Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (17 page)

“
When did you start...?”
Jacob wasn't sure how to ask the question.

“
I used to hide my old
Daddy's keys. He was mean and it made him crazy not to find his
keys,” Katy said. “Always, always. But he started to hurt Mommy
because he couldn’t find his keys so I stopped. For a long time, I
stopped. Then I saw you do it and I thought maybe it was okay if I
did it for big things.”

“
Like dragons?” Jacob
asked.

“
And sand castle tunnels,”
Katy said.

“
That's how Paddie knows
you can do it,” Jacob said.

Katy nodded.

“
But it's a secret,” Katy
said. “He will never ever tell anyone, ever.”

“
You don't move things in
pubic?” Jacob asked.

“
Never.” Katy's tiny hands
went around her belly. “I don't want to be probed.”

“
Probed?”

“
By government people,”
Katy said. “Paddie saw a show about being probed and told me that I
might be probed by government people.”

Katy nodded.

“
I would never let that
happen,” Jacob said.

“
But you would be probed
too!” Katy's voice rose with her anxiety. “Mommy too!”

Tears filled the child's eyes. Jacob picked
her up off the couch and put her on his lap. He rocked her back and
forth until her fear eased. Snuggling on his lap, she ate a
brownie.

“
Daddy?” Katy
asked.

“
Yes Katy,” Jacob
said.

“
What does ‘probed’ mean?”
Katy asked.

~~~~~~~~

Monday evening — 7:15 P.M.

They had invited a hundred people but there
was more than twice that number the antechamber to Boettcher Hall.
Seth had been mingling from one person to the next. He'd spent most
of the time with Sandy, Aden and the kids. The boys had brand new
tuxedos. Noelle and Sissy were wearing gorgeous Valerie Lipson hand
me down designer dresses. He ‘ooohed’ and ‘ahhed’ over each of them
while he basked in their excited banter. He was laughing at the
boys antics when he heard, “Seth! Over here!”

Seth tried not to groan. His agent was
waving him over to the one person Seth had been avoiding -
Colorado’s Attorney General, Aaron Alvin, Ava’s father. Seth hugged
Delphie and shook Sam's hand before he plastered a smile on his
face and walked over. His agent made the introductions. After a
round of back slapping, his agent wandered off in search of a
reporter. Seth shifted uncomfortably.

“
Nice to see you,
O’Malley,” Attorney General Alvin said. “I hear you’re doing great
work on the Saint Jude serial killer case.”

“
Thank you, sir,” Seth
said. “I believe we will catch the killer. Your daughter has done a
fantastic job of connecting the victims. It’s a huge step forward.
Did she tell you?”

“
She didn’t need to,”
Attorney General Alvin said. “I doubt it will surprise you, but I’m
the kind of father who keeps tabs on his children.”

Raising his eyebrows, Seth shifted
uncomfortably.

“
Yes, O’Malley,” Attorney
General Alvin said, “I know about you and Amelie.”

“
What is it that you know,
sir?” Seth asked.

“
Yes, play sly,” Attorney
General Alvin said. “Personally, it’s not like you stood a
chance.”

“
A chance,
sir?”

“
When my daughter sets her
sights on something, she usually gets it,” Attorney General Alvin
said.

“
And what did she set her
sight on?” Seth asked.

“
You, O’Malley,” the
Attorney General said. “You remember the Cigarette
Killer?”

“
I do,” Seth
said.

“
Amelie was twelve when
you worked that case. She read the Denver Post every day to keep up
with the investigation. She pestered me for inside details. She
even spent her entire summer watching the trial. You may remember
meeting her.”

“
Amelie, sir?” Seth shook
his head.

“
The Cigarette Killer case
is the reason she went into law enforcement,” Attorney General
Alvin said. “Nothing that her mother said or I said made a
difference. She wanted to be just like her hero detective. She
worked her ass off to graduate college early and intern with the
FBI.”

“
You pulled a few
strings,” Seth said.

“
More than a few,”
Attorney General Alvin said. “I wasn’t surprised when I learned you
were dating.”

“
Dating, sir?” Seth
asked.

“
Won’t last,” Attorney
General Alvin said.

“
Sir?” Seth
asked.

“
My daughter is dogged at
what she wants. She’ll do anything, put herself through enormous
trials but once she has what she wants…,” Attorney General Alvin
shrugged. “She never stays very long. Once she’s conquered one
goal, she’s on to her next challenge. I expect her to give up this
whole law enforcement thing any day now. Her mother would like her
to be a doctor. She really should be a doctor. With her experience
with the Denver Police, she would be accepted at UC Anschutz
Medical School right away.”

Seth watched the man’s confident smile and
steely eyes.

“
She can’t change what she
is,” Ava’s father said. “She’ll flit from thing to thing until she
has children. Just like her mother. Of course, her mother was more
interested in charities and the tennis circuit than police work.
Here they are!”

Carrying glasses of champagne, Ava and her
mother approached.

“
Her mother does not know
you’re dating,” Attorney General Alvin leaned in to say in Seth’s
ear. “Let’s keep it that way.”

“
The man of the hour,”
Ava’s mother said. “We’re very thrilled to hear the new symphony,
Seth.”

“
Vivian! How delightful to
see you,” Seth kissed her cheek. “Thank you for coming.”

“
We wouldn't miss it for
the world,” Ava's mother said.

“
We were just talking
about the Cigarette Killer,” Ava’s father said. “You remember that
case, don’t you Amelie?”

“
It’s one of the finest
pieces of detective work I know of,” Ava said. “That case is the
reason I went into forensics.”

“
O’Malley was the
detective,” Ava’s father said.

“
He was?” Stunned, Ava
gawked at Seth.

“
You didn’t know?” Ava’s
father laughed.

“
No,” Ava said. “I had no
idea.”

“
It was a long time ago,”
Seth said.

“
I wish you would use your
powers of detection to figure out who gave my daughter this
gorgeous eternity diamond necklace,” Ava’s mother said. “What do
you think, Seth?”

“
Are you sure it's not a
loan like in that movie...?” Seth asked.

“
Pretty woman?” Ava's
mother asked.

Ava blushed. When Seth gave her the
necklace, she'd asked him if it was a loan.

“
With Richard Gere?” Ava's
mother asked.

“
Yes, I believe that's
it,” Seth said.

“
I asked the same thing,”
Ava’s mother said. “You would think my daughter would want to
introduce me to the man who bought her diamonds and designer
dresses.”

“
You would think,” Seth
said.

“
I’m sorry to interrupt,”
Seth’s agent said. “But it’s time to get started.”

Seth nodded to Ava’s mother and father. He
stopped to give Sandy a hug and then followed his agent toward the
stage. Looking out over the audience, he saw a uniformed police
officer speak with Ava and her parents. The same officer jogged
across the floor toward him.

“
Sir?” the police officer
asked.

Seth turned.

“
We’ve received a credible
threat to your life,” the officer said. “You’re secure in this room
but will need police escort to leave. Technician Alvin has agreed
to secure your hotel room prior to the break. I’ll be here the
entire show and escort you to your room when it is
secure.”

Seth nodded.

“
Thank you officer,”
Seth’s agent said. “Ready Seth?”

Seth closed his eyes for a moment. Nodding
to his agent, he took a breath then walked to the Grand Piano on
stage. He looked up to catch the Colorado Symphony conductor’s
eyes. The man nodded to him.

And the symphony began.

~~~~~~~~

Monday evening — 7:30 P.M.

Ava wasn't sure when the music began. She
only felt the movement and pressure of her own emotions. One moment
she wanted to dance for joy. A few minutes later, she felt the
oppressive pressure of her parents and their expectations. Feeling
almost as if she could no longer breathe, she was about to jump
from her seat when the mood shifted.

And her heart broke open.

She noticed her mother crying into her
sleeve the way she did when she didn't want her father to know. Ava
looked around the room to see tears falling down the cheeks of many
people in the audience. Even the pros, Valerie Lipson, Stephen
Spielberg, and other famous people she recognized from the magazine
stand at the front of the grocery store, were weeping.

The dream continued. Ava felt lifted from
her sorrow to the highest peak of Mount Elbert where she played
among the clouds. With the fairies as her companions, she soared
through the majestic beauty of high country meadows, bubbling
creeks, and danced with the dragonflies across the surface of Twin
Lakes. Spinning, dancing and laughing, she was returned to her seat
in Boettcher Hall.

Ava felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up,
a uniformed policewoman indicated that it was time for them to
secure Seth's hotel room. She gave her mother some tissue and
trotted out of the room.

“
We're a little behind
schedule. I couldn't...,” the uniformed police woman said. “Did you
cry?”

Ava jogged as fast as her gown and high
heels would allow. They moved across the patio toward Fourteenth
Street.

“
I felt like my entire
insides were torn out,” Ava said.

“
And then rearranged in
perfect order,” the policewoman said. “Amazing. I didn't know music
could do that.”

They continued across Fourteenth Street to
the Curtis Hotel. Ava turned to look back at Boettcher Hall and saw
police officers securing the area in their wake. They nodded to the
officers in the entryway and took the elevator to the eighth floor.
They jogged down the Sci Fi themed hall to the premium suite Seth's
agent had reserved. The policewoman and Ava checked the room.

“
I'll be outside if you
need anything,” the policewoman said.

“
I was to stay outside to
protect Detective O'Malley,” Ava said.

“
Detective O'Malley?” the
policewoman asked.

“
The officer said there
was a credible threat...”

“
Against you, Technician
Alvin,” the policewoman said. “The guy Detective O'Malley is after
is a danger to him
and
you.”

“
What are you talking
about?” Ava said.

“
You don't know?” the
policewoman asked.

“
I was told there was a
threat to Detective O'Malley's life,” Ava said.

“
Your roommate's dead.”
The policewoman put her hand on Ava's arm.

“
Beth,” Ava whispered.
“How? What?”

“
Her boyfriend found her
at about six. She... Anyway, she must have tricked the perp into
thinking she was dead because she wrote: 'St. J coming for Am' in
her own blood on the kitchen floor.”

“
Oh my God,” Ava
said.

“
You're Am, aren't you?”
the policewoman said. “Amelie?”

“
Beth has called me ‘Am’
since grade school,” Ava nodded. “Did she... suffer?”

“
I'm not going to lie to
you. You'll find out anyway,” the policewoman said. “She suffered.
A lot. But she fought back. He got some of what he gave. She pulled
out chunks of his hair and gouged him with her nails. There's a lot
of forensics for your team.”

“
She has a black belt in
karate,” Ava said.

“
She kicked his butt,” the
policewoman said. “And tricked him into leaving her to write her
note.”

Ava sat down in a high backed stuffed
chair.

“
Saint Jude is back in
town,” the policewoman said. “He's coming to clean up the mess.
That's what he told the homeless kids. You and Detective O'Malley
are first on his list.”

“
Oh,” Ava said.

“
The Chief wanted you
safe,” the policewoman said. “He booked this suite for the rest of
the week. He'd like you and O'Malley to stay here until we catch
him.”

“
Oh.”

“
Stay here,” the
policewoman said. “We'll escort you back after O'Malley takes his
break.”

Ava nodded to the policewoman.

“
O’Malley's a kind of a
nut, amazing musician and composer but a total nut,” the
policewoman said. “Can you handle him for an hour?”

Ava nodded.

“
There's another bedroom
if you want to just avoid him. But no matter what, don't leave this
room without me. You and me. We're a team until they catch this
guy.”