“My name is Harrison Baldwin and Amber is my half-sister; we share a mother. This was a very unusual case.”
John’s voice deepened. “What was an unusual case? Amber?”
Harry shook his head, “Amber was a byproduct. My assignment was Claire.”
Emily gasped.
“Please, let me continue. I’m telling you all of this because we have become friends. I value your friendship and I wanted to apologize.”
“For lying?” Emily asked.
“I was doing my job. I wasn’t lying, but I feel responsible for Chester’s attack on Claire. I was the one who took her to him. It was a lead I wanted to follow, and I thought if she were with me… I shouldn’t have done it. I had no idea I was putting her in danger.”
“He attacked her because of him, not you,” Emily refuted.
“Chester would never have known about Claire if it weren’t for me. There’s more. I saw Claire in Europe before she and Rawlings went into hiding. I talked with her. She knows that I’m an agent, and she told me in no uncertain terms to leave.” He grinned. “I wish she’d tell me off like that again.” He refocused. “She was right, and she was determined about her decision to reunite with him. I know you have reasons to hate him, but I wanted you to know that her decision to remarry him was not coerced.”
Before either of the Vandersols could respond, Harry went on. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone any of this, but since Claire can’t, I thought you needed to know. They were both in contact with the bureau while they were away. It was a strange kind of limbo—more like a self-induced/bureau-accepted witness-protection situation. The bureau was investigating the deaths of many people, including one of our own—your grandfather—associated with the unusual poison actaea pachypoda. The connection that the bureau found was Anthony Rawlings. I was assigned to learn Claire’s secrets in an effort to confirm Rawlings’ connection. As you know, it wasn’t him, but Ms. London. While the case was being investigated, Rawlings negotiated a one-year reprieve with Claire and Nichol in the South Pacific.”
“A year? They weren’t gone a year,” John said.
“No,” Harry agreed. “They came back early, against the wishes of the bureau.”
“But why? Why did they do that? If they had clearance to stay safe—”
“Rawlings had some contact—he would never say who, although we have our suspicions. Anyway, his contact informed him of your visit to the estate.”
Emily inhaled as her eyes widened. “They left that island because of us?”
“According to Rawlings’ statement, they were concerned about your safety. When it’d been confirmed that you were traveling here to Iowa, they traveled home. Rawlings hoped to get to Ms. London before you arrived.”
John looked at his wife. “Remember, we got an earlier flight.”
“Oh, I can’t believe how this really fits,” Emily said.
“This is all classified, or most of it. Even leaving the bureau doesn’t allow me to share this information, but I keep thinking about Claire. I really did care for her. I can’t say we were madly in love, but we did become good friends.” His eyes twinkled with memories. “The research I saw about TBI was what you said earlier, if recovery doesn’t happen in the first year… Well, if she can never tell you the truth, I still thought you deserved to know.”
John nodded as his mind swirled with new and old information. He and Emily weren’t supposed to arrive to the Rawlings estate until later. If only…
He tried to refocus on Harry. As much as he wanted to be upset, the emotion that seemed paramount was gratitude.
“Thank you, thanks for telling us the truth. We won’t share it, if that’s what you want,” John said.
“As long as you don’t do a press release,” Harry said with a grin, “I see no harm in letting you know.”
John smiled. “We’re not much into sharing with the media.” Changing the subject, he asked, “Why North Carolina? What are you going to do there?”
“I’m thinking about starting my own investigative firm. Law enforcement has always been my dream. Entering the FBI was the ultimate fulfillment, but lately I’ve realized that the adrenaline rush I used to get from the dangers has been replaced. You see, I was married a long time ago. She’s remarried, but I’ve been talking with her. We have a daughter who’s almost seven. I’ve missed so much of my child’s life.” His eyes brimmed with moisture. “I don’t want to miss any more. That rush now comes when I think about moving closer and getting to know my daughter. Thankfully, my ex-wife is willing to re-introduce us. Hopefully, Jillian will allow me to be part of her life.”
“That’s a beautiful name,” Emily said.
The tips of Harry’s lips turned upward. “It’s silly, but my name begins with an H, my ex-wife’s with an I, we used to joke about continuing the alphabet. Ilona and I were already separated when she gave birth, but I was thrilled when I heard her name.”
“What about Liz?” Emily asked.
“We’re taking it slowly. She’s pretty devastated about Amber, but she’s willing to move to North Carolina with me. They’ve asked her to stay at SiJo and help the new CEO: she’s joining me after I get settled, maybe after the trial. I’m not sure what happened with the company. I was afraid that it would be gobbled up in some frenzy after everything went public. Liz said there was some talk of that, but then everything quieted. The board of directors have asked Simon’s mother to take a role, at least temporarily. I think it’s more as a figurehead, but it was a nice gesture. The new CEO is someone with a lot of experience. For Simon’s sake, I hope they can keep it going.”