The Shadows Fall: Chapter 35

That evening, The Break Bar crowd was thin, as it always was on a Monday night.  Hank was cleaning up and readying to leave.  "Hey, Hank, see you tomorrow,"  Walnut said.  "Anyone left in the back?"  He headed for the front door.

"Nah, see ya, Walnut,"  Hank said.

"See ya," he responded, and the door chimed as he left.  And once again, Hank forgot to lock the door after him.

Wiping the bar down, he polished it and made it shine.  Going through the glasses, he wiped a few clean, and organized his wares for the next day.  Customarily, he spent about an hour after the bar closed so that he could be late the next day, sleeping until 12 or 1.  He began to think about his new life and what it would be like being on Todd Manning's payroll permanently.  He'd already cashed the check the rich guy gave him, and stashed the money under his mattress at home.  The first thing he would do is buy the motorcycle he wanted.  He'd waited his whole life for a Harley, and Todd's payment to him was just enough.

He closed up, shutting the front lights, and heading to the backroom.  He checked each room, as he did the night before, to see if there was anyone lagging or there were any good clues.  He finished, closing all of the cubicle doors, and headed down the brown hall to the Loading Zone door.

It was too late when he noticed that the closet door was slightly ajar.  By the time he reacted, and ran out the Loading Zone door, someone burst through it, and, taking him from behind, strangled him to the ground in the parking lot.  Grabbing for his neck, and feeling the pain of a possibly crushed windpipe, the last thing he felt was a blade sliding between his ribs.  He watched steam rise from himself, and the blackness took over.

***

"What is it, my dear?"  Sister Rebecca Katherine said to Jessica, who was sitting, staring into the sunlit yard.  She had a far away look in her eye.  It was barely an hour after dawn, and Jessica was up, at breakfast and taking in the quiet solitude of the almost-empty cafeteria.

"Hello, Sister.  I was just thinking, that's all."

The nun's Irish brogue was lilting as she rested a hand on Jessica's shoulder.  "Could it be you're thinking of that lad, the one that pays you so much attention?"

Jessica looked into the kind, older woman's face and smiled at her.  Sister Rebecca Katherine had warm and tender expressions, some lines of wear on her skin, but a twinkle in her eyes that showed some spunk.  "Could be."

"Afraid to take that chance, aren't ya?"

"The chance of what?"

"Falling in love again.  You've been through a lot, and if you don't mind me saying so, you've had pretty terrible luck with men."

"That is an understatement."  She pushed around her fruit and yogurt before putting the spoon down, terminally.

"I'll take that tray, if you like?"  the nun said.

"All right, if you want to.  Otherwise, I can definitely do it myself."

Sister Rebecca Katherine took the tray and disposed of the remains of Jessica's breakfast, and Jessica watched her.  She was not feeble by any means, in fact, she was a strong woman.  Jessica could tell by the way she stood and carried herself.  While watching her, Jessica's eyes caught the arrival of Devon. 

He didn't see her at first, walking into the cafeteria with pale green scrubs and a snug t-shirt on.  The way he stood, the sun reflected off his skin and colored it warm.  Then, without notice, his face brightened as he saw her.  He lifted his hand in an idle wave.

She responded with the same.

Sister Rebecca Katherine also spied the action, and went back to Jessica.  "There he is.  A fine specimen of a man, eh?"

"Sister!"  Jessica was surprised. 

"Listen, dear, I am married to Christ, not dead."

Devon approached the table.  "Good morning, ladies."

"Good morning."  Jessica said.

The kindhearted nun stood up quickly, "well I must be going.  I'll see you both at Mass,"  and she ambled away.

Jessica smiled at him, saying, "I guess she doesn't understand that not everyone at St. Anne's is Catholic."

"I guess she doesn't understand that not everyone in the world is Catholic."  They both laughed.  He sat.  "So, are you up for a conversation over breakfast?"

"With you?"

"Yeah, with me.  I figured after yesterday's singing, you might want a breather."

"No, I don't.  Sure, I'd love a conversation."

"Okay, then I'll be right back, let me go get some grub."

She watched him go, thin-waisted and broad-shouldered, making his way to the breakfast area.  It was possibly going to be a lovely day.

***

It wasn't until that morning during rush hour that a passerby spotted Hank's dead body.  It was all over the news, and Todd and Blair watched the news reports on his tablet.  

He continued to listen to the reports.  The reporter detailed a robbery with a fatality.  Over $3000 was stolen from The Break, and the dead man was none other than Hank the bartender.  

Blair said, "Oh my God, Todd, that's the guy that was in your office last night."

He nodded.  "My fault, Blair.  I got the guy involved."

"No, Todd, he made his own choice.  Tracking you to The Sun was a bad idea, just like you thought."

Todd was not sure what to do, but something told him he might have to hold out just a bit longer before spilling everything to McBain.  It wasn't about a story anymore; it was pure revenge on someone's part.  The costumes and the picture of he and Blair proved it.  He got on the phone, calling Shaun.  "I need your help.  Are you still in the body guard business?"

Blair's eyes widened.  And it was then that she thought of it.  Todd's life was in danger, too.  Maybe even hers, and Moonbeam's.  When he got off the phone, she was silently crying.  He went to her and took her into his arms.  "Todd...."

"It's going to be okay.  I won't let anything happen to you or Moonbeam."

"What about you?  I'm worried about you, too!"

"I'll be fine."

"You have to tell McBain.  You just have to, Todd."

He shushed her and smoothed her hair.  "You have to calm down.  You know this is not good for the baby."  She was inconsolable.  In response to that, he promised to contact McBain and talk with him about what he knew.  She finally calmed and he made her some tea and breakfast.  He sat, watching her eat it, until he was certain she was feeling better.  "I have the key but it's worthless now, I'm pretty certain that they have cleared out anything that was there in those closets and those rooms.  Whoever they are, they made a clean getaway."

"You're probably right."

"So, I can go to John with what I know so far, if that will make you feel better."

"It will."  She got up, crossing the room.  "I just want to go over these papers once more to see if there is something we missed."

"Blair, you've been over it a few times now.  I'm not sure there's anything left."

She picked up the folder again, perusing the pages, and settled on the supposed owners of the establishment.  There were three listed, and under the list, a note that said that there were at least two silent partners invested in The Break.

"We're not going to find out who these silent partners are very easily."

"The cops probably can," he said. "Who are the three owners again?"

"William Slater, deceased.  His estate still has a vested interest.  Then there's someone named Katherine Dennison.  And the last is Walter Windsell.  I'm going to research these names again and see if I can come up with anything."

"Maybe they are aliases?"

"Maybe."  She opened the browser on the tablet and began to do various searches.

Meanwhile, Todd reviewed what they knew.  Hank was dead, because he crossed them, whoever they were.  They'd followed him or had him tailed.  They had gaslighted Todd, dressing as Carlo Hesser and then as The Grim Reaper, his alternate identity over the past eight years.  Someone wanted to be able to hold power over influential figures in town, but to what end?  They were making large amounts of money from the back room activities.  Recently, someone had told Rudy to shut the cameras and pull out the bugs.  "They were expecting a police raid."

"How do you know?"  she said, while still searching.

"The bug removal and camera shutting.  Pulling large amounts of cash out."

"Right,"  she continued to read as he spoke.

"And how does all this relate to Carlo in prison?"

"I don't know.  Could he want a stash of money for when he gets out.  Maybe he's planning an escape?"

A sick feeling rested in his gut.  "Maybe."

"Oh my God!"  Blair said, beckoning Todd to her with her hand.  "Look at this!  I got it!"

There it was in black and white.  Katherine Dennison was the maiden name of none other than Mayor Kathleen Finn.

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