Lust and Greed

© 2025 JoshFrom53

Dear reader, first of all I'd like to thank Turning502019 for his insights and help to turn this in a readable story.

Disclaimer.

Of course everybody and everything entertaining each other in sexual activities has passed the age of eighteen years old.

Warning.

This is a story and it plays out in my universe and my universe has no connection with the real world. So, please don't take it too serious. I know that I don't.

=======

Mum, the blinds from the house across the street are open and there's light in the house." Tommy said to his mother, staring out of the window.

Tommy heard a plate shatter on the floor. He turned around and saw his mother white-faced leaning on the kitchen counter.

Elsbeth, or sometimes Beth, Wecksford looked stricken at her eldest son. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes Mum, I just came back from my newspaper route, when I put my bike in the garage I noticed the blinds were open and saw the light go on.

"What's the matter Mum, you look scared."

"Nothing for you to be concerned about. Now wash your hands and call Charlie. We're eating in a minute."

Beth swept up the remains of the plate and threw them in the trash can. While setting the table she looked through the window at the other side of the street.

Tommy was right. The blinds were open and she saw a shadow moving around in the light. Now that the last residents had left, she had not expected the house to be occupied again.

If it was what she always feared, she has to face her demons.

What happened ten years before.

Charles and Beth Wecksford were entertaining their neighbors, Andrew and Melanie Mesman from across the street.

Earlier that day, Melanie and Andrew had a difference of opinion and that resulted in, to say the least, a heated discussion.

Andrew's career took off like a rocket after he investigated an accident that happened during building a bridge. Everyone was convinced that it was indeed an accident. That the load hanging in the crane hoists was secured wrongly and the hoist master was to blame.

When Andrew discovered that the lifting eyes on the load weren't examined, he checked them himself and found that they had been torn from the load.

When he wanted to examine the steel of the load his superior told him not to bother and refused to sign off on the order for the laboratory.

Andrew therefore paid for it out of his own pocket and the results were far-reaching. The steel was sub-standard and failed the specifications miserably. The difference in price was divided and pocketed between his superior and the engineering company.

As a result at twenty-six years old, he now held a PhD in Materials Science paid by the government and had his own investigation team to manage for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Safety.

He was also a member of the forensic expert's team for the Safety Council and as such was sent all over the world to investigate how disasters happened as they did. He was a volunteer and worked as risk-assessor and disaster rescue worker.

Andrew earned a very good salary and was also paid an on-site work allowance and a hazard allowance depending on the country in which the research took place.

He had also written a manual on observation and reconstruction that was compulsory reading for police, fire and ambulance personnel.

In all, he had a very nice income and a bright future ahead.

>][<>][<

Andrew's phone beeped once.

He took it out, looked at it and said, "I'm so sorry. Duty calls. There has been an explosion in an apartment building they're renovating."

"What! Not again. Every time when we are having fun, you leave me alone. I'm sick of it!"

Andrew sighed deeply, at the end of his wits before he replied, trying to be gentle. "Mel, we had this discussion before. I told you before I even proposed that my work would take me away at very inconvenient moments. It also pays for your lifestyle, remember?

"If Charles and Beth don't mind, you stay here and have fun. But I need to be at the disaster site. They're counting on me."

He stood up, looked at his hosts and asked, "I hope you excuse me and are willing to entertain Mel for the rest of the evening "

Charles replied while looking at his wife, "Of course, we don't mind at all. We'll take good care of her."

Relieved, Andrew left his neighbor's house to change into his working suit. Fire retardant underwear, tear-proof dungarees and jacket and a helmet. Of course, the obligatory attributes such as headlamp, flashlight, knife, multi-tool and finally a stainless-steel thermos flask filled with cold water with lemon juice.

An hour later he reported to the site coordinator.

Charles and Beth had indeed every intention to take good care of Melanie, but in a completely different manner than Andrew was thinking.

>][<>][<

Andrew slowly found his way on the first floor of the building. He had been assigned to the scout group to check whether it was safe enough for the rescue crew to start to work.

Drawing straws determined who got the most dangerous part of the building and Andrew drew the shortest.

He was deep in the part of the building that faced the quay of the marina, when another bomb went off.

The blast threw Andrew through a shattered window that wasn't shattered enough to prevent Andrew being cut deeply by a remaining shard.

Dizzy, with a loud ringing in his ears and pain all over he tried to stand.

When he succeeded, he looked around to see if there was a way out.

He froze for a few seconds.

Through the dust he noticed three lights blinking in a slow cadence. Blink, blink-blink. Blink, blink-blink.

Andrew staggered through the debris to see whether it was what he feared it was.

His fears were confirmed when he saw three cylindrical objects taped to a pillar.

Blink, blink-blink winked something attached to one cylinder.

He found his knife thinking; If this thing goes off, I'm dead anyway. and carefully started to cut the device loose from the pillar.

It was heavier than he thought it would be when he finally held it in his hands.

Sweat beaded down his face and his back was soaking wet when he threaded carefully his way through the debris. Stumbling and dropping it could have terrible consequences.

After what seemed hours, he arrived outside at the quay.

He noticed a reporter with a cameraman, or woman and shouted, "Get down! I have a bomb!"

He also noticed that 'blink, blink-blink' had changed to 'blink-blink, blink-blink, blink-blink' at an increased frequency.

Ow, fuck! shot through his mind and he sprinted to the water.

He threw the thing as far as he could and with a splash it disappeared below the surface.

With a sigh of relief, he stood there. Numb from exertion and pain, still with the ringing in his ears and suddenly he had a headache.

The surface erupted into a fountain of water, mud and rocks.

It was the proverbial straw. Andrew toppled and went face down to the ground.

The reporter and the man holding the camera were not hit so severely by the blast and ran over to Andrew. The reporter tried to turn him over when the man in a sharp voice said, "Don't. Let him be." He pointed the camera at Andrew's side.

A bloodied and dirty, jagged piece of wired glass was sticking out from his side.

"How did that get in?" The reporter wondered out loud.

Then she snapped her head up, "Do you have it on camera?"

"All of it. That includes this hero." The man said distracted because he was fumbling with his phone.

"Yeah. We have a wounded man at the waterside of the building, he needs an ambulance quickly. There's a nasty piece of glass jutting from his side."

Not long after his call, men from the bomb squad arrived with an emergency nurse in attendance.

One of them growled, "Who, the fuck, sent him in before we could have a robot on the premises? Look at him! I'm going to rip somebody's balls off."

Some time later Andrew was airlifted by a helicopter to the hospital and the call to Melanie's phone went to her voicemail.

The morning after.

Melanie looked through the kitchen window to the house across the street, whether her husband was back yet. But the drive still was empty. She shrugged and turned to her hosts. "He's not home yet. Maybe it would be wiser for me to be there in case he comes home earlier than I actually expect."

It was not only that she thought it wise to do so, she also started to realize what she had done to her marriage and wanted to get away from the crime scene.

Melanie picked up her phone, ignored the blinking led that warned her for incoming messages and crossed the street.

The first thing she did was to take a shower to wash off the smell of sex and the last of the semen deposited in her by Charles.

Don't forget to get the morning-after-pill tomorrow. Shot through her mind, remembering the night.

Charles pounding her doggystyle while Beth was licking her clit. Beth sucked his semen from her vagina while she was giving head to Charles. Melanie and Beth rubbing pussies and Charles jacking off while watching and last, but not least, Charles and Melanie missionary and Beth watching them and using a dildo on herself.

She still felt sore and bruised after the shower. She checked on marks, but Charles and Beth didn't leave any, much to her relief.

Dressed comfortably in a tracksuit, she turned on the television to kill the time until Andrew arrived from whatever he was doing.

Zapping through the channels, noop, nothing, don't feel like that. Hey, maybe that is where Andrew was called to?

She kept looking and watched an excited reporter talk about a man that carried a bomb through the ruins of the building with a large piece of glass sticking from his side before throwing the device into the marina. Thus, he saved his fellow rescue workers from certain death.

Melanie's breath caught as she watched the images of the man holding the bomb and shouting a warning. It was her husband!

Andrew! She screamed inside. Finally taking up her phone and noticing the blinking led again.

Numerous missed calls and one voicemail.

"Mrs. Mesman, your husband is severely wounded and has been taken to the University Medical Center for treatment. Please call us as soon as possible on number 0031 20 xxxxxxxx.

Melanie called the number, but the number was and stayed busy.

Across the street the Wecksfords were also watching the news and they too were shocked out of their feeling of contentment.

"I always thought it was some kind of man-game he was boasting about. You know, to boost his ego. Fuckin hell, the bugger is a real-life hero. Let's go over and ask how he is doing."

Upon knocking, Melanie opened the door. She was deadly pale and obviously had been crying.

"Do you know how he is?"

"No, I can't reach the number they gave me." Melanie sobbed.

"Do you know where they took him? I'll take you there."

Melanie nodded, "It was on the news. I'll get a bag. He'll need clothes and the like."

A few minutes later they were in Charles' car when Melanie started to sob. "I was angry at him for leaving that evening and I didn't even say goodbye to him. I betrayed him because of that and broke the vows I made to him."

Charles gave Elsbeth a meaningful look and Elsbeth began to talk to her, "Melanie, look at me."

Teary-eyed Melanie looked at Beth who said, "Andrew doesn't have to know what happened last night.

"You just tell him that you were angry, you had way too much to drink and stayed at our place, so we could take care of you.

"Only when you got home, you finally thought of checking your phone, which was in airplane mode, also because you were angry."

Melanie, relieved that she had a way out, asked, "And you'll back me up? Even when this was once, but never again?"

"Yeah, we don't even have to lie about it, only to hold back to some of what happened."

"It won't come back to bite me in the ass too?"

"No sweetie, I promise. We want this buried as deep as possible.

"Charles' employment contract states that he must be of impeccable conduct to prevent or avoid being blackmailed. If he loses his job, we would lose everything."

Relieved, Melanie replied, "Okay, as long as you two back me up on this storyline."

Slowly getting better..

Andrew was slowly recuperating. The shard had cut his liver and he had to battle an infection for two weeks until they finally found out what strain of bacteria caused it. His kidneys were bruised and there was still blood in his urine and he had a concussion.

Luckily his suit had saved him from worse. Only the shard had penetrated the tough fabric and that was a part of the window that he went through.

Melanie had, in these weeks showered Andrew with attention and care. Not only because she realized that she, indeed, loved him very much, but also to appease her conscience.

Just like Charles, she had no idea what Andrew had been doing after he was called in. She also had no idea what kind of work he did besides being an inspector and he was very vague about it.

The images from the television that showed her husband coming out of the ruins of a building where two explosions had already taken place, holding another bomb in his hands and throwing it into the marina were etched deeply into her memory.

Her husband did important, but dangerous work besides his office job.

Melanie tried everything to show her husband that she loves him. She was caring, attentive and willing.

But Andrew's body was still on the mend and he hadn't been able to satisfy her needs

Meanwhile Melanie was suffering.

She missed the intimacy of two people loving each other and the sexual tension that's created when a couple knows beforehand where, and how the day will end.

The other thing she suffered about were two blue stripes on several pregnancy tests.

Hot anxiety flushed through her body. She remembered the night and her intent to buy the morning after pill on Monday morning, only to be forgotten in the commotion around Andrew's convalescence.

They had made love on several occasions in the week before, even on the Friday night before their row, but she and the Wecksfords hadn't used any protection during that faithless night. That was obvious enough before she showered at home and during that shower semen still leaked from her cunt. She remembered condoms lying next to the bed, but she couldn't remember Charles using them.

Both were sitting, cuddling more, on the couch when Melanie made the decision to tell Andrew that she was pregnant.

With a kiss on his cheek she whispered in his ear, "Drew, can you take me to the doctor Monday? I have two positive pregnancy tests."

Andrew's mouth dropped open, "But that's wonderful. How long?"

"I think from the week before your accident. That was my fertile period and afterwards nothing happened between us."

Andrew looked guilty when he said, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

She gave him another kiss and replied, "Don't be, it will come in time."

Inside she desperately thought, please Lord, I beg you. Let it be his?

Time glides by.

Melanie was shopping.

Andrew was now rapidly getting better and she wanted to buy something sexy that fitted her heavier breasts and expanding belly. Their love life was getting better too and she had to agree with herself that she did learn some tricks from her encounter with her neighbors.

She was careful not to introduce that all at once to avoid suspicion. Andrew accepted the explanation that she slept that night at the neighbors without problems, but introducing these tricks at once could make him ask awkward questions.

Melanie was looking at a sexy teddy with some inbuilt support for her growing breasts when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Melanie, I thought it was you. It has been a long time. I missed you." She heard Elsbeth say.

Melanie turned around, "Hello Elsbeth. It has been a while. Yes, I thought it wise to keep my distance."

Ignoring the remark about distance Beth followed up with, "You look radiant. How do you do that?"

"Being pregnant does that to a woman. And since we're talking, I'm going to pay for this set and then we'll have a serious chat over a cup of coffee."

"Eh, uhm, I am in a kind of a hurry." Elsbeth tried.

"It's not a request. I insist we have that talk."

"Can we talk at home?"

"Nope. Is not going to happen. I'm not going into your house ever again. Let's go. "

Ten minutes later Melanie and Elsbeth sat themselves down in one of the boots of the coffee shop.

Melanie just dropped the bomb, "I'm pregnant. That's obvious. The problem is that I don't know who the father is, your husband, or mine."

Elsbeth blanched, "You mean???"

"Yes, we were working on a baby and it was my fertile period. If you two hadn't seduced me."

Elsbeth tried to interfere but Melanie held her hand up and she shut up.

Melanie went on, "I know, I let myself be seduced because I was angry. He has been called away so many times. Both of you told me several times that his job can't be so important to make that so and that there must be more, or something else going on.

"So, when I was vulnerable, you plied me with enough booze to make me give in and now I may have a baby in my belly that doesn't have my husband's DNA.

"Suppose that's the case and he finds out? Can I come and live with you?"

Beth was taken aback by the directness of her young neighbor. She was also appalled by the fact that she hadn't had a chance at Andrew. That was the only reason that she went along with Charles' plan to seduce Melanie. There was a big chance now that she would never have a shot at him.

Melanie misunderstood the silence from Elsbeth and said, "I was joking, but I want a promise for the worst-case scenario. If the baby isn't Andrew's, you help me take care of the child. After all, in that case it can only be Charles'."

"Okay." Beth replied. "I sincerely hope it's Andrew's.

"Anyway, the men look quite alike so maybe Andrew doesn't even notice if it's Charles'. Especially if it looks after you.

"I take it that you're not going to tell Andrew unless he finds out one way or another. It would be very bad for Charles' career if his employer finds out that he fathered a child by a woman he is not married to, especially when that woman is married herself.

Okay, isn't good enough. Promise me in complete sentences and hands above the table."

"I intend to keep him in the dark. The repercussions would be horrendous and he will name Charles in an eventual divorce."

Elsbeth couldn't think herself out of this corner, put her hands on the table and said, "If Charles is the father of the baby, Andrew finds out and doesn't accept that, we help you to take care of the child. I solemnly promise you that."

"Good. And don't forget to tell Charles." Spoke Melanie while she stood.

"I'm going home and show Andrew that I am his loving wife until he is cross-eyed and

can hardly walk when I'm done with him."

Elsbeth sat in the booth for a long time after, pondering whether to, or not to break the news to her husband, or to wait until the baby was born. She also was quite angry that he didn't use the condoms he promised to use, when copulating with Melanie.

Meanwhile Andrew, oblivious to what was happening at home, was back at work and very busy. He had been promoted to project manager for the Safety Council and had to hit the ground running.

A baby is born!

It hadn't been an easy birth and the complications afterward made Melanie had to be operated on and needed several blood transfusions to survive.

Finally, mother and son were out of the woods and Andrew was holding the little boy in his arms to hand over to a drowsy mother.

Soon after the little boy would be transferred to the pediatric intensive care for observation.

After a while the head nurse looked around the corner of the room where the new minted family resided for the moment.

She asked whether Andrew had time for the mandatory administration after childbirth.

Andrew looked at the mother and the baby that was now lying in the hospital bed. His heart swelled with love and pride.

He walked over to the nurse station where the head nurse was. When he arrived, an alarm rang and she told him to sit down and she would be right back.

He looked around and noticed the file with Melanie's name written on it. He took it and started to read.

Five minutes later an icy ball formed in his stomach. He read the report on Melanie again and checked the blood-type of the baby.

This must be a mistake. Either they gave Melanie the wrong blood in the transfusions, or they made a mistake with the baby.

The nurse entered that station again and Andrew, now white as a ghost, asked, "If my wife has blood-type O and I have blood-type B, how come that the baby has type AO?"

The nurse went white too and answered, "I'll have the baby's blood re-typed immediately. There must be a mistake."

"Really?" Andrew asked before the nurse hurried out of the station.

When returned she told him, "I ordered a new test for the baby. The result will be in tomorrow morning."

"My wife?" Andrew asked with a raised eyebrow.

"She has been sedated and will sleep for the night. Your son will remain in the pediatric intensive care unit for observation until he is deemed fit enough to be transferred to his mother's room. He is in an incubator and he is in good hands."

Carefully the head nurse worded her next question, "I surmise that you know what the consequences are when the blood test comes back with the same result."

"Yes, I know and I can't envision the hospital making mistakes. Those tests are almost done automatically, aren't they? Can you do a paternity-test here too?"

With a sad face the woman acknowledged that she could arrange that too and she would wait with completing the birth certificate until the results were in.

After Andrew donated a few cc of blood, he decided to go home. He needed to think and if possible, some sleep.

Results in the morning.

Andrew sat in front of the doctor.

The woman looked up and asked, "I have the results of the blood-test and the paternity-test."

Andrew scrutinized her face and replied, "I'll spare you the trouble. The previous blood-test was correct and the baby's and my DNA don't match."

"Sad to say, but you are correct."

The whole night Andrew had been thinking about what he was going to do when his worst fears came true. It felt to him as if a piece of his soul had been ripped out of him

In the early hours he found himself decided. He would divorce Melanie. There was no way out of that. She had to know that the baby wasn't his and kept that to herself. He wasn't even convinced that she would tell him if he hadn't read the file last night and found out.

Also, he couldn't bring himself to throw Melanie out on the street with a newborn baby. After all, she had no one to fall back on. Her parents passed away before they met. Her sister and she weren't on speaking terms for some reason he didn't know.

Sitting in the doctor's office he prepared himself for a very difficult conversation with his wife.

>][<>][<

Melanie looked from the crib when she heard the door of her room open.

During the night her little boy had been transferred back to his crib when it turned out that he was strong enough to cope on his own.

She noticed that Andrew didn't look at their son. Instead, he took a chair to the other side of the bed and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Surprised by his aloofness, she replied, "Well enough. Tired though, and weak."

Andrew took a deep breath and asked, "Melanie, who is the father of your son. I know for certain that it is not me."

Something inside Melanie's head started screaming. All her agonizing, worrying and hoping was bearing fruit in one howling wash of remorse and pain.

Andrew saw his wife become even paler than she already was and her tears appearing in her eyes.

"Charles."

It came out of her mouth as if torn from her being.

"And I'm so sorry. So terribly sorry that I can't even find the words for it."

Andrew kept his silence. His pain was obvious to anyone who knew him. If they saw him, that moment, sitting in the chair as if one would place the cap over his head to fry his brain with a high voltage current.

After a while he tried to speak. On the third try he said, "His name will be on the birth-certificate then.

Finally, it was Melanie who asked, "What about us now?"

"'Us' stopped existing when I found out about the baby's blood-type. I had a sliver of hope that they typed it wrong, but that was not to be. The result of the paternity-test I asked for yesterday was conclusive.

"I am going to divorce you. I can't step over this shadow. It's too big."

He looked at her. She was pale, vulnerable and physically and mentally in pain. He said, "I will allow you to come home, with the baby. I'm not going to throw you into the street with a newborn in your arms. I'm not a monster.

You get a year to get your feet under you, but I will start the divorce tomorrow."

"Don't you have any questions?" Melanie almost sobbed.

She was relieved that he gave her some respite and didn't throw her immediately out, but she had hoped to explain what had happened that night she fouled up her marriage.

"It's quite obvious I think and I don't want to know the rest. The one thing I do want is that my name is not appearing on the birth certificate. If that happens, I'll come down on you and the Wecksford family as a ton of bricks."

Melanie and Charlie are back home.

Charles was furious. He just found out that Melanie had named him as the baby's father and that he was named as such on that damned certificate.

He went across the street to set them straight. He wasn't going to lose his job because she wasn't protected. That he fed her drink, seduced her and pulled off his condom each time before he stuck his dick in her was beside the issue.

He stormed into the kitchen where Melanie was trying to convince Andrew that it was a one off.

Panting he stopped before them and Andrew looked at him as if he was something filthy out of the backside of a dog stuck under his shoe.

"I can't remember inviting a backstabbing snake into my house. Fuck off. Get out of here." Andrew told Charles.

"Not before you get my name from that certificate and register it as your own. Or else!" Charles growled.

Andrew's look, the way he delivered his insult and dismissed him went far beyond what his ego could take.

"You do as you are told, understand!"

"Or what? Going to sue me? That would be fun. You will be forced to undergo a paternity-test before you can even start a lawsuit and we all know how that will go." Andrew replied while he stood to throw the man out of his house.

Seething Charles fingered his switch-blade when Andrew was standing with his back to him to open the door.

Without thinking he lunged. He had the knife sprung out and stabbed Andrew upward in his left back side.

Andrew looked surprised. Then pain set in when Charles wrestled him to the ground.

That gave Melanie time to run around the breakfast counter to defend her man.

Completely pissed at Andrew and at himself for this enormous stupidity, and not in possession of all his faculties anymore he gave Melanie a hard shove back to the counter.

Melanie stumbled backwards and tripped over her own feet, toppled backward and with a sickly crunch the lower back of her head crashed into the sharp edge of the stone countertop.

She slid to the ground, not able to move anymore.

Charles came to his senses in time to see that Melanie looked at him. An unspoken acquisition in her eyes.

Slowly life seeped out of them until they broke and just stared into nothingness.

Charles almost panicked, but he thought he had a way out.

He called the emergency number. He gave the address and started telling the rest.

"I came over to borrow my neighbor's multitool and found them like this. I believe they're both dead." He spoke, feigning a little panic.

He was ordered not to touch anything and stay until the Police and the ambulance arrived.

Charles disconnected despite the operator's warning to stay on the line, stepped over to Andrew and carefully wiped the blades handle clean with his handkerchief and waited.

The ambulance beat the Police and checked out the bodies. The one who checked Andrew shouted, "This one is alive! I need a saline drip, quickly!"

Shit! Shit, shit! Went through Charles. A few moments later he took his phone and started calling in favors.

It was also the day that his nightmares started.

>][<>][<

Charles started, eight years ago, to work for his employer. A trading house that traded on a large scale in commodities and raw materials.

Because there were enormous amounts of money involved, every mistake could be disastrous for the company and the clientele that used the company for acquiring the necessary materials. That was also why the company had its own legal department.

Charles was slowly working his way up in that department and he found a way to circumvent the fail safes that prevented employees from trading on insider information on the market.

Charles himself kept his hands clean but had convinced a number of people to use the information he gave them, in return for a percentage of the profits.

Among these people was a fast-rising detective and a bored and cynical older prosecutor.

Waking up in a hospital bed.

Andrew, slowly, regained consciousness and looked at the harsh white led lights hanging from the ceiling. The rest of the room was also stark white, devoid of any decoration. There were bars bolted in front of the window.

A drip was attached to a bar bolted to the ceiling and the needle went into his arm.

He moved. He was uncomfortably lying on something. And pain shot through his side and back, so he endured the discomfort. As long as he lay still the discomfort was bearable.

After an indeterminable time, a man in a white coat entered the room.

"Good." He said, "You're awake. You will be uncomfortable because we have you on minimal pain medication. The police officer demanded that we have you lucid as soon as possible. For my part; I am sorry, but my hands are tied." The man spoke.

"What happened?" Andrew rasped, his throat dry and sore.

"A knife nipped your spleen. We had to operate. We could repair it, but you lost a lot of blood. The rest is for the detective to tell." Came the answer while he went out of the door.

Memories flooded in and with that anxiety returned.

>][<>][<

Later that day a man and a woman walked through the door. Andrew was feeling really uncomfortable. The pain was hardly bearable and the doctor, when asked, told him that the police officer wanted him with a clear head. When Andrew pointed out that he took the Hippocratic oath and the patients' welfare the answer stunned him.

"I couldn't care less. You deserve some pain. Now if you excuse me, I've better things to do."

Soon after the man and the woman made their appearance. One after another identified themselves. The detective René Young and the woman as assistant prosecutor Jennifer Hull.

The detective went straight for the jugular, "Right, your wife is dead and what we want to know is why you killed her."

Andrew saw the woman blanche, sit up even straighter than she already did and said, "Sir, aren't you going to read the man his rights first?"

René sneered, "A stickler for procedures, aren't you? Who's going to tell the difference when he's complaining? There are two of us and only one of him."

"I'm not going to lie to you when asked. You better mirandize him." Jennifer replied with an edge in her voice.

"Have it your way.

"Andrew Mesman, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time. Understood?"

Andrew looked at the detective and had him down as a bully. And a clever one at that. "I understand."

"Good. Now, I repeat my question. Why did you kill your wife?"

"I have never touched my wife since she was released from the hospital, let alone kill her." Andrew replied, while inside howling from distress and sorrow.

Jennifer witnessed his face change the moment that the news sunk in by Andrew. She noticed that he was unaware of what had happened in that kitchen and even more so of the death of his wife. If he had known, he wouldn't react like this.

The interrogation went on for hours. René ignored the plea from Jennifer for a rest because it was obvious that Andrew was at the end of his tether. His face haggard and his body shaking from pain and exhaustion.

In the end it was Jennifer who called the evening nurse who threw them out. Andrew had all that time maintained that he hadn't killed his wife and that his neighbor stabbed him, not Melanie.

"If you don't get the fuck out of here, I'll file a complaint for harassment and mistreatment of my patient. You are an asshole detective and you, young lady, should be ashamed to condone such treatment for a helpless man for so long. Now get out of my ward!"

This time the detective relented. The doctor was one from Charles' circle, just as he was. That witch of a nurse was not and she could cause a lot of trouble.

Another problem was that the asshole in bed didn't break and confess when he was at his weakest. That righteous bitch was looking over his shoulder didn't help either. He needed to implement plan B.

Plan B.

To her astonishment Jennifer Hull was taken off the case and Eric Speare, the prosecutor himself, had taken over.

Mr. Speare and Mr. Young quickly and quietly stitched Andrew up and his lawyer didn't seem to be very interested in winning this case as the news agencies and the newspapers had the time of their lives crucifying Andrew.

He was found guilty by them before there was even a trial. They still had a bone to pick with him because he had refused every interview after his heroic act.

Andrew's lawyer knew he would share the same fate if he was too diligent in Andrew's defense.

The result, to his utter astonishment: Andrew was sentenced to ten years in prison, without parole only a deduction of pre-trial detention and he was stripped from his parental authority. That last was something he didn't understand because the baby wasn't his in the first place.

All that time he maintained his innocence, but to no avail.

When he was detained, he had only one visitor. His sister and she only berated him for killing her best friend. He couldn't get a word in until he started talking about the house.

"I'm not going to help a murdering convict. What would the other parishioners think of me?"

Andrew pleaded, "You only have to board it up and keep an eye on it. I can pay you for that. I have some time to get my affairs in order."

"Two hundred fifty a month and you pay for the boarding up. I'll drive by to check on it regularly." She replied, while thinking; Once a year is regular too. Easy pocket money.

Andrew sighed, "Okay, as if I have much choice." With that his sister walked out of him.

Arriving in the States Penitentiary Institution.

Numb was an understatement when he got off the bus that brought him to a few disconsolate looking buildings under a pale sun surrounded by gray concrete walls topped by razor wire in a bleak landscape.

Andrew felt detached from the real world and actually couldn't care less about his life and treatment at the moment. He just walked through the gate that looked more like a triple lock. The inner lock had a bridge over a deep mote.

Once inside he went through the whole rigmarole every new inmate had to go through and finally, decontaminated and dressed in the standard orange jumpsuit he was steered into his 'residence' for the foreseeable future.

He looked around. Strange, I always thought that there were two people housed in a cell.

He dropped his bag with the meager belongings he was allowed to take inside and stretched on the bare mattress.

Somewhat later an inmate, totally covered with tattoos, brought him blankets and a pillow while grinning and showing his very bad teeth

In a voice akin to Tom Waits he rasped, "I ensured that you got the best of the lot. The blankets as well as the pillow are decontaminated. I'm Tattoo and your name will be Thrower inside here. Talk to you later."

With that said he walked away, leaving a flabbergasted Andrew behind.

An hour later Andrew had himself situated and was looking at the bars on his cell feeling very depressed when the door opened again and a guard told him, "On your feet. The warden wants to see you."

What now? Andrew thought. Surprises keep coming. A friendly inmate brought me clean blankets and now an audience with the warden.

=][=][=

Standing in front of the warden as instructed by the guard he waited until the man looked up and dismissed the surprised guard.

"Sit down Mr. Mesman. We need to talk."

Andrew obliged and the warden began, "The hero of the marina. The man who saved two dozen lives while bleeding out in his own body is now sitting in front of me. What a shame."

Andrew kept his silence. He pleaded his innocence often enough and the warden of a prison couldn't change his fate, even if he wanted to.

He was startled from his thoughts because the warden went on talking. "Read your dossier and I'm quite ambiguous about it. Too many shortcuts. And I can't imagine a man that is cold-blooded enough to carry a bomb out of a building and being wounded murders his wife in anger.

"But alas, I can only make your time as comfortable as possible here and I have a lot of latitude in determining how I treat the people entrusted to me.

"I have a proposition for you. Please hear me out."

Andrew just nodded and the warden went on.

"We have a sick bay in here, only we just don't have anyone who can provide advanced first aid anymore. You, however, are certainly certified as such and have the necessary additional certificates to be able to do your job as a rescuer.

"It's more expensive, by far, to call a doctor each time when we need to stitch someone up after a fight than to train someone in house to do that kind of thing.

"I would like you to get your Physician's Assistant License, that the Institution will pay for and be our man the sick bay.

"The job comes with certain benefits. First; you'll have an income. Fifteen hundred a month, tax free. A cell of your own and you will be able to use the facilities in the sickbay. Private showers and so on.

"There are drawbacks of course. Some inmates will try to take advantage of you. Maybe even try to force you to do things. But you'll have friends that have your back. Tattoo is one of them. He will tell you why, himself.

"Will you take the job?"

"I'm speechless. Why this treatment? But I will be an idiot to tell you that I don't." Andrew stammered.

"I followed your case and I think that it went all too fast, as if it was pushed through the system by an unknown force. I've seen it before, and I didn't like the outcome. Precisely because you have always maintained that you are innocent."

"I am innocent. I did not kill my wife." Andrew vehemently retorted.

"I believe you, yet.... Best to make the best of it."

>][<>][<

Back in his cell, Andrew sat dazed on his bed. The events of the last week had overwhelmed him and left him no time to process them.

Here, sitting alone in his cell the implications threatened to crush him. Ten years of his life were going to ruin between these four whitewashed walls. All his plans for the future, including being a dad, down the drain. His wife bore a child, but it wasn't his child. He intended to divorce the woman he loved with all his being, but instead he became a widower and was blamed for making that happen.

His mind descended into a roiling, stinking black swamp of despair.

He was jolted out of his depression by Tattoo slamming the door open. In his hands a bag of cookies. "We need to have a conversation."

Tattoo noticed the dull eyes from a man that has had too many bad experiences in too short a time.

"I have as good a news as you can get at the moment."

"Is that so? How come?" Andrew asked, skepticism obvious in his voice.

"Yes, and I tell ya." Tattoo answered in an upbeat voice.

"The fact that I'm here to help you survive this joint is your fault. If you didn't play the hero, carried that bomb out of the building and threw it in the drink, I would be lying in a grave.

"You see, me and my mates were ransacking the upper floors. Ya know, copper, zinc, and all that stuff. If that last bomb had gone off, the building would have collapsed with us in it.

"Of course, the place was crawling with cops in no time and we got caught and now we're here for the time being.

"We're in your debt forever. So, we are going to take care of you and teach you to take care of yourself. Also, we will help you get out of that depression you are slowly sinking into."

Three years later Tattoo and his clan said their farewells to Andrew. Their time in prison was done.

Tattoo and Andrew had a last conversation where Andrew spoke, "I have a house that is boarded up on my request. If you need a place, you can use that. If not, would you be so kind as to check if all is well?" And he gave Tattoo the address.

Tattoo replied, "Thrower, by now you must know that I won't refuse any reasonable request from you. I have a place to go back to, but I'll check out your house."

That said, they shook hands and bid each other farewell.

By then Andrew had found his feet. He was well integrated and respected. He was the lord and master of the sickbay, even the guards sometimes preferred to go to him than to the emergency room in the hospital. He treated everyone in a professional manner, with kind words and advice when asked for.

Some newcomers learned the hard way to show him some respect, especially the ones who wanted some particular chemicals from the sickbay's pharmacy for recreational purposes.

After he taught them a lesson in humility, he had to treat two of them with stitches, one needed his ribs taped and one needed to go to the hospital because Andrew literally threw him through the door from the sickbay. He did live up to his nickname Thrower.

Nobody had expected that from that 5ft 8in man. What they overlooked were the hours of relentlessly working out in the gym and the hard self-defense lessons that Tattoo and his bunch taught.

Insiders regarded him among the best streetfighters in the institute.

A confession in a bar.

About eight years after the incarceration of Andrew.

Charles Wecksford, now forty years of age, entered 'The Three Barrels.' A drinking hole mostly frequented easy-going people coming just for a drink and a bite to eat.

To top that, there were no blaring speakers making a conversation impossible. Either jazz, or classical baroque music sounded in the background.

Charles was tired to the bone. He hadn't slept well in ages and almost every night that nightmare with the accusing eyes, dying while they bored into his soul, haunted him.

He had tried everything to suppress them, to no avail. Chemicals to make him sleep just knocked him out without giving him the relaxation a normal sleep brings about. Waking up was almost worse, so more chemicals were needed.

His nerves were frayed so he took Xanax for relief and went to a place where nobody knew him and ordered a gin.

The barkeeper poured the spirit in a short tulip-shaped glass with a small bowl narrowing at the lip.

"What's this?" Charles asked.

"That glass is made especially for gin and jenever in mind." The barkeeper informed him.

Charles shrugged, downed the content in one pull and gesture for another one.

In the back of his kind, he heard the lyrics of 'Too Much Alcohol' played by Rory Gallagher. 'Whisky makes me drowsy. And gin can make you think.' He needed to think.

He didn't have only problems with sleeping. His side-business was becoming a major headache too. His clients were getting greedier and demanded more and more insider information and threatened to expose him if he stopped helping them getting richer.

As long as Charles obliged, they had each other by the balls, it was a precarious balance and he was pondering how to get out of this situation.

He could disappear, but leaving behind Beth and his two sons, they had adopted Melanie's son, was out of the question just as was taking the fall. They would be left behind to fend for themselves too.

He downed the third glass when the combination from Xanax and alcohol started to have its effect. Somewhat relaxed now, he started to interact with his neighbor at the bar.

In his conversation with the other man Charles was unaware that at the other side the barstool was taken by a pretty woman wearing business chic.

>][<>][<

After eight years battling male chauvinism and prejudices Jennifer Hull was finally appointed public prosecutor.

Her predecessor Eric Speare had suffered a heart attack from which he barely survived, and the higher echelons fell over themselves to get rid of him. After all, his nickname wasn't Eric. J. for nothing.

While he was on sick leave, they forced him into early retirement, and it fell to Jennifer to clean out his office.

Jennifer decided to celebrate her promotion on her own. Her husband wasn't interested and she was fed up with her former colleagues, who did everything in their power to sabotage her. Files disappeared, unreal demands made, coffee thrown over her work, making it unreadable. The list was long. Just as the off the record, of course, conversations in which her predecessor advised her to find another job because she was rowing upstream without a paddle.

She persevered against all odds. When her promotion and appointment were announced, it came as a bombshell and the first overtures to get on her good side were already made.

She decided to have a drink at her favorite pub where she came to sit next to Charles Wecksford, who was experiencing the relaxing effects of the gin.

Something her neighbor said triggered her curiosity. The man next to her was telling an improbable tale about impregnating the wife of his neighbor and pushing her to her death.

Stealthily she slid out her dictaphone. A gadget she normally used when interviewing people at home. It was small and had a one terabyte micro-SD card for storing hours of recording.

She remembered that case. It was the one taken from her when she interrupted that detective from forcing a confession from a man in pain and being hardly conscious.

The next day she was called to her predecessor and had to hand over everything she had, including all photos she had taken.

The woman next to Charles soon had enough of his ramblings and left in search for better company

Jennifer saw her chance. It wasn't horrible to look at her and she helped herself a little more by unbuttoning two buttons from her blouse so that the swell of her breasts showed. She swiped Charles glass over the bar, pretending to be a little over her limit.

She slightly slurred, "Oh, I'm so sorry. Let me get you another one. I'm Jennifer. Jennifer Hull by the way.

"Don't worry about it. I'm Charles Wecksford."

"You look tired Charles. Are you sure you want that drink?" Jennifer started.

Slowly and careful not to alarm him she coaxed him to repeat the whole story again, only this time her dictaphone recorded everything. The introductions, the nightmares, the machinations to get his neighbor convicted. It all poured out and the dictaphone didn't miss a word. Charles didn't even notice the gadget sitting on the bar, a slow blinking light saying that it was active. He was too occupied by the swell of the pale globes she had in her blouse.

When she had it all, she detached herself from him pretending that the booze got to her too much and went home.

The missing dossier.

The next few days Jennifer's time was completely taken up by her introduction as the new prosecutor.

She held performance reviews with every member of her team, something her predecessor had always neglected to do.

In those conversations she stated exactly what her expectations were. Some of her team members saw the storm coming and started polishing their resumes.

At the end of a long and tiring week she finally had some time to check the dossier of Andrew Mesman.

She went to the archives and found the file box empty, but for the verdict from the judge and some inconsequential notes.

She checked the file log and the last person who retrieved it was her predecessor.

The same who, as soon as she started to object to the way things were going, took her from the case.

After that, the case was settled in no time and Andrew Mesman was convicted despite his continued insistence that he had never touched his wife, let alone killed her. That much she had garnered from the notes she had found.

She had a confession from Mesman's neighbor, and she smelled a nest of rats.

>][<>][<

Jennifer sat in her chair looking at the file cabinets occupying one wall of her office. She ordered the locksmith to open the cabinets and he went to work drilling the locks out.

Jennifer had ordered the locksmith because she was afraid that if she asked her predecessor for the keys he would refuse and demand that he was the one emptying them as a matter of privacy.

It took the locksmith a short time before he had them all open and Jennifer was able to inspect the contents.

A quick search didn't produce the Mesman dossier, but Jennifer was nothing but tenacious.

It took her two days before she noticed that two cabinets were slightly different from the others and she only found out when all four doors were open and she looked at them from the other side of the room.

The bottoms plates of these two cabinets were sitting one-and-a-half inch higher than the other two and the bottom plates were secured with Allen screws. It was very cleverly done and hardly noticeable.

From a pocket in her bag, she fished her multitool and started prying.

The screws came out fairly easy and when she lifted the plates, she found two steel cassettes with a small padlock.

She was quickly done with the padlock and after opening the cassettes she found out how deep the betrayal of Andrew Mesman actually went.

It takes only one pebble to start an avalanche.

René Young swaggered into the offices of the new public prosecutor. He was confident that he could handle the newbie. He had years of experience in bullying people and could do it in the politest way.

Jennifer remembered René Young too and she knew a thing or two about him, so she thought it prudent to ask for assistance from someone from Internal Affairs and warned her superiors of a shitstorm brewing.

Her superiors asked for a detective from the State Police and when René entered her office without knocking, he was barked at to get out and wait until he was called.

René sat himself in a chair and re-evaluated his situation. It was obvious that his plan to intimidate the newbie was out of the window and he had no idea why he was called for an audience with the new prosecutor.

A few minutes later he was told to go in. "And knock first! It's the polite thing to do." The secretary sneered.

When René entered and saw who was sitting behind the desk, he felt himself go pale.

He knew firsthand the reputation of Jennifer Hull. His first collision forced him to ask for help from his brother-in-law, the recently retired prosecutor.

Fuck! She did manage to row upstream without a paddle and now she's called me for what?

"Detective Young be seated. Let me introduce you to Detective Schwarz from the State Police's internal affairs. He is assisting me in this case."

René felt as if he walked into a trap. There had been only one case where he, personally, went over the line and that was the one she was forced to step back from.

His stomach started to float upwards in his chest.

"Detective Young, can you explain the discrepancies between the file I found in the archives and these, I found in this office? Your name is everywhere in the dossier." Jennifer asked in a treacherous friendly tone.

René decided to cut his losses and rolled over. His brother-in-law had been so stupid to hold on to the original file. "For leverage." He had said and now that 'leverage' was biting them in the ass.

"I can, but I want a lawyer and a deal." He replied. "This is way bigger than it seems."

"Why don't you start with giving us the outline of 'way bigger than it seems'. Detective Schwarz growled. "We have a confession from the one who killed the woman on tape. We can start with him, if you like."

René became sick. He forced his bile down, swallowed with difficulty and with a sore throat croaked, "Okay, as long as you remember that I cooperated from the start." and he started to talk about the deal with Charles Wecksford, his and his brother-in-law's insider trading in shares on indication from the man

He told about the vulnerability of Charles's position within the organization he worked for and the mutual deadlock they all had each other in.

With the help of his brother-in-law and some other friends he had been able to falsify the birth-certificate and to stitch the dead woman's husband up for involuntary manslaughter.

At the end of the day Jennifer had a written statement, notarized and co-signed by Detective Schwarz and she was on the way to the victim of this scam to give him some good news.

>][<>][<

Andrew was busy. An inmate had an 'accident' and needed some stitches. His problem was that the man wouldn't sit still and he was whining that Andrew hurt him.

After some bad experiences Andrew had strategically placed mirrors in the treatment room to prevent someone taking advantage of the situation and trying to steal either something sharp or the painkillers and the like, he was allowed to administer.

When the inmate started to fidget again and was sending furtive glances at the tray with implements for the stitching, he barked, "Sit still and don't even think about trying!

"If you try, you need the hospital when I'm done with you."

The inmate heeded that warning and turned into a mannequin. Andrew's reputation as a formidable fighter was well earned.

When Tattoo took him under his wings, he made good on his promise to enable him to take care of himself and ordered one of his friends to teach him.

A man, a former ranger gone wrong due to suffering from untreated PTSD took over from Tattoo when he had done his time and took Andrew's abilities to the next level.

When one looked at Andrew, he appeared as a wiry, self-confident man. He moved with precise, controlled movements that showed formidable body control and only the stupidest newcomers would try the patience of the friendly, unassuming and introverted man.

The ones that did were taught a lesson in the cage from the gym.

The door opened and a guard stuck his head around the corner.

"Doc, uhm Thrower, the warden likes to see you as soon as you are finished with this man." He said politely.

"Almost done Sir. If you give me one moment?" Came Andrew's reply while he snipped the last thread.

"Done. Now keep out of trouble." He barked at the inmate quickly checking his tray if nothing was missing.

Andrew followed the guard until they arrived at the warden's office and was led inside by the warden's secretary.

One of the visitor chairs was occupied by a nice-looking woman, dressed conservatively, but sexy in a tailored suit. She seemed about his age and looked familiar. It had been a very long time since Andrew met a woman and he very much liked what he saw.

Jennifer rose to meet, or better said meet again, Andrew Mesman. "Mr. Mesman, I'm Jennifer Hull. Pleased to meet you."

"Again." Added Andrew, remembering where they had met before.

"I remember you. You came with that detective that tried to torture me into a confession. Admitting to something I didn't do. You told him to Mirandize me."

While Jennifer was observing Andrew, the warden asked, "Torture?"

Andrew turned his head to the warden, oblivious to the fact that Jennifer still held his hand.

"I was operated on because the knife damaged my spleen. When I woke up, someone in a white coat told me that I only got minimal pain relief because the Police wanted me to have a clear head when I was interviewed."

He looked back at Jennifer and went on, "That's how I remember you. You stopped him from hurting me even more. Thank you for that."

"But what did he do to warrant torture?" The ward mused out loud.

"The knife wound and the scar from the operation were on my back and they laid me on my back in the bed. During the interrogation, if one can call it that, he kicked the mattress below the wound with his knee, or he poked it under the blanket with his fist. Can you imagine what that feels like?"

Jennifer gasped. "I never noticed!" She cried.

"Maybe not, but you stopped the interrogation. It never happened again afterwards. And you may recall that he only tried to force me to say that I killed my wife. He never asked any other questions."

Jennifer saw the man standing in front of her. He seemed frail in his white coat, but he moved with the assurance of an athlete. His face was lined and his eyes pools of sadness. His hands felt calloused and she thought that strange for a man in a doctor's coat.

She cleared her throat and spoke, "I would like to interview you about the occurrences that happened that day. New information has come to light and I am going to reopen your case. Don't get your hopes up please because we still have a lot to examine.

"As things stand you may or may not be acquitted when I'm done. We will know more in a few weeks."

Andrew sat heavily in the unoccupied chair and stammered, "That would be wonderful. Thank you in advance for trying, even if it doesn't work out."

He was silent for a moment and tried to get on his feet again. Inmates don't sit in the warden's office.

"Sit down Thrower. I understand that it's a shock." The warden admonished.

Almost an hour later Andrew was excused and walked, albeit still a little unsteady, back to 'his' sickbay.

Alone with Jennifer, the warden asked, "How much of a chance is there for him to be released?"

"Almost a hundred percent. I need all loose strings tied together to present it to the judge in such a way that no one can ignore it and to cover it up.

"I still need to interrogate the suspect, but I already have a confession from him on tape. It only needs to be formalized. I hope that we can learn the real motive behind all this.

The arrest.

A week after Jennifer's visit to the penitentiary institution where Andrew was incarcerated, Elsbeth had visitors.

"Ma'am, what can you remember from the date Mr. Mesman allegedly killed Mrs. Mesman and do you know why he would do such a thing?" The detective, accompanying Jennifer, asked.

Elsbeth thought for a few moments and replied, "Not much".

"Suddenly there were sirens and blue lights and ambulances. After a while my husband came home with our neighbor's baby in his arms, telling me that we had to take care of him. At least for a while, because something terrible happened with Charlie's parents,

"The next day I was told that Melanie stabbed Andrew and Andrew killed Melanie.

"When Andrew had to go to prison, we decided to adopt the baby. My husband arranged it all, with the help of some friends of course."

The detective asked some other questions as well and repeated the first question, only worded differently each time.

In the end Jennifer said, "Mrs. Wecksford, we have serious indications that Mr. Mesman didn't kill his wife and that he is a victim of a misleading course of events involving multiple people. We also suspect that your adoptive son isn't the biological son of Mr. Mesman. In order to find the man who fathered the boy we would like to take a DNA swab from your husband in due time."

Beth felt a cold wind blowing through her mind and indeed goosebumps appeared on her arms when Jennifer said that. She thought, It can't be, can it? Was she really pregnant with Charles' baby? I saw the birth certificate and it said Mesman.

After another few questions Jennifer and the detective said goodbye, leaving a worried Beth behind.

>][<>][<

Two police officers were waiting in the entrance hall of the office building where Charles Wecksford worked.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator he was arrested.

At the station, he was led into, euphemistically called, an interview room and sat down on a chair.

A few moments later Jennifer and the same detective that was with her when they visited Elsbeth entered too.

After the obligatory introductions, detective Johnson asked, "Can you tell us what happened?" and he called the date that Melanie was killed.

Charles repeated the well-rehearsed story of how he walked into the kitchen and found Melanie dead and Andrew lying in a pool of blood.

Jennifer asked, "Did you move Mr. Mesman to get at Mrs. Mesman's body?"

"No, I stepped over him."

"Did you know if she was dead already?" Jennifer went on.

Charles re-lived the moment and, again, looked into the accusing eyes until the light of life slowly faded into nothingness.

"Why all these questions? They never asked them the first time they interviewed me."

"Who interviewed you at the time?" Jennifer asked, well aware of the answer.

Charles pretended to think about it and answered, "Young, or something I think."

"I have here some pictures from the crime scene. Can you explain why there are only footprints going out from the kitchen in the blood from where you stepped over Mr. Mesman?"

Charles breathed out hard and almost shouted, "Where did you get those pictures?"

"In the office of my predecessor. And I have this." Jennifer softly replied while she put her dictaphone on the table and pushed play.

To his horror, Charles heard himself confess the murder of his neighbor. With terror visiting his eyes he looked at Jennifer. "It was you, in that bar?"

"Yes." Jennifer replied. "And we have enough in the file we found, together with the statement of detective Young to put all of you behind bars. But what I want to know is why you stabbed Mr. Mesman and pushed Mrs. Mesman to her death."

Charles felt an enormous relief. He never told anyone, except for Young, Jennifer's predecessor and that judge, what really happened and why.

Now he finally was caught up with his misdeeds, a burden felt from his soul.

He started to talk about his company's code of conduct, his ring of insider traders who acted on his information and paid him handsomely for it, the panic when Andrew couldn't be bullied into submission and the knife in his hands, the push, the crunch and the eyes of the woman still giving him nightmares.

At the end of the day, he used his right to call. He called Elsbeth and gave her the devastating news that he was arrested, wouldn't be around for a very long time and advised her to divorce him as soon as possible.

A proposal.

Magnus Dale, owner and CEO of Dale's Financials and employer of Charles Wecksford sat musing in his office.

In his eyes, the code of conduct, ultimately, had cost someone's life and put another human being in prison while being innocent for which he was convicted.

He also wondered how he could be so wrong in employing a man capable of these acts.

The only thing he could do was to try to make amends and help the man back on his feet.

He ordered his legal advisor to make a profile of Mr. Andrew Mesman and started to cut through the red tape in order to have a talk with the man in private.

Two days later.

Magnus witnessed the warden telling Andrew that he was exonerated, pardoned and free to go.

He looked at the man and saw the shock of realization hit Andrew. Outwardly it seems that there wasn't any reaction at all. His face and body went still, except for his rapid blinking eyes

"When will I be released?" It seemed that the words were forced out of his throat.

"This afternoon, or tomorrow. I don't have the official release form yet."

Andrew's breathing started again, "Tomorrow please. I have nowhere to go."

>][<>][<

Tattoo, on request of Andrew, went to look how his house looked like, whether his sister had indeed had maintenance done to it.

To Tattoo's utter amazement, the house was occupied.

Because he wasn't a person other people would confide in, he enlisted another friend of Andrew's to gently question the residents. The result was shocking.

Andrew's sister rented the house out to expats for a staggering amount of money. The maintenance fee, which Andrew automatically transferred to her bank account, was indeed used for maintenance. The rent was pure profit going onto his sister's account.

Andrew was completely unaware of it. Only when Tattoo appraised him of the situation during one of his visits, it became clear that he was scammed.

With his sister's earlier behavior towards him in mind and the fact that the only visitors he ever had were former inmates, he told Tattoo to find a good, sharp lawyer and do something about it.

The main problem was that the family had an ironclad contract and could not be evicted until the end of the contract.

>][<>][<

"Warden, if you please? I may be of assistance." Magnus Dale interrupted Andrew's frantic thought.

Both the warden and Andrew looked at the man who followed up with, "In private please."

The warden nodded, came from behind his desk and said, "It's time that I'm doing my rounds, you have half an hour."

"That should be enough. Thank you."

When the warden was through the door he said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Magnus Dale, CEO and owner of Dale's Financials. The employer of the man who has caused you so much suffering.

"I feel partly responsible for that. First, I am aware that our code of conduct is rather harsh. It has to be. The welfare of this company stands, of falls with its reputation.

Second, all staff involved with negotiations and/or trading are under severe scrutiny in order to prevent insider trading.

"Not so, I am ashamed to admit Mr. Mesman, the legal staff and that's where it went wrong.

"Mr. Wecksford had all that information as well and used it to enrich himself. It was quite cleverly done, I must admit, but his clientele was demanding and dangerous. He could not afford to lose his job because of an illegitimate child he fathered.

"Hence your predicament."

Andrew nodded and said bluntly, "What has all that to do with your presence here?"

" I'll come to that.

"I can't give you your lost years back, but I can make your future life much easier. First of all, I'd like to reimburse you for your lost income over the past eight years.

"Secondly, I will pay your lawyer when you decide to go after the press for character assassination and slander. The judicial institutions cannot go scott free too.

"When this is over, you will be financially independent.

Last, I want you to come to work for an organization that is close to my heart.

That organization is akin to the Red Cross when it comes to giving aid in disaster areas, but in places where The Red Cross, or the Red Crescent find it a political problem.

"With your background, you are extremely suitable for this job. You will be well paid with room and board included.

"Another advantage is that you are off grid for at least two years. That will give the lawyers the time to hound the newspapers, networks and the Police and the like, without giving them a chance to harass you."

"It sounds tempting, but what's in it for you?"

"Nothing but some peace of mind. I can afford it and I did some research on you and you are someone I would like to have as a friend."

"If I say yes, I still don't have a place to live tomorrow. Need to arrange access to my bank-accounts before I can even afford a motel room."

"Don't worry, whatever you decide I will put you up in a comfortable hotel until you find something. I'll arrange a car, preferably at the back exit, unless you want to talk to the press. You can count on them being there in droves when news of your release gets out."

Andrew looked at Magnus and decided to trust that man. "Okay, I accept your offer and would like to work for your organization. Where do I sign?"

Magnus smiled broadly. "All in due time, all in due time. Are there people you'd like to see tomorrow? Your sister perhaps?"

"My sister? No. She only tried to profit from my incarceration. I would like to give her a good scare though. She rented out my house without my consent and made a bundle. However, I would like to thank Jennifer Hull for getting me out of here and clearing my name."

"I'll ask her to have lunch with you tomorrow."

Release through the backdoor.

The warden looked out of the window overlooking the entrance and he spotted a crowd outside.

He turned around and said to Andrew, "It seems that you became famous again.

"Look at them, bloody hyenas. First crucifying you for something you didn't do. Condemned before you even stood before a judge."

He thought for a moment. "Mr. Dale promised to send a car for you. I allowed him to use the backdoor. That way you can avoid those imbeciles."

>][<>][<

Elsbeth Lodge, formerly Elsbeth Wecksford-Lodge, walked slowly back to her car. She felt disappointed.

She had hoped to intercept Andrew. She wanted to offer shelter and support until he found his feet again.

Somewhere in that same crowd was Carla Wada-Mesman.

Carla was painfully aware that she had been carried away by the insinuating news reports, full of speculation and half-truths. Often fueled by Eric Speare and René Young.

Her first shock came a few years earlier when a heavily tattooed man in company with a lawyer demanded that her tenants had to leave Andrew's house unless the lawyer could show an agreement that she had her brothers' permission to rent it.

Her husband had been beyond angry. He had no idea that their extra source of income was illicit. He became furious at her when he found out that the contract was for ten years and even when the contract was illicit, the family couldn't be evicted because of the tenant protection which was laid down in the Tenants Act.

"Stupid cow!" He roared when their children were off to school. "You knew that he would be out earlier because of the pre-trial detention deduction. That already is an overlap of nine months!

How are you going to explain that you illegally rented out his house for three thousand bucks a month while receiving two-hundred-fifty from him for maintenance?

"It's your brother for God's sake. He might be guilty, but that does not give you the right to extort money from him and abuse his home by putting tenants in it!

"He will at least demand what he is due when he's out again and we don't have that money!"

It had been the worst crisis in their marriage. Her husband even threatened with a divorce, "I'm not sure that I want to stay married to such a cold-hearted woman."

She had to speak to her brother. She banked on the goodness of her brother and the soft spot he always had for her.

She wanted him to forgive her the debt she accrued because there was no way she could pay it back.

At about the same time Carla got to her car again, Andrew exited without much ado the back exit and stepped into the Maybach SUV Magnus had sent.

To his surprise he found Jennifer waiting inside.

"Hello, what are you doing here?" Andrew asked, surprised.

Jennifer smiled broadly and for Andrew the world became a little brighter.

"I figured that you would like someone here to welcome you back into the free world, so I volunteered."

Andrew took the seat beside her and uttered a heartfelt, "Thank you. It's much appreciated."

Jennifer smiled again, took a deep breath and kissed him softly on his cheek.

Wonderingly Andrew looked at her, his fingers caressing the spot Jennifer's lips met his cheek. "What did I do to deserve that?" He asked.

Jennifer blushed, "I don't know, but I felt like it and it seemed a good thing to do."

"Oh, you won't hear me complaining, but you're the prosecutor and I am an ex-con. It seems a bit inappropriate."

Jennifer sharply retorted, "You are not an ex-con. You were wrongly incarcerated. Ex-cons are convicted felons going back into society. You were innocent. It's not inappropriate."

Taken aback Andrew sagged into the opulent seat and sat still, pondering Jennifer's words.

She took his hands, "Sorry about that. But you are, I repeat, you are innocent.

"I couldn't help myself. We only met briefly, and you made quite an impression on me. I'd like to get to know you better and be your friend if you need one."

Andrew gave a wry smile, "I would like that, suddenly my group of friends suddenly doubled. My only other friend is Tattoo.

"He was the one protecting me from harm in prison, taught me how to defend myself and lent me a sympathetic ear when I was grieving for my wife, or down because of the whole situation. He taught me to internalize everything because if you show weakness inside, they lose respect and start bullying you.

"He is also the one that found out that my sister used me. Asked for money to maintain my house and just rented it out with an unbreakable, long-term contract. I can't even go back and live in it for the next two years."

Jennifer took his hand in hers and caressed it as a gesture of comfort.

Andrew was touched by the movement, looked at her hands and noticed a wedding band!

Gently he untangled his hand.

"You're married," he softly said.

"Hardly, but I understand that you don't want to go there, after all you went through. Just friends?"

"Just friends. I can do that." Andrew replied.

>][<>][<

Jennifer met Joe Branson, a police officer, while working on a case and he pursued her relentlessly until she gave in to his advances.

A year later they married. Slowly he started to cocoon her and another year later she hadn't any friends of her own left, just his'.

He whittled away her connection with her parents and siblings and started to push her towards being a at home mom.

She refused. Despite the difficulties, she loved her work and it was about the only kind of independence and freedom she had left.

Soon after it became ugly in the household. Verbal abuse, impossible demands; the list was long and now he was cheating on her.

She knew because she smelled the sex and the strange perfumes on him, but she didn't have hard proof. She also couldn't ask someone to provide it for her. Her husband had a lot of friends and 'acquaintances' and he would know within an hour that she was investigating him.

She was stuck for the moment until she could find a way out without ending up in poverty.

>][<>][<

The car with its occupants arrived at the hotel's underground parking.

Without being troubled they stepped into the elevator and Jennifer pushed some buttons and held a kind of fob to a small plate next to the doors.

Silently the box started it's ascent to the designated floor. A short walk through a corridor and Andrew found himself surrounded by a luxury he never experienced in his whole life, let alone the last eight years.

"My man!" Rasped a familiar voice and he found himself engulfed in a bear hug by Tattoo.

"Those assholes got what they deserved, and you are exonerated. Celebrations are in order."

The three of them sat down in front of the window overlooking the city. Lunch and beverages were served when Andrew asked Tattoo, "What are you doing for a living these days?"

Tattoo smiled his teeth gapped smile and replied. I find things. All nicely legal nowadays. I'm being paid by insurance companies to find stolen goods and sometimes people who tried to defraud the companies."

After a pause, "And I'm good at it."

Jennifer observed, "You're a private investigator?"

"Nah, I don't think so. I just tell them where to find the stuff, ya know, like pointing them in the right direction. It's an alternative circuit, so to say."

A flare went off in her head. She asked, "If I would need proof that my husband cheats on me, can you provide that?"

Two pairs of eyes swiveled towards her.

Tattoo replied, "If need be. Why? Does your husband have a woman on the side?"

Jennifer took a gulp of air and replied, "This stays between us, what I'm going to tell you next?"

Andrew just nodded affirmatively. Tattoo however said, "You're the one that got my lifesaver out of prison. That makes me indebted to you. You can consider me your friend if you like. So, yeah. I won't rat."

That on the table, Jennifer told both men the woeful tale of his marriage that she wanted out of it without being bankrupted because of the prenup.

"Oh, I can do that for you." Tattoo enthused.

"Hold your horses." Jennifer told him, "We need some things out of the way first.

"My husband is a police officer and he has very long and sensitive antennae. A friend of mine, who is a registered PI, warned me that a lot of his colleagues report special or unusual assignments to my husband. So, if I ask one to check his movements, he knows that within an hour.

"He also doesn't shy away from a little violence. So, do you still want to do this and if yes, what is your price?"

"Lady, now that we're confessing, I'm possibly more scared of the dentist than your husband and I really need a decent set of teeth. If you know anyone who can help me, we'll be even."

They talked for another while. Jennifer told Andrew that Magnus will come to see him the next day and then they left.

Andrew looked around. The rooms were luxurious. It came with a kind of spa that had a sauna, a bath with jets, a rain shower with an infrared wall.

Tattoo told him on the way out that he could order everything he liked from room service, but warned him not to go outside, or into one of the restaurants or bars to avoid recognition.

Andrew plunked himself in the big recliner and felt forlorn and caged again.

His mental pressure cooker in which he held all his pent-up emotions for so long because one couldn't show weakness in prison, violently vented.

Grief, despair, anger and a deep sense of being lost geysered all at once at the surface.

The wall closed in on him and it was as he was back in prison in the time before he was fully accepted. It seemed the light dimmed and the air went viscous.

He howled. He howled his frustration and pain in the privacy of the well soundproofed room.

The next morning. Andrew opened the door to Tattoo. He looked ashamed when Tattoo walked in.

The room was a mess. Furniture, overturned or smashed to pieces. There wasn't a single ornament that wasn't broken.

Tattoo walked into the bathroom and saw the bloodstained towels lying on the floor.

He turned around and simply asked, "Lost it?"

Pale, and hollowed eyed Andrew showed him his swollen hands. Hoarse from his screaming he replied, "Yeah. Never thought that would happen. I have a hole in my memory for the length of this episode. That they didn't hear me."

He looked outside and concluded, "I need to get out of here. It's a prison again. Luxurious, bit a prison all the same. And I need help to prevent this from happening again."

There's an alternative for this. A trailer park. I know a good one, near Lake Bedding. Has it all. A supermarket, fish and chips and privacy as long as you don't advertise yourself. It's fenced and the residents don't want anything to do with nosy idiots.

"Sounds good, but how do I convince Magnus?"

"Nah, don't bother. I'll call him." Tattoo sniggered.

"You? How come?"

Tattoo interrupted, "He wanted to know about your house, so I showed him and we clicked. I'm working for him now. Before our collaboration goes public, I need new teeth and I want my tats removed from my face.

"Your girlfriend is going to pay for the teeth. Under narcosis of course, Magnus will pay for the latter treatment." Tattoo replied while he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"She's not my girlfriend." Andrew objected.

"Oh yes, she is. You only don't know it. Yet!

"Magnus, Tattoo here. I'm with Andrew here and he's done a wrecking job on the hotel room."

Tattoo listened for a moment and replied, "No, he can't remember and yes he's hurt."

Tattoo disconnected and said, "Never imagined that a man like that would know more swear words than I do and able to use them all in one sentence. And no, he isn't mad at you, but at himself."

An hour later the door flew open and Magnus and another man, stocky, bald, short beard, very dark intense eyes over a crooked nose and full lips walked into the room. The man was carrying a big suitcase.

"Andrew," Marcus growled, "I'm so sorry. I totally overlooked that you might suffer from PTSD. I should have realized. Me, the director of operations for Rapid Relief International. At least, this time, I brought a doctor with me to have a look at you and have a talk with you.

"Trust him, he knows what he is doing. He knows your reputation, your background from before you went to prison and would like you to have on his team."

" Hi, I'm John Gates. Emergency Doc with RRI. Let's find some privacy, yes?"

They went into the bathroom and John closed the door behind them.

It took Dr. John an hour to bandage Andrew's hands and to break through the re-instated wall.

When he came out of the bathroom, he walked over to Magnus and whispered something into his ear.

Magnus nodded and went into the bathroom.

Tattoo asked, while he observed Dr. John. "You're not going to put him between four walls, eh? He's going to have issues with that and so do I."

"What? No, Andrew told me about the trailer park. I think it is a wonderful idea."

A change of clothes.

Andrew walked around in the single wide trailer that Tattoo had procured. It was the opposite of the hotel room. It was airy, but austerity decorated and a great improvement over his prison cell. The master bedroom featured a double bed with a duvet.

There were two bathrooms, a well-equipped kitchen, two more bedrooms and it didn't give him the claustrophobic feeling the hotel room did in all its opulence.

The trailer sat, with no immediate neighbors, at the far end of the park at the end of a small road. The road ended in a hardly used hiking trail that led back to the gate of the camp and went on through the forest and along the beach.

He savored the quiet around him. He only heard the sound of the waves breaking on the rocky beach, the seagulls and the wind. It was a far cry from the constant noise of prison, where it was never quiet.

He made himself a pot of coffee and went outside.

It was chilly, but not uncomfortable even so and he sat down in one of the camping chairs on the small terrace. The chairs were foldable as well as the table for easy storage when the weather became bad.

When he took his first sip, he noticed someone walking towards him along the path.

It took a few moments before he realized that he knew her. It was Jennifer and she was wrestling with a big suitcase on wheels.

He jumped out of his chair, walked quickly over and took the suitcase from her.

Without words they walked back to his trailer where he dumped the suitcase in the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee.

Jennifer waited for him to come out and after he put her cup on the table, she softly kissed him on the cheek and said, "It's a mess back home. I came to ask for shelter. I need a safe harbor."

"Oh?" Was the dumb answer.

Jennifer waited patiently until Andrew's brains came up speed.

"Of course, you're welcome. Might I ask why you need shelter? Are you hiding?"

"Yes, from the friends of my husband.

"Tattoo did a wonderful job with finding out whether he was cheating, but he ever found out so much more. My husband is rotten to the core."

Andrew raised one eyebrow, "Is he now? How did Tattoo find out?"

"A friend of Tattoo followed them and, in a restaurant, used a digital camera and a directional microphone. They were in a booth thinking that they had enough privacy to talk business.

"What's being said there was horrible.

He is selling sensitive information. He hacked, among others, my laptop and installed a keylogger.

"He sells it to criminals for money, but this particular person, a woman, recruits young women and men who are to be used as sex slaves. My husband had the first choice of these young people to break their spirit and make them docile and 'willing'.

"The method he uses involves raping them. His only demand was that they have to be at least eighteen years old.

"After we found out I went to my superior and handed over my resignation. My superior refused but put me on non-active. However, he took the ball and initiated an investigation of his own and now everything is in the hands of Internal Affairs and the State Police.

"My superior also found out that the money was used to pay off a woman and a two years old child. His child.

"He has been cheating on me for a long time and he is corrupt, and he will be served tomorrow while he is arraigned.

"For the time being I'm non-active. With pay."

Andrew's arms showed goosebumps when he heard the story. It was all too close to home for him. What if Jennifer...?

He derailed this train of thought quickly with; She would never come to me and ask me to hide her.

"But why can't she live in her own house and have protection?"

Andrew didn't realize that he said the last sentence out loud. Thinking out loud was a habit he developed in the sickbay. He noticed that if he did that his 'patients' were much more relaxed when they could follow his train of thoughts.

He blushed and Jennifer giggled seeing him do so. She touched his cheek and said, "Because it's his house, not mine. His, before we married.

"Another reason and maybe more important..."

Now she held his chin so she could look into his eyes and forced him to look back so that he could see that she meant it.

"Things haven't been going well for a long time, but now things have completely fallen apart and my divorce will be finalized in two months.

"Lately I have met a man who very gently touched my heart and I would like to explore that sentiment.

"If that man is interested in me of course."

She smiled, still holding Andrew's chin and before he could withdraw, she placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"And don't go weird on me. I know that you have feelings for me too." She admonished him.

The capacity for love reawakens.

Andrew sat motionless as if frozen.

He was mentally frozen. His thoughts skidded to a halt and it was as if his emotions looked at him and screamed, "That woman wants you! Let her in!"

Somewhere else in his mind congealed, Remember the pain, the humiliation, the misery your first love brought!

Then two eyes, full of compassion, floated in his view. Eyes that radiated understanding and he realized that this woman had also chains of misery and pain wrought for her and understood how deep in the mire he emotionally was.

He felt her hands, still cupping his jaws and they gently forced him out of his thought-cage that had captured him.

"Hey," she softly said, "I'm not your late wife. I was forced to grow up and I will never act as immature as she did.

"She loved you, but she loved herself more. I have learned the hard way that life doesn't revolve solely around me. However, I sincerely hope that it will revolve around us.

"Please give me and therefore us a chance, because I see an analytical man that is capable of developing a deep love and I hope that it will be me that he develops that love for."

Andrew's thoughts changed direction like traveling over a switch in a track that switched to another track. Somehow the room seemed brighter.

He took her hands and kissed the palms before he whispered his answer

"You are right, I have feelings for you and yes, I'm afraid. Despite that, I'd like to give it a try."

Jennifer felt a tingling in her whole being.

The admission that Andrew reprociated her feelings made her warm, but the gentle and intimate gesture of kissing the inside of her hands did something indescribable with her emotions.

Suddenly she wanted to drag him to the bedroom and give herself over to him.

With more than a little effort she refrained from doing so, but she pulled his head towards her and offered her lips.

The kiss, the melding of two souls came unexpectedly though. Not the kiss itself, but the restrained passion, the churning emotions and intimate promises of things to come made her gasp.

His eyes! His eyes! It seems as if a veil has been lifted. Sang in her mind when she looked up from the kiss.

Jennifer gasped. "What a kiss. Let's do that again."

This time, tongues were dancing and the temperature in the room rose exponentially.

This time they broke off due to lack of oxygen and Jennifer put her forehead against Andrew's. "If we go on, we end up in bed and I think it's too soon.

"You're still married." Andrew whispered.

"Not for long. I'm working on that and he's going to pay. He made my life miserable, had me sign a prenup that left me defenseless if I started a divorce without reason, but now, I have all the proof I want to rake him over coals."

>][<>][<

After a few weeks Jennifer was getting used to Andrew's mood swings.

Occasionally, she went with him to his counselor and during the time she had to wait for Andrew she had long conversation with another counselor who tried to explain what Andrew was going through, what she could expect and what she could do to guide him and help both of them get through this ordeal without any insurmountable problems.

They were growing together as a couple and their love deepened as time went by.

Their conversations became more substantive and physically, they became more intimate, although her not yet being divorced status made that they still didn't go all the way.

Jennifer didn't understand why Melanie cheated on her lover. Their making-out sessions were very satisfying.

The first time Andrew bent between her legs to go down on her was a revelation. His tongue caressing between the inner and outer labia, soft bites in her inner labia didn't warn her of what was to come, but started her fluids going.

She was startled a bit. With Joe, she always needed extra lubricant because he was so impatient.

Andrew's hot breath on her hood and his tongue caressing her clit gave her a tingling in her belly and it was only the start.

She gasped when he brought his lips over her clit and pulled.

When her nub was stretched tight, he used his tongue on it. Jennifer moaned softly.

Still softly punishing her ever more sensitive nub, his fingers traveled inwardly to her velvety patch inside her vagina.

He beckoned her to an orgasm to which she surrendered screaming.

She walked out of the trailer to check on the man she fell for. Her love did not come as a lightning bolt, but it was as unstoppable as an avalanche, starting with a pebble rolling down a mountain slope and gathering momentum.

Andrew was sitting on a kitchen chair on the deck, overlooking the huge lake.

Jennifer dressed for the occasion in one of Andrew's t-shirts and nothing else.

She came up from behind and embraced her man, taking care that the back of his head rested against the softness of her breasts and kissed the top of his head.

"The mail arrived a few minutes ago. As of yesterday, I'm officially divorced.

Her hand slid inside his t-shirt and her fingers tweaked a nipple and she whispered, "I took a minute to dress for the occasion in something you can take easily off.

"I waited long enough; I need you to make me yours."

"I think you're right." Andrew replied and took her to the bedroom.

Two hours later Jennifer lay boneless sprawled on the bed in the master bedroom.

Andrew made her behave in bed in a way she never expected of herself.

He licked her to an introductory orgasm to make her properly lubricated. For good measure he used his fingers to bring her to a second one and when she recovered from that one, he crawled over her and started to kiss her from her knees up to her earlobes.

Andrew paid extra attention to the two points topping those soft, but firm globes, her clavicles and neck.

Jennifer moaned and tried to pull him upward.

Finally, she felt the business end of his cock touching her gates to his heaven.

Ever so slowly she felt herself being filled by him.

"Oh my God, Andrew, that feels so good." Came out in a hiss.

Andrew kept going in long lazy strokes.

Jennifer moaned, begged and cried until her release left her a shivering, but very satisfied wreck.

>][<>][<

"You have a visitor." Jennifer announced a few days later.

"Who? Me?" Andrew wondered.

He just got from under the shower after his first trip in his rowboat. In prison he used the rowing machine to maintain his stamina and now he discovered his outdoor sport.

Water, wind and open skies was what he needed.

Lake Bedding was a very big, deep gash in the earth and the weather was unpredictable on the water, that's why he bought himself a 14 feet all weather rowing boat. Added some navigation equipment and a waterproof container for emergency items like dry cloth, protein bars, water, band aid and the likes.

And today he made his maiden voyage.

Dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie, he walked into the living room.

"John, what are you doing here?" Andrew called out in surprise, to say immediately afterwards, "Not that it's a nice surprise, but you're one of the last people I expected to see.

"How are you?"

John Bollé, Andrew's brother-in-law, stood and looked embarrassed when he replied, "I came to apologize."

"You don't have to apologize. It's my sister who must do so.

"How is she, and the children, by the way?"

"The children are doing good.

"I don't know about your sister. Haven't spoken to her for about a year now.

"I divorced her."

Andrew sat down heavily. After a few moments he said, "Where are my manners?

"Jennifer, this is John Bollé, he is, was, married to my sister.

"John, meet my future wife: Jennifer Hull."

Jennifer felt herself get warm and her face started to glow. This was a very welcome surprise for her. John just raised an eyebrow.

Andrew went on, "Why should you apologize? If I know my sister well, she just went on with her plans whatever you thought of it."

"That's why I divorced her. I told her, once I found out about illegally renting out the house, to put the proceeds in a savings account and hand them over to you.

It wasn't the first clash of wills. Our entire marriage she tried to dominate me and I suspect that there is someone in the background stoking that fire.

"We had the worst fight in our entire marriage about this and afterwards I didn't exist anymore.

"She went whenever she wanted, without any regards for the children and the household, saying: 'They're your children, you take care of them."

"After three months I had enough and filed for divorce demanding custody for the children.

"I forced her into the spare room and stopped taking care of her. I cooked for three. I made my own bed and that of the children and that's when she woke up to the harsh reality that I was the one running the household and could prove it.

"I did so in court and was awarded custody, the house and three quarters of all our assets, including the profits of your house.

"I came to apologize for not being strong enough to stop her and hand over most of your rent we're due."

Andrew was silent for a while. He was thinking. If his lawyer was to believe, there was some serious compensation coming from the police department and the Ministry of Justice for being incarcerated while innocent.

The lawyer was also seeking compensation for calling him a murderer before there even had been a trial. Andrew also demanded a public retraction.

Some television channels had already contacted him, trying to bypass his lawyer.

Andrew also heard that one reporter had been demoted to a desk job for not doing his research properly.

"How much of the rent is there left. I reckon that Suzy tried to spend it all."

"About 155,000 in an offshore account. I put it there out of reach."

"You know what? Use it for the kids. For their schooling. They're smart enough, maybe you can send them to college. It will help you to pay the bills."

John sat still, trying to absorb what his ex-brother-in-law offered.

Finally, he stammered, "But it's your money. You can't possibly mean that."

"I can. There is quite some compensation coming my way. I don't need it but my nephews might if they decide to go to study."

A new start.

Dr. John Gates had multiple sessions with Andrew and thought him mentally stable enough to start his training for RRI.

Some parts of the training were just a confirmation of what he already knew, but only had to finesse, but the new equipment was so far advanced from what he was used to that it staggered him.

It was the same with the new types of bandages that were much easier to apply than the old-fashioned ones."

Andrew learned to recognize IEDs and ways to disable them.

He was provided with a medical emergency backpack, even containing an AED and six weeks later he was shipped off to some remote area where two local powers contested a strategically positioned village.

The area where the village was situated held also the only source of potable water in an arid stroke of land.

The ongoing hostilities rendered most houses, the school and a small hospital in ruins. A contingent of the army had to keep the warring parties apart while RRI had to help rebuild the village

With his knowledge of buildings Andrew was there to assess what was safe and salvable.

A last proper goodbye,

Jennifer was in tears when she said goodbye. Again! Her husband would be gone for another six weeks.

She hated it. She hated Andrew being away, in very dangerous places somewhere in the world and she didn't like it one bit.

She was deeply in love with Andrew and although he didn't voice his love for her, he showed it in everything he did.

The trauma of his being stabbed, widowed and innocently imprisoned had taken something from him and he wasn't the easy, outgoing man that had no problem with voicing his emotions.

But ever since they lived together and he shared his bed with her she found that she had to be reserved about what to say out loud when she liked something. If she did, Andrew would have bought it for her in no time.

Today was the last time that Andrew would be sent abroad.

Together they decided that two years was enough, and that Andrew wouldn't extend the contract for another two years even though it was very good money.

Jennifer pleaded that he didn't even have to work for a living. The sum of all compensation awarded was well into the eight figures and there was one news-channel that still hadn't paid their dues.

So, if Andrew had a need to work, why couldn't he find something that was less dangerous and where he was more at home. They already talked about wanting children and her biological clock was ticking.

Andrew had an urgent conversation with Magnus, who wanted nothing more than having Andrew working on location for another two years, but when Andrew told him that if they tried to force him, he would walk away to try his luck elsewhere, Magnus caved and offered him a job as coordinator and instructor at the head office.

A few hours after a night of making love, and with some desperation voiced in saying goodbye to Jennifer. Andrew sat accompanied with eleven other RRI people in a loaded Airbus A400M. The trip was well over 7000 miles and they would need two fuel stops. Taking into account that there was no refueling at their destination.

After arrival they were housed in barracks. Some grumbled until Andrew pointed out that their housing still was a hell of a lot better than that of the locals. They had to do with improvised huts made from crumbling walls and corrugated iron roofs, if they had any. Otherwise, it was something made of wood and tarpaulins.

>][<>][<

Andrew was accessing the school building whether part of it could become an emergency hospital when the attack came.

It announced itself by something whistling through the air before the explosions started.

When he hurriedly pushed his colleagues and the guide accompanying them outside and towards the ditch, he slipped on the slope from the ditch in which he wanted them to take cover and tumbled down.

A sharp pain shot through his left leg and he banged his head on a rock at the side of the ditch.

He regained consciousness when they loaded his stretcher into a helicopter.

His face contorted in pain and he cried out. He felt a needle stab and very quickly his world became a lot friendlier. The roof of the helicopter even started to smile back before he went completely out of it.

When he opened his eyes again, he stared into the bloodshot eyes of Jennifer. Her face was drawn and worry lines showed on her forehead.

"You're back." She whispered and touched his forehead with hers.

"Don't try to talk. You can't. You're still on a ventilator.

"Oh, thank you God. He's back with us."

Jennifer could read the questions in Andrew's eyes and softly said, "Witnesses told us that you pushed them to a ditch and that you fell when you wanted to go in yourself.

"You had a knee fracture that had been operated on and you banged your head badly. They had to operate on that as well and kept you in a coma afterwards to prevent complications."

Quickly she pushed the button that called the nurse to the chamber.

Healing.

Jennifer called the nurse; the nurse called the doctor and the doctor called Magnus.

"This is going to be unpleasant." The doctor said, "I can sedate you, if you like."

Andrew shook his head a little and luckily the doctor understood its meaning and a few seconds later Andrew's throat and vocal cords were free.

Andrew knew better than to talk just yet and waited until the nurse handed him water to rinse and a syrupy fluid to drink.

He croaked, waited and tried again. He took Jennifer's hand and with some effort he whispered, "I love you."

Emotions went rampant in Jennifer's head. "I know my love. I always knew. I love you too."

The doctor and nurse got busy. Jennifer was ushered out of the room and after another thorough examination Andrew's bed was put in a more comfortable position so that he could overlook the room.

He noticed the cards and realized that there was a gap in his memory.

"How long was I out of it?" He asked the nurse.

"I'll call your wife and the doctor as soon as I'm finished cleaning you up. Still not tired?" The answer came.

What the fuck? Why can't he just answer? It's not that difficult a question? Shot through Andrew's head, but one look at the apprehensive face of the young man made him wonder.

>][<>][<

Jennifer, accompanied by the doctor, returned.

Speaking became somewhat easier. "Okay, give it to me straight, no pussy footing. What's the prognosis and how much time did I miss?"

"Your accident happened three weeks ago." Jennifer replied.

The doctor filled in the rest, "As far as the damage to your head is there is no discernable damage to be seen at the MRI scans, that's good and I suspect that you won't find any negative effects from it.

"Your knee however... That's a completely different story.

"It seemed that you slipped and your leg got caught in a crack while you kept falling. The result was that it was severely damaged.

The orthopedic surgeon did what he could, bolting it back together with a partial prosthesis, but you'll never run again and it's obvious to us and your employer that you never can go out in the field anymore."

"I already suspected it when I fell into that ditch. I was in too big a hurry after pushing those people in there." Andrew replied.

He looked at Jennifer, "Now Magnus can't even begin to try changing my mind. I'm staying home from now on."

"That's good since I have some news for you myself."

Andrew raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" He said worried. Hoping that it wasn't too bad. He was tiring rapidly.

Jennifer smiled, "Yes, you are going to be a daddy. I'm pregnant. The last night before you left did the trick I'd like to think."

Andrew sagged into his pillows. He got hold of Jennifer's hand and clamped on it as if his life depended on it.

Tears started to roll over his cheeks and he whispered, "That's the best news I've had in a decade."

The doctor silently left the room to give them some privacy in their joy.

>][<>][<

Andrew and Jennifer were waiting for his last meeting with the doctor before Jennifer could take him back home.

When the doctor sat behind his desk, he looked at Andrew's status and said, "Your recovery is astounding."

"There are, as far as we can ascertain, no residual problems from your head trauma and I see that the rehabilitation of your knee is progressing well.

"I heard that the rehab doctor has had to slow you down several times. Keep in mind that the bones in that joint still need to heal before you can put your full weight on them."

They talked for a few moments before the doctor ended the conversation with, "I want to see you again in two weeks. My assistant will make an appointment for you.

"Please be careful. I don't want to subject you to another operation because you overstressed your knee."

With that said Andrew took his crutches and he and Jennifer left for the exit.

Of course that was not done. As soon as he passed the ward he was intercepted and put in a wheelchair.

An angry nurse muttered when Andrew objected, telling her that he was quite capable of walking. "Nope, not going to happen. You were an exemplary patient, but we're going to wheel you out whether you like it or not. It's our prerogative to show every patient the door"

With that she smiled and said at a lighter tone, "And it is also mandatory by the hospital rules. "

Once outside they noticed a familiar Maybach pull up. Magnus got out to open the door for them.

"Sorry," He excused himself, "But I found out why you were bombed, but leave that to me. It only took a lot of my time.

"How are you doing Andrew?"

"Physically? Not so good. Mentally? Couldn't be better, but that is for later.

"Where are you taking us?"

"You're home, of course. Where else? " Magnus replied.

"Can you make a detour? If it's not too far."

"If you can drop me off first. I have some retribution to dole out." Magnus replied with a grim face.

Andrew gave the driver an address

Can this house still become a home?"

The Maybach glided into the deserted street and Andrew looked at his old house.

Shutters? Not boarded up, but shutters, that's a nice touch.

Andrew looked at Jennifer and said, "That used to be my home, before..."

Jennifer looked a bit confused and asked, "Why do you show this to me after two years? I thought that you wanted to get rid of it."

"I wanted that, but I realize that it makes a beautiful family home and it's still quite close to the lake. We can renovate it, expand it and make it forget its sad past if you don't have qualms about it, that is."

Jennifer did some soul-searching. "I think so." She replied. "Can we look inside?"

Andrew sighed with relief. He had been thinking about it since he was told that he would be a father. He replied, "Not now, I'm afraid. I don't know who had the keys. I suspect my sister. I'll have Tattoo ask her about it.

"I don't want to see her."

That same day Tattoo paid a visit to a very lonely woman.

Sitting there in her small apartment waiting for her to find the keys he looked around. It was something entirely else from his last visit to her in the big house, where she lived with her family.

Suzy came back with the keys, two envelopes and a small box.

"Here you are," she said. "These are the keys, handing him a keyring. This envelope comes with the box. Can you please tell him that I begged you to ask him to read it?"

"I will." Tattoo replied. Today he met a different woman than when he confronted her for renting the house out and keeping the proceeds to herself. The arrogant bitch was gone and the woman he was talking to now was a far cry from arrogant.

Need to tell Andrew about that. She seemed to have learned a hard lesson.

Suzy's next words confirmed his thoughts, "And I apologize to you for how I treated you the last time we met. My behavior was appalling. I still don't know what I was thinking at the time, but it has cost me everything I held dear at the time."

"It's all right. I've been treated worse and you do a nice job now." Tattoo spoke with surprise in his voice.

"I'm convinced that it is too little and too late. My attitude towards my brother was below all standards. I should've listened to him, instead I said and did things that are unforgivable. Please don't forget to give the letter."

At the door Tattoo said, "I'll convey your message and I tell him that I think you've come to your senses and changed for the good.

"I like what I see and at the risk of giving the wrong impression: if you ever feel like going out for dinner, I'd be happy to host you."

Suzy's smile lit the room for Tattoo, "Really? And how do I reach you if I'd like to go out for dinner?"

Tattoo blushed, fumbled in his pocket and handed her a card, "One moment, let me see. Yes, this is one with my private number."

Suzy took the card and held his fingers saying, "I don't need to call you, I would be honored to have dinner with you."

Somehow, she liked the gruff man. Since there was no reconciliation possible with Thomas because he met another woman, she was open to another relationship. Her problem was that she hated the dating circuit. Too many prowlers and predators. She had always been a one-man woman.

Later that afternoon Tattoo handed Andrew the keys and the envelopes and told, "I have a dinner date with your sister."

He had thought about how to break this news of the dinner date to his friend. It seemed to him that being blunt was the best way. It also gave Andrew an extra motive to read the letter that Suzy so desperately wanted him to read.

"You what? How come?" Was all that Andrew had to say.

"Today, I met a different woman. Suzy has changed, for the better. I'm convinced that she's truly remorseful of her behavior.

"She asked me to tell you that she begs you to read the letter and not just throw it away."

Andrew pondered about it for a moment, "I'll read it while you're here, so you can honestly confirm that the next time you see her."

He tore the envelope open. It started with:

Dear Andrew.

He quickly read on,

There are not enough words to say sorry about the way I treated you when you were accused and convicted.

I let myself be ruled by anger about the breakup from your marriage and the death of my best friend.

I never knew that she was pregnant from another man, she never told me. Even so, I should have talked to you, not condemn you and rip you off.

I am your sister and I should have your back, whether you've done those things, or not I should have shown forgiveness and compassion.

What I couldn't read in the papers, Thomas filled in for me.

My marriage is irrevocably broken and I am to blame. Still Thomas looks after me.

He was the one who convinced me and gave me the courage to write this letter.

Again, I am so sorry for how I treated you, but I can't turn the clock back.

What I can do is pay you back what I owe you, if you allow me. The other envelope contains an IOU and a payment plan on how to do that.

Tattoo will give you a box besides those two envelopes. In it are the engagement, and the wedding band from our great-grandmother.

Thomas told me that you have a new woman in your life and I sincerely hope you can and will use them. You are entitled to more than a little happiness.

I'm not going to ask you for forgiveness, it's entirely up to you to do that.

I forgot how much I loved you, little brother, but my memory is back on track again.

With love.

Your remorseful sister.

Suzy Mesman.

Andrew sat still in his chair and Tattoo noticed tears welling in his eyes. After a while Andrew shuddered and looked at him.

"Do you have her phone number? It seems that I have my sister back.

"You forgive her?" Tattoo asked astonished.

"First, we have to talk before I can do so completely, but it's a good start.

"I'll call her tomorrow. I have a house to inspect."

Tattoo left, feeling happily light on his feet. His friend didn't even make a token objection against him dating his sister and the possible reconciliation between the two siblings somehow made him happy too.

The house will be a home again.

"Can you bring yourself to view the house later this afternoon?" Andrew asked Jennifer when Tattoo had left.

"Sure. And have dinner somewhere afterwards?"

"That's a good idea. Fancy something special?"

An hour later Tommy saw the open blinds and the lights inside going on.

>][<>][<

Elsbeth's heart was hammering when she saw movement in the house. It's been months since her neighbors moved out and ever since it stood empty.

What should she do? Go over and welcome them or wait and see whether they are the new tenants.

She decided to wait and see what kind of people she would get as neighbors.

When she looked two hours later, everything was as if nothing had happened.

>][<>][<

When Andrew entered his house, he expected that memories from the last months before he was incarcerated would flood back.

They didn't. It was as if the events of the last few years and his time with Jennifer had given them a place where he could remember them without emotion.

The house itself showed all the signs of hard use without any attempt to maintain it.

"Let's see if we have power." Andrew mumbled and ducked inside a cupboard in the utility room. He flipped all switches to off and then the main switch on.

One by one he flipped everything back on.

We have electricity. That's nice. He thought.

"Would you like a tour, or do you want to look for yourself?" He asked Jennifer. He didn't want to influence Jennifer whatsoever, but to his joy she wanted the tour.

When they had looked around, Jennifer said, "It's a mess, but if you ignore that, you can see that it has a lot of potential. I like it and I can see myself being very happy here."

That was what Andrew had hoped and waited for.

He took her in his arms and spoke, "Tattoo, besides the keys, also brought a letter from my sister in which she expressed her remorse about how she treated me ten years ago.

"She didn't ask for forgiveness because she thinks that she doesn't deserve that. I'm inclined to forgive her after reading it also because Tattoo told me that he met a different woman than before. He is even going to have dinner with her.

"With the letter she gave me a box because she heard from Thomas that I have a new woman in my life.

"Jennifer, I want our children to be raised here without having to explain to the world that their Mum and Dad aren't married.

"Will you do me the honor of allowing me to put a ring around your finger with the thought to honor all it symbolizes?"

Jennifer stammered, "You are asking me to marry you?"

Andrew smiled, "Yes, Jennifer, will you marry me?"

"Why don't you ask that in the first place instead of being so long-winded? Yes, of course I will marry you."

Andrew opened the box to show a beautiful crafted art-deco engagement ring and a small matching wedding band.

"I think we need a goldsmith." Andrew said when he put the ring on Jennifer's finger.

That was as far as he got before Jennifer's lips demanded his.

>][<>][<

A few days later they were back. The day was bright and sunny and Andrew and Jennifer had an appointment with an architect and a contractor.

Their intention was to build out and up to the back without spoiling the street view too much.

Andrew was checking the garden. It was a mess. Overgrown by weeds, unkempt, too long grass. dead shrubs, dead trees and trees desperately needing a pruning.

He was disturbed in his musings by a boy calling out to him, "Sir, I can use a job. Can I help you with the garden?"

He looked up and saw a lanky boy whose body had grown too fast for his brain to keep up. He was in the company of a much younger boy.

"Saving for something, huh?" He asked with a smile.

"Nah," The boy answered, "Help my Mum. My father did some unspeakable things and since then she has to take care of us alone."

With a shock Andrew realized that the boy was Tommy, but he didn't know who the younger boy was.

"You're Tommy, aren't you, and who is your friend?"

Surprised Tommy asked, "You know me?"

"From a long time ago. You were little. You've grown quite a bit since."

Tommy grinned and ruffled the hair of the younger boy. "He's, my brother. Charlie. He's adopted by my parents.

"Well hello Charlie. Are you old enough to help your brother if he comes to work for us?"

"Yeah, I'm ten. I can work hard too." The boy proudly told him.

Something in the voice of the boy gave him another jolt. That was Melanie's son! That was the boy that, for a moment, he thought was his son!

He leaned heavily on his crutch that he still needed when had to be on his feet for a long time. He was saved by Tommy, "Sir, can we help?"

"Only if your mother is OK with it.

"Tell me, how much time can you spare? I reckon that you have homework too."

"We have this afternoon and weekends. And maybe two, or three hours a day when we do homework after dinner." Tommy replied.

"Okay. Deal. A hundred for this afternoon to clear the driveway. Then we see.

"But go and ask your mother first."

The boys bolted inside calling, "Mum! MUM!"

Jennifer joined Andrew. "What was that?"

"Those are the boys of Charles Wecksford. The oldest from his wife and the youngest from him and Melanie.

If you don't want to meet Elsbeth, you'd better go inside again."

"Noop, not going to happen. It must be difficult for you to meet your past and I as your future will stand by you."

Both witnessed a very, very nervous Elsbeth coming out of her house. "Andrew?" She asked.

"Yes Beth, it's me and I'm back.

"May I introduce you to Jennifer, my future wife and mother of our child?"

Elsbeth swallowed, "Can I offer you something to drink? Coffee, tea? I've made some lemonade."

Jennifer nudged Andrew and replied before he could refuse, "That would be nice. We need to check on some things and then we will come over, if that's alright with you."

Back in their house, as they both see it, Andrew asks aggravated, "Why did you accept that? I don't want to talk to that woman."

"We can assume that she, at the very least, knew about her husband and Melanie that fateful night. However, I am not convinced that she never knew about how Melanie met her end and her husband's other illegal dealings.

"You two need something akin to closure otherwise it will become awkward very soon. You keep seeing each other and you promised her sons a job."

"Yeah, you're right. I dread it, but it's for the best. No promises though." Andrew sighed.

"Still black, Andrew?" Elsbeth asked, referring to the coffee. "And you Jennifer?"

Jennifer replied, "You remember well and no, just water for me, please."

When Elsbeth served the drinks and sat down she said, "I am so sorry Andrew. I had no idea what he did to you.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't stop him that evening because you weren't there. We had designs on you both at the time and I had a crush on you."

Andrew looked at her, not really understanding. "What do you mean?"

Elsbeth swallowed, "We planned to seduce you both. Charles lusted after Melanie and I had a terrible crush on you. That evening we wanted to seduce you into swapping, but you had to leave for work suddenly.

"Charles couldn't constrain himself. He already had taken a pill and he went on with his plan and I was swept up by the idea of a threesome also chemical induced.

Melanie was angry at you and very susceptible to Charles' overtures. When she accepted a pill also, there was no turning back.

But I had no idea whatsoever that it was Charles who stabbed you, killed Melanie and stitched you up for it.

"I did know that Melanie was pregnant, but didn't know from whom, but the birth-certificate said that it was yours. Now I know why Charles was so resolved in adopting Charlie. It was his son.

"I only found out after you arrested him." Elsbeth said to Jennifer.

Andrew sat still. He was shocked to the core. "You can't tell me that you didn't know. You were married. You two decided to seduce both of us and you knew that Melanie was pregnant and the child could be from your husband. And you didn't tell me?"

Andrew was nearly shouting at the end.

Elsbeth hung her head. "I had no idea, really. I only thought it odd that Charles insisted on adopting Charlie. Maybe, I should have woken up when it went through so very quickly. It was your name on the birth-certificate, but who could even think that that was a falsified one."

It took a while before Jennifer and Andrew walked out of the door again. Jennifer was convinced that Elsbeth spoke the truth about that she didn't know of Charles' machinations.

Andrew didn't know what to believe, but he was of the opinion that Elsbeth's sons don't have to suffer for the sins of their parents, so he offered them the job of clearing the garden from the overgrowth and debris.

He had also made some things very clear with the boys.

"If it's too heavy, or too big? Leave it. By doubt, ask an adult. Leave the dead, or sick trees. It will be dealt with later. You can use the tools in the shed, but only with permission from your mother." He told the boys in a stern voice.

Elsbeth smiled a bit at how Andrew told them about safety while working with tools. She remembered with sadness how Charles and Melanie were convinced that he was 'just' a civil servant, a worker's drone in a cubicle, pretending to be important.

The shock of the three of them when they literally saw proof of what he in reality was. But they were already on the slippery slope of no return which ended in one death and one divorce.

And she realized with a jolt that she still had the same overheated feelings for him as when everything went belly-up. Involuntary she squeezed her legs together and a hand brushed her breast.

Elsbeth put on a brave face unaware that Jennifer was scrutinizing her and didn't miss much.

Mrs. Neighbor, you still lust after that man, but he's mine and I don't share. We are going to have a conversation and I will be brutal if necessary. rolled through Jennifer's mind.

With effort she got out of her chair, smiled deceptively and said softly, "I think we should get to know each other a little better. Don't you think?

"Over coffee, or lunch perhaps? We leave the boys for Andrew to entertain."

Surprised Elsbeth agreed.

A conversation between neighbors.

Some days later, Jennifer took Elsbeth to a lunchroom with a view of Lake Bedding, near the trailer park.

'It's nice here. How did you find this?" Elsbeth asked Jennifer when they were seated.

"We live in the trailer park nearby until the house is ready for us."

"So, we really are going to be neighbors soon."

"Yes, and we hope that our son will be born in the house where someone lost her life. We both think it will be fitting. A birth to even a death out."

Elsbeth was silent for a while before she spoke, "I hope that we can be friendly to each other. Your husband and I have somewhat of a history and I don't think that Andrew will forget that easily."

"Andrew will never forget what happened, nor will I.

"I think that we can be friends even. After all, you never did Andrew any harm except for seducing Melanie and even that could be argued as being under duress.

"Andrew is a good man with a big, but damaged heart and he likes your boys.

"However, our friendship starts with a warning."

Elsbeth's eyes shot from her pastry to Jennifer's face and Jennifer looked professionally impassive back. Her face had suddenly become unreadable.

"I observed you when we had coffee in your house and I am quite certain that you still have feelings for Andrew."

Elsbeth started to deny, but Jennifer held up her hand and spoke sharply. "Don't! Don't even try. You forget that I made it my career to read people's unconscious body language. I saw you squeezing your legs together and touching your tits. Do I need to go on?"

"No." Came out in a very little voice.

"Good.

"I warn you though.

"Andrew is mine and mine alone. I don't share. If I notice that you are putting the moves on him, I'm certain that I'm going to do things I will regret later. But you will like them even less."

Elsbeth blanched and squirmed inside.

Am I that transparent? Of course, you idiot, it's her job and she isn't the immature, entitled woman Melanie was. She is as sharp as a tack and fought her whole life to get where she is now. She is the public prosecutor, for Pete's sake and an important one too!

Suddenly a calm washed over her. Just before the threat, she was also offered friendship. Of course, Andrew was out of bounds. He had always been a one-woman man. Trying to seduce him was raping his integrity.

Elsbeth knew the answer she had to give. "I admit that I lust after Andrew. I can't help it; my body just responds to his presence. Pheromones perhaps.

"But I promise, no I swear to you that I will not act on it. I cannot help how my body reacts, but I certainly can exercise enough self-control.

"It would be demeaning, for both of us. I learned that lesson ten years ago when Charles impregnated Melanie. Oh, don't get me wrong. The sex was good, but it was just fornication, rutting like animals and the morning after I felt soiled. Especially after these images from Andrew running out of a ruin with a bomb in his arms."

Jennifer's face softened somewhat. "I've never seen it. It was the first time he put his life on the line to save other people. The second time cost him his knee."

"I have a DVD with a recording of it. If you want to see it." Elsbeth interrupted.

"Someday perhaps. Even now we get all kinds of thanks from people he rescued, or helped to find their feet again.

"But he is home now and will never be sent to a site. "Here, or abroad."

Jennifer looked straight at Elsbeth. "I have your promise that you won't go after my man?"

"You sound insecure."

Oh, no. I'm being proactive.

"I understand that, with those two boys you don't have much time to date. I'm happy to babysit them, if that's the right expression."

"You have my solemn promise. And yes, I might take you up on that."

"Good, and you are invited for our housewarming."

That surprised Elsbeth even more. Jennifer just grinned and said, "There are single men there and they are of the good kind. Something like two birds with one stone."

Finale.

Andrew and Jennifer moved in just in time for their son to announce that he wanted to be part of their world.

Jennifer wanted a DNA test for Andrew's peace of mind, but Andrew told her that that wasn't the way to go in a relationship and that he trusts her implicitly. After all, their relationship started with him trusting her before they even became a pair.

When a proud, happy and very tired Jennifer handed over Jensen Mesman, named after Jennifer's father, to Andrew, he felt at peace with himself and the world. He was happy.

For Andrew, the last pieces of his life fell in place and for the first time since he found out that Charlie wasn't his son, he felt whole again.

The end.