Gold Hill (30 page)

“
Just you,” Captain
Ferguson said. “Most labs are run by civilians. We’ve asked Bob to
take over for the rest of the week.”

“
You took my lab?” Ava
felt her sister’s hysteria begin to rise in her chest. “I lost my
lab?”

“
No,” Captain Ferguson
said. “No one is taking anything from you.”

“
But . . . ”

“
We’re trying to protect
you,” Captain Ferguson said. “I called Seth. That boy who follows
him around is arranging for you to fly out there for the rest of
the week. Seth said to just come.”

Ava nodded.

“
I’m going to drive you
home,” Captain Ferguson said. “I’m off shift.”

“
To make sure I
go?”

“
To make sure you’re all
right,” he said. “I don’t know how you’ve missed this shit storm so
far today, but it’s spreading fast. I want you out of town when
this explodes because it’s nasty enough and smelly enough to stick
to anything it lands on.”

“
I was getting my hair
cut,” Ava said.

The Captain glanced at her
inch long hair and nodded as if he understood. She was about to
press past him, to go to her lab, and stake her claim, when she saw
his concern for her. She nodded. They walked together back to her
car.

The big man held out his
hand and she gave him the keys. When he drove out of the parking
lot, she saw what she’d missed driving with her sister ranting in
her ear – news reporters lined the street. When they saw her car,
they started screaming and yelling her name. Over the bevy of
sounds, Ava heard: “Did Seth set up your father?” “Does O’Malley
have grudge because your father solved the Saint Jude case?” “Is
your father . . . ” Captain Ferguson revved the
engine. A police cruiser was waiting for them on the corner to lead
the way. Another cruiser followed behind. With lights flashing,
they sped to Seth’s house.

Avoiding the reporters at
the house, he went around the back and ducked into the garage. The
garage door was almost to the ground before the vultures with their
microphones came running toward them. Maresol met them on the back
lawn.

“
It’s been crazy here,”
Maresol said. “Dale is staying to make sure the house is all
right.”

“
We’ll have a detail out
front,” Captain Ferguson said. “They should be here by
now.”

Maresol ushered them into
the house.

“
I packed a bag for you,
Amelie,” Maresol said. “You should go change.”

Dazed, Ava nodded and went
upstairs. When she returned, Captain Ferguson was gone and Dale was
sitting at the counter.

“
Did your talk to your
family?” Maresol asked.

“
My sister called,” Ava
said. “I . . . Do you think
Seth . . . ?”

“
The truth always finds a
way to come out,” Maresol shrugged. “Seth? Someone else? It doesn’t
matter. La verdad es hija del tiempo.”

Ava nodded. Maresol was
right; the truth is time’s daughter.

“
Am I a pimp’s daughter?”
Ava asked.

“
Come on,” Maresol said.
“Let’s get out of here.”

At the garden gate, Ava
hugged Dale and thanked him for staying. When the gate closed, she
felt more than heard the wall of sound from the reporters. A
uniformed Denver Police Officer took her and Maresol by the arm and
led them to the back of a white Denver Police Department SUV. In
what felt like a second, Ava was sitting in first class on her way
to LA.

Feeling something on her
ear, she reached up and touched the f-tube. She took the Bluetooth
device off her ear. Looking at the device, her ears rang and a wall
of emotion hit her.

Ava began to
cry.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 1:25
p.m.

There was a solid “Whump”
and Jeraine screamed.

Bumpy sprinted across the
open plain in the direction of the sound. Turning the corner, he
saw Jeraine on his hands and knees. Blood poured from his
mouth.

“
What happened? What
happened? What happened?” he yelled as he ran. Jeraine shook his
head. As he neared, he heard a braying and a donkey’s head peered
from behind a tall Cottonwood tree nearby.

By the time he reached
Jeraine, his son was sitting up and holding a handkerchief to his
mouth.

“
What happened?” Bumpy
dropped down to Jeraine.

“
That thing kicked me,”
Jeraine said.

“
What were you doing?
Trying to mount it?” Bumpy asked.

Even in pain, the absurdity
of the question made Jeraine laugh.

“
Yeah, Dad, I got
so
horny
out here
in the middle of nowhere. Since you were over there by the house, I
thought I’d get me some donkey,” Jeraine laughed. “Don’t tell
Tanesha, okay?”

Sitting back, Bumpy
laughed, and then he saw Jeraine’s mouth.

“
Oh lord, your mother is
going to kill me,” Bumpy said.

“
Why?” Jeraine
asked.

“
Your girlfriend broke
some of your teeth,” Bumpy said.

“
Oh,” Jeraine put his hand
to his mouth. Two of his incisors had broken off near the gum.
“Shit.”

He spit out a glob of blood
from his mouth.

“
Shit?” Bumpy asked. “You
don’t seem so upset about it.”

“
You remember when I had
gold teeth and a diamond right there?” Jeraine asked.

“
I remember when you
looked a fool,” Bumpy said.

“
Turns out all that gold
weakens your teeth. This one on the right broke when they took the
diamond out,” Jeraine said. “They capped the teeth. I guess I’m
going to have to spring for implants now. Wanna loan me the
money?”

“
Sure,” Bumpy said. “How’d
it happen?”

“
I must have I startled
the donkey-beast,” Jeraine said. “It was lying in the shade under
this tree when I came around from the river. It hopped up and gave
a little kick.”

“
And caught your mouth,”
Bumpy put his head back and laughed.

“
That donkey was fast,”
Jeraine said.

They laughed.

“
Let me take a look at
you,” Bumpy said.

Jeraine let Bumpy look at
his mouth and lips.

“
Your mouth is going to
swell up. You’ll be pretty bruised; nothing looks broken though,”
Bumpy said. “Jeez, you’re filthy. How did you get so
dirty?”

“
Hanging out with
you?”

Bumpy looked down at his
own clothing.

“
We’re a match,” Bumpy
said. “I have some ice in the truck. We’d better get
back.”

“
You want to stay out
here?” Jeraine asked. “I don’t want to spoil the day.”

Bumpy turned to look at
him.

“
I’m enjoying spending
time with you,” Jeraine said.

“
Me too,” Bumpy
said.

“
If you want to stay for
more . . . ”

“
No, it’s all right, son,”
Bumpy said. “There isn’t much more to see here.”

“
I like it,” Jeraine said.
“I tell you sometimes I wish I could move out to a little cabin in
a place like this – only dirt roads in, no way out in the winter,
no press, no phones, no Internet, no cops, no drugs, no noise. In
the middle of the noise and people and press
and . . . this would have been paradise to
me.”

Bumpy put his hand on
Jeraine’s shoulder and nodded. He got up and held out a hand.
Jeraine took it and hopped up. They started walking back to the
truck.

“
You going to do it, Dad?”
Jeraine asked. “You going to let the oil people have the mineral
rights?”

“
We’re in the middle of
this part of the Niobrara oil field,” Bumpy said. “If we don’t, the
other’s won’t be able to either.”

“
We don’t need the money,”
Jeraine said.

“
I thought you were
broke,” Bumpy said. “Needed to borrow money for your
teeth.”

“
I am,
but . . . ” Jeraine pulled a wad of money out
of his pocket. “I have this.”

“
What are you doing with
all that money?” Bumpy scowled.

“
I thought you were in
trouble,” Jeraine shrugged. “I didn’t know what, but I figured I’d
get as much as I had in case you needed it. If we needed more, I’d
sign a loan or call Schmidty.”

Bumpy’s eyes became moist.
He nodded to Jeraine and cleared his throat. They were silent for a
moment to let the emotion pass.

“
Itth not enoutth for
teeth,” Jeraine’s mouth had started to swell.

Shaking his head, Bumpy
chuckled. They walked in silence.

“
This land belongs to your
Grandmother,” Bumpy said when they neared the truck. “She’d get the
proceeds from anything they pulled out of the ground here. Outside
of buying her a house, she’s never let me . . .
help. Maybe with this . . . ”

He shook his head and got
into the driver’s side of the truck. When Jeraine got in, Bumpy
held an ice pack out to him. Jeraine pressed it against his mouth
and grimaced.

“
You ever owe someone
everything and have no way to repay it?” Bumpy asked.

“
Yeth,” Jeraine nodded and
looked into his father’s eyes. Bumpy started the truck.

“
There sure is a whole lot
of nothin’ out here,” Bumpy said.

Jeraine laughed.

Chapter Two Hundred and
Six
Five Thousand Dollars

Wednesday afternoon — 1:25
p.m.

“
Hi girls,” Heather’s
mother said from her teller station at the Bank of Denver
counter.

“
Hi Mom,” Heather
said.

“
Mrs. Fontaine,” Tanesha
said.

Heather’s mom gestured for
Mack and Heather passed him across the counter to her mother.
Heather’s mother fussed over Mack for a few minutes before she
looked up at them.

“
Are you having lunch?”
Heather’s mother asked. “How are you feeling, honey?”

“
Good,” Heather said.
“Everything’s on track.”

“
No morning sickness?”
Heather’s mother asked. Heather shook her head. “Must be another
boy. What brings you ladies by?”

“
I need to get some money
from my Dad’s account,” Tanesha said. “He said you could call him
if you need his approval.”

“
What’s the account
number?” Heather’s mom asked while she passed Mack back to
Heather.

Tanesha gave her the credit
card Rodney had given her and Heather’s mom looked the account up
on her computer.

“
It looks like you’re a
co-owner of this account Tanesha,” Heather’s mother
said.

“
What’s that mean?”
Tanesha asked.

“
It means you can withdraw
as much as you’d like,” Heather’s mother said. “We don’t need your
dad.”

“
Oh,” Tanesha said.
“Great.”

Heather’s mom put a
withdrawal slip in front of Tanesha and she filled it
out.

“
Five thousand?” Heather’s
mom asked. “You sure you want cash? That’s a lot of money for you
girls to carry around.”

Heather made an impatient
sound, but Tanesha smiled.

“
I appreciate your
concern, ma’am,” Tanesha said. “I’m . . . purchasing
something. With any luck, I won’t have the money long.”

“
I just worry,” Heather’s
mom said. “Especially since my Heather has another baby on the way
and Mack’s such a dear and . . . ”

“
You’re good at worrying?”
Heather asked.

“
It’s my super power,” Her
mother smiled. “Okay, give me a minute and I’ll get new bills so
it’s not so noticeable.”

“
Thank you,” Tanesha
said.

“
That was easy,” Heather
said in a low tone. “Did you know about the account?”

“
No,” Tanesha said. “You
know I never pay attention to other people’s money.”

“
Unless it’s money in the
hand, it doesn’t count,” Heather repeated Tanesha always
said.

“
Can’t count money you
aren’t holding,” Tanesha smiled. Heather laughed. Her mother came
around the corner with a stack of bills.

“
I hope hundreds are
okay,” Heather’s mother said. “I realized I didn’t ask when I was
back there but . . . ”

Heather’s mother looked at
Tanesha just a second too long. Heather squinted at her
mother.

“
What?” Heather
asked.

“
When I went back there,
the manager told me that Jeraine was here yesterday. He took out
almost everything from his account,” leaning forward, Heather’s
mother whispered, “in cash.”

“
That was for today,”
Tanesha said.

“
Oh good,” Heather’s
mother’s head bobbed up and down. “You know about it. I was worried
that he might be doing drugs or . . . ”