The Queen of Cool (40 page)

“
I’ll be damned, old Donny
moved the VX,” Manny said “I’d have loved to see that snake Jaden’s
face when he discovered it was missing.”

Lo laughed at the idea.

Q

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Thursday, early morning—3:15 a.m.

Days: 196

Lo rode the BMX bike as fast as her legs
would let her. She glanced to her right and swung across North
University Avenue to jump the curb on the opposite sidewalk. She
was riding a thirty-year-old BMX bike she’d found in the back of
the boathouse a couple of weeks ago. She’d fixed it up with other
supplies she’d found and made small trips around Lake Worth to make
sure she could ride it. She’d slipped out of the Lake Worth house
through a window less than an hour ago. This morning was an
important, private mission. With any luck, she would be back at the
house by the time the sun rose.

She crossed North University and took the
ramp down to the paved portion of Trinity Trails. She needed to get
to the Clear Fork footbridge and cross the West Fork on the
footbridge behind Tarrant County College. From there, she would
take the dirt road back up the West Fork of the Trinity. She and
Don had run this route at least once a week when he was alive and
when their River Crest home was standing. She thought she knew this
area like the back of her hand. But this morning, every bump felt
dark and dangerous.

And the closer she got to her destination,
the more danger she was in.

She looked both ways and zoomed across the
bridge over the Clear Fork of the Trinity, around the bend, and
then across the West Fork footbridge. She turned left onto the dirt
path along the West Fork. She felt, more than saw, her steady
progress along the river front.

Don had loved to run on this dirt path. He
used to say it was a little history in his modern day. She could
almost hear him point out places he and Mutt had panned for gold or
rode down the river on inner tubes. Those were good days.

Smiling, she skidded the bike to a stop at
the fence behind the Oakwood Cemetery and slipped through the fence
opening near the Hanson Concrete plant. She rode along the fence
until she reached an evergreen bush near Don’s grave. She set the
bike under the bush and crouched to look around. After the rush of
air in her ears, the cemetery felt absolutely silent. A soft wind
off the river rustled the oak trees. Lo looked up to see a barn owl
peering at her from the stand of oak trees near Don’s grave. The
owl shook its head and took off into the night. Lo ran to Don’s
grave.

“
Happy birthday,
Don.”

Lo set a votive candle next to the angel.
She fumbled with a match and then another. It took a moment before
the candle lit.

“
The baby and I are doing
all right,” Lo said. “Evelyn says there’s no soul yet, but she also
says that’s pretty normal for a first pregnancy. I’ve decided to
name him Donald. I know you wouldn’t want that if you were here
but…”

Hearing the sound of a car, Lo lay back on
his grave. She imagined he was lying next to her and smiled. She
held out her hand so that they could lie on their backs holding
hands like they used to. For the briefest moment, she felt his hand
in hers.

“
I miss you,” Lo slipped a
small, delicately carved dragonfly from her pocket. “I got this…
for you… the day you died… before I knew… Well, my client, Andy’s
partner Luke made it. You remember he’s a sculptor. He was making a
three-dragonfly statue for your Koi pond in the backyard. It was
supposed to be done on your birthday – today. I had the model in my
purse at the funeral and…”

She felt around overhead for the edge of the
angel statue. She set the wooden dragonfly on the ledge next to the
votive candle.

“
I would guess that he’s
finished the statue,” Lo said. “That’s what he’s like. If I ever
get settled again, they’ll show up with it as a housewarming gift
or whatever. But today, all I have is this little dragonfly and a
great longing for you, my husband. I’m so grateful you were born.
I’m so humbled by the fact that you survived everything so I could
love you. Happy birthday, my love.”

She sniffed at her tears and stared at the
stars. The barn owl flew across her line of vision and landed in
the oak tree towering above her.

“
I know you moved the VX,”
Lo said. “I was sure Mutt helped you move it, but he doesn’t know
anything about it. He’s very upset because he thinks maybe you
didn’t trust him. I’m sure you didn’t want to involve him. I can
almost hear you say, ‘My father brought this upon the world. It’s
my job to right this wrong.’”

Lo smiled at her imitation of his voice.

“
At least that’s what I
told Mutt,” Lo said. “He thought I was right. Well, Tobar was your
biological father. So you didn’t have to die for Henry.”

A sob escaped Lo’s mouth with the words.

“
I guess I’m mad at you for
dying,” Lo said. “Mostly, I wish you were here. You really deserved
to be here when we have this baby. But you deserved so much more
from life than you got. I wish you had lived long enough to get
everything you deserved.”

Lo watched the stars and night for a
while.

“
Where did you move the
VX?” Lo asked. “I’m meeting with everyone later today. Mutt, Lisa,
Yazmin, Larry – even Mrs. Williams. We’ve all explored where we
thought it might be. Sy even got into the tunnel downtown to see if
it was there. I don’t know what anyone’s found, but I haven’t found
anything.”

Chasing a mouse, the barn owl screeched and
flew high overhead.

“
I know you probably don’t
want me to find it,” Lo said. “But you were my life, my everything.
It’s my job to finish your business like it was your job to finish
Henry’s business. So you should tell me before I break a leg or
whatever trying to find it in the creepy places of Fort Worth. Or
worse, a child will find it and die. Or even worse, little Donny
will find it. Just think. Little Donny is your son, a didikai; he’d
know where it is just by… instinct.”

She saw headlights flash across the dark
cemetery. A car had entered Oakwood. The barn owl swooped down at
her. Lo moved to avoid being hit by the owl. It landed a few feet
from her. She touched the angel.

“
Happy Birthday, Don,” Lo
whispered. “I love you more today than I did the first time we
celebrated your birthday together. You remember…”

The owl screeched and rushed at her with its
wings out. Startled, Lo hopped to her feet. The owl took flight and
chased her. She covered her head with the hood of her sweatshirt
and ran to the bike. The owl landed on the bushes and she crouched
in the shadows with the bike.

A dark sedan drove to Don’s grave and two
men got out.

“
She can’t be far,” the
driver said.

“
She’s gone.” The passenger
put his hands on his hips. His eyes scanned the area. “Like I said.
She’s going to hit and run this place. She’s not
stupid.”

“
The candle’s still
lit.”

When the driver walked in front of the car’s
headlights, she recognized Amanda’s ex-boyfriend and fake Texas
Ranger, Will Wallace. Lo held her breath. The passenger’s eyes
locked on Lo’s crouching form. He nodded to her and turned his body
away from her.

“
I told you,” the passenger
said. “She’s not here.”

“
We should look,” Will
said.

“
Knock yourself out,” the
passenger said. “If I was her, I’d take off in that
direction.”

The passenger pointed to a stand of trees in
the opposite direction to Lo’s hiding place.

“
You want to track her,
Tonto,” the passenger said. “Go over there. I’m going to call it
in.”

Will pulled a handgun from his side
holster.

“
She’s fast,” The passenger
motioned for him to move on. “Better go if you’re
going.”

Will ran off toward the North side of the
cemetery. The passenger watched him go. Without saying a word, he
walked close to where she was and set a small pearl handled
revolver on the ground.

“
It’s yours. I
took it when we tossed your house. Thought you might need it
someday,” the passenger said to her. “Do
not
shoot me with
this.”

He turned his back to her and walked to the
car. Opening the car door, his lips mouthed “Go.” Lo scrambled
forward. She tucked the handgun into the pocket of Don’s jeans and
took off on the bike. She was riding back toward the West Fork
crossing when the owl rushed at her.

Caught between the owl and the scary men,
she rode North on a small dirt road next to the train tracks. She
crossed North Main with the owl still chasing her. She continued
along the train tracks until she reached a tributary of the
Trinity. The owl flew ahead to beacon her across. Carrying the
bike, she forded the stream and continued her mad ride. The owl
swooped and bat at her anytime she slowed down.

She was out of breath and riding hard when
the owl perched on a post right in front of her. Lo skid to a halt.
The owl turned to her, flapped its wide wings, and let out an angry
screech.

“
Okay, okay,” Lo said
between breaths. “No reason to be angry.”

The owl gave one more screech and took off
for the heavens. She watched the barn owl disappear into the
night.

Where was she?

Lit by a dim street lamp across the train
tracks, Lo looked into the near dark to see a six-foot-high brick
wall across the street. A car barreled down the road and Lo slipped
into the shadows. When the car had passed, Lo rode across the
street. She rode along the brick wall until she reached a driveway
blocked by a metal gate. She rode up the steep incline to…

She wasn’t quite sure.

She was standing in the middle of a large
open concrete space. The empty terrain was dotted with tall,
decaying brick buildings. She rode past what looked like a broken
down guard tower and stopped on the red-brick street in front of a
falling down brick building.

Somewhere beyond the lit building on her
left, she heard a woman’s drunken laugh. A man’s deep voice rumbled
and they both laughed. A distant car security system beeped and two
car doors slammed.

Lo turned her attention to the building in
front of her. Everything about this place was familiar. She just
couldn’t place it. She turned in place.

The train tracks were on her right. The tall
brick wall lined the south end of the property. The lit building on
her left was the old Spaghetti Warehouse. Don had told her that XTO
Oil had done a nice job rehabilitating the building. She’d heard it
was haunted just like…

Lo knew where she was. She looked down.

She was standing in the middle of the Swift
and Company packing plant. She gave an involuntary shudder. Hoping
the owl would return, she looked up at the sky. She saw only stars
and the depth of night. Then it hit her.

The Stockyards Station Partnership owned
this property.

Don was a member of the Stockyards Station
Partnership. He helped found the partnership in 1992 by handling
all their legal mumbo jumbo.

Don knew everything there was to know about
the Swift and Company packing plant.

The VX had to be here. Feeling a little
dizzy, Lo leaned against the bike.

Don had moved the VX here. She turned in a
circle.

“
But where?”

Q

Thursday, early morning—3:15 a.m.

Days: 196

“
I need to tell you
something and I don’t want you to be mad,” Lo said to
Manny.

Hidden behind his dark tinted windows, Lo
was sitting in the back seat of Manny’s sedan next to Yazmin. Sy
Monquist sat in the passenger seat. They were driving north to the
Fort Worth Refuge where they were meeting Lisa, Larry, Mutt, and
Mrs. Williams for a walk.

“
Oh yeah?” Manny’s amused
eyes looked at her in the rearview mirror.

“
I met a man this morning,”
Lo said. “And he gave me my handgun.”

“
You what?” Sy turned
around in the seat to look at her.

“
I met a man this morning
and he gave me my handgun,” Lo repeated. “What’s unclear about
that?”

“
It sounds moronic,” Sy
said. “You’re in hiding! Someone wants to kill you! Where… Why…
What the hell?”

“
I wasn’t talking to you,”
Lo said. “I was talking to Manny.”

Sy gave her a disgusted look and turned
forward.

“
I’m going to skip over the
where, when, and how you met this man,” Manny said.

“
Good,” Lo said.

“
Did you recognize him?”
Manny asked.

“
Yes,” Lo said. “He looked
really familiar but I can’t place him,” Lo said. “He was with Will
but don’t worry. Will didn’t see me. Just this guy.”

Yazmin looked worried. Sy looked angry.
Manny shrugged as if he was used to Lo’s wild nature. He seemed
resigned to the fact that she did something crazy.

“
Good that Will didn’t see
you,” Manny said.

“
I was lucky,” Lo
said.

“
How can you condone this?”
Sy asked.

“
It was bound to happen,”
Manny said. “At least she wasn’t killed.”

“
Where do you think you saw
the man before, Lorraina?” Yazmin asked.

“
I don’t know,” Lo
said.

“
Was it someone Mr. Don
knew?” Yazmin asked.