The middle-aged woman ran a business out of her home and, according to Aaron, she and her husband seldom traveled. Naturally, he’d asked them to watch his house while he was gone.
“Aaron, Aaron, I’m so glad to see you.” The woman pointed at the yellow crime scene tape criss-crossed over his front door. “I called them last night—no, early this morning when I heard all the noise. Jim told me you wouldn’t be home yet, so I knew they must be burglars or vandals. The police came and I guess scared off the two men, but not before, well, you’ll see.” She pointed to the house.
“Shit!” Aaron bolted for the house, Tess close at his heels. The woman followed, then Pete.
Porter’s warning…
The doorframe appeared cracked. The neighbor explained that intruders had jimmied the lock on one of the rear windows, but had kept the front door closed. The first police car appeared on the scene, about five minutes after she called them and they were the ones who broke in the front door. Too slow a response, she asserted hotly. Evidently, the intruders had a specific mission to smash and run, for they were gone by the time the police arrived.
Not taking it all in, Tess examined the cracked doorframe while Aaron went inside. She heard him cry out in anguish.
“Oh God!” Tess rushed to his side and saw what he’d just seen.
His grand piano, given to him on his twenty-first birthday by his parents, lay in a grotesque heap. The ivory and black keys, all eighty-eight, lay askew all over the dining room floor like scattered dominos. Once gleaming black wood, now in rough splinters and hacked off pieces, showed its brown undersides. The piano’s broad lid was caved in, flattened like a man’s hat crushed by a giant’s fist. The internal wires and levers, which once created beautiful music under Aaron’s nimble fingers, were now twisted in ruin. Her immediate thought: sledge hammers. The men must’ve been incredibly strong to have wreaked such damage on the beautiful instrument in such a short period of time. Only the legs remained untouched and upright.
She was awestruck. Too shocked to speak, Aaron sank to his knees and just stared, the scene too horrible to take one’s eyes off of. Tess’ heart broke from the anguish and pain she saw etched in his face.
Porter did this. Made this happen.
The neighbor turned to Tess. “The police checked for fingerprints. They said they’d call Aaron today. We gave them his cell phone number. They also left a card.” She looked at Aaron questioningly. “The police said whoever did this—they were professionals.”
Tess numbly nodded and stared at Aaron. Pete stepped forward and showed his sensitivity by steering the voluble woman back to the front porch where Tess heard them conversing quietly. Watching Aaron suffer silently made her sick. The bile rose again, this time in a violent eruption. She ran to the kitchen sink in the rear of the house and vomited into it. Only then did her tears flow. Unabated. Unashamedly.
Like a hurt little girl, she wept as she splashed her face with cold water. Wept as she returned to the living room and kneeled beside Aaron. Wept as she enfolded him into her arms and embraced him with all her might.
She felt his chest rise and fall as he struggled for self-control. His neck and face bathed with her tears. Finally, his hands patted her back.
“It’s okay. Tess, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I caused this.”
“No, just the price we pay to be together. It’s just a piano. I’ll get another one.” He let out a mirthless snort. “Least, I have my fingers, my hands. It could’ve been a lot worse.”
So like Aaron. Working past his pain to console me.
What will I find at my place?
By dinnertime, she found the courage to call her best friend, Marisa. She was usually home after five, learning her lines for the next day’s shooting. She knew her friend would be home or on her way from the Burbank studios. She called from her cell phone, Aaron nearby and watching her intently.
“Tess! I didn’t know what time you were getting back. Oh, Tess…”
“Is it bad?”
“It happened late last night …Loco woke me up with his barking. I heard some noise above me in your apartment, so I called the cops. I knew Loco wouldn’t bark if it was you—”
“Oh God, what did they do?” The news was grim. Tess felt the blood drain from her brain as she listened to Marisa. She suddenly felt dizzy and covered her face with one hand.
“Where are you? Are you safe?”
“Yeah, I’m at Aaron’s.”
“Stay there tonight. The landlord’s here and he’s furious. Give him a day or two to calm down. Come tomorrow while he’s at work.”
“Okay,” Tess muttered, her heart pulsing in her throat. She felt another wave of nausea sweep over her and glanced at the kitchen sink behind Aaron.
“Stay safe, chica.”
They rang off and Tess bolted for the sink.
Chapter Thirteen
Tess swung her legs out of Aaron’s bed. His voice could be heard coming from the kitchen. He was on the phone with his insurance agent. She knew the police would never find the vandals, but at least Aaron might get enough insurance money so he could buy a new baby grand. It would, however, never replace the sentimental value of the one his parents gave him.
A symbolic gesture from Porter. A powerful one.
Dressed in yesterday’s clothes, she scrutinized her face in Aaron’s dresser mirror and sighed. Her mouth was swollen to double its size and her right cheek sported an ugly, purple bruise. She was out of a job and her savings would only last maybe two months.
She thought of her apartment. Nothing good…
In the kitchen, Aaron held out a mug of steaming black coffee. He frowned when he saw her face, turned his back and mumbled something under his breath. A moment later, he was putting a dish of toast and scrambled eggs on the table in front of her as if nothing was amiss.
“Thanks, Aaron, but I’m not hungry.”
He fondly mussed her hair. “C’mon, Tess. We can’t let that bastard get to us. We’ll go together to your place after you eat something.”
Reluctantly, she lifted a fork of eggs to her mouth and gingerly chewed on a piece of toast on the left side of her mouth. Washing it down, she punched her cell phone buttons as Aaron watched her, a question on his face.
“Marisa,” she explained, “calls Loco, her black Lab, her first line of defense. She also keeps a loaded shotgun under her bed. Maybe we should get one, too.”
“Who’re you calling?”
“A friend who works security when he’s not singing with his band,” she said. Aaron was at her side, lifting her up and resettling her on his lap. “No, Tess, that’s no solution. Porter’s done. He’s gotten his revenge. It’s over.” He held her while she punched the off button.
Finally, when she could speak, all she could say was, “I’m homeless. Jobless.”
“No, you’re not. As long as I have a home, you have one. And you’ve got a new job playing Sophie.”
“How do you know this wasn’t Porter’s first round? What if those guys come back? The same night they smashed up your piano, they broke into my apartment. The landlord’s threatening to evict me.” She stared into Aaron’s eyes unseeingly. “Porter did this. He hinted about the break-ins and warned me to let them go. Don’t bring in the cops, he said.” Her focus sharpened on the glinting rage in Aaron’s smoldering blue eyes. She’d said this a hundred times since last night. “How can he do this and get away with it?”
“Tess, I told you. He’s got connections.” His mouth was a taut, angry line.
“You were right.” Her pulse was racing and her breath was coming in panting spurts. Aaron’s arms tightened around her and he buried his face in her neck.
“It’s okay, relax. Take a deep breath.”
Mechanically, she did as he told her. God, was she having a heart attack? She wanted to die. Maybe she would…right in Aaron’s arms. Her heart would stop and the last thing she’d see on this earth was his face.
&
nbsp; No job, no home, no clothes.
Aaron said something, but she couldn’t hear him. Her hearing was gone! All she could hear was the pounding pulse in her head, the hammering in her chest. Oh God, now she was deaf as well! How was she going to sing if she couldn’t hear the music? Oh God!
Aaron gestured for her to take a deep breath, then let it out. Staving off a panic attack, she did so. In. Out. She counted to five as she inhaled, counted to five as she exhaled. Gradually, her hearing returned and her panic subsided.
“Tess, Tess, it could be a lot worse. You have no idea.”
Somehow, this time, his words weren’t that comforting.
* * * *
Marisa and Loco greeted Tess and Aaron as soon as his car stopped in front of the Spanish-style four-plex. The circular driveway around a central pool-patio complex was flanked by nine such buildings. Aaron pulled over and parked in front of one of the four-plex buildings. The amenities were limited and the rooms small, but the neighborhood was clean, middle-class and nestled against a backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains. Cal State University, Los Angeles, the venue of several of Tess’ self-improvement classes over the years, was nearby.
Waiting for them outside her apartment, Marisa eyed Aaron and smiled. An irrepressible flirt, she’d once wanted to date him but Tess had discouraged her, making up excuses and reasons not to. Now, Tess understood the real reason why Marisa had never pursued him. Her friend had sensed Tess’ true emotional involvement with the man even before she was willing to admit it to herself.
Marisa ran up to her as soon as Tess stepped out of the car.
“Tess, dammit, girl! What happened to your face, m’ija?” When Tess told her, Marisa narrowed her eyes and let spew a stream of curses. They hugged tightly, Tess biting back more tears. Marisa held her at arm’s length and said, “Before you go in, prepare yourself for a shock. It’s not pretty.” She added to them both, “I’m just glad Loco knew it wasn’t you upstairs, coming home in the middle of the night. You know, he never barks at you, no matter what hour it is. He knows your car—yours, too, Aaron—knows your sound, your footsteps. So when he heard something different, he let me know it. He’s a great security guard.”
Tess bent over and petted the Lab’s long, pointy head. “Loco, such a smart dog. Good boy! I’m giving you special treats from here on.”
His floppy ears perked up at Tess’ soothing voice. He sniffed Aaron’s hand and found him acceptable. Tess smiled and enveloped Marisa in another big hug, murmuring into her friend’s dark hair, “Thanks so much! If the whole apartment had caught on fire, you would’ve been in danger, too. I’m so sorry this happened.”
“That Porter is a real gabacho! Y’know, I would’ve stopped them with my shotgun but the 9-1-1 person said not to do anything, to stay put and let the cops handle it. Two cops were here in a couple of minutes after I called. Boy, talk about fast response time! They said they were patrolling a half-mile away.” She gave Tess and Aaron the onceover. “So Porter found out you and Aaron…”
Tess nodded as she wrapped her arm around his waist. “Yep.”
From the way Aaron’s hand reclaimed its place around Tess’ shoulder, Marisa made it apparent that she’d expected it all along.
“Ah, so the cruise was worthwhile, after all,” she teased her friends, winking in an exaggerated manner. Then she glanced upward and began to lead her and Aaron up the tiled outdoor steps to Tess’ apartment. “Well, hell hath no fury like a …man scorned, or something like that. The landlord went ballistic but then he saw the damages weren’t as bad as he thought. The apartment needs cleaning and painting. The soot and smoke blackened most of the walls and you’ll need new carpet in the bedroom. A new bed, too.”
“Bed?”
“Yeah, your ex made it clear his ego wasn’t the only thing hurt. His…er, dick took a symbolic beating and he didn’t like it—well, you’ll see. Just hold your breath. The place reeks. On the bright side, you’ve got a good excuse to go out and buy a bunch of new clothes. Let’s go together, okay? I’m ready for a shopping trip. I’m sick of my old clothes.”
Marisa was trying to make her feel better and prepare her for what awaited her. Aaron peeled off the crime scene tape and then let the women go ahead. The first thing Tess noticed was that nothing seemed disturbed in the living room and kitchen but once Marisa opened the mini blinds, the gray walls and flecks of black soot covering every surface could be seen. Every book and binder of sheet music on her shelves were covered with a layer of soot. Everything smelled of smoke, so Tess covered her nose with the bottom hem of her shirt. She made a beeline for her bedroom, then stopped at the threshold and gasped.
What was once a haphazard pile of clothes were now a smelly, sickening heap of ashes and charred rags. It looked as though a big shovel had dug a black hole in the mattress, the bed linens and mattress stuffing having burned up with the clothes. An accelerant like kerosene cut the air with a sharp, acrid smell underlying the smoky stench. The charred sleeve of her best wool, caramel-colored suit stuck out at the bottom.
Her blackened closet was empty of garments. A few hangers were all that remained. All around, the room looked like a dark cave, even with the blinds open. She raised one side of the blinds and saw the broken window. The glass had been removed. Marisa noticed it, too.
“Ingress and egress, the cops said. They must’ve stood on the roof of their truck in back, where the carports are. Maybe a small ladder or some tall vehicle. There would’ve been a lot more damage if the cops hadn’t gotten here so quick.”
Tess slid out drawers in her double dresser, the light oak finish of the wood warped and charred from the fire. Farther away, the furniture was dark with soot. The framed photos of Mac, Aaron and the Petersons were coated with ash. All of her drawers and the clothes inside them—mainly underwear, nighties, tees and jeans—were intact. She took the photos and wiped them off with the bottom of a pair of pajamas.
“Thank God, something’s left. Porter knew how much I loved clothes. This was his way of striking back. So petty!” Something struck her. “My jewelry!”
She ran past Aaron and Marisa into the kitchen.
“The mayonnaise jar,” Marisa explained to Aaron, “Tess bought me one. I keep mine in the fridge, too.”
Behind her, Tess heard Aaron mutter, “What? Mayonnaise?”
They were both watching her as she reached inside her refrigerator and unscrewed the lid of a giant jar. Inside was a double thickness of glass, the outer one revealing what looked like real mayonnaise. The inner layer was lined with satin. Her best jewelry, collected over the years, excluding Porter’s ring and the emerald earrings from Frank Marello.
Tess sighed deeply, her hand over her heart. “Good! They didn’t touch my music, either. My binders’re all there.” She pointed to the shelves in the adjacent living room. In sudden alarm, she looked over at Aaron, who’d returned to the bedroom. She found him examining the damage on her bed. In her fog of pain, she’d forgotten to ask him yesterday. “Aaron, your music? Did you find it all?”
“It’s all fine. My original compositions are in the floor safe in my bedroom closet.” He shook his head in disgust. “Tess, do you realize what he could’ve done if he’d been really serious? This—” he flung about his arms—“is just a hissy fit.”
The mayonnaise jar-safe still in her hand, Tess approached him and showed him her ingenious hiding place. Not a floor safe but it did the trick. She’d sell her jewelry to buy some clothes, save the rest for essentials.
“Do you think Porter’s done retaliating?”
Aaron smiled ironically at the mayonnaise jar, then sobered at her question. “I only hope so.”
To Tess’ ears, his words didn’t ring with much confidence. Marisa looked from Aaron to Tess, and then patted Loco’s head. As if saying, We might need you again, boy. The dog sniffed the foul air and growled. He didn’t like the situation any more than they did.
At that moment, Aaron’s cell phone rang. He we
nt outside to the front landing to take the call. While Tess screwed the lid back on and crammed the jar into her tote, Marisa approached her and slung an arm around her shoulder.
“Chica, it’s about time. You’ve carried a torch for each other a long time. Good thing it happened before you married that bastard.”
“It was that obvious?” Tess cracked. “To everyone, but me, I guess. I was so thick-headed. I just didn’t want to see… I think I was afraid.”
“Wish you’d opened your eyes before hooking up with Porter Hunt. I knew how you felt about Aaron when you discouraged me from…y’know, coming on to him. Never understood why you wouldn’t admit it.”
“Yeah, same here. Aaron understood, I think, but his patience ran out,” Tess sighed, and added, “Thank, God.” She started to say more but stopped when she saw Aaron’s stricken face reappear in the doorway. He looked like someone had kicked him in the balls. “My God, what happened?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s gather up what clothes you’ve got left. And whatever else you want to bring to my place.”
Tess went up to him and grabbed on to his shirt front. “Tell me. Don’t try to protect me, Aaron, I’m a big girl.”
He scrubbed a hand over the top of his forehead and ran it down over his face. “Okay, you want to know. One of my backers, my major one, just bailed on me.”
“Bailed? How can he bail if he signed a contract?”
“A fine-print clause, allowing him to withdraw if the executive producer—me—displays a lack of sound business judgment. He claims I’ve over-leveraged my assets for the production.”
Scheming and Dreaming in Los Angeles Page 14