"Seriously? This is a crime scene, and we have enough of you here."
Joana then nodded towards the other reporters.
"Oh, I'm not here to write anything, or for work reasons at all. You know it would be weird for me to write about my own brother-in-law."
At this, one of the reporters heard what he had said. "Wait, you're Chamberlain's brother-in-law?"
Suddenly there was a whole wave of flashes and questions as the reporters surrounded him.
Patrick groaned, but Joana half smiled.
"Mistake" she said, and started walking away.
"Hey, wait! C'mon, get me out of this."
She rolled her eyes, but then grabbed him by the arm and pulled him under the tape. The officer on watch was about to protest but Joana waved her badge at him, and he let them through.
"Nice." said Patrick, as they left the crowd behind "I bet you secretly love doing that."
She couldn't hide her smile. "When I get the chance."
"I always thought it would look well on me. You know, flashing badges and all. You have to admit, I would make a great cop."
"Mmm... not really"
"Oh? Alright..."
They turned round another corner, to be out of sight of everyone. Patrick leaned against a grey wall, smiling.
"Well this doesn't look suspicious" he said ironically "Backing off into an alley where no-one can see us, just you and me, especially with our past-"
"Ok, don't get too excited." she said "Again, why are you here?"
Patrick made eye contact with her, and then remembered how beautiful she was. Her dark brown hair reached down past her shoulders, even though it was tied in a ponytail. Her eyes, also dark, always seemed so attractive and... challenging, he thought. She wasn't short, but not as tall as him either. Patrick always thought that her character was hard to understand, but that was what he liked about her. At times, she was stubborn, but she also never knew what she wanted.
Their relationship hadn't ended terribly. They were still friends, in their own way, seeing each other every now and again, mainly thanks to their jobs. Even though that that was the thing that made them split up. After a while together, they had realised that a journalist with a cop wasn't a good combination, because over time, secrets had started escaping from their mouths, important secrets. Things the press didn't need to know, or vice versa. Their companions from work realised, and soon they received a lot of pressure. So in the end, they had called it off.
But it was at moments like these when Patrick realised how much he really missed her. Nonetheless, he tried to put his feelings aside and concentrated on the topic at hand.
"Alan Chamberlain."
"Yes."
"What showed up?" he asked.
"You know I can't tell you."
"Oh c'mon."
"Patrick, there was nothing."
"Nothing? Really?"
"Just like they said in the news. Wrists slit. He came here about two days ago, early in the morning. Sat down, and did it with a kitchen knife. Bled out, and that's it."
"Dammit!" he said, and bounced off the wall, walking away a couple of yards.
She sighed. "Look, I know you're related, but-"
"Don't give me that crap, Joana."
"Patrick!"
"Don't Patrick me!" he argued "Have you seen the state my sister is in? Oh yeah, that's right: you haven't! The poor woman is going through a lot, and I... I don't want to lose her."
Joana had her gaze fixed on the ground, and she didn't say another word. Her ex-boyfriend then sighed, and apologized.
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me too."
They remained in an awkward silence for just under a minute, but then Joana spoke again slowly:
"How can you be so sure that it's not-"
"A suicide? Joana, he was a high ranked politician. He had power, money and a whole lot of influence in the government. Yes, he was perhaps one of the most hated men in the country, but still, someone like that doesn't just crumble so easily, trust me. People like him are the ones I investigate and write about. They're usually as dirty as pigs, but I can't do much about that. Except the thing is, a man like Alan has lived through these sort of situations all his career. Why is the current one any different? Why did he have to...?"
He broke off, but then shook his head, sighing.
"Well, what do you want us to believe? He got what, blackmailed and obliged to drive all the way out here?"
"No, I doubt it. The Chamberlains have quite the security system. Filtering software, plenty of cameras, cell phones monitored, even a goddamn security guard that got Alan to work. Elaine walked me through it all once and it was fascinating."
"Or maybe someone hired a serial killer to do the job. A little far-fetched, don't you think?" she shrugged, raising her hands a little too exaggeratedly.
Patrick walked about nervously, his mind at work.
"Did you know him very well?" inquired Joana.
He stopped. "Not really. Of course we met a few times every now and again, but I never really got a good chat with him. All I can tell you is that he wasn't the nicest type, but I can assure you he loved his family truly."
"Right."
"I don't know, Joana, there's something fishy about all of this."
"You could say that. But what are you gonna do?"
"Not sure. Alan was in some dirty business, there's no doubt about it. But what can I do? It might be something that I best leave alone."
"Good idea. That's what the FBI is for."
"Pff, the FBI. Right."
"What?" she narrowed her eyes. "Oh, so this isn't a case for the FBI, but for the great Patrick Darren?"
"No, you know I didn't mean that!" he stated, rolling his eyes. "Forget it."
She half smiled, and then he was the one that narrowed his eyes.
"What?" he asked.
"Remember back when we used to spend the afternoons at your place?"
"Wow, that was a fast switch of conversation. Yeah, yes I do."
Joana giggled. "I would always bring the beer, and then we would order a pizza, with pineapple and-"
"And extra oregano on top" he finished off, smiling too.
She sighed. "I miss those days, you know?"
Patrick raised an eyebrow. "You think I don't?"
"Oh, give over, we both know that our decision was for the best."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Really?" she gave him a you-can't-be-serious look. "Are we going to get into this now?"
"I have all day."
She just rolled her eyes. "Well I don't, I've got work to do."
"I believe that what I said is what my colleagues would call irony?"
"Yeah, well I don't give a damn."
She started to walk away, back towards the crime scene.
"I am a busy man, Joana. You of all people should know that!" he called after her.
"Whatever. Oh, one more thing, Patrick." she said, turning to face him once more.
"Hm?"
"Stay away from it."
"From what?"
"All of it. This investigation, Alan Chamberlain."
"And how do you suppose that I do that, when I'm living with his wife, a.k.a. my sister?!"
"I don't know, you'll think of something. You're supposed to be clever."
"Supposed to be?" Patrick wasn't sure to take that as a compliment or an insult.
"Whatever."
She definitely said that word way too much, especially for a high-ranked police officer.
"Don't worry, you'll be glad to know I am staying out of it... for the moment. As long as my sister's family's safety isn't compromised, that's fine by me."
"Great." Joana nodded approvingly. "It'll do you some good, relaxing for a while. It's something we humans do, in case you-"
"Oh, shut up! Anyway, I will probably end up seeing you again sometime in the near future, so no need for kisses and hugs."
She half smiled as he walked past her now, heading the opposite direction, and said:
"Goodbye to you too."
***
It was barely lunchtime by the time Patrick arrived at West Village, but he already felt so exhausted.
He got out of the car and knocked on the front door (his sister hadn't given him a key yet). The door opened, but instead of seeing Elaine, he was greeted by a bunch of kids! They all jumped about noisily like a hive of nervous bees.
Patrick, taken by surprise, managed to get inside and move down the hall, trying his best not to bump into any children. They all couldn't have been over the age of eight. He finally got to the living room, and then he saw his sister. When their eyes met, she gave him a look of disappointment, and proceeded to walk toward him.
And that was when the penny dropped.
"I can't believe you forgot about it!" she protested.
"Ah, yes, yes, I'm sorry. It totally slipped off my mind."
It was Elaine's older son Jake's birthday party today. The day before, Patrick had promised he would be there, but things hadn't gone as planned. He then secretly blamed Joana for having talked to her for so long, even though he knew that was absurd.
"Ugh, how late am I?" he asked.
"Well, most of them have been here for about an hour or so..."
His sister crossed her arms, while rolling her eyes ever so slightly. Even though she was a little angry, Patrick believed that she was looking a lot better, compared to the previous day. He was glad but didn't bring it up in conversation.
He opened the palms of his hands. "Well, I'm here now, so let me unpack a couple of things first, and then I'll be free to do whatever..."
Elaine raised her eyebrows, smiling. "Whatever...?"
"Oh, I don't know. Whatever the kids want do, I guess."
They both laughed awkwardly.
"Uh-huh, you do that." she nodded at him.
So he did. Throughout the rest of the day, the two siblings did all sorts of things with Jake and his friends. They played plenty of games, had lunch together and Elaine even made a cake.
Patrick realised that it was the first time in a while that he actually relaxed, just as Joana had said. And yes, it felt nice. He left behind his job and his responsibilities, and let himself be dragged along with the party. Sure, he had never been great with kids, but that didn't seem to matter anymore. And eventually, he even forgot about Alan.
Little did he know, he wasn't going to feel that way again for a very, very long time.