Chapter 7
Cydney stepped back and with expert critical eyes watched as the mini laboratory began its crucial work. Satisfied that the glass
test tubes filled with the various samples were going through the analysis correctly, she dragged out the chair from Kevin�s desk
and pulled her laptop over towards her. Ignoring the humming whirling sounds and the rhythmic beeps of the mini lab, she studied
for a few seconds the constantly changing readout on the graph that flashed on the screen in front of her eyes. She leaned
forward to peer closer at the scrolling digits, squinting her eyes in concentration as she read. A lock of fair hair fell forward across
her face and she impatiently tucked it behind her ears while her eyes never left the screen for one moment. She trailed her finger
across the graph chewing her lip while deep in thought, then giving a satisfied cluck with her tongue she knew that was all she
could do for now. The equipment must do its work in it own time. Sitting here staring at it wasn�t going to make the results come
through any quicker, so she suppressed her impatience and decided to go find Kevin. He would keep her amused and her mind
occupied while she waited for the test results to come through. They had developed a habit of talking long into the night about
anything and everything that popped into their heads. They didn�t necessarily agree on the subjects they talked over, and at times
the conversation could get quite heated as they debated and discussed various topics that cropped up. But in this short time she
recognised a man of integrity, who was willing to make a stand for what he believed in. And if he began to take himself a little too
seriously at times, she liked the way he goodnaturedly accepted her poking fun at that facet of his personality but Kevin could give
as good as he got in their verbal tussles. Then from behind that serious exterior, often quite unexpectedly and without warning,
Kevin�s lighthearted side would emerge and would charm Cydney by making her laugh with his quirky sense of humour.
Despite her teasing of Kevin, and her affectionate nicknaming of him country boy because of his slow deliberate way of speaking
in that deep southern drawl that was as smooth and rich as expensive Belgian chocolate and just as addictive. Cydney realised
here was an intelligent caring person and she was glad to be able to call this man her friend and she looked forward to their nightly
discussions over a bottle of wine.
On her way out of the room she stopped beside the fax machine. There waiting was a message from her boss, John McDonald.
Picking up the paper she scanned through the message quickly. It was just a general hello and a query about how she was
progressing in the investigation. She had planned on phoning Mac in the morning to check in with him and to bring him up to date
with what steps she planned to take next. She looked at her watch and debated with herself whether to phone right away. There
were several things she wanted his opinion on. Not so much about how to proceed with the next step in the investigation, she was
confident that she was heading in the right direction there. But she had become used to bouncing around ideas with Dennis Neville
and they had often used each other as a sounding board for their thoughts and ideas, no matter how far out of left field they
seemed. And because Dennis Neville and John McDonald had been such great friends, Mac would know how Nev�s thought
processes and mind would have worked. Cydney realised that she missed Nev so much. She was suddenly overcome with an
intense grief that was like a physical blow to her stomach as the extent of her loss, the emptiness, and the gap in her life that
Dennis�s death had left her with hit home. It was a grief so unexpected that she felt suffocated with her pain. She needed to clear
her head to escape this smothering feeling, so pushing back the chair with a scrape she headed for the back of Kevin�s house
towards the expansive back deck that overlooked the valley below. She gulped in the chill night air and it was like a knife thrust to
her lungs as she inhaled deeply, sucking gulping breaths that slowed as quickly as they had started. She made her way over to the
edge and leaned over the balcony and steadied herself, her breathing now under control. Cydney dashed a few tears from her
eyes and silently cursed her weakness. She had promised herself that she needed to focus on the job at hand before she could
grieve for Dennis. But the emotion suppressed needed an outlet and whether she was ready for it or not, it looked like she would
have to start dealing with it. Like a boiling, bubbling geyser it had erupted suddenly. She could no longer push away her pain and
ignore it. Letting the tears quietly flow she stared out into the blackness and let the soothing night sounds of the forest and the
mountains wash over her, soothing her ragged, raw emotions giving her a sense of peace. There was a lot of comfort and joy to be
found in the love of nature she realised, nature�s ebb and flow and it�s continual life cycle provided a balance for all and certainly
there was a reason and a purpose for all living things. The moon above broke through the clouds and its ghostly silvery tendrils
reached down and painted the night landscape with eerie shadows. An owl hooted in the distance and as her tears flowed, Cydney
felt the earth begin to heal her heart. The first step in the grieving process had begun. She had recognised her loss, and she knew
it was now a matter of a day at a time till the pain dimmed, not to ever go away, but to lessen as days merged into months and
years.
***************
Kevin was in the kitchen when he heard what he thought was woman crying. He saw the flash of a fair head rush by as Cydney
passed down the hallway without noticing him, her head bowed as she made her way out onto the back verandah. She closed the
door softly without looking back but he knew instantly that she was crying and his eyes followed her as he stood unsure and
uncertain what to do about it. He let out the breath that he was holding in as he followed her and studied her through the glass
door. He watched as she made her way to the edge of the deck, her hand obviously wiping away the tears till she came to a halt
and stared out into the endless darkness. An unnatural stillness cloaked her normally vivacious and effervescent personality. He
stroked his goatee in thought as he debated whether or not to intrude and interrupt her introspection or whether to let it lie and let
her come to him if she needed a shoulder to cry on. The uncertainty of upsetting the new budding friendship they were building
together made him hesitate on the threshold but Kevin decided to bite the bullet.
�What the heck man.� He mumbled under his breath. His efforts at offering comfort could only get rebuffed by Cydney, so
grabbing a couple of jackets from the hanger beside the door to combat the night�s chill he opened the door and made his way
silently over to her.
Cydney turned her face slightly as she heard the glass door open and watched him make his way over towards her. She read in
his face indecision but determination to offer comfort, and she silently thanked whatever forces from above or beyond, karma,
destiny or chance that had brought Kevin into her life.
As he came to a halt in front of her and Kevin noticed she made no attempt to disguise the fact that she had been crying. He held
out the jacket for her to take as he said softly so that she had to strain to listen to his words. ' Cyd if you want me to go and leave
you be I will do�. but its cold out here and I don�t want you catching a chill.�
She took the proffered coat from him murmuring a whispered thank you before turning back to stare pensively out into the
blackness again. She felt strangely affected by his presence but comforted at the same time. A feeling, that if she wasn�t so off
balance emotionally at the moment, she would have had trouble explaining to herself.
Kevin stood quietly for a few seconds watching her before deciding to go back inside, thinking that she didn�t want to talk at the
moment. But as he turned to move away she spoke quietly into the silence.
�Please stay Kev, I don�t want you to leave.� She looked across at him. Her grey eyes flickering with an unreadable emotion
aimed inward at herself. �Besides it is your house.� She told him with what that Kevin was beginning to recognise as Cydney�s
own peculiar brand of gallows humour if and when a situation got tense and she felt the need to introduce some light relief.
His lips twitched in amusement. �So it is. How could I forget?� He added dryly with an ironically raised eyebrow as he studied
Cydney�s expressive face in the shadowed moonlight. Kevin perched himself on the edge of the wooden outdoor table and
stretched out his long denim encased legs. He gazed at her thoughtfully then smoothed down a crease in his jeans, rubbing at it
with a restless hand. �So do you want to talk about what�s upset you?�
She turned and leant against the balcony. Staring out into the night sky she sighed. �It just hit me then how much I miss Dennis.
Funny how that happens just out of the blue like that.�
�It�s often the little things that trigger off a memory that hurts, believe me I know.� Kevin pushed off the table and leant resting his
arms on the balcony beside Cydney. He sensed her interest. She tilted her chin and turned her profile towards him.�You do?� she
lightly rested a hand in comfort on his arm.
�I lost my dad to cancer. Even now after all this time it still hurts. And it�s not just the important anniversaries either. It�s the small
unexpected things that can trigger off a feeling of loss. They say time heals and to a certain extent it does but that feeling of loss,
well that stays with you forever.�
�Oh Kevin� I�m sorry. I didn�t know.� She squeezed his arm in a gesture of sympathy.
He turned sideways and found himself looking down into grey eyes that cared. �No reason you should have known Cyd. I just
wanted you to know that I understood your pain and if you want to talk about it� well it helps.�
She sighed deeply as if gathering her thoughts. � See I promised myself I wouldn�t grieve till I had closed this case. That grieving
now would hinder my thinking and my clarity of mind, that I needed to remain unemotional about finding Nev�s killers. But feelings
often don�t behave as you want them to do they?�
Kevin ruefully shook his head. �No they don�t unfortunately. But that�s one of the great things about life isn�t it? These twists and
turns that get thrown occasionally in our path. It makes life interesting doesn�t it?� Cydney smiled slightly, it was unexpected and it
made her face strangely beautiful in the moonlight, ethereal almost. Shaking her head with amusement, she chuckled and said
�You have a unique way of thinking Kevin.�
Again he had unexpectedly made her smile. Kevin smiled companionably back. Feeling extremely pleased with himself that he had
made her laugh and eased her grief somewhat. Her laugh was like a bird singing and the intensity of feeling like that took him
unawares, but a slight movement from the woman beside him drew his attention away from further examination of his own
thoughts and back towards Cydney.
Cydney rested her elbows on the balcony as she leaned her back against it. She stared off into space again and in her rapid quick
fire way of speaking said softly. �See Dennis and I talked about everything, he too had a unique perspective on life. There was
nothing I couldn�t discuss with Dennis. We were each other�s sounding board and I missed him so much just at that moment that
my grief just hit me all of a sudden, and maybe all the more painful because of that?�
Kevin looked up at the sky as the moon broke through the clouds and exposed the glittering stars for several seconds. Cydney
watched his shadowed profile as he studied the sky pensively. He rubbed at his goatee as he thought out aloud. �I suppose it was
all the more painful for being so unexpected. It�s worst when it takes you off guard like that.�
�How did you deal with your father�s death Kevin? See I too understand what you went through. Both my parents were killed in a
car accident when I was younger. I was lucky my brother held it together to be able to bring me up. Without him I don�t think I�d
have coped.�
�Well I don�t think I did handle it too well, even now to think of my dad I can feel myself begin to want to cry. My mum was..is a
brave strong woman. She held us boys together with her faith, strength and courage. She�s an amazing woman Cyd.� He glanced
across at his companion. �I wish you could meet her, you�d like one another I think.�
�Just like her son is a courageous caring man Kev.� Cydney murmured and Kevin spun quickly around to look at her. She smiled
slightly up at him, her eyes alight with a warmth in their grey depths that touched his heart. �I�m lucky, see I feel like I can talk to
you as well, about anything I need to. Thank you.� She reached up and touched her chilled lips to his cheek. �Thank you for being
my friend Kevin.�
Kevin reached over and took one of Cydney�s cold hands in his own larger one. He turned it over and brought it up to his lips and
dropped a kiss on her palm. �No thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, I hoped it helped.� He leant across and tucked a
strand of her shoulder length hair gently behind her ear.
�It did.� Grey expressive eyes flickered temptingly in darkness and he found his heart beating faster as his eyes caught and held
hers under the shadowed moonlit sky. That solitary owl hooted eerily again in the distance, interrupting the shared moment of
mutual intimacy and togetherness. Dragging his gaze away reluctantly, he realised to his surprise that Cydney�s chilled hand was
still held captive within his grasp. Somewhat breathlessly but with some semblance of steadiness he managed to speak to her as he
snapped out of his daze. �God girl this hand of your is frozen, come back inside you�ll catch the death of a cold if you stay out here
much longer. I�ve this new CD I want your opinion on and a bottle of red corked and breathing sitting there waiting for us to
sample its tempting delights.� He pulled her from the deck�s edge and away from the night�s sounds back towards the welcoming
warmth of the house.
She laughed at his sudden over protective urge towards her but allowed him to drag her back inside to the glowing, blazing fire
regardless. As Kevin fussed over her she looked into his warm smiling eyes and in their emerald depths she was overwhelmed
with a sense of belonging such as she had never in her life felt before. Kevin handed her a glass filled with a rich ruby wine and
bent over to toss another log on the fire making the flames spit and spark dancingly against the stone hearth. Flinging himself down
beside her on the lounge he reached for his own glass from the coffee table and chatted away enthusiastically about his latest
addition to his cd collection. Cydney found herself studying his profile over the rim of her own glass, watching his fine eyes and
handsome features so expressive in their intensity as he warmed to his subject.
Kevin sensed her eyes upon him and halted his flow of speech mid sentence in some confusion. �What?�
With that all to familiar twisted half smile and a raised eyebrow that questioned her interest he pushed the dark hair that hung
freely about his face away behind his ear, he looked about to see if he had split any of the wine down the front of his shirt.
Cydney giggled at his confusion and noticing that he had missed a strand of that fine silky hair, couldn�t resist reaching over to
gently tucked the errant lock away to join the rest behind Kevin�s ear. As she smiled into his eyes she raised her glass touching it
to his with a soft clink. �To friendship� thank you for being here for me tonight Kevin.� He grinned in understanding and returned
her toast.
�To friendship Cyd and the blessings it brings into our lives.� And as she picked up the cover of his newest cd to study it, he was
strangely aware that she had brought more than friendship into his life and that needed thinking about.
*************
An immaculately dressed man wearing an Armani suit with hair going a distinguished grey at the temples sat silently behind his
desk. His ice blue eyes were closed in exquisite contemplation as the Beethoven symphony reached its crescendo, a look of
rapture and ecstasy softened his harsh features as he listened to the music. Two besuited figures sat in front of him and schooled
their bored features to one of polite interest. They cast a pained glance at one another hoping their ordeal would soon be at an end.
Both men were not music lovers and their unpredictable employer had kept them waiting while he indulged in his love for what
seemed to them uncomprehending cacophonous discordant noise. They had no taste for classical music, so mastering their
impatience they waited. Unexpectedly the man in front of them with his eyes still closed halted the music with his remote control.
"You are not lovers of this great genius I see?� he asked suddenly into the unexpected silence, making the two men in front of him
jump startled in surprise. They squirmed in their chairs under that intense ice blue stare until one of them looked the older man in
the eye. �I guess we�ve yet to appreciate the talents of Beethoven sir, forgive us our lack of appreciation Mr De Vere.�
�Hummph! One day Anthony, your smart lawyer�s mouth will be your downfall.� Justin De Vere frostily eyed the two men across
his desk. � Ok enough of the small talk. Do you have that video tape?�
�Yes sir.� Paul Anthony handed it over placing the video on the desk between them.
�Any problems?� De Vere stood and poured the two men in front of him a drink.
The red headed man who up until now had been silent spoke up. �No Mr De Vere, the agent in question is now dead.�
�Witnesses Berry?� De Vere asked over the rim of his glass. His blue eyes coldly swept across the two men seated in front of
him
�Just the two of our men who retrieved the tape for us sir.� Leon Berry told him.
�Kill them.� De Vere said callously with chilling quietness.
�But sir?� Anthony protested as he rose out of his chair but backed down at the cold look in his employer�s eye. �It�ll be done sir.�
�Necessity Anthony�. Unfortunate I know, such a waste of willing muscle but I want no witnesses and I want no loose tongues
wagging. The next waste shipment is being brought forward two weeks and we can�t have any repeat of what happened last time
we placed a shipment at the mine can we? Any intruders will have to be dealt with severely�very severely. Do you both
understand that?� Justin De Vere added emphatically
�Yes sir. Security will be of the upmost importance. That lapse won�t occur again� Anthony reassured De Vere.
�Just so Anthony� there will no mistakes this time. I can�t afford for that to happen.� The two henchman took the hint and rose,
readying themselves to leave. De Vere looked at his fingernails in distaste. �I�ll be in touch with the details as soon as they are
finalised. Now see to that little bit of unfinished business please.� And without waiting for their acknowledgment he turned up the
music again, losing himself in the orchestra's rendition of the great composers symphony.
Chapter 8
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