Finally, she summoned up the courage to walk into the room. Bryan was asleep, for which, Sonya was grateful. His face was bruised and cut, one eye was almost swollen shut and he had a cast on his right hand. An IV dripped into his left arm and it seemed like he’d lost weight. He had several days’ worth of unshaven beard and his glasses were nowhere to be seen.
Softly, she kissed his cheek. A smile crossed his face. Sonya,” he whispered. “Are you really here?”
“Open your eyes and find out,” she answered, doing her best to keep her voice light and her eyes tearless.
“Hey, Babe,” he smiled, having trouble to keep his eyes open. “Did they get those SOB’s Grégoire and Lucien? Bastards!”
“Yeah, they did, last night. They’re in jail. BB and Maurice are going back to question them again this later this morning,” Sonya answered.
“BB? Mike’s father? Why?” Bryan asked.
Before Mike could answer, Bryan yawned. “Dunno what they put in that IV but it sure puts me under.” With that he fell asleep.
It was then, that Sonya put her head upon Mike’s shoulder and let her tears fall. Bryan had been beaten, he’d been abused and there was nothing that she could do about it. It made her so very angry and yet so sad for him all at the same time.
“He will be all right,” a woman’s voice stated. “It will take time, but it will happen. We are grateful to find him alive.”
Both Mike and Sonya turned as one, surprise only one of the emotions they portrayed. Standing before them, was a woman they would have sworn was Mimi. But it couldn’t be! She was still at the debriefing! A second look confirmed that it wasn’t Mimi, but someone considerably older.
The woman laughed at their reaction and pulled out a chart. “I believe you have meet my daughter, Mimi. I am Joselyn Dupont. Bryan doctor. Mimi call me last night when they find him. It was good they find him when they did. He was very dehydrate and as you can see, abuse. Two finger was broke in the right hand but they will heal very good, the break was clean.”
Sonya thought she would pass out. Never had she thought that Bryan was in such grave danger. The could have’s began to race through her mind.
The doctor took her shoulders and gave them a small squeeze. “Think of what is good now, not what is bad before. He will be healthy. Only a little time, that is all. He has medication to sleep. There is no pain in sleep, n’est-ce pas? He will sleep until tomorrow. Then I allow him to go with you.”
Sonya gave the doctor a weak smile. “Thank you,” she stuttered.
The doctor smiled brightly. “Mimi tell me that you are the cousins of Steven. Almost famille. I take care of ton mari, Chérie. Promis!” With that, she patted Sonya’s shoulder and walked out of the room and down the hallway.
“There’s no point in staying, Sonya, much as I understand how much you want to. The doctor is keeping Bryan under to shield him from the pain. Obviously, he had enough pain while he was kidnapped. Why don’t we let him sleep? You’ve been through enough too. Let’s go back to BB’s and get some sleep. You can’t do anything here.”
Mike put his arm around Sonya’s shoulders and manoeuvred her out of the room. The guard nodded as they left, and took up his position at the door of Bryan’s hospital room. The car was waiting for them and they returned to BB’s in silence.
CHAPTER 23
Sonya immediately went to her room, throwing herself onto the bed, uncertain whether to laugh or to cry. Bryan looked so hurt, so bruised. And his hand, his painting hand! Broken! What would he do? Thankfully, his job directing the art gallery in Calgary didn’t rely on him painting.
In the middle of having her little pity-party, there was a soft knock at the door. It opened, and Madame Lalonde came in to sit beside her on the bed.
“How is Bryan?” she asked, although, somehow, Sonya felt that she already knew.
“Bruised and broken, but Doctor Dupont assures me that he’ll be just fine. They have him sedated. He may be able to come home tomorrow. I forgot to ask when he could travel back to Canada. I can do that tomorrow.”
Sonya took a deep breath. “How are you?” she asked Madame Lalonde. “I cannot imagine how difficult this has been for you. I’m really sorry that things turned out this way for you.”
Patting her hand, Madame Lalonde sighed. “It is a very bad dream, non? I did not know, Chérie, I did not know what it was Lucien do. To betray, to lie, to hurt a friend, to hurt me...” tears began to well in her puffy eyes. Immediately, Sonya put her arms around her landlady and they both had a little cry.
“I am very sorry,” Madame Lalonde mopped her red eyes. “Lucien hurt Bryan. Can you forgive me?”
Sonya’s eyes snapped open wide. “Forgive you? Why? You have been nothing but to be kind to us!”
“But, Lucien… he does bad things! He is my son,” she replied.
“And he did bad things to you, as well. You cannot control someone else’s actions, especially an adult, child or not! Lucien allowed those men to hurt you, his own mother! Now that is unforgivable. You were a wonderful example for him. It was his choice to follow another path!”
Madame Lalonde gave her a weak smile. “You sound just like Merl. I am very happy that you do not blame me. Thank you.” With that, she kissed Sonya on both cheeks and left the room.
That conversation gave Sonya a great deal to think about. It was difficult to understand why Madame Lalonde would have blamed herself for this whole absurd scenario. Now that her shock was beginning to wear off, her curiosity was beginning to want some more answers. Shedding her pity party, she splashed cold water on her face, squared her shoulders and strode to the door.
She reached the living room to find it had been put back into place, as if the meeting had never taken place. Retracing her steps to BB’s office, she found the office door locked, and no one replied to her knock. Next she tried the kitchen, where she found Mike drinking a coffee and attacking an immense sandwich.
“That looks good!” Sonya remarked, beginning to feel hunger pangs after her meagre breakfast. “Is there any more?”
Mike opened the fridge to reveal an array of sandwiches and goodies, obviously left over from the after meeting. Sonya chose a sandwich the same size as Mike’s and after pouring a glass of milk, sat at the table across from him.
“So, Mike, what has you in such a funk?” she asked bluntly, knowing that something was gnawing away at him.
“Aw, a lot of things Sonya. I’m still wrapping my head around last night’s happenings. Here,” he handed her an envelope that had been in his shirt pocket. “Sara emailed this to me this morning. I asked her to open the envelope and send me the results if it arrived while I was here. John has the keys to my condo.”
“The DNA results?” Sonya asked. He nodded. She unfolded the paper and read the verdict. “Well, what will you do now? Does BB know?”
“Things have been pretty hectic around here. I’m not sure,” he replied cautiously.
“How do you feel about the results?” she asked.
Mike took a deep breath. “I’m not at all surprised. I don’t think that anyone is. We have a lot of ground to cover, BB and I. The problem is, I have no idea how we will accomplish that on two different continents.”
“You will find a way,” Sonya reassured between mouthfuls. “If it’s what you both want, and somehow, I think that it is.”
She paused for a moment, carefully choosing her words. “How much of a leave did you take from your job? Can you extend it? I imagine that BB will be tied up for another couple of days with interrogating Lucien and Grégoire.”
“Actually not,” BB’s voice interjected. “We have them dead to rights. With very little negotiation, Grégoire is singing like a canary. You are right, my dear, he really is a disgusting little slime ball. And, they are French citizens, arrested in France, so Interpol has them now.”
He took a deep breath and addressed Mike. “I presume you have heard the DNA results?” Mike nodded. “We have many things to d
iscuss, you and I. Sonya, would you mind terribly allowing my son and I to talk for a while?”
“Not at all,” she smiled. “But, is it possible to get some of our things from Madame Lalonde’s? Or should we move back there?”
“It would be my preference, if I may request, that you remain here. It is your choice, of course. I have asked Lise to remain here; I do not think that she is ready to be alone, even with her grandson as company,” BB explained. “I have been advised that Bryan will be released tomorrow morning. It will be easier to look after him here than at Lise’s home.”
Sonya smiled brilliantly. “Then it’s settled!”
“Excellent! After Mike and I speak, I shall drive you and Lise to the house to pack your belongings,” BB declared with a smile.
Leaving the kitchen, Sonya tried not to listen to the discussion between BB and Mike. From the few words that she heard, it sounded like it would be to both their liking.
CHAPTER 24
Sonya spent some time in her room, checking email and the weather at home, simply wasting time. She knew that Mike and BB required some private space, something that had been in short supply since their arrival at BB’s home. In all honesty, he had been more than accommodating to them. She barely knew him and already, she had been a welcome guest in his gracious home.
The telephone at her bedside table rang. Hurriedly, she answered, wondering who would be calling her here, especially because she was somewhere that she didn’t know and no one else knew where she was.
“Hello.”
Bryan’s voice was slurred but he was there nonetheless. “Sonya?” he mumbled.
“Hey Babe!” she replied as brightly as was possible. “I thought that you were asleep.”
“Yeah, but the pretty doc said that you were here and I couldn’t remember and I didn’t believe her. Were you here?”
“I did indeed visit you, but you were asleep. Your doctor said that if you could sleep until tomorrow, then you could come home to me. So, sweetie, you need to sleep!” Sonya said in her brightest voice. “But, if you need me to come back to the hospital, I can be there within half an hour.”
“Naw,” Bryan replied, “I’m so tired I can’t seem to stay awake. Nite, sweetie.”
”Good night, sweetie,” Sonya replied in her most positive voice.
“Nite, Darlin”, Bryan replied beginning to slur his words.
Another voice came on the line. “Madame Mylowsky, this is Doctor Dupont. Bryan have fight his medication to speak with you. I will increase his dosage, but he is more calm to have speak to you already. I see you tomorrow morning. Au revoir.”
Somehow, the phone call calmed her too. Bryan was coming back to her, and they were staying in a really lovely home, something that previously had totally gone without notice. BB had been a very gracious host. She would make a point to thank him when they drove to Madame Lalonde’s.
A brisk knock at the door had her hopping. “Ready?” Mike asked. With a smile, Sonya picked up her purse and followed Mike down the stairs. They climbed into BB’s Mercedes, and this time, he was driving.
“So, you do drive yourself!” Sonya stated.
“Oh, most definitely!” BB laughed. “Maurice was part of our cover. He is at his desk at Interpol as we speak, writing up reams of reports. I was brought in from retirement for this operation. Thus, I am now free as a bird from the paperwork. That was always the downside of a mission.”
“About reports,” Sonya began a little cautiously. “I have a lot of questions about all of what has happened. Will I get some answers to my questions?”
BB hesitated briefly. “Some questions can and must be answered. What is classified will remain so. I would like to wait until Bryan is home, so that we can carry on a round table and discuss it together. Is that satisfactory?”
“Absolutely!”
Madame Lalonde said nothing as they approached her pretty home. The police tape was gone, the police cars were gone, and it looked as it had before all of the craziness had begun. She pulled out her keys and opened the door, hesitant to step in. BB held her elbow and it seemed to give her the courage to walk through into her own home, the home in which she had been attacked, the home into which her son would never again be free to visit.
The mess had been tidied. No doubt, not all was in its proper place, but it probably wasn’t quite as painful for Madame Lalonde to walk into a home no longer torn apart.
Sonya immediately climbed the stairs to their room. It was also tidied, but their suitcases, her computer case and Bryan’s backpack were in shreds. Obviously they had been looking for the memory card. Without a word, Madame Lalonde left the room, and returned with a large suitcase.
“This will be suitable,” she declared and disappeared into her own room to attend to packing her and Sylvain’s immediate necessities.
Sonya finally finished packing their possessions into Madame Lalonde’s suitcase and Mike hauled it out to the Mercedes, returning for the rest of the luggage.
Within an hour, they were on their way. BB parked his car and motioned for them to follow him. They were in front of a charming rural inn. About ninety minutes were spent over a pleasant late lunch and by the time they returned to the house and unpacked their bags, it was quite dark.
The telephone rang and Sonya was advised that cocktails were being served in the living room. After freshening up, she sailed down the stairs, and the moodiness and feeling of malaise were gone. She was beginning to become the happy person she had been several days previous. Had it only been a few days since all of this had begun?
The scene in the living room was a surprise. Not only were Steve and Mimi present, but so was Maurice and several others that she didn’t know – obviously without balaclavas. Seriously pleased with her decision to freshen up, soon Sonya was sipping on a wonderful Bordeaux and mingling with the other guests. It was most civilized.
The dining room was splendidly laid out, and the meal fit for a king. Course after course was served and Sonya was seriously stuffed with the fine food. Before dessert, BB asked for everyone’s attention and lifting his glass in toast, he began.
“Early last spring, a mission involving my stepson, Steven Hunter, terminated in Gibraltar, where I witnessed him and his co-pilot, John Toth, in a number of unguarded moments. As a result of that encounter and a great deal of research, I had a heart to heart talk with my then wife, Celine. She revealed a truth that has been over four decades coming to light.”
“The pilots in Gibraltar were half-brothers in reality, and yet total strangers until then. Steven’s father was Ivan Toth, not Paul Hunter as we had all believed since his birth.”
“Another part of that secret also came to light at the same time. The man who John Toth believed to be his brother for his lifetime, Mike Toth, is in reality my son. I wish to raise a toast my son, and to declare my absolute delight that this fine man is my family. I am looking forward towards getting to know him much, much better.”
CHAPTER 25
Stretching, Sonya gazed around her bedroom and luxuriated in the knowledge that Bryan would be joining her here, this very day. Checking the time, she quickly hurried to her attached bathroom, cranked up the shower and prepared for a very exciting day.
After dinner the previous evening, Maurice had spoken to her privately, requesting her permission to attend their round table discussion with BB. They had not been able to speak to Bryan given his poor condition when he was rescued, and both he and BB were hoping that he could answer a few questions for them.
Sonya had no problem whatsoever granting his request. She wanted the skunks that had hurt Bryan to pay and pay big time, and if this would put a few nails into their coffins, then she would be happy to provide the hammer. Hopefully, it would be a sledge hammer. But first, Bryan had to be released from the hospital. Mimi had reported that her mother was very pleased with his progress and he would indeed be released the following morning.
It had been interesting to watch Mimi and S
teve in a casual situation, after their business-like mission that fateful night that Bryan had been rescued. They were, in Sonya’s mind, two halves of a whole. She was aware that her cousin John’s wife, Sara, had very much liked Steve and had wanted to set him up because she wished him to have a happy life. Sara needn’t have worried, Steve was doing just fine by himself. And, in her very humble opinion, Mimi was perfect for him.
Extremely curious after seeing Mimi at the bar with Grégoire that night that she and Bryan had joined them, she finally gained enough courage to ask Mimi what she did, at least when she wasn’t being a spy.
Mimi had laughed. “I come from un famille that was in La Résistance during the Second World War,” she admitted. “We joke that it is the family business. My brother, Maurice, he ask me on some occasions to help. How I can I say non? I meet Steven on mission and I enjoy the, how do you say in English, l’excitement. It is a good complement to my business. Je suis un décorateur d’intérieur. (I am an interior decorator) I may go many place and because I have degree from la Université, I can watch Grégoire.”
Ah, thought Sonya, no wonder Mimi seemed to be on the cutting edge of fashion – or perhaps it was because she was a native Parisian. It did seem to be something that came naturally to most of the women that she had seen.
Maurice was her brother? Wow! Now that she knew, there was a family resemblance. Nonetheless, it came as a surprise, but Mimi asking Doctor Dupont to see to Bryan in the middle of the night now made perfect sense. Maybe after the round table more things would make sense as well.
Ensuring her makeup was perfect, her hair behaved properly and her outfit was not too over the top but not too drab, Sonya finally stepped out of her room. She hadn’t been this nervous since the first date that she and Bryan had planned, many years previous.
Secrets Page 9
