Chapter 2

Cathy cried hard as she put on the clothes she brought. Tears of sympathy flowed from the others as everyone put on their clothes and gathered those worn for the wedding.

“Should we tell Brad and Abby before they leave?” Tina wondered.

“Good question,” Dan replied, looking at Cathy.

“No, no, don’t tell them about Ben. Let them go on their honeymoon and have fun. They’ll find out about him soon enough,” Cathy replied, wiping away tears.

“Wendy, can you and the girls pick up Danny and Jessica from the sitter’s and bring them to your home?”

“Of course we will.”

“Mom and Dad, I need you to go with me to tell Ben’s parents and to the hospital. I’ll have to take the chance that Ben has never told them about who Jessica’s dad is.”

“Of course we will.”

“Danny and Jessica, how am I going to tell them? Jessica is too young to understand, but Danny is going to want to know where his daddy is.”

“You’ll have to sit down with him and tell him he’s now in heaven and an angel,” Wendy replied.

A quick scan of the room and it was vacated.

“My mom and dad are supposed to spend the day with us,” Wendy mentioned. “I’ll call them to say we had to leave the hotel early and meet them at home.”

“Tell them we checked out of our room early and will see them at home later on,” Dan motioned.

Karen called Brad and Abby, saying they had checked out of their room and were taking care of some personal business. She wished them, on behalf of the family, a happy honeymoon and to call them when they get to Ottawa.

“Cathy, I want to go with you!” Jenny said, holding her hand.

“Honey, the morgue of a hospital is no place for a beautiful young woman like you, alive or dead. This is something I have to do with my parents.”

“I feel I should be doing something. I want to love you and make you feel better.”

“I appreciate that, honey,” she said, hugging her. “I won’t be very good company for a while. What you can do for me, though, is take care of Danny and Jessica for me until we get home.”

“Okay.” Cathy leaned over, giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

Hugs and kisses were shared as they parted in different directions.

“We should let Scott and Vicky know what happened,” Dan mentioned as he drove.

Karen called Vicky to tell her about Ben’s death so they wouldn’t hear about it on the radio or read it in the newspaper. She explained what the officer had told them and would pass on any news. She implored her and Scott not to tell Brad and Abby. “You know her; she’ll cancel their honeymoon and come home. I would understand if Ben had a closer relationship with her and Brad.”

Karen sat in the back seat with Cathy to console her. “It’s all my fault that Ben is dead. I may as well have put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.”

“You didn’t make Ben drive drunk. It was his choice, not yours!” Dan defended.

“Didn’t you say you put a taxi chit in his pocket for him to use?”

“Yes. I should have made sure he took a cab home. If I hadn’t been so blunt about wanting to have a baby with Dad and then choosing you over Ben, this would never have happened.”

“Cathy, you can’t blame yourself for what he did,” Dan defended again. “I know he placed the van keys on the tray along with the other guests. He must have sneaked the keys when Officer Turner wasn’t near them.”

Brad and Abby checked out of their honeymoon suite and walked past two uniformed police officers entering the hotel. “I wonder what they’re here for,” he mentioned.

He placed their bags in the trunk and opened her door. “Are you going to flash that beautiful-looking pussy of yours everywhere we go?”

“I’ll be a good girl and only wear panties when you meet the Senators staff,” she grinned.

“Ready to start our lives together, Mrs. Hayward?” He asked, sliding behind the steering wheel.

“I certainly am, Mr. Hayward,” she replied, flashing that wickedly sexy smile and kissing him.

Dan drove north on North Front Street. “Dad, I’ve got to see it! I’ve got to see where Ben died!”

He turned right onto Bell Boulevard. He stayed in the right lane of the four-lane road, inspecting the edge for any signs of the accident. Just before reaching the bridge that crosses the Moira River, he spotted deep impressions and track marks in the gravelled shoulder.