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The phone call came less than 2 hours after their flight had landed. Even through it was past 7pm and they were just off a 22 hour journey neither Laura nor Lewis were particularly surprised. As far as the Oxford Police were concerned if you were back in the country your holidays were officially over.
Laura left straight away, her Pathologists bag and 'uniform' ever present in the back of her car which luckily started first time. As he watched Laura Hobson back out of the driveway Lewis suspected that was Hathaway's work.
He looked around the kitchen which was looked recently cleaned and smelled strongly of lemon disinfectant. Laura had given Hathaway their spare keys at the airport ["not spare keys James, your keys"] and he had promised to water the plants and generally keep an eye on the place. Lewis however, had a feeling that Hathaway had all but moved in, at least for a while. Despite all the recent cleaning there was a faint lingering smell of cigarette smoke in the air and what looked suspiciously like a lanky boy wonder shaped groove in the couch. Robert Lewis smiled ruefully and shook his head. Obviously James Hathaway hadn't taken on board his advice to give himself a break and why wasn't he surprised.
Lewis sighed and looked around. He wasn't officially back to duty, and truth be told he didn't know if he wanted to go back or would he be welcome? James Hathaway was an intelligent efficient D.I, and had D.S Maddox to help keep him in check and stop him getting too far into this own head. Sitting down heavily on the couch Lewis scrubbed his hands over his face. It was too early to go to bed. He supposed he could unpack and start a wash, open a few more windows to get rid of the last of the cigarette smoke…
Two hours later he had one wash on the line and another in the washing machine and was just going to make himself a cuppa when his phone rang, Lizzie Maddox's name flashing on the screen.
He knew before answering it that something was wrong
"Maddox?"
"Sir"… there was a pause. "Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you, I know you are only back from holidays, but.. well…"
"Maddox, I told you it's Robbie, not Sir, I'm not back at duty yet, and you aren't disturbing me, is everything {James} ok?"
He knew if there was something serious that D.S Maddox would have told him straight away, she wasn't one to hesitate, not normally. But still, something was obviously wrong.
"It's D.I. Hathaway Sir. I'm not sure, but something is wrong. There was a body, in the river close to Iffley Village. Hathaway and I were called out there a couple of hours ago. Laura thinks it's a straight-forward suicide but the D.I reacted really, well, weirdly to the body. He just left the scene without telling me, and he left in my car so I'm stuck out here. I don't understand, something is wrong. I've been trying to call him but he won't answer….."
The sound of another incoming call interrupted their conversation.
"Maddox, Laura's trying to call me, she might have some more info, I'll call you back".
Switching calls he skipped the usual preamble "Laura, what's going on, Lizzie Maddox just rang me and she said Hathaway has left her stranded at a crime scene?"
"Robbie, It was the body" Laura Hobson came straight to the point, knowing her partner didn't like wasting words "Police divers found his I.D in the river 10 minutes ago".
She paused before continuing. "Robbie, It's Paul Hopkiss"
Paul Hopkiss…. Crevecoeur Hall…. "Damn" Lewis swore silently to himself as Laura continued.
"I remember you talking about the case at the time, and about James" She paused. "We hadn't found the I.D card before James arrived, otherwise I wouldn't have let him see the body"
Lewis sighed heavily. "These things happen, you weren't to know. I didn't realise Hopkiss was due for parole. Can you fill D.S Maddox in and give her a lift back to the station? I'll head out and see if I can find Hathaway"
"Of course. Will you ring me when you find him? Let me know he's ok?"
Lewis knew that Laura had a strong almost motherly affection for James {Not motherly, she wouldn't thank for him putting her closer to his age than she was, maybe sisterly then}. She worried about him, wanted him to meet someone and settle down, wanted him to feel that he could be a part of her and Robbie's life.
As for Lewis, well, he just wanted the lad to smile a bit more.
Three and a half hours later he had gone to every single one of James favourite haunts, walking laps of Oxford City Centre, though all the collages, has even driven out to Crevecoeur itself but there was no sign of the younger man. He wasn't answering any of Lewis calls or messages either.
"Hathaway, ring me will you, Laura's worried about you… and Lizzie Maddox wants her car back"
"Hathaway where are you, awkward bloody sod"
"James… just…. ring me back will you?"
Lewis was bone tired, frustrated with his colleague and… well…. worried. He had decided to return to Crevecouer one more time in case he missed the lad earlier when his phone rang.
{Laura}
"Hi love, no sign of him, I'm just…"
"Robbie, he's here". Laura's voice was low, almost a whisper. "He arrived 10 minutes ago. I let him in and made tea but I haven't asked him anything" Laura Hobson had more intuition that most of the cops that Robbie Lewis knew. "Are you on your way home?"
"I'll be there in 5 minutes" Lewis hung up and switched on his engine, turning the car for home and wishing he still had his siren. Silly really. James was in one piece, in his kitchen.
His mind wondered back to the last conversation he had had with Lord Montmaigne. "I loved them all…." Those words still haunted Robbie Lewis. Neither James nor he had mentioned Crevecouer in close to 4 years.
Walking in the front door a few minutes later he was struck by how quiet the house was. James was sitting at the kitchen table, tea untouched in front of him. He looked very much like the James that Lewis had left at the airport 6 weeks previously. Black suit, white shirt, {but no tie he noticed}. Hair a little shorter maybe, face a little thinner. His face, however, was ashen white and Robbie could see his hands were shaking, despite James Hathaway's best attempts to keep them under control.
Laura came in from the garden, washing basket in hand, an obvious ploy given that it was almost 1am. She glanced at Robbie and then at James, but she said nothing, simply kissed her partner and headed upstairs, giving James's shoulder a quick squeeze as she passed him.
Robbie signed heavily, removed his jacket (Strange to be wearing winter clothes again) and boiled the kettle. He made two fresh cups of tea, leaving space at the top of both cups. He knew alcohol wasn't the right thing for shock, but he also knew James Hathaway. He needed something to shake him out of his silence. He put the tea down in front of James and added a liberal dash of whiskey to both cups.
"Drink it".
Hathaway looked at the cup and then at Lewis, as if he hadn't realised either of them were there.
"I'm fine Sir"
"James, I'm not Sir anymore, haven't been for quite a while, as you bloody know. Just drink the tea, you've had a shock"
Lewis sipped his own tea before continuing. "You managed to give Laura quite a scare, and Lizzie Maddox, she was worried about you".
"Sorry Sir…. I mean Robbie"
Lewis noticed Hathaway still hadn't made any move to pick up the cup. He watched as the younger man pulled a crumpled packet of cigarettes out of his pocket and fumbled for his lighter before realising where he was and standing up, making for the patio doors to the garden.
"Stay where you are lad, its fine"
James sat back down and awkwardly lit the cigarette, his shaking hands making it obviously difficult to control the lighter. Lewis said nothing, just looked away and continued to drink his tea.
They sat in silence for some time.
"How was New Zealand?" James eventually spoke, not looking at his former boss
"James, its after 1 in the morning, I haven't slept in over 24 hours and have spent the last 4 hours driving around Oxford looking for you".
"Sorry" James repeated, staring into his cup as if he was trying to read his fortune.
Robbie signed again. "No I'm sorry lad, and I'm glad you came here."
"I didn't mean to" James replied softly. "I …. Just drove around for a while. I meant to ring Maddox, to apologise for my unprofessional behaviour"... he trailed off
"She's a big girl, and Laura gave her a lift home" Lewis interjected softly.
James didn't react, the tea in front of him steaming untouched.
"Seems you spent a bit of time here while we were away" Lewis tried again "Next time try a stronger air freshener"
Hathway looked up quickly, then realised his former boss was teasing him, but couldn't quite manage a smile.
There was silence again. Upstairs Lewis could here Laura Hobson moving around, the sound of drawers opening and closing, the sound of an empty suitcase being zipped closed and slid under the bed.
"So…. Paul Hopkiss.." Lewis said eventually.
James bowed his head a little lower but said nothing.
"I didn't know he was due for parole, did you?"
James shrugged his shoulders and stood up, walking to the patio doors and flicking his cigarette end out into the garden. "I'd hear a rumour...but I didn't believe it… and anyhow even if it was, its nothing to do with me"
Lewis shifted in his seat; his back was aching slightly after the long flight. "And yet, here you are having stolen your Sergeants car and disappeared only to show up in my kitchen with your hands shakin' so badly you can't even pick up a cup of tea"
Silence. Hathaway stood at the patio door, his back to Lewis.
"That's 15 year old scotch whiskey gone into the tea lad, it's a bloody waste if you don't drink it"
At that Hathaway turned and for a second Lewis saw a hint of smile. The younger man returned to the kitchen table and sat down, taking a sip of the now lukewarm tea and grimacing.
"What's wrong with the tea?" Lewis deliberately chided, wanting to draw some conversation, any conversation out of his former bagman
"Maybe less sugar and milk next time" James replied.
"Drink it you ungrateful sod".
Lewis looked directly at Hathaway and for the first time the younger man caught his eye and gave another quick half smile. His hands, Lewis noticed weren't shaking quite as badly.
"So, are we going to talk about it?" Lewis asked quietly after what seemed like a long silence.
"About what?" Hathaway was back staring at the cup again, he expression quickly becoming mutinous
"Paul Hopkiss". Lewis ventured.
"Nothing to talk about, I got a shock that's all, I didn't expect to see him so soon, it just... it just caught me by surprise".
Hathaway drained the cup and sat twisting the empty cup around in circles on the table.
"James" Robbie hesitated before continuing. "That day, at Crevecouer Hall, after they arrested Lord Montmaigne, I promised myself that I would never push it unless I thought you really needed to talk about it"
He finished his own tea and stared at James Hathaway, willing him to meet his eye. "It's none of my business, not really, but its obviously causing you pain right now, any fool can see that, so if you won't talk to me, maybe you will talk to someone else?".
Hathaway met his eyes briefly. He was breathing heavily, and the empty cup was twisting around and around in circles on the tabletop. Suddenly the cup spun out of his hands and fell onto the floor, smashing into pieces. In the ensuing silence James pushed away his chair and walked into the garden, lighting a cigarette as he went.
Lewis followed the red glow of James Hathaway's cigarette as the younger man paced around the garden. He scrubbed his eyes before stretching down to pick up the pieces of broken cup. Every muscle in his body ached, he realised. After flying halfway across the world, the retired detective was bone tired. There was silence now overhead. He wondered if Laura was in bed but decided she wouldn't be able to sleep until she knew James was safely tucked up in the spare room.
If he was honest, he knew he wouldn't either. His posh-boy-wonder-genius copper had somehow gotten under Detective Inspector Lewis' skin and he felt responsible for him.
"God help me"
Eventually James returned and sat down.
"Could I have another whiskey?" he asked Lewis.
Lewis stood up and took 2 glasses from the draining board, filling a liberal measure of 15 year old scotch whiskey into each.
James Hathaway took the glass and after murmuring his thanks {always so mannerly} he took a gulp.
Silence. Lewis heard a fox crying in the distance, the sound of music from somewhere down the street. {probably a party}
"It happened once." When James Hathaway finally spoke it almost made Lewis jump. Hathaway was staring straight ahead, not looking at his former boss.
Lewis felt time slowing down, could hear his heart beating a little faster.
Hathaway continued. "I can't talk about it, not yet, but I know I have to eventually. But... not now... not yet."
Lewis felt a surge of anger and disgust as he thought back to the arrogant condescending bastard Lord of the manor, justifying his evil acts. "I loved them, all of them"
But Hathaway was still talking. "I didn't know… about the others…. I should have known, should have guessed, but I just… I just blocked it out…. Dad took another job and we left soon after… in hindsight maybe he knew something was wrong, or Mum, I don't know. I put it so far out of my mind that It was like it never happened, but I think maybe It changed me. I caused so much hurt to so many people after it".
At that Lewis interrupted. "Just stop there lad. Just…. for once understand that something was done to you that was wrong, that caused you pain and that despite that you still managed to become a walking theology thesaurus and respected Detective Inspector. But you're also human lad, just like the rest of us, and yes its affected you, it still is."
James finally caught his eye and Lewis was almost relieved to see his eyes were red and his face full of raw emotion and pain.
"I'll say it again James. What happened at Crevecouer wasn't your fault. Not then and not now. That's the truth".
James scrubbed at his eyes and drained his whiskey glass. He sighed heavily before giving a rueful smile.
"Not exactly the welcome home you or Laura expected, was it?"
Lewis knew that was all James was going to say about the subject that night. He would also be able to read Detective Inspector James Hathaway better than maybe anyone else.
"Doesn't matter lad" he replied softly before standing up, stretching painfully and picking up the mugs from the table. He put his hand on James shoulder as he walked by, squeezing it once before leaving the mugs in the sink.
"Spare rooms made up and Laura will hunt you down if you try to leave". Lewis looked down at James Hathaway who for once didn't even try to protest. He looked tired, and so young. Lewis could see the 12 year old boy in him so clearly, needing love and protection.
"Come on lad, upstairs with you, it's been a long day. Tomorrow, or whenever you are ready, we will make a plan together, Ok?"
James Hathaway stood up, sadness still all around him, but maybe not quite as heavy and sad as when he had arrived. He moved past Robbie Lewis and paused at the foot of the stairs.
"Thanks, Robbie".
Slowly James Hathaway made his way up the stairs to the welcoming spare room where Lewis instinctively knew that Laura would have made the bed up with sheets warm from the airing cupboard and have one of James Hathaway's favourite novels on the bedside locker.
He signed before switching off the light and making his way to the stairs and to bed speaking softly to the now empty room. "That's alright lad, anytime."
THE END