhood,” Samantha said.

  “Not a chance,” Erin smiled.

  “Well, come on.” Samantha waved for Erin to come down the stairs. “He’s waiting.”

  Erin beamed. She met Samantha on the landing. Turning to go down the last stairs, she saw Matthew waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. He looked incredibly dashing in his tuxedo. But his smile . . . His smile told her how beautiful she was and how excited he was to be marrying her. She blushed.

  Matthew stepped aside, and their daughter, Grace, was standing behind him. She wore a little dress that Quanshay had made from the cathedral train of Rebecca’s dress. Grace held a bouquet of roses.

  “Mommy, you look beautiful!” Grace said. She ran up the stairs to give the flowers to Erin. “These are for you.”

  As best man, Troy lifted Grace from the stairs after Erin had taken the bouquet. Matthew, Troy, and Grace moved out of the way, and Erin floated down the stairs. Matthew’s team filled the entryway of the house. Her father waited for her at the entrance to the living room. The living room and dining room were filled with Erin’s friends from work, the Fey wives, and family. Patrick took her arm and helped her navigate through the people packed into their living room. Father Seamus stood waiting with Matthew, Grace, and Troy under the tulle-and-flower-lined arch in the doorway between the living room and dining room. John stood next to the doorway to the dining room with a webcam so that Alex, Colin, and Raz could watch the wedding from New York.

  Patrick kissed Erin’s cheek and went to stand next to Rebecca. Samantha followed Erin to the archway.

  “If we want to finish at midnight, we don’t have much time,” Father Seamus said. He winked at Erin. “Let’s just skip to the end, shall we?”

  “Works for me,” Erin said.

  “After all these years, I think that’s about all that’s left to say,” Matthew smiled.

  Father Seamus nodded.

  “Take her hands,” Father Seamus said.

  Matthew gave Grace to Troy and turned back to Erin. He took her hands.

  “Do you, Matthew Mac Clenaghan, take Erin Hargreaves to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Father Seamus asked.

  “I do,” Matthew said.

  “Do you, Erin Hargreaves, take Matthew Mac Clenaghan to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Father Seamus asked.

  “I do,” Erin said.

  “Rings!” Father Seamus said. “I forgot about the rings!”

  Cian pushed Hector James and Hermes forward. Hector James gave a ring to Matthew, and Hermes gave a ring to Erin. Matthew looked at the ring in his hand and gave it to Erin. She gave him the set in her hand. They gave the rings to Father Seamus.

  “May the Lord bless these rings which you give to each other as a sign of your love and fidelity,” Father Seamus said.

  “Matthew?” Father Seamus asked.

  Matthew took Erin’s ring from him.

  “In the name . . .” Father Seamus said.

  “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” Matthew said.

  Matthew slipped a wedding band on Erin’s finger. He held up the three-carat diamond ring mounted on a string of smaller diamonds, and she beamed. The crowd laughed. He slipped it on her hand.

  “Erin?” Father Seamus asked.

  He held out Matthew’s ring. Erin took the ring from him.

  “It’s so pretty,” she said.

  “In the name . . .” Father Seamus nudged.

  “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” Erin said.

  She held it up for people to see. Matthew had picked a tungsten ring with a Celtic-knot detailing on the top. She slipped it on his ring finger.

  “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the power vested in me by the state of Colorado . . .” Father Seamus looked at the mantle clock. “I . . . pronounce . . . you . . .”

  The mantle clock clicked to midnight. The first chime rang.

  “Husband and wife,” Father Seamus said. “You may . . .”

  Matthew scooped up Erin and kissed her.

  “Yea!” Alex yelled so loud that the audience laughed. “Whoo hoo!”

  When Matthew broke off the kiss, Father Seamus said, “May I introduce you to Matthew and Erin Hargreaves-Mac Clenaghan.”

  The audience applauded.

  In New York, Alex, Colin, and Raz jumped off the couch to cheer for Erin and Matthew. They’d just started clapping when a knock came at the door. Raz went to the door to answer it. Before he got to the door, they heard, “NYPD. Open up.”

  Alex and Colin turned toward the door, and Raz opened it. Two uniformed police officers stood on the other side of the door with their weapons drawn.

  “You need to come with us,” the officer said.

  “What’s this about?” Raz asked.

  “You need to come with us,” the officer said.

  “He’s not coming with you,” Alex said. She got out her DOD identification and her Homeland Security badge out of her backpack. “I am a senior agent at the Department of Homeland Security, as is Agent Rasmussen. This is a DOD black card. Agent Rasmussen and Agent Hargreaves have one as well.”

  The officers looked at the badges.

  “You have no authority regarding us or our actions,” Alex said. “Plus, it’s the middle of the night, and . . .”

  “I have a warrant for each of you,” the officer said.

  Alex gestured for them to lower their weapons, and held open the door. The uniformed officers came into the apartment.

  “What’s this about?” Raz asked again.

  “Answer his question, or I’ll make more heat than you can stand,” Alex said.

  “One of our detectives is missing,” the officer said.

  “Dex?” Raz asked. “I just left him, maybe 1200 hours.”

  “Five minutes after you left, a team of five men forcibly removed Detective Zeno from his home,” the officer said.

  “If Agent Rasmussen left him at 1200 hours, how does it have anything to do with him?” Alex asked.

  “You need to come with us,” the uniformed officer said.

  Raz and Colin looked at Alex. The uniformed officers looked at her as well. She thought for a moment before nodding.

  “We need a minute,” Alex said. “My sister just got married. We’ve been watching.”

  “Commander said bring you now,” the uniformed officer said.

  “Senior officer? DOD badge? Remember?” Alex asked.

  “Fine,” the uniformed officer said. “We’ll wait at the door.”

  When they got back to the couch, the party had already started. Colin turned off the webcam and video link while Raz got their coats. Alex called Colonel Gordon to report. After a quick conversation, Raz helped her with her coat, and they left with the uniformed officers.

  FFFFFF

  Tuesday morning

  May 17 — 8:15 a.m. EDT (6:15 a.m. MDT)

  New York City, New York

  Shep opened the back of the police cruiser. Raz stepped out. He turned back to help Alex out of the vehicle. Raz put his arm around her against the early-morning cold. Colin stepped out of the vehicle and stood behind them. They looked up at the three-story concrete-and-cinderblock building in front of them.

  They were standing on the sidewalk outside of Dex’s Tribeca home. Uniformed police officers had cleared the sidewalk and street. New York Police Department Crime Scene Investigators were working insi
de the home and on the street. A dark sedan pulled up, and two New York Police Department detectives stepped out. They walked to where Alex, Raz, and Colin were standing.

  “You seem to be Detective Zeno’s only friend, Agent Rasmussen.” Detective Rosa Williams’ voice was respectful and sarcastic at the same time. “Since you won’t tell us what you’re doing here, we may as well take a look inside.”

  Alex glanced down the street to see if anyone else was coming. Seeing no one, Alex said, “Sure.”

  “Have you been here before yesterday?” Detective Leo Batista asked.

  They’d spent the last five hours in an interrogation room with Detectives Batista and Williams while the NYPD tried to determine what crime to charge Alex, Raz, and Colin with. Detective Batista had proven to be smart and aggressive.

  “Yes,” Raz said. “Dex moved in to help his father when his father became ill . . . probably the last year or two of his life. Prior to that, Dex had never been in this building. I helped Dex move in. I was here from time to time while his father was alive and then after he’d passed.”

  Raz nodded. Alex looked up at his face. Knowing Raz well, she saw that he was holding something back.

  “Why don’t you show us around?” Detective Rosa Williams asked.

  She smiled at Raz. When they couldn’t determine who Alex and Raz were or what they were doing in the city, Detective Williams had suggested visiting Dex’s home.

  “I’m happy to show you what I know,” Raz said. “Dex’s father was a hoarder. We tried to clean it up after his father died, but his father hoarded precious things. Most of what he hoarded couldn’t be sold or dumped. There was generations’ worth of precious items stacked around the house. When I saw Dex last night, he said he’d never been able to get on top of it. So, there’s not much I can show you.”

  “Did you know that Joshua Peretz would inherit this property?” Detective Batista asked.

  “Who?” Raz asked. He shook his head at the mention of his birth name. “I don’t know who that is.”

  “Mr. ‘I have no fingerprints’ . . .” Detective Batista started.

  Alex glanced to her left and saw Joseph, Trece, and White Boy walking toward them. They wore dark blue suits, dark blue ties, and their dark sunglasses. Margaret and MJ followed close behind. She saw Leena and Vince, wearing the same outfits, coming from their right. Alex put her hand on Raz’s arm. He stopped talking and looked down at her.

  “Excuse me,” Joseph said.

  Alex was so glad to see him that she wanted to cheer.

  “We’ll take over from here,” Joseph said.

  “No, you won’t,” Detective Batista said.

  “Yes, actually, we will,” Vince said. “A United States citizen has been abducted on US soil. We are the President’s team.”

  Trece patted Detective Batista’s chest with the letter giving them authority.

  “You’d better call in,” Joseph said. “We’ll wait.”

  “How did you . . . get here?” Detective Williams asked. “We kept this entire situation silent — no radios, no telephones. It’s not even on the computer!”

  “They belong to me,” Alex said.

  Detective Williams looked at Alex, and Alex smiled. Alex nodded to Colin, and he went to Joseph to get his assignment. Leena brought Alex a travel mug of coffee and her thick Fey jacket. Alex took a drink and gave the mug to Raz. He smiled his thanks and finished the coffee. When Detective Williams moved away, Alex took out the pocket computer Sergeant Dusty had tucked into the pocket of her jacket. She read his notes and took a few steps down the block. Raz followed. They were free of police intervention for the first time in hours.

  “What is it?” Alex asked.

  Raz gave her an intimate smile. She stepped right next to him, and he leaned his head down so that they were pressed against each other.

  “Dex said that he thought someone was trying to kill him,” Raz said in a low tone. Alex reacted as if he’d said something sweet by caressing his face. “He said it wasn’t anything obvious or specific — just too many close calls. After yesterday, and then seeing how blasé the perps were . . .”

  “Blasé?” Alex asked.

  “According to them, they were just driving too fast,” Raz said. “It happens.”

  “I noticed that, too,” Alex said.

  “He said the perps’ statements were like the cynic in his head.” Raz put his arm around her waist and pulled her a little closer. His lips barely moving, he said, “‘That car didn’t just hit me’, ‘You’re so paranoid’, ‘Dex; that wasn’t what was going on’. ‘That’s crazy — no one’s trying to kill you’, ‘You were just lucky to be wearing the vest when that bullet came out of nowhere,’ stuff like that. He realized that some of those voices were things people around him had said. Which made him wonder — Who was involved? Why did they want him dead? It scared him.”

  “You think he’s dead,” Alex said.

  Raz touched his heart. Alex put her hand over his hand.

  “I’m sorry,” Alex said.

  “I rediscovered my best friend last night. I loved Dex, love, and . . .” Raz’s eyes echoed with pain. “And now . . . If you hadn’t scheduled this trip . . .”

  Raz shook his head. She put her head on his shoulder.

  “Okay, break it up,” Colin said.

  Alex stepped back from Raz to see Colin grinning at them.

  “Was that a loving intervention, or were you plotting to take over the world?” Colin asked. “You’re terrifying. Really.”

  Alex and Raz smiled.

  “Joseph ordered us back to the apartment and get some shuteye,” Colin said. “The FBI just showed up, and there’s some kind of a jurisdiction showdown. We can sleep for a few hours. The team will come to get us around noon. Orchid is over there.”

  Colin nodded. Alex groaned. They looked over. The young agent smiled and waved to them.

  “She was actually nice,” Colin said. “She told me that the police were way out of line. She said she understood why we didn’t call her, but she could have gotten us out. I guess we’re her first surveillance assignment. She’s ready to take us to the Warehouse.”

  Alex and Raz followed Colin to where Orchid was standing. Orchid was surprisingly nice. She apologized for getting angry and even commiserated with their terrible morning. They were back in the apartment in no time, where Orchid insisted on waiting for them in the living area of the apartment.

  Alex was too tired to care. After Orchid promised to wake them at noon, Alex closed and locked their bedroom door. She took a quick shower after Raz. He was asleep by the time she got out of the shower. She turned off their phones, made sure the blinds were down, and crawled into bed next to Raz.

  Feeling someone near, she opened her eyes.

  “Alex!” Colin whispered. “You have to get up.”

  “What time is it?” Alex asked.

  “After two,” Colin said.

  “Orchid was supposed to get us up at noon.” Alex sat up in bed.

  “Oh, God.” Colin put his hand to his heart.

  “What is it?” Alex asked.

  “You’re wearing pajamas,” Colin said.

  “What’s going on?” Raz asked. He turned on the bedside lamp.

  “You too. If you were naked, I’d . . .” Colin pointed at Raz. “That’s my sister.”

  “Duly noted,” Raz said.

  “What’s going on, Colin?” Alex asked.

  “I’m trying to tell you,” Colin said. “It’s after two. The team couldn’t get into the apartment building, and our cells are turned off.”

  “Where’s Orchid?” Alex asked.

  “Orchid is dead,” Colin said.

  F

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tuesday evening

  May 17 — 5:11 p.m. EDT

  New York City, New York

  “I just have one question,” Alex said. She gave the FBI agent-in-charge a hard look. “We were told that all of this glass was bullet re
sistant. That was the point of staying here. How was Orchid . . .”

  “Stephanie Hong,” the agent-in-charge said.

  This agent-in-charge was so particular about the specifics that it was hard to get a sentence out without him correcting something. His manner was so practiced and peculiar that she was sure his corrections were not personal. This was his everyday annoying manner of dealing with people.

  “Stephanie Hong,” Alex said. “How was Agent Hong shot through the bullet-resistant glass? These floors are rated sniper proof.”

  “Highest rating possible,” the agent-in-charge said.

  “Her wound indicates something smaller than a high-powered rifle or an armor piercing bullet,” Alex continued. “Exactly how was she shot in the living room of our apartment?”

  “No idea,” the agent-in-charge said.

  “Why didn’t we hear it?” Alex asked. “My brother sleeps very lightly; so do I, for that matter. Why didn’t we hear her murder? Surely she didn’t kill herself.”

  “She did not kill herself,” the agent-in-charge said.

  He gave Alex a little bow and walked away. Alex was about to follow him when Raz held her back.

  “He can’t help you,” Raz said in a low tone.

  She looked at him and scowled.

  “I feel awful,” she said.

  He nodded in agreement. She followed Raz back to the kitchen area. They had agreed that Colin should call Detective Williams. Given that Orchid was a Homeland Security Agent killed in a CIA safe house, Detective Williams had called the FBI. Alex, Colin, and Raz had been relegated to the kitchen until the physical investigation of the scene was completed. Colin looked up when they came into the small area.

  “Any luck?” Colin asked.

  “None,” Alex said. She sat down next to him at the little kitchen table. “Any word from the team?”

  Colin shook his head. He turned his laptop in her direction. She watched the apartment’s security video again. After they went to bed, Orchid had turned on the television. So as to not make too much noise, Orchid used a wireless headset that came with the apartment. She got up a few times to use the restroom or make a snack, but, otherwise, she sat on the couch, watching television.