chapter one hundred and seven

Back at the police station, I briefly spoke to an emotionally fragile but relieved Viola. I embraced her and reassured her that everything was going to be okay. She put up a brave face, but a few tears rolled down her cheeks as a policeman took her arm and led her out. She was joining her husband at a safe house, and what lay ahead for them was likely to be a bit of a rough road.

Blair and I were directed to a small meeting room where we found Roman and a man in a carefully pressed brown suit, papers measured out in neat piles between them. Roman jumped up and greeted me with a generous hug. “Thank God you’re alive, Billy! I hope someone is paying your angels overtime.” Then he held me at arms’ length and studied my bruised face carefully. Blair noisily moved a chair behind us, and my boss snapped back into business mode, energetically introducing me to Jonathan Stackhaus.

The man in the brown suit was a lawyer the city had hired to sue Allstar Corporation for damages. This was in addition to all the criminal charges Tait and Applewood would have slapped on them. With the testimony of Richard Sanders, the information gleaned from Michelle Whitehall, and the confessions of the two kidnappers who were on the payroll of Allstar, the prosecution was rapidly developing a devastating case. Roman was confident that all the rats whom Allstar paid off to do their dirty work would scurry out from their hiding places as soon as they saw the corrupt corporation begin to unravel.

While the three men grappled with the details of the complex case, I excused myself to write a statement about the day’s events at the Sanders’ house. The finished document read more like a juvenile sleuth book than a crime report. Where else would take-out coffee, a diminutive female statue, and red fingernails make appearances as a crime-fighters’ weapons of choice? I conveniently neglected to discuss the merits of said weapons and left that up to the reader to determine. My creative writing assignment complete, I wandered back to the meeting room to see how things were progressing.

Mr. Stackhaus was stuffing files into a thick briefcase whose colour perfectly matched his pants. Roman and Blair were shaking hands like business partners, but all three stopped what they were doing when they saw me in the doorway, their mouths slightly open. I fingered my hair to see if it was on fire. Nope.

“Dear God, Billy, you look – “ Roman paused while he searched for the polite, but not totally accurate word. “- exhausted!” Considering what my face had been through in the last few days, I was sure it was coming close to imitating a rainbow by now. By Roman’s reaction, I concluded that the last hour had only intensified the effect. “I insist that you take the rest of the week off, Ms. Ellis.” There was kindness in his voice, but also a discreet distancing. I supposed that if one were trying to put a new face on city hall, it certainly wouldn't be mine. Having an assistant that looked like a battered wife was definitely not an asset. Considering the amount of publicity that was likely to be coming his way in the next few weeks, he didn't need anyone or anything to detract from the important issues he would be tackling. I understood that and graciously accepted his directive to lay low for awhile, though I knew it was not solely for my own benefit. Well, so much for having my image plastered on the front page as the savior of the city.

“I’ll take you home,“ Blair offered. “I’m pretty beat myself. We can get your car some other time, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all, Detective,” I replied, surprisingly at peace with the annihilation of yet another fantasy of mine.

Cameron was pensive and quiet on the drive to my apartment. No doubt he was fatigued and had a lot on his mind with the latest developments in the Allstar case, but a word or two would have been nice. Perhaps a “How are you holding up?” or “Did they give you enough painkillers at the hospital?” Even a simple, “Wow, what a day!” would have been nice.

“Billy – “ Cam’s voice startled me out of my daydream. We were parked in front of my building, and he had turned off the car. “I have a favour to ask you.” I nodded vigorously, suddenly aware that I would do anything for this man. “Listen, I know I didn’t do it right the first time. I should have talked to you first, so I’m going to try again and hopefully, I’ll do better.”

I squinted at him, not sure where the request for a favour was to be found in any of those words.
He continued. “I would like to take you out to a very nice restaurant on Saturday. Would that be okay?” I smiled broadly and nodded. That favour would be a pleasure to grant. “I would like you to have my father’s Bible with you when I pick you up. Can you do that?” I nodded again, more slowly this time. “After dinner, I will ask you to come to my house for tea.”

“I drink coffee now,” I reminded him.

“Right, coffee.” He paused and waited. After a moment of silence, I realised that he was waiting for me to respond, so I gave the obligatory nod. “After coffee, I will ask you to marry me.”

“Again?” My voice was high and my heart was starting to pound.

“Yes, again. I’m giving you five days to think about it. I hope that’s enough for you to give me an answer. Do you think you can do that?” He leaned forward slightly, never taking his eyes off me.

“Yes, the answer is yes, I mean, not that answer, but to the other thing, of course, yes. I will, I can, yes, do that.” I stumbled over the words that came gushing out of my mouth.

“Thank you. I look forward to seeing you on Saturday, Billy.” I sat in the passenger seat and breathed in and out and in and out and couldn’t move. “Is everything okay?” Blair asked.

“Yes, everything is very okay.” I replied as a few tears squeezed out from my black and blue eyes. “It’s just that my face... I’m sorry, Cameron. I wanted to be beautiful when this moment happened. You deserve that.”

He gently took my right hand in his and smiled like he had a secret. “You are beautiful, Billy, every part of you. And none of us deserve it. That’s why it’s called love.”