Undecided...: The Van Helsen Series, #9

Undecided...

The Van Helsen Series, Volume 9

L Tait

Published by Perry Williams, 2018.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

UNDECIDED...

First edition. July 30, 2018.

Copyright © 2018 L Tait.

Written by L Tait.

Also by L Tait

The Van Helsen Series

Frenemies

Home Truths

The Reunion

Loose Cannon

Satan's Game

Artistic Differences

Keeping Secrets

Identity Crisis

Undecided...

Standalone

If Only!

School Daze!

Random Quest

I'm Not As Green As I'm Cabbage Looking!

The Work Experience

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Also By L Tait

Undecided... (The Van Helsen Series, #9)

Also By L Tait

Chapter One

Okay, so, how many seventeen year old girls do you know, who, (in no particular order), could say that they'd fallen in love with a man almost double their age, faced far too many dangerous situations to count, encountered some really nasty people along the way, seduced a high profile pop star (all in the name of research), and risked their lives on several occasions?

Not many, I'll bet.

But...if I were to tell you that everything that had happened to me, was due to, what I believed was a very worthy cause, the man I loved, then, I'm sure that you would understand.

Especially, if you knew Kris Van Helsen.

Who was, before I became his wife, an undercover Norwegian Federal Agent, working on a case.

Which was how we first met.

Our relationship, and inevitable marriage, had taken us on a roller coaster ride, full of twists and turns, with each and every one of them testing its stability and strength to the limit.

And...bizarrely, these trials and tribulations had made our relationship even stronger.

Some would put all of our unfortunate misfortunes down to good, old fashioned, bad luck, but, my older sister, Holly, had a much more logical explanation.

The Van Helsen Curse.

While we had experienced more than our fair share of bad luck over the past year, in the course of our relationship, there were still some positive aspects of our lives that we were able to fully appreciate.

My husband, at almost thirty years old, had gone from being a newly qualified Federal Agent with the CIB (Criminal Investigations Bureau), in his native Norway, to becoming Commissioner of Police for the entire country, the position having been made unexpectedly available due to the indiscretions of the previous Commissioner, and Kris's heroic (but, quoting his father, Vincent, stupid and thoughtless) actions in Holmenkollen, which had prompted the authorities to put him forward for recommendation, to the government. After some consultation with me, and a great deal of consideration, he'd taken the job, and his vision for a corruption free police force for his country could finally be a reality, instead of just a possibility.

And, we also had a daughter, Jana, who was growing up fast. She was almost eight months old, and becoming more like her father with each passing day.

While Kris relentlessly strove to overhaul the country's police force, by aiming to make it free from scandal and underhanded dealings, the same could not be said for his personal life, which had, in the past, been filled with more scandal and gossip than the average tabloid.

Before, and after he met me, Kris's life had been a subject of endless fascination to the nation's press and media.

Vincent, his father, was a famous gardening expert, who was much sought after, and starred in his own T.V show, Van Helsen's Hagen.

So, growing up as the son of a celebrity, it was only natural that he would also receive attention from such quarters.

His younger sister, Anoushka, was a highly respected Archaeology expert, and she, along with her fiance, Henrik Wegersland, head curator of the museum in Oslo, had recently put together an Exhibition of paintings and artefacts.

The fact that the Exhibition was still running, two months after it had been officially opened, and continued to draw huge crowds of tourists and locals alike, was irrefutable proof of its success.

Meanwhile, Kris and I, after spending some time on holiday in England, about a month ago, had returned home, to Oslo, where we could hopefully pick up from where we'd left off.

The holiday had been my husband's idea, as we'd recently experienced a terrible loss, and this had been his way of taking our minds off it.

Only...it had turned out to be anything but a holiday.

The Van Helsen Curse had struck again, and I'd found myself in a situation where I could have lost Kris and Jana forever.

But, thanks to a noble action on Kris's part, that was something that I would never have to endure.

However, it was the person I'd found myself involved with, during our ill fated holiday, who was the centre of attention at this moment in time.

Morten Hardanger.

He had been in the same place as Kris and I, and had been found guilty of being involved in a heinous murder plot.

My husband, in his newly appointed position as Commissioner, could officially make him pay for what Morten had done, and, not just because he was jealous of him.

But then, even though Morten was a huge pop star, and every bit as good looking and successful as my husband, I knew that Kris was the better man.

It hadn't helped that I'd been attracted to Morten, and the feeling had been mutual.

And, during that holiday, I'd done something terrible.

Something...unforgivable.

I had cheated on Kris.

With his sworn enemy.

Morten.

But...I could justify my awful actions.

Kris hadn't been entirely honest with me about a highly sensitive matter, the matter that had brought us to England.

And, in a blind rage, I'd stormed out of the hotel, very early in the morning, hoping that a walk would help me to cool off, get my head together.

Instead, purely by chance, I met Morten.

Still consumed with anger, I'd allowed myself to be seduced by him, on the beach. We'd mated like wild animals, my grief and fury momentarily forgotten as we'd shared a very primal and passionate encounter.

Which I'd later regretted.

Kris knew nothing about this, and I felt confident that, as Morten and I hadn't taken any precautions,given the nature of my internal injuries, nothing would come of it.

And Kris would never know.

Because...I would never tell him.

But, I had vastly underestimated the extent of my internal injuries, as a result of the accident.

Over the past month, I'd been feeling really peculiar, but the symptoms were similar to that of being pregnant.

Only...I couldn't be.

Could I?

On that fateful morning, when I'd cheated on Kris, hed pulled no punches, and had more or less told me, in no uncertain terms, if I were to fall pregnant, the pregnancy would never progress to full term.

So, for now, I had to wait and see.

After everything that had happened, Kris and I had immediately cancelled the rest of our holiday, and come home early.

Kris had the somewhat unenviable task of arresting, and charging Morten with, among other things, conspiring to kill his fiancee, Marsha, for what Morten believed to be an unforgivable crime.

Marsha had deliberately lied to him, to protect the unborn child of a man with whom she was still in love.

By claiming that Morten was the father of the child.

And Morten had sought retribution by enlisting the help of the man in question, who'd had a history of criminal activity.

Which, until recently, had been kept under wraps.

Miraculously, due to a case of mistaken identity, Marsha was still alive, and, when the news reached Norway, that her fiance had been accused of plotting to kill her, she ended the engagement, vowing, in a television interview on NRK, the country's major T.V channel, that she would, 'wait for the man she truly loved,' who was, at present, serving a life sentence in prison, the price he had to pay for making a noble sacrifice for her.

A noble sacrifice, that had saved her life.

Chapter Two

What a sorry state of affairs,I thought to myself, as, one morning, a few weeks later, while seated at the kitchen table, I unfolded the early edition of Dagbladet, as this publication had been granted exclusive rights to cover the Morten Hardanger Trial.

Kris had already left for work, to prepare the groundwork for Morten's hearing, the date of which was still to be arranged.

Jana was asleep in her cot, tired out after I'd taken her round the park, as I did most mornings. Snoopy, Kris's dog, was usually part of our little entourage, but he was currently on loan at the family home in Trondheim. Vincent and Helena were away filming for a new series of Van Helsen's Hagen, and their housekeeper didn't like to be alone in the house, so Kris and I agreed that Snoopy could keep her company till they got back.

Taking a sip from my mug of freshly made green tea, I reflected upon everything that had happened.

How had things come to this?

To think that, a year ago, I was just plain old Hazel Woodford, a sixteen year old schoolgirl, with very little to worry or upset me.

And now, I was a seventeen year old wife and mother, married to a wealthy, powerful man, who was also a celebrity, because of his famous father.

Love makes you do some pretty strange things.

But...it also makes you realise what's really important.

What really matters.

Kris and Jana meant the world to me.

Of that there was no doubt in my mind whatsoever.

However, when I read the headline of the newspaper, doubts started creeping into my mind, jockeying for position, as I recalled what had happened, just over a month ago, during our holiday.

How close I had come to losing my husband.

And, possibly, my life.

All because of the man who was pictured beneath the headline on the front page.

I almost dropped the mug I was holding as the unwelcome reality of the situation sank in.

Above the photograph (which had clearly been sourced from an endless supply Dagbladet no doubt, had stored away in its archives), was the following sentence.

Pop Star Denies Involvement In Murder Plot.

Promptly setting the mug down on the table, I read the headline again, just to make sure that I wasn't seeing things.

But...it was there, as plain as day.

Pop Star Denies Involvement In Murder Plot.

Now...this was unexpected.

The article accompanying the headline and photograph, was as follows.

Morten Hardanger, best known as lead singer of Tre Norske Nordmenn, having recently been detained at police headquarters amid rumours of being charged with conspiracy to murder his fiancee, Marsha Beslauer, has vehemently denied the charges brought against him. In a statement issued yesterday by his spokesperson, and bodyguard, Maxwell Calenstein, Herr Hardanger was 'determined to clear his name, and prove his innocence.'

Commissioner Van Helsen, who is leading the investigation, was not available for comment,

According to sources, the hearing is rumoured to be scheduled for the end of this month.

At this point, I threw down the newspaper in disgust.

Considering that Kris and I knew the truth about Morten Hardanger's bizarre plan to rid himself of who he believed to be a traitorous fiancee, and that Marsha's actions had prompted him to react in the way that he had, it seemed odd that, all of a sudden, he was retracting his confession.

I had an unpleasant feeling that, once again, Morten had some sinister motive as the driving force behind his retraction.

Instinct alone told me that.

It then occurred to me that, perhaps, Morten was attempting to claim that it was our word against his, and that, it was also possible, given our past associations with him, that, with my husband leading the investigation, Morten might have been trying to get him replaced by another officer.

An officer he could easily charm and manipulate.

All it would take would be for Morten to prove that Kris was jealous of him, and that this rivalry could only prejudice the outcome of his hearing.

But, I mused, resting my chin on my hand, gazing out of the kitchen window, there were also the testimonies of DI Sharkey and DCI Mulligan, who'd been with Kris at the hospital, and had also heard Clifford's confession, and how Morten had blackmailed him into committing murder, to save the woman he loved.

Marsha Beslauer.

Surely, that was enough evidence to get Morten locked up in Staten for at least a few years.

Wasn't it?

I had no idea what Morten was up to, but, I knew he was up to something.

Chapter Three

It was while I was trying to work out why he was doing this, that another, much more disturbing thought crossed my mind.

Thinking back to the day of the accident, two months ago, and Morten's reaction to what had happened, and then matching it up with his seemingly ridiculous claim (which he'd made after our unexpected torrid tryst on the less than glamorous location of Blackpool beach), I wondered whether he'd been genuinely telling the truth.

That twins were genetically linked to his father's side of the family.

At the time, before the accident, I'd been expecting twins, but, Sebastian, having conducted some tests, had stated outright that my husband was the father.

Now I was beginning to have serious doubts.

Was Morten messing with me?

Or, was Sebastian the person I should have been suspicious about?

Either way, I needed answers.

And, I knew that I had to talk to Sebastian.

Sooner, rather than later.

But, I didn't want Kris to know of my intentions.

This was a problem only I could solve.

Alone.

Then, I had an idea.

Maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't have to talk to Sebastian, who would naturally assume that I was questioning his professional judgement.

And, I didn't want that.

Not after everything he'd done for Kris and I.

The previous owners of our house had converted the attic into an office space, which my husband had immediately taken over as his study, which already had all of the very latest technology installed, home computer, modem, printer, and, more importantly, internet access, complete with a wireless router.

Kris had also recently purchased a laptop, which he took to work with him.

He'd discovered that it was a useful piece of equipment, and was always trying to encourage me to get better acquainted with it. I actually had a basic understanding of how the internet worked, mostly through my husband's impromptu technology tutorials.

Admittedly, I'd initially been bored senseless by them.

Looking after Jana and generally keeping the house in order usually took up, near enough, most of my day.

Now I was glad he'd shown me how to 'surf the net', to quote him directly.

With all of that knowledge readily available, literally, at my fingertips, it wouldn't take long to look up anything I could find on Morten, and, possibly, his family, without needlessly contacting a busy medical professional like Sebastian, over something so seemingly trivial.

Unless I had good reason to.

Curiosity, as the age old expression went, killed the cat.

But, this particular cat wasn't going to be put off by that.

Knowing the truth had suddenly become very important to me.

And, it was this need to know that made me vacate my present position, and instead, make my way upstairs to the third floor, and a whole world of knowledge that I could easily access, without raising any unwanted questions or suspicions from my husband.

Or...could I?

Chapter Four

I seated myself in front of the computer, and stared blankly at the monitor, with its screen saver image of, bizarrely, the comic strip characters of Spy Vs Spy, as featured in MAD magazine, standing back to back, the black and white spies each holding a bomb in their hands. I guessed that the white and black figures were supposed to represent the colours of the pieces used in chess, and the cartoon strip reflected the game in that their aim was to strategically outsmart each other.

I could see why it had appealed to Kris.

It served as a means of reducing the responsibility of his job, as Commissioner of Police, to a mere triviality or joke.

Although, given everything that had happened before and since his promotion, it was anything but a joke.

So, I decided to put all of that to the back of my mind, and thought more about how I was going to gain access to the information I so desperately needed.

Unfortunately, because I'd had no time to really pay attention when Kris was trying to engage me in the wonders of the internet, or, the Information Superhighway as he'd called it, I realised that I had absolutely no idea what the password was.

So...I really had to think here.

Think about who had set it, who, in this instance, had been Kris.

And what mattered most to him.

Because, I reasoned, silently, wasn't that the logic behind the choosing of passwords?

To select a name, place, anything that meant something to the person who had set it?

I sat back in the chair, and closed my eyes for a few moments, mentally emptying my mind. It had been a technique which had worked well for me in the past, whenever I was stressed out, or had a problem I desperately needed a solution for.

Then, it came to me.

But...surely my husband wouldn't be that transparent.

That obvious.

Would he?

Taking a very deep breath, I typed in my name.

Incorrect Password flashed up on the computer screen in front of me.

I swore softly under my breath.

I tried again, this time, typing in Jana.

Again, the infuriating words, Incorrect Password, appeared on the screen.

Now, I had to admit that I was stumped, and yet, certain that I meant the world to Kris,