Elpida

by C. Kennedy

  Nero—one of the largest men Michael had ever seen, in both height and girth—was anything but demure, and Michael thought of him as a gentle giant.

  “Come on, Papà! The judge even said she wanted him dead, dead, dead! Congrats, little buddy! You did it!” Jake held a hand up to Christy for a high five, and Christy smacked it lightly.

  “Thank you, Jacob.”

  “Hey, bro.” Michael half smacked and half shook Jake’s hand. “Did the judge really want to sentence him to death?”

  “She said on the record that she wished it was within her purview to do so,” Nero said.

  Rob slipped into the room quietly and stood against the far wall.

  “Oh, Christy, I wish you could have been there,” Anna chimed in.

  Michael looked at Christy. “That’s great news, babe.”

  “It is,” he said as he watched Sophia come forward.

  Contrary to everyone’s happy demeanor, she looked upset and anxious. She stepped between Jake and the bed and bent to hug Christy. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  Her voice was rich like Christy’s but soft, her accent British with a hint of Greek.

  Christy looked into her eyes for a long moment. “We will discuss this,” he said softly.

  She nodded and withdrew.

  “How are our heroes?” Mac asked.

  “Hey, Dad. Mom,” Michael greeted. “It’s all good.”

  “Hi, honey,” Bobbie said as she kissed Michael’s cheek. She turned to Christy and cupped his face with gentle hands. “How’s our other son?”

  Christy smiled briefly. “I am good, Mrs.—Bobbie. How are you?”

  She kissed his forehead. “Worried about you. How are you feeling?”

  “I am good now.”

  She stroked a curl back with a fingertip. “We love you. Never forget that.”

  “Thank you.”

  Mac walked around to the far side of the bed. “Christy, I understand you want to take a shower.”

  “I wish to go home.”

  Mac smiled. “A little bird told me you had X-rays taken of your foot. May I see it?”

  Confusion filled Christy’s face. “A bird?”

  “He means someone told him,” Michael clarified.

  “Oh.” Christy withdrew his foot from the bedcovers and removed the bootie.

  Mac whistled softly. “Bet that hurts.”

  Christy shook his head. “It is the foot with the little feeling.”

  “I’ll get the film,” Bobbie said and left the room quickly.

  “Hmmm,” Mac said as he glanced at Carol.

  She handed a small pin to him.

  Mac palpated and rotated Christy’s foot. “No pain at all?”

  Christy shrugged a shoulder. “It is a little bit sore. This is the same as all the time before.”

  “Tell me when you feel this.”

  Christy answered accordingly, Bobbie returned with the films, and Mac took them from her and withdrew them from the manila sheath. He held them up to the light and shook his head. After clipping them to the light box on the wall, he leaned in and studied them carefully. “Did you fall?”

  “No. I hurt the foot when I run for the cab.”

  “Nothing is broken, but you have a fairly serious sprain. We’ll keep it wrapped in an ACE bandage for now. Peter will show you how to wrap it. Let’s take a look at your hands.”

  Christy held his hands out, and Carol gently cut away the bandages.

  Mac inspected his palms carefully. “Looks like you may need a few stitches.”

  “The hands are good. I wish to go home.”

  Mac smiled at him and nodded to Carol, who left the room.

  “Carol tells me you fainted this morning.”

  “I was upset. I forget to breathe.”

  “May I ask why you were upset?”

  “The news in Greece said I am dead, the person in the hospital clothes threatens Thimi with the return to the yacht, and Thimi wished to make the jump from the roof because of me.”

  Sophia covered her mouth with a hand to stifle a gasp and leaned into Jake when he put an arm around her.

  Nero frowned. “What person in hospital clothes?”

  Christy shrugged. “I believe it is one of the people for Petros or Yosef. General Sotíras said he will make more guards for Thimi.”

  “Is Thimi all right?”

  “General Sotíras tells him I live, and he almost falls from the roof, but they stop him. He has the cast on the wrist because of this.”

  Expert at what Michael called “doctor face,” Michael was surprised when his dad’s usually placid face showed concern.

  “We’ve discussed it,” Rob offered.

  Mac glanced at Rob and turned back to Christy. “All right. No more climbing Ferris wheels?”

  “I am okay. I make the promise to Rob I will not make a suicide.”

  Mac smiled. “That’s excellent to hear. We don’t want to lose you.”

  Carol returned with supplies, set them on the bedside table, and wheeled the table to Mac.

  “Let Carol remove the rest of the grease from your hands so I can have a better look at them. Michael?”

  “I’m okay. Peter said so,” he said quickly.

  “Then I don’t see why you both can’t go home. But, Christy, I’d like you to shower here.”

  “Why?”

  “I’d like you to be here in the event you faint again.”

  Christy’s face filled with disappointment. “Okay.”

  A quiet string of Italian words left Nero’s lips as he reached for the remote control to the television and turned the volume up.

  They looked up at it to see reporters gathered around Christy, Michael, Peter, and Tad on the basement level of the hospital.

  “Oh crap,” Michael said softly.

  Christy’s voice filled the television. “We are polite. You are rude. I am the boss, and you must move so we may pass!”

  Michael did everything humanly possible not to burst into laughter.

  The announcer quipped, “As you can see, Mr. Castle is no worse for wear in spite of the grueling trial.”

  “Oh my God,” Sophia said with a smile.

  “Way to go, Christy!” Jake cheered.

  “I had no idea they filmed that,” Michael defended halfheartedly.

  Nero looked at Christy, obviously fighting a smile.

  “Michael said I am the boss. I ask them to move. They did not. So, like this, I drive the chair over the feet,” he said with smug poise.

  Nero rolled his eyes and looked at Michael, who raised his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, all I said was he could handle the press like a boss.”

  “Way to go!” Jake shouted as he high-fived Michael and the room filled with laughter.

  Mac inspected Christy’s hands and decided they didn’t need stitches, Christy showered without incident, and they set out for home.

  CHAOS REIGNED supreme as they left the hospital. Every form of media conceivable had camped in the elevator lobby, the main lobby, outside the main doors of the hospital, and in the parking lot.

  “Holy crap,” Michael said under his breath as they reached the front doors of the hospital.

  “It’s been ludicrous,” Jake said softly.

  “We’re going to do this in one group,” Tad instructed. “Stay with your guard and move straight to the vehicle at the curb. Christy into the car first, Michael second, Sophia third, then you, Jake, and so on.” He gestured to the waiting limousine.

  Michael wasn’t convinced it would work and steeled himself against what was sure to be an onslaught of mayhem.

  In a cocoon of guards, they moved en masse to the car that waited for them. With camera bulbs flashing at high speed and shouts from the crowd, Tad moved Christy into the car first, Michael followed, then Sophia and Jake, and everyone else followed in their wake. All said and done, it was a well-choreographed maneuver and once everyone was safely in the car, it pulled away from the curb with one se
curity Hummer in front of it, and one behind it.

  Jake shook his head as he reached for Sophia’s hand and brought it into his lap. “Vultures.”

  Michael rubbed his eyes to rid them of temporary blindness from the bright camera bulb flashes. He was so damn sick of the press. “Christy rocked it this morning.”

  He nodded. “I did this.”

  “Christy, we’re going to drop you at Wellington first,” Nero said.

  “Okay.”

  “Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” Michael asked.

  Christy shook his head. “I will be okay.”

  Michael stifled his disappointment. He hadn’t spent personal time with Christy in a while, and an unfamiliar loneliness slowly bled through him.

  “Kýrios Santini?” Nero turned from the window to the sound of Christy’s voice. “When do we know how long Yosef goes to the prison?”

  “The sentencing hearing is in two weeks, but it doesn’t matter how long the sentence is. He’ll be extradited to Greece, and I’m inclined to believe he will face a life sentence there.”

  Michael squeezed Christy’s hand. “That’s good news, babe.”

  “I do not believe he will go to the prison in Greece.”

  “Either way, on this matter the Greek and United States governments have agreed to reciprocity. He will serve both terms.”

  “So if he gets twenty years here and twenty in Greece, he’ll be in jail for forty years?” Michael asked.

  Christy glanced at Michael. “This is a good question.”

  “It will depend on whether the judge orders the sentences to run concurrent or not. If so, he will serve the longer of the two sentences. If not, they will be consecutive, and he will serve the two sentences separately,” Nero answered.

  “I do not wish to see him again,” Christy said softly.

  “You don’t have to attend the sentencing hearing,” Nero assured.

  “I must go to Greece for the trial.”

  “You will, but we’ll do everything we can to minimize your time around him.”

  “Rob says perhaps there is a rule so I do not speak in the courtroom. This is true?”

  “I have requested of General Sotíras to ask for accommodations. However, my understanding is, at the very least, you’ll need to explain your paintings in court.”

  Christy searched Nero’s eyes for a long moment and nodded, seeming to accept the words he didn’t want to hear. “When did you know Sophia and me are twins?”

  Nero sighed and ran a hand down his face. “I only recently learned from General Sotíras that you may be siblings. As I understand it, a death certificate was entered for your twin sister concurrent with Ariel’s adoption of Sophia. General Sotíras is looking into it.”

  Christy frowned and repeated his question. “When did you know?”

  “A few weeks ago.”

  “Why did you not tell me?”

  “I had no proof of anything and Ariel refused to discuss it. At the time we were dealing with several stressful matters regarding Jason and Yosef, and I didn’t think you needed to be burdened with it until I had proof one way or the other.”

  “Why make Sophia dead?”

  Nero shook his head. “I don’t know, Christy.”

  “I wish to know when Thimi comes.”

  Nero looked at his watch. “It’s too late to call General Sotíras. I’ll call in the morning. Michael, I have good news for you.”

  Michael turned to him, pensive.

  “Andrew Gordon has dropped the charges against you for assaulting Yosef on the plane. It’ll take a few weeks to process the paperwork.”

  “Will you please tell Oxford as soon as possible? I don’t want any problems with my scholarship.”

  Nero nodded. “As soon as I receive copies of the paperwork.”

  Sophia, who’d been silent until now, asked a question in Greek, and Christy looked to Nero for the answer.

  He toggled his head for a moment in thought. “This might be a good idea.”

  “What?” Michael asked Nero.

  “I suggested that we use a Greek publicist to be a liaison between the US and Greek media. Sophia suggests we use her publicist rather than retain someone separately because her publicist is already fielding questions for both countries.”

  Christy pursed his lips. “We must speak to Ariel. We will need the formal statement from her.”

  Jake cleared his throat. “Doubt that’s going to happen, little buddy. She won’t even talk to Sophia about it.”

  “It would seem she doesn’t have a choice now. The cat is out of the proverbial bag,” Bobbie said.

  Mac turned to her. “The proceedings were closed. No one knows what Yosef said.”

  Jake snorted. “It’ll be leaked.”

  Nero shot an irritated look at him.

  “Tell me I’m wrong, Papà.”

  “Unfortunately, I can’t.”

  “What happened in the courtroom is already leaked. Right before Christy told the reporters to move, some woman from Channel 8 News asked Christy if he wanted to comment on the rape. I told him not to answer her,” Michael said.

  Anna and Sophia gasped in unison. “You can’t be serious,” Bobbie said, incredulous.

  A red flush crept up Nero’s neck and became high on his cheeks as anger took hold. “What was her name?”

  Michael shook his head. “Carol something. Tad has her name.”

  “Carol Adder is a viper of the first order,” Nero said in disgust.

  “Is it possible to obtain some sort of gag order to keep her quiet?” Mac asked.

  “I’ll inform the judge that information may have been leaked, but I doubt she will do anything about it. I’m sorry, Christy.”

  Christy shook his head and turned to look out the window at the afternoon sun. “It is the same in Greece. No one has privacy.”

  Loathing filled Michael. Nothing is sacred to the press, he thought bitterly.

  THEY PULLED into the parking lot at Wellington Ranch. Rob, having arrived before them, waited on the expansive front porch. Though Wellington was a group home, it was a gorgeous place and looked anything but institutional. Michael admired the wraparound porch, wooden beams, and stone chimney complemented by rugged clay fascia. It had a homey, rustic charm, and was the only home Christy had known since his mother died when he was five.

  “Ready, babe?”

  Christy nodded and turned to Nero. “Thank you.”

  “We could not have done it without you, Christy. I’m only sorry it was horrid for you.”

  Christy nodded but said nothing more as Tad opened the door for him.

  Anna leaned forward and patted Christy’s knee. “We’re always here for you, Christy.”

  “Thank you, Kyría Santini.”

  “Anna. You must call me Anna.”

  “Thank you, Anna. Thank you, Bobbie and Dr. Sattler.”

  “Be sure to keep your foot wrapped and your hands clean,” Mac cautioned.

  “I will do this.”

  “I’ll be right back,” Michael said as he climbed out of the car behind Christy.

  “We’ll be here, honey. Bye, Christy,” Bobbie said with a small wave.

  “Christy?”

  He turned back to the sound of Sophia’s voice.

  “Would you like me to stay with you?”

  A long moment passed before Christy spoke. “I would like this.”

  Michael couldn’t help the jealousy that filled him but said nothing.

  She quickly kissed Jake’s cheek. “I’ll call later.”

  Jake nodded. “See you later, Christy. We’re really proud of you.”

  Christy smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Thank you, Jacob.”

  “I’ll have your clothes sent over,” Anna said to Sophia.

  “Thank you, Mamma.” Sophia kissed her cheek and followed Michael out of the car.

  “Glad to be home?” Rob greeted Christy.

  “Yes.”

  “Le
t’s walk around the house. All the kids are out in the main room.”

  The younger kids who lived at Wellington adored Christy, swarmed him when they saw him, and sometimes it was hard for him to stay on his feet. They followed the flagstone path to the three small cabins that flanked the back of the main house in a semicircle.

  When they rounded the corner of the house, Michael came to an abrupt halt. “Who is that?”

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHRISTY AND Sophia stopped next to Michael.

  A Gothed-up teenage boy wearing nothing but black leather beneath the warm June sun sat on the front steps of Christy’s cabin.

  Christy looked up at Rob. “The new permit for Wellington is approved by New York for Thimi, and this is the other new boy?”

  Rob nodded. “He goes by Zero. Wait here for a moment,” he instructed and walked to where the young man sat. They spoke in hushed tones, and the boy stood and went into the main house.

  Christy continued to his cabin, and Michael and Sophia followed.

  “What’s up with him?” Michael asked.

  “He wanted to meet Christy,” Rob answered.

  “I don’t mean to sound harsh, but Zero?”

  Rob shrugged. “It’s what he likes.”

  “What is the true name?” Christy asked as he searched for his keys and didn’t find them. “Oh. The keys are in the pants. The police have the pants.”

  “Here.” Rob withdrew his keys from a pocket, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. “I’ll get you another set of keys.” He turned back to Michael. “His real name is Chaos Drest.”

  “That kid was not loved,” Michael said, only half tongue in cheek.

  Rob glanced at him. “No, he wasn’t. The Office of Children and Family Services estimates he’s been on the streets since he was a toddler.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “The parents become homeless, and when the kids become teens, they’re no longer accepted in shelters, so they drift away.”

  “I will never get that. Not in a million years. We need to do more for homeless people.” Michael shook his head as he followed Christy inside. “You’re home, babe!”

  Christy smiled. “I am. It is nice to be here.”

  “Are you going to be okay?”