A Promised Fate (18 page)

“That’s what we are trying to figure out, Ma’am. Take
a deep breath and try to calm down. Close your eyes and envision
what it is you saw. Talk us through the minutes before it all
happened. That might help jog your memory.”

“Oh … um, ok.” My mom gulped air and closed her eyes.
“Ari called me around eleven and asked me to check on the house. He
wanted to know if Ava had come home from her appointment. So, I
left Max with Lauren -- the two of them were busy in front of the
television. I went the way I always do and walked up their deck
towards the back sun porch.”

“Alright, did you notice anything different about the
deck or porch?” The officer urged her to continue.

“No … I don’t think so.”

“When you walked in the house, you went through the
back door?” he prompted.

“Yes, the glass kitchen door.”

“Did you have a key?”

“No.”

“Do you normally use a key?”

“I didn’t bring my spare because I know where they
hide an extra key.”

“Did you use that key?”

“Yes. It was under the cactus pot like always.”

“Ava, did you lock the door before you left in the
morning?” The police officer turned to her.

“Yes,” she frowned.

“All the doors were locked?”

“Um. I don’t remember. Maybe?”

“You have a home alarm system. Did you engage the
alarm this morning before you left the house?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember. I was really
rushed.”

“Alright. Agatha, continue please. What did you see
after you entered the home?”

“I walked into the kitchen and I didn’t notice
anything right away. Ari asked me to check to see if Ava’s car was
in the garage and I did. There were no cars there and I only
glanced in -- nothing caught my attention -- and I just closed the
door back up. That’s when I noticed Ava’s phone on the counter --
which was why Ari couldn’t reach her -- and I saw her watch, ring
and necklace.”

“Ava, did you leave those items on the kitchen
counter?”

“Yes,” She nodded. “I was running late. I just forgot
to grab everything.”

“Alright. Continue.” The officer nodded back at my
mother.

“Right after that, I heard talking and just assumed
it was their bedroom television. They leave it on quite often,” she
added.

Ava face pinched tight, “No, we don’t.”

“The sounds were coming from upstairs then?” The
officer re-directed them back to the matter at hand.

“Yes, from their room.”

“Do you know what they were saying? What the
conversation was about?”

“No, the talking was muffled. Then I started to
notice the mess, but it didn’t really register in my brain as an
intrusion. I just thought the kids had probably had a busy weekend
chasing after Max. Mess happens,” my mother said, shrugging her
shoulders. “Then I stepped in a pile of glass and found a shattered
picture frame. I started to clean it up but Ari told me to get out
of the house. I ignored him at first, but after he said people were
in the house, everything just hit me all at once and I knew he was
right. I looked up and there they were, standing at the upstairs
balcony right above me.”

“Ok, good. Try to describe everything in your mind’s
eye. How many people where there, how tall, what did they look
like? Were these men or women?”

“I think there were two, maybe three. I saw a man, he
was the only one I got a clear view of. He was tall, taller than
Ari, and he had short buzzed hair. His eyebrows were dark and
bushy. He looked very strong … you know, well built? He was
intimidating. There was someone standing behind him, to the side. I
think it may have been a woman, I saw a lot of hair, long hair, and
the person was much shorter than the man, real petite, like Ava.
But the man blocked her from my view and I didn’t get a good enough
glance. Like I said, I just ran.”

“Have you ever seen these people before? Did you
recognize them?”

“No. No, never. At least, I don’t think so. I didn't
see the woman’s face. Something about her seemed vaguely familiar,
but then again, I don’t really know.”

“Did anyone see you?”

“Yes. He was watching me. I don’t know how long he
was standing there but I know he was watching me.”

The officer jotted down my mother’s statement. “Can
you remember anything else -- anything at all that you think seemed
strange or that stands out in your mind? Did you see a vehicle? Did
you see anyone leave the house? Was there any unusual behavior
around the house earlier that morning?”

“No … I don’t know …” My mother cried some more. “It
was just so scary.” Her fingers shook and she dabbed the corners of
her eyes with a wadded up and over-used tissue.

Ava got up from her chair at the kitchen table,
refilled my mother’s tea and set a new box of tissues down in front
of her. Ava was quiet and hadn’t said much at all since we arrived
at my parent’s house. She seemed nervous or apprehensive. Her
silence made me feel even more on edge than I already was.

Static and mumbled speech called out through the
officer’s radio and he stood from the chair. “Would you two mind
doing a walkthrough of your home? Then we can get an idea of what's
stolen and you'll be able to assess the damage.”

“Sure,” I said and turned to Ava. “Baby, why don’t
you stay here? I can check things out on my own. You don’t need to
see our house like that.”

“No.” Her head shook from side to side. “I’m
going.”

“Ok.” I reached out and took her hand, knowing that I
would lose the fight with her about staying back with Max in the
safety of my mother's house. The two of us followed Officer Bryant
next door.

The cell, wedding ring, necklace and watch were
sitting untouched on the edge of the kitchen counter. Ava's brow
puckered as she eyed them speculatively. I was pretty sure she was
thinking the same thing I was – that the presence of her personal
effects there in the kitchen pretty much obviated a motive of theft
-- but neither of us chose to comment on it.

Glass crunched under our feet at the entrance of the
living room and a frame that once hung on the opposite wall lay
broken on the floor. My mother was right, there was scattered glass
everywhere, but I could see how she didn’t notice the chaos right
away. The small shards were nearly invisible against the floors.
Only when the sunlight beamed in from the great window was the
glass made visible, reflecting and bending the rays to illuminate
the walls with daylight and an occasional bling of rainbowed
color.

“
Oh!
” Ava blinked after she took in
the sight of the room. My glance bounced around the great big room.
Nothing appeared to be missing. The stereo and entertainment
equipment along with the TV were unharmed. We had a state of the
art in-house speaker system that was intact, and Ava’s iPad and
MacBook sat untouched on a sofa cushion right where we had left
them the day before. Our random collection of belongings had been
scattered about and knocked around and had fallen over or been
broken. Every picture on our fireplace mantel was smashed. Our
bookshelf was a disheveled mess and more glass from other framed
photos were in shards on the floor. I watched Ava and waited for a
reaction. She remained composed and quiet as she observed the
violence that our home had suffered.

We walked in silence room by room through our entire
house just as we did on the night I proposed to Ava, and, just as
then, I watched her and waited nervously for her reaction -- for
something, any kind of sign or hint as to what was going on in her
head. She is always far too composed at all the wrong times.
Officer Bryant, trailing behind us, reminded the two of us to touch
as little as possible. We moved through the den, laundry room and
spare bedrooms and each room was the same -- shattered picture
glass covered the floors. We walked hand in hand up the stairwell
towards Max’s room. One small photo of Max with me was smashed on
his dresser. It had been taken earlier in the summer when my father
took us out on his new catamaran. We had spent the morning fishing
and Max caught a blue perch the size of my hand. The picture showed
the two of us proudly holding Max’s first catch before letting it
go back to the sea. A tear slipped down Ava’s cheek and her free
arm wrapped protectively over her tummy. She closed Max’s door
behind her.

A feeling of dread overcame me.

Ava didn’t talk until we reached the open doorway to
our bedroom. And when she opened her mouth to talk, her words were
drowned out by an onslaught of fierce tears and emotion. Our room
was trashed. Ava gasped and shoved her face into the nook between
my shoulder and chest. Her body trembled.

We cherish our memories and every room of our home
proudly puts those memories on display with a lifelong chronicle of
pictures. A good percentage of the pictures we had carefully placed
in our bedroom, setting them on Ava’s dressing table, on the
nightstands and the armoire. We had even hung boudoir frames in the
walk-in closet and in our bathroom. Each one had been smashed to
pieces. The frame that covered the space above the headboard of our
king-sized bed had held various images of the two of us knotted
together in profound closeness and was now completely destroyed.
The glass was shattered into a million little pieces and the
pictures that had been tucked underneath lay ripped to shreds on
the bed and floor.

Blood coursed through my veins so fast my heart felt
that at any moment it would simply explode. I was angry. This
wasn’t a robbery. This was personal and it had been born of hate.
The act came from evil and was intended as a warning. Nothing had
been stolen and nothing was missing, but our lives had been reduced
to broken images on the floor.

“I’ll give you two a moment. You should pack an
overnight bag for the evening. You can’t stay here tonight.”

I waited for the officer to leave and join the few
others in uniform who had been collecting evidence and snapping
photos of the scene.

“Who did this? What are you keeping from me?” I
pulled Ava back away from my chest and held her back at an arm’s
reach. My jaw tightened, my molars crunched behind my ears and I
demanded details from Ava through my closed teeth.

“What?” She wiped tears from her face.

“Who did this? What is going on?
You're keeping something from me, I
know
it. If our family is in danger,
you have to tell me. This isn’t just about you.”

“Ari, what are you talking about?”
She yanked her shoulders free from my grip. “I have no clue why
someone would break into our home. You think I had something to do
with this? I am feeling utterly violated! A stranger has been in
our
son’s room
and you think I had something to do with it? That I knew this
would happen? How dare you!”

“You're keeping
something
from me. What is it? Is it
The Kakos -- there are more, right? You just don’t want to tell me.
Someone is after you again? Tell me Ava,
now!
” I was angry and she was
appalled.

“What? No. I don’t know. I don’t know anything!”

“Why were you with the doctor for so long? What’s
going on with you?”

“Nothing is going on with me!” she screamed.

“You're lying to me.”

“I’m through here! You’re a jerk,
Ari!” She stormed off in the direction of the stairs, turned and
then yelled, “I can't believe you said what you just said!
You’re
such
an
ass!”

“I’m fine!” she squawked at a concerned police
officer downstairs and stormed out of the house. From the bedroom
window, I watched her walk up the beach, away from my parent’s
house. She was going to August, I knew. And she still had no
cell.

“Hello?” August grumbled when he answered my
call.

“Ava is headed down to see you. She’s on foot with no
cell. Would you please keep an eye out for her and text me after
she gets there?”

“Oh, sure.”

“Thanks, August.”

“Everything alright?”

“No. Not even close. Someone broke into our home and
completely trashed the place. My mom is frightened to death and to
top it all off, I’ve gone and pissed off Ava.”

“Holy cow! Are you serious? Someone broke into your
house? Is anybody hurt?” What can we do to help?” he asked and I
heard him call “Collin!” while holding his hand over the
mouthpiece.

“We’re rattled but okay. I just need you to bring Ava
back down to my parent’s house after she’s done bitching about me.
And maybe try to calm her down a bit?”

“That might take a while.”

“I’m sure it will.”

We hung up and I packed an overnight bag, trying to
touch as few things as possible, all the while dodging sharp shards
of glass. The thought passed through my mind that we would probably
be picking hard-to-see slivers up off the floor and out of the
bottoms of our feet for as long as we lived in the house. I talked
briefly with Officer Bryant and told him that it didn’t appear that
anything had been stolen. If something had been taken, it was
small, nothing immediately noticeable.

“Your mother must have scared them away before they
could take any goods.”

“You really believe that crap?” I had lost any
patience I may have had that day.

Officer Bryant instantly became defensive. “Break-ins
similar to this one have become more popular with celebrity homes.
The fans get a little obsessive and sneak in the house when no
one's home to try and get a glimpse of celebrity life. They may
even take a little souvenir or two.” His nonchalance was
insulting.

“My wife isn’t a celebrity. You can
see the extent of the damage here. No one was trying to “take a
little souvenir.”
My wife and I
are victims of a crime. Her ties with some stupid
clothing line have nothing to do with this. There is well over one
hundred thousand dollars in jewelry right there in plain sight.” My
finger jabbed the air at Ava’s belongings. “Those people, whoever
they were, had to walk by Ava’s diamond more than once. This wasn’t
just any break-in. If they wanted to steal our things, they would
have.”