by Allyn Lesley
Avi picked up the local newspaper. Her gaze was transfixed on the face that graced the cover. He was bold and smug in the photograph. His smile was playful and dangerous, and there was a challenge in his eyes. “Idogbe Aswad: Is He the Next Noah Adams?” The words almost leapt off the page against the man’s sun-kissed skin and sleek gray suit.
There seemed to be no escaping Noah Adams. He dominated everything, even stories about other people. Avi put the newspaper back on the rack, determined to put as much space between Noah and herself as possible. He was a complication, and Avi’s life had exceeded its trouble quotient. Right now, she needed to get through brunch with this stranger who professed to be her father.
She took a deep breath and raised her head. The newsstand vendor gave her an appeasing smile, making Avi feel as if she should buy something.
“Let me get a pack of gum, please?” She reached into her coat pocket and grabbed a few coins.
Just as she was slipping the green package in her coat’s pocket, a loud crack and pop sounded off to her left, startling her. Cackling children scampered away, throwing more little white balls on the ground, which exploded on impact.
Kids.
Nearby, adults shouted their disapproval.
Her focus was drawn to the front of the restaurant.
Avi lifted her right hand from her pocket, half-waving at Harry, who stood at the entrance of the restaurant as he said he would.
Harry took two steps from the doorway with his heart racing, and waved with enthusiasm at her. His pace quickened, needing to get to Avi sooner rather than later. Even if she wasn’t ready for a hug, that’s what he planned on giving his daughter. My daughter. That had a nice ring to it.
Just a few feet away was the person who he had a hand in creating.
I should’ve fought to keep Ellie.
Even tried to find her.
But he’d been too fearful of Ellie’s rejection. The last time they’d seen each other still played, like a bad record, in his head.
I don’t want kids was what he’d told her when she’d raised the question. He still remembered what she had worn, the way her eyes drooped at his words. At the time, he’d counted himself lucky to have found Ellie, when he believed he’d never have a woman in his life. She’d left him during one of his late shifts at work, taking everything she owned. She’d forgotten a few things, or left them behind for him—he liked to believe it was the latter, which showed him she was a real class act.
The nearby conversations of patrons who chose to sit outside the restaurant brought him back to the present. But he didn’t pay them any attention, because she was right there, willing to give him a shot.
Is she mad at me?
What have I missed out on not being part of her life?
He swallowed his anxiety.
No way would he lose her again. He couldn’t have Ellie, not like he wanted, but Avi...
His daughter’s name brought a smile to his face. He had to know her. Know that a part of him was out in the world and thriving. He wanted her to be proud of him. He never had that thought before. It was the other way around with Noah. He was proud of Noah, but just wished he’d put all his ingenuity toward positive ends.
But here was his flesh and blood. She was good. She was honest. She was wise. At least that was what her mother told him. She was stubborn, like the two of them. But determined was a better term.
Others on the sidewalk moved aside as if they all understood the importance of the day.
He took another step toward his future.
Maybe we can even talk about her and Ellie.
Avi moved faster toward the average-height man with a prominent square jawline, a cleft in his chin, and a twinkle in his violet eyes.
Avi reached the corner, ready to cross, when a sedan sped up and blocked her path.
A short burst hit something solid. Then the sound repeated itself.
Screams broke out.
Instinct made Avi drop down.
Her knees hit the unforgiving cement. She broke what could have been a disastrous fall with her outstretched hands while her upper body tumbled forward. Her ears picked up the whirling sounds around, but she couldn’t focus on any one thing. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Tires screeched.
Chaos ensued.
“Call the police,” someone shouted.
She chanced to look up.
Bodies were still flat on the ground. A few were getting up, looking around in confusion.
“What the hell was that?” someone nearby wondered aloud.
A scream pierced the morning air.
“Get an ambulance...h-he’s bleeding too much...” another voice begged.
Avi jumped up, racing across the street.
A set of feet followed Avi’s at a slower pace.
Since his return to the city on Columbus Day, he had been pulled off all other assignments and given two tasks: watch Avianna and report everything back to his boss. Sharp eagle eyes trained to assess a situation in mere seconds zoomed in on Avi during the commotion. Internally, he waged a war as to whether to swoop in and rescue Avi or remain in the shadows as he was directed. He surveyed the opposite buildings and the road, deeming it safe for Avi. If something happened to her under his watch, he had already been told there’d be hell to pay.
This is a definite need-to-know, and not the end of night report I normally give. With a grimace, he keyed in the numbers to a line, which rang once and was answered by a gruff voice.
“What?”
Undetected, Ro continued behind Avi’s hurried steps at a safe distance. “This ain’t good, Noah,” he recounted as his gaze finally settled on the man lying on the ground near a few overturned tables.
“Fuck.”
He recognized Harry’s ashen face.
Ro crossed the street, slipping behind a parked van.
“Keep pressure on it,” another person said near Harry. Phone in hand, the man shouted, “At the corner of...”
Voices drowned out.
In front of her, a woman used her hand as a plug on the side of Harry’s neck. Her hand was slick with the thick red blood.
Avi’s hand muffled her screams.
Harry sputtered and coughed, his gaze unseeing until someone with a rainbow-colored hat neared.
I-I have to stay—
Stooping, Avi covered the unknown woman’s hands with her own, applying more pressure. “You stay with me, Harry. Don’t you die on me.” Tears sprang from her eyes. Eyes that were the exact shade as his.
Using the last bit of strength he had, Harry uttered the name of the only person he knew could help.
Avi encouraged him to remain silent and reserve his strength, but his lips moved again.
Pressing her ear to his mouth, she listened.
“Call Noe...Adams,” Harry grunted out just as death collected his fifty-year old body on the sidewalk in front of his regular Sunday spot.
She raised her chilled hands to warm them with her breath and grimaced at the stains there. Her hands fell into her lap.
Her leg bounced in nervousness. The plastic seat was uncomfortable. Avi shifted her lower half, trying to find a position that didn’t make her butt clench in pain or her back tense further.
Outside the restaurant, there was a beehive of activity. Yellow police tape was everywhere. The word ‘coroner’ was etched on the jackets worn by men who passed by her to attend to Harry’s lifeless body. A few witnesses were around, giving their statements just like she was about to.
She closed her lids, still unable to come to terms with what had happened.
The loud scraping of a chair being pulled out aggravated Avi’s already sensitive hearing. A scowl distorted her features. Across from her, a confrontational man clenched a fist and pressed on the top of a pen. Each click communicated the man’s anger.
“Miss...”
“Linton.”
The clicking stopped.
“Right. Ms. Linton. I’d like—
”
“Um, excuse me, but what’s your name?” she asked.
“Officer Simmonds.” He shifted in his seat, moving closer to her. “Mind telling me how you knew Detective Manning?”
“Well, I don’t.” Avi shook her head. “Not really.”
Officer Simmonds peered at her. “You were walking by then?”
“Yes and no,” Avi said. She tucked her cold hands under her legs.
He pushed the top of the pen down and up.
Avi followed each movement.
“Which is it, Ms. Linton?”
“Um, the thing is I was on my way to meet Harry, I mean Mr. Manning. But I don’t—didn’t know him.” The last words were hitched on an emotion Avi refused to name at that moment.
She wasn’t going to think about never having a father for all her twenty-four years of life, only to lose him right before they would have met...spoke...maybe hugged each other. A sob caught in the back of her throat.
Officer Simmonds leaned back in his chair.
Avi’s gaze darted around the street every so often and her shoulders hunched trying to hide from the people on the other side of the ‘do not cross’ tape.
They’re probably judging me, just like others did in Florida.
“I need to know what you saw,” Officer Simmonds said.
Avi’s teeth clamped down hard on her inner cheek. Releasing it, she blew out a steadying breath, hoping it’d help center her and her rambling thoughts.
“I-I didn’t see anything. I was walking down the street toward the restaurant. I-I saw him. I mean he was right there. Right at the...” Tears spilled onto her jacket.
Officer Simmonds urged her on as if her outward emotions were fake. “You were saying?”
“Right. Yeah...” Avi sat taller, rubbing her face on her sleeve. “He was outside the restaurant. He waved to me, be-because this was the first time I was seeing him...meeting him. I think he took a few steps from the door, but God’s honest truth, everything after that I don’t even remember.” Avi swallowed. “I heard a sound, but I thought it was a fire cracker—”
“Fire cracker?”
At the time, she’d assumed the boys who had caused trouble earlier had come back for more. She clasped her hands together. “Some kids, like right before I saw Harry, had popped a few fire crackers.”
She looked around, becoming warm and sweaty when other police officers began combing the streets.
“Focus, Ms. Linton.”
Avi’s jumpy gaze dropped to her lap before lifting to Simmonds’s scrutinizing eyes.
“Right, well, I remember the kids’ antics, but I didn’t stop to worry over them. Then I was walking.” Avi covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. “One sound, then another. Next thing I’m doing is corking the hole in my father’s neck with my fingers.”
Her hands fell away and she looked at them. Would the stains ever come off?
The clicking stopped.
“Your father?” He stood. “You mind taking a ride down with me to the station?”
The demand was clear; she had no choice in the matter.
People hustled by her, on their way everyplace else except to the empty seat in front of Avi. On top of that, Officer Simmonds had yet to return with the cup of water he had offered earlier; her tongue and throat ached from thirst. His seat had been vacant since she was ushered from the back of the police car and through the precinct’s doors, rumpled and bloody, almost half an hour ago.
I hate police stations. I really hate police stations.
Leaning back on the wooden slats of the chair didn’t alleviate her discomfort.
Finally, he brought back three paper cups brimming with water. Avi eyed them with longing. The first cup was grabbed and gulped down. So was the second cup. The third was left on top of the table while she toyed with its edge.
“I’d like to pick up right after the fire cracker noise you heard.” Pen and notepad in hand, he eyed her in expectation.
“Okay.”
“Not another word, Ms. Linton.”
Avi faced the authoritative voice. The tone was clear and matter-of-fact.
“Is my client under arrest?” A man came into view swinging a leather briefcase in one hand and wearing a pinstriped suit that looked like it might cost at least three months of Avi’s salary. “Officer Simmonds, is my client under arrest?”
He stood. “Well, no. But she’s—”
The man shoved a card in the policeman’s palm. “This is my business card. Right now, I’m taking her home.” Turning, he extended his hand. “Ms. Linton...”
He waited for her to take his invitation and latch onto his open hand.
Avi squinted at the man, turning her head to the side, and tried to place him. She couldn’t, and she knew she could never afford whatever he charged. Her upper body eased away from his hand and she pursed her lips.
“I-I...” she began.
Bending down, he whispered, “Mr. Adams sent me. He’s right outside waiting for you.”
She glanced around, even though she knew he wasn’t inside. Her brain simply wasn’t working the way it should. Avi licked her lips and looked up into the man’s face. She inspected his features, from the softened blue eyes that favored a cloudless day and lips pulled up in a friendly smile. But underneath it all, the shark wasn’t far off, reminding her of the name he had mentioned. Another predator.
Mr. Adams. Noah Adams.
The name triggered the words of a dying man.
Call Noe...Adams...
Harry couldn’t have been talking about him.
“Mr. Adams is waiting, Ms. Linton,” the stately gentleman said near Avi’s ear, cutting short her musings.
Avi gave a small nod and the man stepped back, allowing room for her to stand. Her legs were like Jell-O; she had to use his forearm to steady her first steps.
“Have a great day, Officer Simmonds,” the man said over his shoulder.
As if the last bell of the school year had just rung, Avi ran-walked out of the interrogation room in as composed a manner as possible, making it difficult for her companion to keep up. She pushed the doors open and took in large gulps of air. The man Noah had sent for her placed a hand between her shoulders and pointed toward a silver SUV.
The door opened, and then there he stood. Avi didn’t realize she was running until she crashed into his arms and was enveloped by Noah.
Nothing was said. Avi nestled into safety. His arms wound around her body. She pushed into him as much as she physically could. Avi clawed at his back and pressed herself into him more as the reality of the day hit her. Dry sobs wracked her body, but she was secure in the solid mass of muscle that bunched and flexed against her.
The biting wind ended their short embrace.
“Come on,” Noah said, brushing a soft kiss on her forehead.
He stepped to the side, helping Avi into the vehicle.
Ro greeted her as she entered the car. He wore a somber expression.
She released a shaky breath and a small crack of a smile. Tipping her head back on the headrest, Avi hoped to block the world out and erase the last hours of her day. When she didn’t hear Noah enter the vehicle, she gazed around. Through the tinted window, she saw him shaking hands with the man who had come to her aid. A frown scrunched her forehead.
“Let’s go, Zach,” Noah said, sliding in beside Avi and pulling out a slim silver phone along with a bulky black one.
Anger radiated off Noah. Its oppressiveness weighed down the car and its occupants. The truck was silent, except for the low hum of a radio program.
Noah spoke to Ro in a harsh, clipped tone that chilled Avi. She didn’t understand the tightness present around Noah’s lips. She couldn’t make sense of the reason his eyes strayed toward her then looked away when she caught him. She wanted to tell him to take a deep breath and try some calming exercises she used with her students, but with the way Noah gripped the two cell phones and eyed them as if deciding between life and death,
she held her tongue.
He was quick to settle on his phone choice, and Avi couldn’t help wondering if that was how decisive Noah was in all issues. After a while, she wasn’t sure if he was purposefully ignoring her. Avi waited while he finished texting, but as one text led to several, followed by a few cryptic phone calls on the black phone, Avi grew impatient.
She tapped his leg. He held up a finger and returned his attention to his phones. Noah missed Avi rolling her eyes. Next, Avi used her elbow, bumping his. His head turned, leveling her with an admonishing stare, making her feel as if she were five years old. She huffed. Just as he was finishing up on the black phone, she confiscated it.
“Avi,” he growled. “I need to make arrangements.”
She pitched an eyebrow at him. “And I need answers.”
Their exchange was reminiscent of the night they had met, though now their words were caustic, lacking charm and flirtation.
“And I need to make some calls. Now, hand it over,” he said with his palms turning upward.
Avi’s hand tingled to make his jaw red like she’d done a few weeks ago at Sofie’s birthday. She wanted to shake off his high-handedness that implied that she was his to command. “Mr. Adams, I don’t scare easily.”
His phone blared from nearby.
“Sorry, I have to take this.” His look plainly said he wasn’t sorry. “I need—”
Avi snatched the silver phone from his loose grip.
“What the fuck?” he yelled, looking at her as if she were a madwoman.
“And I said I need answers,” Avi responded, emphasizing each word, then clicking the end button on his sleek phone.
She placed both phones between them, daring him to answer them as they pinged and rang. Eventually, whoever was on the other end gave up. Up front, Ro’s phone began chiming.
“Who was that back there?” Avi asked now that she had Noah’s attention.
He leaned his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes just as she’d done a few minutes ago. “Who was who, Avi?”