The Mind Virus

Chapter 18 - Part 1

"How's it going there, champ?"

The flashlight in Eddie's hand turned toward Harriett. "No way! It can't be," he said, evidently awed beyond belief.

"And here I was scared you wouldn't remember me."

"Not remember you? Not a day goes by that I don't think of you. What are you doing all the way out here? I didn't think anyone visited this part of the woods except for me."

"I kinda wanted to meet with you in a private place, and what better place than right here? I know it's your favorite haunt."

"This is insane. I mean, I'm a little bit creeped out that you followed me all the way out here, but you always were a weird one. Why didn't you just pick up a damn phone?" Eddie laughed. "We have so much to catch up on. How have you been?"

He was like an excited child. Harriett knew she had to tell him why she was here eventually, but she thought it better to keep him in the dark just a little while longer. Let him enjoy the moment.

"I've been all right, you know. Mostly just working here and there."

"So what's brought you here? Are you in the area for work?"

"I actually am."

"You're working a case here?"

"You could say that."

"This is insane," Eddie repeated. "All these years and not so much as a phone call or an e-mail, and suddenly here you are out of nowhere." The dim light couldn't hide his smile disappearing. "I'm actually a little bit upset. Why did you never call me?"

"Because there was nothing to say. You remember our last conversation, don't you?"

"All right, things got a little heated, but is that what this is about? Were you willing to throw away everything we had over one disagreement?"

"It wasn't just a disagreement, Eddie. Our lives were moving in opposite directions. It would never have worked." Harriett looked at the ground, a wave of regret going through her. "I just thought it would be better if we both just moved on."

"And that's why you had to cut off all communication? The only news I heard from you was via Mark and Tommy, and even they said they hardly ever hear from you. What happened to the dream team?"

"Time happened. Things change. It's just how it is."

Eddie's eyes narrowed. "You're not here to talk about the good old days, are you?"

"I'm so sorry, Eddie. I never wanted it to be this way."

Eddie exhaled. "I didn't think it was true. I'd heard rumors that your private investigator career had taken a sordid turn, but I just couldn't believe it."

"We do what we must."

"Killing people, Harriett? Is that what you 'must' do? You were a rising star in every job you had, or so I'm told; God knows you never bothered to update me directly."

"I didn't choose this. It's just where fate took me."

"Of course you chose it. You were always a conundrum. I never understood how that brain of yours worked. You always puff and boast about how you blaze your own trail and make your own life, then when it's convenient, you say it's all fate or destiny or whatever you want to call it and that it's entirely out of your hands. It's the money, isn't it? You never could let go of your lust for the rich man's gold."

"Don't quote Skynyrd to me, Eddie. You don't know what it's like. You don't know what I've been through." Harriett bit her lip. "Tell me you don't honestly believe I get any satisfaction out of my work."

"You must get some out of it, else you wouldn't be doing it. I have bad days too, you know, but in the end, I know I'm serving the greater good, and that's what keeps me able to get up in the morning, get dressed, and go to work. You can't be too hung up about your dirty deeds if you're still doing them."

"I'm surprised you haven't asked yet."

"Asked what?"

"Why you?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, I don't suppose it does, but you have a right to know."

"So tell me then. Did I give a speeding ticket to the son of a Saudi oil sheikh?"

"It's the suicides. You got a little too close to the truth, and my employers want all loose ends tied up."

"The fucking suicides?" Eddie was incredulous. "I put those cases away ages ago. I was told by my commander that the department didn't have the resources to investigate deaths where no crime had occurred, so I let it go."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"And did you believe that no crime had occurred?"

"That's a moot point, isn't it? I've got cases up the ass. I can't get emotionally involved in one string of cases at the expense of not doing my job with all the others that are piling on my desk."

"Perhaps not, but you've seen too much."