Uncorked (37 page)

Mitch and Chella were having
breakfast at the kitchen island when Mitch’s cell phone rang.

“It’s Olivia,” he said, looking
at the screen. He put the call on speakerphone.

“Hi, Olivia.”

“Mitch… Dad just died.”

What?” said Mitch.

Olivia broke down weeping at the
other end of the line. Mitch gazed at the phone in utter shock, unable to say a
word for a few seconds. “What happened?”

She continued to sob, and then
there was a short silence on the phone.

“Hello. This is Dr. Lucas
speaking.”

“It’s Mitch. What happened?

“His body rejected the bone
marrow. It didn’t recognize it as its own and started attacking the new stem
cells. This sometimes happens, but his body didn’t respond to the medication
that was supposed to correct it. I tried everything. Three additional
specialists attended him, but nothing worked. I’m so sorry I couldn’t have done
more.”

Mitch pushed his breakfast plate
aside and sank his forehead in his palm as he listened to the doctor.

“This is rare. I’m so sorry for
your loss.”

“Thank you,” Mitch replied,
ending the call.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

“I can’t believe after all we
went through, he died.”

Mitch shuffled to the patio and
gazed out at the city. Chella had seen him upset before but never like this.
For over an hour he stood in silence, staring at the view. He said nothing the
whole time Chella stood behind him, silently supporting him. Eventually he
turned, and she encircled him in her arms. They sat on the sofa for hours, he,
resting his head on her thighs, she, combing her fingers through his hair.

“What was the point if he was
going to die?” he asked eventually.

“Maybe so you could mend your
fences before he died.”

“I can’t believe this, Chell.”

“I wish I had the answers,
Sweetheart. Maybe all he really wanted was your forgiveness. He was finally at
peace with himself. Do you have any regrets?”

“I don’t think so. I can’t
believe within such a short space of time he came and went out of my life.”

“I wish there was something I
could say to help.”

“You being here helps. There’s
nothing anyone can do. It’s just a sad reality of life. I think I need to go
see them. Especially Olivia. It broke my heart to hear her cry like that.”

“I think that’s a good idea. Get
ready, and I’ll call you a cab.”

Mitch had a
difficult time attending the
funeral, but he could now finally put an end to that sorry chapter of his life
and move on to a new one. In the process, he acquired two beautiful new girls
in his life–his sisters. And while he and Simone did not always see eye to eye,
he hoped over time their relationship might improve.

Chella worked at
the office late into the evening
the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. She was trying to tie up loose ends before
the long holiday weekend. She had promised Mitch she would attend a dinner
party with a client of his, but at the rate she was going, she’d be late. She
called him to see if she could get out of it.

“Would you be upset with me if I
told you I couldn’t make it?” said Chella.

“Maybe. What’s up?”

“I’m trying to avoid working over
the weekend. I won’t be done for another hour or so.”

“We have to be there in fifteen
minutes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you in the office alone?”

“Yes. Security knows I’m here,
though.”

“How will you get home?”

“The driver is waiting for me
downstairs. I’ll be okay, Sweetheart. Tomorrow, I promise, I’ll be all yours.”

“Good, because I have a surprise
for you.”

“Ooh, I love surprises. Have fun
tonight. I’m sorry I bailed on you.”

“No worries. Let me know when you
arrive home safely.”

An hour later, she packed her
briefcase and shut off the light in her office. Walking to the elevator, she
heard a faint noise behind her. She paused and heard the noise again. She
looked behind her and saw nothing. Goose bumps rose on her arms. Her stomach
sank. She pulled the Taser from her purse and increased her pace to the
elevator. Inside the elevator, she quickly shut the doors and went straight to
the lobby.

Two security guards greeted her
as she stepped off the elevator.

“Is there anyone else in the
building?” she asked.

“No, Ms. Noon. The cleaning staff
went home about an hour ago. Why?”

“Maybe it’s nothing or maybe I’m
being paranoid, but I thought I heard noises as I was walking to the elevator.”

“I’ll go up and check,” one of
the men replied, immediately leaving them.

“We’ll handle things here, Ms.
Noon. Let me escort you to the car. The driver is outside.”

“Thank you.”

Relieved to be safely in the
vehicle, she found herself constantly looking over her shoulder. She was
certain a red car was following them, but after asking the driver to take two
detours, it turned out they were not.

When she finally got to her
condo, she could breathe. After a quick shower, she unwound with a glass of
wine on the patio sofa, taking in the ocean views. She sent Mitch a text
message, letting him know she had arrived home safely. Minutes later, she
drifted off to sleep.

Mitch tried calling
Chella the next morning with no
response. Chella would always call him back immediately, but it was the second
time in over an hour he tried to reach her and she didn’t answer. He had hoped
she would come with him to pick up Emily, but it was looking like he would have
to head over to the airport first, then go check on Chella at the condo.

Since Emily was visiting for the
weekend, he rented an SUV and headed to the airport to pick her up. On the way
to Chella’s, he dialed her number. Again, there was no response. He grew
concerned and headed over to her condo with Emily as quickly as he could.

“Chella?” he called out.

No response.

Her briefcase and bag were on the
entry table, so he knew she was home.

He called her a second and third
time while looking through the condo, but still there was no answer. It
occurred to him that she might be in the gym, but Emily said, “There she is,
Daddy. She’s sleeping on the patio.”

He tried to wake her. “Chella?
Chella?”

It wasn’t until he shook her
violently that she awakened.

“Chella, are you okay?”

After a few seconds, she said,
“Hi… wow… I can’t believe I fell asleep out here. What happened?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying
to call you since about ten this morning, and you wouldn’t answer.”

“I didn’t hear my phone ring. I
still feel so sleepy. Are you okay? Why were you trying to reach me?”

“Emily is here. I wanted you to
come with me to pick her up at the airport.”

“Emily is here? Where is she?”

“Over here you silly goose.”

Chella turned around to see her
and took Emily in her arms.

“I’m so happy to see you. I
didn’t know you were coming.”

“Daddy thought it would be a nice
surprise.”

“Oh, Sweetie. It’s great to see
you.”

Chella stood but quickly had to
sit down.

Mitch realized something
wasn’t right. He brought Emily
into the living room and turned on her favorite channel.

When he returned, he noticed half
a glass of wine on the side table.

“How much did you have to drink
last night?”

“I guess not the whole glass,”
she replied.

“What happened last night?”

“I came home, took a shower,
poured myself a glass of wine and came out here. I texted you to let you know I
was home. That’s the last thing I remember. I know I was pushing it hard at the
office the last few days, but I didn’t think I was this tired.”

“That’s extremely bizarre.”

“Did you have drinks or go out to
eat at all yesterday?”

“No. I worked through lunch. Jade
brought me a sandwich…”

“Do you still want to go to Craig
and Maggie’s for dinner?”

“I don’t want to miss
Thanksgiving dinner, but I feel so tired.”

“Why don’t you get back into bed
and get some rest. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard. Emily and I will go
to the beach and later we can go to dinner.”

“I’ll call Craig and tell him
Emily’s coming.”

“I called him yesterday. He
knows.”

They enjoyed Thanksgiving
dinner that night with Craig and
his family. His sons Bobby and Chad were visiting from Seattle, along with
Chad’s wife and daughter Kerry, who became Emily’s new best friend. They were
about to have dinner when they heard a loud bang outside followed by the sound
of a vehicle racing off. Their three Dobermans went crazy, bolting from the
kitchen to the outside. Chad and Bobby went to see what it was. They returned
moments later, but said they saw nothing. They thought it might have been the
neighbor across the street.

They watched the football game
while having dessert. Chella smiled as she observed Emily and Kerry playing
with their dolls nearby.

The night soon ended after hugs
and kisses goodbye. Chella strapped Emily in her seat.

A heavy downpour
began. Mitch listened to the
weather report as they drove. In the rear view mirror, he could clearly see
Emily as she sat quietly perusing through her picture book.

Two forty-foot trailer trucks
clogged both lanes in front of them, constantly braking. Mitch tried slowing
down, but the brakes would not work.

No dashboard warnings flashed.
Everything appeared to be fine, but the vehicle wouldn’t slow down.

“Something’s wrong. The brakes
won’t work,” he said, trying to sound calm.

They were on the parkway, on an
incline approaching the freeway. He didn’t want to get onto the freeway without
being in total control of the vehicle. The traffic was coming to a halt in
front of him. With two trucks in front of him and no brakes, on a slippery, wet
road, they’d be crushed if he hit either of them.

“Mitch, look out!”

The semis were at a standstill.
Mitch swerved to avoid them. The SUV careened toward a copse of trees.

Emily screamed hysterically.

Mitch locked the steering wheel
to the right and pulled the handbrake.

Branches blasted through the windshield.
Metal crunched. The driver’s window exploded. The vehicle came to a stop facing
the traffic.

Emily was silent.

Mitch released his seatbelt and
scrambled into the backseat.

“Emily, are you okay? Sweetie,
Daddy’s here.”

She was unconscious.

“Chella, are you okay?”

Chella dug through branches. She
had a cut on the back of her head. She felt around, pulled her phone from her
bag, and dialed 9-1-1.

“I’m fine. Is Emily all right?”

“No, she’s unconscious.”

“Oh, God. Please let her be
okay,” Chella said as she climbed out through the driver’s side of the vehicle.

“The brakes wouldn’t work… if I
didn’t veer off the road… we would have been crushed… under those trucks…”

“She’ll be all right.
Everything’s going to be all right.”

The ambulance arrived, secured
Emily and removed her from the vehicle.

“I’m going to go with her. Will
you deal with the police?”

“Yes, go. I’ll come to the
hospital when I’m done.”

Chella explained to
the police what had happened.
When she told the officer the SUV had been rented that day, they were surprised
that the brakes did not work and got suspicious. He said they’d need to have
the vehicle thoroughly inspected. By then it had stopped raining. When the
mechanic arrived twenty minutes later, he immediately examined the vehicle. After
he was done, he came over to them as Chella spoke to the lead officer on the
case.

“It looks like someone tampered
with this vehicle.”

“Tampered?” Chella asked.

“Brake line’s been cut. Not all
the way through. After the driver applied the brakes a few times, it severed
completely.”

“Shouldn’t that have shown up on
the dashboard once we started the vehicle? He said the brake light never came
on.”

“Ordinarily? Yeah. Whoever did
this knew exactly what they were doing. They bypassed some wires so the light
on the dashboard would fail. Whoever did this knows BMWs—well.”