Chapter 12 #3
“So, how can you see if they match?”
“I’ll have to do it at work.”
“Will that be a problem?” Oliver surely didn’t want to jeopardize Helen’s job.
“Shouldn’t be. We do it every day. We’ve been working on cold cases. Trying to fill in the blanks. The missing pieces, so to speak,” Helen said. “I can slip it in during one of my breaks. This way I’m not on the King’s clock.” She chuckled. “Now, let’s say it’s a match. How do you plan to proceed?”
“I’ll write up a report and pose the obvious theory to my boss.”
“Do you think he’ll balk?”
“Doubtful. He was never a fan of Gilmore’s. Always thought he was a bit dodgy.”
“I dare ask, but where is Henry now?”
“I can’t say.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really, because I do not have his exact location,” Oliver said sincerely, because it was true. The operative word was “exact.”
Oliver downloaded the file onto his personal laptop, removed the flash drive, and handed it over to Helen. “I truly appreciate this.”
“No problem. As soon as I have confirmation I’ll let you know. And then I shall choose a restaurant for dinner.” She gave him a cheeky wink.
“Brilliant!” Oliver was awash with relief. Finally, someone and something which could change a family’s life in a good way.
“I best get out of here.” She gave Watson another scratch behind the ear. “My cat, Quincy, will be very interested in sniffing me over.”
“Quincy, eh?” Oliver thought it was quaint for her to name her cat after an American television show, from many years ago.
“Any different than Watson?” she chided.
“Touché.”
Oliver helped her with her coat. He didn’t know if he should shake her hand, give her a hug, or whatever. Certainly not a kiss. She made it easy for him. She gently patted the side of his face. “You’re doing a good thing, DCI Townsend. Will ring you up tomorrow.”
He thought he might be blushing from the soft touch of her hand. “Do you think that’s wise? Phoning? I’m a bit Orwellian when it comes to technology.”
“You are too right,” Helen agreed. “I’ll use my personal phone outside, during my break.”
“I’ll keep mine in my pocket.”
“Well aren’t we Hardy and Miller?” Helen cackled, referring to the Dorset detectives in the British series Broad-church.
“And I thought I was a bit better looking,” Oliver jested.
“You have a kinder face.” Helen patted him again. “Tootles.”
Oliver was grinning as he stood in the doorway and watched Helen exit the vestibule.
Emily, Blair, Ashley, and Jessica began to walk back to the hotel.
As they came upon the Christmas market, Jessica announced she had to stop and get an ornament.
She found one she thought was the most appropriate: a blue translucent bauble with a mobile inside that read Believe In Miracles. She purchased one for each of them.
When they reached the hotel, Blair signaled for a taxi. Everyone was emotionally spent. In a good way. Ashley and Emily clung to each other like magnets while Jessica gave Blair a big bear hug. “I don’t know how to thank you for your relentless pursuit of Ashley.”
“Don’t thank me. It was all Emily. I was simply her chaperone.” Blair flashed a brilliant smile.
It was Ashley’s turn to hug Blair, and Emily’s to hug Jessica. “This has been one incredible, remarkable, inexplicable day,” Jessica offered.
“Care for any more adjectives?” Ashley said with a wide smile.
“Extraordinary, exceptional,” Blair added.
“Astonishing, and most excellent,” Emily said.
“Point taken.” Ashley held up her hand for them to stop. A few more hugs and kisses and the group dispersed.
When Ashley and Jessica entered the lobby the associate at the reception desk asked, “Did your sister finally catch up with you?”
Ashley started at the word sister, but then smiled. “She did. Indeed.”
The first thing they did when they entered their room was pull off their shoes and jackets and plop backwards on their beds. Ashley stared up at the ceiling. “All of this really happened today, right?”
Jessica chuckled. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“We took pictures, didn’t we?” Ashley’s head was spinning, trying to establish the day’s timeline.
“Yes, we both did.” Jessica pulled her phone from her purse, which was lying next to her on the bed. She pulled up the photo app on her phone and began scrolling. “I must have a hundred photos of the two of you huddling at the pub.” She handed her phone to Ashley.
“It’s bizarre,” Ashley said in awe as she swiped the screen.
“So tell me. How do you feel? I am sure it’s a lot to process.”
“I don’t even know where to begin. I was hoping to meet my birth parents, but I wasn’t expecting something like this. It’s a real mind-blower.”
“Are you comfortable arriving unannounced to meet your birth mother?”
“It’s Emily’s idea. She ought to know. I hope,” Ashley replied.
“After spending just a little time with her she surely seems like she has her head on right.”
“True. Isn’t it crazy that we are both doing research in the humanities?”
“Is it?” Jessica tilted her head. “There have been a lot of studies about twins. How they can sense things about each other.”
“Oh my God. You’re right! Remember when we were beginning the tour and I said something seemed, I dunno, strange. Like a déjà vu kind of thing?”
“And you once told me your imaginary playmate looked like you.”
“Crikey!” Ashley burst out with her newly found British slang. “I’ll have to ask her if she had one. There is so much to learn about each other.”
“You have lots of time. Once you get settled you’ll only be two hours away from each other.”
Ashley opened up the map app on her phone and typed in a query. “There’s a train.”
“Are you giving up on learning how to drive on the opposite side of the road?”
“Let’s just say I am going to put that on the back burner until after I get settled and accustomed to the area.”
“Brilliant!” Jessica too was enjoying the use of common British terms. “You have plenty to think about and work to do. No need to add more stress.”
“To me or the general public?” Ashley quipped.
“Both, dear,” Jessica said and yawned. “I could use something to nosh on.”
“Yes, I’m a bit peckish. There’s a pub adjacent to the lobby. Shall we poke our head in?”
“Let’s! Before I fall over,” Jessica said and pulled herself from the bed.
The Nottingham train station was bustling with people rushing to catch their train, some pulling luggage, and others struggling with duffel bags. They purchased their tickets and made their way near the platform. “I am knackered,” Emily said as she stifled a yawn and pulled the cap off her head.
“For good reason,” Blair answered. “You’ve had a very big day, young lady.” He ruffled her hair. “You must be famished.”
“I must be. My stomach is about to embarrass me with strange noises.”
Blair chuckled. “As long as the noises are calling for food and not for redistributing it.”
Emily laughed. “Right. I was a bit of a hot mess this morning. I hope you weren’t mortified by my behavior.”
Blair snorted. “I wouldn’t be here now if I was.
Hey, we have a little time. Why don’t we see if that nice nurse, Alice, is still here.
We can bring her some chocolates.” He nodded toward a small kiosk.
“We should probably grab something for our ride back, unless you want to eat here. We still have almost fifty minutes before our train leaves.”
“That’s a splendid idea.” Emily scanned the station and spotted the Upper Crust café. “I’ll go and grab us a table. You fetch the chocolates. And if she isn’t here, we’ll leave a note.”
“Fair enough.”
Blair scooted toward the chocolates and Emily moved as quickly as her legs could carry her, which wasn’t quite as fast as usual. Blair was correct in his estimation: It had been a very big day.
He returned in a matter of minutes with a small gold box with a recognizable insignia. “Why don’t you order for us and I’ll take this over to the first aid station?” he suggested. “I’ll have a meat pie and chips.”
“Perfect.”
When the server approached the table, Emily gave her an order for two meat pies and two pints. She stifled a yawn and hoped she could get through the meal without passing out on the table. Oh, that would be a brilliant ending to the day, she said to herself.
Blair returned just as the food was arriving. “Alice said she is chuffed that you’re feeling better and was extremely grateful for the gesture.”
It was at that moment that Emily thought she might be in love with the handsome, intelligent, kind, and thoughtful man. She wondered if it was all a dream. “Blair, you are one of the finest people I’ve ever met.”
“Thank you.” He bowed his head. “And you, Emily, are one of the most exuberant and determined persons I’ve ever met.”
They clinked their pints. “Good on us.”