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Previous Chapters
Recap of what’s happened so far and character summary
Looking for the beginning? Chapter One

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED and SEVEN

Wednesday afternoon — 4:47 p.m. P.T./ 5:47 p.m. MT

Ava was sitting on the couch in the living area just inside the sliding windows. Seth held out a hand to her. She looked at his hand for a moment, then took it. He led her back to their bedroom.

“I don’t know when Lizzie will be home from therapy,” Seth said. “They usually get dinner, but I know Schmidty wants to know what the producers decided. They should be here any minute.”

She took a seat on the bed and he sat down next to her. When he turned, she got up and sat in one of the chairs at the small table near the windows.

“Do you mind?” Ava asked. “I don’t want to talk about sex and my Dad and… whatever… there where we…”

Seth got up and went to sit across from her.

“I’m not sure where to start,” Seth said.

“Was my father… I mean…” Ava said.

“Your father owns rentals around town, mostly in that neighborhood, the Mayfair. Have you been there?”

Ava shook her head.

“They were built by the Air Force for housing near the end of World War II,” Seth said. “They… oh whatever, last I knew about it he owns three or four in that neighborhood.”

“And the prostitutes?”

Seth nodded.

“How… I mean…”

Seth sighed. She looked up at him. She reached out her hand and he took it.

“I don’t know what you want to know,” Seth said. “I don’t know if I have the answers you’re looking for.”

“I want to know what you know.”

“What I know… okay,” Seth said. “When I met your father, he was a young prosecutor hoping to become a DA. He wasn’t big or tough or… I’d been touring, writing music, making money… I’d already been to war and back. And Mitch was alive.”

Feeling her eyes on his face, he glanced at her.

“I always had the sense that your father was going places,” Seth said. “And that he didn’t mind doing what had to be done to get there.”

“You didn’t like him,” Ava said.

“I wish you’d met Mitch,” Seth said. “From the moment I met Mitch, he was my best friend. There I was, this weird kid that had lived on my own in New York City since the time I was ten. I bought my own clothes, cars, whatever – and I did what I wanted to do. Until Mitch got his driver’s license, I had a driver. And Mitch was my friend.”

“Oh, I see what you’re saying,” Ava said. “You had all this life experience, money, fame, went to Vietnam, and were best friends with the super popular Mitch. Even though my Dad was just starting out, he acted like he was something special.”

Seth nodded.

“I can see that,” Ava said.

“He worked his way up at the DA’s office while Mitch and I were working our way into becoming detectives,” Seth said. “Then we’d see him here or there. This case, that case.”

“You didn’t like him.”

“I didn’t think about him,” Seth said. “Think about it. How many prosecutors can you identify by name?”

“Two? Maybe three?” Ava shrugged.

“That’s what I mean,” Seth said. “He was just there. We were just there. The first time I really noticed your Dad was… and maybe this is what you want to know… I don’t know.”

Seth sighed.

“You know Tanesha right?” Seth asked.

Ava nodded.

“Her mother took a job as a secretary for the District Attorney,” Seth said. “The first black District Attorney in Denver. He was appointed in 1983. He hired Yvonne as his secretary. I think that’s where your Dad met her.”

“Tanesha’s mom?”

Thinking, Seth fell silent. He nodded to himself, and then looked up at her.

“Yvonne is a tremendous human being,” Seth said. “Gorgeous, more beautiful than any model or actress, any I’ve seen at least. She is also kind and has a type of smarts – not book smarts, a type of people smarts. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like her.”

Seth smiled at his memory.

“Mitch loved her completely,” he continued. “Not a sexual kind of love, but a kind of Mother Mary love. He thought she was an angel. Yvonne was married to Rodney and absolutely crazy about him. She could have been anything she wanted to be. Anything. All Yvonne wanted to be was Rodney’s wife and the mother of his children.”

“And my father?”

“Your father loves Yvonne,” Seth said. “I believe that’s true. I don’t know if it was love at first sight or… He worships her. He wasn’t married at the time. He told me once that he begged her to leave Rodney, but she just laughed. She thought he was joking. She couldn’t imagine what he was saying was true and he… wanted her.

“Around the time Rodney was charged, she tried to kill herself.”

“Yvonne?”

“She couldn’t imagine living without Rodney; she didn’t want to,” Seth said. “She cut a tendon in her hand and… couldn’t be secretary anymore. After Rodney was in prison, she and Tanesha lived with her mom, but that didn’t work out. Her mom kicked her out and your father was there.”

Seth fell silent for such a long time that Ava was about to ask him something when he sighed.

“I think your father thought that with Rodney out of the picture, she would marry him,” Seth said. “But… Yvonne loves Rodney. She would cross every day off the calendar to count down until Rodney was home. That’s hard on a man, especially an important man, who wants… to be her world.

“Now, I’m not covering anything up here,” Seth said. “The truth is that I don’t know what happened. Something happened and Mitch and I were called out to one of those crappy motels on Colfax in the middle of the night. Tanesha was under the table, hysterical, and Yvonne… Anyway, they went to Denver Health – Yvonne and Tanesha. The next morning Yvonne was gone and Tanesha was still there. Bumpy talked Yvonne’s mother into raising Tanesha.

“The next time I saw Yvonne, vice had picked her up for solicitation,” Seth said. “She was strung out, cocaine I think, and working somewhere downtown.”

Seth stopped to look at Ava. She nodded.

“Why does that make sense to you?”

“Because my father put her on a pedestal and she wouldn’t have him,” Ava said. “He’d have to knock her down to truly dominate her, to own her.”

Not sure what to say, Seth gave a slight nod.

“If my father loved her so much, why did you think he’d kill her?” Ava asked.

“He’s fixated on Yvonne,” Seth said. “He’s told everyone that if anyone gets in the way of this… situation he will kill her. He will kill her rather than let her go. We – me, Bumpy, Mitch – we just tried to make things easier for Yvonne; that’s the best we could do. It feels horrible, awful, I tried to buy her once but… your father won’t let her go.”

Seth sighed.

“Westword says that he saw her every Saturday at eight in the morning,” Ava said.

Seth nodded.

“He told us he was playing golf.” Ava snorted. “But… But why not set her up as his mistress? He owns all those apartments. He could see her when he wants and…”

Her voice tapered off.

“Yvonne doesn’t love him,” Seth said. “She never will. Yvonne loves Rodney. Until her light is extinguished from this world, she will only love Rodney. She has sex with men for money because your father told her that she was helping Rodney get better treatment in prison. She’s trying to make sure Rodney is well cared for.”

“But…”

“She doesn’t know that Rodney’s out,” Seth said. “And of course, he’d never be out if your father had any thing to do with it. He needed Rodney in jail to keep Yvonne doing his bidding. You know he blocked every petition to have the DNA in the case run.”

“How did it finally happen?” Ava asked.

“Rodney is an amazing philosopher. He started a dialog with a music artists about five years into his sentence,” Seth said. “They raised money for him and got the Innocence Project to take his case. An anonymous donor paid for the DNA testing.”

“But Yvonne doesn’t know Rodney is out,” Ava said.

“When whatever happened, Yvonne damaged her brain,” Seth said. “She can only remember what she writes down. So he may have told her, then kept her preoccupied for an hour and a half. She’d never remember.”

“Why haven’t Denver Police…?”

“I’m going to tell you something that you already know,” Seth said. “All over the world, at every level of society, there are men with… appetites. These men find each other. It’s just a fact. They form alliances in order to develop communities to help each other fill their appetites. Each member is obsessed with some perversion so every interaction is a transaction, a give-and-take designed to ensure that every man gets what he craves. Some crave money. Some crave sex with girls or boys or animals or whatever else you can imagine. Most men crave power.

“Yvonne is the total focus of your father’s obsession. And his circle is willing to help him satisfy his obsession because that’s the very currency they trade in, because he’s done the same for them day in and day out for decades.”

“Who are these people?” Ava asked. “They sounds so… creepy.”

“Money men, not just business men, but investors, CEOs, bank owners, men who control or can reach out to control almost all the jobs in this city; that’s not to mention the cops, and prosecutors and defense attorneys and judges who can reach out with all the force of the law and change lives.”

Ava face looked like she was digesting a bitter pill. She shook her head.

“What do you… do about it?” she asked.

“All we can do is try to make things a little better. Sometimes we’re able to step in and make it right. And sometimes all we can do is ease the suffering around the edges a little. That’s what everyone tries to do with Yvonne – ease her suffering on the hopes that one day, she will be free. But I’ll tell you this Ava, he will kill her before she’s taken from him. And his friends facilitate the transaction.”

“Do you think he… killed…?” Ava’s eyes filled with despair.

“His circle includes some… shady elements,” Seth said. “They’ve kept all this business quiet and clean. I doubt most of the girls knew they worked for him.”

“Then why…?”

“Yvonne lives in the four-plex on Fourteenth,” Seth said. “He visits Yvonne there. They would have known about him.”

“And these shady elements?” Ava asked.

“I don’t know about that,” Seth shook his head. “I could guess but… I honestly don’t know. Like I said, he is a part of a club that I know exists but have never been a member.”

Ava’s chest seemed to cave. Her shoulders folded forward and her head hung down. Assuming she was grief-stricken, Seth reached out to touch her face. When she looked up at him, she looked furious. Assuming she was mad with him, he leaned back. She shook her head and looked out the window at the ocean.

“When I was hanging there… in that place… and that creature… and Bonita… and your song and…” Ava’s voice held her deep grief. “I was able to shut my eyes, to look away, but this?”

Ava shook her head.

“I’ve stayed awake at night and wondered why I was able to withstand that creature? Why was its essence was so familiar to me? What’s wrong with me that I could…hold out so easily when most people died?” She glared at Seth. “And now I know. My father might not be that creature, he might not have one living inside him like Saint Jude, but he is of the same ilk.”

She crossed her arms across her chest.

“He used his circle to get me my lab,” Ava said. “Didn’t he?”

Seth nodded.

“And my sister? Her spot at the DA?”

Seth nodded.

“Fuck.”

“You’ve earned your lab now,” Seth said. “No one‘s going to take it away from you. When you got there, I think everyone thought you would just be there for a year or so before you moved up the chain. But you’re still there. You’re still doing great work. You belong there.”

Ava gave him a partial smile.

“You know what I think,” Seth said.

“What?”

“I think we should go for a swim,” Seth said. “Shake off the parental blues, get dressed go out, dance until we drop, make love until dawn and do it all over again tomorrow.”

“I thought you had to work tomorrow,” Ava said.

“You can sleep while I work,” Seth said.

“You don’t think I should fly back and facilitate this parental crisis?”

“Nah,” Seth said. “Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. Your father made his deals and took his chances a long, long time ago; he’s going to get his own consequences. There’s nothing we can do now.”

“And Yvonne?”

“Say a prayer that Yvonne makes it through this day,” Seth said. “Because if she survives today? She’s going to be fine. Rodney’s love for her is as strong as hers for him. He’ll find her and they will work out whatever need to be worked out. If she survives today…”

Ava closed her eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“Praying for Yvonne.”

“Oh,” Seth closed his eyes to say a prayer for Yvonne. His phone rang. “Do you mind? It’s Bumpy.”

Ava shook her head. Seth answered his phone.

“O’Malley.”

“You heard this junk?” Bumpy asked.

“Is he blaming the whole mess on me?” Seth asked.

“How’d you know?” Bumpy laughed.

“Have you seen Yvonne?” Seth asked.

“I’ve been out at Dearfield,” Bumpy said. “We’re just coming into town now. But I just talked to Dionne. She hasn’t heard boo from Yvonne.”

“That’s not good,” Seth said.

“How’s Ava?” Bumpy asked.

“Like you’d expect,” Seth said.

“Poor girl,” Bumpy said. “How can two selfish stupid people have such a wonderful daughter?”

“Yeah, LaTonya’s pretty great,” Seth said.

Bumpy laughed and hung up the phone.

“Any word?” Ava asked.

Seth shook his head.

“You really think it’s okay to just go on with our day?” Ava asked.

“I think we should,” Seth said. “There’s no way to know what’s going to be needed from us in the future. We need to use the time we have to gather our strength. People we love are going to need us.”

Before he could say another word, Ava hopped up, shucked her clothing, and ran out the sliding door to the beach. Chuckling to himself, he followed her.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 6:47 p.m. MT

“Thanks for helping, Pete,” Tanesha said. “Sandy, you’re sure…”

Standing on the sidewalk outside Sandy’s studio, they were getting ready to start searching on foot. Unable to be with them, Jill was running the search operation from her bed. Heather held her phone out so they could hear her over the speaker phone.

“I’m sure,” Sandy said. “Plus, Charlie and his friend Tink think they know of a few places. I’m going with them. Mike and Pete are going downtown to check the waterways. They’re on bikes so they should be able to cover a lot of ground. Blane’s running the parks?”

“With Mack,” Heather said. “He’s running City Park and Cheesman. He checked the rest on the way home today.”

“Good,” Sandy said.

“You called the police?” Heather had asked Sandy to use her connections to find out what they knew.

“I called a friend of my Dad’s,” Sandy said. “He said they haven’t found Yvonne, but they’re looking for her and the pimp. Thanks to Heather, they found them on the store video. They were together just a few minutes before the building blew up. The weird thing is that she met Delphie there. The clerk remembers Delphie and Yvonne chatting like old friends.”

“Mom and Delphie are friends from way back. Knitting circle or something like that,” Tanesha said. “Where’s Delphie? Maybe she knows something.”

“That’s another weird thing,” Jill said over the cell phone. “No one can find her. Sam thinks she’s teaching one of those psychic immersion things, at least that’s what’s on the house schedule. He’s going to the store now.”

“Aden’s heading out with Nash, Teddy, and Jake,” Sandy said. “They’re meeting Rodney and a few guys. They’re going to split up to check Sand Creek, in case…”

“In case, she’s out there… all alone… dead.” Tanesha’s face was so grim that Sandy instinctively hugged her.

“Sandy, call me every half hour. We’ll leave the line open with Tanesha,” Jill said. “I have a map. Sissy and Noelle are going to help keep track. I’ll let everyone know what’s going happening.”

“Thanks everybody,” Tanesha said.

“You’d do it for us,” Sandy said.

“You’ve done it for me,” Pete hugged Tanesha. “Thanks.”

“Don’t give up,” Jill said. “She’s out there. I know it!”

With that, they split up and walked to their cars.

“You okay?” Heather asked.

“No,” Tanesha said. “I just keep seeing her… cold… alone… dead.”

“Do you think it’s a memory?” heather asked.

“Oh, I never thought of that,” Tanesha pulled her seat belt on.

“You’re not a psychic.”

“That I am not,” Tanesha said. “I hope you’re right.”

Tanesha nodded.

“Let’s go find my mom,” Tanesha said.

“That’s the spirit.” Forgotten on the phone, Jill’s voice made them laugh.

Heather started the Subaru and they went to South Broadway.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 6:47 p.m. MT

“You’re sure?” Bumpy asked as he pulled into his garage.

“Yeah, Miss T’s dad’s letting us borrow one of his trucks until we’re done with the house,” Jeraine said. “I can pick it up there.”

“You don’t want me to drop you off?” Bumpy asked.

“It’s only a few blocks,” Jeraine said. “Plus, Mom sounded really upset. You should take care of your woman.”

Bumpy laughed. Jeraine got out of the truck and went around to hug his father. They stood together for a moment. Embarrassed by his own strong emotions, Bumpy let go of Jeraine, pat him on the shoulder, and walked off toward the house.

Smiling to himself, Jeraine took off jogging toward his new home. His mind drifted to what he would make his tired, med student wife for dinner. Since the movie people were gone, he contemplated ordering in so they could eat in bed. He’d almost made up his mind when he reached the almost yellow house. Slowing, he saw an odd sight.

There was a woman standing in his front yard picking and eating plums.

A big man stood on the sidewalk pacing back and forth like a toy soldier guarding the broken front gate. As he approached, the man snarled at him like a junk yard Doberman. Jeraine came to a halt.

“Whatcha you all doin’?” Jeraine asked. He wiped his hands on his filthy jeans and then scowled at how much more dirty they were.

“He says.” The man spoke as if he was talking to himself. “He says, Get rid of her. I say, What? He says, You heard me, get rid of her. And then boom”

The Denver Cereal will continue next week

Denver Cereal is a serial fiction set in Denver, Colorado.
You can get your daily dose of Denver Cereal at DenverCereal.com
Chapters are posted on Saturdays on this blog.
Download your free electronic copy of The Denver Cereal, the beginning.
Signed copies of the books are only available at Cook Street Store.
You can also find The Denver Cereal, Celia’s Puppies, Cascade , Cimarron, and Black Forest at Amazon or your local bookseller.
Looking for electronic books? Go to the Cook Street Store or Smashwords.

Claudia Hall Christian is a novelist.

Prelude
Previous Chapters

CHAPTER TWELVE

Covering her ears with her hands, she ran into the room. Raz yanked the door closed. He crouched down beside her on the floor. Master Sergeant Bailey lay on his side while Sergeant Beetle covered him with his body.

There was a muffled explosion followed by a “whoop” sound. The force of the EMP grenade threw them to the floor. The floor shifted an inch to the west. The programmers fell out of their chairs. Trece and White Boy were the only team members able to maintain their crouched position. As if on a sling shot, the building swung back to the east. Food, dishes, and supplies flew out of the break room cabinets. Everything fell out of the refrigerator.

The lights flickered and crackled. Smoke from burned electrical wires drifted down from the ceiling before water burst from the fire sprinkler system. The jets sputtered and shut off. A few jets near the edge of the room dripped water.

Before anyone could move, there was one last jolt.

Then silence.

“That’s it!” Vince yelled. He stood and waved his hands over his head.

The Fey team helped each other up from the floor. They took off their balaclavas and removed their ear plugs. The partner teams – Trece and White Boy; Margaret and MJ; Vince and Leena; Joseph and Colin; Sergeant Beetle and Master Sergeant Bailey; Matthew joined Alex, Raz and Ben – checked each other for injury.

“Report!” Joseph yelled.

“Clear!” came one at a time from the partner teams.

Seeing the team stand, the programmers began to move around.

“Remove your ear plugs!” Standing in front of the programmers, Leena and Margaret pointed to their ears.

“If you are injured, see either myself,” Colin said. He pointed to MJ, and added, “Or Sergeant Scully. Otherwise, sit down.”

“We want to see programmers 7, 78, 83 and 112!” Matthew yelled. “Over here!”

Just as the four programmers began to stand, Master Sergeant Bailey gave a deep and dangerous growl. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Sergeant Beetle signaled for him to stand down but the dog refused. Sergeant Beetle grabbed his collar.

Master Sergeant Bailey broke away. He took off toward the southwest corner of the room. Barking and snarling, he flew across the room to bark at air.

“Jesse?” Raz asked.

“He’s standing next to me,” Alex said. “Anyone see anything?”

Raz shook his head. Alex glanced from team member to team member until her eyes rested on Colin. She raised her eyebrows. Using American Sign Language, he signed, “Glimmer.” She nodded. She’d seen a glimmer too. She raised an eyebrow to Jesse.

“I see it too,” Jesse said. “But I don’t have a clue what it is.”

“Animal, vegetable, mineral,” Alex said.

Jesse went over to where the dog was attacking the air.

“It’s a drone,” Jesse said.

Master Sergeant Bill Bailey continued snarling and snapping.

“Sir,” Sergeant Beetle appeared at attention in front of her. “Master Sergeant Bailey, Bill, he’s done this before. Twice. He’s gone crazy at… nothing. He’s a decorated soldier… I mean you saw what he can do. And he can do a lot more than that. But this… The vet says there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s healthy and all of his senses are functioning but…”

“Is this why you were assigned to us?” Matthew asked.

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle said. “They want to retire Bill. I told them I would retire with him. But the Admiral wanted us to intern with you before we…”

Alex pointed to Colin and raised her hand. Colin came over to her.

“Excuse me,” Alex said to Sergeant Beetle.

“Yep, that’s a drone,” Jesse said. “Or something like it. Very, very small. Nano-sized. Made out of plastic or something like plastic. Not metal.”

He pointed his finger to what looked like dust moving on its own volition.

“Wasn’t that asshole Hector working on this type of aeronautics?” Jesse asked. “Ask Zack. He was rambling about nano-drones at that party for Troy’s father.”

Alex raised her eyebrows. She watched the drone move for a moment before deciding what to do.

“I think it’s armed,” Jesse said. “I can’t tell for sure. It’s tiny.”

“Sergeant Beetle,” Alex said. “Can you tell Master Sergeant Bailey to stand down? We’ve got this.”

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle said.

“On my orders?” Alex asked.

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle said.

“Raz? We have a bee.”

“A bee?” Raz asked.

Alex nodded. Unsure of what she meant, he went to the jumble that had fallen from the cabinets for his usual bee removal supplies. He picked up a plastic cup and a piece of paper. He followed Alex to the corner where the dog had snapped and lunged.

“Sergeant Beetle?” Alex asked.

Sergeant Beetle ordered Master Sergeant Bailey to stand down. Alex pointed to a speck of dust. Raz caught the speck in the cup and covered the cup with the paper. The spec struck the paper a few times.

“That’s no bee,” Raz said. “It’s hitting at my hand!”

Joseph put a table onto its legs and Raz set the cup paper side down, on the table. The cup jumped a few times. Alex leaned down to watch the spec of a drone.

“What the hell is that?” Joseph asked.

“You mean it was something?” Sergeant Beetle asked.

“We think it’s a nano-drone,” Alex said.

“Something like that,” Colin crouched down so his eyes were at the level of the drone.

“Survived the EMP burst?” Vince asked.

“We’ve read about them,” Raz said.

“We’ve seen a few,” Alex said. “Never seen them in this size.”

“Dragonfly, Maple Seed, Hummingbird…,” Raz furrowed his eyebrows. “Nothing like this.”

“Master Sergeant Bailey deserves a medal,” Alex said. “Can you do me a favor, Sergeant?”

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle seemed to grow an inch taller.

“We have this room to take care of, and brass is going to be a pain in the ass in about…?”

Alex looked up to catch Matthew’s eyes. He held up five fingers.

“Five minutes. We have to get out of here,” Alex said. “Do you see the guy standing over there looking through the mess for matches?”

“He introduced himself as Ben, sir,” Sergeant Beetle said.

“Can you and the Master Sergeant tell him your story?” Alex said. “You can trust him. He’s going to want to hear the whole story – every detail, every exact location, everything. He won’t take notes, but you can be sure he’s got it all.”

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle said. “You don’t need our help with the room?”

“We may,” Matthew said. “But you won’t be far.”

“Yes sir.”

“Oh and Sergeant?” Alex held out another box of the North Carolina cigarettes. Spying a black Sharpie pen in the mess, she picked it up and wrote “Hector Aeronautics” on the side. Sergeant Beetle took the cigarettes. He and Master Sergeant Bailey trotted over to Ben.

Ben looked up when he saw the box of cigarettes. Taking the cigarettes from the Sergeant, Ben read what she’d written and glanced at her. When his attention turned back to Sergeant Beetle, all thoughts of cigarettes evaporated. The Sergeant had his full attention.

Alex went to the front of the room.

“Listen up!” Alex yelled. Trece whistled, and the rest of the team yelled to get the programmers’ attention. When they were quiet and looking at Alex, she continued, “Thank you. I know that you are confused. We would like to tell you what we know before we are interrupted.

“We are an elite US military multi-unit team. We came today because we were informed that the JFCOM servers had been wiped and were now missing data and programs. Knowing the players, we were concerned about the outcome of this loss.”

Alex pointed to Joseph and Matthew. They came to the front of the room.

“We found an extensive virus-like program that was designed to take down the entire US Intelligence network, as well as the worldwide Intelligence network. If allowed to process, this program would have corrupted not only the data but also the computer system hardware. Further, this program had sleeper components that would have knocked out any archive or archiving program,” Matthew said. “The virus was nested within the operating systems of four desktop computers. We believed that by isolating the program and destroying the computers, we would have been able to keep the program from launching.”

“The destruction of the computers, however, launched the program,” Joseph said. “We closed every network gateway to every organization in the world. Further, we launched an EMP grenade in the hopes of destroying the virus. The computers, your stations, laptops and desktop computers have been destroyed by the blast. A joint team of experts from Russia and the US will arrive within twenty minutes to review your servers as well as the program. The rest will be here by the end of the day. We expect your full cooperation.”

“You will be interviewed individually by our team and MPs,” Alex said. “It’s of the utmost importance that you know two things.”

“First: you have done nothing wrong,” Joseph said. “The genesis of this disaster happened almost twenty years ago. Even if you worked on parts of the program, you are not responsible for the whole.”

“And second: if you aren’t completely forthright, we will eventually know,” Matthew said. “You will be brought up on charges of treason.”

“This situation is a big-assed deal,” Alex said. “Bigger than anything you’ve read about in a novel, seen in a movie, or even dreamed about. Bigger than Robert Ludlum or Rod Serling ever came up with. If you get in the way…”

“You will be run over,” Joseph said.

“We’re not telling you so we can kill you,” Matthew said “We’re telling you because we will need your help to determine what happened and what to do next.”

“We are also aware that at least twelve elite military teams have been misplaced during this exercise,” Alex said. “We will find them and bring them home. But we may not be able to do it without your help.”

“You can be part of the solution here,” Joseph said. “This is a chance to make a name for yourself and really do something to help your country.”

“Or, you can try to stand in our way,” Alex made a show of shrugging. “You can guess how that’s going to end.”

“Who are you guys?” a young man from the middle of the room yelled.

“We’re the Fey Team,” Trece said.

There was a crackle from where Vince was setting up Alex’s laptop. Alex looked over and Vince nodded. Alex’s laptop was theoretically shielded from an EMP blast but they had never tested it.

“Sir?” Sergeant Dusty’s face appeared on the inter-agency link.

“Yes Sergeant,” Alex said.

“Brass on their way,” Sergeant Dusty’s voice was heard, but the picture on the screen went out and his words were garbled. Vince jiggled a few wires to get the screen back on and hit the computer on the side. Sergeant Dusty’s face appeared again.

“We missed that Sergeant,” Matthew said.

“Jakker’s waiting for his Fey at the pick up,” Sergeant Dusty said. “X and his team are in the air. Out.”

They heard footsteps in the hallway. Ben looked up at Alex and gave her a nod. Raz took her arm. They ran through the room to a door near the front. Raz pressed the door open and peered into the hallway. The five MPs who had confronted them when Alex and Zack had come to free Ben were waiting for them.

“We’ve been briefed,” the lead MP said. “This way.”

They followed him through the maze of buildings to an exterior door. The MP team leader used his card key to open the door. Hovering overhead, Zack had already lowered two wires and two Special Forces Sergeants to help them into the helicopter. They were halfway across the parking lot when one of the MPs yelled. Alex turned back and he ran out to her.

“Find my brother,” he said. He pushed a photograph of a young man holding a baby into her hand. “It’s my fault he went. I was so gung-ho. I never thought…”

“We’ll find him,” Alex said.

“Yes sir,” he saluted.

She returned his salute and ran to the wire. The Green Berets clipped into the lines. Alex and Raz grabbed onto the men and they went up to the helicopter. Two Marines waited to help them into the helicopter. Raz sat down next to Alex. The Marines gave Alex and Raz water bottles and helped them secure themselves in their seats. Alex had just put her headphones on when Zack asked:

“Where to my Fey?”

“Where’s the meet?” Alex asked.

“Thurmont, sir,” Cliff said.

“Do I have something else to wear, or am I going to meet the big boys in my hooker gear?” Alex asked.

“Hooker,” Zack said. “The Joint Chiefs will love the wig.”

The young woman Marine sitting next to her held up her backpack. Alex smiled her thanks to the Marine and began changing out of her outfit.

“Some things are best left to the imagination,” Raz stood to help Alex change.

“Let’s go see what they have to say at Camp David,” Alex said.

“As you wish, my Fey,” Zack said.

FFF
Monday evening
October 26 – 6:42 p.m. EDT
Sheridan Circle Mansion, Washington DC

“You look amazing,” Matthew said.

Alex turned back and forth to show off her strapless black ball gown that fell just below her knee. The silk and lace dress had a red band and matching bow at her waist. Five-inch black Christian Louboutin stilettos waited for her feet.

“Did you see this?” Alex lifted the edge of her dress.

The tulle of her black dress was slightly red to match the underside of her shoes.

“Very pretty,” her little sister Erin said. “Don’t move.”

Standing behind her, Erin hooked an antique diamond necklace.

“Don’t lose this,” Erin said. She finished the clasp. “Mom doesn’t know you are borrowing it. She’ll kill me if she finds out.”

“How would she find out?” Alex asked.

Erin wiped a mascara smudge from under her left eye.

“You’re sure she won’t be there?” Erin asked.

“It’s a pretty exclusive event,” Alex gave Erin a soft smile. “She doesn’t fit the requirements.”

“Trece’s going with you?” Matthew asked.

“I don’t think he can come in, but he can get us as far as the event and back,” Alex nodded.

“You’ll be careful?” Matthew gave Alex her handbag and a hug.

“We’ve been every year,” Alex said. “We’ll be fine.”

“Wow,” They heard Leena say from the second floor. “You make me wish I liked men.”

Alex looked up to see Raz coming down the stairs wearing a black tux. His wide shoulders and narrow hips were accented by the drape of the fabric. He wore a red bow tie and cummerbund to match the red in her dress. She smiled at him.

“You’re like a movie!” Troy’s son Hermes said as they came out of the living area.

“Aren’t they pretty?” Troy asked.

“Very pretty!” Hector James said.

“Good Lord,” Margaret said. “What did you do with my Trece?”

They looked up to see a blushing Trece trotting down the stairs wearing a tux.

“Team?” Joseph called.

The team broke out into applause. Joseph gave Alex her 9mm Glock and gave handguns to Trece and Raz. While they checked their weapons, Joseph gave them the latest update on what Alex was calling The Eniac Fiasco.

“The computer teams are in place,” Joseph said. “They plan to work through the night. As you know, the CIA came up with a team of their own experts. They are not happy with your decision to keep them on the sidelines.”

“There isn’t anything they can do about it,” Alex said. “They should have caught it; they didn’t.”

“We will review the interviews and any available data,” Joseph said. “You’re in meetings all day tomorrow at the Pentagon.”

“Sadly,” Alex said.

“Do we have your permission to take some R&R?” Joseph asked.

“Of course,” Alex said. “We need to take it when we can. Who knows where this will lead?”

“Any sense?” Matthew asked.

Shrugging, Alex tucked her weapon into her handbag.

“The limo is waiting for you,” Joseph said. “It will take you to Bolling. The Jakker is waiting for you there. He will take you to New York.

He has requested to stay in New York. If it suits your needs, we’ve arranged for a limousine to bring you back to Washington.”

“Bestat’s in New York?” Alex asked.

Joseph nodded.

“We’ll probably sleep on the return,” Raz said. “Sounds fine to me.”

Alex nodded.

“You’ll have the details by the time you land,” Joseph said. “You have your phone?”

Alex turned on the cell phone he’d given her.

“You can text,” Joseph opened the phone to show the keypad. “That’s your fastest transmission.”

“We’re going to be fine,” Alex said. “Don’t worry.”

Joseph gave an uncertain nod and she smiled. In one look, they acknowledged that the days of not worrying ended one October day under the streets of Paris. He smiled.

“We should go,” Raz said.

Trece jogged down the stairs in front of them to recheck the limousine driver. Raz took her arm to help her with her shoes. They were almost out the door when the Butler called them back.

“From all of us, sir,” the Butler held a bottle of Krug, Clos Du Mesnil 1995, Champagne to Raz. “Care of Mr. Lamberton. We’re very sorry for your loss and deeply grateful for your service. We are all affected. Mr. Lamberton has placed a case in the limousine for you to share with the others. This is for your trip.”

“Thank you,” Raz took the champagne with his left hand and shook the Butler’s hand. “I’m confident that Mr. Lamberton’s generosity was inspired by your kindness. It’s appreciated.”

Embarrassed, the Butler gave a slight bow. Alex waved to the team. Raz helped her down the stairs where the driver waited to help them into the back seat. The driver went around to the driver’s seat.

“I know where we’re going and why,” Trece said. “But I don’t really know why. You know?”

“You know that Raz was an NYPD detective, right?” Alex asked.

Trece nodded.

“He was there when the towers fell,” Alex said.

“Joseph said he saw his wife jump off one of the towers,” Trece said.

“Like a lot of people, he worked night and day in the aftermath,” Alex said. “Raz’s wife’s body was found on October 26, 2001.”

“Not her body,” Raz glanced at her and looked out the window.

“They only found her hand,” Alex said. “Her hand and her lover’s hand. The fingers were still entwined. He recognized her hand immediately because she was still wearing her wedding set. But their bodies… He gets maybe ten tiny pieces a year.”

Alex shrugged.

“Raz and I went to the Ground Zero site when we started working together,” Alex said. “We try to go every October 26. The first year we were there, a few guys who worked the site happened by.”

“Four,” Raz turned to look at Trece. “They said they were out walking and ended up there. We didn’t believe them, but we never found another explanation.”

“Next year, a few more guys showed up,” Alex said.

“And women,” Raz nodded.

“Over time, it’s grown,” Alex said.

“We’ve lost a lot of people too,” Raz said. “Died.”

“From the shit in the air?” Trece asked.

“Respiratory illness,” Raz said. “Cancer.”

“They call it Ground Zero Illness,” Alex said. “They were given respirator masks but they were mostly non-functional for the work they were doing.”

“We had no idea what was in the air and…” Raz shook his head. “I was lucky… Fairy luck.”

He looked at Alex. She smiled at him.

“We never know who we’re going to see,” Alex said.

“It’s an Alex thing, Trece,” Raz said. “She insisted we get dressed up and dance in memory of all that happened – all the bad, all that was lost…”

“And all the good,” Alex smiled at him. “The heroes who worked to put everything back together. The people who were saved. The amazing workers who showed up day after day. Many of them never knew if they’d get paid. They came to work because they could. We celebrate the glorious human spirit that joined together.”

“Now it’s kind of a thing,” Raz said. “The guys show up in tuxes; the ladies in ballroom wear. We bring the music.”

“And we dance,” Alex said. “It’s very… somber and… beautiful. There are lights there, now but it used to be dirt and darkness. A few years ago, one of the wives brought candles. Now they turn the lights out and we dance in the candlelight. It’s… breathtaking.”

“It’s only once a year,” Raz said. “No advertising. No politicians or reporters. No grandstanding. Sometimes, the local restaurants show up with food. The NYPD shuts down the street and guards the event.”

“You’ll probably need to stay with them,” Alex said.

“Sounds like that’s where I belong,” Trece said. “I feel kinda tingly like I’m going somewhere special.”

“I’m glad to have you,” Raz said. “It’s not my favorite or my best night.”

“It’s very hard,” Alex said. “I think for everyone. That’s part of the beauty. We get together in our sorrow and just remember.”

“That’s where you went from Scotland?” Trece asked.

“Right,” Alex said. “I couldn’t go when I was unconscious in Walter Reed, of course. I hadn’t planned to go the year John and I got married again but…”

“John insisted,” Raz said. “I was there by myself when Alex showed up. And…”

“That was fun,” Alex said.

“Alex is a really good friend to me,” Raz said.

“I know the feeling,” Trece smiled.

“We should sleep if we can,” Alex said. “This is a long, late night and tomorrow is going to be another meeting-o’-drama.”

“How long before we get to Bolling?” Raz asked the driver.

“Sir, we are twenty minutes from Bolling,” the driver said. “I’ll wake you before we get there.”

Trece leaned back to sleep.

Raz put his arm around Alex and they shared a long look. He kissed the top of her head and leaned back to sleep. Snuggling into him, she fell asleep.

F

Lean on Me is the fourth novel in the fast paced Alex the Fey thriller series
by Claudia Hall Christian.

The novel is available in paperback and electronic books at Cook Street Store.
It will be available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your local book seller after 2/29/12
Lean on Me, and all the Alex the Fey thrillers are available in eBooks.
Entire chapters are be published on Fridays beginning March 2, 2012 at
StoriesbyClaudia.com and AlextheFey.com.

For discounts, give aways, special fiction, and other fun
join the Alex the Fey Facebook Group

CHAPTER TWO

(part two)

Lo gawked at her sister. Lisa nodded so hard her blonde braids jumped from her chest. Shaking her head, Lo went back to staring at her coffee.

“No really,” Lisa said. “Think of it. If someone killed Don, they are now killing you. Or who they think you are.”

“Who do they think I am?”

“Gold digger,” Lisa said. “That’s always what the press said about you. You and Don never talked about… you know… everything that happened in our family. No one knew I lived with y’all either. And before you start…”

Lo looked up at her sister.

“I lived with y’all from the time I was fourteen until you and Don sent me to college. I’d never have even tried riding bulls or broncs if Don hadn’t encouraged me. Seriously, I’d be some boring barrel racer,” Lisa said. “Your house and Don… Well, you and Don and the girls were my family and that was my house. Don even walked me down the aisle. So, I know how things were between you and Don.”

“And?”

“You were everything to Don. He worshiped you,” Lisa said. “Don’t let the press run down your marriage. They weren’t there. They don’t know.”

“What about this Jean-Jean?”

“I looked her up on the Internet,” Lisa said. “She’s really famous.”

“So? In some circles, I’m famous.”

“Do you think one of your competitors did this to you?” Lisa’s eyes went wide. “What about that girl who always gets second place?”

“No, none of the girls would do this,” Lo said. “They’re too worried about themselves to bother with me. Plus, everyone loved Don. He was like the gdfather of women’s fitness competitions.”

“Very true.” Lisa took a drink of coffee and stared off into space.

“You were talking about Jean-Jean?”

“Oh, right. She’s famous for healing people,” Lisa said. “Like the real deal.”

“And?”

“Maybe Don was with her because he knew he was going to be murdered,” Lisa said. “Think of it. Don would do everything in his power to stay with you.”

Lo smiled at Lisa’s confidence.

“Larry’s going to be here in a bit,” Lisa said. “Let’s see if we can find you something to wear. I brought a pair of jeans and shirts and stuff, but… You’ve lost a lot of weight, Lo.”

“I’ve lost everything, Lisa,” Lo said. “Weight is just… another thing.”
“You listen to me.” Lisa’s index finger came out to wag at Lo. “You cannot give up. Larry thinks we’ll be able to get in the house today. If we can’t, I’m breaking in. The hex-bitch can call the cops. The girls and I grew up in that house. Our stuff is there too.”

Lo nodded because she didn’t know what else to do.

“Now go get cleaned up,” Lisa gave her a bottle of generic shampoo and soap. “I’ll find you something to wear.”

Hiding the fact that she hadn’t eaten, Lo picked up her plate to carry it to the sink.

“You need to eat,” Lisa said.

“Maybe later,” Lo said. “I ate a bunch with Larry just a little while ago.”

“Okay, eating disorder girl,” Lisa said. “I’m going to tell Mom.”

“Yea, I’m sure she’ll stop hanging around when she finds out.”

Unable stop herself, Lisa laughed at Lo’s sick humor.

“Go shower,” Lisa said.

Lisa pushed her out of the kitchen. Lo went up the stairs to the bathroom just off the landing. She pulled off her shirt and panties and turned the water on in the claw-foot tub. When the water was warm, she stepped in and pulled the curtain around. Staring into space, she stood under the warm water. She’d been there a while when she noticed the shower fixture.

They had the same shower head at their home in River Crest.

She peeked into the soap dish to find her favorite soap. A giant bottle of her brand of very expensive shampoo hung in the shower caddy. Her special face soap sat next to the shampoo. She opened the curtain to find her favorite fluffy towels hanging in the rack.

Unsure of what this meant, she closed the shower curtain and started cleaning off.

“I found some clothes that should fit,” Lisa yelled. “Jeans; some cute shirts; casual stuff like that.”

Lo pulled the curtain aside.

“They’re washed but brand new, Lo,” Lisa said.

“My favorite soap and shampoo are in the shower,” Lo said.

“The fancy stuff?” Lisa said.

“Check out the towels.”

“Wow,” Lisa said.

“Wow is right,” Lo said.

“Have you noticed how clean it is?” Lisa asked. “I thought I’d be cleaning today, but it’s cleaner than it ever was when we lived here with Mom.”

“That’s not saying much,” Lo said. “But you’re right.”

“Puzzles, puzzles,” Lisa said. “Hurry up. Larry just called to say he’s on Hemphill, and I want to shower with the fancy stuff.”

Lo closed the curtain and finished showering. Stepping out of the claw foot tub, she wrapped herself in her favorite towels. They were scented with real lavender – her most cherished luxury. She slipped on a pair of underwear and jeans. She looked around for a bra, and saw one in her size hanging on the door knob with a white starched shirt. A pair of her old cowboy boots and some socks sat next to the door. She finished getting dressed.

Digging in the bathroom cabinet, she found her favorite brush and hair clips waiting for her. She brushed her long blonde hair and put it back in a clip. She tucked her favorite Smashbox lipgloss into the pocket of her jeans.

In the tight, steam-filled bathroom, surrounded by the towels, shampoo, soap and new clothing, Lo never felt more loved. She felt like Don was with her. She smiled at her tired and drawn face in the dry circle she’d made in the foggy mirror.

The door opened with a blast of cold air and the sure knowledge that Don was gone.

She was alone.

She did her best to smile at Lisa and retreated to her old bedroom. Behind the closed door, she cried until the water stopped.

“Hey!” Larry yelled from downstairs. “There’s a cop here. Did someone take Lo’s car?”

Lo wiped her face and went downstairs to greet her brother and the police officer.

“What happened to your car?” Larry asked.

“What exactly?” Lo said.

Q

Sunday afternoon—1:45 p.m.
River Crest, Fort Worth

Days: 8

After taking what felt like an ice age to file a police report on her car, Larry insisted on getting Lo something to eat. Lisa and Larry argued back and forth until Lo finally gave in. Larry drove them to Kincaid’s on Camp Bowie for more burgers and milkshakes. Lo managed a chocolate milkshake. She was so anxious to go home that she didn’t want to take the time to eat anything else. Of course, Larry and Lisa had no problem lingering. Since Lo didn’t have a car, she was forced to watch them eat and gossip. Lo was about to pitch a fit when her siblings finally got up to go.

Sitting between the car seats in the back of Lisa’s SUV, Lo felt almost normal. Almost.

She looked down at her hand and realized how lucky she was to be still wearing her wedding rings. Lo always wore her wedding band but felt the big diamond engagement ring and ten-year anniversary eternity band were too flashy. If she’d been at the house when everything happened, she wouldn’t have these rings now. Leaning against the seat, she closed her eyes and remembered getting the engagement ring. Don had gotten her mother’s permission, so she knew it was coming. But when the great Don Downs got down on both knees to ask her to be his bride? She’d balled her eyes out.

“Oh crap,” Lisa said.

Lo’s eyes popped open.

“I don’t believe it,” Larry said.

Lo’s house – Don’s house; their house – was surrounded by fire trucks. Bright orange flames licked the side of their white house. Part of the roof had already collapsed into the second floor. The tree next to the house was burning like a roman candle. The fire raged while water from multiple hoses poured into the house. Shocked, Lisa pulled over at the side of the road.

A police officer came over to the SUV. Lisa rolled down the window.

“You can’t stay here,” the policeman said. “Oh hey, Larry.”

“When did it start?” Larry leaned over Lisa to talk to the policeman.

“We got the call about a half hour ago,” the officer said.

“Burning fast,” Larry said.

“The guys say it reeks of kerosene,” the policeman said.

“Guess Ms. Fitness Model was ready to cash out.” A passing sheriff’s deputy said. He stopped for a moment to assess the SUV and added, “Did you hear they suspect her of killing poor old Donny? Serves him right for marrying such a young, wild one.”

Jumping out of the SUV, Lisa slapped the deputy across the face. Larry ran around the SUV to keep Lisa from getting arrested. Lisa and Larry began screaming and gesturing to the sheriff. In an effort to contain real violence, the police officer stepped in front of the sheriff.
Lo took off from the back seat.

This was her chance to do what she couldn’t at the cemetery.

Intent on throwing herself on the pyre of her life, she raced toward her home. She heard Larry shout from behind her and Lisa scream. She easily dodged the one-too-many-doughnut-policemen standing around gossiping about her and Don.

She was almost at the front door when a man’s forearm went around her middle. He yanked her back. She fought with everything inside her. She used every bit of her pain and loss, all of her boxing training, and every ounce of strength to get to the fire, but the man was too big, too strong.

He dragged her back. The harder she fought, the more he held on. When he set her down at the street, she took off toward the house again.

She made it halfway down her walk when the same strong arms threw her over his shoulder and carried her to an ambulance. She was still fighting when the paramedic sedated her. As she faded from consciousness, her intrusive rescuer bent over the gurney.

“Come on, Lo,” the fireman said. “You’re a fighter. Hell, you beat the crap outta me more than once. You can’t just give up.”

Q

The Queen of Cool continues next week…
_____________________________

The Queen of Cool is an intense mystery set in Fort Worth, Texas
by Claudia Hall Christian.

The novel is available in paperback and electronic books at Cook Street Store.
It will be available at in paperback and eBook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and your local bookseller.
The half of the chapter will be posted every Wednesday beginning May 2, 2012
StoriesbyClaudia.com and theQueenofCool.com

For discounts, give aways, special fiction, and other fun
join the the Queen of Cool Facebook Group

Previous Chapters
Recap of what’s happened so far and character summary
Looking for the beginning? Chapter One

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED and SIX

Wednesday afternoon — 1:25 p.m.

“Hi girls,” Heather’s mother said from her teller station at the Bank of Denver counter.

“Hi Mom,” Heather said.

“Mrs. Fontaine,” Tanesha said.

Heather’s mom gestured for Mack and Heather passed him across the counter to her mother. Heather’s mother fussed over Mack for a few minutes before looked up at them.

“Are you having lunch?” Heather’s mother asked. “How are you feeling, honey?”

“Good,” Heather said. “Everything’s on track.”

“No morning sickness?” Heather’s mother asked. Heather shook her head. “Must be another boy. What brings you ladies by?”

“I need to get some money from my Dad’s account,” Tanesha said. “He said you could call him if you need his approval.”

“What’s the account number?” Heather’s mom asked while she passed Mack back to Heather.

Tanesha gave her the credit card Rodney had given her and Heather’s mom looked the account up on her computer.

“It looks like you’re a co-owner of this account Tanesha,” Heather’s mother said.

“What’s that mean?” Tanesha asked.

“It means you can withdraw as much as you’d like,” Heather’s mother said. “We don’t need your dad.”

“Oh,” Tanesha said. “Great.”

Heather’s mom put a withdrawal slip in front of Tanesha and she filled it out.

“Five thousand?” Heather’s mom asked. “You sure you want cash? That’s a lot of money for you girls to carry around.”

Heather made an impatient sound, but Tanesha smiled.

“I appreciate your concern, ma’am,” Tanesha said. “I’m… purchasing something. With any luck, I won’t have the money long.”

“I just worry,” Heather’s mom said. “Especially since my Heather has another baby on the way and Mack’s such a dear and…”

“You’re good at worrying?” Heather asked.

“It’s my super power,” Her mother smiled. “Okay, give me a minute and I’ll get new bills so it’s not so noticeable.”

“Thank you,” Tanesha said.

“That was easy,” Heather said in a low tone. “Did you know about the account?”

“No,” Tanesha said. “You know I never pay attention to other people’s money.”

“Unless it’s money in the hand, it doesn’t count,” Heather repeated Tanesha always said.

“Can’t count money you aren’t holding,” Tanesha smiled. Heather laughed. Her mother came around the corner with a stack of bills.

“I hope hundreds are okay,” Heather’s mother said. “I realized I didn’t ask when I was back there but…”

Heather’s mother looked at Tanesha just a second too long. Heather squinted at her mother.

“What?” Heather asked.

“When I went back there, the manager told me that Jeraine was here yesterday. He took out almost everything from his account,” leaning forward, Heather’s mother whispered, “in cash.”

“That was for today,” Tanesha said.

“Oh good,” Heather’s mother’s head bobbed up and down. “You know about it. I was worried that it might be doing drugs or…”

“He was going out with his dad,” Tanesha smiled. “He doesn’t have any cards so if he needs money, he has to carry cash.”

Heather’s mother smiled and set to work at counting fifty one-hundred dollar bills in front of Tanesha.

“I always worry that… well, you girls are a lot luckier with men than I was,” Heather’s mother gave a sad smile.

“I don’t know about that,” Tanesha laughed. “You’ve met my squirrely husband? Seen him in the tabloids?”

Heather and her mother laughed. Tanesha smiled.

“Let’s put it in an envelope,” Heather’s mother said. “And… you’ll be careful.”

“Yes Mom,” Heather’s voice was irritated but she smiled.

“And… I’m sorry about your mom, Tanesha,” Heather’s mother’s eyes welled with tears.

Unsure of what she meant, Tanesha nodded.

“They announced while I was at lunch that she lived there and is likely to be one of the bodies,” Heather’s mother said. “The police are looking for a man and…”

Stunned, Tanesha’s mouth dropped open.

“What?” Tanesha asked.

“Thanks Mom,” Heather gave her a hard look and her mother mouthed ‘sorry’. She hustled Tanesha out of the bank.

“What was that?” Tanesha asked when they reached the car. “Is Yvonne dead?”

Heather made a fuss over putting Mack in his car seat and went around to the driver’s seat.

“Is my Mom dead?” Tanesha asked.

“I need to show you something,” Heather said.

“You need to tell me something.”

“Westword is running an article tomorrow saying that State Attorney General guy, you remember Ava’s asshole father, ran prostitutes out of that four-plex. Well this morning, about 9:30, the place caught on fire. They found four bodies. Female.”

“But… but… he said I could have my Mom for five thousand dollars.”

“I know.”

“But…” Tanesha felt her entire world crumble around her. “I have five thousand dollars.”

“Listen. I went down there and found these on the street outside King Soopers.” Heather pulled the yellow tulips from the backseat and set them on Tanesha’s lap. “There’s a receipt with a time stamp. Look. Right there.”

Heather pointed to the time.

“They were in the market when everything happened because the fire started at 9:37.”

“That doesn’t mean he didn’t kill her,” Tanesha said. “I always knew, deep inside, if he would kill her rather than lose her.”

“He always said that when we left,” Heather said. “Bring her back or she’s dead by nightfall. She can’t hide from me.”

Heather gave an involuntary shiver.

“I just try to make it better for her, easier,” Tanesha said. “Because at least she’s alive. If she’s alive, there’s a chance she could get away and… But now…”

“Today maybe her chance,” Heather said. “We don’t know.”

“There’s never been much hope,” Tanesha shook her head.

“You know what I think? I think we should call him,” Heather said. “Let’s see what he says.”

Biting her lip, Tanesha nodded and dialed her mother’s keeper. The phone clicked over to voice mail.

“Voice mail,” Tanesha whispered to Heather. Leaving a message, she said, “I have the money. You tell me where and I’ll get my Mom. No questions asked. No police. I only want my mom so you better take really good care of her or I will hunt you down and make you pay. You will never be able to hide from me. I will find you. Just give me my Mom and you can have your money. If you don’t give me my Mom, you will feel my wrath.”

Tanesha clicked off her call.

“Now what?” Tanesha’s voice cracked with despair. “What do I do now?”

“Let’s go find her,” Heather said. “We know every where he goes, every place he takes her. Let’s go look.”

“You don’t mind?” Tanesha asked.

“Nope,” Heather said. “Let’s go find Yvonne.”

Tanesha pulled on her seatbelt and they started their search.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 12:25 p.m. PT/ 1:25 p.m. MT

When the cab pulled up in front of a building, Ava leaned forward.

“Are you sure this is it?” Ava asked.

“This is the address you gave me,” he said.

Ava paid and got out of the cab. Standing on the sidewalk, she looked up at the Cedar Sinai Medical Center. She took out her phone and called Schmidty.

“I’m here,” Ava said. “But…”

“Great,” Schmidty said. “We’re on the fifth floor.”

“Of Cedar Sinai?”

“The medical center,” Schmidty said. “Seth gets his treatments on Wednesdays.”

“What treatments?” Ava asked.

“The one’s you ordered,” Schmidty said. “Come up and we’ll explain.”

In a flurry of anxiety, Ava jogged into the building. She took the elevator to the fifth floor and went to the nurse’s station. The nurse pointed her in the direction of Seth’s bed. Wearing headphones, his eyes were closed and his body hooked up to a machine which filtered his blood.

“He gets these every Wednesday,” Schmidty said. “So do the other guys. I thought you knew.”

Ava shook her head.

“It’s the only thing that seems to help,” Schmidty said. “The docs think that he can go to every other week after this treatment.”

“Just Seth?”

“The other guys aren’t doing as well,” Schmidty nodded. “But they’re alive, thanks to you. We think they’ll get there.”

Ava nodded.

“Are you all right?” Schmidty asked.

Ava shook her head. Schmidty put a protective arm around her.

“I need to talk to Seth,” Ava said.

“I haven’t told him what happened,” Schmidty said. “We went to the studio and picked up a tape. He’s been listening to it since then. He’s pretty irritated at what he’s hearing, so I didn’t bother him. Best to let him be irritated by himself. Mad artist and all.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Ava bit her lip with anxiety. Her eyes scanned the young man’s face.

“Sure,” Schmidty said.

“Do you think Seth told Westword about…” Her emotions flooded forward. She paused to put them in check. “About my dad?”

“We haven’t seen Barton in… couple months,” Schmidty said. “Since Seth’s doing music work, I’m with him twenty-four hours a day pretty much. Unless he called while he was in Denver… I mean, you’d know if he called then, right?”

Ava nodded.

“You can’t believe everything people say about Seth,” Schmidty said.

“Even if it’s true?” Ava asked.

“What’s truth?” Schmidty shrugged.

“How’s Lizzie?” Ava asked.

“She’s…” Schmidty’s face flushed with color. Unable to respond, he nodded.

“I’m happy for you,” Ava said.

“Me too,” Schmidty beamed. “We’re going really slowly but… She’s my dream girl. Always has been. Just to have the chance to hold her hand, spend time with her, listen to her talk… It’s… a dream come true. She says the same thing, so that’s…”

He beamed and Ava smiled.

“How long does he have?” Ava asked.

Schmidty looked at his watch and wagged his head back and forth.

“Half hour or so,” Schmidty said. “Then we have to get to the studio where heads will probably roll. You wanna tag along or head out to the house.”

“I need to know,” Ava said.

“Ok,” Schmidty said. “Do you mind waiting for him?”

Ava shook her head. They sat down in some chairs near the bed to wait.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 2:25 p.m. MT

“You need to sleep?” Bumpy asked Jeraine after they’d been driving a while.

“Oh, I probably should,” Jeraine said. His swollen mouth created a kind of lisp. “I’m enjoying the jazz, the drive, and the company. But…”

“But?” Bumpy asked.

“I was thinking about Miss T,” Jeraine said. “And I wondered… How did you and Rodney end up being friends? I mean, for me, it was just a fact, something real, like a mountain or an ocean. But now that I’m grown, I can’t see where your lives would have crossed.”

Bumpy smiled.

“Are you going to tell me?” Jeraine asked.

“You know I used to tour,” Bumpy said.

Jeraine nodded.

“I met Rodney and Yvonne at a rest stop just outside of Memphis,” Bumpy said. “Their car had broken down on the highway. They were driving from Alabama to Denver so Rodney could go to college here. The bus pulled into this rest stop and there they were. Rodney with his coal black skin and frying pan hands with this thin, light skinned beauty. They were like a tree and a butterfly.”

Bumpy smiled.

“You don’t remember Yvonne,” Bumpy said.

“No,” Jeraine said.

“She was gorgeous,” Bumpy said. “The most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, especially when Rodney was around. They had this light… It sounds crazy, and I was probably high at the time, but it was like the light of God lived inside of them. Everyone noticed the shine.”

Smiling, he fell silent with his memories. Jeraine thought he was done talking when he cleared his throat.

“People say being beautiful is a gift,” Bumpy said. “For Yvonne, it was a more like a curse. Everyone wanted her, wanted to touch her, know her, she just had this… glow about her. What I didn’t know then was that she only had it because Rodney was in her life. Once he was gone, in prison… It was like the light just went out.”

“Why Alabama?” Jeraine asked. “I figured they were from here. Seems like all of Tanesha’s Aunts are in Denver.”

“Rodney’s from Alabama,” Bumpy said. “Yvonne grew up there.”

“Tanesha’s gran isn’t her… gran?”

“No,” Bumpy said. “Tanesha’s grandmother had Yvonne when she was fifteen. They sent her away to live with relatives to have the baby. Yvonne was raised by the relatives. She and Rodney grew up together. Rodney’s smart, probably brilliant. He could go to school almost anywhere. She wanted to come to Denver so she could get to know her mother. So they packed up and came here.”

“Oh,” Jeraine said.

“I saw them sitting there at that rest stop, and I don’t know what it was, but it was like Rodney and I were already friends. I mean, you know how he looks.”

“Scary as hell,” Jeraine said. “And those hands.”

“They make hub caps look small,” Bumpy laughed.

“You didn’t want Yvonne?”

“No,” Bumpy said. “That’s the weird thing. She was beautiful and alluring even, but… I think that’s when I finally realized that I was done with being on the road. It was time for me to go home and get on with my life. Your mother and I decided to settle down about six months later. I stopped touring full time maybe nine months later and quit all together a year or so after that.”

Jeraine watched memories flow across his father’s face.

“Rodney has been the best friend a man could ever want,” Bumpy said.

“Seems like you’ve been a good friend to him too,” Jeraine said.

“That’s how it works, son,” Bumpy said. “With some people, you get what you give.”

He fell silent and they drove for a while. Jeraine was about to say that he should sleep when Bumpy made a sound. Jeraine turned to look at him.

“Rodney and Seth,” Bumpy said. “You need to find friends like that.”

“I don’t have any luck with friends,” Jeraine said. “My so called friends have stolen from me, fed me drugs, and… I don’t know. I’m pretty discouraged.”

“Give it time,” Bumpy said. “When you’re more whole, you’ll find people or they’ll find you.”

“Doesn’t sound like you were so whole when you met Rodney,” Jeraine said.

Bumpy chuckled.

“Well?”

“I think you have to give it some time, son,” Bumpy said. “The pace you’ve been living at… You’re just catching up with yourself. Give it time.”

“Mmm,” Jeraine expressed his doubt.

“You ever notice how Tanesha glows?”

Jeraine looked away from Bumpy.

“Oh come on,” Bumpy said. “You have to have noticed.”

“Noticed?” Jeraine smiled. “Every man in a mile notices her when she lights up. Those movie guys are smitten.”

“You ever think she might light up because of you?”

“No, not even I’m that vain,” Jeraine laughed. Bumpy glanced at him and laughed with him.

“Get some rest, Jer,” Bumpy said. “We have another hour or so. You want to be refreshed for your shining girl when she gets home from school.”

“Thanks Dad.”

“For what?”

“For telling me,” Jeraine said.

Jeraine curled up against the passenger door and fell asleep. They’d gone another fifty miles when Bumpy laughed at his memory of Rodney and Yvonne at that rest stop all those years ago. He reached over and turned on the radio.

“You’re listening to Colorado Public Radio,” the cool voiced announcer said. “Four women’s bodies were found in State Attorney General Alvin’s rental property where Westword reports the State Attorney General ran a prostitution ring for more than a decade. Mr. Alvin went on the defensive at this afternoon’s press conference:

“Do I own the four-plex? Yes,” State Attorney General Alvin’s voice had the practiced echo of a seasoned politician. “Have I owned it for a long time? Yes. But running some kind of whore house? Decades of profiting from the sale of sexual favors? I have three daughters for God’s sake! These ridiculous claims can only be the fictional work of a bitter man who was incapable of solving the Saint Jude serial murders. If I hadn’t stepped in to resolve that situation, the vicious serial killer would still be killing Denver’s sons and daughter…”

Bumpy switched off the radio.

“What is it, Dad?” Jeraine asked.

“Nothing,” Bumpy said. “Just an evil spider spinning his web of lies to cover his own ass.”

“Hmm…” Not asleep, but not quite awake, Jeraine looked over at Bumpy. Seeing how angry his father was, he sat up and repeated, “What is it, Dad?”

“Nothing,” Bumpy said. Feeling his son’s eyes on his face, Bumpy glanced at Jeraine. “It’s just that there’s a bunch of us who know the truth. All of us, everyone who loves Yvonne, we’ve busted our asses to support her where she is because lord knows, he’d kill her rather than let her go.”

“Dad?” Jeraine shook his head. “I don’t really know what you’re talking about.”

“May you never be in the position to support someone who is forced to live her life as a slave,” Bumpy said. “You think, ‘As long as she’s alive, there’s a chance she could get away, to live again, come home.’ And she’s a young woman. But she has to live that life day in, day out while you sit on your hands. It’s not a good place for a man like me. Did you know Tanesha fights with her keeper every single month?”

“She doesn’t talk about her mom,” Jeraine said.

“Every month he tells her she’s lucky Yvonne’s not dead. He never fails to add, ‘Next time you come, she just might be dead.” Bumpy shook his head. “Your wife is tougher than I am. Rodney says she tells him she’ll skin him alive if she comes and her mother is dead. And you know what? I believe her.”

“Me too.”

Bumpy shook his head.

“What?” Jeraine asked.

“Seth’s going to be furious,” Bumpy said.

Jeraine laughed.

“Have you seen him mad?” Bumpy asked.

“More than once,” Jeraine said.

“Well, God bless Aaron Alvin,” Bumpy said. “Maybe he’s gonna finally get what’s coming to him.”

“Why’d you speed up?” Jeraine asked.

“We’d better get back,” Bumpy nodded. “There’s going to be a firestorm and we’d better be there to make sure it doesn’t plant any burning crosses on your Mom’s front lawn.”

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 4:25 p.m. P.T./ 5:25 p.m. MT

“Sorry, it’s taken so long,” Seth said as he came out onto the porch at the Malibu house. Lying in a chaise lounge with her toes pointed at the ocean, Ava looked up from her magazine. He sat in the chaise lounge next to her.

“What’s going on, Seth?” Ava asked.

“Jeraine picked up a sound in our recording,” Seth said. “It’s a long story, but it looks like Jer spotted a faulty recording device. None of the men can hear the sound, but the women can. It’s subtle at best and easy to miss, but the sound may be responsible for tanking more than a few good movies.”

“Sounds like lawyers will get involved,” Ava said.

“Probably,” Seth smiled. “What it means to me is that we need to re-record everything we’ve done so far. That’s not such a huge deal since the orchestra knows their parts and the whole machine is working well. It’s just that…”

He reached a hand out to her which she caught midair. She smiled at him.

“I want to go home.”

“I bet,” Ava said. “How long do you think it will take to re-record everything?”

“Couple weeks, tops,” Seth said. “Especially since Jeraine’s on board. I guess they set up everything at his apartment. We can get him the sound every night, they’ll mixed it and add the sound track to the movie. We’ll know what we need to redo in the morning.”

“Is that different from other times?” Ava asked.

“That kind of turn around is unusual,” Seth said. “It can take months or years even, but since they’ve been through it and Jeraine is there, it should be pretty straight forward.”

Ava smiled.

“Schmidy said you were upset about something,” Seth said.

“Did you tell Westword that my Dad had prostitutes at apartments he owns on Fourteenth?” Ava asked.

“Of course not,” Seth said. “That would be really bad for Yvonne. Why?”

Stunned by his words, Ava’s mouth dropped open and her eyes flooded with tears.

“Wha… What are you saying?” She rocked herself back and forth.

Seth jumped over to her. She let him pull her to him and cried into his chest. He held her as her tears became sobs and her sobs slowed to tears. He continued to hold her after the storm had passed and she clutched onto him like a life raft. When the words came, he shifted back to let her breathe.

“It’s like an answer to a question I didn’t know I had,” Ava said. “Where did all the money come from? Why did we have such a big house? Private schools? Plastic surgery? It’s like I’ve always known and never known at the same time.”

Her face was a wash of sorrow.

“What happened?” Seth asked.

“Barton wrote a story about Dad that says he… did that and…”

“Did?”

“The building caught on fire,” Ava said. “There was a construction crew nearby, Jammy says it was one of Jake’s, they sprayed the building with water so the fire never got too hot so they found… bodies.”

“How many?”

“Four,” Ava said. “Ferg said the women were killed before the fire. If that construction crew hadn’t been there, no one would have ever known.”

Seth’s face showed so much concern that Ava leaned back to look at him.

“What?” Ava asked.

“Nothing,” Seth said.

“Dad had a press conference saying you told Westword because you’re mad that he solved the Saint Jude thing,” Ava said.

“Politicians,” Seth said. “They will and do say anything.”

“You know all about this?” Ava asked.

Seth nodded.

“Will you tell me everything? Not leave anything out?”

“Are you sure?” Seth asked.

“I need to know,” Ava said.

“I’ll tell you everything,” Seth had the sinking feeling that when he was finished, their relationship would be finished too. She was too young to understand the dark side of love. It would take her decades to understand what he was telling her. “Let’s go inside where we can talk in private.”

Ava got up from the lounger and went inside.

For a moment, his heart constricted with pain and sorrow. Looking out over the ocean, every cell in his body longed to go back to this morning when they’d made love in the shower and laughed through breakfast. He closed his eyes to hold onto the memory for just a moment longer.

Seth had never backed down from anything in his life. The woman he loved completely needed him to be that man today. He followed her inside.

The Denver Cereal will continue next week

Denver Cereal is a serial fiction set in Denver, Colorado.
You can get your daily dose of Denver Cereal at DenverCereal.com
Chapters are posted on Saturdays on this blog.
Download your free electronic copy of The Denver Cereal, the beginning.
Signed copies of the books are only available at Cook Street Store.
You can also find The Denver Cereal, Celia’s Puppies, Cascade , Cimarron, and Black Forest at Amazon or your local bookseller.
Looking for electronic books? Go to the Cook Street Store or Smashwords.

Claudia Hall Christian is a novelist.

Prelude
Previous Chapters

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“What?” Zack asked. “What is he saying?”

“Nothing,” Alex said. “He’s not saying anything.”

“Why the grimace?” Zack asked.

“He wouldn’t say that if he didn’t think we… I… took on too much. He doesn’t think I can do it,” Alex said. “He’d never go so far as to say I can’t do it, but… he thinks it.”

“We’re taking over JFCOM, sir,” Sergeant Dusty’s voice came on the speaker phone.

“Hey Dusty,” Zack said.

“I have to agree with Y, sir. You do have a nice butt,” Sergeant Dusty laughed. “I shared a photo with the team.”

“Gee thanks,” Zack said. “I’m missing a sock. Can you see it?”

“It’s under the table, Jakker,” the Y voice said.

“I’m going to have to remember ‘Yippee Kai Yea,’” Sergeant Dusty said.

“Hey!” Zack laughed. “Don’t go stealing my best material!”

They laughed.

“How do you see us?” Zack asked.

“Webcam, Jakker,” the Y voice said. “Every computer in the room has one. We turned the computers on when we took over.”

“Did Mauer get a bird?”

“He’s waiting to land on the roof, sir,” Sergeant Dusty said. “He had to use ‘some kid’ – his words – as a co-pilot.”

Zack laughed. He and Alex had called Cliff “that kid” for more than a year before they bothered to learn his name. Zack sat down to put his shoes on.

“You better go,” Sergeant Dusty said. “They just remembered you’re there.”

“How long?” Alex asked.

“You have about three minutes before security gets to you,” Sergeant Dusty said. “Maybe five.”

“I’ll set off the fire alarm in the other areas of the building,” the Y voice said. “That closes the barriers between divisions. You have the run of the computer division.”

“What about the team?” Alex asked.

“They have access to you from the front,” the X voice said. “You will be alone until they reset the fire alarms. Gives you at least thirty minutes.”

They heard the fire alarm blaring in the other areas of the building. Alex took her weapon out of her handbag and nodded to Zack. She opened the door and peeked out.

“Ma’am, you’d do well to return to your room,” an Army Captain running by said.

“I have to pee,” Alex whined. “Can you point me to the potty? I promise to return the moment I’m done. Unless you’d like to party.”

The Captain pointed toward the bathroom and ran down the hallway. Alex nodded to Zack. Grabbing Zack’s jacket to cover her handgun, she walked toward the room where Ben was being held. Zack followed close behind.

When she reached the door, she looked up at the security camera. Y unlocked the door. She glanced at Zack. He took his handgun from his pocket. He nodded to her and they entered the room. Her mentor, biological father, and ex-boss was sitting in a leather office chair with his hands handcuffed in his lap. A US Army Private looked up with surprise when they entered.

“There you are,” Ben said in Parisian French. “Try not to kill this young man. He’s young.”

Ben’s guard fumbled for his handgun and Alex raised hers. With wide terrified eyes, the young man raised his arms.

“Hey Zack,” Ben said in English. “How the hell are you?”

Alex went to the young man and took his weapon.

“Good, sir,” Zack said. “I understand we moved our christening because yours was on the same day.”

“Nice of you,” Ben said. “I was otherwise detained when that was resolved.”

She searched Ben’s young guard with quick efficient moves. She found his ear bud communicator. She held out her hand and he gave her the ear bud. She dropped it on the floor to crush then realized she’d left her cool hooker shoes in the room.

“Zack?” Alex pointed to the ear bud. He stomped on it.

“Didn’t you guys have a baby early in the year?” Zack asked.

“Gerald? End of last summer,” Ben said. “Who knew that my goal of making love to my wife every day would result in another baby?”

“Wonder how that happened?” Zack laughed.

“I can either put you out or you can lay on your stomach on the floor,” Alex said to Ben’s guard. “Your choice.”

The young man dropped to the floor. With his face against the carpet, Alex used a plastic band she’d stowed in the elastic of her cheap thong underwear to bind his wrists behind him.

“We’ve practiced birth control by extensive travel schedule,” Ben said. “After Becky, we had to come up with something more… sincere.”

Ben and Zack laughed. Alex found the handcuff key in the guard’s back pocket and tossed it to Zack. Zack unlocked Ben’s handcuffs.

“Claire loves babies and children and little people, even teenagers. It’s like a disease,” Ben laughed. “She’s in heaven.”

“She’s happy to be done,” Alex said.

“Oh, she’s delighted to be done, but so am I,” Ben said. “Do think you and the gorgeous Bestat will have more, Zack?”

“If Bestat wants another child, I’m happy to oblige,” Zack shrugged.

“Fey, the filth are on their way to you,” the X voice said from the speaker of an office phone. “Should I turn on the overhead water jets?”

“That’s all right,” Alex said. “Where’s the team?”

“At the entrance,” the X voice said. “The Pentagon is freaking out about our announcement of taking over JFCOM.”

“Did you announce why you had to take over?” Alex asked.

“Dire threats to US security, which will cascade into international security,” the X voice said.

“A request for assistance from a friend in the ‘tippy top’ of US intelligence,” the Y voice said. “I love the ‘tippy top.’”

“Points to me without saying it’s me,” Alex said. “Nice.”

“And what did you find?” Ben asked.

“We’re not exactly sure, sir,” the X voice said. “We have three of our best people working on it.”

“How long?” Alex asked.

“Half an hour,” the X voice said.

“If you’re lucky,” the Y voice said.

“Thanks,” Ben said.

“Sergeant?” Alex looked up as if his voice was coming from overhead.

“Yes sir?” Sergeant Dusty asked from the speaker of the phone.

“Can you ask Colonel Gordon to talk to the Pentagon?” Alex asked. “He’s briefed on the entire plan.”

“That objective has been achieved,” Sergeant Dusty said. “It’s my understanding that this is a publicity move. They are anxiously waiting on your report. The entire alphabet soup is on alert and ready to act.”

“Can you inform them it will be a while?” Alex said.

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Dusty said.

With Alex’s help, Ben stood and stretched. Smiling, he hugged and kissed her cheek.

“Did you bring…?” Ben asked.

Alex went to her handbag and threw him a box of North Carolina cigarettes. He held the box to his nose.

“Lighter?” Ben asked.

“They took them from us,” Zack said. “Matches too. Alex had little candles for the mood. They weren’t amused.”

“Is Jesse with you?” Ben asked.

Alex gave a brusque nod.

“Jesse?” Ben held the cigarette away from him. “Help an old friend out.”

Jesse threw an energy ball at the cigarette. There was a tiny spark. Ben puffed, looked at the end of the cigarette and started to puff vigorously. The tobacco caught.

There were footsteps in the hallway.

“Oh tobacco,” Ben said. “Good Lord, I’ve missed you.”

“Better finish up,” Alex said. “We have visitors.”

Ben looked at Alex and she nodded. She was ready. She glanced at Zack and he nodded that he was ready too.

“Sir, Captain Mac Clenaghan asked me to remind you that you’re not wearing body armor,” Sergeant Dusty said.

Ben stood at the door. He raised three fingers.

Three.

Two.

One.

He opened the door and stuck the cigarette in his mouth.

“We’re taking over” and a rapping voice blasted over the loud speaker.

“What the hell is that?” Ben asked in a cloud of cigarette smoke.

“D.J. Khaled,” Alex yelled over the loud dance music. She nodded to Zack and stepped into the hallway.

Five men with machine guns ran down the hall toward them. Under the booming music, she heard a scratching, almost scrambling sound. Master Sergeant Bailey ran along the edge of the hallways toward her. Spinning in place, the dog got between her and the approaching men.

And it was not pretty.

Even standing behind him, Alex was terrified. The dog snarled, snapped and lunged at the men. The young Army MPs skidded to a halt.

One young man gave an unintelligible screech of horror. Another man raised his machine gun to shoot the dog.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Alex said.

When his finger moved to the trigger, Jesse threw a ball of electricity at him. The man screeched with pain. Jesse touched the machine gun and it became red hot. The MP dropped the it.

“Drop your weapons,” Alex said.

“Put yo hands up,” came over the loud speaker followed by the beginning of a fast techno beat. Master Sergeant Bailey snarled at them.

Once the final weapon was on the ground, the dog sat down as if to guard the MPs.

“Arrêt! Arrêt!” Yelling in French, Ben came out of the room with his hands up. “Shut off the crappy Syntho.”

“Techno, monsieur,” the Y voice said. “Le patron a dit…”

The music stopped.

“Sorry sir,” the X voice said.

The team turned the corner to the hallway. Sergeant Beetle gave one short whistle and Master Sergeant Bailey trotted back to him. Raz sprinted to her side. He dropped standard-issue body armor over her shoulders. She smiled her thanks. Instead of hugging her, he patted the Velcro into place. Leena brought Alex’s running shoes. Alex sat down to put on her shoes. Joseph gave her a sacrum holder with the Glock 9mm her father had bought for her when she was a child. When the handgun slid into its holster, she felt more like herself.

“Your attention is needed in the computer center,” the X voice said.

“I’m turned around,” Alex said. “Where is it?”

“I’ll guide you,” the X voice said. He couldn’t resist adding in an echoing voice, “Follow… the… light.”

Leaving Matthew and White Boy to deal with the MPs, Alex and Raz led the team down the hallway. X turned off all the lights except for those in the hallways they were to follow. They ran down one lit hallway to the next. Turning left, they saw a non-descript door in front of them. From the hallway, they heard Craig David’s “Hands up in the Air” blasting from the loud speakers.

“Put them on,” Alex said at the door.

Her team pulled their balaclavas down over their faces. The music came to an abrupt halt and Alex pressed open the door. The room had a five-foot-wide walkway over a sunken work area filled with more than a hundred cubicles and employees. The programmers were standing at the entrances of their cubicles with their hands on their heads. Alex’s team ran along the walkway to surround the programmers.

“X?” Alex yelled.

“Number 78, 83,” the X voice said.

“7,” the Y voice said.

“112,” the X voice said. “Desktops.”

“You heard them,” Alex yelled.

“Programmers for computers 7, 78, 83 and 112, step forward,” Trece yelled.

Three young men moved toward the center aisle. Matthew and White Boy ran into the room. Matthew stood next to Alex and White Boy went into the work area.

“We won’t ask you again!” Joseph said.

“You think you’re being loyal,” Matthew yelled. “You think you’re being citizens. If you don’t do what we ask to the letter, you will be on a plane to Gitmo faster than you can sneeze.”

A young woman jogged to catch up with the other three.

“Jeez,” Zack whispered to Alex. “They’re so young.”

“And stupid,” Margaret said as she passed by. She ran to frisk the programmers. She brought them by gunpoint to the walkway.

“Jesse?” Alex asked.

Four computers sparked and caught fire.

“What the hell!” the woman said.

“Be still,” MJ said. “You’re in enough trouble as it is.”

Vince and Colin ran forward with fire extinguishers.

“Merde,” the Y voice said.

“This is the disconnect order,” the X voice said.

“Copy that,” Sergeant Dusty said. “Alphabet soup has disconnected. You are isolated.”

“Is the General on the line?” Alex asked.

“Sir?” her father, General turned Senator Patrick Hargreaves, asked from the Pentagon.

“Your team,” Alex said.

“Disconnecting,” Patrick said over the intercom.

“Step away from your computers,” Trece yelled and ran into the work area. Vince, Colin, Trece and White Boy shooed the programmers from their cubicles.

The programmers shuffled toward the walk area.

“Vacate!” Leena yelled. “NOW!”

“Done,” Patrick said over the intercom. “Awaiting your orders.”

“Sir?” Sergeant Dusty asked.

“Jakker?” Alex turned to him. “Get to the chopper. You know what to do.”

Zack ran out of the room. Raz nodded to Alex and they ran out of the room. The programmers ran behind them with Margaret and MJ’s machine guns to encourage them. They followed the lit hallways to an interior meeting space.

Alex and Raz stood on one side of the door. Margaret and MJ escorted the programmers into chairs in the meeting space. Leena arrived mid-pack to help. Joseph and Colin arrived with the last of the programmers. Ben, Sergeant Beetle and Master Sergeant Bailey stood in the hallway while Ben smoked. They waited almost five minutes before White Boy and Trece ran down the hall.

“Done?” Alex asked.

“Set,” Trece said. “Okay assholes, we want your IDs. Pass them to the north end of your aisle.”

“You might think it’s smart to fail to produce your ID,” White Boy said.

“Just think how sad your momma is going to be when we tell her we had to KILL you because you failed to tell us who the FUCK you were,” Trece said from the north end of the room. “No, this north.”

White Boy went row-by-row collecting IDs.

“We want your phones, USB drives, and any other gadget you have on you,” Joseph said. “If you fail to produce them they will be destroyed.”

“Pass them to the south end of your row,” Leena said. “Yes that’s right. I’m standing at the south end.”

Leena and Joseph began picking up cell phones, pagers, iPods, flash drives, and other computerized objects.

“We are passing around ear plugs,” MJ said. “They only protect your ears to 65 dB. Put them in and cover your ears.”

“If you fail to put them in,” Margaret said. “You will become at least temporarily deaf.”

“And we cannot ensure you that your hearing will return,” Colin said. “If you need assistance, we will help you.”

“If you decide not to use the ear protection, we will post your picture on every Dungeons and Dragons website in the world,” MJ said.

“With the caption, ‘Deaf due to dumbassness,’” Margaret said.

MJ, Colin and Margaret began passing out soft foam earplugs. When Trece and White Boy had retrieved all the identifications, they began working with their handheld computers to identify each of the programmers. Margaret left MJ and Colin to help Trece and White Boy fill in a seating chart. Leena and Joseph were putting the gadgets into Ziplock bags and into a leaded backpack.

Alex and Raz watched the activity from the edge of the room, near the door. Trece and White Boy had completed the room chart before Matthew and Vince arrived. They nodded to Alex and ran into the room. Taking one last drag from a cigarette, Ben scooted into the room with Sergeant Beetle and Master Sergeant Bailey. MJ and Colin were moving from person to person to ensure their ear protection was in place. Margaret demonstrated how to cover their ears.

When the team was done, Alex moved to the middle of the hallway.

“I expect command in this room in fifteen minutes,” Alex yanked off her wig and balaclava. “You wanted me. You’ve got me.”

“Sir?” Raz held out earplugs to Alex. She jammed them into her ears.

“NOW!” Alex yelled.

 F

Lean on Me is the fourth novel in the fast paced Alex the Fey thriller series
by Claudia Hall Christian.

The novel is available in paperback and electronic books at Cook Street Store.
It will be available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your local book seller after 2/29/12
Lean on Me, and all the Alex the Fey thrillers are available in eBooks.
Entire chapters are be published on Fridays beginning March 2, 2012 at
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CHAPTER TWO

Sunday morning—11 a.m.
Fairmount Historic District, Fort Worth

Days: 8

“You know what I think,” Don Downs touched her shoulder to wake her.

“Hmm.”

Loraine “Lo” Downs rolled onto her side to look at him. The crisp white sheet lay across his tanned muscular shoulders. He reached out to move a piece of blonde hair from her face.

“Good morning.” He leaned over to kiss her.

“Hello beautiful,” she said. “What did you have in mind?”

“I think we should spend the entire day laughing,” Don said.

“You’re in court all week,” Lo said. “I have the no-carbs grumpies. How…?”

Don tossed the sheet in the air and scooched across the bed to her. She rolled onto her back. He kissed her face and her eyes and then wrapped his body around her.

“Love you, Lo.” He began tickling her. “Love you.” Tickle. “Love you.” Tickle. “Love you.”

Lo laughed.

“See! We’ve already started the day laughing,” he laughed with delight. “Never let the bastards get you down.”

“You know how to keep me from being down,” Lo said.

“No I don’t, little lady,” Don laughed. “Why don’t you instruct me in the finer arts?”

In one swift motion, Lo pushed him to the bed. Her lips moved across his face until they caught his mouth. He tugged at her, but she resisted engaging. She just wanted to kiss him this morning.

Pound. Pound. Pound.

“Don?” Lo sat up in bed. “Don?”

Her voice rose with panic. Don wasn’t in bed with her. In fact, she wasn’t in her bed. She rotated around to sit on the side of the twin bed. Looking around the room, she had no idea where she was.

Where was Don?

He was just here. He was just right here. She patted the bed where he’d been. They had started making love and Don was never distracted from love-making no matter what happened and…

Pound. Pound. Pound.

A shard of pain shot through her core.

Don was dead. She’d forgotten. Again. Don was dead.

She was at her mother’s house; the house she was born in; the house her mother had hanged herself in. Her house, Don’s house, their house was foreclosed while she was burying him.

She should have thrown herself in that hole.

She had to fight to take a full breath. If she didn’t know better, she’d have sworn she had a gaping hole where her heart once lived. She put her head between her knees to keep from throwing up.

Pound. Pound. Pound.

Wearing only a Dolly the Sheep T-shirt and panties, she went down the wide oak stairwell to the ground floor. Her memory filled in the image of her mother’s lifeless body hanging from the living room ceiling fan.

“Hi Mom.”

Waving, she continued walking to the front door. She flipped the lock and peeked out. Her little sister Lisa stood on her doorstep wearing her “get things done” outfit – blonde hair in braids, a bandana over her head, old jeans and one of her husband Earl’s old work T-shirts. She had four or five plastic grocery bags in her hand and her purse strap over her shoulder.

“It’s eleven o’clock!” Lisa said. “What the hell are you doing? You can’t sleep all day.”

Lisa pushed her way into the house.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Lisa asked. “I sat next to you at the funeral and a few hours later you’re homeless?”

“I don’t know,” Lo’s eyes filled with tears. “This whole thing… I…”

“Never mind,” Lisa said. “I’m here now.”

Lisa stopped in the doorway to the living room and stared.

“Do you see her there?” Lisa whispered.

“Larry too,” Lo nodded.

“I know she’s not there, but…” Lisa said. “God that’s creepy.”

Lisa pushed and prodded Lo into the kitchen. She set the bags on the Formica table in the middle of the room and began unpacking groceries. Lo leaned against the door frame to watch her sister. Within minutes, Lisa had bacon and eggs sizzling on the stove. She revealed a box of cinnamon doughnut holes and a bag of coffee grounds. Lisa gave the coffee to Lo.

Lo rummaged through the cabinets until she found her mother’s old percolator. She filled it with water and dropped the basket of coffee. She watched the coffee bubble in the little glass handle on top of the pot. This simple act was the first thing Lo had accomplished since she’d heard Don was sick.

“What’s that?” Lo pointed to a clump of grey-green leaves tied with a bright-red string.

“This is sage,” Lisa said. “We’re going to burn the sage, open the windows, and let the ghosts out of this place.”

Lo lifted her lips in a partial smile.

“Where’s your car?” Lisa asked.

“In front,” Lo said.

“Of this house?” Lisa shook her head.

Lo ran out the front door to where she’d parked her car. Gone. She dropped to her knees to touch the ground where the vehicle had been. Overcome, she began keening with grief.

“They came this morning,” a woman’s voice said.

Lo felt a hand on her shoulder. Through blurry eyes, Lo looked to see who was there.

“I asked them,” a dark-skinned woman said. “They told me they had to take it. It was their job. I told them that wasn’t much of a job. They told me about the economy and a bunch of other garbage.”

“Mrs. Williams?” Lo whispered.

“Yes, child,” the elderly woman said.

“Mrs. Williams,” Lo repeated. She looked up into the lined face of her mother’s next door neighbor. “I’m glad to see your face.”

“I’m glad to see you too,” Mrs. Williams said. “I usually see that husband of yours. Great man. He brought me groceries. Once a week. Not ‘cuz I can’t afford them, just ‘cuz I don’t move around so good anymore. I cried when I heard he’d passed.”

“Don’s dead,” Lo said.

“Yes, child,” Mrs. Williams said.

“Lo!” Lisa screamed from the porch. Lisa ran across the yard to her sister. She stopped short when she saw who was standing next to Lo. “Mrs. Williams.”

Lisa did an odd curtsey and Mrs. Williams laughed. The elderly woman held her arm out to Lisa and gave her a hug.

“Now, I read in the Star-Telegram that you bought that car after winning that Olympia thing,” Mrs. Williams said.

“Three years ago. Lo bought this car when she won Ms. Fitness Olympia the first time,” Lisa said. “Don insisted she get something she’d use every day, so she’d remember she’d won.”

“Paid cash for my car,” Lo said.

“Why did they take your car?” Mrs. Williams asked.

“Nothing makes any sense right now.” Lo shook her head.

“I’ll tell you what we do,” Mrs. Williams said. “We call the police and tell them that someone stole your car. We let them sort it out.”

“That’s a good idea,” Lisa said.

“Let’s get you up,” Mrs. Williams said.

Mrs. Williams and Lisa dragged Lo to her feet. A leering man jogged by them before turning into Fairmount Park. Mrs. Williams took Lo by the elbow and passed her to Lisa.

“You take her inside,” Mrs. Williams said. “I’ll call the police.”

Leaning on her cane, the elderly woman began a slow journey to her home next door. Lisa navigated Lo back into the kitchen and sat her down on a cracked-vinyl padded chair at the Formica table. Lisa returned to cooking. Lo picked at the chair’s stuffing through the cracks in the vinyl.

Neither sister said anything until Lisa set a cup of coffee with half-and-half in front of her sister.

“What do you think is going on?” Lisa asked.

“I have no idea,” Lo said. “Really. None. Don and I went over our finances every single Sunday. We’d sit down with a bottle of wine and go through them. The house was paid off. My car… his car… he had money from his father. Money for the girls… Oh God! I bet they froze Mandy’s school funds.”

Lo dropped her head to the table. She rolled her forehead on the cool Formica surface.

“What am I going to do?” Lo asked.

“Better yet,” Lisa grimaced. “What are you wearing?”

“Oh,” Lo looked down at the shirt. “I found this in my old room last night.”

“Dolly the Sheep?”

“I was pretty fascinated with cloning,” Lo picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. “Still am. Do you think I could clone Don?”

Lisa shook her head. Turning her back to her sister, Lisa finished making breakfast and set two plates on the table. She poured Lo more coffee and sat down across from her.

“I’ll tell you what,” Lisa said.

Lo looked up over her coffee cup at her sister.

“Someone gave this a lot of thought, a lot of energy, and a lot of time.” Lisa emphasized her points with stabs of her fork. “This is no random screw up, Lo. Someone planned to screw you. They methodically planned it and waited for their chance. The question is, who? Anyone really hate you?”

“The hex-wife Sue Ellen’s got to be at the front of the line,” Lo said.

“She’s more likely to sic her little yappy dogs…”

“Miss Princess Barbie and Mr. Ken?” Lo asked.

“They’d bite your ankles for sure,” Lisa said.

“She’s not very bright,” Lo said. “What about Ruth Ann?”

Lisa laughed at the mention of Larry’s wife.

“But that’s right,” Lisa said. “I can’t think of anyone either. Who hates Lo? Who hated Don? No one.”

Lisa shrugged.

“Maybe there’s something else going on,” Lo said.

“Oh God, Lo,” Lisa said. “What if Don was murdered?

The Queen of Cool continues next week…
_____________________________

The Queen of Cool is an intense mystery set in Fort Worth, Texas
by Claudia Hall Christian.

The novel is available in paperback and electronic books at Cook Street Store.
It will be available at in paperback and eBook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and your local bookseller.
The half of the chapter will be posted every Wednesday beginning May 2, 2012
StoriesbyClaudia.com and theQueenofCool.com

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join the the Queen of Cool Facebook Group

Previous Chapters
Recap of what’s happened so far and character summary
Looking for the beginning? Chapter One

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED and FIVE

Wednesday — 10:35 a.m.

“Hey hon,” Blane said when Heather answered the phone. “Are you watching TV?”

“No,” Heather said. “I was getting Mack ready for school. He was a little fussy this morning so I let him sleep after you left. He’s just getting around.”

“Is he all right? Is he sick?” The worry in Blane’s voice made Heather smile.

“I think it’s another tooth,” Heather said.

“No fever?”

“No,” Mack reached up for the phone and Heather smiled. “He’s okay. Plus, we’re just going to lunch and hanging out with Sandy. I can always stop by and pick him up if he’s fussy.”

“Oh right, lunch,” Blane said. “That’s why I called. Turn on the TV.”

“Okay.” With Blane on her hip, Heather went into their bedroom and looked for the remote control. “Any idea where the remote is?”

“Next to the window,” Blane said.

“You could just tell me what…” Heather clicked on the television. The screen lit up with pictures of an intense fire burning through a building. “Oh.”

“That’s Tanesha’s mom’s house right?” Blane asked. “We have a crew out in that area vacuuming sewers. They said they heard a gas explosion. The police have cordoned off the entire area.”

Heather took in scene. The picture switched to a live report in front of the blackened four-plex. She could make out four body sized shapes covered with white sheets. Water continued to stream into the charred remains of the building from fire trucks lining Fourteenth Avenue.

“They found bodies,” Blane said. “The guys said no one could have survived the fire. You think…?”

“She’s always there in the morning,” Heather said. “Always. Especially today when she knows I’m coming to get her.”

As she watched, a black limousine pulled up and State Attorney General Aaron Alvin stepped out.

“Who’s that?” Heather asked.

“State Attorney General… um… Alvin.”

“Ava’s dad?”

“The radio says he owns the building,” Blane said. “Westword is running an article tomorrow saying that he’s run prostitutes out of the four-plex for decades.”

“He’s Yvonne’s owner?” Heather was so shocked that Mack made a surprised sound. She looked down at her baby. “He’s a very bad man, Mack. Not like you.”

Heather watched Ava’s father survey the scene as if he was the injured party.

“I can’t just watch this,” Heather said. “I have to go see for myself.”

She jumped into action. Setting Mack in the middle of their King sized bed, she stuffed her feet into exercise shoes.

“I’ll meet you there,” Blane said.

“No,” Heather said. “You can’t be near the smoke.”

“Ok, but don’t go on your own, okay? They haven’t found the source of the gas yet,” Blane said. “Find our truck and the crew will go with you.”

“Okay,” Heather picked up Mack, grabbed her purse and ran down the stairs. “Oh my God, Blane, I don’t want to have to tell Tanesha that her mother’s dead. She…”

“She’s always hoped her mom would come home,” Blane said. “I know.”

Heather ran through the downstairs and to her car.

“I’ll call you when I know anything,” Heather said.

“You’ll look for our guys?” Blane asked.

She dropped Mack into his car seat and fastened the buckles.

“I will,” Heather said. “Love you.”

“Love you, Heather,” Blane said. “And… I’m really sorry.”

“The bastard is cleaning his tracks,” Heather said. “Fucker.”

Heather clicked off the phone before she went into a complete rant. Blane was only just starting to get better. He didn’t need to hear her rage at the man who’d stolen Tanesha’s mother and ruined her friend’s life. She started her Subaru and drove out Park Avenue to Fourteenth. She was almost there when Mack made a sound.

Stopped at the light at Holly, Heather looked back to see his fist in his mouth. He laughed as if he was caught doing something he shouldn’t. His small gesture and smile wiped the dark thoughts from Heather’s mind. She switched on a music CD he liked and drove to the edge of King Sooper’s parking lot. She had just pulled into a spot on the street when a man from Lipson Construction tapped on her window. She waved and got out.

“Blane said you’d come.” He looked worried. “It’s not a great place for a lady and a baby.”

“My best friend’s mother lives there,” Heather said.

She got out of the car and went around to get Mack. When she stood up, the other two Lipson Construction employees were standing near her.

“If you’d like, I can take Mack, ma’am,” a young woman said.

“Oh, no…um…” Heather looked up the street at the police, fire trucks, and media circus. She swallowed hard. “Can you just go with me? Would you mind?”

“Not at all,” the crew chief said. They started walking along the edge of the chaos on Fourteenth Avenue. The crew gathered around her and Heather. “We were working around the corner. Lipson employee owners wanted to try some smaller jobs to see if they were profitable, so Jake got the contract to clean and check the sewers in this area. We’ve been working up here for three weeks.

“We were just around the corner,” the young woman said.

“It’s a risk, with the sewers, you know,” the crew chief said. “If the gas builds up in the sewer, it can explode.”

“Our work can make that happen,” the man she’d met at the car said.

“These sewers are a mess,” the young woman said. “Either they weren’t done in the spring or…”

“We’re choosing to report that this area has heavy usage,” the crew chief said.

“But we think they weren’t done,” the young woman said.

“We heard the sound and thought it was from us!” the man she’d met at the car said. “From the sewer!”

“We checked everything real quick,” the crew chief said.

“Reported in immediately,” the young woman’s eyes became big. “Then I saw… and…”

As fast as they’d begun chatting, the Lipson crew fell silent. They continued walking until they were standing under the trees across the street. The water from the fire trucks poured into the building. The police directed traffic into the lane in front of them. And State Attorney General Alvin paraded around like an indignant peacock.

“I’ll tell you, Heather,” the crew chief said in a low voice. “The police told us not to talk to anyone, but since you’re Lipson family, I’ll tell you… We were here, right here, not thirty seconds after the explosion and…”

He swallowed hard.

“Everyone was dead,” the young woman whispered. Even with the wind and sirens and cars, Heather heard her whispered words like they were shouted from a bull horn next to her ear.

“There was a woman lying on her face…” the man she’d met at her car pointed to the apartment next to Tanesha’s mom’s place.

“The fire, not a minute after, was already burning the entire roof,” the crew chief said. “We used hoses but…”

“They were already dead,” the young woman whispered.

Heather lowered her head and put her hand over her eyes to block the view for a moment. She felt the young woman lift Mack from her hip. Heather sighed and opened her eyes.

As if they were placed there just for her to see, two cellophane bundles of yellow tulips sat in the gutter just east of where she was standing. She walked over to them and picked them up. The receipt was tucked into the cellophane wrapper.

“When did this happen?” Heather asked.

“9:37,” the crew chief said.

Heather’s finger traced the time stamp on the receipt. 9:23 a.m.

“Do you think your friend’s mom…?” the crew chief asked.

“No,” Heather shook her head. “I mean, I don’t know for sure but… I don’t think so.”

“Oh that’s good,” the young woman said. “That’s really good.”

“I think we all feel better,” the crew chief said. “I mean, the whole thing is horrible, but if a Lipson friend was killed…”

“That makes it personal,” the man she’d met at the car said.

“We can stay with you as long as…” the crew chief said.

“Thank you,” Heather said. “But you can go do what you need to. Thank you for being here for me. I appreciate it.”

The Lipson Construction crew walked her back to her car and helped her with Mack. When they left, Heather sat with the car idling.

If Yvonne wasn’t here, where was she?

She’d better get to Tanesha before she found out. Nodding to herself, she started toward the University of Colorado Medical School.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday — 10:55 a.m.

Tanesha pushed her way through the door into her Nervous System lecture and started down a row of seats near the middle of the auditorium. She nodded to a young man sitting in the row, set her book bag in the empty chair next to her, and sat down. Pulling out her notebook and pencil, she noticed that her cell phone message light was flashing. She flipped through the list of calls she’d missed – Jeraine, Sandy, Heather – probably to confirm lunch, Jeraine, and… a number she recognized. Without thinking, she dialed back the number.

“What?” she asked.

“You want her, you can have her,” her mother’s keeper said. “Five thousand dollars.”

“What?” Tanesha’s heart raced. She’d begged and pleaded with this man for years to let Yvonne come home.

“You heard me,” the man said. “You give me five thousand dollars and she’s all yours. Call me back when you have the money.”

The line clicked. He was gone. Tanesha stared at her phone.

“Ok, let’s get started,” the teacher on the stage below said.

Tanesha stuffed her phone into her bag and started taking notes. In the back of her mind, she heard – “My Mommy’s coming home today!” – repeated over and over again. Tanesha smiled and settled down to work.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday — 12:55 p.m.

“Yeah.” Driving to work, Ava hit the button on the blue tooth headset she called the fallopian tube or f-tube for short. She was late and assumed that Nelson was calling her to pick up coffee.

“Do you know what you’ve done?” Her elder sister’s voice was mean and loud. Ava turned the sound down on the f-tube.

“Uh… when?” Ava asked. “Are we talking about something I did when we were kids? Or the Saint Jude thing? Or… I’m late to work?”

“Dad is livid!” Her sister’s voice rose with hysteria. “Mom was so upset the doctor had to give her something. And…”

Ava showed her badge to the parking attendant while her sister rambled off the status of her family’s most recent drama.

“Mom’s so upset that I’m late to work that she had to be sedated?” Ava pulled into her parking spot and got out of the car.

“Your boyfriend lied to Westword about Dad!”

“Uh…” Ava said as she opened the trunk to get her backpack. “My boyfriend?”

“O’Malley told that horrible Barton Gaston lies about Dad,” her elder sister said. “The DA told me to go home for a few days while everything cools off.”

“Seth’s in LA dealing with some crisis,” Ava flung her backpack over her shoulder and started toward the door. She saw Seth’s friend, Captain Ferguson, waiting at the door. “I’m about to go in. Would you like to tell me what we’re talking about?”

“Westword is printing an article saying that Dad has made a fortune off of prostitutes at the four-plex. And it’s all your fault.”

“Four-plex?”

“That he owns on Fourteenth? God, Amelie, you’re such a child. The world just floats around baby Amelie.”

“Well, I’m paying attention now and you’re not making any sense, as usual,” Ava said. “Dad’s running for office. The newspapers print stupid crap all the time. So what?”

“This one has photos of Dad and some whore,” her elder sister said. “Plus, the apartment blew up this morning. Gas leak. They’re saying Dad did it to cover up his prostitution ring.”

“Ok, so Dad’s been pimping out of a four-plex on Fourteenth Avenue,” Ava said. “I guess that explains how he paid for our private schools.”

“And the building blew up! Women died!”

She reached the door where Captain Ferguson was waiting. She held up a finger to him and he nodded.

“So there’s a crime scene,” Ava said. “Outside of letting me know where I’ll probably be working today, how does any of this have anything to do with me? Or Seth?”

“Seth O’Malley lied to Westword about Dad,” her elder sister said. “And, just so you know, Dad says Seth owns prostitutes all over town. And…”

“I have to go,” Ava hung up her phone. She looked up at Captain Ferguson.

“What do you know?” he asked.

“My sister says that Westword’s reporting that my father has been prostituting women out of an investment property he owns,” Ava said. “I know he owns buildings, rentals, all over town, but… She says that my father says that Seth owns…”

She looked up in to the Captain’s face and saw that he knew all of this.

“There were four bodies, Ava,” Captain Ferguson said. “Four females. The coroner thinks their throats were cut. The fire inspector found enough evidence to believe that the fire was staged to cover up the evidence. I guess there was a construction crew nearby. They used garden hoses on the fire until the fire department got there. If they hadn’t been there…”

“The fire was hot enough to destroy everything,” Ava said in a low voice.

“Crematorium hot,” Captain Ferguson said.

“Sounds like a professional hit,” Ava said.

“Seems that way,” Captain Ferguson said. “As it is, identification is going to be tough. The coroner has already called Seth’s friend Delphie to help out.”

“And they think my dad…?” Ava was so shocked she didn’t know how to complete the sentence.

“I’m giving you the rest of the week off,” Captain Ferguson said.

“But my lab can’t afford a week off!” Ava said. “Leslie’s just back and Bob is saving to take his wife on a cruise for their anniversary and Nelson…”

“Just you,” Captain Ferguson said. “Most labs are run by civilians. We’ve asked Bob to take over for the rest of the week.”

“You took my lab?” Ava felt her sister’s hysteria begin to rise in her chest. “I lost my lab?”

“No,” Captain Ferguson said. “No one is taking anything from you.”

“But…”

“We’re trying to protect you,” Captain Ferguson said. “I called Seth. That boy who follows him around is arranging for you to fly out there for the rest of the week. Seth said to just come.”

Ava nodded.

“I’m going to drive you home,” Captain Ferguson said. “I’m off shift.”

“To make sure I go?”

“To make sure you’re all right,” he said. “I don’t know how you’ve missed this shit storm so far today, but it’s spreading fast. I want you out of town when this explodes because it’s nasty enough and smelly enough to stick to anything it lands on.”

“I was getting my hair cut,” Ava said.

The Captain glanced at her inch long hair and nodded as if he understood. She was about to press past him, to go to her lab, and stake her claim, when she saw his concern for her. She nodded. They walked together back to her car.

The big man held his hand out and she gave him the keys. When he drove out of the parking lot, she saw what she’d missed driving with her sister ranting in her ear – news reporters lined the street. When they saw her car, they started screaming and yelling her name. Over the bevy of sounds, Ava heard: “Did Seth set up your father?” “Does O’Malley have grudge because your father solved the Saint Jude case?” “Is your father…” Captain Ferguson revved the engine. A police cruiser was waiting for them on the corner to lead the way. Another cruiser followed behind. With lights flashing, they sped to Seth’s house.

Avoiding the reporters at the house, he went around the back and ducked into the garage. The garage door was almost to the ground before the vultures with their microphones came running toward them. Maresol met them on the back lawn.

“It’s been crazy here,” Maresol said. “Dale is staying to make sure the house is all right.”

“We’ll have a detail out front,” Captain Ferguson said. “They should be here by now.”

Maresol ushered them into the house.

“I packed a bag for you, Amelie,” Maresol said. “You should go change.”

Dazed, Ava nodded and went upstairs. When she returned, Captain Ferguson was gone and Dale was sitting at the counter.

“Did your talk to your family?” Maresol asked.

“My sister called,” Ava said. “I… Do you think Seth…?”

“The truth always finds a way to come out,” Maresol shrugged. “Seth? Someone else? It doesn’t matter. La verdad es hija del tiempo.”

Ava nodded. Maresol was right, the truth is time’s daughter.

“Am I a pimp’s daughter?” Ava asked.

“Come on,” Maresol said. “Let’s get out of here.”

At the garden gate, Ava hugged Dale and thanked him for staying. When the gate closed, she felt more than heard the wall of sound from the reporters. A uniformed Denver Police Officer took her and Maresol by the arm and led them to the back of a white Denver Police Department SUV. In what felt like a second, Ava was sitting in first class on her way to LA.

Feeling something on her ear, she reached up and touched the f-tube. She took the Bluetooth device off her ear. Looking at the device, her ears rang and a wall of emotion hit her.

Ava began to cry.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 1:25 p.m.

There was a solid “Whump” and Jeraine screamed.

Bumpy sprinted across the open plain in the direction of the sound. Turning the corner, he saw Jeraine on his hands and knees. Blood poured from his mouth.

“What happened? What happened? What happened?” he yelled as he ran. Jeraine shook his head. As he neared, he heard a braying and a donkey’s head peered from behind a tall Cottonwood tree nearby.

By the time he reached Jeraine, his son was sitting up and holding a handkerchief to his mouth.

“What happened?” Bumpy dropped down to Jeraine.

“That thing kicked me,” Jeraine said.

“What were you doing? Trying to mount it?” Bumpy asked.

Even in pain, the absurdity of the question made Jeraine laugh.

“Yeah, Dad, I got so horny out here in the middle of nowhere. Since you were over there by the house, I thought I’d get me some donkey,” Jeraine laughed. “Don’t tell Tanesha, okay?”

Sitting back, Bumpy laughed, and then he saw Jeraine’s mouth.

“Oh lord, your mother is going to kill me,” Bumpy said.

“Why?” Jeraine asked.

“Your girlfriend broke some of your teeth,” Bumpy said.

“Oh,” Jeraine put his hand to his mouth. Two of his incisors had broken off near the gum. “Shit.”

He spit out a glob of blood from his mouth.

“Shit?” Bumpy asked. “You don’t seem so upset about it.”

“You remember when I had gold teeth and a diamond right there?” Jeraine asked.

“I remember when you looked a fool,” Bumpy said.

“Turns out all that gold weakens your teeth. This one on the right broke when they took the diamond out,” Jeraine said. “They capped the teeth. I guess I’m going to have to spring for implants now. Wanna loan me the money?”

“Sure,” Bumpy said. “How’d it happen?”

“I must have I startled the donkey-beast,” Jeraine said. “It was lying in the shade under this tree when I came around from the river. It hopped up and gave a little kick.”

“And caught your mouth,” Bumpy put his head back and laughed.

“That donkey was fast,” Jeraine said.

They laughed.

“Let me take a look at you,” Bumpy said.

Jeraine let Bumpy look at his mouth and lips.

“You’re mouth is going to swell up. You’ll be pretty bruised; nothing looks broken though,” Bumpy said. “Jeez, you’re filthy. How did you get so dirty?”

“Hanging out with you?”

Bumpy looked down at his own clothing.

“We’re a match,” Bumpy said. “I have some ice in the truck. We’d better get back.”

“You want to stay out here?” Jeraine asked. “I don’t want to spoil the day.”

Bumpy turned to look at him.

“I’m enjoying spending time with you,” Jeraine said.

“Me too,” Bumpy said.

“If you want to stay for more…”

“No, it’s all right, son,” Bumpy said. “There isn’t much more to see here.”

“I like it,” Jeraine said. “I tell you sometimes I wish I could move out to a little cabin in a place like this – only dirt roads in, no way out in the winter, not press, no phones, no Internet, no cops, no drugs, no noise. In the middle of the noise and people and press and… this would have been paradise to me.”

Bumpy put his hand on Jeraine’s shoulder and nodded. He got up and held out a hand. Jeraine took it and hopped up. They started walking back to the truck.

“You going to do it, Dad?” Jeraine asked. “You going to let the oil people have the mineral rights?”

“We’re in the middle of this part of the Niobrara oil field,” Bumpy said. “If we don’t, the other’s won’t be able to either.”

“We don’t need the money,” Jeraine said.

“I thought you were broke,” Bumpy said. “Needed to borrow money for your teeth.”

“I am, but…” Jeraine pulled a wad of money out of his pocket. “I have this.”

“What are you doing with all that money?” Bumpy scowled.

“I thought you were in trouble,” Jeraine shrugged. “I didn’t know what, but I figured I’d get as much as I had in case you needed it. If we needed more, I’d sign a loan or call Schmidty.”

Bumpy’s eyes became moist. He nodded to Jeraine and cleared his throat. They were silent for a moment to let the emotion pass.

“Itth not enoutth for teeth,” Jeraine’s mouth had started to swell.

Shaking his head, Bumpy chuckled. They walked in silence.

“This land belongs to your Grandmother,” Bumpy said when they neared the truck. “She’d get the proceeds from anything they pulled out of the ground here. Outside of buying her a house, she’s never let me… help. Maybe with this…”

He shook his head and got into the driver’s side of the truck. When Jeraine got in, Bumpy held an ice pack out to him. Jeraine pressed it against his mouth and grimaced.

“You ever owe someone everything and have no way to repay it?” Bumpy asked.

“Yeth,” Jeraine nodded and looked into his father’s eyes. Bumpy started the truck.

“There sure is a whole lot of nothin’ out here,” Bumpy said.

Jeraine laughed.

The Denver Cereal will continue next week

Denver Cereal is a serial fiction set in Denver, Colorado.
You can get your daily dose of Denver Cereal at DenverCereal.com
Chapters are posted on Saturdays on this blog.
Download your free electronic copy of The Denver Cereal, the beginning.
Signed copies of the books are only available at Cook Street Store.
You can also find The Denver Cereal, Celia’s Puppies, Cascade , Cimarron, and Black Forest at Amazon or your local bookseller.
Looking for electronic books? Go to the Cook Street Store or Smashwords.

Claudia Hall Christian is a novelist.

Prelude
Previous Chapters

CHAPTER TEN

The weight of his words hung in the air. Almost every person rescued by the Fey Special Forces team had a black Vivaldi F tattooed on their right shoulder or wrist. It was a sign that they owed their life to the Fey. The team fell silent.

“Who is it?” Joseph growled.

“No disrespect meant, but that’s not my purview,” MJ said. “Lieutenant Colonel Hargreaves is my purview.”

MJ gave Alex an irritated smiled. She nodded and followed him out of the room. They went down the hall to the bathroom where MJ’s medic kit was set up.

“We talked about heels like this,” MJ said.

“I haven’t been wearing any,” Alex said. “I don’t think I can get away with not wearing them for this.”

“You can take them off and carry them in your hand,” MJ said.

“Point taken,” Alex said.

“I’m going to give you a shot,” MJ said. “But you remember what the doctor said…”

“Only one shot a day,” Alex said. “The steroids interfere with healing… and a bunch of other stuff.”

She lifted her skirt. As she had at least once a day since she’d had her last surgery, Alex bent over and grit her teeth against the pain. MJ injected her hip with a cocktail of steroids and pain medications. She stayed completely still for a moment while the steroids settled.

“I found a doctor who’s treating your very same symptoms.”

“Oh yeah?” Alex asked.

“Works with a lot of vets. I’d like you to meet with him.”

“Where is he?” Alex asked.

“Norfolk,” MJ said.

“Tell Joseph. If I can, it will go on the schedule,” Alex said.

“Yes sir.”

“We’ve got to go,” Zack pounded on the bathroom door.

“Thanks MJ,” Alex said.

“I’ll be in the Winnebago at Walmart,” MJ said.

“See you in an hour or so,” Alex said.

MJ opened the door. Alex gave him her best hooker wave and followed Zack to the door. Against the wall, a very intimidated US Army Master Sergeant stood at attention.

“Hey Darren,” Alex said. “What’s going on?”

“Sir, this creature was going to drive the Jakker to JFCOM so that he could be held hostage,” White Boy said. “He had full knowledge of the plan and still participated.”

Snarling, White Boy took a step toward the Master Sergeant.

“Permission to speak, sir,” the Master Sergeant said.

“Go,” Alex said.

“I was going to tell Captain Jakkman while we were in the car,” the Master Sergeant said. “I have a phone…”

He moved to his pocket and Trece was on him. Trece came up with a disposable phone.

“I bought that last night for Captain Jakkman’s use,” the Master Sergeant said. “I am required to do as I’m assigned or face court-martial. I’m on track for promotion this summer and…”

“I’d quit before I betrayed the Fey,” Matthew said.

“That’s just it,” the Master Sergeant said. “I’m not betraying the Fey. I’m helping. And I figured when it all went down, you could use another weapon.”

The Master Sergeant smiled at his brilliance.

“Do they know you wear an F?” Alex asked.

“Yes sir,” the Master Sergeant said. “I’m proud and humbled by my safe rescue by the Fey Special Forces Team. My wife and I thank God every day for you and the men.”

“They sent you because Captain Jakkman would trust you,” Alex said. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“Eniac is monitoring all of your communication,” he said. “Even the Map Phone. It’s some computer thing. That’s why no one can call you. One of my team called the Map Phone with a map correction. He was picked up in the middle of the night from his home and taken to Leavenworth, sir. I know it’s selfish, but my wife… my kids… My mom has Alzheimer’s and…”

He swallowed hard.

“I thought I could help!” he protested.

“They were going to kill you,” Trece said. “You wouldn’t have made it past the front doors.”

“Oh God.” The Master Sergeant lowered his head and pinched his nose to keep from weeping.

“If you want to help us,” Joseph said. “You will say you had to drag Captain Jakkman out of bed. He wouldn’t leave without the Lieutenant Colonel. You will refer to the Fey as ‘some hooker’. You will stop at a liquor store and buy whiskey for Captain Jakkman. You will call in a panic and tell them that when you returned to the limo, Captain Jakkman and the hooker were having sex.”

“Yes sir,” he said.

“You will drop us at the entrance,” Alex said.

“Tell them that the limo is in a mess from their ‘activities,’” White Boy said.

“Retreat to the Walmart parking lot where you will find an ancient Winnebago with a blue fairy sticker on the back,” Joseph said.

“Oh, and can you play that ‘Cult of Personality’ song?” Alex asked. “I need to learn the words.”

“Hey!” Zack faked a hurt expression.

“Yes sir,” the Master Sergeant said.

“What’s your name?” Matthew asked.

“Darren Rossen, Master Sergeant, US Army,” he saluted.

“Sorry we gave you such a hard time,” White Boy said. “We had to be sure.”

“I understand,” Master Sergeant Rossen said. “We need to go. Captain Jakkman is already a day late.”

Trece held the door for the Master Sergeant. The Master Sergeant pointed down the stairs. Joseph gave Zack a bottle of inexpensive John Jameson’s 7-year Irish Whiskey. Zack saluted with the bottle and took the stairs. The Master Sergeant followed Zack. Alex looked at the steps and took her heels off. Joseph gave her a tattered handbag. With a nod at their worried faces, she trotted down the steps to the limo.

“It’s like prom,” she said when she scooted in after Zack.

“I wish you’d gone to prom with me,” Zack said.

“I think things have worked out pretty perfectly,” Alex said.

Zack smiled. He moved across the limo to sit next to her.

“Why do you smell like sex?” Alex asked.

“Didn’t shower,” Zack said. “You?”

“Same,” Alex said.

“Yeah, things worked out perfectly,” Zack said.

“Would you like to stop at the liquor store?” the Master Sergeant asked.

“Can we do both?” Alex asked. “Hit one here and then another when we get there?”

“Liquor stores aren’t open until nine in Washington DC,” the Master Sergeant said. “We would have to wait.”

“Shit,” Alex said. “I didn’t check.”

“I can call in to say you and Captain Jakkman are having sex when we’re on the highway,” Master Sergeant Rossen said.

“Good thinking,” Alex said. “We have this bottle. We can skip the liquor store.”

“Yes sir,” the Master Sergeant said.

“We’re going to nap,” Alex said. “There’s no way to know what this day is going to turn into.”

“Hey, I thought we were having sex,” Zack said in his most indignant voice. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for…”

His head dropped back in mock sleep.

“Wake us up about ten minutes before we get there,” Alex said.

“Yes sir,” the Master Sergeant said.

“Sleep now or forever hold your peace,” Alex said to Zack.

Zack put his arm around her. He dropped his hat over his eyes and was out. She put her head against his shoulder and fell asleep.

FFF

Monday morning
October 26 – 8:42 a.m. EDT
Joint Forces Command, Suffolk, VA

When Trece had said they would be thorough, Alex hadn’t expected them to be quite as probing. The grumpy guards at the front of JFCOM all but did a full body-cavity search. She was delighted to see Jesse waiting for them near the entrance. He asked her more than once if she needed him to shock them.

“Boys, you have to pay for any more than that,” Alex giggled. “But I should be available later.”

“I want you all day,” Zack said.

“Maybe tomorrow, cutie,” Alex said and stroked the guard’s cheek. “Hey! What are you doing?”

They took her phone and tossed it into a cubby.

“That’s my livelihood,” Alex tried to get her phone from the cubby.

“I’ll be your livelihood,” Zack leered. “What do you mean you need my phone? I’m a superior officer, Sergeant! Who is your supervisor?”

Zack breathed whiskey breath on the guards. They grimaced but didn’t step back.

“It’s JFCOM standard procedure,” the guard growled. “If you look at the cubbies, Captain, you’ll see all the other phones there.”

“It’s a security risk for you to bring your phone into the building,” the other guard said. “As is alcohol. You can’t bring this in.”

The guard waved the flask of whiskey he’d taken from her purse.

“Hey! You can’t have that,” Alex reached over him for the whiskey. “That’s mine! I bought that!”

“I’m sure you’re making enough today to buy another,” the guard used his forearm to push her away from him.

“I’ll buy you anything you’d like,” Zack said.

“I do like you,” Alex said.

Zack began a tongue-probing kiss. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jesse swing the security camera away from them. Noticing the camera, the guard slipped a handheld computer into her bag. The other guard came to break up their pornographic embrace. While they fought to stay together, he slipped weapons into their hands. Jesse let the security camera track back in toward the guards’ direction.

“Sir, you disgust me,” the guard said.

“If I didn’t have to be at this meeting,” Zack said. “I’d have you court-martialed.”

“Yeah, court-martialed,” Alex pointed her index finger in the air and waved it back and forth. “No disrespecting the Captain.”

“Get them out of here,” the guard said to a waiting Sergeant.

“Right this way,” the Sergeant said. “We’re not quite ready for you. We wondered if you would mind waiting.”

“I always wait when I’m here,” Zack exaggerated his drunkenness. “Why do you think I brought entertainment?”

“Your iPod is for entertainment, sir,” the Sergeant said.

“This is more fun,” Zack wiggled his eyebrows.

“Yeah, fun,” Alex said.

Zack put his arm around Alex. His hand drifted down her chest until he grabbed her breast. She gave him a lustful look. The Sergeant couldn’t keep the disgust from his face.

“Listen,” Zack did his best imitation of an angry drunk. “I flew that bitch around all day yesterday. All day. That’s against regs! Take me here, Jakkman. Take me there, Jakkman. I need to unwind.”

“I’m the best kind of unwind!” Alex said.

Zack moved to kiss her again.

“Shall we?” the Sergeant asked.

The Sergeant took Zack’s arm in one hand and Alex’s arm in the other. He hustled them down a long hallway. They turned left, then right, and waited for an elevator. Rather than letting go of them, the Sergeant asked Alex to press the button. They went up a flight and down another hallway. By Alex’s recollection, they were close to the computer facility. The Sergeant opened a door and pushed them into a small room. Before they could say anything, the Sergeant shut the door. They heard a key turn in the lock.

Zack jumped Alex. In a great show of lust, she began taking off his clothing. She took his hat off and tossed it into the corner. The hat flew up into the air. Jesse caught the hat and lifted it up to the room’s surveillance camera. Unsure if there were other cameras, they continued their act.

Zack picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to a low table with a phone on it. She slipped across the table top to the phone. He unzipped his pants.

“Wait!” Alex said. “We need a condom.”

“Would hate for that dragon-hearted woman at home to find out,” Zack said.

He picked up her handbag and carried it to her. With the handbag tight between them, she made a show of going through it until she found a condom.

“Better get two,” Zack said.

“You are so frisky,” Alex said.

Zack started at his girlfriend Bestat’s usual joke about him. Alex gave a drunken giggle. Laughing, he dropped his pants. While he was fumbling around with his underwear, Alex took the handheld computer from her bag and turned it on.

“We need some music for the mood!” Alex said.

Zack gave her a lecherous grin and took the iPod out of his pocket. Working under the cover of his body, she plugged the computer cord in the handheld computer and held it out to him.

“The cult of personality,” Alex sang off key.

“Neon light…” Zack joined in.

He dropped his tidy whities and stepped closer to her. Alex leaned back to use her hands to prop herself up. Zack fell forward as if they had connected. His hands went past hers to set the handheld computer next to the phone. She moaned to cover the sound of Jesse connecting the handheld computer to the phone line.

“Only you can set me freeeeee,” Alex and Zack sang together.

Even though the handheld computer’s sound was turned off, it made a series of clicks. Zack grunted and Alex added some “Oh Gods.” They continued their Adult-Video-News-award-winning performance until Zack gave an exaggerated “Yippee Kai Yea” and collapsed against her. She had to press her mouth against his shoulder to keep from laughing out loud.

Zack glanced at his watch. It had been ten minutes since they had hooked up the handheld computer. Alex lifted a shoulder in a shrug.

“Good thing you brought more condoms!” Zack said.

Alex put her head back and laughed. Her pink curls shook glitter all over the room.

“Here you go, honey.” Alex gave him another condom. “You are a fun date.”

“I want to have fun…”

“WE ARE ANONYMOUS,” a computerized voice came over the loud speaker. The voice echoed through the hallway. “DO NOT PANIC. WE HAVE TAKEN CONTROL OF THIS FACILITY.”

“It’s about fucking time,” Zack said. “I already used my best material.”

“STAY AT YOUR STATIONS AND YOU WILL NOT BE HARMED. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LEAVE THE BUILDING. DO NOT TRY. STAY AT YOUR STATIONS.”

They heard general panic outside the door. The lock on their door clicked open.

“Love the outfit, Fey,” the computerized voice said from the phone’s speaker.

“Thanks X,” Alex said.

“You can put on your clothes Jakker,” the X voice said.

Wearing only a white T-shirt, Zack yanked up his underwear. He picked up his pants from near the door and his jacket from a corner, and started to dress.

“He has such a nice butt,” a higher-pitched computerized voice said. “Hey Alex, how big is he?”

“A high-class girl never talks size,” Alex laughed. The higher-pitched computerized voice laughed.

“Funny,” Zack said. “You’re very funny. Have you seen my tie?”

“Heya Y,” Alex said. “I should have known you were there.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” the Y voice said. “Can I have your outfit when you’re done? X wants the wig.”

“Jakker, your tie is in the bin,” the X voice said.

Zack went to the trashcan to find his tie. He noticed a rip in his dress shirt and dropped it in the trashcan.

“You can have my outfit,” Alex said. “It’s the least I can do. You guys know where Ben is?”

“He’s being held down the hall from you,” the X voice said. “It hasn’t occurred to them that you caused any of this. Should we let them know?”

“Let’s get Ben first,” Alex said. “Anyone else here we should know about?”

“Not that we’ve found,” the X voice said. “We’re just finishing the system. You were right, by the way. It’s not quite a virus but more than a monitoring program. That’s why it took so long. We’ll let you know the details when you confirm control of the computer facility.”

“Fey?” the Y voice asked. “Ben is three doors to your left as you exit the room and across the hall. He has one guard with him.”

“Is he saying anything?” Alex asked.

“He’s saying something in some other language,” the Y voice said. “I don’t recognize it and our software won’t translate it. I’ll patch you in.”

“While these final scans run, I’m going to announce this to CNN,” the X voice said. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. But Fey, you acted just in time. This thing was ready to do… I’m not quite sure what, on the entire international intelligence network.”

“Here’s Ben,” the Y voice said.

Ben’s voice came over the phone’s speaker. At first Alex thought he was injured until she realized he wasn’t actually saying anything. In his garbled non-language, he was saying he was there and he believed in her. She smiled at his confidence. Then, she realized what he was actually saying.

F

Lean on Me is the fourth novel in the fast paced Alex the Fey thriller series
by Claudia Hall Christian.

The novel is available in paperback and electronic books at Cook Street Store.
It will be available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your local book seller after 2/29/12
Lean on Me, and all the Alex the Fey thrillers are available in eBooks.
Entire chapters are be published on Fridays beginning March 2, 2012 at
StoriesbyClaudia.com and AlextheFey.com.

For discounts, give aways, special fiction, and other fun
join the Alex the Fey Facebook Group

CHAPTER ONE

(part two)

“Yeah, some people are jealous,” Larry said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Lo said. “She loves you.”

“I should stand up to her but…” Larry shrugged.

“We weren’t raised that way,” Lo said.

“You escaped,” Larry said.

“Yeah, like I knew what I was doing,” Lo said. “I was just sixteen years old. Don swept me off my feet and… I was very lucky. Even if he was with this Jean-Jean… Even if she was his lover… I was very lucky.”

Lo slurped the last of her milkshake.

“Want another?” Larry asked.

“I think I’m going to explode,” Lo said.

He smiled and she shrugged.

“Why did you marry him?” Larry asked. “I’ve never asked you but I always wondered.”

“Don is a Southern Baptist,” Lo said. “He couldn’t see any other way but to get married. Especially since I was so young. I mean, it bothers him that he’s twenty years older than me. He doesn’t want me to feel inferior or like I don’t have a say or…”

“That’s why he made you finish high school and go to college,” Larry said.

“Right,” Lo said. “He wants me to be ‘at his level, an equal partner in life.’ That’s what Don wants. I do my best to be that for him. But who can equal Don?”

Lo’s eyes lost focus. She gave a soft smile.

“He’s a better person than I am,” Lo said.

Larry smiled at her use of the present tense. It was going to take a long time for his little sister to put her husband to rest.

“And, I don’t know,” Lo said. “Dad died. Mom was a wreck. You’d left for the Air Force. And… it just happened. I got that summer baby sitting job with his girls, met him, and married him two months later.”

“Why didn’t you guys have kids?” Larry asked.

“We can’t,” Lo said.

“How did he have kids with Witchiepoo?”

“That’s a very good question,” Lo said. “We don’t think they’re his.”

“But he paid child support for them?”

“That man paid child support for those kids and they lived with us full time,” Lo said. “He loved those kids and gladly paid their mother if we could keep them.”

“Did they come back for the funeral?”

“Alisha has a trial starting on Monday,” Lo said. “She flew in and out today. She’s hanging on by a thread. I think work is the only thing that’s keeping her together. Mandy and I took her to the airport before…”

“And Mandy?”

“She went out with her friends,” Lo said. “She’s almost never in town so she wanted to see her friends while she’s here.”

“How’s law school?”

“Harder for Mandy then Alisha,” Lo said. “Don thinks she’s going to quit and go to Med or Vet school. But she’s getting through it. She has finals soon so she’s going back to Waco tonight.”

Lo always seemed so happy when she talked about the girls. Larry gave his sister a smile. Even tonight, one of the worst nights of her life, she still smiled when she talked about those girls. Catching his smile, Lo smiled back at her brother.

“Don wants a baby more than anything,” Lo said. “We’ve been doing the fertility thing but…”

Lo shrugged. She took a deep breath and then broke down again. Like a silent guard, Larry stood watch while she cried into her hands. After a few minutes, Larry got up to grab some napkins for her. When he got back, she had put most of her sorrow back into its tight, private box.

“I don’t have Don. I don’t have a baby. I don’t have a house. I don’t have a dollar.” Lo looked at her brother. “I have nothing.”

“You have the girls. You have me. You have Lisa.”

“Poor Lisa. Earl’s been out of work this whole year,” Lo said. “They’re really desperate. They couldn’t even afford to buy tickets to the Cowgirl museum when her picture went up. Don bought the tickets for them.”

“Don was a great guy.”

Lo nodded.

“Their house foreclosed about six months ago, but they haven’t been thrown out yet. Some loop hole… I wish I had that loop hole. I wanted to lie awake staring at the ceiling in my own bedroom tonight.”

Lo looked out the windows into the early morning dark.

“Do you think his pillow will still smell like him when I get back?” Lo asked. “It’s the only thing that got me through last week.”

As he’d wiped the tears from her face, Larry wished he could wipe the pain out of his sister’s life. He squeezed her hand.

“I’ll tell you what,” Larry said. “I’ll talk to a few guys and see if we can get you in there tomorrow. You can at least get your clothes, jewelry, his pillow, and the stuff they can’t auction off.”

“Thanks Larry,” Lo said.

“I was thinking about having a strawberry pie. They’re here for spring,” Larry said. “Want one?”

“Sure.”

“No crying, okay?”

Lo nodded. Larry walked to the counter to order the fried delicacies. While he was gone, Lo tried to take a few deep breaths. His warm company and the fatty food were calming. For a brief second, she thought she might survive all to this. She smiled at him when he came back with two pies and two cups of coffee. They ate their pies and drank their coffee in silence. When Larry looked at his watch, Lo knew he had to go. He’d catch hell as it was. If he stayed any later, he might need that lawyer.

“Do you have any money?” Larry asked.

“Nothing,” Lo said.

“Any cards just in your name?”

Lo shook her head. Larry pulled out his wallet and gave her a hundred dollars.

“I got this before I came to get you,” Larry said.

“I can’t take this,” Lo said.

“You can’t not take this,” Larry said. “You need food, clothing, and a place to stay.”

“What about Ruth Ann?”

“I’ll tell her I lost it in a bet,” Larry said. “I’m betting on you, Lo. You’re going to turn this around. I just know it.”

“How?”

“What about Don’s company?” Larry asked. “Don owned the biggest air conditioning company in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.”

“Owned in name only,” Lo said. “Henry, his Dad, bought it as a side project. Don never got around to selling it.”

“So what? Is that frozen?”

“I didn’t think to ask,” Lo said. “It’s probably still in Henry’s name.”

“I bet you five bucks they didn’t touch that air conditioning business,” Larry said. “You should take it over.”

“What do I know about air conditioning?” Lo asked.

“What’s to know?” Larry smiled. “Let’s check it out tomorrow after we get some of your stuff. I bet Lisa would go through the books for you. She’s really good at that kind of thing.”

“And have Earl take care of their three kids?”

“Hey, a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do,” Larry said. “He’ll survive. Lisa and I will meet you tomorrow.”

“Meet me where?”

“Mom’s.”

“Mom’s??” Lo shook her head. “No. No. No. Uh huh. No way am I staying at Mom’s! I haven’t been there since I found her…”

“Since she hanged herself,” Larry said. “I remember. I’m the one who cut her down. Best post-boot camp leave on record. Do you still have the keys?”

Lo nodded.

“I drive by Mom’s every week or so just too… well…” Larry shrugged. “Did you know Don took care of the place? It has a new roof. He had someone mow the grass and take care of the yard. I saw a plumber there once or twice.”

“He did?”

“I asked Don about it at one of your Fourth-of-July barbeques,” Larry said. “A couple of years ago. I asked him what he was up to. He told me that his Lorraine was born in that house. He couldn’t let it fall to the ground.”

“You don’t think he met other women there?” Lo asked.

“When would he have had the time?” Larry asked. “He had a busy law practice, the air conditioning company and he spent every other waking moment with you.”

“He was with another woman when he got sick.”

“You honestly think a man who wouldn’t be with you before marriage was with a bunch of women?”

“Ministers do it all the time,” Lo said.

“Now you’re just being weird.”

“I don’t know anything anymore,” Lo said.

“Stop the doubt, Lo. It’s killing you.”

Lo sniffed at her tears.

“No matter what happened, Don Downs loved you,” Larry said. “And…”

“And?”

“Now that all this crap happened,” Larry said. “I wonder if he kept up Mom’s house so you’d have a place to go.”

“How could he have known?” Lo asked.

“Don always seemed to know what was going to happen,” Larry said.

“Yeah, I always thought it was from helping the Romani,” Lo said.

“The Gypsies kept him well informed about the future?” Larry asked. “Probably.”

Shrugging, Lo wiped her eyes.

“Come on,” Larry said. “I’ll take you home.”

Larry put his arm around Lo and they walked into the Whataburger parking lot. Larry helped Lo into her Lexus then went to his cruiser. Lo drove up Hemphill Street to Feliks Gwozdz Place and turned left. She continued on West Myrtle until she got to Henderson. She turned right and pulled up in front of their mother’s house. Larry pulled in behind her. She waited for him to come to her door before she got out.

They walked to the front door together. Lo put the key in the dead bolt and turned it. The door swung open releasing a blast of hot air.

“I bet the air conditioning works,” Larry laughed.

Lo and Larry stepped into the house. Instinctively, they both turned to look in the living room. In the shadow and memory, they both saw their mother’s lifeless body hanging from the ceiling fan.

“I still see her there,” Lo whispered.

“Me too,” Larry said.

While Lo pulled the sheets from the furniture, Larry walked through the house. He turned on the air conditioning and checked to see if the water was running. He plugged in the refrigerator. He flipped on and off a few lights.

“Looks like everything’s working,” Larry said.

Larry hugged Lo tight.

“Here,” Larry gave Lo a disposable cell phone. “Your phone’s off. I didn’t know if you knew.”

“I didn’t,” Lo said.

“I tried to call you,” Larry said. “This isn’t as fancy as your iPhone, but it works. It’s from a set of phones cops are supposed to give informants. Witchiepoo will never find you. I programmed mine and Lisa’s numbers in case you need us. If Alisha or Mandy call me, should I give them your number?”

Lo nodded.

“You’ll be safe here.”

“Thank you,” Lo said. “For everything. Really.”

“Anytime of the day or night, Lorraine,” Larry said. “Call and I’ll be here quick as I can. Just don’t…”

Larry swallowed hard. He clutched Lo to him.

“The moment passed, Larry,” Lo said.

Larry kissed her cheek and walked out of the house. Lo closed and dead bolted the door. Crossing her arms across her broken heart, she walked back to the living room.

“Well Mom,” Lo said. “I guess I’m home.”

Q

“It’s okay,” Lo said. “She loves you.”

“I should stand up to her but…” Larry shrugged.

“We weren’t raised that way,” Lo said.

“You escaped,” Larry said.

“Yeah, like I knew what I was doing,” Lo said. “I was just sixteen years old. Don swept me off my feet and… I was very lucky. Even if he was with this Jean-Jean… Even if she was his lover… I was very lucky.”

Lo slurped the last of her milkshake.

“Want another?” Larry asked.

“I think I’m going to explode,” Lo said.

He smiled and she shrugged.

“Why did you marry him?” Larry asked. “I’ve never asked you but I always wondered.”

“Don is a Southern Baptist,” Lo said. “He couldn’t see any other way but to get married. Especially since I was so young. I mean, it bothers him that he’s twenty years older than me. He doesn’t want me to feel inferior or like I don’t have a say or…”

“That’s why he made you finish high school and go to college,” Larry said.

“Right,” Lo said. “He wants me to be ‘at his level, an equal partner in life.’ That’s what Don wants. I do my best to be that for him. But who can equal Don?”

Lo’s eyes lost focus. She gave a soft smile.

“He’s a better person than I am,” Lo said.

Larry smiled at her use of the present tense. It was going to take a long time for his little sister to put her husband to rest.

“And, I don’t know,” Lo said. “Dad died. Mom was a wreck. You’d left for the Air Force. And… it just happened. I got that summer baby sitting job with his girls, met him, and married him two months later.”

“Why didn’t you guys have kids?” Larry asked.

“We can’t,” Lo said.

“How did he have kids with Witchiepoo?”

“That’s a very good question,” Lo said. “We don’t think they’re his.”

“But he paid child support for them?”

“That man paid child support for those kids and they lived with us full time,” Lo said. “He loved those kids and gladly paid their mother if we could keep them.”

“Did they come back for the funeral?”

“Alisha has a trial starting on Monday,” Lo said. “She flew in and out today. She’s hanging on by a thread. I think work is the only thing that’s keeping her together. Mandy and I took her to the airport before…”

“And Mandy?”

“She went out with her friends,” Lo said. “She’s almost never in town so she wanted to see her friends while she’s here.”

“How’s law school?”

“Harder for Mandy then Alisha,” Lo said. “Don thinks she’s going to quit and go to Med or Vet school. But she’s getting through it. She has finals soon so she’s going back to Waco tonight.”

Lo always seemed so happy when she talked about the girls. Larry gave his sister a smile. Even tonight, one of the worst nights of her life, she still smiled when she talked about those girls. Catching his smile, Lo smiled back at her brother.

“Don wants a baby more than anything,” Lo said. “We’ve been doing the fertility thing but…”

Lo shrugged. She took a deep breath and then broke down again. Like a silent guard, Larry stood watch while she cried into her hands. After a few minutes, Larry got up to grab some napkins for her. When he got back, she had put most of her sorrow back into its tight, private box.

“I don’t have Don. I don’t have a baby. I don’t have a house. I don’t have a dollar.” Lo looked at her brother. “I have nothing.”

“You have the girls. You have me. You have Lisa.”

“Poor Lisa. Earl’s been out of work this whole year,” Lo said. “They’re really desperate. They couldn’t even afford to buy tickets to the Cowgirl museum when her picture went up. Don bought the tickets for them.”

“Don was a great guy.”

Lo nodded.

“Their house foreclosed about six months ago, but they haven’t been thrown out yet. Some loop hole… I wish I had that loop hole. I wanted to lie awake staring at the ceiling in my own bedroom tonight.”

Lo looked out the windows into the early morning dark.

“Do you think his pillow will still smell like him when I get back?” Lo asked. “It’s the only thing that got me through last week.”

As he’d wiped the tears from her face, Larry wished he could wipe the pain out of his sister’s life. He squeezed her hand.

“I’ll tell you what,” Larry said. “I’ll talk to a few guys and see if we can get you in there tomorrow. You can at least get your clothes, jewelry, his pillow, and the stuff they can’t auction off.”

“Thanks Larry,” Lo said.

“I was thinking about having a strawberry pie. They’re here for spring,” Larry said. “Want one?”

“Sure.”

“No crying, okay?”

Lo nodded. Larry walked to the counter to order the fried delicacies. While he was gone, Lo tried to take a few deep breaths. His warm company and the fatty food were calming. For a brief second, she thought she might survive all to this. She smiled at him when he came back with two pies and two cups of coffee. They ate their pies and drank their coffee in silence. When Larry looked at his watch, Lo knew he had to go. He’d catch hell as it was. If he stayed any later, he might need that lawyer.

“Do you have any money?” Larry asked.

“Nothing,” Lo said.

“Any cards just in your name?”

Lo shook her head. Larry pulled out his wallet and gave her a hundred dollars.

“I got this before I came to get you,” Larry said.

“I can’t take this,” Lo said.

“You can’t not take this,” Larry said. “You need food, clothing, and a place to stay.”

“What about Ruth Ann?”

“I’ll tell her I lost it in a bet,” Larry said. “I’m betting on you, Lo. You’re going to turn this around. I just know it.”

“How?”

“What about Don’s company?” Larry asked. “Don owned the biggest air conditioning company in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.”

“Owned in name only,” Lo said. “Henry, his Dad, bought it as a side project. Don never got around to selling it.”

“So what? Is that frozen?”

“I didn’t think to ask,” Lo said. “It’s probably still in Henry’s name.”

“I bet you five bucks they didn’t touch that air conditioning business,” Larry said. “You should take it over.”

“What do I know about air conditioning?” Lo asked.

“What’s to know?” Larry smiled. “Let’s check it out tomorrow after we get some of your stuff. I bet Lisa would go through the books for you. She’s really good at that kind of thing.”

“And have Earl take care of their three kids?”

“Hey, a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do,” Larry said. “He’ll survive. Lisa and I will meet you tomorrow.”

“Meet me where?”

“Mom’s.”

“Mom’s??” Lo shook her head. “No. No. No. Uh huh. No way am I staying at Mom’s! I haven’t been there since I found her…”

“Since she hanged herself,” Larry said. “I remember. I’m the one who cut her down. Best post-boot camp leave on record. Do you still have the keys?”

Lo nodded.

“I drive by Mom’s every week or so just too… well…” Larry shrugged. “Did you know Don took care of the place? It has a new roof. He had someone mow the grass and take care of the yard. I saw a plumber there once or twice.”

“He did?”

“I asked Don about it at one of your Fourth-of-July barbeques,” Larry said. “A couple of years ago. I asked him what he was up to. He told me that his Lorraine was born in that house. He couldn’t let it fall to the ground.”

“You don’t think he met other women there?” Lo asked.

“When would he have had the time?” Larry asked. “He had a busy law practice, the air conditioning company and he spent every other waking moment with you.”

“He was with another woman when he got sick.”

“You honestly think a man who wouldn’t be with you before marriage was with a bunch of women?”

“Ministers do it all the time,” Lo said.

“Now you’re just being weird.”

“I don’t know anything anymore,” Lo said.

“Stop the doubt, Lo. It’s killing you.”

Lo sniffed at her tears.

“No matter what happened, Don Downs loved you,” Larry said. “And…”

“And?”

“Now that all this crap happened,” Larry said. “I wonder if he kept up Mom’s house so you’d have a place to go.”

“How could he have known?” Lo asked.

“Don always seemed to know what was going to happen,” Larry said.

“Yeah, I always thought it was from helping the Romani,” Lo said.

“The Gypsies kept him well informed about the future?” Larry asked. “Probably.”

Shrugging, Lo wiped her eyes.

“Come on,” Larry said. “I’ll take you home.”

Larry put his arm around Lo and they walked into the Whataburger parking lot. Larry helped Lo into her Lexus then went to his cruiser. Lo drove up Hemphill Street to Feliks Gwozdz Place and turned left. She continued on West Myrtle until she got to Henderson. She turned right and pulled up in front of their mother’s house. Larry pulled in behind her. She waited for him to come to her door before she got out.

They walked to the front door together. Lo put the key in the dead bolt and turned it. The door swung open releasing a blast of hot air.

“I bet the air conditioning works,” Larry laughed.

Lo and Larry stepped into the house. Instinctively, they both turned to look in the living room. In the shadow and memory, they both saw their mother’s lifeless body hanging from the ceiling fan.

“I still see her there,” Lo whispered.

“Me too,” Larry said.

While Lo pulled the sheets from the furniture, Larry walked through the house. He turned on the air conditioning and checked to see if the water was running. He plugged in the refrigerator. He flipped on and off a few lights.

“Looks like everything’s working,” Larry said.

Larry hugged Lo tight.

“Here,” Larry gave Lo a disposable cell phone. “Your phone’s off. I didn’t know if you knew.”

“I didn’t,” Lo said.

“I tried to call you,” Larry said. “This isn’t as fancy as your iPhone, but it works. It’s from a set of phones cops are supposed to give informants. Witchiepoo will never find you. I programmed mine and Lisa’s numbers in case you need us. If Alisha or Mandy call me, should I give them your number?”

Lo nodded.

“You’ll be safe here.”

“Thank you,” Lo said. “For everything. Really.”

“Anytime of the day or night, Lorraine,” Larry said. “Call and I’ll be here quick as I can. Just don’t…”

Larry swallowed hard. He clutched Lo to him.

“The moment passed, Larry,” Lo said.

Larry kissed her cheek and walked out of the house. Lo closed and dead bolted the door. Crossing her arms across her broken heart, she walked back to the living room.

“Well Mom,” Lo said. “I guess I’m home.”

Q

The Queen of Cool continues tomorrow…

_____________________________

The Queen of Cool is an intense mystery set in Fort Worth, Texas
by Claudia Hall Christian.

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