Fairplay, Denver Cereal Volume 6 (9 page)

“
So you’re telling me
that
this
is the
case of the century?” Bumpy raised his eyebrows at Seth. “What was
that
Saint Jude
thing you chased around for more than twenty years? Or
clearing my internationally
famous
stupid son’s legal issues in Saint
Louis?”

“
Or the
Cigarette Man
? Or the
killer before him or the one after?” Maresol blurted out. “Or last
year’s killer of the year? The
Jogger
Killer
? Remember him? He
ran over
those poor
women in his car?”

“
Or the year before that?”
Bumpy asked. “What about that big-assed case you and Mitch worked
on that left you both
shot
and
stupid
for a year?

“
The Mount Evan’s terror,”
Maresol dropped her head into her hands. “I forgot about that
nightmare.”

Much to Seth and Bumpy’s horror, Maresol’s
shoulders dropped as if she was going to cry. They both held their
breath against the impending thunderstorm of emotion. Instead, her
shoulders pushed back and her right index finger came up.

“
You… you…” Her finger
wagged for a moment before she burst into tears. Bumpy put his arm
around her shoulder. Maresol leaned into the big man for comfort.
When her breathing evened out, he looked up at Seth.

“
You’re making your
friends crazy, Seth,” Bumpy said. “You and the other men are
the
only;
and
when I use the word
only
I mean every last one of them younger, prettier,
smarter, and better human beings died; you and those boys are
the
only
people
to be any days away from this murderous cocktail of poison. And you
are in this rare and unusual position because a pretty young thing,
who for some crazy reason
loves
your sorry wrinkled ass, and her team worked
night and day for a week to make it happen. And
this
kind woman – who has stood by
your side through thick and thin, sorrow and joy, death and life,
knowing
full well
that you’re an asshole – is trying to nurse you back to
health.”

“
I am an asshole,” Seth
said.

“
You can’t help how you
are made,” Maresol sniffed.

Seth gave her a wry smile.

“
I’m acting like my
father?” Seth asked Maresol.

“
Oh no
!” Maresol’s finger came up to wag at him. “I would pack my
things and never return if you were even one spec like that
man.”

“
Then?” Seth
asked.

“
You… You… You act to your
self like… like... that evil man treated you!” Maresol spat
out.

Seth closed his eyes in a silent
acknowledgement of the truth.

“
I had to stand by and
watch that evil man torture you and your brothers and your mother.
Now I have to stand by and watch you torture yourself!
And…”

Maresol began weeping in earnest. Bumpy
looked up at Seth. In the silent conversation of men, Seth knew
Bumpy was trying to get him to listen to what was the truth.

“
We have this chance,”
Maresol continued in Spanish. “This chance for babies, for
happiness, for love, and you’re working, working, working. This
girl, this Ava, she won’t be here forever. She
loves
you. She gave up everything to
be by your side. We... we have this other chance, a chance we never
thought we’d get again, and you…”

“
But this is Sandy,” Seth
said.

“
Don’t you dare bring my
Sandy into this,” Maresol said in English. “That filth was
happening for years and years. It will be years and years before it
is over. You don’t need to be in the middle of it today,
tomorrow…”

“
Or a week from now,”
Bumpy said. “Sandy’s the first person to tell you to take care of
yourself.”

“
When are you due in LA?”
Maresol asked.

“
Two weeks,” Seth said.
“See, I have to get this done before I go work on a
movie!”

“
You have two weeks to get
well and you’re spending your energies on nonsense!”

Seth gave an irritated sigh.

“
Don’t sigh at me like
that,” Maresol said.

“
You know she’s right,”
Bumpy said. “Be a man. Admit you’re wrong.”

“
I’m wrong,” Seth said. “I
know I’m wrong. I know it but I can’t seem to help
myself!

“
I feel awful about this
crap. I knew that woman was toxic and I let Mitch marry her. I knew
he was furious with her a few days before he died and I let those
kids live there. I saw Sissy wither away and Charlie become a
hoodlum and I did nothing!

”
Mitch was my best friend,
the best person I’d ever known in my entire life. He saved my ass
over and over again and when he and
my own
daughter
needed me most, I had my head up
my ass! I let them suffer!

“
And you want to start
over? So I can fuck it all up again? Get Ava and any children we
have killed by some psychopath? Or worse, treated like a blow up
doll so other disgusting creeps can watch it over and over
again?”

If anyone had asked Seth, he wouldn’t have
admitted to being angry with himself. But at this moment, in the
company of his two oldest friends, he vomited his rage and self
loathing.

From behind Maresol, the tiny brown Clara
came running into the room. She gave Maresol and Bumpy a bark and
took a flying leap onto Seth’s bed. She dropped on her belly and
pushed her nose into Seth’s shoulder.

“
I see you made your
standard agreement with Clara?” Maresol asked.

Caught in the wave of his own intense
emotion, Seth could only close his eyes and pet the puppy.

“
I know you feel awful,”
Bumpy said. “I know you have a lot of pain and certainly I
understand your rage. I’ve been there. You’ve seen me there! I know
the ins and outs of the crimes we hold against ourselves. But you
never let me linger in that court and we won’t let you linger
either.”

“
Plus, Ava warmed you to
expect this,” Maresol said.

“
Your body is rejecting
the toxin,” Bumpy said. “Your mind tries to make sense of the toxin
by rejecting everything toxic in your life. Sissy and Charlie’s
horrible mother, Saint Jude, what happened to Sandy, it’s all
horrible and toxic to your system.”

“
You’re making it worse,”
Maresol said.

“
By working,” Bumpy
said.

“
Fine, I won’t work,” Seth
said. “What am I supposed to do? Wallow in my own filth and rage?
That sounds smart.”

“
No,” Bumpy said. “You
need to detox.”

“
We’ve been over this!”
Seth said. “Blane is in Arizona.”

“
Turns out, Ma Bell got to
Arizona,” Bumpy said.

“
You called him?” Seth
asked.

“
I pushed dem little
numbers on dat tiny devil object and heared voices! Dat’s
right,
voices
came over dat black demon device,” Bumpy gave Seth a dark
look.

“
I hate your stupid, black
man act,” Seth said.

“
Then don’t treat me like
I’m an imbecile,” Bumpy said. “Blane is coming over when they get
back. In the meantime, he gave me simple instructions that even my
feeble, un-Godlike mind can understand.”

Seth scowled.

“
You have to get the toxin
out,” Maresol said.

“
Ava and Dean spent the
entire morning setting up an infrared sauna next to the hot tub,”
Bumpy said. “I want you to spend the afternoon either in the sauna
or in that hot tub. Thirty minutes in one, thirty minutes in the
other.”

“
You’ll sweat it out,”
Maresol said.

“
On my way over, I picked
up everything on Blane’s list of foods and things to drink,” Bumpy
said. “You drink and eat everything we give you. Use the toilet and
sweat.”

“
But we can’t do that with
you on that phone,” Maresol said.

“
Fine,” Seth began dialing
his phone.

“
Have you not heard a word
we said??” Maresol looked like she was either going to kill him or
start crying again. He held up a finger.

“
Tony?” Seth said into the
phone. “Yeah, it’s Seth. Listen, I’m not feeling well. Seems like
you’ve got this under control.”

There was a long pause. Maresol sat down on
the side of his bed.

“
Got it,” Seth said.
“Probably tomorrow. Or Wednesday? I’ll let you know Tuesday
night.”

There was another long pause. Maresol set
the puppy on her lap and pet her.

“
Great,” Seth said. “I’ll
be there if I can. I’ll ask Sandy when I see her. Yes, I’d like it
if you didn’t bother her again.”

Seth laughed. He listened for a moment.

“
Talk to you then,” Seth
said.

“
And the voice mail!”
Maresol demanded.

“
Yes ma’am,” Seth punched
a few buttons then said, “You’ve reached O’Malley. I’m out until
Tuesday. Leave a message and I’ll call you then.”

“
You done?” Maresol
asked.

“
Done,” Seth held out the
phone. Maresol tucked it into the pocket of her apron.

“
Ready?” Bumpy
asked.

“
Give me a
second.”

Seth closed his eyes and took a few deep
breaths. For all his bravado and insistence on working, he was in
tremendous pain. The journey from his room to the pool was going to
be horrible. He gave a slight nod. Maresol set Clara on the floor.
Bumpy carried more than helped Seth out of bed. Maresol helped him
change into swim trunks.

With Bumpy on one side, and Maresol on the
other, his two most beloved friends helped him move. After a few
steps, automatic tears fell. But as they’d always done when things
were impossibly hard, Bumpy and Maresol part dragged, part badgered
and mostly supported Seth through another painful life journey.

They stopped at the sliding glass door to
the back for Seth to catch his breath. Clara gave a yip of
encouragement and they continued forward. One painful step at a
time, Seth moved toward Ava. As if crossing the entire Sahara
desert in the blistering heat, Seth felt like he was making a
spiritual journey that would change his life forever. And somehow,
with Bumpy and Maresol’s support, he made it to the pool house.

Wearing a bikini, Ava sat in the hot tub
waiting for him. Dale supported him step by step into the hot
tub.

“
He’s very ill,” Maresol
said.

Ava nodded.

“
Thirty minutes,” Bumpy
said. “No excuses. You’ll have to be tough.”

“
I think we’re in this
together,” Ava nodded.

“
Amelie and I… We need to
detox from…” Dale nodded the words he couldn’t say. He looked down
to tie the string on the swim trunks he’d borrowed from
Seth.

“
Yes you do, son,” Bumpy
said. “Old Seth will always take you where you need to
go.”

“
I’ll be here all day,”
Maresol said. “I’ll bring food, water, towels, tissues… whatever
you need you ask. There are journals and pens for you to
write.”

“
But you should talk if
you can,” Bumpy said.

“
You’ll be a lot closer
when this is over,” Maresol said. “If you get sick, I’ll call the
doctor. Otherwise, you get the poison out of you.”

“
If I don’t hear from
Maresol, I’ll check in after you’ve completed 5 rounds,” Bumpy
said. “Let it happen. Cry, yell, talk, write, and draw. Even though
it’s toxic, your bodies and minds want to hold onto this garbage
because it’s normal, comfortable and safe. You will fight yourself
at times. Don’t give up. If you need to rest, sleep or meditate,
take a swim in the pool or a walk in the yard. But come right back.
You will want to quit the most just before you let go of the deep
and toxic.”

Ava and Dale nodded. Seth groaned. Bumpy put
his arm around Maresol and picked up the puppy. Although they were
worried, they knew better than to display anything other than
complete confidence in Seth, Ava and Dean. At the sliding door,
Maresol gave one last worried glance.

“
Here we go,” Ava rotated
an old fashioned egg timer.

“
Here we go,” Dale
said.

Bravely, Seth and his two young companions
began a journey of release.

~~~~~~~~

Sunday afternoon –4:25 P.M.
Undisclosed location

Dressed in all black including a black
balaclava, Colin Hargreaves sat down in a chair across from Katy’s
old Daddy’s, Trevor’s father. Dangling from a cord, a 60 watt
incandescent bulb lit the pitch back room. Trevor’s father
whimpered at the sound of Colin sitting down. His ankles were tied
to a wooden chair. His hands were handcuffed behind him. He was
terrified, but otherwise unharmed.

“
Hello scumbag,” Colin
growled.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED and SIXTY-TWO

Good Life

Sunday afternoon – 4:25 P.M.
Undisclosed location