‘You shouldn’t be too disheartened. Even if Cunningham continues to walk free for the rest of his life and we fail to bring Lincoln home. You’ve achieved a lot in your thirty years. You’ve ensured a lot of bad people are behind bars and now they can’t hurt others. Also I read about you online, you were in the Springfield Times, you saved the President’s life. How many people can say that?’
‘But this case is more personal than that. You’ve seen my name plastered all over Lincoln’s grave and the emails and letters I’ve received. Whoever is doing this has a personal vendetta against me. I need to find him.’
‘Talking about that, please don’t be offended by my suggestion. I’m merely querying.’ Vanessa spoke with caution. ‘With the symbol being known to be associated with white supremacists and having a personal vendetta against you. Do you think it could have anything to do with Thomas?’
Darnell’s eyes widened as he took in her suggestion. He wanted to snap at her but he couldn’t help but understand her reasoning after all he had shared with her.
‘No. I know it’s stereotypical for a father to believe his son is innocent, but Thomas couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this. He’s wanted a reaction out of me for a long time. He’s got that now; I threw him out of the house. Plus he’s really not smart enough for this. He knows jack shit about Lincoln, despite me trying to ram his heritage down his throat over the years. He just didn’t want to know. Aaron always did, he loves history. But Thomas? He couldn’t pick Lincoln out of a line up.’
‘Kids are more intuitive than you think. He must have picked up something over the years. I tried my best to ignore all the lessons my dad gave me growing up, but here I am, working for the government just like he is.’
‘Yeah but Thomas is a good kid deep down. I’ve seen him with his girlfriend. He looks after her baby all the time and it’s not even his. I can see he really cares for them despite my distaste for her. She’s such a trashy girl. Anyway that’s enough dissecting my family for one evening, I need the rest room.’
As Darnell walked away, Vanessa opened the notebook on her tablet and typed in Thomas Jackson’s name as a reminder to follow up on her suspicions. Something bugged her about him and she was sure he was somehow involved, even if his own father was too dim-witted to see it. On his return, Darnell suggested they call it a night. It was getting late and they had an early start if they were ever going to get that motor fixed and back on the road. They stood up, both feeling a little tipsy as the alcohol rushed to their heads. Vanessa fell back into her chair and they broke into laughter. Darnell, a gentleman, helped her up and gave her his arm as they made their way to the elevator.
‘I had a really nice time with you tonight,’ Vanessa said almost coquettishly.
‘You don’t need to sound so surprised,’ Darnell replied.
‘I’m really starting to enjoy working with you. I do have a question though.’ Vanessa took a deep breath before turning to her colleague. ‘Why are you so damn hard on me? You’ve undermined me the whole time. Now I see this softer side of you. I just want to know why you’re so determined for me to fail at this task when we’re meant to be working together to find Lincoln.’
‘If I’m being really honest, I wanted this case to myself,’ Darnell explained, before clearing his throat. ‘I could retire happy if I solved it myself. I didn’t want to share the glory. But I know now that I can’t do that without you.’
‘Well I’m glad I can be of help.’ Jamison smiled and placed her head on the arm which he’d offered as support.
‘That’s not the only reason,’ Jackson said reluctantly. ‘I think you’re really good at your job and yet you’ve been a detective for what, two minutes? You make me feel old and useless. I wish I had your intuition now, never mind when I first started out. I felt threatened and I’m sorry.’
‘Hey, listen, I’m learning a lot off you too. You’re teaching me new stuff every day. Believe me, I’m guessing a lot of the time. I look up to you to ensure I’m getting it right and I wouldn’t make a move without your say-so. Would an expert really require that much reassurance? Now come on, let’s hug this out.’
They reached their rooms and embraced each other, pleasantly surprised by their newfound friendship. Vanessa’s eyes glazed over. Like a windscreen wiper, the story of Darnell’s past had wiped away her distorted image which she had built up of him and now she saw him in a whole new light. A pleasant light. She pulled back and locked lips with her colleague.
After a few seconds
