Nolan narrowed his eyes. “I haven’t heard any reports of another hurricane victim being found.”
“It hasn’t been released yet. The government likes to make sure the victim is associated with the disaster before releasing any information. Two years is a long time, Mr. Carmichael, they need to be sure this isn’t a crime or an accident that has happened since.”
“So? Is the man they found likely to be a victim of the hurricane?” Nolan’s patience was wafer thin, he just needed some fucking answers.
“Yes, it was confirmed a couple of hours ago.”
Nolan rubbed his chin and stared at Olivia. She hadn’t uttered a word since Morrison had begun unravelling this saga. “Does he match Lenny’s description?”
“I believe the man is…” Robert Morrison cleared his throat again.
The nervous habit of the official was getting on Nolan’s nerves.
“Um, from the details here, he is an African American male, six foot four inches tall, black hair, brown eyes. Oh, and a small scar above his right eyebrow.”
Olivia looked up, “He got that playing football. A stud.”
Morrison looked back down at the notes. “Yes, that would be consistent with the description of the scar. The coroner puts his age at around twenty-five.”
Nolan put his fists to the table and leaned into Morrison. “Then I need to see him.”
“Of course, Mr. Carmichael. We are trying to arrange this for you, but um, please note that the body is in fairly poor condition.”
Behind him, Olivia let out a strangled cry. Nolan swung around and knelt before her. “I’ll do it.” She looked so lost that he wanted to take her into his arms and hold her. God, if he could only take this pain away from her.
Robert Morrison shuffled the papers back into the folder. “If you would be patient for another few minutes, I will let the mortuary know we are coming down.” He picked up the folder and bustled out of the room.
Nolan sat beside Olivia, wrapping his arms around her trembling shoulders. “Just keep it together, Livi. We’ll get through this.”
She nodded and buried her face in his shoulder, her arm snaking around his waist as she held onto him tightly.
Nolan never dreaded something as much as he dreaded this task. As he followed Morrison through the bowels of the hospital, he felt sick to his stomach. As bad as it sounded, he hoped to God this was his friend. This nightmare had to end and the only way that was going to happen was if they knew for certain Lenny was dead.
The room he was shown into was small and clinical. Gray walls, gray linoleum on the floors, and a silver stainless steel tray table dominated the space and on top of it a body lay underneath a white sheet waiting for him. Bile rushed up Nolan’s throat and he had to council himself against running.
A Balinese technician stepped forward and said something in Indonesian. Robert Morrison translated, “Are you ready, Mr. Carmichael?”
Nolan took a deep breath and nodded.
The body was in a worse state than he’d expected. One eye was missing and large parts of the man’s neck and shoulder had been eaten away or decomposed—Nolan wasn’t sure which, but either way, it looked like he was an extra in a zombie movie. Nolan stepped forward trying to see past the bloated appearance.
He scanned the body quickly and then turned away. The green T-shirt and khakis were just as he remembered and, despite the disfigurement of the corpse, Nolan was positive it was his friend. “Yes. That is Lenny Johnson.”
“Would you like a moment alone with Mr. Johnson?”
Nolan shook his head. All of a sudden, the room felt like it was closing in on him. He needed to get out of there, away from the macabre sight. “No, I’d like to leave now.” He pushed passed Morrison and stepped out into the hallway.
Nolan had his hands on his knees gulping in air when the technician and the diplomat joined him outside. He straightened, trying to compose himself. “What happens now?”
“I can arrange for you to take the body home, or we can have him cremated here and the ashes collected for you. Do you have any idea which Mrs. Johnson would prefer?”
Nolan shook his head. “I’ll talk to her and Lenny’s parents.”
“There’s no need to decide straight away. We will need a few days to deal with the paperwork and make arrangements. In the meantime, if Mrs. Johnson would like to see her husband, I can arrange for her to visit him in the chapel.”
“No. She can’t see him like that. She shouldn’t have to remember him that way.” There was no way Nolan could put her through that.
“I completely understand, sir. Whatever you both decide.”
“Can you take me back to her and give us a few moments of privacy?”
Robert looked grave. “Yes, of course, this way.”
Thankfully, Morrison left Nolan outside the door to Koch’s office. He put his hands on the wall, bracing himself against it while he planned out his speech. Jesus! Where the hell did he even begin? He stayed there almost ten minutes, moving further down the hall, pacing as he rehearsed.
Livi, I’m sorry… Olivia, it’s not good news… Sweetheart, it’s… Fuck, I can’t call her that. Perhaps I should take her somewhere else to tell her? The hotel? The beach? No, that won’t work, as soon as I go in there she’ll want to know the truth. There’s no delaying this.
Resigned, he went back to the door and took one more deep breath as he entered.
The sun had shifted around the building while he had been away and the light coming through the windows bleached out the room. Dust danced in the air, making the whole scene look far too cheery for the news he was about to deliver. What he really needed was rain lashing at the windows and gloomy shadows.
Olivia jumped out of her chair, startled by the door opening. She blinked at him, looking dazed and he wondered if she had fallen asleep. Had she been dreaming of Lenny? She stepped toward him and he looked at his shoes. All words flew from his head and he couldn’t think of one thing to say. Olivia put her hand to his forearm and he glanced up at her. Reaching out, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and tugged her forward. Nolan rested his chin on the top of her head, finding that in the end, he didn’t need any words.
She clung to him and her tears soaked his shirt. One or two of his own ran down his face and dripped off his chin. Although they’d anticipated this news for two years, Nolan was surprised by the feeling of relief that this moment now brought. When they had first realized Lenny was missing, he was devastated, the ache in his chest so heavy and all-consuming that he never thought it would leave him. It had lessoned to some extent over the years, but it had never completely departed until now.
The relief felt alien, and for a moment guilt reared its ugly head. Guilt that it was him that was still alive, guilt that he wanted an end to his own pain and that Lenny’s confirmed death gave him that. And, above all, relief that he hadn’t cheated on his best friend when he had fallen for Olivia.
She finally pulled out of his arms and brushed away the tears on her cheek. “Do you think he suffered?”
“Let’s not think about that, Livi. There is no way of telling and speculating can only bring us more sadness. Let’s just remember him for the man he was.”
She nodded. “I-I should see him, shouldn’t I?” Her face went pale.
“No, don’t. I don’t want you to have that memory in your head.”
“But…”
“It’s bad, Livi, trust me.” Nolan cupped her face. “Don’t taint the images you have of him. Lenny was a sexy dude who—if I’d ever been gay—I would have been into.”
She smiled at his comment. “He really was.”
Nolan kissed her forehead. “So, remember him like that. Now, how about we get out of here?”
“Can we do that? Don’t we have some arrangements to make?”
“We can do that at the consulate tomorrow. Morrison needs to know whether you want to ship his body home for burial or cremate him here.”
“Here. Lenny wasn’t into being buried. He hated the idea of a grave and all that stuff. We’ll take his ashes back, find somewhere nice to scatter them.”
“Whatever you want. You want me to call Mama Tessa and Shona?”
“No. I should do that.”
A timid knock sounded on the door and Robert Morrison entered. “I just wanted to let you know a car is waiting to take us back whenever you’re ready.
“Thank you, Mr. Morrison.” Olivia grabbed her purse, “I think we’re ready now.” And as they walked to the door, she slipped her hand into Nolan’s.
Chapter 16
Olivia
Christmas Day 2018
With everything that transpired over the last few days and the fact they were in a tropical Hindu country, Olivia had completely forgotten it was Christmas. In fact, she wouldn’t have remembered at all except that when she and Nolan went down to breakfast, there was a weird gamelan version of Frosty The Snowman playing in the elevator. She looked at Nolan and burst out laughing. “Did we forget what day it was?”
He laughed along with her. “I guess we did. How about we celebrate it properly when we get back home?”
Olivia sighed. Despite all the sadness the last few days had brought her, she would miss this place. “What time is our flight tomorrow?”
Nolan had trouble finding them seats back to San Francisco but, somehow, the consulate had come through, locating them something on an obscure Chinese airline. It was taking a roundabout route home but it was the only option for days.
“Ten a.m.”
They found a table on the veranda and looked out over the exotic gardens of the hotel. Birds of paradise were showing off their vibrant orange blooms and the air was full of the scent of frangipani.
“Is there anything you want to do today?” Nolan asked, after he placed their breakfast order.
“I think I’d like to go back to where we lost him.”
Nolan narrowed his eyes at her. He had been doing that a lot over the last few days. Always scrutinizing her, trying to gauge how she was holding on. She patted his hand. “I’m fine, Nol. I just want to say goodbye.” He continued to look at her as if he didn’t believe her. “Will you come with me?”
“Of course, if that’s what you want.”
“I’d like to do something, say goodbye to him properly.” Even though technically they’d done that at the crematorium yesterday, Olivia felt she needed to make peace with the place where it all happened.
After breakfast, they took a taxi from their hotel to Pandawa Beach. They instructed their driver to take them to the top of the cliffs, avoiding the hidden beach itself. They climbed out of the cab in front of the Absolute Hotel. Walking through its impressive foyer, they settled on the magnificent verandah at the back.
“I’d forgotten how beautiful the view was from up here.” Olivia looked over the white sands and turquoise ocean and her gaze fell on a smaller hotel positioned further down the cliffs, closer to the winding road that took you onto the beach itself.
“Do you want to go down?” Nolan asked, pointing to the pathway that led from the Absolute down to the cheaper sister hotel where they had stayed two years ago.
Olivia took his hand and they ambled down the slope, apprehension building in her chest with each step they took. When they reached the white fronted hotel surrounded by the graceful and ubiquitous frangipani trees, they avoided the reception area and followed the walking trail around the outside to the back terrace.
It was as if nothing had changed. Olivia was immediately whisked back to the day Hurricane Nina had hit the island. Even the cushions on the loungers surrounding the pool were exactly the same as they had been when they’d stayed here. Her eyes drifted to the piece of waste ground next to the kitchen area. There were a dozen or more makeshift shelters crammed into the small space. Nolan reached for her hand and she gladly accepted it. Together they made their way to the wall that ran along the edge of the cliff.
She peered over it. “Jesus, I forgot how far down it was to the water.” Even though this hotel was positioned much closer to the beach than many of the others in the area, there was still a three or four story drop to the beach.
“It’s hard to believe the water came up so high,” Nolan said. “The storm surge must have been at least forty feet.”
Olivia looked around her. “Where do you think he was when we last saw him?”
Nolan scratched his chin. “Over there near the steps that lead down to the beach, I think.”
They made their way over there and Olivia leaned on the wall looking over the top. Her heart leaped into her mouth as she imagined Lenny tumbling over the wall to his death.
She stepped back and pulled out the photograph of Lenny that she’d printed for the service at the crematorium. She kissed it and laid it against the stone. Nolan opened his backpack and carefully lifted out the garlands they’d collected from the hotel’s florist shop. While Olivia draped them around the photograph, he took out two small brass bowls and unscrewed the cap off his water bottle. After filling each bowl, he hunted through his bag for the couple of round floating candles they’d packed.
When everything was set up, Olivia lit the candles and they stepped back to admire their makeshift shrine. It was then that she became conscious they were not alone. A group of local people, some wearing uniforms from the hotel and some that reminded her of the street urchins they’d seen two years ago, had stopped to watch them. A beautiful young Balinese woman wearing a turquoise sheer Kebaya over a bright orange and gold batik sarong shuffled forward with a bowl of rice. She smiled at Olivia and Nolan and pointed to Lenny’s picture and then indicated the bowl of rice. Realizing the woman wanted to leave an offering, Olivia nodded to her, blushing at the woman’s kind gesture.
After the Balinese woman left her gift, others from the small crowd of people went to the impromptu shrine, placing frangipani blooms, leaves, and pieces of fruit around Lenny’s picture. An excited voice broke through the silence and Olivia turned to see a young pre-teen boy gesturing at Lenny’s photograph.
“Pria ini adalah penyelamatku. Dia menyelamatkan hidupku.”
Olivia shook her head at the child. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”
One of the waiters stepped forward and bowed at them. “If you wish, madam, I translate.”
“Please.”
“The boy says he knows this man. That this man saved his life.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “What?” She fell to her knees before the young boy and took hold of his grubby hands.
“Can you help us speak to him?” Nolan asked stepping forward.
“Of course, it is my pleasure. What would you like me to say?”
“Tell him this man is her husband. That we would like to know what happened.”
The waiter put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and repeated their questions in Indonesian.
The child’s eyes kept darting to the picture as he gabbled out his story. The waiter listened and asked a few more questions before he turned to face Olivia.
“He was with his older brother, they were trying to find shelter from Hurricane Nina. A huge wave came over the wall and swept them off their feet. This brave man grabbed hold of this boy, stopped him falling down the steps into the water, but his brother wasn’t so lucky. Your husband took this boy to the kitchens, over there, and ran back to look for his brother. The man tried to reach the other child down the steps but, another wave swept them both away. The child did not see his brother or this man again.”
The boy looked directly at Olivia and put his hands together making a little bow with his head. “Suamimu adalah pria hebat.”
“What did he say?” Olivia looked up at the waiter.
“He said your husband is a great man.”
Tears pricked at her eyes. “How do I say thank you?”
“Terima kasih.”
She looked back at the boy, repeating the unfamiliar phrase. “Terima kasih. Please, could you as
k him one more thing?”
The waiter bowed. “Of course.”
“I’d like to know his name.”
“Siapa namamu?” he asked.
The boy pointed to his own chest, “Kadek.” The waiter asked him something else and the boy shook his head. “Kadek. Mijn broer heette Wayan.” A tear appeared in the boy’s eye and he brushed it away as he answered another question from the waiter.
Satisfied, the waiter turned back to Olivia. “He is known only as Kadek, which means second born. The brother was called Wayan, first born. Their parents could not afford to keep them, and did not give them any other names.”
“But don’t Balinese people have nicknames they use?” Olivia knew a little of their culture. When they visited two years ago she had wondered why so many Balinese shared the same name. A local guide had explained the naming system and how each child was named for the order of their birth. They would use the name of their Hindu caste, too, and many added a nickname to distinguish themselves further.
“Kadek,” repeated the boy and then he looked at Lenny’s picture. “Namamu?”
Olivia smiled. “Lenny. His name is Lenny.”
The child grinned and pointed to himself once more. “Sekarang saya, Kadek Lenny.”
The waiter quickly addressed the boy and, after a short exchange, he gave Olivia another little bow. “Please, madam. He says he is now called Kadek Lenny, he would like to take your husband’s name so everyone knows he is the Kadek who was saved by Lenny.”
Nolan grabbed the boy and lifted him on to his burly shoulders. “Kadek Lenny! What a fine name.”
The waif looked a little shocked at being suddenly thrust onto the big man’s shoulders, but when he heard his new name, a huge beaming smile appeared on his face.
“Olivia, let’s buy Kadek Lenny lunch and get to know him.” Nolan lifted the child down and took his hand leading the boy toward one of the hotel tables.
Kadek Lenny hesitated, his eyes going to the waiter that had helped them. The waiter smiled kindly and pulled out a chair for him, saying something in Indonesian that seemed to put the boy at ease.
After Hurricane Nina, Nolan's Resolution (Hot Hunks-Steamy Romance Collection Book 2) Page 11
