Chapter Seventy

Stephen

Clint and Mia had taken Trinity outside to help her relax, and I had tried to get more information from Arlo, but he didn’t have much more to offer.

I thanked him for accompanying my wife today and saw him out. Then, I returned to the trio outside. By this time, Nate had made his way over to his mother and was sitting on her lap.

Stephen - Hey, kiddo, give me my wife back.

Nate - My mom.

Stephen - My wife first.

Nate - My mom second.

Trinity - Awww, are you mommy's little protector?

Mia - That boy is fiercely protective of you, girl.

Trinity - Don't I know it.

I sat down next to her and wrapped my arm around her, pulling her closer.

Nate - Get your own mom, dad. This one's mine.

Clint - Hahaha, told you. Leave the woman alone.

Stephen - Bug off already, ratbag.

I grabbed my boy, tickling him as he chuckled. I walked him back over to the other kids playing. He soon forgot about us, and I returned to Trinity, worried about what had happened and eager to help her through it. As I sat down next to her, she looked at me and placed her hand on my thigh. I reached out and brushed her hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear.

Stephen - Hi.

Trinity - Hi.

We smiled at each other, taking a moment to appreciate the connection between us. I could see in her eyes that my wife was back—the woman who had stolen my soul many moons ago, the woman who had made me whole again.

Stephen - Welcome back, I missed you.

Trinity - I missed you.

Stephen - What happened down there? Are you okay?

Trinity - Oh shit! That's right! It's him, our gut instinct was right. It is Walis. This goes all the way to the top.

Clint - He didn't hurt you, did he?

Trinity - He grabbed my arm, but I hit my own head when I pulled away from him. It was what he said.

Stephen - What did he say, baby?

Trinity - He said he knows everything, and he knows how to get through you right to the top, to Philippe.

Stephen - What! He said Philippe, or he just knows how to get to the top?

Trinity - He said Phil's name, babe.

Stephen - Did he say anything else?

Trinity - He said you were much easier to control when you were just a kid doing drops at Frank's Convenience store on 6th. I don't know if that is of any relevance?

At that, Clint and I both sat up straight.

Clint - Say that again.

Trinity - He said Stephen was much easier to control as a kid doing drops at Frank's on 6th.

I immediately jumped up and started pacing, lost in my thoughts. How? How could he know that? Had he really been watching me this far back, all this time, he knew? And he did nothing? But why? That doesn't make any sense. I was trying to go over everything I could remember from growing up, completely lost in my thoughts trying to understand that statement when I felt my wife's hand on my arm.

Trinity - Stephen.

I shook my head, focusing my eyes again, and saw Trinity had stood up.

Trinity - Baby, talk to me, talk to us.

Clint - Let us help, bro. What are you thinking?

Stephen - He knew all this time, but never said anything, never did anything? Why? It doesn't make sense.

Clint - How old were you when you first went to Frank's? I'm guessing what? Around eight years old doing your parents' drops?

Stephen - Yeah, about then, mate, easily.

Clint - And that was basically the norm for us until what, 18 when we went off to college and started running it differently.

Stephen - Came back and then we invested into Capulet as a front.

Trinity - And how long was Capulet used as the front before Mike came along?

Mia - A good three years, easily, I would say, guys.

Clint - No less than that for sure.

Trinity - Then the two years on top, so what, five years on the books, so to speak, through Capulet?

Stephen - Yeah.

Mia - You guys always had the same clientele, careful on who you took on new.

Clint - Let's write down everyone we can remember and when they came on.

We spent the next few hours writing down everyone we remembered, their regular orders, any change of owners, change in order patterns to see if anyone was increasing and purchasing more frequently. Clint noticed something.

Clint - Remember when Dave mentioned Brando's wanted to increase? Reckon it's worth having a chat with them, see if they were leaned on too?

Trinity - Yes, because remember how insistent Mike was about my relationship with Stephen ruining what we thought was the sting operation.

Stephen - We'll get Dave to speak to them. He took the message originally.

Mia - I think that's a good idea. They may also feel more inclined to speak to him, having been their regular contact.

Stephen - Baby, I'm just going to call Dave and have a spliff. Do you mind?

Trinity - Not at all. I'm going to make a cup of tea while you do.

Mia - I'll help.

The girls headed inside while Clint joined me in the yard for a smoke while I called Dave. I filled Dave in on Trinity getting her memory back and what had happened today with Chief Walis. Based on that, Dave agreed with what we deduced about Brandos and thought it was worth having the chat also. He also mentioned we should run the idea by Benji and Lachie, which was a fair comment given the magnitude of this now.

Clint and I headed back over to check on the kids after we finished and got them to come inside for a bit before they overheated and have some water. We got them settled with some drinks in the lounge with the TV on before heading back out to join our wives.

I sat down next to Trinity while we all had a drink and got lost in our own thoughts. I felt Trinity curl into me more, and I looked over at her and saw her beautiful face staring back up at me, the happiness radiating from her. I brought my hand up and softly stroked her cheek before bringing my hand down to her stomach, stroking our baby tucked away safely inside her, as I kissed her lips gently.

As I pulled away, I ran my cheek along hers before whispering.

Stephen - I can't wait to take my wife to bed tonight, knowing you are finally back. I missed you so much.

Trinity - How much, daddy?

When I see her smile up at me, I take her lips in mine again, and soon our tongues are dancing together. Just as soon as they found each other, she pulled away, leaving me begging for more. As I opened my eyes, I recognized the look in her eyes.

Stephen - What? What idea did you get now?

Clint - Hahaha, I see you got your brain source back with your memory?

Trinity - Would you be serious for once in your life, Barney?

Mia - HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Stephen couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, God, I love you, woman! I’m so happy to have you back.”

Stephen’s curiosity was piqued. “Now, what’s that look about, little momma?”

Trinity brought up a memory. “Remember on our honeymoon, baby? You told me about that cop who came to tell you that your parents were dead. You and Clint were there.”

Stephen nodded. “That’s right, babe. What about it?”

Trinity continued, “You were just kids pretending to be adults, right?”

Clint chimed in, “We were maybe nine or ten at most.”

Stephen agreed, “Definitely no older than ten.”

Trinity asked, “What did the cop do?”

Clint was confused. “What do you mean?”

Suddenly, Mia gasped. “Oh my God!”

Trinity checked in with her husband. “You with me, babe?”

Mia was excited. “Yes!”

Trinity explained her thoughts. “What did the cop do when he found two kids, alone, with no adults around? You were essentially abandoned because he wouldn’t have known who you two were. You could have been brothers.”

Stephen recalled, “He told us my parents were dead, asked if we needed anything. When we said no, he left.”

Mia was shocked. “A cop left two kids who he knew had no adult supervision and just walked away?”

Clint was just as surprised. “Yeah?”

Stephen had a realization. “Holy shit!”

Trinity asked again, “You with me now, baby?”

Stephen confirmed, “I’m with you, momma.”

Clint was still lost. “Wait, I’m not.”

Trinity teased him. “Come on, Barney, get with the program.”

Mia couldn’t help but laugh.

Trinity continued, “If a cop finds two abandoned kids, he should have taken you into protective custody and notified OCFS. Knowing your parents were dead, you would have been placed into foster care or relatives would have been found. Instead, he walked away. Now we find out the police have known all along what Stephen and you were doing.”

Clint finally understood. “Holy fuck! Chief Walis was the cop that came to the door that day?”