Firestone

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  “Only every day,” Heather said. “Especially now that we have Mack and . . .”

  Heather touched her pregnant belly.

  “What does your mother say about your father?” Abi asked.

  “He was a prince-like man who swept her off her feet,” Heather said. “They were married in secret. When his mother found out, she made him abandon my mom and me.”

  “It’s a sad story.” Abi nodded.

  “Is it true?” Heather asked.

  “More or less,” Abi said. “Your mother was cast out and forced to wander. This is where she wandered to.”

  “Was my dad a fairy like Fin?” Heather asked.

  “No,” Abi said. “You are not fairy-kind, not even a little bit.”

  “Oh,” Heather said.

  “Let’s get some lunch,” Abi said.

  They walked back to her car.

  “Will you tell me about my father?” Heather asked.

  “Your mother will have to tell you,” Abi said.

  “She won’t,” Heather said. “She’s changed the story so many times that I don’t think she really remembers.”

  “That’s possible,” Abi said. “I’ll tell you what.”

  “What?” Heather asked.

  “How ’bout we go talk to your mother together?” Abi asked.

  “This is one of those moments when I should say no,” Heather said. “Fairies always have their own agenda, that’s what everybody says. I don’t know what your agenda is, so I should say no. But . . . I want to know. So . . . okay.”

  “Good,” Abi said. “And don’t worry. You can trust me.”

  “Yeah sure,” Heather said. “Will this help Blane?”

  “Blane doesn’t need help,” Abi said. “He has you. There is no stronger magic than your love.”

  Heather gave Abi a skeptical look, and Abi laughed.

  “Don’t worry, Heather,” Abi said. “Your husband is going to be fine. I promise you. It will be a challenging month for you. When it’s over, and he’s well, you will return to your loving partnership. He will not get lost along the way. You and he belong together. I’d guess that thirty years from now, when all of your children are grown, you’ll still belong together.”

  Heather smiled at the idea.

  “You will make all that happen with your love,” Abi said.

  Heather rolled her eyes and pulled into the parking lot behind Udi’s restaurant.

  “How did you know that I love this place?” Abi asked.

  “I loved us here,” Heather said as an attempt to make a joke.

  “Yes, you did.” Abi smiled.

  Heather shook her head and followed Abi into the restaurant.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Thursday afternoon — 1:30 p.m.

  “Hey!” Ava said as she came into the kitchen.

  Seth was sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen bar. He was staring off into space. He held his cellphone in his right hand. He looked like he’d just pulled the phone from his ear.

  “You okay?” Ava asked. She leaned down to kiss him. “You look a little . . . peaked.”

  He kissed her hard, and she giggled.

  “I guess not that peaked,” Ava said. “What’s going on?”

  “Bob just called,” Seth said.

  “Bob?” Ava asked.

  “Your Bob,” Seth said. “Blood-splatter Bob.”

  “What did he say?” Ava asked.

  “He said that the DNA is a match,” Seth said.

  “What?” Ava asked.

  “Detective Ben Red Bear’s DNA was all over Andy’s house,” Seth said. “Even in her bed.”

  Unsure of how to respond, Ava watched his face.

  “He killed Andy,” Seth said. “Sandy’s mother . . . My . . .”

  Seth swallowed hard. Ava hugged him to her.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Seth said into her chest. “Bob asked me what he should do and I . . .”

  Seth shrugged.

  “I don’t have any idea,” Seth said. “Nothing will bring Andy back. Not to me, not to our daughter, not to her fans, not to her awful record label that she hated so much. She’s gone, and he . . .”

  “We’ll go and get him,” Ava said. “We’ll make him confess.”

  He pulled back and looked at her face. He smiled at the determination he saw there.

  “No,” Seth said.

  “Why?” Ava asked. “This man is no better than my father. He manipulated your lifelong love into living with him. He took advantage of her and of Sandy and . . .”

  Ava’s voice rose with anger. Seth smiled.

  “You really are wonderful,” Seth said. “I can’t believe you’d be so personally angry over this.”

  “I’m furious,” Ava said. “He can’t get away with this. He stole Andy from you and from Sandy and . . . from me too! I would have loved to have known her.”

  “You’re amazing.” Seth hugged her again.

  “You have to do something,” Ava said. “Now is not the time to be the cool cat, Seth.”

  “He’s the key to so many things,” Seth said. “If we act too quickly, we’ll lose him.”

  “The key?”

  “He killed Andy,” Seth said. His hand instinctively went to his heart, and he said, “I know that in my soul. He was involved in what happened to Sandy — either the distribution of videos, or setting it up, or sales, something. I know that in my soul.”

  “Which means he’s connected to this current rape case,” Ava said.

  Seth touched his heart.

  “We have to get him,” Ava said.

  “We have to be smart,” Seth said. “Right now, he thinks he’s gotten away with it.”

  Seth nodded.

  “We’ve got to be smart,” he repeated.

  Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety

  Authority

  Thursday afternoon — 3:41 p.m.

  “Hey,” Blane said as he walked into Tres Sierra’s office. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Of course,” Tres said. “Please come in.”

  Tres got up to move a stack of paper from the chair across from his desk.

  “Sorry,” Tres said. “I’m in the middle of answering questions from the state audit.”

  “Sorry I can’t help,” Blane said.

  “No,” Tres said. “You’re doing something more important. You’re going to get well so you can raise Tink and Mack and your new son. There’s not much more important than what you’re about to do.”

  Tres nodded, and Blane smiled.

  “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Blane said.

  “You don’t have to worry,” Tres said. “I did not tell Enrique you were having this treatment.”

  Blane gave Tres a vague smile.

  “My brother would just want it for himself anyway,” Tres said.

  “I’ve been very lucky,” Blane said. “My hope is that someday everyone can have this treatment. That is if it works . . .”

  “It will.” Tres smiled.

  “Actually,” Blane said. “I wanted to talk to you about Heather.”

  Tres cleared his throat.

  “I assume you still have strong feelings for Heather,” Blane said.

  “Listen, I . . .”

  “It’s okay,” Blane said. “I . . .”

  “No,” Tres said. “Let me say this.”

  “Okay.”

  “I have a deep respect for you and Heather,” Tres said. “You’re together because you love each other and you raise your children with that love. No matter what I feel, I would never . . .”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Blane interrupted Tres.

  Tres closed his mouth and looked at Blane.

  “This treatment is far from foolproof,” Blane said. “It’s as likely that I’ll die or get cancer from the treatment as it is that I’ll recover and live virus free.”

  Tres nodded.

  “I’m wondering . . .” Blane took a deep breath
for courage. “Would you look after Heather and the kids if . . . uh . . . something happens to me?”

  “Yes,” Tres said.

  “Good,” Blane said. “Heather has the same feelings for you as you have for her. You could be happy together if . . . Will you raise my children as your own?”

  “When you’re well, we’ll laugh about all of this,” Tres said.

  “But you’ll do this for me?” Blane asked. “You’ll stand by her while I’m in the hospital and be there if I don’t make it. Promise me.”

  “I will,” Tres said.

  Blane nodded.

  “Thanks,” Blane said.

  Blane got up and walked out of the CFO’s office. Tres stared at the spot Blane vacated and let out a breath. Nodding to himself, he went back to his spreadsheets. A few hours later, he heard Blane leaving the office. He went to his office door. Blane nodded to him and walked out of the building. Through the window, he saw Heather pick Blane up in the parking lot. Tres swallowed hard and nodded again.

  He could do this.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Thursday afternoon — 4:02 p.m.

  “Are you sure you want to take care of them?” Jill asked her oldest sister, Megan, as they came out of the nursery. “You know they . . . move things.”

  Megan laughed.

  “Wait, why did you laugh?” Jill asked.

  “Katy did the very same thing,” Megan said.

  “What?” Jill’s shock made Megan laugh even harder. “What do you mean?”

  “When Katy was a baby, things would move around. At first, it was just her mobile, you remember that thing that she loved so much.”

  “With the zoo animals on it?” Jill asked.

  “That one,” Megan said. “When she was about six months old, her stuffed animals would dance. Ryan loved to watch Katy sleep because all kinds of weird stuff would happen. Come to think of it, that’s probably why he’s so into the whole Star Wars Force thing. He used to see Katy move things around.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Jill asked.

  Jill looked so horrified that Megan hugged her.

  “I’ve been panicked,” Jill said against Megan’s shoulder. “I can’t take the boys to daycare like this! They could destroy the place, and we can’t afford for me to stay with them. If the business weren’t in trouble, I could be home. I was supposed to be able to stay home with them, but now . . . even the kids are working.”

  “Seems like everyone’s money is tight right now,” Megan said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about Katy?” Jill asked.

  “You had so much on your plate,” Megan said. “Trevor, work, Trevor . . . Life was so hard, and I didn’t want you to worry.”

  “How did you get her to stop?” Jill asked.

  “I reached out to her.” Megan blushed. “I guess I healed her, or at least helped her.”

  “What?” Jill asked.

  “It’s a brain problem,” Megan said. “She didn’t have a way to turn it off. Remember how she wouldn’t sleep as an infant?”

  “Yes,” Jill said. “I remember that.”

  “She needed a way to turn it off,” Megan said. “Gosh, you know I’ve never thought about this much, but my kids never slept as infants. I had to . . . help them too. I wonder if all kids have this.”

  “Honey’s baby Maggie doesn’t,” Jill said.

  “Jackie?”

  Jill winced.

  “You already helped Jackie,” Megan said.

  Jill nodded and then said, “I didn’t think my boys . . .”

  “You never see what’s closest to you.” Megan smiled. “What about Steve and Leslie’s daughter?”

  “She has trouble sleeping,” Jill said. “Or she did when she stayed here.”

  “It’s probably our babies,” Megan said. “We’ll have to ask Mom if we did the same thing.”

  Jill nodded.

  “Listen,” Megan said. “We took care of Katy when she was an infant. Why don’t you let me take care of the boys?”

  “You don’t . . . They can . . .” Jill fumbled with words. She never realized until Megan said it that this was exactly what she’d wanted. “I couldn’t . . . You’re done with diapers and . . . Uh . . . Mom was going to pay for the Marlowe School.”

  “Can you get my boys into the Marlowe School?”

  “Do they want to go there?” Jill asked.

  “Sandy said she thought that Noelle would be able to stay there,” Megan said. “They’re expanding the grade with the new school. Noelle’s only a little older than Ryan. And let’s face it, Ryan’s a weird kid.”

  “He’s wonderful,” Jill said.

  “He’s an exact copy of Mike,” Megan said.

  Jill nodded.

  “Who, it turns out, is an exact copy of our father,” Megan said. “Eerie eyes and all.”

  Jill winced.

  “That makes him a weird boy,” Megan said. “I’d rather he went somewhere that loved his weirdness.”

  “Jake will get them in,” Jill said. “The best way to make sure you’re in is to help with the remodel, if we ever get the building moved . . .”

  Megan nodded. Jill shrugged.

  “That will happen sooner or later,” Jill said.

  “I want to take care of your babies,” Megan said.

  Jill smiled at her assertive voice, and Megan grinned.

  “You need the help,” Megan said.

  “I do need the help,” Jill said. “I just feel . . . guilty. I feel so guilty for always burdening you with my . . . problems.”

  “I’m your sister,” Megan said. “You are my problem.”

  Jill laughed.

  “Think of it this way,” Megan said. “We miss Katy now that she’s in school and Jacob’s here and everyone who loves her is right here to spend time with her. This is our chance to get to know the boys before their lives take off.”

  “That’s nice of you, but . . .”

  “We used the money you gave us for Katy to pay the mortgage,” Megan said. “We can use the help again.”

  “You’re just saying that,” Jill said.

  “Okay, I’m just saying that,” Megan said. “But my offer stands. I want to do this. I can help.”

  “Thanks,” Jill said. Through watery eyes, Jill repeated, “Thanks.”

  ~~~~~~~~

  Thursday evening — 7:22 p.m.

  “He seems warm,” Tanesha said.

  After dinner at Yvonne’s house, Jabari had climbed up into her lap and fallen asleep. She and Jeraine had lingered over dinner while Jabari slept.

  “Let me see,” Yvonne said. She slipped her hand onto the boy’s face. “Gosh, he does seem hot.”

  “I’ll get the thermometer.” Rodney got up from the table.

  “He didn’t seem right after he saw his mother,” Yvonne said. She paced around behind Tanesha’s chair. “That woman . . .”

  Yvonne gave Jeraine a hard look and kept pacing.

  “I’m not supposed to tell you what happened with his mother,” Yvonne said. “But I will tell you that you should have been more careful about who had your children, Jeraine.”

  “Agreed,” Jeraine said.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Tanesha said. “He’s pretty great. She might be a mess, but . . . You can’t argue with such a great kid.”

  Jabari gave a little moan.

  “All that stress, all this hassle for a woman who . . .” Yvonne sniffed.

  Rodney came back into the dining room. He gave Yvonne an “Are you okay?” look.

  “No, I’m not okay,” Yvonne said. “Baby-Jabari is sick. How can I be okay?”

  Tanesha grinned at her mother. Rodney gave Yvonne a quick nod before handing Tanesha the ear thermometer.

  “I’ll do it,” Yvonne said.

  They rolled Jabari’s head so his ear was exposed, and Yvonne took his temperature. Jabari whimpered, but didn’t wake up.

  “It’s a hundred and two,” Yvonne said. “What do we do?”

&n
bsp; “We need to call my dad,” Jeraine said.

  “We can’t call Bumpy, Jer,” Rodney said. “They aren’t allowed to see Jabari. Only us, you, and his mother.”

  “We can’t risk breaking any agreement or we might lose him,” Yvonne said. “I don’t want to lose him.”

  “We can still call his dad,” Tanesha said. “That’s not him seeing Jabari. That’s just him talking on the phone.”

  Rodney took out his cellphone and called Bumpy.

  “Do we have the authority to get him to treatment?” Tanesha asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Jeraine said. “We’d have to have full custody.”

  “So we have to call his mother?” Tanesha asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jeraine said. “I think so.”

  “Call his lawyer,” Tanesha said.

  Jeraine nodded and made the call. Rodney gestured for Yvonne to take Jabari’s temperature again.

  “It’s still going up,” Yvonne said.

  “Is that a rash?” Tanesha gestured to redness around his cheeks and nose. “Or just the heat?”

  Yvonne put her cool hand on the boy’s cheek.

  “We need to get him to the hospital,” Rodney said. “Bumpy said there’s a provision for emergencies. The hospital will take care of him.”

  Tanesha stood up with him.

  “We have to take him.” Rodney held his arms out for the boy. “You can’t come.”

  Tanesha felt as if her heart were being torn in half. She looked at her father with desperation.

  “First step of being a parent is to do what the child needs,” Rodney said. “Even if it tears you apart.”

  Tanesha gave Jabari to Rodney. Jabari started screaming the moment he was out of her arms.

  “Drive fast,” Tanesha said.

  “Come on, Jabari,” Rodney said. “Let’s get you some help.”

  Yvonne looked at Tanesha for a moment.

  “I’ll call Abi,” Yvonne said. “She’ll know what to do.”

  Tanesha wrapped her arms around herself. Her mother touched Tanesha’s arm and ran out of the house. Tanesha stood in the hallway until long after she heard her father’s car pull away. Jeraine came up behind her and put his arms around her. She turned around into his arms.

  “You really love him,” Jeraine said.

  “He’s wonderful,” Tanesha said.