Cascade (23 page)

Sandy fell unconscious to the
ground.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday afternoon – 3:10 P.M.
The Castle

After a few minutes of uncomfortable chit
chat, Megan and Mike settled into armchairs. Candy and Steve sat
next to each other on the couch between the armchairs. Angelika and
Perses sat on the opposite couch. Jill wasn’t sure which side of
the room to sit on – her beloved Mama’s side? Or her loyal loving
siblings? Refusing to choose sides, Jill brought a chair from the
dining room to sit in between.

“
You were going to…” Mike started
just as Megan said, “Mom, what…?” They laughed.

“
I will start,” Anjelika said.
Perses kissed her cheek then took her hand. “It’s your story, your
life, but it starts with me.”

“
You know my family was involved
in organized crime. Bratva brotherhood, that’s what we called it.
At the time, in Russia, there was either government crime or
organized crime. If you wanted to live well, you had to be involved
in either or both. Like his father and grandfather, my father was
involved in government and organized crime. He married early to the
girl he was supposed to marry. They had five boys. He was almost
forty when he met my mother. His first wife was ill, alcohol I
think, but I don’t really know. My father had fooled around the
edges of his marriage for a long time. He met my mother
and…”

Anjelika shrugged.

“
My mother used to say he loved
her more than anything in this world. And, I guess I believe her.
My father was still married when she had my older brothers. His
wife had died by the time I was born. I remember them — my mother
and father. My mother would get dressed for my father’s arrival.
And my father would almost skip into the house after his day. We
were very happy.

“
I grew up with a doting father
and mother. I knew there was poverty. I knew people struggled. But
I felt none of it. I had everything I could possibly want – ponies,
private instructors, beautiful dresses, gourmet dinners – truly
everything I might want. I was very sheltered and
spoiled.

“
I still am.” Anjelika looked at
Perses and he laughed.

“
I am my father’s only daughter. I
think that explains a lot of things. My brothers and half-brothers
are all a part of the Bratva. But I was sheltered. I was kept like
a trophy on a shelf. My father would bring me out for parties. I
would play the piano or sing. He adored me.

“
When it was time for me to marry,
my father insisted that I marry for love. I went to University but
lived at home. I dated but nothing significant. I met Perses at one
of my father’s parties. I was twenty-one years old.”

“
She wasn’t very impressed with
me,” Perses said.

“
I wasn’t,” Anjelika laughed. “I
was so pursued. It seemed like every man wanted a piece of my
wealth or family standing or beauty or… I had no time for men. I
was almost done with school. I was going to travel the world for a
while with a girlfriend, then see what was next.”

“
But we fell in love,” Perses
said. “We were married a year later. We had this amazing wedding.
The celebration lasted a week. We honeymooned in Greece
and…”

“
We were very happy. My father
bought a house for us near their home,” Anjelika said. “Perses
worked and I made house. Or organized the help. We had so much fun.
Megan came then Mikhail.

“
It was like a fairytale. I loved
being a mother. My mother would come over in the mornings to play
with the kids. Perses loves babies. He was home early just to be
with the babies. Then one day, Perses left for work one day
and…”

“
I didn’t come back,” he said. “At
least not for a while.”

“
A year passed then two. My
girlfriends told me he had left me for another woman. My mother
told me never ever to give up. My heart told me he would return.
But…”

Anjelika sighed and fell silent. Knowing what
would come next, Jill held her breath. Steve and Candy stiffened.
They would now learn about the man they called ‘Dad.’

~~~~~~~~
Tuesday afternoon – 3:11 P.M.
Smiley Junior High School

Sandy woke when she hit the ground. Opening
her eyes, she saw a bevy of pink and purple backpacks flying above
her. Teenage girls were yelling and hitting her attacker with their
backpacks. A girl kneeled down to her.

“
Are you all right, Sandy?” the
girl asked.

“
Melinda. I forgot you went to
school here.” Sandy sat up with the help of her teenage
client.

“
That guy has done that to other girls. He’s disgusting,”
Melinda said. “He did it to our friend and told her he would kill
her if she told. So she didn’t. Mom said she would kill
me
if I didn’t tell.”

Melinda’s girlfriends kneeled down to
Sandy.

“
This is your hairstylist?” one
girl asked. “Is she Nash’s Mom?”

“
Yep,” Sandy said. Hearing the
police sirens, she said, ”You’d better clear off.”

“
Nash is really cute,” one of the
girls said.

“
So is his friend, Ted,” another
girl said. “I’ll stay with you.”

“
I’m staying with you,” Melinda
said. “Mom would kill me if I didn’t.”

“
Let’s see if we can help Nash,”
Sandy said.

As police cruisers pulled up to the campus,
the kids began to scatter. Police officers ran up to the school. As
the bigger boys ran off, Sandy and her group of girls were able to
get to Nash and Teddy. She was hugging Nash and Teddy when the
Assistant Principal caught up with them.

“
Arrest this woman!” the Assistant
Principal yelled to the Denver Police. “She started this entire
fight.”

“
She did not!” Melinda said. “I
saw the whole thing! Just like last time!”

“
This woman?” A patrol officer
pointed to Sandy.

“
Yes, that woman is BANNED from
our campus. She caused this horrible fight and…” The Assistant
Principal’s face turned bright red with rage. “Jakkman? Norsen? You
are expelled!”

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday afternoon – 3:35 P.M.
The Castle

“
About two years after Perses
left, my mother started to fatigue easily. I didn’t think anything
of it. She was always so healthy. Just a rock. My rock. One
morning, she came over as usual. I left the room to get more coffee
and… When I came back, she was dead. Heart attack.

“
My father lost his mind with
grief. As if they planned it, my step-brothers descended on the
business and the finances. My step-brothers exacted their revenge
for their mother’s betrayal. I was removed from my home. We lived
in a few rooms in my father’s home. My brothers were shipped off to
the worst parts of the country. My oldest brother was
killed.

“
A few months after my mother
died, I was told Perses was dead. They tried to force me to marry
their bookkeeper. I was lost, so very lost, confused and very
stupid but I knew I couldn’t marry within the year of my mother’s
death. Wouldn’t look right.

“
But once the year was over, I was
married. The bookkeeper was your father, Stephen and Candace. I
thought I would be happy again. But we couldn’t make it work. I
wasn’t what he wanted.”

“
When they married, Anjelika
didn’t know he was a homosexual,” Perses said. “He was Anjelika’s
step-brother’s lover. Anjelika was a front for them.”

“
At some point, he realized he
needed children to complete the picture,” Anjelika said. “I do love
children. I was so happy when I was finally pregnant with Stephen.
I was so naive. I was sure things would finally be better. We had a
baby on the way!

“
My father woke up and realized
what was going on. I’m not sure how or why, but suddenly he was
aware of everything that had happened. Over the course of six
months or so, my step-brothers were removed from the
businesses.”

“
Killed or literally removed,”
Perses said.

“
At this time, my father told me I
didn’t need to stay married to this… man. He put an end to his
son’s relationship with my husband,” Anjelika said. “In return, my
husband stole two billion dollars from my father. And then he stole
me.”

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday afternoon – 3:45
P.M.

Smiley Junior High
School

“
What’s going on, Sandy?” the
patrol officer asked.

“
Hi Arterio,” Sandy said. “Nash
came to pick up his homework and was attacked by these bullies. I
came to help. Teddy got there first.”

“
That’s
what we saw
too!” Melinda said. Her friends nodded their
heads.

“
Of
course, the
lying slut
has a connection to the police.
Picked her up before?” the Assistant Principal sneered.
“She…”

“
Why don’t you step over here?”
Arterio, the police officer pushed the Assistant Principal away
from Sandy.

“
Wow, what did I miss?” A slim man
with blue eyes and short military cut dark hair said.

“
DAD!” Teddy Jakkman threw himself
at his father.

“
Sandy, your head’s bleeding. Are
you all right?” Zack Jakkman asked.

“
Hey Zack. I’m okay,” Sandy said.
“I thought you were flying spy planes or something.”

“
I just got in,” Zack said. “That
must have been one hell of a fight. You boys are pretty banged
up.”

He nodded toward a police officer. The police
officer gave them chemical ice packs. One at a time, Zack shook
them up to make them cold. He gave one to Sandy first, then gave
the ice packs to Nash and Teddy.

“
Paramedics on the way, Sandy,”
the police officer said.

“
Jeez, Sandy, you know everyone,”
Nash said.

“
Cop father.” Sandy put the ice
pack on the bump on her head.

“
Hi Nash,” Melinda said. Her
friends giggled.

“
Hi Melinda.”

“
Melinda and her friends helped
me,” Sandy smiled. Nash blushed at the girls’ attention.

“
Sandy!” A woman ran up to them.
“Oh my God! Are you all right?”

“
Thanks to your daughter!” Sandy
laughed.

“
Sandy, the paramedics are here,”
a police officer said. “We need statements from you, the girls, and
the boys.”

“
Why doesn’t Melinda give her
statement while you get looked at?” Melinda’s mother said. She
hugged Sandy. “When you said you needed to move my appointment, I
didn’t think it was for a junior high brawl!”

Sandy laughed. With her hand on Nash’s
shoulder, Sandy led Nash to the paramedics. Teddy and his father
followed them to the back of the ambulance. While the boys sat
inside, Sandy chatted with Zack.

“
Ma’am?” the paramedic asked.
“Nash says his sister is at Children’s. We can take him and his
friend but if you’re going it will save you some money and
hassle.”

“
They need the hospital?” Zack
asked.

“
Nash’s arm is broken. Looks like
Teddy separated his shoulder. That must have been some fight,” the
paramedic said. “Ma’am, can I check your head?”

Sandy sat down so the paramedic could check.
He pressed on her head, looked in her eyes with a light, then
bandaged the wound.

“
It looks like a simple head
wound,” the paramedic said. “But you should get it checked out.
That’s the kind of thing that can get worse fast.”

“
I can take the kids, Sandy,” Zack
said. “I renewed my Colorado driver’s license and everything! Can I
call one of your friends for you?”

“
I will,” Sandy said.

They went through the formality of Nash and
Teddy giving statements to the police before they were able to
leave. She hugged Nash goodbye at Zack’s SUV. After all the chaos
and activity, Sandy stood on the quiet sidewalk by herself. She
walked back to Aden’s SAAB then drove to St. Joseph’s
emergency.

~~~~~~~~

Tuesday afternoon – 3:45
P.M.

The Castle

“
The money was stolen through some
accounts that were in my name. Of course, it looked like I had
stolen it. At that time, I knew nothing about money. Not one thing.
To get away with his crime, he became an informant for the CIA in
exchange for asylum in the US.

“
I didn’t know any of this when we
left. I thought we were going on a vacation. My step-brother was
behind the entire thing. He wanted me to suffer because I was
married to his lover. My father had him killed right before we
left. I don’t think my husband ever got over the death of my
step-brother. They were together when he was killed.”

“
You don’t need to make excuses
for him,” Perses said. “The children are here to hear the
truth.”

“
My father believed I was
involved. So much money, I must have been involved. I knew nothing.
Not one thing,” Anjelika said. “I was very naïve. Anyway, our names
were changed to Roper and Stephen was born. My husband worked for
the CIA, mostly, and did some bookkeeping on the side.