Mystery: Family Ties: Mystery and Suspense (17 page)

“You worried me, when you didn’t answer my messages,” the man said softly, as if afraid to disturb the peace on the beach.

“This was the first time you ever texted me,” Asa answered in the same tone of voice. “What are you doing here?”

“I waited for you to answer…” his words sounded like an accusation.

“I needed some time for myself,” Asa said and buried her feet deeper into the sand. They were alone on the beach right now, with only three more people walking on
the other side of it, but no one coming their way. She had chosen wisely one of the secluded sites on the lake line and had been enjoying the peace and quiet.

“Okay, but I thought that you might be hungry,” the man said and moved aside to show a paper bag, full with little containers of food.

“What did you bring?” Asa asked despite herself and sat up to better see the food. Gabriel let her explore the contents of the bag and they ate the still warm Chinese food together, sharing the boxes and feeding each other.

Gabriel called it overly romantic, but kept offering her meat with his sticks. By the time their dinner was over, the sun had gone down and the beach had gotten almost dark, illuminated only by the stars. Around that time, Gabriel had tugged her to sit between his legs and was telling her a funny story about his college years.

“What did you do?” She asked him through tears.

“Nothing, I simply waited for the morning and when the maid came in, I asked her politely to untie me.”

“It must have been the shock of her life,” Asa commented.

“No, on the contrary, she told me that my predicament was nothing in comparison to what she had seen before.” Gabriel shook his head. “And you should know that before untying me, she made sure to take a good view of my goods.”

Asa was enjoying herself the way only Gabriel seemed to be able to make her relax these days. That thought surprised her and she looked at the man, sitting behind her. He was watching her with amusement and Asa thought that he was trying to read her thoughts.

“Tell me something,” she gathered the courage to ask. “Why do you keep coming back to me, if you despise me so much?”

“I never said that I despise you,” Gabriel disagreed, suddenly very serious. “I may not trust you and I may be angry with you for using me, but I never hated you. On the contrary Asa, I very much like you.”

“I am tired of telling you that I didn’t want to lie to you.” The woman insisted.

“You might not be completely trustworthy, but you surely are different from all the other women in my life. I really like you, Asa. I think that I still find it hard to forget what we shared.”

“You are honest with me, aren’t you?” Asa moved from her position between his legs and faced him. “You really believe me now?”

“Yes… you put it quite right,” Gabriel nodded.

“I like it,” Asa shook her head instead. “I hate the idea of being away from you.”

“So you don’t want to take a break?” The man asked.

“Break from what?” Asa asked him. “Between us there always is going to be something special. So, there is nothing to take a break from.”

“If you say so,” Gabriel agreed. “Then what do you want to do next?” He asked out of nowhere, surprising both of them with the change of subject.

“I think that I need a drink right now,” Asa answered. “Let’s go to a bar.”

Gabriel shook his head in understanding and helped her to stand up. Together they gathered the containers and the tissues they had used and headed towards his car parked nearby. Asa was walking beside him, but there wasn’t the old feeling of doom in her heart. A feeling that she didn’t like at all.

“I just hope that the alcohol will help me to deal with all these,” she thought and climbed into the car.

On their way to Kalispell, Asa decided that she should inform Gabriel about what was going on with his family. “The charges against your brother and sister-in-law had been brought up. Grandpa Joe will be soon released, even though he has vowed to take revenge on the government for ruining his family.”

“Don’t worry,” Gabriel quickly added. “Grandpa Joe isn’t a threat to anybody. He is more talk than action and at his age, he is not even able to do something about it.”

“I know, don’t worry, I was the one who vouched for him,” Asa assured him.

Asa apologized again and this time Gabriel seemed to have understood. They agreed to start over once this whole situation blew over and Gabriel was officially released and cleared of all charges.

There was a light dusting of dirt on the pavement outside the FBI office and there was a sharp chill on the air that made Gibson pull his jacket tighter around himself. Painful memories gripped Todd as he walked down the deserted street. Memories of the last few weeks: Smith and Holliday disappearing, the arrival of Agent Asa Clark, the FBI field office bombing.

Gibson wasn’t tired. He wasn’t. He was just fed up and ready to give up. Nothing in life made sense anymore and he wanted just to hide somewhere and rest.

Nothing had changed since the Deputy Director Jennifer Shepherd had called him over two months ago. They were still friends and it still wasn’t feeling right. Gibson should be happy now. He had a good job, which he loved and he looked healthy and that was all that mattered. And yet Gibson wouldn’t let himself be happy, he wouldn’t let himself ruin things again by infecting others with his own conflicted feelings.

But no matter how hard Gibson tried, he couldn’t rid himself of these thoughts. Shepherd’s serious face swum at the forefront of his mind, smiling gently, mocking him. These feelings nested themselves in his brain like some sort of disease, filling him with agonizing loneliness.

Gibson continued up the street until he reached the FBI field office, now rebuilt and set in another building. It was empty except for the clerk behind the front desk. The fluorescent lights made him squint as he walked down the hall towards his office. He passed Asa Clark’s office on the way and then thought better of it and returned back.

“Rough night?” He asked the woman as he scanned the office and noticed the shadows under her eyes.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Asa said emotionlessly, taking the file when the man handed it to her.

“Take care of yourself, Asa.” Gibson sat down on the chair that she pointed to him, feeling exhausted. “I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done.”

“Thank you, we really did a good job, but unfortunately there were too many casualties.” Asa smiled sadly at the praise. “I am so disappointed for losing Jennifer Shepherd and all the other agents. All I want is for them to be alive and back with us.”

“I feel the same,” the man agreed with her. “But, there is nothing we can do for them now, but do our job well in their memory.”

Only a week ago, they had attended together the funerals of the deceased FBI officers during the bombing of the Kalispell field office. During the ceremony agent Clark had spoken about the dedication of the people, who had found their dead in the horrible flames of the fire.

“What are your plans for the future?” Asa asked and offered him a glass of scotch. “I think to stay in Kalispell for a little while longer.”

“Really? I wasn’t expecting you to want to stay here?” Gibson wondered.

“Me neither, but you know how it is? I want to reconnect with my Salish roots and see if my relationship with Gabriel has any future.” Asa confessed and felt the color raise on her face.

“Gabriel Kimble
!” The man repeated. “I want to be here to see how you will make an honest man out of him, but unfortunately, I have been asked to move to Salt Lake City.”

“So, those are your plans for the future?” Asa asked, feeling a bit sorry that Gibson will no longer work with her. Their relationship had changed completely during the last few weeks and Asa and Todd were at the point where they could call each other friend.

“Yes, I am relocating to the FBI office in Salt Lake City on promotion.” Gibson explained proudly. “I didn’t ask for it, but since they are offering, I cannot say that I hate the idea of some change. Did I tell you about the time I was sent here? They told me that it will be just a temporary assigned, and that in no time I will be transferred. Go figure, after I don’t know how many years, I am still here, waiting for that transfer.”

Asa laughed at the way he looked at his life and thought that only a few weeks ago that would have been impossible. Agent Todd Gibson had finally accepted her and was even trying to understand the way she was acting. A few days ago, he had suggested that Gabriel Kimble might be the right man for her, if she managed to keep him in line.
And had even expressed his concern about how she was going to manage a rancher like him and her FBI job.

Asa still didn’t know all the answers, but one thing was sure, she had all the time in the world to find them. Gabriel had forgiven her, Gibson had accepted her and now it was her turn to decide what she wanted.

“Let’s drink to that,” Agent Gibson raised his glass. “Let’s drink for all those who lost their lives in this horrible affair. Let’s drink for the Deputy Director Shepherd and for Ann, and for all the others. Let’s drink for our future and for what life is going to throw our way.”

“Cheers,” Asa joined him.

“Cheers!”

Gibson stayed for another few minutes and then went to his office to put things in order. He was given another week to help the new Agent in charge of the office settle in and then was supposed to take two
months’ vacation
. He really didn’t know what to do with it, but his superiors had insisted and now Gibson was even looking forward to it.

He entered the office, but it didn’t feel like home. It was too new, too polished, too impersonal for his taste. The old office had been filled with memories, photos and small pieces of history, something that Gibson really missed.

Gibson left Kalispell two weeks ago and agent Asa Clark was slowly adjusting to her new way of life. Gabriel had asked her to move with him in the ranch and Asa had agreed, although it seemed to her a bit too much.

“Look, it didn’t seem right for me to live in here,” she had tried to tell him. “This is David and Jane’s home and I am the one responsible for them being in prison.”

“Don’t worry, I will make sure all the things that might remind us of them disappear. I love my brother and I love Jane,” he had added quickly. “But, I love them as they were before all this terrorist crap. I want nothing to do with the people they have become today.”

“You cannot cancel them from your life,” Asa had protested. “They are still your only family.”

“I am not going to do that, don’t worry. I intend to visit them in prison, but only when they show remorse.” Gabriel had smiled sadly then.

“What about Grandpa Joe? He also won’t be happy to see me at the ranch.” Asa had found another reason to decline his offer.

“I have spoken to his doctor,” Gabriel looked sad again. “My grandfather is suffering from a very fast progressing form of Alzheimer. According to him, in less than a year, he will not recognize me anymore and will lose all his memories.”

“This is rather sudden, isn’t it?”

“Yes, the stress and the worry of the last weeks had helped the development of the disease.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” Asa had given him a hug. “What are you going to do now?”

“There is a farm, just outside Kalispell, which was turned into a retirement home for people just like Grandpa Joe. I think that he will be happy there, especially since there are a few of his old friends.”

“And then?” Asa couldn’t help asking.

“Then we will find someone to take care of the ranch for a few months and we will go away to see the world,” Gabriel offered. “Would you come with me?”

“Yes, yes, a hundred times, yes.” Asa jumped at his offer and threw herself at him.

Now, they were attending the celebration of life at the nearby Flathead Indian Reservation. Every year the American Indians of the area were holding a beautiful ceremony near the Flathead Lake, where they thanked nature for everything it had given them during the year.

Asa had been invited and she extended the invitation to Gabriel Kimble, wanting to share with him this beautiful moment of gratitude. They both had a lot to be thankful for and Gabriel had easily accepted her invitation.

They had officially resumed their relationship and now had the ranch to look after together. Asa had taken a permanent position at the Kalispell office, all the while thinking that the late Deputy Director Shepherd will not be happy with that. But, Asa now had other priorities and Gabriel was the most important thing in her life right now.

The nature was beautiful that day and Asa and Gabriel were completely and utterly in love, although the words had never passed their lips. Asa was afraid to open herself to him and Gabriel wasn’t sure if she was on the same page as him.

“You look happy together,” an
old Indian woman approached them. “Just don’t forget that the happiness is founded on mutual respect and honesty.”

Two months later…

Deciding that she had had enough, Asa walked up the stairs, leaving Gabriel to finish his work in the barn. The young woman found her way to the second floor and watched for a while outside the windows, admiring the beautiful garden and the starry sky. Her new home was everything she could hope for and Asa was happy to live in it, and yet…