Permanent Sunset by C. Michele Dorsey Page A

had settled in exchange for a pledge of confidentiality. Excoriated by the experience, Henry gladly pledged his silence.
    David had repented, calling and writing to Henry many times, Sabrina knew. Henry never accepted David’sapologies. “None of it means anything if he’s still with his wife,” he told Sabrina. She couldn’t disagree, but her heart broke for him each time the wound was reopened.
    “Will you go see him?” Sabrina asked as they pulled into an empty parking space near Bar None, the availability of which was a sign of just how late it was.
    “I don’t know,” Henry said grimly.
    A bartender Sabrina didn’t recognize was wiping down the bar where a couple of late stragglers were sitting, nursing their drinks. Before she could ask for Neil, he came up behind her, placing his hand at the base of her spine.
    “Hey Salty, Henry. What can I get you? You guys have had quite the day.” Neil motioned for Mark to come take orders after introducing him to Henry and Sabrina.
    Sabrina opted for a lemon drop, having suffered through almost an entire day without a single lemon. Henry ordered a double Johnny Walker Blue on the rocks, a sign that he was channeling his very serious father, Sabrina knew from experience.
    They took their drinks into a corner booth that had been converted into an office of sorts for Neil, who dropped rattan shades for privacy.
    “Are you guys hungry? I can have Mark throw on a couple of burgers,” Neil offered.
    “God no, we just ingested the entire wedding feast up at Bella Vista,” Henry said, taking a sip of his scotch.
    “How’s it going up there? Is Sean beginning to grasp what’s happened?”
    “Yes. At sunset, when he should have been getting married, he lost it. I think it finally hit him that Elena was gone forever,” Sabrina said.
    “Tough. Cassie hit that point last night at the clinic when they finally cleaned Larry up enough to let her see him to say good-bye,” Neil said.
    Sabrina could see how difficult that must have been for Neil, who seemed to cope with life’s challenges by coming up with ways to beat them. Larry and Elena’s deaths were challenges that no one could beat.
    “We did learn some information that might be useful,” Sabrina said, wanting to inject an iota of optimism into the conversation.
    “Good, because I learned some information that I think you ought to be concerned about,” Neil said.
    Henry looked up. Sabrina sensed his concern, which heightened her own.
    “What’s that?” Henry asked.
    “When I got tossed from Nirvana by that asshole Hodge, I decided to give Lee a call and find out what’s with Hodge,” Neil said.
    Lee was Leon Janquar, the police detective Sabrina had come to cordial terms with and had hoped would be dispatched to Villa Nirvana when she called. Neil and Lee enjoyed a mutual respect and camaraderie.
    “And?” Sabrina asked, knowing what was coming wasn’t good.
    “This is strictly on the QT. Lee stuck out his neck sharing this with me. It seems Detective Hodge is a pretty ambitious guy and is taking advantage of Lee being out for a month for knee surgery. Hodge has been under fire after an investigation into police misconduct in the Virgin Islands. It seems the men under Hodge have a propensity for violence,” Neil said, taking a moment to holler over to Mark to bring him a Guinness.
    “He’s pretty nasty, even to Lucy Detree,” Henry noted. Sabrina was grateful she wasn’t the only one who’d witnessed how Hodge treated Lucy earlier in the evening. After her experience in Nantucket when the police had bullied her before she had hired an attorney, Sabrina could never tell if she was overreacting to cops. But she had seen a public service announcement on local television recently that gave detailed instructions about how to file a complaint against a Virgin Island police officer for misconduct, so she knew the department was in trouble.
    Neil took a swig out of the bottle of Guinness, his favorite,