Cascade (27 page)

“
But Daddy, I need to look good
now!”

“
Oh honey, no one
cares.”

“
But Daddy, I was going to be in a
movie. And now I’m too ugly!”

“
What movie? What are you talking
about?”

“
It was supposed to be a
surprise,” Noelle said. “Sandy’s Dad was going to put me in a movie
and…”

Sandy pulled the car to the curb. She stared
at Noelle in the rear view mirror.

“
What? What’s going on?” Nash
asked.

“
What do you mean, Noelle?” Aden
asked. “This is important.”

“
It
was a surprise,” Noelle started to cry. “I wanted to surprise you.
For Christmas. Sandy’s Dad said I would be the star in a movie. Now
I won’t be able to! And don’t say he wasn’t going to. He was
Sandy’s
Dad. He wouldn’t lie!”

“
Okay, honey, okay. Don’t worry.
You have plenty of time to be in a lot of movies. Mrs. Valerie is a
real movie star. She wasn’t in her first movie until she was at
least twenty. I bet she would tell you all about being a movie
star.”

“
Mrs. Valerie is really pretty,
Daddy,” Noelle dissolved into tears. “And I’m
disgusting…”

Sandy came around the car to hold Noelle.
Buster tried to lick Noelle’s face and Nash rubbed Noelle’s hair.
Noelle cried her eyes out. By the time Sandy got the phone from
Noelle, Aden had hung up. Back in the driver’s seat, she tried to
call Aden. He didn’t answer. She dialed Lipson
Construction.

“
Hi, Tammy, I was looking for
Aden.”

“
He just left Sandy,” Aden’s
secretary said.

“
I have his car,” Sandy
said.

“
He took a Lipson
truck.”

“
Did he say where he was
going?”

“
Not to me,” Tammy said. “He
talked to Jake then left.”

“
Okay, thanks.”

~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 2:35
P.M.

“
Auntie Sandy needs our help,”
Katy said.

Jill scowled at Katy then answered the
phone.

“
Hi honey,” Jacob said.

“
How are you?” Jill asked. With
Katy on her hip, she wandered the loft looking for her
handbag.

“
I have an odd question for you,”
Jacob said.

“
What’s up?” Jill pulled a fleece
jacked over Katy’s head. She put her handbag over her
shoulder.

“
Aden quit his job,” Jacob said.
“I wondered if you knew anything about that.”

“
Nothing. What
happened?”

“
He walked into my office and
said, ‘I can’t work here anymore. Sorry.’ He took a Lipson truck
and left.”

“
Jacob, what’s going on? You must
know.”

“
Aden’s going after Sandy’s
father,” Jacob said.

~~~~~~~~
Wednesday afternoon — 2:40 P.M.

Unsure of what to do, Sandy took the kids to
the Castle. She knew they felt comfortable there and Delphie or
Jill would take care of them. Sandy couldn’t shake the nagging
feeling that Aden was going to do something stupid. She needed to
find him.

Her sense of panic increased when Delphie met
them at the gate. Jill was standing with Katy on her hip at the
side door. The women pretended everything was cool until Noelle and
Nash were settled in front of Monsters, Inc. in a sitting area off
the main living room. The dogs, Sarah, Scooter and Buster flopped
on the floor around them. Doped up on pain medication, the kids
zoned out to the movie.

“
I’ll stay with the kids,” Delphie
said. “But you need to go.”

“
What’s going on?” Sandy
whispered.

“
Jake says Aden’s gone after your
father,” Jill said. “Katy says you need some dragon thing from the
Hargreaves house and…”

“
Let’s go,” Sandy said.

~~~~~~~~
Wednesday afternoon — 2:40 P.M.

Aden wasn’t really sure what happened. When
Noelle said the words ‘movie’ combined with the words ‘Sandy’s
father,’ he only saw what he had to do. It was almost as if the
words were a magic spell or triggered a natural cascade.

He felt a strange kind of calm. And a deep
sense of rage.

Nothing would deter him. He might not be able
to protect Noelle from a court ordered visitation. But he could
protect her from this.

He had set the phone down, walked into Jake’s
office to quit his job, and walked out of the building. Somewhere
in his mind, he realized that driving a Lipson truck was dumb. But
his rage shut down all logical thought.

At least Sandy had his kids. Whatever happened
today, his kids would be safe. All kids would be safe from this
monster after today.

When he and Sandy started dating, they had
driven around to look at all the places they had lived. Aden took
her to the street corner he panhandled, the vacant lot that once
held the last known residence of his parents, and the variety of
apartments and houses. Sandy showed him her mother’s house and,
after much cajoling, her father’s home.

Pulling up to the curb in front of the Mayfair
bungalow, he was glad he remembered where the asshole lived. Aden
saw the curtain move.

The asshole was home.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 2:55
P.M.

Jill pulled up in front of the large rooming
house in South City Park. Alex Hargreaves and her identical twin
Max were standing in their front yard. Alex opened the back of the
Lexus to get in. Seeing Katy in her car seat, Alex leaned back and
whistled. Colin Hargreaves and two other men came to the
car.

“
Hey Jill,” Max said. “Would you
mind if Katy played with Paddie this afternoon?”

“
She has a fever,” Jill said.
“Blane has strep and we think Katy might have it.”

“
Paddie’s been sick, too,” Colin
said. “Of course. He’s terribly bored. Katy will be a welcome
distraction.”

“
Mommy, can I play with
Paddie??”

“
Are you sure you
don’t…?”

Katy was out of her car seat and into Colin’s
arms. Jill got out of the driver’s seat to say good bye to Katy and
the big guy, Teddy Jakkman’s guardian, got into the driver’s seat.
Max and Alex got into the back of the car.

“
Sorry, Jill,” Alex took Katy’s
car seat out of the back of the Lexus. “You better sit this one
out.”

“
But…” Jill said.

She watched the back of her Lexus SUV move
down the street.

CHAPTER
SEVENTY-TWO

Wait!

Wednesday afternoon — 3:25
P.M.

Riding in Jill’s Lexus SUV, Sandy watched the
Denver neighborhoods fly past her passenger window. They drove up
Seventeenth Avenue Parkway past the gorgeous mansions. As a child,
she’d walk to her father’s house past these mansions. While she
walked, she’d dream of living in one of her favorites. On her way
to her father’s house once again, she pressed her forehead against
the cool passenger window to keep from screaming. Jill’s car turned
on Monaco Parkway. These mansions were even more beautiful, more
posh, and never seemed more unattainable.

Like a suicide bomber, her past had come to
destroy her perfect present. She wasn’t going to live happily ever
after. She was going to live chained by the prison of her past.
They were turning right on Eighth Avenue before anyone in the car
spoke.

“
You need to put this on,” Alex
Hargreaves said. “You can put it on over your clothing but we wear
them underneath. They’re more comfortable that way.”

“
But…”

Sandy looked at Captain Ramirez, who was
driving. Without saying a word, he pulled the car to the curb. He
left the car idling for warmth then got out of the car. Max got out
of the back seat. Sandy pulled off her sweater and long sleeved
T-shirt.

“
Next to your bra. That’s how I
wear mine.” Alex leaned forward to help Sandy.

Sandy put the vest on. Fastening the body
armor over her heart, she put her T-shirt and sweater back on. When
she was done, Alex opened her window to signal the men. Max got in
the back and Captain Ramirez slipped back into the driver’s seat.
He turned right on Locust and they drove the next few blocks in
silence.

They slowed at a police roadblock. The Denver
Police had cordoned off the block around her father’s house.
Captain Ramirez spoke to the officer. The officer’s eyes seemed to
shoot arrows at Sandy when he looked at her. Blushing bright red,
she collapsed into herself before he looked in the back seat at
Alex and Max. They continued the half block to her father’s house
then parked. There were at least eight police cruisers surrounded
by policemen with their guns drawn.

Every eye focused on her father’s one story
brick bungalow. The curtains were drawn on the two casement windows
facing Locust Street. A light shone through one of the basement
rooms. The winter bare lawn gave the house a dilapidated
air.

Sandy’s door opened. Unbuckling her seat belt
to get out, Sandy saw her Godfather, Seth O’Malley had opened her
door. She threw herself into his arms. He lifted her out of the
car.

“
I’m sorry, Sandy,” Alex said.
“But we need you over here.”

“
What’s going on? What’s
happened?” Sandy asked.

“
It’s an entire mess up,” Max
said. “Looks like Aden opened a can of whoop ass on your father.
Aden has your father and is digging through things looking for
something… we don’t know what. The problem is that the team needs
that material to build our international case. If Aden destroys it,
the case goes up in smoke.”

“
You can imagine no one is very
happy about that,” Seth said. “We’ve been trying to reach Aden but
he won’t answer his phone or the house phone. You didn’t tell him
about the case?”

Sandy shook her head.

“
She was told not to,” Max
said.

“
It’s not your fault, Sandy,” Alex
said. “They should have moved earlier.”

“
You’ve heard that the wheels of
justice move slowly?” Captain Ramirez said.

Sandy nodded.

“
The wheels of international
justice sometimes barely move at all.”

“
Is Aden all right? Is he going to
kill my father?” Sandy asked.

“
He didn’t arrive with a weapon.”
Seth’s face was grim. “That’s good for him.”

“
What do you mean?” Sandy
asked.

“
Nothing,” Seth said. “Let’s get
you over to the phone. We’re hoping if you call maybe he’ll
answer.”

“
Sandy, do you know what he’s
looking for?” Alex asked.

“
His daughter said she was going
to be in one of my Dad’s movies,” Sandy said. “He was talking to
her on the phone… then just hung up. It’s not like him. None of
this is like him.”

“
It’s not the man you know. It’s
the man he was,” Seth said. “Hargreaves, is this thing with his
daughter true?”

“
I don’t know,” Alex said. “Like
you, we’re just along for the ride. It’s more their
deal.”

Alex nodded toward Max and Captain
Ramirez.

“
I’ll find out,” Max
said.

With Seth at her side, Sandy followed Max to
the leader of the operation. She heard that they were watching the
house when Aden arrived. She heard that they were there within
fifteen minutes. She heard that they were monitoring video and
audio surveillance inside her father’s house.

The words and sounds of the FBI operating team
came at her as if they were food she could not digest. She knew the
words, certainly heard them, but couldn’t quite understand what
they were saying. She felt as if she was floating in a bubble of
unreality.

This could not be happening.

The FBI wanted her to talk to Homeland
Security. She had a long incomprehensible conversation with a man
who acted like she was an idiot. She was passed off to the Denver
Policeman who was running the scene. When the Denver Police Officer
finished what he had to say, she was led back to Seth.

Even with Seth there, she felt very small and
very alone. All the noise, all the weapons and her Aden at the
center of everything. She knew he’d warned her about his violent
past. He’d warned her that he had been a criminal. He’d warned
her.

Why didn’t the past – his past, her past -
just go away?

Almost as if it wasn’t her idea, a single
thought came into her head.

“
The past will go away when I make
it go away.”

Sandy nodded to herself. She had to get inside
that house.

Seth was holding onto her with an arm over her
shoulder while he talked to a policewoman. When Sandy shifted away
from him, he took his hand off her shoulder. With quick efficient
movements, she put a knot in her long hair. Seth stepped toward the
policewoman.