Firestone (22 page)

“ 
. . .you
didn’t find anything of Red Bear’s in that storage area,” Ava
said.

“
Right,” Seth said. “The
storage area was one hundred percent Andy’s. The videos there were
ones that were used to threaten her.”

“
Used to keep her in
line,” Ava said.

“
Exactly,” Seth said.
“Yeah . . .”

Seth’s head went up and down in a nod. He
looked over Ava’s shoulder for a moment.

“
What’s going on?” Ava
asked.

“
I just have this feeling
that Andy wants me to
do
something,” Seth said. “To
fix
this. Get the bastard.
But . . . I’m at a complete loss. I’ve been sitting
here all afternoon trying to figure out what she’s trying to tell
me.”

“
But you didn’t call
Delphie,” Ava said.

“
Uh . . .”

“
What is it with you and
Delphie?” Ava asked. “Half the time, you act like you hate her.
She’s the same way.”

“
She says we were siblings
in other lives,” Seth said.

“
I see,” Ava said. “That’s
a good reason not to call the woman.”

Seth scowled.

“
How about this?” Ava
asked. “I’m going upstairs to see what Maresol left for
dinner.”

“
She didn’t,” Seth said.
“I told her we were going out.”

“
Then I was late,” Ava
said. “Sorry.”

“
No problem,” Seth said.
“You want to order something?”

“
How ’bout if I cook
something yummy?” Ava asked and then laughed at the look on his
face. Seth smiled. “I’ll go upstairs and order something. You call
Delphie.”

“
Yes, ma’am,” Seth
said.

He waited until she’d left the room before
starting to play again. He told himself he’d play for only a minute
but he started in on the piece he was working on. He was just
getting going when the key cover on the piano slammed closed. If he
hadn’t moved his fingers quickly, they would have been broken. He
scowled.

“
All right, all right,”
Seth said. “Don’t get pissy. I’m calling!”

He looked around the room until he found his
cell phone and called Delphie.

Thursday night — 9:35 p.m.

“
Seth!” Delphie yelled
into the phone. Seth held the phone away from his ear. “It’s about
time!”

He held the mouth piece just close enough to
speak.

“
How so?” he
asked.

“
Andy’s been here waiting
for you!” Delphie yelled. “I’ve had to hide out
because . . .”

A man’s voice rumbled in the background.

“
Oh, it’s just Seth,”
Delphie said in a normal tone. “He likes it when I yell into the
cell phone.”

Seth groaned, and Delphie laughed.

“
What does Andy want?”
Seth asked.

“
Oh,” Delphie chuckled. “I
don’t know. We were having such a good time gossiping
about . . . well, never mind. I’m sure you just want
to know whatever it is you want to know.”

“
What were you gossiping
about?” Seth asked, because he knew he should.

“
Have you noticed how much
Rachel looks like Andy?” Delphie answered, because she knew he was
only asking because he should. “She’s the spitting image of
Andy.”

“
With Aden’s eyes,” Seth
said.

“
Why do you think your
children look so little like you, Seth?” Delphie asked, and then
laughed.

Seth rolled his eyes and waited for Delphie
to stop laughing.

“
Okay, okay,” Delphie
said. “I know you’re just indulging me. Let’s
see . . .”

Delphie went still. Seth waited.

“
Oh,” Delphie said. “She
said you have to go through that box.”

“
What box?” Seth
asked.

“
The one in the storage
area,” Delphie said. “I told you about it.”

“
You never told me about a
box in the storage area,” Seth said.

“
I told
someone . . .” Delphie said. “Oh, that’s right, I
told Sandy.”

“
And I’d know that
because . . .” Seth let the silence
linger.

“
You’re the great Magic
O’Malley,” Delphie said and laughed.

“
Very funny,” Seth said.
“How do I get this box?”

“
You have to ask Sandy,”
Delphie said. “But that’s not why Andy wants to talk to
you.”

“
Oh?”

“
She wants you to know
that she likes Ava,” Delphie said. “No, that’s not it either. Just
a second.”

Seth fell silent while Delphie talked to the
ghost of his first love.

“
Really?” Delphie asked.
“Huh.”

“
What?” Seth
asked.

“
Nothing,” Delphie said.
Her voice sped up. “Nice to talk to you.”

“
Delphie!” Seth said.
“Tell me what Andy said!”

“
I don’t know if I
should . . .”

“
Tell me,” Seth
said.

“
She said that Patty’s
getting out,” Delphie said. “You know, of prison. She’s been able
to convince a judge that she’s not a flight risk, so they’re
letting her out. That detective is part of that. He told them she
was safe and everything . . . Andy says Patty and
Red Bear are planning on getting the money and leaving the country,
but . . .”

“
But?” Seth
asked.

“
Patty blames Sandy for
putting her in prison,” Delphie said. “They
have . . . um . . . They’re going
to . . .”

“
What?” Seth
asked.

“
You know, like
before . . . but over the Internet,” Delphie said.
“They’ve already set up the site and are charging money for people
to watch it happen . . .”

“
Oh my God,” Seth jumped
to his feet and started running through the basement.

“
I have to warn Sandy,”
Delphie said.

“
When does Patty get out?”
Seth took the stairs two at a time.

“
Tomorrow,” Delphie said.
“They’re going to . . . Saturday night. But the
detective? He’s going to grab Sandy . . .
soon.”

“
Shit,” Seth said as he
walked into the kitchen.

Ava was sitting at the counter reading a
novel. She looked up when he came in. She mouthed, “What?”

“
Where’s Sandy
now?”

“
She’s upstairs,” Delphie
said. “At least that’s what Andy says. They said if they can’t get
Sandy they’ll get . . .”

Delphie stopped talking.

“
Who?” Seth asked. “Who
will they get?”

“
Rachel,” Delphie said.
“From daycare.”

“
I’m on my way,” Seth
said, and hung up the phone. He looked at Ava.

“
What’s going on?” Ava
asked.

“
I have to go to see
Sandy,” Seth said.

“
I’ll go with you,” Ava
said.

“
You don’t have
to . . .”

“
Don’t tell me what I
don’t have to do, O’Malley,” Ava said. “You’re my almost husband.
This is our life. I’m going.”

Seth stared at her.

“
Go!” Ava said.

He ran out the back door, and she
followed.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday night — 9:35 p.m.

Jeraine looked across the waiting area.
There were families clustered here and there around the waiting
room. Rodney and Yvonne were in an examination room with Jabari.
Jeraine was sitting with Schmidty and Risa, the social worker.
Schmidty called in the big guys who’d provided Jeraine with
security at the custody hearing. So far, they had managed to keep
the waiting area free of cameras and paparazzi.

But they couldn’t keep Annette out.

She’d flown at Jeraine when she saw him. She
managed to hit him a few times before a Children’s Hospital
security guard had pulled her off of Jeraine. Between the security
guard and Jeraine’s bodyguards, they’d managed to get the
television people out of the hospital waiting room. Once her
reality television people were gone, Annette calmed down.

Annette said that Jabari had had “problems”
like this before. Jeraine got her to tell the doctor, and he took
Annette’s information. They had already contacted Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta. It was only a matter of time before they
faxed the records. Annette sat down in a huff a few seats from him.
About a half hour later, one of the women on her television show
arrived. Annette greeted her with much fuss and the sudden
appearance of tears. She hadn’t yet turned off the waterworks when
another friend from television arrived. The three scantily clad,
overly made-up women glared at Jeraine and sat down.

Jabari’s fever remained. He was a sick
little boy. The primary doctor thought he might have lupus. Jeraine
read about it on his phone before he called his father. Bumpy said
that they would have to wait and see. But Jeraine was
terrified.

Jeraine had never felt so helpless in his
entire life. He’d always been able to do anything he wanted. He’d
wanted a record contract; he’d gotten a record contract. He’d
wanted to be famous; he’d become super famous. He’d wanted to be
rich; he’d become very rich.

Right now, all he wanted was for Jabari to
be well. And there was nothing he could do.

Rodney and Yvonne finally came in from the
back. They repeated what the doctor had said.

“
There is nothing anyone
can do until the child’s fever is down,” Yvonne said.

Annette and her friends made such a huge
fuss that one of Jeraine’s big guards went looking for a television
camera. He found a cameraman pressed against the glass of the
waiting room. The guard destroyed the camera and scared the
cameraman enough that he left.

When Annette started screaming at Yvonne,
Jeraine couldn’t help but notice how Yvonne’s effortless beauty far
outshone all of Annette’s makeup, plastic surgery, and expensive
clothing. Jeraine wasn’t sure why but it made him uncomfortable to
see the women together.

“
That woman did something
to baby-Jabari,” Jeraine heard Yvonne whisper to Rodney after they
had moved away from Yvonne. “I just know it.”

Jeraine looked at Yvonne.

“
You do too,” Yvonne said
to Jeraine.

He gave a slight nod.

“
If my Tannie were here,
she’d . . .” Yvonne stopped talking because they all
knew that Tanesha would kick Annette’s ass and throw her out of the
hospital.

“
We don’t need
that
on television.”
Jeraine smiled. Yvonne laughed.

“
Mr. and Mrs. Smith?” the
nurse asked from the front of the room. “The doctor would like to
speak with you and . . . Risa? Are you
here?”

The social worker stood up and walked with
Rodney and Yvonne to the front of the room. Clearly agitated, the
nurse said something in a low tone. Before they went into the back,
Rodney turned and nodded to Jeraine. His stomach dropped. Rodney’s
nod meant that Annette had indeed done something to Jabari to make
him sick.

Jeraine was furious.

“
Steady Jer. They
want
you to vent your
rage on ‘poor little Annette.’ You don’t want to be on that TV show
either,” Schmidty said under his breath. “The best
revenge . . .”

“ 
. . .is
one served cold,” Jeraine said. “I know.”

“
No,” Schmidty said. “The
best revenge is letting people’s actions catch up with
them.”

“
What the hell does that
mean?” Jeraine asked.

“
It means you don’t have
to work too hard,” Schmidty said. “If she hurt Jabari, she’s going
to get hers pretty fast.”

Jeraine nodded. He knew Schmidty’s words
should make him feel better, but they didn’t.

After all, Jabari was still sick.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday night — 9:55 p.m.

“
So it looks like it
worked out,” Heather said to Blane. Heather was cleaning up the
kitchen while Blane sat at the kitchen counter. “If all goes well
tomorrow—which it should—Tink’s brother, Chet, will stay with
Nelson for the time being. When you’re well, we can look at
integrating him into our family.”

She smiled at Blane, but he was staring off
into space.

“
Why do you think
Nelson . . .?” Blane asked.

“
I told you he came by
here,” Heather said.

Blane nodded.

“
I don’t think it’s more
complicated than Risa said,” Heather said. “Nelson wants to see
what it’s like to care for a foster child. It’s a temporary
placement so it seems perfect all the way around.”

Blane gave her an odd look.

“
What?” Heather
asked.

“
You think he’s interested
in me,” Blane said.

“
He said he was.” Heather
shrugged.

“
What do you think about
that?” Blane asked.

“
I think you and I are
life partners,” Heather said. “We are a family. When you’re well,
you may decide you want a relationship with a man. I might decide
the same thing. Those men would have to integrate into our
family.”