One Journey Ends

Sven replaced the last of Henderson's files in the drawer and locked the cabinet, as he'd found it. Justin was doing the same on the other side of the office.

"Well, this should help us piece this case together fairly accurately," the darker haired man said as he and Sven slipped out the door and into the stairwell.

"Yes," Sven agreed distractedly. His mind drifted back to his meeting with Tara earlier that day, during which he'd learned nothing new. She was determined to keep her pain private and it bothered him that she refused to let him in.

"Is something troubling you?" Justin asked, breaking into the blonde man's thoughts.

"No," Sven replied. "I am just thinking about how to go about taking down Henderson."

Justin assumed a skeptical expression but said nothing. When they reached the lobby, they slipped out the back door so as not to be noticed by the security personnel. They walked back to their room in silence.

"I think we should see about renting an apartment," Justin said as they entered the hotel room. "The case is taking longer than expected and an apartment would leave our materials less vulnerable to detection. You do not mind, do you?"

"I trust your judgment, Justin," Sven said dismissively. "If this is what you feel is best for the investigation, I have no qualms."

"Yet you do not do as I advise when it comes to the girl."

"Tara is a non-negotiable subject," Sven replied darkly.

"Why?"

"I have already told you, I do not feel comfortable with the state she is in."

"Anyone would be acting so in her position," Justin argued. "She has just lost her husband and unborn child. It will take time for her to recover from that."

"You are assuming she even wishes to recover."

"Why would she not?"

"She has no ort ort system," the blonde man said in a neutral tone that hid angeanger well. "She has no family and very few friends. She cannot concentrate on her job. She has lost her reason to live."

"You cannot be sure of that."

"True. But as long as I suspect it I will not leave her."

"What if our case takes us away from here?" Justin countered. "What will you do then?"

"I will face that problem when I encounter it," Sven red wid without blinking.

"You do not fool me, Sven," the darker man returned with a sharpened gaze. "You intend to take her with you, do you not?"

"And if I do?" the Scandinavian man answered. "Will you try to interfere?"

"If I feel it will hinder our investigation, I might."

"This case has suddenly become very important to you, Justin. Why is that?"

"Is it not important to you?" he said suddenly averting his glance.

"I did not suggest otherwise," Sven said not taking his eyes off of his partner. "But you seem to have taken a keen interest in it. Is it because she reminds you of something or someone? Is that why you try so hard to avoid talking about her or even use work to attempt to distract yourself from thinking of her?"

"The matter is not yours to question."

"I know you worry for her," Sven went on touching Justin's shoulder. "I know you are very interested in her progress."

"I only listen because you feel the need to tell me," the darker man hissed. "My only interest in her now is to keep her from distracting you."

"Is that why you were there today, then?"

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Justin gasped before he could stop himself. He had been very careful to keep himself hidden from Sven and Tara's sight, only wanting to satisfy his urge to check up on her. It was his partner's fault, damn it! He'd have been capable of taking his mind off her if Sven refrained from reminding him of her condition. He'd had to see her for hims

"Me?" he asked in a mild tone, feigning surprise.

"Do not attempt to hide the truth from me," Sven said. "I am not so rusty at this kind of work that I do not know I am being followed."

"I was concerned about you."

"Me?" Sven asked. "And why would that be?"

"She consumes much of your attention," Justin rationalized. "I wanted to see if she was truly as you said she was."

"And?" Sven asked after a few moments of silence.

"And she did not seem too emacd tod to me."

"You were not so close in proximity to her," Sven countered. "And you have not seen her since that night. Believe me, she is too thin."

"I just think you are overstating things, Sven. She just needs more time."

"I will give her time, my friend," the blonde man said patting Justin's arm again. "But I will keep a very close eye on her in the meantime. She has no one to lean on and this weighs on me greatly."

Justin nodded mutely and turned away. He felt more uncomfortable than ever with Sven now. How could his partner seem to know him so well? Perhaps he'd picked up a lot during the time he'd been watching Justin before he'd introduced himself. But that couldn't be possible as it had been quite a number of years since Justin had displayed any discernable emotion. He'd intentionally quashed them early on in his mercenary career, knowing all too well how they could lead to ruin.

He felt Sven eyes follow him as he moved around the room. This was also quite disconcerting as Justin was more used to being the one who did the watching. He knew the apartment would be a good idea as there would be more space for them to share. Perhaps then he could find a way to emotionally distance himself from the blonde man again.

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The phone shrilled insistently but Tara refused to answer it. It seemed that Ben's mother took great comfort in abusing his widow. Though Tara may agree that she was ultimately responsible for her husband's death, she was not willing to listen to a daily tirade on the subject. Finally tired of hearing the phone ring, she pulled the cord out of the wall and made herself a cup of tea. She was going to make some toast to go with it but decided she wasn't hungry after all. She rarely felt the urge to eat these days, in fact.

As she sipped her tea, she debated whether to go to the cemetery that day as she had been for the past week. She knew Sven would be there again and though she liked him, she felt uncomfortable around him. He always asked so many questions about her health and she wasn't accustomed to so much interest. Well, from anyone but her husband, that is. Besides, she felt that her welfare wasn't anyone's concern but her own.

Her thoughts went back to that night at the hospital to the man who'd saved her from the attackers. She wondered who he was and why he'd saved her in the first place. On the one hand she was grateful to him for stopping the attack and killing one of the men responsible for her baby's death. On the other, she felt angry that he'd kept her alive but wasn't able to save her unborn child. But when she dwelled upon it she felt guilty.

The police still hadn't found the second man. One of the detectives had made it a point to stop by and update her on their progress. He seemed nice if inexperienced in what he did for a living. But Tara only smiled and thanked him as he stood to leave. She didn't want him to think that she didn't care, even though she didn't. The men had already taken the only thing that would have mattered to her. What more was there for her here?

Sighing she picked up her mug and brought it to the sink. She went back into the den and looked around the room. All of Ben's books and papers from the college had been delivered to her in boxhat hat were strewn about. She knew she should go through them but couldn't find the strength.

The mail sat on the desk with the bills piling up. She'd paid the oldest ones for the time being. The insurance company had promised that the check would be sent to her soon so that she could budget and pay some of the other bills until she could go back to work. She knew she would eventually run out of money, as her job didn't pay well enough for her to afford her mortgage, but she estimated that she'd have about a year before her financial needs became too dire. Taking a last look about her she picked up her coat and headed out the door to visit Ben and their daughter.

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Sven waited near Benjamin Connor's grave anxiously. He knew that Tara had been feeling awkward with their meetings and that he would have to handle things carefully so as not to frighten her away from him before he could be sure she was all right. Finally he saw her draw near to the grave and sit down beside it. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was over an hour later than her usual time. He was right. She intended to avoid him. What to do now? If he approached her, she would undoubtedly withdraw from him.

No, he decided. He could not risk alienating her any more than she already was. He watched her from his vantage point without alerting her to his presence, even when she rose to leave almost an hour later. He tailed her to the bus stop and watched as she boarded the bus. He would have to try to limit his actual contact with her until such time as she was ready.

He decided he would come to the cemetery at their usual appointed meeting time and hide when it became late. If she wanted to speak with him, he knew she would be there at noon. If she wanted to avoid him, she would come later. But no matter what time she did come, he would always be watching for her.

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When Tara arrived home, she noticed a small brown envelope leaning against her front door. She picked it up warily and brought it into the house. After she removed and re-hung her coat, she took the envelope into the den and opened it. There wasn't a note inside but a small object spilled out onto the desk. It was the necklace she'd been wearing the night of the assault. She'd thought it was lost in the scuffle forever, but apparently not. Vaguely, she remembered sec second attacker grabbing at her neck just before her saviore hie his friend away and threw him down. She looked down at the broken necklace with a feeling of dread.