Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (20 page)

“
From rehab?” Aden
asked.

Charlie shook his head.

“
A girlfriend?” Aden
asked.

“
Why do you care?” Charlie
asked. “She’s not a drug addict or a bad influence or…”

Aden raised his hands. Seeing Aden’s
gesture, Charlie clammed up.

“
What’s going on Charlie?”
Aden asked.

Charlie refused to respond. They walked past
the Greek pavilion and continued in silence until they reached the
north end of the park.

“
They still find bodies
here,” Aden said. “You know, from when it was a
cemetery?”

Charlie’s eyes showed his attention but his
defiant demeanor hadn’t shifted.

“
I used to spend a lot of
time here,” Aden said. “When I was out. It wasn’t the safest place
but it wasn’t that bad either. Mostly it was…”

“
Spooky,” Charlie
said.

“
Did you see ghosts and
stuff here?” Aden asked.

“
Weird shit,” Charlie
said. “Razor and I…”

As if he’d run into a wall, Charlie stopped
walking. He gulped.

“
I…” Charlie gulped
again.

Aden grabbed Charlie as he folded over with
grief. Aden negotiated Charlie over to a bench and sat with the boy
while he sobbed. Unsure of whether to touch him or not, Aden sat
with him. When Charlie began to control his emotion, Aden asked
again, “What’s going on, Charlie?”

“
I killed Razor,” Charlie
said. “He was my best friend and I killed him.”

“
I know how you feel,”
Aden said. “But you didn’t kill Razor.”

“
I did!” Charlie said. “If
I had told Uncle Seth everything, he would still be
alive.”

“
You know that’s a lie,”
Aden said.

“
Are you calling me a
liar?” Charlie jumped to his feet and ran off.

Aden ran after the boy. He caught Charlie
easily and fell into pace next to him. Charlie stopped running and
leaned against a tree to catch his breath. His face was gray. To
Aden, he looked every bit the sick child.

“
They’re dead, Shi-dai,”
Charlie said between pants. “Jeffy. Razor. They’re dead. And I’m
still here. Why?”

“
I know,” Aden
said.

“
You know! How do you
know?” Charlie asked. “You live this perfect life with your perfect
kids. How could you know?”

“
I’ve been there,
Charlie,” Aden shrugged. “My best friend in the whole world got
drunk and froze to death. I was there. I could have saved him. But
I didn’t. I can make a list of reasons: I didn’t know he would die;
I didn’t know it was so cold; hell, my friend could have easily
been poisoned like Jeffy and Razor. Doesn’t matter. In my heart, I
know I should have done something, and I didn’t.”

Aden could feel Charlie’s eyes scrape across
his face.

“
I also know that I’m not
that powerful,” Aden said. “I’m not powerful enough to keep someone
alive. I wasn’t powerful enough to heal Sandy when she was sick. I
can’t guarantee Rachel will survive. I’m just me.”

Aden shrugged.

“
Sandy would tell you that
you survived for some reason, some purpose,” Aden said. “That’s how
she copes with everything that’s happened to her. She says she
survived to love people and she puts that love into everything she
does and everyone she interacts with. But me? I...”

Aden shrugged. He started walking and
Charlie joined him. They walked on the cinder running path until it
connected with the new cement path. They were almost to his car
when Aden sighed.

“
I believe we create
meaning in our life,” Aden said.

“
What meaning does your
life have?” Charlie asked.

“
To be the best man I know
how to be,” Aden said. “To support others so they can be the best
they can possibly be.”

“
Like Noelle and
Nash?”

“
Noelle, Nash, you, Sissy,
Teddy while he’s staying with us, the people who work for me, the
people I work for,” Aden said. “My friends. Sam Lipson taught me
this. By myself, I can’t do much. But I can support people so they
can create miracles.”

Aden opened the passenger door for Charlie
and went around to the driver’s seat.

“
You’re not going to get
over your friends’ deaths, Charlie,” Aden said when he sat down.
“You’ll just get used to it. I’ll tell you what though.”

“
What?” Charlie
asked.

“
I’ll be here to help you
find that meaning in your life,” Aden said. “Every step of the way
as your Shi-dai.”

When Charlie didn’t respond, Aden started
the car. They continued their way toward Urgent Care.

“
Who’s the girl, Charlie?”
Aden asked.

Blushing, Charlie shrugged.

“
Girlfriend?” Aden
asked.

Charlie nodded.

“
New?”

Charlie shook his head.

“
Do I get to meet her?”
Aden asked.

Charlie shook his head.

“
Since all of your
earnings go toward restitution for stealing the satellite code,”
Aden said. “I bet you need some money for dates.”

“
And?” Charlie’s head
jerked up to look at Aden.

“
Maybe we work out a
deal,” Aden said. “I get to meet the girl. You get some money and
measured freedom to date her.”

Charlie didn’t say anything. They went into
Urgent Care and Charlie returned to sullen teenager mode. Aden
signed him in and went with him to see the doctor. After a quick
strep test and a prescription for antibiotics, they were back in
the car. Aden refused to start the car until Charlie had taken his
first dose of antibiotics. Charlie whined but took his medicine and
Aden started the car.

“
Ok,” Charlie
said.

“
Ok?” Aden
asked.

“
Money and freedom if you
meet her,” Charlie said.

“
Measured freedom,” Aden
said. “That means I know where you are and what you’re doing at all
times. The price of being in a family, Charlie, is that you give up
freedom for measured freedom. It’s worth it.”

“
Fine,” Charlie said.
“Measured freedom.”

“
Ok,” Aden
said.

“
Turn here,” Charlie said.
“She’s working at City Floral this summer.”

“
You saw her yesterday
when you helped Delphie get plants for the garden,” Aden
said.

“
I might have seen her the
day before too,” Charlie said. “Delphie needs a lot of
plants.”

Smiling, Aden turned up Fourteenth Street
toward City Floral.

“
You’ll tell her we were
car shopping?” Charlie asked.

Aden smiled.

“
I forgot to shave,”
Charlie said.

“
Did you brush your
teeth?” Aden asked.

After thinking for a moment, Charlie
nodded.

“
You look fine,” Aden
said.

“
You won’t tell her I was
crying,” Charlie said.

“
Never,” Aden
said.

“
Can I wear the hoodie and
not this lame jacket?” Charlie asked.

Aden laughed.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday afternoon — 1:35 P.M.

“
Oh hey,” a male voice
said.

Seth, Ava, and her policewoman turned toward
the voice. They were standing outside the door of Beth’s
psychotherapy office. The office had already been reviewed by the
Crime Scene Unit. They were there to see if Ava could find the
secret file Delphie had mentioned. A medium height middle-aged man
ran up the stairs to meet them.

“
I was afraid I’d miss
you,” the man said. “Amelie, right? You probably don’t remember me.
I’m Beth’s officemate. Thad James.”

“
Oh yes, Dr. James,” Ava
said. “I’m sorry. This day has been such a blur.”

“
I can imagine. You must
know how truly heartbroken I am,” Dr. James hugged Ava. Ava patted
his back and he stepped back. “I loved Beth like a daughter. This
is a tragedy.”

“
She was my best friend… a
very special person,” Ava managed.

“
To say the least,” Dr.
James said. “The police said I’d need an officer to go in with me.
They said you could help. I just need a few files so I can cancel
my appointments for next week.”

Ava nodded.

“
Do you know who Beth left
her practice too?” Dr. James asked. “Should I call her
patients?”

“
She left them to a woman
in her supervision group,” Ava said. “The woman called me this
morning. I’ve already sent her Beth’s schedule and her client’s
phone numbers.”

“
Beth was very organized.
I’m glad that’s taken care of. You must be Detective O’Malley,” Dr.
James held his hand out to Seth. “I’ve read all about
you.”

Seth shook his hand then turned to use
Beth’s key to get into the office suite. He nodded for the
policewoman to follow Dr. James while he accompanied Ava toward
Beth’s office. The waiting room was small, clean and brightly
decorated. Dr. James and the policewoman turned into the first door
on the right. Seth and Ava went through the waiting room to a door
near the back. Ava took a deep breath, closed her eyes and went
into Beth’s office. Seth and Ava pulled on latex gloves. Overcome
with emotion, Ava stood in the middle of the room while Seth
checked the obvious places.

“
She loved this office,”
Ava said. “Dr. James was her supervisor for her license. He’s
brilliant. That’s what she always said. He knows kids, knows which
kid is going to go really bad, and which kid will step right
through their troubled life. I helped her paint in here. She was
lucky to get this office after his last officemate had a
baby.”

Ava stared at the picture of her and Beth on
the bookshelf near Beth’s desk. She went over to pick up the
picture. Holding the picture in her hand, she noticed the chair was
out of place.

“
Someone’s been in here
looking for something,” Ava said.

“
CSU?” Seth asked. He
pulled up the cushions to the couch and dove into a tub of
toys.

“
No,” Ava said. “When we
go through places, we’re systematic so we know what we’ve done.
This was random. Sporadic. Desperate.”

“
We should get CSU back to
dust for prints,” Seth said.

“
Sure,” Ava said. “I’ll
call.”

She picked up the phone and dialed the
number. Staring at the pictures on the wall, Ava realized she knew
where the folder was. She was so lost in thought that she was
startled when the lead forensics investigator answered the phone.
After a quick conversation, Ava set down the phone.

“
Okay,” Dr. James stuck
his head into Beth’s office. “I’m off. Please let me know if
there’s anything I can do to help, Amelie.”

Ava nodded. She waved goodbye to the
psychiatrist and watched her policewoman follow him out of the
suite. Stepping behind the door, Ava removed Beth’s diploma off the
wall. The policewoman squeezed in the door. Ava took a key from
behind the diploma.

“
Can you help me move
this?” Ava asked.

Ava pointed to a stuffed armchair. Seth and
the policewoman moved the chair. Ava pulled the carpet back to show
a locked compartment.

“
I found this when we were
moving in her stuff,” Ava said. “God knows how long it’s been
there. It was empty. Beth’s boyfriend Dale replaced the lock
and…”

Ava turned the lock and opened the
compartment. Two folders were stuck inside along with a small
stuffed giraffe. Ava gave the folders to Seth and took the giraffe.
The policewoman put the carpet back and moved the heavy chair over
it.

“
I gave her this,” Ava
said. Her eyes welled with tears. “When we were kids.”

Staring at the giraffe, Ava plopped down in
the armchair.

“
WAIT,” Ava yelled.
“STOP!”

“
What?” Seth
asked.

“
Chain of custody,” Ava
jumped to her feet. “Beth gave her life to protect these papers. We
need to make sure we can use them.”

Seth gave the folders back to Ava. She
counted the sheets in each folder and gave them to Seth. He counted
the papers and initialed her evidence notes.

“
I’m going to scan these,”
Seth said. “Her system is all set up. That way we can use the
documents while they move through evidence. I’ll email you a
copy.”

Ava nodded. She sat down in the armchair.
While Seth scanned the contents of the folders onto a two gigabyte
USB drive from his pocket, Ava continued staring at the giraffe.
Seth put the folder into a large plastic evidence bag.

“
I need to get to Rachel,”
Seth said. “Do you want to come with me? It’s really okay if you
want to spend some time here with… Beth’s things.”

Teary eyed, Ava looked up at him. She
nodded.

“
I’m going to see Rachel
and then meet with the Coroner about Bonita around three,” Seth
said. “We’ll meet up after that to review these files? Say
four?”

“
Why don’t I call you?”
Ava asked. “I’d like to spend a little time here.”

“
You’re supposed to stay
at the suite,” the policewoman reminded Ava.

“
We’ll go there next,” Ava
said. She smiled to reassure Seth. “I’ll call you and we can figure
out where to meet.”