Cascade (28 page)

Sandy took off toward the house.

Running as fast as she knew how to run, she
ran down the cement path. When she reached the porch, she hopped
into the left basement window well. She yanked open the basement
window. In one motion, she slid into the basement. She landed on
her feet. Feeling movement behind her, she spun around to see Alex
then Max come through the basement window. Seth followed
Max.

“
Sandy, what the hell!” Seth said
in a terse whisper.

“
Shhh…” Alex said. “We’re here
now.”

“
I’m taking Sandy out of here!”
Seth grabbed her arm.

“
I’m not going anywhere.” Sandy
shook him off her. “This started with me. It’s going to end with
me.”

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 4:30
P.M.

“
Where are you going?” Honey asked
the line of men clocking out. “We have another hour.”

The man looked at Honey, shook his head then
walked out the door.

“
Hey!” Honey said. “What is going
on?”

Hearing Honey’s voice, Bambi ran out from the
office.

“
STOP!” Bambi yelled.

Every eye turned to look at her.

“
What is going on?” Honey
asked.

“
We heard on the radio that Aden
has lost it on some guy. The radio says the guy’s a suspected
pedophile and child pornographer. The police have the house
surrounded.”

“
We’re going to help,” the next
man said as he clocked out.

“
I’ve known Aden since we were day
laborers together,” a man said as he took out his employee card.
“If Aden’s lost it, then we all should.”

“
Don’t think you can stop us,” a
woman said. “The other sites are going too.”

“
Going where?” Honey
asked.

“
To Locust Street. We’re going to
be there when Aden needs us.”

Just then Bambi’s company radio
squawked.

“
Yeah,” Honey answered the radio
while Bambi tried to talk some sense into her employees.

“
It’s Jerry, Honey. Is Bambi
there?”

“
She’s dealing with a
mutiny.”

“
I’ve got the same thing here,”
Jerry said. “And I’m going too. You gals need a ride?”

“
Who’s going to tell Jake?” Honey
asked.

“
We were thinking his step-sister
would tell him,” Jerry laughed.

“
What?!? Me!?”

“
See you there.”

Honey looked up to see Bambi clocking
out.

“
You’re going too? What about the
site?”

“
Aden’s a good friend. They’re
right. We should be there if he needs us,” Bambi said. “Will you
stay here to wrap up?”

“
I will,” Honey said. “And I’ll
call Jake.”

“
Oh, Jake knows,” Bambi said. “His
mother predicted this when she was alive. She used to tell Aden
over and over again that he must not kill the baker’s
father.”

“
How do you know that?”

“
We dated after he broke up with
Lexi. Miss Celia was alive.”

“
You dated Aden?”

“
For a while. Didn’t work out,”
Bambi said. “He’s been a great friend. He introduced me to Rod just
because he thought I’d like him.”

“
You knew Aden when he was using
drugs and stuff?”

“
He drank, mostly,” Bambi said.
“He talks about his ‘violent criminal past’ but he wasn’t really
that bad. Mostly he was drunk and in the wrong place at the wrong
time. He never had real violence in him. He’s too aware of other
people, even drunk and high.”

“
Why did he get sober?” Honey
asked.

“
I couldn’t deal with him drunk,”
Bambi said. “Celia was on him about it. But it was mostly the kids.
He finally got it together for Nash and Noelle. They mean
everything to him. If he did this thing, it has to have something
to do with the kids.”

“
With a pedophile? I hope not!”
Honey exclaimed.

“
Me too. See you
there.”

“
I’ll close up shop and meet you
there,” Honey said.

“
I’ll look for you. Thanks
Honey.”

Shaking her head at the insanity of the day,
Honey wheeled outside to close the site.

~~~~~~~~

Wednesday afternoon — 4:45
P.M.

“
How did you know about the
window?” Alex whispered to Sandy.

“
That’s how I got in when he
wasn’t here.” Sandy looked around the basement. “As a kid, you
know.”

She cocked her head to the side and listened
to the footsteps above.

“
They’re in the living room,”
Sandy whispered.

Sandy slipped off her shoes and went to the
bottom of the basement stairs. Turning to the others, she said,
“The fourth step creaks and the second one from the top makes a
loud noise. The door scrapes when it’s open more than
three-fourths.

“
How…?” Seth started.

“
I used to hide from him,” Sandy
said. “A lot.”

Seth’s face shifted one darker shade of grim.
Leading the way, Sandy crept up to the main level of the house. At
the top of the stairs, she pointed to the right down the hall.
Sliding across the red oak floors in her socks, she made a
soundless journey to the living room.

From the doorway, her eyes took in the
destruction. The room had been torn apart. Paper floated in the
air. Drawers hung open. Cabinet doors hung on broken hinges. The
couch and chairs were slit open and the stuffing was out. A glance
toward the bedrooms told her the same destruction was happening
throughout the house.

Aden held the shoulder of her father’s shirt
in one hand. He dug through the bureau in front of him with the
other hand. Her father taunted Aden with a cruel laugh. Her
father’s work shirt was soaked with blood from his face.

“
Aden,” she said.

Aden’s head jerked in her direction. Her
father made a noise and Aden punched him in the face. Taking a step
into the living room, she squashed her urge to yelp. Her father’s
face was a mass of swelling bruises and blood. His nose was broken.
His dentures either fell out or were forced out. And still he
jeered and laughed at Aden.

“
Shut up!” Aden yelled at her
father.

“
Aden.”

“
Sandy, he says he has photos of
Noelle! Doing…horrible...!” Aden shook her father and screamed,
“SHE’S A LITTLE GIRL YOU SICK FUCK!!”

“
Oh Sandy, I’m glad you’re here.
This guy wants to get in on our action,” Her father
laughed.

“
Shut up!” Sandy said to her
father.

“
Oooh is this the
boyfriend!
? Your
mother’s told me all about him,” her father said. “Listen fella, I
already got all the good years out of her. But your daughter,
she’s…”

“
Do not speak!” Aden yelled into
her father’s face.

Sandy slipped into the room. When she moved,
Alex, Max and Seth came into the room behind her. Holding handguns,
their weapons were trained on Aden and her father. They formed an
arc around Aden and her father.

“
Denver Police! Everyone stop!”
Seth said. “The house is completely surrounded. We have weapons on
you. Freeze!”

Sandy slid between her father and
Aden.

“
He’s a compulsive liar,” Sandy
said. “If his mouth is moving, he’s lying. You can’t believe a word
he says. And even if he tells the truth, he’ll lie a second later
just to cancel out the truth.”

Her father laughed at her words.

“
Shut up!” Sandy and Aden yelled
together.

“
They have the house under
surveillance, Aden,” Seth said. “There’ve been cameras and mics
inside the house for the last two months. We’ve had men following
him for six months.”

“
He’s had one conversation with
Noelle. At school, that’s all,” Max said.

“
I still had her!” Sandy’s father
said. “She wanted me soo bad! She was fresh…”

Sandy punched him in the shoulder.

“
Disgusting lying cretin,” Sandy
said. “Shut up.”

“
There’s no way, Aden,” Max
said.

“
Let him go and we’ll take care of
him,” Alex said. “Just let him go.”

Sandy caressed Aden’s neck. Her hands cupped
his face. Standing on tiptoes, she kissed his lips. Aden’s eyes
broke their stare at her father. His eyes shifted to her face. Like
a wave, his face softened until he smiled at Sandy. He tossed her
father away from him to hold her.

“
Sandy,” he said as an out
breath.

She held him with all of her might.

A second later, as if it hadn’t happened, Aden
shuddered and the rage returned. While Sandy stood pressed against
him, his long arms picked her father up by the front collar of his
shirt. Aden gave her father a violent shake.

“
How could you!?” Aden shook her
father again. “You’re a fucked up useless human being who destroys
people. Do you have any idea of the pain your own child lives with?
Because of you? You worthless piece of shit!”

Sandy forced Aden’s chin down so he had to
look at her.

“
Aden,” Sandy said. “He doesn’t
matter. He’s nothing. He doesn’t matter anymore.”

“
He’s hurt you beyond repair. He’s
hurt Noelle,” Aden said. “Don’t tell me to let it go because I
can’t! I won’t! I wasn’t there to stop it then but I certainly
can…”

“
Aden, we’re going to have a
baby,” Sandy said. “We have the kids and a new baby and a whole
life right here in the present. He belongs to the long ago past. He
doesn’t matter.”

Aden’s head jerked toward Sandy. His eyes
scanned her face for any lie. She nodded. His face sparkled with
joy. Tossing her father into the wall, he scooped up Sandy in a
hug. He held her tight to him then let her go. While their eyes
held, his hands went to her shoulders.

“
How?”

“
I had an appointment to get my
shot but we took that last minute trip to Maine. I cancelled the
appointment and forgot to make another,” Sandy said. “There’s been
so much going on with Jill’s wedding, Heather’s baby, work, us, the
kids… well, everything. I lost track.”

Holding her eyes with his, his hands moved to
hold her belly.

“
When?”

“
Must have been when we were in
Mexico. Around my birthday,” Sandy said. “Remember at Chichen Itza?
The guide said the Temple of Tables might have been a fertility
temple. I guess it was.”

Aden’s arms went around her shoulders. He held
her tight to him. Feeling movement, Aden looked up to see Sandy’s
father aiming a handgun at them.

“
Wait…” Aden started

“
HE’S GOT A GUN!” Seth yelled at
the same time Max and Alex yelled, “GET DOWN!”

Her father fired twice into Sandy’s
back.

CHAPTER
SEVENTY-THREE

I can’t live without you

“
NO!” Aden screamed. He worked to
hold Sandy up.

Seth fired. Sandy’s father’s right shoulder
exploded upon impact. Screaming with pain, the man fell backward to
the floor.

“
Sandy! Sandy!” Aden cried. “Oh my
God!”

Afraid to look, afraid to let go of her, Aden
held Sandy up.

While Alex ran to Aden and Sandy, Seth and Max
ran to her father. Max kicked the handgun out of his hand. Seth
spit on Sandy’s father then raised his gun again.

“
Yeah, let’s not go psycho.” Max
said.

Max pushed Seth’s handgun up. Leaning down,
Max wiped Seth’s spittle with a handkerchief.

“
There’s a few other plans for
him,” Max said.

The injured man gave a sadistic
laugh.

“
Shut up!” Seth raised his gun
again.

“
I
made a deal with the Feds!” The man’s eerie laughter drew
everyone’s attention. The house was silent. “You’ll all got
to
jail
and I’ll be free!”

The front door burst open. Captain Ramirez led
the charge into the room.

“
DENVER POLICE!
FREEZE!”

Seth and Max raised their hands and froze.
Policemen filled the room. Weapon drawn, Captain Ramirez moved to
Alex and Aden’s side.

“
We need help!” Aden yelled from
where they had laid Sandy. “She’s been shot! Please! Please
help!”

“
She’s wearing body armor,” Alex
said. She put a hand on Aden’s shoulder. “Doesn’t mean she’s not
hurt, just that she’s not dead. I’ve been shot like this and it
hurts like hell. She probably passed out from the pain.”

“
Body armor?” Aden asked.
“How…?”

“
She’s Katy’s Auntie,” Alex said.
“Let’s let them take a look.”