The Eustice Murders (Complete)

*Chapter 38 *

For Hank, it had felt like an eternity. In actuality, it had been about ninety minutes or so since the guys had left when captain Beesley's car pulled back into the station. The staff all gathered together and crowded around the doors and windows, looking on as captain Beesley slowly pulled the car up in front of the building. Sarah Brookes had collected Hank and escorted him to the main doorway. She had intended to leave the building and watch from the parking lot itself but as they had got to the door, Hank's body had frozen up in fear over who was about to step out from the back of the vehicle.

The tension raised as Sam got out of the passenger side and took hold of the back door handle. One or two gasps could be heard as the door slowly opened. Hank's legs went limp, and he cried out loud as Beverly stepped out of the car into the parking lot, quickly running towards him upon first sight of her husband. The station staff cheered and applauded as the two embraced each other. Sarah Brookes walked over towards Sam, applauding him personally.

"Well done," she told him. "Great job. But where's erm..."

"Armand Hitzfeld has been taken into FBI custody," Sam told her. "The captain and I will go and question him tomorrow. We didn't want to bring him back here with both Hank and Beverly about. We figured it would be better for everybody if he went elsewhere."

"Yes, of course, good thinking," she smiled. "Well done," she repeated once more. "Although I'll be sorry to see you leave though," she whispered, leaning in closer.

"Yeah, me too," Sam replied, putting one hand on the small of her back, both of them holding eye contact.

"Drinks tonight?" someone shouted.

"Oh, hell yeah," Hank nodded, slightly loosening his hold on Beverly, although not letting her go entirely. "Besides I'm gonna need to raise a toast to my buddy here," he added, pointing towards Sam. "Not only the best damn detective I've ever known but the best friend I could ever wish for." Sam raised his palms as if he was going to protest but Hank continued before he had the chance. "I'm not going to forget this buddy. What you've done for me here today, for us," he pulled Beverly in tight to himself again on that second part, kissing the top of her head, "I will never forget."

"Here, here," Beverly added herself, and quite possibly for the first time since they had arrived the entire station was smiling together.

The following day Hank remained at home with Beverly on compassionate leave while Sam tied up all the final pieces of paperwork. He and captain Beesley also went to question their detainee. Upon their return, the station had dropped silent with every pair of eyes fixated on the two of them.

"All yours," captain Beesley said, offering Sam the floor.

"Ok, well, first of all, I would like to thank everyone for all the help that Hank and I have received during our stay here. I can now confirm that at eleven twenty-five this morning Armand Hitzfeld was officially charged with one count of abduction and ten counts of premeditated murder; it's over and the case is officially closed." The place erupted into loud cheers and celebrations. "You can now finally get rid of us," Sam joked as he made his way around, shaking hands with everyone.

After a couple of days off Sam, Hank, and Beverly all returned to the station. They returned the squad car and the apartment keys while they also made their final farewells before captain Beesley was to drop them back off at the airport. Even agent Masters had showed up to wish them well.

They were delighted to hear that the FBI sting had run like clockwork and that every single one of the trafficking rings was now in custody and extremely unlikely to ever walk the streets again. It hadn't been necessary, in the end, but Sarah Brookes' plan had also gone to perfection providing the FBI with a cast iron case against the ringleader, something they were all very proud of. Everyone was mingling and chatting away when suddenly the place fell quiet.

Sam turned around to see an aging gentleman standing before him. "Sam Johnson? Hank Harvey?" he asked.

"I'm Sam, yes, and this is my partner Hank," he told the older man, gesturing with his hands.

"I'm so glad I got to meet you guys. Thank you SO much," he told them. "Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Carl Mitchell; I worked here about fifteen years ago," he explained. "I just wanted to come down and shake the hands of the guys who finally caught the.... the killer," he paused slightly before finishing his sentence.

Sam shook his hand. "Detective Mitchell. I know the name. It's an honor to meet you sir."

"Oh, believe me, the honor is mine," Carl Mitchell replied with a large happy smile.

Hank came over and put his arms around him in a manly hug. "I'm so sorry for everything you have been through," he told him. "I was scarily close to the same thing but thankfully I had the ending you were dreaming of."

Carl Mitchell nodded his head. "I'm glad one of us did, detective. Maybe now I can sleep a little better knowing that it's all over," Carl said as he and Hank were now shaking hands.

"Well, I don't want to break the party up, but I believe you three have a plane to catch," captain Beesley announced. One final wave and they left the station for the last time.

"You know what still bothers me?" Sam asked as the luggage was loaded into the trunk of the car. "That computer file. How on earth did he get hold of our address?"

"Yes, that still worries me actually," Captain Beesley responded. "I might still look into that one myself." Hank and Beverly got into the back seat of the car with a large stack of travel brochures to peruse during the trip home while Sam got into the passenger seat. "Oh, I got you some reading material as well," Beesley told him, handing him a copy of the local newspaper.

Sam couldn't help but smile as he unfolded it. The front cover was dominated by a large picture of Armand Hitzfeld. The main headline read 'Pool ball killer caught' with a tagline underneath it reading, 'Inside: the full secrets of The Eustice Murders'.