At Last – Part 2
Last Time:
All of a sudden Bo gets a far off look on his face.
HANK: What is it?
BO: I don’t know. I just have the strangest feeling that something isn’t right with Nora.
HANK: Like what?
BO: I’m not really sure. I can’t explain it but something is very wrong.
Bo and Hank continue to mingle but every once in a while Bo wanders towards the windows and looks out…waiting for Nora. Sam doesn’t seem too concerned so Bo convinces himself that he is just being paranoid. He answers his cell phone when it rings.
BO: Buchanan.
TIM: Sir, there’s been an accident on Miller Road. It’s pretty bad.
BO: Okay. Why are you calling me?
TIM: Sir, I’m sorry….it’s Nora’s car.
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BO (panicking): Are you sure?
TIM: Yes sir. I recognized her car and then I ran the tabs. It’s Nora’s car.
BO: I’ll be there as quickly as I can. Don’t let anyone near the car.
TIM: Yes sir.
Bo grabs his coat and rushes out the door. He drives as fast as he can to the scene of the accident. As he approaches the scene, he sees the fire department is still there putting out the fire surrounding the car. The car had hit an electric transformer box and was engulfed in flames. He looked for Tim and saw him talking to Pete Reyes. The tears started forming in his eyes as he approached the two men.
PETE: I hate to keep meeting you like this.
BO: Me too. What went on here?
PETE: The car went through the guardrail back there and hit the box. It exploded on contact and has been burning for a while.
BO: I already know the answer to this but I have to ask it any way. Any chance of survivors?
PETE: Bo…I’m so sorry. Whoever was in that car was either blown up or burned up. There is no chance of anyone surviving that.
BO (with tears in his eyes): Thanks Pete. I need to talk to Tim to see what he’s found.
Bo walks over to where Tim is examining the road.
BO: What’d you got?
TIM: Absolutely nothing. There are no skid marks, no indication that Nora even applied the brakes before her car went through the guardrail.
BO: Damn. How am I going to tell Sam that he has lost both Nora and Matt?
TIM: I can do that if you want sir.
BO: No….it’s something that I have to do. I owe that to Nora. When the fire is put out have the car towed to the lab. I want them to start on this as soon as that car is in there. Keep looking for anything. Any clues whatsoever. I’m heading over to Sam’s and then I’ll be in my office. You find anything you call me.
TIM: I will sir.
Bo drives back to Nora’s house. He slowly walks through the front door. Ben, Vicki and Hank are the only ones left. Hank sees him and immediately knows that something is wrong.
HANK: What is it?
BO (slowly): Nora and Matt….(choking up)
HANK: What??
BO: They were killed in a car accident tonight.
HANK: Oh god no…
BO: I need to tell Sam.
Bo walks over to where Sam is talking to Ben and Vicki. Bo tells him about Nora and Matt. Sam breaks down and Ben and Vicki lead him to the couch. Bo promises a complete investigation. Bo also tells him that he and Hank will call Selma, Len and Rachel. He and Hank leave as Sam grieves.
Bo and Hank go back to Bo’s office. Bo picks up the phone to call Len and Selma. Bo gives Len the bad news and Len breaks down on the phone. Len says that he and Selma will tell Rachel and Susannah and all of them will be there for the funeral.
HANK: I hate that we all have to go through with this again.
BO: I know. Can this all be tied together? I mean the fire today and now the car accident? These things cannot be coincidences.
HANK: There has to be something.
BO: I asked Nora specifically if something was going on and she said no. Now I’m not sure that I believe her. Why didn’t she tell me what was going on?
HANK: She must have been scared.
BO: But she had to know that I could have helped. I would do anything to protect her.
HANK: I know Bo. I know. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?
BO: There is no way that I’ll be able to get any sleep. I’m going to stick around here for a while. Hopefully they’ll be towing the car into the lab pretty soon.
HANK: Suit yourself. I’m going to head home and give Rachel a call. I know that she’ll want to talk.
BO: Give her my love?
HANK: I will. We’ll talk in the morning.
The next morning, Bo is wandering around the accident site. He keeps rehashing the conversation that he had with Nora the day before.
BO (to himself): What weren’t you telling me Red?
Hank drives up in his car and slowly gets out and walks towards Bo.
HANK: I just had to come out here.
BO: Me too. Thought maybe we could see something in the light of day.
HANK: Anything?
BO: Not a damn thing.
HANK: Heard from the lab?
BO: I’m expecting a call any minute. The car got to the lab at about 3:00 this morning. They’ve been working on it since then.
HANK: Did you get any sleep last night?
BO (rubbing his face): No…I need to figure out what’s going on.
HANK: Have you talked to Sam?
BO: No. Ben called and said that they were going to plan a memorial service for tomorrow.
Bo’s phone rings.
BO: Buchanan.
TECH: Bo, it’s Dan.
BO: Dan…what have you found?
DAN: I will give you all of the details later but the brake lines were cut.
BO: Cut? Are you sure?
DAN: There is no doubt that they were cut. This was not an accident. I’m going to write up a full report and you should have it in a couple of hours but I figured you would want to know the basics right away.
BO: Thanks Dan. I appreciate you doing this for me.
DAN: Anything for you Bo. And anything for Nora. Now you have to find the person that did this to her.
BO: I will Dan….I will.
The next day Bo heads over to Nora’s house before the memorial service. Len opens the door. Bo pulls him into a long hug. Len leads him into the living room.
BO: How are you Len?
LEN: How can any man be that has lost his daughter for the second time in as many years? And this time he’s lost his grandson too.
BO: This has to be hard on you and Selma. Rachel and Susannah too.
LEN: It’s been tough on you too. I can tell. Have you gotten any sleep in the past 3 days?
BO (smiling softly): I look that good? Nah…I haven’t really slept. Maybe a catnap or two. I really need to find out who did this to Nora and Matt.
LEN: You promise me that you’ll find out whoever did this to my little girl?
BO: I promise you on everything that I hold dear. I will find them and they will pay.
LEN: I wouldn’t expect anything less from you son. Thank you.
The family attends the memorial service at St. James Church. Andrew presides and gives a glowing eulogy for both Nora and Matthew. Rachel is beside herself with grief over the loss of both her mother and her baby brother. Sam isn’t in too good of shape either. When the service is over, Bo takes a long walk in the park ending up at Nora’s plaque. He sits down on the bench and stares at the plaque.
BO: Ahhh Red….I miss you already. Who am I going to have to eat chili dogs with? Who will I turn to when I need the answer to a music trivia question? I can’t believe this happened again. We were just finding our way with each other again. We could talk to each other about anything. I don’t want to lose my best friend again. Why wouldn’t you tell me what this was about? I promised your dad and I will promise you that I will not rest until I figure out what happened. I love you Red. Don’t ever forget that.
A week later Bo returns to the garret after another long, exasperating day at the office. They were still no closer to finding Nora’s killer. As Bo locks the door behind him he feels a presence in the room. He turns slowly around.
NORA: Hello Bo.
To be continued…..
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