Fairplay, Denver Cereal Volume 6 (21 page)

“
How long have we worked
together?” Seth asked.

“
Two years,” Schmidty
said.

“
Have you seen me
surrounded by a lot of women?” Seth asked.

“
No but Dad was very
specific,” Schmidty said. “’O’Malley likes his women. Make sure
there’s a few around at all times.’”

Seth chuckled.

“
Why did you laugh?”
Schmidty said.

“
Think about it,” Seth
said. “Is it me or your father who likes sweet, soft, young
women?”

“
Your girlfriend is
twenty-three,” Schmidty smiled.

“
Key word is
‘girlfriend’,” Seth laughed. “I love the ladies, only one at a
time.”

“
One at a time,” Schmidty
said.

“
One at a time,” Seth
repeated. “I never had the temperament for the disconnect of ‘free
love.’ My brothers were the same way.”

Schmidty’s phone indicated a text message.
He looked at it and smiled. His fingers flew across his phone in
response.

“
You’ve been on that thing
all day,” Seth said. “New girlfriend?”

“
Something like that,”
Schmidty cleared his throat and glanced at Seth.
“Lizzie.”

“
My
Lizzie?” Seth’s expression was somewhere between surprised
and amused.

Schmidty blushed.

“
What does your father
say?” Seth asked.

“
She’s not Jewish!”
Schmidty waved his hands around like a Muppet. “She’s not
Jewish!”

Seth laughed at Schmidty’s antics.

“
It’s like I’m going to
cause the extinction of the entire Jewish race,” Schmidty
said.

“
You
are
his only son,” Seth
said.

“
So far,” Schmidty rolled
his eyes and Seth smiled.

“
You probably never met
your father’s mother,” Seth said. “His father?”

“
My Dad was in his sixties
when he had me.” Schmidty shook his head. “His parents were long
gone by then.”

“
You know the story
right?” Seth asked.

“
From my Dad?” Schmidty
shook his head. “If it’s not a detailed list of my screw ups, I
never talk to him.”

“
Ah,” Seth
said.

“
You’re not upset about
Lizzie?” Schmidty asked.

“
If I was upset about you
and Lizzie, I’d have to have been upset about twenty years ago,”
Seth said. “You two were always peas in a pod. I thought you’d
date, but…”

“
We should talk about
Lizzie and her step-father,” Schmidty said.

“
I’d rather not,” Seth
said.

Schmidty turned to look Seth in the
face.

“
Not that I don’t want to
know,” Seth said. “I do. I just don’t want to know while I’m in LA
and can’t do anything about it.”

“
Gotcha,” Schmidty
said.

“
I’m having a tough time,
Jammy,” Seth said. “I can’t believe this pain is still here. I want
to drink. No, I really want to drink. And I have this symphony to
work on and a movie that desperately needs it. Thank God they got
my conductor.”

“
And the orchestra is
talented,” Schmidty said.

“
The orchestra is
wonderful,” Seth said. “The conductor’s been working with them for
a month on the same piece. They’re excited and ready to go. What a
joy.”

“
We’ll see how they are
after working this weekend,” Schmidty said.

“
My guess is they’ll be
OK, happy even,” Seth said. “Musicians are like that. They’re
happiest when they’re playing. Good community, great food, and
interesting instruction help, but it’s the music that makes their
world go ‘round.”

Schmidty nodded. While the limousine fought
the Sunset Boulevard traffic, they lapsed into companionable
silence. They traded Sunset Boulevard creep for the Ten Freeway
crawl. The Ten Freeway crawl turned into a stop and went up the
Pacific Coast Highway until they reached the gated community,
Malibu Colony, and the beach house. There was a small American made
car in the driveway.

“
Girls?” Seth asked
Schmidty.

“
Not on my
accord.”

The limousine driver got out to let help
them out of the back. Leaning heavily on forearm crutches, Seth
stood to the side while Schmidty found the keys to the house. The
driver went to the trunk to get their luggage. Seth’s attention was
so focused on managing his pain that he missed the young woman
walking up to him.

“
Seth?” Ava
asked.

Seth turned toward the sound.

“
Ava!” Seth said. “What
are you doing here?”

He held out an arm and they hugged.

“
The Chief sent me,” Ava
said. “Am I interrupting?”

“
Only the usual post-music
animal sex,” Seth laughed. Shaking her head at him, Ava
smiled.

“
What does the Chief
want?” Seth asked.

“
Andy Mendy jumped off a
building this afternoon,” Ava said.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and SIXTY-NINE

Silence

Seth felt the world grind to a halt. For a
split second, everything was silent. Letting out a breath, the
gears of his mind ground into action.

Andy had been alive all this time. No matter
how hard he looked, no matter what resources he used, he’d never
been able to find her. Somewhere deep inside, he’d always known she
was alive. He closed his eyes. The memory of the first moment he’d
seen her played across his eyelids. He’d loved her instantly. He
still loved her.

Andy was dead.

Opening his eyes, he glanced at Ava. Would
she know the love he felt for Andy? Would she care? He squinted to
focus on what Ava was saying.

“
It has all the hallmarks
of a suicide, but we’re looking at it as a suspicious death.”
Oblivious to Seth’s moment of inner turmoil, Ava continued,
“There’s an envelope in her missing person’s file addressed to you.
It’s from Mitch.”

She held out a manila envelope to Seth. In
Mitch’s bold handwriting, it said:

“
Give to O’Malley in the
event of death.”

Seth nodded.

“
The Chief’s been able to
keep a lid on the story,” Ava said. “He wanted a chance to notify
you and give you these documents. I’m so sorry, Seth.”

She hugged him.

“
Did I hear you say
something about Andy Mendy?” Schmidty joined them. “Sandy asked
about her this afternoon.”

“
Sandy?! Oh my God,
Sandy!” Like a slap, Seth’s mind became clear. He stepped away from
Ava. “Where is Sandy?”

“
I checked before I left.
She’s at the Castle baking a special cake for Noelle’s birthday,”
Ava said. “Jill is with her. Aden and the kids are helping Delphie
with some late summer gardening.”

“
How is she?” Seth
asked.

“
I told her what
happened,” Ava said. “She’s frightened. But you know Sandy, it’s
Noelle’s birthday and that’s what matters. Plus, Noelle spent the
day with Mike for her first painting lesson. That’s all Sandy wants
to talk about.”

“
I helped Sissy get the
paints,” Seth said.

“
Yes, Noelle wanted me to
thank you for the canvases,” Ava said. “She assured me that she’s
only painting something for Sissy first because she gave her the
paints. You get her second painting. It sounds like she had a great
time.”

Seth smiled. He could almost hear Noelle
bounce around with delight.

“
Listen,” Ava said. “I
know this is a shock. I know you feel deeply about Andy. But the
Chief is waiting for you to read Mitch’s letter. He wants a call
when you’re done.”

“
Does he know what’s in
here?”

Seth turned over the envelope. The packing
tape was still secure over the flap.

“
No,” Ava said. “Out of
respect for you, no one opened it.”

Seth nodded.

“
I need to read this,”
Seth said. “I need to get off my feet. I’d like a chance to speak
with Sandy. I’m sorry.”

“
I understand,” Ava said.
“Schmidty? I think he’s waiting for you to open the
door.”

Schmidty ran to open the front door. The
limousine driver trundled their luggage into the house.

“
Wow,” Ava
said.

From the doorway, they could see the
crashing surf through the wall of glass on the other side of the
living room. They passed a small but functional kitchen. The open
area was sparsely, but beautifully furnished.

Once inside the door, Seth plopped himself
onto the light cream colored leather couch. He took out a pocket
knife and cut the top of the manila envelope. Seth looked up at Ava
and shook out the contents onto his lap. There was a typed letter
from Mitch, a stack of paperwork and an audio tape. Without reading
it, Seth looked at the paper trying to decide what to do first.

“
Tell you what?” Ava
asked.

When Seth didn’t respond, she touched his
shoulder. He looked up at her.

“
I’m going for a run on
the beach,” Ava said. “I brought Clara with me. She’s…”

Clara, the brown Labrador puppy, barked from
her small crate as the limousine driver brought Ava’s luggage
inside the house. Hearing Clara, the corners of Seth’s mouth turned
up, but he didn’t respond.

“
Don’t be upset,” Schmidty
whispered. “He’s like that when he’s thinking. I think the world
disappears and…”

“
I can hear you,” Seth
stuffed the papers and tape into the envelope. “The world doesn’t
disappear. My tiny mind is distracted with a decision I need to
make before I can move on. That’s all.”

Ava smiled.

“
Welcome Clara,” Seth
nodded to the puppy. He pulled Ava onto his lap and kissed her
lips. “Thanks for coming. I don’t imagine that was
easy.”

She smiled at his acknowledgement of her
efforts. He kissed her again.

“
I’m glad you’re here,”
Seth said.

“
Me too.”

“
Enjoy your run,” Seth
said. “Schmidty?”

“
Yes?” Schmidty
asked.

“
Did dinner come with all
of this?” Seth gestured around the palatial home.

“
And groceries,” Schmidty
said. “Dad selected your favorite meals. They will be delivered
every night.”

Seth raised his eyebrows. Schmidty’s Dad had
horrible taste in women, booze and food. Schmidty shrugged.

“
I promised him I’d use
his list,” Schmidty said. “And trust me, we’re using his list…
after Maresol fixed it.”

“
Good job,” Seth said.
“We’ll need dinner for three.”

“
I’ll take care of it,”
Schmidty said.

“
Piano room?” Seth
asked.

Schmidty pointed to a room off the open
space. Seth hugged Ava and kissed her. She smiled at him and got
off his lap.

Nodding, he picked up the envelope and made
his way to the piano room. It was no more than a shell of curved
white walls with a glass wall on the end. A baby grand piano stood
in the middle of the room. Seth smiled.

Out of habit more than anything, he tuned a
few piano keys and ran through an easy tune. His mind shifted to
the symphony they were massaging for the movie. He played through
one or two sticky refrains and sighed.

Picking up Mitch’s letter, he spun around on
the piano bench. The letter was dated six days before Mitch died.
Ever the cop, Mitch had typed it on his old typewriter. Seth gave a
soft smile for his old friend and settled in to read.

~~~~~~~~

Seth,

I found out today that you were right about
Patty, about everything and a lot more. I’m not sorry I doubted
you. Just sorry I didn’t do something sooner.

I met Andy Mendy on Monday. She’s everything
you said she was – beautiful, funny, charming, and deserving of all
your love. She did most of this for you, for your child. She wanted
me to tell you that she will love you until she dies.

Facts, Mitch, facts. After all these years,
I can hear your impatience in my head. Here are the facts, my old
friend:

Fact
: You are Sandy’s father. Add Seth to Andy? You get
Sandy.

Fact
: As you know, Andy was pregnant and on her way to meet you
when her tour bus crashed. What you don’t know is that she
delivered Sandy by herself, in the middle of some God forsaken
swamp. By the time the ambulance came, she had lost a lot of blood.
She had a stroke on the way to the hospital.

Fact
: She begged them to call you but because her brain was
scrambled, they couldn’t understand what she was saying and she
couldn’t write. Her agent was listed as her contact person. They
called him. They needed a living relative. Patty is Andy’s only
known living relative.

Fact:
It took years for Andy’s brain to recover.

Fact:
By the time Andy could speak, you were already engaged to the
thing known as Emily. Andy didn’t contact you at Patty’s
insistence. By the time she could speak, Patty influenced her every
decision.

Fact:
Within a day of Andy’s accident, her agent sold a series of
“Greatest Hits” albums. Schmidty set up a trust for the proceeds
from the new albums and rolled in the rest of Andy’s money. The
trust is inaccessible to Patty. The money takes care of Andy. When
Andy dies, the money goes to you and Sandy.