A Phoenix Is Forever

by Ashlyn Chase

  Score! Spying an empty parking spot right in front of the captain’s house, he jumped out of the car, gripping the newspaper in one hand and the coffee in the other. He rang the doorbell and waited a few moments. When no one appeared, he rang it again. A man answered the door dressed in scrubs.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, brow furrowed.

  “Yes, I’m here to see Captain Moore. I’m Officer Luca Fierro. I have her Saturday morning coffee and newspaper.”

  The man’s face creased into a grin. “Oooookay. I think I know what this is about.” He turned back and shouted, “Hon, a rookie is here.”

  Captain Moore appeared a moment later with a sympathetic smile on her face.

  Luca handed over the coffee and newspaper. “Here’s your coffee and newspaper, Captain. Venti white chocolate mocha with a couple packets of Sweet’N Low on the side.” Luca smiled, hoping for a compliment.

  “Thank you, Fierro. You do realize you’ve been had.”

  “Huh?”

  “The guys at work are just busting your chops because you’re a newbie.”

  Luca could feel the heat rise to his cheeks. “Shit.”

  “Besides, I only drink tea.”

  Her husband plucked the cup out of her hand and took a sip. “Mmm…they picked a good flavor this time. Thanks!”

  This time?

  “Fierro, this is my husband, Lloyd. He’s just on his way to the hospital, aren’t you, dear?”

  “Yep. This will certainly perk me up on my rounds.” With a peck on his wife’s cheek and a nod at Luca, Lloyd made his way down the steps to a car that had double-parked a moment before. Apparently, he was carpooling to work.

  Luca rubbed the back of his neck, feeling like a fool. “Sorry, Captain Moore. I guess the guys are enjoying a good laugh this morning.”

  “I would say they are,” she replied with a grin. “Don’t worry about it, Fierro. You’re doing a great job.”

  “Thanks, ma’am. That means a lot.”

  She reached out her hand with an expectant look on her face.

  Realizing what she wanted, Luca handed her the newspaper with a sheepish smile.

  “Might as well make good use of it.” She wished him a good weekend.

  Making his way back to his car, Luca wondered how long he’d be getting the rookie treatment. He hoped they weren’t planning any more shenanigans. But he’d put up with it if it meant being accepted as one of them…soon.

  He got into his car and drove in the direction of his station, feeling silly but pleased at Captain Moore’s comment about his first week on the job. Normally, he would have called Lisa to talk about it. But after his last phone call with her, he wondered if she would even answer her phone—and if he even wanted to talk to her about his job.

  Would it be worth calling Lisa and asking her if she’d had a change of heart? They’d dated for two years, and it was hard to let go of someone you’d spent so much time with.

  Would Dawn have told him he’d played right into their hands? He doubted it.

  A vision of Dawn in her penguin pajamas popped into his head, and he couldn’t help smiling.

  He glanced at the bag on the front passenger seat of his car. Jack had let him into Mandy’s room, where Luca had found the pink unicorn on the bed exactly where Dawn had seen it in her vision. He had asked Jack if he could borrow the toy, that he had a friend who might be able to help. Jack had agreed, telling him he’d do anything to find his daughter.

  * * *

  “Mind if I sit beside you, young lady?”

  Dawn glanced up at the old woman standing before her and grinned. “Good to see you, Lynda.”

  “Good to see you too.” Lynda eased herself down beside Dawn as the subway car filled up.

  “Are you going to the Youth Community Center too?”

  “No, I just wanted to wish you luck. I heard about the shooting in your neighborhood.”

  “Does Karma Cleaners know everything?”

  “Only as it involves our clients.”

  “How?”

  “We have our ways.” She gave her a Mona Lisa smile. “So how are you doing?”

  Dawn blew out a breath. “I just ran into an ex-boyfriend. He was sniffing around, asking if I was getting cozy with a cop.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “I told him to buzz off.” Dawn shrugged.

  “Good girl.” Lynda nodded and opened her large quilted bag. She rooted around in it for a few moments and then pulled out what looked like a pager with a red button.

  “Here. This is for you.”

  “What it is?”

  “If you’re ever in trouble or you need to talk, you can press that button, and I’ll find you.”

  Dawn frowned at her. “Are you serious?”

  “As serious as these galoshes I’m wearing.”

  Dawn glanced down at Lynda’s hideous boots. “Those are seriously ugly.”

  “Like I said.”

  “Do you know something that I don’t?”

  “Well, you’re the psychic. You tell me.”

  Dawn made a face. “Okay, I am a little worried. I’ve become friends with a cop, and I texted him when I heard gunshots. I also called 911, but I just felt safer texting Luca.”

  “Luca is the young man you’re helping locate the missing girl.”

  “You remembered. Can you help?”

  Lynda gave her an indulgent look.

  “We can’t interfere. We just keep tabs… But if you need our help desperately, we’ll step in. Nobody wants you getting killed while you’re trying to do the right thing.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “And by the way, he’s a real hunk.” Lynda winked at her.

  “I think so too. Trouble is he seems to be hung up on his ex-girlfriend.”

  “Well, the operative part is ‘ex’. Besides, sometimes it takes guys a little longer to recognize a real wonder woman when they meet her.”

  “Thanks, LC.”

  “You’re welcome.” She smiled and patted her hand. “Oh, this is my stop. Have fun today.” Lynda gave her a little wave and then hobbled out the door.

  Dawn hoped Lynda was right, about everything.

  * * *

  “Hey, it’s me.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Good morning to you too, Lisa.”

  “It’s Saturday morning. Most normal people are still asleep.”

  Luca rolled his eyes. Lisa was definitely not a morning person. Her Saturdays consisted of getting up late, spending the afternoon at the spa, then going out and partying half the night.

  That may have been fun while they were in college, but now that he was a cop, he had to focus on keeping a healthy routine.

  “I just thought I’d check in and see how you’re doing.” After dropping the captain’s newspaper off, he’d gone home, grabbed a quick shower and a PowerBar, and decided to call Lisa, because he just had to know once and for all.

  “I’m doing fine, Luca. Why are you really calling?”

  “Look, this breakup is just weird and unexpected. Is there any chance you’ve changed your mind?”

  A sigh at the other end of the phone was his answer. “It’s over. I’m already sleeping with someone else.”

  He said nothing.

  “I think what we had was fun when we were in school,” she continued. “It was exciting to sneak around behind our parents’ backs, but look, we’re not kids anymore. At some point, we either have to get serious or end things. And I’m not ready to get serious with anyone right now. I need freedom. Some space to figure out what I really want.”

  Translation: You want to sleep around and party all night.

  “I’m only twenty-two years old. I just graduated from college. I want to take some time off
before I have to start looking for a job. This is the time to live my life before I have to settle down.”

  Luca was becoming irritated. How could he have not seen it before? She was lucky she could afford to just laze around at home and hang out with her friends at night. The rest of the world had to get up and go to work.

  “Besides, do you really think my father would have approved of you? You’re just a rookie cop. My dad expects me to marry an investment banker or a lawyer. Not a police officer who works a beat.”

  “Your dad’s a cop.”

  “He’s a sergeant, and of course he wants me to marry a sophisticated, wealthy man.”

  “Whatever. I hope you and your sophisticated investment banker have a very nice life together.”

  Luca hung up and grunted his frustration. What did he ever see in her? Yeah, she was hot, and the sex—when he could get it—was great, but you can’t base a life on that. She was shallow, spoiled, and selfish.

  How did his brothers manage to find such wonderful women?

  He snorted. If his brothers could read his mind, they’d say, “You’re still young.”

  Reading minds… Hadn’t Dawn said she couldn’t do that when they had coffee the other day? And last night when he had watched her come out of her house in her penguin PJs, he’d just wanted to wrap his arms around her…

  “I’m such an idiot.”

  * * *

  “Are you Tansy?”

  “Honey, do you see any other six-foot-tall, half–African American, half–Irish wolfhounds around?”

  Dawn chuckled. “I suppose not.”

  Tansy was the very picture of casual glamour. Her impossibly long legs looked like they went on forever in her blue denim skinny jeans and black pumps.

  An olive-and-gold top set off her creamy mocha complexion and startling hazel eyes. With her sleek, long dark hair in a high bun, she looked like she should be strutting down a catwalk instead of running a community center in a poor neighborhood. Tansy was quite possibly one of the most stunning women Dawn had ever met.

  “You must be Dawn Forest.” Tansy smiled back. “WW told me all about you.”

  “WW?”

  “Wonder Woman,” Tansy said with a wink.

  Dawn nodded. “Ah, Lynda. Yeah. Well, I’m here to help in any way I can.”

  “Let me show you around.” Tansy escorted Dawn to the back office, passing the kitchen and games room. There were three main areas where the kids could hang out: a quiet computer room for doing homework and getting extra help, a gymnasium where they could play various sports, and they even passed by a room that said POOL.

  “Is there really a pool here?”

  “Well, it’s not an Olympic-size pool. It’s about half that. Just a place where they can learn to swim.”

  There was also a restaurant-size kitchen and dining room.

  “We teach them some basic cooking skills, and that provides a hot meal. We all eat together.”

  They finally reached the back offices for the staff, including a room with a sign that said CLINIC.

  Dawn pointed to it. “Clinic?”

  “A retired nurse practitioner volunteers every Tuesday and Thursday and on Saturday afternoons. She’s here for wellness checks, plus confidential advice regarding health and sex education. I’ve seen her slip some condoms to the teenage boys.”

  Dawn was impressed at the setup. If a place like this had existed when her mom was a kid, she might not have lost her way. Then again, Dawn might not be here had her mother received sex education.

  “This is such an amazing place,” Dawn said. They settled at a table in the dining room with two cups of coffee and a plate of two oversize churros dipped in white and dark chocolate on either end.

  “We’re pretty lucky here,” Tansy said. She pointed to the pastry. “Have one. They’re damn good.”

  “Thanks.” After one big bite, Dawn nodded in agreement. “Mmm.”

  “You’re a tiny thing, but I like the way you eat.”

  Dawn felt her face heat up.

  Tansy laughed. “Don’t worry. There are plenty more in the fridge. We have a very generous benefactor who prefers to remain anonymous, but he makes sure we have everything we need.”

  “One person was so generous, they donated all this?” Dawn’s eyes widened as she glanced around at the expansive kitchen and dining room.

  “Not all of it. We received a grant to build the center, but most of the programs are kept going by one family.” Tansy leaned in, giving her a sly smile. “You would certainly have heard of a few of them. A couple musicians and actors. A famous chef…”

  Dawn knew exactly the family Tansy was talking about. They might be in Hollywood now, but they grew up right here in Dorchester.

  Tansy had a dynamic presence and seemed like she could run a ship like this easily. It couldn’t be an easy job though.

  “In my experience, people are just looking out for themselves and usually breaking the law to do it or struggling not to,” Dawn said.

  “And yet you’re here. Ready and willing to make a change. Maybe the benefactor was also like you, ready and willing to make changes. You don’t have to remain poor even if growing up in lousy circumstances.”

  “True.” Dawn sighed. “Do you really feel like you’re making a difference in the lives of these kids?”

  “Let me ask you something instead,” Tansy countered. “If you’d had a place like this when you were a kid, do you think it would have made a difference?”

  Dawn thought about what she’d seen in the lounge area. It was early on a Saturday morning, and yet there were kids of different ages hanging out, chatting, doing their homework. They looked happy and relaxed. She was a latchkey kid. Came home from school to an empty house, locking the door behind her. That was how her mother and grandmother kept her safe when she was young and they both had to work.

  When she’d peeked into the lounge, her eyes had landed on a lone girl sitting by herself with her feet tucked up under her on an overstuffed chair. The girl was immersed in a book, but she looked…sad. Dawn understood all too well what that felt like. “I think it would have,” she said softly.

  “Some of these kids come here for food, and others are here for a different kind of nourishment.”

  Dawn cleared her throat, nodding her understanding.

  Tansy laid her hand over Dawn’s. “I know how special you are.”

  Dawn’s brows lifted in question.

  “You can sense things in other people.”

  “How did you know? Did Lynda mention it?”

  Tansy nodded. “She told me because she knows you can help us.”

  “How can I help? I didn’t study social work. I’m not a counselor.”

  Tansy waved away her question. “Honey, we already have plenty of those here. We need more people like you. People who can relate to the kids—and spot trouble before it happens.”

  “I’m just worried I’ll make mistakes and maybe make things worse. What if I say the wrong thing when I’m talking to them?”

  “You won’t. If your heart is in the right place, they’ll know it. Trust me on that one. Are you ready to get started?”

  Dawn blew out a breath and nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Good. Are you done with your churro?”

  Dawn popped the last bit of churro into her mouth. “Mmm. I’ll bet a professional bakery couldn’t make better.”

  “Another one of our benefactors owns a successful bakery. Sometimes he helps out, just for fun.”

  “Wow! So you know all the benefactors well?”

  “Honey, that one I do. I married him.”

  Chapter 8

  “Hey kid!” Luca slowed his car alongside the boy walking his bike along the sidewalk. DeVaughn Washington, the kid he’d saved from the speeding car. �
��I’m glad I ran into you.” Luca had finished his shift and on impulse bought a box of doughnuts and swung by DeVaughn’s street to drop them off and introduce himself to his parents. Maybe if he couldn’t help Mandy, he could help a kid who needed someone to look out for him.

  “I didn’t do nothin’ wrong, I swear.” The boy looked alarmed as he stopped.

  “It’s okay, DeVaughn. I just wanted to ask you something.”

  The boy nodded, and Luca got out of the car, grabbing the box of doughnuts.

  “Where were you heading with your bike?”

  “To the gas station to pump air into my tires. I think one of my wheels got something sharp stuck in it.”

  “Let me take a look.” Luca hunkered down and spun the front wheel. Sure enough, he found a small nail embedded in the wheel. Pulling it out, he held it up to DeVaughn. “Here’s your culprit.”

  “Aww man. I have to try to patch it up now.” DeVaughn heaved a sigh.

  “I’ll help you fix it.”

  DeVaughn’s face lit up. “Really? Thanks. You’re pretty cool for a cop.”

  Luca laughed. “Why don’t we go back to your place so I can meet your family, then I’ll take you to get your bike fixed. I know a great mechanic.”

  “I don’t have any money for a mechanic.” DeVaughn looked deflated.

  “It’s okay. It’s on me. You can do me a favor.”

  “Like what?”

  Luca almost laughed at the suspicious look that flashed in DeVaughn’s eyes.

  “Take me to meet your family. I just want them to know where we’re going.”

  “That’s the favor?”

  “Yup.”

  “Okay. But does it include those doughnuts?”

  “Yup.”

  “Deal.”

  DeVaughn and Luca walked back up the street to a small row house. DeVaughn took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door, bringing his bike inside. He leaned it against the wall in the tiny entryway. “Mama, someone wants to meet you and Grandpa.”

  A woman stepped out of the kitchen, just off the entry, wiping her hands on a tea towel. “What happened?” The tiny, stout woman wore the same alarmed expression the boy had when he saw Luca.