Bill Lewis stood in the crowded restaurant too stunned to move. She had slapped him in front of God and everybody. What had gotten into her?
He had been surprised when Sarah had called him and told him that Pilar needed him. She gave no details other than Pilar could really benefit from a visit from her former fiancee. He was under the impression that she would be happy to see him and that obviously wasn't the case.
He had not hesitated to take some of his vacation time and come back home to Springfield as soon as Sarah had called. He had wanted an excuse to come and see her for so long and Sarah had assured him that his visit would be welcome.
They had not parted on good terms. Actually, they had not parted on any terms rather then she had broken up with him in a letter. A typed letter on Santos stationery to be exact. He had gotten the message. It was meant to be totally heartless and cruel and it had worked.
He had rebounded right into the arms of Karen Holmes and she had gotten pregnant and they had gotten married within four months of his break up with Pilar. She had miscarried that baby in the third month but he had grown fond of her and since he was not going to get to be with the one he truly loved, he would stay with one that he was genuinely fond of and had grown to love. They had a darling baby son now. Chamberlain William Lewis, or champ as he called him, and was the light of his life. He was happy even if he did wake up sometimes at night in a cold sweat longing for Pilar and what they had had and what had never gotten a chance to be.
She certainly didn't look happy to see him now though. This was a bad idea. He should just leave but he was a Lewis damn it and he didn't take kindly to public humiliation. He was going to find her and find out why she had nearly slapped the taste out of his mouth in front of half of Springfield. This was not going to go unanswered.
He stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. He began to walk. He was just passing the restaurant on the West Side of the restaurant when he heard a sound coming from the alley. A crying sound. Someone was in the alley crying.
He moved towards the sound and was stunned to find it was Pilar. Why was she crying? Was she sorry she had slapped him? Was she that unhappy to see him? He never got a chance to find out. She saw him and suddenly ran into his arms and he held her close. Held her close the way he did in his mind so many nights. He didn't feel the usual pang of guilt that he got when he realized he was betraying his wife in his mind. He just held her and let the pain that she obviously was feeling and the pain that had never left him since the day he had received that letter be a bond that could bring them together long enough to figure out what had happened to them.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Susan never took her eyes off of the two policeman who had entered Michelle's hospital room and if they looked like they were going to badger and upset her then she would step in and put a stop to it.
The detective named Frank was speaking to Michelle in calm tones and so far Michelle didn't seem upset at his questions. She had to answer his questions using her pad and pen and to his credit the detective seemed to have the patience to wait until each answer was written out on the paper.
The other detective was making her very uncomfortable. He had a look in his eyes that made her think if ice. So far he hadn't spoken but she had noticed that he seemed agitated and ready to get out of this room. He had looked at his watch at least five times since they had entered the room. He was obviously wanting his partner to speed this up and get out of here. It appeared to her that he was most eager to be somewhere else.
That suited her just fine. She didn't want them to prolong their visit one-second more that was absolutely necessary.
Susan watched each of Michelle's reactions to Frank Cooper's questions. So far she had just been nodding her head or writing short one or two word sentences.
Susan's senses went on alert however, when she noticed Michelle frown and her brow furl. Something he had said was upsetting her. She would watch for another minute but if that look on Michelle's face didn't improve, she was going to put a stop to it.
She had four children of her own and was very protective of them. She felt that way about Danny and now the feeling had been carried over onto Michelle, his adoring wife.
She had seen a lot of things during her stint at Cedars and no other patient besides the young man Lewis who died of kidney failure, had pulled at her heartstrings as much as Danny had. His total unwillingness to live once he thought his beloved had deserted him, had made her resolve to help him find the will to live again.
She had talked to him while has was in his coma. She just told him everyday things like how the Atlanta Braves, his favorite baseball team were doing and she even snuck in a story or two about her grandchildren. He had seemed to respond when she talked to him. His vital signs were always steady and his agitation lessened when he heard her voice.
During the times he was awake had been an entirely different story. His pain, both physical and emotional had totally incapacitated him and that was devastating for a man such as Danny.
She had helped him through many an episode but she had learned much from him also. He had taught her a lesson in the human spirit and perseverance. She knew he had been broken without Michelle but had managed to pick himself back up and had joined the human race again. She admired him more than she could ever tell him.
Her thoughts were brought back to the present when she heard a sound from Michelle that sounded like a muffled gasp. She had a horrified look on her face.
It was time for this to end now. Michelle had enough on her plate without having to be interrogated from her own hospital bed while her husband was still in surgery.
"That's it gentleman" she said "I think you have spent enough time in here. As you can see Michelle is distressed enough without this added aggravation. I must insist you leave right now," she said sternly.
David Grant raised one eyebrow, a trick he had learned in high school and one that the girls found so hard to resist, or at least that is what he liked to think, in surprise. He was astounded that this little nurse was ordering them out but he was also relieved. He was already late for his last meeting with Pilar.
She wouldn't like to be kept waiting. He grinned in spite of himself. Too bad. It was high time little Miss Pilar Santos realized who was calling the shots and it wasn't her. It she wanted the book, she would wait, and David knew how much she wanted that book. She has somehow persuaded Dietz to arrange to kill a man and he had become involved in it, all over that damn book. He had a good mind to double the price for the little treasure since she had put him through so much trouble.
Turning his back on everything he had ever believed in had not come overnight and had been such a hard decision but he had grown so tired of seeing the bad guys win no matter what he did that he decided the old adage was right, If you can't beat them, join them. Everytime he had gotten anything on the Santos', their high priced lawyer, Ben Warren would show up and they would magically be released from jail less than 24 hours later. All the work that they had done to bring charges against them had been thrown out the window each and every time and David had just reached the point where he didn't believe that the justice system worked anymore and he would sell out and live the kind of like he wanted in a far away place. It t certainly was better than trying to right all of the wrongs in this tacky little city
He had felt remorse at turning his back on Frank who still trusted him like a brother and all that they had tried to accomplish together in Springfield but it was time to look out for number one and in his book, that was he. He was tired of going up against the Santos's all the time however he did have to admit that things had gotten much better the last two years since Carmen had run of with Ben Warren and Danny had had his accident. The Santos reign of terror had seemed to be over but he still had to deal with the other families in Springfield. The kinds of families that the respectable people of Springfield didn't even know were in their fair city. The kind of families that David and Frank had spent hours of unpaid overtime to try and put away so the citizens of Springfield could sleep safely in their beds at night. The kinds of families that always bought their way out within 24 hours.
He had just had enough and he didn't have to justify any of his actions to anyone, including his conscience. He was sleeping at night, damn it, he was. Just not as much as he should but that would all change once he reached the sandy beaches of Rio.
Frank and the nurse were still going at it about her desire for them to leave. He tapped his foot in irritation and hoped that Frank would pick up on his anxiousness to leave. He didn't think he was going to take the hint anytime soon and his mind went back to Pilar and his meeting with her that he was late for.
That book was going to save her neck and be his ticket out of here, but he was still tempted to call on the other Springfield residents names that had turned up in Mr. Gino Cartelli's book.
Some of the names had surprised him and some hadn't. He had always suspected that Reva Lewis was on some sort of drug by the way she always acted like a tragic heroine out of some dime store novel, so he wasn't too suprised to see her name but Blake Marler and her love for nose candy had come as a complete shock. The ex wife of the district attorney would be an untapped well and he was so tempted to stay and drain it but Rio called and sometimes was just better to quit while you were ahead.
Finally it appeared as though Frank and the nurse had reached some sort on an understanding and they were going to leave. He would ditch Frank once they got back to the station, claiming he had an early day tomorrow and would be out of town before the sun rose of the fair citizen's of Springfield.
They exited the room and headed for the hallway that led to the elevators. There wasn't anything more that they could do tonight. Frank would suggest they call it a night and then he would be home free.
He wasn't home free though because Frank was just not gonna let this thing go, was David's thoughts when he heard Frank say. "I think we need to pay a little visit to Dietz" and pushed the elevator button marked down.