Breaking the Habit - The Devereaux Case Files, Book 7

Chapter 5

Reyes was confused when he got home at four o'clock to find Faith reading a book, Clare talking on the phone to her boyfriend and Dicken nowhere to be found. Faith didn't work anymore, after the youngest kids came along, because she wanted to be there for them when they got home from kindergarten and then school. She had decided to help out Ayah with her story ideas and some irregular hours in the bookshop along with Anita. "Where's Dicken?" Reyes asked. "When did he leave?" He wondered, surprised to hear that Dicken hadn't actually come home.

"He went to the museum with you and I thought he would come home with you." Faith admitted, putting down her book. She suddenly panicked that Dicken had gone back to his old ways and gone off to do something stupid or illegal. But Reyes wasn't so sure. He remembered the way they had left things.

"He was with us for a while but Reed invited him to dinner with Murray and Griffin. Maybe that's tonight? Reed said he wasn't sure when it was." Reyes wondered if Dicken had got a message from Ayah or Reed to say that the dinner party was going to be tonight and he had just forgotten to pass on the message. Faith smiled broadly suddenly.

"Yes." She recalled. "Ayah called and said that the dinner party was tonight and that you and Dicken were invited." She remembered, annoyed with herself for forgetting about it, even if it was just with the surprise of Reyes coming in by himself. She had expected them to walk in together, maybe get changed and then head to dinner together.

"He's maybe gone round early for some reason. He maybe wants to talk over his questions with Reed," He guessed, sure that was the answer for Dicken's absence. He stood there, wondering about it and thinking about whether he should call Reed and make sure that Dicken was with him. Or whether he should trust Dicken no matter what. He was just deciding to give Dicken a break and let him do what needed done, when the front door opened and he walked in the door, looking lost, a little dazed and extremely sad. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Fleur's granddad...he just...died." Dicken explained in shock. Reyes was so surprised that he just stared for a full moment, unable to process what he was saying. Fleur's granddad could only be Abraham, Gino's father because Reyes was sure that Dakota's father had already passed.

"Abraham?" He asked, to make sure that he wasn't misunderstanding.

"Yeah. She...called me, said he'd had a heart attack and everyone was a bit out of it. She asked if I'd go sit with her at the hospital. By the time I got there...he was gone. Everyone was just...and Tony...he...he was screaming and..." Reyes could see that Dicken was falling apart. He was finally accepting what had happened and letting his brain process that someone Fleur loved, someone that the girl he loved cared about, had died. And he had been there. He had been with Fleur when she needed him.

"It's All right. You did the right thing. She needed you." Reyes dragged Dicken into his arms to give him some comfort. Witnessing death was something no teenager should have to do. He could tell that Dicken had been so caught up in comforting Fleur that he hadn't let himself deal with his first ever experience of death. And with that thought, came something else that Reyes thought important to say, even if it did seem inappropriate, considering the timing.

"It might not seem the right time for me to say this son, but I'm not sure the agency is the best choice for you. I know it's sad and you were there and Fleur was upset...but in the agency, you see good people die all the time. You have to stand by and watch as their families grieve, never knowing who they really were. You can never offer them condolences...never try to comfort them. To everyone, you are a ghost." He didn't want to hurt Dicken when he was already holding on tight, crying over Abraham's loss but he felt it was the right time to discuss everything in one go. If Dicken was going to be disappointed about not being suitable to join the agency, it might as well be at a time when he was already upset. There was no point hurting him twice at different times, and allowing him to talk to Murray about something that was impractical.