Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (22 page)

And naked in the wind.

Hearing a noise, she stiffened. He’d
returned. She closed her eyes tight to pretend she was asleep.

He wasn’t fooled. How could she fool him!?
He’d done this very thing more than forty times! She heard his feet
scrape across the bare ground as he walked over to her. He lifted
her leg and gave her another injection.

Ava was slipping away again when she heard a
sound.

A woman was humming.

“
What is that?” Ava
asked.

“
My favorite lullaby,” the
woman said. “I thought it might give you courage.”

“
Beth?”

“
Will you hum it with me?”
The woman gave Ava a sweet, kind smile.

The sound buffeted her, strengthened her,
and became her. Ava slipped away.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday afternoon — 4:55 P.M.

“
Hi,” Sandy said to
Seth.

She was plating cookies when he came down
the stairs from his shower.

“
You should be home with
your family,” Seth said.

“
This may not be my home,
but you are my family,” Sandy said. “Maresol left some chicken
enchiladas. Want me to warm them up?”

“
I can’t eat,” Seth
said.

He picked up his telephone. Looking at the
dial, he puzzled. Still no message from Ava.

“
What?” Sandy
asked.

“
Ava was going to call me
at four,” Seth said. “Did she call the house?”

“
Not that I heard,” Sandy
said. “She’s probably resting.”

“
Probably. How are you
feeling?” Seth asked. “You’ve only been out of the hospital a day
and…”

“
Sick,” Sandy smiled. “But
better. Every day, I’m a little better. Thank God. It does me good
to be at home with the kids and here with you. Nothing’s more
healing than making a batch of chocolate chip cookies.”

Smiling, he took a cup of coffee from her
and a cookie from the plate. They ate cookies and drank their
coffee in companionable silence.

“
I heard the Coroner say
something about Saint Jude,” Sandy said.

“
We call the serial killer
Saint Jude,” Seth said. “He gives the kids Saint Jude
necklaces.”

Sandy nodded and sipped her coffee. He
reached for another cookie, then had to ask the obvious
question.

“
Why?” Seth
asked.

“
There was a guy that I
used to see,” Sandy said. “You know, when I was a kid and seeing
men for money?”

Seth nodded.

“
He used to talk about
saving souls,” Sandy said. “He was a real perv. Didn’t want to see
me after I got pubic hair. Dad made me shave my peach fuzz because
he was such a great customer.”

“
Sandy, you don’t have
to…” Seth started.

“
No, let me finish,” Sandy
said. “I saw him later. You know, after Dad and you rescued
me.”

“
Where?”

“
I didn’t sleep at first.
Dad thought some medication would help,” Sandy said. “I went to see
a psychiatrist. The school referred me to the pervy guy. He was a
psychiatrist. Unbelievable. Dad took me to see him.”

Stunned by her words, Seth stared at
her.

“
You have to remember
because it was a big ass deal. I pitched a fit and wouldn’t see the
perv. Mom was furious because we still had to pay him. But Dad
never made me do anything I didn’t want to do,” Sandy said. “I used
to call that guy Saint Jude. You can ask Jill.”

“
I paid for your
acupuncture treatments,” Seth said.

“
That’s right,” Sandy
said.

“
So you could sleep,” Seth
said. “Psychiatric acupuncture or something like that.”

“
I knew you’d
remember.”

Sandy refilled their coffee cups. They ate
cookies in silence.

“
Didn’t Bonita see a
psychiatrist?” Sandy asked. “Remember, you were sober. You’d heard
there were meds to help people who couldn’t stay sober. She went to
that guy for months. Told me I should go. What was his
name?”

Shrugging, Seth shook his head.

“
Would you remember where
his office was?” Seth asked. “The pervy psychiatrist?”

“
I could find it again,”
Sandy said. “Why?”

“
I met a psychiatrist
today,” Seth said. “Dr. Thad James.”

“
Thaddeus James?” Sandy
asked. “Thaddeus is another name for Saint Jude. They call him Jude
of James or Judas Thaddeus. I can’t believe my own Godfather didn’t
get anything from Catholic school.”

“
Oh my God,” Seth said.
“Ava!”

His nagging worry for Ava turned to a full
blown panic. He picked up his phone and dialed her number. No
answer. He called the hotel room. Nothing. He dialed CSU.

“
Hey did you guys ever get
over to that therapy office?” Seth asked.

“
Not yet,” the CSU head
said. “Sorry. We’re backed up on this Saint Jude thing from last
night. The DA’s on us to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’ for
evidence.”

“
Ok, thanks,” Seth
said.

He called the dispatcher and gave the
address to Beth and the psychiatrist’s office. Sandy hugged him.
They waited ten minutes before the call came.

Ava’s policewoman was murdered.

Ava was gone.

Seth made two quick calls to get his team
looking for Ava. When the missing officer alert had been sounded,
he grabbed his wallet and keys and ran toward the door.

“
Seth!” Sandy
yelled.

He turned to look at her.

“
What?” Sandy
asked.

“
We have to get to
Rachel,” Seth said.

“
Rachel?” Sandy asked.
”Why? If Charlie doesn’t have the mitochondrial DNA, I won’t and
Rachel…”

The look on his face made her stop talking.
She grabbed her purse and followed him out to his car.

“
She’s not my mother?”
Sandy asked after he started the car.

“
They’re not your
biological parents,” Seth said.

“
Well,” Sandy put on her
seatbelt. “This has been an interesting day.”

Shaking his head at his tough Goddaughter,
Seth started toward St. Joseph’s hospital.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday afternoon — 5:15 P.M.

“
Get out of my way,”
Tanesha said.

Dressed in surgical scrubs, Tanesha tried to
get around Dr. Cam Morgan. Every time she moved, he stepped in
front of her. They had started arguing outside the surgical suites,
continued arguing in the elevator and were now standing in the
hallway in front of St. Joseph’s NICU.

“
You have to talk to me,”
Cam said.

“
I do not,” Tanesha
said.

“
Please,” Cam said. “Last
night was…”

“
A mistake,” Tanesha
crossed her arms over her heart. “One that won’t happen
again.”

“
Last night was amazing,”
Cam said. “The symphony was unbelievable and you…”

“
I was high on the music,
Dr. Morgan,” Tanesha said. “You took advantage of me.”

“
I distinctly remember you
taking advantage of me,” Cam chuckled. “In the car. At my
apartment, in the shower, this morning and…”

Tanesha gave him a strong look and tried to
get around him.

“
You can’t deny this,” Cam
said.

“
I can too,” Tanesha said.
Leaning back on her right leg and crossing her arms again, she
added, “You’ll deny it soon enough when your wife gets
here.”

Cam startled and furrowed his brow.

“
What about the five
children?” Tanesha asked. “What are you going to tell
them?”

Cam grabbed her arm and dragged her down the
hallway to a family bathroom. Tanesha kept talking.

“
You’ll deny me soon
enough,” she said. “I don’t know this woman. What date? Music. I’ve
never seen her before. Deny, deny, deny, deny, deny.”

“
Please stop talking,” he
stuffed her into the bathroom. He locked the door and stood in
front of it.

“
I will not,” Tanesha
said. “You kidnapped me. I have some bad ass friends who rescue
hostages. Maybe I should call them.”

“
We cannot have this
conversation out there,” Cam said.

“
Fine,” Tanesha said. “You
were telling me about your wife and children. They’re…”

“
A cover,” Cam
said.

“
A what?” Tanesha asked.
“That has got to be the lamest thing I’ve ever…”

“
Plus, you’re the one who
has a boyfriend,” Cam’s voice raised in anger.

“
I have a friend with
benefits,” Tanesha said. “Tres knows all about this. We don’t keep
secrets.”

“
Please,” Cam backed off
his anger and tried a new tack. “My life is complicated. I was
placed here. The woman and her children are listed as my wife and
kids. They aren’t. Trust me. We’ll get a very public and very messy
divorce in a few months.”

“
What are they a cover
for?” Tanesha asked.

“
I can’t tell you,” Cam
said.

Tanesha scowled at him.

“
I can’t,” Cam said. “I
never expected to feel this way. I have never felt this way about
anyone. Ever.”

Tanesha’s eyes moved across his face.

“
I know it sounds mad,”
Cam said. “It sounds insane to me! But…”

He sighed.

“
I have a mate who lives
here part of the year,” Cam said. “His children live here. He said
it was a great place to live. I applied to move here and was
accepted. By some miracle, I even found a job. Then wham. My first
day, I run right into John Kelly and meet you.”

“
John Drayson?” Tanesha
asked.

“
Yeah, him,” Cam said.
“Listen, I… can’t stop thinking about you. I want to be with you
every moment of every day. I’ve memorized your schedule so I can be
in the hall when you are. I lie awake at night thinking about you.
Good Lord, I feel like I’m twelve years old.”

Tanesha flushed.

“
You don’t have to believe
me,” Cam said. “Not on anything. But give me a chance. I had an
amazing time last night. Did you?”

Tanesha nodded.

“
Will you go out with me
again?” Cam asked. “Just a date – dinner or whatever.”

“
All right,” Tanesha said.
“But that cover story is lame-o.”

“
Good,” Cam smiled.
“That’s really good.”

“
I need to go,” Tanesha
said. “I’m missing my Rachel time.”

Cam stepped away from the door. He touched
her arm as she passed. She turned to look at him and their eyes
held. His lips brushed hers.

She opened the door.

“
HEY!” Tanesha said. “Who
the hell are you? Get away from my Rachel!”

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-SIX

What about Ava?

Tanesha took off across the hallway toward
the stranger standing over Rachel’s incubator. Opening the NICU
door, she yelled again.

“
Get away from that baby!”
Tanesha said.

The nurses and parents visiting other babies
stared. Tanesha kept moving.

“
Who the hell are you?”
Tanesha yelled. “You don’t belong here.”

The father of the baby next to Rachel stood
up. He said something Tanesha couldn’t hear and the man looming
over Rachel knocked him down with a vicious blow.

“
SECURITY!” Cam began
yelling. He stuck his head into the hallway. “WE NEED SECURITY
STAT!”

The man picked up Rachel and started for the
door. Tanesha hurled herself at him.

“
Put her down! Put her
down!” Tanesha’s fists flailed against the man. “I will kill
you!”

The other parents began moving across the
NICU toward them. Tanesha kicked the man’s right knee over and over
again until he began to collapse. As he shifted, Tanesha snatched
Rachel from his arms.

The man grabbed at the baby but Tanesha
kicked him away. With the parents closing in, the man ran from the
NICU. Cam moved to stop him. The man slashed at Cam with the
scalpel he’d used to cut Rachel’s air supply. Cam fell back and the
man reached the door to the stairwell just as Seth and Sandy ran
off the elevator. Cam pointed Seth toward the stairwell and Seth
immediately followed the man. Sandy ran to the NICU. The nurses
were in action reconnecting Rachel to her air supply.

“
Oh my God,” Tanesha
clutched Sandy to her. “That man was going to steal my
Rachel.”

Over Tanesha’s shoulder, Sandy watched the
nurses remove Rachel’s breathing tube to replace it with a fresh
line. A doctor ran into the NICU.

“
She’s been sedated,” the
nurse told the doctor.

“
Sodium Pentothal,” Sandy
said.

“
Seriously?” the doctor
and nurses looked up at her.

“
That’s Saint Jude,” Sandy
said. “The serial killer. He was going to…”

Sandy began to cry. The doctor and nurses
stared at her.

“
She’s not lying,” Tanesha
said.

Little Rachel gave a cry and the medical
professionals returned their attention to her. They continued to
work until Rachel had a new breathing tube and was reconnected to
her monitors. They took blood samples. The nurse held her out to
Sandy.