'Return'

Clare looked up. She was standing in front of London Heathrow, the airport. Today she'd be flying to Amsterdam, to 'help with a case'. Van Hauten had called her a few days ago telling her he needed her assistance on a case very similar to one she had a few months ago. She had agreed. Of course she had, she'd always wanted to see Amsterdam and she was looking forward to seeing Van Hauten again.

During her flight, all she could think about was wether this was the right thing to do or not. Why did she have to see him again? Was there something between them during his time in London? She didn't think so. Although.. He had a good sense of humour, his moods were always funny and he was a great detective. Why wouldn't she want to see him?

After a short, quiet flight the plane arrived at Amsterdam Schiphol. She'd never been here before, and she hoped she'd find her way. Someone told her there were a lot of ways to get to Amsterdam Central Station, where Van Hauten would be picking her up. She chose the fast way, the train. She had enough money to spend and she was going to enjoy her time here, she'd decided long before.

From the train she had a nice view of Amsterdam. It looked old, but the station and the buildings at the other side of the river looked beautiful. She couldn't understand a thing of what everyone was talking about. She heard French, German and what she thought would be Dutch, but also English. Good, she thought. I'm not the only foreigner here.

Van Hauten walked into Central Station, Amsterdam. I hope she can find it, he thought. He hadn't been too sincere on the phone when he told her it was easy to find. When you've never been to Amsterdam, it can be very confusing. He'd also not been sincere about other things on the phone, like the fact he would like her to come here. He would love it. He loved it.

He was very far away with his thoughts, so far away that he didn't see the huge bloke he was walking straight into. 'Kijk uit, man!' 'Sorry,' Van Hauten apologised, but before he knew it a fist hit him to the ground. Just at that moment, Clare came walking around the corner. She hurried to him and he smiled. 'Welcome to Amsterdam, baby!'

That was the first thing of Amsterdam Clare didn't understand. Why punch an innocent man like Van Hauten in the face because he accidentally runs into you? 'Are you all right?' she asked him. 'Yeah, fine. Just a nose bleed I think, nothing serious.' 'I'd say it is pretty serious, as you're the one lying on the ground.' Van Hauten grimaced and stood up. 'You win. How was your flight?' He stood up and she supported him. She was a little bit ashamed, because she was now comforting him in the same way he'd been comforting her and she'd rejected him. 'My flight was fine, thank you.' She let go as soon as he was back on his feet. 'Let's go, I'm off today so we can go to my place, if you'd like, or to a hotel. I do have a spare bedroom so you can stay there as well.' Clare considered this for a moment. 'I think I'll take the hotel, if you don't mind.' 'As long as you pay it, no, I don't mind,' Van Hauten replied. He didn't look like he didn't mind, though. Your time will come, Clare thought. Wait and see.

When they arrived at the hotel, Clare was stunned. 'Wow, it's beautiful,' she said. It was already ten o'clock in the evening. They'd stopped by Van Hauten's place first, to get some files and to have a quick drink what had turned out to cost them three hours. The hotel was filled with light, inside and out. 'It's beautiful, isn't it,' Van Hauten said. 'Wait till you see the inside.' He guided her inside and got her a room. Handing over the key card he smiled at her. 'Well, goodnight then. I'll see you tomorrow?' Clare smiled. 'Can you perhaps.. pick me up? I'm afraid I'll get lost if I have to find the station by myself.' 'Sure,' he said. 'Dankjewel,' Clare said and blushed furiously. It was the only word she knew in Dutch. Thanks. Van Hauten smiled and walked out of the lounge. Clare stood there, watching him leave. When he suddenly looked back, she turned away. Why did she like him so much?

Clare sat at her table, overlooking both files. One Dutch and one English. Van Hauten had translated a lot of the Dutch file in English so she could read it too and she was grateful. Dutch was a difficult language to learn, especially if you don't feel like learning it.

There were indeed a lot of similarities between both cases. The facts were spinning around in Clare's head, and she knew she was going to have a hard time falling asleep. She had this a lot, when she started a case she just needed to get on with it. She'd get up at 2 a.m at night to read the files again and again, thinking she'd missed something. This was one of those nights.

She lay in her bed, spinning around and thrashing at the sheets. It was a nice comfy bed, the whole hotel was nice and full of luxuries. Although she was tired from her journey she just couldn't find her sleep. She decided to call him.

beep... beep... beep... This was stupid. Of course, he'd be asleep. But why would he leave his phone on? beep... beep... beep... Frustrated, but knowing it was only normal he didn't pick up his phone Clare closed hers. She'd talk to him tomorrow. She put down her phone on her nightstand and she tried to find a comfortable position, which was harder than she'd thought. She lay awake all night, thinking about the case, the drowned girls, their family, her family, his family, him.

The next morning, Clare realised they hadn't set a time for him picking her up. She got up early, at 5:30 so that she wouldn't, in any case, be late. He wasn't someone who liked getting up early when he was in London, but she didn't know at what time he got up here. Probably not that early too, she decided so she slowed down a bit and decided to take a long bath before getting dressed.

A bath always relaxed her in ways sleep could never relax her. She felt renewed, fresh and full of energy after a long bath. She thought over the events of yesterday, while sitting in the bath enjoying the warm water. Suddenly, her phone rang. Damn, she said to herself. What idiot would come by at this hour? It was only 6:15.. She stepped out of her bath and grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her body and answered the phone. 'Yes?' She got an answer in English with a very Dutch accent. 'There is someone here to see you, miss.' 'Who is it?' she asked, slightly irritated. At the background she heard a man's voice say: 'Van Hauten.' Daaamn, not now. 'Send him up,' she told the desk clerk before she got an answer and she put down the phone. She'd never dressed in ten seconds, so he'd have to deal with meeting her in he bathrobe. Not that he'd mind, but she was a little embarassed about it herself.

He knocked at her door just as she'd dried her hair as dry as it would get. She walked to the door, waiting a few seconds before opening it to him. 'Good moring, sleeping beauty,' Van Hauten said. He looked stunning in a casual black and blue training suit. She blushed at seeing him. 'Hi yourself.'

TBC

'Can I come in?' Suddenly Clare realised she'd been keeping him outside because she was still standing in the doorframe. 'Sure,' she said and stepped aside. 'I wasn't sure at what time you'd be here, and I thought I had time, sorry,' Clare apologised. 'That's okay, I'm not here to drag you to the station. I just wanted to make sure you were okay in here. My shift does't start until nine.' 'Nine? Lazy boy.' He smiled naughty. 'That's me!' 'So, what is 'Good morning' in Dutch?' Clare asked him. Now she'd scored her points with her 'thanks' yesterday, she was eager to learn some more basic things. 'You'll find out when we get to the station, believe me.' 'Why, no one knows me there.. Unless you told them about me.' 'What do you think?' Honestly she'd thought he didn't share those things with his colleagues. 'I don't know,' she said. A silence fell between them and Clare decided to sit down.

The moment her backside touched the couch, Van Hauten joined her, sitting less than a metre away. 'Are you enjoying your time here already? I know you haven't seen much of the city yet, but I want to ask you anyway.' Clare smiled at him, feeling a little uncomfortable with him sitting this close. 'Yes, I like it here. I've always wanted to travel abroad, to France, Belgium or the Netherlands.. It's lovely. But so busy! It didn't get quiet until at least 2 o'clock tonight!' 'Yes, I know. Sorry about that.' 'It's fine, really.' They just sat there, and Clare found out she didn't mind at all of him being here. She liked it. The past few weeks had been lonely. Eversince she'd had to say goodbye to Van Hauten, she'd felt an empty space inside her. Now he was here, she felt the space get smaller and smaller every time he spoke to her. 'I'd better go, and leave you to drying your hair and dressing for the day,' Van Hauten said. 'No, that's okay you can stay,' Clare said at him and touched his arm. 'If you want.' Van Hauten took her hand in his. 'I'd love that, but I have some things to do too before we start our hard days of work, so I'm leaving you to it,' he said. There was a sad tone in his voice, and Clare believed him when he said that he'd love to stay with her. 'Okay,' she said softly and walked him to the door. 'I'll be back here, downstairs, at let's say.. 8:45?' Van Hauten asked her. 'Sure, if we can make it to your station in time that's fine.' '8:45 it is, then.' He smiled one last time, as if to say goodbye again and he walked out of her door, out of her corridor, out of the hotel. Long after he was gone, Clare was still standing in the doorway.

Clare dressed, put on some make-up and left her room long before she had to be ready. She wanted to enjoy her time here, so she decided to take her spare time to go on a journey around the hotel. When she got downstairs, she bumped into a huge guard. 'Pardon,' he said. Clare just smiled, not wanting him to know she could't speak Dutch.

When she'd discovered most of the hotel she went back to the lounge. The second she walked back in, Van Hauten entered through the front door. 'Goedemorgen, meneer.' the desk clerk said. What did that mean? It sounded a bit like good morning. Ha, she had him. Van Hauten just smiled at the woman and he offered Clare an arm. Neither of them said anything before they'd cleared the hotel. 'That means 'Good morning', doesn't it,' Clare said. 'I got you.' 'You do, it means good morning, but I bet you can't pronounce it the right way,' Van Hauten bounced back. He was right, knowing the word was one thing, pronouncing it was another. 'All right, you win,' she said and she playfully hit him. 'Easy, woman,' he grinned. 'Don't kill me for being a genius.'

~~ TBC

On their way to the police station, neither of them said much. Van Hauten greeted someone occasionally and Clare just smiled at the people walking past her. Amsterdam was a very 'living' city and she liked it. In London, she'd had the idea she was awake, but others weren't and that was so different around here. The weather was great, but then it was mid-July and it was supposed to be warm. The two walked in silence, enjoying each others company and knowing the other was content with being silent.

When they arrived at the station, Van Hauten opened the door for Clare. Looking at her feet, Clare walked in and thanked him. He just smiled at her but she didn't notice because her back was facing him. He knew how much she enjoyed the attention he was giving her and frankly he loved giving it to her.

They proceeded walking through the station, Van Hauten greeted several people and Clare felt like an outsider. She didn't like not being addressed and recognised, but she knew it was part of an exchange. When they arrived at what Clare thought was Van Hauten's department, Van Hauten took her by her arm. 'Sir, this is Commander Clare Blake, the colleague I told you about,' Van Hauten introduced her to his boss in English which made everything a lot easier for Clare. 'Pleasure to meet you sir. Van Hauten has told me a lot about you,' she said. 'Good things, I hope,' Commander Van Dijk said. 'It's a pleasure to meet you too. I hope you can help us with this case, it's been a disaster.' The man's English had a strong Dutch accent, Clare noticed. Unlike Van Hauten, this man knew his English but clearly never took the time to practice the accent. She didn't mind of course, it just stood out.

After meeting a lot more colleagues of Van Hauten, Clare sat down and reviewed both cases again. Van Hauten went to get some coffee, something Clare usually didn't drink, and then sat with her to help out. After a few tiring hours and one cup of coffee, they decided to take a break. 'I really don't understand why you don't have any DNA,' Clare said. 'It's almost a perfect murder.' 'It is, and that's why we brought in the perfect investigator,' Van Hauten said. Clare blushed and looked away, not meeting his eyes. This man got to her in a good way. 'Thank you, but I'm not sure I can be of any help, you know that. I can't assure a thing.' 'I know. I also know you're going to get to the bottom of this, and I also know that the solution for this will probably be found there.' 'You're right, I'm not going to let this go.' She realised this could very well take some time and she had only planned to be here for a week, to help them get on their way a bit. 'We'll see how it works out,' she finally said. Van Hauten smiled at her. 'Yeah. Let's go to the Dam, the famous Dam. I'm sure you heard of that,' 'I have, actually. Palace of the queen, gangsters, gothics, pigeons?' 'That's the one.' Clare laughed out loud. 'What a reputation.' 'You'll see, it's a very nice place to relax.' Together they walked to the Dam. Clare felt a bit guilty, they should be solving a murder case, not be dancing around feeding pigeons. She also knew that she should relax a bit more, she almost never relaxed in London.

When they arrived at the Dam, Clare was astounded. 'Wow. This is great!' she said. Hundreds of pigeons where flying around, sitting on the ground, in trees, in streetlights. People were feeding them and music was playing. 'This is Amsterdam alive, Commander. I'm glad you like it,' Van Hauten said. 'We can buy some bread, and feed them too. They even sit on your arm sometimes!' Clare didn't feel like being a tourist, not today. 'I'd rather sit here and watch them, if you don't mind.' 'Sure, that's fine. Watching them is great fun too, Commander.' 'Stop calling me that. First name basis, does that mean anything to you? To remind you, that's where you call each other by their first name.' 'Okay, Commander.' She hit him playfully. 'Don't!' He just smiled at her, all tension from her work 'back home' floating from her face and leaving just Clare, the woman he admired so much. They sat together until it became too crowded. 'We really should leave, and get back to the station.' 'No, we shouldn't. I didn't even have to come in today, I've taken the next four days off so I can concentrate my mind on 'the case.' I wanted us to be able to fix this in peace and quiet,' Van Hauten explained. 'But.. at the station you have dozens of capable men, equipment, all that stuff and here you just have.. well, me.' 'It'll have to be enough, then,' Van Hauten said. 'Tease,' Clare laughed at him. Together they walked back to her hotel. At the door, Clare paused. 'Thank you, it was a lovely day.' 'The day's not over yet,' Van Hauten said. 'You're right. Come on, let's have some proper wine,' she said and gestured for him to follow her inside.

TBC

'It's not that I'm addicted to alcohol, it's just that I don't like other stuff,' Clare said. They'd been sitting in her hotel suite for a few hours now, enjoying two bottles of wine. 'No, you're not addicted to alcohol. Give that to the pigeons on the Dam and they'll laugh at it,' Van Hauten told her. 'Not true, I like wine, I like Scotch, so what? I'm bloody English!' Van Hauten just laughed. It felt good, laughing together. Clare felt it too. She was much more at ease with him than she was this morning. That was probably also caused by the amount of wine they'd been drinking but she didn't care. 'I should go, it's getting late,' Van Hauten said. 'Yeah. I've heard Amsterdam isn't the prettiest city at night, you should go before it gets dangerous.' 'What a beautiful image you foreigners have of my city,' Van Hauten mocked. 'And it's such a nice city once you get to know it.' 'It's a city you know, not a person,' Clare smiled. She could already understand his love for this city. Van Hauten stood. 'I really should get going, I bet my son is wondering where I am.' For a moment, Clare stood still as ice. 'Right, your son. What's his name again?' 'I never told you his name.' 'I'd like to know.' She didn't say more, this was obviously a touchy subject. Van Hauten however wanted to tell her anyway. 'His name is Julian. He's six now.' 'Nice name,' Clare said. She didn't know what else to say. She'd always wanted children, but she couldn't. Not with her job, not with her lifestyle, just not. 'Goodnight, Clare.' 'Goodnight.'

Again, she woke up knowing they forgot to make an appointment for that morning. She decided to use the phone number Van Hauten had given her the evening before, it was the number of his house phone. Dialling it, she thought about who she could get on the phone. Him. His son. His.. wife? Girlfriend? He can't have children by himself, he needs someone else for that. 'Met Julian Van Hauten.' The kid. She didn't know what to speak to him, her Dutch was nil and her English was probably too much for the young kid. She didn't really have a choice. 'Hey Julian. Is you dad there?' 'Yes miss I will get him.' Julian's English was almost as flawless as his dad's, he understood her perfectly and he answered her in great English. She heard the boy run up the stairs and call his dad. Then he heard two people coming back down. 'Van Hauten.' 'Hi, it's me.' 'Good morning, Clare. Sleep well?' Not 'what can I do for you', 'how can I help,' 'why did you call'... No, did you sleep well. 'Yes, like a rose. You?' 'Same.' 'That kid of yours speaks perfect English!' 'His mother is English. Well, American.' 'Oh.' A silence gave them both time to think. Clare broke that silence. 'I was just wondering...' 'Am I still married? No.' 'That's... not what I was wondering, but thanks for telling me anyway,' Clare laughed. 'Oh, what did you want to know?' 'What time can I expect you here?' 'Well, you've just gotten me out of bed so that's.. less than an hour.' 'Okay, fine.' 'Clare?' Van Hauten asked her. 'What?' 'You can ask me anything. Anything, at all.' Clare smiled, a smile that lit her entire face. 'Same here. Anything, at all. See you in an hour.' 'Bye, Clare.'

TBC

She knew he would be here in less than 45 minutes, to catch her in her bathrobe again. She wasn't going to let him have that small pleasure. Within twenty minutes Clare was dressed and ready to go.

She was right, of course. A few minutes after she'd packed her bag for the day her phone rang again. 'Mister Van Hauten to see you.' 'Send him up,' Clare answered the clerk. 'Sorry?' What was that with Dutch hotel people? They never seemed to understand her. 'Tell him to come up.' 'Okay.' Clare shook her head. It seemed that the English accent wasn't the only problem. It was also the vocabulary. Well, she didn't really mind, as long as they understood her some time. She walked to the door and opened it for Van Hauten. He didn't come in, though. Clare had already turned back when she heard him whisper 'Hello? Anybody home?' 'Oh you. Just come in, I didn't open the door for the neighbour.' Van Hauten smiled. 'You do have a cute neighbour, by the way,' Clare sighed and looked at him. 'What's your problem?' 'My problem is.. I'm lonely, I have a beautiful colleague sitting in a hotel, with a nice neighbour, and my son told me I should date you.' 'What?' 'Julian thinks you have a nice voice,' Van Hauten said seriously. Clare didn't know what to say, she just smiled. 'He seems like a nice kid.' 'He is. I wish his mother was nice, too.' Clare felt a lot of compassion for this man. He had suddenly changed from a confident, good looking man into a lonely, sad, divorced dad. 'I'm sorry,' Clare said. 'Me too.' Clare decided to break the barrier and she put an arm around him. 'Hey. Look at me,' she said. 'Some day, you'll find the right person. You'll be very happy again, believe me.' 'I so hope you're right,' Van Hauten said. She wondered if silently, he'd thought she was the right person for him. 'What's your story, Clare?' 'Why and what do you want to know? Now your story is out, mine should be too?' Van Hauten smiled faintly. 'Something like that. I just wonder.. Why aren't you married? And why don't you have children?'

Clare decided to tell the truth. 'I can't have children. I had a good friend once, with whom I wanted to stay together forever. When I told him I couldn't have children.. well, the rest isn't hard to guess.' She'd pulled back her arm from Van Hauten's back, and it was now lying on her leg. Van Hauten took her hand in his. 'He left you because you couldn't get children. You... You are not married because after this man, you can't be close to someone for a long time because you're afraid it will consume you the way this man did. And you're afraid that he's going to let you down too, just like he did.' Clare could only cry. It had been a long time since she'd talked about this, and it still hurt her a lot. Van Hauten didn't say anything too, they just sat there until Clare had calmed down. 'I'm sorry, I cried all over you.' 'That's okay. What a story,' he said. 'Yeah.' She didn't try to pretend it wasn't that bad, or it wasn't that hard to cope with. It had been a hellish time for her and she was not going to let him think otherwise. 'Let's go, we've got work to do.'

TBC

They spent their day together, most of it in the office working on the case. After a long search, they had finally put together four possible suspects, three Brithish and one Dutchman. They went out to have lunch at a very chic restaurant and Clare insisted she'd pay. That left her with no money, but she only realised that on their way back to the hotel.

'It's been a nice day, Clare. Thanks.' 'I should be thanking you, I believe,' Clare answered. 'That restaurant was very nice.' 'It was expensive, you shouldn't have paid.' 'Oh my God.' Clare fell silent and looked in her wallet. 'What is it?' 'I didn't bring my credit card, and I already booked the hotel from London.' 'Yeah, so?' Van Hauten didn't follow her. 'I've spent all my money already, and I've only booked the hotel for three nights.' Van Hauten tried hard not to laugh, but he failed miserably. 'Don't laugh, it's not funny!' He couldn't stop, and his laugh was too alluring for Clare. She laughed with him. 'It is funny, you'll come as a Commander and leave as a begger,' Van Hauten said. Clare got herself together. 'Well, I helped you out when you were in London. I guess it's your turn now. You did say you had a spare room.' 'I do, so I think you'll be staying there from tomorrow on?' 'If that's okay. And I would very much like to see your house, I'm curious, where would a count live in Amsterdam?' 'It's small, really. I don't live like Count Erik van Hauten senior.' Clare frowned. 'Your.. dad?' 'Yeah. He owned a huge villa near The Hague. It's mine now but I rarely come there. It's a monument now.' Clare couldn't suppres a giggle. 'I can hardly imagine you walking through the corridors of your little castle,' she said. 'I would like to see that too.' Van Hauten winked at her. 'I'll show you everything, I promise.'

They didn't forget to make an appointment this time. 'Twelve o'clock tomorrow? I'll pick you up here.' At the stairs of the hotel, Clare turned back to Van Hauten. 'I'll.. see you tomorrow,' she said. Van Hauten nodded. 'I had a good time, and we're doing well on the case. Thanks for coming here. Again.' 'That's okay, I love it here.' She smiled warmly at him. 'Goodnight.'

Here she was, again. Alone in her bed, trying to sleep. He wouldn't get out of her head. Divorced. Single. Sexy.

After two hours, she finally got some sleep. The rest of the night she awoke and slept, awoke and slept. Finally, at 5 in the morning she decided to stop this madness. She wouldn't get her sleep anyway, so why waste her time in bed? She logged on to her laptop and went to a Dutch search machine. 'Erik van Hauten senior', she typed and pressed enter. '128 results found for Erik van Hauten senior.' it said. Clare read about the background, the family history, the scandals and the good moments of the Van Hauten family. 'Erik van Hauten junior left the house after his father disapproved of his fiancé.' Clare frowned. He hadn't told her. There wasn't a lot of information about the junior Van Hauten, so she went to 'images.' She found the most beautiful shots of a huge villa, the Van Hauten senior palace. It was beautiful, and it even had a tower. She printed one and went downstairs to pick up her image. The hotel was dark, only a few lights in the hallway and at the reception lighted the way. Outside, people were talking and laughing. Van Hauten was right, this city was alive at night. And negatively so, she thought when she heard breaking glass.

Walking back up the stairs, she felt how tired her legs were. She had walked a lot, and slept very little the past few days. Getting back in bed, she put the picture on her nightstand next to the bed. 'Goodnight, Erik,' she said and closed her eyes. It didn't take long before she was asleep.

TBC

Clare awoke with a huge headache. She didn't feel like getting up and she didn't feel like getting dressed, so she stayed in bed just a little longer. Turning to check the time, Clare closed her eyes against the dull pain. Opening them again, she saw that it was already 10.30 and that she had to be ready in one hour and a half. Sighing, Clare sat up in her bed. For a moment, her vision went black. After sitting still for a few seconds, she was okay again and she headed for the shower.

Van Hauten stood at the reception. This was the third time, and again there was the same desk clerk. 'Shall I call room 220 again?' she asked in Dutch. 'Ja, dankjewel.' The girl smiled and took the phone. Van Hauten heard a short conversation in bad English and when the clerk nodded, he went up the stairs.

Knocking at her door, Van Hauten thought about yesterday. She wanted to see his fathers house, she would. He planned on taking her there today. 'I'm coming,' Clare said from the other side of the door. 'That's good,' Van Hauten answered. Clare giggled. 'Dirty man, you are, she said to him when she opened the door. She let him in and she was about to ask him if he'd fancy a drink when her cell phone rang. 'I'm sorry, I've got to get this,' she said when she saw it was Sumpter. 'Good morning, Sir. Yes, we're making some progress. What? Oh my God.. Same style? Yes, I'll tell him. Yes, thank you. I'll stay here as long as I have to. I can pay my own hotel, thank you. Yes. Okay. Bye.' Clare slowly closed her phone and put it on the table. 'That was Sumpter, my boss. There's been another killing, same style, similar girl. Definitely one of our man.' 'Oh my God,' Van Hauten said. 'Did they get an ID yet?'

'Yes. Her name was Annabel Lee, seventeen years old.'

Van Hauten went silent and Clare saw all colour drain from his face. 'What's wrong?' Clare moved over to sit next to him. 'Annabel.. She's.. She's my daughter.' 'Your daughter?' Clare said. 'Oh Erik, I'm so sorry.' Van Hauten broke down. 'I haven't seen her in.. over ten years, I loved her but I couldn't keep her, and now she's.. she's gone, isn't she Clare?' Clare took Van Hauten in her arms, just as she'd taken Sadies father in her arms. She tried to calm him down, comfort her. When he had calmed down, she had a lot of questions.

'I thought you only had a son?' Clare tried. Van Hauten looked at her. 'Annabel was what Mary called.. a mistake. We were both very young, and indecisive. Before we knew, normal abortion wasn't an option anymore. We kept her, Mary gave birth and disappeared shortly after. I tried to take care for little Anabel. I love her.' 'What a story.'

'After two years, I couldn't handle it anymore, Studying, caring for a baby, trying to find Mary.. Friends of mine had been trying to get pregnant for over 5 years. They legally adopted her from me.' 'Did you ever find Mary again?' 'Yes, and together we had Julian. After a few years of caring for him together, she decided again that she couldn't do it. She wanted to divorce legally. I managed to talk her out of that for a couple of years, but last year she suddenly sent me all the paperwork. I had Julian, she had the rest. Except for the house. She ruined me, Clare.' Tears welled up in his eyes again. Clare decided to call Sumpter and Van Dijk. They couldn't be on the case anymore. Sumpter was shocked, he tought she should continue working and he didn't want to hear otherwise. Van Dijk was a little more sensitive. 'I understand you want to take a few free days,' he said. Clare almost smiled. This was probably what Van Hauten called 'English Dutch.' 'We'd like that, yes. Afterwards, I'll go back to London and work with you on the case from there, if it isn't solved yet. I'm sorry Sir.' 'Don't Sir me, we're equal of rank. Take the time you need. Tell Erik I'm sorry.' 'I will. Thanks, bye.'

TBC

Van Hauten had calmed down a bit, but he was still very shocked about the death of his adopted daughter. 'I should call Mary.' 'That can wait, and I'm sure the police already did so. Give yourself time to rest, to let this sink in.' 'I've told this to so many people in my life, and hearing it myself is almost killing me.' 'I know,' Clare said. 'I know.'

Although the news had shaken up Van Hauten, he knew it was a bad idea to cancel the visit to Palace Van Hauten. 'Clare, I wanted to take you somewhere today. If you still want it, we can still go. I need a break and so do you, probably.' 'If you feel up to it, sure. I like surprise trips.' 'If you think hard, it's not a surprise trip.' Clare had an idea, but she didn't tell him about it. She was going to make him enjoy his day, forget as much as he could about Annabel.

The roads were jammed, as Van Hauten had already told Clare to expect. 'This is Dutch traffic. Only we can mess it up like this,' Van Hauten said. Clare didn't answer him, she only said 'Can we open the roof?' Van Hauten smiled. 'Sure.' His car was a small one, but a very stylish one. Women liked a BMW Z3 soft top, he was told and seen he liked the car too, he'd bought one. He opened the roof and Clare smiled. The wind blew pretty hard, but it was convenient seen the temperature. 'This can take a while, Clare,' Van Hauten said. 'I'm sorry.' 'That's okay, I'll live. Besides, I like watching other people from a car and what's a better place to do that than from the road?' Van Hauten nodded. 'You're right.' He didn't seem to suffer a lot from the recent loss, but he also couldn't let it go. The sparkle was gone from his eyes.

When they finally reached The Hague, Van Hauten didn't go into the city, but drove all around it. Clare now knew for sure where they were going. 'Are you sure your dad won't mind?' 'Clare, he's dead. I'm sure he won't mind,' Erik said. 'Oh I'm so sorry,' Clare said and blushed. 'I thought he'd moved, I didn't realise he was..' 'That's okay, it happened a long time ago.' Clare decided to keep silent before she said more stupid things. Van Hauten saw her face darken. 'Hey, it's okay, it really is.' Clare didn't miss the tear he wiped away when he turned back, though.

'Welcome to my humble castle, my lady,' Van Hauten said and he opened the door for Clare. She got out and looked around. The only thing she saw was a huge grass field, a path and a forest with a single tower sticking out. 'This is huge,' she said indicating the field. 'Yeah, you need some place to put 15 horses,' Van Hauten said as if it was only natural. 'Fifteen! Wow, who takes care of them?' Clare asked. 'Well, I do, every weekend and the rest of the week my good friend and house maid Ellen takes care of them.' 'She must be a very fast working girl, if you want to keep fifteen horses fit,' Clare laughed. 'You'll get to see them too, don't worry,' Van Hauten said. 'But first: The big Van Hauten Palace tour!' He took her hand and walked her to the path. She didn't try to pull back her hand, but let him lead the way.

'This is unlike anything I've ever seen before, Erik. It's wonderful!' Van Hauten smiled at her. 'I'm glad you like it.' They were standing in front of something that resembled Malahide Castle, a huge castle built out of large stones and wood. The single tower had small windows and a flag on top. Clare looked up. 'Did you grow up in this place?' 'I did, actually. I've lived her until I was sixteen and wanted to get married.' 'Sixteen,' Clare repeated. 'Yeah. Quite stupid, huh.' Clare didn't answer. She couldn't tear her eyes away from what was lying at her feet. 'Let's go inside,' she said. Van Hauten smiled. 'So.. now you're showing me around?' he said. Clare giggled and hit him playfully.

They walked inside, and entered in the largest hallway Clare had ever seen. It had a door on the opposite side and on the floor there were white and some red tiles. 'What's behind the other door?' Clare asked. She was too curious to let Van Hauten lead her through the castle. 'You'll see that too, Clare. At the end of the tour I'll take you there, too. You won't miss a thing, I promise.' 'Good,' Clare said in her Commander voice. 'Let's do it.'

End of Pt.1

Sorry, I had to cut it off somewhere...

>> On to pt. 2 (WIP)

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