by Mia Thompson
When the gunshots rang through the air, Michael, the Angel of God, felt nothing. It wasn’t until he looked down that he realized the bullets hit him right in the chest. Then the pain washed over him. The shirt he had washed for the day’s very special occasion was now covered in blood.
He had killed the Anti-Christ and once he realized he was going to die by doing so, Michael was at peace. She would no longer walk the earth and continue her unholy deeds. He would leave the world a better place than it had been the day before. She had become his essence, his very reason for existing. The item that would make a special place for him in God’s heart.
When his body folded underneath him, he felt nothing. The pain was gone, as if his body was no longer his. In truth it never was. It was merely a shell to hide his angelic wings.
The mist of the light rain in the distance melded together with the sun’s rays, creating a rainbow. The last thing he remembered of his life on earth was the light of the sun, the wonderful music of Amazing Grace around him, and the knowledge that he would soon be home with God. The music became louder and louder until it was all he could hear. Then the music stopped and there was nothing.
Nothing but a cold darkness and severe angst. All of a sudden, Vincent Parlov knew who he was and who he had always been.
* * * * *
Aston raced down the stairs trying to calculate which window and floor she could be reached from. Somewhere along the way, his leg went out again, but he didn’t care. He kept going full speed though it hurt like hell.
He shot through four locked doors to get to the right window and now she was only an arm’s length away. Aston’s heart pounded against his chest as he smashed the window with the back of his gun, then looked down. He was fifty stories up and soon came the familiar shakes, cold sweat, dry mouth: the whole shebang.
After a few seconds of dread, Aston inhaled deeply, forcing his body to take back control. It wasn’t like he had a choice; it was either Sapphire or no Sapphire.
Slowly, he climbed out onto the windowsill, refusing to look down. Holding onto the edge of the broken window, Aston swung his arm out and grabbed Sapphire by the waist. She was heavy. Too heavy.
Dead weight, Aston thought, having held more dead bodies in his arms at the age of twenty-nine than anyone should in a lifetime.
From below him came sudden shouts and screams of horror as a crowd of churchgoers had arrived to see the body attached to the cross.
He braced his knee up against the window next to him and shot the rope. It snapped in half. The second the rope no longer held her, Aston leaned back and they tumbled to the floor beneath him. In the distance, he could hear sirens. His people were on their way.
Aston held her body up in his arms and removed the noose. Her lips were blue and the rope had left a red line around her neck.
He placed her on the ground gently and pressed his mouth against hers, praying that his breath would give her life.
Chapter 20
Aston lit a cigarette for the tenth time in the last two hours. Rows of expensive and inexpensive cars were parked around the mansion. He had sat there in the same spot when friends and family of the Dubois arrived from church. Mrs. Dubois had invited him, but he had declined.
“I don’t do funerals,” he had told her.
Under normal circumstances, Aston didn’t let much get to him. Now, ever since the day at the Church of Angels, his life had been shaken. His reality altered. Her lifeless face and body was all he could think about. The gut-wrenching feeling had not left him for over two months. He hadn’t slept for over two months. He just lay there night after night, staring up at the ceiling.
“Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me,” he mumbled as he walked to the house and rang the doorbell. He expected a maid, butler, or housekeeper and was dumbfounded when it was her.
Sapphire looked at him, with a split second of warmth before it disappeared. She looked beautiful, dressed up from head to toe, in a conservative knee length purple dress.
It was the first time he’d seen her since he brought her back to life, and he wanted to memorize the way she looked. He wanted to replace this image with the one that was constantly playing in his head.
“Is something wrong?” were the first words out of her mouth. They declared one simple thing. Outside of official business, she saw no other reason for Aston to be there.
“How was the funeral?” Aston asked.
Sapphire tilted her head at him.
“The wedding was wonderful,” she said.
Aston scoffed. “Wedding, funeral…tomato tom-a-to. Either way, the end of life.”
“Did you want to come in?”
Aston looked over her head. “Any booze?”
“Only truck loads.”
Aston followed Sapphire inside and they passed by the bride, Sapphire’s housekeeper, Julia, and her groom as they slow danced close together in front of a live band.
Sapphire closed the door behind them on the deck, isolating them from the festivities inside. She handed him one of the beers she had grabbed from inside.
“I never really got to thank you for…everything that day,” Sapphire said. “I only talked to Barry during all the statements.”
Aston had done that on purpose, he thought if he didn’t see her and didn’t speak to her, eventually the feeling had to go away.
“How have you been?” she asked.
Aston took a sip of his beer and nodded. “Good. Good…good.”
Sapphire smiled and laughed. “So I take it you’ve been good?”
Aston looked at the glimmering lights of Los Angeles below and drank his beer. “My request for a transfer came in. North Hollywood.”
Aston watched Sapphire and waited for a reaction. How would she feel about him not being around, never seeing him again?
“Oh,” Sapphire said, but he couldn’t tell if she was disappointed or happy…or neither, which was worse.
The chief had given him the news earlier that day, calling him into the office and throwing a printed out email onto the desk in front of Aston.
“So, North Hollywood. Your request went through,” the chief said avoiding eye contact. “Congratulations, Detective.”
“Thank you, Chief,” Aston got up. It was time to get back to the good life of robbery, murder, rape and drugs. What had happened in Beverly Hills had been rare; except for the occasional celebrity murder, of course, the situation wasn’t bound to repeat itself. “Goodbye,” he added and moved toward the door.
“My wife wanted you to come to her birthday bash, but I guess that’s out of the question now,” the chief said, staring out the window as he sipped his coffee.
“Well, what can you do,” Aston said and grabbed the door handle.
“Good luck in NoHo,” the chief yelled out. “I mean you’ll need it…from what I hear the streets are full of petty drug dealers, gangs, nothing like, oh, the higher cases one could be dealing with if they only had the time on their hands.”
“Chief…goodbye,” Aston tried again.
“Perhaps; a call came in for you from the Thousand Oaks department. A detective by the name of Julius Capelli.”
Aston turned again, this time interested. “What did he say?”
“He said he has a man named George Rath, and he’s certain Rath is about to reveal some pretty valid information about the man you have been looking for. Capelli wants you to come up there ASAP and lend your hand in the interrogation,” the chief said. “But, of course, now that you’re transferring, you won’t really have time for personal cases like that, will you? Not like you would…if…let’s say, a chief at a department who dealt with small potatoes gave you free range. Someone who’d look the other way and let you be wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted.”
“Free range?” Aston asked. “Why, what’s in it for you?”
“It’s no secret,” The chief said, “that many of the other districts see us as a joke. The laughing stock of the county. Last week I went to an ann
ual dinner with all the commissioners, chiefs, etc. Usually those dinners revolve around only one thing.”
“Dick measuring.”
“Or put more delicately, a group of men and women bragging about who put whom away and how gritty it was. The Vincent Parlov case wasn’t the biggest or best, but it was accepted. This year I could actually join into the conversation. One of the boys, so to speak.”
“The transfer has already gone through.”
“I believe you underestimate how much pull I have, Detective.”
Aston looked at the paper on the desk, then at the chief. There was his old life, slightly different, being given back to him or a completely new life, with a possibility to crash and burn or to conquer.
“Chief,” Aston said and shook his head. “I’m pretty shitty at birthday gifts. Would cash be all right?”
The chief smiled. “Give her a blender; she has a thing for blenders.”
The reason he decided to stay had nothing to do with a certain someone who he could not get out of his head, he had told himself several times. The certain someone that was standing in front of him at that moment drinking a beer. He watched her intently.
“I decided to stay,” he said.
“Oh,” she said again.
Had Aston been his normal self, he would have gone after what he wanted. Instead, he felt nervous and awkward. Like some pathetic loser with a crush. Not that he had a crush. As far as he knew, he wasn’t a twelve-year-old girl with pigtails.
There was only one thing to do about it. Get her in bed again. That had to be it. Obviously, there was something he needed to get out of his system. What else could it be?
“Sapphire! Where are you?” A muffled voice from inside interrupted.
Sapphire went to open the door and Aston grabbed her arm gently. She looked down at his hand as it slid around her waist and then met his eyes. Aston let his other hand touch the back of her neck and he pulled her in. When their lips met, a wave of endorphins was released from his brain. He felt—for the lack of better words—a lot fucking better.
A loud burly laugh rang through the air, and the door behind them slid open.
They pulled away from each other and Aston turned to see a rich-looking twenty-something frat boy yell at someone inside, and then turn around to nod at Sapphire. He hadn’t seen them.
“They’re taking off,” the frat boy said.
Aston looked at Sapphire and then back at the frat boy.
“John.” The frat boy reached his hand out. “Sapphire’s fiancé.”
Aston shook the other man’s hand in shock and nodded. He couldn’t stop nodding. He nodded for what felt like an hour before he could speak.
“Fiancé,” he said, suffocating the infuriating jealousy that arose in him. “Aston. Is my name. It’s what I’m called,” he heard himself say.
“Okay,” John said, looking at him peculiarly. Then he grabbed Sapphire by the hand. “Come on.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Sapphire said.
John took a second look at Aston and then disappeared inside. Aston stared at the engagement ring around Sapphire’s ring finger. How had he missed that? How had he deluded himself so badly?
“So I guess I should tell you…” Sapphire started.
“Nah!” Aston spat out, searching for any conversation piece that showed how little of a shit he gave about the fact that she was engaged. “So, anyway I gotta go; I’ve kind of been working this case, so I gotta go,” he repeated. “There’s been a vigilante of sorts throughout California for the past few years. Someone has been capturing serial killers all over the state. The Serial Catcher we call him. I got this lead so…I gotta go.” How many times had he said that? Two? Three? Forty-eight?
Sapphire looked at him, raised her eyebrows, and shrugged. “Sounds interesting.”
“Yep. Yep-yep.” He sounded ridiculous.
The frat boy appeared in the doorway again. He glanced over at Aston and when their eyes met, there was a strong animalistic feel to it. A ritual between two men that was older than time itself.
“I guess since you’re not transferring…I’ll see you around,” Sapphire said. Then her fiancé took her hand and led her away.
* * * * *
Sapphire managed to slither out of John’s iron grip inside as she walked toward the front entrance. She would have to deal with him soon.
The Serial Catcher. It was the most idiotic name she’d ever heard. Well, besides from her own.
Sapphire managed to duck Petunia who was trying to flag her down from across the room, probably to talk her out of joining the family business again. Not that she was planning on it. It was just really entertaining to watch Petunia and Heather squirm.
Julia and Sapphire had managed to persuade Vivienne to let Julia have the reception in the mansion.
It worked out perfectly. Julia got a huge wedding reception for free, and Vivienne got to invite family, fellow housewives, and friends to witness the charitable act.
The only downside was that evil people like Petunia lurked around the manor on Julia’s glorious day.
In her peripheral vision, Sapphire saw Petunia sweep John up in her arms and scream, “Welcome to the family!”
Sapphire winced. John had shown up earlier that evening. A little bit high and a little bit drunk. Before she even knew he was there, he had gone up on the makeshift stage built for the wedding band in front of everyone.
“Sapphire! You are the love of my life!” he screamed into the microphone and the party around them had stopped. “I know what I said before but I don’t care about that anymore. I care about you. Being without you was hell. I’m here to say that I never want to be without you again!”
He took the microphone off the stand and got down on one knee.
Someone had sucked all the oxygen out of the mansion because there was none left for Sapphire to take in.
“Marry me!” John yelled and looked at her like a lost puppy that had found his way home. Had he had a tail, it would have wiggled.
The crowd around them cheered and turned to look at Sapphire. Some pulled out their cameras to snap pictures, others just applauded.
The world turned in slow motion. Mute, Sapphire did a sweep of the room and watched as her mother yelled out in excitement. Julia looked over at Sapphire surprised. Chrissy took the microphone from John.
“Yes, she’ll marry you! Totally!”
Somewhere in there the music started playing again and friends and family surrounded Sapphire, congratulating her on her engagement. Sapphire didn’t know what to do or say as John had slid the circular one-inch prison onto her finger. She wanted to yell “NOOOO!” and run out the door with her arms flaring over her head like a maniac, but she didn’t. Not in front of everyone. She would wait until they all left. She would fix it, she kept telling herself, it wasn’t a big deal, and it certainly wasn’t for the rest of her life. Once the party died down she’d simply give it back, she told herself for the twentieth time.
The minute Aston showed up, she had forgotten all about it. She had missed him, which was weird because she never missed anyone.
When he threw out the words she never would have expected, her whole body went numb. He was looking for her.
At that moment, it was as if time stopped and Sapphire got a flash into the future. A future where she and Aston were together. A future where Aston spent his days hunting down the Serial Catcher and his nights sleeping with who he sought.
She realized quickly that the kiss had been interrupted for the very best.
She was just about to tell Aston she wasn’t really engaged, when he told her. Sorting out her universe. She stayed silent because she knew they would be damned before they had even begun.
Sapphire slowed down in her steps as she came up to the front door. She watched Julia throw the bouquet to the single women of the crowd and leaned on the doorway as two of Julia’s cousins broke out into a fistfight on the lawn over who caught it first.
There was no way to get out of it. Julia would leave, move out of the manor, whether Sapphire said goodbye or not.
When Julia opened her eyes that Christmas Eve at the hospital, both Sapphire and Antonio started bawling out of sheer happiness and relief. The first thing Julia did after having the whole thing explained to her by the doctor was place her weak hand on top of Sapphire’s, look her deep in the eyes and say, “Sapphire…did you Tivo Los Amigos?”
As family and friends of Julia said their congrats and good-byes, Sapphire waited. Anxiety rose within her and as much as she knew she had to do it, Sapphire was two seconds away from jumping in her car and taking off.
Then something extraordinary happened as she stood in the doorway outside of her mother’s mansion.
In the midst of the celebrating crowd, Julia’s niece, six-year-old Cameron, ran up and jumped into her aunt’s arms. Except Sapphire didn’t see Cameron, she saw herself a decade and a half younger. She watched as her young self looked over at her and waved. As she waved back, she knew she was going completely crazy.
Then she realized something. The little girl sitting in Julia’s arms was in fact a child.
Children needed to be cared for and to be looked after. Not adults. The little child needed Julia. Sapphire however, now a woman, didn’t.
What Julia had said was true. Sapphire had left Julia, long before Julia left her. She grew up the minute her dream world became reality.
She wasn’t lost anymore and what she had spent the last two years doing wasn’t a hobby, it wasn’t an infatuation, it was who she was.
Sapphire watched herself at the age of six climb down to the ground and wave good-bye to Julia. She ran right past Sapphire and in through the doorway. Then Cameron was back, spitting a piece of foie gras into the punch bowl.
Antonio noticed Sapphire and grabbed Julia’s hand.
“I think I just found your maid of honor,” he said and Julia’s eyes searched for Sapphire.