Black Forest, Denver Cereal Volume 5 (18 page)

Without another word, the uniformed officer
left the suite. Unsure of what to do, Ava stared at the suite door.
She hadn't planned on spending this hour with Seth. She'd planned
on drinking champagne and having a bite to eat with her parents.
Now, for whatever reason, she was exactly where her mother warned
her not to be - in Seth's suite after he'd played his new
piece.

Would he demand animal sex?

Would he be totally out of it?

Would he...?

She heard this weird buzzing in her ears.
Her eyes riveted on the door. There was a knock on the door. Her
policewoman rolled in room service with dinner for two. Ava signed
the receipt and the policewoman left. Ava was pretty sure she’d
said something but when the policewoman left she dropped back down
in the chair.

Her ears continued to buzz and her eyes
continued to stare.

She wasn't sure how long it was before Seth
arrived – ten minutes, maybe two days. He stepped into the room and
dropped to his knees in front of her. Without saying a word he held
out his hands.

In his arms, she began to cry.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED & THIRTY-THREE

Real Friends

Monday night — 10:20 P.M.

Seth pulled Ava to her feet. Having been
through this many times himself, he knew exactly what she needed.
Warm water would hold and cleanse her. He helped her out of her
stiletto heels, thigh high hose, dress and undergarments.

While she wept, he led her to the bathroom
and under the shower head. She slid against the shower wall until
she sat on the tiles. He undressed to join her there. He lifted her
to her feet and pressed her against the shower wall. Between the
warm water and the pressure of his body, she released some of her
pain and loss. Soft animal sounds came from her open mouth. Her
flood of tears was lost in the steady stream of warm water. He held
her until the initial storm of sorrow passed. He helped her dry off
and led her to the king-sized bed. He wrapped his body around her
while she cried.

Speech came slowly.

“
I met her in second grade
at Stanley. The British Primary. It was very important to my
mother... her mother... Oh God, her mother,” Ava said. She couldn't
bring herself to say Beth's name. “Assigned seating. She's Baker.
I'm Alvin... It was best seat in the house. That's what we always
said when we were assigned to sit together.”

Seth said nothing. He knew her grief would
come in fits and starts. Right now, she needed to cry and talk.

“
She was brave. I
wasn't.”

Lost in memory, Ava stopped talking. Seth
got her a water bottle from the refrigerator. Confused, she looked
at him but drank the bottle dry.

“
She was kissed first,
moved out first, stood up to her mother first, went on the pill
first, told her father to shut up first, had sex first, made our
parents buy our condo. She was perfect for me. My perfect friend.
She...”

Tears came and Seth held her for a
while.

“
We had an agreement,” Ava
said at last. “We didn't talk about our relationships until they
had been going on for six months. That's what she wanted. She said
it covered the slutty periods.”

Ava let out a tear-filled laugh.

“
She met her boyfriend,
Dale, the very first day of college,” Ava sobbed. “They've been
together this whole time. He asked me about buying out my half of
the condo. He's been living there the last two years. Our parents
don't know. He wanted to marry her but she... Poor Dale. This will
kill him… kill me.”

Tears came again.

“
She didn't want to be
married until I was,” Ava said. “She didn't want to leave me alone.
She'd never had left me alone on purpose.”

Ava became fierce, almost angry.

“
She made me finish
college early,” Ava said. “She made me go to the FBI. Me, Amelie! I
would have stayed home and knitted a sweater. That wasn't
acceptable to Beth. ‘We have to make something of our lives.’ She
said that when we were six. What are you going to make of your
life? She'd ask me over and over again.”

“
What did she make of her
life?” Seth asked.

“
She was a child
therapist. Specialized in rich kids with bossy fathers. She was
amazing with kids. Wanted twelve of her own.”

Ava sighed.

“
She went with me to the
Cigarette Killer trial,” Ava said. “We read every Nancy Drew book
and graduated to every mystery book in the library until I heard
about forensics. She said I came alive with forensics. She wouldn't
let me give up when my mom was a bitch or my dad made fun of me.
She was so brave... so brave.”

Ava rolled away from him. She curled up into
a ball and wrapped her arms around her legs. He spooned around
her.

“
I haven't seen her since
everything went down at the mansion,” Ava said. “I... She's always
been there. You know, with me, even when she wasn't with me, like
when I was at Quantico. And now she died for me.”

“
Is it possible she knew
this guy, Saint Jude?” Seth asked. “Even the remotest
possibility...”

Gasping, Ava jerked to sitting.

“
She did,” Ava's voice
became clear and strong. “I know she did. She used to talk about a
guy... She saw a bunch of street kids, rich kids who got thrown
out. Oh my God. Her family's been in Colorado since before it was a
state. She has the mitochondrial DNA. I know it. She...”

Seth grabbed her before she moved to stand.
For a moment, he held her tight.

“
She was my best friend,”
Ava said. “She didn't know about you or where you lived or who you
were. She didn't know about tonight or... She just knew I was in
love.”

Terrified by her admission, Ava began
talking quickly.

“
I loved the symphony,”
Ava said. “It was unbelievable. So beautiful. I cried and laughed
and felt such incredible pain and overwhelming joy.”

“
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
And I'm sorry. I have to get back,” he said. “I can just get them
started and come right back.”

“
You should go,” Ava
nodded. “I need some… time… you know?”

“
I don’t want to leave you
here like this,” he said.

“
Please. It’s what I
need,” Ava said. “How much time do we have?”

“
Maybe another ten minutes
or so,” he said. “Will you stay here? I can get your
parents.”

“
The chief ordered me to
stay here. You too,” Ava said. “I’m going to be brave. Beth would
want me to be brave.”

“
Be brave tomorrow,” Seth
said. “Please... for me. It’ll give me great comfort to know you
are here, safe and sound.”

Ava nodded. While Seth got dressed in the
designer suit created for the auction, Ava put on his pajamas and
picked up her clothing. She hung her dress in the closet. When he
was dressed, he held her close.

“
Please stay here,” Seth
said.

“
I have nowhere to go
now,” she said. Tears filled her eyes, but she pushed them
away.

Unsure of what to say, he held her close.
There was a knock at the door and Seth's agent poked his head in.
His agent took in Ava's distraught condition and began talking a
mile a minute. One buyer wanted exclusive rights. Sony and Warner
Brothers were competing against each other or maybe joining forces,
he wasn't sure. The agent went on and on.

Ava gave Seth a wave and they left the room.
She was just lying down when there was a tap on the door. Ava's
parents were let in by her policewoman.

“
Amelie,” her mother said.
She held Ava close. “You must be destroyed.”

Biting her lip to keep from bawling, she
nodded.

Ava's mother shifted back to review her
daughter’s face. She took in Ava's swollen red eyes, her dry
cracked lips, and the pajamas. Without saying a word, she held her
daughter.

“
What are you
wearing?”

“
Detective O'Malley gave
me his pajamas,” Ava said. “The Chief has ordered me to stay here.
There are two bedrooms.”

“
You will come home with
us this instant,” Ava's mother said.

“
He wants me,” Ava said.
“The man who killed Beth is looking for me. I would only put you in
danger.”

Ava's father scanned his daughter’s face.
His jaw set in a grim line and he gave a fierce nod.

“
We are going home now,”
he said.

“
I'm safer here,” Ava
said. “You're safer without me.”

“
I will not leave you here
with that man,” Ava's mother said. “Don't you ask me
to.”

“
She's right, Vivian. She
is safer here. There are guards at the door and two bedrooms.
She'll be all right here,” Ava's father said.

“
You can't make me do
this,” Ava's mother said.

“
We have responsibilities
to the public, Viv,” the Attorney General said. “We need to speak
to Beth's parents. There's press to handle and... I need to get
involved with the task force to get this bastard once and for
all.”

For a moment, Ava's father was caught on the
career politician treadmill. He stopped himself and gave Ava a
nod.

“
You won't take even one
risk,” he said to Ava.

“
I won't,” Ava said. “I've
been assigned my own policewoman. She’ll be with me all the
time.”

He held his daughter close. With a nod, he
took her mother's hand and dragged her from the room. Ava could
hear them arguing all the way down the hall.

She sighed and got into bed. Worn out by the
roller coaster of emotions, she fell sound asleep. She woke up a
few hours later to see Delphie sitting by her bed. The woman's kind
smile brought everything back.

“
Oh God, Delphie,” Ava
began to cry.

“
Come now,” Delphie said.
“Let's get you some dinner.”

While she cried, Delphie helped her to sit
up.

“
I made a sandwich out of
the steak they brought,” Delphie said. “I think it's quite
good.”

She held it up. Ava shook her head.

“
How about some chocolate
cake?” Delphie held up a large piece of chocolate cake.

Ava took the plate from her. Without saying
another word, she ate the cake. Delphie held up the sandwich and
Ava wolfed it down.

“
I thought you'd be
starving,” Delphie said. “My Valerie is like that. Never eats the
day of a big event then is starving afterwards, especially if she’s
upset. Would you like the other?”

“
What about Seth?” Ava
asked.

“
He ate at the auction,”
Delphie said.

She held up the second steak sandwich and
Ava took it from her.

“
Will you tell me about
Beth?” Ava asked between bites.

“
What do you want to
know?” Delphie asked.

“
The policewoman said she
suffered horribly,” Ava's eyes welled.

“
She didn't suffer,”
Delphie said.

“
How can you be sure?” Ava
started. Not sure how to form the question, she focused on
finishing the second sandwich.

“
She told me, of course.”
Delphie shook her head. “It's complicated but she didn't feel a
thing. It's always true when good people experience extreme
violence. They are protected.”

“
Thank God.”

“
She has a file on Saint
Jude. She's been doing her own Nancy Drew detective work on him,”
Delphie said. “The file is in her 'usual hiding place' in her
office. She said you'd know exactly where to find it.”

“
Is she here? Can I talk
to her?” Ava asked.

“
She's moved on. For now,”
Delphie said. “But she said to tell you that she'll be back to
haunt you in a ‘mean-assed’ way if you don't get this guy
and...”

Delphie smiled. She shifted a strand of
Ava's hair behind her ear.

“
Beth wants you to marry
Seth,” Delphie said.

“
I don't think I even have
a chance.”

“
Give it time,” Delphie
hugged Ava. “Tonight, you need to rest. Would you like me to stay
with you until Seth gets back?”

“
You don't have
to.”

“
He'll be at the auction
all night,” Delphie said. “They have him play this section or that.
It’s really a big event. You’ll see when you go to the next
one.”

Ava lay back against the pillows. The
thought of being alone was almost more than she could bear.

“
Would you mind staying
with me?” Ava asked.

“
Not at all,” Delphie
said. “Let me tell Sam. He's waiting in the hall for
me.”

On her way to the bathroom, Ava heard
Delphie's voice and Sam's deeper voice. Delphie came to the door of
the bathroom.

“
He's going back to the
party,” Delphie said. “He loves to watch people. Plus Val is there.
They’re two peas in a pod. They'll have a grand time. Now come on,
let's get you back in bed.”

Delphie fluffed the pillows and held the
covers up for Ava.

“
I don't think I'll sleep
a wink,” Ava said.

Delphie smiled and began to hum.

“
What is that?” Ava
asked.

“
It's a lullaby Seth wrote
for his children,” Delphie said.

She hummed the entire lullaby.